William F. Howe (lawyer)
Encyclopedia
William F. Howe was an American
trial lawyer with the New York
firm Howe and Hummel
.
trials in the course of his fifty-year career and winning a large but unstated proportion of them. He was noted for his extravagant dress, favouring bright waistcoats and large jewelled rings - although he steadily dressed down as a capital trial progressed, invariably ending it in a funereal suit and black tie. He had a markedly florid rhetorical style, on one occasion delivering an entire summing-up, two hours long, while on his knees before the jury box. One of his most remarked upon talents was an apparent ability to weep at will, although legal historian Sadakat Kadri notes that his frequent opponent Francis L. Wellman "suspected that he used an onion-scented handkerchief to get in the mood". The less extrovert but more intelligent Hummel specialised in civil law and ran the firm's thriving blackmail
racket, representing chorus girls and thwarted lovers, threatening married men with exposure and well-off young bachelors with suits for breach of promise of marriage.
At its peak, operating from offices just across the road from NYPD headquarters on Centre Street, Howe and Hummel received fat retainers from a significant proportion of the criminals, brothel-keepers, and abortionists of New York. All 74 madams rounded up during a purity drive in 1884 named Howe and Hummel as their counsel, and at one time the firm represented 23 out of the 25 prisoners awaiting trial for murder in the city's Tombs prison and had an undeclared interest in the twenty-fourth.
Bill Howe's persuasive abilities were the stuff of legend. Perhaps his most notable achievement was to get a client, Ella Nelson, acquitted on a charge of wilful murder. Howe admitted that the girl had been armed with a revolver, but successfully persuaded a jury that her trigger finger had accidentally slipped not just once, but four times in the course of an argument with her married lover.
One of Howe's most notorious cases, however, may have been that of John Dolan (a.k.a. Johnny Dolan
), convicted in the murder of merchant James H. Noe. Despite a desperate legal to save his life, Dolan went to the gallows on April 21, 1875. New York Times coverage of the case, which riveted New York for several months, identifies one William F. Howe as Dolan's attorney. In a noticeable omission, the Times does not mention Dolan in its obituary for Howe.
Howe and Hummel kept no records, actively courted publicity, and were much discussed in their day among the members of the legal profession. As such, many of the stories told about them have the aura of tall tales. Nevertheless, their decades of effective practise suggest that the partners were among the most effective and innovative attorneys
to practice in the United States
during the nineteenth century.
The final collapse of the firm came in 1907, five years after Howe's death, when Hummel was convicted in New York of suborning perjury, disbarred, and sentenced to a year in jail. After his release, Hummel left the United States and lived chiefly in Paris.
Howe, who died of a heart attack in 1902, married at least three times, once in the United Kingdom and at least twice in the USA. He was survived by two of his wives, one adopted daughter and several grandchildren. There is an extended family still in the UK, descended from his brother Ferdinand who he was close to for his entire life.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
trial lawyer with the New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
firm Howe and Hummel
Howe and Hummel
Howe and Hummel was a New York law firm, celebrated in the latter half of the nineteenth century and principally renowned for its active involvement in crime and corruption.-Partners of firm:The senior partner in the firm was William F...
.
