‘Intelligent design’ policy rescinded in Pennsylvania school district News
‘Intelligent design’ policy rescinded in Pennsylvania school district

[JURIST] The newly elected Dover Area School District [official website] school board on Tuesday evening unanimously voted to rescind the district's policy of teaching intelligent design theory [Natural History backgrounder] as an alternative to evolution in high school science classes. The vote follows last month's federal court ruling [PDF text; JURIST report] that the policy, approved in October 2004, was an unconstitutional violation of the Establishment Clause. Last November, voters in the Pennsylvania school district ousted eight members of the school board [JURIST report], replacing them with members opposed to the teaching of intelligent design. AP has more.

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THIS DAY @ LAW

38 Santee Sioux hanged by US for rebellion

On December 26, 1862, 38 Santee Sioux men were hanged in a mass execution for their roles in a rebellion against US authorities in Minnesota which left hundreds dead and made refugees of some 40,000 white settlers. Government annuities promised under a treaty with the Sioux had failed to arrive on schedule and credit for purchases was not advanced in the meantime, threatening the tribe with starvation. The Santee Sioux Tribe's members were deported first to South Dakota and ultimately to Nebraska, where they remain today. Learn more about the 1862 Minnesota Sioux Rebellion.

Louis XVI put on trial during French Revolution

On December 26, 1792, Romain de Sèze, a defense attorney for deposed King Louis XVI, presented a defense of his client. The former King was on trial before a French Revolutionary court on thirty-three charges, including treason and other crimes against the state. He was convicted on January 15, 1793 executed by guillotine on the following January 21.