Edwards v. Aguillard Trial

1
Edwards v. Aguillard Trial
2
Background

• Creationism and evolution had been fought by
  various politicians for years. In 1929, the
  Butler Act was introduced and it basically
  outlawed teaching evolution in public schools.

3
Background

• In the 1960s, evolution was again put into public
  school agendas though many people were not happy
  with it and tried to get it outlawed again. In
  the 1980s, some states decided that they want
  creationism taught while evolution was taught.
  They wanted creationism to be taught and seen as
  another theory.

4
Background

• One of the states that passed such a law was
  Louisiana. The new legislature was created by
  Sate Senator Bill P. Keith of Caddo Parish. The
  bill was entitled Balanced Treatment for
  Creation-Science and Evolution-Science in Public
  School Instruction Act. It was otherwise known as
  the Creationism act. The act made it law that
  when evolution was being taught so must creation
  science be taught along with it.

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Background

• Don Aguillard was a high school advanced biology
  teacher in Louisiana. He took notice of the new
  creation science law. He believed it threatened
  academic freedom, because it imposed religious
  implications in science. He believed that
  allowing this was unconstitutional in violation
  of the establishment clause.

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Trial

• Don Aguillard challenged the law by suing Edwin
  W. Edwards, who was the governor of Louisiana at
  the time. The cause when to the Supreme court in
  December 10, 1986.

7
Trial

• The Supreme court heard Aguillards argument of
  the act being in violation of the first amendment
  and threatening of academic freedom. The judges
  put these accusations to the test by using the
  lemon test.

8
Lemon Test

• The lemon test was created after the case of
  Lemon v. Kurtzman in 1971, which was a case about
  reinbursement of nonpublic school teacher
  salaries. The lemon test was a test made based on
  this case for future cases that had to do with
  the violation of the first ammendment having to
  do with Religion.

9
Lemon Test

• The three part Lemon test is as follows
• 1. The government's action must have a secular
  legislative purpose
• The government's action must not have the primary
  effect of either advancing or inhibiting
  religion
• The government's action must not result in an
  "excessive government entanglement" with religion.

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Lemon Test

• If any of these parts of the test are violated,
  the ruling is that it is unconstitutional. and in
  violation of the establishment clause.

11
Decision

• In Edwards v. Aguillard, the Supreme court used
  the Lemon test. In June 19, 1987, the act failed
  the Lemon test, because it did not pass all three
  parts of the test. The court ruled that teachers
  were limited by only able to teach evolution if
  they also taught creation science. They could not
  determine, which scientific principles to be
  taught.

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Dissenting Opinion

• The ruling was that the act was made to impose
  religious purpose in public schools. Justice
  Antoin Scalia and Chief Justice William Rehnquist
  dissented. They argued that the acts purpose of
  protecting academic freedom was a secular purpose
  and valid.

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Aftermath

• The ruling only affected public schools to
  refrain from teaching creation science. Nonpublic
  schools could continue to teach such sciences. A
  few years later, intelligent design theory was
  created where creation science was just changed
  to intelligent design or designer for the text
  book of Of Pandas and People. Intelligent design
  in the 1990s became a new movement of thought and
  theory in the minds of religious and nonreligious
  alike. Of Pandas and People textbook also became
  public in the trial of Kitzmiller v. Dover Area
  School District.

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Quiz

• What was the other name for the Balanced
  Treatment for Creation-Science and
  Evolution-Science in Public School Instruction
  Act?
• The Evolution Act
• The Butler Act
• The Intelligent Design Act
• The Creation Act -

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Quiz

• 2. Where was this act passed?
• Arkansas
• Tennessee
• Louisiana-
• Kentucky

16
Quiz

• 3. Who was Aguillard?
• A state representative
• A scientist
• A parent of a student
• A teacher-

17
Quiz

• 4. What did the plantiff state that the act was
  in violation of?
• The Establishment Clause
• Threatened academic freedom
• The First Amendment
• All of the Above-
• None of the Above

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Quiz

• 5. What was the name of the test that the Supreme
  Court used to judge this case?
• The Lee mon test
• The Lemon test-
• The Religious test
• The Evolution test

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Quiz

• 6. True or False. The act passed the Lemon test.
• True
• False-

20
Quiz

• 7. True or False. The act was considered
  unconstitutional.
• True-
• False

21
Quiz

• 8. The Supreme Court ruling affected all of the
  following except
• Public Schools
• Public School Teachers
• Independent Schools-
• Public School Students

22
Quiz

• 9. Which Justices had a dissenting opinion?
• Chief Justice William Rehnquist
• Thurgood Marshall
• Sandra Day OConnor
• Antonin Scalia
• AB
• AC
• AD-

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Quiz

• 10. What was creation sciences name changed to
  in the 1990s?
• Evolution
• Intelligent Design-
• Creationsim
• Creator Science

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Resources

• http//www.oyez.org/cases/1980-1989/1986/1986_85_1
  513
•  
• http//www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/US
  SC_CR_0482_0578_ZS.html
•  
• http//ncse.com/creationism/legal/edwards-v-aguill
  ard
•  
• http//www.firstamendmentschools.org/freedoms/case
  .aspx?id464
•  
• http//atheism.about.com/library/decisions/evo/bld
  ec_EdwardsAguillard.htm
•  
• http//law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conl
  aw/edwards.html
•  
• http//aclu.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceI
  D495
•  
• http//www.jstor.org/pss/4450650
•  
• http//wiki.answers.com/Q/Who_are_Edwards_and_Agui
  llard_in_the_US_Supreme_Court_case_Edwards_v._Agui
  llard
•  
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwards_v._Aguillard