I'm Going Right to the Bar of Board Overseers About You Today, Fella: Nominations for the ILX Legal/Courtroom/Lawyer Movie Poll

I was hoping media would win the pre-poll, but as requested...Nominations are open for two or three weeks; I've started a Google Doc at https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1LWRJFuKr8zoSK-g4x9TGTGuUcehMFDU0d1ES3Fs5jS4/edit?usp=sharing. When you get a ballot together, email me at sayhey AT rocketmail DOT com. I'll use the same scoring at the road-movie poll:

Ballots: pick your 25 favourite legal/courtroom/lawyer movies. Define that how you want; if your definition is really strange, and you vote for Rosemary's Baby because Rosemary and Guy took over the apartment of one of New York City's first female lawyers, no one else will.

Scoring: I’ve got Pazz & Jop blood, so you get 200 points to split among your 25 films. The maximum for any one film is 40 points--split the 200 points up however you want.

Some obvious ones:

Anatomy of a Murder
12 Angry Men
The Verdict
Suspect
Jagged Edge
Witness for the Prosecution
To Kill a Mockingbird
...And Justice for All
Philadelphia
The Firm
The Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Erin Brockovich
By the Grace of God

The 2023 horror film Red Rooms

Kiarostami’s Close-Up

Anatomy of a Fall

Kramer vs. Kramer and Irreconcilable Differences, if this is the kind of thing we’re talking about

Puncture, because a bunch of my old friends worked on/were in it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wLQCOqzLv4

Do these all count?

Rashomon
The Passion of Joan of Arc
The Trial of Joan of Arc
(plus probably a bunch more Joan of Arc flicks)
Witchhammer
Witchfinder General

The Trial (Welles)
My Cousin Vinny
Adam’s Rib

Angel Face

Disorder in the Court (1936 Three Stooges short)

Michael Clayton

Judgement at Nuremberg
Inherit the Wind

Reversal of Fortune
Legally Blonde

Eureka (1983)

Great, thanks, will add all those tonight. (I was wondering about Anatomy of a Fall, so glad someone clarified that.)

Ace Attorney

Defending Your Life

The Hour of the Pig

JFK (1991) :-)

Helter Skelter (1976 TV film)

Dark Waters

Juror #2
My Cousin Vinny
Intolerable Cruelty
A Few Good Men
Paddington 2 - tough expose of the underbelly of the industrial prison complex

The Winslow Boy

Runaway Jury
The Juror
Primal Fear

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_drama#Legal_thriller_films
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trial_film

That's helpful...when I get ambitious in the next few days, will figure out a way to efficiently cut-and-paste those onto the spreadsheet.

Trump now calling for FCC to revoke CBS’ license or fine them because he’s mad at 60 Minutes.

lol oops wrong thread. Although we’re living thru a lot of legal drama right now.

The Rural Juror

It was pretty easy to add all those films from Wikipedia...list is over 150 now; check the Google Doc before nominating anything else (alphabetical, so easy to check):

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1LWRJFuKr8zoSK-g4x9TGTGuUcehMFDU0d1ES3Fs5jS4/edit?usp=sharing

I also added The Social Network...which I love, but won't vote for. A good part of the film, though, does take place with lawyers questioning Zuckerberg and various parties as they work through discovery.

Just watched The Rainmaker last night, which was good. (I see it's already on the list.) the romance angle in it is very tacked on but there were some colorful characters and a few good laughs

the people vs. larry flynt

stretching things a bit with some of these:

Liar liar
The Post
Bridge of spies
Rebel ridge
Capturing the Friedmans
El secreto de sus ojos
The Verdict
A separation

The Verdict is a stretch? It might conceivably win.

Ah, "some of these"...anyway, stretching is okay.

The 2023 horror film Red Rooms

― Josefa, Sunday, April 13, 2025 1:42 PM (two days ago) bookmarkflaglink

this was a compelling, beguiling movie.. was it discussed anywhere on ilx?

will I get around to that by all accounts not very good death penalty movie with Jacques Brel

this was a compelling, beguiling movie.. was it discussed anywhere on ilx?

A little on the horror thread. But not enough! I found it deeply unnerving and completely fascinating. It has really lingered with me. Might even watch it again, despite it not being an easy ride.

Same. Has stayed with me. Would read/offer obvious thoughts on a thread.

does The Insider count?

I forget how many courtroom scenes there are in that one, beyond the extremely satisfying, Bruce McGill/Wings Hauser showdown.

