The most widely noted case before the Court of Historical Review was in 1983, when it determined that the
fortune cookie was invented in San Francisco, not Los Angeles. Participants in the case "wore yellow makeup and Celestial costumes and spoke in pidgin English as they presented the oral history underlying each side’s case".
Lefty O'Doul, was not named to the
Baseball Hall of Fame before his death in December 1969, and is still waiting to be recognized, an ongoing issue important to many fans of the game. The 76th meeting of the Court of Historical Review in 1997 heard spirited arguments from the opposition justifying his exclusion, and others supporting his admittance. In the end, Judge George T. Choppelas's accepted criterion was sufficient for O'Doul's induction into the Hall of Fame. The verdict was passionately greeted with boos and cheers by both sides of the controversy. While many issues were of uncertain merit such as determining
Elvis Presley was indeed dead; others had a much more serious tone, "retrying" controversial cases which already passed through actual courts of law.
Shoeless Joe Jackson, though acquitted in 1921 over the 1919
Black Sox Scandal, could no longer play ball professionally nor be admitted into the
Baseball Hall of Fame. Stories about his presumed guilt continued to be distributed. In 1993, Jackson's innocence was affirmed by the Court of Historical Review. Some
International Church of the Foursquare Gospel leaders used the
Aimee Semple McPherson ruling in 1990 as a modern vindication by law professionals who re-examined the evidence; agreeing with the earlier
grand jury inquiries that there was nothing substantial disproving their founder's 1926 kidnapping story. The mock court did not come to any decisive ruling on whether or not
Bruno Hauptman was guilty of his charged crimes resulting in his execution, but recommended that the case be reopened. This prompted a reply from New Jersey authorities who stated they saw no reason to do so. A partial list of the verdicts of the court include: • A ruling in 1983 that the
Martini was invented in San Francisco, and not nearby
Martinez, California. However, the decision was later reversed by a Martinez Appellate Court that included California Appellate Court Justices Wakefield Taylor and Frank Bray, confirming that the Martini was invented in Martinez. • A ruling in 1987 that
chicken soup deserves its reputation as "Jewish penicillin" • A 1989 ruling that
Albert Einstein did not meet with
Marilyn Monroe • A recommendation that the
Bruno Hauptman case be re-opened • A ruling in 1990 that the legend of
Cinderella originated in
Italy, rather than France, China, or the United States • A ruling in 1990 there was never any substantial evidence to show that
Aimee Semple McPherson's kidnapping story was untrue. • Another ruling in 1990 that mystery author
Dashiell Hammett did work as a detective for the Pinkerton's National Detective Agency • A ruling in 1993 that
Shoeless Joe Jackson was not guilty in the 1919
Black Sox scandal • Another ruling in 1993 that
Elvis Presley was, in fact, dead • A ruling in 1997 that
Lefty O'Doul deserves to be admitted into the
Baseball Hall of Fame == References ==