Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District
Encyclopedia
Tammy Kitzmiller, et al. v. Dover Area School District, et al. (400 F. Supp. 2d 707, Docket no. 4cv2688) was the first direct challenge brought in the United States federal courts
testing a public school district policy that required the teaching of intelligent design
. In October 2004 the Dover Area School District
changed its biology
teaching curriculum to require that intelligent design be presented as an alternative to evolution
theory, with Of Pandas and People
to be used as a reference book. The plaintiffs successfully argued that intelligent design is a form of creationism
, and that the school board policy violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution
. The judge's decision sparked considerable response from both supporters and critics.
Eleven parents of students in Dover
, York County, Pennsylvania
, near the city of York
, sued the Dover Area School District over the school board requirement that a statement presenting intelligent design as "an explanation of the origin of life that differs from Darwin’s view" was to be read aloud in ninth-grade science classes when evolution was taught. The plaintiffs were represented by the American Civil Liberties Union
(ACLU), Americans United for Separation of Church and State
(AU) and Pepper Hamilton LLP
. The National Center for Science Education
(NCSE) acted as consultants for the plaintiffs. The defendants were represented by the Thomas More Law Center
(TMLC). The Foundation for Thought and Ethics
, publisher of a textbook advocating intelligent design titled Of Pandas and People
(a book whose prominence within the trial was such that it is sometimes referred to as the 'Dover Panda Trial'), tried to join the lawsuit late as a defendant but was denied for multiple reasons.
The suit was brought in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania seeking declaratory
and injunctive relief. Since it sought an equitable remedy
the Seventh Amendment
right to a jury trial
did not apply. It was tried in a bench trial
from September 26, 2005 to November 4, 2005, before Judge John E. Jones III
, a conservative Republican appointed in 2002 by George W. Bush
. On December 20, 2005, Judge Jones issued his 139-page findings of fact
and decision ruling that the Dover mandate which required the statement to be read in class was unconstitutional. The ruling concluded that intelligent design is not science, and permanently barred the board from "maintaining the ID Policy in any school within the Dover Area School District, from requiring teachers to denigrate or disparage the scientific theory of evolution, and from requiring teachers to refer to a religious, alternative theory known as ID." The eight Dover school board members who voted for the intelligent design requirement were all defeated in a November 8, 2005 election by challengers who opposed the teaching of intelligent design in a science class, and the school board president stated that the board did not intend to appeal the ruling.
who were young earth creationists
, made various statements supporting teaching creationism
as well as evolution
. At a board meeting on June 7, 2004, Buckingham mentioned creationism and raised objections to proposed use of the textbook Biology written by Kenneth R. Miller
and Joseph S. Levine, describing it as "laced with Darwinism" and saying it was "inexcusable to have a book that says man descended from apes with nothing to counterbalance it." This story made the York newspapers, and Buckingham was telephoned by Discovery Institute
staff attorney Seth Cooper, whose tasks included "communicating with legislators, school board members, teachers, parents and students" to "address the topic of ID in a scientifically and educationally responsible way" in public schools. He later stated that he made the call to "steer the Dover Board away from trying to include intelligent design in the classroom or from trying to insert creationism into its ", an account Buckingham has disputed. Cooper sent the book and DVD of Icons of Evolution
to Buckingham, who required the Dover High School botany teachers to watch the DVD. They did not take up the opportunity to use it in their classes. Cooper advised that the Discovery Institute was not offering legal advice, and soon afterwards Buckingham contacted Richard Thompson of the Thomas More Law Center
, who agreed to represent the Dover Board, and recommended the book Of Pandas and People
. On October 18, 2004, the school board voted 6–3 resolving that there were to be lectures on the subject, with Pandas as a reference book, and that the following statement was to be added to their biology
curriculum:
On November 19, 2004, the Dover Area School District issued a press release stating that, commencing in January 2005, teachers would be required to read the following statement to students in the ninth-grade biology class at Dover High School:
The three school board members who voted against it resigned in protest, and science teachers in the district refused to read the statement to their ninth-grade students, citing the Pennsylvania state code 235.10(2), which requires that "The professional educator may not ... Knowingly and intentionally misrepresent subject matter or curriculum." Instead, the statement was read to students by a school administrator.
The school board's statement asserting that there are "gaps" in evolution and that it specifically is a theory "not a fact" singled out evolution, implying it is just a hunch, even though this is not the actual meaning of the term "scientific theory". The reference to Of Pandas and People and presentation of intelligent design as an alternative "explanation of the origins of life" presented it as though it were a scientific explanation, in contrast to the way that evolution was described. Encouraging students to "keep an open mind" about alternatives without offering an alternative scientific explanation implied an invitation to meditate on a religious view, endorsing the religious view a similar way to the disclaimer found to be unconstitutional in the Freiler v. Tangipahoa Parish Board of Education
case. The school board claimed the statement does not teach intelligent design and simply makes students aware of its existence as an alternative to evolution, but no such statements were made about other subjects. As part of the presentation, the administrators stated that "there will be no other discussion of the issue and your teachers will not answer questions on the issue", giving intelligent design a position not applied to scientific topics. The board denied intelligent design is "religion in disguise," despite being represented in court by the Thomas More Law Center
, a conservative Christian not-for-profit law center that uses litigation to promote "the religious freedom of Christians
and time-honored family values
". Its stated purpose is "...to be the sword and shield for people of faith".
The American Civil Liberties Union
filed suit on December 14, 2004 on behalf of eleven parents from the Dover school district, and sought a law firm willing to take on the case at the risk of not being paid if the case was lost. Eric Rothschild, one of the partners of Pepper Hamilton LLP
and a member of the National Center for Science Education
legal advisory council, was quick to agree to take the case on such a contingency basis.
The Discovery Institute
's John West said the case displayed the ACLU's "Orwellian
" effort to stifle scientific discourse and objected to the issue being decided in court. "It's a disturbing prospect that the outcome of this lawsuit could be that the court will try to tell scientists what is legitimate scientific inquiry and what is not," West said. "That is a flagrant assault on free speech." Opponents, represented by the American Association for the Advancement of Science
and the National Association of Biology Teachers
, contended that his statement is not just ironic, but hypocritical, as the Discovery Institute opposes methodological naturalism
, the basic principle that limits science to natural phenomena and natural causes without assuming the existence or non-existence of the supernatural
, which by definition is beyond natural explanation.
Despite its earlier involvement, the Discovery Institute was concerned that this would be a test case and that the defendants had earlier displayed their religious motivations. This tension led to disagreements with the Thomas More Law Center and the withdrawal of three Discovery Institute fellows as defense experts prior to their depositions – William A. Dembski
, Stephen C. Meyer
and John Angus Campbell
. This was purportedly because the Thomas More Law Center refused to allow these witnesses to have their own attorneys present during deposition, but Discovery Institute director Bruce Chapman
later said that he had asked them not to testify (as well as Behe and Minnich, who testified anyway).
In May 2005, the publisher of Of Pandas and People, the Foundation for Thought and Ethics
(FTE), filed a motion seeking to intervene in the case. FTE argued that a ruling that intelligent design was religious would have severe financial consequences, citing possible losses of approximately half a million dollars. By intervening, FTE would have become a co-defendant with the Dover Area School Board, and able to bring its own lawyers and expert witness
es to the case. FTE's president Jon Buell implied that if allowed to intervene, FTE would bring William A. Dembski and Stephen C. Meyer as expert witnesses. In his decision on the motion, Judge John E. Jones III ruled that FTE was not entitled to intervene in the case because its motion to intervene was not timely, describing FTE's reasons for not trying to become involved earlier as "both unavailing and disingenuous." Judge Jones also held that FTE failed to demonstrate that it has "a significantly protectable interest in the litigation warranting intervention as a party" and that its interests will not be adequately represented by the defendants.
