Webster v. New Lenox School District
Webster v. New Lenox School District, 917 F.2d 1004 (7th Cir. 1990)[1] was a court case in Illinois, in which a social studies teacher Ray Webster sued the New Lenox School District 122 in New Lenox, Illinois, which he accused of violating his First Amendment right to free speech for stopping him from teaching "creation science" in class.[2][3] The court found however that the school district had a right to restrict Webster to teaching the specified curriculum, and that in any case the teaching of "creation science" was illegal, having been ruled to violate the establishment clause in the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Edwards v. Aguillard, 482 U.S. 578 (1987).[4]
| Webster v. New Lenox School District | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Court | United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit |
| Full case name | Ray Webster v. New Lenox School District No. 122, et al |
| Argued | February 27 1990 |
| Decided | November 6 1990 |
| Citation(s) | 917 F.2d 1004 (7th Cir. 1990) 63 Ed. Law Rep. 749 |
| Case history | |
| Prior action(s) | 88-C-2328 (N.D. Ill.) |
| Court membership | |
| Judge(s) sitting | Joel Martin Flaum, Frank H. Easterbrook, Kenneth Francis Ripple |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Ripple, joined by a unanimous court |
| Laws applied | |
| First Amendment | |
The case hinged on the school district's "pedagogical interest in establishing the curriculum and legitimate concern with possible establishment clause violations".
Webster appealed and the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed the District Court's original decision deciding "teaching creation science for any reason was a form of religious advocacy."[4]
References
- Webster v. New Lenox School District, 917 F.2d 1004 (7th Cir. 1990).
- Scott, Eugenie C. (March 19, 2001). "How to Testify at School Board Meetings". National Center for Science Education. Retrieved November 6, 2009.
- Molleen Matsumura; Louise Mead (July 31, 2007). "10 Major Court Cases about Evolution and Creationism". National Center for Science Education. Retrieved November 6, 2009.
- Than, Ker (September 27, 2005). "Anti-evolution Attacks on the Rise". Live Science. Retrieved August 5, 2008.
External links
- Text of Webster v. New Lenox School District, 917 F.2d 1004 (7th Cir. 1990) is available from: CourtListener Justia OpenJurist Google Scholar National Center for Science Education
- District Court opinion in Webster v. New Lenox School Dist., 88-C-2328 (N.D. Ill.)