After his father's death, James and his family lived in Kansas City and were taken under the wing of Thomas T. Crittenden Jr., the son of Governor Thomas Theodore Crittenden, who had signed what would become the death warrant of the outlaw Jesse James.
Defended by noted progressive lawyer Frank P. Walsh, James was acquitted of the robbery charge.
[2] James married Stella Frances McGowan (Feb 27, 1882 – Apr 1, 1971)[3] on January 24, 1900, in the parlor of her parents' home in Kansas City.
In 1906 James passed the Bar exam in Missouri, and opened a law practice in Kansas City.
[6] He served as technical adviser on Paramount's 1927 biopic of his father titled Jesse James.