Chicago Eight

Source

The "Chicago Eight" were eight protestors who were charged with conspiracy, inciting to riot, and other charges related to violent protests that took place in Chicago, IL, at the time of the 1968 Democratic National Convention.

The convention, in late August, 1968, was the scene of massive demonstrations protesting the Vietnam War, which was in full swing. Thousands of people showed up with signs and banners, tie-dyed shirts, music, dancing, and poetry. Some people responded to a night-time curfew announcement with rock-throwing. Police used tear gas, and struck people with batons and arrested many of the demonstrators. In the aftermath, a grand jury indicted eight demonstrators and eight police officers.

Indicted by the grand jury on March 20, 1969, were: Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, David Dellinger, Tom Hayden, Rennie Davis, John Froines, Lee Weiner, and Bobby Seale. The defense attorneys were William Kunstler and Leonard Weinglass. The judge was Julius Hoffman. The prosecutor was Tom Foran. The trial began on September 24, 1969.

Early in the course of the trial, Black Panther activist Seale hurled bitter attacks at Judge Hoffman in court, calling him a "fascist dog," a "pig," and a "racist," among other things. The outraged judge ordered Seale bound and gagged in the courtroom. Ultimately Judge Hoffman severed Seale from the case and sentenced him to four years in prison for contempt.

The Chicago Eight then became the Chicago Seven, where the defendants, particularly Yippies Hoffman and Rubin, mocked courtroom decorum. One day, defendants Hoffman and Rubin appeared in court dressed in judicial robes. Hoffman blew kisses at the jury. The trial lasted for months, with many celebrated figures from the American left and counterculture called to testify (including folksinger Arlo Guthrie, writer Norman Mailer, LSD advocate Timothy Leary and Reverend Jesse Jackson). At sentencing, Hoffman suggested the judge try LSD, and offered to set him up with a dealer he knew in Florida.

On February 18, 1970, all seven defendants were found not guilty on the conspiracy charges, two (Froines and Weiner) were acquitted completely, and five were convicted of inciting to riot. These five were each sentenced to five years' imprisonment and fined $5,000. Finally, the convictions were all reversed on appeal by the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit on November 21, 1972. The reasons for the reversal involved bias by the judge and his refusal to permit defense attorneys to question prospective jurors regarding cultural bias. The Justice Department decided not to re-try the case. During the trial, all the defendants and both defense attorneys had been cited for contempt and sentenced to jail, but those convictions were also overturned. The contempt charges were re-tried before a different judge, who found Dellinger, Rubin, Hoffman and Kuntsler guilty of some of the charges, but decided not to sentence the defendants to jail or fines.

Last updated: September 12, 2006.

Chicago Seven (also called the Chicago Eight or Chicago Ten), radical activists arrested for conspiring to incite Riots at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, 21–29 August 1968. Ignoring Mayor Richard Daley's warnings to stay away, thousands of antiwar demonstrators descended on Chicago to oppose the Democratic administration's Vietnam policy. On 28 August, skirmishes between protesters and police culminated in a bloody melee on the streets outside the convention center. Eight protesters were charged with conspiracy: Abbie Hoffman, Rennie Davis, John Froines, Tom Hayden, Lee Weiner, David Dellinger, Jerry Rubin, and Bobby Seale. The trial (1969–1970) quickly degenerated into a stage for high drama and political posturing. Prosecutors stressed the defendants' ties with "subversive" groups like Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), the Youth International Party (YIP), and the Black Panthers. Defense attorney William M. Kunstler countered by calling a series of celebrity witnesses. Judge Julius J. Hoffman's obvious hostility to the defendants provoked low comedy, poetry reading, Hare Krishna chanting, and other forms of defiant behavior from the defendants' table. Bobby Seale, defending himself without counsel, spent three days in court bound and gagged for his frequent outbursts. His case was later declared a mistrial. The jury found five of the other seven defendants guilty of crossing state lines to riot, but these convictions were reversed on appeal. The defendants and their attorneys also faced four-to five-year prison sentences for contempt of court. In 1972, citing Judge Hoffman's procedural errors and bias, the Court of Appeals (Seventh Circuit) overturned most of the contempt findings.

