The protestors seeking justice for Trevon Martin over the last several weeks are not alone in causing extreme public reaction. As a legal analyst and lawyer, Kendall Coffey has analyzed many high profile cases that have led to wide spread public outcry. Here's a sampling of cases that have gone wild with protest.
In 2000, thousands of Cuban Americans held a shut in protest in reaction to the deportation of Elian Gonzalez. Hundreds of members of the Cuban American community took to the streets several days beforehand when INS agents came in to remove the boy from the home of his relatives. Many people followed the case and symbolized it as the problem with the immigration system in the United States.
After the death of Michael Jackson, swarms of mourning fans came to support Jackson or defend his doctor, who was on trial for negligent homicide. The protests got so out of control that other interest groups showed up as well trying to get in front of the camera. People carried outrageous signs and wore some pretty ridiculous outfits. Both the Jackson trial and the Elian Gonzalez case are discussed in Kendall Coffey's Spinning the Law: Trying Cases in the Court of Public Opinion.
When the world searched for missing two year old girl Caylee Anthony, news audiences obsessed over the strange behavior and trial of her mother Casey after remains were found. When Casey Anthony was acquitted, many angry protestors took to the streets with duct tape over their mouths, referencing the tape found in the child's remains.
One of the most recent protests to stem change happened in Ireland, where the death of a woman who could have been saved by an abortion spurned angry women's right to choose protests. Ireland recently passed a law that would legalize abortion for the first time.
In 2000, thousands of Cuban Americans held a shut in protest in reaction to the deportation of Elian Gonzalez. Hundreds of members of the Cuban American community took to the streets several days beforehand when INS agents came in to remove the boy from the home of his relatives. Many people followed the case and symbolized it as the problem with the immigration system in the United States.
After the death of Michael Jackson, swarms of mourning fans came to support Jackson or defend his doctor, who was on trial for negligent homicide. The protests got so out of control that other interest groups showed up as well trying to get in front of the camera. People carried outrageous signs and wore some pretty ridiculous outfits. Both the Jackson trial and the Elian Gonzalez case are discussed in Kendall Coffey's Spinning the Law: Trying Cases in the Court of Public Opinion.
When the world searched for missing two year old girl Caylee Anthony, news audiences obsessed over the strange behavior and trial of her mother Casey after remains were found. When Casey Anthony was acquitted, many angry protestors took to the streets with duct tape over their mouths, referencing the tape found in the child's remains.
One of the most recent protests to stem change happened in Ireland, where the death of a woman who could have been saved by an abortion spurned angry women's right to choose protests. Ireland recently passed a law that would legalize abortion for the first time.
