Dean STOREY. Pardon me, it is Dallas Bar Association.
Mr. CURRY. Dallas Bar Association.
The CHAIRMAN. Yes.
Mr. CURRY. He went in to talk to him and to see whether or not he was
getting an opportunity to receive counsel and he seemed pleased, I mean
he had no complaints. He told him if he didn't get John Abt then he
wanted someone from the Civil Liberties Union to come up and talk to
him. Then Mr. Nichols then went out in front of the television cameras,
I believe and made a statement to the effect that he had talked to him
and he was satisfied that he was being given the opportunity for legal
counsel.
The CHAIRMAN. On what day was this?
Mr. CURRY. That was on the same day we arrested him?
The CHAIRMAN. That was Friday?
Mr. CURRY. Yes.
Mr. RANKIN. Do you know whether Mr. Oswald ever did obtain counsel?
Mr. CURRY. I don't believe he did. But I do know he made some telephone
contacts.
Mr. RANKIN. Did the police department so far as you know interfere in
any way with his obtaining counsel?
Mr. CURRY. No, sir.
Mr. RANKIN. Do you know when Lee Harvey Oswald was arraigned?
Mr. CURRY. It was about 1:30 in the morning. That would be on the
morning of the 23d, I believe.
Mr. RANKIN. How long did he--how long had he been in your custody then?
Mr. CURRY. About 11 hours. That was on the Tippit; yes, sir.
Mr. RANKIN. When you say that he was arraigned the following day
early in the morning, did you mean for the Tippit murder or for the
assassination?
Mr. CURRY. No; that was for the assassination of the President.
Mr. RANKIN. All right, will you tell us when he was arraigned for the
Tippit murder?
Mr. CURRY. I was not present but I believe it was about 7:30.
Mr. RANKIN. That same evening?
Mr. CURRY. Yes; that would be about 5 hours afterwards.
Mr. RANKIN. Do you recall whether he was arrested first for the
assassination or for the Tippit murder?
Mr. CURRY. For the Tippit murder. There were some witnesses to this
murder and they had observed him as he left the scene, and this was
what he was arrested for.
The CHAIRMAN. May I interrupt just to ask the chief a question?
Chief, on your arraignments does the magistrate advise the petitioner
as to his right to counsel?
Mr. CURRY. Yes, sir; he does.
The CHAIRMAN. Does he ask him if he has counsel?
Mr. CURRY. I don't recall him doing that. I am not customarily present
when a person is arraigned.
The CHAIRMAN. You were not present at the arraignment?
Mr. CURRY. I was present when he was arraigned for the assassination of
the President. I was not present when he was arraigned for the murder
of Tippit.
The CHAIRMAN. I suppose they make a stenographic record of that, do
they not?
Mr. CURRY. Yes, sir; I am sure they do.
The CHAIRMAN. That is all I have.
Mr. RANKIN. Chief, our people made an inquiry whether there was a
stenographic record. They don't believe there was any.
Mr. CURRY. I am not sure of that. I know at the time he was arraigned
for the assassination of the President I was present there at the time.
It was decided that we should, district attorney was there at the city
hall. He was there during most of the evening.
Mr. RANKIN. Will you just describe for the Commission what happened
during the arraignment for the assassination, who was present, what you
saw.
Mr. CURRY. As I recall, I know the Justice of the Peace David John
Stone was there. It seemed like Sergeant Warren, but I couldn't be
positive but some of the jail personnel brought him out into the
identification bureau.
Mr. RANKIN. How was he taken out? Were there several people around him,
what was the security arrangements?
Mr. CURRY. At that time there was only, we were inside the offices of
the criminal identification section. He was brought out through a door
that opens from the jail into the criminal identification section.
There was only about a half dozen of us altogether there, I don't
recall who all was there.
Mr. RANKIN. What do you mean by the criminal identification section.
Could you describe what that is?
Mr. CURRY. That is the identification bureau.
Mr. RANKIN. Does that have a room that this meeting occurred in?
Mr. CURRY. It is not a room such as this. It was in the little foyer or
lobby, and it is separated from the jail lobby.
Mr. RANKIN. Did the justice of the peace sit or stand or what?
Mr. CURRY. He stood. He stood on one side of the counter and Oswald on
the other side of the counter.
