In: Economics
Snyder v. Phelps, 562 U.S. 443 (2011), is a landmark case of the United States Supreme Court in which the Supreme Court ruled that speech on a public matter, on a public street, can not be held liable for torture of emotional distress, even in circumstances where the speech is regarded or interpreted as ' offensive ' or ' outrageous. '
The case raised the question of whether or not the First Amendment shielded public protestors from emotional distress litigation at a funeral, better known as tort liability. This included a complaint of emotional distress being intentionally caused, made by Albert Snyder, whose brother is Matthew Snyder, a U.S. During the war in Iraq, Marine was killed. The claim was made in reaction to the actions of both the Phelps family and the Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) who also attended the funeral picketing.
In an 8-1 ruling, the Court ruled in favor of Phelps that their speech on a public issue was fully protected and could not be stopped as it was on public property.