A generally quiet term concluded this week with opinions on two major issues before the Court, election district gerrymandering and the citizenship question on the 2020 census. There’s no question that it is now the Roberts Court with the Chief…
Author: Art Lien
Courtartist is me, Art Lien. I've been sketching the courts since 1976, and for most of that time the U.S. Supreme Court has been my regular beat. I've been working almost exclusively for NBC News since 1980.
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.
First Court Hearing On House Trump Subpoenas
Yesterday’s hearing before U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta on President Trump’s efforts to block a House committee’s subpoena for financial records is likely just the first skirmish in a lengthy battle to be fought in the courts.
Maria Butina Sentencing
Not a spy but still an agent is how the government portrayed Russian gun rights enthusiast Maria Butina who managed to establish close relationships with senior members of the National Rifle Association and the Republican Party. From the government’s sentencing…
Last Arguments Of A Quiet Term
April is the last argument siting of the Supreme Court. From now until the end of June the Justices will only sit to announces opinions, and no maybe a few dissents. After a fairly quiet term with no real blockbusters…
ISIS Wannabe
According to federal prosecutors 28 year-old Rondell Henry, inspired by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, planned a terrorist truck attack like the one in Nice, France that killed 84. It wasn’t a very well thought out plan. Henry…
NSA Document Hoarder Pleads Guilty
Harold Martin, a former NSA contractor with a top secret security clearance was arrested in 2016 for taking home the equivalent of a half billion pages of physical and digital classified documents. He didn’t pass the materials on to anyone,…
Celebrity Defendants In Boston Courtroom
Celebrity screen actors Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin, along with Loughlin’s husband Mossimo Giannulli, had a five-minute appearance before a federal magistrate judge in Boston on Wednesday. They, along with over thirty other parents, are facing charges in a nation-wide…
Last Sketches from the March Sitting
It’s Monday, April 1st, and surprise! I’m not at the Court. I meant to be there but with so much to do before heading up to Boston for the celebrity college admissions scandal, and low expectations of any really momentous…
This Week’s SCOTUS Sketches
Spring is coming – slowly – to DC as the Supreme Court begins its March sitting. March is gerrymander month at the court this term with an argument on race-based redistricting in Virginia on Monday, and two more to be…
Roger Stone Back In Court
Nattily dressed in a light grey double breasted suit with black tie and pocket square, Roger Stone appeared before judge Amy Berman Jackson today for a status hearing. Unlike his last appearance where he took the stand to attempt to…
Courtartist is me, Arthur Lien. I've been sketching the courts since 1976, and for most of that time the U.S. Supreme Court has been my regular beat. I've been working almost exclusively for NBC News since 1980.
© 2019
Art Lien.
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