At Issue; Attack on the Court
Item Information
- Title:
- At Issue; Attack on the Court
- Description:
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National Educational Televisions new, expanded hour-long At Issue series premieres tonight across the country with an extensive analysis of the Supreme Court and the storm of controversy surrounding its judges and their decisions. At Issue will make use of its increased length to emphasize in greater detail and with wider scope the timely, provocative issues of concern to the American public. These issues will range from legislation before the Congress and the internal dynamics of American government to economic and social problems. For the past year At Issue has been a half-hour, weekly program. On the premiere hour-long program, At Issue: Attack on the Court, Senator Everett Dirksen (R. Illinois), Senator Paul Douglas (D. Illinois), Senator Wayne Morse (D. Oregon), and a number of other prominent guests participate in a close-hand examination of the Supreme Court on the very day (Monday, October 5, 1964) the Court reconvenes. Joining Senators Dirksen, Douglas, and Morse are Representative William Tuck (D. Virginia), and Francis Biddle, a U.S. attorney general during the final administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. In separate interviews, the five men pay particular attention to one of the most controversial rulings made by the Court in recent years the decision to make mandatory the reapportionment of state legislatures throughout the nation. In addition, they discuss the Supreme Courts role as an institution, its position in the current struggle between liberals and conservatives, and the heavy wave of criticism leveled upon its judges by right-wing extremist factions. Through reminiscences, anecdotes, and other recollections, three men who, at one time, served as law clerks in the Supreme Court weave intimate portraits of the justices under whom each served, and recall the manner in which these judges conducted themselves in the Court. The three are Joseph Rauh, celebrated counsel for the Mississippi Freedom Delegation to the 1964 Democratic National Convention and one-time clerk to Justice Benjamin Cardozo and Felix Frankfurter; Thomas Corcoran, a familiar New Deal figure and one-time clerk to Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes; and Gene Gressman, one-time clerk to Justice Frank Murphy. The role of the Supreme Court in todays modern society is assessed by a trio of distinguished professors of law Philip Kurland, University of Chicago Law School; Charles Black, Yale Law School; and Paul Freund, Harvard Law School. They examine much of the responsible criticism which has been aimed at the court today, and consider the possible need for expanding or limiting the present Court. Rounding out this incisive exploration of the Supreme Court, Wes McCune, director of Group Research Inc, an organization responsible for investigating material published by the extreme right-wing groups in this country, discusses the hate and smear literature circulated by these groups to malign the court and its judges. At Issue: Attack on the Court is being shown across the country on the National Educational Television network. The executive producer is Alvin Perlmutter. The producer is Andrew Stern and the director is Robert Squier. (Description adapted from documents in the NET Microfiche) 1 hour piece, produced by NET and initially distributed by NET in 1964. In the first of At Issues monthly hour-long programs, a host of prominent guests examine the United States Supreme Court and the stormy controversy surrounding it. Senator Paul Douglas (D. Illinois), Senator Everett Dirksen (R. Illinois), Senator Wayne Morse (D. Oregon), Rep. William Tuck (D. Virginia), and former U. S. Attorney General Francis Biddle, in separate interviews, take a hard look at the Courts recent ruling on the mandatory reapportionment of state legislatures. The five men also comment on the Courts role as an institution, its position in the struggle between liberals and conservatives in the U.S., and the heavy fire it has come under from its right wing critics. Joseph Rauh, a former law clerk to Supreme Court Justices Benjamin Cardozo and Felix Frankfurter, Thomas Corcoran, a former law clerk to Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, and Gene Gressman, a former law clerk to Justice Frank Murphy, describe the men they served and recall the manner in which each of these judges conducted himself in the Court. A trio of distinguished law professors Philip Kurland of the University of Chicago Law School, Charles Black of the Yale Law School, and Paul Freund of the Harvard Law School assess the role of the Supreme Court in todays society with respect to the responsible criticism which has been leveled at it, and the possible need for its limitation or expansion. Concluding this extensive analysis of the Supreme Court, Wes McCune, director of Group Research, Inc., an organization engaged in studying literature published by the nations right wing extremist groups, examines the smear literature distributed by these groups aimed at the Supreme Court and its justices. Running Time: 58:20 (Description adapted from documents in the NET Microfiche) At Issue consists of 69 half-hour and hour-long episodes produced in 1963-1966 by NET, which were originally shot on videotape in black and white and color.
- Production company:
- National Educational Television and Radio Center
- Creator:
- Kurland, Philip
- Interviewee:
- Douglas, Paul
- Creator:
- McCune, Wes
- Creator:
- Corcoran, Thomas
- Interviewee:
- Biddle, Francis
- Director:
- Squier, Robert D.
- Creator:
- Black, Charles
- Creator:
- Freund, Paul
- Interviewee:
- Morse, Wayne
- Interviewee:
- Tuck, William
- Interviewee:
- Dirksen, Everett
- Creator:
- Gressman, Gene
- Creator:
- Rauh, Joseph
- Producer:
- Perlmutter, Alvin H.
- Producer:
- Stern, Andrew A.
- Date:
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October 1964
- Format:
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Film/Video
- Genre:
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News
Talk Show
- Location:
- Library of Congress
- Collection (local):
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American Archive of Public Broadcasting Collection
- Series:
- Library of Congress > At Issue
- Subjects:
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News
Politics and Government
- Extent:
- 00:59:01.472
- Link to Item:
- https://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-512-k649p2x568
- Terms of Use:
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Rights status not evaluated.
Contact host institution for more information.
- Notes:
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Episode Number: 48
