McLean v. Arkansas Board of Education (1982)

McLean v. Arkansas Board of Education, 529 F. Supp. 1255, 1258-1264 (ED Ark. 1982) was a case challenging Arkansas Act 590 (1981) requiring "equal time" be given to the teaching of evolution and creation science in public high schools.

William R. Overton struck down Act 590 in his decision on January 5, 1982. Overton ruled that "creation science" violated the establishment clause of the U.S. Constitution because it aided a particular form of religious practice, namely fundamentalist Christianity. The named plaintiff in the case was William McLean, a Methodist minister.

References

• Langdon Gilkey, Creationism on Trial: Evolution and God at Little Rock (University Press of Virginia, 1985).