that is what popular TV shows are about. One of the best shows about lawyers is actually about law school: The Paper Chase. The reason I rate this show highly is because at its heart there is respect for the law and the profession. The students sincerely want to be lawyers, and they want to please their esteemed law professors, especially Professor Kingsfield, played by the intimidating John Houseman. People sometimes ask me if shows about the legal system are realistic. Most of the shows get some of the basic technical details of being in court right. What these shows don’t ever depict are the real world issues that would make a more realistic TV show extremely dull. Cases don’t often get wrapped up neatly in a day in court. Most of the time, the lion’s share of the work isn’t done in court at all. It’s done in the legal research, investigation and depositions, and negotiations far away from the courtroom. If every single lawsuit that got filed ended up in a courtroom, people would wait multiple years for trials to take place. So what about live coverage of real trials like the Casey Anthony and O.J. Simpson cases, or all the trials seen on Court TV? These sensationalized cases do the biggest disservice to the legal profession. Even though these trials are real life, producers for the networks who air them carefully choose only the most lurid, scandalous, and outrageous cases to show on television. These are the mainly criminal cases that shock the conscience of the community. They don’t represent even the typical criminal case. People get their impression of the legal professional from watching these programs. What bothers me is not the disrespect for lawyers as individuals per se, but disrespect for the profession as a whole. We rely on our American legal system to insure that justice is done, that people are compensated when they are wronged, and that everyone has a chance, literally, to have their day in court. Most people will experience the legal system serving as jurors. It’s not a good thing if they expect a trial to be something like they’ve seen on television. Lawyers don’t mouth off to judges, crack jokes, sing or dance in court. It’s even worse if you are the plaintiff or defendant hoping justice is done, a witness, or even the family and friends of people involved in a legal matter. How can people trust us if they think the attorneys are seeing hallucinations of dancing babies? Fleischer and Associates is online at www.fleischerlawoffice.com; on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ fleisherlawoffice, and Twitter at @LawyerMyra. www.themodern.us
The Week in the Film Industry, November 2, 1990 This week, you can go to the movies without being disturbed by cell phones (nobody had them yet), but you can’t avoid patrons bringing their crying babies to R-rated flicks (those same babies are now twentysomethings). The Rocky Horror Picture Show celebrates its 15th anniversary. How appropriate: the gift for the fifteenth year happens to be toilet paper!
Entertainment Weekly names Woody Allen the 72nd most powerful man in the entertainment industry. And now he’s actually in his seventies!
The world awaits the release of The Godfather, Part III. But every time Coppola tries to get out of it, we keep pulling him back in.
Bruce Willis gearing up to star in The Last Boy Scout. Back when Boy Scouts didn’t have a negative connotation.
Jacob’s Ladder knocks Ghost to #2 in box office receipts. But “Unchained Melody” keeps playing for eternity at weddings.
Prince’s Graffiti Bridge bombs. Graffiti Bridge is falling down. Way down.