Index

Famous Trials Index
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bannerAmistad.jpg
"The Court Scene" from the Amistad. Murals by Hale Woodruff (1939) (Talladega College)
bannersocrates.jpg
"The Death of Socrates" (painting by Jacques Louis David, 1787).
bannerscope.jpg
Clarence Darrow questions William Jennings Bryan during the Scopes Trial (1925).
bannerNurember.jpg
Hermann Goering testifies in the Major War Criminals Trial in Nuremberg (1946).
bannersalem.jpg
Examination of a Witch" by Thompkins Matteson, 1853. (Suspect being examined for "witch's marks"
in Salem in 1692.)
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Trial of Socrates (399 B.C.)

Trial of Socrates (399 B.C.)

Gaius Verres Trial (70 B.C.)

Gaius Verres Trial (70 B.C.)

Trial of Jesus (30 A. D.)

Trial of Jesus
(30 A. D.)

Medieval Trials (897 to 1386)

Medieval Trials
(897 to 1386)

Trial of Joan of Arc (1431)

Trial of Joan of Arc (1431)

Trial of Gilles de Rais (1440)

Trial of Gilles de Rais (1440)

Martin Luther Trial (1521)

Martin Luther Trial (1521)

Thomas More Trial (1535)

Thomas More Trial (1535)

Trials of Giordano Bruno (1592-1600)

Trials of Giordano Bruno (1592-1600)

Gunpowder Plot Trial (1606)

Gunpowder Plot Trial (1606)

Trial of Galileo (1633)

Trial of Galileo (1633)

Trial of Anne Hutchinson (1637)

Trial of Anne Hutchinson (1637)

Mary Dyer Trials (1659-60)

Mary Dyer Trials (1659-60)

Salem Witchcraft Trials (1692)

Salem Witchcraft Trials (1692)

John Peter Zenger Trial (1735)

John Peter Zenger Trial (1735)

"New York Plot" Trials (1741)

"New York Plot" Trials (1741)

Boston Massacre Trials (1770)

Boston Massacre Trials (1770)

Mutiny on the Bounty Court-Martial (1792)

Mutiny on the Bounty Court-Martial (1792)

Burr Conspiracy Trial (1807)

Burr Conspiracy Trial (1807)

Turner (Slave Revolt) Trials (1831)

Turner (Slave Revolt) Trials (1831)

Amistad Trials (1839-1840)

Amistad Trials (1839-1840)

Carthage (Joseph Smith Murder)  Trial (1845)

Carthage (Joseph Smith Murder) Trial (1845)

The Dred Scott Trials  (1847-1856)

The Dred Scott Trials (1847-1856)

Burns Trial (1854)

Burns Trial (1854)

Celia, A Slave Trial (1855)

Celia, A Slave Trial (1855)

John Brown Trial (1859)

John Brown Trial (1859)

Dakota Conflict Trials (1862)

Dakota Conflict Trials (1862)

Lincoln Conspiracy Trial (1865)

Lincoln Conspiracy Trial (1865)

Andersonville Prison Trial (1865)

Andersonville Prison Trial (1865)

Johnson Impeachment (1868)

Johnson Impeachment (1868)

Susan Anthony Trial (1873)

Susan Anthony Trial (1873)

Mountain Meadows Massacre (1875-76)

Mountain Meadows Massacre (1875-76)

Molly Maguire Trials (1876-77)

Molly Maguire Trials (1876-77)

Earp (O.K. Corral) Trial (1881)

Earp (O.K. Corral) Trial (1881)

Charles Guiteau Trial (1881-82)

Charles Guiteau Trial (1881-82)

Louis Riel Trial (1885)

Louis Riel Trial (1885)

Haymarket Trial (1886)

Haymarket Trial (1886)

Lizzie Borden Trial (1893)

Lizzie Borden Trial (1893)

Dreyfus Affair Court-Martial (1894)

Dreyfus Affair Court-Martial (1894)

Three Trials of Oscar Wilde (1895)

Three Trials of Oscar Wilde (1895)

Bill Haywood Trial (1907)

Bill Haywood Trial (1907)

Thaw (White Murder) Trials (1907-08)

Thaw (White Murder) Trials (1907-08)

Sheriff Shipp Trial (1907-09)

Sheriff Shipp Trial (1907-09)

Triangle Fire Trial (1911)

Triangle Fire Trial (1911)

Leo Frank Trial (1913)

Leo Frank Trial (1913)

Sacco-Vanzetti Trial (1921)

