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{{Short description|Issue or incident which incites widespread controversy and public debate}}
{{Short description|Issue or incident which incites widespread controversy and public debate}}
{{other uses}}
{{other uses}}
{{italic title}}

{{use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Excessive examples|date=April 2023}}
{{Excessive examples|date=April 2023}}

A '''cause célèbre''' ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|k|ɔː|z|_|s|ə|ˈ|l|ɛ|b|(|r|ə|)|audio=en-us-cause-célèbre.ogg}} {{respell|KAWZ|_|sə|LEB(|rə)}},<ref name=Collins>''Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged'', 12th Edition, 2014. S.v. "cause célèbre". Retrieved November 30, 2018 from https://www.thefreedictionary.com/cause+c%c3%a9l%c3%a8bre</ref><ref name=RandHouse>''Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary''. S.v. "cause célèbre." Retrieved November 30, 2018 from https://www.thefreedictionary.com/cause+c%c3%a9l%c3%a8bre</ref> {{IPA-fr|koz selɛbʁ|lang}}; pl. '''causes célèbres''', pronounced like the singular) is an issue or incident arousing widespread [[controversy]], outside [[Advocacy|campaigning]], and heated [[public debate]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |entry=cause célèbre |dictionary=The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy |edition=3rd |editor1-first=E. D. Jr. |editor1-last=Hirsch |editor2-first=Joseph F. |editor2-last=Kett |editor3-first=James |editor3-last=Trefil |date=2002 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Company |via=Bartleby.com |url=http://www.bartleby.com/59/4/causecelebre.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080921150757/http://www.bartleby.com/59/4/causecelebre.html |archive-date=September 21, 2008 |title=Telecommunications Essay &#124; Bartleby }}</ref> The term continues in the media in all senses. It is sometimes used positively for celebrated legal cases for their [[precedent]] value (each ''[[locus classicus]]'' or "case-in-point") and more often negatively for infamous ones, whether for scale, outrage, [[scandal]], or [[conspiracy theories]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |entry=cause célèbre |dictionary=The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language |edition=4th |date=2000 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Company |via=Bartleby.com |url=http://www.bartleby.com/61/31/C0173100.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080803114311/http://www.bartleby.com/61/31/C0173100.html |archive-date=August 3, 2008 |title=Homework Help and Textbook Solutions &#124; bartleby }}</ref> The term is a [[List of French phrases|French phrase]] in common usage in English. Since it has been fully adopted into English and is included unitalicized in English dictionaries,<ref name="AmHerit">''American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language'', 5th edition. S.v. "cause célèbre". Retrieved November 30, 2018 from https://www.thefreedictionary.com/cause+c%c3%a9l%c3%a8bre</ref><ref name="Collins" /><ref name="RandHouse" /> it is not normally italicized despite its French origin.
A {{lang|fr|'''cause célèbre'''}} ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|k|ɔː|z|_|s|ə|ˈ|l|ɛ|b|(|r|ə|)|audio=en-us-cause-célèbre.ogg}} {{respell|KAWZ|_|sə|LEB(|rə)}},<ref name="Collins">{{Cite web |title=cause célèbre |url=https://www.thefreedictionary.com/cause+c%c3%a9l%c3%a8bre |access-date=2024-01-11 |website=TheFreeDictionary.com |language=en}}</ref> {{IPA-fr|koz selɛbʁ|lang}}; pl. '''''causes célèbres''''', pronounced like the singular) is an issue or incident arousing widespread [[controversy]], outside [[Advocacy|campaigning]], and heated [[public debate]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |entry=cause célèbre |dictionary=The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy |edition=3rd |editor1-first=E. D. Jr. |editor1-last=Hirsch |editor2-first=Joseph F. |editor2-last=Kett |editor3-first=James |editor3-last=Trefil |date=2002 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Company |via=Bartleby.com |url=http://www.bartleby.com/59/4/causecelebre.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080921150757/http://www.bartleby.com/59/4/causecelebre.html |archive-date=September 21, 2008 |title=Telecommunications Essay &#124; Bartleby}}</ref> The term continues in the media in all senses. It is sometimes used positively for celebrated legal cases for their [[precedent]] value (each ''[[locus classicus]]'' or "case-in-point") and more often negatively for infamous ones, whether for scale, outrage, [[scandal]], or [[conspiracy theories]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |entry=cause célèbre |dictionary=The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language |edition=4th |date=2000 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Company |via=Bartleby.com |url=http://www.bartleby.com/61/31/C0173100.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080803114311/http://www.bartleby.com/61/31/C0173100.html |archive-date=August 3, 2008 |title=Homework Help and Textbook Solutions &#124; bartleby}}</ref> The term is a [[List of French phrases|French phrase]] in common usage in English. Since it has been fully adopted into English and is included unitalicized in English dictionaries,<ref name="AmHerit">{{Cite web |title=cause célèbre |url=https://www.thefreedictionary.com/cause+c%c3%a9l%c3%a8bre |access-date=2024-03-13 |website=TheFreeDictionary.com |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Collins" /><ref name="RandHouse">''Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary''. S.v. "cause célèbre." Retrieved November 30, 2018 from https://www.thefreedictionary.com/cause+c%c3%a9l%c3%a8bre</ref> it is not normally italicized despite its French origin.


