POLS 318 - Great Trials in America

Unit(s): 4

This course is an examination of a number of the most famous trials in America, focusing on the legal significance, historical and political context, social implications, and media coverage surrounding each case. These trials show how courtrooms cope with unresolved community anxieties and how they make legal decisions that change the way Americans think about themselves. How do such trials mushroom into major public dramas with fundamental ideas at stake? At what point does overexposure undermine a trial’s role as a legal proceeding? Course materials will include selected readings from texts and from actual trial transcripts, together with a series of videos providing extensive archival footage of the specific trials studied. Class sessions will include discussions of the facts of each case, the manner and impact of the media coverage, and the social, political, and legal consequences of the trial.

College of Arts and Sciences