| Venue: | SCOTUS |
| Facts: | Scopes teaches evolution, in spite of a Tennesse act forbiding teaching evolution. |
| Posture: | Convicted and fined $100. |
| Issue: | Does the TN statute conflict with the TN constitution? |
| Holding: | No, but the fine is an error. |
| Rule: | There are two parts of the TN constitution at issue: the teaching
part and the establishment part. The court isn't going to
meddle in what should be taught-- that's for the legislature.
As for establishment, the denial or affirmation of evolution is not a religious issue: people in all sorts of religions disagree about this. When it comes to the fine, though, there's a hitch-- a fine over $50 has to be assessed by a jury, and this one was done by a judge. So we reverse this part. And we see nothing to be gained by prolonging the life of this bizarre case |
| Reasoning: | Dissent: the terms of a penal statute creating a new offense must be sufficiently explicit to inform those who are subject to it what conduct on their part will render them liable to its penalties. |
| Dicta: | |