I didn't mean to shoot him!

You don't know the answer!

Objection, objection your honor.

[man screams] You're out of order!

[gavels bang] [man groans]

Hi, my name is Lucy Lang.

[Narrator] Lucy Lang is a former prosecutor

for the Manhattan DA's office and current executive director

of the Institute for Innovation in Prosecution.

Today, I'll be breaking down clips

from movies and film about the courtroom.

Pleading the Fifth, The Good Wife, roll clip.

Did you and Mr. Kimball travel to Washington, DC?

I refuse to answer, on the grounds

that it may incriminate me.

You're pleading the Fifth?

The Fifth Amendment says that no one can be forced

to say something against their own self-interest.

[Judge] Are you sure that's what you wanna do?

Neither lawyers nor judges can compel people

to violate that right.

Yes.

Miss, I want to make sure I understand what you're saying.

The judge is out of line in continuing

to question this witness.

Of the leak of the-- Your honor, it is

not your place to ask my witness.

After she invokes the Fifth,

and the lawyer is right to oppose the judge.

Mrs. Florrick-- You are piercing

the Fifth Amendment right! Shut up!

[laughing] I don't know what I would do

if a judge told me to shut up.

No, sir! Especially when

I was legally in the right.

Excuse me?

I will not shut up.

Objections, How to Get Away With Murder.

Explain why your eviction suit

against Ms. Morelli was dropped, despite her inability

to pay rent. Ms. Keating?

Is it because her lost rent money was nothing,

compared to the millions you made,

once Ms. Stanley was out of your way?

[gavel bangs]

Answer the question,

Senator. Miss Keating, enough!

I feel for her, she's making a strong point.

If you do not have the time to answer

for who bore the real cost of your development--

[Man] Objection!

The judge has to rule on the objections

and she should know to stop talking

when she hears an objection and wait for the judge to rule.

The thousands who were displaced in the name

of lining your pockets-- [gavel bangs]

[Judge] Ms. Keating!

Continuing after a judge has asked you

to stop is very bad practice.

That is enough! Please, your honor!

Objections, Suits.

You'd lie through your teeth

about it anyway, wouldn't you?

Objection.

Mr. Evans, isn't it true that you're a--

Objection, it's rule of trial practice 101,

that when a lawyer objects, the other lawyer waits

and lets the judge rule on the objection.

I just caught you in a lie. Objection, your honor.

Mr. Evans, my next move is gonna be--

Objections are being raised repeatedly

and the judge doesn't rule on it at all.

Jenny Griffith to the stand, and she's gonna testify

that you lied to her for years.

Objection!

The most common objections are hearsay objections.

Badgering. You rarely hear

a badgering the witness objection.

She's also gonna say that you were jealous

of his mind-- Your honor!

[Lawyer] Let me rephrase.

Instead of ruling on the record,

the judge gives her a kind of hand gesture.

The judge has to rule on the objection,

otherwise there's a record

that there's been an objection and no ruling.

Objection, objection, objection.

That's what the judge is supposed to do.

Mr. Specter is within his rights.

In the presence of royalty.

[tiara dings]

Continuance, Liar Liar.

How are we doing this morning, counsel?

Your honor, I would like a continuance.

A continuance is just an adjournment,

so asking for a delay by a day or more.

This case has already been delayed.

I realize that your honor, but I would really,

really, really like a continuance.

He's asking for the continuance

because there's something impeding him

from the ability to do his job.

I'll have to hear good cause, counsel.

It's pretty accurate, actually,

that he'd be asked to show good cause.

I can't lie!

But he shouldn't be lying in furtherance

of his job, so he shouldn't get the continuance,

which he doesn't.

Motion for continuance denied.

[gavel bangs]

There is a lot more gavel banging in TV

and film than there is in real life.

Order! Order!

[gavel banging]

It is a plea-- Pipe down.

In fact, I can't say I've ever

had a judge bang his gavel at me.

[gavel bangs] [man groans]

A defendant testifying, Law and Order.

So whoever actually pulled the trigger

would be the true slave to Allah

and should be honored, is that correct?

You're just like Murdoch.

