Albert Snyder, Petitioner v. Fred W. Phelps, Sr., et al.

Decided March 2, 2011. John Glover Roberts Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 09-751 · 562 U.S. 443 (2011) · Cited 867 times

We don’t yet publish a summary of this opinion — read the official text below for the Court’s holding and reasoning.

How the Justices voted

Decided 8–1.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Dun & Bradstreet, Inc. v. Greenmoss Builders, Inc. · 472 U.S. 749 (1985)
• Connick Ex Rel. Parish of Orleans v. Myers · 461 U.S. 138 (1983)
• Frisby v. Schultz · 487 U.S. 474 (1988)
• Hustler Magazine, Inc. v. Falwell · 485 U.S. 46 (1988)
• New York Times Co. v. Sullivan · 376 U.S. 254 (1964)
• City of San Diego v. Roe · 543 U.S. 77 (2004)
• Bose Corp. v. Consumers Union of United States, Inc. · 466 U.S. 485 (1984)
• Clark v. Community for Creative Non-Violence · 468 U.S. 288 (1984)
• Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire · 315 U.S. 568 (1942)
• Garrison v. Louisiana · 379 U.S. 64 (1964)
• Rankin v. McPherson · 483 U.S. 378 (1987)
• Madsen v. Women's Health Center, Inc. · 512 U.S. 753 (1994)
• Rowan v. United States Post Office Department · 397 U.S. 728 (1970)
• Florida Star v. B. J. F. · 491 U.S. 524 (1989)
• Cantwell v. Connecticut · 310 U.S. 296 (1940)
• Cornelius v. NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc. · 473 U.S. 788 (1985)
• Cohen v. California · 403 U.S. 15 (1971)
• Milkovich v. Lorain Journal Co. · 497 U.S. 1 (1990)
• Texas v. Johnson · 491 U.S. 397 (1989)
• First Nat. Bank of Boston v. Bellotti · 435 U.S. 765 (1978)
• United States v. Stevens · 559 U.S. 460 (2010)
• United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co. · 200 U.S. 321 (1906)
• Cox Broadcasting Corp. v. Cohn · 420 U.S. 469 (1975)
• Erznoznik v. City of Jacksonville · 422 U.S. 205 (1975)
• Boos v. Barry · 485 U.S. 312 (1988)
• United States v. Grace · 461 U.S. 171 (1983)
• National Archives & Records Administration v. Favish · 541 U.S. 157 (2004)
• Time, Inc. v. Hill · 385 U.S. 374 (1967)
• Hurley v. Irish-American Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Group of Boston, Inc. · 515 U.S. 557 (1995)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Janus v. State, County, and Municipal Employees · 585 U.S. 878 (2018)
• McCutcheon v. Federal Election Comm'n · 572 U.S. 185 (2014)
• 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis · 600 U.S. 570 (2023)
• Trump v. United States · 603 U.S. 593 (2024)
• Mahanoy Area School Dist. v. B. L. · 594 U.S. 180 (2021)
• Whole Woman's Health v. Jackson · 595 U.S. 30 (2021)
• United States v. Alvarez · 567 U.S. 709 (2012)
• Borough of Duryea v. Guarnieri · 564 U.S. 379 (2011)
• Counterman v. Colorado · 600 U.S. 66 (2023)
• Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Comm'n · 584 U.S. 617 (2018)
• Murthy v. Missouri · 603 U.S. 43 (2024)
• Fulton v. Philadelphia · 593 U.S. 522 (2021)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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Source: the U.S. Reports via govinfo.gov; authoring Justice and vote lineup from the Supreme Court Database (Washington University). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).