Described by the criminal defence attorney F. Lee Bailey as “a traditional bit of American hyperbole, like calling a circus ‘The Greatest Show on Earth’”, ‘trial of the century’ is a term that’s been deployed so indiscriminately over the years as to be rendered almost meaningless. And yet, its use in the (typically American) press since the 19th century often gives us a sense of broader cultural resonance.
If a court case attracts enough attention, defendants can quickly come to embody something bigger than themselves, to the extent that the court can be transformed into an ideological battlefield. This tends to happen when a trial is the subject of unusually intense public scrutiny via sensational media coverage. In such circumstances, a court case might become a ‘circus’, enflamed by hyperbolic coverage, speculation, ill-informed vilification or veneration, and seesawing public opinion.
The rhetorical notion of the ‘trial of the century’ has emerged from such febrile coverage. Trials have always played a significant part in defining historical narratives and so-called ‘trial of the century’ court cases often tell us as much about the socio-political circumstances and agendas that framed them as they do about the procedural specifics that transpired in the courtroom.
