in a state where he was coerced to hear the negative speech. Justice Stephen Breyer wrote a concurring opinion, emphasizing his view that the decision related only to picketing, and did not take into consideration Westboro Baptist Church's on-line publications that attacked the Snyder family. Alito's dissent Justice Samuel Alito was the lone dissenting justice in this case, beginning his dissent with, "Our profound national commitment to free and open debate is not a license for the vicious verbal assault that occurred in this case." He sternly criticized the Church's conduct writing: He concluded, "In order to have a society in which public issues can be openly and vigorously debated, it is not necessary to allow the brutalization of innocent victims like petitioner." In a July 2011 speech, Justice Ginsburg called Alito's dissent "heart-felt" and said that it "underscored the incomparable distress suffered by the Snyder family," noting that "although no member of the Court joined him, his opinion aligned with the views of many Court-watchers, including one of the nation's newest—retired Justice Stevens, [who] recently told the Federal Bar Council he 'would have joined [Justice Alito's] powerful dissent'." (Justice John Paul Stevens had retired in 2010.) See also Fighting words First Amendment to the United States Constitution Fred Phelps Freedom of speech Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc. Hustler Magazine v. Falwell Intentional infliction of emotional distress List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 562 Miller test New York Times Co. v. Sullivan Rowan v. U.S. Post Office Dept. References External links Docket No. 09-751; Albert Snyder v. Fred W. Phelps Sr., et al on Supreme Court website Oral Argument Transcripts and audio SCOTUSBlog wiki on Snyder v. Phelps Oral Arguments on Oyez.org Archive of Snyder v. Phelps coverage from Albert Snyder's hometown newspaper United States Supreme Court cases 2011 in United States case law Anti-LGBT sentiment History of LGBT civil rights in the United States United States Supreme Court cases of the Roberts Court United States Free Speech Clause case law Westboro Baptist Church