"Scopes' defense team, headed by the famous lawyer Clarence Darrow, assembled seven of America's top geologists, zoologists, and anthropologists to testify about the scientific consensus surrounding biological evolution. Since the defense conceded that Scopes had, in fact, taught the theory of evolution and, thus, had violated the Butler Act, the prosecution team argued that the scientists' expert testimony was, in effect, irrelevant to the issue at hand in the trial."
"The Scopes trial raised the issue of the legal status of the scientific consensus concerning evolution. Some scientific discoveries are presumed in legal proceedings, while others are not. Common sense seems insufficient for adjudicating legal issues involving cutting-edge science and technology. This year is the centennial of one of the most celebrated trials in American history. In Dayton, Tennessee, a local schoolteacher, John Scopes, volunteered to be the defendant."
The Scopes prosecution tested the legal status of the scientific consensus on biological evolution under Tennessee's Butler Act, which banned teaching evolution in public schools. The defense assembled leading geologists, zoologists, and anthropologists to testify about that consensus, while conceding that Scopes had taught evolution. The prosecution argued that no contested fact remained and that expert scientific testimony was therefore irrelevant. The trial judge ruled the scientists' testimony inadmissible but allowed it into the record for potential appellate review. The case highlights uncertainties about which scientific findings courts will presume and how to handle cutting-edge science in legal adjudication.
Read at Psychology Today
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