The United States has been home to numerous famous and influential court cases through the years. Our legal system has set precedents that not only continue to influence our laws and court cases, but those of countries around the world. What then are some our most famous court cases? Which of our cases attracted attention either because of the precedent they set or because they became media circuses? Here are some of the most famous cases and trials in United States History.
Amistad Trials (1839 - 1840)
Since Steven Spielberg made a movie about it it's fair to assume that most people are at least passingly familiar with the case. For those that aren't familiar, the Amistad Trials center around a Spanish schooner, the eponymous Amistad, that was carrying slaves from Havana to Puerto Principe in Cuba when the slaves revolted and killed nearly all of the crew.
Eventually the boat was stopped by an American ship near Long Island after the two remaining crew members took the ship up the US coast instead of returning the slaves to Africa as they had wanted. This led to not one but two trials regarding the status of the revolting Africans.
After two trials, including one in the Supreme Court, it was determined that since the ship was Spanish in origin and since the slaves were kidnapped form Africa and not plantation-born as had been claimed (it was illegal to import slaves to the US from Africa at the time), that they were to be set free and returned to Africa as the US had no jurisdiction over them or the ship itself.
Impeachment Trial of Andrew Johnson (1868)
Johnson became president after the assassination of Lincoln with many in Congress who opposed Lincoln hoping he would represent a change in policy, especially in regards to the South. Within three years they would come within one vote of removing him from office.
Years of contentious relations between Johnson and Congress, including vetoes, the overturning of vetoes, and the suspending of Cabinet members, led the House to impeach Johnson by a vote of 126 to 47, citing the Tenure of Office Act, and Johnson's perceived violations of it, as the main cause.
Over the coming months both the Senate and President's legal representatives would debate the case, with the vote finally coming on May 16, 1868. By one vote, cast by Senator Edmund Ross, was Johnson spared being removed from office. Less than a year later Johnson would be replaced by Ulysses S Grant in an election. The fact that he was impeached mere months before he could have been removed from office by the people without legal action was not lost on some members of Congress.
Will Fitzcairn has a long interest in the law and attorneys, including Richmond business attorneys and Richmond divorce attorneys. To learn more about these types of law and others, visit Meyer, Goergen & Marrs at: MGM-Law.com.
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