Intelligent Design Rejected

The federal court in the Kitzmiller et al. vs. Dover Area School District has come to a predictable decision (pdf): Intelligent Design is creationism in disguise, and as such cannot be taught in public schools. The link is to the entire decision, which is really long but worth reading. It debunks the idea that Intelligent Design is science, along with ID's criticisms of evolutionary theory.

Specific to the Dover case:

In summary, the disclaimer singles out the theory of evolution for special treatment, misrepresents its status in the scientific community, causes students to doubt its validity without scientific justification, presents students with a religious alternative masquerading as a scientific theory, directs them to consult a creationist text as though it were a science resource, and instructs students to forego scientific inquiry in the public school classroom and instead to seek out religious instruction elsewhere.

And:

Those who disagree with our holding will likely mark it as the product of an activist judge. If so, they will have erred as this is manifestly not an activist Court. Rather, this case came to us as the result of the activism of an ill-informed faction on a school board, aided by a national public interest law firm eager to find a constitutional test case on ID, who in combination drove the Board to adopt an imprudent and ultimately unconstitutional policy. The breathtaking inanity of the Board’s decision is evident when considered against the factual backdrop which has now been fully revealed through this trial. The students, parents, and teachers of the Dover Area School District deserved better than to be dragged into this legal maelstrom, with its resulting utter waste of monetary and personal resources.

The Discovery Institute, which is the nation's leading think-tank supporting ID, responds. I hope someone appeals this to the Supreme Court, so we can get a final word on this nonsense. (Of course, perhaps we don't want this going before a Bush-appointed Supreme Court.)

Of note: Judge John Jones III was appointed by Dubya. Damned activist judges.