Summary of the case

In March 2002, the Cobb County School District in Georgia voted to insert the label below on the inside front cover of biology and other science textbooks.

• In November 2004, Jeffrey Selman and 3 other parents brought suit against the school district on constitutional grounds.
• In January 2005, Federal District Court Judge Clarence Cooper ruled that the disclaimers are unconstitutional.
• In April, Cobb County School District filed an Appeals brief with 11th Circuit Court of Appeals
• In June 2005, Selman et al. filed a brief with 11th Circuit Court of Appeals
• In June 2005, NCSE submitted an amicus brief along with 7 others urging the Appeals Court to uphold the District Court ruling.
• In December 2005, a 3-judge panel heard oral argument in the appeal
• In May 2006, the Appeals Court remanded the case to the district court for clarification of the evidentiary record.
• On December 19, 2006, the lawsuit reached a settlement; the Cobb County School District agreed not to disclaim or denigrate evolution either orally or in written form.

All the legal documentation available to us for this case is provided at the bottom of this page. It is arranged in chronological order.

For key documents and articles associated with each phase of the case, please see the following pages:

Initial Trial Appeal Retrial and Settlement

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Related Off-Site Material

Kenneth Miller, writing in the Boston Globe: Remove stickers, open minds

Nick Matzke, at The Panda's Thumb: History and Cobb County

Attachment	Size
8/21/02: Original Complaint	399.79 KB
2/24/03: Defendants' initial disclosures	182.69 KB
4/4/03: Plaintiff's discovery plan	270.25 KB
3/21/03: Motion to intervene on behalf of defendants	813.4 KB
4/4/03: Motion to add plaintiffs	133.88 KB
4/4/03: Plaintiff's response to motion to intervene	44.07 KB
4/17/03: Joint preliminary planning report and discovery plan	64.08 KB
6/24/03: Deposition of Joseph Redden	8.94 MB
6/25/03: Deposition of Lindsey Tippins	21.1 MB
6/30/03: Deposition of Curtis L. Johnston	7.23 MB
7/1/03: Deposition of Teresa Plenge	11.75 MB
7/8/03: Deposition of Jeffrey Selman	12.8 MB
7/8/03: Notice of deposition of Jeffrey Selman	27.88 KB
7/21/03: Defendants' motion for summary judgment	1.23 MB
8/9/03: Affidavit of Ronald Matson, for plaintiffs	489.24 KB
8/10/03: Affidavit of Eugenie Scott, for plaintiffs	873.44 KB
8/11/03: Affidavit of Benjamin Freed, for plaintiffs	390.54 KB
8/12/03: Affidavit of Sarah Pallas, for plaintiffs	356.42 KB
3/31/04: Order denying plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment	633 KB
9/8/04: Defendants' First Trial Brief	40.69 KB
9/17/04: Entry of appearance for plaintiffs' counsel	86.93 KB
11/4/04: Plaintiffs' notice of filing of original discovery materials	85.24 KB
11/5/04: Brief of Amici Curiae for defendants--Discovery Institute et al.	597.07 KB
11/5/04: Brief of Amicus Curiae for defendants--Parents for Truth in Education	1.48 MB
11/8/04: Plaintiffs' findings of fact and conclusions of law	1.76 MB
11/8/04: Court Transcript--testimony of Rogers, McCoy, Silver, Miller & Searcy	402.58 KB
11/9/04: Court Transcript--testimony of Redden, Tippins, Selman, Moreno, Plenge & Gray	297.95 KB
11/10/04: Court Transcript--testimony of Quenan, Chapman & Stickel	181.91 KB
11/12/04: Court Transcript--closing arguments	95.67 KB
11/15/04: Brief of Amici Curiae for plaintiffs--NMAS & 7 "citizens for science education" groups	79.91 KB
11/16/04: Brief of Amicus Curiae for defendants--J. Foy Guin	546.95 KB
1/13/05: Court opinion and ruling	2.46 MB
1/17/05/: Cobb County School District press release announcing appeal	70 KB
4/11/05: Brief of appellants (defendants)	1.79 MB
4/18/05: Brief of Amicus Curiae for appellants (defendants)--Alliance Defense Fund	735.92 KB
4/18/05: Brief of Amicus Curiae for appellants (defendants)--Discovery Institute et al.	974.81 KB
4/18/05: Brief of Amicus Curiae for appellants (defendants)--Foundation for Moral Law	127.15 KB
4/18/05: Brief of Amici Curiae for appellants (defendants)--States of Alabama & Texas	1.01 MB
4/20/05: Motion to file Brief of Amicus Curiae for appellants (defendants)	257.63 KB
4/20/05: Motion to file Brief of Amicus Curiae for appellants (defendants)	322.98 KB
4/20/05: Brief of Amicus Curiae for appellants (defendants)--ISKCON	1.41 MB
5/20/05: Court order granting/denying leave to file Briefs of Amici Curiae	42.04 KB
6/1/05: Brief of appellees (plaintiffs)	196.61 KB
6/?/05: Brief of Amici Curiae for appellees (plaintiffs)--NSTA & NABT	159.8 KB
6/7/05: Brief of Amici Curiae for appellees (plaintiffs)--Georgia Citizens for Integrity in Science Education and 11 other "citizens for science education" groups	68.07 KB
6/9/05: Motion for reconsideration of leave to file Brief of Amicus Curiae for appellants (defendants)--Foundation for Moral Law	67.01 KB
6/9/05: Motion to file Brief of Amici Curiae--National Council of Jewish Women & Interfaith Alliance	294.39 KB
6/9/05: Brief of Amici Curiae for appellees (plaintiffs)--56 professional scientific organizations	157.63 KB
6/9/05: Brief of Amicus Curiae for appellees (plaintiffs)-- American Jewish Congress	1.09 MB
6/9/05: Brief of Amici Curiae for appellees (plaintiffs)--AU, AJC & ADL	182.73 KB
6/9/05: Brief of Amici Curiae for appellees (plaintiffs)--NCJW & Interfaith Alliance	684.41 KB
6/10/05: Brief of Amici Curiae for appellees (plaintiffs)--Clergy and Laity Network & Witherspoon Society	718.92 KB
6/10/05: Brief of Amici Curiae for appellees (plaintiffs)--NCSE & PFAW	215.1 KB
6/20/05: Appellants' (defendants') reply brief	1.19 MB
6/23/05: Brief of Amicus Curiae for appellants (defendants) and motion to file--Herman Cummings	1.04 MB
1/4/06: Court order--court not misled by counsel	85.59 KB
5/25/06: Appeals Court opinion and ruling	118.74 KB
8/7/06: Plaintiffs' motion for discovery and scheduling order	59.29 KB
8/7/06: Plaintiffs' memorandum in support of motion for discovery and scheduling	51.65 KB
8/10/06: Defendants' memorandum opposing motion for discovery and scheduling	58.24 KB
8/15/06: Plaintiffs' reply in support of motion for discovery and scheduling	40.16 KB
8/28/06: Plaintiffs' proposed stipulated order	13.07 KB
10/3/06: Court order on discovery and scheduling	157.69 KB
11/11/06: Expert witness report for plaintiffs--Brian Alters	40.86 KB
11/16/06: Expert witness report for plaintiffs--Kenneth Miller	63.57 KB
11/17/06: Expert witness report for plaintiffs--Eugenie Scott	235.58 KB
12/19/06: Plaintiffs' final proposed stipulated order	14.33 KB
12/19/06: Settlement and school district press release	125.94 KB