These sketches were done a number of years ago when cameras were barred from court trials. I found it a fascinating experience making these snapshots of the judges, victims, perpetrators, and witnesses, another world of human behavior to observe and record.
I often found the person on the witness stand looking at me while they gave their testimony, as if I were an important enough actor in their drama for them to try to convince. In fact considering that I also found the judges and attorneys looking my way as if they were conscious of “posing” for the drawings I realized that after the witness on the stand I was probably the second most “important” person in the room.
All in all, it was an education I wouldn’t have had otherwise, and although sitting for hours on the uncomfortable wooden benches inevitably led to annoying backaches, the results were worth the effort.