Defendant: William Van SchaickCrime Charged: Criminal negligence and misconductChief Defense Lawyers: Terence J. McManus and William M.K. OlcottChief Prosecutors: Ernest E. Baldwin and Henry I. BurnettJudge: Edward B. ThomasPlace: New York, New York Dates of Trial: January 10-27, 1906Verdict: GuiltySentence: 10 years in prison pardoned after serving 4 years SIGNIFICANCE: Captain Van William Schaic…
Defendant: Chester Ellsworth GilletteCrime Charged: MurderChief Defense Lawyers: Albert M. Mills and Charles D. ThomasChief Prosecutor: George W. WardJudge: Irving R. DevendorfPlace: Herkimer, New YorkDates of Trial: November 12-December 4, 1906Verdict: GuiltySentence: Death by electrocution SIGNIFICANCE: The sordid murder of a secretary by her social-climbing boss received its share of press atte…
Defendants: Abraham Ruef and Eugene E. SchmitzCrimes Charged: Bribery and extortionChief Defense Lawyer: Henry AchChief Prosecutors: Francis J. Heney, Hiram Johnson, and William LangdonJudges: Frank Dunne, Maurice T. Dooling, and William P. LawlorPlace: San Francisco, CaliforniaDates of Trials: 1906-08Verdicts: Ruef: Mistrial, mistrial, guilty; Schmitz: Guilty (later reversed on appeal)SIGNIFICANC…
Defendant: Harry Kendall ThawCrime Charged: MurderChief Defense Lawyers: First trial: Delphin M. Delmas, John B. Gleason, Clifford Hartridge, Hugh McPike, and George Peabody; Second trial: Martin W. Littleton, Daniel O'Reilly, and Russell PeabodyChief Prosecutor: William Travers JeromeJudge: First trial: James Fitzgerald; Second trial: Victor J. DowlingPlace: New York, New YorkDates of Tria…
Defendants: Joseph F. Shipp, Matthew Galloway, Jeremiah Gibson, Nick Nolan, William Mayes, Henry Padgett, Alf Handman, Bart Justice, Luther WilliamsCrime Charged: Criminal contempt of courtChief Defense Lawyer: Judson HarmonChief Prosecutors: Terry Sanford, Charles BonaparteJudges: Melville W. Fuller, John Marshall Harlan, David J. Brewer, Edward D. White, Rufus W. Peckham, Jeseph McKenna, Oliver …
Defendant: William Dudley HaywoodCrime Charged: Conspiracy to commit murderChief Defense Lawyers: Clarence Darrow, Fred Miller, John Nugent, Edmund Richardson, and Edgar WilsonChief Prosecutors: William E. Borah, James H. Hawley, Charles Koelsche, and Owen M. Van DuynJudge: Fremont WoodPlace: Boise, IdahoDates of Trial: May 9-July 28, 1907Verdict: Not guilty SIGNIFICANCE: The government used the c…
Defendant: Anne Maddison BradleyCrime Charged: MurderChief Defense Lawyers: Orlando W. Powers, George P. Hoover, Robert W. WellsChief Prosecutors: Daniel W. Baker, Charles H. TurnerJudge: Wendell Philips StaffordPlace: Washington, D.C.Date of Trial: November 13-December 3, 1907Verdict: Not guilty SIGNIFICANCE: Was Anne Bradley insane when she shot former U.S. senator Arthur Brown, or did she shoot…
Defendant: Dr. Bennett Clarke HydeCrime Charged: MurderChief Defense Lawyers: R.R. Brewster, M. Cleary, and Frank WalshChief Prosecutors: M. Atkinson, Virgil Conkling, Elliott W. Major, and James A. ReedJudge: Ralph S. LatshawPlace: Kansas City, MissouriDates of Trial: April 16-May 16, 1910Verdict: None. There were three attempts at retrial after a conviction in the first trial was overturned, but…
Defendants: James B. McNamara and John J. McNamaraCrimes Charged: Murder, for James; dynamiting the Llewellyn Iron Works, for JohnChief Defense Lawyers: Clarence Darrow, LeCompte Davis, Job Harriman, Cyrus McNutt, and Joseph ScottChief Prosecutors: W. Joseph Ford and John D. FredericksJudge: Walter BordwellPlace: Los Angeles, CaliforniaDate of Trial: December 1, 1911Verdict: GuiltySentences: Life …
