Greatest trial of the 20th Century?

Question

We heard so much at the time that the O.J. Simpson trial was the "Trial of the Century" but was it? Which of these would you consider the Twentieth Century's greatest trial?

1. Sacco and Vanzetti
2. Scopes Monkey trial
3. Lindbergh Kidnapping
4. Julius and Ethel Rosenberg
5.. Nuremberg trials
6. O. J. Simpson

If there is another trial, other than the ones listed above, which you feel is "The Greatest Trial of the 20th Century" please list it.

Answer 1

#2. It was when America stopped believing in God and followed the path of Atheists.

OJ would never have gone to trial in the '50s or '60s.

The Rosenbergs were clearly guilty; good to get rid of traitors (Yes, I remember when they were fried)

Nuremberg trials? They did not get all of the perps!

Lindberg? They got the wrong guy!

Sacco & Vanzetti? The arrest of Sacco and Vanzetti had coincided with the period of the most intense political repression in American history, the "Red Scare" 1919-20. The police trap they had fallen into had been set for a comrade of theirs, suspected primarily because he was a foreign-born radical. While neither Sacco nor Vanzetti had any previous criminal record, they were long recognized by the authorities and their communities as anarchist militants who had been extensively involved in labor strikes, political agitation, and antiwar propaganda and who had had several serious confrontations with the law. They were also known to be dedicated supporters of Luigi Galleani's Italian-language journal Cronaca Sovversiva, the most influential anarchist journal in America, feared by the authorities for its militancy and its acceptance of revolutionary violence. Cronaca, because of its uncompromising antiwar stance, had been forced to halt publication immediately upon the entry of the U.S. government into World War I in 1917; its editors were arrested and at war's end deported to Italy, in 1919. During this period the government's acts of repression, often illegal, were met in turn by the anarchists' attempts to incite social revolution, and at times by retal iatory violence; the authorities and Cronaca were pitted against each other in a bitter social struggle just short of open warfare. A former editor of Cronaca was strongly suspected of having blown himself up during an attentat on Attorney General Palmer's home in Washington, D.C. on June 2, 1919, an act that led Congress to vote funds for anti-radical investigations and launch the career of J. Edgar Hoover as the director of the General Intelligence Division in the Department of Justice. The Sacco-Vanzetti case would become one of his first major responsibilities.
[there was lots more...]

In other words, the Sacco & Vanzetti trial was mostly about American freedoms; whether or not it applied to foreigners who spoke little English and about the Mafia...

So, in overall importance, Scopes.

Answer 2

I don't think that the OJ Simpson trial is even close to being the greatest of the century. The greatest would set a precedent for all other trials to come. It would impact not only those involved but also say something about society and the impact of crime on daily life. I think the Nuremberg trials were pretty meaningful (although not held in the United States where I think most of the others took place). The OJ Simpson trial was highly televised and sensationalized but in the end turned over no real issues. Maybe some cases are tried differently since then but so many others have meant so much more to society.

Answer 3

Well, "greatest" in what way? Great takes in a lot of territory.

For the greatest miscarriages of justice I would have to choose Sacco and Vanzetti and Bruno Hauptman. (Lindbergh kidnapping)

The Scopes Monkey trial was really all about showmanship, so it would be greatest in that way, because of the participants. It also provided much publicity to a cause whose time had come and exposed laws that were antiquated and subsequently changed; so it was greatest for its effect.

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg was the greatest demonstration of the power of the government misused and the manipulation of the public by that government.

The Nuremberg trials were the greatest display of superficiality and mockery of justice. Because the crimes of the Nazi regime were so publicized something had to be done to show the world that justice would triumph, but it didn't. It was all for show. Most Nazi war criminals escaped justice all together and I don't just mean those who fled the country. Even the ones who were convicted and sentenced to long prison terms were released after serving very few years. The Nuremberg trials did exact vengeance against some of the top brass, but mostly reminded me of the circus coming to town.

I'm sorry, but O.J. Simpson is just despicable and doesn't qualify to be in any list with the word great.

You didn't mention Leopold and Loeb; their crime was referred to as "The Crime of the Century" at that time and was the first publicized murder committed for fun and depravity.

Answer 4

Good one!

What about Leopold and Loeb, the perfect crime killers and inspiration for "Rope" by Hitchcock.

Nuremberg wins.

Far more talked about than OJ trial. Just so happens that the posters were not alive at that time. Books and films galore about them. Fascinating stories, especially Goring and Speer.

Do the OJ voters know what the Nuremberg trials were?

Answer 5

The lindbergh kidnapping was the greatest trail along with
The Scottsboro trials ,the Leopold and Loeb trial,the My Lai Courts-Martial, Chicago Seven trial.
Here are all the famous trials
http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/ftrials.htm

Answer 6

Brown Vs Board Of Education

Answer 7

Nuremburg trials and the Scopes Monkey trial in a tie because the issues are still affecting us today.

Answer 8

As far as being fundamentally important to our country, I'd say the Scopes Monkey Trial, The McCarthy Hearings, Brown vs the Board of Education, and Roe vs Wade.

Answer 9

Gotta go with Nuremberg. It established the principle that nations be held to a worldwide standard for acceptable actions. All the other choices were either local in nature or media events..

Answer 10

I would say the oj simpson one. It was the most talked about. But I still think about the Darral Hunt trials. That poor man served 20 years for something he didn't do.