How Accurate is TV When it Comes to Portraying Justice and the Law?

Originally published by Robert Kraft.

The subject of justice and law have been portrayed in many different ways on television. Each show gives you different characters and interesting cases. There comes a time, though, when some might wonder just how accurate these shows are in comparison to the real world. The following are a few examples that might shed light on this question.

Alley McBeal

Alley McBeal ran from 1997 to 2002 and starred Calista Flockhart. The show was considered a comedy-drama that centered around a lawyer in a fictional law firm in Boston. The cases were mostly plot devices, and most lawyers do not take the show too seriously, but there is one aspect of the show that could be considered a hot topic in law: female lawyers and the way they choose to dress when practicing law. Ally McBeal was put in jail because she would not stop wearing short skirts. Likewise, Marcia Clark—the famous lawyer in the OJ Simpson trial—was also criticized for everything she wore.

Daredevil

It was only a matter of time before the comic book genre blended law and order into storytelling. Daredevil follows a disabled and brilliant lawyer who is also a superhero. The show switches from vigilant work to the law. There is not much about the show that could be considered realistic except for its portrayal of lawyers down on their luck, though, that might be a little exaggerated.

Law and Order: SVU

Law and Order: SVU is considered, by some lawyers, to be a more serious show about law, but it still takes a few liberties here and there. For one, all those dramatic scenes and heated arguments are not usually seen in reality. In real life, there is much more paperwork, and the lawyer focuses on winning the case rather than anything else. Real lawyers, like Thomas A Coletta, deal with sex crimes just like we see on the show but does so with a little less drama and more law. Not only that, but most of SVU’s cases are solved within one episode and, as many of us know, that time frame is very unrealistic.

Drop Dead Diva

Drop Dead Diva is definitely a stretch when it comes to television about law and order. This show centered around the idea of a woman who passed away and somehow enters the body of another woman who happens to be a lawyer. There are angels in the story, so it could definitely be called fantastical. One thing that this show used a few times is the ability of the protagonist to find additional evidence that cops did not find. This could happen, yes, but most likely not as often as the show portrays.

Although most of what we see on TV isn’t real, it’s interesting to see how it mimics the real life of lawyers. Yet, it’s important for us to note that it’s a lot more serious work than what the entertainment industry may give it credit for.

Author Info: Hannah Whittenly is a freelance writer and mother of two from Sacramento, CA. She enjoys kayaking and reading books by the lake. You can find her on Twitter.

Curated by Texas Bar Today. Follow us on Twitter @texasbartoday.

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