You're both enemies to Islam!

Defendants only testify on their own behalf

in the minority of cases, although

they absolutely have the right to.

You keep denying it, is that because you're scared

to accept those consequences?

The prosecutor here is cross-examining the defendant

and it's fairly true to life, to how it would happen.

She has killed her unborn child!

Where there is an outburst on the stand

from a defendant or anyone else--

She poisons women! In all likelihood,

the judge would intervene and tell the witness

to manage their temper.

[Witness] And serves liquor in her home!

And probably strike the outburst from the record.

[dramatic music]

For a classic witness outburst,

let's look at Legally Blonde.

You, however, had time to hide the gun,

didn't you, Chutney, after you shot your father?

I didn't mean to shoot him!

I thought it was you walking through the door!

[all gasp]

Boom, excellent cross-examination by Miss Woods.

Oh my god. She's asking

leading questions. Didn't you, Chutney?

Although her questions are appropriately leaning.

Wouldn't you have heard the gunshot?

And if, in fact, you had heard the gunshot--

They're compound, she has a lot

of questions in one question.

You, however, had time to hide the gun,

didn't you, Chutney, after you shot your father?

If I were the prosecutor, I would have objected

to those compound questions.

Wouldn't somebody who's had say--

Right here, she's talking directly

to the jury, and that is not allowed.

You, however, had time to hide the gun.

She actually manages to break the witness.

I didn't mean to shoot him! [all gasp]

I've never seen that happen.

[Elle] Yes! [triumphant music]

[crowd cheering]

The classic witness outburst, A Few Good Men.

Colonel Jessup, did you order the code red?

You don't have to answer that question.

I'll answer the question, you want answers?

I think I'm entitled to them.

You want answers! I want the truth!

You can't handle the truth!

The rules in court-martial proceedings are different

from the rules in a standard criminal courtroom

but it's unusual for a judge to allow an exchange

between a lawyer and a witness to escalate to this level.

I don't give a damn--

If a judge rules that a witness doesn't have

to answer a question--

You don't have to answer that question.

The witness shouldn't answer the question.

I'll answer the question. But I can't argue

with this, it's one of the great

courtroom scenes of all time.

Did you order the code red? You're goddamn right I did!

Protesting the verdict, The Practice.

We find the defendant, Edward Wicks, not guilty.

[audience chattering] What?

[gavel bangs] You call that service?

Ms. Gamble--

What are you, morons?

It's hard for any lawyer

to lose a case. That's it!

But this is above and beyond.

What, do you like the color of Mr. Donnell's tie?

Ms. Gamble-- She should not have reacted

that way in front of the jury.

Save it for when you get back to your office.

A bunch of unemployed, brain-dead idiots.

In addition to possibly being held in contempt,

she could face ethical sanctions

from the bar. Come on!

Or potentially, lose her job.

I don't care, judge, that's it!

Calendar call, Roman J. Israel, Esq.

What do you have on number 32, Langston Bailey?

This is a very realistic scene

of a routine calendar call, when a judge has a lot

of cases on that are all in a different posture.

The prosecutor's there with a banker's box,

full of case files, which is very common,

and she's going to be reading from the materials

with respect to each one of those cases.

Five years, that's as low as the people will go.

His name is Langston, he's a high school junior

in good standing. Many defense lawyers

would use the kind of mitigating circumstances

that Mr. Israel sets out in trying

to persuade a prosecutor to make a lower offer.

He has one prior minor offense.

Each one of us is greater

than the worst thing we've ever done.

I've never heard music in the background when they do it

but otherwise, it's very true-to-life.

Take vows. Hollywood loves

to take a moral stance in a situation

like this and so do defense lawyers.

Why don't we just get it over with then and shoot him?

That's the offer.

It's common for lawyers to negotiate a disposition

during downtime in court in situations like that.

Talk to your client.

And the only uncommon thing--

My conviction rate's 100%.

Is the prosecutor referring to her conviction rate,

which is just tacky. A fact.

Approaching the bench, Philadelphia.

[Man] Would you approach the bench, Mr. Miller?

