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  1. Local Documentary on the Chattanooga Trial of Jimmy Hoffa Makes Public Debut Tuesday, July 08, 2008

    The second event in the AEC’s 2008 Back Row Film Series will make available to the public a local documentary about local history: the 1964 Chattanooga trial of Teamster President Jimmy Hoffa.
    The first public screening of “Balancing the Scales: the Chattanooga Trial of U.S. v. James R. Hoffa” will take place Thursday, July 10, 2008, at Loose Cannon Studios, 1800 Rossville Avenue.  Social hour begins at 6 p.m. and the film screening will begin promptly at 6:30 p.m.  Filmmaker Barry Cammon of Advanced Video Solutions will address the audience immediately after the film.  The event is free but seating is limited to the first 100 people.  The AEC will be accepting donations in any amount.
    In 1964, Teamster President Jimmy Hoffa was convicted of jury tampering in a federal court in Chattanooga. Forty years later, this trial, which severely tested the limits of American justice, remains an important topic of historic interest. Featuring interviews with numerous trial participants and observers, the 2008 documentary “Balancing the Scales: The Chattanooga Trial of U.S. v. James R. Hoffa” explores the difficulties of finding justice in a high profile, high stakes “trial of the century.”

    The Chattanooga Chapter of the Federal Bar Association commissioned the film to show at the 2008 Judicial Conference of the 6th Circuit, held in Chattanooga in May.  The AEC is pleased to make it available to the general public for the first time as part of the organization’s Back Row Film Series.

    More History

    On January 19, 1964, Teamster President Jimmy Hoffa stepped onto the runway at the Lovell Field airport in Chattanooga, Tennessee.  Only three days earlier, he had finally secured one of his greatest goals - the execution of the first National Master Freight Agreement, a milestone for the union, which would guarantee uniform wages, benefits, and working conditions throughout the trucking industry.  Many considered the signing of this agreement to be Hoffa’s “finest hour.”

    His arrival was greeted by a crowd of cheering Teamsters carrying signs that read “Welcome to Chattanooga,” “We’ll always be for Jo and Jimmy Hoffa,” and “Thank you Jimmy for the contract.”  Smiling and waving to the crowd, Hoffa climbed into a waiting limousine and left, surrounded by a 40-car caravan with a police escort.

    The following day, he would appear in court to defend against charges that would threaten him with years in prison and - ultimately - the loss of his stranglehold upon the Teamsters organization.

    Posted by Administrator in Collective Rethink