St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-08-07

pm Guilty ia FEBRUARY, 1901, W pTaC-
tice law. The first year he was here he
rented an unfurnished room for $3.50
per month and boarded himself at
cost of 81 per week. He told no one of
his
Destitute Circu instances.
and asked no one for assistance. His
ind0mitable will carried him through,
as it always has done. He studied hard,
worked hard. and for while made new
acquaintance. His first case was a
contest over the title to forty acres of
land near Lake Minnetonka. two miles
from Excelsior, on which George Latte
mer lived. aud which he supposed he
owned. A neighbOr brought suit against
him for the land III 1879. when Tom was
working on tie farm. KOOn. Merrill IL
Smith were the attorneys for the plain
tiff, and Woods &Babcock tor Lattemer,
the defendant, who, after two years of
litigation lost the case. Lattemer APP
piled to Mr.. CAVITY, who examined the
matter and declared he would win the
case. He demanded and obtained new
trial, and took up new line of defense.
1t came up in court OH a motion. and
swell young lawyer who was pres
ent at the time told several
others of the condition of the
case and of the presumption of the fe'-
low who had just been admitted to the
bar, and now pre- posed to take up case
which such able lawyers had lost. and
pointed to Tom with the remark, Fools
rush in where angels fear to tread"
But Tom tried and won his case both in
the district and supreme courts. His
business increased rapidly. 1t took him
the first three years to pay his debts, but
EEe Paid Them in Full.
His practice has been in almost every
branch OF litigation, including libel
cases, real estate cases, assignments, a
large number OF damage cases against
corporations. and other classes too num-
er0us to mention, includinga large num-
Der during the last two years against
chattel mortgage sharks. He has had
but little criminal business. He has
been unusually successful, and his prac
tice was constantly growing when elect
ed district Judge. He claims his
poorest success has been in the
supreme court, where he has
won thir ty-three cases and lost but
fourteen, making, with four now pend
ing, fifty-One cases he has had in that
court since he commenced to practice.
The most remarkable thing about this
is that of all the cases he has tried and
won in the lower court and the opposite
party has appealed, there has never
been but one reversed in the supreme
court. The reason is that i'll the trial
OF a case he seldom miSieadS the court.
When tie court has erred it has gen.
orally been against him and not in his
favor. He is a man of strong Judgment
and great decision of character. He
tries his cases in straightforward, ag-
greSSive manner. and even i'll his latest
legal contests he seldom insists on hav-
ing the court rule in his favor when the
supreme court would afterwards reverse
it. Ii a lawyer can thus avoid error
by not asking too much when
he is in the heat of a trial
where it is supposed that his
Judgment Is biasedfn favor of his client
is he not much more likely to avoid
error when he is judge on the bench and
has no interest in the trial except to de-
eide according to law?
Mr.. Canty is Fighter" when trying
q case in court, but a genial, unasSumlng
efelloW at other times, frank and straight
forward in all his dealings. His word
is as good as his bond. He is man of
Great Moral Courage,
and absolutely fearless when the occa-
sion requires it, but he never has per-
sonal quarrel OF hard word with any
one.
At the time of the street car strike
two years ago ne was called into the
municipal court to defend client Of his.
Daniel Sutton, who was employed as
bookkeeper for the Minnesota Transfer
company, and in no way connected with
the strike. and who was tried and found
guilty without evidence. Judge Emery,
in deciding the case. said:
II find the defendant guilty. This
rioting must be stopped"
Mr.. CAVITY replied, You are causing
more rioting than all the strikers IN the
CITY," ~,
Judge Emery said in a threatening
manner, BE careful, SIR"
Mr.. Canty said, II mean what l say"
1t looked for few minutes as if he,
too, might be sentenced to the work.
house with his client, but he stood his
ground. This was O'Clock in the even
ing, and the judge even refused to stay
proceedings long enough to prepare the
to spend the night in the lookup. The
appeal was taken, and the supreme
court decided that there was neither
complaint nor any evidence upon which
to convict him. While Mr.. Canty was
waiting in the municipal court to try
this case he saw many other poor fell
lows convicted in the same illegal man
ner, and, as he expressed it. 'They
were put through the court like a lot Of
cattle
Through, a Slaughter Fen.',
BE stepped out of the court room into
the hall, and, i'll the presence of the Of
ficerS, denounced the proceeding in the
most unmeasured terms. The work
house was fast being filled with many
who were innocent, and a very few WHO
we're guilty, to serve out sentences of
six months each at hard labor. Mr..
CAVITY then obtained writS of baDeas
corpus out of the district court to re-
lease them on the ground that the high
handed acts of Judge Emery were not
authorized by the constitution. The
hearing lasted three days. All the law
yers connected with the city attorneys
office opposed Mr.. Canty, and all the
lawyers connected with the street rail-
way company worked like beavers in
their office to prepare the law for this
purpose, but Judge Smith released the
prisoners, and the city of Minneapolis,
at the dictation of the street railway
company, appealed the case to the SUI
irene court, which sustained Judge
Smith, and decided that tho imprison-
ment of the men by Judge Emery was
unconstitutional and void.
The contest which resulted in Judge
Canty'S elevation to tie district court
bench in Hennepin county two years
ago is familiar to all. He was opposed
by the wealthiest corporations and the
privileged classes, il such there be, but
the result of the election demonstrated
that the people were with him in the
fight. Judge Canty has been a remark
ably successful district court judge, and
has completely
Disrroved the Predictions
and prophesies of his enemies. He is
,,nsSesSeG of one of the brightest and
clearest legal minds, and has knoWl
edge of the law possessed by few of the
profession He believes in administer
ing the law as it is. with special favors
to no class Or interest. which is true
Democracy.
Judge Canty will be elected to the
supreme bench next November by at
least 10000, and if his enemies are fool
ish enough to make hard fight against