Attorney William Kunstler arrives at Howard County Court House in Ellicott City, Maryland, where the arson and riot trial of black militant H. Rap Brown is scheduled to begin today.

William Kunstler (1919-1995) was an American lawyer and Civil Rights activist, known for his politically-unpopular clients. Kunstler was an active member of the National Lawyers Guild, a board member of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and the co-founder of the Law Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR). Kunstler's defense of the Chicago Seven from 1969–1970 led The New York Times to label him "the country's most controversial and, perhaps, its best-known lawyer". Kunstler is also well known for defending members of the Catonsville Nine, Black Panther Party, Weather Underground Organization, the Attica Prison rioters, and the American Indian Movement.

On recto: typewritten title and date.

Wire photographs were originally transmitted over phonelines, then later, by satellite. They were first used in the early 1920s. Associated Press became a leader with this. After pigment touch-ups, etc., the print is put into a drum (like a drum scanner). The image gets converted into audio tones that are transmitted. The tones are received and beamed onto photo-sensitive paper. Wire photographs are copies without originals---they are hybrid, transmitted objects. (Britt Salvesen, Curator and Department Head, Photography Department, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, March 30-31, 2022)

This object has the following keywords:

• Arson
• Cambridge
• Civil Rights Movements
• Ellicott City
• H. Rap Brown
• Howard County Courthouse
• Injustice
• Male Portraits
• Racial Discrimination
• Riots
• Trials
• William Kunstler

• Image Dimensions: 7 13/16 x 5 9/16 in. (19.84 x 14.13 cm) Measured by Hudson, Karen
• Sheet Dimensions: 8 7/16 x 6 1/2 in. (21.43 x 16.51 cm) Measured by Hudson, Karen