Skill Level 1

The Amistad Trials

A: With the Amistad Trials, there were no names mentioned for the defendants but there were fifty-three black men that were on board the Amistad that had managed to free themselves from their chains. They found a knife in the hold and they used it to take command of the ship and murdered the captain.

http://www.hlla.com/reference/lawinamerica.html

B: The fifty-three Africans were arrested on charges of murder and piracy, and they were taken and held in the county jail in New Haven, Connecticut.

http://www.hlla.com/reference/lawinamerica.html

C: The judge stated that the United States did not have jurisdiction over the murder and piracy charges because the offenses occurred in a Spanish ship, sailing in Spanish waters. They only gave this ruling because the Africans didn’t speak English. Once the Africans found an interpreter and told their horrific story to the judge. After that, the judge ruled that the Amistad Africans were "born free and ever since have been and still of right are free and not slaves." The United States attorney filed an immediate appeal, and the case of the Amistad was destined for the United States Supreme Court.

http://www.hlla.com/reference/lawinamerica.html

Charles Manson Trial
A: With the Charles Manson Trails, there were the four defendants of Charles Manson, Patricia Krenwinkel ("Katie"), Leslie Van Houten and Susan Atkins (aka Sadie Mae Glutz) http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/manson/mansondefendants.html
B: Charles Manson, Patricia Krenwinkel ("Katie"), Leslie Van Houten and Susan Atkins (aka Sadie Mae Glutz) were all charged with the murders of the Tate/LaBiana Trial of Sharon Tate, Jay Sebring, Voytek Frykowski, Abigail Folger, and Steven Parent. Leno and Rosemary LaBianca were then the next two to be murdered. http://www.religioustolerance.org/dc_charl.htm http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/manson/mansonchrono.html
C: The jury found the defendants of the Tate-LaBianca case to be guilty in first-degree murder. They had been sentenced to death by execution. The death penalties were commuted to life imprisonment in the 1970's when California Supreme Court declared that the death penalty was unconstitutional and Manson's sentence was automatically reduced to life in prison. http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/manson/mansonchrono.html http://www.religioustolerance.org/dc_charl.htm

Salem Witch Trials
A: With the Salem Witch Trials the defendants were Sarah Good, Sarah Wilds, Elizabeth How, Susannah Martin, and Rebecca Nurse. http://www.salemwitchtrials.com/salemwitchcraft.html#witchcraft
B: The defendants were accused and charged with witchcraft. In court the judge wanted to prove if they were witches or not, so he instructed the defendants to touch certain people, to see if their touch, (which was assumed of the touch of witches) would stop their contortions. They examined the bodies of the accused, and used it for evidence, and stated their moles were of "witches' marks". http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/SAL_ACCT.HTM
C: All six defendants were found guilty of witchcraft by the court. Elizabeth Proctor escaped the sentence of death because she was pregnant, but the rest were hanged on Gallows Hill on August 19, 1692. But, throughout the entire trial, all together nineteen men and women were hung, and one was stoned to death http://www.salemwitchtrials.com/salemwitchcraft.html#witchcraft http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/SAL_ACCT.HTM

Scopes “Monkey” Trial
A: With the Scopes “Monkey” Trial, the defendant was a young teacher named John Scopes http://www.firstthings.com/ftissues/ft9702/iannone.html
B: John Scopes was accused and charged with violating the Butler Act, a measure passed earlier that year to restrict the teaching of evolution in state-funded schools. http://www.firstthings.com/ftissues/ft9702/iannone.html
C: When the trial was nearly over, Clarence Darrow, John Scopes Lawyer asked the jury to return a verdict of guilty, in order that the case might be appealed to the Tennessee Supreme Court. William Jennings Bryan was thereby denied the opportunity to deliver a closing speech he had labored over for weeks. The jury complied with Darrow's request, and Judge Raulston fined him $100. http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/scopes/evolut.htm

Skill Level 2
Aaron Burr

A: The defense attorneys for the Aaron Burr trial where Edmund Randolph and Luther Martin, the prosecution were Charles Lee, former Attorney General, and William Wirt.

http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/burr/burraccount.html

1: Edmund Randolph: He was born on August 10, 1753 in Williamsburg Virginia. He attended the College of William and Mary and pursued a career in law. He served as Washington's aide-de-camp in 1775. He was a delegate to the Virginia Convention. He then began his term as Attorney-General of Virginia. He served as a member in Congress in 1779, and Governor of Virginia from 1786 to 1788. He was a delegate to the Annapolis Convention and later to the Constitutional Convention. He was elected Governor of Virginia in 1786. He was appointed as the first U.S. Attorney General in September 1789. After leaving the cabinet he returned to Virginia to practice law; his most famous case was that of defense counsel during Aaron Burr's trial for treason in 1807. Randolph died on September 13, 1813 while visiting the home of a friend, Nathaniel Burwell of Carter Hall, near Millwood, Virginia in Clarke County and is buried at a nearby Burwell family cemetery "Old Chapel".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Randolph www.ushistory.org/germantown/people/randolph.htm

*** In my opinion I think that this case had a positive impact on Randolph’s career while he was involved with the Aaron Burr Trial. Because once the trial was over he became famous for the trial, and known for the many that he has done after that.

