Day 2 of the Noor Salman trial.

Posted on by Thor

Courtroom sketches are available to purchase for use by the media. No phones allowed in court. Text or call (407) four five zero – 0807. I will get in touch ASAP after court lets out. 

I woke up bright and early at 6 AM for day 2 of the Noor Slaman Trial. Walking towards the courthouse at 7 AM the rainbow band shell was illuminated a warm orange from the rising sun. I met a reporter from CNN at the front entrance since the courthouse wasn’t open yet. The reporter joked that folks in the courthouse thought he was best friends with Wolf Blitzer. He talked about the media circus for the O.J. Simpson trail and the Boston bombing trial. He seems to feel that this trial will not generate as much interest from national media. Since Noor is the wife of the Pulse Nightclub attacker who was shot and killed, that makes her a secondary character in their eyes. However, being from Orlando myself, this trial is very important.

On day 2 I had my press badge ready and figured I would sketch in courtroom 4B where Judge Paul G. Byron was presiding over jury selection. There are 12 seats reserved for media in that courtroom and one of those seats is reserved for a courtroom artist. I was slated to take that seat but at the last minute, I was replaced by a caricature artist who low balled the price on his sketches. I learned from the CNN guy that on day one the courtroom was fairly empty. There was plenty of seating besides the 12 press seats. I could probably just sit in as a member of the public. If the place got full, I would gladly step out to the press room.

There was a tech issue at the front entry, so getting into the courthouse would take some time. Since I was the second in line, I wasn’t too concerned. Taking off all metal was becoming routine. Right beyond the entry  there was a line of ladies at a table that seemed to be in charge of handing out temporary passes. I asked if I needed to stop there, and I was fine with the pass I already had. I decided however to ask about sketching in the main courtroom. I was told that there was only 1 seat reserved for an artist. I asked if I could just enter as a member of the public. She told me that if I entered the room with art supplies, I would have my press badge revoked and would be evicted from the court house. I don’t get this Machiavellian idea that only one artist can observe a trail. Her in Orlando, there can only be one cowboy at the rodeo. I have seen court cases where close to a dozen Courtroom Sketch Artists sat in a row sketching trials in the past. Oh well. I seem to be the only citizen in Orlando who is not permitted to observe the case from  inside the courtroom because I carry a pencil and paper. I feel a civic responsibility to document this moment in Orlando’s History.

I would have to observe the trail from the media overflow room for a second day. There was a solid hour and a half before the doors opened. I decided I would sketch the entrance to the court house since it would illustrate this article well as a secondary sketch. I was finished with the pencil composition and starting to ink in the sketch when a security guard stopped me. I was told I shouldn’t sketch outside any of the courtrooms. I apologized and put it away. At the security for the press overflow room I was asked to rip the sketch out of my book. I jokingly signed it for him. He had to run it up the chain of command. Later a US Marshall approached me and said the sketch would have to be confiscated. The problem was that I showed the security at the entrance. If someone wanted to, they could use that sketch to possibly find a weakness in the buildings security. I hadn’t though of that as I was happily sketching away. I hope they frame the sketch and keep it. It might be worth something someday. I took all this in good humor. The guard joked with me, “Haven’t you ever heard of ‘don’t treat it like a Federal Case?’ This is where that phrase come from.” I laughed.

I was the first person in the press room. The projection screen showed 3 views of the courtroom. One view was new. It was of the defense table. I was excited. When Noor Salman entered she would sit in the center seat. I immediately started sketching the rough layout of the furniture in pencil so I would be ready when she entered. She entered wearing a black jump suit and she smiled as she talked with her attorney Lisa Moreno. I  mentioned her outfit since it was the first thing that the reporters talked about when they entered the room I was excitedly sketching in. I sketched Noor quickly as she talked animatedly to Lisa. Sketching allows me to crawl inside her head. For the first time she came alive for me. From my comfy jury box seat, I could watch Noor’s every expression. Come Monday, I will continue to focus my attention strictly on her. She tends to spend a lot of time with her head down seeming to draw or take notes.

Day 1 of the Noor Salman Trial.

Posted on by Thor

Courtroom sketches are available to purchase for use by the media. No phones allowed in court. Text or call (407) four five zero – 0807. I will get in touch after court lets out. 



Day one of the Noor Slaman trial held at the Federal Court building in Downtown Orlando was a solid day of jury selection. AS an update,  Salman is the widow of the gunman who killed 49 people at Pulse Nightclub on June 12, 2016. She is standing trial for aiding and abetting her husband. I got to the courthouse in the afternoon. Across the street from the entrance to the courthouse was a lone protester holding a sign that said something like “Fry her until she doesn’t have a Pulse.”

I have been covering the trial to date as a courtroom artist, but the day I was supposed to pick up my press badge, I was told that another artist underbid me for the assignment for the local media. It came as a shock since no one negotiated with me to iron out any details. Getting through security was awkward since I was no longer with the press. I was a private citizen wanting to sit in on the proceedings, but I also had a sketchbook. That sketchbook became the issue. The guards didn’t know what to do with me. I was told to go up to the press overflow court but the guard there had to send me back downstairs for a press badge at the clerks office. The clerk sent me to the main courtroom since I explained that I wasn’t press, but the guard there wouldn’t let me in with a sketchbook. I believe the issue was that the judge doesn’t want any jurors sketched. I understand the concern and wouldn’t have sketched a juror but it is day one and everyone is trying to get there bearings. The guards were a delight honestly. It was fun to joke about my plight as a rogue artist. I ultimately ended up in the press room having been issued a press pass. My press badge says that I am working for Channel 6 News. Another courtroom was set aside for survivors and family of victims. That arrangement is set up to keep the press and family separate.

