A Timeline of Real Trials Shown on TV
Compiled by: James Bufalino and Ashley Moran
Over the past two decades, no trial airing on TV has captivated audiences as much as the O.J. Simpson trial. The FX series The People v. O.J. Simpson brought the case back into the limelight, casting well-known actors in the roles of real people and offering (mostly accurate) details about the case. As Season 1 comes to a close on Tuesday, April 5, we look back at when some of the biggest trials involving absurd celebs, alleged murderers and accused terrorists were shown on TV.
RELATED: 9 Surprising Facts About The People v. O.J. Simpson
1935
Bruno Richard Hauptmann
The first major trial covered by newsreel cameras is that of Bruno Richard Hauptmann, the kidnapper/murderer of the Lindbergh baby. Film footage plays—TV-like—in 10,000 of the nation’s 14,000 movie theaters.
Bruno Richard Hauptmann, later convicted of kidnapping and murdering Charles Lindbergh Jr.
1953
Cameras Allowed in Courtrooms
Cameras allowed in an Oklahoma courtroom; edited footage aired.
1954
Amry-McCarthy
Nation riveted by the political circus known as the Army-McCarthy hearings.
1955
First Trial Televised Live
First live TV broadcast of a trial takes place in Waco, Texas.
1957
Robert F. Kennedy vs. Jimmy Hoffa
All eyes are on the Senate’s McClellan committee hearings featuring Robert F. Kennedy’s accusations of corruption against Jimmy Hoffa’s Teamsters Union.
Robert F. Kennedy and Sen. John L. McClellan
1973-74
Watergate
Ongoing coverage of the congressional investigation into Watergate.
The Senate Watergate Committee investigation.
1979
Ted Bundy
Serial killer Ted Bundy foes on trial with extensive television coverage.
1982
Claus von Bulow
Claus von Bulow’s first TV trial ends in his conviction for the attempted murder of his now-comatose wife, Sunny. CNN broadcasters his 1985 retrial, in which he is acquitted.
1984
Trial That Inspired The Accused
CNN carries live coverage of a Massachusetts gang-rape trial, the case that became the basis for the movie The Accused.
1987
Judge Robert Bork
Televised coverage of the Supreme Court confirmation hearing of Judge Robert Bork.
Iran-contra/Oliver North
TV coverage of the congressional investigation into the Iran-contra affair. Featuring testimony by Oliver North.
Lieutenant Col. Oliver North
1991
Pamela Smart
Gavel-to-gavel coverage of the trial of Pamela Smart, a New Hampshire teacher accused of having her student/lover murder her husband.
Christian Brando
Court TV covers the hearing of Christian Brando, son of Marlon, accused of the murder of his half-sister’s boyfriend.
Clarence Thomas
Recently-nominated Supreme Court judge Clarence Thomas is accused by former assistant Anita Hill of sexual harassment.
Clarence Thomas
1992
Rodney King
Riots ensue shortly after the TV trial of L.A. policemen accused of beating Rodney King.
Amy Fisher
Cameras converge on the pretrial hearings and sentencing of Amy Fisher, who copped a plea to the charge of shooting the wife of her body-shop mechanic/lover Joey Buttafuoco.
Jeffrey Dahmer
Coverage of the pretrial hearing for serial killer/cannibal Jeffrey Dahmer to determine whether he was competent to serve a life-term prison sentence or should be sent to a psychiatric hospital.
Amy Fisher
1993
Reginald Denny
Riots revisited during the trial of the men accused of beating Reginald Denny, a truck driver caught in the middle of the Rodney King melee.
Menendez Brothers
Court TV makes it big with the trial of the Menendez brothers.
Heidi Fleiss
Cameras swarm the arraignment of alleged Hollywood Madam Heidi Fleiss.
Heidi Fleiss
1994
Lorena Bobbitt
Americans take sides while watching testimony of Lorena Bobbitt, accused of cutting off her husband’s penis.
O.J. Simpson
O.J. Simpson’s pretrial hearing is one of the most-watched television events of the century.
1995
Timothy McVeigh
McVeigh is put on trial for one of the the worst terrorist bombings in the U.S., the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City.
1999
Jack Kevorkian
Controversy surrounds Dr. Kevorkian (aka. Dr. Death) for assisting several terminal patients in committing suicide (euthanasia) between May 1994 and June 1997.
2000
Rae Carruth
The Carolina Panthers football player is accused of hiring someone to kill his girlfriend, going so far as to stop his car in front of hers so the gunman got a clear shot.
2003
Martha Stewart
Charges were made against the lifestyle maven for insider trading related to ImClone Systems stock.
Martha Stewart
2004
Scott Peterson
Suspicion surrounded the husband for killing pregnant wife, Laci, over money and self-interest.
2005
Robert Blake
The Baretta actor was charged with murdering his wife, the mother of his two children, but was found not guilty.
Michael Jackson
Despite numerous allegations of child molestation, Jackon is acquitted by the jury.
Saddam Hussein
After years of eluding the law, the ruthless former Iraqi dictator found himself in court; he was eventually served the death penalty.
2006
Kenneth Lay and Jeffery Skilling
In one of the biggest embezzlement scandals, the two Enron leaders were tried for fraud that bankrupted the company.
2007
Lisa Nowak
Former flight officer and NASA astronaut charged with the attempted kidnapping of Colleen Shipman, who was involved with Nowak’s former lover, astronaut William Oefelein.
Phil Spector
Record producer and musician sentenced for the homicide of actress Lana Clarkson.
Lindsay Lohan
After spiraling out of control, the actress got mandated jail and rehab time after repeatedly violating her probation for multiple DUI charges.
Lindsay Lohan
2008
Rod Blagojevich
The former Illinois governor was found guilty of 17 corruption charges, including soliciting bribes to fill Barack Obama’s vacated senate seat.
2010
Paris Hilton
Charged with possession of cocaine. The hotel heiress accepted a plea bargain with a small fine and no jail time. (She served reduced jail time in 2007 for violating probation.)
Paris Hilton
2011
Casey Anthony
Accused of murdering her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee. The child’s remains were found with a blanket inside a trash bag near her home.
Dr. Conrad Murray
After Michael Jackson died from an overdose of general anesthetic, the doctor who tended him was charged with involuntary manslaughter.
Dr. Conrad Murray
2013
Amanda Knox
After spending four years in an Italian prison for the murder of her roommate Meredith Kercher, a retrial overturned the charges.
2015
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev
Sentenced to death after being found responsible for collaborating with his deceased brother to bomb the 2013 Boston Marathon.
James Holmes
Despite an insanity plea, James got life imprisonment without parole after the Aurora, Colorado mass shooting at a midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises.
