Makeshift Courtrooms in Saloons
In the absence of proper courthouses, saloons often became the unlikely venues for dispensing justice. Judges would preside over hearings and trials right next to raucous poker games, with witnesses testifying amid the clang of glasses and the shuffle of cards. One famous example is Deadwood’s Gem Theater, where legal disputes and criminal cases played out in front of curious, and sometimes intoxicated, crowds. History.com highlights how these improvised courtrooms blurred the line between law and spectacle.
