Court of Current Issues

{{Short description|American TV public-affairs series (1948–1951)}}

{{infobox television

| image =

| caption =

| runtime = 30 minutes (1948-1949)
60 minutes (1949-1951)

| creator =

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| country = United States

| network = DuMont

| first_aired = {{start date|1948|02|09}}

| last_aired = {{end date|1951|06|26}}

| num_episodes =

}}

Court of Current Issues (initially known as Court of Public Opinion){{cite book |last1=Erickson |first1=Hal |title=Encyclopedia of Television Law Shows: Factual and Fictional Series About Judges, Lawyers and the Courtroom, 1948-2008 |date=21 October 2009 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-5452-5 |page=64 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RXQNIs12SzQC&q=%22Court+of+Current+Issues%22&pg=PA64 |access-date=November 29, 2020 |language=en}} is a nontraditional court show featuring public-affairs debates. The program aired on the DuMont Television Network from February 9, 1948, through June 26, 1951.{{cite book|last1=McNeil|first1=Alex|title=Total Television: the Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present |date=1996|publisher=Penguin Books USA, Inc.|location=New York, New York|isbn=0-14-02-4916-8|page= 183|edition=4th}} Originally a half-hour in length, it expanded to 60 minutes in 1949.

Overview

The program featured oral arguments on topical issues using the format of a courtroom. A judge presided, with people from both sides of the episode's topic taking the roles of attorneys and witnesses.{{cite book|last1=Brooks|first1=Tim|last2=Marsh|first2=Earle|title=The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946-Present|date=1999|publisher=The Ballentine Publishing Group|location=New York|isbn=0-345-42923-0|pages=212–213|edition=7th}} People from "representative national groups" formed the jury, and viewers could call to vote for one of the sides.{{cite book |last1=Campbell |first1=Mary Schmidt |title=An American Odyssey: The Life and Work of Romare Bearden |date=August 6, 2018 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-972364-5 |page=163 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RRtnDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22Court+of+Current+Issues%22+Dumont&pg=PA163 |access-date=January 1, 2024 |language=en}}

Topics discussed on episodes included "Should Radio and Television Editorialize?",{{cite news |title=Radio and Television: Navy to Launch Training Programs by Video for Air Reservists at 3 Bases in East |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1949/07/18/archives/radio-and-television-navy-to-launch-training-programs-by-video-for.html |access-date=January 1, 2024 |work=The New York Times |date=July 18, 1949 |page=32|url-access=subscription}} "Shall Federal Rent Controls Be Continued?",{{cite news |title=Plan Rent Curb Debate: Realtors to Take Part Tuesday on Television Program |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1950/05/14/archives/plan-rent-curb-debate-realtors-to-take-part-tuesday-on-television.html |access-date=January 1, 2024 |work=The New York Times |date=May 14, 1950 |page=250|url-access=subscription }} and "Does the Supreme Court Free Speech Decision Srengthen Our Democracy?".{{cite news |title=Radio and Television: WABD Adding 'Program Playhouse' and Fight Shows to Video List Next Week |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1949/06/18/archives/radio-and-television-wabd-adding-program-playhouse-and-fight-shows.html |access-date=January 1, 2024 |work=The New York Times |date=June 18, 1949 |page=28|url-access=subscription}}

People who appeared on the program included Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., Shad Polier,{{cite news |last1=Sokolsky |first1=George |title=These Days |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=elBhAAAAIBAJ&dq=%22Court+of+Current+Issues%22+topic&pg=PA6 |access-date=January 1, 2024 |work=The Telegraph-Herald |date=November 22, 1949 |location=Iowa, Dubuque |page=6}} Al Capp, Lev Gleason,{{cite book |last1=Hirsch |first1=Paul S. |title=Pulp Empire: The Secret History of Comic Book Imperialism |date=July 12, 2021 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0-226-35069-1 |page=306 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5RUpEAAAQBAJ&dq=%22Court+of+Current+Issues%22+Dumont&pg=PA306 |access-date=January 1, 2024 |language=en}} Gerald Dickler, George Hamilton Combs, James Lawrence Fly, Arthur Garfield Hays and O. John Rogge,

Irvin Paul Sulds was the producer,{{cite news |title=Service personnel to be on TV program |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/111786854 |access-date=November 29, 2020 |work=The New York Times |date=July 9, 1951 |page=36|id={{ProQuest|111786854}} |via = ProQuest}} and David Lowe was the director.{{cite magazine |date=February 26, 1950 |page=25 |title=Dumont |url=https://archive.org/details/rossreportstele06ross/page/n90/mode/1up?view=theater |magazine=Ross Reports |access-date=January 1, 2024 }} The program was sustaining.{{cite magazine |date=May 28, 1949 |page=12 |title=No Half-Way Break Keeps Hour-Show Viewers Tuned |magazine=Billboard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NfYDAAAAMBAJ&dq=%22Court+of+Current+Issues%22+Dumont&pg=PT11 |accessdate=January 1, 2024 }}

In its last two seasons, the series was scheduled opposite Milton Berle's popular Texaco Star Theater on NBC, hence it did not receive a wide audience.

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

Schedule

Months	Day of Week	Time Slot
class="wikitable" \|+ Time Slots for Court of Current Issues
February 1948 - June 1948	Tuesdays	8 - 8:30 p.m.
July 1948 - November 1948	Mondays	9:30 - 10 p.m.
November 1948 - January 1949	Mondays	8 - 9 p.m.
January 1949 - February 1949	Mondays	10 - 11 p.m.
March 1949 - April 1949	Mondays	9 - 10 p.m.
May 1949 - June 1949	Wednesdays	9 - 10 p.m.
January 1949 - June 1951	Tuesdays	8 - 9 p.m.

Note: All times Eastern; all broadcasts on Dumont

Episode status

A 14-minute fragment from the March 3, 1949 episode survives at the Paley Center for Media.{{Citation needed |date=December 2023}}

Critical response

In 1948 the Radio-Television Critics Circle of New York cited Court of Current Issues as one of several programs, networks, and individuals deserving of kudos for excellence in broadcasting.{{cite magazine |date=May 22, 1948 |page=10 |title=Radio-TV Critics Offer Kudos for Industry Activities |magazine=Billboard |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/40s/1948/Billboard%201948-05-22.pdf#page=10 |accessdate=January 1, 2024 }}

United States Congressman Frederic Coudert Jr. recognized Sulds and Court of Current Issues in the Congressional Record in February 1950. His comments there praised the program's originator and stated his wishes that other programs like it might be developed. If so, he said, "We can look forward to a period in our immediate future when we will have the best informed public of any nation in the world."{{cite magazine |date=February 20, 1950 |page=59 |title='Court' Praised |magazine=Broadcasting |url=https://archive.org/details/broadcasting38unse/page/n676/mode/1up?view=theater |accessdate=January 1, 2024 }}

Bibliography

David Weinstein, The Forgotten Network: DuMont and the Birth of American Television (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2004) {{ISBN|1-59213-245-6}}