….You see my stumbling around…..that’s not an act.” Rusty Hardin told jurors as he wrapped up an opening statement. The folksy Texan appealled to the jurors sense of outrage that the government would prosecute Roger Clemens simply because he insisted on his innocence. 
Read about it here.
Near the end of a day taken up mainly by lawyers bickering over details the jury in the Roger Clemens trial finally got to hear an opening statement by the government. The defense’s opening, should they decide to give one at this stage – and everyone expects they will, won’t happen until tomorrow.
AP story here.
Roger Clemens stands before the pool of prospective jurors on the first day of his retrial on charges of lying to Congress about his use of performance enhancing drugs. His lawyer, Rusty Hardin is seated in the foreground.
Read the Tweets here.
Better late than never, here are some sketches from last Friday’s hearing where Judge Walton found that the double jeopardy bar is so high that despite his misgivings the government should be allowed to retry Roger Clemens. 
Defense attorney Michael Anttanasio, pictured above gesturing toward the government, said prosecutors had a “win-at-all costs mentality” when they precipitated a mistrial earlier this summer. 
Judge Reggie Walton questioned one of the government lawyers about picking up the tab for their mistake. “Obviously it cost Mr. Clemens a lot of money, Walton said. “Should the United States have to cough up the money for that?”
WaPo story here.
Just as the Roger Clemens trial was settling into its first full day of testimony the judge called a foul….and Clemens walked.
As prosecutor Steve Durham stood at the podium Judge Reggie Walton said, “Government counsel can’t do what it thinks it can get away with. Any first year law student should know that.” 
NYT has the story here.
And below are a few additional quick sketches I did in the courtroom today.
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.
Read More > 