I was told by an Orlando Sentinel reporter that only 4 jurors had been interviewed in the morning. By the end of the day 10 jurors were interviewed. Judge Byron had picked up the pace by the afternoon when I arrived. Each juror is issued a number to  maintain their privacy. Juror #1 was of the opinion that police are quick to judge sometimes. She had been profiled in her youth and it stuck with her. Juror #35 had a step daughter who was arrested in South Florida. She said her daughter served just a couple of weeks in prison and has grown up since. When asked about what she felt about recreational shooting of a gun at a gun range, she stopped and asked why someone would want to shoot a gun at a range. She was pretty sure she would hold it against Noor if she knew that the defendant had shot a gun at a gun range for fun and recreation. Juror # 6 had experienced grand theft and domestic abuse. She said that in Brooklyn where she came from it was a rite of passage to get your car stolen at some point. She also had a daughter who had several co-workers who died at Pulse.

Of the 10 prospective jurors interviewed, 6 were selected to possible be on the jury of 12. On Friday March 2, 2018 the plan is for 14 more prospective jurors to be interviewed. 60 potential jurors will be put in the juror pool before it is narrowed down to 12 jurors and 6 alternates. Judge Paul G. Byron asked all the questions and by the end of the day his voice was giving out a bit. Jury selection could take 7 to 10 days with the case being closed possibly by the first week of April. Although I never got into the courtroom, I could see on the monitors that the room wasn’t full. That gives me hope that someday I will get into the courtroom as a citizen with a sketchbook. I was shocked that the place wasn’t crowded. But the national media outlets don’t find jury selection very sexy. They will come out in force once the details of the case are being presented.

Noor Salman Federal Court hearing.

Posted on by Thor

Noor Salman, the wife of Omar Mateen, the Pulse Nightclub shooter was in Federal Court in Orlando on Thursday for a pre-trial hearing. Federal prosecutors say that she knew that her husband was going to attack Pulse on the evening of June 12, 2016. This hearing was set to decide which evidence could be allowed in the court case which should begin March 1, 2018. The hearing was set to  decide what evidence jurors could see or not see at the trial.

The defense wants to include testimony from a man nicknamed Nemo who is a friend of Omar’s, and he was used as an alibi when Omar was cheating on his wife. Salman told the FBI that her husband went to have dinner with Nemo on the night of the attack. Prosecutors argue that Noor came up with the Nemo story. She send a text to her husband on the night of the attack, saying, “If ur mom calls, say Nemo invited you out and Noor wants to stay home.” Was this a cover story, or was it a statement based on what she believed to be true? Nemo plans to plead the 5th amendment id asked to take the stand.

Dr. Bruce Frumkin a forensic clinical psychologist from Miami who specializes in Miranda rights and false confessions made statement to the effect that Salman was intellectually impaired. The prosecutors feel that she is in no way impaired and that statements she made on the evening of June 12 are accurate and incriminating. The doctor will be allowed to testify in March.

The defense had no objections  to evidence of the purchase of a rifle and ammunition at Walmart, or the purchase of airplane tickets and a $7000 diamond ring for Noor. She was signed up for Women, Infants, and
Children (WIC)  a special supplemental nutrition program for low income families that provides Federal grants to States for supplemental foods,
health care referrals, and nutrition education for low-income women. The defense argued that showing that Noor benefited from the horrific Pulse Nightclub attack would anger the jury. The judge countered that in arson cases, there are certain red flags such as the purchase of life insurance. Mateen might have made these large purchases knowing he would not be around to pay off the maxed out credit card. Mateen and Salman’s bank account records will be allowed in court.

The defense wanted to exclude video that showed the couple and their child driving to Disney Springs which is alleged to have been a possible target for the attack. The 6 minute video was shown but only lawyers and the judge could see the screens. The video also showed the couple going to a mosque that evening. The prosecutors were concerned that the child was kept up so late. Defense attorney Swift argued that they obviously aren’t familiar with Ramadan, were worshipers fast all day and then stay up late eating and gathering together. “This is not a case against Islam” judge Byron stated. I found it interesting that the defense has a new attorney who wears a hijab which is a veil worn by some Muslim women in the presence of adult males outside of their immediate family. This is a visual clue that made it seem like Noors’ religion is under attack. The judge stated that a church is just a church and the evidence would be allowed.

The defense argued that all the video shot inside the nightclub on the night of the attack was prejudicial and should not be allowed. There is so much police video footage, that it seems redundant to show it all. He said that no one denies that what happened that night was horrible, but that evidence should be limited to what Salman did to aid and abet that attack. “Lets have Ms. Salman’s trial not Omar Mateens’.” said her attorney Charles Swift.

The defense also wanted photos of the couple smiling at a gun range removed as evidence, arguing that it was inflammatory. The judge however said that he has photos of himself at a gun range and that such photos are common. If a juror were upset by a photo of someone smiling at a gun range, they would be weeded out in the jury selection process.

On the evening of the attack, Omar brought a hand gun from his security job to the club. This was a violation of his security company job. That gun was left in the van on the night of the attack. Noor Slamans’ gun range membership card will also be allowed to be shown in the March trial.

Salman has pleaded not guilty. If convicted, she could face life in prison.