And Hate Speech
 Dictionary.com defines hate speech as speech that
attacks a person or group on the basis of race, religion,
gender, or sexual orientation.
 It is important to note that hate speech is not a crime
and is in fact protected by the 1st Amendment of the
Constitution which reads, “Congress shall make no law
respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting
the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of
speech, or of the press; or the right of the people
peaceably to assemble, and to petition the
Government for a redress of grievances.”
The case in point:
The Westboro
Baptist Church
The Westboro Baptist
Church is an “Old
School” Baptist church
from Topeka, Kansas
that was founded in
1955 by Pastor Fred
Phelps. According to
their website the
church adheres to the
teachings of the bible
and they preach
against all sin. This
includes fornication,
adultery, divorce,
remarriage and
sodomy.
 The following is directly from their website, “WBC engages
in daily peaceful sidewalk demonstrations opposing the
homosexual lifestyle of soul-damning, nation-destroying
filth. We display large, colorful signs containing Bible
words and sentiments, including: GOD HATES FAGS,
FAGS HATE GOD, AIDS CURES FAGS, THANK GOD FOR
AIDS, FAGS BURN IN HELL, GOD IS NOT MOCKED,
FAGS ARE NATURE FREAKS, GOD GAVE FAGS UP, NO
SPECIAL LAWS FOR FAGS, FAGS DOOM NATIONS,
THANK GOD FOR DEAD SOLDIERS, FAG TROOPS, GOD
BLEW UP THE TROOPS, GOD HATES AMERICA,
AMERICA IS DOOMED, THE WORLD IS DOOMED, etc.”
 Members of the
congregation (which are
mostly Phelps family
members) “picket” or
protest at the funerals of
US Service men and
women who have been
killed while on active
duty in Iraq.
 On March of 2006 the WBC picketed the funeral of
Marine Matthew A. Snyder in Maryland. On June of
2006 Albert Snyder, the father of the deceased Marine
sued Fred W. Phelps, the Westboro Church, Rebekah
Phelps-Davis and Shirley Phelps-Roper for
defamation, invasion of privacy and intentional
infliction of emotional distress.
 In 2007 a jury awarded Albert Snyder a total of
$10,900,000 dollars in damages.
 In 2009 the case was heard by the 4th Circuit Court of
Appeals and ruled that WBC’s protests were a form of
free speech. Albert Snyder was ordered to pay WBC’s
court fee’s which totaled just over $16,000.
 Albert Snyder took this his case against the WBC
directly to the Supreme Court.
 The case reached the Supreme Court in March of 2010.
 The three questions that were presented to the court were:
1.
2.
3.
Does Hustler Magazine, Inc. v. Falwell apply to a private
person versus another private person concerning a private
matter?
Does the First Amendment's freedom of speech tenet trump
the First Amendment's freedom of religion and peaceful
assembly?
Does an individual attending a family member's funeral
constitute a captive audience who is entitled to state
protection from unwanted communication? (Snyder v.
Phelps, 2010)
Those who filed on
behalf of the WBC:
Those who filed on
behalf of Albert Snyder
 ACLU
 The Senate Majority and
 Reporters Committee for




Freedom of the Press
National Public Radio
The Associated Press
The First Amendment
Project
And many others.




Minority Leaders
The Veterans of Foreign
Wars
47 individual states
The City of Washington
DC
And many others
 Chief Justice Roberts wrote in
the Majority’s opinion, “The jury
here was instructed that it could
hold Westboro liable for
intentional infliction of
emotional distress based on a
finding that Westboro’s
picketing was 'outrageous.'
'Outrageousness,' however, is a
highly malleable standard with
'an inherent subjectiveness
about it which would allow a jury
to impose liability on the basis of
the jurors' tastes or views, or
perhaps on the basis of their
dislike of a particular
expression.” (Greidner, 2011)
 The Dissent which came from
justice Samuel Alito stated,
“Respondents' outrageous
conduct caused petitioner great
injury, and the Court now
compounds that injury by
depriving petitioner of a
judgment that acknowledges the
wrong he suffered”. (Gregory,
2011)
 This means that the Constitution protects almost all
forms of speech whether we agree with it or not.
 Snyder v. Phelps helped solidify this even though what
the Westboro Baptist Church was doing was horrible
in the eyes of most Americans.
 So what do you think about cases like this? Should the
free speech of certain groups or individuals be
curtailed just because we find it repulsive and
disgusting?
Snyder v. Phelps, 09-751 (The Supreme Court March 8,
2010).
Gregory, S. (2011, March 2011). Why the Supreme Court
Ruled for Westboro. Retrieved from Time.com:
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,20566
13,00.html
Greidner, C. (2011, March 2). Supreme Court Upholds
Westboro Baptist Church Members' Right to Picket
Funerals. Retrieved from Poliglot.com:
http://www.metroweekly.com/poliglot/2011/03/supreme
-court-upholds-westboro.html