It has been noted that the public attention given to a particular case or event can obscure the facts rather than clarify them. As one observer states, "The true story of many a cause célèbre is never made manifest in the evidence given or in the advocates' orations, but might be recovered from these old papers when the dust of ages has rendered them immune from scandal".<ref>[[John Humffreys Parry]], "''Whistler v. Ruskin'': An Attorney's Story of a Famous Trial", in ''The Living Age'' (January–March 1921), Vol. 308, p. 346.</ref>
It has been noted that the public attention given to a particular case or event can obscure the facts rather than clarify them. As one observer states, "The true story of many a cause célèbre is never made manifest in the evidence given or in the advocates' orations, but might be recovered from these old papers when the dust of ages has rendered them immune from scandal".<ref>[[John Humffreys Parry]], "''Whistler v. Ruskin'': An Attorney's Story of a Famous Trial", in ''The Living Age'' (January–March 1921), Vol. 308, p. 346.</ref>
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* The [[Mortara case]], Papal States, 1850s and 1860s<ref>{{cite book|title=The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara|last=Kertzer|first=David I|author-link=David Kertzer|year=1998|orig-year=1997|location=New York|publisher=Vintage Books|isbn=978-0-679-76817-3|pages=126–127}}</ref>
* The [[Mortara case]], Papal States, 1850s and 1860s<ref>{{cite book|title=The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara|last=Kertzer|first=David I|author-link=David Kertzer|year=1998|orig-year=1997|location=New York|publisher=Vintage Books|isbn=978-0-679-76817-3|pages=126–127}}</ref>
* [[Tichborne case]], United Kingdom, 1860s and 1870s
* [[Tichborne case]], United Kingdom, 1860s and 1870s
* [[Vera Zasulich#Trepov incident|Vera Zasulich trial]], Russia, 1878<ref>{{cite book |editor-first=Joseph |editor-last=Bristow |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bWRZAgAAQBAJ |title=Wilde Discoveries: Traditions, Histories, Archives |publisher=University of Toronto Press |isbn=978-1-4426-6570-5 |date=2013-05-28 |access-date=2015-07-15 |via=Google Books }}</ref>{{Page needed|date=December 2016}}
* [[Vera Zasulich#Trepov incident|Vera Zasulich trial]], Russia, 1878<ref>{{cite book |editor-first=Joseph |editor-last=Bristow |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bWRZAgAAQBAJ |title=Wilde Discoveries: Traditions, Histories, Archives |publisher=University of Toronto Press |isbn=978-1-4426-6570-5 |date=2013-05-28 |access-date=2015-07-15 |via=Google Books}}</ref>{{Page needed|date=December 2016}}
* ''[[R v Dudley and Stephens]]'' cannibalism case, United Kingdom, 1884
* ''[[R v Dudley and Stephens]]'' cannibalism case, United Kingdom, 1884
* The [[Dreyfus affair]], France, 1890s and 1900s<ref>Sanderson, Edgar; ''Historic Parallels to L'affaire Dreyfus'' (1900), p. 265: "The unique cause célèbre of the nineteenth century, L'Affaire Dreyfus, is conspicuous for every kind of wickedness that can be brought to bear against an innocent man".</ref>
* The [[Dreyfus affair]], France, 1890s and 1900s<ref>Sanderson, Edgar; ''Historic Parallels to L'affaire Dreyfus'' (1900), p. 265: "The unique cause célèbre of the nineteenth century, L'Affaire Dreyfus, is conspicuous for every kind of wickedness that can be brought to bear against an innocent man".</ref>
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* The [[Brown Dog affair]], United Kingdom, 1900s
* The [[Brown Dog affair]], United Kingdom, 1900s
* The [[Los Angeles Times bombing|''Los Angeles Times'' bombing]], 1910
