Lawyer Dennis O’Connor presents his case.

Posted on by Thor

I had a second opportunity to sketch lawyer Dennis O’Connor in action at the Orange County Courthouse. Getting through security into the building was an adventure. Pockets had to be emptied and everything went through the scanner while I walked through the metal detector. My bag had to be searched a second time and my brushes were to blame. I had to explain what the brushes were for and then I was sent on my way. I had been assigned to sketch Dennis by his family. They wanted to surprise him with a courtroom sketch for his birthday. The first time I sketched him in a Sanford Courthouse and he had no idea what I was up to. Those sketches unfortunately showed Dennis rather small on the far side of the courtroom.

Dennis was in the elevator as I went up to the courtroom. This time he knew why I was sketching. He briefly explained the case to me. He was defending Dale Steele. Dale was a friend of an elderly woman named Loretta Viles. She had signed a document naming him as her caretaker. Sylvia’s family was suing Dale claiming that he took advantage of the old woman’s trust. He had purchased a boat, and car using funds from her account.
Sylvia, Lorita’s daughter was on the stand being cross examined. All afternoon, documents were projected that showed expenses and legal documents. The bottom line however was that Loretta had signed over the power of attorney to Dale. Dales son took the stand and a photo was shown of him riding the NYC subways to visit Loretta who also had an apartment there. His testimony implied that the Steele family had been close to Loretta for years. Loretta, who wasn’t in the court room was painted as a generous woman rather than a victim. She had also financed the home that her daughter lived in. Dennis’s cross examination implied that the Steele family had been closer to Loretta than her own family.

Unfortunately courtrooms are not staged like a theater, with lawyers facing the audience. I had to draw Dennis from the back and was worried that once again the family would not approve the sketch. After a solid day of cross examinations it was finally time for closing arguments. When the jury left for a break, the judge, told the lawyers that they had to wrap up the case that night. They each only had 15 minutes to make their closing arguments. Dennis joked that they wanted to wrap things up so that the juror in the Green Bay Packers jersey could get to see the game that night.
Both court officers checked in to see my progress on the sketch. They had never seen a courtroom artist in action. One officer looked just like Hank, the brother in law detective on Breaking Bad. He acknowledged that everyone tells him that. With final arguments complete, the jury was sent home and told to return the next day to deliberate. I left the courtroom feeling unsure of the outcome. Was the elderly Loretta, a victim or a generous person who lavished gifts on the people around her? Dennis’s closing argument was warm and heartfelt. He admitted that he didn’t know why the cash was spent on items that Dale used. However, Loretta trusted him enough to grant him power of attorney over her finances. When I dropped off the sketch, I was told that Dale was acquitted.

The Case of the Cervical Spine

Posted on by Thor

Jillian O’Connor and her daughters hired me to sketch Dennis O’Connor, their father and husband as a gift for his birthday.
On the evening before the court date, Jill sent me an e-mail to let me know that the trial would be in courtroom G of the Seminole County Courthouse in Sanford. Unfortunately I didn’t read the e-mail until 1:30pm after I had written several articles. Court had started at 9am. Jill decided to sit in on the trial. This was the first time she had watched Dennis in a courtroom in 30 years. I called her in a panic and asked if the trial was still underway. She whispered that it was. I rushed to get dressed and quickly drove up to Sanford. I knew I was up against the clock since the trial would likely shut down for the day at 5pm.

I had to take my shoes off for security when I got to the courthouse but all my art supplies slipped through without a hitch.  Courtroom G is rather small with just 2 pews for spectators. There was a full jury but I knew better than to try and sketch them. Jill sat in the back pew wearing a red dress. I had seen Dennis in one photo and I spotted him as the lawyer on the far right with the yellow legal pad. I quickly sketched him in and then focused on everyone else. Judge Alan A. Dickey presided. For much of the time he seemed to focus on his computer the same was true of the court officer and the woman seated next to her. The most active person in the courtroom was the stenographer who often moved to get closed to anyone who was speaking.

The case involved a cervical spine injury of Samantha Stringer Bobbitt. Blame was implied again and again in the cross examination of a medical expert named Dr. Jones, who was paid $4000 for his time in court. Earlier in the day Dr. Scharfman had been examined as a medical expert. I actually used to go to Dr. Scharfman to try and handle constant headaches I suffer from due to a pinched nerve in my neck. The doctor prescribed a series of drugs, three of which I still take today so that I can function. Over time the drug cocktail seems to have lost it’s effectiveness and I have stoically resigned myself to the fact that living is painful. However whenever I sketch, I forget about the pain as I wrestle with the creative process. So, I identified with Samantha’s plight as they outlined six years in which she went to numerous specialists to try and control her pain. The human body is a frail and delicate structure with a nerve filled tent pole of a spine to defy gravity. Age and trauma either from daily chores or an accident can  cause those nerves if pinched to constantly send a signal of pain to the brain. It seems odd that so much expense went into finding a blame for the pain.

No expense was spared to create graphics to sway the juries opinions. Dennis’s team of lawyers had a large dry mounted poster made up of a view of someone’s back with hundreds of acupuncture needles protruding out of it. The opposing lawyer said that he didn’t even object at the use of the image because of how creative Dennis’s argument had been. Dennis knew Dr. Jones socially but on the stand he had to try and sway and challenge the doctors opposing opinion.

At 5pm the judge called for a recess. Dennis introduced his wife to the judge and he explained that this was her first time ever in the courtroom. After the jury left, the judge chastised the lawyers, saying the trial was taking much too long. He said if they didn’t pick up the pace, then he would call a mistrial. After the judge left the lawyers justified their days work reassuring each other that it was hard to cover six years of medical treatment in a single day. The court officer noticed I was still sketching and she asked if I was actively involved with the defendant or the prosecution. I paused, not sure what to say, it was obvious she planned to kick me out of the courtroom. Dennis’s assistant council covered for me saying I was involved in the presentation materials. If Dennis wasn’t suspicious about what I was doing, he must have suspected after that little power play. In the end, I’m not sure of the outcome of the case of Samantha’s spine, the backbone of truth was lost in a mountain of detail and grey innuendo. I do know a lot of money is involved.