Judge William Alsup Oral History

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Videotaped oral history interview with Judge William Alsup. A U.S. district judge in San Francisco since 1999, Alsup was a freshman at Mississippi State University at the time of the assassination. While in college, he became active in campus civil rights activities. Alsup is the author of several books, including "Won Over: Reflections of a Federal Judge on His Journey from Jim Crow Mississippi" (2019) and a novel, "The Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald" (2022). Interview conducted at The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza on March 21, 2023 by Stephen Fagin. The interview is one hour and eight minutes long.

Object Details

Object title:

Judge William Alsup Oral History

Date:

03/21/2023

Terms:

Civil rights

Oral histories

Pop Culture

Attorney

Segregation

Racism

"On Trial: Lee Harvey Oswald"

Novels

Lone gunman theory

Trials

Clinton, Bill

Oswald, Lee Harvey

Dallas

California

Civil Rights and Social Activism (OHC)

Dallas and 1960s History and Culture (OHC)

Authors, Filmmakers, and Researchers (OHC)

Popular Culture (OHC)

Lee Harvey Oswald (OHC)

Medium:

Born digital (.m2ts file)

Dimensions:

Duration: 68 Minutes

Credit line:

Oral History Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza

Object number:

2023.001.0021

Curatorial Note:

In addition to this video oral history, Judge Alsup previously recorded a telephone interview with the Museum in two parts in October-November 2022. He also participated in a public program, "The Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald," presented by the Museum in partnership with the University of North Texas College of Law. Moderated by Felicia Epps, Dean of the UNT College of Law, that program may be viewed on the Museum's YouTube channel: The Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald: A Conversation with Judge William Alsup (youtube.com). -- Stephen Fagin, Curator

The concept of a fictional trial for accused assassin Lee Harvey Oswald has been explored almost since the moment Jack Ruby stepped into history in the basement of Dallas police headquarters on November 24, 1963. The first feature film about the Kennedy assassination, produced in Dallas and released in 1964, was entitled The Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald. Directed by Larry Buchanan, the low-budget film was not a financial success and generated some controversy. A play, The Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald, written by Amram Ducovny, premiered on Broadway in November 1967 and closed after nine performances. An ABC television miniseries, The Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald, followed in 1977 starring John Pleshette as Oswald and Lorne Greene as his defense attorney. London Weekend Television took a unique approach in 1986 with the documentary, On Trial: Lee Harvey Oswald, with included actual eyewitnesses, a Texas judge and jury, and prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi versus defense attorney Gerry Spence. The 20+ hour trial was edited into a five-hour miniseries that aired on the Showtime cable network in the United States. A number of books have also explored the concept, including The People V. Lee Harvey Oswald (Walt Brown, 1994) and Lee Harvey Oswald On Trial (Keith and Rebekka Pruitt, 2015). A variety of mock trials for Lee Harvey Oswald have also taken place in classrooms, courtrooms and other venues around the world, including a 2011 mock trial here at The Sixth Floor Museum - recorded as part of the Oral History Project - during a Library of Congress "Teaching With Primary Sources" Institute. Local schoolteachers functioned as prosecutors, defense attorneys, witnesses and members of the jury with a former history teacher from the Richardson, Texas ISD serving as the presiding judge. This particular mock trial resulted in a hung jury. - Stephen Fagin, Curator