* The [[Los Angeles Times bombing|''Los Angeles Times'' bombing]], 1910
* The [[Menahem Mendel Beilis|Beilis case]], Russian Empire, 1913<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1RlmAQAAQBAJ |title=Blood Libel in Late Imperial Russia: The Ritual Murder Trial of Mendel Beilis |first=Robert |last=Weinberg |publisher=Indiana University Press |date=2013 |series=Indiana-Michigan Series in Russian and East European Studies |isbn=978-0-253-01114-5 |access-date=2015-07-15 |via=Google Books }}</ref>
* The [[Menahem Mendel Beilis|Beilis case]], Russian Empire, 1913<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1RlmAQAAQBAJ |title=Blood Libel in Late Imperial Russia: The Ritual Murder Trial of Mendel Beilis |first=Robert |last=Weinberg |publisher=Indiana University Press |date=2013 |series=Indiana-Michigan Series in Russian and East European Studies |isbn=978-0-253-01114-5 |access-date=2015-07-15 |via=Google Books}}</ref>
* [[Sacco and Vanzetti]] appeals, United States, 1920s
* [[Sacco and Vanzetti]] appeals, United States, 1920s
* The [[Charles Ponzi|Ponzi Scheme]], United States, 1923
* The [[Charles Ponzi|Ponzi Scheme]], United States, 1923
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* The [[Lindbergh kidnapping]], United States, 1932
* The [[Lindbergh kidnapping]], United States, 1932
* The [[Port Chicago disaster]], United States, 1944
* The [[Port Chicago disaster]], United States, 1944
* [[Bhawal case]], India, 1946<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Bhawal_Case|title=Bhawal Case|last=Islam|first=Sirajul|website=[[Banglapedia]]|publisher=Bangladesh Asiatic Society}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{cite news|last=Chaudhuri|first=Supriya|title=The man who would be king|url=http://www.thehindu.com/thehindu/lr/2002/10/06/stories/2002100600190300.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180419170742/http://www.thehindu.com/thehindu/lr/2002/10/06/stories/2002100600190300.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=19 April 2018|access-date=23 January 2017|work=[[The Hindu]]|date=6 October 2002}}</ref><ref>[http://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKPC/1946/1946_32.pdf Srimati Bibhabati Devi v Kumar Ramenda Narayan Roy and others (Fort William (Bengal)) (1946) UKPC 32 (30 July 1946)]</ref><ref>Murad Fyzee – ''A Prince, Poison and Two Funerals: The Bhowal Sanyasi Case'', English Edition Publishers (2003), {{ISBN|81-87853-32-8}}</ref>
* [[Bhawal case]], India, 1946<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Bhawal_Case|title=Bhawal Case|last=Islam|first=Sirajul|website=[[Banglapedia]]|publisher=Bangladesh Asiatic Society}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Chaudhuri|first=Supriya|title=The man who would be king|url=http://www.thehindu.com/thehindu/lr/2002/10/06/stories/2002100600190300.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180419170742/http://www.thehindu.com/thehindu/lr/2002/10/06/stories/2002100600190300.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=19 April 2018|access-date=23 January 2017|work=[[The Hindu]]|date=6 October 2002}}</ref><ref>[http://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKPC/1946/1946_32.pdf Srimati Bibhabati Devi v Kumar Ramenda Narayan Roy and others (Fort William (Bengal)) (1946) UKPC 32 (30 July 1946)]</ref><ref>Murad Fyzee – ''A Prince, Poison and Two Funerals: The Bhowal Sanyasi Case'', English Edition Publishers (2003), {{ISBN|81-87853-32-8}}</ref>
* [[Derek Bentley case]], United Kingdom, 1953
* [[Derek Bentley case]], United Kingdom, 1953
* The [[Petrov Affair]], Australia, 1954
* The [[Petrov Affair]], Australia, 1954
