The Burglary in the Cathedral
A legal loophole in Washington Territory prevents a man accused of living inside a church from being charged with burglary, sparking a public outcry against the prosecutor.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The principal topic of conversation yesterday was the attack upon B. W. Coiner, Esq., prosecuting attorney of this county, in the columns of the League yesterday morning. In its issue, the League charges Mr. Coiner with a gross neglect of duty in the matter of the prosecution of Charles Maynard, arrested here for burglarizing the Catholic church. Mr. Coiner was seen at his office yesterday morning and said: 'Maynard was prosecuted for carrying concealed weapons and fined $50 and costs. I expect by this means to keep him in jail until I can get at the facts of the robbery. If, as has been alleged, the church was made the lodging quarters of any individual, and there was a door opening from this lodging room into the church proper, there can be no doubt but what Maynard can be prosecuted under the charge of burglary. But unless such facts exist, he can not, and I have not yet been informed authentically on the matter. Father Hylebos was in my office after Maynard's trial with two other gentlemen. He wanted but one thing done, and that was that the prisoner should be prosecuted for burglary. I told him I had not been put in possession of the facts, and when I asked him about the affair, he said: 'It's none of your business. I want the man prosecuted for the burglary of the church though.' That this cannot be done, several of the lawyers here have joined in the petition I have prepared to send to the legislature.' Thereupon, Mr. Coiner produced a sheet of foolscap paper on which was written a petition urging the legislature to enlarge the definition of burglary to include the breaking and entering of churches and banks, which are not currently covered under the law.
“It appearing to the undersigned... that the breaking into and entering of churches, banks, etc., are not, under the law, included in the crime of burglary, they respectfully ask that you urge upon the legislature an enlargement of the statute.”
This 1887 legal debate over what constitutes 'burglary' when a structure is repurposed for living highlights a timeless tension in Seattle: the intersection of property law, criminalization of housing, and community outrage over how the legal system handles the unhoused.
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