History Film / TheTrialOfTheChicago7

** Judge Hoffman has one at the end when he praises Tom Hayden as [[TokenGoodTeammate the only defendant who behaved decently throughout the trial]], and makes it clear that he's being sincere when stating that he believes Hayden will undergo a HeelFaceTurn. While this statement is far from what Hayden, Hoffman's attempt at kindness is genuine. In addition to that, Hoffman also notes that if Hayden follows his orders for his closing statement, it will be reflected positively in the defendants' sentences.

* ZeroPercentApprovalRating: Judge Hoffman is the extremely corrupt HangingJudge doing everything he can to be completely unfair to the defendants and railroad them into convictions. The ending title card reveals that the city later deemed him "Unfit".

* 0%ApprovalRating: Judge Hoffman is the extremely corrupt HangingJudge doing everything he can to be completely unfair to the defendants and railroad them into convictions. The ending title card reveals that the city later deemed him "Unfit".

* VillainousBreakdown: Though he had moments of SuddenlyShouting even before the end of the film, Judge Hoffman [[spoiler:flies into a desperate and hostile rage not only when the fallen soldiers' names are read and everyone's standing, but that his own demands for order while he futilely bangs his gavel can’t carry over the cheers]].

** In the film, Bobby Seale's case is declared a mistrial almost immediately after he's dragged back to court in a gag and chains, which is a compression from reality — he was brought into court this way for several ''days''.

** It's portrayed here that Bobby Seale is only on trial to make the white defendants appear more dangerous by association with a {{scary black man}}. However, he'd made a speech calling for people to shoot police who were threatening them, saying that it would be self-defense and he would congratulate those who did. Based on this he was indicted for crossing state lines to incite riot. It's probable the government wanted him indicted regardless though since they were seeking to destroy the Black Panther Panty, which is shown in the film.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: The first thing the US Attorney General does is note that his predecessor, Ramsey Clark, snubbed him during his inauguration. Sure enough, Clark shows up in the latter half of the film to cause problems for the prosecution.

* LamePunReaction: When Jerry Rubin meets Daphne O'Connor in a bar, he starts to tell her about the history of the drink she bought him (a Tom Collins), and she tells him this joke:

'''Daphne:''' Because in France, one egg is an oeuf.\\
'''Jerry:''' (''{{Beat}}'') Okay, now I don't feel so bad about my Tom Collins story.

* UndercoverCopReveal: At the trial, we see a lot of the people who were introduced to people like Tom Hayden and Abbie Hoffman were actually undercover cops and FBI agents. [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] by Lee Weiner, who wonders if there were more police than actual protesters in Chicago.

** Kuntsler is not pleased with Abbie Hoffman narrating the events of each trial day as a stand-up routine in front of a crowd.

* AmbiguousSyntax: At one point, Tom Hayden makes a speech where he says "If blood is gonna flow, let it flow all over the city". As Abbie later explains, what he meant was "If OUR blood is going to flow", as in "if they're going to kill us, then everyone should see it". It is, however, overall interpreted as "If the cops are going to die, then let them all die", and used as proof that he intended to start a riot. Abbie also explains that this is one of Tom's quirks and he does this sort of thing constantly.

* BigBad: [[HangingJudge Judge Julius Hoffman.]] He shows open bias against the defense and rules one-sidedly for the government. His ordering Bobby Seale held bound and gagged in open court appalls even lead prosecutor Schultz.

* {{Jerkass}}: Judge Hoffman is a corrupt judge who has already decided to find the defendants guilty before the case has begun, and does everything he can to ruin their chances of appearing innocent, denying Seale the basic legal right to have legal counsel of his own choice, getting rid of jury members on their side, refusing to allow the jury to see a major witness who could turn the tide of the case, and then there’s [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain the moment where he has Bobby Seale gagged.]]

* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Sorkin cited several recent events, chief among them the George Floyd protests, as a catalyst for making the film. The scene in which police remove their badges and nametags immediately before brutalizing protestors reflects specific accusations against police in numerous incidents during the Floyd protests.

* MisplacedAccent: The result of ArtisticLicense in this case; Mark Ryland gives Kunstler a southern drawl. The real Kunstler was from New York, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ft8UNDhV2Uc and sounded like it]].

* GoryDiscretionShot: Mostly not in use; the violence and PoliceBrutality are on full display. The exception is when Kuntsler goes over the night the riots began. The police remove their badges and nameplates, the window shatters, and the next thing we see is the wrecked bar afterwards.

* JuryAndWitnessTampering: Kuntsler and Weinglass note that jurors 6 and 11 seem to be listening to them more than the prosecution. A few days later, Judge Hoffman states that 6 and 11's families have received threatening mail, purportedly from the Black Panthers, rendering them unable to deliver an impartial verdict. It is strongly implied that the letters actually came from the FBI rather than the Panthers, who would have been unlikely to pull a stunt like that.

* NiceJobFixingItVillain: Schultz is the one who asks that a mistrial be declared for Seale, much to Judge Hoffman's shock. Kuntsler spells out that beating, shackling, and gagging Seale in open court has just taken him from a ScaryBlackMan into a sympathetic figure because he is now an obvious victim of racism.

** During that same scene, Schultz is also able to have a fairly friendly conversation with Hoffman and Rubin, furthering emphasizing his status as a PunchClockVillain.
** Schultz and Tom Foran object to Bobby Seale being gagged and tied down alongside the defense attorneys.
** Judge Hoffman has one at the end when he praises Tom Hayden as [[TokenGoodTeammate the only defendant who behaved decently throughout the trial]], and believes that he could become a decent citizen. While this statement is far from what Hayden would want to hear, it appears that Hoffman meant it as a genuine compliment.

-->''[[UsefulNotes/MartinLutherKingJr Martin's]] dead, [[UsefulNotes/MalcolmX Malcom's]] dead, Medgar's dead, [[UsefulNotes/RobertFKennedy Bobby's]] dead, Jesus is dead. They tried it peacefully, we're gonna try something else.

-->''[[UsefulNotes/MartinLutherKingJr Marty's]] dead. [[UsefulNotes/RobertFKennedy Bobby's]] dead. UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}} is dead. They all tried it peaceful. We're gonna try something different.

* JerkassHasAPoint: The cops are out for blood except and it seems like everyone in Chicago was doing everything they could to raise tension. However, they are right they that the protestors and Hayden did, unintentionally, start riots. Twice actually first trying to "take the hill" and again when Hayden said misspoke and said "if blood is going to flow, then let it flow all over the city."