EVOLUTION COURT TAKES DAY OFF AS DEFENSE CONSIDERS 'ANGLES OF ITS CASE'
Dayton, Tennessee (JFK+50) On July 11, 1925, Associated Press reports no session of the court in the case of State of Tennessee v. John T. Scopes "was scheduled for today" as the defense requested a day "to consider angles of its case."
The jury selection was completed yesterday with 9 farmers, 1 fruit grower, 1 school teacher & 1 shipping clerk having been chosen. All but one are church members.
According to prosecutors, the case should not be a contest between science and religion but should hinge simply on the question "Did Mr. Scopes teach his class that man descended from a lower form of animal?"
If it is proven that he did, then Mr. Scopes acted in clear violation of the law (Butler Act) and should be, in the view of prosecutors, found guilty.
According to Joel Christopher, Executive Editor of the Knoxville News-Sentinel, "the trial's result left both sides mistaken about how they fared in the court of public opinion and how much the underlying issues were settled."
JFK+50 NOTE
After the two-week trial, Scopes was found guilty and fined $100, but the conviction was later overturned on a technicality.
SOURCES
"Evolution Trial Off Until Monday," The Evening Star, Washington, D.C., July 11, 1925, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/
"Scopes trial spotlights modern debate about American values," by Joel Christopher, The Knoxville News-Sentinel, July 6, 2025.