[dramatic music]

A lawyer cannot approach the bench ex parte,

which means without the other lawyer.

Everybody in this courtroom is thinking

about sexual orientation.

This is great film, but this part is just not realistic.

Explain this to me like I'm a two year-old.

The point of approaching the bench is so

that the rest of the courtroom doesn't hear you

and you're speaking directly to the judge.

Let's talk about what this case is really all about.

So this is inaccurate, first,

that the other lawyer isn't there,

and second, that everyone in the courtroom can hear him.

Our loathing, our fear. [dramatic music]

Again, with the poetic music.

[dramatic music]

Some lawyers may hear it in their head

when they're talking, but it's never happened to me.

[audience applauds]

Expert witness, My Cousin Vinny.

This witness is an expert in the field

of automobiless and is being called

to rebut the testimony of George Wilbur.

An expert witness, as compared to a fact witness--

In what way are you qualified?

Is a witness who is permitted,

based on their expertise, to testify

about their opinion, rather than things

that are simply facts.

I'd like to voir dire this witness

as to the extent of her expertise.

To voir dire an expert witness

about their qualification to be certified

as an expert, a lawyer would ask them questions

about their background.

What would the correct ignition timing be

on a 1955 Bel Air Chevrolet?

They wouldn't pose a hypothetical,

like the lawyer does here.

With a 327 cubic-inch engine--

To approach the witness stand,

a lawyer has to ask the judge's permission first.

That's a [bleep] question.

It has to be for a good reason,

like to show them a piece of evidence

or to have them point to something.

Does that mean that you can't answer it?

This prosecutor is getting a bit out of line.

He's getting in her face.

Nobody could answer that question!

He's speaking aggressively towards her.

You don't know the answer!

And he asked her a hypothetical question.

The 327 didn't come out 'til '62

and it wasn't offered in the Bel Air

with a four-barrel carb 'til '64.

Instead of a question about her expertise,

that's inappropriate.

Well, she's acceptable.

Courtroom demonstration, To Kill a Mockingbird.

Tom, will you catch this, please?

You can't use the body of someone

who is not on the stand as a demonstration in court.

This time, will you please catch it

with your left hand?

I can't use my left hand at all.

That's not how the lawyer would make the point

that the defendant can't use his left hand.

I got it caught in a cotton gin when I was 12 years-old.

He would have had to call the defendant

to the stand to testify about it.

Good lord. Or call a doctor

or someone else who had firsthand experience

about the defendant's disability.

All my muscles were tore loose.

When a witness is on the stand,

you're only supposed to be questioning that witness.

[gavel bangs]

Not the defendant or anyone else in the courtroom.

I must be losing my memory.

Atticus Finch is a hero amongst American lawyers

but he just doesn't get it quite right this time.

You sure?

Hostile witness, The Dark Knight.

Someone must have stepped up to run the so-called family.

Could you identify him for us, please?

It was me.

When your own witness unexpectedly contradicts your case--

It was me.

Then you can ask for permission to treat them as hostile.

Permission to treat the witness as hostile?

This is a pretty accurate depiction of a hostile witness.

Hostile, I'll show you hostile!

Up until when he pulls the gun

and that the lawyer punches him.

Courthouses have metal detectors.

You can't bring guns into the courtroom,

unless they're evidence.

Violent witness, Primal Fear.

He put you in front of a camera,

he made you take off your clothes,

and you don't think that that's another side?

No. Do you know

what I would do if someone did that to me?

I would kill him.

The moment she's making it about herself,

I would have objected.

I wouldn't hesitate. Lawyers aren't allowed

to talk about themselves

while they're cross-examining a witness.

I would stab him 78 times with a butcher knife.

I would have objected right there.

I would chop off his fingers.

The judge would have interrupted her

as soon as she started to hypothesize

about what she would do.

I would slash his throat open.

A judge would ask the court officers to intervene

as soon as it looked like things were getting violent.

I swear to God.

This is a terrifying movie

and Laura Linney's character is way out of line.

But that's me. Sometimes,

lawyers do try to agitate a witness,

in order to get a reaction from them.

No further questions, your honor.

Where the hell do you think you're going?