Bibliography

Danelski, David. "The Chicago Conspiracy Trial." In Political Trials. Edited by Theodore L. Becker. Indianapolis, Ind.: Bobbs-Merrill, 1971.

Dellinger, David T. The Conspiracy Trial. Edited by Judy Clavir and John Spitzer. Indianapolis, Ind.: Bobbs-Merrill, 1970.

Sloman, Larry. Steal This Dream: Abbie Hoffman and the Counter cultural Revolution in America. New York: Doubleday, 1998.

—Samuel Krislov/A. R.

The trial of the Chicago Eight exemplified the state of turmoil that existed in the United States in 1968. Because the Chicago conspiracy trial opened with eight defendants, this group of radical leaders is sometimes referred to as the Chicago Eight. However, the trial of one defendant, Bobby Seale, was subsequently severed from that of the other seven; hence the name Chicago Seven is often given to these defendants.

The violent assassinations of Senator Robert F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., occurred within months of each other. The escalation of the Vietnam War was unpopular with many U.S. citizens and a number of young men of draft age burned their draft registration cards or fled to Canada rather than risk their lives for a cause in which they did not believe. Protest demonstrations were prevalent. The turbulence in the United States culminated in events at the Democratic Presidential Convention in Chicago, Illinois, which led to a sensational courtroom trial involving the basic rights embodied in the Constitution.

Chicago was controlled politically by Mayor Richard J. Daley and his Democratic followers. When Chicago was chosen as the site for the Democratic Convention, groups of protestors decided to seize the opportunity to converge on that city to stage demonstrations and publicly espouse their views against U.S. participation in the Vietnam War. The protestors arrived from all over the nation, establishing a camp at Lincoln Park.

Mayor Daley was opposed to any incident that might cause a disturbance of the convention proceedings and taint the reputation of the city of Chicago. The demonstrators were denied a permit to assemble in Lincoln Park and were told to disband. When they refused the Chicago police tried to forcibly eject them from the park. When these efforts failed the police used tear gas and billy clubs. A riot resulted, and as news of the Chicago violence reached the nation other groups went to Chicago to join the protestors. When the number of demonstrators reached 20,000, the National Guard was enlisted to quell the violence. Eight radical leaders emerged as the organizers of the demonstration movement: Tom Hayden and Rennie Davis, who had established the group known as Students for a Democratic Society, or SDS; Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin, founders of the Youth International Party, or "Yippies"; Bobby Seale, leader of the Black Panther Party; David Dellinger, staunch opponent of the Vietnam War and renowned pacifist; and John Froines and Lee Weiner, two teachers.

In 1968 Congress enacted legislation prohibiting conspiracies to cross state boundaries with the intent of inciting a riot. The eight men were brought to trial at the Federal Court Building in Chicago in 1969 and were accused of breaking this new law.

The trial evoked a number of controversial issues. The purpose of the protest was to air the views of the participants against the Vietnam War. The blame for the ensuing riots, however, could not be clearly placed on the demonstrators or on the actions of the police to disband them. While the Constitution provided for the basic freedoms of speech, protest, and assemblage, the terms of the new law — particularly concerning the actual act of conspiring to riot — were not clearly defined in relation to these rights.

The judge selected to try the case was federal district court judge Julius J. Hoffman. The attorney for the prosecution was the U.S. attorney for Illinois, Thomas Foran. A number of defense lawyers were retained, but the two most prominent were William Kunstler and Leonard Weinglass. Armed protection was provided at the court building to discourage disturbances.

Judge Hoffman proved to be a difficult man. Four defense lawyers notified the judge by telegram that they had decided to withdraw from the case; Hoffman charged them with contempt of court for not informing him personally of their intentions. The charges were eventually dropped but not before protests from lawyers all over the nation were filed. Bobby Seale's lawyer became ill, and Seale asked for either a delay of his trial until his lawyer could participate or permission to defend himself. Hoffman denied both requests.