* The shooting of [[William Woodward Jr.]] by his wife [[Ann Woodward]], United States, 1955
* The shooting of [[William Woodward Jr.]] by his wife [[Ann Woodward]], United States, 1955
* The [[Killing of Johnny Stompanato]], United States, 1958
* The [[Assassination of John F. Kennedy]], United States, 1963
* The [[Assassination of John F. Kennedy]], United States, 1963
* The [[Tate-LaBianca murders]], United States, 1969
* The [[Tate-LaBianca murders]], United States, 1969
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* The [[Đorđe Martinović incident]], Yugoslavia, 1985<ref>{{Cite book|last=LeBor|first=Adam|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Om0OViTwCtkC|title=Milosevic: A Biography|date=2003-08-04|publisher=A&C Black|isbn=978-0-7475-6181-1|language=en}}</ref>
* The [[Đorđe Martinović incident]], Yugoslavia, 1985<ref>{{Cite book|last=LeBor|first=Adam|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Om0OViTwCtkC|title=Milosevic: A Biography|date=2003-08-04|publisher=A&C Black|isbn=978-0-7475-6181-1|language=en}}</ref>
* The [[Murder of the Goldmark family]], United States, 1985
* The [[Murder of the Goldmark family]], United States, 1985
* [[Rodney King|Rodney King beating]], United States, 1991<ref>{{cite web |first=Carol Bengle |last=Gilbert |date=May 1, 2012 |title=Rodney King: Before and After the Traffic Stop that Inflamed L.A. |website=Yahoo News |url=https://news.yahoo.com/rodney-king-traffic-stop-inflamed-l-162500101.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140302015905/http://news.yahoo.com/rodney-king-traffic-stop-inflamed-l-162500101.html |archive-date=March 2, 2014 }}</ref>
* [[Rodney King|Rodney King beating]], United States, 1991<ref>{{cite web |first=Carol Bengle |last=Gilbert |date=May 1, 2012 |title=Rodney King: Before and After the Traffic Stop that Inflamed L.A. |website=Yahoo News |url=https://news.yahoo.com/rodney-king-traffic-stop-inflamed-l-162500101.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140302015905/http://news.yahoo.com/rodney-king-traffic-stop-inflamed-l-162500101.html |archive-date=March 2, 2014}}</ref>
* The [[Murder of Shanda Sharer]], United States, 1992
* The [[Murder of Shanda Sharer]], United States, 1992
* [[Peter Ellis (childcare worker)|Peter Ellis trial]], New Zealand, 1993
* [[Peter Ellis (childcare worker)|Peter Ellis trial]], New Zealand, 1993
* [[Murder of Stephen Lawrence]], London, 1993–2015
* [[Murder of Stephen Lawrence]], London, 1993–2015
* [[O. J. Simpson murder case]], United States, 1994–1995<ref><!--Note: Chapter and Book have the same title. -->{{cite book |first=Thomas |last=Sowell |title=The Quest for Cosmic Justice |date=June 30, 2001 |orig-year=1999 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |location=New York |oclc=898484807 |isbn=978-0-7432-1507-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5eU2KN9ChnEC&pg=PA19 |page=19 |quote=A more recent cause célèbre of the American criminal justice system was the murder trial of former football star O.J. Simpson, which provoked widespread consternation, not only because of its “not guilty” verdict in the face of massive evidence to the contrary, but also because of the sheer length of time that the trial took. }}</ref>
* [[O. J. Simpson murder case]], United States, 1994–1995<ref><!--Note: Chapter and Book have the same title. -->{{cite book |first=Thomas |last=Sowell |title=The Quest for Cosmic Justice |date=June 30, 2001 |orig-year=1999 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |location=New York |oclc=898484807 |isbn=978-0-7432-1507-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5eU2KN9ChnEC&pg=PA19 |page=19 |quote=A more recent cause célèbre of the American criminal justice system was the murder trial of former football star O.J. Simpson, which provoked widespread consternation, not only because of its “not guilty” verdict in the face of massive evidence to the contrary, but also because of the sheer length of time that the trial took.}}</ref>
