Ron Milliner - Fake Evidence: A Look at Evolutionary Evidence for over 90 Years in the Court Cases from Scopes to Kitzmiller

2019 Ron Milliner

Fake Evidence

A Look at Evolutionary Evidence for over 90 Years
in the Court Cases from Scopes to Kitzmiller

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Library of Congress Control Number:2019906167

ISBN 978-1-400326365 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-400326389 (eBook)

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D o you remember the 2000 presidential election? Does hanging chads help stimulate the memory? The issue finally was sent to the Supreme Court. On December 12, 2000, Supreme Court Justices Kennedy, OConnor, Rehnquist, Scalia, and Thomas decided the Bush v. Gore case that resulted in George W. Bush becoming the forty-third president of the United States. Now imagine those five judges getting together with George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and Carl Rove and other Republicans every December 12 to celebrate the courts decision. Do you think such an event would be reported by todays news media? How much of a stir would be produced? Do you think there would be accusations of bias and prejudice on part of the judges for celebrating their past decision?

Such a celebration has not occurred in the Bush v. Gore case, but it has in the Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District case. The federal judge, attorneys and prominent witnesses for Kitzmiller have gotten together on the anniversary of the court case to celebrate the judges decision against the Dover Area School District and their effort to introduce the subject of intelligent design to the students in their school district. Has this celebration been publicized by the press? Has anyone brought up the legal ethics of such action? Not that I have seen. Ken Miller, the lead witness for the plaintiffs in the Kitzmiller case, spoke proudly of this event to a group of us attending the 2010 National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) conference in Nashville.

There is a Code of Conduct for United States Judges. That document states a judge should not participate in extrajudicial activities that detract from the dignity of the judges office, interfere with the performance of the judges official duties, reflect adversely on the judges impartiality, lead to frequent disqualifications, or violate the limitations set forth below (Committee on Codes of Conduct, 2009). Judge Jones spoke at the conference of the National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT) in Memphis after handing down his decision and received an exalted welcome. One of the things he said in his presentation was, This was a case that involved folks who really wore their religion on their sleeve. And I think, to my mind, that fired me up even more (Jones, 2008). Does that sound like the judge may have been a little biased against those who make religion an important part of their lives? The Code of Conduct says, The duty to be respected includes the responsibility to avoid comment or behavior that could reasonably be interpreted as harassment, prejudice or bias (Committee on Codes of Conduct, 2009). Massimo Pigliucci, a professor at the City University of New York, has written a chapter entitled Science in the Courtroom in the book Nonsense on Stilts. In speaking of those who accept intelligent design, he exclaims, What is really astounding is that these buffoons actually have gotten as far as having their day in court (Pigliucci, 2010). Is it possible that prejudice gets into our legal system?

Another thing Judge Jones affirmed in his speech was, Courts, our system of justice, cant operate when people dont tell the truth (Jones, 2008). When it comes to evolution, can science present a truthful case in the courtroom, or do we get fake evidence like CNN produces fake news (as the president would say)? Physics professor Joseph Bellina has stated, As it happens, all experiments are built on some existing theory, so the process is somewhat circular. It is not an independent study as you might hope no truth, just the best story we can tell right now (Bellina, 2011). If the nature of science is such that it cannot present truth, then what is its role in the courtroom?

There was a big push during the Obama presidency to establish national curriculum standards instead of allowing each state to decide what would be taught in its classrooms. The Common Core standards, which deal with English (or language arts) and math, proved to be very successful during those years. Dana Goldstein, writing on the American Prospect website, noted, A year ago, the idea of setting national education standards was a lot like the idea of legalizing marijuana: Despite all common sense, it just wasnt going to happen The thinking was that states rights types would never agree to let the feds mandate what kids should learn about sexual health or evolution (Goldstein, 2009). But the presidents administration had stimulus money. So U.S. News & World Report informed us, One of the most talked-about education reform initiatives currently making waves through schools nationwide and in Washington is national standards Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has been using the promise of $350 million in stimulus aid to urge states to abandon the current hodgepodge of individual standards (Miners, 2009). Kentucky was the first state to jump on board, doing so even before the Common Core standards were written. Many other states followed.

The national science standards are called the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Their implementation has not been as successful as the Common Core standards were. Yet, advocates of the teaching of evolution saw this move as a great opportunity to make sure evolution was taught in every public school across the country. This matter was discussed on the NSTA listserv. Complaining about each state having its own curriculum standards, one teacher said, This is what happens when education is considered and implemented at the state/local level versus at the national level. We end up having a GA [Georgia] Common Core where a lot of the stuff will be read through the Southern Baptist eye (Name Withheld, 2012). Another teacher saw the national standards as the solution to help students accept evolution. She aspired to the time when national standards and many states adopting the Common Core will solve that issue (Name Withheld, 2012).