After just seeing another reference on TV to O.J. Simpson's murder trial as the "Trial of the Century" and having heard the same thing about the Lindbergh baby trial for most of my life, I was curious to ask:

What in your opinion is the true "Trial of the Century" for the 20th century ?

Adolf Eichmann's trial ?
Sacco & Vanzetti ?
The Rosenbergs ?
The Scripps "Monkey" Trial ?
The Lindbergh baby trial ?
Lindy Chamberlain ?
Nelson Mandela's trial ?

It seems that sensational trials get this unlikely label far too often whereas more mundane trials which change the way nations are ruled seldom do.

What are your thoughts ?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts on this matter.

Well, there was the 'great garden gnome kidnapping' in Croydon, in 1970,in which I was counsel for the prosecution....and lost.Only lost because the defence counsel was from my own chambers [offices] and the magistrates were laughing so much.Scandalous! The judiciary really ought to keep a sense of decorum. The defendants hadn't got criminal intent, indeed. Hah!

Sacco and Vanzetti ran it close though.

Eichmann's trial was, essentially, a post script to the Nuremberg Trials. Sacco & Vanzetti, the Rosenbergs, and Lindberg's trials were all reflections of America's xenophobia. Chamberlain's was just another baby killing (I won't propose to know by whom or what.), and Mandela's just another dissident trial. None really changed outlooks or set precedent.

But the Scopes trial got the US to look at the absurdity and strained logic of some of the ultra religious group's reasoning, even though Scopes was found guilty. While it is a battle we are still fighting today, the coverage changed the way the majority saw science. I see this as the real Trial of the Century.


Evolution is a theory. It's just like the Theory of Gravity, only slower. I will admit, however, that not all of us have evolved.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: DorianGreyed,

I agree with DG on Scopes. The Lindburgh trial seemed a whitewash loooking for a perpetrator. OJ had the advantage of absolutely incompetent prosecutors. How about the Manson trial?

I'll go with JR on the Manson trial. Jury selection started about this time of year, and a jury verdict was returned the following winter.

What about Lizzy Borden?

Elexina,
Her trial took place in the 1890's, so it doesn't quite fit into the question. However, it's certainly well known.

The murder of Stanford White on the roof of the old Madison Square Garden was considered " The Crime of the Century ” for quite a while around here. It had extreme wealth, power, love, jealousy, and of course guns involved.

I think it was an interesting story, and I know it well. I know a descendant of Stanford White and see him (and his dog) often at the local beaches. We have discussed the history of this murder, the trial, and the sensationalism of it at the time at great length during our walks.

I don’t want to bore anyone, but it is an interesting story. (to me anyway)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Speck

While this might not be THE trial of the 20th Century, it certainly is a memorable one to be on the list. I remember this one as a kid. Richard Speck killing eight student nurses.