A second first amendments rights case broke out amidst the brouhaha over the legality of teaching intelligent design in a Dover school district. But this battle, over the freedom of the press, is nearing a denouement that?s left me a bit ambivalent. The Thomas More Law Center, which has been defending the Dover school district had subpoenaed two freelance reporters, Joseph Maldonado for the York Daily Record and Heidi Bernhard-Bubb for the York Dispatch, to question them regarding the details of a school board meeting they attended. They had simultaneously reported that certain board members made statements tying creationism to intelligent design--statements that the board members now deny making.
This was a smart move for the IDers. Numerous other people could have been called to testify to the accuracy of the reports, but by issuing a subpoena to reporters, they could count on them to refuse to answer questions invoking ...