In the November 2005 elections, none of the members of the Dover School Board who voted for the intelligent design policy were re-elected, and a new school board, which rejected the policy, took office. This effectively precluded the possibility of an appeal to a higher court.
He compared this with what was eventually published:
(The definitions had come up in an earlier hearing in a July 14 pre-trial hearing.) He also argued that intelligent design was not science in its infancy
, but rather was not science
at all.
hoax. He had an interest in creationism."
September 28
September 29
September 30
Louis Hadski (chief editor)
October 5–6
Prior to her testimony the TMLC filed a motion to have her excluded as an expert witness. In that motion they characterized her as "little more than a conspiracy theorist and a web-surfing, 'cyber-stalker' of the Discovery Institute." Judge Jones denied the motion.
Forrest gave testimony on the history of the intelligent design movement, citing writings of prominent figures (such as Discovery Institute
's "Wedge Document
", Phillip Johnson
's "How the Evolution Debate Can be Won", and of William Dembski). She also testified that ID was merely another name for the creationism movement, attempting to present a religious proposition as a scientific viewpoint. She stated that Johnson "regards evolution as a threat to the Bible in its entirety and as a threat to the moral fabric of American culture," and that one of the goals of his movement is to unify the religious world. She added that there is "no way to reconcile[...] at all" the Dover school board newsletter statement that intelligent design is a scientific theory with Paul Nelson's statements in the interview "The Measure of Design".
Forrest noted that she was unaware of any evidence that the members of the School board had seen the "Wedge Document" prior to the lawsuit.
Several days prior to her scheduled testimony, the Discovery Institute publicly ridiculed her on their website.
October 6
October 12
October 14
As a primary witness for the defense, Behe was asked to support the idea that intelligent design was legitimate science. Behe's critics have pointed to a number of key exchanges under cross examination, where he conceded that "there are no peer reviewed articles by anyone advocating for intelligent design supported by pertinent experiments or calculations which provide detailed rigorous accounts of how intelligent design of any biological system occurred", and that the definition of 'theory' as he applied it to intelligent design was so loose that astrology
would qualify as a theory by definition as well. His simulation modelling of evolution with David Snoke
described in a 2004 paper had been listed by the Discovery Institute
amongst claimed "Peer-Reviewed & Peer-Edited Scientific Publications Supporting the Theory of Intelligent Design", but under oath he accepted that it showed that the biochemical systems it described could evolve within 20,000 years, even if the parameters of the simulation were rigged to make that outcome as unlikely as possible.
October 20–21
October 21, 28, November 3
October 24
October 28
October 31
November 3
's book about the trial, 40 Days and 40 Nights.
In his Conclusion he wrote:
Fulfilling Judge Jones prediction, John G. West
, Associate Director of the Center for Science and Culture
at Discovery Institute
, said:
Newspapers have noted that the judge is “a Republican
and a churchgoer.” In the months following the decision, Jones received death threats and he and his family were given around-the-clock federal protection.
described their behaviour as both ironic and sinful, saying that the "unintelligent designers of this fiasco should not walk away unscathed".
and Casey Luskin, senior fellows or officers of the Discovery Institute, argued that intelligent design is a valid scientific theory, that the Jones court should not have addressed the question of whether it was a scientific theory, and that the decision will have no effect on the development and adoption of intelligent design as an alternative to standard evolutionary theory. Peter Irons responded to the DeWolf et al. article, arguing that the decision was extremely well reasoned, and that it marks the end to legal efforts by the intelligent design movement
to introduce creationism in public schools. DeWolf et al. responded to the Irons article in the same issue.
United States federal courts
The United States federal courts make up the judiciary branch of federal government of the United States organized under the United States Constitution and laws of the federal government.-Categories:...
testing a public school district policy that required the teaching of intelligent design
Intelligent design
Intelligent design is the proposition that "certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection." It is a form of creationism and a contemporary adaptation of the traditional teleological argument for...
. In October 2004 the Dover Area School District
Dover Area School District
The Dover Area School District is a public school district located in Pennsylvania, United States. It consists of Dover Township, Washington Township and the Borough of Dover in York County. The district operates Dover Area High School, Dover Intermediate School, Dover Elementary School, Leib...
changed its biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
teaching curriculum to require that intelligent design be presented as an alternative to evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
theory, with Of Pandas and People
Of Pandas and People
Of Pandas and People: The Central Question of Biological Origins is a controversial 1989 school-level textbook written by Percival Davis and Dean H. Kenyon and published by the Texas-based Foundation for Thought and Ethics...
to be used as a reference book. The plaintiffs successfully argued that intelligent design is a form of creationism
Creationism
Creationism is the religious beliefthat humanity, life, the Earth, and the universe are the creation of a supernatural being, most often referring to the Abrahamic god. As science developed from the 18th century onwards, various views developed which aimed to reconcile science with the Genesis...
, and that the school board policy violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution
First Amendment to the United States Constitution
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering...
. The judge's decision sparked considerable response from both supporters and critics.
Eleven parents of students in Dover
Dover, Pennsylvania
Dover is a borough in York County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,007 at the 2010 census.-History:James Joner purchased in 1764 and laid out the town of Dover...
, York County, Pennsylvania
York County, Pennsylvania
York County is a county in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2010, the population was 434,972. It is in the Susquehanna Valley, a large fertile agricultural region in South Central Pennsylvania....
, near the city of York
York, Pennsylvania
York, known as the White Rose City , is a city located in York County, Pennsylvania, United States which is in the South Central region of the state. The population within the city limits was 43,718 at the 2010 census, which was a 7.0% increase from the 2000 count of 40,862...
, sued the Dover Area School District over the school board requirement that a statement presenting intelligent design as "an explanation of the origin of life that differs from Darwin’s view" was to be read aloud in ninth-grade science classes when evolution was taught. The plaintiffs were represented by the American Civil Liberties Union
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union is a U.S. non-profit organization whose stated mission is "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States." It works through litigation, legislation, and...
(ACLU), Americans United for Separation of Church and State
Americans United for Separation of Church and State
Americans United for Separation of Church and State is a group that advocates separation of church and state, a legal doctrine interpreted by AU as being enshrined in the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.-Mission:The guiding principle of Americans...
(AU) and Pepper Hamilton LLP
Pepper Hamilton LLP
Pepper Hamilton LLP is a U.S. law firm with 11 offices and around 500 attorneys. The firm is ranked among the 100 largest firms by revenue in the United States...
. The National Center for Science Education
National Center for Science Education
The National Center for Science Education is a non-profit organization based in Oakland, California affiliated with the American Association for the Advancement of Science. It is the United States' leading anti-creationist organization, and defends the teaching of evolutionary biology and opposes...
(NCSE) acted as consultants for the plaintiffs. The defendants were represented by the Thomas More Law Center
Thomas More Law Center
The Thomas More Law Center is a prominent conservative Christian, not-for-profit law center based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and is active throughout the United States. Its stated goals are defending the religious freedom of Christians, restoring "time honored values" and protecting the sanctity of...
(TMLC). The Foundation for Thought and Ethics
Foundation for Thought and Ethics
The Foundation for Thought and Ethics is a Christian non-profit organization based in Richardson, Texas, that publishes textbooks and articles promoting intelligent design, abstinence, and Christian nationism. In addition, the foundation's officers and editors are some of the leading proponents...
