Anatomy of a Murder ~ James Stewart
Stewart plays a small-town lawyer by the name of Paul Biegler, who is the defense attorney for Lieutenant Frederic Manion (Gazzara). Lt. Manion is charged with first degree murder for shooting a barkeeper, Barney Quill, because Quill allegedly raped Lt. Manion’s wife, Laura (Remick). However,
Lt. Manion is eventually acquitted under the defense of irresistible impulse. The bulk of the film's plot revolves around the drama as it unfolds in court
The film highlights several of the law’s shortcomings that stem from the fallibility of the law’s human components. These components – the counsel for defense and prosecution, the defendant and his family, and the jury – have different positions on what is right or wrong, and varying regard for the values of integrity and justice. This variation allows the law to be manipulated in many ways. The most controversial legal issue in this film is the unethical witness coaching indulged in by Biegler as he spells out for Lt. Manion the only plausible defense Lt. Manion has – the insanity defense. Witness coaching is seen as the subornation of perjury to a lesser extent, and prompts the defendant to conceal the truth and manipulate his story in order to obtain the best possible verdict.
Stewart plays a small-town lawyer by the name of Paul Biegler, who is the defense attorney for Lieutenant Frederic Manion (Gazzara). Lt. Manion is charged with first degree murder for shooting a barkeeper, Barney Quill, because Quill allegedly raped Lt. Manion’s wife, Laura (Remick). However,
Lt. Manion is eventually acquitted under the defense of irresistible impulse. The bulk of the film's plot revolves around the drama as it unfolds in courtThe film highlights several of the law’s shortcomings that stem from the fallibility of the law’s human components. These components – the counsel for defense and prosecution, the defendant and his family, and the jury – have different positions on what is right or wrong, and varying regard for the values of integrity and justice. This variation allows the law to be manipulated in many ways. The most controversial legal issue in this film is the unethical witness coaching indulged in by Biegler as he spells out for Lt. Manion the only plausible defense Lt. Manion has – the insanity defense. Witness coaching is seen as the subornation of perjury to a lesser extent, and prompts the defendant to conceal the truth and manipulate his story in order to obtain the best possible verdict.
Witness For the Prosecution ~ Tyrone Power
Witness for the Prosecution is a 1957 film based on the short story (and later play) by Agatha Christie. It tells the story of Sir Wilfrid, a master criminal barrister who takes the case of a man on trial for murder. While he expects that the defendant's wife will stand up for him in court, she unexpectedly agrees to appear for the prosecution in a trial while multiple twists and turns occur that will test the lawyer's skill to the limit. The original short story was first published in 1933 in the collection The Hound of Death
To Kill a Mockingbird~ Gregory Peck
To Kill a Mockingbird is a 1960 novel by Harper Lee, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1961. Lee's only novel, a coming of age novel, is told from the point of view of Jean Louise "Scout" Finch, the young daughter of Atticus Finch, a lawyer in Maycomb, Alabama, a fictional small town in the Deep South of the United States. She is accompanied by her brother, Jem, and their mutual friend Dill
A Few Good Men ~ Tom Cruise 
A Few Good Men, a play by Aaron Sorkin, was acclaimed on Broadway and was subsequently made into a successful film in 1992. It tells the story of military lawyers at a court-martial who uncover a high-level conspiracy in the course of defending their clients, United States Marines accused of murder.
A Few Good Men, a play by Aaron Sorkin, was acclaimed on Broadway and was subsequently made into a successful film in 1992. It tells the story of military lawyers at a court-martial who uncover a high-level conspiracy in the course of defending their clients, United States Marines accused of murder.
Indictment ~ James Woods 
The real-life Peggy McMartin Buckey, imprisoned for two years while awaiting the outcome of the most protracted U.S. criminal molestation case targeting her family's preschool, died December 15, 2000. She, her mother Virginia McMartin and her son Ray Buckey were charged, with four others, with 100 counts of child molestation in 1983. The case lasted seven years and cost Los Angeles County $13 million. Peggy was acquitted in 1990 after a three-year trial; Ray, incarcerated for five years, was acquitted of 40 counts. Critics said the case pinpointed the danger of basing criminal charges solely on the testimony of young children
True Believer ~ James Woods
The film stars James Woods as burnt-out attorney Eddie Dodd, who has left behind civil rights work to defend drug dealers. Robert Downey Jr. plays Roger Baron, an idealistic young legal clerk fresh out of law school who encourages Dodd to take on the case of Shu Kai Kim, a young Korean man, played by Yuji Okumoto, who has been imprisoned for a gang-related murder. Kim's mother believes her son was wrongfully accused.
The real-life Peggy McMartin Buckey, imprisoned for two years while awaiting the outcome of the most protracted U.S. criminal molestation case targeting her family's preschool, died December 15, 2000. She, her mother Virginia McMartin and her son Ray Buckey were charged, with four others, with 100 counts of child molestation in 1983. The case lasted seven years and cost Los Angeles County $13 million. Peggy was acquitted in 1990 after a three-year trial; Ray, incarcerated for five years, was acquitted of 40 counts. Critics said the case pinpointed the danger of basing criminal charges solely on the testimony of young children
True Believer ~ James Woods
The film stars James Woods as burnt-out attorney Eddie Dodd, who has left behind civil rights work to defend drug dealers. Robert Downey Jr. plays Roger Baron, an idealistic young legal clerk fresh out of law school who encourages Dodd to take on the case of Shu Kai Kim, a young Korean man, played by Yuji Okumoto, who has been imprisoned for a gang-related murder. Kim's mother believes her son was wrongfully accused.
