Selman v. Cobb County School District
Encyclopedia
Selman v. Cobb County School District, 449 F.3d 1320 (11th Cir. 2006), was a 2006 American
court case in Cobb County, Georgia
involving a sticker placed in biology
textbooks. The sticker was a disclaimer stating that "Evolution
is a theory
, not a fact, concerning the origin of living things." By employing colloquial definitions of "theory" and "fact", the sticker cast doubt on the scientific consensus
regarding evolutionary theory. (For a further discussion see evolution as theory and fact
).
After a trial, the sticker was found by Federal District Judge Clarence Cooper to violate the establishment clause of the US Constitution. However, this was overturned on a technicality by appeals court, who sent it back to the original district court. It was then settled out of court in favor of the plaintiffs.
and Joseph Levine) was adopted on the condition that the sticker would be attached to them.
The disclaimer read:
The expression "evolution is a theory and not a fact" has been used as a tactic by creationists and intelligent design
advocates, where "theory" is understood in a colloquial sense to signify "conjecture", "speculation" or "opinion".
Both creationist and intelligent design teaching in schools has been subject to various legal challenges and has been found to be a violation of the Establishment Clause (notably Edwards v. Aguillard
, Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District
). A similar oral disclaimer, required by one school district before teaching of evolution, had previously been ruled unconstitutional in the 1997 case Freiler v. Tangipahoa in Louisiana
.
The plaintiffs brought suit against the school district on November 8, 2004.
In 2005, as a parody of the warning labels affixed in all biology textbooks mentioning evolution, the leading scientific journal Nature
put a "warning label" about evolution on its front cover.
On the first prong, the judge decided that the government's intention was secular;
However, it noted that it violated the second prong.
The National Center for Science Education
applauded the decision as "Victory in Cobb County."
, which remanded the case back to the original court for further findings of fact. The plaintiffs appealed for a retrial to which the courts agreed. The plaintiffs utilized the same attorneys, Eric Rothschild and Richard Katskee of Pepper Hamilton, who had prevailed in Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District
in 2005. They also used Brian Alters
, Kenneth R. Miller
, and Eugenie Scott
as expert witnesses.
announced that the case had been settled out of court in favor of the plaintiffs. Cobb County school officials will not order the placement of "any stickers, labels, stamps, inscriptions, or other warnings or disclaimers bearing language substantially similar to that used on the sticker that is the subject of this action" and would not undermine science education in the future. The school district also agreed to pay $166,659 towards attorneys' fees in the case. The decision was hailed by the National Center for Science Education
and the American Civil Liberties Union
.
The website Answers in Genesis
responded, "It’s definitely a victory for humanism and censorship, but it is not a victory for science or for parents or their children who are being told they cannot question or challenge evolution in the classroom.". The Discovery Institute offered takes on the ruling that were viewed as "spin" and issued an official opinion that an "incompetent defense by Cobb County attorney may have caused [the] school district loss."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
court case in Cobb County, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
involving a sticker placed in 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...
textbooks. The sticker was a disclaimer stating that "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...
is a theory
Theory
The English word theory was derived from a technical term in Ancient Greek philosophy. The word theoria, , meant "a looking at, viewing, beholding", and referring to contemplation or speculation, as opposed to action...
, not a fact, concerning the origin of living things." By employing colloquial definitions of "theory" and "fact", the sticker cast doubt on the scientific consensus
Scientific consensus
Scientific consensus is the collective judgment, position, and opinion of the community of scientists in a particular field of study. Consensus implies general agreement, though not necessarily unanimity. Scientific consensus is not by itself a scientific argument, and it is not part of the...
regarding evolutionary theory. (For a further discussion see evolution as theory and fact
Evolution as theory and fact
"Evolution is both fact and theory" is a statement that appears in numerous publications on biological evolution. The statement is framed to clarify misconceptions about the philosophy of evolution primarily in response to creationist statements that "evolution is only a theory"...
).
After a trial, the sticker was found by Federal District Judge Clarence Cooper to violate the establishment clause of the US Constitution. However, this was overturned on a technicality by appeals court, who sent it back to the original district court. It was then settled out of court in favor of the plaintiffs.
Background
In 2001 the school district began the process of adopting new science textbooks. The adoption process led to a legal review, and later revision, of existing policy and regulation on theories of origin. When parents became aware that the new textbook and changes in policy would result in strengthening the teaching of evolution, a petition against this was organised and signed by 2,300 parents. In an attempt to defuse this protest, the new textbook (written by Kenneth MillerKenneth 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 Levine) was adopted on the condition that the sticker would be attached to them.
