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Trial of the century

Sensationalistic idiom for court cases

Sensationalistic idiom for court cases

"Trial of the century" is an idiomatic phrase used to describe certain well-known court cases, especially of the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. It is often used popularly as a rhetorical device to attach importance to a trial and as such is not an objective observation.

The Encyclopedia Britannica noted:

Attorney F. Lee Bailey and The Washington Post observed in 1999:

Sanford_WhiteIn 1907, 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:

List of cases

19th century

  • Trial of Madeleine Smith (1857)
  • Impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson (1868)
  • Trial of Charles J. Guiteau for the assassination of United States president James A. Garfield (1881)
  • Trial of Lizzie Borden for the double murder of her father and stepmother (1893)
  • Trial of Alfred Dreyfus for treason (Dreyfus Affair) (1894–1899)

20th century

  • Trial of Leon Czolgosz for the assassination of William McKinley (1901)
  • Trial of Harry Thaw for the murder of Stanford White (1906)
  • Trial of Bill Haywood for murder (1907)
  • Sacco and Vanzetti murder trial (1920–27)
  • Trial of Roscoe Arbuckle for the rape and murder of Virginia Rappe (1921)
  • Leopold and Loeb murder trial (1924)
  • Scopes Trial (1925)
  • Hall–Mills murder case (1926)
  • Scottsboro Boys trials (1931–1937)
  • Lindbergh kidnapping trial (1935)
  • Nuremberg trials (1945–1946)
  • Victor Kravchenko versus Les Lettres Françaises (1949)
  • Hiss–Chambers (Hiss Case/Hiss Affair) (1948–1950)
  • Julius and Ethel Rosenberg espionage trial (1951)
  • Sam Sheppard trials (1954–1966)
  • Adolf Eichmann trial (1961)
  • Charles Manson and Manson Family for the Tate–LaBianca murders (1970)
  • Trial of Jeremy Thorpe for conspiring to murder Norman Josiffe (Thorpe affair) (1979)
  • Ted Bundy Chi Omega Trial (1979) Hagood, Dick (February 10, 1980). "Bundy Jury: Death" Florida Times Union archive . Retrieved August 30, 2011.
  • Claus von Bülow trials (1982–1985)
  • Trial of Nicolae and Elena Ceaușescu (1989)
  • Trial of Lyle and Erik Menendez (1990)
  • Trial of Imelda Romualdez Marcos (1990)
  • Rodney King beating trials (1992–1993)
  • Trial of Mayor Antonio Sanchez for the rape and murder of Eileen Sarmenta and Allan Gomez (1993–1995)
  • Trial of Hubert Webb for the Vizconde massacre case (1995–2000)
  • O. J. Simpson murder case trial (1995)
  • Trial of Yolanda Saldívar (1995)
  • Impeachment trial of Bill Clinton (1999)
  • Bush v. Gore case that ended the recount in Florida (2000)

21st century

  • Trial of Joseph Estrada (2001–07)
  • Trial of Slobodan Milošević (2002–05)
  • Trial of Zvezdan Jovanović and accomplices for the assassination of Zoran Đinđić (2003–07)
  • Trial of Saddam Hussein (2004–06)
  • Trial of Michael Jackson (2005)
  • Trial of Amanda Knox (2009)
  • Trial of Ampatuan brothers for the Maguindanao massacre case (2010–2019)
  • Trial of Casey Anthony for the death of Caylee Anthony (2011)
  • People v. Murray (2011)
  • Trial of George Zimmerman (2013)
  • Trial of Bo Xilai (2013)
  • Trial of Oscar Pistorius (2014)
  • Trial of Joaquín Guzmán Loera ("El Chapo") (2018–19)
  • Trial of Catalonia independence leaders (2019)
  • Trial of Benjamin Netanyahu (2020–present)
  • Trials of Donald Trump
    • First impeachment trial of Donald Trump (2020)
    • Second impeachment trial of Donald Trump (2021)
    • Prosecution of Donald Trump in New York (2024)
  • Trial of Derek Chauvin (2021)
  • United States v. Elizabeth A. Holmes, et al. (2021–2022)
  • Trial of People of the State of California v. Daystar Peterson (2022)
  • Trial of Ferdy Sambo for the murder of Nofriansyah Yosua Hutabarat (2022–2023)
  • Trial of Alex Murdaugh (2023)
  • Trial of the Hong Kong 47 (20232024)

