There is a lot of cynicism directed at the US courts, even amongst skeptics. The media loves to highlight miscarriages of justice and frivolous lawsuits. But every once in awhile, the stars align (figuratively of course) and everything goes perfectly. Four years ago today, intelligent design received a major black eye. Happy fourth birthday, Kitzmiller v. Dover. (You look like a monkey and you smell like one too.)
For those of you blissfully unaware of how ridiculous the world can get, Kitzmiller v. Dover took place in Dover, Pennsylvania. It was the first time a court confronted the issue of intelligent design. Backed by the infamous Discovery Institute, the Dover school board voted to include a special warning sticker inside their biology textbooks that called attention to the “gaps” in the theory of evolution and pointed students towards the pseudo-biology reference book Of Pandas and People. Tammy Kitzmiller and ten other plaintiffs sued the school board in federal court for violating the establishment clause of the US Constitution, because they saw intelligent design as religious creationism in disguise. Judge John Jones’ strongly worded opinion unflinchingly favored the plaintiffs.
Perhaps “strongly-worded opinion” is a bit too diplomatic. A more accurate description of Jones’ decision would be “verbal castration.” Looking at his decision, it is pretty clear that Judge Jones stored up a lot of anger over the course of the five week trial and decided to unload it on the defendants in a single, learned burst. His opinion was well over 11,000 words long — almost three times longer than the average Supreme Court decision — and it didn’t skimp on the insults. Jones lashed out and called the case “an utter waste of monetary and personal resources” and rebuked the school board for its “breathtaking inanity.” He forced the school district to pay the plaintiffs over a million dollars in legal fees and even recommended perjury charges to be filed against some of the defendants. As a final insult, the rogue school board was voted out of office by the citizens of Dover, and the newly elected officials chose not to appeal the case.
Victory was sweet, but one shouldn’t overstate its value. The Kitzmiller case never went very high up the court ladder, so the decision only has precedential value to the middle district of Pennsylvania. That means that if intelligent design is taught in your area, the local court can completely ignore the Kitzmiller verdict if they choose. There are 93 other federal court districts, and that translates into 93 potential battlefields. You’d better believe the intelligent design movement is still out there, itching for a legal victory. They are still fighting the bad fight.
A year before Kitzmiller made it to court, there was Selman v. Cobb Country. Like Kitzmiller, Selman involved a misleading warning sticker in biology books:
This textbook contains material on evolution. Evolution is a theory, not a fact, regarding the origin of living things. This material should be approached with an open mind, studied carefully, and critically considered.
For various reasons, the Selman case spent more time in Georgia’s court than Kitzmiller, and was finally settled out of court in May 2006. Echoing Dover, the school board was forced to remove the sticker and paid the plaintiffs’ legal fees. Undoubtedly, Judge Jones’ decision played a major part in the outcome.
In May 2007, the Chesterfield County School board in Virginia considered teaching intelligent design in their biology classes and was pummeled with questions from well-meaning but ignorant parents. (Read the meeting’s minutes if you dare.) Ultimately, the school board begrudgingly decided that it would be unconstitutional to use textbooks that endorsed intelligent design after considering the advice of their lawyer. He cited, among other cases, Kitzmiller v. Dover.
In 2005, the University of California refused to recognize certain high school biology classes because they were “inconsistent with the viewpoints and knowledge of generally accepted in the scientific community.” In response, the Association of Christian Schools International sued the university for infringing on the Christian students’ freedom of speech and freedom of religion. In 2008, the court held that the UC policy was constitutional and fairly applied. The appeal is still pending. The safe bet is that the appeal will fail miserably.
Naturally, the battle isn’t limited to the courtroom. In 2007, Representative Mike Lott tried to introduce Mississippi House Bill 625, which would allowed the teaching of intelligent design and creationism in public schools. Florida has considered a similar bill in 2009. Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum even tried to take intelligent design to a nationwide with the Santorum Amendment.
For the last few decades, evolution has managed to defeat creationism in every major judicial and legislative contest. That is no excuse let down your guard. A few ignorant judges or senators and science education could be snapped back into the 1800s. The scientific community needs to maintain its vigilance so that the Panda Trial can have children of its own.