Tracing the Genealogy of Modern Criminal Justice

New School Spring 2020 Famous Trials

Second Essay Assignment: Tracing the Genealogy of Modern Criminal Justice

For your second short essay assignment, please choose one or more of the trials we have focused on in this semester. This can include any trials from Socrates through to the Triangle Fire, with the exception of focusing solely on Galileo (though you could compare an element from Galileo’s trial with a similar element in another trial). Focus on a single element of the trial process – some possible elements to focus on include the standard of evidence, the nature of confessions and interrogations, the significance of witness testimony, the method of deciding on guilt (Judge vs. Jury etc.), the nature of arrest and detainment, the nature of the punishment, and the procedures of the trial itself (presence of legal defense, presumption of guilt, methods of bringing in evidence, etc.).

You will then compose a focused thesis argument about how this specific element in a trial of the past compares to that same element in our modern Criminal Justice system today. For example, how have standards of evidence changed from Salem to today? Relatedly, in what ways are standards of evidence similar in court rooms today to what they were in Salem in 1692? Your argument should be based on thorough engagement with sources of information around your historical trial(s), especially course readings, and should optimally also have an informed perspective on the modern Criminal Justice system. You should be comparing, contrasting, and drawing lines of influence between an older structure of the justice system and our current one today.

List of trials: The trial of Socrates The trial of Galileo The trial of Anne Hutchinson Salem witchcraft trials Hymarket Anarchists trial The triangle fire trial