Original courtroom drawings by Marcia Danits, as well as an assortment of non-courtroom works, approximately 1969-2014.

Courtroom sketches in the collection (primarily colored pencil on paper) are largely those done for Chicago CBS News affiliate WBBM-TV and other news outlets. Hearings covered by Danits include both criminal and civil cases. Danits’ first assignment was the Chicago Seven conspiracy trial, the sketches from which are included in the collection. Additional trials feature well-known figures including politicians like Rod Blagojevich, George Ryan, and Edward V. Hanrahan; celebrities like Michael Jordan, Michael Jackson, and Oprah Winfrey; and other high-profile defendants like John Wayne Gacy, Jon Burge, and Jeff Fort, as well as thousands of lesser-known individuals. The order of the collection is alphabetical, as found, typically by defendant’s name though occasionally by topic. Many sketches identify pictured individuals such as attorneys, judges, and witnesses. Included in the courtroom works are groupings of judges, juries, and specific courts (i.e., bankruptcy court) sketches, organized by the artist. The sketches come from various courtroom contexts, including trials, sentencing hearings, bond hearings, etc. Terms were assigned to the best of the processor’s knowledge but might not always reflect the specific circumstances depicted in the works. Interfiled are also a small amount of news outlet assignments outside of the courtroom, such as an Amtrak train ride during a 1980s oil crisis, reported by John Callaway.

The collection also features a smaller amount of personal artwork by Danits not made for news outlets. These include portraits, landscapes, and sketchbooks with a variety of paint and illustration materials.