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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1872 | 3 |
| 1876 | 4 |
| 1877 | 8 |
| 1878 | 5 |
| 1879 | 1 |
| 1880 | 4 |
25 stories matching prosecut
- The County Treasurer’s Double-Dipping Scandal
A local editor challenges a powerful official for illegally holding two offices, exposing a web of political favoritism in the Grand Jury room.
- The Empathetic Pup of Idol Hill
A local carpenter finds comfort in a loyal companion who mirrors his own physical struggle.
- A Father Returns from the Skagit to Claim His Own
A man arrives from the mining camps to marry the woman he fathered a child with, hoping to secure their future after she was jailed for an alleged act of desperation.
- Thrown Into a Saw at Colman's Mill — and the Law Looked the Other Way
When Peter Feeney attacked a Chinese coworker in a Seattle sawmill, the man's foot was mangled beyond repair. The justice of the peace declined to hold Feeney, the prosecutor dismissed the case, and the town's paper argued the injury was just an accident.
- The Legal Tangle Over 'Criminal Joes'
A judicial disagreement reveals the complexities of federal vs. local authority in 1872 Seattle.
- The Confidence Man of Washington Street
A grifter exploited local tensions to con Chinese merchants out of $600 under the guise of buying off a prosecutor.
- The Skagit Jam: A War Against Nature for the Sake of Steam
Seattle businessmen and territorial officials unite to clear a massive logjam on the Skagit River, betting that removing the obstruction will unlock fertile farmland and restore vital steamboat navigation to the region.
- The Property Battle for Old Seattle
A lawyer and property claimant fight to secure titles to a sprawling Seattle donation land claim amidst territorial legal confusion.
- The Redemption of a Public Servant
A young man sheds a life of idle indulgence to find purpose as a prosecutor, sparking a debate over the value of public integrity in the Washington Territory.
- The Bridge Over Broken Trust
In 1878, a sharp dissent by a King County Commissioner reveals the classic political struggle over infrastructure spending and the limits of the public purse.
- A Night of Political Fervor at Yesler's Hall
Hundreds pack the Seattle venue to hear Judge Thomas Burke and local speakers rally support for the Democratic ticket.
- The Great Seattle Printing Conspiracy
When the Dispatch editor exposed a 'plunder' scheme by rival newspapers to inflate public printing costs, he revealed the messy, graft-filled reality of 1878 municipal administration.
- The Great Pacific Northwest Timber Heist
A federal investigation reveals that $40 million worth of timber was pilfered from government lands in the Puget Sound region since 1855, fueling a battle over corporate exploitation of public resources.
- The Wild West of Washington Journalism
When the courts declared they had no power to punish libel, Seattle editors went to war with their pens—and their reputations.
- He Tore Up the Railroad Track, Then Flagged Down the Train
In 1877, a King County farmer named John Ross ripped up Seattle Coal & Transportation Co. rails to force a right-of-way dispute into court — then warned the locomotive before it reached the break.
- A Family Tragedy in the Whatcom Courtroom
A mother and her twelve-year-old son were convicted of manslaughter after a deadly land dispute, highlighting the violent risks of territorial-era frontier claims.
- The Jailhouse Blunder in Seattle
A man was locked away for a week without due process, exposing deep incompetence in the administration of territorial justice.
- The Brutal Politics of the 1878 Press
A Seattle editor rails against 'poisoned shafts of calumny' after a local newspaper attacks prominent citizen H.G. Struve, labeling the lawyer a 'deserter' and a 'perjurer.'
- A Frontier Political Vendetta Over Voting Rights
A decade-old shooting incident in Oregon returns to haunt a Seattle man, sparking an unusual legal battle over his right to cast a ballot.
- The 'Pitiful Hedizzened Hurlots': Seattle's Moral Panic Over the Steamship Brothels
In September 1872, a furious editorial in the *Seattle Daily Intelligencer* condemned the floating red-light districts on Puget Sound, accusing steamship lines of carrying 'pollution and death' to every port while politicians looked away.
- The Siege at the St. Charles Hotel
A young woman recounts a harrowing night of confinement after a local man tricked her into his room, only to be met with a public denial and claims of 'blackmailing.'
- A Seattle Pastor on Trial: 'Attentions' to Another Woman, Harsh Words at Home, and a Public Rebuke
In 1877, the Presbytery of Puget Sound spent six days in Seattle deciding whether Rev. E. P. Dunning had crossed the line with another woman and mistreated his wife — then publicly reproved him and urged him to guard his conduct.
- Convicted in Five Days: The 1877 Murder Case That Shocked a Seattle Editor
After Solomon Baxter was killed, John Thompson went from arrest to a first-degree murder conviction in less than a week. The local paper called it a 'summary proceeding' with no parallel in American law.
- The Battle for the Territory: Judson vs. Jacobs in the 1876 Election
As the nation grapples with the disputed presidential election of 1876, Washington Territory voters head to the polls to decide their own future, pitting Republican J.P. Judson against Democrat Judge Jacobs in a fierce contest for territorial supremacy.
- Hanged on a Doubt: Washington Territory's First White Execution
When John Thompson was hanged in Seattle in 1877, many believed he was guilty of manslaughter, not murder. The Dispatch made the case that the law had taken a life it should have spared.