Bringemovies
← Browse Movies
The Vanishing Trial
TITLE DETAILS

The Vanishing Trial

· 38 min · Not rated

Documentary · Crime · Drama

“The Vanishing Trial” looks into “trial penalty,” the term used to describe the substantially longer prison sentence a person receives if they exercise their constitutional right to trial instead of plead guilty. The documentary focuses on four individuals who were forced to make that excruciating choice.

Open detail page

Trailers are previews, not full movies.

No authorized playback source configured. Use the legal watch options below.

Production details

Directors
Wynette Yao
Production companies
FAMM, NACDL
Countries
Unavailable
Status
Released

Top Cast

Cast unavailable.

Title information and images are supplied by TMDb. Explore our discovery guide for advice on comparing metadata and legal viewing options.

Where to watch

Availability provided by JustWatch via TMDb. Offers can change. Provider links are listed on TMDb; full playback requires a separately authorized source.

Availability not listed for this country.

Recommendations

Deliver Us from Evil
★ 7.2
Deliver Us from Evil2006Documentary · Crime

Documentary filmmaker Amy Berg investigates the life of 30-year pedophile Father Oliver O'Grady and exposes the corruption inside the Catholic Church that allowed him to abuse countless children. Victims' stories and a disturbing interview with O'Grady offer a view into the troubled mind of the spiritual leader who moved from parish to parish gaining trust ... all the while betraying so many.

Maternal Instinct
★ 7.2
Maternal Instinct2026Documentary · Crime

Police pull over a woman who claims she just gave birth. But the baby — and the blood — aren't hers. Twisted lies unravel in this true-crime documentary.

Ted Bundy: Mind of a Monster
★ 7.6
Ted Bundy: Mind of a Monster2019Documentary · Crime

New exclusive access and never before heard testimony gives a unique insight into the mind of America's most notorious serial killer, Ted Bundy. Breathtaking archive from the time and the voice of Bundy himself, reveals the monster inside the man.

The Crash
★ 6.8
The Crash2026Documentary · Crime

A teen slams her car into a building, killing her boyfriend and his friend. What seems like a tragic accident becomes a murder case.

The Accountant of Auschwitz
★ 6.9
The Accountant of Auschwitz2018Documentary · Crime

Oskar Gröning, known as the "Accountant of Auschwitz," was charged with the murder of 300,000 Jews. When he took the stand in 2015, at the age of 94, his trial made headlines worldwide.

Long Shot
★ 7.2
Long Shot2017Documentary · Crime

When Juan Catalan is arrested for a murder he insists he didn't commit, he builds his case for innocence around unexpected raw footage.

Voyeur
★ 5.9
Voyeur2017Documentary · Crime

Legendary journalist Gay Talese unmasks a motel owner who spied on his guests for decades. But his bombshell story soon becomes a scandal of its own.

Tales of the Grim Sleeper
★ 6.3
Tales of the Grim Sleeper2014Documentary · Crime

When Lonnie Franklin Jr. was arrested in South Central Los Angeles in 2010 as the suspected murderer of a string of young black women, police hailed it as the culmination of 20 years of investigations. Four years later documentary filmmaker Nick Broomfield took his camera to the alleged killer’s neighborhood for another view.

O.J.: Made in America
★ 8.4
O.J.: Made in America2016Documentary · Crime

A chronicle of the rise and fall of O.J. Simpson, whose high-profile murder trial exposed the extent of American racial tensions, revealing a fractured and divided nation.

The Devil on Trial
★ 5.9
The Devil on Trial2023Documentary · Crime · Drama

Explore the first – and only – time “demonic possession” has officially been used as a defense in a U.S. murder trial. Including firsthand accounts of alleged devil possession and a shocking murder, this extraordinary story forces reflection on our fear of the unknown.

Heroin(e)
★ 6.9
Heroin(e)2017Documentary · Crime

This documentary follows three women — a fire chief, a judge, and a street missionary — as they battle West Virginia's devastating opioid epidemic.

Stolen: Heist of the Century
★ 7.2
Stolen: Heist of the Century2025Documentary · Crime

Antwerp, 2003. A gang of thieves rob the impenetrable Diamond Center. Who was behind one of the world's biggest heists - and how did they pull it off?

Tyson
★ 6.8
Tyson2008Documentary · Drama

Director James Toback takes an unflinching, uncompromising look at the life of Mike Tyson--almost solely from the perspective of the man himself. TYSON alternates between the controversial boxer addressing the camera and shots of the champion's fights to create an arresting picture of the man.

Life in a Day
★ 7.2
Life in a Day2011Documentary · Drama

A documentary shot by filmmakers all over the world that serves as a time capsule to show future generations what it was like to be alive on the 24th of July, 2010.

