Television set in the legal world has captivated audiences for decades with courtroom battles and charismatic attorneys.
From classics like Perry Mason, Matlock, and the early years of Law & Order to more recent (and tonally varied) shows like The Good Wife, Suits, and Better Call Saul, fictional versions play a major role in public perception of the legal system. However, these dramatizations often differ wildly from real-life legal proceedings.
In this blog, we’ll compare the action in attorney shows to the way personal injury cases and similar matters really unfold. You’ll quickly find there are some common misconceptions.
The Allure of Television Attorneys
It’s no secret why some of the famous TV lawyers are among the medium’s most iconic characters in general.
Raymond Burr started the trend in the late 1950s as Perry Mason: His persistence, constant wisecracks, and knack for staging arguments as dramatically as any playwright set a standard that you still see in modern shows, even those with vastly different styles:
- Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston) from the original Law & Order, is cut precisely from the Mason cloth, down to his dry-witted dialogue, theatricality (surprise witnesses, et al) and near-unbroken winning record.
- Virtually every senior lawyer on L.A. Law is an expert in both wisecracks and legal victories, notably Michael Kuzak (Harry Hamlin) and Ann Kelsey (Jill Eikenberry).
- Alicia Florrick (Julianna Margulies) and Will Gardner (Josh Charles) on The Good Wife have three-dimensional personalities and aren’t invincible in court. But they’re not above a dramatic gesture (or several), and Gardner loves his bon mots.
- Suits is more comedy than drama. But it doesn’t take that long for protagonist Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams), who isn’t even a bar-certified lawyer, to start behaving like a McCoy disciple.
Many of these shows spend little time depicting the research lawyers conduct (everything from client histories to relevant case precedents). They also often boil legal strategies down to surprises or bite-sized closing arguments. In truth, personal injury cases can be as complex as any criminal prosecution and often require complex negotiations.
Dramatic Courtroom Moments: Fact or Fiction?
Many civil and criminal cases never make it to trial. Some civil cases barely enter the courtroom beyond pre-trial motions. But viewers want to see lawyers on TV shows in court as much as possible. As such, episodes typically focus on trials and various dramatic pre-trial moments (pleas, bail hearings, depositions).
It’s easy to suspend belief regarding how much time TV shows on lawyers spend at trial. It’s the search for audience-shocking moments that brings us to absurdity.
Surprise Evidence or Witnesses
While a dynamic technique in TV drama, surprises like this are rare. Both actions violate the basics of discovery: Each side of a case must know what evidence and witnesses the other side plans to introduce.
On TV, judges allow surprises because it’s necessary to propel the story. In real court, lawyers must provide meticulous, airtight arguments for such actions, and have no guarantee of success.
Shouting and Conflict
This happens on virtually every legal show, from Law & Order to The Practice and Suits (both otherwise noted for their relative realism in criminal and corporate law, respectively). Opposing lawyers bicker back and forth, defendants audibly crack wise, judges bellow for order and bang their gavel, and so on.
Most trials don’t have any of this. Everyone in a courtroom is expected to show decorum, especially lawyers and judges. Further, real opposing lawyers address virtually everything they say to the judge (or jury, in certain moments), not each other.
The On-the-Stand Confession
This happened constantly on Perry Mason: After walking into a tightly constructed verbal trap, the guilty party dramatically proclaims their guilt. Many Mason successors have these scenes too, especially Law & Order (and its spinoffs).
Most real-life lawyers claim they’ve never seen this happen.
The Forensic Fallacy (A.K.A. “The CSI Effect”)
On shows like CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, its spinoffs, and its many ripoffs, tiny fibers, drops of blood, or even more microscopic pieces of DNA evidence frequently help investigators put cases down.
This isn’t accurate either to police or court procedure. Criminal and civil attorneys alike rely above all on testimony (from on-the-scene “eyeball” witnesses and experts providing secondary analysis) and physical evidence (of which forensics are just one part). For personal injury cases, medical records past and present are especially important.
Although opinions differ on whether the expectation of forensic evidence changes people’s actual decisions when sitting on juries, there’s little doubt that the average TV viewer grants it greater importance than it deserves.
The Reality of Personal Injury Cases
It’d be convenient if legal issues resolved neatly and quickly as they do on attorney shows. But winning an actual personal injury case requires research, strategizing, and patience. All of that demands time, a lot of which is spent before a case goes to trial (if it even does).
After you file your complaint against any parties you consider responsible for your injury, and they answer and/or counterclaim, many steps precede a potential trial. These include motions, discovery, depositions, and pre-trial conferences like arbitration or mediation. (For all its crime-drama chaos, Better Call Saul’s legal scenes depict these steps well; it even takes time to show the lengthy research.)
At any point, your lawyer or the defendant’s attorney can propose a settlement. (It can even happen during the trial, or after it.) If there’s no settlement agreement before the trial, the court convenes a jury (usually six people for civil cases). Then it’s on to opening statements, plaintiff evidence presentation, witness statements, cross-examination, and so on, with the cycle repeating for the defense before closing statements.
These steps can take months and sometimes extend past a year. If you’re lucky, it might be just a few weeks before the defendant settles, but you should expect several months.
Enlist the May Firm’s Reliable Lawyers
If you’ve been in a car accident, slip and fall, or suffered any other personal injury, don’t waste time: Get the May Firm on the line.
Our lawyers don’t quip three times a minute like Jack McCoy, but we offer expertise across multiple practice areas. We’ll help you determine your best course of action in a free consultation and fight to get you any damages and other compensation you deserve.
