History on Trial

In 1881, the Earp brothers and Doc Holliday faced the Clantons and the McLaurys in the Old West's most famous showdown: the gunfight at the O.K. Corral. When the smoke cleared, three men lay dead. Some called it Western justice. But would Western justice suffice as a defense when one of the survivors took the Earps and Holliday to trial for murder?

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It's 1900, and Roland Molineux's murder trial is coming to a close. The prosecution has used some unorthodox methods to prove their case. Will their tactics secure them a conviction? Or will the defense manage to argue their way out? What happens next will create a precedent that still matters today. 

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In 1898, two fatal poisonings horrified New Yorkers. When it emerged that both victims were connected to one person, a wealthy young chemist named Roland Molineux, the police thought they had their man. But proving their suspicions was easier said than done, and convicting Molineux would require creativity on the part of the police and the district attorney. Would their legal tricks succeed...or get their case thrown out?

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In 1859, Abraham Lincoln walked into a courtroom in Springfield, Illinois, ready to defend his client. No one knew it then, but this would be Lincoln's last murder trial; fourteen months later, he would be elected president. Lincoln's defense of 22-year-old Quinn Harrison, accused of killing another young man in a fight, highlights the future president's brilliance. But would Lincoln's legal skills be enough to free Quinn Harrison?

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In 1638, four English indentured servants attacked and robbed Penowanyanquis, a member of the Nipmuc tribe. Once the killers were caught, colonial authorities decided to put the men on trial. The case seemed clear enough. But with tensions rising between colonists and indigenous peoples, not to mention a makeshift court system, could the Plymouth colonists find a path to justice and prevent further violence?

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In 1919, the murder of three Chinese diplomats stunned Washington, D.C. When a young Chinese man, Ziang Sung Wan, confessed to the crime, it seemed like an open and shut case. But at the trial, Wan's lawyers would claim that police had coerced Wan into confessing. What happened next would change the nature of police work and the rights of suspects, forever.

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In 1918, teenager Nina McCall was detained, forcibly examined for an STI, and then imprisoned in a hospital for three months. Nina's story is horrifying, but it is not unique: throughout the 20th century, thousands of women endured similar ordeals, all thanks to an STI prevention program known as "The American Plan." Like many other women, Nina fought back, suing the officials responsible for her treatment. Could her lawsuit stop the Plan -- or at least get her justice?

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In 1842, three Navy men plotted to seize control of the USS Somers and turn it into a pirate ship. When the Somers' captain, Commander Alexander Slidell Mackenzie, learned of the plot, he had the three men executed. But when the Somers arrived back in America, questions started to emerge. Were the executions justified? Was the mutiny plot even real? These questions would be explored at the commander's 1843 court-martial.

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In 1972, a grizzly bear killed twenty-five year old Harry Walker in Yellowstone National Park. His family thought it was a tragic, random death. But the Walkers soon learned that Harry's death was part of a larger conversation about how to manage bears in national parks. Could suing the National Park Service for Harry's death change policies and save lives -- both human and bear?

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In 1934, a custody battle between members of one of America's wealthiest families proved that money truly can't buy happiness. At the case's heart was Gloria Vanderbilt, dubbed "Poor Little Rich Girl" by the press. Her mother, Gloria, and her aunt, Gertrude, both claimed that they just wanted what was best for the girl. But was a courtroom the best place to decide little Gloria's future?

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In 1933, a populist uprising in Jackson County, Oregon, threatened to overthrow the county government. The escalating violence reached its peak when one of the group's leaders, Llewellyn Banks, shot a police officer who had come to arrest him for election interference. Would Banks's murder trial extinguish the burning ember of insurrection in Jackson County…or fan the flames into an inferno? 

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In 1924, the kidnapping and murder of 14-year-old Bobby Franks horrified the country, especially when the killers were revealed to be two wealthy teenagers, Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb. Everyone expected Leopold & Loeb to hang. But would the arrival of one of America's most famous defense lawyers, Clarence Darrow, change the outcome?

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In 1949, Iva Toguri D'Aquino's treason trial began. The defendant was accused of collaborating with the Japanese during World War II by working as the legendary propaganda radio host "Tokyo Rose." Iva was confident that a trial would reveal the truth and exonerate her. But what would happen when it became clear that the prosecution wasn't interested in playing by the rules...or following the law?

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In 1945, American journalists in Japan scrambled to identify the legendary "Tokyo Rose," an English-speaking, female broadcaster who had performed in Japanese propaganda radio broadcasts during the war. One woman who seemed to fit the bill was Iva Toguri D'Aquino, an American citizen who worked on the famous radio program "Zero Hour." How had Iva become Tokyo Rose? And were her actions treasonous? This is part one of a two part series.

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In 1874, the father of motion pictures stood trial for murder. Most people know Eadweard Muybridge as a pioneering photographer and inventor whose work sparked the birth of movies. But Muybridge had a dark side: he was once accused on murdering his wife's lover. Would a Western jury, comfortable with the idea of taking justice into one's own hands, let Muybridge get away with it?

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In 1970, FBI director J. Edgar Hoover stunned Congress when he announced that anti-war activists planned to kidnap Henry Kissinger and bomb Washington, D.C. But when the Justice Department pursued these activists, a group that came to be known as the Harrisburg Seven, on conspiracy charges, shocking revelations about the FBI's main witness made many wonder if the plot had ever been real to begin with...

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In 1911, a devastating fire raged through the Triangle Waist Company, killing 146. It was one of the worst workplace disasters in American history. Many people blamed the factory's owners, Max Blanck and Isaac Harris, and wanted them to pay. But at Blanck and Harris's manslaughter trial, a shrewd defense attorney and weak worker protection laws ensured that the prosecutors were in for the fight of their life...

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In 1957, California declared war on a tabloid magazine. Confidential Magazine was the most powerful gossip magazine in the country, with millions of readers and the ability to make or break stars' careers. Movie studios hated the magazine and politicians worried that it was ruining the country's morals. When California charged Confidential with publishing libel and obscenity, many cheered. But others worried about what this case meant for free speech...

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In 1881, President James Garfield was assassinated by a man named Charles Guiteau. The American public, understandably, wanted vengeance. But as the government began to prepare for Guiteau’s trial, a problem emerged: Guiteau, some experts believed, was insane, and might not have been responsible for his actions. Could justice be achieved in a case like this? Guiteau's dramatic trial put that question to the test...

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In 1835, Washington D.C. was a city on edge: tensions over race and slavery were nearing a boiling point. District Attorney Francis Scott Key (author of the national anthem!) was tasked with maintaining order in the city. But when Key charged a man named Reuben Crandall with distributing anti-slavery pamphlets, he unwittingly set off an explosive chain of events...

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