Scribd
Upload
65 views

Copyofoppeningstatement

Plaintiff Attorney Liz Egler and Second Chair Sarah Staley delivered the opening statement. They argued that J. Edgar Hoover violated the principles of liberty and justice that the founding fathers established by illegally wiretapping Martin Luther King Jr. and blacklisting Hollywood celebrities based on their political views. To prove these violations, the prosecution will call three witnesses: Senator Frank Church to discuss Congress's investigation of the FBI, screenwriter Dalton Trumbo to discuss being blacklisted, and Coretta Scott King to discuss Hoover's attempts to discredit her husband. The prosecution aims to restore liberty and justice for all citizens.

Uploaded by

api-303129336
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
65 views

Copyofoppeningstatement

Plaintiff Attorney Liz Egler and Second Chair Sarah Staley delivered the opening statement. They argued that J. Edgar Hoover violated the principles of liberty and justice that the founding fathers established by illegally wiretapping Martin Luther King Jr. and blacklisting Hollywood celebrities based on their political views. To prove these violations, the prosecution will call three witnesses: Senator Frank Church to discuss Congress's investigation of the FBI, screenwriter Dalton Trumbo to discuss being blacklisted, and Coretta Scott King to discuss Hoover's attempts to discredit her husband. The prosecution aims to restore liberty and justice for all citizens.

Uploaded by

api-303129336
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 2

Plaintiff Attorney Liz Egler

Second Cha
i
r Sarah Staley
3/17/16
Opening Statement
Your Honor, Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury:
Our founding fathers designed our country on the principles of liberty and justice
for all. Liberty, our most precious right, is defined as the state of being free within
society from oppressions on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. Justice,
another core right, means that those who do wrong will face the consequences of their
actions. In America, we view justice not only as an end result, that the outcome is fair,
but as a process, that the methods in which we are conducting justice are fair. Justice,
ladies and gentlemen of the jury, is what were looking for today.
J. Edgar Hoover, an unelected official in our government, has been using his
considerable power to violate the rights of fellow American citizens. He placed illegal
wiretaps on the phone and in the offices of MLK, a man recognized for his dedication to
nonviolence and equality. Hoover defended and used the era of McCarthyism, a time in
which fear ran rampant, to further his power. In this way, he has also violated the rights
of many Hollywood celebrities, as they were accused under suspicion of communist and
blacklisted from participating in their lifes work. This, ladies and gentlemen of the jury,
is not only a crime against our country, but a crime against our people.
In the interest of restoring justice and liberty, the prosecution will call three
witnesses, each to explain how Hoover violated the rights of our fellow American
citizens. Our first witness, Senator Frank Church, the head of the Church Committee,
will explain the outcome of Congresss investigation into the FBI, as well how Hoover
violated our constitutional rights. Our second witness, Mr. Dalton Trumbo, is an

award-winning screenwriter, blacklisted and exiled from Hollywood by Senator


McCarthy because of his political party, a notion that violates the 1st amendment.
Finally, our third witness is none other than Coretta Scott King, the wife of Martin Luther
King Jr. She will divulge her personal confrontation with Mr. Hoover and how he
attempted to defame and discredit her husband and other civil rights leaders.
In all, we, the prosecution, are looking to restore to you the rights of liberty and
justice. These rights are necessary to live a free life in our free country, and we can not
and will not stand idly by as Hoover takes them away. Thank you.

You might also like