C M Y K A3
DAILY 03-09-10 MD SU A3 CMYK
TUESDAY, MARCH 9, 2010 KLMNO S A3
POLITICS THE & NATION
Supreme Court to rule on funeral protests Conservatives point
CASE BEGAN
to claim by Massa
IN MD.
Grant, said Massa’s claim was
Ex-lawmaker says
“completely false” and added:
Anti-gay demonstrators
“There is zero merit to that accu-
fellow Democrats were sation.”
disrupted soldier’s burial
behind his departure
And Democrats pointed to Mas-
sa’s own statements Friday, in
which he said that he is fleeing
by Robert Barnes by Paul Kane Congress in an effort to avoid the
ethics investigation. Such a probe,
The Supreme Court will review Conservative activists rallied he said, “would tear my family
whether anti-gay protests at fu- Monday to the side of a liberal and my staff apart.”
nerals of American soldiers are New York Democrat who had re- Massa returned to his Corning,
protected by the First Amend- signed from the House, after he N.Y., home late last week. On Sun-
ment, taking up the appeal of a charged that his party’s leaders day, he took part in his final week-
Maryland man who won and had conspired to oust him over ly appearance on a Hornell, N.Y.,
then had reversed a $10 million his opposition to President Oba- radio station and spent 90 min-
verdict against the small Kansas ma’s health-care legislation. utes attacking Democrats, partic-
church that conducts the demon- Eric Massa’s resignation Mon- ularly Hoyer and White House
strations. day came after an ethics investi- Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel.
The case will seek to balance a gation into his conduct, and alle- “You have my apology and you
group’s free speech rights with gations of sexual harassment of have my resignation, because I’m
the rights of private individuals staffers, became public. And his a human being, but I will not go
to be protected from unwanted remarks on a Sunday radio show quietly into the evening. I will not
demonstrations and defamatory were only the latest in a series of be ashamed of my actions, other
remarks. A federal appeals court explanations of why he was leav- than the fact that I used inappro-
said the church’s protests were
NIKKI KAHN/THE WASHINGTON POST
ing the House. priate, verbal — v-e-r-b-a-l — lan-
“utterly distasteful” but protect- Outside Arlington National Cemetery in 2006, protesters object to the tolerance of homosexuality. Nevertheless, conservative guage,” he said. “And I was set up
ed because they were related to blogs touted his accusations for this from the very, very begin-
“matters of public concern.” der’s funeral at St. John’s Catholic court decision “afforded more lies can sue in a vaccine case. against House Speaker Nancy Pe- ning. If you think that somehow
The case was one of three the Church, made in the Kansas First Amendment protection to Even though it won in the federal losi (D-Calif.) and Majority Lead- they didn’t come after me to get
court announced it would be con- church’s on-site sign shop, in- speech that is outrageous.” It appeals court, the drugmaker er Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) as the rid of me because my vote is the
sidering in its new term that be- cluded, “God Hates the USA/ urged the justices to accept the urged the Supreme Court to take latest evidence of Democrats’ deciding vote on the health-care
gins in October. It will review re- Thank God for 9/11,” “Semper Fi case to determine what recourse the case to clear up the discrep- bare-knuckled political machina- bill, then, ladies and gentlemen,
strictions on those who want to Fags,” “Thank God for Dead Sol- private individuals — as opposed ancy. tions to get a health-care bill to you live today in a world that is so
sue drugmakers with claims that diers” and “Priests Rape Boys.” to public figures — have against The case is Bruesewitz v. Wy- Obama’s desk. innocent as to not un-
their vaccines are faulty, and it After emotional testimony the actions of other private indi- eth. Conservatives have derstand what is going
will examine whether the ques- from Albert Snyder that he had viduals who would disrupt a pri- The justices also accepted an complained about other on in Washington, D.C.”
tions that the federal government “one chance to bury my son, and vate, religious funeral. appeal from NASA about the way examples of what they Massa’s departure
asks about potential employees they took the dignity away from Phelps says that his group in- the space agency performs back- see as illegitimate deal- leaves 431 members of
violate their constitu- it,” a Baltimore jury formed law enforcement about ground investigations on inde- making to secure votes: the House, lowering the
tional rights. awarded Snyder more its plans to picket and obeyed all pendent contractors. what they call the “Corn- number of votes for a
The funeral protest than $10 million in commands about keeping its dis- The case arises from checks the husker Kickback” and majority from 217 to 216.
case is brought by a damages. A district tance from the funeral. Because government attempted on work- the “Louisiana Pur- The House will con-
Maryland father whose judge cut the amount in of the group’s protests, approxi- ers for the Jet Propulsion Labora- chase” in the Senate to sider a Senate version of
son’s 2006 funeral in half, and then the U.S. mately 40 states and the federal tory near Pasadena, Calif., which line up Sens. Ben Nelson Eric Massa the health-care bill later
Westminster was picket- Court of Appeals for the government have enacted laws included questions about wheth- (D-Neb.) and Mary Lan- cited a split this month, and if all
ed by members of the 4th Circuit in Rich- restricting funeral demonstra- er the potential workers had drieu (D-La.), respective- with his party lawmakers voted as they
Westboro Baptist mond threw out the ver- tions, and they are not at issue in sought treatment for a drug prob- ly, and Obama’s appoint- on health care. did in the November
Church in Topeka, Kan. dict and award. the litigation. lem in the past year and other ad- ment last week of a Utah vote on health care,
Westboro pastor Fred W. Fred W. Phelps The three-judge pan- The case is Snyder v. Phelps. verse information. The U.S. Court professor — the brother of Rep. Democratic leaders would have
Phelps Sr. contends that Sr. claims to el said the signs could In the vaccine case, the court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit Jim Matheson (D-Utah), an oppo- precisely 216 votes. But dozens
the deaths of American have organized not be reasonably un- will examine a 1986 federal law blocked the background checks, nent of the health bill — to the are considering switching their
soldiers are punishment nearly 43,000 derstood to be referring that was intended to make sure saying they could harm the con- federal appeals bench. votes — some from no to yes and
for the nation’s toler- protests since directly to Snyder and the nation has a stable vaccine stitutional rights of the workers. Massa’s allegation that he was others from yes to no — making it
ance of homosexuality 1991. his son. And the court supply by shielding drugmakers It said the questions were not the victim of a setup, in order to impossible to determine whether
and has organized near- said that, as offensive as from most lawsuits. It estab- narrowly tailored to fit legitimate lower the number of “yes” votes Massa’s vote would have been “de-
ly 43,000 protests since 1991, ac- it found Phelps’s rhetoric, it was lished a special vaccine court to government interests. needed to pass a bill, fed into that ciding.”
cording to the church’s Web site. protected as speech concerning examine claims. The government asked the growing anxiety about Democrat- Massa also accused Hoyer of ly-
Phelps and members of his issues in the national debate. Robalee and Russell Bruese- court to review the appeals court ic tactics. ing about his knowledge of the
church — which consists primari- “Notwithstanding the distaste- witz say their infant daughter, decision. His comments spread quickly ethics investigation and said
ly of him and members of his ex- ful and repugnant nature of the now a teenager, was harmed by “The ramifications of the deci- online, promoted by conservative Emanuel was the “devil’s spawn”
tended family — say they were words being challenged in these Wyeth’s vaccine for diphtheria, sion below are potentially dra- blogs such as Red State and Na- who once confronted him naked
not targeting Marine Lance Cpl. proceedings, we are constrained tetanus and pertussis (whooping matic,” the government’s petition tional Review Online. in the shower of the House gym.
Matthew Snyder, who was killed to conclude that the defendants’ cough). They claim the vaccine said. “The decision prevents the Rush Limbaugh devoted a seg- Massa also gave his first de-
in action in Iraq. But they say signs . . . are constitutionally pro- from Wyeth, which has since routine background checks of ment of his Monday radio show to tailed description of what might
they have learned that demon- tected,” the court said, adding been purchased by Pfizer, was many government contract em- Massa, saying the lawmaker have sparked the ethics investiga-
strating at funerals gets the most that the signs contained “imagi- faulty and that the federal law ployees and it casts a constitu- “warns us what we all know, but I tion. At a staffer’s New Year’s Eve
public and media attention for native and hyperbolic rhetoric in- was never intended to shield tional cloud over the background think you need to hear it from a wedding, he engaged in sexually
their message that the nation’s tended to spark debate about is- drugmakers from every claim. check process the government Democrat being forced out by charged banter with male staffers
tolerance for gays has resulted in sues with which the defendants The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of has used for federal civil service Obama and Steny Hoyer and Pelo- about the bridesmaids, and a jun-
punishment, especially the are concerned.” Appeals in Philadelphia dis- employees for over 50 years.” si.” And the most popular conser- ior aide suggested the lawmaker
deaths of American soldiers. Snyder’s petition to the Su- agreed. Only the Georgia Su- The case is NASA v. Nelson. vative on television, Fox News make a pass at one woman, Massa
The signs they carried at Sny- preme Court said the appeals preme Court has ruled that fami- barnesbob@washpost.com Channel’s Glenn Beck, announced said. He added that he responded:
that he will conduct an hour-long “What I really ought to be doing is
Bankruptcy law doesn’t restrict speech, court says
interview with the Democrat on fracking you. And then [I] tousled
Tuesday. the guy’s hair and left, went to my
Official Republicans, mean- room, because I knew the party
while, remained mostly mum — was getting to a point where it
Attorneys may give
The U.S. Court of Appeals for came before the justices. would otherwise give you that the office of House Minority Lead- wasn’t right for me to be there.”
the 8th Circuit in St. Louis ruled Perhaps the law only reinforces right?” she asked the law firm’s er John Boehner (R-Ohio) did not Massa denied on the radio
advice that doesn’t lead in 2008 that the provision was rules prohibiting lawyers from lawyer. release a statement on the matter, show that he is gay. “Ask my wife
to abuse of system
unconstitutional. giving their clients unethical ad- The case is Milavetz, Gallop & but aides encouraged reporters to — I think she can answer that
But Sotomayor was among vice, she suggested. Milavetz, P.A., v. United States. tune in to Beck’s show. question,” he said.
those skeptical when the case “What in the First Amendment barnesbob@washpost.com Hoyer’s spokeswoman, Katie kanep@washpost.com
by Robert Barnes
A federal law that bars attor-
neys from telling clients who are
contemplating bankruptcy to
take on more debt is not an un-
constitutional restriction on the
free-speech rights of lawyers, the
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Supreme Court decided Monday.
Attorneys may give their cli-
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to an abuse of the bankruptcy
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Justice Sonia Sotomayor.
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pay is not prohibited.”
She added: “It would make
scant sense to prevent attorneys
and other debt relief agencies
from advising individuals think-
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