The following is a free translation of what the press had to say at the second trial.
Houdini as Handcuffed and Manacled by the San Francisco Police, July, 1899.
In the highest court (Strafkammer zu Köln Yuli 26, 1902) Police Officer Werner Graff was found guilty of slandering Harry Houdini, heavily fined, he must pay all costs, and insert an advertisement in all of the Cologne newspapers, proclaiming his punishment, at the same time, "IN THE NAME OF THE KING," openly apologize to Houdini for insulting him.
This open apology is the severest punishment that can be given to a royal official, and as the lawsuit has been running over a year, the costs will run into the thousands of marks.
The case was first tried in the Schöffengericht Köln, Feb. 19, 1902, and Werner Graff was found guilty, but he took it to the highest court, and again Houdini won.
The Cologne police claimed that all Houdini advertised to do was misrepresentation (this was the cause of the lawsuit); for the trial they had a special lock made that, after it was once locked, no key would open it.
This lock they challenged Houdini to open, to prove that he was not misrepresenting.
Houdini accepts the challenge, walks into the room selected by the jury where he could work unhindered. In four minutes, with a quiet smile, reenters the court room, and hands the judges the prepared lock opened.