A good cause to donate to
Father Of Dead Marine Ordered To Pay Legal Fees Of Westobro Baptist Church Protesters. Fred Phelps and his merry gang of asshats doing what they do: stirring up a lawsuit. If you wish to help out, the family is taking donations here.
March 30th, 2010 at 10:42 am
The family picked a forum, which was their privilege as plaintiffs, where they would have collected their legal fees had they won.
Not that I don’t think that Phelps and his brood should be hung upside down over a slow fire.
March 30th, 2010 at 11:12 am
Thanks! I saw this story earlier this morning and my heart went out to the family. I didn’t know of a way to contribute, and now I do.
Appreciate it!!
March 30th, 2010 at 1:38 pm
As much as I hate to say it, I have to side with WBC here. We’ve had enough of these stupid lawsuits where people believe they can shut down speech just because they find it offensive. The protest occured well away from the actual funeral so the actual ceremony was not disrupted; Snyder’s assertion that he is owed millions of dollars for merely being tangentally aware that people disagreed with him is ridiculous.
I’d also note several levels of hypocrisy here: first, all the Republicans constantly telling me how badly we need ‘loser pays’ tort reform all seem outraged about the loser having to pay in this case. Second, I’d note that few on the right seemed to care back when WBC was doing this for decades at the funerals of homosexuals. It’s only when they started targeting military funerals that it became an issue.
March 30th, 2010 at 1:44 pm
Personally, I think it’s disrespectful to have any sort of protests around anyone’s funeral. No matter who you are.
March 30th, 2010 at 1:55 pm
What constitutes ‘around anyone’s funeral’? In this case the Phelps were, according to the evidence given at trial, more than 1000 feet from the funeral and not even directly visible to the mourners. How far does Snyder’s ability to supress opposing viewpoints extend? A mile? 10? The entire city of York?
March 30th, 2010 at 2:01 pm
Went and pulled the order and docket for the case. Actually, Mr. Phelps had help this time. The ACLU, the ACLU of Maryland and the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression” lent a hand in this case. Guess they’ll be getting their paycheck. I was surprised that, for once, my own alma mater was on the right side of this case, filing a brief on behalf of Snyder. Knowing them, though, there’s some sinister motive.
The judges left the order for costs up to the clerk to sign, but you probably won’t be surprised to know that the original opinion giving the win to Phelps was written by a Clinton appointee, Judge Robert Bruce King. The other two judges (one concurring) were Bush appointees, so don’t get too uppity.
p.s. For those that don’t know, the “Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression” is run by University of Virginia, which is a state school.
March 30th, 2010 at 3:02 pm
Thank you, Some Guy. That’s the ACLU’s MO. All they need to do is win on one issue to claim attorneys’ fees in a federal suit. Which makes me wonder whether I was wrong in my first comment. Maybe the Marine’s family did file in state court and the ACLU had the case transferred to federal court.
And, no, I do not think it is protected speech to disrupt anyone’s funeral in order to make a point about homosexuality anymore than it is self-defense to bomb a daycare center because you oppose gun oppressive laws.
March 30th, 2010 at 3:03 pm
“oppressive gun control laws”
March 30th, 2010 at 3:35 pm
I’ve always wanted to do a pepper spray drive-by of those morons.
March 30th, 2010 at 5:47 pm
I do not like Phelps. How in Hell did he get that cesspit of his declared a church?
March 30th, 2010 at 6:14 pm
So far I have not been able to determine whether Marine Dad has to pay WBC’s COSTS of litigation or their ATTORNEY’s FEES, which are considered to be separate cost items in litigation. Costs are generally awarded by the court to the prevailing party as a matter of course; i.e., A v. B; B wins; A can be ordered to pay B’s litigation expenses such as copies, deposition costs, witness fees, etc. B would not be able to recover his attorney’s fees from A unless (1) A was required by contract to pay B’s attorney’s fees as the prevailing party in a lawsuit; or (2) B could recover his attorney’s fees under an applicable statute; or (3) A’s claim was so was so outrageous, far fetched and in bad faith that it violated the standard for litigation under applicable court rules, which sometimes happens, but very infrequently. I’m guessing Marine Dad was ordered to pay WBC’s court costs and not attorney’s fees as the losing party in the lawsuit. The Fourth Circuit decision is 44 pages long, btw.
March 30th, 2010 at 10:47 pm
On a tangentially related note, these bastards are coming here to Blacksburg, VA on April 9 to protest “at Virginia Tech.” I assume they figured that if they actually came on April 16, they would probably end up getting lynched.
There’s a Facebook group organizing a counter-protest that has almost 2,500 people who have “confirmed” they will attend.
March 31st, 2010 at 3:48 pm
http://boortz.com/nealz_nuze/2010/03/protesting-fallen-marines-fune.html