Contempt in the Courtroom
A defense attorney is fined for arguing with a judge during a high-stakes murder trial in Snohomish.
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 trial of John White, James Robinson, and George Livingston, charged with the murder of farmers George Shoults and Frederick Smith near Dubuque, opened in Snohomish Superior Court before Judge Denney. During the proceedings, attorney A.D. Warner took exception to a ruling and persisted in arguing with the judge despite orders to stop. Judge Denney fined Warner $50 for contempt and ordered him into the custody of the sheriff until the fine was paid. Warner paid the fine immediately. Testimony from witnesses has already centered on a long-standing feud regarding a neighborhood road blockade that preceded the homicide.
“Failing to sit down after having been several times commanded by the court to do so, Warner was fined $50 for contempt.”
Courtroom theatrics and disputes over land access were common triggers for violence in the expanding frontier of the 1890s. The tension between local lawyers and judges remains a staple of civic drama in Washington's judicial history.
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