Which seems to be what she's trying to do here

and actually, she does.

[Witness] [bleep] You, lady, come here!

Bailiff!

[gavel bangs] Order, order!

It's rare for a witness or defendant

to get violent, but it does happen

and that's why there are armed court officers

in every courtroom for criminal trials.

No, no, no! Don't you--

Character witness, Big Daddy.

Koufax is a good egg, he was nice to that kid.

Mr. Koufax is a really cool guy.

But he fights like a girl. [laughs]

What, are you drunk, Mr. Herlihy?

Under the rules of evidence,

a character witness can only testify

about something that's at issue.

Wish my dad was as cool as him.

So where the issue is whether or not he's a good dad,

they could testify about his reputation

as a good dad in the community,

but they can't testify in general about whether he's cool.

Mr. Koufax is a really cool guy.

And they can't go off-topic.

You see, my dad was a military man.

I'd rather live out on the streets

than under his freaky-ass rules.

And also, the plaintiff should definitely

not be bribing the witness with McDonald's.

If OJ can get away with murder,

why can't Sonny have his kid?

Jury selection, The Devil's Advocate.

Let's get rid of number four, six,

and I'd say lose number 12, except the prosecutor's

gonna [bleep] up and do it for us.

Both sides have a set number

of peremptory challenges they can use

to strike potential jurors.

Number six, you're kidding, right?

She's my first choice.

They can both agree to strike anyone

and that doesn't count against them

and no one can strike a juror on the base

of a protected category like race,

gender, ethnicity, or sexual orientation,

but beyond that, it's no holds barred.

She wants on this jury, somebody hurt her

and she wants revenge.

Lawyers definitely try to psychoanalyze potential jurors,

based on what they're wearing

and the way they comport themselves.

We're often pretty wrong.

How the hell do you know that?

In my experience, most of the time,

people are trying to get out of jury duty,

so I'm not sure how he thinks he can tell

that she wants to be on the jury.

I don't know.

People have all kinds of funny superstitions

about who they won't let on a jury.

None of this is based on science.

It's all basically guesswork and the bottom line is

that you want a jury who can be fair.

All right, here's the deal.

I lose with your jury, you do the explaining.

Here's another example of jury selection, The Rainmaker.

Did you, Mr. Porter, or did you not

have a phones conversation a few days ago

with Mr. Rudy Baylor? Hell no.

I thought you were gonna give me an honest answer.

This is an example of voir dire.

The lawyer's questioning the jury

about their ability to serve.

Don't call me a liar. Well, you're a

liar, all right. Mr. Tillman!

You son of a [bleep]!

There's an awful lot of jumping over the rail

that seems to happen in film and TV.

Order, stop it! [glass shatters]

I've never seen it happen in real life.

Order in the court room! Oh my god!

When something happens that can taint the whole jury pool,

often a lawyer will make an application

to have the whole pool dismissed

and a new pool brought in.

I move to dismiss the entire panel, your honor.

Here, the judge probably

would have granted that application.

Denied. Film and TV love

to show jury selection. It's been tainted!

Frankly, most lawyers hate it.

His shoe, you left it over there.

The judge saying out of order, from Justice For All.

Something really wrong is going on here.

Mr. Kirkland, you are out of order!

A judge would typically call for order in the court

in a situation like that. You're out of order!

But generally, much earlier.

[Arthur] The whole trial is out of order!

The kind of language that he uses

is totally inappropriate.

[bleep] jail!

And then he turns on his own client.

Slime! The lawyer is undermining

his ethical obligation. Sorry, your honor.

Hollywood loves to show emotional outbursts from lawyers.

You son of a [bleep]!

Those are pretty uncommon,

we do our best to control them.

We're gonna be seeing a lot of them today, though.

[Arthur] I just completed my opening statement.

Removing the witness, from Daredevil.

I know what I did, I know who I am.

Any scumbag, any lowlife, any maggot piece

of [bleep] that I put down--

The judge would reprimand any lawyer

or witness who used bad language in the court room.

I did it because I liked it! Order.

Most lawyers would work closely

with the defendant before he took the stand.

Hell, I loved it!

