Until The Further Order

Ceridwen & I hit pay dirt today at the city archives. First, the excellent staffer brought me the index for the court docket, which told me how to find the case of Herman Helcher there. The True Bill (indictment) paper itself was not in its box but marked with a card, reading "7/07 1907 attorney Edwin M. Abbott has this bill." THAT tells me when Herman's family began its effort for his release from the asylum, so I was forced to forgive his lawyer for not returning the document --the effort took four months, but he was indeed released to his family's care. We still don't know how this lawyer came to represent a poor family's concern, nor whether he was paid, and if so, how the fee was raised --for those questions I have only hunches. The gist of the matter is that when Herman was transferred to the asylum, he was to be confined there "until the further order of the Court," and when his sentence had run out the poor guy would have stayed there forever if the family had not lined up a good lawyer.

All this created a eureka moment. Here is Ceridwen's take on it.

Here is the court's docket ledger, which is a summary of the case. There are two cases on the page, but Herman's kept coming back to the judge, so the clerk had to add notes, first on the left margin, then to the left of the other defendant's entry.

120
Com v Herman Helcher
Assault and Battery True Bill
Aggravated to Kill.
January 14, 1903 present Hon. F. A. Bregy. Defenant present and being arraigned pleads guilty.
January 29th, 1903 defendant present the Court order and adjudge that he undergo imprisonment in separate and solitary confinement at labor in the state penitentiary for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania for a term of six years and nine months, pay the costs of prosecution and stand committed until this judgement be fully complied with.
October 11th, 1904; present Hon F. A. Bregy, upon certificate filed the Court appoints Dr George W. Gardiner, John C. Hinckley Esq., and Wm. C. Groben Esq., a commission to inquire into the sanity of said prisoner Herman Helcher and to report to the Court.
October 31st 1904 report of commission filed.
Same day present Hon. F. A. Bregy report approved.
Same day the Court order and decree defendant be removed by the Sheriff of Philadelphia County from the Eastern Penitentiary and by him submitted to the custody and care of the Superintendent of the Pennsylvania State Hospital at Norristown to be kept and detained until the further order of the Court.