Landmark Criminal Trials

This two point seminar will concentrate on landmark criminal trials, both here and abroad.
The primary trials studied with be (1) the Bernard Goetz trial in New York, based on the instructor’s book A Crime of Self-Defense, (2) The OJ Simpson Case in Loa Angeles, for which there is abundant materials, including the instructor’s interview with the prosecutor Marcia Clark available on Youtube, (3) The Eichmann Trial in Jerusalem, for which there is abundant materials, the best sources being Hannah Arendt's article in the New Yorker, The Banality of Evil. There are also several movies and TV versions of the Israeli kidnapping and trial, including most recently Operation Finale.
The readings will focus on the instructor’s publications on the subject.
Students will be expected to make a short presentation on some other notable trials. There are innumerable other topics for students to explore in their papers and seminar presentations. These range from the Nuremberg Trials, to the IMFTE in Japan, to the issues raise by the Me-Too movement.