Results tagged “intelligent design” from York Town Square

This 6-foot-high Ten Commandments monument has stood in Hanover's Wirt Park since the 1950s. In 2003, the marker was challenged in court. The matter was resolved when a non-profit group purchased a 15-foot plot. It is one of several First Amendment cases in York County in the past 50 years. Background post: A refresher on Dover ID case and For years, York countians part of major court cases and Witman murder among York County's most notorious crimes.

Albert Snyder's federal lawsuit against the Westboro Baptist Church covered such issues as privacy, freedom of speech, freedom of religion and the right to assemble. That all stemmed from the religious group's picketing the funeral of Albert Snyder's son, Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, the Marine who was killed in Iraq in March 2006.

It was one of many high-profile court cases in York County or involving county residents in the past 50 years that explored First Amendment issues, particularly the freedom of religion clause... .

Plaintiff Tammy Kitzmiller, seen with fellow plaintiff Steve Stough, is the Kitzmiller in the Dover ID case caption, 'Kitzmiller v. Dover.'

The Dover Area School Board added a mention of intelligent design to its ninth-grade biology curriculum in October 2004.

About three years later, and with an exploration of the case by PBS' "Nova" on the horizon, it's easy to forget the wording of that mention.

So, as a refresher, here is the statement read to classes that caused the internationally famous Dover ID trial:

The aftermath of the Dover intelligent design trial continues to create issues that demand news coverage. This week, the Christian group Repent America is handing out fliers advertising an upcoming creationism vs. evolution event at Dover's high school. http://www.ydr.com/doverbiology/ci_3557843

And the impact of the local decision is being felt in courts and school districts in Ohio and elsewhere.

And other intriguing details are coming to light, too. Personal type of stuff.

Joe Maldonado, a York Daily Record/Sunday News freelancer called to testify by the plaintiffs attorneys and ACLU in the federal court case, has penned some heartfelt poems written in the middle of the flurry of subpoenas that compelled his testimony.

You might remember that Joe and fellow correspondent Heidi Bernhard-Bubb risked jail time and fines by staring down subpoenas for full testimony about their coverage of the then pro-ID Dover school board. They took the stand after the judge agreed to restrict their testimony to what was published. (See "Reporters emerge as heroes in Dover ID trial" in the York Town Square archives.)

Anyway, the prospect of jail weighed heavily on Joe and his family. Witness the following from his new poetry collection, "The 3 a.m. Journal of Joseph S. Maldonado." ...

To help folks understand the concept of reporter's privilege - at issue in the Dover intelligent design trial - we put forth a column of explanation. I hope this makes the concept a little clearer: