Phelps-Roper, et al. v. City of Manchester, Missouri, No. 10-3197 (8th Cir. 2011)
Annotate this CasePlaintiff, a member of the Westboro Baptist Church (WBC), believed that God was punishing America for tolerating homosexuality and the WBC expressed its views by protesting at funerals, including those of American soldiers. Plaintiff brought a First Amendment challenge to a Manchester, Missouri ordinance that regulated protests near funerals. The district court ruled in favor of plaintiff, awarding nominal damages and enjoining enforcement of the ordinance. The court agreed that plaintiff had standing to challenge the ordinance where the ordinance specifically targeted plaintiff's conduct, but challenges to two earlier versions of the ordinance were moot. The court held that the district court erred in concluding that the ordinance was a content based regulation. The court affirmed, however, the district court's alternative conclusion, relying on Phelps-Roper v. Nixon, that the ordinance could not survive because it was not narrowly tailored to serve a significant government interest where Manchester had no significant interest "in protecting funeral attendees from unwanted communication." Accordingly, the judgment of the district court was affirmed.
Court Description: Civil case - Constitutional law. Plaintiff had standing to challenge city's ordinance regulating protests near funerals; challenges to earlier versions of the ordinance were moot; current ordinance violates the First Amendment under this court's decision in Phelps-Roper v. Nixon, 545 F.3d 685 (8th Cir. 2008). Judge Murphy, concurring in the result.
The court issued a subsequent related opinion or order on October 16, 2012.
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