A lawyer colleague recently questioned the legitimacy of legal history establishing the 1925 Scopes Trial in Dayton, Tennessee as the “Trial of the Century” when compared to the double murder acquittal of University of Southern California (USC) and Buffalo Bills football player, and movie star, O.J. Simpson (1995).
The similarities and differences are many, and the following are just a few:
1) The Scopes Trial issue was about the constitutionality of a law banning the teaching of evolution in the public schools of Tennessee.
2) The O.J. Simpson trial was about the accusation that the defendant murdered his ex wife and a male restaurant waiter in a fit of rage.
3) The Scopes Trial allegedly lasted 12 days, but in reality, the prosecution proof before the jury consisted of four short witnesses (two students, Walter White, superintendent of schools, and Fred Robinson, school board chairman, who testified that Scopes had briefly taught the subject of evolution in violation of the anti evolution bill enacted in March 1925) by the Tennessee legislature and signed by Governor Austin Peay.
4) The O.J. Simpson trial took several months to conclude with the prosecution presenting 58 witnesses and the defense 53.
5) A multitude of lawyers were involved in Scopes that included Clarence Darrow for the defense, and William Jennings Bryan for the prosecution, plus local attorneys Sue Hicks and his brother, also Ben McKenzie, Tom Stewart, John Neal of Knoxville and others
6) In Simpson, his civil lawyer, Robert Shapiro, brought in Johnny Cochran and veteran, nationally known criminal defense lawyer, F. Lee Bailey, Robert Kardashian, Peter Neofeld as part of their team defensing their celebrity client.
7) In Scopes, WGN radio station in Chicago was granted the privilege of broadcasting live from Dayton with a portion of the trial each day. It was the first over air case to be heard both nationally and worldwide on AM stations.
8) California law allowed live television coverage of trials, and Court TV and Cable News Network (CNN) used a single camera pool to attend every moment of the lengthy Simpson trial, from the preliminary hearing to the verdict.
9) The jury in Scopes was comprised of entirely all white males, whereas in Simpson, the 12 person jury consisted of eight blacks, one white, two Hispanics and one half American Indian and half white. Eight of the panel were women, and 12 alternates were also chosen. The composition of the jury changed considerably during the long trial, as many jurors were excused by the court for a variety of reasons.
10) Several of the attorneys for both sides would be cited and fined for improper conduct ranging in amounts from $100 to $750 by the judge.
The above paragraphs are just a few examples of the highlights in both Scopes and Simpson. A 628 page publication titled “American Trials of the 20th Century”, by Edward W Knapman (1994- New England publishing Associates Inc.) lists excerpts from 145 courtroom dramas from 1901 to 1995. The Scopes and Simpson cases are prominently featured and both are leading candidates for the title of “Trial of the Century” in 2025.
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