Skip to main content
Advanced Search
Photograph of courtroom sketch of juror Mrs. Aileen B. Shields during Ruby trial
Photograph of courtroom sketch of juror Mrs. Aileen B. Shields during Ruby trial

Photograph of courtroom sketch of juror Mrs. Aileen B. Shields during Ruby trial

Object number2019.026.0004
Date03/03/1964
ClassificationsArt
Artist Woodi Ishmael
ObjectCourtroom sketch
Credit LineThe Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza Collection
MediumPaper, Photo
Dimensions10 × 8 1/16 in. (25.4 × 20.5 cm)
Collections
DescriptionPhotograph of courtroom pencil sketch on paper by Associated Press courtroom artist Woodi Ishmael. The sketch shows juror Mrs. Aileen B. Shields during the Jack Ruby trial on March 3, 1964. The sketch shows Shields seated at the witness stand; her hands are folded in her lap as a microphone is positioned in front of her. Judge J. Frank Wilson is visible in the background at the judge's bench. A typed caption reads: "(DN5) Dallas, Tex., March 3-- Eleventh Juror Chosen-- This sketch by Artist Woodi Ishmael depicts the scene in Criminal District Court in Dallas this morning as Mrs. Aileen B. Shields, 57, was selected as the eleventh juror in the Jack Ruby murder trial. Seated on the bench is Judge J. Frank Wilson, who was assigned to preside over the trial after Judge Joe B. Brown became ill. (AP Wirephoto Sketch)." Ishmael's signature "Woodi Ishmael" is located in the lower left corner of the sketch. Ishmael made the original sketches for the Associated Press during the trial of Jack Ruby after the judge barred cameras from the courtroom.
Curatorial Commentary
Aileen Shields was prospective juror 167 when she was selected as the eleventh person to serve on the Ruby trial jury. At the time, she was employed by Southwestern Bell Telephone Company in the engineering department. Fifty-eight years old at the time of the Ruby trial, Ms. Shields passed away in March 1971. -- Stephen Fagin, Curator
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
In addition to covering the Jack Ruby trial as a sketch artist for the Associated Press, artist Woodi Ishmael (1914-1995) illustrated more than thirty-five books, painted portraits of fifty-four Air Medal of Honor winners, served as artist-in-residence aboard the HMS Queen Elizabeth 2, and illustrated for a number of publications, including the Saturday Evening Post, Cosmopolitan and National Geographic. -- Stephen Fagin, Curator
Prior to serving as a Texas Criminal Court District Judge in Dallas County, Joseph Franklin Wilson (1901-1968) was a U.S. Congressman from Texas's 5th district from 1947 to 1955. For the Jack Ruby trial, Judge Wilson's larger Criminal District Court No. 1 courtroom was needed to accommodate more members of the news media. Beginning with jury selection on February 17, 1964, until the verdict was announced on March 14, 1964, the trial was held in Wilson's courtroom on the second floor of the Dallas County Criminal Courts Building. This unusual move allowed Judge Wilson to take a vacation, although he was called in to temporarily preside over the Ruby trial while Judge Joe B. Brown was out sick. -- Stephen Fagin, Curator