Trials and court cases have the power to grip the world like few other events. The biggest trials in history have drawn millions of viewers, mesmerizing people with shock and drama, like a real-life soap opera with very real stakes.
Over the years, the highest-profile cases have dwarfed other massive cultural events. Major trials can hit the headlines for various reasons; maybe they involve a celebrity, revolve around an important social issue, highlight a travesty of justice, or cover a gruesome crime.
In this article, we discuss the most famous trials in history, shining a light on the most compelling cases, both in the United States and across the world.
The 77 Most Famous Trials and Court Cases in History
PLEASE NOTE: Bisnar Chase is a personal injury law firm, and we have compiled this article to discuss some of the most famous and fascinating courtroom cases ever seen.
We care deeply about the law and about seeing justice done. But we can only represent you if you have suffered an injury due to negligence or need to take action over an employment violation. Our team is made up of outstanding trial lawyers who have no shortage of courtroom skills. But we do not handle criminal cases or trial defenses.
Below is our list showcasing 77 of the most sensational and important trials throughout history, including when and where the trials took place. You will have heard of some of the defendants, but others are less well known. The list includes everything from deep historical trendsetters to modern-day mega trials, in no particular order.
1. O.J. Simpson
- Defendant: Former NFL star and celeb Orenthal James Simpson
- Charge: Murder
- When: 1994-1995
- Where: Los Angeles County Superior Court, California
Where else can you start in a list of top trials? The O.J. Simpson murder trial gripped the nation in 1995, with 150 million people tuning in to watch the drama unfold on TV.
Simpson, a former NFL superstar turned broadcaster and actor, was charged with murder in 1994 after his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman were found dead from multiple stab wounds. A blood-splattered glove was found near O.J. Simpson’s home.
The trial lasted for eight months and has become one of the most famous murder trials ever. Simpson never took the stand, but about 150 witnesses testified. Simpson assembled a massive legal team, which he referred to as “The Dream Team,” including heavy hitters Robert Shapiro and Johnnie Cochran.
The defense team was able to cast doubt over the prosecution’s case by criticizing the handling of DNA evidence. Defense attorneys also alleged racism and misconduct on the part of an LAPD detective.
O.J. Simpson was eventually found not guilty on both counts of murder in one of the most famous trials ever. The decision—and the massive reaction to it—was a huge social flashpoint, raising questions over a racial divide. A separate civil trial in 1997 saw a jury find Simpson responsible for the deaths, awarding the families of the deceased $33.5 million.
Simpson later served nine years in prison after being convicted of multiple felonies in Nevada. He was released in 2017. OJ Simpson passed away from cancer in April 2024.
2. Casey Anthony
- Defendant: Young Florida mother Casey Anthony
- Charge: Murder, aggravated child abuse, aggravated manslaughter, lying to police
- When: 2011
- Where: Orange County Courthouse, Orlando, Florida
This trial came after the horrifying death of an infant girl named Caylee Anthony. The 2-year-old child lived with her mother, Casey Anthony, and grandparents. But the child was reported missing by the grandparents in 2008.
The grandparents called the police and reported Caylee missing after they had not seen her for more than 30 days. Mother Casey, aged 22 at the time, gave various excuses for the girl’s absence. When questioned by the police, Casey told detectives that a nanny had kidnapped her daughter and she had been trying to track her down.
Casey was first arrested for misleading officers as the investigation continued. The following month, Caylee’s remains were found buried in a laundry bag in a wooded area near the family’s home. Casey Anthony was formally charged later that year.
The trial took place in 2011, taking six weeks. Casey Anthony pleaded not guilty while the prosecution sought the death penalty. The trial made major headlines and was referred to by Time Magazine as the “social media trial of the century.” Jurors were brought in from outside the Orlando area to keep the trial fair.
The prosecution alleged that Anthony had used chloroform and duct tape to kill her daughter. The defense team aimed to discredit any forensic evidence produced, calling it “fantasy forensics,” and offered an alternative version in which the child had drowned in the family pool.
The jury found Casey Anthony not guilty of any charge apart from misleading police. She was released immediately, with any jail time already having been served. The trial garnered massive public attention and an outcry after the verdict, with Casey Anthony reportedly receiving droves of death threats.
3. Al Capone
- Defendant: Notorious gangster Alphonse “Scarface” Capone
- Charge: Tax Evasion
- When: 1931
- Where: Chicago Federal Courtroom, Wilkerson, Illinois
Al Capone is still one of the most notorious gangsters in American history. He first joined a gang as a teenager before moving to Chicago and joining a serious criminal enterprise. Capone was eventually chosen as the organization’s boss, still aged in his 20s.
Capone was responsible for expanding the enterprise, running major bootlegging and smuggling operations during prohibition, as well as engaging in bribery and intimidation and famously ordering high-profile murders – including those of rival gang members.
Authorities were desperate to bring Capone to justice, dubbing him “Public Enemy Number 1.” But they struggled to prove his connection to any serious crimes until the assistant attorney general hatched a plan to target Capone’s illegally earned money. Prosecutors eventually charged Capone with 22 counts of tax evasion, and the case went to trial.
No one would expect tax evasion to form the heart of one of the most high-profile criminal cases ever. But due to the defendant, this became one of the most famous trials in history. It lasted less than two weeks, and Capone initially pleaded guilty before switching his plea. The jurors selected for the case were changed and kept secret to ensure Capone’s gang could not bribe anyone.
Al Capone was found guilty on five counts of tax evasion – a meek ending for a crime boss of his stature. He was sentenced to 11 years in prison, ending his sentence in Alcatraz. He was released after seven and a half years and died of a heart attack seven years later, aged 48.
4. Ted Bundy
- Defendant: Infamous serial killer Theodore Robert Bundy
- Charge: Murder
- When: 1976-1980
- Where: Various courts, including Leon County Courthouse, Florida
Nothing sparks a mix between fascination and horror like a serial killer, and Ted Bundy is one of the most notorious serial killers of all time. He killed at least 30 women over four years across seven states.
During his reign of terror, Bundy kidnapped, raped, and murdered dozens of women. He eventually confessed to 30 murders, but the real number may be higher.
Bundy was arrested in 1975 by a traffic officer who spotted his car and found a murder kit inside. But that was only the start of a lengthy legal saga. He had several different trials after killing his victims across various jurisdictions.
The first trial was in 1976 in Utah, and Bundy was handed a prison sentence after being found guilty. But then things went wrong. Before he could serve that sentence, Bundy was charged with murder in Colorado and was transferred across state lines for a second trial. He decided to represent himself, but managed to escape custody by jumping out of the courthouse law library window while preparing his defense.
He was captured a few days later but managed to escape again. This time, he lost weight so that he could squeeze through a grate in his jail cell, disappearing once more with disastrous consequences.
Bundy struck again in Florida and was eventually caught again by police. Put on trial in Miami, Bundy again represented himself in one of the first-ever televised trials. He won fans for his calm and confident appearance in court but received a double death sentence after the jury returned a guilty verdict in less than seven hours.
But he also went through ANOTHER trial in Florida in 1980 after evidence was found linking him to further murders. He was found guilty again and was killed by electric chair in 1989 after several failed appeals.
5. Socrates
- Defendant: Legendary and controversial philosopher Socrates
- Charge: Asebeia (a form of sacrilege) and corruption of youth
- When: 399 BC
- Where: Athens, Ancient Greece
Sure, this one is a bit different from the others on the list so far, though it is not the only ancient trial to make our top 77. Just because it happened 2378 years before televised trials does not mean it had any less impact at the time.
Socrates was a famous philosopher and teacher at a time when Ancient Greece was at the forefront of developing freedom and democracy. But Socrates was a polarizing and controversial figure who did not support the advent of democracy.
Eventually, Socrates’s teachings were viewed as dangerous. He was charged with refusing to recognize the accepted gods of the state and corrupting the youth of Athens with his teachings.
Socrates answered the charges in an early form of a trial that was not too dissimilar from what we have now. It was presided over by a magistrate who questioned both the accuser and the accused, and then gave both sides a chance to question the arguments of the other.
The trial was held on a single day and lasted about ten hours. It took place in the Athens civic center in front of a jury comprising 500 men aged 30+, selected by drawing lots – a product of the new democratic system. A huge crowd of onlookers gathered inside the court to watch the trial.
The jury found Socrates guilty by a vote of 280-220. The jurors also had to vote between two proposed punishments, choosing to put him to death.
Many scholars believe Socrates deliberately provoked the jury during the trial and sentencing, using the opportunity to lecture them because he was ready to die at that point. He was given hemlock and died in his jail cell, aged in his 70s.
6. Black Sox Scandal
- Defendant: Eight Chicago White Sox players, including star Joe Jackson and pitcher Eddie Cicotte
- Charge: Conspiracy to defraud – Match fixing
- When: 1921
- Where: Cook County Circuit Court, Chicago, Illinois
Baseball has had its fair share of controversies over the years. But 100 years before the Houston Astros sign-stealing outrage, several players were caught up in the Black Sox Scandal.
In 1919, the Chicago White Sox lost in the World Series. But the championship result was surrounded by controversy, with some members of the White Sox accused of working with a gambling syndicate to throw the series in a shocking match-fixing scandal.
Some accounts say the scandal was an act of revenge against the unpopular team owner, while others say it was purely motivated by money. It has long been called the Black Sox Scandal, recognizing how it tarnished the White Sox name.
Rumors swirled throughout the following season, and an investigation was launched. A grand jury was convened to decide whether the case should go to trial by sifting through the evidence – including a confession from one of the players involved.
In the end, eight players and five gamblers were indicted and faced a jury trial in 1921. Before the trial started, the signed confessions of two involved players went missing, and they both suspiciously recanted their confessions. The trial only lasted two days, and it took jurors less than three hours to return not-guilty verdicts for all of the players.
But the accused players were never allowed to play Major League Baseball again. Team owners installed a former federal judge as MLB commissioner to remove corruption from the league. The new commissioner handed lifetime bans to the players, saying it was clear they had broken the rules.
7. The Menendez Brothers
- Defendant: Young brothers Lyle Menendez and Erik Menendez
- Charge: Murder
- When: 1993-1996
- Where: The Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Beverly Hills, California
In 1989, Jose and Kitty Menendez were gunned down in their own home and died from catastrophic shotgun wounds. The murder was reported by their children, Lyle and Erik, who said they came home to find their parents dead. But it turned out that there was much more to this case.
Police investigated the double murder and eventually turned their attention to the children, aged 18 and 21 at the time. They suspected a financial motive, with the brothers spending lavishly using their inheritance following the crime.
Erik Menendez discussed the murders with his psychologist, and that admission eventually led to the brothers being arrested in 1990 and standing trial in 1993. Erik and Lyle were first tried separately, and their cases gripped the nation as they were televised on Court TV.
During the murder trials, the brothers admitted to killing their parents, each using a shotgun. But they said they were motivated by fear after suffering a lifetime of physical and sexual abuse. The initial trial ended with two deadlocked juries and no decision, resulting in mistrials.
A second trial followed. This time, the brothers were tried together and convicted of conspiracy and first-degree murder. The jury did not impose the death penalty because the brothers had no criminal history. But they were still sentenced to life in prison without parole in 1996.
The Menendez brothers were separated and sent to different prisons. They were reunited in 2018 after finally being moved to the same prison unit in San Diego. The Menendez murders and trials made nationwide news and have been dissected in several documentaries over the last 20 years.
8. Michael Jackson
- Defendant: Singer and dancer Michael Jackson, nicknamed the King of Pop
- Charge: Molesting a minor, intoxicating a minor, child abduction, conspiracy to commit extortion
- When: 2005
- Where: Santa Barbara County Superior Court, Santa Maria, California
An outrageously talented singer and dancer, Michael Jackson is one of the most popular artists ever. But he has also been at the center of several major controversies, including facing criminal charges. Those charges put Jackson front and center in one of the most famous trials in history.
Jackson was first accused of abusing a young boy in 1993. On that occasion, a civil lawsuit was settled out of court for $23 million, and a grand jury decided there was not enough evidence for a criminal indictment.
Nearly ten years later, Jackson was featured in a documentary called Living with Michael Jackson, which showed the singer holding hands with a 13-year-old boy. When questioned, he said he had slept in the same bed as many children but that there was nothing sexual about it.
The documentary raised fresh concerns, and an investigation was launched. The family of the child shown in the footage accused Jackson of molestation, and the singer was arrested and charged on multiple counts in 2003.
The trial took place in Santa Barbara over a five-month span. The judge banned cameras from the courtroom and issued a gag order to prevent information from leaking during the trial. But it still attracted a media circus, including news and TV specials.
The trial lasted for about four months, from jury selection to verdict. The defense was able to discredit many of the prosecution witnesses, including members of the accusing family who were shown to have a history of fraud and false testimony. They had been involved in several previous civil lawsuits and had asked many celebrities for money.
Jury deliberations lasted for seven days. In the end, the jurors voted not guilty on all charges, describing the prosecution’s case as weak, with a problematic timeline and unconvincing witnesses.
9. The Nuremberg Trials
- Defendant: 24 members of Nazi Germany’s wartime regime
- Charge: Crimes against peace, crimes against humanity, war crimes
- When: 1945-1946
- Where: Nuremberg, Germany
The Nuremberg trials are unlike any of the other legal cases on this list. Rape and murder are awful enough, but these trials dealt with crimes such as genocide, holding to account those who were involved in a war that resulted in 75 million deaths.
These military tribunals were set up following the conclusion of World War II after the surviving leaders from Nazi Germany’s wartime regime had been rounded up. The Nuremberg trials took place over 11 months, from November 1945 to October 1946, passing judgment on 24 defendants.
The legal basis and format of the unprecedented trials were agreed upon by leaders from Britain, the United States, and the Soviet Union, with a panel of eight judges from four different countries assembled.
The city of Nuremberg was chosen because it had a spacious court with a large prison attached that had not been damaged during the war. It was also seen as the ceremonial birthplace of the Nazi party.
Of the 24 defendants, 12 were found guilty and sentenced to death. These included Hermann Goring, who was head of the Nazi air force and former leader of the Gestapo (secret police), and one-time second in command to Adolf Hitler.
Another seven were imprisoned, while three were acquitted, and two were not fit to stand trial.
Others who shared extreme responsibility for World War II, such as Adolf Hitler, Joseph Goebbels, and Heinrich Himmler, were able to commit suicide before capture. Others who committed lesser war crimes were also tried in Nuremberg following the initial targeting of key figures.
The Nuremberg trials provided a landmark moment, establishing international laws and ending a devastating period in history.
10. Jeffrey Dahmer
- Defendant: Serial killer and cannibal Jeffrey Dahmer
- Charge: Murder
- When: 1991-1992
- Where: Milwaukee County Circuit Court
Known as the Milwaukee Monster, Jeffrey Dahmer was a feared serial killer who committed a series of shocking crimes over a span of several years.
Dahmer’s modus operandi was to lure victims into his home to drug, rape, and kill them. Sometimes, he kept trophies from his victims, such as preserved body parts. Other times, he ate parts of his victims.
The killer was caught in 1991 when one of his would-be victims escaped and led police to Dahmer. They found a severed head in his fridge, and he was arrested. He waived his right to a lawyer and sat through over 60 hours of police interviews, where he admitted to killing numerous victims and interfering with the bodies.
The trial began in 1992, with Dahmer pleading guilty but insane on 15 counts of murder. The defense claimed that Dahmer had a mental disease that rendered him unable to control his darkest impulses, citing his necrophiliac compulsions.
Prosecutors provided a stream of expert witnesses who refuted the insanity claims, showing that Dahmer put a lot of effort into planning his crimes rather than acting solely on impulse. Doctors concluded that he had personality disorders but was sane.
The trial lasted two weeks, at the end of which the jury found Dahmer guilty of all 15 counts by a vote of 10-2. Dahmer asked to address the court and read a prepared statement saying he knew he could not undo the harm he had done and wished for his own death.
With no death penalty available in Milwaukee, Dahmer was handed 16 life sentences totaling 941 years. He was beaten to death after four months in prison.
You can watch the key moments from the Jeffrey Dahmer trial here.
11. Scott Peterson
- Defendant: Family destroyer Scott Peterson
- Charge: First and second-degree murder
- When: 2004
- Where: San Mateo County Superior Court, California Supreme Court
The case of the Peterson family is a chilling tale involving the mysterious death of a woman who was nearly eight months pregnant.
On Christmas Eve 2002, wife and mother-to-be Laci Peterson was reported missing. Her husband Scott left that morning to go fishing, with his wife preparing to bake Christmas cookies. But the house was empty when he returned. He called his in-laws, and when nobody knew where Laci was, the police were called.
Investigators soon suspected Scott Peterson due to his unnervingly calm demeanor after Laci’s disappearance and the discovery that he was having an affair.
Four months after her disappearance, the bodies of Laci and her baby (believed to have been expelled after death) were found near the shoreline in San Francisco Bay. The discovery was made near where Scott Peterson had said he had been fishing, prompting his arrest.
The trial started in the summer of 2004. The story of Laci’s disappearance had sparked national interest, and the trial was closely covered by the media. The only forensic evidence provided by the prosecution was one of Laci’s hairs found on the pliers on Scott’s boat, and the defense called any evidence circumstantial.
However, the jury found Scott Peterson guilty after a five-month trial. He was given the death penalty for killing his wife and unborn son, and was sent to San Quentin prison.