Divorce Iranian Style

I think The Bedroom Window has courtroom scenes, with Wallace Shawn as one of the attorneys and Robert Palmer's "Hyperactive" on the soundtrack (in a bar, not during the courtroom scenes).

It was pretty easy to add all those films from Wikipedia...list is over 150 now; check the Google Doc before nominating anything else (alphabetical, so easy to check):

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1LWRJFuKr8zoSK-g4x9TGTGuUcehMFDU0d1ES3Fs5jS4/edit?usp=sharing🕸

Domestic Violence 2 (the Frederick Wiseman doc)

Yes, and (just going by the title--a while since I saw it) Juvenile Court.

Domestic Violence 2

Disappointed to see Wiseman give in to the franchise mentality.

Lines already crossed with High School 2 and the Tuscaloosa Tetralogy

The Boys (1962)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Boys_(1962_British_film)

Friggin' Wikipedia.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054697/

Jury Duty
Trial and Error
Ernest Goes to Jail

Both All the President's Men and Goodfellas have courtroom scenes...but I won't add them.

Beverly hills cop
Beethoven’s 3rd
Gremlins
Fast times at ridgemont high

Both All the President's Men and Goodfellas have courtroom scenes...but I won't add them.

― clemenza, Wednesday, April 16, 2025 10:03 AM (forty-three minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

killers of the flower moon, too

Is the big easy a legal thriller or nah

I'm a huge fan of Fast Times, but...completely stumped.

(xxpost)

https://phildellio.tripod.com/gladstone.jpg

The thread has me wanting to create a themed marathon

I'm a huge fan of _Fast Times_, but...completely stumped.

I've seen Gremlins, and thought "Well, okay, maybe there's a jokey courtroom scene with Gremlins presiding..." But the whole post is a joke--got it.

It is interesting, I've never really thought about the genre much before. Having a much harder time coming up with off-the-beaten path choices than I usually do. Can only really think of a limited amount of non-US choices, too.

https://i.imgur.com/5tzO1Hl.jpg

Don't forget Oh, God!, with George Burns and John Denver (and Teri Garr)

Added First Monday in October--saw it ages ago, remember nothing--plus four documentaries: Hot Coffee, No Jail Time: The Movie, The Central Park Five, The Thin Blue Line (haven't seen the first two).

Has Miracle on 34th Street been mentioned?

It's on the list, yes; there's a spreadsheet link in the first post.

Oops--had it down as In Miracle on 34th Street...

Can't nominate this but oh for what could have been

https://www.france24.com/en/france/20201118-french-court-rules-against-clint-eastwood-testifying-in-thalys-train-attack-trial

The miracle on 34th & oh god noms made me think a matter of life & death should definitely be on here

"the caine mutiny"

(and william friedkin's 2023 "the caine mutiny court-martial")

made me think a matter of life & death should definitely be on here

yes!

Three comfort-viewing films for me that belong to varying degrees: Class Action, 100%; The Paper Chase--more of a teaching film, but immersed in the law, for sure; Rounders--my favourite poker film, iffy for this, but Matt Damon and Gretchen Mol are law students, there's a moot courtroom scene, and there are a bunch of law professors who meet for poker and are astounded by Damon's skill at reading all their tells.

Probably close to the limit of relevant films (189 right now), but I'll keep this open till next Sunday; I'll use this same thread as a voting thread after that.

https://i.postimg.cc/MKqKdZX5/paul.jpg

Couple of days late here...not sure whether to go forward with this or declare a mistrial. Interest seems to be more sporadic than on the poll thread I started, which could be tied in with the periodic shutdowns, or could be a result of the ~ finite number of films that were assembled pretty quickly. I don't know. I'll say that voting is open for now, and see what comes in over the next week. Details are in the original post on how to vote.

Nominations: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1LWRJFuKr8zoSK-g4x9TGTGuUcehMFDU0d1ES3Fs5jS4/edit?usp=sharing

My email: sayhey AT rocketmail DOT com.

If you want to vote for something not on the list, just mention it here.

Case dismissed!

I don't think the interest is there for a poll. A lot of votes in the pre-poll, but no ballots in a week. I'd normally be posting anything and everything that pops into my head to keep this thread near the top, but my heart isn't in it either--I wanted to do a media-movie poll, and this was my distant third choice. If anybody wants to take it over, you're welcome to the spreadsheet of nominations.