TOPICS FOR SEMINAR PRESENTATIONS
POPULAR TRIALS- FALL, 2015
Instructions- Students are required to select one seminar in which they
will briefly summarize one of the readings and/or reply to questions
assigned in advance and ask a question about the readings to be
discussed by the class. I will evaluate these seminars based upon the
clarity of presentation, the degree to which the student demonstrates
comprehension of the material, and the ability to generate class
discussion. Please indicate your first, second, and third choices by
September 21 in writing or by e-mail. I will assign seminars in order of
when you inform me of your choices. There will be a maximum of four
students per class leading seminars. You can work in groups as long as
every member of the group participates in the preparation and
presentation to the class. Please do not read your presentation or read
from your power point if you use power point- speak your presentation
instead. Thank you.
September 22- Popular Trials- Procedural and Substantive Justice:
legal and substantive rationalityOne of the main challenges in the trials of Robert Latimer was to
translate the arguments of the prosecution and the defense into law.
Take any one of the following trials included in the Famous Trial
website- West Memphis Three, My Lai, Leonard Peltier Trial, identify
the main points made by the defense and the prosecution and discuss
any problems that each or both sides encountered in getting their
arguments to be heard. You should read the summary of the trial
provided by Professor Doug Linder as well as the main excerpts taken
from the statements of the defense and the prosecution.
September 29- Popular trials and popular cultureWatch an excerpt from Judge Judy or Judge Joe Brown or People’s
Court as an example of ‘reality’ TV. Does the excerpt tell a story? Does
the court achieve a just result? If so, explain. If not, explain. Any
thoughts about how what popular presentations of court on reality TV
differ from actual trials? Any thoughts on how what is shown differs
from Canadian court room interaction?
October 6
Topic for discussion- Go to the Famous Trials pagehttp://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/ftrials.htm
Familiarize yourself with two of the trials listed on the page- the
Amistad Trials and the Haymarket Trials. Read Linder’s accounts of
the trials and the sections on procedure in both trials.
Questions- 1-Were these partisan trials or political trials within the rule
of law? Using the reading by Christenson, give reasons for your
conclusions.
2- What are some similarities and differences between these two trials?
October 13 – Popular Trials- Legal Discourse, Narrative, and Social
RepresentationQuestion- How successful were any or all of the following in getting
their narrative recognized by the court? Nelson Mandela, Robert
Latimer, Socrates. Read the accounts of the trials of Nelson Mandela
and Socrates on the Famous Trials website. Use the reading by
Milovanovic in answering this question.
October 20- Scottsboro TrialsTopic for discussion- Go to the Famous Trials page- “Scottsboro Boys
Trial” – read account and biographies of witnesses, accused, defense
lawyer, and judges.
Question- How did stereotypes about any or all of the followingethnicity, gender, ‘race’, class, religion, geographic region - affect the
outcomes of this trial?
October 27- Popular Trials as DramaturgyQuestion: “It’s not truth that determines the outcome of a trial- but
whomever tells the best story- the story that is most plausible to judge of
jury.” Relate this proposition to the readings for this class- and then
give reasons to support, qualify, or challenge this proposition using the
readings for the course.
Did the Chicago 7 succeed in getting their narrative recognized by the
court or the larger community? Give reasons for your conclusions. Go
to famous trials website for trial of Chicago 7, read Linder’s account
and listen to the audios of the trial included on the website.
November 3- Moral performance at trial- Showing RemorseShould courts reduce sentences for defendants who show remorse or
should they not include remorse as a factor in sentencing? Give reasons
for what whichever position you take using readings for this seminar as
well as any of the trials we have so far considered.
November 10- Popular trials- Narrative, social representation, and the
mediaGo to famous trials website for Los Angeles Police Officers’ Trial- 1992read account and, if you can, watch film clip from George Hollidayincluded on website.
Questions- How are police officers and Rodney King represented at trial?
How would you explain the gap between public perception of what
occurred and how the jury saw the evidence?
Or Using Sarat’s article, discuss how violence is put into legal discourse
in this trial.
Or compare LAPD trial with trial of George Zimmerman in terms of
how racialization affected the representation of accused and victim. Use
segments from footage of either closing statement of defense or
prosecution. Some linkshttp://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/zimmerman/Zimmerman.h
tml
Or compare with trial of Bernard Goetz- see Famous Trials websiteNovember 17- Long Night’s Journey into DayQuestion- Read my article entitled “Showing Remorse at the TRC..” –
it will be on my website- What are the differences between approach
used in South Africa to deal with crimes against humanity and a judicial
approach- What are the advantages and disadvantages of these two
approaches- give reasons for your opinions-
November 24- Grand TheoryQuestion- Use the perspective of Marx and Durkheim to explain the
prosecution and outcome of any one of the following trial(s)- that of
Latimer, Louis Riel, Paul Bernardo/Karla Homolka, or trial of Chicago
7- which perspective is more helpful and why?