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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 2 |
| 1883 | 1 |
| 1885 | 2 |
| 1886 | 3 |
| 1887 | 1 |
| 1889 | 4 |
| 1891 | 1 |
| 1892 | 6 |
| 1893 | 3 |
| 1894 | 4 |
| 1895 | 4 |
| 1903 | 1 |
| 1904 | 1 |
33 stories matching bailiff
- The Clueless New Bailiff
A newly appointed municipal bailiff attempts to arrest a theatre owner using only a subpoena, only to be schooled on the law by the judge.
- The Siege of the 'Tenement of Terror'
When bailiffs arrived at a Seattle boarding house to evict residents, they were met with a barricaded door, a hail of rocks, and a community standing their ground.
- A Black Miner’s Last Chance: Court Refuses William Holmes a New Trial
Convicted of killing William B. Russell in a drunken brawl at Franklin, Holmes loses his bid for a new trial—then his lawyers challenge the court’s jurisdiction.
- The Judicial Terror of Chehalis
A judge known for opening court at daybreak wanders into the wrong building, scaring the daylights out of the local bailiffs.
- The Battle for the Courtroom Door
Mayor Ronald and Judge Rivers engage in a bizarre standoff over who has the authority to fire and appoint a municipal court bailiff.
- The Great Escape at the Seattle Dock
A man adjudged to be insane mounts a desperate, final bid for freedom as he is being escorted to the state asylum.
- The Unstoppable Snorer of Judge Humes' Court
A man’s remarkably musical snoring brings the wheels of justice to a screeching halt, leading to a physical showdown with a bailiff and deputy.
- The Bailiff Who Lost a Prisoner
A procedural mishap in the municipal court leads to a humiliating embarrassment when a defendant simply walks out of the custody line.
- The Judge Who Was Both Defendant and Accused
In a stunning legal double-header, Judge Wickersham is convicted of seduction in one court, then immediately indicted for perjury by the federal grand jury in the very same day.
- The Wickersham Scandal: A Judge’s Honor on Trial
In a Tacoma courtroom that captivated the Pacific Northwest, Miss Brantner takes the stand for days, detailing alleged improprieties with Probate Judge Wickersham. The trial exposes a web of land fraud, cocaine use, and social climbing, culminating in a judge’s furious rebuke of a laughing crowd.
- The Boy Who Tried to Buy His Mother’s Freedom
When his mother was jailed for a minor offense, a seven-year-old Seattle boy arrived at the police station with two dollars and a heart-wrenching plea to take her place in the cell.
- A Murder Trial Ends in Tears and a Whispered Verdict
After eighteen months in a felon's cell and a second trial, William Wilcox walks free — and a courtroom erupts.
- The Mob Violence Trial That Shook 1885 Seattle
A jury acquits a man accused of murdering Chinese laborers in Squak Valley, sparking chaotic courtroom protests.
- The Strange Disappearance of James Colman and Wilbur Patten
A prominent Seattle businessman and a young schoolboy vanish while crossing Lake Washington, sparking immediate fears of a violent, land-related murder.
- The Disappearance on Lake Washington
A Seattle man, his two sons, and a neighbor vanish after a bitter land dispute, leaving only a bloodstained boat drifting in the reeds.
- The Woman Who Refused the Judge
A Seattle woman stands her ground in municipal court, calling out a judge's election fraud and choosing jail over a fine.
- Acquitted in Five Minutes: The Girl Accused of Poisoning a Child
A packed Seattle courtroom erupts when Hildegard Rundberg is cleared of murdering little Richard Parker with 'Death to Rats' rat poison — the jury needing barely five minutes to set her free.
- A Saloon Killing, a 42-Hour Jury, and a Second Conviction
James Murphy is convicted again of shooting Fritz Dawe in the old Copper Chief saloon — but his lawyers vow the verdict will not stand.
- The Custody Battle of Baby Augustus
A toddler causes a stir in Judge Osborn's court as separated parents spar over custody rights in a high-stakes legal drama.
- The Third Time's the Charm: Tacoma Court Begins Murder Trial of Mortgage Foreclosure Killer
William M. White faces his third trial for the fatal shooting of James McMillan over a farm dispute in the Puyallup Valley, a case that has dragged on since 1886.
- The Spectacle of the Potlatch
An observer documents the elaborate cultural traditions of an Indigenous gathering in the Washington Territory.
- The Courthouse Brawl of Seattle
A routine legal dispute over the Central Pacific Railway Company explodes into a wild, physical altercation in a Seattle courtroom.
- Jealousy on Pacific Avenue
An aging ex-bailiff draws a gun on a public official in a public street-side confrontation over an alleged affair.
- A Quarter-Century Later, Three Civil War Comrades Find Each Other in Seattle
Decades after the chaos of the march to the sea and a fateful skirmish near Atlanta, three messmates from the Twenty-third Missouri Infantry shared a surprise reunion in Seattle.
- A Judge Confronts Jury Tampering
After a civil trial ends, a Superior Court judge takes the unusual step of swearing in the jury to testify about being approached by a litigant.
Also about this, in other words
- The Bankers’ Bailout for City Debt
Seattle’s financial elite push for state intervention to retroactively legalize city debt incurred in excess of the constitutional limit.
- The Trial of the $12,000 Yellow Dog
A vicious canine’s habit of biting pedestrians leads to a massive civil lawsuit that leaves a judge weighing the legal definition of a trespasser.
- The $5,000 Price of a Farmer’s Freedom
In January 1891, Seattle Judge Humes upheld an excessive bail for George Watkins, sparking a legal debate over whether justice should be measured by wealth rather than guilt.
- The Jailer’s Mysterious Absence
A police inquiry into the escape of a prisoner who slipped away while his guard was supposedly busy with locksmiths.
- The Good Templars' Uninvited Guest
A mischievous prank involving a ladder, a window, and a large black dog sent the River Park Good Templars' meeting into chaos.
- Jailed for a Five Dollar Debt
A Spokane barber finds himself behind bars after a landlady uses criminal law to settle a civil board bill.
- A Mother Stands Her Ground Against the Law
When an irate father tried to have his son arrested, his wife stepped in to stop the police in their tracks.
- Quick Verdict in Waterfront Dock Holdup
A jury finds a man guilty of a robbery near the Commercial Dock in just ten minutes.