History Main / JuryOfTheDamned

-->-- ''The Devil and Daniel Webster'' by Stephen Vincent Benet

* ''Series/SwampThing'' TV series: Anton Arcane complains that the jury is not impartial, as they all know him well.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode "Treehouse of Horror IV" ("The Devil and Homer Simpson" segment), when Homer sold his soul for a doughnut, included a jury consisting of John Wilkes Booth, Lizzie Borden, John Dillinger, Blackbeard[[note]]Who has to sit in Maggie's hi-chair because there weren't any normal chairs left[[/note]], Benedict Arnold, the starting lineup of the [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking 1976 Philadelphia Flyers]] (popularly known as the "Broad Street Bullies" because they were famed for their [[UnnecessaryRoughness violent play]]), and UsefulNotes/RichardNixon.

The EvilCounterpart to CelebritiesHangOutInHeaven. See also JokerJury, JudgementOfTheDead and HistorysCrimeWave. May be subject to HistoricalVillainUpgrade.

* ''Literature/TheBarsoomProject'' features a sequence where the PlayerCharacters are put on trial by the [[AnthropomorphicPersonification manifestations]] of humanity's sins and crimes as defined by the literal theme park version of the Eskimo religion.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode "Treehouse of Horror IV" ("The Devil and Homer Simpson" segment), when Homer sold his soul for a doughnut, included a jury consisting of John Wilkes Booth, Lizzie Borden, John Dillinger, Blackbeard, Benedict Arnold, the starting lineup of the [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking 1976 Philadelphia Flyers]] (popularly known as the "Broad Street Bullies" because they were famed for their [[UnnecessaryRoughness violent play]]), and UsefulNotes/RichardNixon.

* In ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' cosmology, the closest thing demons have to a justice system is the Lords of Woe, a cabal of nalfeshnee who hold court on the 400th layer of the Abyss, Woeful Escarand. The court enforces the law of the Abyss, or at least ''their'' interpretation of it, and as you might expect of demons, it's little more than a dark and insane parody of a true court of law. Most of the time they simply decide the fates of chaotic evil mortal souls who end up in the Abyss; when they actually decide to hold a ''trial'', the defendants are usually tried ''in absentia'', as few are willing to submit themselves to their "justice". The only thing that keeps them from becoming a total joke is pacts written in ancient times that do, indeed, given them authority to make judgments, so those who are convicted tend to give them a wide berth.

The EvilCounterpart to CelebritiesHangOutInHeaven. See also JokerJury and HistorysCrimeWave. May be subject to HistoricalVillainUpgrade.

This has been played with many times in homages, pastiches, and parodies of ''The Devil and Daniel Webster'', although some modern viewers [[WeirdAlEffect may not know what the original source was]].

[[folder:Film -- Animated]]

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

See also JokerJury and HistorysCrimeWave. May be subject to HistoricalVillainUpgrade.
EvilCounterpart to CelebritiesHangOutInHeaven.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

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[[quoteright:350:[[Film/TheDevilAndDanielWebster https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/devil_daniel_webster_trial_160.jpg]]]]

->Dan'l Webster had faced some hard juries and hanging judges in his time, but this was the hardest he'd ever faced, and he knew it. They sat there with a kind of glitter in their eyes, and the stranger's smooth voice went on and on. Every time he'd raise an objection, it'd be "Objection sustained", but whenever Dan'l objected, it'd be "Objection denied". Well, you couldn't expect fair play from a fellow like this Mr. Scratch.