Character Analysis
Judge Pat Callahan sentences Jurgis to thirty days in jail plus costs for beating the crap out of Connor and biting his cheek. Even though Jurgis tries to protest that Connor raped his wife, Callahan doesn't listen to Jurgis for a second. Callahan does not care for foreigners, so he automatically believes Connor over Lithuanian Jurgis. Then, when Jurgis has joined Mike Scully's election rigging team, Jurgis appears before Callahan a second time. This time, he has been fighting and brawling. One of Mike Scully's buddies, "Bush" Harper, vouches for Jurgis in court. So Callahan suspends Jurgis's sentence and lets him go. Callahan doesn't even recognize Jurgis this time around. The critique of corruption in Chicago's courts is obvious: if you're in cozy with the rich guys of the city, you can do whatever you want. If you're a poor immigrant, though, you can't get justice even if you deserve it.