The prosecution began by stating three charges against the Chicago Eight: (1) they had persuaded people to travel to Chicago for the purpose of joining protest demonstrations; (2) they had influenced their followers to defy law enforcement officials; and (3) they had encouraged a riot. The defense attorneys countered that the actions of the demonstrators were in accordance with the basic freedoms granted by the Constitution.

Police informants were called as witnesses for the prosecution. Bobby Seale asked to be allowed to cross-examine the witnesses, and again the argument flared between Seale and Hoffman as to Seale's rights to representation by counsel. The other defendants voiced agitation during the early days of the trial, but exchanges between Bobby Seale and Judge Hoffman were particularly vehement, and Hoffman had Seale handcuffed to a chair and gagged. Hoffman claimed that the court had the right to employ this tactic, but it was the first time it had been utilized during a trial of any consequence in the United States. Seale still found ways to interrupt the proceedings, and Hoffman declared a mistrial in Seale's case, and imposed on Seale sentence of four years for contempt of court.

The seven remaining defendants and their lawyers became enraged; the trial became a shouting match between all involved, with insults being flung at the judge by the defendants. Hoffman began ruling in favor of motions presented by the prosecution and against those for the defense.

The trial came to a close on February 14, 1970. As the jury deliberated the evidence Hoffman charged all the defendants and attorneys Kunstler and Weinglass with contempt of court, and passed sentences ranging from two months, eight days, to twenty-nine months, thirteen days. Kunstler, however, received the longest sentence of four years, thirteen days. Judge Hoffman also refused to permit bail.

The jury finally reached a verdict. The seven defendants were cleared of conspiracy charges, but five of them were found guilty of crossing state boundaries to incite a riot and were given prison sentences of five years and fined $5,000. Defendants Froines and Weiner were acquitted of all charges.

The Chicago Eight appealed to higher courts, which resulted in granting of bail, a reversal of all contempt charges — including those of the two lawyers — and a new trial for the convicted five. The proceedings of the new trial were private and lacked the sensationalism of the earlier hearings, and although the defendants were again found guilty, their sentences were suspended.

See: right to counsel.

For the similarly named Chicago album, see Chicago VII.

The Chicago Seven

The Chicago Seven were seven (originally eight, when they were known as the Chicago Eight) defendants charged with conspiracy, inciting to riot and other charges related to violent protests that took place in Chicago, Illinois on the occasion of the 1968 Democratic National Convention.

Background

The convention, in late August 1968, was the scene of massive demonstrations protesting the Vietnam War, which was at its height. Thousands of people showed up with signs and banners, tie-dyed shirts, music, dancing and poetry. A pig, "Pigasus the Immortal", was brought into the city to be "nominated" for President. Initially, there was a carnival atmosphere. The police were edgy. Some people responded to a night-time curfew announcement with rock-throwing. Police used tear gas, and struck people with batons. People were arrested. In the aftermath, a grand jury indicted eight demonstrators and eight police officers.

Trial

The original eight protester/defendants, indicted by the grand jury on March 20, 1969, were: Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, David Dellinger, Tom Hayden, Rennie Davis, John Froines, Lee Weiner, and Bobby Seale. The defense attorneys were William Kunstler and Leonard Weinglass of the Center for Constitutional Rights. The judge was Julius Hoffman. The prosecutors were Richard Schultz and Tom Foran. The trial began on September 24 1969 and on October 9 the United States National Guard was called in for crowd control as demonstrations grew outside the courtroom.

