Here's what happened to Judge Julius Hoffman after the mostly real-life events of Netflix and Aaron Sorkin's The Trial of the Chicago 7. The streaming giant has released the long-awaited Aaron Sorkin courtroom drama to much acclaim, and the case's infamous judge steals the show with his less-than-ethical conduct.
Fifty years after the high-profile court battle between eight anti-war activists and Richard Nixon's Department of Justice, the extrajudicial antics of Judge Julius Hoffman are still appalling. From the moment Frank Langella utters the judge's initial clumsy dialogue, it's apparent that the scales of justice are not evenly balanced. The film makes good use of Cohen as Abbie Hoffman (no relation) as he cheekily taunts the judge, and though the banter between the two evokes a few laughs, the elder Hoffman quickly loses any semblance of patience. Amidst a flurry of irrational objections and cries of contempt, Bobby Seale (played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) appears to be trapped in an episode of The Twilight Zone.
Related: Trial Of The Chicago 7 Real-Life Prosecutor Says Nothing Was Accurate
Played by the illustrious Frank Langella, Judge Hoffman is perhaps the most controversial public figure at the center of Aaron Sorkin's timely retelling of the 1968 protests and ensuing legal battles. In the film, Langella brilliantly boils the blood of everyone on screen and off, but it stands as an accurate recreation of the horrifying real-life actions of a judge gone rogue. Although The Trial of the Chicago 7 concludes with the gavel banging away, the real Judge Hoffman's erratic behavior would eventually result in the overturning of their convictions. The high-profile case merely exposed his biased and abusive behavior, but The Trial of Chicago 7 deftly reveals his fate in its epilogue.
Bobby Seale was originally the eighth defendant; in addition to co-founding the Black Panthers, he was the only African American among the loosely-affiliated activists on trial. When his attorney was hospitalized, and thus unavailable, the ornery Judge Hoffman refused to let him represent himself, driving Seale to openly mock the court. The anxiety of the accused (and the audience) increases as Hoffman's abuse escalates until his wrath can no longer be contained. In the film's most unsettling scene, the judge orders U.S. Marshals to remove Seale and punish him for his insolence, and in the process is beaten, shackled, and crudely gagged. All at once, the entire courtroom looks on with shock and disgust as Hoffman belittles Seale while quietly demanding obedience.
The trial took place in a time of unrest that included the unpopular war in Vietnam and the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy, and Judge Hoffman's appalling actions unveiled the still-simmering racial fury of the old guard. The film squeezes Seale's humiliation into one scene, but in the true story behind Trial Of The Chicago 7, the defendant was forced to endure days of excessive bondage in court before his case was declared a mistrial. The remaining seven are reluctantly humbled by the judge, who managed to issue over 100 citations for contempt of court for offenses he deemed disrespectful or disruptive to his court.
Although the judge was able to obstruct his way to declaring the group guilty, in 1970, all of their convictions were overturned by a U.S. Court of Appeals, due largely to Hoffman's radical unfairness toward the anti-war activists. After his apparent incompetence and outright antagonism of the Chicago 7, the judge drew skepticism in his ability to adjudicate effectively or fairly. A 1974 book entitled The Benchwarmers exposed the negative reputation of Hoffman among his colleagues in Chicago, claiming a 78% "Unqualified" rating.
A year before his death, Hoffman was forced into retirement by an executive committee, citing age and poor judgment. Stubborn until the end, the real Judge Hoffman defended the actions depicted in The Trial of the Chicago 7, even extolling his own judicial dignity. In remembrances for the judge, he was recognized for his authority-fueled abuse of Bobby Seale, his bungling of the contentious case, and for being declared unfit. After 2020, his memory will be overshadowed by Langella's infuriating performance, and the Chicago 7 finally get the last laugh.