Report of the President's Commission on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy

Commission Process Service and Witness Fees

Subsection (d) sets rules for service of Commission process and papers. Service may be completed in person, via registered mail, telegraph, or by leaving a copy at the recipient’s residence, principal office, or place of business. A verified return of service from the individual who completed service, or a post office/telegraph receipt for registered service, serves as proof of service. Witnesses summoned before the Commission, and individuals taking depositions for the Commission, are entitled to the same fees and mileage as witnesses and officials in U.S. federal courts.

Self-Incrimination Privilege

Subsection (e) addresses the privilege against self-incrimination. No person may refuse to attend, testify, or produce evidence in response to a Commission subpoena on the grounds that the required testimony or evidence may incriminate them or subject them to penalty or forfeiture. However, an individual compelled to testify or produce evidence after claiming this privilege cannot be prosecuted or penalized (except for demotion or removal from office) for the matters they address in their testimony, though they remain liable for perjury committed during such testimony.

Venue for Court Process Service

Subsection (f) specifies venue for serving court process related to Commission investigations. All court process issued under the authorizing Act may be served in the judicial district where the person required to be served resides or may be found.

Legislative History

The authorizing act for the Commission was approved on December 13, 1963. Its legislative history, as recorded in the Congressional Record, Volume 109 (1963), notes the bill passed the Senate on December 9, 1963, and was considered and passed by the House of Representatives on December 10, 1963.

Appendix IV: Biographical Information and Acknowledgments

This appendix provides biographical information and acknowledgments for individuals associated with the President’s Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy, including Commission members, senior legal counsel, and support staff.

Members of the Commission

This section lists the seven members of the Commission, with full biographical entries for each: Chief Justice Earl Warren (Commission Chair), Senator Richard B. Russell, Senator John Sherman Cooper, Representative Hale Boggs, Representative Gerald R. Ford, Allen W. Dulles, and John J. McCloy. Entries include details on their birth dates, education, professional careers, and relevant public service experience.

General Counsel

This section provides the biographical entry for J. Lee Rankin, General Counsel of the Commission. It notes his birth in Hartington, Nebraska, education at the University of Nebraska, legal career, prior government service as Assistant Attorney General (Office of Legal Counsel) and Solicitor General of the United States, and his appointment as General Counsel for the Commission on December 8, 1963, after entering private practice in New York City in 1961.

Assistant Counsel

This section lists the 13 Assistant Counsels for the Commission, with biographical entries for each: Francis W. H. Adams, Joseph A. Ball, David W. Belin, William T. Coleman Jr., Melvin A. Eisenberg, Burt W. Griffin, Leon D. Hubert Jr., Albert E. Jenner Jr., Wesley J. Liebeler, Norman Redlich, W. David Slawson, Arlen Specter, and Samuel A. Stern. Entries include details on their birth dates, educational backgrounds, legal careers, and relevant professional qualifications and experience.

Staff Members

This section lists key Commission staff members, with biographical entries for three individuals: Philip Barson, a certified public accountant and Internal Revenue Service special agent/group supervisor based in Philadelphia; Edward A. Conroy, an Internal Revenue Service senior inspector based in Washington, D.C.; and John Hart Ely, a 1963 magna cum laude graduate of Yale Law School who was scheduled to serve as a law clerk to Chief Justice Warren during the 1964-65 term.

CHAPITRE II. With the assistance of Agent in Charge Sorrels of the

This section opens with biographical profiles of nine key commission staff and supporting personnel, including senior historians, legal clerks, and administrative experts, outlining their educational credentials, professional experience in government, law, and historical research, and the specific roles they fulfilled in support of the commission’s work, much of which was carried out with the assistance of Agent in Charge Sorrels and his office. It then includes formal acknowledgments of the extensive support provided by U.S. Department of Justice attorneys, legal staff, and administrative workers across the country, with special recognition given to U.S. Attorney Harold Barefoot Sanders Jr. and his assistant Martha Joe Stroud for their diligent contributions in the Northern District of Texas. The section concludes with Appendix V, a full alphabetical listing of the 552 individuals who provided testimony to the commission, with each entry noting whether the witness testified in person before the commission, provided a deposition, or submitted an affidavit or statement, alongside brief descriptions of the witness’s relevant background and citations to the specific volumes of the commission’s published record where their testimony appears.