After a series of appeals, the case went before the Supreme Court of California in 2020. Peterson’s conviction was upheld, but the death penalty was revoked due to failures in trial procedure. He is still imprisoned.
12. The Burr Conspiracy
- Defendant: Former vice president Aaron Burr
- Charge: Treason
- When: 1807
- Where: Circuit Court, Richmond, Virginia
The Burr conspiracy is another reminder that a trial did not have to be televised to send tremors through history, with Burr’s treason charge leading to an event dubbed the “trial of the century.”
Aaron Burr has become renowned in recent years as the man who killed founding father Alexander Hamilton, thanks to the success of the Hamilton musical. But his story did not end with Hamilton’s death. After that incident, Burr became Vice President of the United States.
In 1807, following his stint as VP, Burr was arrested on the orders of President Thomas Jefferson. He had been caught amassing land and money and was believed to be making a power grab by taking over large areas of land in Louisiana and assembling support and supplies.
Burr was charged with treason and stood trial. He denied all charges and said he intended to farm the 40,000 acres of land he had acquired.
In the end, he was found not guilty because the prosecution could not provide enough evidence of treasonous action. The judge ruled that conspiracy without action was not enough to convict. He said that Burr may have intended treason, but according to the strict definition of the constitution, Burr could not be found guilty without committing an act of war.
The trial also first raised the question of executive privilege in a ruling over whether the president was subject to law and could be subpoenaed by a court.
Angry mobs were furious at the result. The scandal put an end to Burr’s political career. He moved to Europe in self-imposed exile before returning to the U.S. under a different name.
13. Brown v. the Topeka Board of Education
- Case type: Civil rights
- When: 1954
- Where: The Supreme Court of the United States
This is the first civil court case on our list, rather than a criminal trial, and it involves a landmark case that significantly impacted civil rights and race law.
Up until this point, many states ran separate schools for black and white American children. Essentially, this groundbreaking case set the precedent that racial segregation in schools should not be allowed because it was unconstitutional.
In 1951, a class action lawsuit was filed by 13 black families on behalf of their 20 children. The case was filed against the Topeka Board of Education in Kansas, which operated segregated schools as permitted by Kansas state law at the time.
The case was first heard by a district court, which ruled with the Board of Education. The court made its decision based on a Supreme Court precedent from 1896 (Plessy v. Ferguson), which said that segregation was allowed as long as both races had facilities of equal quality. It was referred to as “separate but equal.”
But the plaintiffs refused to be defeated. The Brown case was combined with four other cases from different states and taken to the U.S. Supreme Court.
It took more than 18 months for the high court to hear all of the arguments (twice), discuss them, build a consensus, and examine the Constitution. In 1954, a unanimous decision ruled in favor of the plaintiffs.
The court’s opinion was that segregation deprived children of educational opportunities and fundamentally impacted the status of black children. The court ruled that “separate but equal” was unconstitutional and abolished segregation.
Years of appeals and battling over the implementation of the decision remained, but the ruling had an incredible impact on the development of civil rights in the United States.
14. Amanda Knox
- Defendant: American exchange student Amanda Knox
- Charge: Murder, carrying a knife, simulating a burglary
- When: 2009
- Where: Perugia, Italy
American student Amanda Knox, 20, headed out to spend a year in Italy in the adventure of a lifetime. But her dream trip turned into a nightmare when she was accused of murdering her roommate.
Seattle native Knox moved into a four-bedroom apartment in Perugia with two Italian women and a British exchange student, Meredith Kercher, in 2007. Knox and Kercher appeared to be friends, spending a lot of time together as they explored the area.
After six weeks in Italy, Knox became concerned when she found Kercher’s door locked, with blood stains in the apartment. She called the police, and Meredith Kercher’s body was then found in her room with stab and neck wounds.
Police arrested and charged Knox with murder and faking a burglary to cover up the crime. According to Knox, officers hit her, shouted at her, and refused access to a lawyer, putting her under extreme pressure during interrogation. This was denied by the police, but the interrogation was later made inadmissible in court due to suspected improper conduct.
First, an acquaintance called Rudy Guede, who was linked to the crime scene by forensic evidence, was convicted of murder in a fast-track trial. But police believed he had accomplices and pushed ahead with prosecuting Amanda Knox and her boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito.
Both Knox and Sollecito pleaded not guilty but were convicted. Knox was given a 25-year prison sentence. In America, the case was viewed as a travesty of justice, with experts criticizing the evidence presented and the trial process.
After serving four years of her sentence, the case was reviewed, and evidence was found to have been contaminated. In a retrial, Knox was found not guilty and was released immediately.
Another retrial was ordered in 2013, and Knox was found guilty again in 2014. But a final appeal heard by the Italian Supreme Court quashed the verdict and issued a definitive acquittal in 2015. The twists and turns of these famous trials made international news for several years and sparked a series of films and documentaries.
15. The Trial of the Chicago 7 (or 8)
- Defendant: Eight activists who joined a massive anti-war protest in Chicago
- Charge: Conspiracy, crossing state lines to incite a riot, incendiary weapons offenses
- When: 1969-1970
- Where: U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
The trial of the Chicago 7 revolved around a political and cultural firestorm that occurred in a turbulent period of American history. It is now depicted in a Netflix blockbuster with an all-star cast.
It all started with the Democratic Party National Convention in Chicago in 1968. At this time, anti-Vietnam war sentiment was at an all-time high, Martin Luther King Jr had been assassinated, and public unrest was peaking.
The Chicago DNC event was seen as the perfect place to protest, with thousands of protestors and counterculture group members heading to the city. Authorities got wind of the incoming movement and built a show of force to combat any protestors. They assembled 25,000 officers, including police, the FBI, the National Guard, and U.S. Army troops.
Several violent incidents broke out, with police beating and tear-gassing protestors, photographers, and journalists. Investigators later blamed outside revolutionaries for inciting the chaos. Eight so-called ringleaders were eventually charged with conspiracy and crossing state lines to incite a riot (the first ever charge of its kind under the Civil Rights Act 1968). They became the Chicago 8.
A mistrial was declared for one of the defendants, reducing the group to the Chicago 7. The trial lasted for five months, with a huge number of witnesses presented by both sides. The controversial judge handed out more than 150 contempt charges during the trial.
The defendants were found not guilty of conspiracy, but five were convicted of inciting a riot, and two were convicted of teaching people to make firebomb weapons. They were all given five-year prison sentences and fines in 1970.
However, in 1972, the U.S. Court of Appeals reversed all of the convictions in the case. They found several issues with the trial, including the impartiality failures and hostile attitude of the judge, as well as his failure to measure the jury’s bias.
16. Jack Kevorkian
- Defendant: Champion of doctor-assisted suicide, former doctor Jack Kevorkian
- Charge: Murder
- When: 1994-1997
- Where: Michigan Supreme Court
Nicknamed “Dr. Death,” Dr. Jack Kevorkian was a Michigan-based physician who became known as an advocate of terminal patients, fighting for their right to choose death by assisted suicide.
Kevorkian had long held controversial opinions about euthanasia. He spoke and wrote articles about the ethics of assisted suicide and was famous for saying: “Dying is not a crime.”
His medical license was revoked in 1991, but according to his lawyer, Kevorkian helped 130 people with terminal illnesses commit assisted suicide between 1990 and 1998. Some critics claim not all of those people were terminal or in pain.
The former doctor was charged with murder and tried four times from 1994-1997 in a succession of famous trials, but he was acquitted three times. The fourth ended in a mistrial.
In the end, the charge that stuck came in 1998. Kevorkian recorded footage of himself receiving informed consent from a patient in the final stages of a terminal disease, with Kevorkian administering a lethal injection. He allowed the footage to be played on CBS show 60 Minutes to further his support of assisted suicide.
Indicted on murder charges, Kevorkian decided to represent himself in court. With no legal experience, he struggled to make his case to the court over a two-day trial. Kevorkian was found guilty of second-degree homicide by the jury.
Given a sentence of 10-15 years in prison, Jack Kevorkian served eight years behind bars before being paroled for good behavior in 2007. Under the terms of the parole, he was forbidden from carrying out or commenting on the issue of assisted suicide.
Kevorkian was seriously ill with Hepatitis C by that point and died in 2011, aged 83.
17. Harry Thaw
- Defendant: Slighted millionaire heir Harry Thaw
- Charge: Murder
- When: 1907-1908
- Where: The Court of General Sessions, New York City
Harry Thaw became renowned for gunning down a famous architect and love rival at New York’s Madison Square Garden in front of hundreds of witnesses. His case was dubbed “the trial of the century,” creating a media frenzy.
Thaw was the heir to a vast fortune but showed signs of mental illness from an early age. He later became addicted to drug cocktails and drinking binges. One of the earliest “playboys,” Thaw tore through Europe, throwing extravagant parties, frequenting brothels, and spending lavishly. His family paid out huge amounts of money to cover up his darker side and preserve the family name.
Thaw became obsessed with renowned architect Stanford White, who he believed had blocked his access to the elite social clubs in New York. White had also had a prior relationship with Thaw’s wife.
In the end, Thaw pulled a pistol and shot White at the Madison Square Garden rooftop theater. The incident happened during a performance in front of hundreds of onlookers.
Thaw was charged with murder and denied bail. While awaiting trial, he was pictured in a cell wearing his own tailored clothes, with a real bed and a food delivery, having bribed the jailor.
The media further sensationalized the whole affair due to its already scandalous details. The media storm meant that the jury was sequestered for the first time ever to prevent outside influence.
During the trial, the defense claimed that Thaw suffered temporary insanity. After one trial and 47 hours of deliberations, the jury was deadlocked. In a second trial, the jury found Thaw not guilty by reason of insanity.
Thaw was sentenced to life in a facility for the criminally insane in 1907. He escaped from the facility in 1913 and fled to Canada. But he later returned and was released with time served after he was declared sane.
He was charged and tried with a vicious assault in 1916 and was again sent to an asylum, this time guarded closely. He was freed in 1924 and died 23 years later, aged 76.
18. The BTK Killer
- Defendant: Serial killer Dennis Rader, known as the BTK Killer
- Charge: Murder
- When: 2005
- Where: Sedgwick County District Court, Kansas
Dennis Rader was an infamous serial killer who murdered ten people from 1974-1991. He was nicknamed the BTK Killer – standing for bind, torture, kill – which was a name he suggested in an anonymous letter to a TV station during his killing spree.
A Cub Scout leader and church council president, Rader would probably never have been caught. But he craved attention and sent a floppy disk to police in 2004 (13 years after his last kill) with details of his past crimes, telling them he was planning to strike again.
Rader did not realize that the disc could be traced and was soon arrested and charged. At his trial, Rader was represented by a public defender. He initially pleaded not guilty before changing his mind and admitting to ten murders. The defense initially explored the idea of an insanity plea but decided the prosecution case was too strong.
With the guilty plea, the court proceedings were short, as Rader had waived his right to a trial. But he described his murders to the court in detail, in a chillingly concise and matter-of-fact manner.
At his sentencing hearing, Rader asked to make a statement and embarked on a bizarre 30-minute rambling speech. The prosecutor described it as being like a strange Academy Awards acceptance speech, including an apology to the victims and a thank you to his supporters.
Rader was handed ten life sentences with a minimum of 175 years in prison.
19. Pamela Smart
- Defendant: Pamela Smart, a predator accused of a murderous plot
- Charge: Conspiracy, accomplice to murder, witness tampering
- When: 1991
- Where: Rockingham County Superior Court, New Hampshire Supreme Court
Pamela Smart was charged after getting wrapped up in a suspected conspiracy that resulted in the death of her husband.
Pamela got married to Greggory Smart when she was just 21. But a year later, in 1990, she came home from work to find their condo ransacked and her husband dead. After an investigation, police started to suspect that Pamela was involved.
She was accused of seducing and having a romantic relationship with a 15-year-old boy (William Flynn) and bribing him to kill Greggory to avoid an expensive divorce and to cash in on a life insurance policy. Wrapped in soap opera-esque scandal and intrigue, the case made national news.
Smart was charged with conspiracy as an accomplice to commit murder. In the first televised murder trial, Smart was portrayed by the prosecution as a cold-blooded mastermind.
The evidence was stacked against Smart. Flynn had killed Greggory with the help of three friends, and they cut plea deals in exchange for testimony. Pamela was also caught making incriminating statements by a friend who agreed to wear a wire for police.
The trial lasted for two weeks. Smart maintained her innocence, saying that Flynn killed her husband after she broke off their relationship. But she was found guilty by a jury and sentenced to life without parole.
Smart was later featured in an HBO documentary, in which she claimed the media storm surrounding her case meant she did not get a fair trial. Flynn and the other co-conspirators were also all jailed and have now been released.
20. Bill Clinton
- Defendant: The 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton
- Charge: Impeachment trial – lying under oath and obstruction of justice
- When: 1999
- Where: The U.S. Senate, Washington D.C.
Not many sitting presidents are subjected to trials, but that is exactly what happened with Bill Clinton. The 42nd president was embroiled in a scandal that stunned the United States, leading to civil and impeachment trials.
Clinton, a Democratic governor in Arkansas, ran for president in the early 90s. A hugely popular candidate, he won the presidential election in 1992 and took office in January 1993. He won again in 1996 to serve a second term…but his time in office was not without controversy.
In 1994, a civil lawsuit was filed against Clinton by Paula Jones, a civil servant who worked with Clinton when he was a governor, accusing him of sexual harassment. Clinton tried to delay legal proceedings until he was out of office, but the Supreme Court rejected his appeal.
As part of the sexual harassment case, the plaintiff’s lawyers worked to establish a pattern of behavior. In doing so, they uncovered a sexual affair between Bill Clinton and a government intern named Monica Lewinsky. At first, Clinton lied in a sworn deposition, saying there had been no affair. He also encouraged Lewinsky to cover up their relationship.
In the end, the civil suit was dismissed by a judge, though Clinton agreed to an out-of-court settlement of $850,000 with no admission of guilt after an appeal was filed. But his political opponents were already plotting impeachment proceedings, citing Clinton’s perjury, witness tampering, obstruction of justice, and abuse of power.
After an investigation, an impeachment trial took place. The House of Representatives impeached Clinton for perjury and obstruction of justice, but he was not removed from office and served as president for the rest of his second term.
21. Sam Sheppard
- Defendant: Doctor (and later a professional wrestler) Sam Sheppard
- Charge: Murder
- When: 1954
- Where: Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court, Cleveland, Ohio
Dr. Sam Sheppard was accused of murder after his wife was killed in their own home. Marilyn Sheppard was beaten to death in her bed, with blood splatter left trailing throughout the house.
Husband Sam Sheppard had fallen asleep on the sofa earlier that evening and said he awoke to his wife’s screams. The doctor said he fought with an intruder but was knocked unconscious.
The media coverage surrounding the case was out of control, with some publications seemingly deciding that Sheppard was guilty without proof. After a string of inflammatory front pages in the local media, Sheppard was arrested and charged.
One judge later said it was the perfect example of “trial by newspaper” and claimed the Cleveland Press, in particular, had appointed itself “accuser, judge, and jury.” During the trial, the jury was not sequestered and heard scandalous reports, many of which were printed without sources or later disproved.
The prosecution built its case around the doctor having an affair with a nurse, giving him a motive. They cast doubt over Sam Sheppard’s account, but the evidence against him was thin, and the defense showed proof of injuries from the struggle.
After four days of deliberations, the jury found Sheppard guilty of second-degree murder and he was given life in prison. Sheppard served ten years in prison, but a judge ordered his release in 1964 because his right to due process had been violated in the first trial.
It went to the Supreme Court, which scrubbed the murder conviction due to the “carnival atmosphere” that impacted the trial. A retrial was ordered, and Sheppard was found not guilty.
After his acquittal, Sheppard went back to work as a surgeon, but his skills had deteriorated, and he turned to alcohol abuse. After two botched surgeries, he resigned.
At the age of 45, he became a professional wrestler, with fans turning out to watch the notorious “Killer Sam Sheppard” in the ring. He wrestled in 40 matches and invented the Mandible Claw move, later popularized by WWF wrestler Mankind in the 1990s. Sheppard died aged 46 from liver failure.
22. Phil Spector
- Defendant: Famous songwriter and producer Phil Spector
- Charge: Murder
- When: 2007-2009
- Where: Los Angeles Superior Court, California
Famed music producer Phil Spector was arrested after shooting and killing a woman in his Los Angeles mansion in 2003.
Spector was a sensationally successful producer, Grammy winner, and inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He worked with acts including The Beatles, The Righteous Brothers, and many more over an illustrious career that left a lasting legacy on the music industry. But Spector’s legacy was scarred by the events of 2003.
He brought a woman named Lana Clarkson back to his mansion after meeting her at a bar. After about an hour, Spector’s limo driver, who was waiting outside in the car, heard a gunshot and saw Spector run from the house with a gun in his hand. Lana Clarkson was found dead inside, and Spector was charged with murder.
Spector was released on a $1 million bail ahead of the 2007 trial, which was televised. But it ended in a mistrial after the jury failed to agree on an outcome.
The second trial (which was not televised) took place in 2008. Spector went through three different high-priced legal teams, and his defense was that Clarkson’s death was a mistaken suicide.
