Law in Popular Culture

‘Eccentric’ Mother-Daughter Courtroom Artists Meld Talents

A mother-daughter sketch artist team works the New York courts on a freelance basis for several news organizations, covering the trials of high-profile defendants. Andrea Shepard and her mother, Shirley Shepard, “are doubtlessly the most eccentric courtroom sketch artists,” the New York Times’ City Room blog reports. The Shepards both…

Apr 29, 2008 12:39 PM CDT

Meet Patricia Cornwell, Forensic Author Who Earned $100 Million

A hard childhood and a fascination with crime as an adult helped make Patricia Cornwell one of the world’s best-known authors of forensic murder mysteries—a genre that she herself established. Abandoned and abused as a child, lacking the education that more privileged individuals with her intelligence and drive would have…

Apr 28, 2008 5:15 PM CDT

Laurence Fishburne Portrays Thurgood Marshall

Actor Laurence Fishburne says he knew little about Justice Thurgood Marshall’s early career as a civil rights lawyer before he read the script for the play Thurgood. “My only real knowledge of him was that he was the first black man appointed to the United States Supreme Court,” Fishburne told…

Apr 28, 2008 2:10 PM CDT

‘Bad Dads’: New Fox Reality TV Program Collects Child Support

Forget about watching cops place the cuffs on badly behaved adults after breaking up fights and catching them with illegal narcotics. The truly compelling law enforcement reality program may be watching an expert child support enforcer confront deadbeat dads. Viewers will soon have a chance to find out for themselves:…

Apr 24, 2008 9:37 PM CDT

James Spader Argues Before ABC’s ‘Supreme Court’

If the public isn’t getting enough access and appreciation for how the U.S. Supreme Court operates from the justices themselves, they may be able to glean some insights by watching some prime-time TV drama. On this week’s ABC hit show Boston Legal, the high court was the featured guest, with…

Apr 24, 2008 12:30 PM CDT

Beware of E-Mail Bearing O’Melveny Name

Thousands of CEOs have received spyware e-mails bearing the name of O’Melveny & Myers. The e-mails contain attachments purporting to be grand jury subpoenas and are sent from a uscourts.com address, Legal Pad reports. But computer users who open the attachments could install spyware that logs their keystrokes. The U.S.…

Apr 15, 2008 11:23 AM CDT

Roman Polanski Documentary Puts New Spin on Child Sex Crime

More than 30 years after movie director Roman Polanski pleaded guilty to having unlawful sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old girl and then fled the U.S. when an initial plea bargain wasn’t honored, a controversial new documentary is portraying him as, at least to some extent, a victim of injustice. Although…

Apr 14, 2008 5:17 PM CDT

Crazed Cardozo Law Revue Wins YouTube Raves

A parody of the law review at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York is winning viewers and at least a few rave reviews on the Internet. Now playing on YouTube, the Cardozo Law Revue features a domineering prosecutrix in a low-necked sleeveless black dress, a moot…

Apr 7, 2008 8:37 PM CDT

“Holy Cross-Claim, Batman!”

With the convergence of law, media and popular culture, it’s no wonder many young Americans have a skewed view of the U.S. legal system.

Apr 1, 2008 4:30 PM CDT

Pop Goes the Gavel!

Nothing celebrates the sweeter side of law quite like a Gavel Pop. These quirky candies were conceived by Dave Giles, a Utah gavel carver who owns the Gavel Store, an online hammer headquarters (gavelstore.com).

Apr 1, 2008 4:02 PM CDT

Lawyer Writes Christian Guide to Legal Issues, Advises Against Revenge

Christian lawyer Stephen Bloom has written a new book that advises litigants to “rise above the mindset of greed and revenge so prevalent in the law.” The new book is The Believer’s Guide to Legal Issues, Legal Blog Watch reports. Bloom, a lawyer from Carlisle, Penn., says too many people…

Apr 1, 2008 12:27 PM CDT

Glenn Close as Attorney: Scarier Than ‘Fatal Attraction’

Actress Glenn Close, playing a plaintiffs attorney in the television drama Damages, is now winning new fans on the other side of the pond. Even scarier than she was in her infamous role in Fatal Attraction, playing the deranged paramour of a married Manhattan lawyer who thought he’d signed on…

Mar 25, 2008 11:34 PM CDT

Legal Thriller Author Bashes Judicial Elections, to Chagrin of Newspaper

An editorial writer at the Wall Street Journal is taking legal thriller writer John Grisham to task for supporting merit selection of judges over judicial elections. Grisham backs merit selection of judges, as do retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and the American Bar Association (PDF). The method,…

Mar 20, 2008 1:02 PM CDT

N.Y. Lawyer: Fictional Persona Libels Me

An unusual libel case filed by a New York lawyer over a fictional portrayal in a television show of an attorney he says is recognizable as himself has surmounted its first hurdle. A judge has denied a motion to dismiss the case filed by Ravi Batra, putting his claim that…

Mar 19, 2008 11:57 PM CDT

Lawyer Relies on ‘Animal House’ for Inspiration

In an upcoming memoir, criminal defense lawyer Mickey Sherman reveals that his courtroom strategy is inspired by the movie Animal House. Sherman says he tries to deflect issues of guilt by blaming the system as the fraternity member Otter does in the film, the New York Post reports. “After a…

Mar 19, 2008 1:45 PM CDT