A Tacoma Murder Case Opens Again—With a Fight Over the Prosecutor’s Opening
W. T. Taylor stands accused of killing E. R. Capron on Christmas Eve. As the second hearing begins, lawyers clash over how much of the state’s story the jury should hear before any witness takes the stand.
TACOMA, May 29.—At 10:30 o’clock this morning Alexander Reed, the twelfth man to be decided upon as a juror in the Taylor murder trial, was accepted by counsel, and the second hearing of W. T. Taylor, charged with the murder of E. R. Capron December 24 last, was begun. Before commencing the taking of testimony, Prosecutor Coiner made a brief address to the jury, outlining the story of the death of Capron and the attendant circumstances. In reviewing the crime his statements were strongly objected to by counsel for the defense, upon the ground that the prosecutor was arguing his case before the introduction of testimony. The court overruled the objection offered, and the state’s attorney was allowed to close his preliminary statement. Witnesses examined today were Col. J. J. Anderson, of the Puyallup Indian Commission; W. A. Sargeant and Mrs. Hanson, all of whom were eye-witnesses.
“His statements were strongly objected to by counsel for the defense, upon the ground that the prosecutor was arguing his case before the introduction of testimony.”
The dispute over an opening statement is a reminder that courtroom procedure—what a jury hears and when—has always shaped the public’s view of a murder case. Tacoma’s 1890s docket was covered with the same appetite for trial detail that cable news brings to courtrooms today.
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