On January 2, 1912, Samuel Doerfler, lawyer, strode into the Old Court House and filed a Statement of Claim in the new Municipal Court of Cleveland on behalf of his client, Myron B. Vorce. This pleading was docketed by Clerk Peter J. Henry as Case #1.

Vorce’s claim against the American Realty Investment Company was for money only in the amount of $844.62.

On February 12, 1912 Judgment for the Plaintiff in the amount of $539.65, and costs of $7.19 were assed against the defendant.

Journal of the Cleveland Bar Association, August 1962

2 1912 – 1920 A New Court begins

“The Municipal Court of Cleveland, as it was known at its inception, was established by the act of the Ohio Legislature, (99 O.L. 362), as amended (101 O.L.155), opened January 1, 1912, in the old courthouse. As quarters provided by the City of Cleveland, with a Chief Justice and six associate judges all of whom were elected November 5, 1911.” 1

Daybreak on Tuesday, January 2, 1912 came in frigid fashion, 7 degrees, cloudy with the threat of snow. At Police Headquarters on Champlain Street, the new court was gaveled to order by Chief Bailiff Charles Selzer, and Chief Justice William H. McGannon gave an opening address. Judges Daniel B. Cull and George P. Baer assumed their duties in the Criminal Branch, using the courtrooms used by the Police Court the previous week. Criminal Court would remain at this location for another decade. Meanwhile, the doors of the old Cuyahoga County Courthouse on Public Square swung open for its first full day of business for the new Municipal Court of Cleveland where the remainder of the court began its business day. Officially, the Municipal Court of Cleveland opened for business at 9:30 am. The old courthouse on the square, now 5 floors high, once held the Probate Court, offices for the county Recorder, Auditor, and Treasurer in addition to the Common Pleas Court rooms and clerks. Built in 1857 at a cost of $152,500, the city and county would have no further use for this building after 1933, condemning it to the wrecking crews.

In November of 1911, elections were held to choose the first judges of the new court. Those chosen from the crowded field were William H. McGannon as Chief Justice, and associates George P. Baer, William B. Beebe, Daniel B. Cull, Samuel E. Kramer, Manuel Levine, and Fielder Sanders. The high ranking support positions, including those of Clerk, Bailiff, and their highest ranking assistants, were appointments made by incoming Mayor Newton D. Baker. Baker upset the Republican judges with these appointments, especially that of Charles Selzer as Court Bailiff. Selzer was himself a candidate for the bench but had to settle for the position of first loser. Despite his second place ranking by Civil Service, he was given the post over a rival who happened to be a Republican. In response, the Republicans threatened to vote to reduce the salary of the support positions. Their leading contender for the bailiff position was Councilman George F. Arnold, who when told of the salary threats, commented that “while it costs just as much to maintain a Republican as a Democrat, the proposed new figure was too low to support anyone.” That put the matter to rest. Other key positions were filled by J.J. Keeley, chosen as Selzer’s first assistant. R.R. Christian, who had

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been Superintendent of the Warrensville farm, was named Chief Probation Officer and J.H. Oleksuich was named his first assistant. Deputy Bailiffs were appointed: George Arnold, Edward Peck, Chris McMahon, Edward Cobitz, Allen Shaw, Charles J. Vavrina, C.M. Smith, James Gannon, John R. Kossuth, and Charles Wilder. Sam Greenwald and Albert Bryar were appointed to be court interpreters.2

Cleveland took control of the old court house in late 1911. While workmen prepared the building, the judges met, ratified rules and regulations, and sworn in the clerks and bailiffs.

Chief Justice McGannon set the tone for the new judiciary by proclaiming that the intent of the new court was to “dispose of all business as rapidly as possible and to be fair to all concerned.”3 As usual, the use of this old courthouse for the new court was not a unanimous decision. Councilman Benesch filed with the city clerk a resolution calling for a report concerning the feasibility and advisability of making a municipal court building an integral part of the city’s group plan. Benesch opposed the renting of the court house from the county. The city was now committed to a 2 year lease at $20,000 a year. Benesch also suggested that the proposed court building could be erected alongside the new city hall on a lot east of the city hall.4

For final preparation, in December of 1911, the new judges traveled to Chicago to observe their municipal court in person. While they were impressed with what they saw, it was decided that initially, to guide the transition, the new court would be conducted like the police court it was to replace. Any alterations or innovations would be phased in gradually to ease the inevitable growing pains. The court calendar year was divided into four terms of three months each. On the first day of each term the judges rotated to the various rooms, branches and buildings of the court according to assignments made by the Chief Justice. Now known as “session assignments”, a modified system of rotating duties is still in use today. Cases filed in the court were divided into classes, first and second. Second class cases were those involving not over $300, except contracts. First class cases were all others. Second class cases could be heard and disposed of in 5 days after filing. First class cases were thought to be of more importance and would be allotted more time. Old police court rules and practices were retained to conduct the Criminal Branch of the court. Arraignments were to be held on the day after arrest as had been the custom in the police court. Criminal court would be held in courtrooms on the second floor. The Court Clerk assumed the offices vacated by the former county clerks. Court Bailiffs utilized one of the old common pleas courtrooms for their office.

How the new court would work was the subject of much speculation among the legal community. Some were dubious of its success, others optimistic. “A great deal depends upon how attorneys take to the new court,” said Walter Flory, one of the Walter Flory

Old Courthouse after renovation

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WOODEN LEG ON JURY DUTY?

Chief Justice McGannon was asked to pass upon qualifications for jury duty of a man who was breaking in a new artificial leg. He wrote, asking to be excused, “I fear that I would not make a reliable juror,” the letter stated. “I’m trying to wear a new artificial leg. Sometimes I walk and then again I don’t. I don’t like to do anything unless I can do it well and I feel that under the circumstances I couldn’t do justice to the work that might be required of me.” Judge McGannon asked the man to come in and talk about the matter 9

founders of the influential law firm Thompson, Hine, Flory, a firm which continues today. Flory had helped to craft the original municipal court bill. “The court can be made or broken by attorneys in a large measure, and it is up to them to see that it is not broken.” 5

Long an opponent of Justices of the Peace, both as a judge and earlier as a prosecutor, Judge Levine declared, “The death knell of the justice court has been sounded. I think I am safe in predicting that in another year justice courts will be wiped out where there is an established municipal court.” 6

Judges Daniel B. Cull and George P. Baer were the first of the new judges to be assigned the criminal (formerly police) court. Some of the first cases heard by Judge Cull were of seven young men who were arrested on the charge of shoplifting

by E.D. Newell and Edward Meister, store detectives for the S.S. Kresge Company at 1900 West 25th Street. All seven had been arrested within an hour and a half of the court opening. The new court received 20 new civil case filings the first day, ranging from an $18 suit to contracts involving over $1,000. In the first 5 days of operation,7 116 civil cases were heard.

One Cleveland newspaper editorialized:

“If the court can maintain this record or one approximating it, one of the claims made in its favor will have been justified. This indicates that the court has been organized efficiently and the people in establishing this court have provided themselves with an instrument for the encouragement of justice. A “people’s court” this municipal bench has been called. Clearly if the court is to retain this complimentary title, it must insist on speed and simplicity of procedure. The first week argues the possibility that this hope of the court’s advocates may be fulfilled.”8

On February 24, 1912, upon the recommendation of the judges, Clerk Peter J. Henry instituted in the clerk’s office a department for the purpose of handling small claims in which money and the detention of personal property were involved. The monetary amount was limited to a cap of $100.00. 680 cases were filed in 1912 with the average amount claimed was less than $14.00. The Conciliation Branch of the court was officially established on March 1, 1913, for the purpose of handling these small claims in civil actions. This procedure was in effect until the Small Claims Act became law in November of 1967. In addition, the court instituted the use of the United States mail for the issuance of summons, as authorized by amendment to the Municipal Court Act. This practice was put into operation in October of 1913. Although we may take this for granted Peter J. Henry

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now, in 1913 this was a major innovation.

The old Police Court was plagued by bond forfeitures. When the court closed, its problems didn’t just go away. In July of 1912, City council began an investigation of more police court forfeited bonds, an inquiry that council approved by unanimous vote. At issue was thousands of dollars of bonds which were never referred to the prosecutor for possible recovery, all of which were issued prior to the closing of the court in December of 1911. The state examiners focused the investigation on former Clerk Paul Schneider, who had become the Cuyahoga County Recorder, and at Manuel Levine, newly seated judge of municipal court who was once the Police Prosecutor. Although investigators suspected they would find evidence of more faulty bonds, bonds amounting to more than $5,000 were under initial examination.

Prosecuting Attorney John A. Cline, commenting on this most recent bond investigation of the old court, said “I believe the evidence will prove that some bonds were set aside illegally, and should be looked at as criminal in nature.”10 Mayor Newton D. Baker vowed to co-operate with investigators.

The first day investigation by the council committee found numerous instances of improper procedures used in processing bonds in the old police court. Finding 10 more cases plagued with irregularities on the second day, investigators characterized the violations as flagrant. The council expanded the investigation to include 6 more years to the police court probe, and began a similar inquiry into the justice courts for the same years.

State examiners, after a month of investigation, declined to make their findings known, and referred all questions to prosecutors. The audit exposed that police court remittances to the state showed a shortage of $1,158.75; the shortage from the justice courts was even greater, $4,306.14.

“It was the best investigation ever conducted through city council. It was an investigation that revealed something. The report of the committee should result in some action from the proper authorities,” said Councilman W. F. Thompson regarding the bond forfeiture probe by council committee. The final report was now revealed, drawing praise for thoroughness.

Prosecutor John A. Cline said although the probe was comprehensive, the city and county stood little chance to recover any of the money involved.

Chief Justice William H. McGannon and Associate Judges Cull and Baer refused to set aside forfeitures after the suit had been commenced. County Recorder Paul Schreiner admitted that he had perhaps technically violated the law while police clerk; but neither city nor county had suffered by his acts. He said the report criticizing his administration as clerk of the police court was a political plot to slander him.

Growing pains would plague the court’s early years and be a continuing theme. Criminal cases increased from 7,788 in 1912 to 14,860 in 1914, a raise of 90%. In that same period, probation cases were up 48% from 1913 and 150% from 1912. The court was certainly a busy place. The pain of growth was not limited to casework. Within the Municipal Court Act, in section 3, was the clause regulating vacations of judges. The text read, “The vacation of the respective judges of the municipal court shall not exceed sixty (60) days during each year, and shall be at all times as fixed by the chief justice, and at least four judges shall be in attendance at all times.”