Sacco-Vanzetti Trial (1921)

Black Sox Trial (1921)

Black Sox Trial (1921)

Adolf Hitler (Putsch) Trial (1924)

Adolf Hitler (Putsch) Trial (1924)

Leopold and Loeb Trial (1924)

Leopold and Loeb Trial (1924)

D. C. Stephenson Trial (1924)

D. C. Stephenson Trial (1924)

Scopes "Monkey" Trial (1925)

Scopes "Monkey" Trial (1925)

Sweet Trials (1925 & 1926)

Sweet Trials (1925 & 1926)

Osage Murder Trials (1926-29)

Osage Murder Trials (1926-29)

Al Capone Trial (1931)

Al Capone Trial (1931)

Massie Trials (1931 & 1932)

Massie Trials (1931 & 1932)

"Scottsboro Boys" Trials (1931-1937)

"Scottsboro Boys" Trials (1931-1937)

The Ulysses Trials (1933)

The Ulysses Trials (1933)

Hauptmann (Lindbergh) Trial (1935)

Hauptmann (Lindbergh) Trial (1935)

Trial of the Nazi Saboteurs (1942)

Trial of the Nazi Saboteurs (1942)

Korematsu Trial (1942-1944)

Korematsu Trial (1942-1944)

Nuremberg Trials (1945-49)

Nuremberg Trials (1945-49)

Tokyo War Crimes Trial (1946-48)

Tokyo War Crimes Trial (1946-48)

Alger Hiss Trials (1949-50)

Alger Hiss Trials (1949-50)

Brown v Topeka Board of Ed. (1951)

Brown v Topeka Board of Ed. (1951)

Rosenberg  Trial (1951)

Rosenberg Trial (1951)

Oppenheimer Security Hearing (1954)

Oppenheimer Security Hearing (1954)

Sam Sheppard Trials (1954 & 66)

Sam Sheppard Trials (1954 & 66)

Emmett Till Murder Trial (1955)

Emmett Till Murder Trial (1955)

Confidential Magazine Trial (1957)

Confidential Magazine Trial (1957)

Nelson Mandela Trial  (1963-64)

Nelson Mandela Trial (1963-64)

Lenny Bruce Trial (1964)

Lenny Bruce Trial (1964)

Mississippi Burning Trial (1967)

Mississippi Burning Trial (1967)

"The Chicago Eight" Trial (1969 - 1970)

"The Chicago Eight" Trial (1969 - 1970)

My Lai Courts Martial (1970)

My Lai Courts Martial (1970)

Charles Manson Trial (1970-71)

Charles Manson Trial (1970-71)

Pentagon Papers (Ellsberg) Trial (1973)

Pentagon Papers (Ellsberg) Trial (1973)

Patty Hearst Trial (1976)

Patty Hearst Trial (1976)

Leonard Peltier Trial (1977)

Leonard Peltier Trial (1977)

Dan White Trial (1979)

Dan White Trial (1979)

Chamberlain "Dingo" Trial (1982)

Chamberlain "Dingo" Trial (1982)

John Hinckley, Jr. Trial (1982)

John Hinckley, Jr. Trial (1982)

Falwell v Flynt Trial (1984)

Falwell v Flynt Trial (1984)

Bernhard Goetz Trial (1987)

Bernhard Goetz Trial (1987)

McMartin Preschool Trial (1987-90)

McMartin Preschool Trial (1987-90)

LAPD (King Beating) Trial (1992)

LAPD (King Beating) Trial (1992)

Ruby Ridge (Weaver) Trial (1993)

Ruby Ridge (Weaver) Trial (1993)

West Memphis Three Trials (1994)

West Memphis Three Trials (1994)

O. J. Simpson Trial (1995)

O. J. Simpson Trial (1995)

Okla City Bombing Trial (1997)

Okla City Bombing Trial (1997)

Dr. Kevorkian Trial (1999)

Dr. Kevorkian Trial (1999)

Clinton Impeachment  Trial (1999)

Clinton Impeachment Trial (1999)

Laramie (Shepard Murder)  Trials (1999)

Laramie (Shepard Murder) Trials (1999)

Moussaoui (9/11) Trial (2006)

Moussaoui (9/11) Trial (2006)

Enron (Lay & Skilling) Trial (2006)

Enron (Lay & Skilling) Trial (2006)

Trial of Amanda Knox (2009)

Trial of Amanda Knox (2009)

Breivik (Norway Massacre) Trial (2012)

Breivik (Norway Massacre) Trial (2012)

Zimmerman (Trayvon Martin) Trial 2013

Zimmerman (Trayvon Martin) Trial 2013

Animal Rights Trials (2013-19)

Animal Rights Trials (2013-19)

George Floyd Murder (Chauvin) Trial (2021)

George Floyd Murder (Chauvin) Trial (2021)

Trump (Hush Money) Trial (2024)

Trump (Hush Money) Trial (2024)

Arrest of Thomas More

Source: Documents Illustrative of English Church History, edited by Henry Gee and William John Hardy (London: Macmillan, 1914).

