Trial of the century

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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.

A number of court cases have been called the "trial of the century" by legal professionals and scholars. These included:

• Harry K. Thaw murder trial (1906) [1][2]
• Frank Steunenberg assassination trial (1907)
• Sacco and Vanzetti murder trial (1920's) ^[1]
• Leopold and Loeb murder trial (1924) [3]
• Scopes "Monkey" trial (1925) ^[2]
• Lindbergh kidnapping (1932) ^[3]
• Gloria Vanderbilt custody trial (1934)
• The Nuremberg Trials (1945) ^{[4] [5]}
• O. J. Simpson murder trial (1995) ^[2]
• Michael Jackson's child molestation trial (2005)
• Conrad Black's fraud trial (2007)

[edit] Notes

1. ^ John Davis (2004). Sacco and Vanzetti: Rebel Lives , ISBN 1876175850. See "Introduction".
2. ^ ^{a b} Law professor Doug Linder's discussion on which trial was "the trial of the century", January 28, 1999
3. ^ Federal Bureau of Investigation
4. ^ Kanon, Joseph "The Real Trial of the Century" New York Times, June 9, 2002
5. ^ Sadat, Leila "Experts Debate the Issues: The Dujail Trial - Issue # 10: Is the Saddam Hussein Trial one of the most important court cases of all time? Not necessarily" Case School of Law Website, October 5th, 2005

[edit] See also

• crime of the century

[edit] External links

• MSNBC survey on the topic from 2000