Federal court clears way for Pa. lawsuit against 'intelligent design'.A federal court Sept. 13 refused to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the teaching of "intelligent design" in a Pennsylvania public school. U.S. District Judge John E. Jones III John Edward Jones III (born June 13 1955) 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 ruled that the case presents compelling issues that are ripe for adjudication The legal process of resolving a dispute. The formal giving or pronouncing of a judgment or decree in a court proceeding; also the judgment or decision given. The entry of a decree by a court in respect to the parties in a case. . His ruling cleared the way for the case to go to trial. Arguments began Sept. 26. Americans United for Separation of Church and State Americans United for Separation of Church and State (Americans United or AU for short) is a religious freedom advocacy group in the United States which promotes the separation of church and state, a legal doctrine seen by the AU as being enshrined in the Establishment and the American Civil Liberties Union American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), nonpartisan organization devoted to the preservation and extension of the basic rights set forth in the U.S. Constitution. of Pennsylvania filed the suit against the 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 Dover Borough, in York County, Pennsylvania. See also
Lawyers for the school district argued that the change was minor and not a violation of the First Amendment, insisting that it serves a valid secular purpose. They asked the court to throw the lawsuit out. Jones was not persuaded. "[W]e hold that genuine issues of material fact exist regarding whether the challenged Policy has a secular purpose and whether the Policy's principal or primary effect advances or inhibits religion, despite Defendants' arguments to the contrary," Jones wrote. Trial in the Kitzmiller v. Dover lawsuit is expected to continue through October. The parents who are challenging the school policy are determined to win a victory for public schools and church-state separation. They insist that intelligent design is merely the latest variant of creationism creationism or creation science, belief in the biblical account of the creation of the world as described in Genesis, a characteristic especially of fundamentalist Protestantism (see fundamentalism). and does not belong in science classes. Said Steve Stough, "I have joined this lawsuit because I believe that religious education is a personal matter whose instructional component is best reserved for home or at a church of one's choice. It is my responsibility for the direction of my daughter's religious instruction--not the public high school." |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion