The Trial of the Chicago 7 tells the story of eight people who were unfairly prosecuted by the US government for starting a riot in Chicago during the Democratic National Convention in the summer of 1968. All eight were tried as a single group, “the radical left”, that planned the riot despite these eight people representing four different groups with very different goals and methods. During the course of the film, we see the trial’s judge, Julius Hoffman, severely discriminate against the defense. He repeatedly refuses to allow Bobby Seale, the Chairman of the Black Panthers, to have a lawyer represent him in trial and even orders Seale to be bound and gagged in a chair midway through the trial after he asks to have legal representation. He also refuses to allow an ex-Attorney General to testify that the Chicago Police Department started the riots and that the Nixon Administration is discriminating against anti-war protestors despite the Attorney General’s willingness to testify and evidence proving both points.
Throughout the film, we see clear examples of Othering based on political identity and race. During the trial, we see the Nixon-appointed prosecution try to baselessly establish that all eight defendants worked together as “the radical left” to start a riot in Chicago despite the eight defendants representing four very different groups and despite many of the defendants not knowing each other before they came to Chicago. Much of the testimony presented in this trial establishes that these were distinct groups, such as a secretary testifying that they denied permits to protest in Chicago to each of the defendants on separate occasions and for distinct reasons. The prosecution attempts to make the defendants an other to make the jury discriminate against them for their political leanings. Another example of Othering found in the film is the treatment of Bobby Seale in court. Before the trial, Bobby Seale requested that the trial be delayed as his lawyer, Charles Garry, was in the hospital for gallbladder surgery. This request was denied and Bobby Seale was forced to go through the trial without a lawyer to represent him. As he doesn’t have a lawyer, Bobby Seale repeatedly attempts to represent himself by questioning witnesses and making objections to the judge. Unfortunately, Judge Hoffman refuses to allow Seale to represent himself, despite legal precedent indicating that he is able to, and charges him with contempt of court whenever he does. At one point in the trial, after Bobby Seale attempts to object to a witness’ testimony, Judge Hoffman asks that the police “take that defendant into a room and deal with him as he should be dealt with”. Bobby Seale is then forced into a nearby room and is beaten, gagged, and bound to a chair. Judge Hoffman’s discrimination against Bobby Seale and the defense team as a whole was designed to make them an other. Throughout the trial, he is antagonistic to the defense, even asking them to make fewer objections so they can get the trial over with and repeatedly pointing out that Bobby Seale is a member of the Black Panthers. His treatment of Bobby Seale is a reflection of that, as the jury may believe that the judge is protecting them from someone who they think is violent.