Fickert was in office in 1916 and drew national attention and scandal for his prosecution of labor leaders Thomas Mooney and Warren K. Billings during the Preparedness Day Bombing. Witnesses claimed Fickert coached them to perjure themselves in subsequent hearings in order to defend the original convictions.[3] Fickert continued his battles with his fists, first against Heney at the Olympic Club[4] and later against editor Fremont Older at the Palace Hotel.[5]
A 1919 grand jury exonerated Fickert from charges made by John B. Densmore, investigator from Washington, Director General of Employment, in the framing of Mooney and Billings and for his having conspired with Pete McDonough in the freeing of wealthy defendants. President Theodore Roosevelt declared, "anyone assailing Fickert for prosecuting anarchists should be deprived of citizenship".
Later life
Fickert's wife, Ethel Wallace Fickert, obtained a divorce from him in 1935, citing excessive drinking and gambling and was awarded the Fickert home at 1060 Green Street in San Francisco.[6] Fickert died of pneumonia at October 19, 1937 at Franklin Hospital.