Billie Holiday
1949

Billie Holiday arrived in San Francisco in l949 for an engagement at Cafe Society Uptown. On Saturday, January 22, her hotel room was raided by four narcotics officers, both local and Federal. She and her manager/fiance John Levy were charged with possession of opium, booked at the jail and released shortly thereafter. Levy’s charges were dropped within days, but Billie’s charges stuck and she went to trial with her lawyer, the famous Jake Ehrlich.

The jury deliberated for less than three hours and returned a verdict of "not guilty." The jury foreman told the press, "We believed the defense contention that she had been framed."