But the prosecution revealed that Spector had previously brandished a gun at four other women while drunk after they spurned his advances. After a five-month trial, the jury took 19 days to return a guilty verdict. Spector was given 19 years to life in prison in 2009. He had several appeals denied and died in the prison hospital in January 2021 at the age of 81 due to Covid-19 complications.
23. Salem Witch Trials
- Defendant: More than 200 people who were accused of witchcraft by paranoid mobs
- Charge: Witchcraft
- When: 1692-1693
- Where: Salem, Massachusetts
If you’re looking for a high-profile trial that has stood the test of time to reverberate through history, look no further. More than 300 years later, everyone has heard of the Salem Witch Trials.
The Province of Massachusetts Bay became chartered in 1691 and later became one of the original 13 states in the U.S. But at this time, it was a significant British colony of people building a new way of life.
While witch trials had mostly died out across Europe in the mid-1600s, a period of mass hysteria broke out in Salem in 1692. It started when several young girls began having seizures – described as being akin to extreme epileptic fits.
Historians have long speculated about the cause of the seizures. Some believe the symptoms were faked, while others believe they were psychological or diet-based.
The result was that a series of women were accused of causing the fits through witchcraft. They were brought before magistrates in an early court of law and left to defend themselves under interrogation for several days before being thrown in jail.
It started small, with only a couple of reported cases. But over the following months, accusations poured in from people who said they had been afflicted by demonic possession.
More than 200 people were accused, and dozens were arrested. Some of the supposed witches were accused simply because they did not always attend church or were judged to live immoral lifestyles.
A special court was set up for the witch trials due to the sheer number of those accused. Most of the evidence used in these so-called trials was “spectral evidence” – taken from dreams and visions.
All told, 30 defendants were found guilty of witchcraft, with 19 executed by hanging and thrown into a shallow grave. One man died while being interrogated, and at least five others died in jail.
Years later, the convictions were reversed, but it was a bleak period of history that saw a huge number of people falsely accused and killed.
24. Enron
- Defendant: Kenneth Lay and Jeff Skilling, two of the key figures behind the now-defunct company Enron
- Charge: Conspiracy, fraud, insider trading, securities fraud, lying to auditors, and more
- When: 2006
- Where: United States District and Bankruptcy Court, Houston
In 2000, Enron was the fifth biggest corporation in the U.S., the largest seller of natural gas, and renowned as an industry innovator. Less than two years later, Enron’s stock had plummeted from $90 to pennies per share, and the company filed for bankruptcy.
This shocking fall from grace ended in the prosecution of two key men behind the company. But how did it get to that point?
Enron was launched in 1985 by Kenneth Lay and became America’s top gas pipeline. Jeff Skilling joined as an executive in 1990. As time went on, Enron’s competitors started to catch up. The company tried to diversify but ended up with debts topping $10 billion.
Enron’s executives then hatched a plan to lie to investors and employ illegal tactics to show rising profits and low debt. The fraud eventually failed, and Enron crumbled, sinking into the largest-ever bankruptcy at the time and costing stakeholders billions of dollars in investments and pensions.
Prosecutors embarked on a four-year investigation of Enron. First, they indicted CFO Andy Fastow and gave him a plea deal to secure him as a star witness against Lay and Skilling at the top of the food chain.
Lay and Skilling were indicted in 2004. They both entered not-guilty pleas, and the trial eventually started in 2006. It lasted four months and included both defendants taking the stand in a risky move by the defense.
After six days of deliberations, the jury convicted Lay and Skilling. Afterward, jurors spoke of the complexity of the case.
Two months after the trial, while still free and waiting for sentencing, Lay died at home of a heart attack. Skilling was sent to a minimum security prison for 24 years and fined $45 million. After a later appeal, his sentence was reduced, and he was released in 2019.
25. Leopold and Loeb
- Defendant: Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb, who tried to commit the perfect crime
- Charge: Murder, kidnapping
- When: 1924
- Where: Cook County Criminal Court in Chicago, Illinois
Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb were two exceptionally intelligent teenage friends who tried to plot the perfect crime and execute it without being caught to confirm their intellectual superiority.
The pair grew up in wealthy families in Chicago in the early 1900s. They were brilliant child prodigies who had both completed undergraduate degrees at the age of 17.
Leopold and Loeb became firm friends at the University of Chicago. They came to agree that “supermen,” or people with high intellects like themselves, were exempt from social norms.
They tested their theory by committing petty crimes before plotting the “perfect crime.” They kidnapped and murdered a 14-year-old boy and tried to cover their tracks.
But in an embarrassing collapse of their theory, they left evidence near the body of the victim, and their alibi was quickly disproven. Under police questioning, they both confessed, though each said the other struck the fatal blow.
The subsequent trial was engulfed in a media frenzy. Loeb’s family hired acclaimed attorney Clarence Darrow to handle the defense, paying him $70,000 (the equivalent of $1 million today).
Darrow entered guilty pleas for his clients and delivered a stunning 12-hour presentation in a bid to prevent them from being given the death penalty. Following the guilty pleas, the trial became a sentencing hearing that ran for 32 days as the prosecution painstakingly laid out the case and called more than 100 witnesses.
The judge sentenced Leopold and Loeb to life in prison plus 99 years each. Up until Loeb’s murder in 1936 by another prisoner, the pair continued to work on improving the prison education system.
After 33 years as a model prisoner, Leopold won parole in 1958. He later became a teacher and researcher and died of a diabetes-related heart attack at age 66.
26. Christopher Duntsch
- Defendant: Another to earn the nickname Dr. Death: neurosurgeon Chris Duntsch
- Charge: Elder abuse and aggravated assault
- When: 2017
- Where: Dallas County Court and Texas Appeals Court
Former doctor Christopher Duntsch became the first physician ever to face criminal charges for medical malpractice after a series of botched surgeries.
Duntsch trained at the University of Tennessee, earning a dual MD/PhD before completing a neurosurgery residence and spine fellowship. It has been reported that Duntsch completed far fewer training hours than expected during a residency.
It remains a mystery how he received his qualifications. However, at least one of his instructors had a financial stake in a medical startup company that Duntsch had founded, so it was in their best interests for him to concentrate on research rather than surgical practice.
The charming and confident Duntsch set up a clinic and negotiated surgical privileges at several high-profile hospitals, including Baylor Plano and Dallas Medical Center. But over a two-year span, 33 of his 38 surgical patients suffered dire consequences. Two died, while others suffered worsening pain and permanent paralysis.
The hospitals did not report Duntsch’s actions, allowing him to resign quietly. It was not until other horrified doctors made it their mission to stop Duntsch from practicing that he had his medical license suspended. He was then charged with elder abuse and aggravated assault for his catastrophic surgeries.
At the trial, the prosecution called several of his victims and their surviving family members to testify against him, demonstrating that his actions were intentional because he failed to learn from past mistakes.
Defense lawyers said Duntsch did not realize his level of responsibility, maintaining that the surgeries went well until he heard experts rip them apart on the stand. Onlookers said he appeared to visibly deflate as he listened to the evidence against him.
The trial lasted nearly two weeks, but the jury needed less than four hours to find Duntsch guilty. He was given a life sentence, eligible for parole in 2045.
It was a historic case as it was the first time a doctor had been criminally prosecuted and imprisoned for gross malpractice. Experts say the entire system failed the patients, and civil lawsuits against the hospitals that failed to report Duntsch were filed.
This has become one of the most famous trials in recent times after featuring on the first season of the hit NBC series Dr. Death.
27. The Rosenbergs
- Defendant: Cold War spies Julius and Ethel Rosenberg
- Charge: Conspiracy to commit espionage
- When: 1951
- Where: U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were a married American couple who were accused of stealing top-secret information from their own country and passing it to Soviet Russia in a shocking story akin to something you would see on a spy show like The Americans.
The pair were both born and grew up in New York City. Developing an interest in politics and activism, they met in the Young Communist League before marrying in 1939.
Julius had an electrical engineering degree and took a job at a U.S. Army laboratory in 1940. At the time, the facility was at the cutting edge of U.S. developments, including radar, electronics, and guided missile controls.
It later emerged that a Soviet spymaster had recruited Julius. He was paid to hand over classified documents and top-secret information, as well as recruit others to commit espionage. This included David Greenglass – brother of Ethel Rosenberg – who was working on the Manhattan Project nuclear testing at the time.
In the end, some of the other recruited agents were caught, and their confessions led back to Rosenberg, who was arrested and indicted by a grand jury.
Additionally, the prosecution may have coerced Ethel Rosenberg’s brother into giving testimony that led to her indictment. It is believed that Ethel’s involvement was limited, but she was targeted in the hope of getting Julius to confess.
The trial lasted just over three weeks. The defendants refused to confess, but the prosecution called David Greenglass as its star witness to testify against his sister and brother-in-law. The couple was convicted of espionage and sentenced to death.
The Rosenbergs became the first American civilians executed for espionage during peacetime. Declassified documents released after the fall of the Soviet Union confirmed Julius’s role as a Russian spy.
28. The Killing of Matthew Shepard
- Defendant: Hate crime controversy killers Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson
- Charge: First-degree murder
- When: 1999
- Where: Albany County District Court, Laramie, Wyoming
Matthew Shepard, 21, was tortured and left to die one night in 1998. The killing made national headlines because Shepard was gay, and there were suggestions that it was a hate crime.
Shepard was approached by Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson in a bar and offered a ride home. Instead, they drove him to a remote area to rob, beat, and torture Shepard, leaving him tied to a barbed wire fence in freezing temperatures.
When he was found, Shepard was clinging to life. He had several skull fractures, brain damage, and lacerations. He died six days later from his injuries.
McKinney and Henderson were arrested on the night of the incident. After leaving Shepard for dead, they went into town and picked another fight. When the police arrived, they searched McKinney’s truck and found Shepard’s shoes and credit card, as well as a bloodstained pistol that had been used to beat him.
The trials started in 1999. Henderson pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against McKinney to avoid the death penalty. He was given two consecutive life sentences. Seven months later, McKinney was tried.
His defense lawyer initially argued that he had been driven to temporary insanity when Shepard made unwanted sexual advances. When the judge rejected this argument, the defense said the pair intended to rob Shepard but not kill him.
Despite the media storm, it is not thought that this was a hate crime. However, the prosecution did allege that McKinney and Henderson pretended to be gay to lure Shepard into danger.
McKinney was found not guilty of premeditation but guilty of felony murder. Matthew Shepard’s parents showed mercy, encouraging a double life sentence without parole rather than the death penalty.
The Matthew Shepard Act – a piece of legislation giving greater hate crime powers – was signed into law in 2009 after years of political arguments.
29. The Lindbergh Baby Kidnapping
- Defendant: German carpenter Bruno Richard Hauptmann
- Charge: Murder and kidnapping
- When: 1935
- Where: Hunterdon County Court, Flemington, New Jersey
Richard Hauptman was charged with kidnapping and murder after a national scandal that saw a famous baby snatched from his crib and left for dead at the side of the road.
Charles Lindbergh Jr. was 20 months old when he was abducted from his home. A ransom note asking for $50,000 was left in his place. The child was the son of famous aviator Charles Lindbergh, who made the first non-stop flight from New York City to Paris.
The kidnapping sparked a massive manhunt and national sympathy. While the ransom was quickly paid, the baby was never returned. The body of Lindbergh Jr. was tragically discovered two months after the disappearance, less than a mile from the family home.
On the night of the kidnapping, it appeared that a blow to the head had killed him.
Despite an exhaustive investigation, the crime went unsolved for two and a half years until a gas station attendant received a marked bill from the ransom and informed the police.
Acting on the tip, officers searched the home of Bruno Richard Hauptmann. They found $14,600 of ransom money in his garage and arrested the German-born carpenter.
The trial was a blockbuster, holding national attention. The prosecution laid out evidence including the money, handwriting samples, Hauptmann quitting his job after the crime but having new clothes and furniture, and a homemade ladder used to carry out the kidnapping.
The defense argued that all evidence was circumstantial, with no physical proof linking Hauptmann to the crime. This was true, and numerous alternate theories and books have been published in the decades since the crime.
But Hauptmann was convicted, partially as a result of intense public pressure. Hauptmann maintained his innocence to the end, but was executed in 1936.
30. Harvey Weinstein
- Defendant: Prolific and influential movie producer Harvey Weinstein
- Charge: Rape, criminal sex act, sex abuse, sexual misconduct
- When: 2018-2020
- Where: New York County Supreme Court and Clara Shortridge Foltz Courthouse, Los Angeles
Harvey Weinstein was once one of the most influential figures in Hollywood. A major movie producer and Oscar winner, Weinstein was buried under an avalanche of horrific sexual abuse allegations when years of misconduct finally caught up with him.
Rumors had swirled around Hollywood circles about Weinstein’s casting couch misconduct for years, with some people alleging that he demanded sexual favors from actresses in exchange for roles.
But for a long time, no one would speak on the record due to the power that Weinstein wielded.
Based on the claims of two women, New York Times journalists published an expose in 2017. More victims then came forward, accusing Weinstein of harassment, sexual assault, and rape.
This was a massive part of the #MeToo movement, with more than 100 women eventually stepping up to accuse Weinstein of incidents between 1980-2015.
After an investigation, the NYPD arrested Harvey Weinstein in 2017. The trial took place early in 2020 at the Manhattan Supreme Court, nearly two years after he was indicted, where six women testified against him.
The jury found Weinstein guilty of third-degree rape and committing criminal sexual acts, though he was found not guilty of predatory sexual assault.
By the time of the trial, Weinstein was reportedly struggling and in very poor health. But he was given a prison sentence of 23 years for the heinous acts.
While already serving time, he was also extradited to California in July 2021 to face charges of rape, sexual assault, and sexual battery brought by the Los Angeles District Attorney.
Due to their high visibility at the heart of Hollywood, these sensationally famous trials should stand the test of time as a major victory in the battle against workplace misconduct and abuse.
The former movie magnate has also faced a slew of civil lawsuits, many of the details of which are confidential.
31. Sacco and Vanzetti
- Defendant: Accused anarchists Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti
- Charge: Murder, armed robbery
- When: 1921
- Where: Massachusetts Superior Court
The trials of Italian immigrants Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti sparked one of the greatest forgotten global outcries of the last century.
Sacco and Vanzetti separately left Italy for the United States as teenagers in 1908. They did not meet until 1917 when they both lived in Massachusetts and followed Italian anarchist Luigi Galleani, who encouraged revolutionary violence.
The pair were implicated in an armed robbery in Braintree in 1920 which saw two guards shot and killed and a payroll box stolen from a shoe factory. The crime was linked to another attempted robbery in Bridgewater a few months earlier by an unidentified group of Italians.
A police investigation linked the crimes to Sacco and Vanzetti, and the men were arrested after being found in possession of loaded guns and anarchist literature. Vanzetti was charged with both crimes, while Sacco was solely charged with murder and armed robbery in the Braintree case.
Vanzetti was tried for the Bridgewater attempted robbery first. The prosecution presented several witnesses who provided varying descriptions of the assailant, but the defense case was unconvincing, and he was given a 12-15-year prison sentence.
Next, both men were tried for the Braintree robbery and murders. The same judge presided over this trial, and he repeatedly clashed with one of the defense lawyers over courtroom procedure and decorum.
Both defendants had witnesses testifying to their alibis, while the prosecution focused on material evidence, including bullets from the scene. In an early version of the O.J. Simpson glove drama, Sacco was made to try on a cap found at the scene, and it did not fit him.
After just three hours of deliberations, the jury found Sacco and Vanzetti guilty of murder, punishable by the death penalty. The decision was controversial, with anti-immigrant and anti-anarchist bias believed to have been an influence on the court case.
Appeals were launched at the state and Supreme Court levels based on prejudice, recanted testimonies, conflicting ballistics, and a confession by another man. But they were all denied.
By this point, the case had sparked global attention. Protests were held in major cities across the world, from Europe to Tokyo and Australia. Despite this campaign, Sacco and Vanzetti were executed by electric chair in 1927.
32. Saddam Hussein
- Defendant: Deposed president of Iraq, Saddam Hussein
- Charge: Crimes against humanity
- When: 2005-2006
- Where: Iraqi Special Tribunal
Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein once wielded a huge amount of power in the Middle East. But his reign was brought to an abrupt end by invasion and capture.
Hussein was a politician who became the fifth president of Iraq in 1979. But he became a dictator who kept hold of his power by any means necessary.
He crushed multiple revolutionary movements, invaded other Middle Eastern nations, and oversaw the killing of more than 250,000 of his own Iraqi citizens.
To rid Iraq of its weapons of mass destruction, stop Hussein’s support for terrorism, and free Iraq, a military force under the command of the United States and the United Kingdom invaded the country in 2003. (It should be noted that critics say any proof of WMDs was fabricated to justify the invasion.)
In Operation Red Dawn, U.S. soldiers discovered Hussein hiding in a tiny underground bunker. He was held in custody for about seven months, then handed over to the interim Iraqi government to stand trial.
Saddam Hussein was charged with crimes against humanity, with a particular named charge detailing the illegal killing of 148 citizens and the arrest of 399 others in Dujail.
The government voted to create the Iraqi Special Tribunal for the case, with five top Iraqi judges assembled to pass judgment.
Once the trial started in 2005, Hussein appeared defiant and confident in the courtroom, with his team questioning the legitimacy of the prosecution at every turn.
In November 2006, after a two-week trial, Hussein was found guilty and sentenced to death. After an appeal was quickly dismissed, Hussein was killed by hanging at an Iraqi army base.
