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Snyder v. Phelps

Location: Maryland
Court Type: U.S. Supreme Court
Status: Closed (Judgment)
Last Update: October 6, 2010

What's at Stake

Whether funeral protestors who demonstrate on the public streets and in conformity with local law can be held liable for damages because a jury concludes that their speech was "outrageous."

The jury in this case awarded $10 million in damages on the theory that defendants had engaged in the intentional infliction of emotional distress by staging a funeral protest on the public streets and in conformity with local law that was meant to express their opposition to homosexuality. While disagreeing vehemently with defendants' stated views — and, indeed, having been the subject of their condemnation on other occasions — the ÀÏ°ÄÃÅ¿ª½±½á¹û amicus brief supports the judgment of the Fourth Circuit below, holding that the jury verdict was inconsistent with the First Amendment.

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