Commentary: More on Snyder v. Phelps

A few notes I couldn't fit into my story today about the U.S.Supreme Court's ruling in Snyder v. Phelps.

- While the underlying case is emotional and brings out strongreactions, the court's actual ruling "doesn't break any new ground,"according to Garrett Epps, a Constitutional law professor at theUniversity of Baltimore School of Law.

"The court went out of its way to make its ruling as narrow as itcould," Epps said.

Justice Stephen G. Breyer hinted at what could be the next FirstAmendment battleground, however. His three-page concurring opinion(scroll to page 20 of the court's ruling) noted the majority did notsay anything about Internet postings. Breyer has expressed concernin the past about a lack of precedents regarding theconstitutionality of Internet speech. Epps thinks those cases arecoming - and Westboro Baptist Church might be the catalyst.

"My sense is they're really going to post some things online andsee if someone sues them," Epps said.

- I was only able to include some of what veterans who arelawyers told me about the case.

Charles Blomquist, an Army lieutenant colonel and chairman of theMSBA's Special Committee on Veteran's Affairs and Military Law, saidhe was "disturbed" by Westboro's picketing.

"It's as offensive and appalling an act as one can come up withwhen our fallen heroes deserve every amount of respect in an hourwhen their family is suffering so much," said Blomquist, a BaltimoreCity prosecutor. "It's very difficult to digest. But as a lawyer, Ithink the irony of it is the things these men and women havevolunteered to do allows people in the church group to do what theydo."

And here's David Burkhouse's thoughtful comments in theirentirety:

The Westboro Baptist Church's protests at the burial of ourfallen service men and woman is an unspeakable desecration of thememory of our nation's fallen heroes. The fact that the WestboroBaptist Church takes shelter from liability for its indecent conductbehind the very Constitutional freedoms which Lance Corporal Snyderdied in defense of is doubly insulting. Although the First Amendmentwould be of little utility if it only protected popular speech,speech of this sort should plainly be subject to reasonablerestrictions as to time and place. I am heartened to see that in thewake of the protest at Lance Corporal Snyder's burial the State ofMaryland has enacted legislation aimed at imposing these necessaryrestrictions. Unfortunately the Supreme Court's decision doesnothing to compensate Lance Corporal Snyder's family for thedesecration of his burial. The Supreme Court may release theWestboro Baptist Church from liability but this does nothing torestore the decency that the Westboro Baptist Church lost when itselected Lance Corporal Snyder's burial as a venue for its protest.