Last week I travelled down to Richmond to hear some arguments before the Fourth Circuit. The highlight was a cock-fighting case from South Carolina – unfortunately not the one I sketched.
In a tradition that reeks of southern gentility the judges, at the conclusion of each argument, come down from the bench to shake hands with the lawyers in the case.
I also had a chance to do a little sketching on the streets of Richmond.
After the Justice Department refused to clear Texas’ new voter ID law, SB 14, the State went to court. These sketches are from yesterday, the final day of testimony. 
The three judge panel will hear closing arguments today. Next stop, the Supreme Court.
Read about it here.
A few sketches from today’s arguments ( which can be heard here ) in Liberty University v. Geithner and Virginia v. Sebelius, both cases concerning the individual mandate in the new Obama-sponsored health care law.
Pictured below : Mathew Staver, the attorney for Liberty University arguing before the Fourth Circuit three-judge panel. 
Judge Andre Davis : 
Acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal and Judge Diana Gribbon Matz : 
Judge James Wynn : 
Andrew Cohen’s intelligent analysis can be found here.
Deputy Assistant Attorney General Beth Brinkmann today urged a three judge panel of the DC Circuit, Court of Appeals to stay a District Court judge’s preliminary injunction banning funding of embryonic stem cell research, but two of the judges seemed unpersuaded.
Judge Griffith interrupted Brinkmann to say, “If you can’t show irreparable harm, nothing else you show matters”.
Bloomberg story here.
Update : The Appeals Court yesterday agreed with the DOJ and will allow embryonic stem-cell research to continue for now.
An unusual panel of jurists at the U.S. District courthouse in DC, made up of Circuit Judge David S. Tatel and District Judges Paul L. Friedman and Emmet G. Sullivan, heard arguments in a Texas case that seeks to change a key provision of the recently reauthorized Voting Rights Act. As it stands, districts with a history of discrimination at the polls are required to obtain pre-clearance from Justice before making any changes to their voting procedures.
The sketch shows Chris Ward, a lawyer for plaintiff Northeast Austin Municipal Utility District Number One, arguing before the panel.
AP’s Pete Yost has the story here.
The U.S. Court of Military Commission Review held its first hearing yesterday in a borrowed courtroom a half block from the White House.
Back in June two military judges at Guantanamo ruled that the detainees brought before them could not be tried by the new Military Commissions, created by Congress and the White House after the Supreme Court rejected the previous Commissions, because they had not been properly declared unlawful enemy combatants. At the time the government filed an appeal there was no court, just a mailing address in Virginia.
Meanwhile all war crime cases at Gitmo are on hold because none of the more than 550 status review hearings determined that the detainees were “unlawful”.
AP story is here.
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.
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