What Hath Scopes Wrought?

          DAYTON, TENNESSEE - June 17 - Lawyers and judges from across the Volunteer State gathered here today at the Rhea County Courthouse, as part of the annual Tennessee Bar Convention. They met in the historic courtroom that was the venue for the most famous jury trial in American history, State of Tennessee v. John Scopes.

          The Scopes trial occurred here some 86 years ago this summer, attracting a worldwide audience as it was broadcast over a national radio network. For both good and bad, Scopes placed the American legal system and lawyers on center stage, and they have been there ever since.

          It was all a legal charade. John Thomas Scopes was a 24 year old football coach who agreed to be indicted for violating a Tennessee law that banned the teaching of evolution. Never mind that Coach Scopes was simply a substitute teacher who couldn't recall ever teaching evolution. That was beside the point. Like football, it was all just a game to Coach Scopes who was recruited by the American Civil Liberties Union and several "progressive" town leaders in Dayton to set up a heavyweight legal battle between legendary trial lawyer Clarence Darrow and world-famous orator William Jennings Bryan.

          There was no CNN in 1925, no camera in the courtroom. But there was a microphone in the courtroom, and a mighty big one at that. It was set up by WGN radio out of Chicago, and it broadcast gavel-to-gavel coverage to millions of Americans.

          Nancy Grace wasn't around in those days to provide commentary, but H.L. Mencken was. He was a cynical newspaper columnist from Baltimore who covered the trial with all the objectivity of Larry Munson broadcasting a Georgia football game. Mencken was clearly rooting for Darrow, and to the chagrin of all the good progressive people of Rhea County, he repeatedly referred to the citizens of Dayton as "the yokels in Monkey Town."

          The trial began on July 10, 1925 with Judge John T. Raulston asking a local preacher to open the proceedings with a prayer. Darrow objected. "Overruled," said Judge Raulston, pointing out to Mr. Darrow that local ministers would be opening the proceedings each day with prayer, but would make no references to the issues involved in the case. Judge Raulston also denied Darrow's request that a large banner that read "Read Your Bible Daily" be removed from the entrance to the courthouse.

          In the second week of the trial, Judge Raulston moved the proceedings outdoors. The Rhea County Courthouse wasn't air-conditioned, and those funeral home fans just weren't doing the trick.

          It is an understatement to say that it was an unusual trial. William Jennings Bryan not only served as the prosecutor. He also testified as an expert witness on the Bible.

          Not to be outdone, Darrow, in his closing argument, asked the jury to find his client, Coach Scopes, guilty.

          The jury deliberated for nine minutes, which was actually about eight minutes too long considering that defense counsel had just asked them to find his client guilty. The jury then returned and announced it was granting Darrow's request and finding Coach Scopes guilty. Judge Raulston accepted the verdict and fined Scopes $100. William Jennings Bryan properly agreed to pay it!

          Two years later, the Tennessee Supreme Court overturned the Scopes verdict on the technicality that the fine should have been set by the jury rather than by Judge Raulston.

          This two week trial some 86 years ago inspired a Broadway play, a motion picture, the creation of a college (William Jennings Bryan Memorial University in Dayton), and scores of books and documentaries. But its most significant impact was that it heightened public awareness and interest in the American legal system, particularly in jury trials.

          Thanks to the radio broadcast of the Scopes trial, millions of Americans became part of a large national jury. They discussed and debated the case in barbershops, over lunch counters, and in bars. Suddenly American lawyers, judges and juries no longer worked in obscurity. They were high-profile players in a brand new arena.

          It is now clear what Scopes has wrought. High-profile jury trials are no longer confined to the courtroom. They are now telecast to homes across America. In fact, I wouldn't be at all surprised if this fall, millions of Americans will tune in to ABC's Monday Night Jury Trial, with Al Michaels doing play by play, Nina Totenberg providing the color commentary, and Hank Williams, Jr. crooning, "Are you ready for some lawsuits?"

          At the conclusion of the Scopes trial, H. L. Mencken wrote in the Baltimore Sun, "To call this case a circus would be to offend bearded ladies and trapeze artists everywhere!"

          Mencken had no idea. The circus was just beginning.