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Photograph of courtroom sketch of Melvin Belli in final argument of Ruby trial
Photograph of courtroom sketch of Melvin Belli in final argument of Ruby trial

Photograph of courtroom sketch of Melvin Belli in final argument of Ruby trial

Object number2014.034.0013
Date03/13/1964
ClassificationsArt
Artist Howard Brodie
ObjectCourtroom sketch
Credit LineTonahill Family Partners Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
MediumPaper
Dimensions14 11/16 × 19 5/16 in. (37.3 × 49.1 cm)
Collections
DescriptionPhotograph of courtroom pencil sketch on paper by CBS News courtroom artist Howard Brodie. The sketch shows defense attorney Melvin Belli during the Jack Ruby trial on March 13, 1964. The sketch shows Belli with one hand gesturing behind him, and the other hand bent towards his chest. A handwritten caption along the bottom edge of the image reads "Belli in final argument pointing to Ruby / 3/13/64 / around or after midnite." Brodie made the original pencil sketches for CBS News during the trial of Jack Ruby after the judge barred cameras from the courtroom. Brodie then gave Joe Tonahill this photograph of a courtroom sketch as part of a collection of more than 40 in 1964.
Curatorial Commentary
Howard Brodie (1915-2010) was a sports artist for the San Francisco Chronicle when he enlisted in the U.S. Army with America's entry into World War II. He ultimately became one of the best-known sketch artists of the war, frequently published in the weekly U.S. military magazine, Yank, which ran from June 1942 to December 1945. After the war, Brodie spent the next thirty-five years as a courtroom artist, attending several notable trials including the Chicago Seven, Charles Manson and, of course, the Jack Ruby trial in 1964. For the Ruby trial, Brodie worked as a CBS-TV artist correspondent. Mr. Brodie recorded an oral history with the Museum in 2006. -- Stephen Fagin, Curator
Beginning his final argument just before midnight, Melvin Belli spoke to the jury in a "velvety, hypnotic voice that could charm the cobras out of their baskets," according to the Houston Post. Remarkably, part of Belli's argument involved insulting his client, Jack Ruby (with Ruby sitting a few feet away), by calling him "the village clown, the village idiot..." and even "the Hunchback of Notre Dame." Belli said that Ruby was a "poor sick fellow" who suffered from an "unstable personality." Belli concluded his remarks by imploring the jury to give Ruby "a just and fair verdict compatible with modern science," begging them not to "stigmatize the character, the village clown, a sick man, by any jail sentence." -- Stephen Fagin, Curator