Defendants: Triangle Shirtwaist Company partners Max Blanck and Isaac HarrisCrime Charged: ManslaughterChief Defense Lawyer: Max D. SteuerChief Prosecutors: Charles S. Bostwick and J. Robert RubinJudge: Thomas C.T. CrainPlace: New York, New YorkDates of Trial: December 4-27, 1911Verdict: Not guilty SIGNIFICANCE: Despite Max Blanck's and Isaac Harris' acquittal, the death of 146 young…
Defendant: Floyd AllenCrime Charged: MurderChief Defense Lawyer: J.C. BuxtonChief Prosecutors: J.C. Wysor and W.S. PoageJudge: Walter StaplesPlace: Wytheville, VirginiaDates of Trial: April 30-May 18, 1912Verdict: GuiltySentence: Death by electrocution SIGNIFICANCE: The Floyd Allen affair represents one of the rare incidents in American history when a criminal defendant attempted to avoid justice …
Defendant: Charles BeckerCrime Charged: MurderChief Defense Lawyers: First trial: John F. Mcintyre, Lloyd B. Stryker, and George W. Whiteside; Second trial: W. Bourke Cockran, John Johnstone, and Martin MantonChief Prosecutors: First trial: Frank Moss and Charles S. Whitman; Second trial: Charles S. WhitmanJudges: First trial: John W. Goff; Second trial: Samuel SeaburyPlace: New York, New YorkDate…
Defendants: Mary Harris "Mother" Jones, W.H. Adkins (alias Bunk Adkins), Charles Batley, Tip Belcher, C.H. Boswell, Clyde E. Bowe, William Brandridge, John W. Brown, Leonard Clark, H.V. Craise, Ernest Creigo, Harrison Ellis, Grady Everett, Charles Gillispie, Ed. Gray, Boyd Holley (alias Boyd Adkins), W.H.H. Huffman, Frazier Jarrett, John Jones, Charles Kenney, Sanford Kirk, Charles L…
Defendant: Leo Max Frank Crime Charged: MurderChief Defense Lawyers: Reuben Arnold, Herbert Haas, Stiles Hopkins, and Luther Z. RosserChief Prosecutors: Hugh Dorsey, Frank Arthur Hooper, and Edward A. StephensJudge: Leonard Strickland RoanPlace: Atlanta, GeorgiaDates of Trial: July 28-September 26, 1913Verdict: GuiltySentence: Death by hanging, commuted by Georgia Governor John Slaton to life impr…
Defendant: Hans SchmidtCrime Charged: MurderChief Defense Lawyers: W. M. K. Olcott, Alphonse G. Koelble, Terence J. McManusChief Prosecutors: James A. Delehanty, Deacon MurphyJudge: First trial: Warren W. Foster; Second trial: Vernon M. DavisPlace: New York, New YorkDates of Trials: First trial: December 7-30, 1913; Second trial: January 19-February 5, 1914Verdict: First trial: jury deadlocked; Se…
Defendant: Joe HillCrime Charged: MurderChief Defense Lawyers: Soren X. Christensen, Orrin N. Hilton, E.D. McDougall, and F.B. ScottChief Prosecutor: E.O. LeatherwoodJudge: Morris L. RitchiePlace: Salt Lake City, UtahDates of Trial: June 17-28, 1914Verdict: GuiltySentence: Execution by firing squad SIGNIFICANCE: The trial of Joe Hill launched the legend of Joe Hill, a lyrical spokesman for the Ind…
Defendant: Thomas J. MooneyCrime Charged: MurderChief Defense Lawyers: W. Bourke Cockran and Maxwell McNuttChief Prosecutors: Edward A. Cunha and Charles FickertJudge: Franklin A. GriffinPlace: San Francisco, CaliforniaDates of Trial: January 3-February 9, 1917Verdict: GuiltySentence: Death by hanging, later commuted, then pardoned SIGNIFICANCE: Tom Mooney's case demonstrated how America&#x…
Defendants: Gertrude Crocker, Gladys Greiner, Alice Paul, and Dr. Caroline SpencerCrime Charged: Obstructing a sidewalkChief Defense Lawyer: Dudley Field MaloneChief Prosecutor: Hart (first name unavailable)Judge: Alexander MullowneyDate: October 22, 1917Verdicts: GuiltySentences: Alice Paul and Caroline Spencer: 7 months in prison; Gertrude Crocker and Gladys Grenier: $5.00 fine or 30 days in pri…
Sharon v. Hill (Federal Court Appeal) Plaintiff: William Sharon (later substituted by Frederick Sharon)Defendant: Sarah Althea HillPlaintiff Claim: To cancel and annul the marriage contract between William Sharon and Sarah Althea Hill and to declare the contract a forgeryChief Lawyers for Plaintiff: William M. Stewart, Oliver P. EvansChief Lawyers for Defendant: George W. Tyler, W. B. Tyler, David…
