The Supreme Court heard two cases today, the first day April’s two-week argument session after which the Court will only sit to deliver this term’s opinions.
The first case, Argentina v. NML Capital, concerns Argentina’s default on bonds the government issued in 1997, and stopped repayments when the domestic economy tanked in 2001. The issue before the Court is how far can creditors go in searching for assets.
The second argument, POM Wonderful v. Coca-Cola, is about truth-in-labeling. Was Coca-Cola guilty of false advertising under the Lanham Act when it labeled its product “Pomegranate Blueberry” even though it was mostly apple juice with only 0.3% pomegranate and 0.2% blueberry? POM Wonderful, which grows and sells pomegranate products, especially juice, thinks so.
The two sides certainly brought the heavy-hitters, former Solicitor General Seth Waxman and Stanford Law professor Kathleen Sullivan, to the lectern.
Though, not everyone found the arguments riveting.
Courtroom sketching is a form of visual journalism or reportage drawing that is slowly dying out. Where once upon a time news organization each had their own artist covering a story, today a “pool” artist often sketches for all. It is a demanding and stressful discipline where the drawing is often done directly and under tight deadline.
After forty-five years of news sketching in courtrooms and congress I’m calling it quits. It’s been sometimes fun, sometimes frustrating, almost always interesting. I’ve been lucky to work with some really great people. Don’t think I’ll miss it, but a little scared of not having a deadline.
While I won’t be sketching in court anymore, I may continue to post to this blog from time to time. Not sure what that might be. I’m about to start a new assignment documenting infrastructure and construction. Could be interesting.
Is it possible to order prints of these, similarly to other drawings on your site?
Yes, you’ll be able to purchase prints after I’ve uploaded the images to my Archive/Sales page. There will be a link under the images here on the blog in a couple days.
Thanks for your interest.