The Persistent Gamble of Fritz Dietrich
Despite a Supreme Court ruling against him, a man convicted under new anti-gambling laws attempts to delay his sentence through legal maneuvering.
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.
Fritz Dietrich, the man who pleaded guilty to the charge of gambling after the new law went into effect, and on whose appeal the supreme court last week affirmed the constitutionality of the law, will probably have some time yet to stay in the county jail. After the decision of the supreme court, rendered a few days ago, it was expected that Dietrich would be taken to Walla Walla at once to serve out his sentence, but this morning Graves & Graves, his attorneys, filed a notice of appeal to the supreme court, which may delay the removal for a time. Graves & Graves positively refuse to say on what grounds they propose to take the case up this time, but as the constitutionality of the law has already been passed upon, it is probable that the grounds will be the alleged lack of jurisdiction of the court or the insufficiency of the information. The news that his attorneys were still fighting for him came as a surprise to Dietrich. Despite the bad news he received last week, and the penitentiary staring him in the face, Fritz seems to be in a good humor. He jokes about his position and freely expresses his opinion that he will have to spend 10 months at Walla Walla.
“Despite the bad news he received last week, and the penitentiary staring him in the face, Fritz seems to be in a good humor.”
This story highlights the recurring historical tension between gambling as a social vice and the legal mechanisms used to regulate or ban it. The case underscores how legal appeals were used even in the early 20th century to stretch out the period before incarceration, often favoring those who could afford private legal counsel.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.