Law professor and author to speak on the 'Infamous Chicago Seven Trial' and William Kunstler March 11
Elgin High School graduate David Langum will discuss “the most hated lawyer in America” who defended The Chicago Seven.
Langum will spotlight the controversial defense attorney William M. Kunstler and the people involved, as well as the Netflix film version, during a virtual program with Gail Borden Public Library on Thursday, March 11.
The Zoom program will begin at 7 p.m.
Author of “William M. Kunstler: The Most Hated Lawyer in America,” Langum will talk about the trial and lead counsel Kunstler's role in presenting a political defense.
The book premiered as a popular Netflix movie, “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” in 2020. Oscar Award-winning English actor Mark Rylance starred as the defense attorney in this film, written and directed by Aaron Sorkin and also starring Sacha Baron-Cohen, Eddie Redmayne, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Frank Langella.
Langum will also discuss the movie's interpretation and depiction of the trial.
The Chicago Seven were charged with conspiracy and other charges related to Vietnam War protests in Chicago during the 1968 Democratic National Convention.
Kunstler's clients also included Martin Luther King Jr. and reputed Mafia don John Gotti. He died in 1995 at age 76.
Langum, born in 1940, grew up in Elgin and graduated from Elgin High School. He gradated with a history degree from Dartmouth College in 1962, followed by Juris Doctor degree from Stanford University Law School in 1965, and a master's degree in history from San Jose State University in 1976.
He later earned a Master of Laws from University of Michigan Law School and Doctor of Juridical Science from the University of Michigan Law School.
Langum is research law professor at Birmingham's Cumberland School of Law, Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama.
He is also the author of “Crossing Over the Line: Legislating Morality and the Mann Act.”
Register for the program at gailborden.info.