Browse Exhibits (2 total)
Demonstrative Evidence: Establishing the Guilt of Paul Hadley
Paul Hadley, also known as William Estaver, was convicted of the murder of Anna Johnson in May 1922. At the time of Hadley’s arrest, a .32 automatic pistol, called a Spanish Mauser, was found in Hadley’s possession. The first recorded use of forensic ballistics evidence in trial established the guilt of Hadley. In April 1923, Hadley was executed following an unsuccessful appeal to the Arizona Supreme Court. The only appellate court in the state at the time, it was the first time a state supreme court accepted ballistics as evidence.
To demonstrate Hadley’s guilt, a former Yuma attorney A.J. Eddy used the Spanish Mauser found on Hadley to conduct ballistics testing. Eddy testified to his findings during two 1922 trials in Tucson, Arizona. In response to being presented with a bullet fired from a Spanish Mauser obtained by Hadley’s defense team, Eddy recalled his testimony in a typed letter. “I remember my answer was, ‘No, this bullet was not fired from the Estaver gun, but was fired from a gun with a similar twist.’”
In the treatise Wigmore on Evidence, Eddy is given credit for introducing photographs of both the fatal bullet and test bullets as evidence. This online exhibit contains front and back scans of the original photographic exhibits introduced by the State of Arizona against Paul Hadley.
This material was gifted to the College of Law in 1952.
Supreme Court Wisdom Series Collection: Matthew J. Moutafis Artist Proofs
The Supreme Court Wisdom Series Collection contains scanned images of original, colored artists proofs created by Matthew J. Moutafis. The prints measure 19” x 24 ½.” According to Moutafis, they were created in the early 1980’s and inspired by a review and study of United States Supreme Court cases. A select group of actual quotations from the legal judgments were chosen by Moutafis to illustrate. The artist was so moved during the process that he wanted to provide a visual voice to the spoken word.
These proofs were gifted to the James E. Rogers College of Law in February 2018. In his donation letter, Moutafis wrote the following: The highest Court of our country is the guardian of our constitution and laws. By word or decree, the equilibrium of our nations legal stability is being checked and expanded upon by present and future Supreme Court judges. My graphic interpretation of their words ring true today as much as they did originally in the 1980’s. I believe this series is actually more important today … now more than ever.