The Clarence Darrow Digital Collection
Written letter from Clarence Darrow collection
Collage of Clarence Darrow at different ages Postcard from Clarence Darrow Collection

Clarence Darrow Signature

State & Federal Cases

In addition to his most famous cases Clarence Darrow participated in numerous federal cases and state cases in jurisdictions outside of Illinois. While not nearly as well known as his most prominent cases, several of these cases involved important legal issues. Because of his fame Darrow was nearly drawn into several interesting cases but for various reasons he did not participate. This section describes some of these other cases and includes relevant documents and photos.




Brockway v. Jewell (Briefs, Petitions & Docket).

Briefs, petitions and docket information for Brockway v. Jewell, a case which was appealed to the Supreme Court of Ohio in 1888. These documents include two handwritten briefs submitted by C. S. Darrow and E. B. Leonard who together represented James Brockway. Courtesy of the Ohio Historical Society.


Transcript of Testimony Before the Coroner's Jury (Eastland Disaster).

Coroner's inquest into Eastland disaster held July 24 to July 29, 1915.


Cross-Examination of William D. Haywood in United States. v. Haywood (1918).

Testimony of Big Bill Haywood in his trial for violating wartime alien and sedition acts. Clarence Darrow did not represent Haywood in this trial but he did defend Vincent St. John on appeals in 1918 and 1920 after Haywood, St. John and about ninety-eight other defendants were convicted.

Macdonald v. United States, 63 Fed. 426 (1893).

McDonald and others were indicted for violating a federal lottery law. McDonald was defended by Collins, Goodrich, Darrow & Vincent and L.S. Metcalf. Thomas Milchrist prosecuted the case.


Macdonald v. United States, 63 Fed. 426 (1894).

MacDonald and others were convicted of violating a federal lottery law. Darrow helped defend MacDonald at trial and on this appeal. Counsel for this appeal included Collins, Goodrich, Darrow & Vincent as well as several other lawyers. NOTE: The lower court case used the spelling of McDonald.


Brockway v. Jewell, 39 N.E. 470 (Ohio 1894).

Brockway v. Jewell is the first case Clarence Darrow was involved in that resulted in a published opinion.


Crimp v. McCormick Const. Co., 71 F. 356 (7th Cir. 1896).

At issue is the construction of a contract made on July 24, 1892, between McCormick Construction and R. P. McCormick, the first party, and W. G. Crimp, the second party. Soon after the making of the contract, Crimp became sick and died the following December. The question is whether, by force of that contract, Crimp became an outright purchaser of stock, or only a creditor of the company, taking the stock as collateral. W. E. Church, Frank S. Weigley, Chas. M. Sturges, Loren C. Collins, Adams A. Goodrich, Clarence S. Darrow, Wm. A. Vincent, John H. Hamline, Frank H. Scott, and Frank E. Lord, for appellees.


Crimp v. McCormick Const. Co., 72 F. 366 (7th Cir. 1896).

Suit by Eugenia Crimp, as executrix of the will of W. G. Crimp, against the McCormick Construction Company and others, to determine the rights of the parties in the assets of the corporation. W. E. Church, Tenney, McConnell & Coffeen, Collins, Goodrich, Darrow & Vincent, A Burton Stratton, and McGlasson & Beitler, for appellees.


City of Chicago v. Baker, 86 F. 753 (7th Cir. 1898).

Baker won damages because a city ordinance closing a street in Chicago at the place where it was crossed by a railroad track injured his property. The City of Chicago appealed. Clarence S. Darrow, for defendant in error.


United States ex rel. Turner v. Williams, 126 F. 253 (C.C.N.Y. 1903).

This case involved the immigration act of March 3, 1903, c. 1012, Sec. 2, 32 Stat. 1214, which increased the number of classes of aliens who were to be excluded from admission to the United States. Among these additional classes are found "polygamists, anarchists, or persons who believe in or advocate the overthrow by force or violence of the government of the United States or of all government or of all forms of law, or the assassination of public officials." The court held that the law was constitutional. In addition, the court held that a decision of the immigration board of special inquiry that an immigrant is an anarchist is not open to review by the United States Circuit Court in habeas corpus proceedings. Clarence S. Darrow and Edgar Lee Masters unsuccessfully appealed this decision to the United States Supreme Court in United States ex rel. Turner v. Williams, 194 U.S. 279 (1904).


Appellant Brief and Argument in U S ex rel Turner v. Williams, 194 U.S. 279 (1904).

Clarence Darrow and his law partner Edgar L. Masters argued unsuccessfully to prevent the deportation of anarchist John Turner to Great Britain. The evidence against Turner included papers in his possession that referred to "The Legal Murder of 1887" (this refers to the execution of the anarchists in the Haymarket Affair) and The Essentials of Anarchism. Additionally, there was a note regarding a mass meeting at which speeches would be given by Turner, John Most and several others. The Court rejected the claim that deportation for his beliefs violated the First Amendment.


U.S. ex rel. Turner v. Williams, 194 U.S. 279, 24 S.Ct. 719 (1904).

