marine corps lance corporal matthew snyder died in iraq, non-combat related. and 2006 as friends and family were bearing the marine members of the westboro baptist church of topeka kansas showed up to inform the world that his dad was god's punishment for this nation's tolerance of homosexuality. it held up signs that said, thank god for dead soldiers, and god hates the u.s.a. and thank god for 9/11. the core cause father sued members of the church, for among other things, at inflicting emotional distress. the jury awarded him $11 million and reduced, but the appeals court threw out the verdict and this week the supreme court ruled 8-1 that as hateful as the speech was, it is nevertheless predicted by the first amendment. as "the wall street journal" put it the other day, even jerks are protected by the first amendment. do you agree? >> the court agreed. remember the word and that the? -- empathy. you have candidate for mr. snyder but the course job is not necessarily to have empathy, but to say what the rules are that govern the country. essentially what they

>> this case involves marine lance corporal snyder who was killed in the line of duty in iraq. his father selected the catholic church in their hometown of westminster, maryland as the site for the sons funeral and the funeral was posted in the papers. this was yet another instance in which the westboro baptist church from topeka kansas picketed and protested at a funeral. they had done this hundreds of times all over the country. their view seems to be that began a is overly tolerant of sin and that god kills american soldiers as they deserve it punishment. signs include, god hates the u.s. and thank god for 9/11, america is doomed. thank god for ieds. thank god for dead soldiers. god hates you and you are going to hell which was a sign that seemed most directed at lance corporal snyder. the family brought an action for various support liability claims including intentional affliction of emotional distress and prevailed in a jury verdict including an 8 million-dollar punitive damage judgment that was remitted to $2 million. the supreme court held that action was hard by the fi

snyder. katie. >> couric: jan crawford, jan, thank you. it was five years ago tomorrow that marine lance corporate matthew snyder was killed in a humvee accidentn iraq. he was just 20 years old. his father, albert, joins us now from york, pennsylvania. mr. snyder, what was your reaction to today's supreme court decision? >> i was kind of shocked. i can't believe that the supreme court today has now told us that we have no rights to bury our dead in peace. it's a sad day for our military men and women, their families. it's a sad day for all americans. my first thought is what kind of society have we become? >> couric: are you surprised the decision was so overwhelming with eight out of nine justices backing the protesters? >> yes, i was, katie. they may be book smart but they don't have the common sense god gave a goat. you know, the justices and the government will send their children to war, and they'll send them back in body bags, and then they can't even give us enough respect to bury them in peace. >> couric: the church has protested outside many other funerals. what would you say to other grieving families today? >> well, there's not much

>> this case involves marine lance corporal snyder who was killed in the line of duty in iraq. his father selected the catholic church in their hometown of westminster, maryland as the site for the sons funeral and the funeral was posted in the papers. this was yet another instance in which the westboro baptist church from topeka kansas picketed and protested at a funeral. they had done this hundreds of times all over the country. their view seems to be that began a is overly tolerant of sin and that god kills american soldiers as they deserve it punishment. signs include, god hates the u.s. and thank god for 9/11, america is doomed. thank god for ieds. thank god for dead soldiers. god hates you and you are going to hell which was a sign that seemed most directed at lance corporal snyder. the family brought an action for various support liability claims including intentional affliction of emotional distress and prevailed in a jury verdict including an 8 million-dollar punitive damage judgment that was remitted to $2 million. the supreme court held that action was hard by the fi

>> this case involves marine lance corporal snyder who was killed in the line of duty in iraq. his father selected the catholic church in their hometown of westminster, maryland as the site for the sons funeral and the funeral was posted in the papers. this was yet another instance in which the westboro baptist church from topeka kansas picketed and protested at a funeral. they had done this hundreds of times all over the country. their view seems to be that began a is overly tolerant of sin and that god kills american soldiers as they deserve it punishment. signs include, god hates the u.s. and thank god for 9/11, america is doomed. thank god for ieds. thank god for dead soldiers. god hates you and you are going to hell which was a sign that seemed most directed at lance corporal snyder. the family brought an action for various support liability claims including intentional affliction of emotional distress and prevailed in a jury verdict including an 8 million-dollar punitive damage judgment that was remitted to $2 million. the supreme court held that action was hard by the fi

>> this case involved marine corps glanced -- marine lance corporal matthew snyder who was killed onselects the catholic church in their home town of westminster, maryland, as the site for his son's funeral. this was yet another instance in which the westboro baptist church from topeka, kan., picketed and protested at a funeral. they have done this hundreds of times all over the country. their view seems to be that the united states is overly tolerant of sin and that got killed american soldiers as a deserved punishment. signs include saying god hates americans, america is doomed, thank god for dead soldiers. god hates you and you are going to hell, or the signs we see most directed at lance corporal snyder. the family brought an action for various tort liability claims, including intentional if it -- intellection of emotional distress, and prevailed in a jury verdict, including an $8 million punitive damage judgment that was permitted to $2 million. the supreme court held that that action was barred by the first amendment. the opinion by chief justice roberts insists the court's sen

. >> reporter: this ruling was a sharp disappointment to the family of lance corporal matthew snyder picketed. >> we found out today that we can no longer bury our dead in this country with dignity. >> reporter: but the westboro protesters do now have a license to continue their activities, which as we found out, they carry on with a reckless glee. ♪ cry and bow your feelings ♪ for your sin no shame ♪ you're going straight to hell on your crazy train ♪ >> reporter: and they gloated. >> shut up all that talk about infliction of emotional distress. when you're standing there with your young child's body, bits and pieces in a coffin, you've been dealt some emotional distress by the lord your god. >> reporter: only just as samuel alito's to sided with the snyder family declaring that the first amendment is not, quote, a license for the vicious verbal assault that occurred in this case. that's the way a lot of americans feel. but it is not the law. terry moran, abc news, new york. >> let's look at your weather for today. it's looking warm and dry across the south, but much chillier in the

. >>> five years ago marine lance corporal matthew snyder was killed while serving in iraq. yesterday, the supreme court said protesters who showed up at his funeral were protected by the first amendment and now the westboro baptist church want to quadruple the number of protests they hope. jan is in washington with more on this story. >> reporter: this is a heart-wrenching case. these protests come at these families when they are at their most vulnerable, when they are grieving the loss of their loved ones. ♪ >> reporter: the message from the westboro baptist church is hateful and offensive. church members believe god is killing all american soldiers because the country tolerates homosexuals. >> we are trying to warn you to flee the wrath of god! flee eternal destruction! >> reporter: the church has protested at more than 600 funerals of u.s. soldiers like matthew snyder who was killed in iraq. matthew's father says the protests stole his last moments with his son. he sued the church for emotional distress and got $5 million judgment. but the supreme court said in an 8-1 de