Appellant: Yick WoDefendant: Sheriff Peter Hopkins, San Francisco, CaliforniaAppellant Claim: That San Francisco was enforcing an ordinance in an unlawfully discriminatory manner against the defendant and other Chinese personsChief Defense Lawyers: Alfred Clarke and H. G. SieberstChief Lawyers for Appellant: Hall McAllister, D.L. Smoot, and L.H. Van SchaickJustices: Samuel Blatchford, Joseph P. Br…
Defendants: George Engel, Samuel Fielden, Adolph Fischer, Louis Lingg, Oscar Neebe, Albert Parsons, Michael Schwab, and August SpiesCrime Charged: MurderChief Defense Lawyers: William P. Black, William A. Foster, Moses Salomon, and Sigismund ZeislerChief Prosecutor: Julius S. GrinnellJudge: Joseph E. GaryPlace: Chicago, IllinoisDates of Trial: June 21-August 20, 1886Verdict: GuiltySentence: Death …
Plaintiff: Andrew VosburgDefendant: George PutneyPlaintiff Claim: That defendant kicked plaintiff and otherwise ill-treated him, thereby making plaintiff ill, causing great pain and mental anguish, and leaving him permanently crippledChief Defense Lawyers: Milton Griswold, Theron HaightChief Lawyers for Plaintiff: Ernst Merton, Timothy Edward RyanJudge: Andrew Scott SloanPlace: Waukesha, Wisconsin…
The Civil Rights Act of 1875 was passed by Congress in the post-Civil War era in response to the refusal of many whites to afford newly freed slaves equal treatment with whites under federal law. The act mandated that owners of public facilities, such as inns, restaurants, railroads, and other carriers, not discriminate against blacks who sought access to, or service from, them on the basis of the…
Defendants: Mary Amanda Dixon Jones, Charles Dixon JonesCrimes Charged: Manslaughter, medical malpracticeChief Defense Lawyer: Richard S. NewcombeChief Prosecutor: James A. RidgwayJudge: Willard BartlettPlace: Brooklyn, New YorkDate of Trial: February 17, 1890-February 23, 1890Verdict: Mary Amanda Dixon Jones: not guilty; Charles Dixon Jones: directed acquittalLibel case Jones v. Brooklyn Eagle, F…
Defendants: Antonio Bagnetto, James Caruso, John Caruso, Loretto Comitz, Rocco Geraci, Bastian Incardona, Joseph P. Macheca, Antonio Marchesi, Gasperi Marchesi, Charles Matranga, Pietro Monasterio, Pietro Natali, Charles Patorno, Charles Pietzo, Emmanuelle Polizzi, Frank Romero, Antonio Scaffidi, Salvatore Sunzeri, and Charles TrainaCrimes Charged: Shooting with intent to murder, lying in wait to …
Defendant: Charles Euston KincaidCrime Charged: MurderChief Defense Lawyers: Charles H. Grosvenor, C. Maurice Smith, Jeremiah M. Wilson. Daniel W. Voorhees assisted with pretrial mattersChief Prosecutors: Charles C. Cole, Howard C. ClagettJudge: Andrew C. Bradley. Judges Edward F. Bingham, Alexander B. Hagner, and Martin V. Montgomery presided over various pretrial hearingsPlace: Washington, D.C.D…
Defendant: Robert BuchananCrime Charged: MurderChief Defense Lawyers: Charles W. Brooks, William J. O'SullivanChief Prosecutors: De Lance Nicoll, James Osborne, Francis WelimanJudge: E. C. SmythPlace: New York, New YorkDate of Trial: March 20—April 26, 1893Verdict: GuiltySentence: Death SIGNIFICANCE: This was one of the earliest trials to be fought almost exclusively on forensic scie…
Defendant Lizzie BordenCrime Charged: MurderChief Defense Lawyers: Andrew Jennings and George D. RobinsonChief Prosecutors: Hosea Knowlton and William H. MoodyJudges: Caleb Blodget, Justin Dewey, and Albert MasonPlace: Fall River, MassachusettsDates of Trial: June 5-20, 1893Verdict: Not guilty SIGNIFICANCE: On the basis of circumstantial evidence, prosecutors accused Lizzie Borden of murdering her…