, publisher of a textbook advocating intelligent design titled Of Pandas and People
Of Pandas and People
Of Pandas and People: The Central Question of Biological Origins is a controversial 1989 school-level textbook written by Percival Davis and Dean H. Kenyon and published by the Texas-based Foundation for Thought and Ethics...
(a book whose prominence within the trial was such that it is sometimes referred to as the 'Dover Panda Trial'), tried to join the lawsuit late as a defendant but was denied for multiple reasons.
The suit was brought in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania seeking declaratory
Declaratory judgment
A declaratory judgment is a judgment of a court in a civil case which declares the rights, duties, or obligations of one or more parties in a dispute. A declaratory judgment is legally binding, but it does not order any action by a party. In this way, the declaratory judgment is like an action to...
and injunctive relief. Since it sought an equitable remedy
Equitable remedy
Equitable remedies are judicial remedies developed and granted by courts of equity, as opposed to courts of common law. Equitable remedies were granted by the Court of Chancery in England, and remain available today in most common law jurisdictions. In many jurisdictions, legal and equitable...
the Seventh Amendment
Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution, which was ratified as part of the Bill of Rights, codifies the right to a jury trial in certain civil cases. However, in some civil cases, the Supreme Court has not incorporated the right to a jury trial to the states in the fashion which...
right to a jury trial
Jury trial
A jury trial is a legal proceeding in which a jury either makes a decision or makes findings of fact which are then applied by a judge...
did not apply. It was tried in a bench trial
Bench trial
A bench trial is a trial held before a judge sitting without a jury. The term is chiefly used in common law jurisdictions to describe exceptions from jury trial, as most other legal systems do not use juries to any great extent....
from September 26, 2005 to November 4, 2005, before Judge John E. Jones III
John E. Jones III
John Edward Jones III is an American lawyer and jurist from the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. A Republican, Jones was appointed by President George W. Bush as federal judge on the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania in February 2002 and was unanimously confirmed by...
, a conservative Republican appointed in 2002 by George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
. On December 20, 2005, Judge Jones issued his 139-page findings of fact
Question of fact
In law, a question of fact is a question which must be answered by reference to facts and evidence, and inferences arising from those facts. Such a question is distinct from a question of law, which must be answered by applying relevant legal principles...
and decision ruling that the Dover mandate which required the statement to be read in class was unconstitutional. The ruling concluded that intelligent design is not science, and permanently barred the board from "maintaining the ID Policy in any school within the Dover Area School District, from requiring teachers to denigrate or disparage the scientific theory of evolution, and from requiring teachers to refer to a religious, alternative theory known as ID." The eight Dover school board members who voted for the intelligent design requirement were all defeated in a November 8, 2005 election by challengers who opposed the teaching of intelligent design in a science class, and the school board president stated that the board did not intend to appeal the ruling.
Background
From 2002 William (Bill) Buckingham and Alan Bonsell, members of the Dover Board of EducationBoard of education
A board of education or a school board or school committee is the title of the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or higher administrative level....
who were young earth creationists
Young Earth creationism
Young Earth creationism is the religious belief that Heavens, Earth, and all life on Earth were created by direct acts of the Abrahamic God during a relatively short period, sometime between 5,700 and 10,000 years ago...
, made various statements supporting teaching creationism
Creationism
Creationism is the religious beliefthat humanity, life, the Earth, and the universe are the creation of a supernatural being, most often referring to the Abrahamic god. As science developed from the 18th century onwards, various views developed which aimed to reconcile science with the Genesis...
as well as evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
. At a board meeting on June 7, 2004, Buckingham mentioned creationism and raised objections to proposed use of the textbook Biology written by Kenneth R. Miller
Kenneth R. Miller
Kenneth Raymond Miller is a biology professor at Brown University. Miller, who is Roman Catholic, is particularly known for his opposition to creationism, including the intelligent design movement...
and Joseph S. Levine, describing it as "laced with Darwinism" and saying it was "inexcusable to have a book that says man descended from apes with nothing to counterbalance it." This story made the York newspapers, and Buckingham was telephoned by Discovery Institute
Discovery Institute
The Discovery Institute is a non-profit public policy think tank based in Seattle, Washington, best known for its advocacy of intelligent design...
staff attorney Seth Cooper, whose tasks included "communicating with legislators, school board members, teachers, parents and students" to "address the topic of ID in a scientifically and educationally responsible way" in public schools. He later stated that he made the call to "steer the Dover Board away from trying to include intelligent design in the classroom or from trying to insert creationism into its ", an account Buckingham has disputed. Cooper sent the book and DVD of Icons of Evolution
Icons of Evolution
Icons of Evolution is a book by the intelligent design advocate and fellow of the Discovery Institute, Jonathan Wells, which also includes a 2002 video companion. In the book, Wells criticized the paradigm of evolution by attacking how it is taught...
to Buckingham, who required the Dover High School botany teachers to watch the DVD. They did not take up the opportunity to use it in their classes. Cooper advised that the Discovery Institute was not offering legal advice, and soon afterwards Buckingham contacted Richard Thompson of the Thomas More Law Center
Thomas More Law Center
The Thomas More Law Center is a prominent conservative Christian, not-for-profit law center based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and is active throughout the United States. Its stated goals are defending the religious freedom of Christians, restoring "time honored values" and protecting the sanctity of...
, who agreed to represent the Dover Board, and recommended the book Of Pandas and People
Of Pandas and People
Of Pandas and People: The Central Question of Biological Origins is a controversial 1989 school-level textbook written by Percival Davis and Dean H. Kenyon and published by the Texas-based Foundation for Thought and Ethics...
. On October 18, 2004, the school board voted 6–3 resolving that there were to be lectures on the subject, with Pandas as a reference book, and that the following statement was to be added to their biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
curriculum:
On November 19, 2004, the Dover Area School District issued a press release stating that, commencing in January 2005, teachers would be required to read the following statement to students in the ninth-grade biology class at Dover High School:
The three school board members who voted against it resigned in protest, and science teachers in the district refused to read the statement to their ninth-grade students, citing the Pennsylvania state code 235.10(2), which requires that "The professional educator may not ... Knowingly and intentionally misrepresent subject matter or curriculum." Instead, the statement was read to students by a school administrator.
The school board's statement asserting that there are "gaps" in evolution and that it specifically is a theory "not a fact" singled out evolution, implying it is just a hunch, even though this is not the actual meaning of the term "scientific theory". The reference to Of Pandas and People and presentation of intelligent design as an alternative "explanation of the origins of life" presented it as though it were a scientific explanation, in contrast to the way that evolution was described. Encouraging students to "keep an open mind" about alternatives without offering an alternative scientific explanation implied an invitation to meditate on a religious view, endorsing the religious view a similar way to the disclaimer found to be unconstitutional in the Freiler v. Tangipahoa Parish Board of Education
Freiler v. Tangipahoa Parish Board of Education
Freiler v. Tangipahoa Parish Board of Education was United States federal court case on the constitutionality of a policy requiring teachers to read aloud a disclaimer whenever they taught about evolution....
case. The school board claimed the statement does not teach intelligent design and simply makes students aware of its existence as an alternative to evolution, but no such statements were made about other subjects. As part of the presentation, the administrators stated that "there will be no other discussion of the issue and your teachers will not answer questions on the issue", giving intelligent design a position not applied to scientific topics. The board denied intelligent design is "religion in disguise," despite being represented in court by the Thomas More Law Center
Thomas More Law Center
The Thomas More Law Center is a prominent conservative Christian, not-for-profit law center based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and is active throughout the United States. Its stated goals are defending the religious freedom of Christians, restoring "time honored values" and protecting the sanctity of...