The newspapers were making much out of the vacation time. Before the news of the vacations broke, 2 judges had taken a month off each. Some jurists indicated that they intended to take the maximum of 2 months vacation allowed by law, while some were sure they would not

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leave for that long. The furor over the paid leave boiled over when Chief Justice McGannon asked city council to appropriate $2,000 to pay for substitute judges. Several local lawyers offered their services as acting judges of municipal court without compensation. They were ready to step in if “the judges who were elected last fall insisted on their ‘pound of flesh’ and took their ‘two month rest.”11 The regular judges were unsure of their next move. (While the judges may have contemplated their next move, the vacation provision would continue unchanged until October of 1953, when the judicial vacation time would be slashed in half.)

At the end of its first year of operations, the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce appointed a team of 11 attorneys to investigate the court’s first 12 months with an eye toward measuring the efficiency. The goal was to evaluate the need for changes in the Municipal Court Act. The necessity and worth of the court was well proven by its year end statistics. As established with a staff of 37 clerks and bailiffs, 18,367 cases, civil and criminal combined would be disposed of in the 12 months. Total receipts would amount to $37,536.60.12

In early 1913, Common Pleas Judge Martin A. Foran denied the right of the municipal court to require a deposit or an Affidavit of Poverty from litigants seeking jury trials. The decision stemmed from a case that was appealed by a defendant on the grounds that a jury trial had been denied when the defendant refused to put up security for the cost of a jury. The municipal judges were working under a rule adopted by them a year ago which provided that:

“Demand for a jury must be made in writing. The party or parties demanding a jury must deposit $5 to apply to the expenses of a jury unless an affidavit is filed stating it is impossible to make such a deposit.” Judge Foran’s decision said, “It was an outrage to create such a rule, a plain violation of

the Ohio statutes which provide that the right of trial by a jury must not be interfered with because of the financial status of a litigant.” Attorneys apparently complained about the jury fee, saying it was contrary to the promise of its backers that the municipal court would be the “poor man’s court.” In Common Pleas Court, a deposit of $10 is required for every case filed unless an affidavit of poverty is made or the judge sees fit to permit the case to be filed without deposit.13 Chief Justice McGannon stated, “We acted within the law when we made the deposit ruling. When a litigant is unable to pay he can make an affidavit to that effect. No one is denied the right of a jury.”14 McGannon indicated he may request the legislature to clear up the matter with an amendment to the law.

A bill suggesting alterations in the municipal court, framed by members of the Chamber of Commerce, was introduced by State Senator Carl D. Friebolin. Among the provisions were the abolishment of the offices of the court clerk and chief bailiff, with the Chief Justice assuming the role of court clerk ex-officio, with the authority to hire assistants. Additionally, provisions for non-partisan nominations and elections, service by mail on any party connected with any litigation and extending the power of a lien of the court to extend to any part of the county were also part of the pending litigation.15

In the Ohio House, Representative Vollmer introduced a bill intended to establish courts of conciliation throughout Ohio. Judge Manuel Levine played a large part in crafting this bill. This bill was based on sections of the Ohio Constitution which empowered the court of conciliation, and was in place since 1852 but not put in use. This court was to be limited to a

Judge Foran

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monetary jurisdiction not to exceed $35.16 The first conciliation case featured Christy Vogt against William Elster. Vogt, a grocery store owner on West 73rd St was suing Elster, a customer, for a $24 outstanding bill. Judgment was for the Plaintiff, court costs were 50 cents.17

City Councilman A.A. Benesch (a candidate for the original court) believed that under home rule, city council could pass amendments to the ordinance regulating the operation of the municipal courts. Benesch was of the opinion that the court needed a woman judge presiding over domestic and women’s issues. Benesch said, “The woman judge will in reality be merely a probation officer but as in the court of domestic relations in Chicago, she will have the title of judge and perform the duties that go with the office of judge.”18 In his mind,

the council need not wait for the adoption of a new charter. Rather, that the council had the power already. Benesch found few who agreed with his home rule idea or with his opinions concerning women’s role in the court.

In August of 1913, issues arose between court offices, with accusations and criticisms exchanged between conflicting factions. J. Martin Thumm, the Chief Deputy Clerk, criticized the bailiffs of the civil branch of the court. Laxity in levying executions for judgment and costs was his specific charge. He felt it so serious he asked the judges to take action.

“Unless present conditions are remedied, the court’s income will be far behind its expenses this year.” Thumm was particularly incensed at the return of a Deputy Bailiff assigned to levy an execution for $98 issued against a casualty company. “This company is incorporated for $8,000,000.00,” complained Thumm, “and yet the Deputy Bailiff returned the papers marked: ‘Nothing found to levy on.’” Chief Justice McGannon said he had not heard about the alleged laxity in serving executions, but promised to investigate. “It may be that there are not enough deputy bailiffs to handle the work properly.”19

Friction that had been building between court probation officers and officials of the police department came to a climax when Probation Officer John Oleksuich was refused admittance to the city prison. The refusal to admit the Probation Officer came after Judge McGannon had issued instructions to officers to admit probation officers to the city prison at all times. The result of the situation was that Judge McGannon began an inquiry. He said that the attitude of police toward the probation system struck at the very fundamentals of the probation concept and created a situation which demanded immediate action to prevent the probation system from being crippled. In response, a police inspector quoted their rule book, saying that police rules made no provision for the admittance of probation officers to the city prison. The police rule book was explicit in limiting the freedom to enter the prison to judges, attorneys for prisoners, members of the police department and doctors.

This temporary bit of muscle-flexing was brought to an end through the intervention of the Director of Public Safety C. W. Stage, who convinced the warring parties that the work of the probation officers was for the public good, and therefore must not be hampered. Probation officers were now included on the list of persons with unlimited access to the city prison. This decision was applauded by Chief Justice McGannon and Judge Manual Levine, fathers of the probation system.

Alfred A. Benesch

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“None but reliable, sober and trustworthy men, are employed as custodians, of property levied or seized in attachment and in the

performance of this duty, they are instructed to be as little offensive

and obnoxious as the employment will permit.”

Annual report Municipal Court of Cleveland 1915.

In October of 1913, a crusade to abolish the fee system in the municipal court was championed by Judge Fielder Sanders. After corresponding with former President William H. Taft and a group of distinguished lawyers, Judge Sanders developed the plan as a response to the new fee schedule recently adopted by the court. Sanders requested comment from local bar representatives as well as nationally known figures such as Taft and Samuel Gompers, President of the American Federation of Labor.

Former President Taft answered that he did not believe in sustaining the court out of fees taken from litigants, but was strongly in favor of abolishing all fees and having the courts sustained by general taxation. This was a position favored by Judge Sanders. If put into practice, Sanders concept would have altered the funding model for all the municipal courts, making them dependent upon renewal levies as a primary source of funding. Sanders found few supporters and the matter died quietly.20

In March 1914, a joint effort by the court and police to reduce the illegal supply of drugs in the community was producing a positive result. In the wake of prosecutions of drug dealers in closing many supply sources for drug victims, the dockets of the criminal branch of municipal court for the last six days have averaged about one-half as many cases as corresponding days in February. Drug victims preferred undergoing treatment at the Warrensville city farm as the result of sentencing efforts by Judge George Baer. Opting for therapy as opposed to prison, more than 300 additional “victims” awaited their chance to take the treatment. Judge Baer recommended enlarging the temporary experimental sanatorium at the Warrensville farm on the grounds that taking drug victims from society would reduce crime sufficiently to justify the expenditure. He said, “The results of the campaign against drug selling have convinced us that this crime is in a measure, preventable. We have been planning to establish a committee of criminal research, and the results of the drug campaign prove the causes of crime can be determined.”

Baer believed that the enlargement of the sanatorium for drug victims and establishing the sanatorium as a department of the city farms would lead to the establishment of similar treatments for the drink habit. Court officials were in agreement that excessive use of liquor equaled the use of drugs as a cause of crime.21

Former councilman now Public Safety Director Alfred A. Benesch, himself a defeated candidate for the municipal court, took the judges of the court to task in front of 200 members of the police department. Benesch, perhaps guilty of sharpening his proverbial axe to grind, was critical of the judges of the criminal branch of the municipal court for what he called “non-cooperation with the police” and “discrediting the police’s testimony in court.” He declared a great percentage of cases brought into court were discharged because the judges discredited the testimony of the police and accepted the testimony of some disreputable person. Benesch said “The fact testimony is from a policeman ought to add weight in the municipal court of this city, but it doesn’t.”22

Judge Manuel Levine became the first

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judge to resign his office, as he did on December 2, 1914, having been elected to Common Pleas Court. A provision within the Municipal Court Act empowered the Governor of Ohio to name a replacement, who would be required to run in the next available election for the unexpired term. This procedure remains unchanged to this day. The honor of the first appointment to The Municipal Court of Cleveland went to Maurice Bernstein. Bernstein, who later changed his name to Bernon, would hold many titles in his career. He himself would resign to become Assistant State Attorney General. In January 1917, Governor Cox would appoint William C. Keough to fill his vacancy.

With writ service up from 20,106 persons served to 44,931, an increase of 43% over the previous year, spurred a request for the expansion of the court. By early 1915, the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce was actively lobbying for the passage of a bill that would expand the courts powers. Their Municipal Court Committee recommended an increase in the number of judges, seeking to add 2 more, citing clogged dockets. Their review of the court would suggest that an increase of 3 judges would be justified, but the financial effect on the city and county budget would be too great. The committee also urged the support of amendments to extend the jurisdiction of municipal court to include the trial of the right of property, ability to appoint a trustee to receive earnings of a debtor not exempt from attachment, to provide for service by mail upon corporations and partnerships, and to provide for proceedings in error direct to the Court of Appeals instead of the Court of Common Pleas. The Municipal Court bill was amended by the judiciary committee, the section that provided for the trustee for debtors being stricken. The action was taken because as written, it would provide a method of debt collection in Cleveland that would not be available in general application, making it unconstitutional. It was suggested that the provision be later brought in as an amendment to the general laws, and give the entire state the advantage of it. The bill also increased the number of judges from 7 to 10 and set their terms at 6 years. State Senator Mooney of Cuyahoga County would introduce the bill in March of 1915.

