Fisticuffs in the Courtroom
A trial in Walla Walla turns into a brawl as attorneys abandon legal arguments for physical confrontation.
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.
Arguments commenced this morning in the Jett-White case. A noted Perry lawyer opened for the defense, but after a few minutes of bickering, he accused County Attorney French of misrepresentation. French jumped to his feet and threatened to strike him down. Despite the judge’s attempts to restore order, the situation grew warmer. French called the lawyer a liar, leading the latter to grab a railing and start toward him. The court bailiff eventually seized the lawyer by the collar and jerked him back. Order was finally restored after the court threatened to send both men to jail, and soldiers in the courtroom—having stripped the participants of their arms—ensured the violence remained limited to a scuffle.
“French called him a liar. The latter grabbed the rail and started to advance; the court bailiff seized him by the collar and jerked him back.”
This incident highlights the intense, sometimes volatile nature of legal practice in the early 20th century, where professional disputes occasionally spilled over into physical altercations, a far cry from modern decorum standards.
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