Retired Judge Ronald Adrine's experience on the former U.S. House Select Committee on Assassinations is highlighted in a new Supreme Court video.

Retired Judge Ronald Adrine's experience on the former U.S. House Select Committee on Assassinations is highlighted in a new Supreme Court video.

Retired Cleveland Municipal Court Judge Ronald Adrine vividly remembers where he was in 1968 when he heard that Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. had been slain.

“I was in the (college) dormitory, and it evoked all kinds of chaos,” Judge Adrine recalls. “People were running around and there was a lot of screaming.”

“Nobody knew what to do. Everyone was mad,” he said. “I remember being extremely depressed about the fact that he was killed and, at the same time, not being surprised.”

Eight years later, when the U.S. House Select Committee on Assassinations was formed to investigate the killings of King and President John F. Kennedy, Judge Adrine, then a young lawyer, was selected as a committee investigator.

His experience is highlighted in the new video, “Crying for Answers,” produced by the Ohio Supreme Court’s Office of Public Information and the Ohio Channel. The video can be viewed at the link above or by visiting the Supreme Court websites, www.supremecourt.ohio.gov or www.courtnewsohio.gov.

It’s the second installment of a series – “Prejudice and Progress: A History of Racial Justice in Ohio” – that began earlier this year exploring racial injustice and the legal journeys of African Americans in the state.

“This video serves as a tribute to the energy and dedication of Judge Adrine,” Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor said. “His work on the special committee showed a commitment to public service that he continued with his long and successful career on the bench.”

Judge Adrine served on the Cleveland Municipal Court for 36 years and chaired the Ohio Commission on Racial Fairness in 1994. He now serves as the first jurist-in-residence at Cleveland State University’s Cleveland-Marshall College of Law.

The premiere video in the Supreme Court series relates the pioneering work of state Rep. Benjamin Arnett. “Knock the Monster in the Head: Benjamin Arnett versus The Ohio Black Laws” is narrated by Judge Adrine.