Included in this bill was language that permitted the payment of $600 a year to the Law Library Fund as support from the court. The Cleveland Law Library Association, through a court decision, lost the income of about $500 a year it had received from police court fines. This support had continued for a number of years. When the municipal court replaced the police court, that funding ceased. Clerk Peter J. Henry interpreted the Municipal Court Act as instructing him to turn over all costs and fines assessed in the criminal branch of the court. The required contributions were to be made to the city treasury quarterly. Under the old police court rules, 15% was held back for the law library trustees. Henry refused to continue that practice. A mandamus suit was brought to test Henry’s right to withhold the money. “The clerk of the municipal court certainly cannot obey contrary requirements of the statute, and for that reason we feel the latter requirement must prevail.” the court decision read. “Clerk Henry cannot be ordered to pay funds to the Law Library Association.”

The practice of granting personal bail was a radical idea in 1915 when it was begun. The personal bail bond was instituted for the benefit of the poor and unfortunate. It was thought this would free the less wealthy defendant from reliance upon professional bondsmen, who were regarded with contempt. Many were unscrupulous, and were considered legal loan sharks.

When the municipal court began their stewardship of the old courthouse on the square, the bailiff’s department took advantage of the storage room in the basement, which provided a safe area for storing goods and chattels taken in attachment, replevin or seized upon execution,

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and exhibits stored for upcoming trials. No charge was incurred for this service, a savings to litigants of storage house charges. This storage policy was never more important than when on January 9, 1915 a player piano was brought in as an exhibit in front of Judge Fielder Sanders courtroom. A piano company was involved in a suit against a customer for non-payment of an installment contract. The piano company brought the instrument into court to prove it was in working condition. The piano was demonstrated to a very appreciative jury and spectators, performing flawlessly according to eyewitnesses. Despite the instrument’s successful performance, Judge Sanders ruled in favor of the customer for $90 and costs.23

When Judge Samuel Kramer took his turn on police court duty he commented on the disturbing conditions he found which he felt were causing extreme difficulty for the court. Kramer made public comment regarding the Probation Department and their woefully heavy caseload. The department, with an inventory of nearly 1,000 cases, had but 2 probation officers to supervise. Suggestions were offered to help alleviate the high inventory, such as increasing the number of officers, and opening the first probation satellite office.24

On March 4, 1915, the business hours at the court changed. Since its original opening, the court had opened at 9 am. By the agreement of the judges, the local rule governing the business hours of the criminal branch as of this date would begin at 8:30 am. The suggestion for the change came from Judge Bernstein.25

In April, the Municipal Court Amendment Bill passed; increasing the number of judges to 10 in all, and appeals of its decisions will avoid Common Pleas Court and go directly to the Court of Appeals. In addition of the aforementioned provisions, the nomination process for a judicial office would be accepted in the form of a nominating petition.26

May of 1915 brought additional changes to the court. New methods in dealing with traffic violators were developed and adopted following lengthy discussions involving Chief Justice William H. McGannon, Safety Director A.A. Benesch, Police Chief W.S. Rowe, Clerk Peter J. Henry and Police Prosecutor Frank S. Day.

It was decided that the first step was to issue a general amnesty to motorists convicted of offenses in the past because penalties under the new system would be so much more severe. On May 1, each driver’s slate was wiped clean and those drivers caught speeding, violating a traffic ordinance or the head lamp rules were treated as a first offender. The new rules made major changes in procedure that would take effect after the second arrest.

No arrests were to be made by police on a first offense. The violators were taken to the nearest police station for registration. Once there, details of the violation, name and address of violator, make of car, and any special circumstances were noted. The data was forwarded to the Police Bureau of Statistics. When a registered first offender was caught in a second violation, an arrest was triggered. Determining a driver was a repeat offender required a phone call to the Bureau of Statistics. A driver arrested on any charge but headlamp offense was not be detained awaiting someone to come with bail. A two-time offending driver was permitted to deposit $25, or leave their car as security at the precinct while they obtained bail from the Clerk’s Office at Central Police Station. The money or car was returned when the violator returned with the bail.

These new procedures were based on state law which permitted police to hold cars as security for bail. The law did not include in the stated list of offenses the improper use of headlamps. Headlamp violators on a second offense were required to have someone else secure

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their bail. The new procedures applied equally to the operators of motorcycles as well as cars and trucks.27

City prosecutors had been critical of the court judges setting bail amounts they considered to be insufficient. County Prosecutor Cyrus Locher asked Chief Justice McGannon to stress to the municipal court judges the need for higher bail amounts when facing known criminals. The prosecutor claimed to have proof that criminals, most especially pickpockets, were banding together for mutual protection and for the securing of bail for those arrested. The scheme involved property owners who were signing bonds for a fee to cover their loss when the defendant failed to come back for trial. Locher had traced a number of defendants through a number of cities where they had jumped bail.28 Chief Justice William H. McGannon in a letter to Law Director John N. Stockwell, would accuse the 3 police prosecutors working at Central Police Station of “loafing on the job.” Stockwell vowed to make a personal investigation of conditions at police headquarters. Prosecutor Frank S. Day responded, “Judge McGannon waited until noon Saturday to make his charges because he knew we couldn’t offer any defense until Monday.”29

Conditions would improve with the opening in 1916 of the new City Hall on Lakeside Avenue. The Civil Division would be moved there, with the Criminal Division remaining housed in the courthouse. As originally designed in 1906, City Hall was configured for offices for Justices of the Peace, with a large, shared hearing room.30 When it became clear in 1912 that municipal court would be moved into city hall in some form, Judges McGannon and Sanders met with county commissioners to try to make arrangements to move the facilities reserved for the 3 Justices of the Peace. They were to be housed in the new City Hall, but the municipal court judges opposed having Justice Courts housed in the same building as the municipal court.31

By 1914, plans were being made to reconfigure City Hall to accommodate the courts and clerks. This process led to a great deal of resentment among department heads who were feeling the effects of the loss of space within their offices.32 After the building opened, Finance Director C. J. Neal notified municipal court that the civil branch would be ordered to move into their new quarters in the new City Hall by September 1. The city did not have the funds to continue the rental of the old court house on the public square after that date.33 The court would begin City Hall operations on Monday, September 18th. While this eased the crowded conditions, the two locations would cause continuous problems for the court until unification would finally take place more than 50 years later with the opening of the Justice Center. Three judges were added to the court for 1916, Frank C. Phillips, Samuel H. Silbert, and David Moylan.

In January of 1917, J. Martin Thumm, Chief Deputy Clerk, in the annual court report, confirmed that there was a 100% increase in the collection of fines and costs during 1916 as compared to 1915. The judges asked the Cleveland Bar Association to explore the expansion of the courts financial jurisdiction. Other reforms being discussed were the means to eliminate keeping witnesses and lawyers in police court waiting for the case of interest to be called.34 William C. Keough was appointed judge of the Municipal Court of Cleveland by Governor James M. Cox to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Maurice Bernstein. An analysis of the previous year financial reports showed that for 1916 the court was self-sustaining; receipts for fines and costs exceeded the expenses of the court for the first time.35

Cyrus Locher

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In May, the Legal Aid Society obtained a writ of habeas corpus from Common Pleas Court, forcing the release from county jail of Private James Bell of Company F, Fifth Ohio Infantry. Bell had been held in the county jail 45 days since his arrest April 4th, although his case had been nolled 8 days after his arrest. It was unclear who was specifically responsible for his being held once the charges were dropped. Bell was arrested on charges of burglary and larceny based on information received from another member of his military company. He was arraigned before Judge Pierre White and the case continued until April 12th, when charges were dropped. Sheriff Hanratty said a release order was never received from municipal court despite several attempts by his staff to obtain one. Deputy Court Clerk James D. Cantillion stated that when the charges against Bell were nolled, the United States authorities were to assume charge over the case and that Bell was to be held for them. U.S. Assistant District Attorney Kavanaugh was said to have told Cantillion that Judge Advocate General Hubert J. Turney of the state militia was to have preferred new charges against Bell.36

Voting in 1917 was a complicated affair. Voters in Cleveland that year entered the booth with a bundle of ballots, 13 in all. Races in contention were for Mayor, City Council, Judiciary, Board of Education, Assessors, 4 Bond Issues, and 5 Issues regarding laws and levies. There were 5 candidates for Mayor, 10 candidates for 4 Judgeships, 10 candidates for 4 seats on the Board of Education, plus all those who were running for each of the 26 ward council and assessor races.37

The Probation Department, in a pioneering move for 1918, created a women’s section, to deal specifically with female offenders and issues. Antoinette Callaghan would head the section. This was the first step into upper management for women in the court.38 Ms. Callaghan would serve as Assistant Chief Probation Officer for over 30 years. She, the widow of Judge Thomas Callaghan, the first Juvenile Court Judge in Ohio, passed away from a heart attack in August of 1938 at the age of 60.

The year 1919 saw the court hold its first night session of court, which was held to deal with a police dragnet that hauled in over 300 prisoners. The court was able to conduct impromptu sessions, thus demonstrating their adaptability in dealing with emergency issues

in concert with the police department.

The Municipal Court Act which established the court originally capped the monetary jurisdiction at $1,000.00. It was thought this ceiling would enable municipal courts to exist in the niche between Common Pleas Court and those of the Justices of the Peace, which were not eliminated by the Municipal Court Act itself. Perhaps owing to the number of cases being filed in municipal courts, the monetary jurisdiction was raised to $2,500.00 before the court had reached its 10th anniversary.

