Technicality Saves Alleged Thief
A grand larceny case against Nellie Blanchard was dismissed after her attorney exposed a critical flaw in the legal filing.
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.
Nellie Blanchard appeared before Judge Humes yesterday for trial on a charge of grand larceny, accused of robbing Robert Stacey of $810 in the district 'down town' on March 10. Her attorney attacked the information filed against her as defective because it failed to properly describe the money stolen. Judge Humes sustained the motion and dismissed the case on a technicality. The prosecuting attorney gave notice of appeal and requested the defendant be put under bond, and she was released on $500 bail under her own recognizance.
“Nellie slipped through the legal meshes for the time being, at least.”
While legal precision remains vital in the modern justice system, this story captures the precarious nature of life and crime in 1890s Seattle, where 'down town' was a shorthand for the city's rougher, unregulated nightlife districts.
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