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Kitzmiller V. Dover
''Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District'', 400 F. Supp. 2d 707 (M.D. Pa. 2005) was the first case brought in the United States federal courts testing a public school policy requiring the teaching of intelligent design (ID). The court found intelligent design to be not science. In October 2004, the Dover Area School District of York County, Pennsylvania, changed its biology teaching curriculum to require that intelligent design be presented as an alternative to evolution theory, and that ''Of Pandas and People'', a textbook advocating intelligent design, was to be used as a reference book.On October 18, 2004, the Board passed by a 6–3 vote a resolution that amended the biology curriculum as follows:Students will be made aware of gaps/problems in Darwin's theory and of other theories of evolution including, but not limited to, intelligent design. Note: Origins of Life is not taught.In addition, the Board resolution stated that this subject is to be covered in lecture form wit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States District Court For The Middle District Of Pennsylvania
The United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania (in case citations, M.D. Pa.) is a district level federal court with jurisdiction over approximately one half of Pennsylvania. The court was created in 1901 by subdividing the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. The court is under the jurisdiction of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the Federal Circuit). Because Harrisburg, the state capital, is located within the district's jurisdiction, most federal suits against the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania are filed in the Middle District. Similarly, because York County Prison served as the largest Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) facility in the Northeast, the Middle District also adjudicated many immigration case ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Establishment Clause
In United States law, the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, together with that Amendment's Free Exercise Clause, form the constitutional right of freedom of religion. The ''Establishment Clause'' and the ''Free Exercise Clause'' together read: The Establishment Clause acts as a double security, prohibiting both control of the government by religion and political control of religion by the government. By it, the federal government of the United States and, by later extension, the governments of all U.S. states and U.S. territories, are prohibited from establishing or sponsoring religion. The clause was based on a number of precedents, including the Constitutions of Clarendon, the Bill of Rights 1689, and the first constitutions of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. An initial draft by John Dickinson was prepared in conjunction with his drafting the Articles of Confederation. In 1789, then-congressman James Madison prepared another ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bench Trial
A bench trial is a trial by judge, as opposed to a jury. The term applies most appropriately to any administrative hearing in relation to a summary offense to distinguish the type of trial. Many legal systems ( Roman, Islamic) use bench trials for most or all cases or for certain types of cases. As a jury renders a verdict, in a bench trial, a judge does the same by making a finding. United Kingdom England and Wales Most civil trials proceed without a jury and are heard by a judge sitting alone. Summary criminal trials may be heard by a single district judge ( magistrates' court) or by a panel of at least two, but more usually three, magistrates. Section 47 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 allows a bench trial for indictable offences, but is rarely used, having been exercised only two times since its inception. Scotland Most civil trials in Scotland are conducted in a sheriff court by a sheriff sitting alone. In the Court of Session, a judge in either the outer or inne ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jury Trial
A jury trial, or trial by jury, is a legal proceeding in which a jury makes a decision or findings of fact. It is distinguished from a bench trial, in which a judge or panel of judges makes all decisions. Jury trials are increasingly used in a significant share of serious criminal cases in many common law judicial systems, but not all. Juries or lay judges have also been incorporated into the legal systems of many civil law countries for criminal cases. The use of jury trials, which evolved within common law systems rather than civil law systems, has had a profound impact on the nature of American civil procedure and criminal procedure rules, even if a bench trial is actually contemplated in a particular case. In general, the availability of a jury trial if properly demanded has given rise to a system in which fact finding is concentrated in a single trial rather than multiple hearings, and appellate review of trial court decisions is greatly limited. Jury trials are of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seventh Amendment To The United States Constitution
The Seventh Amendment (Amendment VII) to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. This amendment codifies the right to a jury trial in certain civil cases and inhibits courts from overturning a jury's findings of fact. An early version of the Seventh Amendment was introduced in Congress in 1789 by James Madison, along with the other amendments, in response to Anti-Federalist objections to the new Constitution. Congress proposed a revised version of the Seventh Amendment to the states on September 28, 1789, and by December 15, 1791, the necessary three-quarters of the states had ratified it. The Seventh Amendment is generally considered one of the more straightforward amendments of the Bill of Rights. While the Seventh Amendment's provision for jury trials in civil cases has never been incorporated (applied to the states), almost every state has a provision for jury trials in civil cases in its constitution. The prohibition of overturning a jury's findi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Equitable Remedy
Equitable remedies are judicial remedies developed by courts of equity from about the time of Henry VIII to provide more flexible responses to changing social conditions than was possible in precedent-based common law. Equitable remedies were granted by the Court of Chancery in England, and remain available today in most common law jurisdictions. In many jurisdictions, legal and equitable remedies have been merged and a single court can issue either, or both, remedies. Despite widespread judicial merger, the distinction between equitable and legal remedies remains relevant in a number of significant instances. Notably, the United States Constitution's Seventh Amendment preserves the right to a jury trial in civil cases over $20 to cases "at common law". Equity is said to operate on the conscience of the defendant, so an equitable remedy is always directed at a particular person, and that person's knowledge, state of mind and motives may be relevant to whether a remedy should b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Injunctive Relief
An injunction is an equitable remedy in the form of a special court order compelling a party to do or refrain from doing certain acts. It was developed by the English courts of equity but its origins go back to Roman law and the equitable remedy of the "interdict". "When a court employs the extraordinary remedy of injunction, it directs the conduct of a party, and does so with the backing of its full coercive powers."'' Nken v. Holder''556 U.S. 418, 428 (2009) (citation and internal quotation marks omitted). A party that fails to comply with an injunction faces criminal or civil penalties, including possible monetary sanctions and even imprisonment. They can also be charged with contempt of court. Rationale The injunction is an equitable remedy that was created by the English courts of equity. Like other equitable remedies, it has traditionally been given when a wrong cannot be effectively remedied by an award of money damages. (The doctrine that reflects this is the requirem ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Declaratory Judgment
A declaratory judgment, also called a declaration, is the legal determination of a court that resolves legal uncertainty for the litigants. It is a form of legally binding preventive by which a party involved in an actual or possible legal matter can ask a court to conclusively rule on and affirm the rights, duties, or obligations of one or more parties in a civil dispute (subject to any appeal). The declaratory judgment is generally considered a statutory remedy and not an equitable remedy in the United States, and is thus not subject to equitable requirements, though there are analogies that can be found in the remedies granted by courts of equity.''Samuels v. Mackell'', 401 U.S. 66, 70 (1971) (“Although the declaratory judgment sought by the plaintiffs was a statutory remedy rather than a traditional form of equitable relief, the Court made clear that a suit for declaratory judgment was nevertheless ‘essentially an equitable cause of action,’ and was ‘analogous to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Foundation For Thought And Ethics
The Foundation for Thought and Ethics (FTE) was a Christian non-profit organization based in Richardson, Texas, which represented itself as a “ Christian think tank”. It published textbooks and articles promoting pseudoscientific creation science and intelligent design, abstinence, and Christian nationalism. In addition, the foundation's officers and editors became some of the leading proponents of intelligent design. The FTE developed close associations with the Discovery Institute, hub of the intelligent design movement and other religious Christian groups. The FTE operated from 1981 to 2016. Foundation for Thought and Ethics Books is now listed as an imprint of Discovery Institute Press. From the outset its aim was to develop a "scientific critique" of evolution, which was published as '' The Mystery of Life's Origin'' in 1984, to be followed by "a two-model high school biology textbook". The FTE is best known for publishing the textbook ''Of Pandas and People'' in 1989, an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thomas More Law Center
The Thomas More Law Center is a Christian, conservative, nonprofit, public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor Charter Township, Michigan, and active throughout the United States. According to the Thomas More Law Center website, its goals are to "preserve America's Judeo-Christian heritage, defend the religious freedom of Christians, restore time-honored moral and family values, protect the sanctity of human life, and promote a strong national defense and a free and sovereign United States of America". The Thomas More Law Center is active in social issues such as opposing same-sex marriage, abortion, provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the HHS Mandate. The Law Center has been involved, often unsuccessfully, in high-profile cases including the litigation of the Dover, Pennsylvania intelligent design case, the defense of Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani against misconduct allegations stemming from the November 2005 Haditha incident, and the Law Center' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pepper Hamilton LLP
Troutman Pepper Locke LLP is an international law firm with more than 1,600 attorneys located in 32 U.S. cities and London. The firm was formed on January 1, 2025, as a merger of Troutman Pepper and Locke Lord. Background Before the merger Troutman Pepper Locke's predecessor, Troutman Sanders, was founded in 1897 in Atlanta as the law practice of Walter T. Colquitt. Over the years, it went through many mergers and acquisitions. Before Troutman's merger with Locke Lord, the firm had more than 1,200 attorneys located in 23 U.S. cities. The latest incarnation of the firm was a result of a merger between Troutman Sanders and Pepper Hamilton Troutman Pepper Locke LLP is an international law firm with more than 1,600 attorneys located in 32 U.S. cities and London. The firm was formed on January 1, 2025, as a merger of Troutman Pepper and Locke Lord. Background Before the merger ... in 2020. The firm had about $1.08 billion in gross revenue in 2023. Locke Lord originated i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Americans United For Separation Of Church And State
Americans United for Separation of Church and State (Americans United or AU for short) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that advocates for the disassociation of religion and religious organizations from government. The separation of church and state in the United States is commonly interpreted to be provided in the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, which states "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion..." Organization Americans United describes itself as officially non-sectarian and non-partisan. According to ''The Praeger Handbook of Religion and Education in the United States'' "It includes members from a broad religious, and non-religious, spectrum, including Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, and atheists." Its national headquarters are in Washington, D.C. Its former executive director, Barry W. Lynn, is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, as well as an attorney in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
