by Pebbla Wallace, LACHS Board Member
The most famous courtroom television drama in the history of courtroom dramas will always remain, in the opinion of this writer, the series Perry Mason, which starred Raymond Burr from 1957-1974. Although the drama depicted a fictional criminal defense attorney who won almost every case, what you may not know is that the character was based on a real-life criminal defense attorney name Earl Rogers who practiced in Los Angeles from 1897 to 1918. Ten years after Earl’s death, impressed with accounts of Rogers’ cases, attorney and author Erle Stanley Gardner reincarnated Rogers as the character Perry Mason in various novels and short stories – which later became a radio and TV drama. Just like the fictional character Perry Mason, Earl was known for winning most of his cases; of the seventy-seven murder trials he defended, he only lost three.
Earl Rogers, 1911
Photo: Library of Congress
Rogers was a trial pioneer of his time and revolutionized the way that evidence was presented in the courtroom. He was the first attorney to use visual aids such as blackboards, charts, and blowup displays during a trial – a technique that changed the way evidence is presented in the courtroom today. He was also known for his immeasurable knowledge and expertise in forensic medicine. One of his major contributions as a trial defense advocate was his introduction of expert testimony (ballistics, chemical analysis, pathology, physiology, and psychiatric assessment of the accused’s mental state, etc.), - long before any attorney ever used this technique. In many cases, he was more knowledgeable in the field of forensics than many of the medical experts he cross-examined, which usually destroyed the prosecution’s expert witnesses. He was so well respected in the field of forensics that he was appointed as a professor of medical jurisprudence and insanity at the College of Physicians and Surgeons.
But unlike Perry Mason, many of Earl’s clients were more on the unscrupulous side and deemed by the public as “guilty”. In one of Earl’s trials in the defense of Charles F. Mootry (accused of murdering his wife), the Los Angeles Evening Express described his defendant this way: “he chews gum, smacks wintergreen candy, rock absentmindedly in his chair, sits with his back towards the judge, jury, and witnesses – and generally behaves himself most unusually”. But the more guilty the defendant seemed; the more Rogers was able to get an acquittal. When the trial was over, Mootry offered his hand to Rogers in congratulations. Rogers replied, “Get away from me you slimy pimp, you know you’re guilty as hell!”
Courtroom Dramatics – Earl was described as having matinee-idol good looks and an impeccable and stylish dresser in the courtroom. According to the Los Angeles Times, “he had the most elaborate wardrobe and the most expensive tailoring bill to match, in all of the city”.
Angelenos traveled for miles to see Earl defend his clients in the courtroom. According to his biography “Once Upon a Time in Los Angeles”, it stated that “the audiences were packed to standing-room-only capacity, eager spectators spilling out into the hallways, hanging on his every word, as Rogers’ mellifluous voice would carry throughout the courtroom with more emotion than an actor training at the Royal Academy”.
But Rogers also had a reputation and a flair for the dramatics in the courtroom. Many of his tactics were extremely theatrical and would probably offer ridicule by a judge today. One of his more successful tactics was to poke fun at his opponents in a way jurors found amusing. Another was his use of a lorgnette (eyeglasses with a short handle primarily worn by women). The glasses were used as a prop to emphasize for the jury his scrutiny of a piece of evidence or the untruthfulness of a witness. Yes, Rogers was an actor on the stage during his trials. But in one trial, his dramatics caused a clash between the Judge, when the Judge interrupted Rogers during his cross-examination and asked the witness “Does Mr. Rogers’ lorgnette, grimaces, grins, and gestures frighten you?” Rogers turned to the Judge and said, “I believe if Your Honor please, that I have had considerable success in cross-examination and I am not taking lessons”, and swiftly walked out of the courtroom.
During his prime as an attorney, Rogers was the chief counsel in practically every murder trial in Los Angeles County and made more than $200,000 a year—an extremely large sum during that time. Some of his notable cases included Griffith J. Griffith and acclaimed defense attorney Clarence Darrow, who was accused of bribing a juror during the Los Angeles Times Bombing trial.
Unfortunately, Rogers was also an alcoholic, and he soon succumbed to the bottle. On February 22, 1922, at only the age of 52, he was found dead in a hotel on Broadway - penniless, and just one block from the Los Angeles Courthouse where he was famous for defending his clients. The attendance at his funeral was described by the Los Angeles Times as “one of the largest gatherings of lawyers, judges and court officials assembled in recent years to pay homage to the memory of a Los Angeles citizen.”