Note: Because of the overriding importance of this trial and its outcome, considerable space will be dedicated to the discussion of actions of the defendants, the trial testimony, and the 139 page decision by the judge. The presentation will be divided into three separate blogposts.
Tammy Kitzmiller et al, plaintiffs v. Dover Area School District et al, defendants [Dover Area School District, Dover Area School District Board of Directors]. Case No. 04cv2688
In the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, Judge John E. Jones III, presiding.
For the plaintiffs: Eric Rothschild of the firm of Pepper Hamilton LLP supported by the American Civil Liberties Union, and the Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
For the defendants: The Thomas More Law Center
Memorandum opinion: December 20, 2005
Opinion: “While we find that ID arguments may be true, a proposition on which the Court takes no position, ID is not science. We find that ID fails on three different levels, any one of which is sufficient to preclude a determination that ID is science…ID’s negative attacks on evolution have been refuted by the scientific community. ID has failed to gain acceptance by the scientific community; it has not generated peer-reviewed publications; nor has it been the subject of testing and research.”
Background:
Several members of the Dover, Pennsylvania Board of Education expressed concern about the teaching of evolution in the district’s schools. During the summer of 2004, they were given legal advice by the Discovery Institute, and in July, they accepted an offer by the Thomas More Law Center to represent them. On October 18, 2004, the school board voted 6-3 to add the following statement to their biology curriculum: Students will be made aware of the gaps/problems in Darwin’s theory and of other theories of evolution including, but not limited to, intelligent design. Note: Origins of life is not taught. Members who voted for the statement included William Buckingham who resigned in August 2005 due to health concerns, Alan Bonsell, Sheila Harkins, Heather Greesey, Jane Cleaver, who resigned October 4, 2004, and Angie Ziegler-Yingling, who resigned December 6, 2004. The three members who voted against it were Noel Wenrich, who resigned October 4, 2004, and Jeff and Carol Brown, who resigned October 18, 2004. All three dissenting voters resigned in protest.
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 Pennsylvania Academic Standards require students to learn about Darwin’s theory of evolution and eventually to take a standardized test of which evolution is a part. Because Darwin’s Theory is a theory, it is still being tested as new evidence is discovered. The Theory is not a fact. Gaps in the Theory exist for which there is no evidence. A theory is defined as a well-tested explanation that unifies a broad range of observations. Intelligent design is an explanation of the origins of life that differs from Darwin’s view. The reference book, Of Pandas and People, is available for students to see if they would like to explore this view in an effort to gain an understanding of what intelligent design actually involves. As is true in any theory, students are encouraged to keep an open mind. The school leaves the discussion of the origins of life to individual students and their families. As a standards-driven district, class instruction focuses upon preparing students to achieve proficien-cy in standards-based assessments.
Reaction to the board vote and the press release was almost immediate. Three board members resigned. Science teachers in the district refused to read the statement to their students, citing the Pennsylvania code of education, which states that teachers cannot present information they believe to be false. The statement was read to the students by a school administrator. On December 14, 2004, the American Civil Liberties Union filed suit on behalf of eleven parents from the Dover school district, including Tammy Kitzmiller, who was both a parent and a ninth-grade biology teacher.
Through its chosen law firm, the school board stated that there are gaps in evolution and students have a right to consider other views on the origins of life. The board claimed that it does not teach intelligent design but simply makes students aware of its existence. It denied that intelligent design is religion in disguise. That claim appeared to many Dover citizens to be disingenuous and dubious since the law firm, Thomas More Law Center, is a conservative Christian not-for-profit law center that pursues litigation, as it states “to promote the religious freedom of Christians and time-honored family values”. Its mission statement is that the center “…is to be the sword and shield of people of faith”.
The ACLU sought a law firm willing to take the case pro bono. Eric Rothschild, one of the partners of Pepper Hamilton LLP and a member of the national Center for Science Education legal advisory council, agreed.
John West of the Discovery Institute, a conservative Christian organization that lobbies in support of Intelligent Design education, publicly stated that the ACLU’s “Orwellian” effort was to stifle scientific discourse and objected to the issue being decided in court. He pointedly argued that, “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…That is a flagrant assault on free speech.” Opponents to that statement, including the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the National Association of Biology Teachers, countered that West’s statement was not just ironic, but hypocritical, since 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. The gauntlet had been hurled down, and despite its greatest fears and over its protests; the Discovery Institute was embroiled in what could likely become a test case.