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But rarely was it about Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, the Marine who was killed in Iraq in March 2006.
When a jury returned a $10.9 million judgment against the Rev. Fred Phelps and the church Wednesday, saying the church violated Albert Snyder's privacy and intentionally caused emotional distress when it staged a protest outside his son's funeral, Albert Snyder thought about why he filed the lawsuit in the first place.
"(Matthew) was the first person I thought of when I heard the verdict," Snyder said. "I think my second thought was, 'This is going to bankrupt them, and that no other family will have to go through what we went through'."
Snyder, of Spring Garden Township, spoke between interviews with the national media Thursday morning. He arrived at the York offices of Barley Snyder before 7 a.m., expecting a live interview with the "Today Show," only to find he had been pushed back in favor of Heather Mills McCartney, the estranged wife of Paul McCartney.
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He was tired, but relieved.
Westboro members stood outside the Westminster, Md., church where Matthew Snyder's funeral was held in March 2006, carrying signs that read "Semper Fi, Semper Fags" and "Thank God for Dead Soldiers." They turned the funeral into a circus, Snyder said.
"It was like kicking you in the face when you're laying on the ground," Snyder said. "Everybody has a right to a dignified funeral service. I don't think there's anything more private than that except maybe having a baby."
After the jury awarded Snyder $2.9 million in compensatory damages, one of his lawyers told him not to expect much of anything in punitive damages. Snyder was shocked hours later when the jury said the Kansas-based church owed his family another $8 million in punitive damages - $6 million for invasion of privacy, $2 million for causing emotional distress.
Snyder will likely never see most of that money, since the church's assets total $1 million, which were revealed to the jury before deliberations on punitive damages began, Snyder's lawyer Sean Summers said.
But this was never about the money.
"They had the option of just saying, 'We'll quit,' and I would have been satisfied," Snyder said. "That's all I wanted."
Such a hefty judgment might serve the same purpose, said Summers, who is representing Snyder pro bono.
"If they have no money, they might be able to walk to a funeral in Topeka, but they won't be able to fly to a funeral in Maryland or Pennsylvania," Summers said.
After the punitive damages were announced, the defense attorneys polled the jurors to ask which way they voted, Summers said.
"Each one took the time to look over at the defendants in the eye and say, 'Yes,' and that's very unusual," Summers said "They weren't afraid to look them in the eye. They wanted to send a message."
Snyder said he hadn't had time to consider what he would do with what money he does receive, but he said he would like to establish a scholarship in memory of his son, or help wounded soldiers coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan.
He wants to move forward and process some of the grief that has been frozen in place by the litigation process.
"Maybe I'll be able to break things down and see where things are," Snyder said.
He knows the legal battles are not over.
The Phelps family has said it will appeal the verdict, and Shirley Phelps-Roper, a leader of Westboro Baptist Church, told The Associated Press that the family will continue to picket military funerals, calling the lawsuit an act of futility.
But Thursday, victory felt very good for Snyder.
ABOUT LANCE CPL. SNYDER
One night while Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder was stationed in North Carolina, Albert Snyder received a call from the Marines saying his son was in surgery.
The voice on the other end of the phone gave no more details.
"Here I am thinking he got shot somehow," Albert Snyder said Thursday. "He broke his leg in three places playing soccer."
Soccer was one of the things Matthew Snyder loved, along with fishing, the beach and his family. He grew up in Maryland and graduated from Westminster High School.
Matthew Snyder was killed in Iraq on March 3, 2006, when the Humvee he was riding in overturned. He was 20.
"Matt was a good kid," Snyder said. "I never had any problems with Matt."
His son's memory was the main reason Albert Snyder, who lives in Spring Garden Township, pursued his lawsuit against the Westboro Baptist Church.
"Matt lived by the philosophy that if you don't have something nice to say about somebody, just keep quiet," Snyder said. "He was also very protective of his family and friends."
NEXT UP, NEBRASKA
Back to court
Westboro Baptist Church's next stage will be a Nebraska court case on charges that include flag mutilation.
Members of the Topeka, Kan.-based church say they are happy.
“Our message has exploded all over the world,” a delighted Shirley Phelps-Roper said Thursday, a day after the church was ordered to pay $10.9 million to Albert Snyder.
The church says U.S. deaths in the Iraq war are punishment for the nation's tolerance of homosexuality. The Westboro protesters typically carry signs with slogans such as “Thank God for dead soldiers” and “God hates fags.” Followers say they are entitled to protest at soldiers' funerals under the First Amendment, which guarantees freedom of speech and religion.
Phelps-Roper, 50, is scheduled to appear at a Sarpy County Court hearing Monday on charges of flag mutilation, negligent child abuse, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and disturbing the peace. The charges were filed after Phelps-Roper allowed her 10-year-old son to stand on the flag while protesting at a Bellevue soldier's funeral in June.
Sarpy County Attorney Lee Polikov said when the Westboro followers specifically target grieving families, “they don't really deserve the protection of freedom of speech, freedom of religion.”
Phelps-Roper's attorney, Bassel El-Kasaby, said he has asked that the case be thrown out because the charges are unconstitutional. El-Kasaby was hired by the Nebraska ACLU to represent Phelps-Roper.
Nebraska's flag law defines flag mutilation as when a “person intentionally casts contempt or ridicule upon a flag by mutilating, defacing, defiling, burning, or trampling upon such flag.”
Phelps-Roper has noted that the U.S. Supreme Court has struck down laws forbidding flag desecration.
