NCJ Number
177834
Journal
ABA Journal Volume: 85 Dated: January 1999 Pages: 42-49
Date Published
1999
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This article examines recurring legal issues central to the trials that have shaped the law in the past 99 years, as well as the wealth, celebrity, and emotional appeal of the people involved.
Abstract
The trials described in this article reveal the Nation’s fascination with the Achilles’ heels of American folk heroes and celebrities, expose the debilitating impact of racial hatred on society, highlight society’s efforts to absorb advances in science and technology, and illuminate the dark side of the quest for success and fortune. The article details several trials and their lasting influences on the law, including: (1) the series of trials involving “the Scottsboro boys,” trials that have come to symbolize the vigilantism of parts of the South in the early 1930s and which spurred two landmark US Supreme Court decisions regarding civil rights; (2) the Scopes trial, which established a precedent for using courts as a forum to reconcile advances in science and technology with existing laws and social mores; and (3) the Karen Ann Quinlan case, which helped trigger the right-to-die movement. It also compares the anti-monopoly theme of the John D. Rockefeller and Bill Gates proceedings. Despite nearly 90 years of change, the legal issues underlying the two cases are the same.