...another case which did not get anything close to top billing.

SCOTUS refused to hear (and thus left the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals decision as binding) a "free speech" case where a Topeka, KA church which loudly and cruelly pickets at funerals of US military personnel was barred to do so by a Missouri law. The 8th COA reversed a lower court decision barring the picketing until the constitutionality of the law is resolved.

This is a case where the actions of this particular group of people is utterly reprehensible (to me, anyway), yet their "First Amendment" right was de facto affirmed by the majority of SCOTUS justices, otherwise the case would have been heard. I can't imagine anyone on the bench approving of the actions of Rev, Phelps and his group, but SCOTUS did not "make law from the bench" on a situation where darned few would have criticized them from getting legally creative on this one. Instead, they just did their jobs, and probably shook their collective heads on the irony.

http://www.kansascity.com/437/story/1295627.html

http://corporate.findlaw.com/scripts...ct=0&casenum=0