Court of Current Issues

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Court of Current Issues
Country of originUnited States
Production
Running time30 minutes (1948-1949)
60 minutes (1949-1951)
Release
Original networkDuMont
Picture formatBlack-and-white
Audio formatMonaural
Original releaseFebruary 9, 1948 (1948-02-09) –
June 26, 1951 (1951-06-26)

Court of Current Issues (initially known as Court of Public Opinion)[1] is a nontraditional court show featuring public-affairs debates. The program aired live on Tuesday nights from 1948-1951 on the DuMont Television Network. Originally a half-hour in length, it expanded to 60 minutes in 1949.

The program featured oral arguments on topical issues using the format of a courtroom. A judge presided, and people from "representative national groups" formed the jury.[2]

Irvin Paul Sulds was the producer.[2]

The series was scheduled opposite Milton Berle's popular Texaco Star Theater on NBC, hence it did not receive a wide audience.[1]

Following its network demise, the program ran on local TV in New York "for some time".[1]

Episode status[]

A 14-minute fragment from the March 3, 1949 episode survives at the Paley Center for Media.

See also[]

Bibliography[]

  • David Weinstein, The Forgotten Network: DuMont and the Birth of American Television (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2004) ISBN 1-59213-245-6
  • Alex McNeil, Total Television, Fourth edition (New York: Penguin Books, 1980) ISBN 0-14-024916-8
  • Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh, The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows, Third edition (New York: Ballantine Books, 1964) ISBN 0-345-31864-1

References[]

  1. ^ a b c Erickson, Hal (21 October 2009). Encyclopedia of Television Law Shows: Factual and Fictional Series About Judges, Lawyers and the Courtroom, 1948-2008. McFarland. p. 64. ISBN 978-0-7864-5452-5. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Service personnel to be on TV program". The New York Times. July 9, 1951. p. 36. Retrieved November 29, 2020 – via ProQuest.

External links[]

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