Legal Education
Apr. 28, 2022
Death in the Pass: An 1851 Melodrama
A battle seemed inevitable until, by happenstance, a column of 50 U.S. Cavalrymen on a routine march from San Diego arrived in L.A. At the county sheriff’s request, four cavalrymen were stationed inside the clerk’s office adjacent to the courtroom, while the remaining cavalry were outside surrounding the building.
John S. Caragozian
Email: caragozian@gmail.com
John is a Los Angeles-based lawyer and sits on the Board of the California Supreme Court Historical Society. He welcomes ideas for future monthly columns on California's legal history at caragozian@gmail.com.
Murder. Domestic violence. Suborned perjury. Criminal gangs. The U.S. Cavalry. All were featured in 1851 criminal proceedings in Los Angeles against two brothers from the prominent Lugo family.
Family patriarch Antonio Lugo was a Californio, that is, of Hispanic descent born in Spanish (or, later, Mexican) California. In 1792, he enlisted in Spain’s army in California. Upon his 1810 discharge, Antonio received a veteran’s land grant in the...
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