Laramie, Albany County, Wyoming. First "Woman Jury" Memorial.

Memorial, MKTH photograph.

Accurate information on this event is actually fairly difficult to find.   The trial was the First Degree Murder trial of Andrew W. Howie.  The prosecutor, Albany County Attorney Stephen Downey, had only been in that role for a few months and objected to the women being seated as jurors, but was overruled by the Court, which held that as women had been granted the franchise in Wyoming, they also had the right to sit in juries.  Downey's objection was based on social convention, rather than the law.

Contrary to the way it is sometimes recounted, the jury was not all female, but half male and half female, with six women jurors.  It returned a verdict finding Mr. Howie guilty of manslaughter, which must have been included as a lessor offense in the charges.  The trial convinced Downey who in turn became a champion of women's suffrage.

This memorial is not at the Albany County Courthouse, but at the downtown railroad park.  Judicial proceedings in Laramie were originally held in a store at that location.

(Photo and reasearch by MKTH).

University of Wyoming College of Law Large Moot Court, Laramie Wyoming

This is the large Moot Court Room for the University of Wyoming.  Having been in most of the courtrooms in the state I can safely say that its one of the nicest in the entire state.

The back half, or gallery half, of the courtroom has a moveable wall that can open up to allow greater space, or perhaps just more conventional space in the courtroom and also allow the courtroom to function as a lecture hall.  Viewed as a courtroom, what we see here in front of us is the bar of the court.

When I went to UW's College of Law it didn't have a moot courtroom at all, now it has two, a large one and a small one (I have yet to see the small one).  This particular room was the large classroom at the time.  It is quite a facility and I guess it demonstrates how much the physical assets of the College of Law have improved in the past three decades.

According to the University, the College of Law will allow the courtroom to be used by the state courts upon request, if it is not already in use.

Old Wyoming State Penitentiary, Rawlins Wyoming.

This may seem like sort of an odd entry for this blog, but it really should come as no surprise.  The penitentiary is part of the judicial system, and therefore it has a place on a blog that's dedicated to judicial buildings.

This particular penitentiary is the old Wyoming State Penitentiary, the second penitentiary the state had. The first one was located in Laramie Wyoming in territorial days. That building is still there, and is used as a museum. When I went to the University of Wyoming, it was the sheep barn.

This one, the second penitentiary, is located in Rawlins Wyoming.  It's also a museum, as it has been replaced by a new, more modern, penitentiary also located near Rawlins.

I don't know if court was ever held inside the penitentiary.  I doubt it. But it does serve to remember that institutions like this are part of the judicial system.

Albany County Courthouse, Laramie Wyoming.

This is the Albany County Courthouse in Laramie, Wyoming. The courthouse was built in 1931, and is typical for government buildings of that era, which were generally affecting a more "modern" appearance.

This courthouse is one of two courthouses serving the Wyoming's 2nd Judicial District, the other being in Rawlins Wyoming. This courthouse also serves as the seat of the county government and the seat of the Circuit Court for Albany County. The courthouse is perhaps unique in Wyoming in that the presence of the University of Wyoming's College of Law means that it has a bit more student interaction than some other courts.

 Second Judicial District's courtroom.

The memorial to Albany County and University of Wyoming dead of World War One is on this block.