The Legal Aid Society advocated the establishment of a Public Defender Program. The stated purpose would be to give legal advice and service before court to the poor. The goal was to create a defender program to mirror that which was in place in Columbus.39

Judge Samuel Kramer revealed a plan to decentralize the police court, placing probation officers or magistrates at selected precinct stations. There the magistrates could dispose of minor cases, which Judge Kramer characterized as community affairs. This would rid the court of

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docket clogging minor affairs, leaving more serious cases to be dealt with downtown. Using his system, Kramer referred such cases as domestic disputes, directly to a probation officer, who could take command of the problem, guiding it to a successful conclusion. These lower magistrates, he maintained, would get to know their neighborhoods, and be familiar with the type of cases which arose from that locale. Kramer pointed out that New York, Chicago and Philadelphia all had turned to a decentralized system similar to that which he espoused, with success. He also was quick to point out that Cleveland once had a precinct police court at the 8th precinct station at Detroit Avenue and W. 29th Street. “Our police court system is simply an enlargement of our old small town plan,” Kramer said. “We got along well enough with one police court when the city was small, but with the metropolitan population and problems, it’s far too much to expect one central court to work as efficiently.” 40

After rotating into the seat at Police Court, Judge Virgil Terrell fixed on the notion that, since the creation of municipal court had all but eliminated the justice court in Cleveland, the court should complete the replacement by performing marriages. More specifically, Terrell proposed to perform marriages, for free, in police court. “I have been delving into the law that created the municipal court,” Terrell said, “to find out whether the police court is entitled to perform marriage ceremonies. The municipal court took over nearly all of the functions of justice courts and I believe it was also intended to take over the justices’ right to marry persons. I am going to get into the question at this time and hope to have a decision soon.” 41

Amendments to the Municipal Court Act account for several changes in the court as established. From the start, the court of review was specified to be the Court of Common Pleas. However, a 1919 amendment transferred the review of municipal court judgments to the Court of Appeals.

Although carefully organized, the strategic planners could not foresee the volume of cases which would plague the court almost immediately. The caseloads would cause the increase in the number of judges, from 7 to 10 then to the high of 16. The salary of judges had been raised from $4,500 as provided in the original act, to $9,000 for judges and $10,000 for the Chief Justice.

Late in December of 1919, another bond scheme was discovered by Chief Police Prosecutor Edward C. Stanton and Chief Deputy Police Court Clerk James D. Cantillon. A number of bondsmen were circumventing a new bond law by furnishing false information about property being used as security for bonds. The new law required that all bonds become a lien on real estate listed in the affidavit. To enforce the lien, after the bonds were signed they were sent to the County Recorder for recording. When the Guarantee Title & Trust Company was unable to locate fictitious property

posted for 8 bonds, the scheme was quickly discovered. Thirty bondsmen were shortly summoned to appear in court to answer to accusations of

fraud and perjury charges. It was found that many of the bondsmen had accepted property as security that was not owned by the defendants, but rather only under land contract. Prosecutor Stanton warned them that land contracts did not constitute ownership, and such property would no longer be accepted by the clerk.42

Featuring the sponsorship of Common Pleas and Insolvency Court judges as well as from some members of the Cleveland Bar Association, a proposal was made at a meeting downtown,

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advocating an amendment to the state constitution to abolish the grand jury system. Judge George P. Baer, former municipal court judge, was one of the sponsors of this concept. Backers of this concept felt the place of the grand jury in Ohio courts meant only delay and provided a means of escape for criminals. Further, it was simply a carryover from the past, once needed and now an unneeded expense for taxpayers and a road block to justice.

Also part of this plan was the suggestion that the police court would be eliminated. That way, a criminal arrested at night could be tried and sentenced to the penitentiary the next morning. The proposal was made at a meeting of county judges, bar association and committeemen who met to discuss the means of keeping pace with the cities growth. At this meeting, it was agreed to advocate for the creation of the office of Chief Justice for the county Common Pleas Court as well as the establishment of a Domestic Relations Court.43

In May, 1920, Harold C. Kagy was shot at the corner of East 9th and Hamilton Avenue. Told elsewhere in this collection is the full story of the trials involving the death of Mr. Kagy. For this chapter it is sufficient to know that this shooting began the slow erosion of the career of Chief Justice of The Municipal Court of Cleveland, Judge William H. McGannon. The first trial in the Kagy saga featured Johnny Joyce as the accused. When he was acquitted, attention and accusation turned to Judge McGannon. County Prosecutor Roland A. Baskin announced that he would personally conduct the state’s case against Chief Justice William H. McGannon of municipal court, who was charged with second degree murder. On November 20th, McGannon issued a statement which said in part:

“Out of respect to my official position, and in deference to the public, I have concluded not to occupy the bench again until I have been vindicated and my name cleared of the ugly charges being made against me. I am in hearty sympathy with the present grand jury investigation.”

The trial, presided over by Judge Maurice Bernon, a former municipal court judge, would consume most of the month of December, and ended with a hung jury. The new year would bring a new prosecutor, and a new trial.

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Chapter 2 1912 – 1920 A New Court Begins

1 Annual Report Municipal Court of Cleveland 1912 2 The Cleveland Plain Dealer Historical Newspaper December 31, 1911 3 The Cleveland Plain Dealer Historical Newspaper January 1, 1912 4 The Cleveland Plain Dealer Historical Newspaper January 20, 1912 5 The Cleveland Plain Dealer Historical Newspaper January 3, 1912 6 The Cleveland Plain Dealer Historical Newspaper January 3, 1912 7 The Cleveland Plain Dealer Historical Newspaper January 2, 1912 8 The Cleveland Plain Dealer Historical Newspaper January 9, 1912 9 The Cleveland Plain Dealer Historical Newspaper September 24, 1912 10 The Cleveland Plain Dealer Historical Newspaper July 6, 1912 11 The Cleveland Plain Dealer Historical Newspaper July 12, 1912 12 The Cleveland Plain Dealer Historical Newspaper December 25, 1912 13 The Cleveland Plain Dealer Historical Newspaper January 3, 1913 14 The Cleveland Plain Dealer Historical Newspaper January 4, 1913 15 The Cleveland Plain Dealer Historical Newspaper February 21, 1913 16 The Cleveland Plain Dealer Historical Newspaper March 15, 1913 17 The Cleveland Plain Dealer Historical Newspaper March 18, 1913 18 The Cleveland Plain Dealer Historical Newspaper April 27, 1913 19 The Cleveland Plain Dealer Historical Newspaper August 26, 1913 20 The Cleveland Plain Dealer Historical Newspaper October 18, 1913 21 The Cleveland Plain Dealer Historical Newspaper March 27, 1914 22 The Cleveland Plain Dealer Historical Newspaper October 30, 1914 23 The Cleveland Plain Dealer Historical Newspaper January 9, 1915 24 The Cleveland Plain Dealer Historical Newspaper January 24, 1915 25 The Cleveland Plain Dealer Historical Newspaper March 4, 1915 26 The Cleveland Plain Dealer Historical Newspaper April 22, 1915 27 The Cleveland Plain Dealer Historical Newspaper April 28, 1915 28 The Cleveland Plain Dealer Historical Newspaper June 18, 1915 29 The Cleveland Plain Dealer Historical Newspaper November 16, 1915 30 The Cleveland Plain Dealer Historical Newspaper June 6, 1905 31 The Cleveland Plain Dealer Historical Newspaper March 1, 1912 32 The Cleveland Plain Dealer Historical Newspaper May 21, 1916 33 The Cleveland Plain Dealer Historical Newspaper August 25, 1916 34 The Cleveland Plain Dealer Historical Newspaper January 27, 1917 35 The Cleveland Plain Dealer Historical Newspaper February 22, 1917 36 The Cleveland Plain Dealer Historical Newspaper May 14, 1917 37 The Cleveland Plain Dealer Historical Newspaper November 5, 1917 38 Annual Report of the Municipal Court of Cleveland 1918 39 The Cleveland Plain Dealer Historical Newspaper January 28, 1919 40 The Cleveland Plain Dealer Historical Newspaper April 13, 1919 41 The Cleveland Plain Dealer Historical Newspaper May 31, 1919

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42 The Cleveland Plain Dealer Historical Newspaper December 20, 1919 43 The Cleveland Plain Dealer Historical Newspaper September 25, 1920 Photo and Illustration Credits

Old Courthouse Cleveland Public Library Photographic Collection Walter Flory Cleveland.com Peter J. Henry Cleveland Municipal Court Judge Martin Foran findagrave.com Alfred A. Benesch clevelandjewishhistory.net Cyrus Locher ranker.com Antoinette Callaghan Cleveland Public Library Photographic Collection Edward Stanton Cleveland Public Library Photographic Collection Roland Baskin Cleveland Public Library Photographic Collection

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A Life is lost;

a career collapsed William Henry McGannon was arguably the most infamous

character to haunt the halls of Cleveland’s municipal court. As the first Chief Justice he directed the court through the formative years, establishing its place within the legal community. His talents as an administrator may have been as formidable as some stories relate, but his personal shortcomings were said to be astonishingly contradictory. Luckily, he did not become the paradigm for future jurists. This court has seen over 150 judges come to the bench since McGannon, and several have suffered through difficult times. But, none have plummeted so far, so fast, as the first Chief Justice. He steered his career to its zenith, where as a highly regarded, politically well-connected justice, he had expectations for higher office. He might well have allowed himself time to bask in the glow of all he accomplished. Hopefully he relished that time of his life for the glimmering pride he may have enjoyed was smothered on a chilly night in May, 1920. That night brought tragedy, and for McGannon, inaugurated a season of poor decisions and unfortunate turns of events. Once the last page of his life’s story turned, zenith became nadir, up switched to down, success bred failure. He would watch it all unfold, not as the Captain but an ill-fated passenger, left to reflect on all he became, not in his den with brandy in hand, but in a cold prison cell behind a locked, barred door.

A read of statements made to police and prosecutors, newspaper reports and especially court testimony varied with each telling. Depending on who was doing the telling, the versions of events varied greatly. Before the end of this saga, the mud would deepen and thicken the more the stories changed.

Cast of Characters There were four principal characters that led this drama. The first of course was Harold

C. Kagy. In Cleveland crime history, no case before inspired more press coverage and public opinion. Newspapers, the only mass media source, fueled public speculation before, during and after the trials. Until the death of Marilyn Shepherd in 1954, no single murder would raise as much notoriety as the death of Mr. Kagy. When alive, he was an ordinary man, a garage mechanic struggling to stay in business, to feed himself, his wife and children. Then he died; someone shot him in the back. Overnight the shooting made him a celebrity. If he were shot now, the media would be hovering outside the hospital, hoping for any comment or word. Too bad Kagy didn’t survive to appreciate how important his shooting would become.

Our second main character is Judge McGannon. A great bear of a man was our Chief Justice. He had cast away the effects of a youth spent in close quarters with strong drink and insatiable pleasures to become a dignified and respected pillar of the community, 50 years old and weighing in at about 250 pounds. Contemporary accounts portray McGannon as an excellent judge, who had introduced many reforms to court procedures and had won national recognition. He was a vote getter, and people were saying he would be the Democratic Party’s nominee for mayor.