33. Lizzie Borden
- Defendant: The notorious accused axe wielder Lizzie Borden
- Charge: Murder
- When: 1893
- Where: New Bedford Courthouse, Massachusetts
The most famous trials stand the test of time. Despite being accused of murder in the 1800s, Lizzie Borden’s name is still well known today and remains a feature in pop culture.
The case involved the murder of Andrew and Abby Borden – Lizzie’s father and stepmother. They were found dead in their home, having been hacked at with a hatchet in brutal attacks that left about 30 total wounds.
Police investigated the murders and found Lizzie Borden’s answers to be strange and contradictory. Officers said she appeared too calm, changed her alibi, and altered her story on how events unfolded. There were also reported tensions in the family at the time.
Investigating officers were criticized for failing to search Lizzie for bloodstains because she felt ill at the time. They also left the suspected murder weapon—an axe head found in the basement—in the house.
An inquest was held, and Lizzie made a bizarre and erratic appearance, again giving conflicting testimony that raised serious questions. Following the inquest, she was charged with murder.
The trial took place in 1893, and it was a blockbuster, with the details making their way slowly across the country. The prosecution’s case took a hit when the judge threw out the inquest testimony.
While eyewitness testimony was introduced of Lizzie burning a dress, the defense scored points over murder weapon questions and investigation incompetence.
When the judge delivered a summary to the jury of 12 men, he seemed to support the defense case. The jury agreed and acquitted Lizzie Borden. Despite the acquittal, Borden remained the only suspect and is widely thought to have committed the double murder.
She kept living in the area but was ostracized by society. Borden died from pneumonia in 1927 at the age of 66.
34. Rae Carruth
- Defendant: Former NFL rising star Rae Carruth
- Charge: Conspiracy to commit murder, shooting into an occupied vehicle, using an instrument to destroy an unborn child
- When: 2000-2001
- Where: North Carolina Superior Court, Charlotte, North Carolina
Once a promising NFL wide receiver, Rae Carruth ultimately became nothing more than a cautionary tale after leading a murderous plot that ended in tragedy.
The Carolina Panthers took the talented athlete in the first round of the NFL draft in 1997, and Carruth had a strong rookie season.
But things soon unraveled. In 1999, a woman named Cherica Adams was shot dead in her car. She had been casually dating Carruth and was eight months pregnant with his baby at the time.
After being shot, Adams managed to call 911. She told police that Carruth had stopped his car in front of hers, allowing another vehicle to drive up alongside, with someone inside opening fire.
Both cars then drove away. Carruth was arrested and released on a $3 million bond that required him to submit voluntarily if the victims died.
Cherica Adams slipped into a coma soon after the shooting and died one month later. Her son survived but developed brain damage and cerebral palsy from the trauma.
Carruth tried to flee but was soon caught by police. He was immediately waived by the Panthers and suspended by the NFL.
The trial brought national interest due to the defendant’s fame. It lasted for three months, with the prosecution alleging that Carruth hired three accomplices to help him kill Adams because she would not have the baby aborted.
A man named Van Brett Watkins pulled the trigger. He made a deal with prosecutors, pleading guilty to second-degree murder while testifying against Carruth. That testimony, combined with the police call testimony from Adams herself, was enough.
The jury came to a unanimous verdict, finding Carruth not guilty of first-degree murder but convicting him of conspiracy, shooting into an occupied vehicle, and using an instrument to destroy an unborn child.
He was given an 18-24 year prison sentence and was released in 2018. The shooter, Van Brett Watkins, was given a 40-50 year sentence and died in prison in December 2023.
35. Confidential Magazine
- Defendant: Confidential Magazine and publisher Robert Harrison
- Charge: Criminal libel, publication and distribution of obscene materials, business code violations
- When: 1957
- Where: Los Angeles County Superior Court, California
Confidential magazine was a trailblazer, paving the way for the many showbiz gossip publications on offer today. But it was also embroiled in a significant legal case in the 1950s that set the tone for celebrity libel cases.
The magazine was launched at the end of 1952 and built a strong readership with a circulation of about 5 million by printing stories and exposés about scandals and sexual indiscretions involving celebrities. While this is common today, it was groundbreaking in the ’50s.
In 1955, efforts were made to stop the publication. Hired thugs threatened publisher Robert Harrison, while others worked through legal channels to stop the publication. Several celebs filed civil libel lawsuits, while others lobbied the California State Attorney General to act.
After a state investigation, a grand jury issued indictments against 11 individuals and three companies involved in the publication of Confidential. The trial started in August 1957 in LA, with crowds of curious members of the public trying to get into the courtroom to watch.
The magazine decided to fight fire with fire, hiring a top defense attorney, Arthur Crowley, to handle the case. Crowley announced that he planned to subpoena stars to testify under oath because proving that the scandalous stories printed in Confidential were accurate was the strongest defense against libel.
The announcement caused many stars to panic and try to flee the state to escape subpoenas. For example, Frank Sinatra took his yacht to international waters during the trial.
After a six-week trial, the jury was undecided. Jurors were split 7-5, and a mistrial was declared. Prosecutors wanted a retrial, but a settlement was reached instead.
Publisher Robert Harrison agreed to a small fine and settled outstanding civil libel lawsuits for small amounts. He also shifted the focus of Confidential magazine to politics rather than showbiz.
36. John Wayne Gacy
- Defendant: The serial killer known as the ‘Killer Clown’ – John Wayne Gacy
- Charge: 33 counts of murder, sodomy, sexual assault
- When: 1980
- Where: Cook County Criminal Court, Chicago, Illinois
John Wayne Gacy was an American serial killer who masqueraded as a great family man, neighbor, and community leader while secretly abusing and killing young boys.
Gacy claimed his first victim in 1972 when he picked up a 16-year-old boy at a Chicago bus station and stabbed him. Over the following years, his kills became more frequent, and his M.O. developed.
He used his construction company to hire young potential victims, gaining their trust and plying them with drugs or alcohol before abusing and strangling them. Gacy also trained to be a clown to perform at community events, later earning him the nickname of The Killer Clown.
Gacy killed at least 33 people, hiding most of his victims in the crawl space under his home. The remains were discovered when police finally closed in on Gacy, with the killer confessing.
The trial started in February 1980, and a jury had to be selected from a neighboring county due to the intense media coverage.
The defense team first tried to have Gacy declared unfit to stand trial, with the killer trying to convince doctors that he had a dissociative identity disorder that gave him multiple personalities. While the trial went ahead, the defense stuck to the story, pleading not guilty by reason of insanity.
Prosecutors called that argument a sham. They argued that Gacy was sane and that his actions were calculated and premeditated. Several surviving abuse and torture victims also testified against Gacy in a trial that lasted over five weeks.
After the closing arguments, the jury deliberated for less than two hours before finding Gacy guilty of all 33 counts of murder, as well as sexual assault and crimes against a child. He was sentenced to death for each of the 33 murders.
Gacy was on death row for 14 years. He repeatedly delayed his execution by filing appeal after appeal. Once his appeal options were exhausted, Gacy was executed by lethal injection in 1994. His final meal included a bucket of KFC and fried shrimp, and his last words were: “Kiss my ass.”
37. Adolf Hitler
- Defendant: The soon-to-be tyrant Adolf Hitler, before the rise of the Nazis
- Charge: High treason
- When: 1924
- Where: Munich People’s Court, Germany
In 1939, the leader of Nazi Germany invaded Poland and started the devastating World War II conflict – a war that shaped the future of the world. But these events were heavily influenced by Hitler’s trial and imprisonment 15 years earlier.
Back in 1923, Germany was struggling. The country was heavily in debt, its economy had collapsed, and there were food shortages and riots.
Amid the chaos, far-right political parties were formed, such as the Nazi Party, led by enigmatic politician Adolf Hitler. It gained support by blaming foreigners, Jewish citizens, and the democratic government for the state of the nation.
In an event now known as the Beer Hall Putsch, Hitler hijacked a political event (held at a beer hall) at gunpoint, trying to rally support for his cause and march on Berlin to overthrow the government.
Thousands of supporters joined him, but the coup failed after a shootout in the streets. Hitler was injured and managed to escape capture but was arrested two days later.
Hitler and several co-conspirators were put on trial for treason in front of a panel of judges rather than a jury, as the German system at the time required. The trial opened in February 1924 and lasted nearly a month.
It was the subject of intense media coverage, allowing Hitler to use it as a platform. He gave long, articulate, and animated speeches about his vision for Germany, spreading his Nazi propaganda and gaining even more support.
Hitler and his co-defendants were found guilty, but they were given the most lenient possible sentence of five years in prison. In the end, he only served eight months before being paroled.
He enjoyed a lot of freedom behind bars and used the time to write his autobiography/manifesto, Mein Kampf. Previously only a minor political figure in Germany, this failed coup and subsequent trial gave Adolf Hitler the power to rise through the ranks and inflict unthinkable suffering.
38. Anders Breivik
- Defendant: Anders Behring Breivik, a domestic terrorist who attacked Norway
- Charge: Mass murder, terrorism
- When: 2012
- Where: Oslo District Court, Norway
Anders Behring Breivik is a convicted mass murderer and confessed Nazi who launched a horrifying terror attack on his native country of Norway.
Breivik – who changed his name to Fjotolf Hansen in 2017 and also sometimes goes by the pseudonym Andrew Berwick – suffered an abusive childhood and showed early signs of extreme views in his teens.
He joined an anti-immigration right-wing movement called the Progress Party when he was 20, and in 2011, aged in his 30s, he launched two terror attacks.
Breivik maxed out nine credit cards to buy supplies and plan his attack. He built a bomb within a cargo van using large quantities of fertilizer, detonating it outside the Prime Minister’s building in Oslo.
The explosion killed eight people. Later the same day, he traveled to a youth political camp, where he shot and killed 69 people, including teens as young as 14.
When police arrived, the killer surrendered without resistance. That same day, he released a manifesto called 2083: A European Declaration of Independence. The attacks were designed to promote the manifesto, which called for Muslims to be deported and blamed feminism for many issues.
The trial started in April 2012 and lasted nine weeks. Breivik read a statement demanding his release as a hero who pre-empted attacks against his nation.
He never disputed killing the 77 victims, and the case mainly revolved around whether Breivik should be committed to a psychiatric facility or imprisoned. He was declared sane by doctors and unanimously convicted.
Per Norwegian laws, Breivik was given the maximum possible sentence of 21 years in prison, isolated from other inmates and with limited contact. The sentence is known as containment and can be extended indefinitely if it is felt that Breivik is still a danger to others.
Since his conviction, Breivik has attempted to sue the state several times, claiming that his human rights have been violated through what he claims is inhumane punishment. So far, all of these appeals have been rejected.
39. Galileo
- Defendant: Groundbreaking Italian scientist Galileo
- Charge: Heresy
- When: 1633
- Where: Inquisition Headquarters in Rome, Italy
Galileo was a revolutionary thinker. He was an astronomer, physicist, and engineer who made scientific discoveries that were way ahead of their time. But those ideas were also deemed heretic by some people, leading Galileo to face a high-profile trial.
Galileo has become known as the father of astronomy and modern physics. Among his other achievements, he discovered the telescope and supported the Copernicus theory that the Earth was not the fixed center of the universe and revolved around the sun.
These views were considered heretical by the powerful Catholic church because they contradicted religious writings. After publishing his ideas in 1632, Galileo was investigated on the orders of the Pope and then summoned to Rome by the Holy Office for a trial.
Galileo had to make a grueling 200-mile wintertime journey to Rome, where he stood trial before ten cardinals. He was held in an inquisition building through the proceedings, allowed only to sign a deposition.
The cardinals debated what to do with Galileo for several weeks. Some pushed for a prison sentence, while others supported the circulation of opposing views.
In the end, Galileo was allowed to admit the error of his ways – a final degradation for a scientist – in exchange for a lenient sentence.
He was placed under house arrest for the rest of his life, and the publication of his past and future writings was banned.
40. Bill Cosby
- Defendant: Former beloved entertainer turned convict Bill Cosby
- Charge: Aggravated indecent assault
- When: 2017-2018
- Where: Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pennsylvania
Bill Cosby was a beloved actor and comedian who was a staple on TV, starring in The Cosby Show and hosting Kids Say the Darndest Things, among many other credits. Once dubbed “America’s Dad,” everything unraveled for Cosby when he was accused of a huge number of sexual assaults.
Cosby was first accused of sexual misconduct in 2004. Police investigated the accusation, and no charges were brought. However, a civil suit was also filed, including testimony from other potential victims. It was settled out of court for more than $3 million.
Many years later, in 2014, further rape allegations hit the headlines dating back to the 1960s. Documents from the civil lawsuit are unsealed, revealing Cosby admitting to giving women recreational drugs during sexual encounters. By 2015, more than 50 women had come forward, and Cosby was charged with aggravated indecent assault.
He was released on a $1 million bail ahead of a trial in 2017. The trial was short and ended in a mistrial after the jury failed to reach a verdict. Jurors were reportedly locked in tense arguments for six days.
After a failed motion to dismiss the case involving a sensational accusation of prosecution misconduct, a second trial was held in 2018. Cosby, now aged 80, was accused of drugging and sexually assaulting a victim in his Pennsylvania home. The judge allowed five other women with similar stories to take the stand as witnesses.
The trial lasted for just over three weeks under heavy media scrutiny. This time, after just one day, the jury found Bill Cosby guilty in April 2018. He was sentenced to ten years in prison.
While a later appeal failed, a late twist was yet to come. In June 2021, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania ruled that Cosby had a deal in place with the prosecutor that meant he should never have been charged.
At this point, he was immediately released from prison. Cosby’s team called it justice, while the prosecution said it was a procedural issue that did not change the facts.
41. Halls-Mills Double Murder
- Defendant: The wife of one of the cheating victims, along with her two brothers
- Charge: Murder
- When: 1926
- Where: Somerset County Court, Somerville, New Jersey
In 1922, a priest and a member of the church choir were found dead in a field in New Jersey, both having been shot in the head.
The victims were Reverend Edward Hall and Eleanor Mills. They were both married but had been having an affair, and their bodies were found with torn-up love letters strewn between them. Mills had also had her tongue cut out and had been shot several times.
After one unsuccessful investigation, police eventually arrested the reverend’s wife, Frances Noel Stevens, and her two brothers, Henry and William Stevens. A cousin was also suspected but never tried.
The trial finally took place in November 1926 at Somerset County Courthouse and sparked a media circus. Newspapers throughout the United States dedicated major coverage to the scandalous case, partly because the Stevens family was wealthy and well-known.
The prosecution’s star witness was a pig farmer who had witnessed the executions from a distance and then discovered the bodies. She testified from a hospital bed that was rolled into the court due to ill health.
But the defense shredded her testimony by pointing out inconsistencies in her story.
While those Charged did have the motive and opportunity, the jury decided that there was not enough evidence to convict, and the trio was found not guilty.
The trial lasted for 30 days and set a record for the amount of space it was given in coverage within The New York Times.
42. The George Floyd Murder Trial
- Defendant: Former Minnesota police officer Derek Chauvin
- Charge: Second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, second-degree manslaughter
- When: 2021
- Where: Hennepin County Court, Minnesota
In May 2020, a Minneapolis PD police officer named Derek Chauvin arrested George Floyd, a black man, on suspicion of using a counterfeit bill. During the arrest, Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck for nine minutes while nonchalantly keeping his hands in his pockets, despite the victim repeatedly saying that he could not breathe.
The officer kept his knee on Floyd’s neck even after the suspect stopped breathing and paramedics arrived. Floyd was pronounced dead one hour later.
Four police officers were involved in the incident, and all four were fired the following day when a video recorded by a bystander was released showing the full incident. It led to worldwide protests against police brutality and ongoing racism.
Chauvin was charged with murder. He was released on a $1 million bail before his trial started in March 2021 at Hennepin County Government Center. Jury selection was complex, with potential jurors given questionnaires to test their views on police violence.
Prosecutors called 38 witnesses to testify and used police bodycam footage to illustrate their case. The trial lasted three weeks, and the jury reached a verdict after just ten hours of deliberations.
They found Chauvin guilty on all three charges of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter. Chauvin was sentenced to 22.5 years in prison.
It was the first criminal trial to be broadcast live in Minnesota. News channels recorded massive viewing figures, with more than 23 million people watching the verdict being read live on TV.
These figures confirm the Chauvin case as one of the most famous trials in recent years, as well as one of the most influential. Throughout the trial, anti-police-brutality protests were held in the streets around the courthouse and across the world.
43. Scopes Monkey Trial
- Defendant: High school science teacher John Scopes
- Charge: Teaching banned materials
- When: 1925
- Where: Rhea County Courthouse in Dayton, Tennessee
The famous Scopes Monkey Trial was a nationally-followed test trial revolving around teaching the theory of evolution. Some elements of the trial were “staged” and designed to focus national attention on the issue.
It started when Tennessee passed anti-evolution laws (the Butler Act) preventing schools from teaching evolution. This was a political move made to satisfy the World Christian Fundamentals Association.
But the American Civil Liberties Union hit back, organizing a test case. It was essentially a mock trial, but treated like a real trial, deliberately staged to bring the issue into the public spotlight.
A defendant was required to make the trial work, so science teacher John Scopes was recruited to admit to teaching evolution, despite never knowingly having done so. Two high-profile attorneys were also brought in to argue the two sides of the case at Rhea County Courthouse.
