Social Education 73(5), pp 203–206 ©2009 National Council for the Social Studies Looking at the Law The 8 Trial, 40 Years Later: A Case Study in Teaching U.S. v. Dellinger (1969) “Sacred cows make the tastiest hamburger.”—

Jeanne Polk Barr

Growing up in an era when protest at national political conventions is carefully contained in “free-speech zones” (often physically removed from the site of the official conventions), students today may have a difficult time conceptualizing the tumultuous scene that was the 1968 Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago. Fueled by the consensus-shattering backdrop of the , the upheaval of a civil rights movement turned violent, the assassinations and abdications of national leaders both beloved and despised, and the cultural chasm opened by a rising generation of questioning youth, the chaos and unrest of that historic confrontation open up a unique opportunity for twenty-first-century youth to review fundamental issues of democracy that continue to shape our political culture.

The Chicago 8 Trial, infamous for its was an array of Chicago city officials and shocking excesses both in and outside a federal prosecutors determined to restore federal courtroom, presents cross-cur- order to a political order in chaos. rents of democratic thinking that probe In organizing student inquiry into the the foundational values of government trial, it is helpful to divide the cast of of, by, and for the people. Like a particu- characters into four groups—the Yippies, larly gruesome car crash, studying the trial the Mobe, the Black Panthers, and the offers students an opportunity to confront Man—each of which played fundamental Arianna Berkowitz,’07, of the Francis W. Parker School in Chicago, portraying the complexity of -era history and roles in shaping the confrontation. Abbie Hoffman. values—some admirable, some abhorrent, some seemingly absurd—and consider the Pentagon and “exorcise its demons.” both where they went wrong and where The Yippies Rubin gained early notoriety by tailing they created permanent shifts in our Abbie Hoffman—Youth International unmarked tanker trucks filled with napalm national political consciousness. Party (YIP, or Yippie!) organizer, self- through the streets of Oakland, California, Charged in the first-ever prosecution proclaimed cultural revolutionary. Abbie in a car decorated with signs alerting the of “conspiracy to travel interstate with (who dropped his last name during the citizenry to the deadly chemicals being the intent to incite, organize, promote, trial in protest of the autocratic actions of manufactured in their community. encourage, participate in, and carry out a the presiding judge, ) was riot,” the eight defendants—some of whom already a cultural icon by the time of the had never met before being named as co- trial, famous for action-theater protests, The Mobe conspirators—represented a cross-section such as raining dollar bills down on the —the oldest of the of movements that, in their disparate Stock Exchange. defendants, a veteran of anti-war and civil parts, attempted to protest the Vietnam rights protests dating back to World War War, advocate black power, and offer an —organizer of the Berkeley II. Dellinger was active in the National alternative value system to a country that, Free Speech movement, the Vietnam Day Mobilization to End the War in Vietnam they believed, had drifted too far from Committee, and (with Abbie Hoffman) the (known as The Mobe), and offered a model its original principles. Confronting them 1967 anti-Vietnam gathering to levitate of pacifism and conscientious objection

