The Judge and the City Attorney
A legal dispute between Municipal Judge Glasgow and City Attorney Fortson escalates toward contempt proceedings following disagreements over courtroom evidence.
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.
A difference of opinion between Municipal Judge Glasgow and City Attorney Fortson in relation to the case of Ruby Shepard, accused of being an inmate of Madam Blanchard's house of ill-fame, seems likely to end in contempt proceedings against Mr. Fortson. The case came up after Madame Blanchard had been adjudged guilty by a jury of keeping a house of ill-fame. Judge Glasgow did not decide the case and Mr. Fortson desired him to do so that he might use the case as evidence against Miss Shepard. The judge not only did not comply but ruled that such evidence would be inadmissible. This made Mr. Fortson angry and, if an affidavit made by H. K. Snook concerning the language used by Mr. Fortson in reference to Judge Glasgow is true, there will be more trouble. The affidavit was placed in Attorney John Wiley's hands by Judge Glasgow for consideration as to the steps to be taken. Mr. Wiley said yesterday that he had not looked into the matter enough to know what course he would pursue. Mr. Fortson has seen the affidavit and says it is only partly true.
“The judge not only did not comply but ruled that such evidence would be inadmissible. This made Mr. Fortson angry.”
Conflicts between elected officials and the bench over the handling of 'vice' cases highlight the ongoing tension in Seattle between moral policing and judicial procedure. Much like today's debates over prosecutorial discretion and judicial activism, this 1893 skirmish reflects how the city's power structures often clashed over the enforcement of municipal ordinances.
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