Rufus Foster

Rufus Foster was an American No-Maj who served as a federal judge during the 1920s.

Foster censured a grand jury investigating Prohibition violations, for leaking a sealed letter to the press on 6 December 1926. This letter which was written by jury foreman W. de S. Trenholm and intended to be read only by the judge. Foster summarily dismissed the grand jury, but was convinced by Clarke, the Assistant District Attorney, to reconsider this action. Thus, he instead ordered that the jury deliver any indictments they had found within three days, at which point their dismissal would take effect.

Behind the scenes

 * The text of the article mentioning Rufus Foster in the prop issue of the New York Chronicle featured in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was taken from the real 21 November 1922 issue of The Evening World. It documents actual historical events, but because the film is set in 1926, the reference to them is anachronistic.