New PBS documentary explores the life of Civil Rights Attorney John Burris and his ongoing quest to seek justice for victims of police brutality

John Burris’ road to becoming a civil rights attorney took several interesting turns before he found his way into an area of law that had practically been unexplored (police litigation). While a student at UC Berkeley’s School of Law back in the early 1970s, John worked as a summer intern in Chicago, where he learned firsthand about police brutality within the notorious Chicago Police Department. His job was to interview victims for Congressman Ralph Metcalf’s Commission on Police Misconduct. “After that early experience in Chicago, I often wondered if that type of activity was happening anywhere else,” said Attorney John Burris.

John Burris: Godfather of Police Litigation, is a PBS documentary that will premiere at 7pm Saturday, February 8, 2025, at UC Berkeley’s International House. The documentary was produced and directed by Berkeley filmmaker Doug Harris and features a rich cast of prominent members of the Bay Area’s legal and political communities. “When I first decided to take this project on, I had no idea about what I was getting myself into,” comments Filmmaker Doug Harris. “I learned quickly that John Burris has had a huge impact on police litigation across the entire country. I’ve been fortunate to have compiled all these different perspectives of his life from a celebrated group of cast members into this exciting documentary film.”

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