John Turner was arrested and detained for deportation under Sections 2 and 38 of An Act to Regulate the Immigration of Aliens into the United States, (32 Stat. at L. 1213, chap. 1012). Clarence Darrow and his longtime law partner Edgar L. Masters unsuccessfully argued that the act was unconstitutional because it contravened sec. 1 of article 3 and the 1st, 5th, and 6th amendments to the Constitution.


Blair v. City of Chicago, 201 U.S. 400 (1906).

Dispute about whether an 1865 amendment to an 1859 Illinois law granted the railways the right to use Chicago's city streets for 99 years. Clarence S. Darrow, Glenn Edward Plumb, Edgar Bronson Tolman, and James Hamilton Lewis argued for the City of Chicago that no such irrevocable grant existed, and that city council authorization was required for use of the streets.


Warren v. United States, 183 Fed. 718 (1910).

William Goebel was a candidate in a disputed Kentucky gubernatorial election of 1900. William Taylor was initially declared the winner but the Kentucky General Assembly reversed the election results and gave the victory to Goebel. The day before he was to be sworn in as governor, Goebel was shot and mortally wounded. He was sworn in the next day but died on February 3, 1900. Suspicion was directed at deposed governor Taylor, who fled to Indianapolis, Indiana. The governor of Indiana refused to extradite Taylor and he was never investigated about his possible role in a plot to kill Goebel. Taylor later became a successful lawyer in Indiana and he was pardoned by Governor Augustus E. Willson in 1909.

Warren was a well-known socialist who believed that Taylor had murdered Goebel. Warren was convicted of sending "nonmailable matter" through the mail because he sent an envelope which displayed writing that was of a "scurrilous, defamatory, and threatening character". On the envelope was printed in large red letters: "$1,000 Reward will be paid to any person who kidnaps Ex. Gov. Taylor and returns him to Kentucky authorities." Warren was sentenced to six months hard labor and a $1,500 fine. Darrow and other lawyers represented Warren in an unsuccessful appeal.


California-Calaveras Mining Co. v. Walls, 170 Cal. 285 (1915).

Clarence Darrow and several other attorneys represented a corporation in this California lawsuit over a $100,000 promissory note.


Stewart v. Ramsay (1916).

Brief written and submitted by Clarence Darrow to the United States Supreme Court. Darrow, the only attorney listed as representing Ramsay, won this case.


Stewart v. Ramsay Record and Brief (1916).

Transcript of Record and Brief of Plaintiff in Error, in the case of Stewart v. Ramsay before the United States Supreme Court. Clarence Darrow won this case for Ramsay.


Stewart v. Ramsay, 242 U.S. 128 (1916).

Stewart had sued Ramsay in a federal court in Illinois. Ramsay was from Colorado but he came to Illinois to testify as a witness in another case and Stewart served process on Ramsay a few minutes after Ramsay testified in the other case. Clarence Darrow successfully argued that process could not be served in this manner because a witness coming from another state or jurisdiction is exempt from the service of civil process while in attendance upon court, and during a reasonable time in coming and going. Darrow is the only attorney listed for Ramsay.


Town Lot Co. v. Pettigrew, 168 N.W. 30 (S.D. 1918).

P. W. Scanlan and Clarence S. Darrow were counsel for former South Dakota Senator Richard Pettigrew in this action before the Supreme Court of South Dakota involving a dispute over land located in Salem, South Dakota.


United States v. St. John, 254 Fed. 794 (7th Cir. 1918).

Vincent St. John and 100 others, including Big Bill Haywood, were convicted for violating the Espionage Act. Darrow represented St. John in this proceeding to try to secure St. John's release on bail, which was denied.


In re St. Joseph-Chicago S.S. Co. The Eastland, 262 F. 535 (1919).

Civil case arising from the Eastland disaster.


Bianchi v. State, 169 Wis. 75 (1919).

Clarence Darrow, Peter Sissman and a Milwaukee attorney submitted a brief, and Clarence Darrow and the Milwaukee attorney made an oral argument, for Bianchi and the other defendants involved in this prosecution for conspiracy and criminal anarchy.


St. John v. United States, 268 Fed. 808 (7th Cir. 1920).

Vincent St. John and 100 others, including Big Bill Haywood, were convicted for violating the Espionage Act. In this per curiam opinion the court refers to Haywood v. United States, 268 Fed. 795, for its reasoning. Clarence Darrow represented St. John in this appeal. Haywood was convicted of violating wartime alien and sedition acts and was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 1918. He served a year at Leavenworth, but while out on appeal in 1921 he jumped bond and fled to the Soviet Union, where he remained until his death in 1928.


Carpenter v. State of Nebraska, 106 Neb. 742 (1921).

Carpenter, a practitioner of Napropathy, was convicted for the illegal practice of medicine. Doctors of Napropathy evaluate and treat neuro-musculoskeletal conditions and are connective tissue specialists but are not medical doctors. Clarence Darrow worked on Carpenter's appeal but his conviction was affirmed by the Nebraska Supreme Court.


Burns et al. v. State of Indiana,192 Ind. 427 (1922).

