• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • About the author and her website
  • References
  • Archives
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Contact Page

Defrosting Cold Cases

Research website by Alice de Sturler

  • My Research Method
  • How to search for cases
  • Cold Case Database
    • Index
      • Cases Index A-G
      • Cases Index H-N
      • Cases Index O-Z
    • Summaries
      • Case Summaries A-G
      • Case Summaries H-N
      • Case Summaries O-Z
  • Case of the Month: Rita Hester
  • Book Reviews
You are here: Home / Guest Bloggers / Guest blog post: Adam Banner on favorite legal films

Guest blog post: Adam Banner on favorite legal films

January 20, 2014 By Alice

Adam BannerGuest blog post: Adam Banner on favorite legal films and why he loves them. Adam is a criminal defense attorney. We recently got into a discussion about online behaviour. He mentioned that he and his staff blog as well. Their current challenge: to find the best legal films.
__________________________

If there is one thing lawyers love to do, it’s argue.There aren’t many attorneys in my office that will admit when they are wrong without putting up a fight; it seems as though the need to debate is drilled into our DNA. This carries true no matter the subject. We all have our own opinions on just about everything, whether we are contemplating crime, the constitution, or cinema. We recently had an office-wide argument about the best legal movies of all time, and in the midst we tried to come up with a list of the ten best legal movies ever made.

There were some we all agreed on, but in the end we couldn’t narrow it down to just ten on our own. I decided we should take to the World Wide Web and consult some of the most respected lists on the subject. The result turned out to be the ultimate list of the best 54 legal films of all time. To make things a little more interesting, we also created an infographic to illustrate our findings.

Predictably, films such as To Kill a Mockingbird, A Few Good Men, Philadelphia, and 12 Angry Men dominated the list. There were also a few I had never viewed that turned out to be real gems. The following four weren’t on every list we reviewed, but I believe they definitely deserve a little more love and attention.

Paths of Glory – This film never really received its dues. Released in 1957, directed by Stanley Kubrick and starring Kirk Douglas, its anti-war sentiments must have cut too close to the bone. It was banned in Spain and France for quite some time and received plenty of negative publicity. It wasn’t nominated for a single Academy Award, which is ironic when one considers that the war-themed Bridge on the River Kwai dominated the Academy Awards that year. Anyone who appreciates the genre and hasn’t seen this movie should make it a priority.

A Civil Action – Many of the great legal movies are adapted from books, and the same holds true for the real-life tale of the Anderson v. Cryovac litigation. Viewers are treated to the classic “David vs. Goliath” story, where the underdog facing impossible odds is forced to do courtroom combat against a corporate giant with massive pockets. It has many elements similar to Erin Brockovich and The Verdict, yet the ending is not the same rags to redemption plot-line as those two films. A Civil Action illustrates two important realities of legal battles: they can completely consume the parties involved, and no matter the result, a verdict can never bring someone back to life or undo the damage already inflicted.

A Woman’s Face – Released in 1941 and starring Joan Crawford and Melvyn Douglas, this is a complex tale involving infidelity, blackmail, murder and money. Similar to Witness for the Prosecution and Double Indemnity, this was one of the first film-noir pieces to become incredibly popular. It is interesting to view a movie like this; it makes you wonder if anything similar could be made today and garner the same box-office success. Audiences’ tastes have definitely changed over the years, and all to often a film needs to have a fast-paced plot that relies more on style than substance to make the big bucks. Speaking of which…

The Lincoln Lawyer – Full disclosure here: this is one of my personal favorites, and it was my vote that got it on the list of 54. Matthew McConaughey nails the role of a cocky, too-sure criminal defense attorney, although the film gets a little fanciful in the second act, relying more on entertainment value than it does legal realism. Marisa Tomei, William H. Macy, Bryan Cranston, and the warden from Shawshank make for a great cast. I love the first thirty minutes of this movie, and it always makes me appreciate that my office isn’t in the back of a car. Though it may not be the most realistic depiction of a criminal prosecution, there are moments here where you can feel the star’s confidence and conviction rise and fall as he reflects on his profession. That is something every criminal defense attorney can relate to at some point in his or her career.

Thank you for sharing!

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Skype (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: Guest Bloggers Tagged With: Adam Banner, Oklahoma

Primary Sidebar

Dina Fort

Author Notes

On this website, I write about old, unsolved cases. Most are from the pre-DNA era and are in need of renewed media attention. I only do research and leave the active investigation of these cases to the professionals.

My posts are about homicides, missing and unidentified people, wrongful convictions, and forensics as related to these cases.

On book reviews: I only review select works of true crime, crime fiction, and historical fiction/mysteries. The stories have to fit my website's theme and research. It remains my prerogative to not review a book.

My database has over 325 cases listed by the victim’s last name. You will find a brief description there as well. The database will always be free to the public to use. You cannot buy ad space on my website, ever.

All writing suggestions that come in by email are added to my to-do list in the order in which they were received. Please be patient. My to-do list is very long but no case gets dropped and I will get back in touch.

Defrosting Cold Cases is NOT an organization. It is my brainchild.

If you have any questions about my website please check the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page, the about page, and the tabs in both menu bars. If you still cannot find the answer there, please contact me.

Thank you,

Alice de Sturler

Copyright

If you use my work, please add a link back. Let your readers know where you found your information. I do the same for you. Thank you!

Protected by Copyscape

Categories

Top Posts & Pages

  • Cold Case Database
  • How to search for cases
  • Gina Renee Hall partial remains found
  • The 1980 Tim Hack and Kelly Drew murders
  • Rita Hester (Nov 30, 1963 - Nov 28, 1998)

Subscribe to DCC by email

Enter your email address to get new posts notifications in your inbox

RSS Unknown Feed

William Thomas Zeigler

Category: ALL POSTS

On March 31, 2016, an evidentiary hearing was held to request touch DNA testing. On July 18, 2016, Judge Whitehead denied that request.

On November 23, 2016, an appeal was filed with the Florida Supreme Court. On April 21, 2017, the Florida Supreme Court denied the request for touch DNA analysis.

On May 8, 2017 a motion for a rehearing with the US Supreme Court was filed. It was denied November 13, 2017.

In the summer of 2019, the appeal for DNA testing to the Florida Conviction Integrity Unit was denied.

Richard Lapointe

Category: ALL POSTS

In March 2015, the Connecticut State Supreme Court ordered a new trial for Richard lapointe. On Oct 2, 2015, International Wrongful Conviction Day, Richard was set free. The judge ruled that he cannot be retried for the 1987 rape-murder of Mrs. Bernice Martin. Richard Lapointe died on Aug 4, 2020 of Covid19 complications.

In 1987, someone killed Bernice Martin. I hope that she will not become a forgotten file.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Copyright: Please add a link back if you use my work. Let your readers know where you found your information. I do the same for you. If you need help with this, just contact me. Thank you, Alice de Sturler

[footer_backtotop]

Copyright © 2009–2021 - Defrosting Cold Cases - All rights reserved · Hosting & WordPress: 3J WordPress Write Data

wordpress counter

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.