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Cadillac similar to the judge's

John W. Joyce May Neely

The 3rd player in our drama was John W. Joyce, a “bondsman” and “former saloonkeeper” as the papers put it. He was quite definitely something of a sport. He is said to have introduced the Chesterfield coat to Cleveland. Considered one of the best-dressed men in downtown Cleveland, Joyce was one of the first to wear spats, and he liked to flash a blinding diamond stickpin. Joyce

had been arrested several times on drink related charges, and two days previously had been charged with

operating a speakeasy across the street from the location of The Cleveland News. The final star in our tragedy was a short, plain featured, 40 year old practical nurse, Miss

Mary “May” Neely. May claimed to have known the judge for 16 years, but just how she knew the judge – she claimed to have seen him almost every day of that decade and a half – and why she had been following him around at midnight that night was never completely explained. Her presence that night seems to have had something to do with the judge’s personal life, something that neither she nor McGannon’s family was anxious to have disclosed.

The Shooting In 1920, the corner of East 9th Street and Hamilton Avenue was in an area of downtown

Cleveland referred to by some as “skid row”. It is remarkable that an area along such a main thoroughfare, less than a mile from the lakefront, practically in the shadow of the new City Hall was referred to as “skid row.” The 90 plus years since have drastically changed the face of the East 9th Street district. Today, the intersection and surrounding structures that comprised the area when Kagy was gunned down no longer exist, reconfigured into a pedestrian mall.

On the night of May 8, 1920, Harold C. Kagy was shot. That is one of the few facts of the case that cannot be contradicted. The events leading up to and after the shooting inspired little agreement among the

principals. This story begins with a car, similar to the one pictured. It was said to be a black 1919 Cadillac open touring car that belonged to Judge McGannon. The car may be the one part of the story that is crystal clear. The tale begins to muddy almost immediately. Lost among the details of that night is the reason the car needed repair, but it was said to be suffering from what we might refer to as an ignition issue. Kagy, scratching out a living as a car mechanic and salesman, was the judge’s usual mechanic. (Kagy’s father, Samuel, was a judge, and Kagy enjoyed being an acquaintance of judges.) Kagy had serviced this car before so it was a matter of routine when the judge turned the car over to him, telling him the engine was “missing.”

Kagy picked up the car sometime on May 7th, either at McGannon’s home or from City Hall. The time of pickup varied from late morning to early evening. Kagy worked on the car on May 8th, and then made arrangements to meet McGannon that evening to deliver the car.

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Said to be Kagy's garage

Conflicting accounts have the meeting at the corner of East 55th and Euclid, or at a restaurant at East 46th and Euclid. In either case, the two men were road testing the car with Kagy driving along Lake Shore Boulevard to Willoughby. Kagy agreed to perform further work on the car and they turned back toward downtown. Their route brought them back along Euclid Avenue, and they decided to stop for some “refreshment” at Ferguson’s Café at 12108 Euclid Avenue. Depending on the witness it was here they either had a drink, (this was during Prohibition and the judge was a reformed alcoholic) or didn’t; both went inside, or didn’t; and picked up a passenger, one John W. Joyce, whom they both knew, or didn’t. (McGannon was certainly familiar with Joyce, who was said to be well known around the court. Kagy may or may not have known Joyce.)

Here stories agree that Joyce was intoxicated, and some say that he had the gun. Leaving Ferguson’s they once more headed downtown. Here the stories take vastly different paths. McGannon told police he left the car, Kagy and Joyce, at East 9th and Euclid to catch a streetcar to return home. He said the car, when he last saw it, was heading north on East 9th, without him.

At this point, the judge’s story taxes the bounds of common sense. His account of events:

He reasoned that he would have better luck getting a seat on the streetcar if he got on at Public Square, so he crossed to the west side of East 9th, heading north to Superior Avenue. Turning west on Superior, the judge stopped briefly in front of Weber’s Restaurant, where he encountered Police Detectives Burkhart and Skala. (The restaurant was razed in 1978, replaced by the BP Tower Parking structure.) He was chatting with them when the emergency squad headed by Detective Burnhart passed by heading to the scene of the shooting.

Leaving them, McGannon reached the square, boarded the Euclid Avenue streetcar, and headed home. He maintained he did not hear of the shooting until the police came to his home later that morning. (It should be noted that McGannon lived a few short blocks from Ferguson’s Café, on E. 115th Place. He rode all the way downtown, just to take a streetcar back.)

Meanwhile, Kagy told police when interviewed at Lakeside Hospital that he and Joyce continued north on East 9th to Hamilton Avenue. It was here that Kagy told Joyce the ride was over, he objected, a quarrel ensued and Kagy started to cross the street. As he did so, he was shot in the back, through the right lung, with the bullet lodging in his right arm. He staggered across Hamilton, and collapsed in a garage doorway, where police found him. He was transported to the hospital from there. The bullet was removed by surgeons who were unsure if he would survive his injuries. When police arrived, Kagy was alone. Questioning him on the ride to the hospital, at first he had no idea who shot him. Later he would maintain that Joyce shot him. Police initially sought Joyce as a witness, unconvinced by Kagy that he had any

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connection to the shooting. Kagy remained adamant that Joyce was the triggerman. With no other suspects, Joyce became the #1 suspect.

The narratives of Kagy and McGannon are contradicted by those of 2 witnesses who stated they were on the sidewalk, ½ block south of the spot where the Cadillac stopped on East 9th. They stated when

the car stopped, 2 men, a large man and another slight of build, got out to help a third man out of the back seat. The witnesses returned to their conversation until the shot rang out. They turned in time to observe Kagy staggering across Hamilton Avenue. While the witnesses crossed Hamilton to help the shooting victim, the Cadillac’s other 2 occupants disappeared into the night. By the time police arrived on scene, no one was sure which way the occupants fled, no one knew their identities, and no one saw the actual shooting.

Commandeering a car, police rushed Kagy to Lakeside Hospital, questioning him on the way. Kagy in his injured state was partially incoherent. At first he claimed no knowledge of who shot him. By the time they arrived at Lakeside, he was able to tell police he was shot by Johnny Joyce. Accounts differ as to his story about the third man. While he was adamant that McGannon was not there, some elements of his explanation were said to have buttressed the judge’s somewhat implausible story. Kagy’s version of events would remain consistent, no matter whom or how many times he told the story. The events as Joyce described them would have to wait until he was apprehended on May 10th.

After The Shot Police quickly identified the car left at the shooting scene as belonging to Judge

McGannon, the Chief Justice of the municipal court. Seeking an explanation for the events of the night, Cleveland Police Detectives Charles Sterling, Joseph Matowitz and Joseph Burkhardt arrived at the judge’s home on East 115th place about 90 minutes after Kagy was shot. Upon their arrival at nearly 2 am they found the judge’s wife, Anne, awake and welcoming them in. Also present and awake at this unseemly hour were the judge’s brothers. It was unclear if the brothers in fact resided there. For reasons never explained, there is no record of the questions being asked. Oddly, while all these occupants were awake and alert, the judge himself, who had supposedly just arrived, was soundly sleeping when police arrived. Detective Burkhardt would later testify that the awakened judge seemed the worse for drink. Foremost on the minds of police, the presence of the judge’s car had to be cleared up immediately. The police felt sure that the judge would be able to throw some light on the cause of the shooting and thus provide the motive for the crime.

McGannon knew the top rank of the police force through his long experience as assistant county prosecutor and police judge. These men were his friends; he quickly put them at ease. Amazed and shocked to hear of the shooting of his friend Harold Kagy, the presence of his car at the scene was easily explained. In spite of his concern over the murder, he kept up a line of

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Chief Smith

banter with the assurance of an experienced politician. The police may have been embarrassed to question him, but they had a report to complete. The inspectors had to hear the story.

The judge told his whole version of the night’s activities. Of Ferguson’s Café, of his walk down 9th Street, of the detectives he met on Superior. When he was finished, the inspectors were completely satisfied with his story; it was in fact the story they wanted to hear. No one wanted the perilous job of explaining the presence of a well-connected judge at the scene of a shooting. Moreover, no one, even a high ranking police detective, would have doubted one word of the judge’s statement.

The Arrest Joyce surrendered himself 2 days after the shooting,

phoning police headquarters, saying “This is Johnny Joyce talking. Come out to East 93rd and Kinsman right away. I’ll be standing on the corner.” Chief Frank W. Smith went personally, along with Inspector Charles N. Sterling. They found Joyce on the corner as he said he would be, and was taken into custody. Aside from denying any part in the shooting, Joyce refused comment, saying “I’ll tell my story in court.” Joyce was brought to Kagy’s room at Lakeside Hospital where Kagy identified him as the shooter. In response, Joyce again denied involvement, saying “I’m the goat in all this. I’m not going to be the only one to suffer, you’ll see if I am. But I’m not going to tell anything till I

get to court.”1 Detectives who had been busy interviewing witnesses were convinced of the presence of

a 3rd man the night of the shooting. With Joyce refusing to talk, and Kagy still insisting he was alone with Joyce, the identity of the mystery 3rd man fed the newspapers plenty of opportunity to feed the public’s appetite for lurid speculation.