Clarence Darrow participated as co-counsel in an appeal for four defendants convicted of murder during a bank robbery in Indiana. The Supreme Court of Indiana affirmed the convictions.


United States v. Druggan (1924).

Clarence Darrow and Floyd Lanham represented the defendants charged with contempt of court for violating a temporary injunction.


Eckman v. State, 191 Wis. 63 (1926).

Clarence Darrow and another Chicago attorney appealed a murder conviction before the Wisconsin Supreme Court but the conviction was affirmed.


State v. Winters Briefs.

Briefs for State of Vermont v. John Winters (State v. Winters, 102 Vt. 36, 145 A. 413 (1929)).


State v. Winters, 102 Vt. 36, 145 A. 413 (1929).

John Winters was convicted of murder in the first degree. On appeal before the Supreme Court of Vermont, Clarence Darrow and several other attorneys got the judgment and verdict set aside and a new trial granted.


State v. Bittner, 209 Iowa 109, 227 N.W. 601 (Iowa, 1929).

Bittner was convicted of murder in the first degree and sentenced to life in prison. One of his points on appeal was that a conversation he had with Clarence Darrow while in jail was confidential. The Supreme Court of Iowa ruled: "It happened that at the time the defendant, Bittner, was in the care and keeping of the sheriff at the Webster county jail, Clarence Darrow of Chicago was in the city of Ft. Dodge attending to some legal business. The defendant's mother, learning of the presence of Darrow, solicited him to interview her son (defendant Bittner). Out of the kindness of his heart, and probably due to his intense interest in the welfare of accused persons, he met the request and did visit the defendant at the jail. The conversation was overheard by the son of the sheriff, who was then and there acting as a deputy. Darrow is quoted as making the following statement to Bittner: "Well, I promised your mother that I would get over here and talk to you, but I am very tired. I have been very busy all day and it is late, but I have just dropped in to give you a little encouragement, if I can, and suggest that you get an attorney and fight to the last ditch." The only question presented on this proposition is whether a confidential relation existed between Darrow and Bittner, and therefore what was said became a confidential communication. There is no basis in the record for such a claim. Darrow was not Bittner's attorney, and it is obvious that he visited the defendant in a friendly way and on account of the request made by the mother."


State of Tennessee ex rel Lea v. Brown, 292 U.S. 638, 54 S.Ct. 717 (1934).

Luke Lea was a United States Senator from Tennessee and the founder of the Nashville Tennessean and its first editor and publisher. During the Roaring Twenties, he became a major stockholder in numerous banks, all of which failed when during the Great Depression. Lea and several others including his son Luke Lea, Jr., were convicted of conspiracy to defraud a bank and misapply its funds and of fraudulent misapplication of its funds pursuant to a criminal conspiracy. They stood trial and were convicted on several counts in August 1931. Luke Lea was sentence to 6 to 10 years in prison.

Lea was allowed bond and to travel to his home to Nashville but when his appeal was unsuccessful he did not return to North Carolina. Instead he traveled about Tennessee searching for a judge who would grant a writ of habeas corpus. He was denied relief by a judge in Montgomery County and the Supreme Court of Tennessee affirmed the denial holding that North Carolina could extradite him as a fugitive from justice in State ex rel. Lea v. Brown, 166 Tenn. 669, 64 S.W.2d 841 (1933).

Clarence Darrow, Arthur Garfield Hays and several co-counsel petitioned for Writ of Certiorari to the U.S. Supreme Court which was denied on April 30, 1934. Ten days later Luke Lea and his son reported for imprisonment at Raleigh, North Carolina. Luke Lea was paroled in April 1936, and pardoned on June 15, 1937. Luke Lea maintained for the rest of his life that he and his son were wrongly prosecuted, they were made scapegoats for the bank collapse and the prosecution was politically motivated.


The Eastland, 78 Fed. 2d 984 (7th Cir. 1935).

Federal case involving some victims of the Eastland sinking 20 years after the disaster.


United States v. Dennis (1950).

Excerpt from a brief submitted to the 2nd Circuit in which Clarence Darrow is quoted about conspiracy law.


Boykin v. Alabama (excerpt from briefs, 1968).

Boykin was a 27-year-old African-American who pled guilty to five indictments for common-law robbery and was sentenced to death. The case was reversed in part by the United States Supreme Court because the record did not disclose that Boykin voluntarily and understandingly entered his plea of guilty. Boykin v. Alabama 395 U.S. 238, 89 S.Ct. 1709 (1969). Clarence Darrow is cited in these excerpts from the petitioner's brief and an NAACP brief on Boykin's behalf.


United States v. Barnes, 604 F.2d 121, 134 (2nd Cir. 1979).

This 1979 Second Circuit opinion includes a reference to Clarence Darrow in its explanation of the appellants argument: "Using as their authority Clarence Darrow, who believed that a juror's "nationality, his business, religion, politics, social standing, family ties, friends, habits of life and thought; the books and newspapers he likes and reads [even to his] method of speech, the kind of clothes he wears, the style of haircut, were important subjects for questioning, they contended that the court's inquiry was unduly (to the point of reversal) restrictive."