References

References

  1. Ray, Michael. "Order in the Court: 10 "Trials of the Century"".
  2. [https://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
  3. "How early forensics swayed the salacious 'trial of the century'".
  4. "About "Famous Trials"".
  5. Zimmerman, Martin. (1990-10-29). "TV REVIEW : 'Insanity' Recalls Garfield Assassination Trial".
  6. "Collection: Charles Guiteau Collection {{!}} Georgetown University Archival Resources".
  7. "Why 19th-Century Axe Murderer Lizzie Borden Was Found Not Guilty".
  8. "Research Guides: Arrest and Trial of Lizzie Borden: Topics in Chronicling America: Introduction".
  9. (21 September 2009). "Trial of the Century".
  10. F. Uelmen, Gerald. (July 2001). "Who Is the Lawyer of the Century?". International Society of Barristers.
  11. Davis, John. (2004). "Sacco and Vanzetti: Rebel Lives". Ocean Press.
  12. Noe, Denise. "Fatty Arbuckle and the Death of Virginia Rappe". crimelibrary.com.
  13. DOUGLAS O. LINDER. [http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/leoploeb/Accountoftrial.html "THE LEOPOLD AND LOEB TRIAL: A BRIEF ACCOUNT"] {{webarchive. link. (2007-03-15 , Law Faculty, University of Missouri-Kansas City, 1997. "..the Leopold and Loeb trial has the elements to justify its billing as the first "trial of the century.")
  14. Doug Linder. (1999-01-28). "Trial of the Century?".
  15. Harold Schechter, [https://yalereview.yale.edu/hall-mills-murder-trial-1926 "The Hall-Mills Murder Trial, 1926"] Yale Review, Yale University
  16. "Scottsboro: An American Tragedy Transcript". [[PBS]].
  17. Doug Linder. "An Account of the Trial of Richard Hauptmann".
  18. (2007-10-30). "Crimes and Trials of the Century [2 volumes]". ABC-CLIO.
  19. Kanon, Joseph. (June 9, 2002). "The Real Trial of the Century". [[The New York Times]].
  20. (2006). "Saddam on Trial: Understanding and Debating the Iraqi High Tribunal 229". [[Case Western Reserve University]].
  21. Spiegel, Irving. (1966-02-26). "Kravchenko Kills Himself Here; He Chose Freedom From Soviet; Kravchenko Kills Himself Here; He Chose Freedom From Soviet". The New York Times.
  22. (October 17, 2014). "The New York Times Gets Greenglass Wrong". Weekly Standard.
  23. (February 18, 1963). "Sheppard Tragedy Goes On and On". Beatrice Daily Sun.
  24. Spence, John C.. (August 1975). "Review of HELTER SKELTER: THE TRUE STORY OF THE MANSON MURDERS, by V. Bugliosi & C. Gentry". [[American Bar Association Journal]].
  25. Doward, Jamie. (June 2, 2018). "Jeremy Thorpe scandal: attempted murder case to reopen".
  26. Nemy, Enid. (30 May 2019). "Claus von Bülow Dies at 92; Society Figure in High-Profile Case". [[The New York Times]].
  27. Bareng, Eriza Ong. (2018). "Steeling the Butterfly: The Imperial Constructions of Imelda Marcos 1966-1990". University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.
  28. Live Awake PH. (2021-11-10). "Gerry Spence, Imelda Marcos' Defense Lawyer in the Trial of the Century".
  29. (May 6, 1992). "After the riots; A Juror Describes the Ordeal of Deliberations". The New York Times.
  30. (August 22, 2019). "'A plot hatched in hell': Timeline of the Gomez-Sarmenta murder case". [[ABS CBN News]].
  31. "The Vizconde Case - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos".
  32. Daugherty, Greg. (15 May 2019). "Teddy Roosevelt Got Sued for Libel. He Said He 'Enjoyed' the Trial".