When Kagy’s wounded lung became infected, he required surgery, and though his other lung continued to function normally, his condition deteriorated. After the surgery, Kagy required blood transfusions which were provided by his brother Edmund. Although listed in critical condition, it was said that he refused to believe he was near death. Detectives interviewed him again in Lakeside Hospital in hopes of obtaining a deathbed statement. Kagy refused to alter his story; he maintained that he was shot by Johnny Joyce and refused to identify the third man.2 According to Police Inspector Patrick Murphy, Kagy insisted with his last conscious breath that John Joyce was the man who shot him. The day before he died, his father, the former judge, and his four brothers took a statement from him, again implicating Joyce as the shooter and denying that McGannon was the “third man” at the scene. That statement was witnessed by police.3 The pursuit of the third man intensified when Kagy died of complications of his infected lung on May 23rd. The charges against Joyce, originally for shooting to kill, were nolled at the request of Prosecutor Edward Stanton and replaced with charges for murder in the first degree, although it was later reduced to second Seltzer as a reporter in 1920

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degree murder. Joyce remained in city jail as he and his wife had difficulty raising bail. Authorities were unsure when the case could be presented to the grand jury, but police were hopeful a trial could be scheduled before autumn.4 At this point in the story, we must take the time for a short digression to add into our record a statement by the late Cleveland Press Editor Louis B. Seltzer who in May of 1920 was a reporter for that paper. In his autobiography, Seltzer related the following passage:

“One day in May 1920, I went down to Police Court to talk with the Chief Justice of the Municipal Court, William H. McGannon, a generally popular and respected jurist whom I liked personally very much. He had attracted notice by introducing a number of court reforms and was being talked of as a candidate for Mayor. He greeted me with a deep, pleasant voice and the charming manner he displayed toward everyone. He was an imposing and distinguished looking man, and I reflected that he would make a powerful candidate. It was generally agreed that if he got, and accepted, the nomination, he was almost certain of election. During the interview he indicated some interest in the candidacy, and I went back to The Press and wrote a story on it. That very night, an automobile salesman, Harold C. Kagy, was shot and killed in one of Cleveland’s least desirable downtown neighborhoods. It later developed that Chief Justice McGannon, in company with a notorious saloon-keeper, Johnny Joyce, and the slain man, Harold Kagy, had driven together to the spot where Kagy was found dead of bullet wounds. When the police arrived, both McGannon and Joyce were gone, but McGannon’s automobile was found at the scene of the murder. Late that night, the Chief Justice called me at my home, his voice almost unrecognizable from emotion and strain. He asked me if I would hurry out to see him, and I went immediately. Mrs. McGannon, her eyes noticeably red, let me in and took me to him. Then she left us.

“Louis, what do I do?” The Chief Justice was now a disheveled man, his eyes swollen, his mind ragged. He was obviously overcome by fear.

“What do I do?” he kept repeating over and over. I sat down to analyze the situation.

“First, Judge, what did happen?” I asked. “Did you kill Kagy?” “No, no, no,” he shouted hoarsely, trying to keep his voice down so that Mrs.

McGannon would not hear him. “If you didn’t kill Kagy, then isn’t it a simple question of telling the truth?” I

asked. “I can’t,” he said, “I can’t.” “If you don’t, you will get yourself in all kinds of trouble,” I pointed out. “You of

all persons should know that. If you admit that you were with Joyce and Kagy – no matter why – and tell exactly what happened – it will turn out all right.”

“But I can’t,” he again repeated. “If I say that I was with them, I’m through.” He wouldn’t listen. His mind was so stunned that he probably didn’t even hear

me. Vainly, I tried to persuade him that his obvious course was both logical and simple; he should tell the truth even if it was so embarrassing to him that it might cost him his place on the bench, and surely any chance of being nominated to the mayor’s office.

“I just wanted you to come out to talk to me, Louie,” he said. “I know that you will respect my confidence. But I can’t do anything else. I just have to hope.”

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He didn’t elaborate on this. He sat, a frightened, broken, confused man, in sharp contrast to the magnificently calm and judicial Chief Justice with whom, only that day, I had talked so confidently about his chances for being mayor of Cleveland.

“If I can do anything for you Judge, I’ll be only too glad,” I said, leaving his house, as he stood in the doorway in a rumpled bathrobe, his unshaven face and swollen eyes making him a more tragic figure than any I had ever seen. “I only wish, though, that you would do for yourself what you would expect somebody else to do under these circumstances.”

I was not to see Judge McGannon again for some weeks. Joyce was tried for murder and acquitted. In his trial McGannon’s connection with the whole story came out, because those who were interested in Joyce’s ultimate acquittal naturally brought it out.” 5

With Kagy’s death and Joyce’s arrest, the newspapers concentrated their open space on the hunt for the 3rd man. Reporters with a byline and others who toiled in anonymity, scrambled after every morsel of fact and rumor. Those papers, the 1920’s only mass media, were equally willing to distribute a full measure of both.

In front of the Grand Jury, it took just 10 witnesses to indict Joyce for the murder. Police officials intimate that they are now aware of the identity of the 3rd man and make vague references as to his testifying at the Joyce trial. The defendant finally managed to post the $25,000 bail. The trial date became the next nugget for speculation in the papers, as well as the identity of the 3rd man. Reporters were quickly convinced that McGannon was the 3rd man and his possible testimony was the fodder for wide speculation.

Joyce, who previously vowed to reserve any statement for the trial, met with Prosecutor Edward Stanton. Neither made an official statement regarding the meeting, but rumors circulated that Joyce provided new evidence that would necessitate a trial delay. The first continuance was issued in June at the request of the defense, with no objection from prosecutors, who were not ready to begin themselves. Despite their lack of readiness to go to trial, Joyce’s defense counsel, former judge Walter D. Meals, spoke confidently in the press that he could prove that Joyce carried no gun the night of the shooting. He also implied that contrary to police theory of the sequence of events on the night of the shooting, he could further prove that Joyce had remained at the scene of the shooting when police arrived.6

Trial 1 Defendant: John Joyce The Joyce trial began on

Tuesday, November 9th. On the bench was Judge Maurice Bernon, a former associate judge under McGannon when the municipal court opened in 1912. Today, that association alone would be sufficient reason for Bernon to recuse himself. However, in 1920 there was no such discussion. The prosecution was led by Assistant County Prosecutor Roland A. Baskin and assisted by

veteran prosecutor Felix F. Matia. The defense team was led by the aforementioned Walter

Prosecutor BaskinJudge Bernon

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Women's civic trial monitors

Meals, assisted by John Orgill. Bernon, The Woman’s Civic Association vowed to be in attendance at each session of the trial, to pay special attention to the testimony of Judge McGannon. The President of the group, Mrs. Robert Crosser said, “The Joyce trial has emerged from the mass of murder cases into one in which the general public is highly interested. The members of the association feel that it is in part a public duty to let those who sit in judgment on the case know they are being attentively followed. The members also will follow the testimony of Chief Justice William H. McGannon of municipal court with careful attention. We believe Judge McGannon should have the right to speak as freely as possible as a witness in the interests of clearing up his own connection with the case.” 7 The jury, after touring the intersection of East 9th and Hamilton, was sequestered in a downtown hotel for the remainder of the trial.

The Joyce trial ran through November 17th and featured mostly conflicting testimony. Joyce and McGannon each had a version of events, with very little commonality between them. Both stories generated skeptical reactions. Testimony by the coroner outlined Kagy’s injuries

and cause of death, but neither pointed to a killer. Police did find Joyce’s gun in his home, but it was not the murder weapon. Witnesses from the scene had little value before the shot was fired. But the most crucial testimony was what the jury did not hear.

Despite the efforts of the prosecutors to convince him otherwise, Judge Bernon ruled that statements given by Kagy prior to his death were inadmissible because he could not be cross examined and the state was unable to show that Kagy realized that he was soon to die. If his “deathbed statements” were admitted, those in which he steadfastly stuck to his story of Joyce as the triggerman, it is

quite likely that Joyce would have been sentenced to the electric chair. Without that evidence to consider, the jury deliberated less than 5 hours to reach their unanimous verdict. Joyce was acquitted #1.

Trial 2 Defendant: Judge William H. MC Gannon The day after Joyce won his freedom, Prosecutor Baskin reconvened the Grand Jury with

a new target in mind, Judge McGannon. It took Baskin 9 days to get the indictment against McGannon for second degree murder. Concurrent with the indictment, the bar association was gathering evidence for a disbarment action. Fanning these flames was the Women’s Civic Association. Their members attended every session of the Joyce trial and it wasn’t long after Joyce was acquitted before they began clamoring for McGannon’s resignation. The community was so deeply divided over the Kagy slaying that newspaper editorials lectured the public to exhibit broadmindedness and patience while they waited for a fair and definitive trial, or at least one that would deliver a conclusive verdict.

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McGannon may have underestimated the prosecutor’s early resolve to gain a conviction in the Kagy matter, and that attitude may have been bolstered by the Joyce acquittal. However, his attitude probably changed with the rapidity of his indictment and swiftness with which Prosecutor Baskin compiled his roster of witnesses. On the morning of November 27th, McGannon was steered before Judge Frank S. Day for his arraignment, where bail was set at $10,000. Among his entourage in court that morning were his brother, Dr. A. C. McGannon, his attorneys William H. Boyd and A. A. Cartwright, the boxer Johnny Kilbane (future municipal court clerk) and his wife Irene. (It may be an insignificant point, but it was Mrs. Irene Kilbane who actually posted bail for McGannon, although his family included a well-heeled doctor and lawyer.)8 Despite his status as a highly connected Democratic judge, McGannon chose to put his faith and freedom in the hands of Boyd, who was an equally connected Republican.

Once again presiding was McGannon’s former associate Judge Bernon. Once again no one from either side broached the subject of his possible conflict of interest in presiding over the trial of his former Chief Justice. Even the press seemed to ignore the possibility. The jurors, who were impaneled just days before Christmas, were cautioned that the trial would likely extend past Christmas and New Years’ Day. With no regard for the impending holidays, Judge Bernon was evidently very anxious to move this trial along.

Both sides had been busy lining up witnesses prior to the trial. Several of the Joyce trial witnesses would be called to reappear, including Joyce himself. The state also had some who would swear they saw McGannon fleeing the scene. With the McGannon family nestled around the defense attorneys, the trial began with opening statements. First up, Prosecutor Roland Baskin.

Like in most trials, the prosecutor summarized his case, quoting some alleged statements made the night of the shooting. Summing up, he stated that McGannon pulled his gun and fired the fatal shot. He made no reference to the star witness he was rumored to have waiting to testify. William Boyd for the defense made similar claims about the witnesses their side had in reserve.

Baskin began his case by attacking McGannon’s alibi with 4 witnesses who identified him as the big man they saw at the scene. Joyce made his appearance and definitively said he had no knowledge of who shot Kagy. In his cross-examination of Patrolman Schuld, Boyd inquired of his questions to Kagy regarding the identity of the shooter. When the policeman admitted that Kagy identified Joyce as the shooter, Baskin leapt up in objection. Judge Bernon allowed the answer to stand against the objection. Detectives Burkhardt and Skala testified they met and spoke to McGannon in front of Weber’s Restaurant that night. However, the time they assigned to the meeting was at odds with McGannon’s story.