The highly publicized event acted as a discussion of whether modern science should be taught in schools or if the word of the Bible trumps developing human knowledge.
After a seven-day trial, Scopes was found guilty and fined $100. It was the first trial to be broadcast live on national radio and had a huge number of listeners.
While Scopes was found guilty, the trial was more about the discussion. It was a groundbreaking case in its analysis of ideology and developing education standards, though it did not change anything immediately.
The anti-evolution law was not changed or challenged again until 1965, but the trial is widely believed to have greatly impacted attitudes in the United States.
The court that hosted the trial is now a protected building with memorabilia and a plaque commemorating the landmark case.
44. El Chapo
- Defendant: Notorious drug lord and cartel leader Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman
- Charge: Various murder and drug trafficking charges, money laundering
- When: 2018-2019
- Where: U.S. District Court, New York
Joaquin Guzman, nicknamed El Chapo, became one of the most infamous drug lords of all time. Growing up in Mexico, Guzman became mixed up in the business at an early age. He started working for a leading cartel, transporting drugs across the Mexican border.
El Chapo worked his way up through the ranks, eventually becoming a top cartel leader. He oversaw a huge amount of criminal activity, including distributing drugs in massive quantities, bribing officials and authorities, and orchestrating and committing murders.
After a manhunt, El Chapo tried to flee with a fake passport and bribe his way to freedom but was caught in 1993. He was jailed for 20 years but continued to run his operation, bribe guards, and accumulate wealth behind bars, maintaining his status as one of the top suppliers of heroin, meth, marijuana, and cocaine in the world.
Guzman bribed guards and escaped during an attempted extradition to the U.S. in 2001. He evaded capture until 2014, when he was imprisoned again, but vanished for a second time in 2015. After a third arrest, he was extradited to the U.S. for trial.
The trial started in mid-November 2018, and closing arguments were not made until the end of January 2019. The court heard evidence detailing decades of shocking criminal activity.
Due to El Chapo’s history of having jurors and officials killed, the jury was selected under strict anonymity and brought into a closed court by guards.
He pled not guilty to 17 charges related to murder and drug activity but was convicted by the jury. El Chapo was sentenced to life in prison plus 30 years in a U.S. supermax prison. He also had to forfeit more than $12.6 billion.
45. The Murder of Travis Alexander
- Defendant: Ex-boyfriend killer Jodi Arias
- Charge: Murder
- When: 2012-2013
- Where: Maricopa County Superior Court, Arizona
Jodi Arias was the subject of a media storm when she was arrested and tried for murdering her ex-boyfriend, Travis Alexander.
Alexander was killed in June 2008. He was found in his bathroom with 27 stab wounds, a slashed throat, a gunshot wound to his head, and defensive wounds covering his hands.
At the time of his death, Alexander had recently ended a turbulent relationship with Jodi Arias. After those close to Alexander shared concerns with the police about Arias, she was investigated for the murder.
A substantial body of evidence was compiled, including Arias being linked to the gun used, DNA evidence at the murder scene, rental car bloodstains, digital photographs, and more. Arias was indicted by a grand jury in June 2008 and pleaded not guilty.
The case finally went to trial in 2012 at Maricopa County Superior Court. The prosecution sought the death penalty, while Arias’s appointed attorneys made the case that the killing was in self-defense. This was just one of several different stories she told police, including claiming a home invasion.
Arias decided to take the stand, testifying that she had been the victim of domestic abuse and answering extensive cross-examination questions for an unprecedented 18 days.
The jury foreman later told news outlets that her inconsistent testimony probably hurt her case rather than helping it.
The trial lasted just over four months. In May 2013, the jury found Jodi Arias guilty of first-degree murder after 15 hours of deliberations. The decision was cheered by crowds gathered inside and outside the court.
However, the jury was not able to agree on the sentence, voting 8-4 in favor of the death penalty. Arias was eventually sentenced to life in prison without parole. The final cost of the trial was about $3 million.
The case has been heavily featured in pop culture, including episodes of Dateline and 20/20, among many others.
46. Vanderbilt Custody Trial
- Case type: Custody trial in family court
- When: 1934
- Where: New York County Courts, Manhattan
When you think of a sensational trial of the century, you probably don’t imagine it as a custody battle in family court. But one such case captured everyone’s imagination as it was splashed across the tabloids.
Gloria Vanderbilt was ten years old when she was caught at the center of a high-profile trial. A high-society heiress who was born into a wealthy family, Gloria’s father died when she was an infant. Her mother, Gloria Morgan, was a socialite who spent the next few years rubbing elbows with royals in Europe.
At one point, Gloria Morgan brought her daughter back to the U.S. for a medical procedure, leaving her with her Aunt Gertrude for several months while she headed back to Europe.
At this point, the family cut Gloria Morgan’s allowance in half. Aunt Gertrude objected to young Gloria returning to her parent, calling her an unfit mother, and the case went to court.
The trial was splashed across the New York tabloid front pages. With America in a depression, the Vanderbilt case gave ordinary people a window into the drama of the ultra-wealthy.
It started out as an open court, but the judge removed everyone, including the press, after a potentially scandalous revelation during testimony. It was alleged by a character witness that Gloria Morgan had been seen in bed kissing a woman who was married to a British royal.
At one point, the child at the center of the case was called on to speak and give her thoughts. After a seven-week trial involving many testimony accounts, Judge Carew eventually awarded custody to Aunt Gertrude, with the mother getting visitation rights.
The trial followed Gloria Vanderbilt for many years. She recounted the story in interviews with her son, famous CNN anchor Anderson Cooper. But she eventually rewrote her legacy with a hugely successful career, which included launching a popular line of jeans.
47. Conrad Murray
- Defendant: Michael Jackson’s Physician, Dr. Conrad Murray
- Charge: Involuntary manslaughter
- When: 2011
- Where: Los Angeles County Superior Court
Many famous trials and court cases capture the public’s attention because they involve a celebrity, either as the victim or the perpetrator. That is certainly the case following the death of pop superstar Michael Jackson.
Jackson died at his home in Los Angeles in 2009, aged 50. A music mega-star, Jackson has sold more than 400 million records. Despite being involved in controversies and legal issues, he was preparing for a comeback tour when he died.
Michael Jackson was found unresponsive in his home by his personal doctor, Conrad Murray. The doctor performed CPR and called an ambulance, but the icon was pronounced dead. Coroners later found a combination of drugs in his system and ruled the death a homicide.
Conrad Murray had been hired by Jackson a few months earlier and was paid $150,000 a month. In 2010, the doctor was charged with involuntary manslaughter for prescribing and administering drugs that contributed to the singer’s death.
The trial was televised and lasted 24 days. It revealed that the doctor stayed with Jackson full-time and that Jackson regularly begged for strong sedatives to help with his insomnia. One such drug – a surgical anesthetic called propofol – was key to the star’s death.
The jury returned a guilty verdict after nine hours of deliberation. Murray was given the maximum sentence of four years in prison due to the disastrous consequences of his negligence.
He was released in 2013 after just under two years behind bars due to overcrowding and good behavior. But he is not allowed to practice medicine anymore.
Jackson’s family later launched two wrongful death lawsuits against Murray and AEG entertainment company, but neither was successful.
48. Adolf Eichmann
- Defendant: Nazi officer and Holocaust organizer Adolf Eichmann
- Charge: 15 charges, including crimes against humanity and war crimes
- When: 1961
- Where: Jerusalem District Court, Israel
Many interesting court cases and high-profile criminal cases involve gruesome crimes. But few involved such devastating consequences as that of Adolf Eichmann – a Nazi charged with facilitating and executing the Holocaust.
Adolf Eichmann joined the Nazi regime in his mid-20s and rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel. During the Second World War, he was eventually put in charge of emigration and deportation.
This included arranging for the transfer of hundreds of thousands of Jewish citizens. He sent them to their deaths at concentration camps such as Auschwitz.
Eichmann did not make policy, but willingly carried out orders and made the devastating Jewish genocide possible. At the end of the war, Eichmann was caught by U.S. forces. But he used fake documents to hide his identity and escape to Argentina.
A mission was launched to hunt Eichmann, and he was eventually traced after several years of investigations. A team of agents kidnapped him and took him to Israel for trial. Eichmann was held at a fortified police station for nine months before the trial started in 1961.
While he was in custody, prosecutors compiled evidence and interrogated him for information. When the trial eventually started, it was seen by a special tribunal of the Jerusalem District Court and presided over by three judges.
Israeli law had to be altered to allow a foreign defense lawyer to represent Eichmann since no Israeli lawyer would do so.
The trial was held in Beit Ha’am, a community theater that was adapted to allow for better coverage. It had 750 seats for audience members and space for media members.
A U.S. broadcasting company also secured the rights to film and distribute the trial. A bulletproof glass booth was built to protect Eichmann from potential assassination attempts.
The trial ran from April to August, but the verdict did not come until December. Eichmann was convicted of all 15 charges. His later appeal was unsuccessful, and he was hanged at Ramla Prison in 1962.
49. Oklahoma City Bomber Timothy McVeigh
- Defendant: Domestic Terrorist Timothy McVeigh
- Charge: First-degree murder, use of a weapon of mass destruction resulting in death, destruction by explosives resulting in death, and more.
- When: 1997
- Where: The Byron G. Rogers Courthouse in Denver, Colorado
Among the most famous American trials to spark outrage across the country are those involving domestic terrorists. One of the most shocking examples of devastating domestic terrorism is the case of Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma City bombing.
A Gulf War veteran, McVeigh joined the army at the age of 20. He loved guns and won recognition as a sharpshooter, as well as having a reputation for racism. After leaving the military in 1991, he became increasingly disillusioned with the government, complaining about issues such as taxes and firearm restrictions. He was also enraged by the Waco siege in 1993 and became more outspoken and radicalized.
In 1995, McVeigh hatched a plot with a friend called Terry Nichols. The pair made a DIY bomb featuring 5,000 pounds of ammonium nitrate and nitromethane. They mounted it in a rented truck and parked it next to a federal building in Oklahoma City.
The blast killed 168 people, including 19 children. Nearly 700 others were injured, and 300 buildings were damaged. It is still the worst act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history. McVeigh was arrested that day.
He was pulled over for driving without license plates and carrying an illegal weapon. Investigators soon linked him to the bombing, and he was indicted on 11 federal counts.
The trial was moved to Denver because the court did not feel that McVeigh could get a fair trial in Oklahoma. The jury was selected in March 1997, and the trial started the following month in front of a packed courtroom. Victims and relations were also able to watch live closed-circuit footage of the proceedings.
McVeigh wanted to use a “necessity” defense, claiming that the bombing was justified to prevent government crimes, but his lawyers disagreed. The prosecution called 137 witnesses as part of their case.
The jury returned a guilty verdict on all 11 counts after 23 hours of deliberation. They took another two days to decide on the sentence before recommending the death penalty. McVeigh was executed by lethal injection in 2001.
50. The McMartin Preschool Trial
- Defendants: Various teachers and founders at McMartin Preschool
- Charge: Child abuse, sexual abuse
- When: 1987-1990
- Where: Los Angeles County Superior Court, California
The McMartin Preschool case sparked one of the most famous trials ever as one of the longest-running and most expensive criminal trial in U.S. history.
It started in 1983 when a mother named Judy Johnson called the police and accused a teaching aide at the family-owned preschool of molesting her 2-year-old son.
The suspect, Ray Buckey, was arrested, and officers launched an investigation. Other parents were contacted, and Judy started elaborating on the original complaint with bizarre accusations of satanism. She was later discredited as a paranoid schizophrenic.
Hundreds of other students were interviewed, and more than 380 were diagnosed as abuse victims. Ray Buckey, his mother Peggy, and five other staff members at McMartin were charged with abuse.
A preliminary court hearing started in early 1984, presided over by Judge Aviva Bobb. It was a mess, with seven defendants, each with their own attorney, and three prosecutors.
The preliminary hearing alone lasted nearly two years and cost $4 million. At the end of the hearing, the charges were dropped against all but two defendants. Only the charges against Ray and Peggy Buckey would go to a full trial.
The trial started in July 1987. The prosecution’s therapist, who interviewed all the children, spent five weeks on the stand giving testimony.
The court was shown videos of the interviews, and the witness was heavily criticized over her techniques. She posed leading questions and pressured the children, raising serious doubts over the inconsistent and contradictory stories they told.
After a 30-month trial and ten weeks of jury deliberations, Peggy was cleared of all charges. The jury was deadlocked on Ray – 11 of 13 total jurors voted not guilty due to a lack of evidence, but the other two jurors would not budge. A mistrial was declared.
A second trial took place just for Ray. This one only lasted three months, but the jury was deadlocked again. A second mistrial was declared, and the charges against Ray Buckey were dropped. He still spent more than five years in prison through the grueling trial process.
Prosecutors spent over seven years and $15 million on a case with no convictions. It is now widely accepted that the case was a result of overzealous prosecution and parent hysteria.
51. Zacarias Moussaoui
- Defendant: 9/11 Terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui
- Charge: Conspiracy to commit acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries, conspiracy to commit aircraft piracy, conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction, and more.
- When: 2006
- Where: Federal District Court in Alexandria, Virginia
The trial of Zacarias Moussaoui is one of the most famous trials in United States history because he was the only person to be convicted in American courts over the tragic September 11 terror attacks.
After growing up in France and getting a master’s degree in England, Moussaoui was monitored by authorities from 1996 after mixing with known extremists and visiting Afghanistan. In 2001, he attended flight school in Oklahoma – the same flight school used by the two terrorists who crashed planes into the Trade Center buildings.
Moussaoui was reportedly considered for one of the pilot roles in the 9/11 plot and was a co-conspirator in the terror attack. He was charged with six counts of conspiracy and indicted in December 2001.
His first court appearance came in 2002 when he refused to enter a plea and asked to represent himself. The trial dragged on for several years, with hearings taking place each year until it was finally concluded in 2006.
Moussaoui initially said he was involved in al-Qaeda but not 9/11, claiming he was organizing an attack of his own. In 2005, he changed his story and pleaded guilty to all charges. At various points in the trial, the court was criticized for allowing bizarre and threatening behavior from the defendant.
At various points, he mocked the judge, came out with sudden outbursts, and tried to call captured al-Qaeda members as witnesses.
In May 2006, the jury decided that Moussaoui should be sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole. Following the sentence, Moussaoui clapped and told the court: “America, you lost…I won.”
The trial is regarded as an important barometer of how willing the U.S. is to observe due process in dealing with terrorism suspects following extreme incidents.
52. The Scottsboro Boys
- Defendant: Nine black teenagers – Ozie Powell, Charlie Weems, Clarence Norris, Olen Montgomery, Haywood Patterson, brothers Andrew and Leroy Wright, Eugene Williams, and Willie Roberson.
- Charge: Rape
- When: 1931-1938
- Where: Scottsboro, Alabama; the Alabama Supreme Court; U.S. Supreme Court
A group of nine black teenagers was dubbed the Scottsboro Boys after they were all falsely accused of raping two white women near Scottsboro, Alabama. The ensuing trials sparked uproar and prompted two landmark Supreme Court verdicts.
Police arrested the nine black teens in 1931 after they were involved in a scuffle with a group of white kids on a train. But following the arrest, two white women accused all nine of the teens of raping them.
The boys, who ranged in age from 13-19, were charged and faced trials almost immediately. Even though no medical evidence of rape was presented, eight of the defendants were hurriedly sentenced to death.
A mistrial was declared in the proceeding of the youngest defendant, Leroy Wright, because one juror wanted him to receive life in prison rather than the death penalty, and the others would not agree.
At this point, proceedings took a turn. An organization called the International Labor Defense caught wind of the cases and saw an opportunity to tackle racism, filing several appeals.
In 1932, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that the boys did not receive proper counsel in a precedent-setting decision (Powell v. Alabama). The rulings were overturned, and the decision established the right of Black Americans to proper counsel under the Constitution.
Subsequent retrials also came back with guilty verdicts from all-white juries. In 1935, the verdicts were overturned again. The Supreme Court ruled that excluding black citizens from juries denied the defendants a fair trial. This landmark ruling forced integration in juries for future cases.
In the end, four of the Scottsboro Boys were released. Clarence Norris was still sentenced to death (but was later pardoned), and another four received lengthy prison sentences on top of the years they had spent jailed while awaiting trials and retrials.
The trials were vital to the civil rights movement and even inspired aspects of the classic novel To Kill a Mockingbird.
53. The Rights of Tommy the Chimpanzee
- Case type: Animal rights
- When: 2013-2018
- Where: New York Supreme Court, Appeals Courts
A famous trial involving a chimpanzee called Tommy was the first of its kind, deciding whether the animal should have some of the same rights as a human.
Tommy the chimpanzee was born in the 1980s and appeared in the 1987 movie Project X. When his owner died, he passed to a man called Patrick Lavery, who set up a facility for Tommy to live in alone, with a TV and a radio, just outside New York.
But an organization called the Nonhuman Rights Project called Tommy’s living situation “unlawful detention” and demanded that he be moved to a sanctuary with other animals. The group took legal action, fighting to classify Tommy as a person.
The petition argued that the law does not limit personhood to homo sapiens and routinely extends rights to corporations. It asked the court to establish that Tommy has cognitive abilities and should not be a possession.
