Rush to Judgment is a book by American lawyer
Mark LaneMark Lane is an American lawyer who has written many books, including Rush to Judgment, one of two major books published in the immediate wake of the John F. Kennedy assassination that questioned the conclusions of the Warren Commission. Another book, Plausible Denial, published in 1991, continued...
. It is about the assassination of U.S. President
John F. KennedyJohn Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
and takes issue with the conclusions of the
Warren CommissionThe President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy, known unofficially as the Warren Commission, was established on November 27, 1963, by Lyndon B. Johnson to investigate the assassination of United States President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963...
, suggesting there was a
conspiracyIn a political sense, conspiracy refers to a group of persons united in the goal of usurping or overthrowing an established political power. Typically, the final goal is to gain power through a revolutionary coup d'état or through assassination....
to assassinate John F. Kennedy.
The book is referenced in the movie
SlackerSlacker is an American independent film written and directed by Richard Linklater, who also appears in the film. Slacker was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize - Dramatic at the Sundance Film Festival in 1991.-Plot summary:...
, written and directed by
Richard Linklater-Early life:Linklater was born in Houston, Texas. He studied at Sam Houston State University and left midway through his stint in college to work on an off-shore oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. While working on the rig he read a lot of literature, but on land he developed a love of film through...
.
Documentary
Rush to Judgment is also a 1967 film documentary about the
John F. Kennedy assassinationJohn Fitzgerald Kennedy, the thirty-fifth President of the United States, was assassinated at 12:30 p.m. Central Standard Time on Friday, November 22, 1963, in Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas...
that was directed by
Emile de AntonioEmile de Antonio was a director and producer of documentary films, usually detailing political or social events circa 1960s–1980s...
and hosted by Lane. It is a black and white film, 122 minutes long. It has also been shown on
BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
TV as part of the much longer (300 minutes) film entitled
The Death of Kennedy. Included are several video clips showing
Dealey PlazaDealey Plaza , in the historic West End district of downtown Dallas, Texas , is the location of the assassination of John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963...
how it existed in 1963 and 1966, clips of
Lee Harvey OswaldLee Harvey Oswald was, according to four government investigations,These were investigations by: the Federal Bureau of Investigation , the Warren Commission , the House Select Committee on Assassinations , and the Dallas Police Department. the sniper who assassinated John F...
, Dallas Chief of Police
Jesse CurryJesse Edward Curry was chief of the Dallas Police Department at the time John F. Kennedy was assassinated while traveling through a motorcade in downtown Dallas, and his alleged assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, was gunned down by Jack Ruby while Oswald was in police custody.As he was to recount in his...
, Dallas District Attorney
Henry WadeHenry Menasco Wade , was a Texas lawyer who participated in two of the most notable U.S. court cases of the 20th century, the prosecution of Jack Ruby for killing Lee Harvey Oswald and the U.S. Supreme Court's decision legalizing abortion, Roe v. Wade...
,
Jack RubyJacob Leon Rubenstein , who legally changed his name to Jack Leon Ruby in 1947, was convicted of the November 24, 1963 murder of Lee Harvey Oswald, the alleged assassin of President John F. Kennedy. Ruby, who was originally from Chicago, Illinois, was then a nightclub operator in Dallas, Texas...
, and his defense attorney
Melvin BelliMelvin Mouron Belli was a prominent American lawyer known as "The King of Torts" and by detractors as 'Melvin Bellicose'. He had many celebrity clients, including Zsa Zsa Gabor, Errol Flynn, Chuck Berry, Muhammad Ali, Sirhan Sirhan, the Rolling Stones, Jim Bakker and Tammy Faye Bakker, Martha...
.
Some of the assassination witnesses who present their observations on-camera include
Abraham ZapruderAbraham Zapruder was an American manufacturer of women's clothing. He was filming with a home-movie camera as U.S. President John F...
,
James TagueJames "Jim" Thomas Tague was a witness to the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963. He received a minor wound on his right cheek during the assassination. He is the only person, in addition to Kennedy and Texas Governor John B...
,
Charles BrehmCharles F. Brehm was a witness to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. He watched the Presidential motorcade from Dealey Plaza, in Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963. Brehm was a World War II veteran who served in the United States Army Rangers, and fought on D-Day. He later served in...
,
Mary MoormanMary Ann Moorman was a witness to the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy. She is best known for her photograph capturing the presidential limousine a fraction of a second after the fatal shot.-Biography:...
,
Jean HillNorma Jean Lollis Hill was a witness to the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963. She was known as the "Lady in Red" because of the long red rain coat she wore that day, as seen in the Zapruder Film...
,
Lee BowersLee Edward Bowers, Jr. was a key witness to the assassination of John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas in 1963. At the moment of the assassination he was operating the Union Terminal Company's two-story interlocking tower, overlooking the parking lot just north of the grassy knoll and west of the Texas...
, Sam Holland, James Simmons, Richard Dodd, Jessie Price,
Orville NixOrville Orhel Nix was a witness to the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963...
, Patrick Dean, Napoleon Daniels, Nancy Hamilton, Joseph Johnson, Roy Jones, and Cecil McWatters.