The prosecutor saved his biggest gun for last. Miss Mary “May” Neely, the 4th of our drama’s main players finally took the stand. In pretrial publicity she was pictured as young and glamorous, but instead a slightly built, middle aged woman wearing the brown sailor hat that would become famous took the oath and was seated on the witness stand. For weeks the papers had speculated and hinted at what she would proclaim. On Tuesday, December 21st, May Neely would finally appear.

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She stated she had known McGannon for more than 16 years, seeing him nearly every day in that span. She was not asked to explain the relationship; apparently it was a subject that all parties would rather avoid. Neely’s story made it clear that she was following McGannon, as if on assignment. She said she observed the judge’s car that morning on East 85th St., where she saw the judge and Harold Kagy come out of a house and drive away. She further testified that she then telephoned Mrs. McGannon to report what took place, then went downtown to make the same report to the bar association. Each of these statements brought objections from defense council Boyd, which were sustained by the trial judge.

Later that night, she claimed to be riding on a streetcar when she again spotted McGannon’s car. She disembarked the trolley and claimed to have followed the Cadillac north on East 9th on foot. She reached the corner of East 9th and Oregon (now Rockwell). (This places her about 2 blocks south of Hamilton.) She said:

“I observed Kagy start to walk away. As he turned, I saw McGannon pull something out of his pocket, and simultaneously I saw a shot fired. Kagy pitched forward. The judge then crossed East 9th and went down Hamilton Avenue. He was trying to put something in his pocket. I don’t know what it was.” 9

She testified she had met with McGannon some days later when she warned him to get his story straight, to tell the police there had been an accident, or even allow Miss Neely to take the blame. She recalled telling him she was aware they were all drunk that night and that he was “making himself ridiculous in the eyes of the public.” She further alleged that McGannon rejected her effort to accept the blame, but did offer her $500 if she said she didn’t see anything happen that night. She alleged that in another conversation just before the trial began he told her he was trying to get someone to say they saw him exit his car in agreement with his original statement. If the jury was going to give credence to her testimony, then the prosecution delivered a major blow to McGannon’s alibi with Neely’s statements. The damage should have been compounded when the defense counsel conducted no cross-examination.

The defense orchestrated a parade of witnesses dedicated to reinforcing McGannon’s faltering alibi. Each in their way spoke to what they purportedly saw within the events of the night of May 8th. Some witnessed McGannon leaving the scene before the shooting; a man resembling McGannon with a pale complexion leapt upon the running board of the car. Even the judge’s brother supposedly saw him walking on 9th and on Superior. In all, the state introduced 18 witnesses, the defense called 38.

Boyd attempted to get Kagy’s pre-death statements admitted into evidence, this time against the objections of the prosecution. Judge Bernon was again unmoved by the pleas, preferring to continue the inadmissibility. Once again the jury would not be privileged to hear Kagy’s last thoughts on his own shooting. Bernon’s ruling that saved Joyce would seem to have doomed McGannon. It was probably small conciliation to Boyd and the defense that Patrolman Schuld testified that Kagy identified Joyce as the shooter minutes after he was stricken.

When closing arguments began, Baskin would attempt to downplay Schuld’s testimony. As to the propriety of his assessment, reviews are best left to after the verdict. Referencing Kagy, Baskin said:

May Neely

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Edward Stanton

“This poor automobile mechanic was the friend of the Chief Justice of the municipal court. Kagy knew that McGannon’s influence was worth a great deal to him financially and every other way. McGannon has about a pint of booze in him. They have a little argument and McGannon pulled the revolver and fired the shot. Kagy did not know how serious that shot was. There were only 2 men who could have fired that shot, McGannon or Joyce, but McGannon was his friend, and of course he said it was Joyce. It is possible Kagy did not know who shot him. But it might mean ruin for this man. So Kagy’s life was sacrificed for his friend. It is a tribute to Kagy although he did not tell the truth. I wonder if Kagy dared to tell.”10

Baskin went further to proclaim that the defense witnesses were deliberately committing perjury, and went so far as to include the police department, characterizing them as unfriendly and uncooperative toward the prosecution.

When William Boyd rose to address the court, he shot with both barrels. He branded May Neely insane, John Joyce a liar and spared no one as he spread his own brand of vitriol liberally across the prosecution’s witnesses:

“Supporting Miss Neely there are others, splendid representatives of the underworld; horrible examples of the human race. Why, if any one of them came to see me with a story I would not believe it unless they came to me with a certificate signed by almighty God himself.”11

On the last day of the year, shortly before the dinner hour, after 53 ballots, Judge Bernon declared a mistrial and discharged the jury. The most expensive trial yet held in Cuyahoga County rendered no verdict.

Five days after the first McGannon trial ended, the Cleveland Foundation announced their survey of justice administration in Cleveland, to be led by Roscoe Pound and Felix Frankfurter. The results of that survey would fill 729 pages in book form, and would not be revealed before 1922.

Trial 3 Defendant: Judge William H. Mc Gannon McGannon’s second trial would

begin on February 9th, and would feature a number of new elements. A new judge, Homer G. Powell was assigned, and a newly elected prosecutor, Edward Stanton, would have his chance at William McGannon. This trial would take place in the newly opened county courthouse rather than the dingy old criminal courts building where the first trial was held. A number of potential spectators were left out, standing in line at the old building, uninformed that

the trial venue was changed. Problems rose quickly for the new prosecutor, as witness’s memories suddenly became

quite fuzzy. Only one patrolman and Johnny Joyce could place McGannon at the scene. For the defense, Judge Powell admitted testimony from Patrolmen Schuld and Perko, who had helped

Judge Homer Powell

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transport Kagy to Lakeside Hospital. They were permitted to relate Kagy’s statement that Joyce was the shooter.

Once again, Miss Neely appeared in her sailor hat as a witness for the state. Answering “I don’t remember” to a number of questions, a frustrated Prosecutor Stanton asked for a recess. When the trial resumed, he asked more specifically about McGannon. Neely began to answer, stopped, started and stopped again. Judge Powell insisted she must answer. Finally she blurted out her answer:

“I refuse to answer because in doing so I might disgrace or incriminate myself – Judge McGannon is not guilty of the murder of Harold Kagy.” 12

The prosecutor was flabbergasted. His star witness changed sides in the blink of an eye. Though he tried to refocus her attention on the night of the shooting, each question he asked brought the same answers, either “I can’t remember” or “I refuse to answer because it might disgrace or incriminate me.” Judge Powell threatened her with contempt of court, and told her to tell him privately her reasons for refusing to testify. They engaged in a brief whispered conversation, after which he declared she need not answer questions put to her. There was now little left for the prosecutor who tried unsuccessfully to allow the introduction of Neely’s testimony from the previous trial. There was no reason to expect a different outcome with the witnesses left over from the first trial.

In summation, the prosecutor stressed that McGannon never visited his friend Kagy at Lakeside Hospital during the 18 days he fought for life before passing. Inferring this as the behavior of the guilty, he told the jury that McGannon did manage to have contact with Joyce the day after the shooting. Finally, he placed a great deal of importance on the time fluctuations in the accounts surrounding McGannon’s alibi. The defense rebuttal had more material to work with, able to again use Kagy’s words as presented by police testimony. The alibi story of the walking tour of downtown was characterized as the conduct of an innocent man.

It took 8 ballots and 20 hours of deliberation for the jury to reach their verdict. When they emerged, the decision of the jury, comprised of 9 men and 3 women, was the verdict of not guilty, bringing great relief to the entire defense entourage. McGannon had reason to believe he had survived the worst ordeal of his life. He had been voluntarily off the bench during his legal difficulties. With the acquittal, he announced that he would soon be back on the municipal bench.13

Following the second McGannon trial, the daily newspapers fanned the public’s desire for someone to be held accountable for Kagy’s murder. The 3 trials with zero convictions but plenty of accusations of perjury had left Prosecutor Stanton in a foul mood. He announced his intention to investigate the perjury accusations. One newspaper reacting to his proclamation said, “this statement was not taken seriously about the courthouse, as it is a fact that there has never been a conviction for perjury in this county.” Those remarks may have helped to spur the bar association into action. Judges Bernon and Powell both urged the bar to investigate what they called “wholesale perjury” stemming from the trials. The bar in turn asked the prosecutor to present all available evidence to a grand jury. The bar, in launching their own inquiry, officially requested McGannon’s resignation. Gauging the opposition to his return to the bench, his decision to tender his resignation came quickly, to be effective on March 15th. He would give up his place on the bench earlier than that, actually effective on March 1.14

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Perjury Trials Perjury indictments came quickly. McGannon, while the most

important figure accused, was simply one of many. Stanton cast a wide swath searching for the fabricators involved in this miscarriage of justice. Included on the list of miscreants were witnesses from all 3 trials, although most were associated with McGannon’s walking tour. The number of individuals under indictment would lead us to believe that there was very little truth revealed in the Kagy trials.

Judge Florence Allen convened the trial against McGannon. The jury had barely been impaneled when Judge Allen was forced to discharge them. The judge was notified that 2 female jurors were accused of making statements that indicated they were prejudiced against McGannon.15

With a new jury in place and using the few witnesses that had not been indicted for perjury, William Boyd put on a defense that remained loyal to McGannon’s original alibi. The prosecution, as before, featured Miss Neely in the prominent role. Her memory improved since the last trial which she single-handedly torpedoed. She repeated the story she told in the first trial, where she saw McGannon pull the trigger. When pressed for a reason for the reversal of her testimony, she admitted to meeting with McGannon on the night before his second trial. She testified that they met at the Hotel Mecca in a room provided by Charles Burke, a one-time reporter for The Cleveland News. At this meeting, Neely promised to change her testimony if he agreed to change his ways, giving up “a certain friend, to be more attentive to his wife, and attend church.” Burke’s testimony added that the judge paid him $1,025 for his help in “preparing” Neely as a witness. Another ex-reporter, Edward Allen, also testified against McGannon, disclosing that he too was involved in convincing Neely to fabricate her testimony. His testimony was that Neely volunteered her testimony, saying she regretted her testimony that was so damaging to him, but he was unable to furnish an adequate story to explain the $700 in checks he had given to Burke.

The jury was very nearly hung in this case, but Judge Allen pushed them to continue their deliberation. After 27 hours of discussion, they finally reached their verdict. Judge Allen herself published the decision, “Guilty of perjury as charged in the indictment.” McGannon addressed the court, claiming his honesty throughout the trials, and branding these proceedings as “the greatest miscarriage of justice in history.”

