Viewing Peter H. Konzen: "Bench and Bar of Kittson County." (1909)

Peter H. Konzen: "Bench and Bar of Kittson County." (1909)

This is a highly personalized history of the bench and bar of Kittson County written by Peter Henry Konzen, a prominent attorney. After devoting two pages to early terms of the district court, Konzen announces that he will avoid "the monotony of legal routine" by describing two amusing trials--the prosecution of Kate Rafferty before Ozora P. Stearns, a legendary judge of northern Minnesota, in 1883, and a civil suit for damages for the killing of a dog, in which he represented the plaintiff, in 1888. Konzen's client was awarded an amount somewhat less than he sought.

Following the format of most county legal histories of this period, Konzen includes biographical sketches of eight lawyers who practiced in the county, the longest being of himself.

This article appeared in the second volume of a two volume history of the Red River Valley published in 1909.

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