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Photograph of courtroom sketch of Tonahill being held in contempt at Ruby trial
Photograph of courtroom sketch of Tonahill being held in contempt at Ruby trial

Photograph of courtroom sketch of Tonahill being held in contempt at Ruby trial

Object number2014.034.0032
Date03/02/1964
ClassificationsArt
Artist Howard Brodie
ObjectCourtroom sketch
Credit LineTonahill Family Partners Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
MediumPaper, Adhesive tape
Dimensions16 × 19 7/8 in. (40.6 × 50.5 cm)
Collections
DescriptionPhotograph of courtroom pencil sketch on paper by CBS News courtroom artist Howard Brodie. The sketch shows Joe Tonahill being held in contempt of court during the Jack Ruby trial on March 2, 1964. The sketch shows defense attorney Joe Tonahill throwing a pencil while facing Judge Joe B. Brown. Judge Brown is seated at the judge's bench while Tonahill is standing behind the defense attorney's table. The pencil is shown mid-flight towards the bottom right of the image. Handwritten captions along the top and bottom edges of the image respectively read "Tonahill throws pencil down," "25 dollars contempt," 3/2/64," and "Tonahill contempt $25.00 fee." The artist's signature "Howard Brodie '64" is located in the lower right under the sketch and above the captions. 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
In his impassioned defense of Jack Ruby, defense attorney Joe Tonahill threw a pencil to the floor of the courtroom. Judge Joe B. Brown held Tonahill in contempt of court and fined him $25, which Tonahill reportedly paid with a $100 bill. - Stephanie Allen-Givens, Collections and Exhibits Manager
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
Colorful Jasper, Texas, attorney Joe Halbert Tonahill, Sr. (1913-2001) was co-founder of the Texas Trial Lawyers Association. Although well known in Jasper, Tonahill was lifted to national prominence by his longtime friend Melvin Belli when Belli hired the six-foot-four native Texan as his defense co-counsel. Tonahill recorded an oral history with The Sixth Floor Museum on August 9, 1996. -- Stephen Fagin, Curator