An Act to Regulate the Immigration of Aliens into the United States (32 Stat. at L. 1213, chap. 1012, (1903)).

John Turner was arrested and detained for deportation as an alien anarchist under this act, specifically under sections 2 and 38. Clarence Darrow and Edgar Lee Masters argued unsuccessfully in U.S. ex rel. Turner v. Williams, 194 U.S. 279 (1904) that the act was unconstitutional because it was in contravention of sec. 1 of article 3 and the 1st, 5th, and 6th amendments of the Constitution.

Investigation of Accident to the Steamer Eastland.

Government investigation conducted from July 24 to August 5, 1915.

The Rudowitz Extradition Case by Edwin Maxey (1909).

Commentary on Rudowitz extradition case after the final decision of the U.S. Department of State. The Russian government wanted to extradite Rudowitz from the United States for allegedly participating in the murder of three members of the same family, arson of the family's home and theft. Clarence Darrow and other lawyers worked on behalf of Rudowitz.


Right of the United States to Deport Aliens on the Ground of Anarchical Teachings (1920).

Law review article about the government's power to deport aliens accused of being anarchists. The article refers to the Turner v. Williams case.


Darrow in Vermont by Paul Gillies (1995).

Article detailing Clarence Darrow's involvement in the appeal of convicted murderer John Winters in State v. Winters, 102 Vt. 36, 145 A. 413 (Vt. 1929). Winters was sentenced to death but Darrow and two other lawyers succeeded in getting Winters' conviction overturned and remanded for a new trial. Winters was again convicted but was sentenced to life in prison instead of death. Published in The Vermont Bar Journal & Law Digest.

The Eastland Disaster (1905).

Account of the accident and the aftermath published in The Survey.


A Case that Should Stir Patriotism.

This brief account of the Christian Rudowitz extradition case includes quotes from Clarence Darrow's address before U.S. Commissioner Foote. Published in In Transit by Amalgamated Transit Union, Amalgamated Association of Street, Electric Railway and Motor Coach Employees of America (1908).

Darrow Defends Bank Bandits Here in 1921.

News story about Clarence Darrow's defense of several bank robbers charged with murder after a shootout with local townspeople following a botched robbery in Kosciusko County, Indiana. The defendants were convicted but they were given life sentences instead of the death penalty. Courtesy of the Warsaw Times-Union and YesterYear in Print

American Deportation and Exclusion Laws (1919).

A Report Submitted by Charles Recht, Counsel, to the N.Y. Bureau of Legal Advice, January 15, 1919. The report discusses the 1904 U.S. ex rel Turner v. Williams case that Clarence Darrow and Edgar Lee Masters worked on.


Eastland Disaster Relief American Red Cross 1915-1918.

Final Report Eastland Disaster Relief Committee Chicago Chapter American Red Cross.


The Rudowitz Extradition Case by Frederick C. Giffin.

Article about a controversial case that arose in 1908 when the Russian consul in Chicago requested the extradition of a Russian refugee named Christian Ansoff Rudowitz who was living in Chicago. Rudowitz was wanted for murder and other crimes. Darrow along with several others helped defend Rudowitz from being extradited. Rudowitz name is sometimes spelled as Rudovitz. Published in volume 75 (No. 1) Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society (1982).

Photos - Key Figures

Clarence S. Darrow  c. 1922
Clarence S. Darrow c. 1922
Clarence Darrow at about age 65. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, LC-USZ62-11819
Lawyers in the Trial of Christian Rudovitz
Lawyers in the Trial of Christian Rudovitz
The Russian government wanted to extradite Rudovitz (alternatively spelled Rudowitz) who lived in Chicago from the United States for allegedly participating in the murder of three members of a family, arson, and theft during the 1905 Russian Revolution. Clarence Darrow and other lawyers worked on behalf of Rudowitz. Left to right: Isaac A. Horwich, William C. Rigby, J.M. Bryant, Peter Sissman, Northwestern University Professor Charles C. Hyde, and Clarence Darrow. Rigby represented the Russian consulate. DN-0006760, Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Chicago Historical Society.
Clarence Darrow
Clarence Darrow
 
Clarence S. Darrow
Clarence S. Darrow
From cover of pamphlet.
Vincent St. John
Vincent St. John
Vincent St. John was a founder and prominent member of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW or the Wobblies). Clarence Darrow defended St. John after he and 100 others including Big Bill Haywood were convicted for violating the Espionage Act. President Warren G. Harding freed St. John from federal prison in 1923. Photo from: http://en.wikipedia.org
/wiki/Vincent_Saint
_John

