My Days in Court: Unique Views of the Famous and Infamous by a Court Artist

The author shares her impressions of the many famous criminal trials she has attended as a courtroom artist, from the "Son of Sam" murder case to Bernhard Goetz

From 1972 to 1987, Dengrove was a courtroom illustrator on New York City metropolitan-area television. She sketched at every important trial, including those of "Son of Sam," ex-attorney general John Mitchell, mob bosses, politicians and what she terms "social misfits." Writing with freelancer Martin, Dengrove explains that attending so many trials turned her into a supporter of the death penalty, and offers personal reactions to criminals, lawyers, judges and media types. The opinions expressed here about the criminal justice system are informed and shrewd; an added bonus is the inclusion of dozens of Dengrove's sketches.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Seldom has the adage "A picture is worth a thousand words" seemed more apt than in the case of courtroom sketches, until recently often the only allowed visual record of a trial proceeding. It is unfortunate that NBC-TV illustrator Dengrove's considerable facility at creating lifelike sketches (many of which are reproduced in this book) does not carry over to writing; even with the assistance of freelance writer Martin, the text is laden with awkwardly phrased and numbingly banal observations and opinions. About Jean Harris: "I felt that Jean didn't quite have it all together." About John W. Hinckley Jr.: "He appeared so wacked out, spaced out, and knocked out of the world around him." Libraries can skip this.
- Jack Ray, Loyola/Notre Dame Lib., Baltimore
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.