  33. Dole, Bob. (2000-11-27). "Opinion {{!}} It Is Time for Gore to Concede". The New York Times.
  34. [https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/12/world/asia/12filip.html?ref=world New York Times, Philippines Ex-President Convicted]
  35. (2007-05-23). "12 convicted in assassination of Serbia leader".
  36. (2007-05-23). "Twelve guilty of Djindjic murder".
  37. "Serbian Convictions – DW – 05/23/2007".
  38. "People's Daily Online – Saddam Hussein to face "trial of the century"".
  39. Hiscock, John. (2005-02-01). "Jackson 'trial of the century' begins".
  40. Riddell, Mary. (2005-06-12). "Jackson's trial, our error". [[The Guardian]].
  41. Romano, Aja. (2016-10-01). "Netflix's Amanda Knox documentary traces how a murder case became a cultural witch hunt".
  42. Sant, Peter Van. (2009-06-19). "A Case Of Blood And Lust Captivates Italy - CBS News".
  43. (December 19, 2019). "Ampatuan brothers convicted in 10-year massacre case". [[Rappler]].
  44. Cloud, John. (16 June 2011). "How the Casey Anthony Murder Case Became the Social-Media Trial of the Century".
  45. Clark, Marcia. (2010-02-09). "The Race Card and the Jackson Doctor". The Daily Beast.
  46. Alcindor, Yamiche. "Fla. town on edge as Trayvon Martin case goes to court".
  47. Ferguson, Andrew Guthrie. (2013-07-12). "The Zimmerman Trial and the Meaning of Verdicts".
  48. Hilary Whiteman. (August 23, 2013). "Bo Xilai trial analysis: How and why Chinese politician veered off script". [[CNN]].
  49. Smith, David. (2014-03-03). "Oscar Pistorius: a runaway interpreter, then the trial of the century begins". [[The Guardian]].
  50. Thompson, Nick. (2014-03-01). "Oscar Pistorius: South Africa gears up for its 'trial of the century'".
  51. (March 4, 2019). "El Chapo and Mexico's Drug War Spectacle". [[NACLA Report on the Americas]].
  52. (13 February 2019). "AP Explains: Catalans appear at 'trial of century' in Spain".
  53. (12 February 2019). "Protests and tight security as Catalan separatists face hefty jail terms in Spain's 'trial of the century'".
  54. (2020-05-21). "The trial of the century begins as Netanyahu heads to court".
  55. Zanona, Melanie. (23 January 2020). "Dems unload their Ukraine arsenal — with an eye on primetime".
  56. The Editorial Board. (2021-01-25). "Opinion {{!}} Trying Mr. Trump, Private Citizen". Wall Street Journal.
  57. Lach, Eric. (2024-04-14). "Donald Trump's Trial of the Century".
  58. (29 March 2021). "George Floyd: Chauvin case is 'trial of century'".
  59. (2019-02-26). "U.S. v. Elizabeth Holmes, et al.".
  60. (4 January 2022). "Silicon Valley's trial of the century".
  61. (2025-05-13). "Tory Lanez: How the Megan Thee Stallion shooting trial played out".
  62. Llewellyn, Aisyah. (14 February 2023). "Indonesia's "Trial of the Century" ends in death sentence".
  63. (January 27, 2023). "Former U.S. Attorney Pete Strom gives insight into Murdaugh double murder trial". [[WLTX]].
  64. Robinson, Eric P.. (February 2023). "Managing and Covering the Murdaugh Case and Other "Trials of the Century"". South Carolina Press Association.
  65. (2023-02-06). "How 45 Pro-Democracy Leaders Were Sentenced in Hong Kong's Largest National Security Case". The New York Times.
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