Early in the course of the trial, Black Panther Party activist Bobby Seale hurled bitter attacks at Judge Hoffman in court, calling him a "fascist dog," a "pig," and a "racist," among other things. Seale had wanted the trial postponed so that his own attorney, Charles Garry, could represent him (as Garry was about to undergo gallbladder surgery); the judge denied the postponement, and refused to allow Seale to represent himself, leading to Seale's verbal onslaught. When Seale refused to be silenced, the judge ordered Seale bound and gagged in the courtroom, citing a precedent from the case of Illinois v. Allen ^[1]. (This was alluded to in Graham Nash's song, "Chicago", which opened with: "So your brother's bound and gagged, and they've chained him to a chair"). Ultimately Judge Hoffman severed Seale from the case, sentencing him to four years in prison for contempt, what may have been one of the longest sentences ever handed down for that offense in American history at that time.^[2]

The Chicago Eight then became the Chicago Seven, where the defendants, particularly Yippies Hoffman and Rubin, mocked courtroom decorum as the widely publicized trial itself became a focal point for a growing legion of protesters. One day, defendants Hoffman and Rubin appeared in court dressed in judicial robes. Hoffman blew kisses at the jury. The trial extended for months, with many celebrated figures from the American left and counterculture called to testify (including folk singers Phil Ochs, Judy Collins and Arlo Guthrie, writer Norman Mailer, LSD advocate Timothy Leary and Reverend Jesse Jackson).

“	I pointed out that it was in the best interests of the City to have us in Lincoln Park ten miles away from the Convention hall. I said we had no intention of marching on the Convention hall, that I didn't particularly think that politics in America could be changed by marches and rallies, that what we were presenting was an alternative life style, and we hoped that people of Chicago would come up, and mingle in Lincoln Park and see what we were about.	”
	— Abbie Hoffman, from the Chicago Seven trial

Results

On February 18, 1970, all seven defendants were found not guilty of conspiracy, two (Froines and Weiner) were acquitted completely, and five were convicted of crossing state lines with the intent to incite a riot. Those five were each sentenced to five years in prison and fined $5,000 on February 20, 1970. At sentencing, Hoffman suggested the judge try LSD, offering to set him up with a dealer he knew in Florida.

The convictions were reversed by the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit on November 21, 1972, on the grounds of bias by the judge and his refusal to permit defense attorneys to screen prospective jurors for cultural and racial bias. The Justice Department decided not to retry the case. During the trial, all the defendants and both defense attorneys had been cited for contempt and sentenced to jail, but all of those convictions were also overturned. The contempt charges were retried before a different judge, who found Dellinger, Rubin, Hoffman and Kunstler guilty of some of the charges, but opted not to sentence the defendants to jail or fines.

Coverage Afterwards

In the 1971 Peter Watkins film Punishment Park, members of the counter-culture are put on trial for similar "crimes". Like Bobby Seale, one of the African-American defendants is bound and gagged. In 1987, HBO aired Conspiracy: The Trial of the Chicago 8, a docudrama which re-enacted the trial using the transcript as the primary source for the script. William Kunstler, Leonard Weinglass, and all eight of the original defendants participated in the project, and provided commentary throughout the film. It was awarded the 1988 CableACE Award for Best Dramatic Special. In the 2007 film "Chicago 10", oscar nominated director Brett Morgen retraces the trial with archival footage, animation, and music used to look back at the eight anti-war protesters who were put on trial following the 1968 Democratic National Convention.

Feature film

Writer Aaron Sorkin wrote a script entitled The Trial of the Chicago 7, based on the trials of the protesters at the 1968 Democratic convention. Producers Steven Spielberg, Walter F. Parkes, and Laurie MacDonald collaborated on the development of Sorkin's script, with Spielberg intending to direct the film. In July 2007, Sorkin finalized a deal with DreamWorks to write The Trial of the Chicago 7 as one of three contracted films.^[3]

References

1. ^ US Supreme Court Center, 397 U.S. 337 (1970)
2. ^ Contempt in Chicago, Time Magazine, Friday, Nov. 14, 1969
3. ^ Michael Fleming, Pamela McClintock. "Sorkin on 'Trial' at DreamWorks", Variety, 2007-07-12. Retrieved on 2007-09-23. 

See also

• Seattle Liberation Front

External links

• The Chicago Seven
• The Chicago Seven Trial
• Conspiracy: The Trial of the Chicago 8 at the Internet Movie Database

(1987 HBO made-for-television movie)

• [1] Chicago 10 (2007) documentary

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