1919 Legal Beagles Part 1

The names of those who stood trial are still known, some celebrated, today. Post-strike there was another set of players to enter the arena: the legal teams. For them, these were not ordinary trials. They were a chance to make legal history.

Walter Pue, in a paper titled Cowboy Jurists & the Making of Legal Professionalism said of this era in Prairie law:

"Lawyers combined agendas which were explicitly moral and reforming with a profound restructuring of their profession. Their efforts to reform the curriculum of formal legal education was part of a cultural project, but so too was their desire to attain self-regulation, monopoly, professional independence, and plenary disciplinary powers."

Who were some of these lawyers ? Here are a few of the key players. Note that by going to their bios you may see the outcome of some of the trials yet to appear here !

Citizens Committee of 1000 lawyers:

Alfred Joseph "A.J." Andrews - Was mayor in 1898-99. He led the team for the Committee.

Issac Pitblado At the time he was a member and cousel for the Committee as well as the head of the Manitoba Law Society. The Isaac Pitblado Lectures have been held annually for almost 50 years.

Travers Sweatman - (no image) Famous for having defended Thomas Kelly during the Manitoba Legislative Scandal. He would later become a judge (source) nominated by A.J. Andrews (source)

James Bowes Coyne A member of the Aikins firm

Winnipeg Trades and Labor Council lawyers

Thomas J. Murray K.C. (no image) Represented Moses Chartinoff

Marcus Hyman - Defended the 'radical aliens', those born outside Canada, facing deportation by the the Board of Inquiry. Later in life he became an MLA and introduced The Manitoba Defamation Act (1934) - the first Canadian group libel law, and the only one until 1970 (source).

E.J. Murray (no image)

Reference:
All that I could find on-line were written by those on the side of labour. If anyone has a link to something from the other side or from a legal point of view please share !

"Repressive Measures": AJ Andrews, the Committee of 1000 and the Campaign Against Radicalism after the Winnipeg General Strike

"Legal Gentlemen Appointed by the Federal Government": the Canadian State, the Citizens' Committee of 1000, and Winnipeg's Seditious ConspiracyTrials of 1919–1920.