Why do they do sketches in Court? [closed]

Question

I was curious why they do sketches of people in the court room still. I would think taking pictures would be much easier. That and I'm curious why it started in the first place.

Answer 1

It's because a lot of courtrooms don't allow cameras/photography.

Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53 states, "Except as otherwise provided by a statute or these rules, the court must not permit the taking of photographs in the courtroom during judicial proceedings or the broadcasting of judicial proceedings from the courtroom." However, some federal courtrooms experimented with cameras from 1991 to 1994. The courts have thus far been unwilling to overturn the ban on cameras, citing "concerns with expenditure of judicial time on administration and oversight of broadcasting; the necessity of sequestering juries so that they will not look at the television program of the trial itself; the difficulty in empaneling an impartial jury in the case of a retrial; the necessity of larger jury panels or increased use of marshals; the psychological effects on witnesses, jurors, lawyers, and judges; and related considerations of 'solemnity,' 'dignity,' and the like."

[emphasis mine]

Answer 2

I assume that the tradition started before cameras, and it has carried on - mostly because an artist is a lot quieter than an SLR on rapid frame rate!

Also, you can be very 'selective' with an artist drawing and not include people who should be in the public domain - defence witness, jury and so on.