Ladies and gentlemen, in a jury of this size, I'm imagining that there are, probably among...

Pete Kane:
Ladies and gentlemen, in a jury of this size, I'm imagining that there are, probably among your ranks, a few Christians. Hopefully practicing ones, and that's a good thing, that's fine, because Christianity is not on trial here, even though my opponent will try to convince you that it is. Nor is faith on trial. Only Ms. Wesley is on trial here today. Now, ask any fourth-grader and they're probably familiar with the phrase "separation of church and state," and that is guaranteed to us under our laws. The plaintiffs are the parents of a student in Ms. Wesley's class who was subjected to hearing the teachings of Jesus Christ being favorably compared to the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi. We all know that Jesus is part of a particular religious tradition. These parents, who are trying to raise their daughter to be a free thinker, free of any religious dogma, are wholly offended by what went on in that classroom. And she, reciting the words that were allegedly attributed to Jesus, who allegedly lived 2,000 years ago, gave a clear and compelling indication of what she believes, what she supports, what she endorses. Now, let me put it this way. I-I don't mean to offend anyone who may be a Muslim here, and I do not want to slight the prophet of Islam, but if you were to ask me a question concerning the Quran, the sacred text of Islam, and I could come up with the answer with great speed and accuracy, and I could quote the proper surah, or chapter, then it would be reasonable for you to infer that I was not only a follower of Islam, but that I considered it to be superior to all other forms of religion. If I did this in a house of worship, that would be fine. But if I did it in an 11th-grade classroom in a public school, that would be preaching, not teaching. So, why? Why in the world are we here today? Why? Because Ms. Wesley refused to apologize, and that means that her true motivation in that moment in her classroom was to take an innocent question and turn it into an opportunity to preach, not teach. If we grant Ms. Wesley the right to do that, and by extension, everyone else, to violate the law solely on our own private beliefs, then our society will crumble. I believe that. So I implore you, please do not set this precedent. Do not. The future of our republic depends on it