* [[Terri Schiavo case]], United States, 1998-2005
* [[David Camm]], United States, 2000
* [[David Camm]], United States, 2000
* The [[Bain family murders]], New Zealand, 2004
* The [[Bain family murders]], New Zealand, 2004
* [[Amanda Knox]] trials, Italy, 2009–2015<ref name="Amanda Knox">{{cite web|last1=Barry|first1=Colleen|date=September 30, 2013|title=New Amanda Knox trial under way in Florence|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/09/30/new-amanda-knox-trial-under-way-in-florence/2894425/|website=USA Today|access-date=9 July 2014}}</ref>
* [[Amanda Knox]] trials, Italy, 2009–2015<ref name="Amanda Knox">{{cite web|last1=Barry|first1=Colleen|date=September 30, 2013|title=New Amanda Knox trial under way in Florence|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/09/30/new-amanda-knox-trial-under-way-in-florence/2894425/|website=USA Today|access-date=9 July 2014}}</ref>
* [[Sergei Magnitsky]]'s death, Russia, 2009<ref name=Sunday>{{cite news | title= Dying in Agony: His Reward for Solving a $230 Million Fraud | newspaper= [[The Sunday Times]] | date=November 14, 2010 }}</ref>
* [[Sergei Magnitsky]]'s death, Russia, 2009<ref name=Sunday>{{cite news |title=Dying in Agony: His Reward for Solving a $230 Million Fraud |newspaper=[[The Sunday Times]] |date=November 14, 2010}}</ref>
*[[Mohamed Bouazizi]]'s self-immolation, Tunisia, 2010<ref>{{Cite news|last=Amara|first=Tarek|date=2011-01-06|title=Tunisian lawyers strike, civil unrest continues|language=en|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-tunisia-protests-idUKTRE7054CB20110106|access-date=2021-06-16}}</ref>
*[[Mohamed Bouazizi]]'s self-immolation, Tunisia, 2010<ref>{{Cite news|last=Amara|first=Tarek|date=2011-01-06|title=Tunisian lawyers strike, civil unrest continues|language=en|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-tunisia-protests-idUKTRE7054CB20110106|access-date=2021-06-16}}</ref>
* [[Assange v Swedish Prosecution Authority|Julian Assange]] extradition, United Kingdom, 2011<ref>{{cite web |first1=Jeff |last1=Sparrow |first2=Elizabeth |last2=O'Shea |date=December 7, 2010 |url=http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/41914.html |title=Open letter: To Julia Gillard, re Julian Assange |website=ABC News |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |access-date=2015-07-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140505063342/http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/41914.html |archive-date=May 5, 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* [[Assange v Swedish Prosecution Authority|Julian Assange]] extradition, United Kingdom, 2011<ref>{{cite web |first1=Jeff |last1=Sparrow |first2=Elizabeth |last2=O'Shea |date=December 7, 2010 |url=http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/41914.html |title=Open letter: To Julia Gillard, re Julian Assange |website=ABC News |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |access-date=2015-07-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140505063342/http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/41914.html |archive-date=May 5, 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