Clarence Darrow  c. 1920s
Clarence Darrow c. 1920s
 
Clarence S. Darrow  c. 1908
Clarence S. Darrow c. 1908
 
Clarence Darrow and his son Paul
Clarence Darrow and his son Paul
Paul was born in 1883. Letters Related to Paul Darrow
Clarence Darrow in 1915
Clarence Darrow in 1915
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, LC-DIG-hec-06038.
Secretary of State Elihu Root
Secretary of State Elihu Root
A legal case with international importance arose in Chicago in 1908 when the Russian consul in Chicago requested the extradition of Russian refugee named Christian Ansoff Rudowitz (sometimes spelled Rudovitz) who was living in Chicago. The Russian government alleged that Rudowitz participated in the murder of several people. Darrow worked with other attorneys to fight extradition but United States Commissioner Mark A. Foote ruled that Rudowitz could be extradited. But on January 26, 1909, Secretary Root decided that Rudowitz's crimes were political in nature and he was therefore not extraditable under the treaty between the United States and Russia. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, LC-DIG-hec-15215.
Kenesaw Mountain Landis
Kenesaw Mountain Landis
Kenesaw Mountain Landis (1866 - 1944) served as a judge for the U. S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois from 1905 to 1922. Landis was appointed to be the first commissioner of Major League Baseball in 1921 and he served as commissioner until 1944. In 1919 Landis was the trial judge in a case with interesting political ramifications that also drew Clarence Darrow's attention. The case involved Victor L. Berger, a Socialist politician from Wisconsin and four other Socialists who were indicted under the Espionage Act in February 1918. Berger was a founding member of the Socialist Party of America and an influential Socialist journalist. In 1910, he became first Socialist elected to the U.S. House of Representatives when voters in Milwaukee elected him. In 1918 while under federal indictment, Milwaukee voters again elected Berger to the House of Representatives. In February 1919 Berger and the other four defendants were convicted of violating the Espionage Act because of their opposition to the entry of the United States into World War I. Landis presided over the trial and he sentenced Berger to 20 years in federal prison.
In June 1919 Darrow testified before a special committee of the House of Representatives on Berger''s behalf. On November 10, 1919, the House of Representatives declared Berger was not entitled to take the oath of office as a Representative or to hold a seat because he was a convicted felon and war opponent. In response, Wisconsin held a special election to fill the vacant seat, and on December 19, 1919 Berger was elected. On January 10, 1920, the House again refused to seat him and the seat remained open until Republican William H. Stafford defeated Berger in the 1920 general election. In 1921 the United Supreme Court overturned the convictions because Judge Landis should have recused himself because of his prejudice against Germans. Berger ran again for Congress and defeated Stafford in 1922 and was reelected in 1924 and 1926. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, LC-DIG-ggbain-31650.
Mahlon Pitney
Mahlon Pitney
In November 1916 Clarence Darrow argued before the Supreme Court of the United States on behalf of Charles H. Ramsay. The case began when an individual named Stewart sued Ramsay in a federal court in Illinois. Ramsay was from Colorado but he came to Illinois to testify as a witness in another case and Stewart served process on Ramsay a few minutes after Ramsay testified. Darrow successfully argued that process could not be served in this manner because a witness coming from another state or jurisdiction is exempt from the service of civil process while in attendance upon court, and during a reasonable time in coming and going (Stewart v. Ramsay, 242 U.S. 128 (1916)). The opinion was written by Justice Mahlon Pitney (1858 - 1924). Pitney served as Associate Justice from 1912 to 1922. According to some sources Pitney was the great-grandfather of the actor Christopher Reeve.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, LC-DIG-hec-03701.
George Remus
George Remus
George Remus (1876 - 1952) was born in Germany and his family emigrated to Chicago when he was 5. After Prohibition was enacted in 1920, Remus decided he could make a lot more money in illegal alcohol than practicing law and he became so successful he was called The "King of the Bootleggers." Remus was eventually convicted and sent the federal penitentiary in Atlanta for two years. His wife then took up with a prohibition agent and the two looted Remus's fortune, selling his assets and hiding the money. She reportedly also tried to have him deported and only gave him $100 from the sale of one of his distilleries; furthermore, Remus believed she hired hit men to kill him. His wife filed for divorce and on October 6, 1927 in Cincinnati while she and her daughter were riding in a cab to court to finalize the divorce, Remus instructed his driver to chase the cab. He had the driver force it off the road and Remus accosted his wife and shot her. She died later that day. Remus turned himself into the police an hour later. Remus was tried for first degree murder and he was prosecuted by Charles Taft, the 30 year-old son of Chief Justice and former President William Howard Taft. Remus hired several high priced defense attorneys but he also participated in his own defense. Remus claimed that he shot his wife because he was suffering from "transitory maniacal insanity" caused by his wife and her lover's persecution of him for the previous two years. On December 8, 1927 Darrow testified as a character witness for Remus.
On December 27, after 19 minutes of deliberation, the jury found Remus not guilty on the sole ground of insanity. Because he was found insane the matter was certified to the probate court in Ohio. On December 30, 1927, the probate court found that Remus was then insane, and ordered him committed to the Lima State Hospital for the insane. On February 1, 1928, Remus filed a writ of habeas corpus to the Court of Appeals alleging that he was unlawfully restrained of his liberty. On March 30, 1928, the Court of Appeals found that the Remus was not insane, and ordered his discharge from the Lima State Hospital.
Some sources speculate that Remus was the inspiration for Jay Gatsby, the title character in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby.
Photo from Bench and Bar of Illinois, 1920 (p. 345) (Hennessey, LeRoy).


