A Signature Piece of Art

The following article originally appeared April 2, 2016.

Perhaps unique to Shelby County, a Works Progress Administration (WPA) mural hangs prominently above circuit court, presided over by Judge Charles O’Connor for the past 34 years.

“I’ve never been made aware of any other courtroom with a mural quite like that,” O’Connor said.

The mural depicts the Biblical story of Israel’s King Solomon ordering a child to be cut in two in an effort to determine the child’s true mother. The threat worked and the baby was spared.

These days, when grade school students visit the courthouse, O’Connor asks if any of them can explain the mural.

“You know, some of them do (know the story),” O’Connor said.

Shelby County’s third courthouse was completed in 1937 when the offices transitioned from temporary quarters in the First National Bank building. The listed artist for the signature piece is R.B. Gruell, an American Impressionist painter who passed away in 1914.

For O’Connor, the painting is a perfect fit for his work.

“It’s a really interesting depiction, particularly in terms of child custody cases,” O’Connor said.

The mural even took center stage during a 1989 death penalty trial.

With a change of venue from Clark County, the defendant faced accusations of killing a woman and her three-year-old daughter in a burglary attempt. With intense media attention from Louisville television stations, the case, along with defense attorney Mike McDaniel, found their way to Shelby County’s Circuit Court for trial.

“One of the preliminary motions that (McDaniel) filed on behalf of his client was to cover that mural because he felt that it would unjustly and improperly inflame the jurors, particularly given the type of case this was,” O’Connor recalled.

Shelbyville attorney Kris Meltzer served as local counsel for McDaniel and the defendant.

Meltzer remembers the motion, as well as the option for the judge to perform “limiting instruction.” In this case, the judge could admonish the jurors to not allow the mural to play a role in their decision-making related to the trial.

O’Connor heard the arguments, but ultimately denied the motion.

“I said, ‘As long as nobody references the mural during any part of the proceedings, it won’t be an issue.’”

The trial proceeded and the defendant was found guilty on both counts of murder and a burglary felony.

However, he was spared the death penalty by the jury and instead sentenced by O’Connor to a maximum 170 years of imprisonment.

While Circuit Court remains much the same as in the 1930s, Superior Courts I and II were given new courtrooms with the renovation nearly 15 years ago. The courts are now well equipped with technology and recent furnishing improvements.

“The (county) council’s been good to me,” Superior Court II Judge David Riggins said. “I’ve been able to update the chairs and jury room and now my office.”

But Superior Court I, in particular, lacks any historical tie-in to the courthouse’s rich history. Judge R. Kent Apsley agrees that his court could use a “legacy piece” of art.

“One of the things I’ve been thinking about is making historical improvements to the courtroom,” Apsley said.

While researching various art projects, Apsley continues to generate ideas. He is also seeking the public’s suggestions.

“It struck me that this could be a bicentennial project,” Apsley said. “I would like to find or create some kind of mural or backdrop to tie it in to the rest of the courthouse.”

In a unique and restored WPA building, Apsley’s search for a signature piece begins while O’Connor maintains his court’s atmosphere for the last two years of his final term in office.

“I’m never going to take (the painting) down,” O’Connor said.