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Illinois circuit court judge
Theodore N. Green* (1857–1930) of Peoria, Illinois
was slated to hear the case against
Iroquois business manager, Thomas J. Noonan and
stage carpenter, James E. Cummings. The
case was assigned to him on October 13, 1904 as a
result of judge
George Kersten having granted a
change of venue.
The trial never opened on
Green's bench, however. After a lengthy
review, Judge Kersten concluded the case was flawed
and could not go to trial as drawn. Green
concluded with Kersten's assessment and on February 9-10 1905,
both judges met on the bench to quash all
three indictments. Kersten explained the
problems with its case to the prosecutors who then
had four months to redraft the indictments.
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For their decision both Green and Kersen received letters threatening bodily
injury. One letter even wished death to Green's son,
Nathanial, who was ill.
A Democrat elected to the the
tenth district of the Illinois circuit court in 1901, Green
followed his father, Nathanial W. Green, to the
circuit court, entering as one of the youngest
judges in Illinois history.
He and Fannie E. Shultz Green
(1864–1946), married in 1884, had one child, a son
named after Nathanial, who died at age thirty-eight.
In the years after the fire
Green earned a reputation as
an opponent of prohibition after remarks from the
bench that were critical of heavy handed enforcement
by federal agents.
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