Documentary on California civil rights lawyer to be screened in Sacramento
A new documentary about the pioneering California civil rights lawyer John Burris is coming to Sacramento next week.
The film, “John Burris: The Godfather of Police Litigation,” premiered in February at UC Berkeley, where Burris received degrees in business and law. It will be shown Monday evening downtown at an event hosted by Secretary of State Shirley Weber and the California Legislative Black Caucus, as part of a tour of screenings around the state.
Burris, an Oakland-based attorney who turned 80 last month, has worked for decades on behalf of victims of police violence, including Rodney King.
In the capital region, Burris represented the family of Joseph Mann, who was shot and killed in 2016 by Sacramento police after 911 callers reported a man acting erratically and armed with a knife and gun. Mann, who was shot 14 times, was later found to have a knife but no gun. His office also represented a 14-year-old boy after he was assaulted by a Rancho Cordova officer in 2020.
A lawsuit Burris led in 2000 against Oakland yielded federal supervision of the city’s police department to ensure reforms, which a federal judge said remained incomplete last year.
Burris has also mentored numerous other civil rights lawyers, such as Benjamin Crump, who represented the family of George Floyd.
The 90-minute documentary about Burris will be distributed by PBS. One of the filmmakers, Brian Spencer, said he expects it to appear on television later this year.
The film is a timely reminder about efforts to combat police brutality, Spencer said, just as the Trump administration has pulled back from investigating and suing police departments over civil rights violations. Spencer said he hopes California lawmakers and others who see the film Monday will not neglect the cause of racial justice in policing.
“Unfortunately, police misconduct happens too much, and so we want to keep that out front,” said Spencer, a consultant who lives in Folsom. “We don’t want that to get buried among all these other pressing current events.”
Doug Harris, a filmmaker who made the documentary with Spencer, said they interviewed over 20 people about Burris’ life and work. The trailer features the former San Francisco mayors Willie Brown and London Breed, among others.
“John Burris: The Godfather of Police Litigation” is the second installment of a series by Harris and Spencer about remarkable Berkeley alumni. The first film chronicled the life of Walter Gordon, Berkeley’s first Black law school graduate, and the next one will focus on retired Judge Emily Vasquez of the Sacramento Superior Court, they said.
“Cal really needs to make an effort to make their history more inclusive,” Spencer said.
Harris, who works in the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office and splits his time between Berkeley and Sacramento, said he was struck by Burris’ career switch from accounting to law after he earned his MBA at Berkeley.
“One of the things that I’d like for young people in particular to take from this film is that what you start off wanting to do might not necessarily be what your calling is,” Harris said.
A reception before Monday’s screening will begin at 5 p.m. in the courtyard between the California Museum and the Secretary of State building, according to Jim Patrick, a spokesperson for Weber.
The screening will be followed by a panel discussion in the 250-seat auditorium in the Secretary of State building, 1500 11th St.
Free tickets are available through a form linked on the secretary’s official Instagram page and at sos.ca.gov/administration/events.
