2008 Woodie Awards
Town reflects on life, murder of Jesse James
Associated Press
Issue date: 9/27/07 Section: Features
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -
Robert Ford, the coward, shot Jesse James.
But before that, Henry McDougal, the lawyer, sued Jesse. And won.
McDougal, practicing in Daviess County, Mo., appears to have prosecuted the only successful lawsuit against James, obtaining a judgment, collecting - and living to tell about it. Barely.
Jim Muehlberger, a Kansas City, Mo., lawyer, last month discovered documents detailing the litigation. The papers suggest that the contemporary fascination with James, which continues with the recent release of the Brad Pitt movie "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" deserves a tweaking.
More than a century of celebrity has rendered James a historical figure who was often above the law. At first glance, the only justice James ever encountered seems to have been the frontier variety delivered by Ford, who in 1882 shot and killed him in St. Joseph, Mo.
But according to the papers recovered by Muehlberger, James and his brother Frank, at least once, were forced to account for their actions in court.
"It's an example of equal justice under the law," Muehlberger said.
"The criminal justice system would be completely unable to deal with Jesse James for about 10 years," he said.
"But here the system worked, in a civil case, through the courage of a very young lawyer."
On Dec. 7, 1869, two men walked into the Daviess County Savings Association in Gallatin, Mo.
The cashier, John Sheets, was shot and killed. The two men emerged and mounted horses. One horse bolted and its rider was dragged in the street, his foot in a stirrup. Soon he freed himself and jumped on the back of his companion's horse.
The two rode out of town, where they met a solitary rider, Daniel Smoote, a Gallatin farmer.
At gunpoint, Smoote gave up his horse. The two men then galloped off.
Left behind in the town square was an especially fine mare.
"It was like leaving a Ferrari in the middle of a small town," Muehlberger said. The horse quickly was identified as belonging to Jesse James of Clay County, Mo.
Robert Ford, the coward, shot Jesse James.
But before that, Henry McDougal, the lawyer, sued Jesse. And won.
McDougal, practicing in Daviess County, Mo., appears to have prosecuted the only successful lawsuit against James, obtaining a judgment, collecting - and living to tell about it. Barely.
Jim Muehlberger, a Kansas City, Mo., lawyer, last month discovered documents detailing the litigation. The papers suggest that the contemporary fascination with James, which continues with the recent release of the Brad Pitt movie "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" deserves a tweaking.
More than a century of celebrity has rendered James a historical figure who was often above the law. At first glance, the only justice James ever encountered seems to have been the frontier variety delivered by Ford, who in 1882 shot and killed him in St. Joseph, Mo.
But according to the papers recovered by Muehlberger, James and his brother Frank, at least once, were forced to account for their actions in court.
"It's an example of equal justice under the law," Muehlberger said.
"The criminal justice system would be completely unable to deal with Jesse James for about 10 years," he said.
"But here the system worked, in a civil case, through the courage of a very young lawyer."
On Dec. 7, 1869, two men walked into the Daviess County Savings Association in Gallatin, Mo.
The cashier, John Sheets, was shot and killed. The two men emerged and mounted horses. One horse bolted and its rider was dragged in the street, his foot in a stirrup. Soon he freed himself and jumped on the back of his companion's horse.
The two rode out of town, where they met a solitary rider, Daniel Smoote, a Gallatin farmer.
At gunpoint, Smoote gave up his horse. The two men then galloped off.
Left behind in the town square was an especially fine mare.
"It was like leaving a Ferrari in the middle of a small town," Muehlberger said. The horse quickly was identified as belonging to Jesse James of Clay County, Mo.
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