S e p t e m b e r 2009 203 that inspired a generation. order the defendant bound and gagged RESOURCES in court, before his case was ultimately —Students for a Democratic severed from that of the other seven. books Society (SDS) co-founder and author of Farber, David, Chicago ’68, The Port Huron Statement, the 1962 The Man University of Chicago Press (1994). manifesto that famously mapped out Judge Julius Hoffman—a federal judge the disillusionment of college students of 16 years, Hoffman, at 74-years-old, Feiffer, Jules, et al., Conspiracy in “looking uncomfortably at the world we symbolized for many all that was unjust the Streets: The Extraordinary Trial of inherit,” opposing what they saw as the about “the establishment” (to his own the Chicago Eight, New Press (2006). impersonal, racist, and nihilistic culture great frustration). Hoffman considered of atomic self-destruction. himself a liberal, boasting in court of his Schultz, John, The Chicago role in issuing the first school desegrega- Conspiracy Trial: Revised Edition, —SDS organizer who trav- tion order in the North. Yet his seemingly University of Chicago Press (2009). eled to Vietnam to document the killings arbitrary actions against the Chicago 8 of civilians by American troops. Davis defendants laid the groundwork for a advocated forceful disobedience com- cultural showdown in the court. legal documents bined with large-scale demonstrating in U.S. v. Dellinger, 472 F.2d 340, opposition to the war. Thomas Foran and Richard Schulz— United States Court of Appeals, federal prosecutors. Foran was known for Seventh Circuit (1972) Two additional defendants—John taking on organized crime and claimed Froines and Lee Wiener—defy catego- friendship with Robert Kennedy. Schultz rization. Both served as marshals at the seemed the most committed to the pros- films DNC protests; neither were national ecution theory of the case—that the “Chicago 10,” Paramount Studios figures. Froines was a young Ph.D. in defendants had indeed conspired to (2008) chemistry; Wiener was a graduate student bring violence to Chicago and deserved in sociology at . punishment. “Steal This Movie,” Lion’s Gate Both were acquitted of all charges at the Studios (2000) end of the trial. Richard J. Daley—mayor of Chicago Representing seven of the eight defen- and chairman of the Cook County dants were and Leonard Democratic party, renowned for his iron- period music Weinglass. Kunstler was famous for his fisted control on the Chicago city council “Alice’s Restaurant,” Arlo Guthrie work representing clients including Martin as well as his king-maker status within (1966) Luther King, Jr., , H. the national party. After the April 1968 Rap Brown, and Malcolm X. Leonard riots that followed the assassination of Dr. “Chicago,” Crosby, Stills and Nash Weinglass had worked with Hayden in King, Daley issued on television a “shoot (1970) community organizing in New Jersey. to kill” order to the Chicago police force, thus establishing his reputation as one “For What It’s Worth,” Buffalo The Black Panthers who would tolerate no disorder in his city. Springfield (1967) —chairman of the Black The presence of the DNC in Chicago Panther Party. Although Seale’s presence was the result of a long-held dream of the “I Ain’t Marchin’ Anymore,” Phil in the Chicago protests was minimal—he mayor to showcase the city as a world- Ochs (1965) attended for just one day and spoke only class convention destination. briefly to the crowd—his indictment on the conspiracy charge offered prosecu- Legal Issues tors the opportunity to link the chaos of Although a host of legal issues lay at the the protests to the confrontational style heart of the trials, the two named in the of the . Seale’s out- indictments gave shape to the proceed- spoken insistence that he be represented ings and offer students the opportunity The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and have not been approved by the by his own attorney (who was recovering to explore issues of fairness today. The House of Delegates or the Board of Governors of from emergency gall bladder surgery) cul- conspiracy charge that bound the defen- the American Bar Association, and, accordingly, minated in a historic confrontation with dants to each other was a prosecutorial should not be construed as representing the policy Judge Hoffman, whose mounting frustra- effort to link a host of anti-war move- of the American Bar Association. tion with Seale’s verbal abuse led him to ments together in one dramatic trial.

S o c i a l Ed u c a t i o n 204 Without this charge, each defendant radical ‘60s movements, from dissent to 1. Prosecution attorneys—Students could have been tried separately, most resistance. The trial serves as an ideal in this role work collaboratively to likely with dramatically different results. culminating activity in a unit covering prepare a brief which outlines the With the charge, each defendant could the history of the Vietnam War, the civil charges against the defendants and be found responsible for the actions of rights movement, the student movement, includes an overall theory of the case, all the others. Students who research the generation gap, as well as introducing a list of defense witnesses, a list of the case will find that there was ample students to trial procedure and core legal material evidence drawn from the evidence that no such conspiracy ever issues associated with free speech. historical record, and the sequence existed—not only were the defendants To organize a reenactment of the in which witnesses and evidence will not working in concert, but documents Chicago 8 trial, teachers should consider be introduced into trial. Students are exist which demonstrate their efforts to assigning students the following roles: encouraged to research and recreate avoid violent confrontation. The 1969 jury agreed, and returned verdicts of “not guilty” on the conspiracy charge for each defendant. A second charge involving crossing state lines to incite a riot opens up for Global students philosophical and legal argu- ments regarding the nature of thought Education vs. action. U.S. v. Dellinger is in fact the first-ever indictment on the charge, stem- Certificate ming from the so-called “H. Rap Brown” Two-semester, law. Chicago 8 was in a sense a test case Web-based program of a new federal strategy for dealing with for teachers violent protests by attempting to make organizers and speakers responsible for damages. SEMESTER 1: February 15-April 23, 2010 Empathy in Action SEMESTER 2: Because the Chicago 8 trial represents June 21-August 20, 2010 the intersection of so many significant historical currents on the late 1960s, students today have the opportunity to In today’s increasingly interconnected world, it has never been more step into history through the interactive imperative for American schools to incorporate global education into their curriculum. modality of a classroom trial reenact- ment. By their nature, classroom trial Rice University’s Global Education Certificate program will examine the reenactments are dramatic and experi- historical and cultural foundations of issues and events from a global ential, for they perspective and best practices for incorporating global education into • demand logical development and the K-12 curriculum. persuasion; • build upon research and citation; Led by master teachers, this program is tailored for teachers of the • require collaboration and promote following disciplines: comparative government, global studies, human controlled competition; geography, world geography, and world history; however, teachers of • teach respect for our on-going justice all disciplines would benefit and are encouraged to participate. system; and • evoke our civic values and moral Program details and registration ideals. available at teachers.rice.edu By organizing students into competing or call 713-348-6031. teams in an adversarial system and giving them license to step into character, the Participants will receive 36 hours of Continued Professional Education (CPE) credits per classroom is transformed into a history semester or 3.6 Continuing Education Units (CEUs) per semester. laboratory to study the evolution of the

