/internal/media/dispatcher/33176/fullLetter addressed to Max Causey from Dallas County District Attorney Henry Wade03/19/196411 x 8 1/2 in. (27.9 x 21.6 cm)PaperMax Causey Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza2002.051.00460Letter from Dallas County Criminal District Attorney Henry Wade to Max E. Causey dated March 19, 1964 thanking Mr. Causey for his service on the jury in the Jack Ruby trial and praising the guilty verdict.
The letter was typed on Mr. Wade's District Attorney letterhead that has the seal for "Dallas County Texas" at the top center of the page in black ink with the following text printed in black ink below:
"Henry Wade
District Attorney
Records Building
Dallas, Texas 75202"; the date is typed in black ink below the centered letterhead "March 19, 1964".
The text of the letter is as follows:
"Mr. Max E. Causey
710 Peachtree Lane
Garland, Texas
Dear Mr. Causey:
Kindly accept this letter as my personal thanks for your jury
service in the Jack Ruby case. It is realized that your jury
service created many hardships upon yourself and family but it
should be stated that regardless of such matters you met a very
great responsibility with courage and intelligence. For this
I am deeply thankful.
Your verdict is most outstanding because it will deter others
from so wantonly taking human life without due process of law.
The framers of our Constitution provided for trials by jury
because of their unquestioned faith that the American citizen
would follow the law and require its enforcement. Your verdict
has again proven the correctness of the jury system and has
given renewed faith in the American citizen as a person who
will meet the responsibilities of such citizenship.
Again let me thank you for your verdict and service as a juror.
For such I shall ever be grateful.
Sincerely yours,
[Mr. Wade signed his name in blue ink and underlined it]
HENRY WADE
Criminal District Attorney
Dallas County, Texas
HW:sc".
There are some tiny tears on the lower right side (R.B. 2/20/14).
The paper has darkened, except where there are lighter strips along the left side and toward the bottom (KW 2/28/14).
Paper has severely yellowed; discoloration evident on reverse. Fold lines horizontally across page about one-third down from top and up from bottom of paper; vertical fold line along left edge of paper and horizontal fold line along lower edge of paper. Lower right edge of page has small tears and some paper loss. (JM 09/06/2017)Documents6430521.590000000027.940000000022488LetterLetter from Dallas County Criminal District Attorney Henry Wade to Max E. Causey dated March 19, 1964, thanking Mr. Causey for his service as a juror in the Jack Ruby trial. Causey was the foreman on that jury.
Typed on Mr. Wade's official letterhead for "Dallas County Texas", the full text is as follows:
"Henry Wade
District Attorney
Records Building
Dallas, Texas 75202
March 19, 1964
Mr. Max E. Causey
[address]
Dear Mr. Causey:
Kindly accept this letter as my personal thanks for your jury
service in the Jack Ruby case. It is realized that your jury
service created many hardships upon yourself and family but it
should be stated that regardless of such matters you met a very
great responsibility with courage and intelligence. For this
I am deeply thankful.
Your verdict is most outstanding because it will deter others
from so wantonly taking human life without due process of law.
The framers of our Constitution provided for trials by jury
because of their unquestioned faith that the American citizen
would follow the law and require its enforcement. Your verdict
has again proven the correctness of the jury system and has
given renewed faith in the American citizen as a person who
will meet the responsibilities of such citizenship.
Again let me thank you for your verdict and service as a juror.
For such I shall ever be grateful.
Sincerely yours,
HENRY WADE
[Mr. Wade signed his name in blue ink and underlined it]
Criminal District Attorney
Dallas County, Texas
HW:sc"JuryVerdictJack Ruby trialLettersLetterheadWade, Henry M.Causey, MaxDallas County District Attorney's OfficeDallasGarlandAs the first juror selected for the Jack Ruby trial, thirty-five-year-old Max E. Causey spent the longest time sequestered on an upper floor of the Dallas County Criminal Courts Building. Causey was unable to visit his family, watch television or read newspapers, or have outside communication of any kind from February 20 to March 14, 1964. - Stephen Fagin, Curator This item, along with materials from the DA's Ruby file (which is on loan to the Museum) and from the Museum's permanent collection, briefly appeared in a temporary display on the Museum's seventh floor in 2017. - Lindsey Richardson, Curator of CollectionsDuring the course of the trial, Max Causey kept a longhand diary in a reporter's notebook documenting the trial and jury deliberations. After the trial, he wrote a memoir from the diary. In 2000, both the memoir and the diary were published as a book, The Jack Ruby Trial Revisited: The Diary of Jury Foreman Max Causey. - Krishna Shenoy, Librarian/ArchivistTo learn more about Max Causey's experiences as foreman of the Jack Ruby trial jury, please see record 2002.051.0094, which is for the journal of handwritten notes he kept during the trial. - Lindsey Richardson, Curator of Collections