People v. Becker, 210 N.Y. 274 (1914): conviction for the Rosenthal murder reversed

New York Court of Appeals, decided 24 February 1914; lead opinion by Judge Hiscock (210 N.Y. 274; 104 N.E. 896). CourtListener gives no docket number.

The opinion opens: “At about two o’clock in the morning of July 16, 1912, in one of the most public portions of the city of New York at such an hour, one Herman Rosenthal was shot to death in the street. While he was a gambler and lawbreaker, his murder aroused great public interest and excitement.” It describes the People’s theory that Becker, a police lieutenant, instigated the killing, and notes that “absolutely no testimony was given on the trial directly tending to connect the defendant with the murder by other than six witnesses,” three of whom were “concededly implicated in the murder and obtained immunity.” The court held that errors in the admission and exclusion of evidence and in the conduct of the trial required a new trial: “The judgment of conviction and order denying a new trial should be reversed and new trial granted.”

Context only. The Rosenthal case concerned gambling and police corruption in New York, not Black Hand extortion; it is filed here because it dominated the New York press in 1912. The opinion does not mention the Black Hand. Becker’s later retrial and its outcome are not stated in this opinion and are not asserted here. The Bain photograph of Becker on his way to Sing Sing is filed separately (photograph).