In the Chicago gangster's day, it was easier for criminals to get their cases thrown out of court. A 1945 Atlantic article describes an American justice system much more lenient than our own.In the waning days of World War II, two police officers were patrolling the streets of Chicago when they noticed a suspicious-looking vehicle. They stopped the car and found that it was loaded with stolen goods. The men inside had just committed a robbery; one of them had an existing criminal record. But when the case came to court, the suspects were set free: The judge declared that...