Photo of the District Courtroom No. 3 during the Jack Ruby trial

Object number1994.003.0142

Date02/10/1964 - 02/14/1964

ClassificationsPhotographs

Photographer Tom C. Dillard

ObjectPhotograph (b&w)

Credit LineTom C. Dillard Collection, The Dallas Morning News/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza

MediumPaper, Photo

Dimensions8 x 10 in. (20.3 x 25.4 cm)

Terms

Collections

DescriptionBlack and white photographic print by Dallas Morning News chief photographer Tom Dillard. Image shows District Courtroom No. 3 during the Jack Ruby trial Change of Venue hearing dated between 02/10/1964 - 02/14/1964 in Dallas, Texas. In the image Jack Ruby is surrounded by his lawyers seated in front of presiding Judge Joe B. Brown. A number of people are seated in the benches of the courtroom watching the trial. The image was taken from the back of the courtroom.

Curatorial Commentary

The man seen to the right of Judge Joe B. Brown, standing in front of the Texas flag, is longtime Dallas County Sheriff Bill Decker. Decker, who served as sheriff from 1949 to 1971, was a legendary law enforcement figure in Texas, having been involved in the manhunt for outlaws Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker as a constable in the 1930s. He was riding in the lead car in the Kennedy motorcade on November 22, 1963. Two days later, he was at Dallas County Jail in Dealey Plaza awaiting the arrival of prisoner Lee Harvey Oswald when Oswald was shot by Jack Ruby in the basement of Dallas police headquarters. - Stephen Fagin, Curator