, a conservative Christian not-for-profit law center that uses litigation to promote "the religious freedom of Christians
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
and time-honored family values
Family values
Family values are political and social beliefs that hold the nuclear family to be the essential ethical and moral unit of society. Familialism is the ideology that promotes the family and its values as an institution....
". Its stated purpose is "...to be the sword and shield for people of faith".
The American Civil Liberties Union
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union is a U.S. non-profit organization whose stated mission is "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States." It works through litigation, legislation, and...
filed suit on December 14, 2004 on behalf of eleven parents from the Dover school district, and sought a law firm willing to take on the case at the risk of not being paid if the case was lost. Eric Rothschild, one of the partners of Pepper Hamilton LLP
Pepper Hamilton LLP
Pepper Hamilton LLP is a U.S. law firm with 11 offices and around 500 attorneys. The firm is ranked among the 100 largest firms by revenue in the United States...
and a member of the National Center for Science Education
National Center for Science Education
The National Center for Science Education is a non-profit organization based in Oakland, California affiliated with the American Association for the Advancement of Science. It is the United States' leading anti-creationist organization, and defends the teaching of evolutionary biology and opposes...
legal advisory council, was quick to agree to take the case on such a contingency basis.
The Discovery Institute
Discovery Institute
The Discovery Institute is a non-profit public policy think tank based in Seattle, Washington, best known for its advocacy of intelligent design...
's John West said the case displayed the ACLU's "Orwellian
Orwellian
"Orwellian" describes the situation, idea, or societal condition that George Orwell identified as being destructive to the welfare of a free society...
" effort to stifle scientific discourse and objected to the issue being decided in court. "It's a disturbing prospect that the outcome of this lawsuit could be that the court will try to tell scientists what is legitimate scientific inquiry and what is not," West said. "That is a flagrant assault on free speech." Opponents, represented by the American Association for the Advancement of Science
American Association for the Advancement of Science
The American Association for the Advancement of Science is an international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsibility, and supporting scientific education and science outreach for the...
and the National Association of Biology Teachers
National Association of Biology Teachers
The National Association of Biology Teachers is an American-based scholarly society that "empowers educators to provide the best possible biology and life science education for all students."...
, contended that his statement is not just ironic, but hypocritical, as the Discovery Institute opposes methodological naturalism
Naturalism (philosophy)
Naturalism commonly refers to the philosophical viewpoint that the natural universe and its natural laws and forces operate in the universe, and that nothing exists beyond the natural universe or, if it does, it does not affect the natural universe that we know...
, the basic principle that limits science to natural phenomena and natural causes without assuming the existence or non-existence of the supernatural
Supernatural
The supernatural or is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature...
, which by definition is beyond natural explanation.
Despite its earlier involvement, the Discovery Institute was concerned that this would be a test case and that the defendants had earlier displayed their religious motivations. This tension led to disagreements with the Thomas More Law Center and the withdrawal of three Discovery Institute fellows as defense experts prior to their depositions – William A. Dembski
William A. Dembski
William Albert "Bill" Dembski is an American proponent of intelligent design, well known for promoting the concept of specified complexity...
, Stephen C. Meyer
Stephen C. Meyer
Stephen C. Meyer is an American scholar, philosopher and advocate for intelligent design. He helped found the Center for Science and Culture of the Discovery Institute , which is the main organisation behind the intelligent design movement. Before joining the DI, Meyer was a professor at...
and John Angus Campbell
John Angus Campbell
John Angus Campbell is a retired American Professor of Rhetoric and is a Fellow of the Center for Science and Culture and of the International Society for Complexity, Information and Design, a professional society dedicated to the promotion of intelligent...
. This was purportedly because the Thomas More Law Center refused to allow these witnesses to have their own attorneys present during deposition, but Discovery Institute director Bruce Chapman
Bruce Chapman
Bruce K. Chapman is the director and founder of the Discovery Institute, an American conservative think tank often associated with the religious right. He was previously a journalist, a Republican Party politician and a diplomat.- Political career :After graduating from Harvard University in 1962,...
later said that he had asked them not to testify (as well as Behe and Minnich, who testified anyway).
In May 2005, the publisher of Of Pandas and People, the Foundation for Thought and Ethics
Foundation for Thought and Ethics
The Foundation for Thought and Ethics is a Christian non-profit organization based in Richardson, Texas, that publishes textbooks and articles promoting intelligent design, abstinence, and Christian nationism. In addition, the foundation's officers and editors are some of the leading proponents...
(FTE), filed a motion seeking to intervene in the case. FTE argued that a ruling that intelligent design was religious would have severe financial consequences, citing possible losses of approximately half a million dollars. By intervening, FTE would have become a co-defendant with the Dover Area School Board, and able to bring its own lawyers and expert witness
Expert witness
An expert witness, professional witness or judicial expert is a witness, who by virtue of education, training, skill, or experience, is believed to have expertise and specialised knowledge in a particular subject beyond that of the average person, sufficient that others may officially and legally...
es to the case. FTE's president Jon Buell implied that if allowed to intervene, FTE would bring William A. Dembski and Stephen C. Meyer as expert witnesses. In his decision on the motion, Judge John E. Jones III ruled that FTE was not entitled to intervene in the case because its motion to intervene was not timely, describing FTE's reasons for not trying to become involved earlier as "both unavailing and disingenuous." Judge Jones also held that FTE failed to demonstrate that it has "a significantly protectable interest in the litigation warranting intervention as a party" and that its interests will not be adequately represented by the defendants.
In the November 2005 elections, none of the members of the Dover School Board who voted for the intelligent design policy were re-elected, and a new school board, which rejected the policy, took office. This effectively precluded the possibility of an appeal to a higher court.
Plaintiffs
The plaintiffs were all parents of students enrolled in the Dover Area School district.- Tammy Kitzmiller
- Bryan Rehm
- Christy Rehm
- Deborah Fenimore
- Joel Lieb
- Steven Stough
- Beth Eveland
- Cynthia Sneath
- Julie Smith
- Aralene "Barrie" D. Callahan
- Frederick B. Callahan
Defendants
- Dover Area School District
- Dover Area School District Board of Directors
- Members who voted for the statement:
- Bill Buckingham (resigned August 2005 due to health concerns)
- Alan Bonsell
- Sheila Harkins
- Heather Geesey
- Jane Cleaver (resigned October 4, 2004)
- Angie Ziegler-Yingling (resigned December 6, 2004)
- Members who voted against it:
- Noel Wenrich (announced his resignation October 4, 2004; last day of service was October 31, 2004; moved out of the district)
- Carol Brown (resigned October 18, 2004 in protest)
- Jeff Brown (resigned October 18, 2004 in protest)
Plaintiffs
Eric Rothschild gave the opening statement for the plaintiffs. He said that the plaintiffs would be able to provide many examples of school board members wishing to balance the teaching of evolution with creationism. He attacked prior defense claims that it was a minor affair by saying that there is no such thing as a "little" constitutional violation. He also provided the definition of creationism given by an early draft of Pandas:Creation is the theory that various forms of life began abruptly, with their distinctive features already intact: Fish with fins and scales, birds with feathers and wings, mammals with fur and mammary glands.
He compared this with what was eventually published:
Intelligent design means that various forms of life began abruptly through an intelligent agency, with their distinctive features already intact: Fish with fins and scales, birds with feathers, beaks and wings, et cetera.
(The definitions had come up in an earlier hearing in a July 14 pre-trial hearing.) He also argued that intelligent design was not science in its infancy
Protoscience
In the philosophy of science, a protoscience is an area of scientific endeavor that is in the process of becoming established. Protoscience is distinguished from pseudoscience by its standard practices of good science, such as a willingness to be disproven by new evidence, or to be replaced by a...
