The Trial of Dr Spock
Jessica Mitford
287 pages
published in 1969

Jessica Mitford was the daughter of an English aristocrat, who went to the US and became a communist muckraker. (Of her sisters, one became enamoured of Hitler and blew her brains out when World War II broke out, one became Oswald Mosley's wife and one became a snob, but an amusing snob...)

Dr Spock is of course the world famous author of Baby and Child Care, it was under the guidance of this book that the baby boom generation was brought up. He is not to be confused with a certain half Vulcan. What may be less well-known is that he became a dedicated antiwar activist in the 1960ties, coming out of retirement to fight against the war in Vietnam. Dr Spock became one of the people involved with the Resistance Movement, which fought the then existing draft laws. Under these laws there was a selective draft in place, which meant that a certain percentage of men between the ages of 18 and 35 was called up for active service each year, often to go fight in Vietnam.

The purpose behind the draft laws was more than just providing cannon fodder: its intent was to force people to serve the national interest, either directly by accepting military service or indirectly, by choosing a career or study exempt from the draft. The Resistance group fought this by directly resisting the draft laws: men of draftable age burned their draft cards and rejected serving altogether, their supporters above draftable age by assisting them in this and so subjecting themselves to the same punishments. In doing so, the movement put the axe to the roots of the draft system: if enough people disobey the laws directly rather than seeking deferment or fleeing to Canada the system would become unworkable. A governmental reaction was bound to come sooner or later.

When it came, it came in the form of an indictment for conspiracy, leveled against five Resistance members, including Dr Spock. The reasons for chosen just those five people out of hundreds of other members appeared to have been semi-random and partially motivated by available material (e.g. tv news items) documenting their activities for the Resistance group.

In The Trial of Dr Spock, Jessica Mitford makes clear how political this trial was and what purposes such a trial served. According to her such a trial serves as a warning to others not to get out of line. It's an attempt to squash dissent. She also points out that due process is no defence against a politically motivated trial: everything in the Spock trial was done by the book and with respect to the defendants' civil rights, yet this still lead to a conviction.

The particular circumstances under which the Spock trials took place are unlikely to be repeated --the selective service draft having been abolished since the 1970ties-- but the general lesson from it is still relevant. It is quite easy for any state to try and stifle dissent by way of political trials, if you let them.