Monday, January 30, 2006
Selman Attorney in Kansas
Michael Manley, the plaintiff's attorney who argued Selman vs. Cobb County School Board, attended the Intelligent Design, Kansas Science Education, and the Law event at the Dole Center in Lawrence, Saturday.Red State Rabble had a chance to discuss the status of the Cobb County School Board's appeal in the Selman case with Michael Manley, the attorney who successfully represented parents opposed to the "evolution is a theory, not a fact" warning labels placed on biology textbooks there.
Readers who have followed the Selman case know that the hearing on the board's appeal of Judge Cooper's decision that the stickers must be removed did not go well for defenders of science education. Although Manley successfully represented the plaintiffs before Judge Cooper, the plaintiffs were represented by Jeffrey O. Bramlett in the appeal.
Greg Land of the Fulton County Daily Report, reported in a Dec. 30 law.com article, that during the arguments, the three-judge panel sounded highly skeptical of the ruling by U.S. District Judge Clarence Cooper. They also upbraided Bramlett for making statements about the timeline of the case that 11th Circuit Judge Edward E. Carnes called "just wrong." Carnes demanded a written explanation from Bramlett.
Following the hearing, an article following in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution noted that, "Carnes may have been misinformed by an incomplete trial record.
On Dec. 22, Bramlett filed a 127-page response that said there were two petitions -- the one by Rogers, with more than 2,300 signatures, and delivered to the school board before the books were purchased, and a smaller petition delivered after the sticker plan was implemented.
After receiving Bramlett's response, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Bramlett did not fudge the facts to strengthen his case, according to the Associated Press.
Manley is hopeful that the media attention, combined with the detailed response filed by Bramlett will prompt the appeals court to look more closely at Cooper's decision leading to a favorable ruling. He expects the decision to be handed down sometime in March.