, but rather was not science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
at all.
Defense
Patrick Gillen gave the opening arguments for the defense. He started by saying that the goal of the board and its supporters was to enhance science education. He argued that the policy was a "modest change." He distanced the policy from alleged statements made by then board member William Buckingham which the plaintiffs argued showed clear religious intent: "The board listened to the science faculty more than it listened to Bill Buckingham." He argued that the policy did not have a "religious agenda." Gillen mentioned that board member Alan Bonsell had done his own reading. He said Bonsell was "aware of intelligent design theory, and that 300 or so scientists had signed a statement indicating that biologists were exaggerating claims for the theory. He had read about the famous Piltdown manPiltdown Man
The Piltdown Man was a hoax in which bone fragments were presented as the fossilised remains of a previously unknown early human. These fragments consisted of parts of a skull and jawbone, said to have been collected in 1912 from a gravel pit at Piltdown, East Sussex, England...
hoax. He had an interest in creationism."
Witnesses for the plaintiffs
September 27, 2005- Kenneth R. MillerKenneth R. MillerKenneth Raymond Miller is a biology professor at Brown University. Miller, who is Roman Catholic, is particularly known for his opposition to creationism, including the intelligent design movement...
, a biologyBiologyBiology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
professorProfessorA professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
from Brown UniversityBrown UniversityBrown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
and noted author and commentator opposed to the intelligent design and creationist movements, was the first witness. He testified as an expert witnessExpert witnessAn expert witness, professional witness or judicial expert is a witness, who by virtue of education, training, skill, or experience, is believed to have expertise and specialised knowledge in a particular subject beyond that of the average person, sufficient that others may officially and legally...
that "Intelligent design is not a testable theory and as such is not generally accepted by the scientific community." He said that the idea of intelligent design was not subject to falsificationFalsifiabilityFalsifiability or refutability of an assertion, hypothesis or theory is the logical possibility that it can be contradicted by an observation or the outcome of a physical experiment...
, and demonstrated that many claims made by intelligent-design advocates against evolution were invalid. Asked what the harm was in reading the statement, Miller gave a two-fold response. 1) "[I] t falsely undermines the scientific status of evolutionary theory and gives students a false understanding of what theory actually means." And 2) "as a person of faith who was blessed with two daughters, who raised both of my daughters in the church, and had they been given an education in which they were explicitly or implicitly forced to choose between God and science, I would have been furious, because I want my children to keep their religious faith." - Tammy Kitzmiller testified as a fact witness. She was the lead plaintiff and a parent of a child in the Dover school system.
- Aralene "Barrie" D. Callahan, a Dover parent, was a plaintiff and was for ten years a board member of the Dover Area School DistrictDover Area School DistrictThe Dover Area School District is a public school district located in Pennsylvania, United States. It consists of Dover Township, Washington Township and the Borough of Dover in York County. The district operates Dover Area High School, Dover Intermediate School, Dover Elementary School, Leib...
. She had previously resigned over the actions of the board in relation to this case. She testified that Alan Bonsell, a board member, argued in a board retreat in Spring 2003 that if evolution were taught then creationism should also be taught. - Bryan Rehm was the last witness of the day. He was a former physicsPhysicsPhysics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
teacher at Dover and a parent to children attending school at the Dover Area School District. Both he and his wife were plaintiffs and taught Vacation Bible SchoolVacation Bible SchoolVacation Bible School is a specialized form of religious education which focuses on children. Churches usually hold the week long events during the summer, though the lengths of such programs may vary, and they are sometimes held during other times of the year.-History:The origins of Vacation...
. Rehm testified that Alan Bonsell, then-chairman of the board's curriculum committee, had asked teachers to watch a video on intelligent design titled Icons of EvolutionIcons of EvolutionIcons of Evolution is a book by the intelligent design advocate and fellow of the Discovery Institute, Jonathan Wells, which also includes a 2002 video companion. In the book, Wells criticized the paradigm of evolution by attacking how it is taught...
. Teachers had expressed concern that Bonsell did not believe in evolution and wished to see classroom discussions of evolution balanced "fifty-fifty" with creationism.
September 28
- Robert T. PennockRobert T. PennockRobert T. Pennock is a philosopher working on the Avida digital organism project at Michigan State University where he has been full professor since 2000. Pennock was a witness in the Kitzmiller v...
is a philosopher now working on the AvidaAvidaAvida is an artificial life software platform to study the evolutionary biology of self-replicating and evolving computer programs . Avida is under active development by Charles Ofria's Digital Evolution Lab at Michigan State University and was originally designed by Ofria, Chris Adami and C. Titus...
digital organismDigital organismA digital organism is a self-replicating computer program that mutates and evolves. Digital organisms are used as a tool to study the dynamics of Darwinian evolution, and to test or verify specific hypotheses or mathematical models of evolution...
project at Michigan State UniversityMichigan State UniversityMichigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...
where he is an associate professor. He is the author of many books and articles critical of intelligent design. He testified as an expert witness. - Julie Smith is a parent and plaintiff. She made only one point: that the policy created a hostile atmosphere for her daughter, Katherine. She said her daughter was harassed for her CatholicRoman Catholic ChurchThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
background, being told that she is an atheist since she accepted evolutionEvolutionEvolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
. - Christy Rehm testified as a parent and plaintiff.
- Beth Eveland testified.
- Frederick Callahan testified.
September 29
- Carol Brown testified.
- Jeffrey Brown testified.
- Louis Hadski (chief editor)
September 30
Louis Hadski (chief editor)
- John HaughtJohn HaughtJohn F. Haught is a Roman Catholic theologian and Senior Research Fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University. His area of expertise is systematic theology, with a special interest in issues of science, cosmology, ecology, and reconciling evolution and religion...
testified. He is a Roman Catholic theologian and the Landegger Distinguished Professor of Theology at Georgetown UniversityGeorgetown UniversityGeorgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
, with teaching and research interests focussed on issues in science and religion, cosmology and theology, and religion and ecology.
October 5–6
- Barbara ForrestBarbara ForrestBarbara Carroll Forrest is a professor of philosophy at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, Louisiana. She is a critic of intelligent design and the Discovery Institute.- Biography :...
testified as an expert witness for the plaintiff and also furnished the court with a written expert witness report and a supplemental report. Forrest is a professor in philosophy in the Department of History and Political Science at Southeastern Louisiana UniversitySoutheastern Louisiana UniversitySoutheastern Louisiana University is a state-funded public university in Hammond, Louisiana, United States. It was founded in 1925 by Linus A. Sims, the principal of Hammond High School, as Hammond Junior College, located in a wing of the high school building. Sims succeeded in getting the campus...
. She and scientist Paul R. GrossPaul R. GrossPaul R. Gross is a biologist and author, perhaps best known to the general public for Higher Superstition , written with Norman Levitt. Gross is the University Professor of Life Sciences at the University of Virginia; he previously served the university as Provost and Vice-President...
co-authored the book Creationism's Trojan Horse: The Wedge of Intelligent Design (Oxford University PressOxford University PressOxford University Press is the largest university press in the world. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics appointed by the Vice-Chancellor known as the Delegates of the Press. They are headed by the Secretary to the Delegates, who serves as...
2004).
Prior to her testimony the TMLC filed a motion to have her excluded as an expert witness. In that motion they characterized her as "little more than a conspiracy theorist and a web-surfing, 'cyber-stalker' of the Discovery Institute." Judge Jones denied the motion.