Photos

William D. Haywood (Big Bill) Prisoner at Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary 1918
William D. Haywood (Big Bill) Prisoner at Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary 1918
As an International Workers of the World (IWW) labor leader Haywood was convicted of violating wartime alien and sedition acts and was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 1918. He served a year at Leavenworth but while out on appeal in 1921 he jumped bond and fled to the Soviet Union where he remained until his death in 1928. National Archives and Records Administration ARC Identifier: 292118.
Wreckage of Chicago's Federal Building after the explosion of a bomb
Wreckage of Chicago's Federal Building after the explosion of a bomb
The wreckage of Chicago's Federal Building after the explosion of a bomb on September 5, 1918 which killed four people. The bomb was allegedly planted by the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) as a reprisal for the sentencing of the union's leader, "Big Bill" Haywood, and 94 other members for seditious activities. National Archives and Records Administration, ARC Identifier: 533464.
Eastland Overturned in Chicago River
Eastland Overturned in Chicago River
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, LC-B2-3555-7.
Reviving Eastland Victim
Reviving Eastland Victim
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, LC-B2-3555-9.
The Wreck of the Eastland
The Wreck of the Eastland
Early on the morning of July 24, 1915 the third worst disaster in U.S. maritime history occurred when the passenger ship Eastland overturned in about twenty feet of water next to the dock on the Chicago River. The ship, which had a reputation for being unstable, had about 2,500 people on board and about 844 died. The enormous loss of life led to federal and state criminal charges including criminal conspiracy and resulted in civil litigation. Clarence Darrow defended the ship's Chief Engineer, Joseph Erickson. Darrow's defense was based on the theory that the ship must have been resting on an underwater obstruction. During the course of the federal trial this was proven not to be true. In February 1916 a federal judge found the defendants not guilty of criminal conspiracy to operate an unsafe ship. Erickson died in April 1919 before he could face state criminal charges. Civil litigation dragged on for twenty years before the final lawsuit was decided in 1935. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, LC-USZ62-126620.
Eastland Victim on Stretcher
Eastland Victim on Stretcher
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, LC-B2- 3555-10.
The Eastland (upside down) on Chicago River
The Eastland (upside down) on Chicago River
About 844 people died when the Eastland rolled over next to the dock on July 24, 1915. National Archives and Records Administration, ARC Identifier: 28184.
The Eastland
The Eastland
National Archives and Records Administration, ARC Identifier: 281840.
Chief Justice Melville Weston Fuller
Chief Justice Melville Weston Fuller
Chief Justice Fuller wrote the majority opinion in U.S. ex rel. Turner v. Williams 194 U.S. 279 (1904). Clarence Darrow and Edgar Lee Masters unsuccessfully argued to keep John Turner, an avowed anarchist, from being deported back to Great Britain. Photo is circa 1905 (approximately one year after the Turner v. Williams decision). Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, LC-USZ62-90754.
 Luke Lea
Luke Lea
Luke Lea was a United States Senator from Tennessee. Convicted for bank fraud in North Carolina, Lea refused to return to North Carolina and instead sought habeas corpus relief unsuccessfully in Tennessee and then before the United States Supreme Court. Clarence Darrow, Arthur Garfield Hays and several co-counsel petitioned for Writ of Certiorari to the U.S. Supreme Court which was denied. See above the case of: State of Tennessee ex rel Lea v. Brown, 292 U.S. 638, 54 S.Ct. 717 (1934).
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, LC-DIG-ggbain-05633.
William Haywood
William Haywood
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, LC-DIG-ggbain-12462.
Lewis E. Lawes, Warden of Sing Sing Prison from 1920 - 1941
Lewis E. Lawes, Warden of Sing Sing Prison from 1920 - 1941
Lewis Lawes was the Warden of Sing Sing Prison from 1920 - 1941 and a well-known prison reformer. Lawes, Clarence Darrow, and Vivian Pierce, were among the principal organizers of The American League to Abolish Capital Punishment which was founded in 1925. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, LC-DIG-ggbain-16342.
Destroying Whiskey & Beer
Destroying Whiskey & Beer
Enforcing prohibition. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, LC-DIG-npcc-24937.
Luigi Galleani
Luigi Galleani
Luigi Galleani (1861 - 1931) was a prominent 20th century anarchist who emigrated to the United States in 1901. He was especially influential to Italian Americans. Clarence Darrow and Arthur Garfield Hays defended Donato Carillo and Cologero Creco who are accused of murdering two Italian Fascists in the Bronx on May 30, 1927. Carillo and Creco were followers of Galleani. http://en.wikipedia.org
/wiki/File:Lugi_Gallean2.jpg
Ernest W. Gibson
Ernest W. Gibson
Ernest William Gibson, Jr. (1901 - 1969) served in numerous government positions including Governor of Vermont, United States Senator and U.S. federal judge. In January 1928 Clarence Darrow and co-counsel successfully appealed to the Vermont Supreme Court on behalf of John Winters who had been convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to the electric chair in Vermont. The court granted Winters a new trial and he was subsequently convicted and received a life sentence. Sources vary on the date but in either 1945 or 1949 Winters was paroled by Governor Gibson because of poor health. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, LC-DIG-npcc-25097.
Mohawk Mine, Goldfield, Nevada c. 1906
Mohawk Mine, Goldfield, Nevada c. 1906
Vincent St. John was an American labor leader and organizer for the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW or the Wobblies). In 1907, St. John was shot in Goldfield, Nevada by a "conservative" in the Western Federation of Miners and his right hand was crippled. Elizabeth Gurley Flynn writes, "The place which is most identified in labor history with the name of Vincent St. John is Goldfield, Nevada. At the turn of the century it was the biggest, busiest, richest gold camp in the world ... It was the scene of an intense labor struggle, led by Vincent St. John." The Rebel Girl: An Autobiography, My First Life (1906-1926) at 92 (1973). Clarence Darrow defended St. John in several appeals to the U.S. 7th Circuit in 1918 and 1920 after St. John had been convicted of violating the Espionage Act.
In 1918, Clarence Darrow defended St. John when he appealed his conviction for conspiracy to violate the Espionage Act. St. John and about 100 others were convicted including Big Bill Haywood.
Caption for photo: "The greatest gold mine known. First sixty days operation, $6,000,000.00 production." Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, PAN US GEOG - Nevada no. 24.

