Last Post: Nonprofits Clash Over Evolution and Science

Last Post: Nonprofits Clash Over Evolution and Science

Concluding post in a 7-part series on a legal dispute between two local nonprofits – and the national cultural controversy that underlies the dispute.

On January 6, I began this series of posts with the question, “Why is one local nonprofit suing another?”  I have tried to answer the question by taking a closer look at each of the nonprofits involved in this dispute and at the issues animating their disagreement.

This is the story in outline:

The American Freedom Alliance rented the IMAX Theater at the California Science Center for an October 6 screening of the film, “Darwin’s Dilemma: The Mystery of the Cambrian Fossil Record,” a documentary challenging the theory of evolution and promoting the theory of intelligent design.

The California Science Center, acting after receipt of a complaint from the Smithsonian Institute about a press release issued by Discovery Institute promoting the screening of “Darwin’s Dilemma,” canceled the rental.

The American Freedom Alliance filed suit on October 14 for breach of contract and violation of its First Amendment right to free speech.  (According the AFA’s complaint, “The lawsuit is believed to be the first since the 2005 case of Kitzmiller v. Dover to consider the public’s right to learn about intelligent design.”)

Discovery Institute, which on October 9 had requested all Science Center documents relevant to the case, filed suit on December 1 alleging that not all documents had been turned over, in violation of the California Public Records Act.

Over the past several days, I focused especially on the cultural dispute over evolution and intelligent design – and on the role of Discovery Institute, the prime mover nationally on the religious side of the debate.  Discovery Institute has skillfully manufactured controversy (suggesting a lack of scientific consensus regarding evolution) to influence public opinion.  Stephen Meyer, director of the Center for Science and Culture, is among the advocates of intelligent design featured in “Darwin’s Dilemma” and affiliated with Discovery Institute.

The American Freedom Alliance, which has taken no public position on the merits of either evolution or intelligent design, is allied with Discovery Institute in fueling this manufactured controversy.

I’ll elaborate a bit about this story by highlighting a couple of links that I didn’t feature in my earlier posts.

First is the news release that Discovery Institute issued about the screening.  (This link was provided by Discovery Institute in response to my request.)

Second, an excerpt  – which Discovery Institute regards as confirming evidence of the First Amendment violation – from the email message from the California Science Center Foundation to the American Freedom Alliance, which acknowledges that the “press release has damaged our relationship with the Smithsonian and the reputation of the California Science Center” in explaining why the event was canceled.  (Scroll down to the heading, ‘E-mails Show Viewpoint Discrimination.’)

It is apparently the first sentence of Discovery Institute’s news release that officials at the Smithsonian objected to:  “The debate over Darwin will come to California on October 25th, when the Smithsonian Institution’s west coast affiliate premieres Darwin’s Dilemma: The Mystery of the Cambrian Fossil Record, a new intelligent design film which challenges Darwinian evolution.”

It is certainly misleading to describe the California Science Center (identified by name in the first sentence of the second paragraph) as “the Smithsonian’s west coast affiliate.”  More accurately, it is one of 165 national affiliates of the Smithsonian.  Furthermore, although the IMAX theater is the venue for the showing, a casual reader might infer from the active verb ‘premiers’ that the California Science Center has a more significant role in the presentation than as the landlord of a rental space.

It doesn’t follow, of course, that stretching the truth in a press release (by a third party) – and receiving a complaint about the wording from the Smithsonian – justified the California Science Center’s cancellation of its contract with the American Freedom Alliance.

As a fan of the California Science Center, I hope that the institution had clear policies in place regarding rental contracts and rental cancellations, and a culture of compliance with policy within the institution.  The public side of the Center’s public-private partnership, as noted previously, requires fidelity to the First Amendment, so following policy prescriptions is paramount.

If this is the case, I would expect the Science Center to prevail in the AFA lawsuit.  I would make the same points about Discovery Institute’s lawsuit regarding the California Public Records Act.

A hearing in the case of American Freedom Alliance v. California Science Center Foundation (Case number BC423687) is scheduled for January 26 at 8:45 a.m. in Los Angeles Superior Court, Department 14, 111 N. Hill Street.

A hearing in the case of Discovery Institute vs. California Science Center (Case number BS123905) is scheduled for March 9 at 9:30 a.m. in Department 85 of the same courthouse.

To access case summaries, enter the case number at this link.

Previous posts in this series:

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