Judge Michael Lynch was sympathetic to the case but said that legal personhood comes with responsibilities that are not appropriate for a chimpanzee, and the case was rejected.
But the Nonhuman Rights Project continued to fight for Tommy’s rights, filing numerous appeals and motions over the following years. While unsuccessful, this case raised important rights questions over how animals should be treated and considered.
54. George Zimmerman
- Defendant: Neighborhood watch shooter George Zimmerman
- Charge: Second-degree murder
- When: 2013
- Where: Seminole County Court, Florida
George Zimmerman shot and killed a black teenager named Trayvon Martin. The ensuing legal action had trial-of-the-century vibes. It became a lightning rod highlighting racial issues, making national headlines, and igniting public opinion.
In 2012, George Zimmerman saw Trayvon Martin walking through his neighborhood. He was returning home after going on a snack run. But Zimmerman – on high alert after a series of burglaries in the area – thought he looked suspicious. He called the police and then pursued Martin. After a scuffle between the two, Zimmerman shot and killed the 17-year-old victim.
According to Zimmerman, when he chased after his suspect – against police advice – Martin attacked him. He claimed the shooting was in self-defense and cooperated fully with police.
Zimmerman was not initially charged. But civil rights protestors said the shooting was a result of racial profiling and inspired a swell of public outrage. The case hit the headlines, and 2.2 million people signed a petition asking for Zimmerman’s arrest.
The movement sparked further investigation, and state attorney Angela Corey eventually charged Zimmerman with second-degree murder – despite questions over whether the evidence supported such a charge.
The jury selection alone took almost a month. In the end, a six-person jury was chosen and sequestered and would remain anonymous outside the court.
The trial itself lasted about three weeks and centered on the events of the fight leading up to the shooting. It was dark and rainy on the night of Trayvon Martin’s death, and no one got a clear view of the fight. However, witness statements presented in the court generally supported Zimmerman’s account that he was attacked, called for help, and took drastic measures to defend himself.
In a controversial decision, the jury returned a not-guilty verdict on second-degree murder and manslaughter after two days of deliberations. Despite the political pressure, there was no evidence that Zimmerman committed a crime under Florida law.
55. The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde
- Defendant: Renowned writer Oscar Wilde
- Charge: Gross indecency, conspiracy to commit gross indecencies
- When: 1895
- Where: The Old Bailey, England
Literary giant Oscar Wilde was involved in three trials in quick succession after he was accused of homosexual indecency. The famous trials captivated the English public in an early celebrity sex scandal filled with sharp dialogue and shocking twists.
An acclaimed poet and playwright, Wilde is responsible for works including The Importance of Being Earnest and The Picture of Dorian Gray. But his legal troubles started when he developed a relationship with a young lover named Lord Alfred Douglas in 1891.
Alfred’s father, the Marquess of Queensberry, got wind of the relationship and started a campaign to end it. Oscar Wilde – who at this point denied any accusations of homosexuality, which was a crime at the time – decided to sue Queensberry for libel.
The first trial saw Wilde on the side of the prosecution. But the defense lined up a large group of young men to testify that they had also had sexual experiences with Oscar Wilde. With his case in tatters, Wilde had no choice but to drop the libel charge.
But Wilde had opened the door now, and he was charged with acts of indecency and put on trial himself. His trial took place at the Old Bailey, London’s main court, and grabbed the public’s attention.
Young male witnesses were paraded through the court to testify against Wilde. But after three hours of deliberating, the jury could not reach a verdict. The hung jury allowed the prosecution to put Wilde through a second trial.
The second trial was handled by England’s top prosecutor, Solicitor-General Frank Lockwood. This time, after a short jury deliberation, Wilde was found guilty. He was given the maximum sentence and spent two years in prison.
The Wilde trials had a significant impact on attitudes toward homosexual acts, putting a cloud over male relationships and making people suspicious of artists. It was not until 1967 that consensual homosexual acts were decriminalized in the UK.
56. LAPD Rodney King Beating Trial
- Defendant: LAPD officers Stacey Koon, Laurence Powell, Theodore Briseno, Timothy Wind
- Charge: Assault, use of excessive force, civil rights violations
- When: 1992-1993
- Where: Simi Valley Court, California
One of the most notorious trials in U.S. history took place after a group of LAPD officers was caught on camera viciously beating a man named Rodney King. The result of the ensuing trial sparked riots throughout Los Angeles.
King was involved in a high-speed chase with police when he refused to stop. But during the arrest, he was tasered, beaten with batons, and stomped on. Footage of the incident was released to the media and shocked the public. After an outcry, four officers were indicted.
The trial was originally due to take place in Los Angeles County. However, due to the massive media scrutiny in LA, the defense team successfully secured a new judge and a change of venue to Ventura County. The prosecution also failed to ensure that there were any black jury members.
The trial lasted for seven weeks, during which three of the defendants took the stand. A key point was a short part of the video footage, not shown by the media, that appeared to show King trying to flee.
After seven days of deliberations, the officers were acquitted. When the verdict was announced, the crowds gathered outside the court reacted with fury. LA descended into chaos with five days of rioting. The riots resulted in deaths, injuries, and massive property damage.
However, the case was not over. The officers were also hit with federal charges for violating King’s civil rights. The second trial took place in a Los Angeles courtroom with a more diverse jury. An experienced team from the U.S. Attorney’s Office took charge of the prosecution case.
After an emotionally charged six-day jury deliberation, two of the officers were acquitted (but were fired by the LAPD). Koon and Powell each received 30 months in prison. Rodney King also later secured a $3.8 million settlement from the city of Los Angeles.
57. The Shootout at Ruby Ridge
- Defendant: Anti-government survivalists Randy Weaver and Kevin Harris
- Charge: Murder, conspiracy, assault
- When: 1993
- Where: Boise Courthouse, Idaho
The high-profile trials of Randy Weaver and Kevin Harris occurred after a controversial and violent siege at a remote Idaho property.
Randy Weaver and his wife Vicki were survivalists with extreme religious and racist views. They did not trust the government and decided to move off the grid and hoard guns.
The couple built their own cabin at Ruby Ridge and lived there with their children and a family friend named Kevin Harris.
However, the family was investigated by the FBI over Randy’s links to a white supremacist terror organization called Aryan Nation. Concerns were also raised that he had threatened to kill President Reagan and other government officials.
Randy was eventually charged with selling illegal firearms. But the situation became volatile when he missed his court date, and agents decided to launch a raid to bring Randy into custody.
Events quickly got out of hand when FBI agents were discovered scouting the Weaver property. An ensuing firefight resulted in the death of a 14-year-old Weaver child, a dog, and an agent.
Vicki Weaver was also killed by a sniper, while Randy Weaver and Kevin Harris were both wounded during an 11-day siege.
Weaver and Harris both stood trial after the siege. It was presided over by Judge Edward Lodge and lasted two months. The defense used an unusual tactic, refusing to call any witnesses and instead making its case solely through cross-examination of the prosecution.
Harris was acquitted of all charges, while Weaver was only convicted of his original gun charges and a parole violation. The incident sparked intense scrutiny of government actions, inspiring significant protests.
Eventually, one FBI agent was given 18 months in prison for covering up details of the Ruby Ridge siege.
The sniper who shot Vicki Weaver was charged with manslaughter but never convicted. Weaver and Harris both received settlements after their ordeals.
58. The Pentagon Papers
- Defendant: Whistleblowers Daniel Ellsberg and Anthony Russo
- Charge: Theft, espionage
- When: 1972-1973
- Where: Federal Courthouse, Los Angeles
The case of the Pentagon Papers surrounded the theft and release of a top-secret document that raised serious questions about the United States and its involvement in the Vietnam War.
The classified document was commissioned in the ’60s. But analyst Daniel Ellsberg, who had worked on the massive 7,000-page file, was concerned with its findings. It showed that multiple U.S. governments and presidents had lied to justify America’s continued involvement in Vietnam.
Ellsberg feared that the war would go on indefinitely, costing countless money and lives. When he exhausted other options, Ellsberg stole a copy of the Pentagon Papers, made a copy with his friend Anthony Russo, and leaked it to the press – first the New York Times, then the Washington Post.
This action sparked multiple legal proceedings. First, current President Richard Nixon and his government took legal action to stop further publication of the papers in the press.
Lawyers on both sides fiercely debated the merits of First Amendment rights vs. any potential damage caused by the leak. It went to the Supreme Court, which eventually allowed publication.
Next, Ellsberg and Russo were indicted on theft and espionage charges, facing more than 100 years (each) in prison. But the trial was halted, and a mistrial was declared after the government was caught wire-tapping conversations between the defendants and their attorneys.
A second trial started in 1973 with a new jury. Both Ellsberg and Russo took the stand. Ellsberg testified that he had seen a pattern of deception from leaders regarding the war and did not believe the papers could damage the national defense.
But the second trial also ended prematurely. Investigations revealed that President Nixon had ordered illegal actions to discredit Ellsberg, including stealing his psychiatrist’s files.
The judge dismissed all charges, and Nixon was later forced to resign his presidency. These famous trials are still well-known decades later due to the nature of the charges, the proximity to the president, and the public fallout.
59. The Dingo Trial
- Defendant: Falsely-accused parents Lindy and Michael Chamberlain
- Charge: Murder
- When: 1982
- Where: Darwin Courthouse, Australia
The Dingo trial was a controversial event that divided opinions and left people questioning their legal system.
Parents Lindy and Michael Chamberlain went camping with their three children, including 10-week-old baby Azaria, in August 1980. They were near a famous site called Ayers Rock with a large group of other campers.
One night, Lindy put Azaria to bed. A short time later, she heard the baby cry and went to investigate before shouting that a dingo – a type of wild dog in Australia – had taken her baby.
After initially investigating and finding no trace of the child, detectives started to doubt the dingo story, building a case against the parents and charging them with murdering Azaria. The press even speculated that the Chamberlains had killed their baby in a religious sacrifice.
The trial started in 1982. While the prosecution had no body or motive, they labeled the dingo story an elaborate lie. The prosecution made its case over the course of a month, calling more than 35 witnesses.
Many of these were people who had been at the campsite, and most of the witnesses supported the Chamberlain family’s version of events.
The defense called 25 witnesses, including Lindy herself. But the jury of nine men and three women took just over a day to deliver a verdict. They found Lindy Chamberlain guilty of murder, and she was given life in prison. Michael was found guilty of being an accessory, but his sentence was suspended.
The verdicts were largely supported by public opinion, and Lindy’s appeals were rejected. However, there was still a twist to come in the case. First, some doubts were raised when a stain from the Chamberlain car that was integral to the prosecution’s case was found to be paint rather than blood.
Then, in 1986, a tourist fell and died near the Ayers Rock campsite. While looking for his body, police found Azaria’s jacket in a dingo den.
Based on this new evidence, Lindy was released from prison. Meryl Streep later portrayed her in a movie about the events called A Cry in the Dark.
60. Charles Manson
- Defendant: Cult leader Charles Manson and three of his followers
- Charge: First-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder
- When: 1970
- Where: Los Angeles County Court
One of the most famous trials in American history saw cult leader Charles Manson convicted for leading a murderous plot.
Manson spent many years in institutions as a young man but started to build a cult following in the 1960s. His followers became known as The Manson Family. In 1969, some of the so-called family members committed a series of gruesome murders, including killing actress Sharon Tate.
It is widely accepted that Charles Manson never committed the murders himself. But he orchestrated the events as part of an insane plan, believing they would incite a race war. He was tried on the same charges as the actual killers.
Court proceedings started in July 1970. Manson was on trial alongside followers Leslie Van Houten, Susan Atkins, and Patricia Krenwinkel. A fourth accomplice, Tex Watson, was tried later. The star witness for the prosecution was Linda Kasabian, a former member of the Manson Family who was present at the murders and described the events in detail.
Manson made his presence felt throughout the trial. He turned up on the first day with an ‘X’ carved into his forehead. Three months into proceedings, he threatened and then tried to attack the judge with a pencil. This prompted Judge Charles H. Older to wear a pistol to the trial.
At one point, Manson also brandished a newspaper in the court, with the headline showing a quote from President Richard Nixon expressing his belief that Manson was directly or indirectly guilty. Manson showed the quote to the jury in a bid to provoke a mistrial, but the tactic failed.
After the prosecution rested its case, the defense followed suit without presenting any evidence. However, Manson then asked to testify and was allowed to do so with the jury removed. He used the opportunity to give a rambling speech about systemic failures.
The jury deliberated for a week before finding all defendants guilty of first-degree murder. Originally sentenced to death, they were spared by California abolishing the death penalty. The entire trial lasted for nine months and was one of the longest and most expensive trials in U.S. history at the time.
Manson died behind bars in 2017.
61. Johnny Depp v. Amber Heard
- Defendant: Famous actors Johnny Depp and Amber Heard
- Charge: Defamation
- When: 2022
- Where: Fairfax County Circuit Court, Virginia
Bitter claims and counterclaims were filed between famous actors and former spouses Johnny Depp and Amber Heard in a gripping real-life soap opera.
In 2018, Heard wrote an opinion piece in The Washington Post that accused her ex-husband, Depp, of domestic violence during their marriage. Depp was subsequently fired from several major franchise roles, including Pirates of the Caribbean and Fantastic Beasts.
Depp sued Heard for defamation, claiming that she had caused massive damage to his career with unfounded accusations. In return, Amber Heard countersued with her own defamation claims.
The trial was live-streamed and received 83.9 million hours watched. It became a lightning rod of public opinion, sparking mass social media commentaries and even Saturday Night Live parodies.
Heard alleged that Depp physically and emotionally abused her, while Depp’s team sought to prove that Heard was the aggressor, instigating violent incidents. Some of the evidence presented during the trial bordered on the bizarre, including allegations that Heard deliberately defecated in Depp’s bed.
The trial lasted six weeks, and it took jurors two days to reach a decision. Public opinion had swayed mainly in Depp’s favor over the course of the trial, and the jury agreed.
They found that Heard had defamed Depp with actual malice, awarding Depp $10 million in compensation plus further punitive damages. Through the countersuit, it was decided that Heard had also been defamed in one of three counts. She was awarded $2 million.
Judge Penney S. Azcarate also rejected a series of post-trial motions by Heard’s legal team.
62. The Trial of Kyle Rittenhouse
- Defendant: Teenage gunman Kyle Rittenhouse
- Charge: Murder, attempted murder, reckless endangerment
- When: 2021
- Where: Kenosha County Courthouse, Wisconsin
Teenager Kyle Rittenhouse was at the center of a highly polarizing and politicized murder trial when he shot three people during a period of civil unrest.
The deadly incident took place in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in 2020. Protests had erupted in the area after a white police officer shot and wounded a black man.
Rittenhouse, aged 17 and living in Illinois at the time, crossed state lines with a semiautomatic AR-15-style rifle and joined a group of armed citizens in Kenosha who said they were protecting local businesses from protestors.
After an altercation, Rittenhouse shot and killed two men and wounded a third. He was charged with six counts that included homicide and weapons charges.
The trial took place in late 2021 and divided the nation over issues including gun rights, racial justice protests, and political views.
Judge Bruce Schroeder presided and dealt a blow to the prosecution by maintaining his own rule that anyone involved in protests could not be labeled a victim during proceedings – even if they had been shot and killed.
Among the witnesses who took the stand was Rittenhouse himself, who spent a full day on the stand recounting the night’s events. After 27 hours of deliberations, the jury found Kyle Rittenhouse not guilty on all counts, believing that he acted in self-defense.
Conservatives celebrated the controversial result as a victory for gun rights.
63. The Case of Wagatha Christie
- Defendant: Coleen Rooney, the wife of English soccer star Wayne Rooney
- Charge: Libel
- When: 2022
- Where: High Court in London, England
Low in stakes but high in drama, the so-called ‘Wagatha Christie’ trial was a high-profile libel case that pitted the wives of two famous English soccer players against each other in a dramatic showdown.
Rebekah Vardy (the wife of England international Jamie Vardy) sued Coleen Rooney (the wife of former star Wayne Rooney) over what she considered to be a defamatory Twitter post.
In 2019, Rooney posted a Twitter thread detailing an investigation that she had conducted over who was leaking her personal stories to the press. She concluded by saying the leak was from her friend Rebekah Vardy’s account.
The tweet went viral and was dubbed the case of Wagatha Christie – a combination of Agatha Christie, the famous mystery writer, and WAG, which is a term for the wives and girlfriends of professional athletes.
Vardy denied the claims and sued for libel, with the case progressing to a highly publicized trial in 2022. While Rooney called the lawsuit a waste of time and tried to settle the case without going to trial, Vardy pushed for her day (or weeks) in court.
It lasted more than ten weeks and saw both women take the stand. Rooney’s defense team asked for text records from Vardy and her agent, which they believed would support their claim that the leaks came from Vardy.
But the Vardy defense team said one phone had been dropped in the ocean, another had been accidentally wiped, and a laptop had been disposed of. These claims that all the relevant evidence had conveniently been lost were seen as very incriminating.
Eventually, the judge, Justice Karen Steyn, ruled in favor of Rooney. She cited the missing evidence and said Vardy was evasive on the stand. Vardy had to pay her own legal costs of around $3.5 million, as well as 90% of Coleen Rooney’s legal costs.
While it had relatively low real-world stakes compared to some on this list, the trial captured the public imagination as a brilliant example of celebrity melodrama.
