Hollywood and the Law:
An Introduction to the
American Legal System
(ALS)
Perception:
What does Hollywood Get Right?
•Basic elements of the criminal (and to lesser
extent ) civil trial “in court” process
• Essential roles of the parties in our
adversarial legal system
o Prosecutor / Plaintiff as burden
holder
o Defense as burden “buster”
o Defendant as presumed (????)
innocence
Perception:
What does Hollywood Get Right?
•Essential roles of the parties in our
adversarial legal system
o Judge as referee and gate keeper
o Witness as provider of fact
o Bailiff as judges bouncers
o Court reporter as record keeper
oJury as trier of fact
Perception:
What does Hollywood Get Right?
Reality:
What Hollywood Leaves Out
Facts about the ALS:
• 80% to 90% of lawyers never step inside a
courtroom; their job is to keep clients OUT of court
• 85% to 95% of civil lawsuits or criminal cases DO
NOT go to trial.
• Most civil cases will end in a settlement
• Criminal cases will end in a plea bargain
• The courts shows on T.V. are mostly trial courts; the
AJS is a complex system of courts with very defined
roles: each court has a complex series of rules
• A trial can be decided by either a jury or judge
Reality:
What Hollywood Barely Touches On…
Facts about the American Judicial System
• Federalism, a core concept of American government
allows for three essential courts systems
o Municipal (city/ township/ county)
o State (PA /NJ)
o Federal (US)
• Different levels of review existence with these
systems
o A trial level (finder of fact)
o Appellate levels (reviewers of law)
Reality:
What Hollywood Vaguely Represents
Facts about the Trial Process
• Trials are govern by a complex series of rules:
o Analogy: the professional football players
playbook
• Rules of Civil Procedure
o A full year course during 1st year of law school
o Governs all pre, during and post trial motions
• Rules of Evidence
o A full year course during 2nd year of law school
o Governs what is admissible into a trial
Reality:
What Hollywood Leaves Out
Facts about the Pre-Trial Process
• The adversary system relies upon extensive use of
pre-trial discovery procedures
o Interrogatives – form survey questions asked of
potential witnesses
o Depositions- interviews conducted of witnesses
o Discovery - affidavits for documentations
• The Goal : Settlement before a case goes to trial
Reality:
Criminal law and Plea Bargaining
• Watch Parts 1& 2 of PBS Frontline
The Plea
• Answer:
1. How is this different than what I thought
happens in a criminal case?
2. What is the dilemma of balancing “justice”
with efficiency.”