The Lawbook Exchange recently published a catalogue of Recently Acquired Rare Books and Manuscripts in Law and Related Fields, their Catalogue 105. The subheading is America, Great Britain and Europe, 16^th to 20^th Centuries. It is a mix of scholarly works for practitioners or scholars of the law with accounts of sensational crimes and trials. There were many of the latter that caught the public's attention in the years and centuries gone by. Here are a few works from this latest Lawbook Exchange catalogue.

 

We generally don't consider times 400 years ago to be deeply concerned with humanitarian issues, but England already had well-established laws to assist the poor. They were known as the “Poor Laws.” They were hardly generous, as pre-Elizabethan laws were focused more on punishment of beggars and vagrants, which is what people became if they had no money. These new laws were designed to assist the “deserving poor,” generally aged people or others whose infirmities made it impossible for them to work. It took time to recognize there were able-bodied people who didn't work because there were no jobs rather than they were too lazy. The early poor laws put the responsibility for feeding and clothing the poor on the parishes, and then expanded them to require parishioners of reasonable means to make regular donations toward assisting the poor. The Lawbook Exchange describes this item as “a landmark in poor law reform.” This is one of three editions from 1630 of Orders and Directions, Together with a Commission for the Better Administration of Justice...the Reliefe of the Poore... While providing relief for the poor, it still was equally focused on preventing anyone not deemed deserving from taking advantage of its benefits. Its stated goals were “the charitable reliefe of aged and impotent poore people,” along with “the setting to work of idle persons,” “the punishment of sundry Rogues and Vagabonds,” and “the suppressing of that odious and loathesome sinne of Drunkenesse.” Item 48. Priced at $1,250.

 

Libel laws and the free press have had an uneasy relationship. The case of Dominion Voting Systems vs. Fox News Network is a classic recent case of that conflict and Fox undoubtedly felt aggrieved when it agreed to settle for $787.5 million. However, there was a defense Fox could have asserted if it believed the statements it made were true. Truth is a defense to libel. It was not always so. One of the most significant trials of Colonial America, more important than those of the Salem witches if not as sensational, was that of John Peter Zenger. Zenger was a New York newspaper publisher, and he printed about New York's colonial Governor, William Cosby. Cosby was a self-centered man, concerned with his own fortune, a dictatorial and corrupt man. Zenger wrote about him, leading the Governor to take him to court for libel. Zenger was represented by noted Philadelphia lawyer Andrew Hamilton. Hamilton presented what was a novel defense at the time. He said it could not be libel if the statements were true. That defense carried the day, and today, that is now a well-established defense to libel. Item 119 is A Brief Narrative of the Case and Tryal of John Peter Zenger, Printer of the New York Weekly Journal, published circa 1738 in London. It is a reprint of the Boston edition. It recounts the 1734 trial and Zenger's acquittal. It was written by James Alexander, another of Zenger's lawyers. The case is now remembered as a cornerstone of freedom of the press in America. $2,500.

 

Despite the ideals of equal rights, America has not always lived up to them. The case of black slaves is the most obvious, but in the early days of the Republic, several states placed limitations on the rights of Jews. Maryland was such a state, its constitution requiring public officials a profess a belief in Christianity. Several attempts were made, unsuccessfully, to eliminate this requirement. A major proponent of what was known as the “Jew Bill,' which would provide Jews equal rights with Christians, was Judge Henry Brackenridge. He spoke passionately about such a bill in 1819. He said that the existing law was a violation of Article VI of the U.S. Constitution, which states that “no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.” That is quite clear, and yet a religious test was enforced in Maryland, and attempts to change it failed in 1797, 1802, and 1804. The results were no different in 1819 despite Brackenridge's efforts. It would not be until 1826 that Maryland removed its religious test. Item 12 is Vol. 4 No. 14 of Niles' Weekly Register, published May 29, 1819. It contains the first separate printing of Brackenridge's speech. $2,500.

 

Next we have The Life of Jesse Harding Pomeroy. The Most Remarkable Case in the History of Crime or Criminal Law, by Haskell E. Luscomb, published in 1892. Luscomb was probably given to a bit of hyperbole in the title, undoubtedly to help sell books, but this was a most-of-something case, or perhaps least would be more accurate. Jesse Pomeroy was the youngest person ever convicted of murder in Massachustts. He was only 14 years old but had murdered a ten-year-old girl and a four-year-old boy, possibly more. He was convicted and sentenced to death, but that was commuted to life in solitary confinement at the Charlestown State Prison. He actually served “only” 43 years in solitary before being admitted to the general prison population. While in prison, Pomeroy learned several languages, wrote poetry, wrote legal briefs attempting to overturn his conviction, and several times attempted escape. This copy is bound with Boston's Tercentenary, 1630-1930: A Poem. The quadricentenary is coming soon. Item 53. $950.

 

This trial account is of a case that McDade (The Annals of Murder) called one of those legal marathons peculiar to the United States. The book is Love and Law, in Two Parts. Part I. The Only True History of the Killing of Mrs. Dora C. J. Broemser, by her killer, Charles F. Kring, published in 1882. Kring had had two failed drugstores when he took a position in one run by Jake and Dora Broemser. Though married, Kring took a liking to Mrs. Broemser. That store burned down to collect its excessive insurance, and Jake Broemser later asked Kling to go in partners with him in a new one. Kring was reluctant, but pleading from Dora, with whom he had become involved, led him to join the Broemsers. When Jake found out about the relationship, he took the store's money and left. Two families were destroyed, but Kring and Dora were together. In time, Jake came back, Dora returned to him, and he asked Kring to join him in a patent medicine business. Once again, Kring got money from his father, the business did poorly, Kring sought a settlement from Jake, only to find Dora taking her husband's side. Dora, now pregnant (probably thanks to Kring), went to stay with her mother-in-law, Kring came to see her and asked her to marry him. Dora said no in a way Kring thought demeaning, so he pulled out a gun and shot her. If this love triangle seems confusing, his prosecution was even more so. Kring was tried, convicted, and sentenced to hang, but the verdict was overturned by the Missouri Supreme Court on the grounds that his being held in handcuffs at trial may have prejudiced the jury. A second trial was held but dismissed after a juror became ill. The third trial ended in a hung jury. In the fourth trial, Kring pleaded guilty to second degree murder expecting a 2-5 year sentence. When the judge sentenced him to 25 years, he asked to rescind his plea, which was granted. In the fifth trial, he was again convicted and sentenced to hang, upheld by the Missouri Supreme Court, but overturned by the U. S. Supreme Court in a 5-4 vote. It ruled that since Kring had pleaded to second degree murder in the fourth trial, then existing Missouri law (since changed) meant he could not be charged with more than second degree murder. It all had taken eight years, with Kring in prison, but he was now free to return home. By then, Kring was in poor health and he died a year later. Item 113. $950.

 

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