Trials of the Century. (crimes, historical, years, government)

[JD59]

From gruesome murders to horrific crimes -- check out the most famous trials of the past century.

FOXNews.com - Trials of the Century

[noetsi]

I am a bit surprised they listed the Lindberg or McVeigh trial which produced few points of interest and of which the gult of the individual in question was never in doubt. The latter case particularly is puzzling, while the deed was signficant the trial itself was not very interesting.

I would have thought the Scopes Trial would be there, although they seemed to have limited it to capital cases. Lenny Bruce's trial, while for a minor charge, generated tremendous controversy and helped change the way the law was administered. Finally I would have thought the 1954 or 1966 trial of Sam Shepard should have received consideration.

[itshim]

All good choices there. I see there's an international one in there. That being said, I'm surprised the Nuremberg trials weren't added. That changed the scope of human rights around the world as we see it today.

[noetsi]

I am not sure what the international trial was, I missed it, but I think the focus was clearly on the US. There have been a wide range of famous cases abroad they ignored.

I imagine they would consider Nurmberg a "political" trial and they avoided those.

[itshim]

Originally Posted by noetsi

I am not sure what the international trial was, I missed it, but I think the focus was clearly on the US. There have been a wide range of famous cases abroad they ignored.

I imagine they would consider Nurmberg a "political" trial and they avoided those.

My mistake, I thought the Julius and Ethel Rosenburg was done abroad. I did a quick search on wiki.

[noetsi]

No it was in federal court. They were at the time the first civilians in US history executed for espionage.

There remains signficant doubt over Ethel's guilt although multiple sources, including the Verona decripts, make it clear that Julius was guilty.

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[jtur88]

The Scottsboro Boys would certainly be one of the great trials of the century. The other trials were "great" because of the historical importance of the incident that led to the trial, but in many of them, the trial was of no particular note except for an externally imposed and grandiose self-importance. In Scottsboro, the importance was the judicial circumstances of the trial itself, which would have otherwise attracted no attention.

Very similar trials are still taking place in southern states, particularly the one of Billy Joe Crumitie, accused of murdering British tourists in Monticello, Florida in 1993. He kept getting hung jury after hung jury, with venues running all over north Florida for more than two years, until the exasperated prosecution finally got a nearly all-white jury in Pensacola.

[marmac]

My father ( born in 1890) mentioned the Lindberg baby kidnapper's trial and the Rosenberg trials often as they got a lot of media coverage at the time.

--IF--it hadn't been for Ruby interfering, I think the trial of Lee Harvey Oswald would have made #1

[majoun]

Originally Posted by noetsi

I imagine they would consider Nurmberg a "political" trial and they avoided those.

The Chicago 7 wasn't a "political" trial?

The first trial to be labelled "Trial of the Century" (in the 20th century) was the Fatty Arbuckle trial, as it not only involved a celebrity but was the first major trial involving a film celebrity. It didn't have an effect on the legal system, although it did result in the creation of the Hays Office (although the Production Code wouldn't come into existence until 1934) and it destroyed Arbuckle's career. He wouldn't work in films again for another decade.

A "political" trial that should've been included was the Pentagon Papers case, as that did involve issues of the First Amendment coming into conflict with supposed national security interests, and did set important legal precedents.

[noetsi]

The chicago 7 trial was not seen as a political trial by the US government, although it certainly could have been viewed that way. I think, however, that I was wrong to suggest this was the issue that kept Nurmberg out of their list. They simply limited their choices to the US.