Category Archives: #courts

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 →

Posted in #courts, Columnists, Countdown to Watts, Front Pages, Homicide | Comments Off on Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, Feb. 16, 1960

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 →

Posted in #courts, Columnists, Comics, Countdown to Watts, Dodgers, Homicide, Nightclubs, Photography | Comments Off on Tregoff Sobs on Witness Stand

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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Former Minister Accused of Abuse

Posted on February 12, 2010 by lmharnisch

“Wonder What a Twenty-Two Months-Old Baby Thinks About?” by Clare Briggs.      Feb. 12, 1920: Walter H. Evans, a former Episcopal minister, is accused of extreme cruelty by his wife, who said she even wrote his sermons for him … Continue reading →

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A Humiliating Night in Jail

Posted on February 12, 2010 by lmharnisch

    Feb. 12, 1910: John L. Grant and his wife, Margie, are in jail on charges of obtaining money under false pretenses, accused of selling their five-year lease and the furniture in a rooming house at 1401 N. Winfield … Continue reading →

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Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, Feb. 11, 1960

Posted on February 11, 2010 by lmharnisch

  A Woman Pays, Pays and Pays for Nothing     The word is blackmail, and you don't know what it means until it happens to you.     Mrs. Anita Roddy-Eden Sutton said it happened to her on the third day … Continue reading →

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Finch Shows How He Cracked Wife’s Skull

Posted on February 11, 2010 by lmharnisch

  Photograph by John Malmin / Los Angeles Times Dr. R. Bernard Finch passes co-defendant Carole Tregoff while returning to his chair after a court recess. The State Board of Education clears a Van Nuys teacher who was charged with … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Education, Homicide | 3 Comments