In order to guard against

those kind of emotional outbursts.

The big, bad punisher.

[Frank] Well, here I am!

Remove the witness.

Court officers are trained to respond

to a judge's orders immediately.

You want it, I'll give it to you.

Here, the court officers do take him out

as soon as the judge instructs them to.

Remove the witness.

Most judges would respond more quickly

to have that defendant removed from the court room.

You're gonna send me to a nut house?

That kind of scene is fairly uncommon.

Well that ain't happening!

Settlement, A Civil Action.

Are you comfortable?

They're right there.

The jury's been impaneled

and opening statements are about to begin

but the lawyer sees the effect that seeing the plaintiff

is having on one of the jurors

and so that leads him to negotiate.

It's very common that plea negotiations

would continue through a trial like this.

Plea negotiations have to happen outside the awareness

of the jury, so if the jury were in the box like this

and the parties were trying to negotiate,

Post-its is exactly how they would do it.

[Jan] Jan Schlichtmann for Paul Carney.

[Kevin] Kevin Conway for Mr. Carney, your honor.

I'd start sweating too if I saw a juror respond like this.

It is far more likely for both criminal

and civil cases to be resolved with a plea

or settlement disposition.

The parties involved have agreed to a settlement.

And going through to the conclusion of a trial.

Courtroom attire, The Simpsons.

I rest my case.

The phrase, I rest my case, is a commonly used one.

Mr. Hutz-- But--

Do you know you're not wearing any pants?

We usually wear pants to work.

[Lionel yelps]

The formality of courtroom attire has decreased

in recent years. Right.

But not quite to that level.

That's why you're the judge

and I'm the law-talking guy. The lawyer.

Witness stripping, Franklin & Bash.

[Man] And how exactly did you book

the Mattress Masters ad?

My agent. Objection, your honor.

She's disrobing.

To my knowledge, there's nothing

in the rules of evidence that says a witness

can't take their clothes off.

The client wanted a model who could demand attention.

Your honor-- But it's against all rules

of courtroom decorum.

Miss Spencer-- Lawyers advise witnesses

to behave respectfully towards the court,

including dressing appropriately for court.

Please refrain from taking off your blouse.

And not undressing in court.

Don't listen to him.

Of all the unrealistic things in this scene--

Excuse me. The most unrealistic

is when the lawyer tells the witness to ignore that.

Did you just tell the witness

to disregard my order?

That should never happen.

If justice is blind-- This is so dumb.

Then justice is also naked. Miss Spencer.

Let's focus on what she had to say.

I didn't get in.

There's a request for read back again.

[Woman] I was distracted.

But this stenographer

really dropped the ball on her job.

If we were all distracted by Miss Spencer

in court, what about the people operating heavy machinery

on Sunset Boulevard?

This is made for TV alone.

Film and TV love this, where something happens

in the courtroom and then the lawyer uses it

to prove their case.

Distracted. That's not a real thing.

Only things that are in evidence get to be used

to further an argument.

[scoffs] Like that ever scares us.

Applause in the gallery, Changeling.

Walter Collins was brutally murdered.

Is that correct, Captain?

When a lawyer is questioning about something

as dramatic as that, everyone in the courtroom

can feel the tenseness of the situation.

Yes, it is. The lawyers,

the jury, the audience, everyone.

No further questions.

[audience applauds]

In modern day, applause is not allowed

in the courtroom, but before we had courtroom scenes

on television and film, people would go to court

to watch proceedings as part of their entertainment,

and during that time, sometimes, there would be applause

in the courtroom.

[snaps fingers] Just like that.

[audience applauds]

Contempt of court, Serial Mom.

One beer with lunch is hardly drinking.

Did you see that?

She just said [bleep] you to me!

The lawyer's antagonizing the witness,

so if the judge saw that, she would have been reprimanded.

Let the record show I am merely standing here.

Again, it's all about the record.

So if the stenographer didn't hear it,

it's like it didn't happen.

Are you insane? No, I'm not, you [bleep]!

[audience gasps]

In Hollywood, courtroom scenes are so emotional.

[Judge] Mrs. Hinkle, I find you guilty of contempt.

