When Charlie Met Joan: The Tragedy of the Chaplin Trials and the Failings of American Law

• 2026 New York Law School Otto L. Walter Distinguished Writing Award

Charlie Chaplin, the silent screen’s “Little Tramp,” was beloved by millions of movie fans until he starred in a series of salacious, real-life federal courtroom dramas. The 1944 trial was described by ace New York Daily News reporter Florabel Muir as “the best show in town.” The leading lady was a woman under contract to his studio—red-haired ingénue Joan Barry...