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Haven't bee ntrying to avoid this thread. Been busy.

It's pretty obvious that the plaintiffs got everything they wanted in this case. I think the judge is wrong, but he made the ruling he made.

Since there will likely be no appeal given the current composition of the school board, the only party bound by this decision is the Dover School Board. Contrary to some news reports, this decision is not binding on the other judges in the US District Court.

The case that should draw our attention next is the upcoming decision in the 11th Circuit in the Cobb County School Board case. Based on reports of oral arguments, it seems likely the 11th circuit will likely be the opposite in a similar case.

I will try to get around to reading the entire decision in the next day or two, and then will make some comments.

Please keep in mind that I do not avoid threads simply beccause I may not like or agree the the decision of a judge. As you may or may not recall, I was in favor of a perjury prosecution for those defendants who committed perjury in their depositions. It was foolish of them to do so and I stated that it would not help their case; and in fact, hurt it. that certainly seems to be the case.

Good to see you here; I figured there had to be something occupying you to keep you away. For all our disagreements, I'd never peg you for one to lay low.

Your assessment on the likelihood of appeal and the result respecting the case not being binding on a larger scale are pretty much what I figure too.

As for perjury charges, that's always a possibility, but I wouldn't count on it too much unless the judge wants to make a point of discouraging it in his courtroom. Not any real judicial gains to be had otherwise. It would just be salt in wounds and I've never seen much point in that.

From the brief scans I've done over the decision, I get the impression that the judge ruled fairly broadly. He didn't seem to want to leave any doubt as to his legal opinion on all aspects of the matter. While that makes the case fertile ground as a source for precedent, it does give more opportunity for the defense to mount an appeal in the unlikely event that they should decide to. The judge also obviously expects some political fallout to come his way and I think his comments show that he's bracing for it in advance.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to you sharing your thoughts on it after you've had a chance to absorb it. Talk to you later!

Haven't yet had a chance to read the opinion, but an interesting point came to mind, which is mostly an intellectual exercise.

Since it appears that the 'new' school board is not going to appeal this decision, what would happen if some future school board decided that it was appropriate to make a statement similar to the one the 'old' school board wanted?

Some future school board is not a party to this particular case, especially if all the members are different.

A further interesting factor is that if there is no judicial review of the trial court decision because the 'new' school board declined to appeal, just how binding is this decision on a future board. This may factor in because there is not currently an adversarial relationship between the plaintifs and the current school board.

Since future school board members are not parties to this law suit, res judicata may very well not apply to a future case.

As a practical matter for the near future, it doesn't make a difference. It would be interesting if the current school board authorized the defense attorneys to pursue an appeal that would conclusively determine any future similar case. That would certainly entail some risks for both parties and I think the current school board/plaintiffs would be wise to simply let things stand as they currently are.

If the Cobb County School Board case is decided in favor of the school board and it goes to the USSC, the Dover case could be, as a practical matter, overturned.

While the evolutionists clearly won the battle in the Dover case, the war is far from over.