Viewing "Bench amd Bar of Wabasha County" (1884) and "Early Courts and Lawyers of Wabasha County." (1920)"Bench amd Bar of Wabasha County" (1884) and "Early Courts and Lawyers of Wabasha County." (1920)The first of the following two articles on the legal history of Wabasha County was published in 1884 in a history of the county. Entitled "Bench and Bar," it reviews early terms of the district courts, recounts amusing anecdotes about Alexis Bailly and J. A. Criswell, the county's first and second justices of the peace, describes the "Hicks, Sacks and Farrell" murder trial-"one of the most exciting trials ever held in the county"-and concludes with an account of the county-seat battle between Lake City and Wabasha. The second article is taken almost entirely from earlier county histories, including the chapter from the 1884 history reprinted below. Entitled "Early Courts and Lawyers," it appeared in a county history published in 1920. |