''Rush to Judgment: A Critique of the Warren Commission's Inquiry into the Murders of President John F. Kennedy, Officer J.D. Tippit and Lee Harvey Oswald'' is a 1966 book by American lawyer Mark Lane. It is about the assassination of United States President John F. Kennedy and takes issue with the investigatory methods and conclusions of the

Warren Commission The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy, known unofficially as the Warren Commission, was established by President Lyndon B. Johnson through on November 29, 1963, to investigate the assassination of United States Pr ...

. The book's introduction is by

Hugh Trevor-Roper Hugh Redwald Trevor-Roper, Baron Dacre of Glanton (15 January 1914 – 26 January 2003) was an English historian. He was Regius Professor of Modern History at the University of Oxford. Trevor-Roper was a polemicist and essayist on a range of ...

, Regius Professor of History at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

. Although it was preceded by a few self-published or small press books, ''Rush to Judgment'' was the first

mass market The term "mass market" refers to a market for goods produced on a large scale for a significant number of end consumers. The mass market differs from the niche market in that the former focuses on consumers with a wide variety of backgrounds with ...

hardcover book A hardcover, hard cover, or hardback (also known as hardbound, and sometimes as case-bound) book is one bound with rigid protective covers (typically of binder's board or heavy paperboard covered with buckram or other cloth, heavy paper, or occa ...

to confront the findings of the Warren Commission. The title of the book was taken from

Lord Chancellor The lord chancellor, formally the lord high chancellor of Great Britain, is the highest-ranking traditional minister among the Great Officers of State in Scotland and England in the United Kingdom, nominally outranking the prime minister. The ...

Thomas Erskine's defense of James Hadfield, who had attempted to assassinate

King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

in 1800. According to Alex Raskin of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'', "''Rush to Judgment'' opened the floodgate for ennedy assassinationconspiracy theories".

''Rush to Judgment''

''Rush to Judgment'' became a number one best seller and spent 29 weeks on the ''New York Times'' best-seller list. Lane questions, among other things, the Warren Commission conclusion that three shots were fired from the

Texas School Book Depository The Texas School Book Depository, now known as the Dallas County Administration Building, is a seven-floor building facing Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas. The building was Lee Harvey Oswald's vantage point during the assassination of United Sta ...

, and focuses on the witnesses who had recounted seeing or hearing shots coming from the grassy knoll in Dealey Plaza. Lane questions whether Oswald was guilty of the murder of policeman

J.D. Tippit J. D. Tippit (September 18, 1924 – November 22, 1963) was an American World War II U.S Army veteran and police officer who served as an 11-year veteran with the Dallas Police Department. About 45 minutes after the assassination of John F ...

shortly after the Kennedy murder. Lane also states that none of the Warren Commission firearm experts were able to duplicate Oswald's shooting feat. According to former

KGB The KGB (russian: links=no, lit=Committee for State Security, Комитет государственной безопасности (КГБ), a=ru-KGB.ogg, p=kəmʲɪˈtʲet ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)əj bʲɪzɐˈpasnəsʲtʲɪ, Komitet gosud ...

officer

Vasili Mitrokhin Vasili Nikitich Mitrokhin (russian: link=no, Васи́лий Ники́тич Митро́хин; March 3, 1922 – January 23, 2004) was a major and senior archivist for the Soviet Union's foreign intelligence service, the First Chief Dir ...

in his 1999 book '' The Sword and the Shield'', the KGB helped finance Lane's research on ''Rush to Judgment'' without the author's knowledge. The KGB allegedly used journalist

Genrikh Borovik Genrikh Averyanovich Borovik (russian: Ге́нрих Аверьянович Борови́к; born 16 November 1929, Minsk) is a Soviet and Russian publicist, writer, playwright and filmmaker, the father of journalist Artyom Borovik. According ...

as a contact and provided Lane with $2000 for research and travel in 1964.

Bugliosi, Vincent Vincent T. Bugliosi Jr. (; August 18, 1934 – June 6, 2015) was an American prosecutor and author who served as Deputy District Attorney for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office between 1964 and 1972. He became best known for su ...

. ''Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy''. 2007, Norton, Pg. 162 Mark Lane called the allegation "an outright lie" and wrote, "Neither the KGB nor any person or organization associated with it ever made any contribution to my work."

Documentary

In 1967, a documentary film based on Lane's book was directed by

Emile de Antonio Emile Francisco de Antonio (May 14, 1919 – December 15, 1989) was an American director and producer of documentary films, usually detailing political, social, and counterculture events circa 1960s–1980s. He has been referred to by Randolph Le ...

and hosted by Lane.

Robert Wilonsky Robert Elliott Wilonsky (born October 24, 1968) is an American journalist, and the former host of ''Higher Definition'', an interview program on the cable television network HDNet. Biography Early life Wilonsky was born in Dallas, Texas to Marg ...

, ''

Dallas Observer ''Dallas Observer'' is a free digital and print publication based in Dallas, Texas. The ''Observer'' publishes daily online coverage of local news, restaurants, music, and arts, as well as longform narrative journalism. A weekly print issue circ ...

'' blog, 21 April 2011
From the Film Vaults: Rush to Judgment
(includes full film embedded from

archive.org The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

) Some of the assassination witnesses who present their observations on-camera include

Abraham Zapruder Abraham Zapruder (May 15, 1905 – August 30, 1970) was a Ukrainian-born American clothing manufacturer who witnessed the assassination of United States President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963. He unexpectedly captured ...

James Tague James Thomas Tague (October 17, 1936 – February 28, 2014) was a car salesman who received minor injuries during the Assassination of John F. Kennedy, assassination of United States President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963 ...

, Charles Brehm,

Mary Moorman Mary Ann Moorman (born August 5, 1932) is a witness to the assassination of United States President John F. Kennedy. She is best known for her photograph capturing the presidential limousine a fraction of a second after the fatal shot. The Ba ...

Jean Hill Norma Jean Lollis Hill (February 11, 1931 – November 7, 2000) was an American woman who was an eyewitness to the assassination of United States President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963. Syndicated from the ''Dallas Mo ...

Lee Bowers Lee Edward Bowers Jr. (January 12, 1925 – August 9, 1966) was a witness to the assassination of John F. Kennedy, assassination of United States President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963. The timing and circumstances of Bow ...

, Sam Holland, James Simmons, Richard Dodd, Jessie Price,

Orville Nix Orville Orhel Nix (April 16, 1911 – January 17, 1972) was a witness to the assassination of United States President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963. His filming of the shooting, which only captured the last few seconds of ...

, Patrick Dean, Napoleon Daniels, Nancy Hamilton, Joseph Johnson, Roy Jones, Acquilla Clemons, and Cecil McWatters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rush To Judgment 1966 non-fiction books 1967 films American documentary films Documentary films about the assassination of John F. Kennedy Films directed by Emile de Antonio Non-fiction books about the assassination of John F. Kennedy The Bodley Head books 1960s American films

Contents

''Rush to Judgment''

Documentary

See also

References