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Robert E. Crowe, assistant state attorney, was
Albert Barne's
twenty-four-year-old co-counsel in the original
Iroquois Theater court proceedings.
In September, 1904, at a hearing before
Judge George Kersten, defense attorney
Levy Mayer petitioned the court for a change of
venue, and presented one hundred fifty affidavits proving
public prejudice against his clients.
A dispute between Mayer and Barnes resulted
in Mayer taking the stand to be questioned by
Barnes — testimony that judge Kersten would later
regret having permitted. (PDF file describing this and other Iroquois Theater
fire circuit court proceedings.)
Mayer testified that one of Crowe's three brothers had
been in possession of twenty seven additional affidavits prevented by Robert Crowe from being supplied to the
defense. Crowe denied the accusation and promised
to take it up with Mayer outside. Perhaps he
had a vigorous discussion in mind but it sounded more like he had a schoolyard fist fight in mind.
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Robert Crowe Bio
Robert Emmett Crowe
(1879–1958) was the son of Irish immigrants, Patrick
and Ann Crowe. As a court baliff, Patrick may
have influenced his son's decision to enter the
legal profession. Following graduation from
Yale, Robert was accepted to the bar in 1901, two
years before the Iroquois Theater fire. He
married Candida Cuneo in 1912, with whom he fathered
five children. Crowe won the favor of Chicago
mayor,
Big Bill Thompson, who appointed him to a
circuit court judgeship in 1916 and endorsed his
successful run for States Attorney from Cook County
in 1920.
In the years after the fire
In 1920 Crowe was elected chief justice of the circuit court
following the death of
Charles M. Walker. Walker had upheld
judge
Jesse Holdom's ruling that prevented Iroquois
victims from suing the city of Chicago.
In 1924 Crowe would have a more central role in a courtroom
battle with celebrated attorney
Clarence Darrow when
Crowe prosecuted thrill killers
Nathan Leopold and
Richard Loeb.
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