Arizona Republic from Phoenix, Arizona • Page 220

no place for a dance house brawl "Laws, Courts and Lawyers," a book soon to be released by University of Arizona Press, tells the legal growth of Arizona since the days when it was occupied by the Spaniards. It is written by James M. Murphy, a native and veteran lawyer with a strong interest in Arizona history. The following excerpt is not typical of the book's content. by James M.

Murphy copyright, UofA Press, 1970 The following account has been based on newspaper stories of the day. In 1883 a suit over Kirkland Valley water rights in Yavapai County went to trial in Prescott. A ranch owner named Mrs. Kelsey desired to secure the right to irrigate from a creek which flowed past both her land and the land of her neighbor McAteer. The case had previously undergone litigation in 1878 when Judge Charles Silent had ruled for McAteer, denying the Kelsey claim.

Judge C. G. W. French presided at the retrial, with W. 0.

O'Neill as court reporter. Clark Churchill was attorney for Mrs. Kelsey, and Charles Rush represented McAteer. As the trial opened, Moses D. Langley of Kirkland Valley took the stand to testify on behalf of the plaintiff.

During the cross examination, Rush asked Langley if he had not sworn differently on a certain matter during the former trial and as proof read a portion of the previous affidavit. Churchill insisted the entire affidavit be submitted as evidence and charged that the portion in question was a garbled statement. Rush denied this curtly. Acrimonious words passed between the two lawyers, and a heated argument ensued. Rush's partner Herndon threw an inkstand at Churchill, striking him in the face.

Chairs, inkstands, and other articles began to fly, as the newspaper accounts told it. The melee aroused the defendant Patrick McAteer who drew a large knife and entered the fray, selecting Charles W. Beach, Mrs. Kelsey's son-in-law, as his victim. In trying to keep the two apart, witness James M.

Mcore received a knife wound in the shoulder which later necessitated the amputation of his arm. Beach received a slight cut on his neck. As McAteer was attempting to stab court reporter O'Neill, Beach drew a pistol and shot McAteer. Another shot from Beach's gun hit the large kerosene lamp suspended over the it MARCH 22,.