Killed in Action Marine's Dad Must Pay Funeral Protestors' Court Fees

The father of a U.S. Marine killed in action in Iraq has been ordered by the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to pay court costs of $16,510 to the leader of a Topeka, Kansas church group. The anti-gay group picketed outside the Marine’s 2006 funeral, holding signs that read among other things, “God hates you” and “You’re going to hell” and “Thank God for dead soldiers.”
Unsurprisingly, the Marine’s family sued the church group for invasion of privacy, intentional infliction of emotional distress and civil conspiracy. A jury awarded the family $2.9 million in compensatory damages and $8 million in punitive damages, later reduced to $5 million.
The church group appealed to the Court of Appeals, saying that their First Amendment rights had been violated. The court agreed and reversed the jury’s verdict.
Now, the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case on the legal issues of laws designed to protect the “sanctity and dignity of memorial and funeral services” and the privacy of family and friends of the deceased. The court will determine how far states and private entities such as churches and cemeteries may go to justify picket-free zones and “floating buffers” at funerals to silence or restrict speech and movements of demonstrators exercising First Amendment rights.
Sometimes the law gets in the way of common sense.

We Want to Hear aBOUT yOUR cASE

Schedule a Free Consultation Today 
  • Please enter your first name.
  • Please enter your last name.
  • Please enter your phone number.
    This isn't a valid phone number.
  • Please enter your email address.
    This isn't a valid email address.
  • Please make a selection.
  • Please enter a message.