United States · Courts
Tennessee Supreme Court Upholds Anti-Evolution Law but Reverses Scopes Fine
The court rules the fine was beyond a judge’s power and suggests the case be dropped.
The Tennessee Supreme Court on Saturday upheld the state’s anti-evolution law in the case of John T. Scopes, the Associated Press reported from Nashville, but reversed the lower court’s verdict. Chief Justice Green delivered the opinion.
The court found that a judge cannot assess a fine of more than $50, because that is the duty of the jury, and that the verdict must be reversed for that reason. It suggested the case against Scopes, who was convicted at Dayton in July 1925, be dropped. The chief justice said the majority, which included Judges Cook and Chambliss, held the act constitutional. Associate Justice McKinney dissented, saying the law is invalid.
Sources
- Evening Star (Washington), Jan. 15, 1927 (single paper; AP dispatch from Nashville): the opinion and the dissent <https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83045462/1927-01-15/ed-1/?sp=1>
- New Britain Herald, Jan. 15, 1927: the same AP report <https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn82014519/1927-01-15/ed-1/?sp=13>
This article was drafted with automated tools from the sources listed, checked by a review pass, and published by Daniel Varrone. Corrections: editor@monochromechronicles.com