(In his defence, Kandyba claimed ‘she was difficult to draw because she was too pretty’.) Jane Rosenberg faced a similar backlash for her portrayal of quarterback Tom Brady in 2015, which was heavily scrutinised by the press. The background is coloured orange and her expression is pensive and aged. On Twitter one fan wrote, ‘Why does the courtroom sketch look like #OwenWilson?’ Swift appears older, her stance slightly hunched: more dinner lady than pop star. After Swift filed a lawsuit against ex-DJ David Mueller for groping her, a sketch by Jeff Kandyba became a subject of public debate – especially on social media. Taylor Swift’s courtroom portrait is among the most humorous I have encountered. The Independent reported that Harris ‘show no remorse’ during the trial – a depiction shaped by Coleman’s interpretation of Harris’s behaviour in the courtroom. I think we probably guessed that.’ TV news coverage of the trial followed the release of Coleman’s sketches. Shortly after the verdict, Coleman tweeted: ‘#rolfharris guilty. All of the figures surrounding Harris are vividly animated, yet he sits slumped and despondent, facing the judge as if his fate has overwhelmed him. In the background of one sketch, two members of the jury place their hands over their faces – presumably in light of an unwanted verdict. In contrast, the mood of Coleman’s drawings of Rolf Harris during his 2014 trial for indecent assault is distinctly stern.

A drawing by sketch artist Priscilla Coleman shows Winehouse extending her leg and hitching up her dress, in order to demonstrate to the court her slight frame as evidence of her innocence. Notable cases that have been illustrated include Amy Winehouse’s 2009 trial for assault after she was accused of hitting a woman at a charity ball. Films, television shows, and podcasts purport to expose the mystery of the courtroom, and the private lives of those tangled up in its web.īeyond courtroom dramas and ‘true crime’ stories of trials, such as Dateline, American Crime Story, Killing Fields, and my recent favourite, Netflix’s The Staircase, the courtroom sketch is a key example of how the goings-on at trial are represented and disseminated. The allure of the genre, I believe, has to do with the hidden nature of the legal scenario. (I am as guilty of this as anyone: I’ve watched courtroom dramas every week religiously in the past, especially Primal Fear and The Lincoln Lawyer.) We get hooked on the interrelations of characters, the impending catastrophe, the emotional mind games played by the press, lawyers, and bogeymen criminals. Society loves courtroom dramas – they allow the viewer to consume the uncertainty of someone else’s life as opposed to fixating on their own.

Sketch trial key