Monkey Business By Lloyd E. Fisher, Jr.

Litigation concerning religious symbols on public property and teaching in schools are only the latest cases in the history of government-church confl icts. The State of vs. John Thomas Scopes is one of the most noted cases. In 1925, Tennessee passed the Butler Act, which prohibited the teaching of in public schools. The ACLU offered to defend anyone who was charged under the law. John Thomas Scopes, a young teacher in Dayton, Tennessee, was charged and the resulting trial was a dramatic spectacle that drew national interest. A local Baptist preacher contacted to become part of the prosecution team. Bryan was a three- time Democratic presidential nominee and a former U. S. Secretary of State but had not tried a case in 36 years. Bryan declared that as a fundamentalist, he was more interested “in the Rock of Ages than age of rocks.” , a nationally known defense attorney, volunteered to represent Scopes. The trial, one of the fi rst to be broadcast on American fundamentalist’s ideas of religion and Bryan “twisted and radio, turned into a legal circus. The Dayton courthouse fl oundered.” The next morning, because of the heat, Judge was jammed with spectators and representatives of the press Raulston convened court outside on the lawn. He ruled that from around the country and foreign lands. There were signs Bryan’s testimony was irrelevant and should be stricken, as and banners reading; “Come to Jesus” and “Read your Bible should the proposed expert testimony of the defense. daily.” Hot dog vendors and ice cream stands surrounded Darrow waived closing argument. This precluded Bryan the court house. H. L. Mencken, the crusty correspondent from delivering his planned oration and stopped distribution from the Baltimore Sun, called the spectacle: “The Monkey of the copies prepared for the press. After a nine-minute Trial.” There was no air conditioning in the courthouse and deliberation, the jury brought in a “guilty” verdict and the building fans gave little comfort to the crowds. Darrow Judge Raulston sentenced John Scopes to the maximum later claimed that the fans were always turned away from punishment--a $100 fi ne! the defense. On appeal, the Tennessee Supreme Court found the statute On the fi rst day of the trial, the presiding judge, John T. to be constitutional but set aside the conviction on the Raulston, ordered the doors closed and, according to Darrow’s grounds that existing Tennessee law authorized only juries autobiography, “. . with great solemnity and all the dignity to set fi nes above $50. possible, announced that Brother Twitchell would invoke the The is the inspiration for the play Inherit Divine Blessing.” Darrow had practiced law for more than the Wind, written by two Ohioans, Jerome Lawrence and forty years and had never before “heard God called in to Robert Lee. It debuted on Broadway in 1955 and ran for referee a trial.” After the fi rst day’s adjournment, Darrow 806 performances. The fi rst fi lm version came out in 1960 suggested to the judge that an opening prayer was unfair, and there have been several revivals on both stage and especially considering the nature of the case. When Judge screen. In 1995, attorneys and friends of the Columbus Bar Raulston took the bench on the second day, Darrow moved Association performed a stage version of “Inherit the Wind” to eliminate the opening prayer. His motion was overruled that was directed by Greg Patterson. The cast included: Doug and Darrow later learned that the court had appointed a Browell, Jeff Ayres, Bill Friedman, committee of church members to assure a supply of opening Kay Lias, Pete Mihaly, Jim Rook and prayers. others. According to Darrow: “The State brought in a number of bright little boys who were students of the school taught by Mr. John T. Scopes.” They said that Mr. Scopes had told them that life began in the sea from a single cell that gradually developed into different structures. During the lunch break, Darrow heard one of the boys say to another: “Don’t you think Mr. Bryan is a little narrow-minded?” Darrow created an uproar by calling Bryan as an expert on the meaning of the word “religion.” When Bryan agreed Lloyd E. Fisher, Jr. to testify, Darrow presented questions that brought out the [email protected]

Winter 2015 Columbus Bar Lawyers Quarterly 11