1. THE OATH
MORE WAS ARRESTED FOR REFUSING TO TAKE THIS OATH IN APRIL 1534.

....And at the day of the last prorogation of this present Parliament, as well the nobles spiritual and temporal as other the Commons of this present Parliament, most lovingly accepted and took such oath as then was devised in writing for maintenance and defence of the said Act, and meant and intended at that time that every other the king's subjects should be bound to accept and take the same, upon the pains contained in the said Act, the tenor of which oath hereafter ensueth:

'Ye shall swear to bear faith, truth, and obedience alonely to the king's majesty, and to his heirs of his body of his most dear and entirely beloved lawful wife Queen Anne, begotten and to be begotten, and further to the heirs of our said sovereign lord according to the limitation in the statute made for surety of his succession in the crown of this realm, mentioned and contained, and not to any other within this realm, for foreign authority or potentate: and in case any oath be made, or has been made, by you, to any person or persons, that then ye [are] to repute the same as vain and annihilate; and that, to your cunning, wit, and uttermost of your power, without guile, fraud, or other undue means, you shall observe, keep, maintain, and defend the said Act of Accession, and all the whole effects and contents thereof, and all other Acts and statutes made in confirmation, or for the execution of the same, or of anything therein contained; and this ye shall do against all manner of persons, of what estate, dignity, degree, or condition soever they be, and in no wise do or attempt, nor to your power suffer to be done or attempted, directly or indirectly, any thing or things privily or apartly to the let, hindrance, damage, or derogation thereof, or of any part of the same, by any manner of means, or for any manner of pretence; so help you God, all saints, and the holy Evangelists.'

And forasmuch as it is convenient for the sure maintenance and defence of the same Act that the said oath should not only be authorized by authority of Parliament, but also be interpreted and expounded by the whole assent of this present Parliament, that is was meant and intended by the king's majesty, the Lords and Commons of the Parliament, at the said day of the said last prorogation, that every subject should be bounden to take the same oath, according to the tenor and effect thereof, upon the pains and penalties contained in the said Act....

2. THE TREASON ACT
MORE WAS TRIED AND EXECUTED FOR VIOLATING THIS ACT IN JULY 1535.

Be it therefore enacted by the assent and consent of our sovereign lord the king, and the Lords spiritual and temporal, and Commons in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, that if any person or persons, after the first day of February next coming, do maliciously wish, will or desire, by words or writing, or by craft imagine, invent, practise, or attempt any bodily harm to be done or committed to the king's most royal person, the queen's, or their heirs apparent, or to deprive them or any of them of their dignity, title, or name of their royal estates, or slanderously and maliciously publish and pronounce, by express writing or words, that the king our sovereign lord should be heretic, schismatic, tyrant, infidel or usurper of the crown, or rebelliously do detain, keep, or withhold from our said sovereign lord, his heirs or successors, any of his or their castles, fortresses, fortalices, or holds within this realm, or in any other the king's dominions or marches, or rebelliously detain, keep, or withhold from the king's said highness, his heirs or successors, any of his or their ships, ordnances, artillery, or other munitions or fortifications of war, and do not humbly render and give up to our said sovereign lord, his heirs or successors, or to such persons as shall be deputed by them, such castles, fortresses, fortalices, holds, ships, ordnances, artillery, and other munitions and fortifications of war, rebelliously kept or detained, within six days next after they shall be commanded by our said sovereign lord, his heirs or successors, by open proclamation under the great seal:

That then every such person and persons so offending in any the premises, after the said first day of February, their aiders, counsellors, consenters, and abettors, being thereof lawfully convicted according to the laws and customs of this realm, shall be adjudged traitors, and that every such offence in any the premises, that shall be committed or done after the said first day of February, shall be reputed, accepted, and adjudged high treason, and the offenders therein and their aiders, consenters, counsellors, and abettors, being lawfully convicted of any such offence as is aforesaid, shall have and suffer such pains of death and other penalties, as is limited and accustomed in cases of high treason.