Snyder v. Phelps

From ScotusWiki

Granted March 8, 2010.

Docket: 09-751

Issue: (1) Whether the prohibition of awarding damages to public figures to compensate for the intentional infliction of emotional distress, under the Supreme Court’s First Amendment precedents, applies to a case involving two private persons regarding a private matter; (2) whether the freedom of speech guaranteed by the First Amendment trumps its freedom of religion and peaceful assembly; and (3) whether an individual attending a family member’s funeral constitutes a “captive audience” who is entitled to state protection from unwanted communication.

Contents 1 Briefs and Documents 1.1 Merits Briefs 1.2 Amicus Briefs 1.3 Certiorari-Stage Documents 2 Links and Further Information 2.1 Media Links 2.2 From the Blogosphere

[edit] Briefs and Documents

[edit] Merits Briefs

• Brief for Petitioner Albert Snyder
• Brief for Respondent Fred W. Phelps, Sr., Shirley L. Phelps-Roper, Rebekah A. Phelps-Davis, and Westboro Baptist Church, Inc.

[edit] Amicus Briefs

• Brief for Senators Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell and 40 Other Members of the U.S. Senate in Support of Petitioner
• Brief for the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States in Support of Petitioner
• Brief for the American Legion in Support of Petitioner
• Brief for the John Marshall Law School Veterans Legal Support Center & Clinic and the Chicago School of Professional Psychology in Support of Petitioner
• Brief for State of Kansas and 47 Other States and the District of Columbia in Support of Petitioner
• Brief for Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression, The Marion B. Brechner First Amendment Project, the National Coalition Against Censorship, and the Pennsylvania Center for the First Amendment in Support of Respondent
• Brief for Scholars of First Amendment Law in Support of Respondent
• Brief for the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and Twenty-one News Media Organizations in Support of Respondent
• Brief for Liberty Counsel in Support of Respondent
• Brief for the American Civil Liberties Union and the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland in Support of Respondent
• Brief for The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education and Law Professors Ash Bhagwat, David Post, Martin Redish, Nadine Strossen, and Eugene Volokh in Support of Respondent
• Brief for the Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence in Support of Neither Party Suggesting Reversal
• Brief for the American Center for Law and Justice in Support of Neither Party
• Brief for the Anti-Defamation League in Support of Neither Party

[edit] Certiorari-Stage Documents

• Opinion Below (4th Circuit)
• Petition for Certiorari
• Brief in Opposition

[edit] Links and Further Information

[edit] Media Links

• Kansas City Star: Justices to hear Case Involving Fred Phelps' Protests at Military Funerals (Mar. 8, 2010)
• Los Angeles Times: "Thank God for Dead Soldiers": Supreme Court to Rule on Free Speech in Case of Soldier's Funeral (Mar. 8, 2010)
• CNN: Justices to Hear Case Over Protests at Military Funerals (Mar. 9, 2010)
• Los Angeles Times: Supreme Court to Hear Case on Protests (Mar. 9, 2010)
• Wichita Eagle: Phelps-Protests Case to Go Before Supreme Court (Mar. 9, 2010)
• Vanity Fair: A Supreme Opportunity to Shut Fred Phelps' Mouth (Mar. 10, 2010)
• The Baltimore Sun: Free Speech is Paramount (Mar. 13, 2010)
• Los Angeles Times: Protecting the Vile (Mar. 13, 2010)
• York Daily Record: What the Supreme Court sees in Snyder v. Phelps (Mar. 13, 2010)
• Columbia Daily Tribune: Court Must Tread Lightly, Even on Phelps (Mar. 14, 2010)
• The Philadelphia Inquirer: Head Strong: Free (and Hateful) Speech vs. the Right to Gather (Mar. 14, 2010)
• Newsweek: Free (Hate) Speech (Mar. 17, 2010)
• Chicago Tribune: Anger Over Bill to Marine's Dad (Mar. 30, 2010)
• Christian Science Monitor: Dad of a Fallen Marine Perseveres Against Protests at Military Funerals (Mar. 30, 2010)
• UPI: Will Distress Trump the First Amendment Right to Free Speech? (Apr. 4, 2010)
• Baltimore Sun: Md. Asked to Join Battle Against Funeral Protests (May 6, 2010)
• ABC News: States Line Up Against Funeral Hecklers in Supreme Court Brief (May 31, 2010)
• Washington Post: High Court: Justices to Consider 'Funeral Protests' in Free Speech Case (May 31, 2010)
• Los Angeles Times: Jerry Brown Backs Family of California Marine Suing Funeral Protesters (June 1, 2010)
• Washington Post: 48 States: Funeral Protests Shouldn't Be Protected (June 1, 2010)
• US News & World Report: The First Amendment Protects Military Funeral Protests (July 6, 2010)
• Los Angeles Times: Fundamentalist Church Says Protests at Military Funerals Are Protected By First Amendment (July 7, 2010)
• York Daily Record: Westboro Files Response in Supreme Court Case (July 7, 2010)
• York Daily Record: Westboro Church Wants Judges to See Albert Snyder as Public Figure (July 11, 2010)

[edit] From the Blogosphere

• American Constitution Society Blog: Supreme Court to Hear Case Involving Picketing of Soldiers’ Funerals (Mar. 8, 2010)
• Blog of Legal Times: Supreme Court Puts High-Emotion Funeral Protest Case on Docket (Mar. 8, 2010)
• Huffington Post: Westboro Church Protests Head to Supreme Court (Mar. 8, 2010)
• PrawfsBlawg: Westboro Baptist Goes to SCOTUS (Mar. 8, 2010)
• The Volokh Conspiracy: Funeral Picketing/Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress Case Going to Supreme Court (Mar. 8, 2010)
• The Volokh Conspiracy: The Phelpsians' Speech, the Mohammed Cartoons, and the Slippery Slope (Mar. 8, 2010)
• WSJ Law Blog: To What Degree Does the Constitution Protect Hurtful Speech? (Mar. 9, 2010)
• Concurring Opinions: Snyder v. Phelps: Funeral Picketing, the First Amendment, and the Intrusion Upon Seclusion Tort (Mar. 16, 2010)
• Concurring Opinions: Snyder v. Phelps: Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress and the First Amendment (Mar. 16, 2010)
• PrawfsBlawg: Solove on Westboro (Mar. 16, 2010)
• The Volokh Conspiracy: My Short Essay on Snyder v. Phelps, Part I: The Wisdom of Hustler v. Falwell (May 24, 2010)
• The Volokh Conspiracy: Short Essay on Snyder v. Phelps, Part II: Proximity to a Funeral, and Time, Place, or Manner Restrictions (May 25)
• The Volokh Conspiracy: Short Essay on Snyder v. Phelps, Part III: The Plaintiffs' (Not the Phelpsians') Religious Freedom Argument (May 26, 2010)
• The Volokh Conspiracy: Short Essay on Snyder v. Phelps, Part IV: The Libel Analogy, and the Public/Private Figure Distinction (May 26, 2010)
• The Volokh Conspiracy: State Attorneys General Argue that Non-Media Speakers Should Get Less First Amendment Protection than Media Speakers (June 1, 2010)
• The Volokh Conspiracy: Amicus Brief in Snyder v. Phelps (July 14, 2010)
• PrawfsBlawg: Amicus Brief by First Amendment Professors in Snyder v. Phelps (July 15, 2010)