Dan White trial and the so-called 'Twinkie defense' at the Hall of Justice

After Dan White assassinated Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk, his 1979 trial for the killings was held in the San Francisco Hall of Justice. White was convicted of voluntary manslaughter rather than murder after his lawyers argued diminished capacity; media coverage popularized the term 'Twinkie defense' as shorthand for the argument, though historians and legal scholars note that label is a simplification and somewhat disputed. The verdict and perceived leniency sparked the 1979 White Night riots in San Francisco.