Era Category: Famous Sensational Cases - Gilded

The Insanity Defense On May 15, 1890, Alphonse J. Stephani fatally shot his father’s lawyer, ex-Judge Clinton G. Reynolds.  The 25-year-old Alphonse had already … More People v. Alphonse J. Stephani »

119 NY 569 (1890) The development of electricity during the Gilded Age dramatically transformed industrial production and the daily lives of millions of Americans.  … More People ex rel. Kemmler v. Durston »

52 NY 467 (1873) The insanity defense was a feature of many high-profile murder cases during the Gilded Age.  The most famous example was … More Flanagan v. People »

136 NY 423 (1893) In Gilded Age New York City, as many as 20 English-language newspapers were on sale each day.  The fierce competition … More People v. Harris »

43 NY 1 (1870) On November 2, 1869, New York’s voters gave their approval to various amendments of the Judiciary Article of the State … More Maurer v. People »

115 NY 56 (1889) Riggs v. Palmer, a “landmark” case and staple of law school instruction for decades, highlights the classic tension between the … More Riggs v. Palmer »

123 NY 254 (1890) In People v. Moran, the Court of Appeals considered the intriguing question of whether it was possible to convict someone … More People v. Moran »

1871 On August 26, 1871, a naked young woman was found stuffed inside a trunk at the Hudson River Railroad Depot.  The coroner determined … More People v. Rosenzweig »

53 N.Y. 164 (1873) On January 6, 1872, James Fisk, Jr., one of the most notorious “robber barons” of the Gilded Age, was fatally … More People v. Stokes »

1875 In August 1874, Theodore Tilton sued his one-time best friend and fellow Brooklyn minister, Henry Ward Beecher, for criminal conversation (sexual intercourse with … More Tilton v. Beecher »