Father Of Dead Marine Ordered To Pay Legal Fees Of Westobro Baptist Church Protesters

[RamboLiberal]

BALTIMORE — Lawyers for the father of a Marine who died in Iraq say a court has ordered him to pay legal costs for the anti-gay protesters who picketed his son's funeral.

The protesters are led by Fred Phelps of Westboro Baptist Church. Albert Snyder of York, Pa., had won a $5 million verdict against Phelps, but it was thrown out on appeal.

On Friday, the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in Maryland ordered Snyder to pay the costs of Phelps' appeal.

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed earlier this month to consider whether the protesters' provocative messages, which include phrases like "Thank God for dead soldiers," are protected by the First Amendment.

Lawyers say Snyder already is struggling to come up with the fees associated with filing the brief with the high court.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/29/father-of-dead-marine-ord_n_517614.html

Well that is crap. He wins. Phelp appeals and he is ordered to pay that piece of crap Phelps and his ahole family & sick supporters.

On edit if anyone would like to help out. http://www.matthewsnyder.org/ Albert Snyder's lawyers are doing this pro-bono so any money is not going to them and Mr. Snyder promises he also is not profiting from this.

[GreenPartyVoter]

1. That just burns me up so bad. Maybe DU needs to take up a collection to help out?

[denbot]

3. I would donate. K&R

[Bluebear]

Meeee too.

[RamboLiberal]

7. So would I - I posted this story in LBN as well

since I found story in Baltimore Sun. I bet too the whole Marine Corp will take up a collection. Don't know if could happen but this shitty decision needs to be set aside. Phelps shouldn't profit by his asinine conduct at funerals. I don't condone violence but too bad a platoon of Marines don't march up on this bunch....and well you can figure out the rest.

[Cha]

2. Get some new lawyers and

appeal the order. On what Planet is there any logic in that "order"?

[RagAss]

4. Well....we've officially hit DUMBFUCKERY !

[Mojeoux]

28. There is a special place in Hell for Fred Phelps n/t

[babylonsister]

5. This is so sad and sick!!!!!!!

I wouldn't pay it. Bring on someone who can help; ACLU? This sucks bad.

[proud2BlibKansan]

9. I dount the ACLU can help

We have had many conversations here with our local ACLU about Phelps. One of the ACLU attorneys told me one time he feared the day Phelps calls and asks for ACLU's help. Cause it is definitely a 1st amendment issue.

[True_Blue]

16. Yet Palin can have a heckler outsted and wrestled to the ground but

but a father at a funeral cannot grieve in peace.

[KittyWampus]

18. harassing people at funerals is not a first amendment issue.

[proud2BlibKansan]

20. The courts are looking at that now

Since many of the states that have passed laws banning these protests and those laws have been thrown out, I think we can argue it might be a first amendment issue.

I am not in any way supportive of Phelps. I live in Kansas and we have been dealing with this asshole for years. But shutting him up has proven to be more complicated than anyone expected.

[Azathoth]

32. According to the Fourth Circuit decision, the ACLU filed an amicus brief...in support of Phelps n/t

[Initech]

6. I would not give that POS a fucking dime.

[CBR]

8. This is so disgusting. Makes me very angry. nt

[Hawkeye-X]

10. Snyder should ignore the order and get ACLU to fight it off.

Even though ACLU has defended Phelps in the past.

I will contribute to his legal fund.

Hawkeye-X

[FiveGoodMen]

11. Motherfucking, cocksucking, goddamned sonofabitch, pieces of the devil's shit...

Nope.

That won't do it.

There are no words harsh and sick enough to describe Phelps.

BUT WHAT THE MOTHERFUCKING HELL IS WITH THE COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT IN MARYLAND.

GOD DAMN THEM, TO HELL WITH THEM. MAY THEY DIE SCREAMING.

[NotThisTime]

12. I'd go to jail before I'd ever pay...

I'd hide every asset I had. Fred Phelp's can rot in hell.

[B Calm]

13. My thoughts too. Be great publicity and sure to backfire on Phelps!

[Xithras]

15. Since when does Phelps care about "backfiring"? nt

[YOY]

14. I've always theorized that Phelps really does it for lawsuits.

n/t

[KittyWampus]

17. So this is how that asshole makes money.

[proud2BlibKansan]

21. Yes it is.

[JerseygirlCT]

23. Exactly

Exactly. This is what they hope for - how they finance their hate.

