Description
Trials of the Resistance is a collection of essays from The New York Review of Books on the major trials for civil disobedience and resistance in the late 1960’s. It tells what led to these trials; how they were fought by the defendants and prosecuted by the government; and what they mean for the future of American political life. Michael Ferber writes here on his reaction to being indicted in the Spock trial. Noam Chomsky, Paul Lauter and Florence Howe analyze the implications of the same trial for the resistance movement. Herbert Packer deals not only with the events of the trial, but with the doctrine of “conspiracy” which is being used increasingly by the government in political trials today. Ronald Dworkin argues the legal case against government prosecution for civil disobedience cases. Andrew Kopkind writes on the trial of Captain Howard Levy and on his life in prison and after his release. Emma Rothschild reports on the trial of the Oakland Seven who were acquitted triumphantly and unexpectedly; Francine du Plessix Gray on the special character of the Catholic Ultra-Resistance and on the efforts of the Milwaukee Fourteen, including five priests, to act as their own lawyers in a Wisconsin state court. Jason Epstein introduces the testimony of Bobby Seale, which led to his expulsion from the Chicago Conspiracy Trial. Together, these essays give the first careful account of the political struggle that has been taking place in American courts.