Forrest gave testimony on the history of the intelligent design movement, citing writings of prominent figures (such as Discovery Institute
Discovery Institute
The Discovery Institute is a non-profit public policy think tank based in Seattle, Washington, best known for its advocacy of intelligent design...
's "Wedge Document
Wedge strategy
The wedge strategy is a political and social action plan authored by the Discovery Institute, the hub of the intelligent design movement. The strategy was put forth in a Discovery Institute manifesto known as the Wedge Document, which describes a broad social, political, and academic agenda whose...
", Phillip Johnson
Phillip E. Johnson
Phillip E. Johnson is a retired UC Berkeley law professor and author. He became a born-again Christian while a tenured professor and is considered the father of the intelligent design movement...
's "How the Evolution Debate Can be Won", and of William Dembski). She also testified that ID was merely another name for the creationism movement, attempting to present a religious proposition as a scientific viewpoint. She stated that Johnson "regards evolution as a threat to the Bible in its entirety and as a threat to the moral fabric of American culture," and that one of the goals of his movement is to unify the religious world. She added that there is "no way to reconcile
Forrest noted that she was unaware of any evidence that the members of the School board had seen the "Wedge Document" prior to the lawsuit.
Several days prior to her scheduled testimony, the Discovery Institute publicly ridiculed her on their website.
October 6
- Jennifer Miller testified.
- Bertha Spahr testified.
October 12
- Brian AltersBrian AltersBrian J. Alters is an Associate Professor of Education and Sir William Dawson Scholar at McGill University, where he also holds the Tomlinson Chair in Science Education and is both founder and Director of the Evolution Education Research Centre...
testified. - Cynthia Sneath testified.
October 14
- Steven Stough testified.
- Kevin PadianKevin PadianKevin Padian is a Professor of Integrative Biology at the University of California, Berkeley, Curator of Paleontology, University of California Museum of Paleontology and President of the National Center for Science Education. Padian's area of interest is in vertebrate evolution, especially the...
testified. - Joel Lieb testified.
Witnesses for the defense
October 17–19- Michael BeheMichael BeheMichael J. Behe is an American biochemist, author, and intelligent design advocate. He currently serves as professor of biochemistry at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania and as a senior fellow of the Discovery Institute's Center for Science and Culture...
was the first witness for the defense. Behe is professor of BiochemistryBiochemistryBiochemistry, sometimes called biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes in living organisms, including, but not limited to, living matter. Biochemistry governs all living organisms and living processes...
at Lehigh UniversityLehigh UniversityLehigh University is a private, co-educational university located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of the United States. It was established in 1865 by Asa Packer as a four-year technical school, but has grown to include studies in a wide variety of disciplines...
in Pennsylvania, and a leading intelligent design proponent who coined the term irreducible complexityIrreducible complexityIrreducible complexity is an argument by proponents of intelligent design that certain biological systems are too complex to have evolved from simpler, or "less complete" predecessors, through natural selection acting upon a series of advantageous naturally occurring, chance mutations...
and set out the idea in his book Darwin's Black BoxDarwin's Black BoxDarwin's Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution is a book written by Michael J. Behe and published by Free Press in which he presents his notion of irreducible complexity and claims that its presence in many biochemical systems indicates therefore that they must be the result of...
.
As a primary witness for the defense, Behe was asked to support the idea that intelligent design was legitimate science. Behe's critics have pointed to a number of key exchanges under cross examination, where he conceded that "there are no peer reviewed articles by anyone advocating for intelligent design supported by pertinent experiments or calculations which provide detailed rigorous accounts of how intelligent design of any biological system occurred", and that the definition of 'theory' as he applied it to intelligent design was so loose that astrology
Astrology
Astrology consists of a number of belief systems which hold that there is a relationship between astronomical phenomena and events in the human world...
would qualify as a theory by definition as well. His simulation modelling of evolution with David Snoke
David Snoke
David W. Snoke is a physics professor at the University of Pittsburgh in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. In 2006 he was elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society "[f]or his pioneering work on the experimental and theoretical understanding of dynamical optical processes in...
described in a 2004 paper had been listed by the Discovery Institute
Discovery Institute
The Discovery Institute is a non-profit public policy think tank based in Seattle, Washington, best known for its advocacy of intelligent design...
amongst claimed "Peer-Reviewed & Peer-Edited Scientific Publications Supporting the Theory of Intelligent Design", but under oath he accepted that it showed that the biochemical systems it described could evolve within 20,000 years, even if the parameters of the simulation were rigged to make that outcome as unlikely as possible.
October 20–21
- Richard Nilsen testified.
October 21, 28, November 3
- Michael Richard Baksa testified. He was the Dover Area School District Assistant Superintendent. In an email response to a complaint by social studies teacher Brad Neal, Baksa referred to The Myth of Separation by David Barton, a book Baksa had received from Superintendent Richard Nilsen, who had received it from board member Alan Bonsell. The book calls separation of church and state "absurd." Baksa also discussed attempted changes to the statement. Teachers suggested adding "Darwin's theory of evolution continues to be the dominant scientific explanation of the origin of species," but this was eliminated by the board. The teachers also recommended altering it to read "Because Darwin's theory is a theory, there is a significant amount of evidence that supports the theory, although it is still being tested as new evidence is discovered." Citing his belief the board would reject this, Baksa eliminated the "significant amount of evidence."
October 24
- Dr. Steve Fuller is a professor of sociologySociologySociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
at the University of WarwickUniversity of WarwickThe University of Warwick is a public research university located in Coventry, United Kingdom...
in England, and author of books on social epistemologySocial epistemologySocial epistemology is a broad set of approaches to the study of knowledge, all of which construe human knowledge as a collective achievement. Another way of positioning social epistemology is as the study of the social dimensions of knowledge. One of the enduring difficulties with defining social...
and science and technology studiesScience and technology studiesScience, technology and society is the study of how social, political, and cultural values affect scientific research and technological innovation, and how these, in turn, affect society, politics and culture...
. His testimony essentially attempted a qualified defense of the scientific status of intelligent design, arguing that its history can be traced back to Newton and should include such luminaries of modern biology as Linnaeus and Mendel. He also stressed a distinction from the philosophy of science between the "context of discovery" (what motivates a scientist) and the "context of justification" (how the scientist's theory is judged) in order to mitigate the undeniably religious origins of intelligent design. Fuller memorably called for an "affirmative action" program for intelligent design, which did not win much favor with Judge Jones in his final decision. Fuller's testimony was cited by lawyers for both the plaintiffs and the defense in their closing statements.
Witnesses for the plaintiffs (called out-of-turn)
October 27- William Buckingham testified and was ruled a hostile witnessHostile witnessA hostile witness is a witness in a trial who testifies for the opposing party or a witness who offers adverse testimony to the calling party during direct examination.A witness called by the opposing party is presumed hostile...
.
October 28
- Heidi Bernhard-Bubb testified.
- Joseph Maldonado testified.
Witnesses for the defense
October 28- Heather Geesey testified.
October 31
- Jane Cleaver testified.
- Alan Bonsell testified. His testimony initially included a claim that he did not know where the money had been raised to donate sixty copies of Of Pandas and PeopleOf Pandas and PeopleOf Pandas and People: The Central Question of Biological Origins is a controversial 1989 school-level textbook written by Percival Davis and Dean H. Kenyon and published by the Texas-based Foundation for Thought and Ethics...
to the school's library. On hearing that the money had been raised in William Buckingham's church, and directed through Bonsell's father so that it might be donated anonymously, Judge Jones elected to take over the examination of Bonsell himself, questioning him for about ten minutes.
November 3
- Robert Linker testified.
