Job Interview: Court sketch artist captures Minnesota’s most prominent criminal proceedings
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Courtrooms for major crimes are filled with witnesses, lawyers, reporters and sometimes an artist.
The practice of courtroom sketching may seem archaic, but courtroom artists play an important role in documenting criminal proceedings. Cedric Hohnstadt has been doing that work for nearly 30 years.
“I didn’t start out to courtroom sketch,” he said. “The local media wanted a sketch artist, and so they called the art department at the college, and a professor recommended me.”
That recommendation started a decades-long career in the courtroom. But Hohnstadt’s portfolio expands beyond criminal proceedings. His work has appeared on packaging for Mr. Potato Head, Monopoly and even cereal boxes.
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“I enjoy cartooning and doing stuff for kids and stuff that makes people smile,” Hohnstadt said. “Courtroom sketching is just a nice change of pace now and then.”
His home studio is filled with different types of art — movie memorabilia, comics, children’s books. And the main tool of his trade these days: an iPad.
“Judges nowadays will let me bring in an iPad and sketch on the iPad, which is much faster and less obtrusive — less of a distraction.”
The job requires speed, but factual, unbiased portrayals are top priority.
“If I think the defendant is super guilty, I try not to draw them differently,” Hohnstadt said, “I think it’s really important that we try not do that — we try and hold judgment and hear both sides and look at all the evidence before we come to a conclusion.”
This conversation is part of our Job Interview series, where we talk to everyday Minnesotans about the rewards and challenges of their work. This interview has been lightly edited for style and clarity. Click on the audio player for the original radio version.
Official title: Freelance illustrator / Courtroom sketch artist
What I actually do: I draw criminals for money.
A great day at work: I do get attorneys occasionally that will buy sketches afterwards.
Sometimes I’ll even get attorneys from other states who send me an email and say, “I know you weren't there, but can you do a sketch of this trial that I just did, and I can put it on my wall, and I’ll pay you money?” and I usually turn it down, because if I wasn't there to see it, it wouldn’t be accurate.
A strange day at work: COVID was really weird, because during COVID, a lot of courts didn’t meet in the courtroom because everyone was trying to social distance. So they put everything on Zoom.
They would do the trial over Zoom and they would still hire me to sketch, but because of the way the Minnesota law is written, I would sit at home with the Zoom call in front of me and sketch the Zoom call like a ‘Brady Bunch’ style grid and turn in that drawing.
That’s what I had to do to follow the law.
What I’ve learned: There’s people I’ve drawn in trials who, by no fault of their own, found themselves in the middle of some kind of tragedy or firestorm. So it gives you an appreciation and a healthy perspective on life.
