Last month the federal courthouse in Helena (Phillips County) was named in honor of U.S. District Judge Jacob Trieber. While the decision to honor Judge Trieber might have been due to his status as the first federal judge of Jewish heritage, he could just as easily have been selected for his pioneer rulings in defense of poor sharecroppers and tenant farmers.
Jacob Trieber was born near Breslau, Prussia, in 1853, the son of Morris and Blume Trieber. His mother was the daughter of a rabbi. The family immigrated to America in 1866 when Jacob was 13, settling in St. Louis. Two years later the Trieber family moved to Helena where they opened a store.
Helena attracted large numbers of Jewish immigrants in the years following the Civil War. Among the many Jews who built businesses in Helena was Isadore Mundt, who started a wholesale dry goods company. A Mundt son became a lawyer and served as Helena municipal judge. The Newman family was diversified, controlling a fuel company and a bottling works. Starting as a peddler in the 1870s, Edward Sonfield came to own general stores in Helena, Trenton, Marvell, Holly Grove, and Poplar Grove. In 1909 Helena was home to at least 22 Jewish-owned businesses.
By the time the Trieber family moved to Helena, a movement was underway to establish a Jewish congregation in the city. Sixty-five families started a temple by 1867, originally named B'nai Jeshurun, which was soon changed to Beth El. The group was affiliated with the Reform Jewish movement.
When not working as a clerk in his parents' store, young Trieber read law under the tutelage of former Arkansas Supreme Court Judge Marshall L. Stephenson of Helena. He was admitted to the bar in 1876, soon thereafter forming a partnership with members of the Stephenson family.
Trieber's religious background undoubtedly affected his mindset as a lawyer and later as a judge. As a youth, he had experienced anti-Semitism in Prussia--which he hoped would never affect America and Arkansas, commenting that he "feared any country's future that would allow such discrimination against its citizens."
Trieber was also deeply concerned about the prejudices and restrictions which made life difficult for women and minorities. He supported extending voting rights to women, on one occasion writing "a woman is a person and should be entitled to all the rights guaranteed by the constitution to a male person."
Like many supporters of minority rights in the late 19th century, Trieber was a Republican. He was elected to the Helena city council in 1882, and 10 years later he was chosen Phillips County treasurer. In 1897 he was appointed U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, at which time he moved to Little Rock. President William McKinley promoted Trieber to the position of federal judge for the Eastern District in 1900.
As a federal judge, Trieber had many opportunities to come to the aid of oppressed minorities. Two of his cases had special importance nationally, both dealing with "whitecapping." The practice of whitecapping involved using force or intimidation to coerce black citizens to abandon their work or homes. It was essentially "racial cleansing."
In 1903 the federal prosecutor brought charges against two separate groups of whitecappers in eastern Arkansas. When asked to dismiss the charges, Judge Trieber ruled that the 13th Amendment had extended federal authority in this area, and that Reconstruction-era civil rights legislation should be enforced to actually provide the rights guaranteed by the Constitution, concluding that "the right to lease lands and to accept employment for hire are fundamental rights, inherent in every free citizen, is indisputable."
Three of the accused whitecappers were found guilty, but the convictions were overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court on appeal in 1906. This decision in U.S. v. Hodges would hamstring federal civil rights enforcement for two generations, not being completely overruled until 1968.
One could argue that Judge Trieber's great moment as a federal judge was the role in played in preventing the execution of six black men who had been sentenced to death after the Elaine Massacres of 1919. Gov. Thomas C. McRae, a pious man by reputation, denied clemency even though defense lawyers were able to document the horrible torture involved in securing the defendants' confessions.
With all state legal avenues closed, the legal team defending the Elaine prisoners filed a writ of habeas corpus with Judge Trieber. The judge agreed to the writ and scheduled a hearing. But then he recused, citing his long and close association with Helena. Visiting Federal Judge J.H. Cotteral of Oklahoma found probable cause for appeal, further aiding the wrongly condemned men.
Jacob Trieber died in 1927 while serving as a special judge in a case in New York state. He was buried in Oakland Cemetery. While his tombstone is in Little Rock, I think of the recently renamed courthouse in Helena as his real monument.
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Tom Dillard is a historian and retired archivist living near Malvern, Hot Spring County. Email him at Arktopia.td@gmail.com.
Editorial on 06/12/2016