It is set to be the subject of upcoming documentaries and a movie, making it one of the most famous trials in recent memory.
64. Donald Trump Impeachment Trials
- Defendant: The 45th President of the United States, Donald Trump
- Charge: Abuse of power, obstruction of Congress, incitement of insurrection
- When: 2020, 2021
- Where: Senate Chamber, U.S. Capitol
In his time as the 45th president of the United States, Donald Trump was one of the most polarizing figures in history. His controversial actions while in office earned two separate impeachments and subsequent trials.
First things first. Impeachment is a formal process by which a president can be accused of wrongdoing. It is a political process rather than a criminal proceeding, so these trials differ slightly from others on this list.
Impeachment is split into two parts. The House can vote for a president to be impeached. If that happens, the case goes before the U.S. Senate for trial. The Senate must listen to the evidence and vote on whether to convict.
Senators hear prosecution and defense cases as in a traditional trial and are then allowed to ask questions and debate. If they decide to convict, the president could be removed or prevented from holding office again, or they could simply be reprimanded.
Trump was first impeached in 2020 when an investigation revealed that he had solicited foreign interference to boost his re-election bid, as well as obstructing the inquiry. The Senate chambers were converted into a court to hear the case in January 2020, but Trump was not convicted.
He was then impeached for a second time in 2021, accused of inciting an attack on the U.S. Capitol building. Once more, he was impeached but not convicted. His second trial took place in February 2021.
The Senate voted 57-43 in favor of conviction, with many Republicans this time turning on Trump. But it fell ten votes short of the two-thirds majority required for conviction.
Such is the profile of Donald Trump that any action taken against him automatically takes a spot on the list of famous trials, and there have been plenty of court cases involving the former president in recent years.
After leaving office, and prior to running for president again in 2024, Trump was involved in a series of criminal and civil trials. Some actions are ongoing at the time of this writing. But in 2023, he was found liable for defamation and sexual battery.
He was later found liable for a second related case of libel and ordered to pay his victim $83 million. In 2024, he lost a civil fraud case in which prosecutors accused him of falsely inflating his wealth to build his empire, receiving a fine of $355 million.
Appeals have been lodged in both cases, and the fine was reduced by almost half for Trump.
65. Texas v. Yolanda Saldivar in the Death of Musician Selena
- Defendant: Former nurse turned shooter, Yolanda Saldivar
- Charge: First-degree murder
- When: 1995
- Where: Harris County Court, Houston, Texas
The murder trial of Yolanda Saldivar was a landmark case in the U.S. It made headlines across the world and was compared by some to the trial of O.J. Simpson.
Saldivar was a former nurse who started a fan club for celebrated Hispanic Tejano music artist Selena. She was later chosen to run Selena’s fashion boutique businesses. But after a series of complaints, it was discovered that Saldivar had been defrauding the companies and was threatened with the sack.
Selena met with Saldivar to discuss the situation but was shot in the back and fatally wounded by Salvidar in her motel room. The suspect was arrested after a 10-hour standoff with police.
Saldivar pleaded not guilty to murder, saying that she was trying to commit suicide and accidentally shot the singer. She was deemed a flight risk, and her bail was set at $500,000.
Judge Mike Westergren moved the trial from Nueces County to Houston to ensure the defendant got a fair trial due to the level of public outrage over the killing.
He also ordered that the trial would not be televised or taped to avoid a repeat of the O.J. trial circus, which had concluded one week earlier. The trial ran for three weeks, with the prosecution calling nearly 50 witnesses to testify.
It only took the jury two hours to return a guilty verdict to the joy of crowds outside the courtroom. The verdict was celebrated by Hispanic communities across the U.S. and made front-page news in newspapers both in America and across the world.
Saldivar was sentenced to life in prison with parole eligibility after 30 years (in March 2025).
66. The Colorado Movie Theater Massacre
- Defendant: Movie theater gunman James Holmes
- Charge: First-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, possession of explosives
- When: 2012
- Where: Colorado State District Court
The trial of James Holmes saw justice done after a brutal mass killing in a cinema in Colorado.
Holmes entered the movie theater during a midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises in July 2012 when there were about 400 people inside. Dressed in full tactical gear, including a vest, a helmet, and a gas mask, he threw tear gas grenades into the crowd before opening fire. In total, 12 people were killed and 70 others were injured.
He was arrested shortly after the shooting while sitting in his car outside the movie theater. Before carrying out the attack, Holmes had also rigged his apartment with explosives. But they were defused by a bomb squad without harming anyone.
The first hearings were held later in 2012, but proceedings moved slowly. In 2013, defense lawyers offered a guilty plea in a bid to take the death penalty off the table, but it was declined. Jury selection finally started in 2015, and the trial took place from April to July.
Holmes’s legal team claimed that he had a psychotic episode. But prosecutors produced evidence that the attack was pre-planned. They also had two psychiatrists testify that he was mentally ill but legally sane at the time of the attack.
On the second day of deliberations, the jury found Holmes guilty of first-degree murder and attempted murder. He escaped the death penalty by one vote, as the jury could not come to a unanimous decision.
But Judge Carlos Samour gave him 12 life sentences, one for each victim he killed, with an additional 3,318 years for the other charges, all without the possibility of parole. It was believed to be the fourth-longest sentence in U.S. history at the time and was met with applause inside the courtroom.
67. The Trial Saga of R. Kelly
- Defendant: Disgraced singer-songwriter Robert Sylvester Kelly (R. Kelly)
- Charge: Illegal sex with minors, sexual exploitation, racketeering, bribery, forced labor, sex trafficking
- When: 2021-2023
- Where: New York District Court, Northern District Court of Illinois
Where do you even start with the saga of R. Kelly? The disgraced former Grammy winner has been convicted of shocking charges across multiple trials in recent years.
Rumors of Kelly’s transgressions have followed him since the ’90s when his career started. After settling several civil lawsuits brought by various women in the early 2000s, he was charged criminally for the first time in 2002.
He was charged with child abuse based on a leaked sex video but was found not guilty in court because the age of the girl in the video could not be proven.
Kelly was charged with 12 further counts of child abuse in 2004, but the case was dropped because police failed to follow proper procedures.
But a documentary in 2019 featuring first-hand accounts from his victims sparked a renewed legal effort. Kelly was tried on federal charges in New York in 2021. After a month-long trial and two days of jury deliberations, he was found guilty of using his celebrity status to sexually abuse women and children.
Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison. But his court appearances did not end there. One month after sentencing in New York, he was taken to Chicago for another trial on different federal charges.
Here, a jury convicted him of producing child pornography and the enticement of minors for sex. The Chicago court sentenced him to 20 years in prison but ruled that 19 of those could be served at the same time as his existing sentence.
68. The Boston Marathon Bombing
- Defendant: Marathon bomber and terrorist Dzhokhar Tsarnaev
- Charge: Using and conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction resulting in death
- When: 2013
- Where: U.S. District Court for Massachusetts, Boston
The Boston Marathon bombing in 2013 devastated an entire city, and the subsequent trial was watched by the nation.
Three people died, and hundreds more were injured when two pressure cooker bombs were detonated near the finish line of the Boston Marathon. Two brothers – Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev – were quickly identified as suspects, and a massive manhunt was launched.
Officers caught up with the brothers four days after the bombing. Tamerlan died after a street shootout with police, while Dzhokhar managed to flee but was quickly captured while trying to hide in a boat that was parked in a driveway.
It became clear during interrogations that the bombings had extremist Islamic motives.
Tsarnaev was charged one week after the marathon and indicted on 30 charges in total. He pleaded not guilty. The initial pre-trial hearings took place in 2013, but it took nearly two years for the full trial to start.
When it finally got underway, one of the most famous trials in recent memory lasted for about five weeks. Over that time, the jury heard from 27 witnesses, many of whom suffered severe injuries in the blasts.
Several testimonies reduced many in the courtroom to tears. Jurors also saw CCTV footage showing Tsarnaev’s movements before, during, and after the marathon.
Tsarnaev appeared emotionless throughout the trial. But he wept when his relatives stood up to beg the court not to give him the death penalty. After being found guilty on all 30 counts, Tsarnaev spoke for the first time in court to apologize to the victims and survivors.
He was sentenced to death by the judge. However, a series of appeals followed. The Supreme Court reinstated the death sentence in 2022 after the Court of Appeals had vacated it in 2020.
In January 2023, a new appeal was lodged over juror misconduct and constitutional rights claims. At the time of this writing, it remains to be seen whether Dzhokhar Tsarnaev will face the death penalty.
69. John Allen Muhammad
- Defendant: D.C. sniper John Allen Muhammad
- Charge: Capital murder, first-degree murder
- When: 2002-2003
- Where: Virginia and Maryland courts
John Allen Muhammad was tried after the vicious D.C. sniper attacks, which left 17 people dead and 10 others injured.
Born John Williams, he changed his last name to Muhammad after joining the Nation of Islam at the age of 26. Muhammad was a U.S. Army veteran who served for 16 years. He earned several medals, as well as the ExpertRifleman’s Badge for marksmanship. But these skills were later used in tragic fashion.
Muhammad worked with an accomplice to carry out a series of coordinated attacks. The shootings took place across a six-month span. They started with killings in Washington, Arizona, Louisiana, Alabama, and Maryland in early 2002. These were followed by sniping sprees in Washington D.C. and Virginia.
The shooters were captured in October 2002 after a public tip. The first trials were held in Chesapeake and Virginia Beach, more than 100 miles away from the nearest attacks.
This location was picked after defense attorneys requested the venue change to ensure their clients received fair trials due to the amount of media coverage the killings had garnered.
Prosecutors presented more than 130 witnesses and 400 pieces of evidence, including a rifle recovered from Muhammad that was conclusively linked to many of the shootings.
Muhammad was found guilty on all charges in November 2003 and was sentenced to death in 2004. The Virginia Supreme Court later upheld this ruling.
While awaiting execution, Muhammad was taken to Maryland to face another trial. He was again found guilty.
Muhammad was executed by lethal injection in November 2009. He declined to make a final statement. His accomplice, Lee Boyd Malvo, received life in prison without parole.
70. Lindsay Lohan
- Defendant: Celebrity and actress Lindsay Lohan
- Charge: DUI, drug possession, reckless driving, violating probation (among others)
- When: 2007-2015
- Where: Beverly Hills Courthouse, Los Angeles
Child actor turned movie star Lindsay Lohan was at the height of her fame when she first got into trouble with the law. Unlike many of the cases on this list, Lohan’s charges were relatively low-key.
While numerous, none of the incidents caused significant harm to others. But as a massive Hollywood star at the time, every miss-step was magnified.
The nature of the offenses committed by Lohan meant that the trials were always relatively quick and contained, without long, drawn-out chains of evidence. However, her fame at the time was such that any court appearances made headlines as she very publicly spiraled out of control.
Lohan was first charged with DUI after crashing her car in 2007 and was ordered to go to rehab. But one month later, she was arrested again for DUI, drug possession, and driving on a suspended license.
She pleaded guilty in court, receiving one day in jail, community service, and probation. Due to overcrowding, she famously only spent 84 minutes in jail.
However, over the following years, Lohan was back in court over and over again. At various times, she was charged with theft, DUI, drug abuse, reckless driving, violating her probation, and providing false information to police.
Every time she entered the court, there were criticisms of her attire and hairstyle in every publication, along with images of her in handcuffs. Some fans even gathered to throw confetti as she headed into court.
After several short stints in jail, fines, court-ordered rehab, and eight years on probation, the Mean Girls star finally escaped her legal troubles in 2015 and has made an acting comeback in several recent Netflix movies.
71. Rod Blagojevich
- Defendant: Prominent politician Rod Blagojevich
- Charge: Racketeering, fraud, bribery, extortion, conspiracy, lying to FBI agents
- When: 2008-2012
- Where: U.S. District Court in Chicago, Illinois
A once popular and high-profile politician, Rod Blagojevich faced public trials for corruption offenses committed while he was in office.
Blagojevich was elected as Governor of Illinois and served from 2003-2009. He won fans as a progressive and charismatic representative, even appearing on The Daily Show while in office.
He later went on to appear on The Celebrity Apprentice and in a musical called Rod Blagojevich Superstar, as well as releasing an autobiography. But in 2008, he was embroiled in a corruption scandal.
Blagojevich was accused of trying to sell a vacant U.S. Senate seat by extorting candidates for something in return, among other charges.
He was impeached and removed from office. But that was just the start. Blagojevich’s offenses were so serious that he was also indicted ready for a criminal trial.
His first trial started in 2010 at a court in Chicago, with Blagojevich facing 24 federal charges. The defense did not call a single witness, instead arguing that prosecutors did not meet their burden of proof.
Blagojevich was found guilty of lying to the FBI, but the jury could not come to a decision on the other 23 charges. A mistrial was declared, but prosecutors immediately announced that they would try again.
In a retrial, the charges were reduced slightly. This time, Blagojevich was found guilty of 17 out of 20 charges, including corruption and extortion. Afterward, jurors expressed regret at having to convict but felt the case against Blagojevich was too strong, and the decision was relatively straightforward.
He received a 14-year prison sentence in 2012. Five of his convictions were vacated on appeal, but the sentence was upheld.
However, after serving nearly eight years behind bars, Blagojevich was released. President Donald Trump commuted his sentence, though his conviction was maintained.
72. WorldCom Fraud
- Defendant: Bernard Ebbers, the CEO blamed for multi-billion-dollar corporate fraud
- Charge: Fraud, conspiracy
- When: 2002
- Where: Federal Court in New York
Canadian businessman Bernard Ebbers is widely considered to be one of the worst CEOs of all time after being convicted over a massive accounting scandal involving billions of dollars.
Ebbers was the co-founder and CEO of a massive telecommunications company called WorldCom. But in 2002, with the once-thriving company in freefall, the board asked Ebbers to resign.
A few months later, WorldCom filed for bankruptcy and admitted to accounting misstatements adding up to a near-$11 billion fraud. While Ebbers blamed his subordinates, the investigation focused on him. He was indicted on nine felony charges, including securities fraud and filing false statements.
At trial, the defense fought to have three key witnesses given immunity in exchange for testifying. It is believed that the testimonies would have provided critical support for Ebbers, but the government refused to provide immunity, so the witnesses never took the stand.
Ebbers took the stand in his own defense and argued that he did not have a full understanding of what had happened. He claimed that he delegated many responsibilities. But after hearing all of the evidence, the jury found that Ebbers knew what was happening and was ultimately responsible.
Ebbers was found guilty and tearfully hugged his family in the courtroom. He was sentenced to 25 years in the low-security wing of a federal prison in Louisiana, starting in 2006.
After serving 12 years, Ebbers was granted an early release due to severe health issues. He died at home one month later.
73. The Killing of Oscar Grant by Police
- Defendant: Police officer Johannes Mehserle, accused of police brutality killing
- Charge: Second-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter, gun enhancement
- When: 2009
- Where: Los Angeles County Court
Police officer Johannes Mehserle was charged after the killing of an unarmed black man at a train station in Oakland, California, sparking fury and protests nationwide.
Victim Oscar Grant was part of a large group of people traveling on the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) train at about 2 am on January 1, 2009, after a New Year’s party. When a scuffle broke out on the train, the police were called. The fight was over when the train reached Fruitvale Station, where police were waiting.
Officers pulled several people off the train who they believed may have been involved in the fight. Oscar Grant, 22, was among them.
Witnesses reported officers punching and kneeing Grant in a largely unprovoked attack. Officers forced Grant onto his stomach on the floor and arrested him for resisting. At this point, one of the officers, Johannes Mehserle, drew his weapon and fired a shot into Grant’s back. He died later that day.
Cell phone videos, which were used as evidence by prosecutors, captured much of the altercation. It showed overly aggressive actions by police, but experts were divided over whether the shot was intentional or an accidental discharge.
After the incident, Mehserle resigned as a police officer and was charged with murder by Alameda County. Mehserle pleaded not guilty. The defense said he was attempting to taser the suspect because he was resisting arrest and became confused during a stressful situation.
The defense also successfully had the trial moved to Los Angeles, arguing that Mehserle would not get a fair trial in the Bay Area.
Mehserle cried on the stand when he recounted the incident. One person in the public gallery was found in contempt of court for shouting at Mehserle during his testimony.
The prosecution asked for a conviction of second-degree murder. But, after six hours of deliberations, the jury returned a verdict of involuntary manslaughter. Mehserle was given two years in prison with credit for time served. He was released after serving 11 months in a private cell.
BART also settled wrongful death claims with Oscar Grant’s family and friends totaling about $6.5 million.
The incident sparked several protests and was a precursor to the Black Lives Matter movement. It was depicted in a movie called Fruitvale Station, starring Michael B. Jordan.
74. Marie Antoinette
- Defendant: The last Queen of France, Marie Antoinette
- Charge: High treason, depletion of the national treasury, conspiracy against the state
- When: 1793
- Where: The Revolutionary Tribunal in Paris, France
Marie Antoinette was the last Queen of France and the country’s final monarch. Following the French Revolution, she was tried and executed for crimes against the state, paving the way for the country’s modern government.
Born in Austria, Marie Antoinette was married into the French royal family at the age of 14 to seal an alliance between the two countries. She married Louis XVI, who became the King of France, making Marie Antoinette the Queen.