- Scott MinnichScott MinnichScott A. Minnich is an associate professor of microbiology at the University of Idaho, and a fellow at the Discovery Institute's Center for Science and Culture...
testified.
Closing arguments
Closing arguments were made on November 4, 2005. Upon completion of the closing arguments, Mr. Gillen asked Judge Jones, "By my reckoning, this is the 40th day since the trial began and tonight will be the 40th night, and I would like to know if you did that on purpose." To which the judge responded, "Mr. Gillen, that is an interesting coincidence, but it was not by design." This humorous exchange provided the title for Matthew ChapmanMatthew Chapman (author)
Matthew Chapman is an English journalist, screenwriter, and director. His latest film, The Ledge, which he wrote and directed, stars Charlie Hunnam, Liv Tyler, Terrence Howard, and Patrick Wilson. It was shot in Louisiana in spring 2010 and was accepted into the main competition at Sundance 2011....
's book about the trial, 40 Days and 40 Nights.
Decision
On December 20, 2005, Judge Jones found for the plaintiffs and issued a 139 page decision, in which he wrote:Responses
Judge Jones himself anticipated that his ruling would be criticized, saying in his decision that:Fulfilling Judge Jones prediction, John G. West
John G. West
John G. West is a Senior Fellow at the Seattle-based Discovery Institute , and Associate Director and Vice President for Public Policy and Legal Affairs of its Center for Science and Culture , which serves as the main hub of the Intelligent design movement.-Biography:West received an undergraduate...
, Associate Director of the Center for Science and Culture
Center for Science and Culture
The Center for Science and Culture , formerly known as the Center for the Renewal of Science and Culture , is part of the Discovery Institute, a conservative Christian think tank in the United States...
at Discovery Institute
Discovery Institute
The Discovery Institute is a non-profit public policy think tank based in Seattle, Washington, best known for its advocacy of intelligent design...
, said:
- “The Dover decision is an attempt by an activist federal judge to stop the spread of a scientific idea and even to prevent criticism of Darwinian evolution through government-imposed censorship rather than open debate, and it won't work. He has conflated Discovery Institute's position with that of the Dover school board, and he totally misrepresents intelligent design and the motivations of the scientists who research it.”
Newspapers have noted that the judge is “a Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
and a churchgoer.” In the months following the decision, Jones received death threats and he and his family were given around-the-clock federal protection.
Settlement of the legal fees
On February 21, 2006, the newly elected Dover Area School Board voted, unanimously with one abstention, to pay $1,000,011 in legal fees and damages due to the parents and their lawyers as a result of the verdict in the case, a large sum of money for a small district. The previous school board had been offered the opportunity to rescind its policy, and avoid paying legal fees, immediately after the lawsuit was filed in 2004, but it declined. The parents' attorneys Pepper Hamilton stated that court records would show that they were entitled to more than $2 million, but were going to accept less than half that amount in recognition of the small size of the school district, and because the school board that voted for the policy had been voted out of office, leaving the new school board "having the bill placed in their laps." The previous school board had been defended without charge by the Thomas More Law Center. Richard Katskee, assistant legal director for Americans United, said of the trial's cost, "Any board thinking of trying to do what the Dover board did is going to have to look for a bill in excess of $2 million," and "I think $2 million is a lot to explain to taxpayers for a lawsuit that should never be fought."Allegations of perjury
After the trial, there were calls for the defendants accused of not presenting their case honestly to be put on trial for committing perjury. "Witnesses either testified inconsistently, or lied outright under oath on several occasions," Judge Jones wrote. "The inescapable truth is that both [Alan] Bonsell and [William] Buckingham lied at their January 3, 2005 depositions. ... Bonsell repeatedly failed to testify in a truthful manner. ... Defendants have unceasingly attempted in vain to distance themselves from their own actions and statements, which culminated in repetitious, untruthful testimony." An editorial in the York Daily RecordYork Daily Record
The York Daily Record/York Sunday News is a morning newspaper that serves York, Pennsylvania.The paper, printed in a broadsheet format, is published seven days a week...
described their behaviour as both ironic and sinful, saying that the "unintelligent designers of this fiasco should not walk away unscathed".
Analysis and criticism
The University of Montana Law review published three articles addressing this topic in its winter 2007 issue. David K. DeWolf, John G. WestJohn G. West
John G. West is a Senior Fellow at the Seattle-based Discovery Institute , and Associate Director and Vice President for Public Policy and Legal Affairs of its Center for Science and Culture , which serves as the main hub of the Intelligent design movement.-Biography:West received an undergraduate...
and Casey Luskin, senior fellows or officers of the Discovery Institute, argued that intelligent design is a valid scientific theory, that the Jones court should not have addressed the question of whether it was a scientific theory, and that the decision will have no effect on the development and adoption of intelligent design as an alternative to standard evolutionary theory. Peter Irons responded to the DeWolf et al. article, arguing that the decision was extremely well reasoned, and that it marks the end to legal efforts by the intelligent design movement
Intelligent design movement
The intelligent design movement is a neo-creationist religious campaign for broad social, academic and political change to promote and support the idea of "intelligent design," which asserts that "certain features of the universe and of living things are...
to introduce creationism in public schools. DeWolf et al. responded to the Irons article in the same issue.
Documentaries
- A War on Science, a 49 minute BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Horizon television documentaryTelevision documentaryDocumentary television is a genre of television programming that broadcasts documentaries.* Documentary television series, a television series which is made up of documentary episodes....
about intelligent designIntelligent designIntelligent design is the proposition that "certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection." It is a form of creationism and a contemporary adaptation of the traditional teleological argument for...
, including the Kitzmiller v. Dover court battle. It prominently features Oxford University professor, biologistBiologistA biologist is a scientist devoted to and producing results in biology through the study of life. Typically biologists study organisms and their relationship to their environment. Biologists involved in basic research attempt to discover underlying mechanisms that govern how organisms work...
Richard DawkinsRichard DawkinsClinton Richard Dawkins, FRS, FRSL , known as Richard Dawkins, is a British ethologist, evolutionary biologist and author...
. It was first broadcast on 26 January 2006. Intelligent design supporters and promoters Phillip E. JohnsonPhillip E. JohnsonPhillip E. Johnson is a retired UC Berkeley law professor and author. He became a born-again Christian while a tenured professor and is considered the father of the intelligent design movement...
, Michael BeheMichael BeheMichael J. Behe is an American biochemist, author, and intelligent design advocate. He currently serves as professor of biochemistry at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania and as a senior fellow of the Discovery Institute's Center for Science and Culture...
, Stephen C. MeyerStephen C. MeyerStephen C. Meyer is an American scholar, philosopher and advocate for intelligent design. He helped found the Center for Science and Culture of the Discovery Institute , which is the main organisation behind the intelligent design movement. Before joining the DI, Meyer was a professor at...
and William A. DembskiWilliam A. DembskiWilliam Albert "Bill" Dembski is an American proponent of intelligent design, well known for promoting the concept of specified complexity...
also appear in the documentary. - Judgment Day: Intelligent Design on TrialJudgment Day: Intelligent Design on TrialJudgment Day: Intelligent Design on Trial is an award-winning NOVA documentary on the case of Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District, which concentrated on the question of whether or not intelligent design could be viewed as science and taught in school science class...
, a Public Broadcasting ServicePublic Broadcasting ServiceThe Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
NOVANOVA (TV series)Nova is a popular science television series from the U.S. produced by WGBH Boston. It can be seen on the Public Broadcasting Service in the United States, and in more than 100 other countries...
television documentaryTelevision documentaryDocumentary television is a genre of television programming that broadcasts documentaries.* Documentary television series, a television series which is made up of documentary episodes....
aired in November 2007. It features interviews with the Judge, witnesses, and lawyers as well as re-enacted scenes from the proceedings (no cameras were allowed in court).
