On The Front Lines
Victory: California Science Center Agrees to Allow Intelligent Design Film in Response to First Amendment Lawsuit by TRI
LOS ANGELES, Calif. —In response to a First Amendment lawsuit filed by attorneys for The Rutherford Institute, officials with the California Science Center (CSC) have agreed to invite the American Freedom Alliance (AFA) to use its IMAX theater for a showing of the film "Darwin's Dilemma: The Mystery of the Cambrian Fossil Record," followed by a panel discussion of the theory of evolution and intelligent design. Institute attorneys filed suit in California Superior Court on behalf of the American Freedom Alliance after museum officials reneged on their agreement to allow AFA to use its IMAX theater for the presentation of "Darwin's Dilemma" and the pro-evolution movie "We Are Born of Stars," along with a post-screening panel discussion of the films, allegedly because of objections from members of the scientific community who are opposed to any acknowledgement of intelligent design.
"This is not only a victory for free speech but for academic freedom, as well," said John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute. "No matter what one's position might be on evolution, there should be room at the table for divergent viewpoints, especially among our nation's scientific institutions. As Albert Einstein recognized, 'The important thing is not to stop questioning.'"
In September 2009, the American Freedom Alliance (AFA) entered into an agreement with the California Science Center (CSC) to use its IMAX theater for the presentation of "Darwin's Dilemma: The Mystery of the Cambrian Fossil Record," and the pro-evolution movie "We Are Born of Stars," along with a post-screening panel discussion of the films. However, after the event was publicized by a Seattle-based think tank that supports discussion about intelligent design as a viable theory on the origin of life, CSC cancelled the event, allegedly in response to objections from certain members of the scientific community affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution and the University of Southern California, among others.
CSC claimed that its reason for the cancellation was because the AFA had violated the promotional review clause of the contract, but attorneys for The Rutherford Institute dismissed their explanation as a pretext for discrimination against the views that were to be addressed in "Darwin's Dilemma" and the ensuing panel discussion. The lawsuit was subsequently filed against the CSC in California Superior Court in 2009, arguing that the cancellation violated AFA's First Amendment right to free speech, the California Constitution's protection of free speech, as well as a breach of contract. In settling the lawsuit, the CSC and its affiliated foundation agreed to invite the AFA to hold the previously cancelled event.
William Becker of The Becker Law Firm assisted The Rutherford Institute in its defense of AFA's right to free speech and academic freedom.
