Category Archives: #courts

A Letter of Defense

Posted on March 4, 2010 by lmharnisch

  Remember the editorial about the Japanese stranglehold on farmland? Here’s a response. More on the jump, plus Clare Briggs.

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Dallas Mob Throws Black Man From Courthouse Window, Drags Body 10 Blocks

Posted on March 4, 2010 by lmharnisch

  March 4, 1910: As a judge watches, a mob seizes accused child molester Allen Brooks, an African American, and throws him from a second-story courtroom, then drags his body 10 blocks before hanging his body from an arch in … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Countdown to Watts | 1 Comment

Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, March 3, 1960

Posted on March 3, 2010 by lmharnisch

Let Us Consider Case of Robert Martinez        Robert Martinez, I met by degrees.     There was the first letter from him six weeks ago.  In spelling that was hampered by the fact that he never got beyond the eighth … Continue reading →

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Chessman to Die May 2

Posted on March 3, 2010 by lmharnisch

  Charlie Neal, right, is on the receiving end as four aspirants try out for the Dodger shortstop starting position. They are, from left, Don Zimmer, Bob Aspromonte, Bobby Lillis and Maury Wills. March 3, 1960: James Kendrick, top, reenacts … Continue reading →

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Baptismal Records Hold Evidence in Suit Over Pioneer’s Estate

Posted on March 3, 2010 by lmharnisch

   March 3, 1920: I’m sure the concept of this ad seemed fine. But we have a slightly malevolent fellow spilling grease that turns into a highway. Maybe that’s why we don’t hear much about Gredag these days. On the … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Comics, Environment, Film, Hollywood, Transportation | 2 Comments

Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, March 1-2, 1960

Posted on March 2, 2010 by lmharnisch

Newcomers to U.S. Learn of Clippolas     The Govaars family's introduction to the uniquely American art of the gimmick ad came last August in the form of a small handbill on their front doorstep.     The handbill extolled the quality … Continue reading →

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Fiery Train Wreck Kills 17

Posted on March 2, 2010 by lmharnisch

The San Francisco Santa Fe Chief smashes into an oil tank truck and trailer 12 miles west of Bakersfield. March 2, 1960: Gov. Pat Brown gives up hope that the California Legislature will abolish the death penalty …  and Elvis … Continue reading →

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Higgins Building to Add Two Floors

Posted on March 2, 2010 by lmharnisch

  March 1, 1910:  Thomas Higgins is adding two floors to his building at 2nd and Main streets. A century later, downtown hipsters will thank him! On the jump, police make a terrible blunder in putting officers in Chinatown back … Continue reading →

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Matt Weinstock, Feb. 27, 1960

Posted on February 27, 2010 by lmharnisch

Briton's a Stevereno     I've been reading the short stories by Peter Ustinov in the Atlantic and wondering how he does it.  Acting, speaking, traveling — and writing superlative fiction, I mean.  In the versatility sweepstakes, he's Britain's answer to … Continue reading →

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Closing Arguments in Finch Trial; Chessman’s Fate Up to Legislature

Posted on February 27, 2010 by lmharnisch

Photograph by John Malmin / Los Angeles Times July 22, 1959: Carole Tregoff waits to be questioned by investigators. Los Angeles Times file photo Feb. 19, 1960: Students on Market Street in San Francisco protest the upcoming execution of Caryl … Continue reading →

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Mob Beats Strikebreakers, Police

Posted on February 27, 2010 by lmharnisch

  Feb. 27, 1910: Crowds in Philadelphia attack non-union men operating the streetcars, beating them and the police officers protecting them …  F.D. Underwood, president of the Erie Railroad, says: "There is a growing spirit of greed in this country … Continue reading →

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Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, Feb. 26, 1960

Posted on February 26, 2010 by lmharnisch

  So Mexico's Justice Is Just, Eventually     Pfc. Robert Peterson, U.S. Army, dropped by my office yesterday on his way back to Ft. Ord.     He was a headline last June.  I'd worked on his story.  But yesterday, when … Continue reading →

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New Chief Shakes Up Police Department

Posted on February 24, 2010 by lmharnisch

  Feb. 24, 1910: This was one of those days when it was impossible to pick  one story over the others. New Police Chief Alexander Galloway orders a cleanup of the notoriously filthy City Jail … officials report a new … Continue reading →

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Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, Feb. 23, 1960

Posted on February 23, 2010 by lmharnisch

    Democracy Guards Everyone's Rights       A few days before Gov. Brown's reprieve of Caryl Chessman, the Mexico City newspaper Novedades carried the front-page headline:         Puede Salvar La Vida de Chessman     Un Testigo Deseubierta por … Continue reading →

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Times Calls for Chessman’s Execution

Posted on February 23, 2010 by lmharnisch

  The Times calls the gas chamber “a sanitary disposal mechanism that a civilized society is constrained to set up to shield itself from the contamination of criminal psychopaths.”   Feb. 23, 1960: The Times runs letters in response to … Continue reading →

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Youth Kills Family Friend in Struggle for Gun

Posted on February 23, 2010 by lmharnisch

    S. Levy, the operator of a theater at  414 E. 1st St., says he was fined over a sign he placed on the sidewalk after complaining about the amount of time Officer Gamash was spending with his cashier. … Continue reading →

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Chessman Won’t Escape Gas Chamber, Prosecutor Says

Posted on February 22, 2010 by lmharnisch

    Feb. 22, 1960: Atty. Gen. Stanley Mosk (d. 2001), a future state Supreme Court justice who personally opposed the death penalty,  predicts that Caryl Chessman will be executed at the end of his 60-day reprieve.

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14 Illegal Immigrants Seized in Railway Car

Posted on February 22, 2010 by lmharnisch

   Feb. 22, 1910: Thomas A. Montez is accused of helping smuggle 14 Chinese men who were found in a boxcar loaded with staves. The cost of being smuggled into the U.S. is about $250 [$5,707.53 USD 2008] each, The … Continue reading →

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Legislators Debate Chessman and Death Penalty

Posted on February 21, 2010 by lmharnisch

Los Angeles Times file photo Feb. 21, 1960: Caryl Chessman, center, after receiving a stay of execution, with attorneys George T. Davis and Rosalie Asher. Feb. 21, 1960: A 60-day stay of execution for Caryl Chessman so the Legislature can … Continue reading →

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Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, Feb. 20, 1960

Posted on February 20, 2010 by lmharnisch

  Legal Revenge Not Dead Yet     I read Gov. Brown's reasons for giving Caryl Chessman a 60-day reprieve yesterday, but I'm not sure that I believe them.     He indicated that he felt  the climate in California had changed … Continue reading →

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