* [[Pussy Riot]] trial, Russia, 2012<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.spiked-online.com/newsite/article/how_to_become_a_cause_celebre_a_guide_for_political_prisoners/14460 |title=How to become a cause célèbre: a guide for political prisoners |first=Brendan |last=O'Neill |website=spiked |publisher=Spiked Ltd |date=2013-12-24 |access-date=2015-07-15}}</ref>
* [[Pussy Riot]] trial, Russia, 2012<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.spiked-online.com/newsite/article/how_to_become_a_cause_celebre_a_guide_for_political_prisoners/14460 |title=How to become a cause célèbre: a guide for political prisoners |first=Brendan |last=O'Neill |website=spiked |publisher=Spiked Ltd |date=2013-12-24 |access-date=2015-07-15}}</ref>
* [[2012 Delhi gang rape|Delhi gang rape]], India, 2012<ref name="dailyo">{{cite web|last1=Harikrishnan |first1=Charmy |title=India's Daughter: Why we should watch Leslee Udwin's documentary|url=http://www.dailyo.in/politics/leslee-udwin-indias-daughter-nirbhaya-december-16-2012-delhi-gang-rape/story/1/2379.html|website=Daily O |publisher=India Today Group |date=2015-03-04|access-date=2016-11-04}}</ref><ref name="libertarianhome">{{cite web|last1=Gibb |first1=Simon |title=The Delhi Gang Rape Incident|url=http://libertarianhome.co.uk/2012/12/the-delhi-gang-rape/|website=Libertarian Home |date=2012-12-30|access-date=2016-11-04}}</ref>
* [[2012 Delhi gang rape|Delhi gang rape]], India, 2012<ref name="dailyo">{{cite web|last1=Harikrishnan |first1=Charmy |title=India's Daughter: Why we should watch Leslee Udwin's documentary|url=http://www.dailyo.in/politics/leslee-udwin-indias-daughter-nirbhaya-december-16-2012-delhi-gang-rape/story/1/2379.html|website=Daily O |publisher=India Today Group |date=2015-03-04|access-date=2016-11-04}}</ref><ref name="libertarianhome">{{cite web|last1=Gibb |first1=Simon |title=The Delhi Gang Rape Incident|url=http://libertarianhome.co.uk/2012/12/the-delhi-gang-rape/|website=Libertarian Home |date=2012-12-30|access-date=2016-11-04}}</ref>
* [[Causeway Bay Books disappearances]], Hong Kong, 2015
* [[Causeway Bay Books disappearances]], China, 2015
* [[Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi]], Turkey, 2018
* [[Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi]], Turkey, 2018
* [[2018 Japan–South Korea radar lock-on dispute|Sea of Japan radar targeting incident]], Japan and South Korea, 2018
* [[Murder of George Floyd]], United States, 2020
* [[Murder of George Floyd]], United States, 2020
* [[Murder of Sarah Everard]], United Kingdom, 2021
* [[Murder of Sarah Everard]], United Kingdom, 2021
* Trial of [[Kyle Rittenhouse]] after the [[Kenosha unrest shooting]], United States, 2021<ref>{{Cite news|last= Barrett|first=Joe|date=2020-09-01|title=Kyle Rittenhouse, Charged With Killing Two in Kenosha, Sees Strong Fundraising Support|language=en|work=The Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/kyle-rittenhouse-charged-with-killing-two-in-kenosha-emerges-as-a-cause-celebre-to-some-11598998441|access-date=2022-07-10}}</ref>
* Trial of [[Kyle Rittenhouse]] after the [[Kenosha unrest shooting]], United States, 2021<ref>{{Cite news|last= Barrett|first=Joe|date=2020-09-01|title=Kyle Rittenhouse, Charged With Killing Two in Kenosha, Sees Strong Fundraising Support|language=en|work=The Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/kyle-rittenhouse-charged-with-killing-two-in-kenosha-emerges-as-a-cause-celebre-to-some-11598998441|access-date=2022-07-10}}</ref>
* [[Murder of Brianna Ghey]], United Kingdom, 2023
* [[Depp v. Heard]], United States, 2022
* [[Murder of Moïse Mugenyi Kabagambe]], Brazil, 2022
* [[Murder of Moïse Mugenyi Kabagambe]], Brazil, 2022
* [[Death of Mahsa Amini]], Iran, 2022
* [[Death of Mahsa Amini]], Iran, 2022}}

