Ficker & Associates

By Nicholas Estrada

          Here at the offices of Ficker and Associates, we offer quality legal representation at a very economically safe price. This week, I know the people of London have seen me lose a case in the Court of Chancery for a certain Mr. John Jarndyce, but don’t be fooled; I offer very good services for a low price, just take this testimonial from one of our recent clients:

                 “He was very professional, and although we couldn’t get a successful win over this case, in the end I was very pleased with the services that Ficker and Associates were able to provide. If I have any other legal matter, rest assured that I will be coming back to Mr. Ficker for any of my legal needs.”

– Mr. Jarndyce

                   There you have it, a great client and an esteemed member of the city. No matter how big the case is, Ficker and associates will be there for you at an affordable price. Just remember some of my philosophy:

                 “The scale of fees is too large for the client and too small for the lawyer. But suitors object less to the amount than to the intricacies and perplexities of the Table.  In some districts the expense of recovering a sum of money is one-third more than it is in others; though in both the same scale of fees is in operation. This arises from the variety of interpretations which different judges and officers put upon the charges.”

– Mr. Ficker

Household Words. Volume I, pg. 176 Law at a Low Price.  5/18/1850

Sheep Murderer: Update!

By Casey Weitz

            An update has been made on the case of the sheep murderer. From our previous installment, Mr. Herder posted an advertisement asking for details containing why his sheep were being murdered and who was responsible. The accused were responsible for five sheep murders over the past two months and Mr. Herder was demanding justice.

            Two young women were found guilty of murdering Mr. Herder’s sheep. The two women were found guilty on the evidence that they had taken the sheep from the herd and dismantled the body. The two ladies were found carrying the meat from the sheep which undoubtedly made them guilty. Justice has been served and Mr. Herder is still without his sheep, but glad the guilty will be punished. One woman was sentenced to ten years transportation and the other was sentenced to a year’s imprisonment.

            This article is an idea from the last eperiodical which featured the advertisement for the wanted “sheep murderer”. Both ideas were from Household Words, 1/2/1850, pg. 38; in a section titled Narrative of Law and Crime. The section featured certain crimes that were committed and the punishment received from the courts. 

A Letter from Mr. Gridley

By Hannah Swart

To the editors of the esteemed journal:

                I, Mr. James Gridley, am writing concerning the recent ruling in my court decision of my father’s will. The court system once again displayed its dreadful injustice and inefficiency, costing my brother and myself hundreds of pounds, only to rule in favor of my brother after all. The Court of Chancery has ruined yet another life; taking up months and large sums of money for one simple ruling. My brother and I were forced into Chancery for a simple familial matter, and ended up getting sucked into its corruption and chaos. Nor am I alone in this; we all know of the disaster of the Jarndyce vs. Jarndyce case, which has haunted a family for generations. The system itself is corrupt and rotted; a true reform must take place in the Court of Chancery or our nation’s people will continue to suffer its misdeeds!

                Signed,

                Mr. James Gridley

Inquiry about Mr. Krook

By Kelly Wedlake

Dear conductors of this esteemed journal,

          I recently learned that a proprietor of a certain shop often associated with the Court of Chancery has passed on to the next life.  Though the details surrounding his death still appear to be unclear to the outside world, I feel it is my duty as an upstanding citizen to write in and ask the question everyone else is thinking:

What is going to become of all of the papers and letters and legal documents that Mr. Krook kept in his shop for the better part of his life?  I know that there are certain letters that may be within his shops walls that would aid in a legal matter that I am attempting to resolve quickly.  I, along with many others I am sure, would love the opportunity to peruse his shop after the criminal investigation into his death has concluded of course, and try and find the documents that I seek so badly. 

Perhaps your esteemed publication can run a notice if an opportunity as such arises?

Best regards,

An upstanding citizen

Letter from a Newgate Prisoner

A letter from Mr. Tooll, a prisoner in Newgate

By Rebecca See

          Me name’s Mr. Tooll, but you can call me Tooley. I’m here cause they say I robbed some men, an killed one of em, too. I’ve been here for months now. I remember my trial was…well, it was a long time ago I think. The warden tells me that my walk is comin soon, probly in February and that after I’m dead they’ll hang me body where they say I killed that man.

          I’m writin this here paper to tell em all wot really happened there. I know it won’t help, but I’ve gotta git it off me chest. I’ll tell ye straight, this is how it happened-I was poor, so poor I had naught to eat at night. Now, I’m not askin ya ta feel sorry for me, jes listen. I heard about these men, they was a gang of highwaymen, who’d let me join if I liked. So I did. It was money to buy food with was all I wanted. We robbed some people, sure, but we never killed  no one until Mr. Leaver. Murder is such a horrible thing to do and I never meant to kill anyone. We’d marked him and was gonna steal his sword…I meant to shoot his horse, I swear, I’d never kill a man in cold blood. I killed a man, O God forgive me, I killed a man. O have mercy on my soul.

          The ward’s a comin now, so I better end it there.

Ansay, Serra. "The Cornhill, Great Expectations, and The Convict System in Nineteenth-Century England." The Cornhill, Great Expectations, and The Convict System in Nineteenth-Century England. The Victorian Web, 1996. Web. 16 Jan. 2013.

Hangman Update

By Casey Weitz

The High Sheriff has named his hangman! Sir Gallows of Calcraft will be the new hangman of Suffolk County. The newly appointed hangman already will have a full slate of work to do after the Court of Chancery have given out five sentences over the past week for death by hanging.

Sir Gallows acknowledges that justice must properly be given to those who fit their crimes and my God have mercy on their rotten souls. Sir Gallows will also follow special order of the High Sheriff aside from his duties of hangman.

           This article is an update from the previous installment in which people were posting their wants to become the new hangman and were applying to the High Sherriff of Suffolk County.

Notes from the Chancery:

NOTES FROM THE CHANCERY:

By Kelly Wedlake

Court of Chancery

-                    Yesterday the case of Gridley v. Gridley finally came to a conclusion after months in trial. The case was concerning the dispute over money owed to one Mr. James Gridley by his brother, Mr. Frank Gridley.  Mr. James Gridley, upon inheriting his parents’ estate, housed his brother free of charge for some time. Mr. Frank Gridley believed that he was owed 300 pounds by his brother, as dictated by his parents will.  The dispute presented in court was due to Mr. James Gridley believing that the money owed to his brother by the will should be taken as a fee for room and board.  After many days and weeks and months spent in trial, the court ruled in favor of Mr. Frank Gridley, who was to receive 300 pounds from his brother as the will dictated. However, Mr. James Gridley no longer had the means to pay this money to his brother, due to all of the fees associated with this long-running case.  Let this stand as another example of the evils of the Court of Chancery.

-                    The Jarndyce v. Jarndyce case continues to press forward with the new spurt of energy coming from one Richard Carstone, a ward of Mr. John Jarndyce himself.  See our report on the next page concerning the details of the case.