My favorite land mark court case of all time is of course, The Scopes Monkey Trial.
The trial in which a high school football coach and substitute teacher, names John Scopes, was convicted of teaching evolution in a state funded public school. Which at the time was of course illegal, hence why he was arrested, tried, and found guilty.
His defense attorney appealed the ruling on several grounds, but the historical importance was that the court case had gained national attention. The Butler laws (the law stating creationism must be taught) stayed in effect for decades after. It wasn't till similar court cases started popping up in the 60's that Tennessee pulled the Butler laws. And it wasn't till Epperson vs. Arkansas, 1967, that teaching any religious based theories in public schools become unconstitutional.
It is a slightly different world now, isn't it? The thought of my biology teacher telling me about the bible is a strange one indeed.
What's your favorite court case?
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