Eugene Victor Debs Outside of Federal Penitentiary, Atlanta, Georgia c. 1921
Eugene Victor Debs Outside of Federal Penitentiary, Atlanta, Georgia c. 1921
"Your Honor, years ago I recognized my kinship with all living beings, and I made up my mind that I was not one bit better than the meanest on earth. I said then, and I say now, that while there is a lower class, I am in it, and while there is a criminal element I am of it, and while there is a soul in prison, I am not free." Debs' statement to a federal court in Cleveland, Ohio on September 18, 1918 after being convicted of violating the Sedition Act. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, LC-USZ62-37399. Debs Letter to Darrow
Ad for books by Clarence Darrow
Ad for books by Clarence Darrow
Published in The Public in 1906.
The I.W.W.: Its History, Structure, and Methods by Vincent St. John
The I.W.W.: Its History, Structure, and Methods by Vincent St. John
Title page from book by Vincent St. John.
James Clark McReynolds
James Clark McReynolds
McReynolds was Assistant Attorney General when he argued against Clarence Darrow and Edgar Lee Masters in U.S. ex rel. Turner v. Williams, 194 U.S. 279 (1904). McReynolds would later become United States Attorney General and an Associate Justice on the United States Supreme Court. He would also become one of the four conservative Justices, known as the "Four Horsemen," because of their opposition to President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal legislation. This prompted Roosevelt's "court packing" proposal in 1937. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, LC-DIG-hec-02322.
Governor Woodbridge Ferris of Michigan c. 1912
Governor Woodbridge Ferris of Michigan c. 1912
In 1913-1914 the Western Federation of Miners (WFM) were involved in supporting striking copper miners in Calumet, Michigan. In 1913, Charles Moyer, president of the WFM and Clarence Darrow urged Governor Ferris of Michigan to settle the strike by arbitration. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, LC-DIG-ggbain-07663.
Czar Nicholas II of Russia
Czar Nicholas II of Russia
In 1908, Clarence Darrow and others worked to prevent the extradition of Christian Ansoff Rudowitz to Russia to face murder and other charges. While arguing before United States Commissioner Mark A. Foote, Darrow said "Czar Nicholas II is plotting to reach the hand of despotism into the United States and drag back, no man knows how many, political offenders of Russia." Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, LC-DIG-ggbain-07456.
Victor Berger
Victor Berger
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, LC-DIG-npcc-09391.
Just up, Calumet and Hecla Mine Shaft No. 2, Calumet, Michigan c. 1906
Just up, Calumet and Hecla Mine Shaft No. 2, Calumet, Michigan c. 1906
Calumet and Hecla Mining Company was one of the largest copper mining operations in the world. In 1913, Charles Moyer, president of the Western Federation of Miners and Clarence Darrow urged Governor Ferris of Michigan to use arbitration to settle a strike by copper miners in Calumet, Michigan. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, LC-D4-19051.
James Hamilton Lewis
James Hamilton Lewis
James Hamilton Lewis (1863 - 1939) was a politician who represented the state of Washington from 1897 to 1899 in the U.S. House of Representatives and Illinois from 1913 to 1919 and 1931 to 1939 in the U.S. Senate as a member of the Democratic Party. Lewis was the first Senator to hold the title of Whip in the United States Senate. Lewis was also the corporation counsel for Chicago from 1905 to 1907. Clarence Darrow worked as co-counsel with Lewis and other attorneys in the case Blair v. City of Chicago, 201 U.S. 400 (1906). Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, LC-DIG-hec-02646.
Victor L. Berger
Victor L. Berger
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, LC-DIG-hec-16979.
Theodore Dreiser
Theodore Dreiser
Theodore Dreiser (1871 - 1945) was a famous American novelist and journalist. Dreiser's book An American Tragedy (1925) was banned in Boston in April 1927 on the grounds that it was obscene. Horace Liveright, an American publisher and stage producer, become involved in Dreiser's freedom of expression fight in an obscenity trial and Clarence Darrow was a witness for the defense and also assisted the defense team. Darrow read a chapter from the book to the jury. Darrow also argued that "not all literature should be tailored for the feeble minded and the very young." But the prosecutor asked the jury if they would want their fifteen-year old daughters to read the passages he had recited in court. An assistant editor for the publisher was convicted of obscenity for "selling an obscene, indecent, and impure book." The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts upheld the conviction. The litigation took a long time and cost both Dreiser and the Liveright firm's a lot of money. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Carl Van Vechten Collection, LC-USZ62-42486. Dreiser Letter to Darrow.
Leroy
Leroy "Nicky" Barnes
In 1936 at age 79, Clarence Darrow wrote an article titled "Attorney for the Defense" for Esquire magazine in which he described how to pick a jury and the reasons for seating or rejecting prospective jurors based on ethnicity, class, religious beliefs and gender.
Darrow's article was cited in the appeal of a criminal trial that has been described as the first fully anonymous jury impaneled in the United States. This was the federal trial of a drug kingpin named Leroy "Nicky" Barnes in New York City. The court believed that the eleven defendants including Barnes, presented an unusually dangerous risk to the jurors and it took the extraordinary measure of hiding their identities. The defendants were convicted and appealed. On appeal they argued that they were denied due process because:
The district court's refusal to disclose petit jurors' identities, residence locales or ethnic backgrounds and the court's restrictive voir dire denied defendants due process." They also assert as reversible error the court's failure to inquire into the religion of each prospective juror. Using as their authority Clarence Darrow, who believed that a juror's "nationality, his business, religion, politics, social standing, family ties, friends, habits of life and thought; the books and newspapers he likes and reads ... (even to his) method of speech, the kind of clothes he wears, the style of haircut ...", were important subjects for questioning, they contended that the court's inquiry was unduly (to the point of reversal) restrictive. (Quoting Darrow, Attorney for the Defense, Esquire Magazine, May 1936).
Barnes was sentenced to life in prison but after he cooperated with the government this was reduced to 35 years and he was released from prison in 1998. Before his conviction Barnes came to be referred to as "Mr. Untouchable" and in 2007 he co-wrote his autobiography with that title. http://www.usdoj.gov
/dea/pubs/history/
1975-1980.html