Gideon's Trumpet ~ Henry Fonda 
This clip is taken from Gideon's Trumpet (Dir. Robert Collins, WorldVision 1985. With Henry Fonda, John Houseman, Jose Ferrer. Based on the 1964 book by Anthony Lewis)Journalist Anthony Lewis' legal classic, Gideon's Trumpet, charts the story of Clarence Earl Gideon, an obscure Florida convict sentenced to a Florida state prison for a minor burglary offense. Gideon requested an attorney at his trial, but the Florida judge ruled that Gideon was not entitled to a free lawyer, even though he was indigent. As this scene from the made-for-television film illustrates, Clarence Earl Gideon was a simple, uneducated man who was completely unqualified to act as his own attorney. Nonetheless, following the rule set down by the U.S. Supreme Court in the 1942 case of Betts v. Brady, the Florida judge refused to appoint free counsel to defend Gideon.Gideon filed a pauper's petition (in forma pauperis) with the United States Supreme Court, and eventually, the Court ruled that Gideon should have had an attorney at his trial. This landmark case established once and for all, the right of counsel for all criminal defendants, in state as well as federal trials.
The Rainmaker ~ Matt Damon
The Rainmaker is also a 1995 novel by John Grisham that was made into a 1997 motion picture starring Matt Damon, Danny DeVito, Claire Danes and Jon Voight
Matt Damon plays Rudy Baylor, a law graduate from Memphis State Law School. Unlike most of his fellow graduates, he has no well-paying job lined up and is forced to apply for part-time and poorly-paid law positions.
Desperate for a job, he reluctantly allows "Prince" Thomas, the crooked owner of a sleazy bar where he's been working part-time, to introduce him to J Lyman "Bruiser" Stone, a ruthless but successful ambulance-chasing lawyer, who makes him an associate. But to earn his fee, Rudy is required to hunt for potential clients at the local hospital where he must pick up injury cases and sign them up. He is introduced to Deck Shifflet (Danny deVito), a less-than-ethical former insurance assessor....
The Firm ~ Tom Cruise
The Firm is a legal thriller film released in 1993, directed by Sydney Pollack, and starring Tom Cruise, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Gene Hackman, Ed Harris, Holly Hunter, Gary Busey, and David Strathairn. The movie is based on the novel, The Firm, by author John Grisham.
This clip is taken from Gideon's Trumpet (Dir. Robert Collins, WorldVision 1985. With Henry Fonda, John Houseman, Jose Ferrer. Based on the 1964 book by Anthony Lewis)Journalist Anthony Lewis' legal classic, Gideon's Trumpet, charts the story of Clarence Earl Gideon, an obscure Florida convict sentenced to a Florida state prison for a minor burglary offense. Gideon requested an attorney at his trial, but the Florida judge ruled that Gideon was not entitled to a free lawyer, even though he was indigent. As this scene from the made-for-television film illustrates, Clarence Earl Gideon was a simple, uneducated man who was completely unqualified to act as his own attorney. Nonetheless, following the rule set down by the U.S. Supreme Court in the 1942 case of Betts v. Brady, the Florida judge refused to appoint free counsel to defend Gideon.Gideon filed a pauper's petition (in forma pauperis) with the United States Supreme Court, and eventually, the Court ruled that Gideon should have had an attorney at his trial. This landmark case established once and for all, the right of counsel for all criminal defendants, in state as well as federal trials.
The Rainmaker ~ Matt Damon
The Rainmaker is also a 1995 novel by John Grisham that was made into a 1997 motion picture starring Matt Damon, Danny DeVito, Claire Danes and Jon Voight
Matt Damon plays Rudy Baylor, a law graduate from Memphis State Law School. Unlike most of his fellow graduates, he has no well-paying job lined up and is forced to apply for part-time and poorly-paid law positions.
Desperate for a job, he reluctantly allows "Prince" Thomas, the crooked owner of a sleazy bar where he's been working part-time, to introduce him to J Lyman "Bruiser" Stone, a ruthless but successful ambulance-chasing lawyer, who makes him an associate. But to earn his fee, Rudy is required to hunt for potential clients at the local hospital where he must pick up injury cases and sign them up. He is introduced to Deck Shifflet (Danny deVito), a less-than-ethical former insurance assessor....
The Firm ~ Tom Cruise
The Firm is a legal thriller film released in 1993, directed by Sydney Pollack, and starring Tom Cruise, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Gene Hackman, Ed Harris, Holly Hunter, Gary Busey, and David Strathairn. The movie is based on the novel, The Firm, by author John Grisham.
Ghosts of Mississippi ~ Alec Baldwin 
Ghosts of Mississippi is a 1996 drama film directed by Rob Reiner and starring Alec Baldwin, Whoopi Goldberg and James Woods. The plot focuses on the 1994 trial of Byron De La Beckwith, the white supremacist accused of the 1963 assassination of civil rights activist Medgar Evers. The original music score is composed by Marc Shaiman.
James Woods was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role of Byron De La Beckwith
Ghosts of Mississippi is a 1996 drama film directed by Rob Reiner and starring Alec Baldwin, Whoopi Goldberg and James Woods. The plot focuses on the 1994 trial of Byron De La Beckwith, the white supremacist accused of the 1963 assassination of civil rights activist Medgar Evers. The original music score is composed by Marc Shaiman.
James Woods was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role of Byron De La Beckwith
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