Scopes Trial Fun Facts

Jury verdict: In only nine minutes, the jury found John T. Scopes guilty of violating Tennessee’s Butler Act by teaching evolution at Rhea Central High School. 

Technicality: The Tennessee Supreme Court overturned the verdict on a technicality and dismissed the case. Circuit Judge John Raulston set Scopes’s fine at $100, but Tennessee law required the jury to set any fines over $50.