October 2, 2008

Subpoena to FTE for Drafts of "Of Pandas and People"

In April 2005, Plaintiffs issued a subpoena to Jon Buell and the Foundation for Thought and Ethics, located in Richardson, TX. An NCSE staffer, Nick Matzke, suspected (based on material in NCSE's archives) that a 1987 draft manuscript of "Pandas" known as "Biology and Origins" would use the term "creation" instead of "intelligent design." The Plaintiffs issued a subpoena for "Biology and Origins" and any other drafts or material relating to the publication of "Pandas." FTE filed a motion to quash the subpoena in the Northern District of Texas. The motion was denied and the subsequent FTE production included five drafts of "Pandas" that later became key evidence at trial: "Creation Biology" (1983), "Biology and Creation" (1986), "Biology and Origins" (1987), "Of Pandas and People" (a 1987 creationist version), and "Of Pandas and People" (a 1987 "intelligent design" version). Also produced was a draft of the "Pandas" Overview Chapter written by Nancy Pearcey; this was entered into evidence at a July 14, 2005 hearing where Jon Buell testified in support of FTE's motion to intervene. Judge Jones later wrote in his decision that these drafts were "astonishing" evidence showing that "intelligent design" was just "creationism re-labeled" after the Supreme Court's 1987 Edwards v. Aguillard decision against "creation-science."

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