Category Archives: #courts

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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Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, Feb. 19, 1960

Posted on February 19, 2010 by lmharnisch

  Mash Notes and Comment       (Press Release) "More and more cities are using police dogs — for police duty, natch.       "Pittsburgh, Houston, St. Louis and Minneapolis are among the cities which have found that a good, … Continue reading →

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Governor Halts Chessman Execution

Posted on February 19, 2010 by lmharnisch

   Caryl Chessman is prepared for the gas chamber, but gets a last-minute reprieve – for now.  Vice President Richard Nixon visits the winter Olympics at Squaw Valley. An experiment in composting, “one of the disposal systems of the future.” … Continue reading →

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‘Borax King’s’ Divorce Goes to Judge

Posted on February 19, 2010 by lmharnisch

  "Wonder What the Girl on the Magazine Cover Thinks About?" by Clare Briggs.   Feb. 19, 1920: The Times summarizes the main points in the divorce trial of Thomas Thorkildsen, the “Borax King,” as the case goes to the … Continue reading →

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Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, Feb. 18, 1960

Posted on February 18, 2010 by lmharnisch

  Juveniles Are Not All So Delinquent       It's the code of kid gangland that one bad turn deserves another.     If a member of one gang is caught out of his territory and worked over, the guys who … Continue reading →

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Illinois Sheriff Battles Lynch Mob

Posted on February 18, 2010 by lmharnisch

Feb. 18, 1910: Drunk driving isn’t illegal – yet! Feb. 18, 1910: Another racial incident erupts in Cairo, Ill., where a mob lynched two men, one African American and the other white, in November 1909. A purse-snatching set off the … Continue reading →

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Defense Nears Close in Finch Case

Posted on February 17, 2010 by lmharnisch

Photograph by John Malmin / Los Angeles Times Feb. 16, 1960: Carole Tregoff on the witness stand.   Feb. 17, 1960: Former President Truman predicts that the eventual Democratic nominee will “beat the hell out of Dick Nixon” and African … Continue reading →

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Crackdown on Gambling in Chinatown

Posted on February 17, 2010 by lmharnisch

  Feb. 17, 1910: The legal fight escalates between police and business owners over gambling in Chinatown. Note the reference to Sgt. Charles Sebastian, who became police chief in 1911 and mayor in 1915.

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Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, Feb. 16, 1960

Posted on February 16, 2010 by lmharnisch

Ku Klux Klan Jerks Goofing as Per Usual     This, liberally interpreted, is a progress report.     It concerns the eerie persistence of Hooded Sign Painters Local No. 950, Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, Charleston, South Carolina.     A … Continue reading →

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Tregoff Sobs on Witness Stand

Posted on February 16, 2010 by lmharnisch

 Photograph by John Malmin / Los Angeles Times Attorney Donald Bringgold and Carole Tregoff during a recess in the Finch trial. “Thousands of Dog Teeth!” Unfortunately, the continuation of this story wasn’t microfilmed, so this is all we have. Feb. … Continue reading →

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Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, Feb. 15, 1960

Posted on February 15, 2010 by lmharnisch

  Jack Paar Did Right for Wrong Reason     Never one to make snap judgments, I have permitted myself an entire weekend in which to mull over the strange case of Jack Paar.     When, right in between a couple … Continue reading →

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Young Republicans Call Nixon ‘Next President’

Posted on February 14, 2010 by lmharnisch

      Feb. 14, 1960: NBC apologizes to Jack Paar and the Finch trial is taking a toll on prosecution and defense. Carole Tregoff defense lawyer Rexford Eagan says: "We've lived with this case from the very beginning. We … Continue reading →

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Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, Feb. 13, 1960

Posted on February 13, 2010 by lmharnisch

Mash Notes and Comment     "Dear Mr. Coates:     "I would like a little information concerning one of your television programs.      "Did you, or didn't you, interview Senator Kennedy some time ago and did he say that he wore … Continue reading →

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Home-Schooler Goes to Jail

Posted on February 13, 2010 by lmharnisch

 Photograph by John Malmin / Los Angeles Times July 21, 1959: Dr. R. Bernard Finch escorts police and reporters in a tour of the crime scene in West Covina.  Newsmen at the courtroom door peep through a crack to get … Continue reading →

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Family Searches for Artist Driven Insane by Painting Frescoes

Posted on February 13, 2010 by lmharnisch

The Times’ editorializes on Valentine’s Day, of which it is much in favor.  “Think back — think away back along the track of the wild years to the day when you sent your first valentine." Feb. 13, 1910: Fresco painter … Continue reading →

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Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, Feb. 12, 1960

Posted on February 12, 2010 by lmharnisch

  If Jack Paar is remembered at all, it’s for walking off the “Tonight” show (yes, he returned). From watching him as a kid, I remember him as being urbane but volatile – a curious combination. Minnie, 83, and Young … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, broadcasting, Columnists, Front Pages, Homicide, Paul Coates, Television | 1 Comment

Confronted With Recording, Finch Says He Wouldn’t Lie

Posted on February 12, 2010 by lmharnisch

Photograph by John Malmin / Los Angeles Times July 22, 1959: Carole Tregoff enters a detectives' office for more questioning in the death of Barbara Jean Finch. Hey, it’s Lena Horne at the Cocoanut Grove. Wouldn’t it be great to … Continue reading →

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