William Hennessy, a veteran sketch artist who brought courtroom scenes to the nation, has died

CNN
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William J. Hennessy Jr., a veteran sketch artist who gave Americans striking views from inside courtrooms during some of the nation’s most important legal dramas, died Monday.

From the Supreme Court to high-profile criminal cases to the Senate during President Donald Trump’s impeachment in 2020, Hennessy’s work allowed the public to see history unfold in places where cameras are either not allowed or severely restricted.

In many cases, his sketches are the only visual record of these proceedings.

Hennessy’s death was announced Wednesday by his son, John Paul Hennessy. He died on Monday on his 67th birthday.

“It’s a different way of shooting something,” Hennessy, who worked independently and often sold his sketches to CNN, NBC, Fox and other major news organizations, told CNN in April. “It brings a uniqueness to it that as much as I think a lot of people would prefer to have a video or a camera on it, what I do is actually, as the interrogation takes place, I go from each judge, as each judge asks the next question, I go and outline that exchange.”

Hennessy was a fixture at the Supreme Court during oral arguments, including the April session where the justices debated whether Trump should be entitled to immunity from prosecution. But he was also a regular in courtrooms across the country.

Last year, Hennessy sketched the trial of several members of the Proud Boys accused of plotting to storm the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. In 2020, CNN hired Hennessy to sketch the Senate floor during Trump’s first impeachment trial because the chamber’s cameras are controlled by the Senate. And a few years earlier, when then-Trump White House spokesman Sean Spicer barred television cameras from the White House briefing room, Hennessy was there.

A native of Virginia, Hennessy attended the Rhode Island School of Design and trained as a fine artist, according to a biography on his website.

Television cameras have never been allowed during Supreme Court arguments and are mostly barred from federal courts.

Hennessy was often seen around courthouses wearing colorful ties, always tucked into a patterned button-down shirt while he worked.

His process, as observed by reporters in court, was to sketch the outlines of a courtroom scene on a large piece of paper during the hearing. He would then often post somewhere more comfortable around the courthouse to finish his work.

At times he drew other details from the hearing as insets on the same page. He then photographed the illustration bit by bit so that news organizations could use separate images showing different views of the scene.

Often, judges acknowledged his friendly presence in their courtrooms—letting him sit in an open jury box for a better view, or even shaking his hand after a procedure DC District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan once did to thank him for his work after a hearing in the first years of the Trump administration.

“Bill was the consummate professional. It was always a pleasure to see him in my courtroom,” Sullivan said upon learning of Hennessy’s death.

Hennessy was often one of the earliest members of the court press corps to arrive before a newsworthy hearing, and he got to know many of the reporters covering major cases.

Hennessy is survived by his wife, seven children and 13 grandchildren, his family said.

“Some of the most incredible cases that I’ve covered, the most memorable ones aren’t necessarily, you know, big headlines, but just — the human drama involved, the courtroom and the events that take place in there are sometimes the most compelling things . , and it’s hard to stay focused and not get caught up in the emotions of it, Hennessy told PBS News in an interview from 2009.

CNN’s Kit Maher contributed to this report.