A: The defense attorneys for Aaron Burr where Edmund Randolph and Luther Martin, the prosecution were Charles Lee, former Attorney General, and William Wirt.

http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/burr/burraccount.html

2: Charles Lee: He was born in 1758 in Westmoreland County, Virginia. He served as attorney general of the United States from 1795 to 1801 under presidents George Washington and John Adams. He followed his brother to the College of New Jersey (later named Princeton). From the beginning, he was interested in the law. He completed his legal studies in Philadelphia under Attorney Jared Ingersoll, and he was admitted to the bar in about 1780. As a young lawyer, he served as a delegate to the Continental Congress, and he was a member of the Virginia Assembly. He also maintained his family's tradition of military service. He served as chief naval officer of the District of the Potomac for more than a decade. He resigned in December 1795, when he was appointed attorney general of the United States by President Washington. He was more successful in his defense of statesman and former vice president Aaron Burr, who was tried and acquitted on charges of treason. Lee had been a longtime Burr supporter, and he took the case, winning an acquittal. He later died June 24, 1815, in Fauquier County, Virginia. http://www.answers.com/topic/charles-lee-attorney-general
*** In my opinion I think that this case had a negative impact on Lee’s career, although he practiced law since a young child, the only reason why he took that Aaron Burr trial was because Lee supported Burr and his ways. Taking the case didn’t make him famous or known like the others. I think he just did it out of the kindness of his heart.
Rosenberg Trial

B: The defense attorney for the Rosenberg Trial is Emmanuel Bloch and the prosecution was Irving Saypol and Roy Coh. http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USArosenbergT.htm http://www.rosenbergtrial.org/
1: Emmanuel Bloch: Emanuel "Manny" Bloch, along with his father Alexander, was the defense attorney for the Rosenberg’s. He was known in the legal community as a defender of leftist sympathizers, most recently having defended the leader of the Communist party of Pittsburgh and the Trenton Six. During the course of the trial and the many appeals he grew very close to the Rosenberg’s and their children. The relationship between Bloch and the Rosenberg’s went further than attorney and client. He cast aside his other caseload to focus entirely upon the Rosenberg’s. His efforts in the final frantic days to spare his clients from execution were nothing short of heroic. Following the executions, Bloch delivered the eulogy at their funeral and served as guardian for the two Rosenberg sons. The Rosenberg case was Bloch's most infamous as well as his last. In early 1954 Bloch was found dead in his apartment, dead of a heart attack at age 52. According to his father, Emanuel Bloch was also a victim of the Rosenberg case. http://edsitement.neh.gov/lesson_images/lesson690/McCarthy01.pdf#search=%22defense%20attorney%20Emmanuel%20Bloch%22 http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/rosenb/ROS_BBLO.HTM

*** In my opinion I think that the case has a negative impact on Bloch’s career, because there are writing’s that state that he might have been also a victim of the Rosenberg case. He died at a very early age and didn’t have much of a career.

B: The defense attorney for the Rosenberg Trial is Emmanuel Bloch and the prosecution was Irving Saypol and Roy Coh. http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USArosenbergT.htm http://www.rosenbergtrial.org/

2: Irving Saypol: He was the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York and the Chief Prosecutor of the Julius and Ethel Rosenberg and Morton Sobell. He graduated from Brooklyn Law School and quickly rose through the ranks of the United States Attorney's office. He was an experienced prosecutor of Communists, as he had convicted Alger Hiss, William Remington, Abraham Brothman and others prior to taking on the Rosenberg case. Part of his success was attributable to his sincere belief that he was punishing evil. Some of his critics charge that Saypol, who warmed to his task at prosecuting the Rosenberg’s, blurred any distinction between the crime charged, conspiracy to commit espionage, and treason. His success in the Rosenberg trial accelerated his career. He was appointed to the New York Supreme Court just months after the trial.

http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/rosenb/ROS_BSAY.HTM http://www.rosenbergtrial.org/plyrstxt.html#saypol

*** In my opinion I think that this case had a positive impact on Saypol career, because his success in the Rosenberg trial accelerated his career, and that is what he needed to be appointed to the New York Supreme court only a few months after the famous trail.

Skill Level 3

A: The media coverage became the most publicized case in US history. It was the longest trial ever held in California. It cost over $20 million to fight and defend. The media coverage had up to 50,000 pages of trial transcript in the process. There were 150 witnesses called to give evidence. http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/famous/simpson/index_1.html

B: O.J. Simpson was found not guilty and cleared of all criminal charges. He was ordered to pay $33,500,000 in damages. However, California law protects pensions from being used to satisfy judgments, so Simpson was able to continue much of his lifestyle based on his NFL pension. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O.J._Simpson http://www.ojtrial.com/O_J_Simpson_Found_Not_Guilty.htm

C: In my opinion I don’t think that the media coverage really affected the outcome of the trial because a lot of it was other people opinions and it wasn’t the facts. The media made it more of a racial thing then what the case was really about. It was about a man who committed a crime and how he was on trial for murder not that he was a famous actor and football player, and how it will ruin his career. The jury was mainly white and so the media made it, that because he was a black man that they can’t convict him for the murder that he was on trail for.

D: In my opinion I believe that the media coverage on the trial took advantage of freedom of speech. Freedom of speech is essential, but when viewpoints are represented by our media, we start to believe them even if it is not true. Yes we are allowed to speak our mind and say what we want, but when it is falsifying the information it’s just not right. For example with Princess Diana, the media forced their way just to get a photograph, and caused her driver to crash and killing them. That’s considered freedom of speech? The media killed 2 innocent people. Recently with the JonBenet Ramsey case with John Mark Karr, they made him look so guilty because they were making it up. When officials looked more into the case he was innocent and never killed JonBenet. I honestly think that the media has just taken things too far, and there should be some kind of limit, kind of rules so that there are not innocent people being hurt.