__NOTOC__ Trial of the century is an

idiom An idiom is a phrase or expression that typically presents a figurative, non-literal meaning attached to the phrase; but some phrases become figurative idioms while retaining the literal meaning of the phrase. Categorized as formulaic language, ...

atic phrase used to describe certain well-known court cases, especially of the 19th, 20th and 21st century. It is often used popularly as a

rhetorical device In rhetoric, a rhetorical device, persuasive device, or stylistic device is a technique that an author or speaker uses to convey to the listener or reader a meaning with the goal of persuading them towards considering a topic from a perspective, ...

to attach importance to a trial and as such is not an objective observation but the opinion of whomever uses it. As attorney F. Lee Bailey and ''The Washington Post'' observed in 1999: In 1907,

Harry K. Thaw Harry Kendall Thaw (February 12, 1871 – February 22, 1947) was the son of American coal and railroad baron William Thaw Sr.. Heir to a multimillion-dollar fortune, the younger Thaw is most notable for murdering the renowned architect Sta ...

was tried for the murder of Stanford White.

Irvin S. Cobb Irvin Shrewsbury Cobb (June 23, 1876 – March 11, 1944) was an American author, humorist, editor and columnist from Paducah, Kentucky, who relocated to New York in 1904, living there for the remainder of his life. He wrote for the ''New York Worl ...

, a contemporary reporter, explained why the trial fascinated the country so much:

List of cases

There are countless trials that have been labeled "the trial of the century" by the press; it is beyond the scope of this article to list them here. However, some legal scholars have labeled a few trials as "trials of the century". These cases are useful in this context for listing some of the most important trials, which include:

19th century

*Trial of Lizzie Borden for the double murder of her father and stepmother (1893) *Trial of

Alfred Dreyfus Alfred Dreyfus ( , also , ; 9 October 1859 – 12 July 1935) was a French artillery officer of Jewish ancestry whose trial and conviction in 1894 on charges of treason became one of the most polarizing political dramas in modern French history. ...

for treason ( Dreyfus Affair) (1894–1899)

20th century

* Trial of Leon Czolgosz for the assassination of United States President William McKinley (1901) *Trial of Harry Thaw for the murder of Stanford White (1906) * Trial of Bill Haywood for murder (1907) * Sacco and Vanzetti murder trial (1920–1927) *Trial of

Roscoe Arbuckle Roscoe Conkling "Fatty" Arbuckle (; March 24, 1887 – June 29, 1933) was an American silent film actor, comedian, director, and screenwriter. He started at the Selig Polyscope Company and eventually moved to Keystone Studios, where he worked ...

for the rape and murder of Virginia Rappe (1921) * Leopold and Loeb murder trial (1924) * Scopes Monkey Trial (1925) * Hall-Mills murder case (1926) * Scottsboro Boys trials (1931–1937) * Lindbergh kidnapping trial (1935) * Nuremberg trials (1945–1946) * Victor Kravchenko versus Les Lettres Françaises (1949) *

Hiss Hiss or Hissing may refer to: * Hiss (electromagnetic), a wave generated in the plasma of the Earth's ionosphere or magnetosphere * Hiss (surname) * ''Hissing'' (manhwa), a Korean manhwa series by Kang EunYoung * Noise (electronics) or electroni ...

- Chambers (Hiss Case, Hiss Affair) (1948–1950) * Julius and Ethel Rosenberg espionage trial (1951) * Sam Sheppard trials (1954–1966) * Adolf Eichmann trial (1961) * Chicago Seven trial (1969) *

Charles Manson Charles Milles Manson (; November 12, 1934November 19, 2017) was an American criminal and musician who led the Manson Family, a cult based in California, in the late 1960s. Some of the members committed a series of nine murders at four loca ...

and Manson "family" for the Tate–LaBianca murders (1970) *Trial of Jeremy Thorpe for conspiring to murder Norman Josiffe ( Thorpe affair) (1979) * Ted Bundy Chi Omega Trial (1979) * Claus von Bülow trials (1982–1985) * Klaus Barbie trial (1987) * Trial of Nicolae and Elena Ceaușescu (1989) * Trial of Lyle and Erik Menendez (1990) * Wisconsin v. Dahmer (1992) * Rodney King beating trials (1992–1993) *Trial of Mayor Antonio Sanchez for the rape and murder of Eileen Sarmenta and Allan Gomez (1993–1995) *Trial of

Hubert Webb Hubert Jeffrey Pagaspas Webb (born November 7, 1968), is the third son of Freddie Webb, as well as the brother of Pinky Webb and Jason Webb. He gained prominence as a suspect in the Vizconde murders. Vizconde murders Webb was the prime su ...

for the Vizconde massacre case (1995–2000) * O. J. Simpson murder case trial (1995) * Trial of Yolanda Saldívar (1995) * Impeachment of Bill Clinton (1999)

21st century

* Bush v. Gore case that ended the recount in Florida (2000) * Trial of Joseph Estrada (2001–2007) * Trial of Slobodan Milošević (2002–2005) * Trial of Saddam Hussein (2004–2006) * Trial of Michael Jackson (2005) *Trial of the Ampatuan family for the Maguindanao massacre case (2010–2019) *Trial of Casey Anthony for the death of Caylee Anthony (2011) * Trial of Bo Xilai (2013) * Trial of Joaquín Guzmán Loera (2018–2019) *

Trial of Catalonia independence leaders The trial of Catalonia independence leaders, legally named and popularly known as the , was an oral trial that began on 12 February 2019 in the Supreme Court of Spain. The case was tried by seven judges and was chaired by judge Manuel Marchena. ...

(2019) * Impeachment Trials of Donald Trump (

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

) * Trial of Derek Chauvin (2021) * Trial of Kyle Rittenhouse (2021) * ''Depp v. Heard'' defamation trial (2022)

References

External links