Political Trials in History

Book excerpt: Prepared in dictionary format, this volume reexamines the uses of political trials. Through the conduct and context of key trials throughout history, the reader is made to understand an aspect of public life too easily misconstrued, although never neglected: the political side of litigation. Most of the trials in this volume were significant enough to continue to shape our interpretation of the law long after the court made its judgment and all appeals were completed. The dialogue they initiated may last for decades, even for centuries. Such trials provide us with an insight into the vital aspects of our public life, the civilizing capacity of politics.