Mr. RANKIN. What floor is this on?
Mr. CURRY. The fourth floor.
Mr. RANKIN. That is nearest the place where there are some filing
cabinets?
Mr. CURRY. Yes; it is.
Mr. RANKIN. And besides the people that you have described, I assume
that you yourself were there as you have said?
Mr. CURRY. Yes; I was.
Mr. RANKIN. Was there anyone else that you recall?
Mr. CURRY. Not that I recall, other than the justice of the peace.
Mr. RANKIN. Will you describe what happened?
Mr. CURRY. Lee Harvey Oswald was brought in and the complaint was read
to him, and here again he was very arrogant and he said, "I don't know
what you are talking about. That is the deal, is it," and such remarks
as this, and the justice of the peace very patiently and courteously
explained to him what the procedure was and why it was.
Mr. RANKIN. What did he say about that?
Mr. CURRY. I don't recall his exact words.
Mr. RANKIN. Just tell us in substance.
Mr. CURRY. He didn't--as I recall, he didn't think much of it. He just
said, "I don't know what you are talking about."
Mr. RANKIN. What did the justice of the peace say about the procedure
and any rights and so forth?
Mr. CURRY. As I recall it, he read to him the fact that he was being
charged with the assassination of the President of the United States,
John Kennedy on such and such day at such and such time.
Mr. RANKIN. Did he say anything about his right to plead?
Mr. CURRY. I don't recall, sir.
Mr. RANKIN. Did he say anything about counsel?
Mr. CURRY. I don't recall whether he did or not.
Mr. RANKIN. What else happened at that time that you recall?
Mr. CURRY. That is about all. After it was read to him, he was taken
back to his cell.
Mr. RANKIN. Did you go back with him to the cell?
Mr. CURRY. No, sir; I didn't.
Mr. RANKIN. Who took him back to the cell?
Mr. CURRY. The jailer and assistant jailer or jail guard.
Mr. RANKIN. What came to your attention after that about Lee Harvey
Oswald, that you can recall, what was the next thing that happened that
you know of?
Mr. CURRY. The next thing that I know of, was the next morning.
Mr. RANKIN. What happened then?
Mr. CURRY. The interrogation of Lee Harvey continued on and off through
the day. No; I had asked the captain during the afternoon if he was
being given rest periods and if he was being fed properly so that he
wouldn't have reason to complain that we were mistreating him in any
way.
Mr. RANKIN. What captain did you ask that?
Mr. CURRY. Fritz.
Mr. RANKIN. What did he say?
Mr. CURRY. He said he was. He said he was not interrogating him on long
drawn-out extended periods, he was letting him rest and he was being
fed.
Mr. DULLES. Did the interrogation continue into the night or did it
stop, do you know?
Mr. CURRY. I don't know what--well, it did continue into that first
night, I know. But I don't know what time they discontinued the
interrogation.
Mr. RANKIN. They stopped?
Mr. CURRY. I was not in the offices all the time. I was there two or
three times.
Mr. RANKIN. Captain Fritz tell you anything about the interrogation,
how it was going, what was said?
Mr. CURRY. He told me about, oh, late in the afternoon or early in the
evening that he felt that he had enough evidence to file on him for the
murder of the officer, and he told me, he said, "I strongly suspect
that he was the assassin of the President."
Mr. RANKIN. Do you know what time of day it was?
Mr. CURRY. It seemed to me like it was 6 or 7 o'clock on the day of the
22d.
Mr. RANKIN. Can you describe the situation in the police headquarters
with regard to the media. Were they continuing to be there?
Mr. CURRY. They remained there. You could hardly get down the hall,
and it was necessary, when we would take the prisoner back to the jail
to bring him out of the office, and down this hallway and put him on a
special elevator just for prisoners.
Mr. RANKIN. What office do you mean when you say that?
Mr. CURRY. From the homicide office.
Mr. RANKIN. Yes. You took him down what hallway?
Mr. CURRY. The third floor hallway. The offices run like this in the
building. The homicide office is right along here, perhaps 25 feet. The
elevator is right here, this is a special elevator that runs to the
jail.
Mr. RANKIN. Will you mark that homicide office with an "H" on to
indicate it?
Mr. CURRY. This extends up here a little more perhaps.