However, it was during the reign of King Louis XVI that the French Revolution began. The common people joined forces to overthrow the monarchy, abolishing the royal family and creating their own government.
First, the king was put on trial and executed. Marie Antoinette, who was extremely unpopular with the French people, was originally going to be spared.
But the revolutionaries wanted a morale-booster, and they decided in a secret meeting that she had to die. They granted Antoinette a trial, but her fate had already been decided before it began.
Antoinette was taken before a Revolutionary Tribunal to be indicted. When she denied the charges, she and her lawyer were given just hours to prepare a defense.
The trial took place in October 1793, with the revolutionaries presenting more than 40 witnesses. But most of the so-called evidence presented was nothing more than rumor and gossip.
Marie Antoinette was concise and non-committal under intense questioning on the stand, though she did admit that she had spent more money than she should have.
The trial lasted for two long days, and Antoinette was found guilty of high treason, overspending, and conspiring with foreign powers.
The queen was condemned to be executed the same day and declined to give any final words.
75. Dylann Roof
- Defendant: Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof
- Charge: Murder, hate crimes resulting in death, among others
- When: 2015-2016
- Where: United States District Court for South Carolina
White supremacist Dylann Roof was captured and tried after killing nine people at a church bible study group in a murderous spree that sent shockwaves through the U.S.
Roof carried out the attack in June 2015 when he was 21-years-old. Before the shooting, friends and family were concerned that he was becoming socially withdrawn, spending most of his time playing video games and taking drugs. He talked frequently about “Blacks taking over the world” and racial segregation.
On the day of the Charleston church shooting (also now known as the Charleston church massacre), Roof entered a church where a bible study was being held, armed with a Glock handgun, and opened fire.
He killed nine people and wounded another. Roof was captured on the morning after the attack when a member of the public spotted his car, identifying it by the confederate flag bumper decoration.
Roof was charged on 33 counts and received a federal trial. The trial started in December 2016, with Roof representing himself for part of it before re-hiring his lawyers.
The evidence against him included a manifesto that Roof had written, as well as eyewitnesses who described the attack in graphic detail.
While witnesses recounted the horrific events, Roof’s mother collapsed in court, suffering a heart attack. Following the prosecution’s case, Roof offered no evidence in his defense.
At his sentencing, Roof confirmed that he felt no remorse and offered no apology. The jury unanimously decided to give him the death penalty. Following the federal trial, Roof also faced state charges.
This time, he pleaded guilty. This took a second death penalty conviction off the table, with Roof sentenced to life in prison with no parole. At the time of writing, Roof is imprisoned and awaiting death by lethal injection.
76. Slobodan Milosevic
- Defendant: Politician, president, and committer of wartime atrocities, Slobodan Milosevic
- Charge: Crimes against humanity, genocide, war crimes, among others
- When: 2002-2007
- Where: The Hague, Netherlands
Slobodan Milosevic was at the center of a famous trial that lasted for years and was watched closely around the world.
A Serbian-Yugoslav politician, Milosevic was the president of Serbia from 1989-1997 and the president of Yugoslavia from 1997-2000 before he was overthrown. But while he was in power, he was accused of crimes against humanity, including committing genocide and other war crimes during the Balkan wars of the 1990s.
Milosevic was arrested in 2001 and faced 66 counts of the most serious charges possible. Rather than a regular court, he was tried by the International Court of Justice – the judicial arm of the United Nations – at a court based within the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands.
The trial started in February 2002, and Milosevic was defiant from the moment he stepped into the dock, accusing the tribunal of illegally attacking him. He refused legal help and represented himself.
The prosecution took two years to present its case, covering the wars in Croatia, Bosnia, and Kosovo in great detail. They presented 295 witnesses and 5,000 exhibits as evidence.
The prosecution finished its case in 2004, and Milosevic started his defense six months later with a five-hour rant. But the trial was interrupted several times because of Milosevic’s poor health.
In 2006, with proceedings still ongoing, Slobodan Milosevic was found dead in his cell of an apparent heart attack. The trial was terminated, and no verdicts were ever delivered.
77. The Rivonia Trial
- Defendant: Nelson Mandela and other members of the South African liberation movement
- Charge: Sabotage and conspiracy to overthrow the government
- When: 1963-1964
- Where: The Palace of Justice and the Old Synagogue in Pretoria, South Africa
No list of famous trials is complete without mentioning Nelson Mandela. The human rights icon was tried and imprisoned for 27 years for fighting against government oppression.
In South Africa, the ruling National Party was a white-only government that implemented a system called apartheid.
This enforced racial segregation and favored white people. But Nelson Mandela and a group of other activists created an anti-apartheid movement to fight for equal opportunities.
The protestors faced legal trouble several times through the 1950s as the state tried to silence them. Mandela had one treason trial against him dismissed, but he was arrested again in 1962 and charged with inciting worker strikes.
He was quickly found guilty and sentenced to five years in prison. But the major trial was yet to come.
In 1963, many other members of the liberation group’s leadership were arrested in a police raid. During the raid, documents detailing plans to take on the government were found. In total, 15 people were arrested, and 11 men stood trial. That number includes Nelson Mandela, who was mentioned in the documents and faced further charges, even though he was already imprisoned.
Known as The Rivonia Trial, it turned worldwide attention onto the oppressive and racist regime in South Africa while giving the defendants a platform for their cause.
The prosecution called 173 witnesses and presented thousands of documents and photographs. Mandela opened the defense case with a three-hour speech explaining their motivations and decisions.
The trial lasted for eight months, running from October 1963 to June 1964. Eventually, eight of the defendants, including Mandela, were given life imprisonment sentences.
As attitudes started to change within the National Party, Mandela was freed in 1990 after 27 years and eight months behind bars.
Apartheid was finally abolished in the early 90s, and Mandela was elected President of South Africa under the new system in 1994 – South Africa’s first black chief executive. He served until 1999 but declined to run for a second term, instead focusing on his charitable foundation.
These are 77 of the most famous trials or infamous court cases in the United States and across the rest of the world. We have done our best to give you a cross-section of trials throughout history.
Types of Court Cases
No two trials are the same, and all different types of court cases can grip public attention. These include:
- Murder trials: Many of the cases on our long list involve high-profile killings.
- Serial killer trials: Very much an extension of the murder trial category, some cases involve bringing serial killers to justice. Few cases inspire the same fascination and dread as those of serial killers.
- Acts of terrorism: Naturally, whenever an act of domestic or international terrorism occurs, the public is desperate to see those responsible brought to justice.
- Celebrity trials: People are fascinated with celebrities, even when they are not doing anything interesting. If they are involved in a crime or scandal, it is guaranteed to be major news.
- Civil rights: Some of the trials on this list involved major civil rights issues, with the decisions helping to shape the future.
- Family law trials: At least one of the cases on this list is a groundbreaking custody hearing that helps to set later precedents.
- Other criminal cases: Not all criminal trials involve murder. High-profile trials may also revolve around other crimes, such as rape and abuse.
This is just a snapshot of the types of trials and court cases included on our list. This article also features a glossary of trial terms to ensure you are fully informed while searching for information on interesting court cases and famous trials.
What Does Trial of the Century Mean?
Many top trials are referred to as ‘The Trial of the Century,’ but what does that mean?
Calling a case the trial of the century may once have been taken literally. But that is no longer its proper use. It does not mean that one single trial is the greatest or most attention-grabbing.
There are plenty of significant trials every year. These things are subjective, and there is no way to measure how sensational or impactful a trial is.
Instead, the term Trial of the Century can refer to any high-profile trial that grips the public and media. It is a catch-all phrase used to describe any well-known court case.
Famous After the Fact
Not all major trials or enthralling court cases made national headlines at the time that they were happening. For every O.J. Simpson, whose trial whipped everyone into a frenzy in real-time, there is a sensational trial that flies under the radar.
If a trial involves a celebrity, it will probably be followed closely. But many cases have only to prominence after the fact, thanks to the spiking popularity of true crime documentaries and analysis on streaming platforms like Netflix and Hulu.
Netflix, in particular, has earned a reputation for producing binge-worthy true crime documentaries that capture the imagination and spark intrigue and outrage in equal measure.
Some of the most interesting cases later covered by streaming services include:
- I Love You, Now Die: The Commonwealth v. Michelle Carter (Max)
- Lorena (Amazon)
- Making a Murderer (Netflix)
- The Preppy Murder (Sundance Now)
- Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness (Netflix)
- Trial 4 (Netflix)
- American Murder: The Family Next Door (Netflix)
- Murder to Mercy: The Cyntoia Brown Story (Netflix)
- The Staircase (Netflix)
Some of the trials that made our top-77 famous trials list have also now been recounted in documentaries and drama series, including:
- Amanda Knox (Netflix)
- John Wayne Gacy: Devil in Disguise (Peacock)
- Confessions with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes (Netflix)
- Untouchable (Hulu)
And this is just a small selection of the documentaries available to us now. It does not even mention the endless supply of YouTube videos that discuss and analyze every aspect of major and minor cases.
If you are a crime or trial buff, there is a never-ending source of material out there to keep you entertained.
The Trial Process
How a trial works will depend on a number of factors. These include what country or state the trial is in, as all areas have different laws and processes.
It also depends on whether it is a criminal trial or a civil trial, and whether charges are brought by the federal government or by the state authority.
Many of the cases we have discussed involve criminal trials. In such cases, the following offers a standard timeline of events:
- Arrest: Police investigate an incident and arrest their suspect based on the evidence.
- Bail: The suspect may be granted bail, depending on the circumstances of the case.
- Charge: Charges are filed against the individual by state or federal prosecutors based on the evidence collected by police.
- Arraignment: A court hearing called an arraignment starts the trial process. At this hearing, the charges are read, and the defendant will enter a plea.
- Motions: Pre-trial motions are submitted and argued by the prosecution and defense. They might cover what evidence will be admissible in the trial.
- Jury selection: The jury is chosen from a pool of potential candidates to decide on the facts of the case.
- Trial: The trial itself takes place. First, the prosecution will make its case, followed by the defense. After both sides present their cases and closing arguments, the jury must decide on a verdict. Once the verdict is delivered, the trial is over. If a not-guilty verdict is delivered, the defendant is released. If they are found guilty, they will face sentencing.
- Sentencing: Once the verdict is delivered, the judge will decide on the punishment. A sentencing hearing is held for the court to hand down the punishment.
- Appeal: While imprisoned, the convict can file an appeal to a higher court or fight to overturn their conviction.
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Trial Terms Glossary
There are many complicated terms and phrases used to describe aspects of court cases. We have compiled the glossary below to help you get to grips with some of the lesser-known terms.
What is an Arraignment?
An arraignment is usually the first court date in a criminal case. The judge will read the charges to the defendant, along with their constitutional rights. If they cannot afford a lawyer, the court will appoint one for them at this stage.
The defendant will enter a plea – usually guilty or not guilty. The judge will then address the bail conditions and any other orders, before setting the next court date.
What is Bail?
Bail is a sum of money that defendants must pay in order to be released from custody during their trial. Once the trial is over, that sum of money is returned to the defendant if they attended all of the court dates.
It is a system designed to ensure that the defendant does not flee and observes the court’s rules. The bail amount will depend on the type of crime and the means of the defendant. Bail may not be granted if the defendant is considered to be a flight risk or a danger to others.
What is a Commuted Sentence?
A commuted sentence is when the punishment for a criminal conviction is changed. Typically, it might involve a sentence being reduced or the convict being released.
A sentence could be commuted due to good behavior, illness, old age, or if the sentence was considered to be harsh, among other reasons. It is not a pardon – the subject is still guilty. Commutation can be granted by the President (for federal charges) or a state governor (for state charges).
What is a Conviction?
In terms of a trial, a conviction is the judgment of a criminal defendant’s guilt. It is the act of formally declaring that the defendant is guilty.
What is Cross-examination?
Cross-examination is the process of a witness being questioned by the opposing legal team. During a trial, witnesses will take the stand. Once they have provided their testimony, the opposing legal team has an opportunity to ask them questions, expose inconsistencies, and potentially discredit their testimony.
What are Damages?
Damages are monetary awards made by the court to a person harmed by negligence. For example, a court could order a reckless driver to pay a crash victim’s damages. Actual damages and punitive damages are usually only awarded in civil cases, not criminal cases.
What is the Defense at a Trial?
The defense is the term used for the legal team representing the defendant at trial. It can also be used to describe the legal strategy used by the defendant in court.
What is a Deposition?
A deposition is a witness statement that is taken and recorded before a trial starts. The person will make a statement under oath, often at an attorney’s office. It allows both sides to establish facts and strategies before the trial begins. The statements can then be used during trial proceedings.
What is Discovery in a Trial?
Discovery is the process of gathering evidence prior to and sometimes during a trial. Specifically, it involves the exchange of evidence between the prosecution and defense teams. The two sides have an obligation to provide non-privileged material, such as witness lists.
What is the Court Docket?
The docket is a record featuring all of the cases that are due to be heard in a specific court. Even if they are delayed or continued, the case will remain on the docket.
What is a Grand Jury?
A grand jury is a group of citizens assembled to examine potential criminal conduct and decide whether there is enough evidence to charge an individual and go to trial. Unlike trial juries, a grand jury does not decide if a party is guilty. They only determine if a case should move to trial.
The grand jury is instructed by prosecutors, and the discussions are held in secret. If the grand jury finds enough evidence, it can issue an indictment. At this point, the individual will be charged with a crime by prosecutors.
What is Habeus Corpus?
Habeus Corpus, also known as the Great Writ, is a constitutional right that prevents people from being illegally imprisoned. It has nothing to do with whether the person is guilty or innocent, only that the sentence is unlawful.
Habeus Corpus can be used as a legal remedy to challenge the legality of imprisonment. For example, if a conviction is based on illegally obtained evidence, the prisoner might be released based on Habeus Corpus.
What is a Hung Jury?
A hung jury is a jury in a trial that cannot reach a verdict. In most criminal trials, a jury is required to come to a unanimous verdict. The voting margins might be different in some states and in civil trials.
If the jury cannot come to an agreement, there is no conviction or acquittal. It will usually result in a mistrial. At this point, the prosecution can choose to start a new trial or to drop the charges.
What is an Insanity Plea?
An insanity plea is a type of defense in a criminal case. It means that the defendant admits committing the crime, but their level of responsibility is lessened due to mental illness.
A successful insanity plea might mean that the defendant is confined in a mental health facility, rather than a prison. Sentences in these cases often have an unspecified length, so the person may end up imprisoned for longer.
What is Incarceration?
Incarceration is when a person is imprisoned. In terms of a criminal trial, a person would be incarcerated (put in prison) after being convicted and sentenced. They may also be held in custody in a jail while their trial is ongoing.
What Does it Mean to be Indicted?
An indictment is a formal accusation of a crime. It is usually issued by a grand jury after an investigation of the facts of a case. If the grand jury believes there is probable cause to file charges, the person suspected of committing the crime can then be indicted. This usually means that they are charged and will face a trial.
What is a Jury?
A jury is selected to decide on the facts of a case during trial. Taking part in jury service is a civic duty. Ordinary citizens are called up to serve, and the prosecution and defense decide who will form a particular jury through a selection process at the start of a trial. A jury usually consists of 12 people, often with two alternates.
What is a Mistrial?
A mistrial occurs when the trial process cannot be completed. There are several reasons why this could happen. If the jury cannot make a decision, it will likely lead to a mistrial and a new trial.
A mistrial could also be declared if there is a procedural error or an instance of misconduct that makes it impossible to complete the trial fairly. Mistrials can occur in criminal and civil cases.
What is a Motion?
A motion is an application made to the court. It can be made by either the defense or the prosecution, and essentially asks the judge to issue a decision or ruling. Typically, when one side files a motion, the opposing legal team will have the chance to issue a response in writing. The judge can weigh up the arguments before issuing a ruling.
What is an Objection in a Trial?
An objection is raised in a trial when the defense or the prosecution believes that the opposition has violated a rule of procedure. For example, either a defense or prosecution attorney could object if they believe the other side’s question, evidence, witness, or testimony should not be allowed.
The objecting lawyer will say “objection” and state why they believe it should not be allowed. The judge will say “sustained” or “overruled,” depending on whether they consider the objection to be valid.
What is a Plea?
Within a trial setting, a plea is the defendant’s response to the charges against them. When the charges are read at the beginning of the trial, the defendant will enter a plea. The most common options are guilty, not-guilty, or no contest. A defendant might also enter into a plea bargain.
This is when the defense and the prosecution negotiate the charges and potential punishment before or during a trial. For example, the defense might agree to plead guilty in exchange for a lighter sentence.
What is the Prosecution?
The prosecution is the case brought against a defendant and is the name given to the legal team presenting the case. The prosecution case is brought by state or federal prosecutors.
What Does it Mean to be Sequestered?
When a jury is sequestered, it means it is isolated. The jurors are housed together at a hotel and are not allowed to contact anyone outside of the court for the duration of the trial.
It is a rare action to guard against potential tampering and press coverage biasing the jury. This step is usually reserved for high-profile criminal trials that might be subject to intense media scrutiny.
What is a Subpoena?
A subpoena is a court order that requires a person to provide evidence at trial. It is presented as a formal written order that forces the subject to take part in legal proceedings by law.
For example, you could subpoena a potential witness to compel them to provide documents or evidence for a trial. A subpoena is a legal order. If you ignore it, you could face court punishments.