The judges are threatening to hold people

in contempt all the time.

You lousy [bleep].

In reality, I think I've probably

only seen it happen once or twice.

Midnight deadline, Night Court.

Unfortunately, word got out that anyone

not arraigned before midnight was set free.

Wow, look at her hair.

Oh, we were so close.

Oh, well that's it, we're finished.

No we're not, hold on.

Night court arraignments really happen

in New York City and all over the country.

Count one, the undersigned declaring complaint states

without prejudice to the-- They tend to be

very busy and fast-paced, but not this fast-paced.

[rapidly speaking gibberish]

Arraignment is the first time that someone

who's charged with a crime hears the charges

read formally against them.

New York state and New York, is code for violation 231--

Sometimes it happens in night court.

Drive the vehicle. [gasps]

Count two-- When someone gets arraigned,

their lawyer says waive the reading, not the rights.

And what happened in that case,

the defendant didn't wanna waive the reading,

so that's why he was forced to read them all aloud.

Drive a vehicle, the end.

Court adjourned!

We did it! [all cheer]

The defendant representing himself, Law Abiding Citizen.

And you've waived your right to counsel, correct?

Yes, sir. You sure you wanna do that?

Yes sir.

The defendant has an absolute right

to represent himself in court.

Usually, a defendant is assigned a back-up counsel,

who actually has legal training.

I find it highly prejudicial

to keep me detained without bail.

When a defendant is representing himself,

he's granted more leeway than a lawyer is,

in terms of editorializing about

what he thinks is happening in the courtroom.

The prosecution has not presented one,

single piece of evidence against me.

He's advocating for himself and he's entitled to do that.

It's a slippery slope, your honor.

It's not inappropriate and I think it's fairly realistic.

I am actually inclined to agree with you, Mr. Shelton.

[clapping] Thank you.

Indicting a dog from Perry Mason.

[Man] Present or not, a man is still responsible

for what his dog does.

Not criminally, Mr. Wright, that depends

upon a number of things.

Perhaps the proper criminal procedure

would have been an indictment of the dog.

[Man] Counsel is joking, of course.

Not at all.

Here, the argument is about

whether the person can be charged

for something that an animal did.

[Man] A variety of animals have been accused,

legally indicted, and tried in the past.

In the modern day, animals can't be indicted and charged.

The last being a cow in 1740.

However, animals can be considered dangerous instruments

for the purposes of a person committing an assault.

Since this is the 20th and not the 15th century,

I'm going to rule that the complaint is sufficient.

Setting bail, 50 Shades Freed.

Does your client deny forcing entry

into this penthouse?

He does not, your honor, however,

my client merely wanted to confront the parties responsible

for destroying his career.

I think he wanted to do more

than confront them, counselor.

However, given his clean record, the court will grant bail.

The basic options when a judge is making a decision

about bail are releasing someone

on their own recognizance, which means counting

on them to return on their own free will,

setting bail, which means determining an amount

of collateral that they will give over

and that is likely to ensure that they return

and remanding them, which means

that no amount of money or collateral will allow them

to be released while the charges are pending.

[Judge] Set at $500,000.

$500,000 bail is not unheard of,

depending on the gravity of the charges,

the defendant's criminal history,

their community ties, and their access.

Your honor-- [gavel bangs]

Next case.

Very often, it has the result

of meaning that someone can't make the bail

and therefore, stays in custody.

Readback, Intolerable Cruelty.

Does Elsbieta want some bones?

Where were we?

Do you want some bones, does Elsbieta want some bones?

This is called readback, where a lawyer doesn't hear

or loses track of what the response has been,

they can ask the stenographer--

Where were we? To readback

from the transcription. Has anyone any bones?

Readback can happen during the trial,

for a lawyer, or a jury can ask

for readback during their deliberations

if there's something they don't remember.

Hard, crunchy bones. Right.

What's not accurate is that a dog

would be in the courtroom, on the stand

with a witness, [dog barks]

unless it was a therapy dog.

Shush, shush, shush, shush.

Surprise witness, The Good Fight.