During the Lochner era (1870–1937), courts interpreted the Due Process Clauses of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to have a substantive content that protected from governmental intrusion certain economic and property interests, such as the right of employers and employees to determine the terms and conditions of their employment relationship. (Though Lochner was decided in 1905, prior c…
Plaintiff: Madeline V. PollardDefendant: William Campbell Preston BreckinridgePlaintiff Claim: Breach of promiseChief Lawyers for Plaintiff: Jeremiah M. Wilson, Calderon Carlisle, William G. Johnson. E. P. Farrell assisted with pretrial mattersChief Defense Lawyers: Benjamin Butterworth, Philip B. Thompson, Jr., W. A. McKenny, John H. Stoll, John T. Shelby, William G. Mattingly. Enoch Totten, Desh…
Defendant: Eugene V. DebsCrimes Charged: Contempt of court and conspiracyChief Defense Lawyers: Clarence Darrow, S. Gregory, and Lyman TrumbullChief Prosecutors: John C. Black, T. M. Milchrist, and Edwin WalkerJudges: Peter Grosscup and William A. WoodsPlace: Chicago, IllinoisDates of Trial: January 26-February 12, 1895Verdict: Guilty of contempt, no verdict on conspiracySentence: 6 Months impriso…
Defendant: William Henry Theodore DurrantCrime Charged: MurderChief Defense Lawyers: Eugene N. Deuprey and John H. DickinsonChief Prosecutors: W.H. Anderson, William S. Barnes, W.F. Fitzgerald, and Edgar D. PeixottoJudge: D.J. MurphyPlace: San Francisco, CaliforniaDates of Trial: April 15-November 1, 1895Verdict: GuiltySentence: Death by hanging SIGNIFICANCE: "Theo" Durrant was tried…
Defendant: Maria BarbellaCrime Charged: MurderChief Defense Lawyers: First trial: Amos Evans, Henry Sedgewick; Second trial: Frederick B. House, Emanuel FriendChief Prosecutors: John F. McIntyre, Alfred LauterbachJudges: First trial: John W. Goff; Second trial: H.A. GildersleevePlace: New York, New YorkDates of Trials: First trial: July 11-15, 1895; Second trial: November 17-December 10, 1896Verdi…
Appellant: Homer A. PlessyRespondent: New Orleans Criminal District Court Judge J.H. FergusonAppellant's Claim: That Louisiana's law requiring blacks to ride in separate railroad cars violated Plessy's right to equal protection under the lawChief Defense Lawyer: M.J. CunninghamChief Lawyers for Appellant: F.D. McKenney and S.F. PhillipsJustices: Supreme Court Justices David J.…
Defendant: Roland Burnham MolineuxCrime Charged: MurderChief Defense Lawyers: First trial: George Gordon Battle and Bartow Weeks; Second trial: Frank C. Black Chief Prosecutor: James W. Osborne, both trialsJudge: First trial: John Goff; Second trial: John LambertPlace:New York, New YorkDates of Trials: First trial: November 14, 1899-February 11, 1900; Second trial: October 1902Verdicts: First tria…
Defendant: Leon F. CzolgoszCrime Charged: Assassinating President William McKinleyChief Defense Lawyers: Loran L. Lewis and Robert C. TitusChief Prosecutor: Thomas PennyJudge: Truman C. WhitePlace: Buffalo, New YorkDates of Trial: September 23-24, 1901Verdict: GuiltySentence: Death by electrocution SIGNIFICANCE: Leon Czolgosz, an avowed anarchist, was tried and sentenced to death for his sensation…
Appellant: Gregorio CortezCrime Charged: MurderChief Defense Lawyers: R.B. Abernathy, with Samuel Belden Jr. (1902) and J.R. Wooten (1904)Chief Prosecutors: J.V. Vandenburg, Robert A. John (1902); Howard Martin, S.L. Green, S.H. Hopkins (1904)Judges: W.L. Davidson, John N. Henderson, M.M. BrooksPlace: Austin, TexasDates of Decisions: January 15, 1902; June 24, 1902; June 15, 1904Verdicts: In favor…
Defendant: Albert T. PatrickCrime Charged: MurderChief Defense Lawyer: Albert T. PatrickChief Prosecutor: William Travers JeromeJudge: John William GoffPlace: New York, New YorkDates of Trial: January 22-March 26, 1902Verdict: GuiltySentence: Death by electrocution, later commuted to life imprisonment, and ultimately pardoned by the governor of New York SIGNIFICANCE: The Albert Patrick trial illus…
