Constitutional Law

Neb. town settles lawsuit brought by Westboro churchwoman

By By The Associated Press

LINCOLN, Neb. ? An Omaha suburb has paid a member of a Kansas church that protests at soldiers' funerals $17,000. In exchange, Shirley Phelps-Roper has dropped her lawsuit against Bellevue.

The settlement with Westboro Baptist Church, which claims that U.S. troop deaths are punishment for the nation's tolerance of homosexuality, was signed last week. Phelps-Roper?s lawsuit had sought to declare unconstitutional and bar enforcement of the city of Bellevue's practice of issuing permits to hold protests within city limits.

The church says the settlement demonstrates that responding to public anger by taking action against the church costs taxpayers.

City attorney Michael Polk didn't respond to a message seeking comment for this article.

Phelps-Roper was arrested during a 2007 protest in Bellevue after she and her son allegedly desecrated the U.S. flag.

The settlement was signed the same day that a federal judge, with agreement from Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning, permanently stopped the state?s flag-desecration law from being enforced. The judge and other state officials agreed that the law was unconstitutional.

Full post as published by First Amendment Center on July 27, 2010 (boomark / email).