William J Pinilis

New Jersey Courthouses William J Pinilis

Some of the most famous trials in American history have taken place in New Jersey's State Courthouses. The Lindbergh baby kidnapping case was called the "Trial of the Century" and the "greatest story since the Resurrection." While more famous, the Lindbergh case is no more compelling than the Ruben "Hurricane" Carter triple murder trials, the Arron Burr conviction (from Burr's fatal duel with Alexander Hamilton), the Kelley Anne Michaels trial, the John List murder of his family in Westfield, the landmark Karen Anne Quinlan right to die case, the Hall-Mills murder trial (from which the phrase "media circus" was coined), the trial of the nation's first mass-murder shooting spree (the "Father of Mass-Murder," Howard Unruh's, famous "Walk of Death"), and even a witch trial. A New Jersey courthouse was also the venue for the first vote cast in an election by an African-American, the first vote to ratify the Bill of Rights, many public executions, the Battle of Monmouth (and the legend of Molly Pitcher), and even a critically important demonstration that the tomato was not poisonous. Many of the buildings were designed and/or decorated by famous architects and artists. These include Louis Comfort Tiffany, Cass Gilbert (the architect for the first skyscraper), Gutzon Borglum (the sculptor of Mount Rushmore), and muralists Edwin Howland Blashfield, Frank Millet, Howard Pyle, Will Hicok Low, Charles Yardley Turner, Kenyon Cox, Henry Oliver Walker, and George Willard Maynard. Perhaps most compelling are stories of hauntings and paranormal activities in many courthouses. These stories relate to public hangings, Revolutionary War battles, and famous murder trials. This book chronicles the history of the New Jersey Courthouse buildings, recounts famous trials, and tells the often creepy and frightening stories of those whom are said to haunt the halls of justice.