Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-01-19
AL" SHIELDS, NOTED LAWYER
DIES AFTER TWO MONTHS ILLNESS

continued from Page One
called TO represent one Of the defendants
| IN the state Capitol scandal He figured
prominently in the storey cotton case and
! was also counsel for two defendants in
tne famous revenue stamp conspiracy
| Whch case brought William j. Burns into
the limelight
Mr. Shields was hailed as chief" not
oniE py lawyers, but by Judges as well,
on account OF his wide range Of legal
kno"iedge and great fighting ability.
He was a man of kindly disposition.
ana quietly helped many over the stony
road of poverty
Ihat Mr.. Shields had varied tastes Is
| SHOWN by his beautiful art collection
which was gathered from many art
I centres He was also lover OF animals.
and his stock farm at Woodbury.. N. j..
mas been productive OF good results
BORN SON OF FARMER.
Albert Stepney Letchworth Shields was
I born near Coatesville, Chester Co nty,
Pa, September "a, 1850 The son OF
! farmer, he lived the routine life of the
farmers boy His early education was
gained in the Coatesvile Academy and
the West Chester Military Academy.
| When he was 10 years old his father
moved to Wilmington. where young AL
bert entered T. Clarkson Taylor's Acad-
N'''N' AZ Ailt tk' VI li ut Vuil SNHuul anu
became clerk in the office OF the Harlan
q Hollngsworth Ship and Car Building
Company, at Wilmington, continuing his
studies by reading far into the night.
In 1868 he came to Philadelphia to study
law under Joseph T. Pratt and was adj
mitted to the bar in 1870. When his pre-
ceptor was elected Judge, in 1873. young
Shields, already making u name for him
self through his briliancy, took charge OF
the large law practice OF his teacher. This
was the turning point in his career. From
that year on his path to success was open
and he made phenomenal progress.
Mr. Shields married Miss Emma r.
Jones in 1874. She died in 1900. A son.
Joseph l.. Shields, and a brother, william
S. 7. Shields, survive him.
a VERSATILE LAWYER.
Ask who A. s. H. Shields was and the
answer most probably will he. "the great
est criminal lawyer in PENNSYLVANIA"
But he was more than that. His legal
practice was not confined to criminal
jurisprudence alone. His record contains
some of the most notable civil cases in
the States history. cases in which he
achieved national reputation and the
same is true of the political trials in
which he figured His early successes,
gained in the days when criminal cases
were considered the cream of lawyers
practice, stamped him first as criminal
lawyer, but his later victories in other
fields overshadowed the famous cases of
his early career. He was versatile in
every branch of the law.
HIS FIRST BIG MURDER CASE.
Ills first big murder case and one OF
the most notable in his career, was that
of the notorious emma Bickcll. who shot
and killed William Mennon in Kensing
ton, causing one of the most widely
known legal battles in the country. The
woman was acquitted on grounds OF In
sanity, and later was released from mn
asylum. Mr.. Shields conducted the de-
fcnse in more than 300 homicide cases,
winning majority of them. Among his
more noted defendants were Patrick
Quigloy, accused of wife murder; A. a.
Schisser, who killed George Truman
clerk of the Quarter Sessions Court. and
James Lyons. who killed Chinese
laundryman.
Probably his third case. in point of ma
tiOn- wide interest, was the revenue stamp
counterfeiting conspirac.' of 1850. in which
he defended eNUnited States District At
torney Ellery +. lngham and Harvey k.
Newett, who escaped with light sem
tence of two years and six months and
81 fine each.
A case growing out of the Quay case,
in which John S. Hopkins, cashier of
the Peoples Bank. committed suicide,
was won by MIR. Shields in 1901. when
the charges of conspiracy to defraud col
lapsed against Richard F.. I.oper. Mr..
Shields was hailed by the press as
legal hero
The defense OF Joseph II. Huston one
OF the defendants in the Capitol scandal
case OF 1907, consisted of Mr.. Shields and
George S. Graham, who. as former Dis
trict Attorney, had been Mr.. Shields Bit
ter opponent in many n legal war. Hus-
ton was acquitted in the first trial. bit
lost tine second trial. This case attract d
more attention in the State than any
other case in which Mr.. Shields pa
ticipated and is probably the most notaL.e
case in the States annals.
Another noted case was that of Peter
Il. Smith. a city committeeman, defended
by Mr. Shields against charges of at
tempt to bribe Common Councilman
Walter y. Stevenson in connection with
the Schuylkill Valley water bill. The case
was taken by the defense to the Supreme
Court. which discharged Smith with n
repr nand to the lower court.
Mr. Shields defended Handsome
Harry" Latimer and Sophie Beck, the