Judge John E. Jones III, who presided over the Kitzmiller v. Dover trial in which teaching "intelligent design" in the public schools was ruled to be unconstitutional, was named one of Time magazine's "Time 100: The People Who Shape Our World." In the May 8, 2006, issue of the magazine, the science journalist Matt Ridley contributes a brief essay describing the significance of Jones's decision: "In a rebuke to the proponents of intelligent design, Jones called the phrase 'a mere relabeling of creationism,' intended to get around the 1987 judicial ban on teaching creationism as science in public schools, and a 'breathtaking inanity' that fails the test as science. He castigated its proponents and said Dover's students, parents and teachers 'deserved better than to be dragged into this legal maelstrom.'" Ridley adds, "Perhaps now, after Jones, people will accept that if they want to teach children about God, they should do so in church, not in science classes." Judge Jones told [Link broken] the Harrisburg Patriot-News (May 2, 2006) that although he was gratified by the honor, "This will pass, and I will be back to the more mundane things." What pleases him most, the Patriot-News reported, was the influence that the Kitzmiller decision is having in other school districts.
May 2, 2006