Judge Jones interviewed for PLoS Genetics

In "Taken to School," Judge John E. Jones III is interviewed by Jane Geitschier for PLoS Genetics. It is a nice brief on Jones's personal and intellectual background regarding ID and religion, the law and the reasoning behind Kitzmiller and its ancestor cases, and finally what the decision means for the future of ID and creationist lawsuits. His explanation of the Lemon Test. the "endorsement" test, and Jefferson's "wall of separation" are particularly keen. I like his little bit of nostalgia though.

He closes with a reminiscence about the trial:

It's changed my life forever. You can't go through something like this that has such notoriety without being changed. Federal Judges at any level lead quite cloistered existences, and I was thrust onto the stage in a way that I would never have thought possible. And I have been speaking all around the US, but I don't go and try to say what I did in the opinion.

What I developed was a passion for the concept known as “judicial independence,” meaning that concomitantly with the science education issue that I just raised, I don't think Americans understand how judges operate.

I had a lot of criticism after this decision; a lot, I think, was born out of ignorance about how we do things. People didn't understand there was a Lemon test or an Endorsement test. People thought I made this up as I went along. They think judges rule according to their own philosophical biases or predilections. I thought it was incumbent upon me to get out and talk about that and say, “Well, you don't quite have this right,” and I've been very well received across the country.

But from the NOVA show to the now four books that have been written about the case, to being on the cover of Time magazine, for someone born and raised in a town of 2,000 in upstate PA—all this is fairly miraculous stuff that I never thought I would do. So, it certainly has changed the fabric of my life, that I have had this interval. It will die down, I know.

When I take my last breath and they publish my obituary, the first line will say that I presided over the intelligent design trial. I can't top this, I don't think, and I'm fine with that, if this is what I'm remembered for. I'm proud of what I did. I thought I discharged my obligations and my duties well.

Going forward, has it made me more curious about the issue? Yes, and I think I'll always have that enduring curiosity.

Having been there on the last day, I felt that buzzing excitement from the plaintiffs and the look of proud defeat from the defendants. And Jones presided over it all with poise and integrity. It changed the fabric of many lives I say.