}}
== Fictional examples ==

* Death of [[Jean Maximilien Lamarque|General Lamarque]] in [[Les Misérables|Les Miserables]] (1832)
* The [[prison riot]] in [[Natural Born Killers]]


== See also ==
== See also ==
* [[Trial of the century]]
* [[Lists of landmark court decisions]]
* [[Lists of landmark court decisions]]
* [[List of French expressions in English]]
* [[List of French expressions in English]]
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{{Reflist|30em}}
{{Reflist|30em}}


== External links ==
==External links==
*{{Wiktionary-inline|cause célèbre}}
* {{Wiktionary-inline|cause célèbre}}
* {{Wikinews inline|Category:Causes célèbres}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Cause celebre}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cause celebre}}
[[Category:1760s neologisms]]
[[Category:1760s neologisms]]
⚫
[[Category:Legal terminology]]
[[Category:Public opinion]]
[[Category:Public opinion]]
[[Category:Social influence]]
[[Category:Social influence]]
⚫
[[Category:Legal terminology]]

Latest revision as of 09:49, 28 May 2024

For other uses, see Cause célèbre (disambiguation).

A cause célèbre (/ˌkɔːz səˈlɛb(rə)/ ⓘ KAWZ sə-LEB(-rə),[1] French: [koz selɛbʁ]; pl. causes célèbres, pronounced like the singular) is an issue or incident arousing widespread controversy, outside campaigning, and heated public debate.[2] The term continues in the media in all senses. It is sometimes used positively for celebrated legal cases for their precedent value (each locus classicus or "case-in-point") and more often negatively for infamous ones, whether for scale, outrage, scandal, or conspiracy theories.[3] The term is a French phrase in common usage in English. Since it has been fully adopted into English and is included unitalicized in English dictionaries,[4][1][5] it is not normally italicized despite its French origin.

It has been noted that the public attention given to a particular case or event can obscure the facts rather than clarify them. As one observer states, "The true story of many a cause célèbre is never made manifest in the evidence given or in the advocates' orations, but might be recovered from these old papers when the dust of ages has rendered them immune from scandal".[6]

Etymology[edit]

In French, one of the meanings of cause is a legal case, and célèbre means "famous". The phrase originated with the 37-volume Nouvelles Causes Célèbres, published in 1763, which was a collection of reports of well-known French court decisions from the 17th and 18th centuries.

While English speakers had used the phrase for many years, it came into much more common usage after the 1894 conviction of Alfred Dreyfus for espionage during the cementing of a period of deep cultural ties with a political tie between England and France, the Entente Cordiale. Both attracted worldwide interest and the period of closeness or rapprochement officially broadened the English language.

Examples[edit]

