Kansas church member (Shirley Phelps-Roper) sues again

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A member of a Kansas church that protests at soldiers' funerals because it believes God is punishing the U.S. for tolerating homosexuality filed a lawsuit on Monday in federal court accusing Sarpy County prosecutors of violating her rights.

The lawsuit is the latest filed by Shirley Phelps-Roper, who was arrested in 2007 during a protest at the funeral of a National Guardsman in Bellevue. Authorities say she let her then-10-year-old son stand on an American flag and she wore a flag as a skirt that dragged on the ground.

Phelps-Roper's lawsuit says Sarpy County Attorney Lee Polikov, as well as other prosecutors in the office, violated her constitutional rights “by investigating her for protected expressive activity,” among other things.

Phelps-Roper is a member of Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan., which has about 75 members, all but about a dozen of them relatives of the church's pastor, Fred Phelps. Church members travel around the country protesting at soldiers' funerals because they believe U.S. troop deaths are punishment for the nation's tolerance of homosexuality. Members often trample on, wear and display the American flag upside-down as part of their protests.

Read more: http://www.omaha.com/article/20100809/NEWS97/708109985/406#kansas-church-member-sues-again

[bluestateguy]

1. Can't she be declared a vexatious litigant?

And don't such people lose their access to the courts?

If not, they should.

[Mz Pip]

2. She should be declared

criminally insane.

[tammywammy]

13. Doubtful, she does win cases. n/t

[roguevalley]

15. they sue at a drop of a hat, the bastards.

[izquierdista]

3. Barratry

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barratry
Law dictionaries should consider using her picture. Maybe she needs to file suit in Texas....

[mbperrin]

11. Yes, I wish she would file a whole bunch of lawsuits without merit here.

2-10 years and a $10,000 fine.

Then I could exercise my First Amendment rights by calling on CPS to take her children while they still have a chance to be actual human beings, rather than leeches who survive on the misery of others.

[McCamy Taylor]

4. Burning the flag is protected free speech if anyone does it, leftie or wingnut.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

5. My religion does not tolerate assholism. Can I sue the gov't for tolerating her?

[Jumping John]

6. So you sued because of Bush and then again for Cheney?

[GoddessOfGuinness]

9. If I'd known I could, I would have!

Can I sue in retrospect too?

[Jumping John]

14. Hopefully and then it would surely be a class action lawsuit. LOL

[The Wizard]

7. Some people need a good

punch in the face.

[LAGC]

8. The First Amendment is a son of a gun ain't it?

I'm all for Shirley suing the county for violating her rights.

Gives the church more money to attend more protests so they can make an even bigger ass out of themselves and turn more people off to religion.

Go Westboro Baptist! Trample that flag! Hate on America! Piss more people off! You can do it!

[AlbertCat]

10. Why not....

... just have the families of fallen soldiers get (really easily) a restraining order for any members of the Westboro Baptist Church from being within sight or sound of their beloved's funeral? I mean are funerals public events? If there is a real danger of someone disrupting the funeral or harassing any attendees, because it's happened so much in the past, is there not a reasonable expectation the order might be needed. It should be a form offered to the family just in case. Just include it in the paperwork. The family can sign or pass on it.

[rasputin1952]

12. That's how they get the money to attend these sad events. ..

these people are pigs, and Fred Phelps found an easy way to make money, rather than actually work for it.

They are very well versed in how to get a "rise" out of people, and they live for the day when one of them gets popped in the nose. The whole Phelps crapfest is there only because there is money in it when a municipality is sued.

These people are pure evil.