Koral Zazueta
PSCI 231
Prompt 1
Court Proceedings in My Cousin Vinny
The film My Cousin Vinny is a relatively accurate representation of criminal court proceedings. However, the jury selection process was not explicitly shown in the film. Furthermore, the film does not emphasize much of the pre-trial motions, the preponderance of evidence, or how the evidence was collected. The process of discovering relevant facts concerning the case was also deemphasized. The movie demonstrated details of the court procedures relatively accurately by including witnesses, testimonies, and the jury who evaluated the evidence presented, but deemphasized other parts of the legal procedure.
In the film My Cousin Vinny, Vinny is a lawyer who endeavors to win a …show more content…
However, Vinny accredited this to his superb persuasion skills rather than the fact that it is required for the opposing party to share relevant facts concerning the case. This is due to the 1963 Supreme Court Case Brady v. Maryland, which ruled that Due Process requires defendants to be given any exculpatory information, commonly referred to an “open file” policy. Discovery refers to the entitlement each party has to receive information that the opposing side has in possession, thus preventing surprises in court. An example of this was when the D.A. called his own expert witness in automobiles and Vinny was not aware, yet the judge allowed it. Additionally, My Cousin Vinny was accurate in representing both the prosecution and defense's closing arguments, which refers to the fact that no more evidence will be presented because both sides have finished arguing. In the film, the District was accurate in some depictions, but was not entirely accurate in their depictions of the legal procedure, as the two men accused of murder were interrogated without a counsel. However, one can argue that they waived this right by not remaining silent. It is unknown whether the two young men were ever read their rights which is an important part of the legal procedure. Ultimately, the film My Cousin Vinny, was fairly accurate in representing the legal procedure that occurs in a murder trial despite leaving out pretrial motions and the specifics of gathering oral
PSCI 231
Prompt 1
Court Proceedings in My Cousin Vinny
The film My Cousin Vinny is a relatively accurate representation of criminal court proceedings. However, the jury selection process was not explicitly shown in the film. Furthermore, the film does not emphasize much of the pre-trial motions, the preponderance of evidence, or how the evidence was collected. The process of discovering relevant facts concerning the case was also deemphasized. The movie demonstrated details of the court procedures relatively accurately by including witnesses, testimonies, and the jury who evaluated the evidence presented, but deemphasized other parts of the legal procedure.
In the film My Cousin Vinny, Vinny is a lawyer who endeavors to win a …show more content…
However, Vinny accredited this to his superb persuasion skills rather than the fact that it is required for the opposing party to share relevant facts concerning the case. This is due to the 1963 Supreme Court Case Brady v. Maryland, which ruled that Due Process requires defendants to be given any exculpatory information, commonly referred to an “open file” policy. Discovery refers to the entitlement each party has to receive information that the opposing side has in possession, thus preventing surprises in court. An example of this was when the D.A. called his own expert witness in automobiles and Vinny was not aware, yet the judge allowed it. Additionally, My Cousin Vinny was accurate in representing both the prosecution and defense's closing arguments, which refers to the fact that no more evidence will be presented because both sides have finished arguing. In the film, the District was accurate in some depictions, but was not entirely accurate in their depictions of the legal procedure, as the two men accused of murder were interrogated without a counsel. However, one can argue that they waived this right by not remaining silent. It is unknown whether the two young men were ever read their rights which is an important part of the legal procedure. Ultimately, the film My Cousin Vinny, was fairly accurate in representing the legal procedure that occurs in a murder trial despite leaving out pretrial motions and the specifics of gathering oral