The Hollywood Ten

One of the most infamous American events preceding the Cold War era, the Hollywood Ten were a small group of ten "good liberal" movie directors, screenplay writers and actors who were deemed guilty, not of wrongdoing, but of wrong thinking. You see, they were all members of the American Communist party at the time, and these trials all occurred during the late 40's, right as the Communist paranoia began to affect Americans. Essentially, for harboring their own beliefs as any American is free to, their civil liberties as employed Hollywood humans were revoked entirely, and even in jeopardy, from the U.S. supreme court, who refused to hear their cases, and from Congress, who cited them all for contempt. They had one of two options, however, as their trials came to light. Given a second option by the Hollywood Committee for the First Amendment, this group of politicians and film producers dug into the First Amendment and determined that it not only entailed freedom of speech, but also the right to remain silent. As such, none of the Hollywood Ten gave the courts any response when asked if they were Communists. This ability to stand steadfast did end up costing them all of their jobs, and many of them also went to prison for some time. What was truly cruel, however, was after managing to regain their jobs, they were forced to wait ten, some even 20 years before they could create or write movies without using pseudonyms or metaphors.

Not only was this incident one of the most famous American Court cases of its time, but it stands as a foundation to not only the beginning of the era of blacklisting, but also to the genuine American paranoia, and the discovery of the right to remain silent. All of these factors helped to make sure that this event would never be forgotten by anyone with power, be it those with creative powers or those with the power to attempt taking it away.

For more information on this series of trials, visit the link below:

http://law.jrank.org/pages/3012/Hollywood-Ten-Trials-1948-50.html

Manuel Noreiga

A well-known military general in the Panama National Guard, Manuel Noriega worked with the CIA for a period of 30 years, providing information on their payroll. However, it was after a period of time when the DEA indited Noreiga on drug charges, in 1989, before the CIA started to question just where Noreiga's allegiance truly lay. Not only was he suspect to sharing information with several of America's enemies, including Communist Cuba, but he was even discovered selling weapons to the Nicaraguans without disclosing this transaction to anyone in America. The final nail on the coffin came down though, when he was caught trafficking cocaine into America in the drug charges of '89. President George H.W. Bush ordered a full-scale assault on Panama, sending 25,000 troops to capture Noreiga. After capturing him successfully, Noreiga stood trial in Miami, Florida for drug trafficking, conspiracy, and racketeering. Though the judgement was a guilty verdict, Noreiga's 40 year sentence was cut down to 17 instead.

There were two interesting factors in this case that separated it from the rest. Firstly, this case in particular showcased a criminal that was issued nearly an army to bring to justice, a move that hand't been executed in quite some time. Two, this was in fact, the first America court case involving a major foreign head of government, and considering the lengths we took to get him here, I'd say the court system certainly came through to prevent anything bad from happening to our country in the long in, in terms of what could have happened if Noreiga had stayed in power.

For more info on this massive case, visit the link below:

http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/noriegalinks.html

Huey P. Newton

In October 1966, along with Bobby Seale, Huey Newton co-founded the Black Panthers for the African American community's defense. Establishing a community where blacks could bear arms against the corrupt police of their times, the Black Panthers was more than a militant group designed to defend the black community. They wanted equal rights, equal opportunity to employment (in all parts of the country), amongst several other wrongs to be righted. Precisely one year later, however, in 1967, Newton was accused of killing a police officer in cold blood. After being convicted of voluntary manslaughter with a sentence of up to 15 years in prison, the trial was overturned and eventually dropped, mainly on account of a lack of substantial evidence that would otherwise hold Newton guilty of his alleged crime. Being imprisoned for over a year had it's consequences, however. The FBI had tarnished the reputation of the Black Panthers through the leadership of J. Edgar Hoover, and Newton sought to change that image through several new directions for the Black Panthers (mainly focused on public education and feeding the needy). However, his leadership qualities seemed to falter after numerous instances of criminal activity. In 1974, he was accused for murdering a 17-year-old prostitute, to which he fled the country from said accusations. Returning to American to slide away form a different murder charge, Newton was once against accused of criminal activity in 1985 when he was arrested for embezzling federal and state money that was intended to go into the Black Panther's education and nutrition funds. Again caught for embezzlement in 1989, Newton was shot dead in a drug deal gone wrong shortly thereafter.

The courts play an interesting role in this case; or, rather, these several cases. What the courts have done here involve many more political factors than with most other criminals. The issue here is that Huey Newton leads a community of individuals who have been repressed for far too long, and the courts had to exercise a level of restraint on him in order to try and preserve the good nature of the Black Panthers themselves, even if Newton wasn't entirely as pure as his intentions were. If the courts were to jail Newton for his crimes, the black community would be outraged, and (perhaps rightfully so) give justification to their shared belief that the system was entirely against them.

For more information on this complex case, visit the link below:

http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/huey_newton.htm