And the Truth Shall Make You Free?
From Media Law Reporter, Publication date March 22, 2005:
Creationism advocates, who agreed to be interviewed for a television program they were told had not yet been named and would not be satirical, cannot proceed with their defamation claims, the U.S. District Court forthe Northern District of Georgia ruled Feb. 28, 2005. The court found that the plaintiffs failed to allege that any of the statements about them on "Penn & Teller: Bullshit!", though"emphatic and often mocking," were false (Brock v. ViacomInternational Inc., N.D. Ga., No. 1:04-CV-1029-CAP,2/28/05) . The plaintiffs had spoken before the Cobb County, Ga., school board about adding creationism to the curriculum and later alleged that the Showtime episode constituted "'a personal attack on Plaintiffs for their desire to have both Creationism and Evolution taught as alternate theories."
The Cobb County Board of Education had required stickers to be pasted into high school biology textbooks, saying that evolution "is a theory, not a fact, regarding the origin of living things. The material should be approached with an open mind, studied carefully, and critically considered." A federal judge later ordered the school system to remove the stickers.
Creationism advocates, who agreed to be interviewed for a television program they were told had not yet been named and would not be satirical, cannot proceed with their defamation claims, the U.S. District Court forthe Northern District of Georgia ruled Feb. 28, 2005. The court found that the plaintiffs failed to allege that any of the statements about them on "Penn & Teller: Bullshit!", though"emphatic and often mocking," were false (Brock v. ViacomInternational Inc., N.D. Ga., No. 1:04-CV-1029-CAP,2/28/05) . The plaintiffs had spoken before the Cobb County, Ga., school board about adding creationism to the curriculum and later alleged that the Showtime episode constituted "'a personal attack on Plaintiffs for their desire to have both Creationism and Evolution taught as alternate theories."
The Cobb County Board of Education had required stickers to be pasted into high school biology textbooks, saying that evolution "is a theory, not a fact, regarding the origin of living things. The material should be approached with an open mind, studied carefully, and critically considered." A federal judge later ordered the school system to remove the stickers.
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