Clevinger's Trial (From CATCH 22)
by Joseph Heller

In this excerpt from the play of Joseph Heller's Catch 22 , Clevinger, an idealistic air cadet is being tried for a list of charges neither he nor his three judges can make much sense of.

The point is to find Clevinger guilty-- of what, it doesn't matter.

Lieutenant Scheisskopf, Clevinger's commanding officer, is prosecutor, defender, and one of the judges.

During the trial he rises in rank, while everyone else including the stenographer, is found guilty of something by the colonel and sentenced to punishment.