Public Collectors Courtroom Artist Residency #9: Dana Sperry
Dana Sperry traveled from Pittsburgh for his residency, which took place yesterday. We chose room 702 where we observed a Judge I had not seen before: James M. Obbish. Court started about forty minutes late, but rather than move from one courtroom to the next, we decided to observe the entire morning session in this one room, starting at 9:30 AM and ending at 12:30 PM. In this time we observed over twenty defendants. Nearly all were people of color. As usual the judge and most (or all) of the prosecutors and defenders were white.
We also saw something that I had not seen before in court: a group of seven older white men and women sitting in the front row, observing court on behalf of an advocacy group for victims. They stayed until a young Latino defendant in custody was brought out. There was mention of a psychiatric or psychological evaluation, there was rescheduling, and in about a minute the man was taken away to be returned to jail or prison. The group in front of us stood up in unison and left. If anyone can explain who these people are and what they do, I'd be grateful for any insights. They didn't seem to want to tell me much, even when I told them I'm not a cop (they asked).
The judge we observed was erratic in his behavior and emotional responses. At one point he became so irate with a lawyer that he had to give himself a time out. One moment we saw the judge tell a homeless male defendant that was late for court: "How much time should I add on for you being late?" The next, he treated a despondent looking woman with a drug charge with unusual generosity.
Dana and I had a very good conversation after court and I look forward to publishing it in the next collection of residency reports. That should be out in four months or so if I can stay on schedule. As always, if you appreciate this project, please consider supporting it by picking up the report booklets. I have to say, I think they are quite strong—in large part due to the brilliance of the people that have participated as residents. Order here.
