Category Archives: #courts

Voices — Christine Collins, November 10, 1930

Posted on November 10, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 10, 1930: The Los Angeles County district attorney lists Walter Collins’ offenses in a letter to the prison board. Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Changeling, Film, Hollywood, LAPD | 2 Comments

Voices — Christine Collins, November 9, 1930

Posted on November 9, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 9, 1930: The woman whose tragedy inspired the movie ‘Changeling’ tells her story in her own words. Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Changeling, Film, Hollywood, LAPD | Comments Off

Voices — Christine Collins, November 6, 1930

Posted on November 6, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 6, 1930: A letter written on behalf of Christine Collins, whose son was killed by Gordon Northcott, as portrayed in the movie Changeling. Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Changeling, Christine Collins, Film, Hollywood, LAPD | Comments Off

October 28, 1938: Mayor investigates honorary LAPD badges

Posted on October 28, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 28, 1938: Mayor Fletcher Bowron calls for an investigation into so-called juice badges given to celebrities and others by the LAPD. This eventually resulted in an overhaul of the badge to its current design. Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, City Hall, Downtown, Front Pages, LAPD, Politics | Comments Off

October 23, 1957: Matt Weinstock

Posted on October 23, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 23, 1957: An intoxicated woman hails a police car, which provides a ride to jail. She’s freed, but then arrested for a warrant on a traffic ticket on a 1956 car — only she says she never owned a 1956 model, just a 1926 that she sold a year ago. Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Columnists, LAPD, Matt Weinstock | Tagged 1957, Alcoholics Anonymous, lapd, Matt Weinstock, the Sun Also Rises | Comments Off

October 22, 1958: Mob suspected in bookie’s killing

Posted on October 22, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 22, 1958: Clifford Rue was a man who was ahead of his time when it came to sports results and behind on the payments to his bookie. Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Front Pages, Homicide, LAPD, San Fernando Valley | Comments Off

October 19, 1938: Stolen statue — Nuestro Pueblo

Posted on October 19, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 19, 1938: Writer Joe Seewerker and artist Charles Owens visit the statue of a miner at Carthay Center, later stolen and cut up by thieves. And yes, they were caught. By Stephanie Lazarus. Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Architecture, art and artists, LAPD, Nuestro Pueblo | Comments Off

October 7, 1909: Jurors Convict Man, Take Up a Collection for Him

Posted on October 7, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 7, 1909: Pedro Vasquez was arrested by Detective Talamantes for stealing two pairs of trousers. After the jurors convicted Vasquez, they took up a collection so he could buy a shirt since he didn’t have one. Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Fashion, LAPD, Obituaries | Comments Off

October 1, Paul V. Coates — Confidential File

Posted on October 1, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 1, 1959: Paul Coates writes about Caryl Chessman and his scheduled execution. And Mickey Cohen plans to marry Beverly (Jean) Hills. Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Columnists, Mickey Cohen, Paul Coates | Comments Off

October 1, 1909: Fatal Land Dispute Near El Monte

Posted on October 1, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 1, 1909: High winds ground the aeroplanes of the Wright brothers and Glenn Curtiss…. A property dispute near El Monte ends in a death with racial overtones. Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Transportation | Comments Off

September 29, 1919: Omaha Mob Burns Courthouse, Tries to Kill Mayor Before Lynching Black

Posted on September 29, 2025 by lmharnisch

Sept. 29, 1919: Trigger Warning: Graphic coverage of a lynching in Omaha, Nebraska. A mob burns the courthouse, tries to lynch the mayor and murders a Black man accused of assaulting a white woman. Many women take part in the lynching, saying the mayor didn’t do enough to guard their virtue Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Countdown to Watts, Front Pages | Comments Off

September 23, 1959: Paul V. Coates — Confidential File

Posted on September 23, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 23, 1959: Paul Coates on how not to start a conversation … and Abby’s advice to a widow who wants to meet a good man and get married. Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Columnists, Front Pages, Paul Coates | Comments Off

September 17, 1959: Paul V. Coates — Confidential File

Posted on September 17, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 17, 1959: Paul Coates looks at the case of Caryl Chessman, scheduled to be executed in the gas chamber. A letter writer asks Dear Abby if it’s appropriate to ask restaurants for leftovers in a doggy bag. Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Caryl Chessman, Columnists, Paul Coates | Comments Off

September 7, 1959: Paul V. Coates — Confidential File

Posted on September 7, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 7, 1959: Paul Coates writes about a young woman’s experiences in traffic court. Hint: she wore a tight, revealing dress that she made herself, and has flaming red hair. Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Columnists, Paul Coates | 1 Comment

August 31, 1958: Woman kills husband as children sleep, Giants win over Dodgers

Posted on August 31, 2025 by lmharnisch

August 31, 1958: Lillian Kella admits stabbing her husband, Ed, to death after a swimming party. Both had been drinking heavily. Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, @news, Columnists, Dodgers, Front Pages, Homicide, Sports | Comments Off

August 28, 1958: Intruder kills former actress

Posted on August 28, 2025 by lmharnisch

August 28, 1958: Helene Jerome, described as a retired actress, is found strangled in her apartment at the Las Palmas Hotel. Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, @news, Cemeteries, Dodgers, Film, Forest Lawn, Front Pages, Hollywood, Hollywood Division, Homicide, LAPD, Sports | 1 Comment

August 27,1958: Woman kills husband over singing, Reds win against Dodgers

Posted on August 27, 2025 by lmharnisch

August 27, 1958: Was the late Benjamin Beynon, stabbed to death by his wife, an abusive husband or just a bad singer? Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, @news, Dodgers, Front Pages, Homicide, LAPD, Sports | Comments Off

August 26, 1938: LAPD officer accused in bizarre plot to kill neighbors

Posted on August 26, 2025 by lmharnisch

August 26, 1938: A suspended LAPD officer hires a couple of men to tunnel to his neighbors’ house, to plant bugging equipment … or explosives. A judge finds The Times guilty of contempt for editorials on pending court cases. Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Front Pages, LAPD, Sports | 4 Comments

August 11, 1969: Ritual Killings Terrorize L.A.

Posted on August 11, 2025 by lmharnisch

Here is Deputy District Attorney Vincent Bugliosi’s opening statement in the Tate-La Bianca murders of August 9-10, 1969. Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, @news, Film, Front Pages, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD, Music, Rock 'n' Roll, Television | Comments Off

Feb. 23, 1938 — Editorial: U.S. Doesn’t Need Anti-Lynching Law

Posted on February 1, 2025 by lmharnisch

Feb. 23, 1938: The Los Angeles Times editorializes that the U.S. doesn’t need a federal anti-lynching law. Backed by New Dealers, it’s merely an appeal to Black voters and lynchings hardly ever happen anyway, The Times says. And a pig test out San Quentin’s new gas chamber. Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Countdown to Watts, Front Pages, LAPD | Tagged #Hitler, 1938, Chamberlin, Churchill, Harry Raymond, Mussolini | Comments Off