Mar. 8, 1965 - In Dallas, Tex., today, Judge Joe Brown ordered a jury trial to rule on Jack Ruby’s sanity but touched off a squabble by assigning the condemned slayer an attorney he opposes.
Overruling a series of defense motions, Judge Brown ordered the 53-year-old killer of Lee Harvey Oswald to be tried March 29. The trial verdict could decide whether Ruby goes to the electric chair for murder. The defense, among other motions, had asked for a pretrial hearing and a change of venue.
The judge assigned Phil Burleson of Dallas and Joe Tonahill of Jasper as Ruby’s attorneys. They had helped Melvin Belli of San Francisco during the unsuccessful defense of Ruby at his trial last year for shooting President Kennedy’s assassin. Burleson is acceptable to Ruby and his family, but Tonahill is not.
Sol Dann of Detroit, the attorney the Ruby family wants, said he would ask a Federal court in a week or 10 days to disqualify Judge Brown. Dann referred to “judicial murder” in a statement outside the courtroom.
“Jack is suffering from lawyeritis, which could be fatal,” he said.
Ruby himself said twice he wanted nothing to do with Tonahill. But Tonahill said:“I’m going to work like hell for Jack Ruby. I have a loyal, legal, moral duty to this boy.”
As Ruby was being rushed out of court to go back to his cell, newsmen asked if he wanted Tonahill.
“Hell, no!” Ruby replied.
Tonahill and other defense lawyers have argued that Ruby was insane when he shot Oswald and has deteriorated steadily, to the point that he believes Jews are being slaughtered in the streets because of what he did.
When Tonahill tried to hand him a legal motion in court, Ruby glared at him and said bitterly: “I don’t want anything from you, no place. Leave me alone, will you please?”
“We want Tonahill out of the place because we don’t trust him,” Ruby’s sister, Mrs. Eva Grant, said outside the courtroom.
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