LEGAL COMMUNITY
SPOTLIGHT
LIVING HISTORY
FLORIDA MEMORY PROJECT
The Peel trial was moved from Palm Beach County to St. Lucie County
under a change of venue motion because of the publicity the case received
in Palm Beach County. The 1961 trial was held in the old St. Lucie County
Courthouse, which was demolished in the late 1960s. Journalist Jim Bishop,
who brought national attention to Fort Pierce through his columns and later
a book about the case, described Fort Pierce as “authentic old Florida — an
old town with a whitewashed courthouse and, adjoining, an old three-story
jail with two broken rockers on the front porch.” Peel’s trial was conducted
on the second floor of the courtroom, which Bishop described as “a place
with a high ceiling... a jury box, a lighted wall clock sponsored by a jeweler,
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“On the second floor is the
Ninth Judicial Circuit Court, a
place with a high ceiling, wall
stains, a condemned balcony
where Negroes used to sit and
watch white men adjudicate
justice, a jury box, a lighted wall
clock sponsored by a jeweler, an
oil burner for chilly mornings,
some council tables marked ‘St.
Lucie county Property 201,’ and
five rows of benches.”
Judge D.C. Smith invited the
press and dignitaries to take designated
seats in his courtroom,
and members of the public vied
to make up the rest of the audience.
The defendant, Joseph A.
Jim Bishop, best known for the
books “The Day Lincoln Was
Shot” and “The Day Christ Died,”
wrote columns about the Peel
trial for Hearst’s King Syndicate
and later authored the book
“The Murder Trial of Judge Peel.”
Peel, no longer a lawyer or a judge, flashed the full measure
of his charm, and the affections of his pretty wife were daily
on display. Who could have guessed that if the confident
defendant beat his murder rap, he would face 160 charges of
fraud in business dealings?
MASTERMIND’S PLAN
On the stand, two witnesses described the shocking end
of the Chillingworths’ lives. In addition to Holzapfel, Bobby
Lincoln described the scene. He was a black pool hall owner
and regular accomplice in Peel’s judicial “business.” Holzapfel
said his buddy Peel had pointed out Chillingworth and
had showed him the victim’s beach house. Peel even knew
an oil burner for chilly mornings... and five rows of benches.”
Creative.
aggressive.
results.
772.464.1991
Renaissance Financial Center, Suite 302
Historic Downtown Fort Pierce
www.stluciecriminallaw.com
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>>
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