The research of several Georgetown Law students played a fundamental role in bringing to the public eye secret witness testimony in the Cold War atomic spy trial known as the Rosenberg case.

The Rosenberg case began in 1950, when Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were arrested and tried for espionage a year later. Both Ethel and Julius were convicted and sentenced to death in 1953.

Georgetown Law Professor David Vladeck filed an initial petition to reopen the case in January, with specific aims to examine the strength of the case against Ethel Rosenberg. The petition called for 46 witnesses’ testimonies to be released. U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein allowed 43 of the witnesses’ secret testimonies to be revealed on July 23, while the three remaining testimonies await release later this year.

Vladeck petitioned on behalf of the National Security Archive and other groups of historians and archivists to have the grand jury records of the Rosenberg’s indictment unsealed.

The historical significance of the case in the Cold War helped to prompt the release of the documents.

“The heart of the case was substantiating the claim that the Rosenberg prosecution met the exacting test for unsealing grand jury records, which generally are kept secret in perpetuity,” Vladeck said.

Eight law students, as part of Georgetown’s Institute for Public Representation, worked with over a dozen expert historians to prepare detailed reports explaining to the court the historical context in which the case arose, and why it remained so controversial.

“Each student worked with at least two of these expert historians. And the work product we submitted to the court was just first-rate. Our success in this case is a testament to the skill and tenacity of Georgetown Law students,” Vladeck said.

Besides Vladeck and the law students, the petition also incorporated some work from historian and University of Prince Edward Island Professor Bruce Craig. Information from Craig’s 60-page declaration on the Rosenberg case was incorporated in the petition with the help of law student Joy Welan (LAW ’08).

According to Vladeck, the biggest challenge of the case was sorting through the piles of historical records about the case and compacting them into a convincing argument for the release of the grand jury records.

“I was in charge of writing the brief requesting the release of the grand jury records. I did a lot of background research – reading books and articles, learning the Rosenberg’s case timeline – and I also did research into grand jury law,” Jennifer Dillard (LAW ’08) said. “I was also in charge of organizing the declarations of historians who could demonstrate the historical interest in the Rosenberg case. My fellow students in the clinic helped me enormously with the historians’ declarations.”

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