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Rush to Judgment: A Critique of the Warren Commission's Inquiry into the Murders of President John F. Kennedy, Officer J.D. Tippit and Lee Harvey Oswald is a 1966 book by American lawyer Mark Lane. It is about the assassination of United States President John F. Kennedy and takes issue with the investigatory methods and conclusions of the Warren Commission.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The book's introduction is by Hugh Trevor-Roper, Regius Professor of History at the University of Oxford.<ref name="Chicago Tribune; May 23, 1966">Template:Cite news</ref> Although it was preceded by a few self-published or small press books, Rush to Judgment was the first mass market hardcover book to confront the findings of the Warren Commission.<ref name="Hoover">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Prior authors included Harold Weisberg and Sylvia Meagher</ref>
The title of the book was taken from Lord Chancellor Thomas Erskine's defense of James Hadfield, who had attempted to assassinate King George III in 1800.<ref name="Chicago Tribune; May 23, 1966"/> According to Alex Raskin of the Los Angeles Times, "Rush to Judgment opened the floodgate for Kennedy assassination conspiracy theories".<ref name="Los Angeles Times; December 29, 1991">Template:Cite news</ref>
Bertrand Russell, who is thanked in the acknowledgements section of the book for being "kind enough to read the manuscript and make suggestions",<ref name=ack>Template:Cite book</ref> set up the Who Killed Kennedy? Committee in response to the book. This committee, in Russell's words, was set up "for the purpose of making known the material [Lane] has uncovered and his further findings".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Arnold J. Toynbee is also thanked in the acknowledgements section for the same reason.<ref name=ack/>
ContentsEdit
Rush to JudgmentEdit
Rush to Judgment became a number one best seller and spent 29 weeks on the New York Times best-seller list.<ref>name=Hawes Publications | url=http://www.hawes.com/1966/1966-09-11.pdf, p.2 | url=http://www.hawes.com/1967/1967-03-26.pdf</ref> Lane questions, among other things, the Warren Commission conclusion that three shots were fired from the Texas School Book Depository and focus on the witnesses who had recounted seeing or hearing shots coming from the grassy knoll in Dealey Plaza. Lane questions whether Oswald was guilty of the murder of policeman J.D. Tippit shortly after the Kennedy murder. Lane also states that none of the Warren Commission firearm experts were able to duplicate Oswald's shooting feat.<ref>Bugliosi, p. 1005</ref>
According to former KGB officer Vasili Mitrokhin in his 1999 book The Sword and the Shield, the KGB helped finance Lane's research on Rush to Judgment without the author's knowledge.<ref name=Persico>Template:Cite news</ref> The KGB allegedly used journalist Genrikh Borovik as a contact and provided Lane with $2,000 for research and travel in 1964.<ref name=Bugliosi>Bugliosi, Vincent. Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy. 2007, Norton, Template:ISBN Pg. 162</ref><ref>Christopher Andrew and Vasili Mitrokhin, The Sword and the Shield: The Mitrokhin Archive and the Secret History of the KGB, Basic Books, 1999. Excerpted here. According to the book, Soviet journalists, including KGB agent Genrikh Borovik, met with Mark Lane to encourage him in his research.</ref> Mark Lane called the allegation "an outright lie" and wrote, "Neither the KGB nor any person or organization associated with it ever made any contribution to my work."<ref name="LaneLetter">Template:Cite news</ref>
DocumentaryEdit
Template:Infobox film In 1967, a documentary film based on Lane's book was directed by Emile de Antonio and hosted by Lane.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Robert Wilonsky, Dallas Observer blog, 21 April 2011, From the Film Vaults: Rush to Judgment (includes full film embedded from archive.org)</ref> Some of the assassination witnesses who present their observations on-camera include Nelson Delgado, James Tague, Charles Brehm, Mary Moorman, Lee Bowers, Sam Holland, Jim Leavelle, James Simmons, Richard Dodd, Jessie Price, Orville Nix, Patrick Dean, Napoleon Daniels, Nancy Hamilton, Joseph Johnson, Roy Jones, Harold Williams, Penn Jones, Jr. and Acquilla Clemons.