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Courtroom sketch of a prospective juror for the Jack Ruby murder trial in 1964
Courtroom sketch of a prospective juror for the Jack Ruby murder trial in 1964

Courtroom sketch of a prospective juror for the Jack Ruby murder trial in 1964

Object number2004.020.0008
DateFebruary 1964 - March 1964
ClassificationsArt
Artist Charles Fisher
ObjectCourtroom sketch
Credit LineChuck Fisher Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
MediumPaper
Dimensions14 × 17 in. (35.6 × 43.2 cm)
Collections
DescriptionCourtroom pencil sketch on paper from Jack Ruby murder trial by Charles Fisher. The sketch shows a prospective juror standing behind the witness stand. She is wearing a hat with a flower, glasses, a beaded necklace, and a dress. A microphone is placed in front of her on the edge of the barrier. Her left hand is on her hip with her elbow bent. There is the profile outline of another unidentified woman (presumably, the court recorder) in front of the prospective juror. The caption in the bottom right reads "Prospective juror/ Jack Ruby murder trial/ Dallas." The artist's signature "C. Fisher" is located at the bottom center of the drawing. Charles "Chuck" Fisher was the art director at KRLD-TV in 1963. Fisher made the pencil sketches during the trial of Jack Ruby for KRLD-TV after the judge barred cameras from the courtroom.
Curatorial Commentary
The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza conducted an oral history with Charles Fisher and another KRLD-TV art department staff member, Kenneth Hansen, on April 8, 2004. In the interview, Fisher and Hansen discuss their experiences processing film from all over the world the weekend of the Kennedy assassination as well as serving as courtroom sketch artists for the Jack Ruby trial in 1964. Mr. Fisher passed away on June 19, 2017, and Mr. Hansen passed away December 31, 2010. - Stephanie Allen-Givens, Collections and Exhibits Manager
Jury selection in the Jack Ruby trial took place between February 17 and March 3, 1964. During that two-week period, 162 prospective jurors were interviewed, which District Attorney Henry Wade informed the news media was not a Dallas County record. Of the 162 individuals interviewed for the Ruby trial, twelve were accepted, eighteen were challenged by the defense team, eleven were challenged by the prosecution, sixty-two were ruled out because they were against the death penalty, fifty-eight were ruled out because they held fixed opinions on the case, and one was excused due to illness. -- Stephen Fagin, Curator