Posted on 05/05/2005 2:16:05 PM PDT by jennyp
MARIETTA - The Cobb school board will apparently have until the end of the month to excise more than 34,000 evolution disclaimers inserted in science textbooks now that the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied its request to wait on removing the stickers until the appeals court hears the case.
On Jan. 13 Federal District Judge Clarence Cooper ruled that the school board's decision to post stickers that call evolution "a theory, not a fact" into school books violates the separation of church and state and had to be "immediately" removed.
After hearing a Cobb high school science supervisor complain that removing so many stickers would disrupt classroom instruction, Judge Cooper agreed to postpone the removal date to a week after school ends on May 20.
However, on Jan. 17 the school board voted 5-2, with board Chairwoman Kathie Johnstone and Laura Searcy dissenting, to appeal the case to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals on the proviso that the board's attorneys, the Marietta law firm Brock Clay, would represent them free of charge in the appeals process.
Moreover, Brock Clay filed a motion for stay on the sticker removal order until the court of appeals heard the case. That motion was denied Tuesday by Circuit Judges Joel Dubina, Frank Hull and Charles Wilson.
Marietta attorney Michael Manely, who, along with the American Civil Liberties Union, defended the plaintiffs in district court, said that to get a stay, it has to be proven that the case is likely to succeed on its own merits.
"This showed it's not likely to prevail," Manely said. "It's the first serious nail in the coffin from the Court of Appeals. They are expressing their preliminary thoughts on the subject. This is like a preview of what is certain to come. It tells the board that this corpse is beginning to smell really bad."
Manely, who turned over the case after Judge Cooper's ruling to Atlanta attorney Jeffrey Bramlett, a past president of the Atlanta Bar who is with the firm Bondurant Mixson and Elmore, said he expects oral arguments to be heard mid summer with a possible ruling this fall.
Manely said the school board could appeal the denial of the motion for stay, but to do so would be unlikely because the decision would go before all the judges on the 11th Circuit, whose decision would strongly influence the case's outcome.
"I'm disappointed," said board member Lindsey Tippins, who said he still wanted to go forward with the appeal.
"I think we have a valid case because the district judge said he found no intent to establish religion."
Board Vice Chair Dr. Teresa Plenge also said she wanted to proceed.
"If we don't proceed, we will be turning several hundred thousand dollars of tax payer money to the ACLU in punitive damages and it's costing us nothing because we're getting legal counsel pro bono," she said.
Dr. Plenge said Cooper's opinion could hold the school board liable for legal fees and an undetermined amount for the ACLU.
Manely estimates that legal fees could top $200,000.
According to the school system, the board spent about $74,000 in legal fees in the first case. Glenn Brock, a principal in Brock Clay has estimated the appeals cost at $25,000.
Asked what she plans to do now, Dr. Plenge said, "I guess we have to take them out. They're stuck, so it's going to be messing with the inside cover of the book."
School staff has already experimented with removing the stickers, using such things as nail polish. Removing so many stickers will not be easy, she said.
"I'm going to offer to help take out the stickers," said east Cobb parent Jeffrey Selman, who filed suit against the school board in August 2001, along with the ACLU, claiming the stickers were unconstitutional.
"I bet I can get a whole bunch of people to help them," Selman said. "God bless the judges. They can see right through this sham."
The stickers were first approved in March 2002 after the board received a petition signed by more than 2,300 residents who opposed science textbooks the board was adopting due to the evolution content.
"I think this is a serious issue and I'm anxious to hear the 11th Court of Appeals decision," Dr. Plenge said. "It's an issue that has been debated across the county and I think it's important for us to get a legal decision that tells us which is the right way to go. We thought we were doing the right thing, but then we were told we weren't. I think we need to have clear boundaries for all school systems," she said.
Brock Clay attorney Linwood Gunn, who is representing the board in the case, did not respond to a request for comment, while school system spokesman Jay Dillon said he has not heard of the court's decision.
Pinging the keeper of the crevo list, and also pinging the only freeper I know who's a lawyer.
ACLU? Nuff said.
Activist judges? nah.
ID ping +2!
The Cobb school board didn't think it would get away with violating the dogma of evolution did it. Heretics!! Blasphemers!! The federal courts won't stand for that.
Isn't it usually called "the theory of evolution."? I must be missing something here.
Once again the biased courts of America make another incorrect decision!This has always been called "THE THEORY OF EVOLUTION".I guess the courts no longer require proof or facts in their cases and that's why Americans are laughing at the courts.
Re: “13 Federal District Judge Clarence Cooper ruled that the school board's decision to post stickers that call evolution "a theory, not a fact" into school books violates the separation of church and state and had to be "immediately" removed.”
There seems to be no separation of the State and the religion of Darwinism. When I went to school there was none of this controversy. There was no “Creationism” and they taught the THEORY of Evolution. The scientific community never thought to scream about it. Just when did the scientific community stopped calling it a “theory”? The Big Bang was taught as a theory as well as a few other things. Science has lost its way big time. They were well respected before they turned theories into dogma and made every scientific study pass the political sniff test.
A likelihood of success on the merits is not the only factor. The court also looks at if there is going to be irreparable harm if the lower court's ruling is put into effect pending appeal. Here, there isn't an irreparable harm, because if the circuit court reverses the district court after the stickers have been removed, the stickers can be put back. The ACLU was trying to spin this as a sure sign that they will and should win, but that's not necessarily why the court denied the stay.
This is a monumental waste of time and money that will have absolutely no impact on the problems faced by the public school system.
Freedom is dead in America.
"It tells the board that this corpse is beginning to smell really bad."
The sticker "evolution is a theory, not a fact" is misleading. It suggests that theories somehow graduate to becoming facts, and since evolution is a theory, not a fact, this somehow diminishes the validity of the theory. It doesn't. 'Theory' is as high as it gets.
How about "gravity is a theory, not a fact". Sounds ridiculous, doesn't it?
Gravity is a theory, too.
I agree. Those stupid stickers should never have been put into the textbooks in the first place. Now they have to remove them. Idiots.
Exactly.
The government orders me to fund the public schools but they refuse to make them acceptable for me to use. This is just a small thing, though, compared to other issues I have with public schools. So oh well. Liberals own the schools. We might as well face it.
The ACLU lackey Cooper is legislating from the bench. Evolution is part of the state religion which the ACLU is trying to force upon all of us.
The school board should ignore the dictator in black robes and take the case to congress. The governor should announce that he will protect the school district in their determination not to sponsor a state religion. A showdown is needed on whether the legislative and executive branches will roll over for a judicial attempt to impose a state religion.
There is no such thing as 'the religion of Darwinism.' Darwin's Theory of Evolution is simply a scientific theory that has withstood the test of time. It is a valid theory. Nobody worships it. If it is ever falsified (highly unlikely) it will go into the trash heap with other failed theories.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.