Re: In the News: Florida Senate panel OKs 'academic freedom' bill

On Apr 9, 7:20 pm, Free Lunch <lu...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On Thu, 10 Apr 2008 09:06:29 +1000, in talk.origins
Shane <remarcsdNOS...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in
<1tvodk6qghqf$.jjbc1cq46pvy$....@xxxxxxxxxx>:





On Tue, 8 Apr 2008 22:45:55 -0700 (PDT), Andre Lieven wrote:

On Apr 8, 9:35 pm, Paul J Gans <g...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
VoiceOfReason <papa_...@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On Apr 8, 1:28 pm, jspace...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
From the article:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
TALLAHASSEE - Florida teachers could present alternative theories to
evolution - including religion-based creationism and intelligent
design - without fear of retribution under a measure that passed a key
Senate committee on Tuesday.

The "Evolution Academic Freedom Act" was approved by the Senate
Judiciary Committee in a 6-3 vote. It next goes to the full Senate for
consideration, although no date has yet been set.

Casting votes against the bill were Democratic Sens. Ted Deutch of
Boca Raton, Steve Geller of Cooper City and Jeremy Ring of Parkland.
The committee's six Republicans voted in favor of the measure.

Sen. Ronda Storms, R-Valrico, said she filed the bill after hearing
cases of students and teachers who felt "muzzled" and unable to
discuss alternate theories in the classroom. She said teachers have
suffered retribution from school authorities, and students have been
the target of "denigrating comments" from other teachers.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------­--

Read it athttp://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-0408evolution...

J. Spaceman
If this silly bill passes into law, I wonder how long it will be
before it's declared unconstitutional.  I'd better go find my
stopwatch.  ;-)

I don't think it *is* unconstitutional.  Nobody is being kept
quiet or deprived of any ability to speak.

It goes against the decision in the Kitzmiller V Dover case, which,
since it was decided by a federal US court, is a precedent that
applies to all of the US.

Andre

The Dover decision is limited is scope. It can be cited in
other cases but does not set a binding precedent over the
entire U.S.

From:
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20060225/bob9.asp

"Because the Kitzmiller ruling won't be appealed to the
Supreme Court, its judicial precedent is binding only for
the court district that contains Dover. Nevertheless, the
ruling is influential because judges in other jurisdictions
can refer to it when deciding similar cases, says Pennock."

Court decisions can be binding or persuasive. The decisions of the
Supreme Court are binding -- though there are opportunities for inferior
courts to ask the Supreme Court to review by making a trivial
distinction and ruling in a different way. The decisions of circuits are
binding on the district courts in their circuit and can be persuasive
for other courts, including the Supreme Court. Decisions of trial courts
are rarely published and seldom referred to by other courts, but this
particular decision is well-written and is likely to be considered by
any court that has to deal with similar laws, if only because it
contains a comprehensive analysis of the state of the law and the facts
of ID.-


Anyway, I'm not sure what the fundies could do in any other court that
they didn't do in Dover, where they lost anyway.


But in essence what the bill says is that teachers can't be punished
for doing precisely what the Supreme Court (in Edwards v Aguillard and
in Freiler v Tangipahoa) has already concluded that they CANNOT do --
introduce religious "alternatives to evolution".

No judge anywhere in the United State of America is going to rule that
teachers (or anyone else) don't have to follow the law and can't be
punished if they break the law.

None.

Not a one.



================================================
Lenny Flank
"There are no loose threads in the web of life"

Editor, Red and Black Publishers
http://www.RedAndBlackPublishers.com




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