Susan Ann Edson attention. Edson became a familiar presence in the White House, as she cared for the First Lady during a bout of malaria in May 1881. Just months later, in July 1881, President Garfield was shot by assassin Charles J. Guiteau. A team of physicians was called to help the president, led by Doctor Willard Bliss. Lucretia insisted that Dr. Edson should assist in Garfield's care. Bliss allowed Edson to participate in a nursing capacity only, not as a consulting physician. Edson was said to have been at Garfield's side more than any other attending physician. Congress voted to pay Edson
Charles J. Guiteau Scoville then became lead counsel for the defense. While Scoville's legal experience lay in land title examination, he had married Guiteau's sister and was thus obliged to defend him in court when no one else would. Wayne MacVeagh, the U.S. Attorney General, served as the chief prosecutor. MacVeagh named five lawyers to the prosecution team: George Corkhill, Walter Davidge, retired judge John K. Porter, Elihu Root, and E.B. Smith. Guiteau's trial was one of the first high-profile cases in the United States where a defense based on a claim of temporary insanity was considered. Guiteau vehemently insisted that while he