The Trial of the Earl of Strafford

The trial of the earl of strafford was the climax of the first phase of the long parliament. The proceedings were thrown open to the public, and risers were set up to accommodate as large an audience as possible. A bill of attainder is basically one of the scariest things you've probably never heard of. No rules of evidence, no beyond a reasonable doubt, we find you guilty by a straight majority vote. Bills of attainder are so scary that the Constitution explicitly forbids them in two separate places - but at this point it still kind of looks like the way out.