Life and career
William Frederick Howe was born in Southwark, London, England on 20 August 1828, the eldest of three sons of working class parents: Samuel and Mary Ann Howe. City of London records show that his early career was as a legal clerk but that in 1854 he was convicted with others at the Old Bailey for conspiracy to pervert the course of justice and served a short prison sentence. He then moved to the USA and resumed his legal career, claiming to have been born in Boston, Massachusetts. He became a naturalised American on 19 September 1863 in New York where he founded Howe and Hummel with Abraham Hummel (1849-January 21, 1926). Howe handled most of the firm's criminal work, participating in more than 600 murderMurder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
trials in the course of his fifty-year career and winning a large but unstated proportion of them. He was noted for his extravagant dress, favouring bright waistcoats and large jewelled rings - although he steadily dressed down as a capital trial progressed, invariably ending it in a funereal suit and black tie. He had a markedly florid rhetorical style, on one occasion delivering an entire summing-up, two hours long, while on his knees before the jury box. One of his most remarked upon talents was an apparent ability to weep at will, although legal historian Sadakat Kadri notes that his frequent opponent Francis L. Wellman "suspected that he used an onion-scented handkerchief to get in the mood". The less extrovert but more intelligent Hummel specialised in civil law and ran the firm's thriving blackmail
Blackmail
In common usage, blackmail is a crime involving threats to reveal substantially true or false information about a person to the public, a family member, or associates unless a demand is met. It may be defined as coercion involving threats of physical harm, threat of criminal prosecution, or threats...
racket, representing chorus girls and thwarted lovers, threatening married men with exposure and well-off young bachelors with suits for breach of promise of marriage.
At its peak, operating from offices just across the road from NYPD headquarters on Centre Street, Howe and Hummel received fat retainers from a significant proportion of the criminals, brothel-keepers, and abortionists of New York. All 74 madams rounded up during a purity drive in 1884 named Howe and Hummel as their counsel, and at one time the firm represented 23 out of the 25 prisoners awaiting trial for murder in the city's Tombs prison and had an undeclared interest in the twenty-fourth.
Bill Howe's persuasive abilities were the stuff of legend. Perhaps his most notable achievement was to get a client, Ella Nelson, acquitted on a charge of wilful murder. Howe admitted that the girl had been armed with a revolver, but successfully persuaded a jury that her trigger finger had accidentally slipped not just once, but four times in the course of an argument with her married lover.
One of Howe's most notorious cases, however, may have been that of John Dolan (a.k.a. Johnny Dolan
Johnny Dolan
"Dandy" Johnny Dolan was a New York City murderer and reputed leader of the Whyos street gang.-Inventive:...
), convicted in the murder of merchant James H. Noe. Despite a desperate legal to save his life, Dolan went to the gallows on April 21, 1875. New York Times coverage of the case, which riveted New York for several months, identifies one William F. Howe as Dolan's attorney. In a noticeable omission, the Times does not mention Dolan in its obituary for Howe.
Howe and Hummel kept no records, actively courted publicity, and were much discussed in their day among the members of the legal profession. As such, many of the stories told about them have the aura of tall tales. Nevertheless, their decades of effective practise suggest that the partners were among the most effective and innovative attorneys
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
to practice in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
during the nineteenth century.
The final collapse of the firm came in 1907, five years after Howe's death, when Hummel was convicted in New York of suborning perjury, disbarred, and sentenced to a year in jail. After his release, Hummel left the United States and lived chiefly in Paris.
Howe, who died of a heart attack in 1902, married at least three times, once in the United Kingdom and at least twice in the USA. He was survived by two of his wives, one adopted daughter and several grandchildren. There is an extended family still in the UK, descended from his brother Ferdinand who he was close to for his entire life.
External links
- Danger!, a book by them.
Books
- Arthur Train (1908). True Stories of Crime From the District Attorney's Office. New York: Charles Scribners Sons.
- Richard H. Rovere (1948). Howe and Hummel: Their True and Scandalous History. London: Michael Joseph.
- James Morton (2001). Gangland: The Lawyers. London: Virgin
- Sadakat Kadri (2005). The Trial: A History, from Socrates to O.J. Simpson. New York: Random House.
- Francis L. Wellman (1924). Gentlemen of the Jury. New York: Macmillan.
Articles
- 'William F. Howe, Dean of Criminal Bar, Dead.' New York Times September 3, 1902, p. 9.
- 'Decadence of New York's Criminal Bar.' New York Times, September 7, 1902, p. 34.
- [Accounts of Ella Nelson trial] New York Herald, June 19, 1891, p. 3 & June 20, p. 4.