The disclaimer read:
The expression "evolution is a theory and not a fact" has been used as a tactic by creationists and 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...
advocates, where "theory" is understood in a colloquial sense to signify "conjecture", "speculation" or "opinion".
Both creationist and intelligent design teaching in schools has been subject to various legal challenges and has been found to be a violation of the Establishment Clause (notably Edwards v. Aguillard
Edwards v. Aguillard
Edwards 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...
, Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District
Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District
Tammy Kitzmiller, et al. v. Dover Area School District, et al. 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...
). A similar oral disclaimer, required by one school district before teaching of evolution, had previously been ruled unconstitutional in the 1997 case Freiler v. Tangipahoa in Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
.
The plaintiffs brought suit against the school district on November 8, 2004.
In 2005, as a parody of the warning labels affixed in all biology textbooks mentioning evolution, the leading scientific journal Nature
Nature (journal)
Nature, first published on 4 November 1869, is ranked the world's most cited interdisciplinary scientific journal by the Science Edition of the 2010 Journal Citation Reports...
put a "warning label" about evolution on its front cover.
Original decision
The original decision in January 2005 decided that the stickers violated the Lemon test, that is:- The government's action must have a legitimate secular purpose;
- The government's action must not have the primary effect of either advancing or inhibiting religion; and
- The government's action must not result in an "excessive entanglement" of the government and religion.
On the first prong, the judge decided that the government's intention was secular;
"the court found that the School Board sought to advance two secular purposes... ...to encourage students to engage in critical thinkingCritical thinkingCritical thinking is the process or method of thinking that questions assumptions. It is a way of deciding whether a claim is true, false, or sometimes true and sometimes false, or partly true and partly false. The origins of critical thinking can be traced in Western thought to the Socratic...
... [and] ...to reduce offense to those students and parents whose personal beliefs might conflict with teaching on evolution."
However, it noted that it violated the second prong.
The critical language of the Sticker that supports the conclusion that the Sticker runs afoul of the Establishment Clause is the statement that "[e]volution is a theory, not a fact, concerning the origin of living things." This statement is not problematic because of its truth or falsity, although testimony from various witnesses at trial and the amicus brief submitted by the Colorado Citizens for Science, et al., suggest that the statement is not entirely accurate. Rather, the first problem with this language is that there has been a lengthy debate between advocates of evolution and proponents of religious theories of origin specifically concerning whether evolution should be taught as a fact or as a theory, and the School Board appears to have sided with the proponents of religious theories of origin in violation of the Establishment Clause.
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...
applauded the decision as "Victory in Cobb County."
Appeal and retrial
On May 25, 2006 the decision was vacated by the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh CircuitUnited States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* Middle District of Alabama...
, which remanded the case back to the original court for further findings of fact. The plaintiffs appealed for a retrial to which the courts agreed. The plaintiffs utilized the same attorneys, Eric Rothschild and Richard Katskee of Pepper Hamilton, who had prevailed in Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District
Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District
Tammy Kitzmiller, et al. v. Dover Area School District, et al. 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 2005. They also used Brian Alters
Brian Alters
Brian 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...
, 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 Eugenie Scott
Eugenie Scott
Eugenie Carol Scott is an American physical anthropologist who has been the executive director of the National Center for Science Education since 1987...
as expert witnesses.
Settlement out of court
On December 19, 2006 Americans United for Separation of Church and StateAmericans 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...
announced that the case had been settled out of court in favor of the plaintiffs. Cobb County school officials will not order the placement of "any stickers, labels, stamps, inscriptions, or other warnings or disclaimers bearing language substantially similar to that used on the sticker that is the subject of this action" and would not undermine science education in the future. The school district also agreed to pay $166,659 towards attorneys' fees in the case. The decision was hailed by 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...
and 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...
.
The website Answers in Genesis
Answers in Genesis
Answers in Genesis is a non-profit Christian apologetics ministry with a particular focus on supporting Young Earth creationism and a literal interpretation of the Book of Genesis. The organization has offices in the United Kingdom and the United States...
responded, "It’s definitely a victory for humanism and censorship, but it is not a victory for science or for parents or their children who are being told they cannot question or challenge evolution in the classroom.". The Discovery Institute offered takes on the ruling that were viewed as "spin" and issued an official opinion that an "incompetent defense by Cobb County attorney may have caused [the] school district loss."