The Price of a Broken Heart in Clallam County
A local justice of the peace wins a $1,000 judgment after a public accusation of theft cost him both his professional standing and his fiancée.
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.
PORT TOWNSEND, Jan. 18.—A novel slander suit was disposed of in the superior court today. Charles S. James, justice of the peace for Sequim precinct, Clallam county, got judgment for $1,000 damages against Albert Heisler. In May 1891, Heisler accused James of stealing $30 from him, and compelled James to pay over the sum at the point of a pistol. Heisler publicly denounced James as a thief, injuring the latter's good name and causing Alma Dean, a pretty girl to whom James was engaged, to give him the mitten. James estimated the loss of his sweetheart's affections and injury to his reputation at $1,000, and got judgment by default for that amount. Heisler cannot be found. It is supposed he is in Snohomish or Seattle.
“Heisler publicly denounced James as a thief, injuring the latter's good name and causing Alma Dean, a pretty girl to whom James was engaged, to give him the mitten.”
While modern courts would likely view the 'loss of a sweetheart' as a non-recoverable emotional damage, this 1892 case highlights the precariousness of social and professional reputation in small, frontier-era communities. Today’s legal battles over defamation remain as volatile, though they now frequently take place in the digital sphere rather than at the end of a pistol.
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