Fictional examples[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "cause célèbre". TheFreeDictionary.com. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  2. ^ Hirsch, E. D. Jr.; Kett, Joseph F.; Trefil, James, eds. (2002). "cause célèbre". Telecommunications Essay | Bartleby. The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy (3rd ed.). Houghton Mifflin Company. Archived from the original on 21 September 2008 – via Bartleby.com.
  3. ^ "cause célèbre". Homework Help and Textbook Solutions | bartleby. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (4th ed.). Houghton Mifflin Company. 2000. Archived from the original on 3 August 2008 – via Bartleby.com.
  4. ^ "cause célèbre". TheFreeDictionary.com. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  5. ^ Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary. S.v. "cause célèbre." Retrieved November 30, 2018 from https://www.thefreedictionary.com/cause+c%c3%a9l%c3%a8bre
  6. ^ John Humffreys Parry, "Whistler v. Ruskin: An Attorney's Story of a Famous Trial", in The Living Age (January–March 1921), Vol. 308, p. 346.
  7. ^ Kertzer, David I (1998) [1997]. The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara. New York: Vintage Books. pp. 126–127. ISBN 978-0-679-76817-3.
  8. ^ Bristow, Joseph, ed. (28 May 2013). Wilde Discoveries: Traditions, Histories, Archives. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 978-1-4426-6570-5. Retrieved 15 July 2015 – via Google Books.
  9. ^ Sanderson, Edgar; Historic Parallels to L'affaire Dreyfus (1900), p. 265: "The unique cause célèbre of the nineteenth century, L'Affaire Dreyfus, is conspicuous for every kind of wickedness that can be brought to bear against an innocent man".
  10. ^ Susan L. Mizruchi (2008). The rise of multicultural America. University of North Carolina Press. p. 293. ISBN 9780807832509.
  11. ^ Weinberg, Robert (2013). Blood Libel in Late Imperial Russia: The Ritual Murder Trial of Mendel Beilis. Indiana-Michigan Series in Russian and East European Studies. Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-01114-5. Retrieved 15 July 2015 – via Google Books.
  12. ^ Islam, Sirajul. "Bhawal Case". Banglapedia. Bangladesh Asiatic Society.
  13. ^ Chaudhuri, Supriya (6 October 2002). "The man who would be king". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 19 April 2018. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
  14. ^ Srimati Bibhabati Devi v Kumar Ramenda Narayan Roy and others (Fort William (Bengal)) (1946) UKPC 32 (30 July 1946)
  15. ^ Murad Fyzee – A Prince, Poison and Two Funerals: The Bhowal Sanyasi Case, English Edition Publishers (2003), ISBN 81-87853-32-8
  16. ^ Ann, Rule (2000). The Sranger Beside Me (Updated 20th anniversary ed.). New York: Norton. ISBN 0393050297. OCLC 44110374.
  17. ^ LeBor, Adam (4 August 2003). Milosevic: A Biography. A&C Black. ISBN 978-0-7475-6181-1.
  18. ^ Gilbert, Carol Bengle (1 May 2012). "Rodney King: Before and After the Traffic Stop that Inflamed L.A." Yahoo News. Archived from the original on 2 March 2014.
  19. ^ Sowell, Thomas (30 June 2001) [1999]. The Quest for Cosmic Justice. New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 19. ISBN 978-0-7432-1507-7. OCLC 898484807. A more recent cause célèbre of the American criminal justice system was the murder trial of former football star O.J. Simpson, which provoked widespread consternation, not only because of its "not guilty" verdict in the face of massive evidence to the contrary, but also because of the sheer length of time that the trial took.
  20. ^ Barry, Colleen (30 September 2013). "New Amanda Knox trial under way in Florence". USA Today. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  21. ^ "Dying in Agony: His Reward for Solving a $230 Million Fraud". The Sunday Times. 14 November 2010.
  22. ^ Amara, Tarek (6 January 2011). "Tunisian lawyers strike, civil unrest continues". Reuters. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  23. ^ Sparrow, Jeff; O'Shea, Elizabeth (7 December 2010). "Open letter: To Julia Gillard, re Julian Assange". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 5 May 2014. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  24. ^ O'Neill, Brendan (24 December 2013). "How to become a cause célèbre: a guide for political prisoners". spiked. Spiked Ltd. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  25. ^ Harikrishnan, Charmy (4 March 2015). "India's Daughter: Why we should watch Leslee Udwin's documentary". Daily O. India Today Group. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  26. ^ Gibb, Simon (30 December 2012). "The Delhi Gang Rape Incident". Libertarian Home. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  27. ^ Barrett, Joe (1 September 2020). "Kyle Rittenhouse, Charged With Killing Two in Kenosha, Sees Strong Fundraising Support". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 10 July 2022.

External links[edit]

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