Abstract

" A Most Unusual Case": The Trial of Alger Hiss - III

Of all possible outcomes of this generation's most celebrated trial, a hung jury was surely the one most in keeping with the general bewilderment. It was the denouement that most accurately reflected the prevalent doubt as to whether. Alger Hiss, former clerk to a Supreme Court judge was the victim of a personal conspiracy or the perpetrator of a political one. As Judge Samuel H. Kaufman understated it, this was a most unusual case. The appearance, reputation and public record of the accused were as appealing, unimpeachable and impressive as any defense lawyer could dream of starting out with; while the accuser, Whittaker Chambers, was a confessed perjurer, a man whose life history must have struck the jury as the saga of a warped and sinister figure.