This is why the Senate 41 should block the nomination of every Obama court nominee at every level. Just simply block every single one. Because they are all like this, or worse.

The AP reported Monday (*slander included, no extra charge):

The father of a Marine killed in Iraq and whose funeral was picketed by anti-gay protesters was ordered to pay the protesters’ appeal costs, his lawyers said Monday.

On Friday, Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ordered Snyder to pay $16,510 to Fred Phelps. Phelps is the leader of the Westboro Baptist Church, which conducted protests at Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder’s funeral in 2006. The two-page decision supplied by attorneys for Albert Snyder of York, Pa., offered no details on how the court came to its decision.

Attorneys also said Snyder is struggling to come up with fees associated with filing a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court. The decision adds “insult to injury,” said Sean Summers, one of Snyder’s lawyers.

The high court agreed to consider whether the protesters’ message is protected by the First Amendment or limited by the competing privacy and religious rights of the mourners.

Yes, you read that right.

His son, a Marine, died in Iraq. When the family held a private funeral on March 10, 2006, Fred Phelps and fellow charlie-sierras from a kook cult church….well, let me quote (subsequent details in this blog are also from this site):

Westboro Baptist Church pastor and founder Fred Phelps and members of his congregation picketed Matthew’s funeral, holding signs expressing anti-gay, anti-American, and anti-Catholic slogans, including “God hates you” and “You’re going to hell.”

Westboro Baptist Church also posted an essay on its website entitled “The Burden of Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew A. Snyder.” In the essay, statements indicated that Albert and his wife “raised [Matthew] for the devil,” “RIPPED that body apart and taught Matthew to defy his Creator, to divorce, and to commit adultery,” “taught him how to support the largest pedophile machine in the history of the entire world, the Roman Catholic monstrosity,” and “taught Matthew to be an idolator.”

To make a long story short, Matthew Snyder’s family sued the dirtbags in federal court on 4 counts:

• defamation — dismissed in summary judgment before trial – the judge actually said “These comments — as extreme as they may be — they are taken in terms of religious expression. This is not the type of language that one is going to assume is meant as a statement of fact.” [apparently if you tell a lie huge enough, it's OK because nobody is expected to believe you -- this explains why Barack Obama is not in jail, I guess]
• invasion of privacy — also dismissed before trial
• invasion of privacy (intrusion upon seclusion) — won $6 million in punitive damages.
• intentional infliction of emotional distress — won $2 million in punitive damages. They won 2.9 in actual damages.

However…..
Later, the judge reduced the total from $10.9 million to $5 million. In September, 2008 [oops, that's 2009], the 4th circuit reversed the lower court, throwing out the entire thing because both the picketing and the slanderous essay were “protected First Amendment Speech”.

And now this Friday, the 4th Circuit ordered Albert Snyder to pay legal fees to the charlie-sierras of Westboro “Baptist” “Church” to the tune of $16,510.

And since it’s protected First Amendment speech…and also since “this is not the type of language that one is going to assume is meant as a statement of fact”…. I would like to add the following:

The 4th circuit is full of America-hating liars, embezzlers, and rapists, who break their oaths as casually as they eat their breakfast cereal. They have Karl Marx shrines in their bedrooms and in fact never read the U.S. Constitution except as opposition research. They acquired their seats in the judiciary by selling their own underage daughters as prostitutes to Democrat senators. Also, they were influenced to overturn this case because “Pastor” Fred Phelps “serviced” every one of them.

You know, this First Amendment-protected defamation and slander is pretty fun. Now I think I can see why Democrats like it so much.

It ain’t over yet….

• You can chip in to the Al Snyder fund. Go to matthewsnyder.org.
• The US Supreme Court has accepted this case. It will be heard this fall.

* you notice how the AP leaves the suggestion out there that Lance Corporal Snyder was gay, right?