James J. Doherty was born in Belfast (Northern) Ireland in 1920. At a young age he immigrated with his family to the United States and they settled in Chicago. After high school he followed in his father's footsteps and went to work for the Central Illinois Railroad. Convinced by his Railroad co-workers to pursue a career in law, Doherty was graduated from the DePaul University School of Law in 1950, although he continued to work part-time for the Railroad for many more years. In 1956 Doherty joined the Cook County Public Defender's Office as an assistant public defender in the appeals division. From 1972 to 1986 Doherty served as chief Public Defender of Cook County. And from 1986 to 1997, when he retired, he served as head of the appellate division. Doherty is known for having pioneered the concept that the police and prosecution are obliged to turn over evidence favorable to the defense. He also advocated the concept that potential jurors should not be excluded from a jury because they are opposed to the death penalty. He argued or helped prepare briefs for several cases before the United States Supreme Court, using these legal issues as the basis for his appeals. Doherty was staunchly opposed to the death penalty and was successful in having Lyman Moore's death sentence repealed. The James Doherty papers reveal a spiritual person of Christian faith. He believed in serving people in need, and lived by his own "Defender's Credo," that hung on his wall in his office where he worked for more than forty years. Shortly before his death in 1998 his friends gathered for a benefit to ensure that his papers would become part of the historical archives at the National Equal Justice Library. (See Doherty's obituary in the Chicago Tribune, September 29, 1998.)