When one hears the phrase “trial of the century,” perhaps the People v. O.J. Simpson or the Casey Anthony murder case come to mind.  However, the news media has been using this phrase for nearly 100 years to describe those gigantic legal events that grip public attention and spread through the press like wildfire.  Trials and legal events given such distinction are always important, as they forwarded vast implications on pretrial publicity, the court and legal system, laws, popular culture, and society at large.  This interactive timeline names 10 trials that changed the world, along with case details and the iconic images that spawned from them.

These 10 trials and legal events are very different.  They involve different people, from anarchists to NFL stars, and cover different legal issues, from kidnapping to biased juries.  However, they share a common theme: they each managed to capture the public attention entirely, in a fashion few other things are able to due.  While these events unfolded, they were the only thing people talked about.  For that, they will be studied and remembered for eternity.

Works Cited

Cauterucci, Christina. “A New ESPN Doc Exposes the Real Villains in the Duke Lacrosse Case.” Slate Magazine. The Slate Group, 11 Mar. 2016. Web. 05 May 2017.

CNN Library. “Manson Family Murders Fast Facts.” CNN. Cable News Network, 02 Feb. 2017. Web. 08 May 2017.

Frankfurter, Felix. “The Case of Sacco and Vanzetti.” The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 01 Mar. 1927. Web. 08 May 2017.

Gardner, Lloyd C. The Case That Never Dies: The Lindbergh Kidnapping. New Brunswick: Rutgers UP, 2004. Print.

Goldfarb, Ronald. “The Wrong Villain.” American Journalism Review. Http://ajrarchive.org/article.asp?id=3, Dec. 1995. Web. 01 May 2017.

“Irvin v. Dowd.” Oyez. Chicago-Kent College of Law at Illinois Tech, n.d. 05 May 2017.

Mitchell, Alison. “Impeachment: The Overview–Clinton Impeached; He Faces a Senate Trial, 2nd in History; Vows to Do Job Till Term’s ‘Last Hour’.” The New York Times. The New York Times Company, 19 Dec. 1998. Web. 08 May 2017.

“Monkey Trial Begins.” History. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 08 May 2017.

Phillipson, Gavin. “Trial by Media: The Betrayal of the First Amendment’s Purpose.” Law and Contemporary Problems, vol. 71, no. 4, 2008, pp. 15–29., www.jstor.org/stable/27654682.

Rossman, Sean. “Things to Know about the Casey Anthony Case 6 Years Later.” USA Today. Gannett Satellite Information Network, 07 Mar. 2017. Web. 08 May 2017.

“Sheppard v. Maxwell.” Oyez. Chicago-Kent College of Law at Illinois Tech, n.d. 05 May 2017.