S e p t e m b e r 2009 205 the points of view of “The Man,” as sisted of undercover police officers, portraying him the opportunity to outlined above. city attorneys, Chicago municipal explore the meaning of fairness in officials, FBI informers, and jour- courtroom proceedings. 2. Defense attorneys—Students in nalists who covered the protests. this role produce a brief, following Defense witnesses included poet Among the more interesting issues that the same format as that of the pros- , folk singer Judy students uncover are ecution, although their empathic Collins, protest singer , • The era of the 1960s—Vietnam, the energy should be targeted towards comedian and political activist student movement, the splintering of recreating the points of view of the , Harvard professor radical/moderate movements, etc. Yippies, the Mobe, and the Black and LSD promoter , • Free speech ideals—What exactly con- Panthers. folk singer Arlo Guthrie, radical edi- stitutes “intent to incite a riot?” What tor , writer Norman is the difference between thought and 3. Prosecution and defense wit- Mailer, historian Staughton Lynd, action? How and when can thoughts nesses—Students in these roles por- civil rights activist Reverend Jessie be criminalized? tray the cast of characters in the wit- Jackson, Mayor Richard J. Daley, • Trial procedure—How and why did ness pool, extending their learning former co-defendant Bobby Seale, this trial get so out of control? into the realm of some of the most and defendants Abbie Hoffman and • The joy of irreverence—Students love vibrant cultural figures of the era. Rennie Davis. the sanctioned breaking of rules; it Through research projects to pre- keeps them engaged through the last pare witness statements, followed 4. Judge Julius Hoffman—Infamous minute of the activity. by fully costumed performances, for the dozens of contempt citations • Connections to today—To what extent students probe the thinking and issued against the defendants and does our society tolerate dissent? What actions of a wide array of historical their attorneys, Hoffman can be a forms does it take today? If citizens figures. Prosecution witnesses con- case study that offers the student were to attempt to register a protest today, how would they go about it? Do the DNC protests and the ensuing trial offer any useful models?

2009/2010 ABA Division for Public Education In reenacting the trials, teachers must Educator Resources, Programs, and Events consider how far they are willing to let their Start Planning Your School Year Curriculum Today students go in “disrupting” the proceed- ings. The trial transcript is replete with foul language, disrespect for authority, and w 2009 Constitution Day — September 17 turning the system on its head. Arguably, Visit www.abaconstitution.org to learn more about this year’s focus on the First Amendment and the freedom of the press in the digital age. these are among the very reasons why a student reenactment of this set of facts is w 26th National Law-Related Education Leadership Conference — so riveting, for the potential for authen- Building a Better Tomorrow: Youth, Citizenship, and Civic Engagement tic teenage engagement is very high. Yet Chicago, Ill — October 1 –3, 2009 View the conference agenda and the list of participating exhibitors, and teachers must gauge their own community’s register at www.abanet.org/publiced/conference/lre09.shtml. standards and climate and determine what “Excellent learning opportunity! I will be using materials on Monday.” limits should be agreed upon at the outset. ~ 2007 LRE Conference participant The result will be a riveting exploration w 2010 National Online Youth Summit — It’s Nothing to LOL About: of a pivotal historical moment that stu- How the First Amendment Affects You in the 21st Century dents and teachers alike will not soon NOYS is a FREE 12-week web-based program that provides high school forget. students throughout the country with an opportunity to build communica- tion skills and develop knowledge about timely public policy issues. Apply today at www.abanet.org/publiced/noys. “… it was just very different from the things we normally do in class, and I enjoyed it very much.” ~ Testimonial pulled from the 2009 NOYS student surveys Jeanne Polk Barr is the chairman of the Department of History and Social Studies at Francis W. Parker School in Chicago, where To learn more about these programs and resources, she teaches historic trial reenactments in an visit www.abanet.org/publiced. elective seminar “Justice for All.” She can be reached at [email protected].

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