Intelligent Design Will Survive Kitzmiller v. Dover

David K. DeWolf

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Montana Law Review

Abstract

The year 2005 was the year the theory of intelligent design (ID) made the headlines. It was featured on the cover of Time magazine, its study was seemingly endorsed by the President of the United States, and it became one of the most talked-about issues in the public square. However, its increasing public recognition also attracted the attention of defenders of Darwinian orthodoxy, who vowed to banish it from the realm of respectable discourse. When the Dover Area School District, located in central Pennsylvania, adopted a policy that required biology classes to be told about the theory of ID as part of a short statement introducing the topic of biological evolution, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Americans United for Separation of Church and State filed suit. As the trial began in late September 2005, Barry Lynn, Executive Director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, predicted that the Dover case would be "the death knell for intelligent design as a serious issue confronting American school boards, period. I think this will be the last case." After several months of testimony, Judge John E. Jones III issued an opinion that appeared to be just what the plaintiffs wanted. The opinion was immediately hailed by opponents of ID as having driven "a stake into the heart of the ID proponents' crusade to circumvent the Establishment Clause." Initial commentary on the case seemed to assume that Judge Jones had ruled correctly, and that the only question for the courts would be how to identify and stop further evasions of the Establishment Clause. But announcements of the demise of ID were greatly exaggerated. As even Judge Jones acknowledged, his opinion has "no precedential value outside the Middle District [of Pennsylvania]"; its influence will depend heavily upon its persuasive quality, and close inspection of the opinion reveals many fatal flaws. Before analyzing the opinion itself, it is necessary to review the factual setting in which the case arose, particularly with regard to the role of Discovery Institute, an organization with which the authors of this article are affiliated and one which played a role in Judge Jones's analysis of the issues.

First Page

7

Last Page

57

Publication Date

Winter 2007

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