Judges, like scientists and doctors, are not supposed to be showmen. The intrusion of ego in judicial proceedings, as in science and medicine, is not just inappropriate but a professional betrayal.
We’re approaching on December 20 the 20th anniversary Kitzmiller v. Dover decision, largely copied and pasted from ACLU attorney, errors and all, by Judge John E. Jones III. It’s easy to laugh at the judge’s egotism. As a video short from Discovery Science recounts, most judges avoid media adulation, but Jones seemed to enjoy it, even seek it out. He speculated that if the Dover trial was turned into a theatrical film, he would consider it fitting to be played himself by no less a Hollywood star than Tom Hanks.
That’s amusing. Less so is that in the media’s imagination, the Dover case, while only applying in the middle section of Pennsylvania, is still kicking around as evidence that intelligent design was finally declared religion, not science, for all time. Jones, with his extensive past experience leading the state’s Liquor Control Board, decided as much. It was, in short, both a scientific and a judicial farce. Relive some of it now:
See also, “Dover Days: A Fatuous Decision Is About to Turn 20 Years Old,” by Jonathan Witt.