Reading this really pissed me off

General General Discussion
1

This really is a bunch of BS.

Marine’s dad ordered to pay protesters’ court fees
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The Associated Press

BALTIMORE - The father of a Marine killed in Iraq and whose funeral was picketed by anti-gay protesters from Kansas was ordered to pay the protesters’ appeal costs, his lawyers said Monday.

On Friday, Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ordered Snyder to pay $16,510 to Fred Phelps. Phelps is the leader of Topeka’s Westboro Baptist Church, which conducted protests at Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder’s funeral in 2006.

The two-page decision supplied by attorneys for Albert Snyder of York, Pa., offered no details on how the court came to its decision.

Attorneys also said Snyder is struggling to come up with fees associated with filing a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court.

The decision adds “insult to injury,” said Sean Summers, one of Snyder’s lawyers.

The high court agreed to consider whether the protesters’ message is protected by the First Amendment or limited by the competing privacy and religious rights of the mourners.

http://www.kansas.com/2010/03/29/1246609/marines-dad-ordered-to-pay-protesters.html

2

You are not alone… Only in America is the trash treated on the same level as a hero.:frowning:

3

If there’s a place to donate to help Mr. Snyder pay this, count me in.

4

WTF???:confused::mad::mad:

First of all, what was Phelps appealing? And why would the father of the fallen Marine have to pay for Phelps’ appeal?

This is not a very well written article.

If there is a legal defense fund for the father, I would be willing to donate.

5

Please do post a link to donate if one comes up. I’d be in - that’s just sick.

6

If my memory is working this morn I’m pretty sure i seen on CNN or some other
“media” soruce that in fact the members “Topeka’s Westboro Baptist Church”
are all related and just some hick family.

By the interviews i have seen my guess is most were related before marriage also. :wink:

Unless it’s self defense (or sport) i try to abide by violence is never the answer.

But the vile uneducated filth that spews from this “church members” mouths
make me long for the old days when it was pretty much a given that yes there was “free speech” but also you better be prepared for an ass whoopin if your personally
going after someone of their loved one/family member.

Sure your free to say what you will about me and my family but don’t be surprised when i put ya into a Kimura snapping your wrists and or elbows. :stuck_out_tongue:

I’m tired of these yahoos hiding behind the law and threats of suing everyone
so they can clearly write checks their ass’s could NEVER cash.

I guess the only legal way would be to hire an above average lawyer and wait
for them to word just one thing wrong and sue them till they can’t even afford
toilet paper to wipe their ass’s or dry their tears.

7

Thanks to generations of communist left attacks on this country we have reached this point. A nation in it’s decline and eventual national-suicide through such idiocy.

I’d never pay this. I’d make sure it never got paid.

8

http://www.matthewsnyder.org/help.html

9

http://burnpit.legion.org/2010/03/put-yourself-in-his-dad’s-shoes/

Put yourself in his dad’s shoes

And then reach into your pocket and help this man.

[UPDATE I: I will have more info on how you can help later, after I talk to the lawyers.]
[UPDATE II: This doesn’t surprise me, although I did not know it until a few minutes ago, but The American Legion is also in the process of filing an Amicus Brief with the Supreme Court on this issue.]
[UPDATE III: National Adjutant is seeding this with a donation of his own. All funds will go to paying these lawyer fees, then for aiding in the Supreme Court filings, and anything above that will be used for other similiarly situated individuals, since alas, this problem likely will not go away soon:

Send checks to:

The American Legion Burnpit
Albert Snyder Fund
P.O. Box 1055
Indianapolis, IN 46206

Thank you EVERYONE]

Imagine one day you find government vehicles waiting in your driveway, and you know why they are there. And this is the worst moment of your life. But, you know your son died doing what he wanted to do, and you are so very, very proud of him.

And as you get ready to lay him to rest, people from halfway across the country protest outside the cemetery, and you think, this is the very worst moment of my life. As if saying goodbye to a cherished son were not horrific enough for one lifetime, zealots with no sense of taste, decorum or class use your private moment of grieving to pass on their belief that your son died because “God Hates Faggots”.

But, you won’t give in without a fight, because your son didn’t either. So you file suit in court, and first you are awarded vast sums of money for the damage that these miscreants had done to you. But, on appeal, the next court sees the situation differently. See, to you it was never about politics, it was about seeing the blood of your blood go to his silent, eternal rest.

But, it’s not enough that you just lose the case, now you find out that you have to pay these same individuals $16,500 in lawyers’ fees. You see, the protestors themselves are lawyers, allegedly committed to seeing truth and justice prevail. But, to you this isn’t as much about the law as it is seeing that no other family has to go through the pain that you did.

Well, not on our damn watch. This man has suffered enough. So we want to make sure he doesn’t pay one red cent, even though someone will have to. So The American Legion is starting a fund to pay this off, and judging from our previous fund raising experiences here, I anticipate getting all the cash we need. I have already received promises of $200, and I haven’t even posted this yet.

Here is the story from Stars and Stripes in full. I hate to take their entire story, but I will make it up to them over the next few days.

10

So, from Mr. Snyder’s website, it looks like he sued the Phelps to keep them away from his son’s funeral. And phelps won an appeal and now Mr. Snyder is being forced to pay the court cost.

I kind of understand the legal reason behind this. But, this aint England, where the loser automatically pays the winner. And it is not like this is a frivious lawsuit that Mr Snyder filed. I hope this ruling makes it up to the next level.

11

Thanks for the update, glad to hear it’s being addressed and the man has some help. God bless him and his son and may it all come out as it should…

12

I fantasize of the day when the US justice system is as deeply concerned about the 2nd amendment rights of law abiding citizens who have never harmed anyone as it is about the 4th amendment rights of child pornographers, the 8th amendment rights of terrorists, or the 1st amendment rights of some attention-whoring assclown who gets his rocks off by hurling insults at the family of a fallen serviceman.

13

Just want to make sure I’m understanding this correctly. These asses protest outside his son’s funeral. He sues them for damages from that protest and they apparently hire lawyers to defend themselves, apparently citing their 1st Amendment right to do so. He initially wins in lower court, but then loses when they appeal, and is ordered to pay their legal fees? I’m curious as to the cause of action in the initial suit as generally protesting is protected under the 1st Amendment.

Definitely sounds like a raw deal, but certainly a common occurrence in the judicial system, though not the general rule. Taking it to the next level might result in even more attorneys fees being awarded, and I’m not sure how he gets around the 1st Amendment issue. One can only hope karma eventually catches up to Phelps and his ilk.

14

We can dream, but I fear things will get much worse before they get better.

15

Quoted, so that you will read it again ladies and gentlemen, and internalize it. Very well said, sir.

16

Agreed. Complete and utter BS. This is a clear case where the right to free speech should be suspended during funerals, especially the funerals of military members. People should show some f–kin respect.:mad:

17

Actually these folks are ultra-far right nutjobs who are protected under the first amendment. The left has little to do with their stance nor freedoms.

18

Not one F’ing dime…

As an aside, that group tried to protest here in Michigan. A Veterans/Biker group met them at the graveyard, and formed a wall between the protesters and the family.

19

That’s the Patriot Guard Riders, we do that all of the time.

20

Good work!