The Mystery of D.B. Cooper
★ 6.3
The Mystery of D.B. Cooper2020Documentary · Crime

This documentary brings to life the stories of four people believed by their family and friends to be “DB Cooper,” a man who hijacked a 727 flying out of Seattle and jumped from the plane over the wilds of Washington State with a parachute and $200,000, never to be heard from again.

Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father
★ 8.1
Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father2008Documentary · Crime

In 2001, Andrew Bagby, a medical resident, is murdered not long after breaking up with his girlfriend. Soon after, when she announces she's pregnant, one of Andrew's many close friends, Kurt Kuenne, begins this film, a gift to the child.

Out of Thin Air
★ 5.9
Out of Thin Air2017Documentary · Crime

Set within the stark Icelandic landscape, OUT OF THIN AIR examines the 1976 police investigation into the disappearance of two men in the early 1970s.

Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal
★ 6.8
Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal2021Documentary · Crime · Drama

An examination that goes beyond the celebrity-driven headlines and dives into the methods used by Rick Singer, the man at the center of the shocking 2019 college admissions scandal, to persuade his wealthy clients to cheat an educational system already designed to benefit the privileged.

Into the Abyss
★ 6.9
Into the Abyss2011Documentary · Crime

We do not know when and how we will die. Death Row inmates do. Werner Herzog embarks on a dialogue with Death Row inmates, asks questions about life and death and looks deep into these individuals, their stories, their crimes.

Bitconned
★ 6.5
Bitconned2024Documentary · Crime

In this true-crime documentary, three guys exploit the freewheeling cryptocurrency market to scam millions from investors and bankroll lavish lifestyles.

Similar titles

The Ants and the Grasshopper
★ 7.3
The Ants and the Grasshopper2021Documentary

Anita Chitaya has a gift: she can help bring abundant food from dead soil, she can make men fight for gender equality, and maybe she can end child hunger in her village. Now, to save her home in Malawi from extreme weather, she faces her greatest challenge: persuading Americans that climate change is real. Traveling from Malawi to California to the White House, she meets climate sceptics and despairing farmers. Her journey takes her across all the divisions that shape the USA: from the rural-urban divide, to schisms of race, class and gender, and to the American exceptionalism that remains a part of the culture. It will take all her skill and experience to help Americans recognise, and free themselves from, a logic that is already destroying the Earth.

The Perfect Victim
★ 7.0
The Perfect Victim2012Documentary · Crime

For over thirty years, three women have languished in Missouri State prison under unjust sentences for killing their abusive husbands. Denied the opportunity to enter the abuse into evidence, each of the women represents a system broken by outdated and media-sensationalized stereotypes. When a greater understanding of the "battered" syndrome change legal practices in 2000, Missouri's Governor crafts a new law demanding the parole board reevaluate each woman's case.

Tom Horn
★ 6.4
Tom Horn1980Drama

A renowned former army scout is hired by ranchers to hunt down rustlers but finds himself on trial for the murder of a boy when he carries out his job too well. Tom Horn finds that the simple skills he knows are of no help in dealing with the ambitions of ranchers and corrupt officials as progress marches over him and the old west.

Catching the Black Widow
★ 5.8
Catching the Black Widow2017Crime · Drama

The courageous story of a tenacious New Zealand woman who would stop at nothing in seeking justice for her brother's murder.

Time
★ 6.7
Time2020Documentary

Fox Rich, indomitable matriarch and modern-day abolitionist, strives to keep her family together while fighting for the release of her incarcerated husband. An intimate, epic, and unconventional love story, filmed over two decades.

The Amanda Knox Saga
Not rated
The Amanda Knox Saga2014Documentary · Crime

Amanda Knox served four years in an Italian prison for the murder of her British flatmate Meredith Kercher in Perugia in 2007, always insisting on her innocence. In 2011, she was acquitted on the basis of DNA evidence but prosecutors successfully appealed and her acquittal was struck down. In 2014 she was again found guilty in absentia after a retrial and sentenced to 28 years and six months in jail. The saga came to and end when Italy's highest court overturned the convictions of Ms Knox and her former boyfriend, Italian student Raffaele Sollecito in March 2015. Known burglar Rudy Guede was arrested a short time later following the discovery of his bloodstained fingerprints on Kercher's possessions. He was later found guilty of murder in a fast-track trial and is currently (as of 2019) serving a 16-year prison sentence.

Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts
★ 6.7
Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts2017Drama

After encountering a group of bandits with plans to rape and steal from her, a young widow ventures into the wilderness in search of justice.

Hard Candy
★ 6.8
Hard Candy2006Drama

Hayley’s a smart, charming teenage girl. Jeff’s a handsome, smooth fashion photographer. An Internet chat, a coffee shop meet-up, an impromptu fashion shoot back at Jeff’s place. Jeff thinks it’s his lucky night. He’s in for a surprise.