Judge Allen patiently waited while McGannon spoke his peace. She replied:

“Judge McGannon, a court never has been faced with a more disagreeable duty than that of sentencing a man before whom the court has practiced as a lawyer. However, our personal feelings cannot be permitted to prevent us from performing our duty. I have this to say: Judges cannot think that they are above the law. They must be subject to the law the same as private citizens.” She asked, “How old are you Judge McGannon?” His reply, “Fifty-Five.” Allen continued, “The court hereby sentences you to the Ohio Penitentiary from one to ten years.” As he was leaving the courtroom, McGannon exclaimed,

“As there is a Jesus Christ in heaven, he will make these people suffer as I have suffered. He will torture them and punish them as I have been punished. If they don’t suffer as I have suffered, then there is no God.”16

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Officially, McGannon was convicted of perjury and contempt of court. Prior to entering the Ohio Penitentiary, he was incarcerated for 20 days in the Cuyahoga County Jail for the contempt charge. In October of 1921, he faced, and lost, disbarment proceedings before the Ohio Supreme Court. Later that same state Supreme Court, when his case reached their bench on appeal, refused to intervene. With his appeals exhausted, he finally began his sentence in June of 1922, over 2 years after Kagy died. When the iron door clanged shut behind him, he became prisoner #50,994.17 The Board of Clemency denied a request for release in October of 1923, but he was granted parole in January of 1924 due to his severe diabetes.

In total, there were 15 perjury indictments rising from the Kagy murder. County Prosecutor Stanton and Special Prosecutor William L. David were able to obtain convictions in each case. Several of these convictions were won despite attempts of jury tampering by the defendants, their families and their attorneys. In 2 of the cases, McGannon himself as well as one of his brothers were alleged to have taken part. Today, these defendants, and many others may have faced additional conspiracy and racketeering charges. There most certainly was collusion involved.

These convictions came too late to be included in the published report, Criminal Justice in Cleveland, as compiled by Pound and Frankfurter and published in 1922. This volume was held up by news editors and opinion makers for more than a decade whenever any assessment of the improvements in justice was discussed or published. Despite supplying a great deal of the inspiration for the survey, neither the Kagy murder or the McGannon trials nor the subject of perjury received much mention in the final edition. The report did say:

“Those familiar with the administration of justice in Cleveland would probably agree that in the trials for the murder of Harold Kagy, Cleveland is paying the penalty in disgrace for its apathy toward the crime of perjury.”18

The authors noted that criticism of the presiding judge, Homer G. Powell, was unavoidable, particularly his manner of handling the witness May Neely. The “star” witness for the state, they characterized Neely as making “a farce of the procedure of justice.” Analyzing her behavior and testimony, the report concluded that Neely, who claimed to be truthful in trial number 1, perjured herself sufficiently in trial 2 that cast doubt upon her veracity as a whole. The report pointed out that “the fact that Judge Powell did not vindicate the dignity of the court is typical of the general attitude toward perjury. Lawyers and judges tell of cases in which witnesses admitted perjury, but nothing was done.” The study cited statistics for the year 1919 in Common Pleas Court; among 3,000 cases, only 20 were for bribery, and 7 for perjury. This number was admitted as unusually high, attributed to a special grand jury impaneled in 1919. Of those 27 cases, only 1 generated even meager jail time or fines commensurate with a violation of a court’s process.19 It probably surprised many that there was even a prosecution of McGannon or anyone else after the 2 murder trials. Prosecutorial outrage fueled public reaction which demanded judicial action. Undoubtedly, the severity of the sentences in the McGannon perjury cases was directly due to the public’s indignation. Perhaps it was an example of celebrity trial backlash, 1920’s style. The Cleveland Foundation recommendations toward perjury offenses included amending the penalty clause so that a judge could impose a severe fine or a workhouse sentence. One judge went so far as to suggest that a special prosecutor should handle all perjury cases. In their words, the examiners called upon the Cleveland Bar Association to continue the campaign beyond the prosecution of offending witnesses, but to include the “lawyers responsible for their offense.” Additionally, “judges cannot delegate their responsibility to

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campaigns and prosecutors. Alert and strong judges, jealous of the sanctity of their court, constitute the only lasting insurance against the practice of perjury.”20

Conclusion Harold Claire Kagy died in May of 1920 at age 34, leaving a wife Carrie Mae, and 4

sons. Despite all the litigation that stemmed from his murder, his family as well as the community as a whole, was denied the closure of a guilty verdict. Notwithstanding the perjury sentences or the incarceration of Judge McGannon, the whole affair would not conclude until 1929.

May Neely joined Kagy in the afterlife in August of 1922, passing away in Lakeside Hospital of a heart attack. She had been hospitalized for Myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart’s muscular wall. Buried in Calvary Cemetery after funeral services at St. Jerome Catholic Church, Reverend Leo O. Hammer presiding, her family blamed the strain of the trials for her death.21

William H. McGannon passed away in November of 1928, stricken by a heart attack when about to board a streetcar. Death plagued the entire McGannon family in the 1920’s. William’s older brother John died in June of 1923; his mother Mary died in September of 1924; his brother Dr. A.C. died in August of 1925.22 McGannon’s widow, Anne, passed away in February of 1935 in Pontiac, Michigan. Since his passing, she had been working as a matron at the Detroit House of Correction in Plymouth, Michigan.23

John W. Joyce passed away in June of 1929, falling victim to a heart attack at his home in East Cleveland. Known primarily as a saloonkeeper and professional bondsman, Joyce twice unsuccessfully ran for the state legislature.24

Theory After 95 years and no convictions, the Cleveland Police consider the Kagy murder an

open case. The identity of the real shooter is as elusive now as it was when the trigger was pulled. For the best explanation of the events surrounding the death of Harold Claire Kagy, we turn to John Stark Bellamy II, the author of a number of local historical volumes. We offer his theory:

“To this day, the question of who really shot Harold Kagy remains open. While it seems likely that Judge McGannon was present at the fatal scene at Hamilton and East 9th, no one has ever established a creditable means (i.e. a murder weapon) or a substantial motive for McGannon’s shooting Kagy.

Which leaves a fascinating possibility. The author knows a man . . . who used to know a fellow . . . . who ran a saloon many years ago down on Lakeside Avenue, near the old County Morgue. This saloon keeper insisted that the unknown truth of the Kagy shooting was simply this: Miss Neely, an estranged girlfriend of Judge McGannon, was tailing the judge on that fatal May 8th at midnight. But she wasn’t at Oregon Avenue when 12:17 a.m. arrived. She was across the street from the parked Cadillac, on the west side of 9th Street near Hamilton, and she was mad as hell at the judge. It was she who drew a shiny object from her pocket and fired at her estranged paramour. Given the light at that hour and a poor aim, she unwittingly hit not her ex-lover but innocent bystander Harold Kagy. Kagy, Joyce and McGannon were not aware that it was she who fired the shot that hit Kagy. This, if nothing else, would explain her alleged offer to take the blame in her meeting with the judge after the shooting, and it would also explain why some witnesses remembered an unidentified woman in a fur coat fleeing the scene. Sneer if you

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will, and mutter cherchez la femme, but it is surely a more consistent and believable theory than any you will find in the voluminous trial transcripts, newspaper coverage, and police records on the McGannon-Kagy murder mess of 1920.” 25

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A Life Is Lost; A Career Collapsed

1 The Cleveland Plain Dealer Historical Newspaper May 10, 1920 2 The Cleveland Plain Dealer Historical Newspaper May 23, 1920 3 The Cleveland Plain Dealer Historical Newspaper May 24, 1920 4 The Cleveland Plain Dealer Historical Newspaper May 26, 1920 5 The Years Were Good by Louis Benson Seltzer Cleveland; World Publishing 1956 6 The Cleveland Plain Dealer Historical Newspaper June 15, 1920 7 The Cleveland Plain Dealer Historical Newspaper November 5, 1920 8 The Cleveland Plain Dealer Historical Newspaper November 28, 1920 9 The Cleveland Plain Dealer Historical Newspaper December 22, 1920 10 Cleveland Murders Bayer, Oliver Weld

New York: Duell, Sloan and Pearce 1947 1920 – The Kagy Case, Charles and Dorothy Bodurtha 1947

11 ibid 12 The Cleveland Plain Dealer Historical Newspaper February 13, 1921 13 The Cleveland Plain Dealer Historical Newspaper February 18, 1921 14 The Cleveland Plain Dealer Historical Newspaper February 26, 1921 15 The Cleveland Plain Dealer Historical Newspaper June 1, 1921 16 The Cleveland Plain Dealer Historical Newspaper June 26, 1921 17 The Cleveland Plain Dealer Historical Newspaper June 3, 1922 18 Criminal Justice In Cleveland

Directed and Edited by Roscoe Pound and Felix Frankfurter The Cleveland Foundation, Cleveland 1922 Page 337-339

19 ibid 20 ibid 21 The Cleveland Plain Dealer Historical Newspaper August 23, 1922 22 The Cleveland Plain Dealer Historical Newspaper November 18, 1928 23 The Cleveland Plain Dealer Historical Newspaper February 11, 1935 24 The Cleveland Plain Dealer Historical Newspaper June 14, 1929 25 They Died Crawling and Other Tales of Cleveland Woe

John Stark Bellamy II Gray and Company, Cleveland 1995

“Third Man At Hamilton” The Rise and Fall of Judge William H. McGannon 1920-1921

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Photo and Illustration Credits

William H, McGannon Cleveland Municipal Court 1919 Cadillac Motorstown.com Kagy’s garage Courtesy of Cleveland Memory Project Euclid Avenue Reddit.com Lakeside Hospital College of Wooster Seltzer as a reporter Courtesy of Cleveland Memory Project Judge Bernon Cleveland Municipal Court Roland Baskin Cleveland Public Library Photographic Collection Felix Matia Cleveland Public Library Photographic Collection Women’s trial monitors Courtesy of Cleveland Memory Project Irene Kilbane Pinterest.com May Neely Cleveland Public Library Photographic Collection Judge Homer Powell Cleveland Public Library Photographic Collection Edward Stanton Cleveland Public Library Photographic Collection Judge Florence Allen Ohio Supreme Court

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