Trial of the century

__NOTOC__Trial of the century is an idiomatic phrase used to describe certain well-known court cases. It is often used popularly as a rhetorical device to attach importance to a trial and as such is not an objective observation but is the opinion of whoever uses it. As attorney F. Lee Bailey and "The Washington Post" observed in 1999 on the eve of the closing century::Calling court cases "the trial of the century" is a traditional bit of American hyperbole, like calling a circus "The Greatest Show on Earth." Nearly every juicy tabloid trial in our history was called the "trial of the century" by somebody. "Every time I turn around, there's a new trial of the century," says defense attorney F. Lee Bailey. "It's a kind of hype," he says. "It's a way of saying, 'This is really fabulous. It's really sensational.' But it doesn't really mean anything." [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/clinton/stories/trial010499.htm "(The Last) Trial of the Century!"] by Peter Carlson via "The Washington Post", January 4, 1999; Page C01]

The first trial to be called the "trial of the century" was in 1907 when Harry K. Thaw was tried for the murder of Stanford White. Irvin S. Cobb, a contemporary reporter, explained why the trial fascinated the country so much::"You see, it had in it wealth, degeneracy, rich old wasters, delectable young chorus girls and adolescent artists' models; the behind-the-scenes of Theatredom and the Underworld, and the Great White Way.... the abnormal pastimes and weird orgies of overly aesthetic artists and jaded debauchees. In the cast of the motley show were Bowery toughs, Harlem gangsters, Tenderloin panderers, Broadway leading men, Fifth Avenue clubmen, Wall Street manipulators, uptown voluptuaries and downtown thugs."

List by legal scholars

There are countless trials that have been labeled the trial of the century by the press, it is beyond the scope of this article to list them here. However some legal scholars have labeled a few trials as being a trial of the century, it is useful in this sense for listing some of the most important trials. These included:

*Harry K. Thaw murder trial (1906) [cite web |url=http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/classics/white/9.html |title=Trial of the century |accessdate=2008-06-13 |quote=Even though the twentieth century had only begun, newspapers dubbed Henry K. Thaw’s murder trial 'The Trial of the Century.' |publisher=Crime Library ]
*Sacco and Vanzetti murder trial (1920's) [cite book |last=Davis |first=John |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Sacco and Vanzetti: Rebel Lives |year=2004 |publisher= |quote=Within a year it was going to become the 'trial of the century.' | url=http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN1876175850&id=yUuJ7osy76oC&pg=PP1&lpg=PP1&ots=4e1TJ44As6&dq=trial+of+the+century%22&sig=mpOMIJOtsQZ4Vhc5nwA4BOgWJo4#PPA1,M1 |isbn=1876175850 ]
*Leopold and Loeb murder trial (1924) [http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/leoploeb/Accountoftrial.html]
*Scopes "Monkey" trial (1925) [http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/century.html Law professor Doug Linder's discussion on which trial was "the trial of the century"] , January 28, 1999]
*Lindbergh kidnapping (1932) [ [http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/Hauptmann/AccountHauptmann.html The Trial of Richard "Bruno" Hauptmann: An Account] by Douglas Linder]
*The Nuremberg Trials (1945) cite news |first=Joseph |last=Kanon |authorlink=Joseph Kanon |coauthors= |title=The Real Trial of the Century |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E01E2D81F3BF93AA35755C0A9649C8B63 |quote= |publisher=New York Times |date=June 9, 2002 |accessdate=2008-06-13 ] cite web |url=http://www.law.case.edu/saddamtrial/entry.asp?entry_id=14 |title=Is the Saddam Hussein Trial one of the most important court cases of all time? |accessdate=2008-06-13 |quote= |publisher=Case Western Reserve University ]
*Adolf Eichmann trial (1961)
*Klaus Barbie trial (1987)
* Imelda Marcos racketeering trial (1990)
*Nicolae Ceausescu trial (1989)
*O. J. Simpson murder trial (1995)
*Bush v. Gore disputed 2000 Presidential election trial (2000)
*Slobodan Milošević trial (2002-2005)

References

ee also

*Crime of the century (idiom)

External links

* [http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/Todaysurvey.html MSNBC survey on the topic from 2000]
* [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/clinton/stories/trial010499.htm "(The Last) Trial of the Century!"] by Peter Carlson via "The Washington Post", January 4, 1999; Page C01