Judge Graves Holds Court on Contempt and Collusion
A local judge punishes a witness for skipping trial and uncovers a plot to buy off justice, leading to charges of perjury.
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Judge Carroll B. Graves, presiding at Ellensburg, demonstrated his commitment to judicial integrity when a witness named John See failed to appear for a trial regarding an assault. See claimed he had been lost looking for stock, but investigation proved he had absented himself at the request of his father and the defendant, Harris, who had reconciled. Furious at this tampering with the legal process, Judge Graves sentenced See to three months in jail and fined both Harris and See Sr. $150. Young See now faces charges of perjury.
“He believes that the dignity of the court should be maintained and that there should be no tinkering with the wheels of justice.”
This story highlights the era's informal judicial practices and the 'frontier' expectation of the judge as the sole moral authority, a far cry from the complex bureaucracy of today's court system.
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