Related cases
- Scopes TrialScopes TrialThe Scopes Trial—formally known as The State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes and informally known as the Scopes Monkey Trial—was a landmark American legal case in 1925 in which high school science teacher, John Scopes, was accused of violating Tennessee's Butler Act which made it unlawful to...
- 1925 - Epperson v. ArkansasEpperson v. ArkansasEpperson v. Arkansas, 393 U.S. 97 , was a United States Supreme Court case that invalidated an Arkansas statute that prohibited the teaching of human evolution in the public schools...
- 1968 - Lemon v. KurtzmanLemon v. KurtzmanLemon v. Kurtzman, 403 U.S. 602 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that Pennsylvania's 1968 Nonpublic Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which allowed the state Superintendent of Public Instruction to reimburse nonpublic schools for the salaries of teachers who...
- 1971 - Daniel v. WatersDaniel v. WatersDaniel v. Waters was a 1975 legal case in which the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit struck down Tennessee's law regarding the teaching of "equal time" of evolution and creationism in public school science classes because it violated the Establishment clause of the US...
- 1975 - Hendren v. CampbellHendren v. CampbellHendren et al. v. Campbell et al. was a 1977 ruling by an Indiana state superior court that the young-earth creationist textbook Biology: A Search For Order In Complexity, published by the Creation Research Society and promoted through the Institute for Creation Research, could not be used in...
- 1977 - McLean v. ArkansasMcLean v. ArkansasMcLean v. Arkansas Board of Education, 529 F. Supp. 1255, 1258-1264 , was a 1981 legal case in Arkansas.A lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas by various parents, religious groups and organizations, biologists, and others who argued that the...
- 1982 - Edwards v. AguillardEdwards v. AguillardEdwards v. Aguillard, was a legal case about the teaching of creationism that was heard by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1987. The Court ruled that a Louisiana law requiring that creation science be taught in public schools, along with evolution, was unconstitutional because the law...
- 1987
Media files
- Science Wars: Should Schools Teach Intelligent Design? Video of American Enterprise InstituteAmerican Enterprise InstituteThe American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research is a conservative think tank founded in 1943. Its stated mission is "to defend the principles and improve the institutions of American freedom and democratic capitalism—limited government, private enterprise, individual liberty and...
forum that took place during the Kitzmiller case, originally broadcast on C-SPANC-SPANC-SPAN , an acronym for Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network, is an American cable television network that offers coverage of federal government proceedings and other public affairs programming via its three television channels , one radio station and a group of websites that provide streaming...
. Featuring Richard Thompson of the Thomas More Law CenterThomas More Law CenterThe Thomas More Law Center is a prominent conservative Christian, not-for-profit law center based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and is active throughout the United States. Its stated goals are defending the religious freedom of Christians, restoring "time honored values" and protecting the sanctity of...
, Paul Nelson and Mark Ryland of the Discovery InstituteDiscovery InstituteThe Discovery Institute is a non-profit public policy think tank based in Seattle, Washington, best known for its advocacy of intelligent design...
and Barbara ForrestBarbara ForrestBarbara Carroll Forrest is a professor of philosophy at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, Louisiana. She is a critic of intelligent design and the Discovery Institute.- Biography :...
. October 2005. (Windows Media file) - A presentation given by Kenneth Miller covering the Intelligent Design movement, with considerable detail to the Kitzmiller trial, at Case Western Reserve UniversityCase Western Reserve UniversityCase Western Reserve University is a private research university located in Cleveland, Ohio, USA...
. January 2006. (Flash FLV File) - Intelligent Design: Should It Be Taught in Public Schools? Post-trial meeting of the Commonwealth Club of CaliforniaCommonwealth Club of CaliforniaThe Commonwealth Club of California is a non-profit, non-partisan educational organization based in Northern California. Founded in 1903, it is the oldest and largest public affairs forum in the United States...
featuring Casey Luskin and Cornelius Hunter of the Discovery InstituteDiscovery InstituteThe Discovery Institute is a non-profit public policy think tank based in Seattle, Washington, best known for its advocacy of intelligent design...
and Eugenie ScottEugenie ScottEugenie Carol Scott is an American physical anthropologist who has been the executive director of the National Center for Science Education since 1987...
of the National Center for Science EducationNational Center for Science EducationThe National Center for Science Education is a non-profit organization based in Oakland, California affiliated with the American Association for the Advancement of Science. It is the United States' leading anti-creationist organization, and defends the teaching of evolutionary biology and opposes...
and Eric Rothschild of Pepper Hamilton LLPPepper Hamilton LLPPepper Hamilton LLP is a U.S. law firm with 11 offices and around 500 attorneys. The firm is ranked among the 100 largest firms by revenue in the United States...
. May 2006. (RAM media file) - The Intelligent Design of a High-Stakes Trial Win: A Webinar on Successful Litigation Strategies Online review of the trial by Pepper Hamilton LLPPepper Hamilton LLPPepper Hamilton LLP is a U.S. law firm with 11 offices and around 500 attorneys. The firm is ranked among the 100 largest firms by revenue in the United States...
. Participants include Eric Rothschild, Steve Harvey, and Kenneth Miller. July 2006. (Windows Media file). - Dub fi Dover: a reggae track and video created by the Genomic Dub Collective to celebrate the trial verdict (features Nick MatzkeNick MatzkeNicholas J. Matzke is the former Public Information Project Director at the National Center for Science Education and served an instrumental role in NCSE's preparation for the 2005 Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District trial...
of the NCSENational Center for Science EducationThe National Center for Science Education is a non-profit organization based in Oakland, California affiliated with the American Association for the Advancement of Science. It is the United States' leading anti-creationist organization, and defends the teaching of evolutionary biology and opposes...
as Thomas JeffersonThomas JeffersonThomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
).
Further reading
- Humes, Edward. Monkey Girl: Evolution, Education, Religion, and the Battle for America's SoulMonkey Girl: Evolution, Education, Religion, and the Battle for America's SoulMonkey Girl: Evolution, Education, Religion, and the Battle for America's Soul is a 2007 non fiction book about the Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District trial of 2005...
. New York: Ecco, 2007. ISBN 978-0-06-088548-9. - Mirsky, Steve. "Teach the Science." Scientific AmericanScientific AmericanScientific American is a popular science magazine. It is notable for its long history of presenting science monthly to an educated but not necessarily scientific public, through its careful attention to the clarity of its text as well as the quality of its specially commissioned color graphics...
, February 2006, pp. 36–38.
External links
- Website for the PBS Nova documentary "Judgement Day:Intelligent Design On Trial"
- M.D. Pa. official site for information about the case
- Dover Area School District Site
- Full text of Judge Jones' ruling, dated December 20, 2005 (317.8 KBKilobyteThe kilobyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information. Although the prefix kilo- means 1000, the term kilobyte and symbol KB have historically been used to refer to either 1024 bytes or 1000 bytes, dependent upon context, in the fields of computer science and information...
PDF file, text available from Wikisource, links shown above.) - The Vise Strategy Undone
- Verbatim Verbatim 'The opinion speaks for itself.' interview with Judge Jones, accessed August 30, 2006. Archived from the original on 2007-02-17.
- Contemporary news report featuring William Buckingham, hostile witness for the Plaintiff
- Monkey Girl: Evolution, Education, Religion, and the Battle for America's Soul.
- National Center for Science Education - Legal documents, news summaries, and podcasts from the case.
- TalkOrigins Trial documents.