The KHOU-TV Collection - McClelland Court of Inquiry and NASA Group 2 (1962)

Duration: 9:20

Year Published: 1962

Sound: sound

Description: This unedited news footage from Houston’s KHOU captures courtroom scenes from the 1962 court of inquiry regarding Probate Judge Clem McClelland. Harris County District Attorney Frank Briscoe questions insurance salesman Jerry O’Brien and attorneys James Bryson Martin and Richard Putney. Briscoe later comments on the proceedings, telling the reporter that he intends to file charges the next week. All four men were indicted on June 20 on charges of theft, appropriation, and conversion of estates to their own use. McClelland was subsequently disbarred. He went to trial in early 1963, where he was convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison. McClelland served 23 months after receiving parole. Also included in the footage are screen tests featuring the astronauts of NASA Group 2, also known as the New Nine. NASA announced their selection in September 1962.