Georgetown Law Library’s Digital Initiatives and Special Collections Division recently supported the digitization of A Day of Justice, a 1976 co-presentation by the Legal Services Corporation, the ABA SCLAID and the National Legal Aid and Defender Association.
The film is a remarkable historical document that features photographs and audio recordings documenting scenes from a regular day in legal services offices across the country, including the Legal Aid Society of Cleveland, Ohio, the Taylor Law Center Legal Clinic in Knoxville, Tennessee, the Colorado Rural Legal Services program, the Greater Boston Legal Services program, the Legal Aid Bureau of Baltimore, MD, the Georgia Legal Services Program, the West Virginia Legal Services Plan, DNA Legal Services, Inc., and the National Housing and Economic Development Law Project in Berkeley, California.
Screen shot from A Day of Justice (1976), showing the staff of the Legal Aid Bureau of Baltimore, MD at a meeting, including Charles Dorsey.
Most of the cases were actual situations, filmed with permission of the participants. Some scenes were recreated by request of the lawyers involved. In all events, each sequence accurately reflected the work in legal services offices in the mid 1970s.
The film incorporates photographs and narrated conversations with clients, attorneys, paralegals and staff at the different offices.
Screenshot from A Day of Justice (1976) showing a scene at the Taylor Law Center Legal Clinic in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Harriet Wilson Ellis was the executive producer, and Ronald Capaleces produced, directed and wrote the film.
Please contact the NEJL Archivist for access to the digitized film.