APSU professor’s courtroom sketches bring Glen Casada trial to life

By: Ethan Steinquest May 1, 2025

Former Tennessee House Speaker Glen Casada with his defense team in the Fred D. Thompson U.S. Courthouse and Federal Building. | Illustration by Paul Collins

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Paul Collins, a professor in Austin Peay State University’s Department of Art + Design, has been selected as the courtroom sketch artist for the federal corruption trial of former Tennessee House Speaker Glen Casada and his former chief of staff, currently taking place in Nashville.

Cameras and electronics are not allowed in federal court, so Collins’ illustrations are helping local news organizations bring the trial to life. His work is featured in coverage from NewsChannel 5, the Nashville Scene, the Nashville Banner, the Tennessee Lookout, and the Tennessee Journal.

“I feel really lucky to be there,” Collins said. “I’m able to provide an image of the proceedings that otherwise wouldn’t be available to the public. From an artist’s perspective, my choices are about storytelling and presenting … it’s a dense field of humanity and a very interesting way to work.”

Collins is primarily a studio artist, but he is no stranger to dynamic, real-world environments. His digital drawings from a 2018 visit to Nashville’s General Sessions Court caught the attention of the Nashville Banner, whose editor offered him the chance to cover the Casada trial for multiple outlets.

“Sitting in on court proceedings was a rich experience that’s always held a special place in my heart, so I jumped at this opportunity,” Collins said. “And there are new challenges - no electronics, so no iPad. They want it in color, and they want likenesses to fully represent the people I’m drawing. It was a whole series of new challenges that I thought would be really exciting.”

Defense attorney Ed Yarbrough delivers opening arguments in the federal corruption trial of former Tennessee House Speaker Glen Casada. | Illustration by Paul Collins

During a typical eight-hour day in the courtroom, Collins produces numerous pencil sketches, then colors and inks the best ones to create six to eight finished drawings.

“Things are happening at a really fast clip, so I’m sending shots off on the breaks to see if I’m doing what the editors want,” he said. “Witnesses change and people move, so I don’t have much time and I’m having to find new ways to work.”

Warming up with rapid-fire pencil sketches has been especially helpful for Collins, and now he can capture a side conversation between two people in under two minutes.

“I’ve never been good at drawing likenesses,” he said. “I’m a very gestural artist, but it’s a week in and I’m getting so much better. I have so many students who say, ‘oh, I just have no talent,’ but talent is nothing. It’s about practicing and figuring things out, and I’m learning the same lesson that my students learn.”

Collins also sees the experience as an opportunity for his students, noting that many court officers and lawyers he spoke with had never met a sketch artist.

“I’m going to beat the drum and try to get invited to the drawing classes because I have students who draw so much better than I do,” he said. “I think there are APSU students who could go to a trial in their free time, develop a 12-image portfolio, and get this work.”

Former Tennessee State Rep. Robin Smith testifies in the Fred D. Thompson U.S. Courthouse and Federal Building on April 28. | Illustration by Paul Collins

In addition to the artistic challenges and opportunities, Collins said the experience offers students a valuable look into the judicial system.

“The biggest takeaway for me isn’t about art, it’s about justice,” he said. “I’d encourage anyone with free time to go to a trial, whether it’s local or federal, to see the mechanisms and seriousness of this process.”

Collins is keenly focused on that process as the trial unfolds, and looks forward to documenting the rest of the proceedings.

“When I work in my studio I’m the boss, and it’s very much about me,” he said. “This is twisting my brain in a wonderful way because I’m like a caretaker of this information I’m passing along, and it feels like I’m part of something bigger.”