Architects of Denial
★ 6.9
Architects of Denial2017Documentary

Though both the historical and modern-day persecution of Armenians and other Christians is relatively uncovered in the mainstream media and not on the radar of many average Americans, it is a subject that has gotten far more attention in recent years.

A Time to Kill
★ 7.4
A Time to Kill1996Crime · Drama

A young lawyer defends a black man accused of murdering two white men who raped his 10-year-old daughter, sparking a rebirth of the KKK.

Inherit the Wind
★ 7.6
Inherit the Wind1960Drama

Schoolteacher Bertram Cates is arrested for teaching his students Darwin's theory of evolution. The case receives national attention and one of the newspaper reporters, E.K. Hornbeck, arranges to bring in renowned defense attorney and atheist Henry Drummond to defend Cates. The prosecutor, Matthew Brady is a former presidential candidate, famous evangelist, and old adversary of Drummond.

Not Just a Statistic: Stories of Survivors
Not rated
Not Just a Statistic: Stories of Survivors2024Documentary

The story of the South Shore Resource and Advocacy Center, five survivors of domestic violence, and their experience in the Massachusetts justice system.

Record of Life: Those Who Fought  in the Okawa Tsunami Trial
Not rated
Record of Life: Those Who Fought in the Okawa Tsunami Trial2023Documentary

On March 11, 2011, Okawa Elementary School in Ishinomaki City was engulfed by a tsunami, and 74 children, or 70% of the school's children, were killed. 51 minutes elapsed between the earthquake and when the tsunami reached the school. The school was informed of the tsunami and a school bus was on standby, but students did not evacuate. Okawa Elementary was the only school that suffered a large number of casualties in this earthquake. This documentary follows the lawsuit that followed the disaster, where the parents sought the truth behind the tragedy.

Danton
★ 6.9
Danton1983Drama

Danton and Robespierre were close friends and fought together in the French Revolution, but by 1793 Robespierre was France's ruler, determined to wipe out opposition with a series of mass executions that became known as the Reign of Terror. Danton, well known as a spokesman of the people, had been living in relative solitude in the French countryside, but he returned to Paris to challenge Robespierre's violent rule and call for the people to demand their rights. Robespierre, however, could not accept such a challenge, even from a friend and colleague, and he blocked out a plan for the capture and execution of Danton and his allies.

Moment of Truth: A Child Too Many
★ 6.1
Moment of Truth: A Child Too Many1993Drama

Patty Nowakowski already has three children, but decides to be a surrogate mother. Fully confident of being able to give up her baby, she is nonetheless stunned when she discovers that she is expecting twins, and the couple for whom she is pregnant will only accept one child, provided it is female.

Snow Falling on Cedars
★ 6.1
Snow Falling on Cedars1999Drama

In the 1950s, a Japanese-American fisherman is suspected of killing his neighbour at sea. For Ishmael, a local reporter, the trial strikes a deep emotional chord when he finds his ex-lover is linked to the case. As he investigates the killing, he uncovers some startling clues that lead him to a shocking discovery.

Striptease
★ 5.6
Striptease1996Crime · Drama

Bounced from her job, Erin Grant needs money if she's to have any chance of winning back custody of her child. But, eventually, she must confront the naked truth: to take on the system, she'll have to take it all off. Erin strips to conquer, but she faces unintended circumstances when a hound dog of a Congressman zeroes in on her and sharpens the shady tools at his fingertips, including blackmail and murder.

The Juror
★ 5.7
The Juror1996Crime

Struggling single mother Annie Laird impulsively agrees to serve on a jury, hoping for a little excitement in her humdrum life. But she gets far more than she bargained for when she's forced to sacrifice the truth to save her son from the mob's seductive, psychotic enforcer.

Poster unavailable
Not rated
We Hunger For…Documentary

Justice, opportunity, connection, equity, friendship, respect, experience, community, knowledge, health, success, love – what do I, you, we…hunger for?

Helter Skelter
★ 6.9
Helter Skelter1976Crime · Drama

The investigation of two horrific mass murders leads to the capture and trial of the psychotic pseudo-hippie Charles Manson and his "family".

Your favorites

Recently viewed

Watch

Choose an authorized server.

Full video from an operator-configured authorized source. Official trailers use a separate player. If a server fails, retry or select another authorized server.

Legal watch options

Official trailer

Trailer preview only. Press Play to start.

Privacy choices

Favorites stay in your browser. Movie images load from TMDb. YouTube trailers contact YouTube only after you allow external media and choose a trailer. Advertising consent, if ads are enabled, is managed separately by the operator’s certified CMP.

Privacy policy

After allowing external media, choose the trailer button to load its player.