Celebrity trials and the people who love them

On an overcast Friday morning last November, a few dozen people gathered, as they had for the past several months, outside the San Mateo courthouse in Redwood City, California.

"There was a core group of 40 to 50 court watchers who showed up every day," said San Mateo County Sheriff Capt. Mark Hanlon. "After a while, they were on a first-name basis with each other."

The loyal crowd had followed every twist and turn in the Scott Peterson double murder trial. Within a couple of hours, they were joined by more than a thousand others, as word got out that a verdict was about to be read. Hanlon, head of courthouse security, was prepared. "We had implemented the security plan usually reserved for disasters."

Hours after the guilty verdict was announced, television crews continued to file live reports and crowds milled about outside. "The verdict was broadcast live in Italy," Hanlon said. "Even in Iraq, with explosions going off all around them, they were paying attention to a murder trial here in California."

On Wednesday, the crowds returned, this time for the sentencing of Peterson, who was given the death penalty.

Two hundred miles to the south, a small but colorful crowd converges daily outside the Santa Maria courthouse, hoping to catch a glimpse of Michael Jackson during his child molestation trial. Homemade signs supporting the singer are unfurled and Jackson impersonators perform before photographers and TV crews.

Still farther south, news crews outside the Van Nuys courthouse, rushed out live reports moments after jury acquitted Robert Blake of murder Wednesday.

Historic fascination
Public interest in criminal trials is nothing new. When Elizabeth Borden was accused of murdering her father and stepmother in their home in Fall River, Mass., in 1892, newspapers carried coverage from the initial investigation to the end of the trial and beyond. More than a century later, there are still dozens of Web sites dedicated to the case. The morbidly curious can even stay at the scene of the crime, which now serves as a bed and breakfast. Borden was acquitted, but schoolchildren today can still recite the damning poem, "Lizzie Borden took an ax and gave her mother 40 whacks ..."

Decades later, Bruno Hauptmann was accused of the kidnap and murder of famed aviator Charles Lindbergh's infant son. The 1935 "trial of the century" was the original media circus, with newspaper and newsreel photographers jockeying for position in the courtroom.

The modern-day equivalent, of course, is the O.J. Simpson murder trial. Hundreds of print and broadcast journalists from around the world covered the case, making instant celebrities out of the legal teams and the judge. Large crowds gathered in downtown Los Angeles to either support the former football hero, or condemn him.

The impact of the Simpson trial is still being felt today. "When we were considering security, we looked at the O.J. trial for guidance," Hanlon said.

MORE FROM CRIME & COURTS

Crime & courts Section Front

Nurse anesthetist accused of abuse   Arsenal found at ex-doctor's Ohio apartment Anti-gang worker jailed for robbing rapper Court OKs Dec. 8 execution in Ohio Census worker killed himself, police say Police release sketch of L.A. serial killer Crime & courts Section Front   Add Crime & courts headlines to your news reader: