Louis Piquett (September 24, 1880 – December 12, 1951) was an American lawyer notable for defending

John Dillinger John Herbert Dillinger (June 22, 1903 – July 22, 1934) was an American gangster during the Great Depression. He led the Dillinger Gang, which was accused of robbing 24 banks and four police stations. Dillinger was imprisoned several times an ...

. He was also a prosecutor for the city of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Early career

Piquett was a former bartender active in Chicago Democratic politics. He studied law in night school. By 1915, he was chief clerk to the city prosecutor of Chicago. In the early 1920s, he was appointed city prosecutor by Mayor

William Hale Thompson William Hale Thompson (May 14, 1869 – March 19, 1944) was an American politician who served as mayor of Chicago from 1915 to 1923 and again from 1927 to 1931. Known as "Big Bill", Reynolds, Paul (November 29, 2009)"US-UK 'Special Relationshi ...

. He was indicted in 1923 on corruption charges, which were subsequently dropped. By the summer of 1923, Piquett was in private practice in Chicago. In August 1923, for instance, he represented James J. McGrath, who owned films showing a boxing match between

Tommy Gibbons Thomas Joseph Gibbons (March 22, 1891 – November 19, 1960) was an American professional heavyweight boxer. Life and career He was born on March 22, 1891 in Saint Paul, Minnesota to Thomas John Gibbons and Mary ( Burke) Gibbons. He had a brot ...

and

Jack Dempsey William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey (June 24, 1895 – May 31, 1983), nicknamed Kid Blackie and The Manassa Mauler, was an American professional boxer who competed from 1914 to 1927, and reigned as the world heavyweight champion from 1919 to 1926 ...

. Piquett won a decision from the circuit court which stated that the films were neither immoral nor obscene, and enjoined the police from interfering with their exhibition. In 1931, Piquett defended Leo Vincent Brothers against charges of murdering ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...

'' reporter

Jake Lingle Alfred "Jake" Lingle (July 2, 1891 – June 9, 1930) was an American reporter for the ''Chicago Tribune''. He was shot dead gangland-style in the underpass leading to the Illinois Central Randolph Street station on the afternoon on June 9, 1930, ...

Defense of Dillinger

In 1934, Piquett defended Dillinger in

Crown Point, Indiana Crown Point is a city in and the county seat of Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 33,899 at the 2020 census. The city was incorporated in 1868. On October 31, 1834, Solon Robinson and his family became the first settlers to ...

. He successfully argued that Dillinger should be allowed to appear in court free of shackles and without armed guards present. After Dillinger's dramatic pre-trial escape, an investigation by the state of Indiana revealed Piquett's complicity.

Criminal charges

In January 1935, Piquett was charged with harboring the fugitive Dillinger and of conspiring with a number of others, including two doctors, to hide Dillinger while he underwent plastic surgery. He was acquitted after less than four hours of deliberation. During this trial he was called "the brains of the Dillinger mob." In May 1935, he was convicted of harboring Dillinger associate

Homer Van Meter Homer Virgil Van Meter (December 3, 1905 – August 23, 1934) was an American criminal and bank robber active in the early 20th century, most notably as a criminal associate of John Dillinger and Baby Face Nelson. Biography Early life Van ...

, fined $10,000, and served time in the

United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth The United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth (USP Leavenworth) is a medium security U.S. penitentiary with an adjacent minimum security satellite camp in northeast Kansas. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the Unite ...

. Piquett appealed his sentence all the way up to the Supreme Court of the United States, which denied certiorari in 1936. He was pardoned for this crime in 1951 by President

Harry Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

Death

He died in Chicago in 1951.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Piquett, Louis Lawyers from Chicago Criminal defense lawyers 1951 deaths Crimes in Indiana Crimes in Chicago Recipients of American presidential pardons Year of birth uncertain 1880 births 20th-century American lawyers