The case is notorious: a group pickets military funerals saying that the deaths represent God's judgment against gays in the military. The Baltimore Sun reports that the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals has ordered the father of a deceased Marine who sued the protestors to pay $16,510.80 for costs relating to the appeal, despite the fact that the U.S. Supreme Court has granted cert in the case, Snyder v Phelps, et al, 09-751 (ScotusBLog). The father prevailed before a jury, but that victory was overturned by the 4th Circuit which found that the signs displayed at the funeral and comments on an anti-gay website are protected speech.
ScotusBlog says the case "focuses on a significant question of First Amendment law: the degree of constitutional protection given to remarks that a private person made about another private person, occurring outside the site of a private event." The petition for review seeks the Court’s protection for families attending a funeral from “unwanted” remarks or displays by protesters.
