nandue0929

The Practice (1997-2004) contained fine actors, however, its scripts defied reality. For instance, the starring defense lawyers were confronted with a lawsuit for defamation of character since they cast suspicion on a different person other than the defendant on trial, during their case. The other person then filed this lawsuit against them. In reality, as a lawyer myself, words spoken or recorded during judicial proceedings are given complete immunity from defamation of character. It is called "absolute privilege," therefore, the lawsuit could not have happened.

On another occasion, the lead lawyer, Bobby Donnell (Dylan McDermott) angrily shouted within inches of the trial judge's face at a conference in the judge's chambers. Almost all judges would not have tolerated this even in the heat of anger. Donnell would probably have been cited for contempt of court and jailed immediately, depending on the temperament of the judge.

On still a different occasion, Donnell commended a junior partner, Lindsay Dole (Kelli Williams) after she presented what he called the finest appellate argument he had ever heard. Actually, her appellate argument was arrogant since she kept rudely interrupting the different judges' questions, which is unheard of in an appellate court. Instead of favorable recognition, she would likely have received a lecture from the senior partner for jeopardizing their client's case by disregarding the court's decorum.

While it dealt with some important issues, The Practice had a flair for the overly dramatic, so much so that it far overshadowed these issues. The series purported to be "realistic" when it was anything but! It contained legal misinformation and overblown, inaccurate lawyer behavior that was contrived to seem believable to viewers.

The Law (1974) was an excellent TV movie about a high-profile case that was similar to that of Charles Manson. Judd Hirsch was outstanding as the lead character, Public Defender Murray Stone, and he deserved far more recognition than he ever received for the role. He represented one of the defendants in the case through the maze of the Los Angeles criminal justice system. He was very dedicated to his client, which sometimes is not so among overworked public defenders. John Hillerman was also memorable as the District Attorney when speaking cynically, almost to himself, about a staff member. Following the movie, there were three additional episodes of The Law that were also very good. They may have been an "extended pilot," so to speak, of a TV series that never materialized. I found a particular character in the movie, Jules Benson, to be interesting. He appeared only briefly and was strongly reminiscent of the the late Melvin Belli, famed San Francisco trial attorney, since his demeanor and publicity orientation were remarkably similar to Belli. (Perhaps, intentionally so.) As a lawyer myself, "The Law" offered no illusions about the criminal justice system and many of the people in it, including an abruptly seen judge nicknamed "The Dragon Lady," who had a gun under her judicial robe! It is one of the best movies I have seen on the subject.