It's a small, family group. They get attention way out of proportion to their real influence or numbers. The more atrocious things they can come up with to shout, the more attention they get, and the better the chance that they can parlay some interaction with their victims into a lawsuit and money.

[Turborama]

24. These sort of actions equal the textbook definition of evil, IMO. n/t

[samsingh]

19. This is very sad.

[JerseygirlCT]

22. This is what Phelps and his hateful little family lives for

lawsuits. That's basically what they're hoping for with each of their little protests.

Which is why, hard as it can be, the best thing to do is ignore them.

[moobu2]

25. Fred Phelps used to be a civil rights lawyer (disbarred) and 11 of his children are lawyers.

Nearly all the family members are lawyers.

Phelps was a prominent civil rights lawyer for many years, arguing and often winning cases where black plaintiffs complained of illegal discrimination. "God hates fags," he says. "He doesn't hate blacks." In 1987, Phelps received an award from the local branch of the NAACP, recognizing his "undauntedness" and "steely determination for justice". More recently, however, "black" has become part of Phelps' glossary of insults, with press releases attacking various leaders as "black whores", "black faggots", and so on.

He was suspended from the practice of law for two years beginning in 1969, on three counts of professional misconduct. He was disbarred in 1979 for showing "little regard for the ethics of his profession", after several of his court filings seemed to be increasingly at odds with the facts of the assorted matters. The family's law firm continues to operate. Of Phelps' children, all adults, at least 11 are lawyers, and several work for the family firm.

Wife: Margie Marie Simms (m. 15-May-1952, thirteen children)
Son: Fred Phelps, Jr. (lawyer, employed by Kansas Department of Corrections)
Son: Mark Phelps (business executive, estranged from Phelps family)
Daughter: Katherine Phelps (lawyer, license to practice law suspended, estranged from Phelps family)
Daughter: Margie Phelps (lawyer, employed by Kansas Department of Corrections)
Daughter: Shirley Phelps-Roper (lawyer)
Son: Nathan "Nate" Phelps (business executive, estranged from Phelps family)
Son: Jonathon B. Phelps (lawyer)
Daughter: Rebekah Phelps-Davis (lawyer)
Daughter: Elizabeth Phelps (lawyer, works at homeless shelter)
Son: Timothy Phelps (lawyer, employed by Shawnee County Department of Corrections)
Daughter: Dorotha Bird (lawyer, estranged from Phelps family)
Daughter: Rachel Phelps (lawyer)
Daughter: Abigail Phelps (lawyer)


LINK

[Behind the Aegis]

26. Why is this man being ordered to pay Phlegm's...er...Phelps' fees?

I haven't seen a "why" or I overlooked it. Mr. Snyder won his case, then Phelps appealed and won. It was Phelps' decision to appeal, so why is the burden of cost placed on Mr. Snyder?

[Toucano]

27. Fuck that. Throw me in jail.

There is no way I would comply with that order.

On edit: I would be in contempt of court. The court is contemptible.

Ridiculous!

[PVnRT]

29. The Court of Appeals has made their decision. Let them enforce it.

I wonder how many cops are going to be gung-ho about enforcing a court order to pay off these Phelps idiots?

[jberryhill]

30. The federal marshalls will be perfectly gung ho about enforcing a court order

Aside from which, no cop is required to garnish your income and put liens against your assets.

This is what the folks of Little Rock thought about deseg orders until the Army was sent to enforce them.

Most law enforcement perfectly understand their job does not include second guessing the orders they are to enforce.

[Azathoth]

31. Suing Fred Phelps is a bad idea

unless you happen to be an experienced lawyer with an encyclopedic understanding of First Amendment law. And even then, it's probably best to just ignore the guy. Phelps might be a psychopath, but he ain't a crank. He knows precisely what he can get away with, and he has spent years figuring out how to best leverage his First Amendment rights so as to maximize the pain he can inflict on others. The longer Snyder purses this, the more money he's going to lose.

[FiveGoodMen]

34. So there is no legal remedy for this problem?

[dashrif]

33. They

do this all the time the sue happy bag 'o' dicks