Snyder's legal costs could reach six figures, but help is already coming in
Fox News' Bill O'Reilly repeated his pledge. Country music group Big and Rich had already contributed, Snyder's lawyer said.
By BILL LANDAUER
Daily Record/Sunday News
Updated: 03/04/2011 07:18:03 AM EST
York, PA - Now that the Supreme Court has decided Westboro Baptist Church had a legal right to picket his son's funeral, Albert Snyder has to reimburse Westboro for at least some of its legal costs.
The bill, which covers things like Westboro Baptist's costs for making photocopies, could balloon to more than six figures.
At the moment, Snyder owes $16,510.80 for the costs of appealing the case to the Fourth Circuit court of appeals. Attorneys for Westboro have filed for additional costs from the 2007 trial in U.S. District Court in Maryland. Those costs are about $100,000, Snyder's attorney, Sean Summers, said during a news conference Wednesday.
And Snyder could owe a tab for the Supreme Court filing, though that hasn't been levied yet, his attorney Craig Trebilcock said.
Supporters are lining up to help pay.
Since before the trial, Snyder and his attorneys -- who have chosen to work for free -- have received thousands of e-mails from all sorts of sympathetic people, Trebilcock said.
"It really touched a nerve with the public that even the attorneys did not expect," he said.
Some support has been monetary. Funds have been donated from a number of sources, including a Web site that asks for donations,
www.matthewsnyder.com, to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars, Trebilcock said.
He referred requests for the exact figure to his partner in the case, attorney Sean Summers. Summers' law firm, Barley Snyder, maintains the site, Trebilcock said. Summers could not be reached for comment.
"Right now, we certainly have enough to cover the $16,500," Summers said during the press conference.
Donors to the fund include the country band Big and Rich, which anted up with about $20,000 before the trial began, Trebilcock said.
Additionally, host of Fox News' "The O'Reilly Factor," Bill O'Reilly, has offered to pay Snyder's legal costs. A Fox News spokeswoman said O'Reilly will pay the fees out of his own pocket. O'Reilly had previously said he'd pay the $16,500 incurred during district court trial, so it was unclear whether he'd pay more.
Donald Gilliland is among those seeking to help. The surgeon from Oklahoma City, Okla., had been following the case and learned of the decision Wednesday on drudgereport.com.
"The guy (Snyder) saw his son die," Gilliland said. "What they (Westboro Baptist Church) do is blasphemy."
Gilliland lives about 300 miles from Westboro Baptist Church's home in Topeka, Kansas. Gilliland was a doctor at Fort Hood during the Vietnam War. He attends funerals for servicemembers "when I have the time."
He's seen Westboro Baptist Church picketing several funerals. And while he said he understands their rights are protected by the First Amendment, "precious many people died for that liberty."
The final figure has yet to be determined for Snyder's legal costs. Maryland District Court Judge Richard Bennett, who presided over the initial district court trial, will decide whether Snyder has to pay costs incurred in district court. Bennett could not be reached for comment.
Westboro attorney Margie Phelps isn't holding her breath. Bennett might drag his feet, she said.
"He's not eager to award us costs given the hostility" he showed toward the church during the trial, Phelps said.
Even if Westboro Baptist Church fails to recoup any of the money it spent defending itself in court, Phelps said, "the giant international megaphone was worth every dime."
Phelps said O'Reilly should call Westboro "to barter" over the legal costs.
"He might ask Anderson Cooper for help," she said. "I'm just thinking of a way to help a brother out."
Anatomy of a legal bill
Among the costs listed in court documents that Westboro Baptist Church hopes to recoup:
--- $13,900.06 in fees for a court reporter.
--- $3,426.50 for copying papers.
--- $36,180.28 for expert witness fees.
--- $1,150.66 in express mail fees