Thank you for testifying

on such short notice, Ms. Lockhart.

I didn't have much choice, I was subpoenaed.

Your honor, again, this is prosecution by ambush.

We are not prepared for this surprise witness.

That's just how that would happen.

The prosecution has to disclose their witnesses

in advance of trial to permit the defense

to appropriately prepare.

Yes, and as I said, you will have time

if you need it, please continue.

When something changes and a new witness comes to light,

the prosecutor might be permitted

to call that witness but, as the judge promises here,

the defense would then be granted plenty of time

to be able to prepare to cross-examine that new witness.

Yes, and quite well.

Miranda rights, Madea Goes to Jail.

Apparently, your honor, our officers forgot

to Mirandize her.

I was waiting for Miranda to come in

and nobody came in there, I was waiting for it.

That's right, ain't nobody Miranda me,

Miranda wasn't even in the room.

Ugh, no. Excuse me?

Miranda is the case that holds

that officers have to read a defendant their rights

before questioning them.

This is ridiculous.

What they're referring to here is

that Madea made a statement to police officers

and she did it without having been

first read her Miranda warnings.

You forgot to Mirandize her?

That old woman got the strength of any man.

When that happens, the statement that's made

gets suppressed as evidence, which means

it can't be used against the defendant.

I've got to let you go.

But it's not the case that the defendant

then just gets let go.

♪ You gotta let me go ♪

[Madea laughs]

Conference in the judge's chambers, The Verdict.

All I wanted on this trial was a fair shake, okay.

Pushed me to court five days early,

I lose my star witness, and I can't get a continuance

and I don't care, I'm going up there,

I'm gonna try it, I'm gonna let the jury decide.

It's a TV and film trope that judges

and lawyers are combative with each other.

They told me about you.

In general, we're all professionals

and we try to maintain standards

of professionalism and decorum.

They think you're a hard-ass,

you're a defendant's judge-- Well, I don't care.

Seems like bad strategy

to be leveling personal accusations at the judge

while he has a case pending in front of him.

I said to hell with it, to hell with it.

Dismissing a case, Miracle on 34th Street.

If the government of the United States

can issue its currency bearing a declaration

of trust in God, then the state of New York can accept

and acknowledge that Santa Claus does exist

and he exists in the person of Kris Kringle.

Don't tell my kids, but I don't think the existence

of Santa Claus would stand up in court.

Case dismissed.

Again with the gavel.

This is in New York, and I haven't seen a judge

in this courthouse do that.

Summation, or closing statement, The Night Of.

What I normally do is plea my clients out

because 95% of the time, they did

what they were charged with.

Objection. It's clear to me,

just looking at them, so I tell 'em,

don't be stupid, take the deal.

Summations can only be about the facts

that are in evidence.

It's what we think.

Anything about the lawyer's personal contact

with the defendant, with the witnesses,

or their experience in general

is totally outside the bounds of appropriate summation.

The first time I saw Naz, he was sitting alone

in a holding cell at the 21st Precinct.

Objection, also not in evidence.

I didn't see what I see in my other clients.

John Turturro, this is not about you.

What we don't have proof of is

who committed the crime he's been charged with.

That last part of the summation,

where he's talking about the facts

that are in evidence--

It's circumstance and speculation.

That is the purpose of summation.

You hear that term a lot, what does it really mean?

For another example of summation,

let's watch A Time to Kill.

May I ask you all to close your eyes?

This is a story about a little girl.

I want you to picture this little girl.

Two men jump out and grab her and drag her

into a nearby field, raping her.

This is really the appropriate time

for a lawyer to get theatrical, on summation.

And that's exactly what he does here.

I want you to picture a little girl.

He lays out his view of the facts of the case

and then makes a powerful argument about bias.

Now imagine she's white.

This is exactly the appropriate use of a summation,

although it's awfully hard to watch.

The defense rests, your honor.

Conclusion. At the end of the day,

I don't expect actors and directors

to get every detail right.

I understand that writers like

to make courtroom scenes seem more dramatic

than they really are, but sometimes, they get it wrong

and they're pretty fun to watch.

[Man] That'll do it.

[crew applauding]