Kenesaw Mountain Landis
Kenesaw Mountain Landis
In 1907 a violent Chicago gangster named Jacob Tennes, known by his nickname Mont, had acquired a very lucrative business when he took over a wire service that transmitted the results of horse races that bookies needed. Tennes demanded Illinois bookies to pay him half of their daily take and there were more than 700 bookies in just Chicago. But other gangsters wanted in on such a profitable enterprise and Tennes' home was bombed 6 times from July to September 1907. Mont Tennes was so successful that his activities prompted Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis of the United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois, to launch an investigation. Judge Landis issued subpoenas and also requested the cooperation of Illinois Bell Telephone in the investigation. On October 2, 1916, Tennes, without a subpoena, was surrendered by his special counsel, Clarence Darrow. Tennes took Darrow's advice and refused to answer incriminating questions. But others who knew of Tennes operations reluctantly testified that the General News Bureau, with Tennes owning 65%, made $20,000 to $25,000 per month profit but kept absolutely no paperwork of its business. Adjusted for inflation, $25,000 in 1916 is worth about $494,000 in 2009. But Judge Landis ended the investigation when he concluded local gambling was not within the jurisdiction of the federal courts and the interstate transmission of sporting news was not a crime. In 1921, Judge Landis was appointed to be the first commissioner of Major League Baseball and he served as commissioner until 1944. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, LC-DIG-npcc-25701.
New York Governor Herbert Lehman & U.S. Attorney General Frank Murphy
New York Governor Herbert Lehman & U.S. Attorney General Frank Murphy
In July 1934, Clarence Darrow publicly called for New York Governor Lehman to grant clemency to a twenty eight year old woman named Anna Antonio who was facing execution for having her husband murdered on Easter Sunday 1932. Most accounts state that Antonio was a battered wife. Her execution had been delayed numerous times and Darrow's involvement garnered more support for Antonio. But despite the numerous pleas on her behalf Antonio was executed by electric chair at Sing Sing prison on August 9, 1934.
In this photo, Governor Lehman and Attorney General Frank Murphy meet at National Parole Conference in Washington, D.C. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, LC-DIG-hec-26499.
Harold O. Mulks
Harold O. Mulks
In the summer of 1926, Clarence Darrow and Harold Mulks appealed a murder conviction before the Wisconsin Supreme Court but the conviction was affirmed in Eckman v. State, 191 Wis. 63 (1926). Photo from the Bench and Bar of Illinois, 1920.