Skip to main content

Famous Trials

By


The internet may be young, but the list of once great web resources that are no longer is far too long. It is always exciting then to find a long-running, self-maintained website that is still updated with content both useful and interesting. Even better if that resource is also perfect for a legal audience. Since 1996 Doug Linder, the Elmer N. Powell Peer Professor of Law at University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law, has created, cultivated, and updated his Famous Trials website.

Originally started to serve as a text for Professor Linder’s Famous Trials Seminar course, the site has grown over time to include trials from the Trial of Socrates to George Zimmerman, and many of the world’s most famous trials in between. Each trial begins with a narrative of the case, written to be both engaging and informative. Then, a true treasure trove of material awaits the researcher. Depending on the case, you may original photos and documents, trial transcripts, images of evidence, and even interviews and commentary about the case at the time it was tried. 

After hearing of this site (hat tip to former Nota Bene blogger Matt Mantel), I was immediately captivated by the tale of the trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who were convicted of espionage and executed in 1953. This section includes not only the story of the trial, but also trial transcripts, photos of evidence used against the Rosenbergs, even the judge’s sentencing statement, and final letter of the Rosenbergs to their sons.  I can’t wait to delve into the next famous trial, and I’m delighted to have found a deep well of great reading for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. Whether you are interested in finding primary materials from recent trials, or just fascinated by the tales of many of the greatest trials in history, you will be glad that Professor Linder has devoted much of his career to developing this outstanding resource.  
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Amazing, but True, Deportation Story of Carlos Marcello

By
Earlier this week, the University of Houston Law Center was fortunate to have as its guest Professor Daniel Kanstroom of Boston College of Law. An expert in immigration law, he is the Director of the International Human Rights Program, and he both founded and directs the Boston College Immigration and Asylum Clinic. Speaking as the guest of the Houston Journal of International Law’s annual Fall Lecture Series, Professor Kanstroom discussed issues raised in his new book, Aftermath: Deportation Law and the New American Diaspora . Professor Michael Olivas introduced Professor Kanstroom to the audience, and mentioned the fascinating tale of Carlos Marcello, which Professor Kanstroom wrote about in his chapter “The Long, Complex, and Futile Deportation Saga of Carlos Marcello,” in Immigration Stories , a collection of narratives about leading immigration law cases. My interest piqued, I read and was amazed by Kanstroom’s description of one of the most interesting figures in American le...
1 comment
Read more

This Day in Legal History -- Roy Cohn

By
Big lawyers have big personalities, and few had as big a personality as Roy Cohn who was born on this day in New York City in 1927. Cohn’s career was spent in the Washington DC—New York axis, famous in the press for his legal and social exploits, his list of famous and infamous clients, and as the poster-boy for every stereotype of the dishonest grasping lawyer. The legal career of Roy Cohn is an object lesson on the use, and abuse, of the lawyer’s power. Roy Cohn was born on February 20, 1927 in New York City. His father was a justice in the Appellate Division of the State Supreme Court and was well connected politically. These connections, along with a precocious intelligence which allowed him to graduate from Columbia law school at age 20, paved the way for a bright legal career. Cohn’s first job (after waiting until he turned 21 to be admitted to the bar) was as an assistant U.S. Attorney in New York. He first came to prominence in his role as a prosecutor in the Rosenberg espi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Lessons for Today from the Genocide Against the Tutsi in Rwanda

By Anonymous
“Man’s inhumanity to man is not only perpetrated by the vitriolic actions of those who are bad. It is also perpetrated by the vitiating inaction of those who are good.” –Martin Luther King Jr.   Last week, I had the pleasure of attending  Professor Zachary D. Kaufman ’s presentation on  Lessons for Today from the Genocide Against the Tutsi in Rwanda  hosted by the  Johannesburg Holocaust & Geno cide Ce ntre . Among the many takeaways highlighted by Professor Kaufman and drawn from  Lessons from Rwanda: Post-Genocide Law and Policy   were ten simple yet profound lessons:   Lesson #1: Hate speech is dangerous.   To illustrate the role that hate speech played in the Rwandan genocide, Professor Kaufman discussed multiple forms of  propaganda , such as Kangura, Radio Rwanda, and RTLM “hate radio.”   He concludes that we must have limits, including with respect to social media, and further asserts that social media must do a better jo...
Post a Comment
Read more