July 10

The 10th in 1925 featured the start of the trial of John Scopes, an inexperienced high school science teacher. He had been charged with teaching evolution. When Clarence Darrow had finished the People’s closing argument, the judge, with a sense of resignation, inexplicably called the case to a halt, refusing to allow the defense to make a closing argument. It took the jury all of eight minutes to find Scopes guilty and he was fined $100, which Scopes’ lead attorney, William Jennings Bryan gallantly offered to pay. H. G. Wells had been the first choice for lead defense counsel. Readily acknowledging the fact that he had no legal experience in either England or the United States, Wells politely declined the offer.

July 8

July 8 is a date that the town fathers of Roswell, New Mexico will celebrate for a very long time. On that day in 1947 news reports were broadcast around the nation that a UFO had crash-landed in their little town, thus giving them a firm grip on a sustainable tourist industry and spawning who knows how many t-shirt companies and websites. If you think there is no government cover-up of this alien encounter just try finding Roswell using Google Earth.

July 7

True justice will not be denied and cannot be rushed. Sometimes it takes a little time to come to a decision about how to best serve the interests of society. On the 7th in 1456, Joan of Arc was acquitted of the charge of heresy. It seems more than a little unfortunate that she was burned at the stake on May 30, 1431.

July 4, 5 and 6

On the 4th in 1817, construction of the Erie Canal began in Rome, New York. Typical of most government undertakings, construction was not completed until October 25, 1825. It would be nice to think that this beautiful canal, which made New York City the center of economic power in the country, is now a place of beauty and serenity. It is a quite lovely inland waterway but sadly, almost 200 years after its completion lawyers and politicians still have their fingers in this pie up to their elbows, going back and forth, back and forth on a yearly basis, a bit like the swallows returning to Capistrano or the buzzards to Hinckley, Ohio, over the issue of who pays what, and when is it paid, for the canal’s maintenance.

On the 5th in 1954, Elvis Presley made his first commercial recording: That’s All Right (Mama), for my money the best song he ever did, and I don’t really like Elvis all that much. Actually, I loathe him.

On the 6th in 1885, Louis Pasteur successfully tested his rabies vaccine on a kid named Joseph Meister, who had conveniently been bitten by a rabid dog.

July 1, 2 and 3

On the 1st in 1999, the Scottish Parliament convened for the first time in nearly three centuries. That would explain all the newspapers piling up on the porch.

July 2nd 1982, thirty-three year old Larry Walters tied 45 weather balloons to a lawn chair and used this aircraft to rise to an altitude of 16,000 feet. The FAA immediately took an interest in him.
July 3, 1844 saw the last pair of Great Auks killed on Eldey Island, which sits off the coast of Iceland. All surviving reports indicate that they tasted like chicken.

Introduction to July

You can’t make a living defending an innocent client.

Former NYS Special Prosecutor Maurice Nadjari

Summer is here. It took long enough to get here, didn’t it? At times, it seemed as if it would never arrive. Now that it’s here, we can get on about the business of having a wonderful summer. I think it would be best however if you kept your plans simple. If the plans are overly involved you might not have the opportunity to get to all the items on your to-do list. On July 1 the countdown to Labor Day begins, which at this point is only 65 days away. Be of good cheer, however because Spring is only 262 days away.