¶ … Cousin Vinny and American Criminal Justice
The 1992 film My Cousin Vinny starring Joe Pesci and Marisa Tomei is a typical Hollywood foray into the realm of jurisprudence. So comical and seemingly realistic is the film (it takes place in the South -- where the unexpected nature of the backwoods setting gives the fish-out-of-water antics of Pesci's Gambini a convincing legitimacy) that one is willing to believe that it actually gives accurate representation of the criminal justice system and the court process in America. This paper will compare and contrast My Cousin Vinny with the actual American criminal justice system and court process, showing where the two meet and where (as in all Hollywood fare) they eventually depart.
The Film in Reality
In reality, it may be noted that even the United States is using My Cousin Vinny as a guide when it comes to justice and jurisprudence -- at least in Afghanistan (oddly enough). The Washington Post reports that classes on Afghan Judicial Procedures are being fortified by "providing officers with copies of the Afghan constitution and penal code, fingerprint kits and digital cameras -- and having them watch videos of American TV crime shows such as CSI: Las Vegas and courtroom movies such as My Cousin Vinny" (Alshamsa, 2010).
Likewise, in a bizarre twist of life reflecting art, there is the recent report from the 7th Circuit of a defense lawyer (ala Vincent Gambini) "jailed for contempt during trial [who] was not shown to have denied [the] defendant of effective assistance of counsel because counsel was sleep deprived in the county jail" (My Cousin Vinny cited by 7th Cir., 2009). The Sutherland v. Gaetz trial in Illinois was, close to the film's trial, one in which the defendant was brought up on charges of attempted first-degree murder and aggravated battery. The real comparison, however, is noticed here: "Defense counsel's obstinate behavior and the court's exasperation with it may be reminiscent for some of the contentious interplay between the fictional characters of Vincent LaGuardia Gambini and Judge Chamberlain Haller in the film My Cousin Vinny" (My Cousin Vinny cited by 7th Cir., 2009).
In the film, of course, Vinny finds the best rest he's had since arriving in the South after spending a night in jail. In reality, however, Sutherland (the defendant)'s attorney found no such rest in prison. The result was that Sutherland's lawyer lacked sufficient rest to represent his client in court. When Sutherland was found guilty, he appealed, asserting that his right to habeas corpus had been denied because he had been unable to fully have contact to his lawyer, whose belligerence in the courtroom had landed him in jail:
In his direct appeal and again throughout post-conviction proceedings, Sutherland claimed that he was denied the assistance of counsel because the jailing of his attorney prevented the preparation of his defense. After those challenges were unsuccessful, Sutherland sought a writ of habeas corpus in federal court under 28 U.S.C. § 2254. The district court denied his petition, a decision which Sutherland now appeals and we affirm. (Sutherland v. Gaetz, 2009)
Sutherland's appeal was based upon United States v. Cronic, 466 U.S. 648, 655-56 (1984), which states,
The right to the effective assistance of counsel is thus the right of the accused to require the prosecution's case to survive the crucible of meaningful adversarial testing. When a true adversarial criminal trial has been conducted ... The kind of testing envisioned by the Sixth Amendment has occurred. But if the process loses its character as a confrontation between adversaries, the constitutional guarantee is violated.
However, the appeals court denied the argument, stating that it "cannot accept that an attorney functioning on little rest, whether it be three hours of sleep or no sleep at all, would lack the presence of mind even to request a simple continuance" (Sutherland v. Gaetz).
Vinny and Court Proceedings
While The National Jurist, "a magazine for law students," ranks My Cousin Vinny at no. 18 in a top twenty list of the best legal films (behind such movies as Inherit the Wind -- a drama based on a "show trial" and The Firm -- a drama based on "drama"), BeyondLawSchool (2010) relates that "in more than one class, scenes from the movie have been shown in class to depict real-world scenarios…including criminal procedure, professional responsibility and trial tactics" (Posts Tagged My Cousin Vinny).
Of course, while Sutherland v. Gaetz is an instance of real jurisprudence in action -- and a departure from Hollywood...
Jurisprudence As a theory in law, Jurisprudence involves varying philosophical perceptions about the purposes of law, the legal system and the institutions developed to regulate law. In an effort to understand the basic, fundamental reasoning for law and of legal systems, legal scholars have developed theoretical frameworks within the umbra of jurisprudence. For the purposes of this paper, jurisprudential philosophies will include natural law, legal positivism and constructivist theories of law. Aristotle,
but, according to all other fuqah?', it should be transferred to the public treasury, because it belongs to the Muslims. According to Sh-fi ), the Muslims inherit it on the grounds of their being members of the same group (alta s-b); Ab? Han-fa agrees, on the basis of one of the two traditions reported by him (which includes Sh-fi's opinion), although the other tradition grounds it on friendship (muw-l-t), not
Johnson v Transportation Agency (1986) The two above cases both resulted in a broadening of the scopes and protections of the Civil Rights Act via jurisprudence. In Johnson v Transportation Agency (1986), a very different result was reached that shows the changing nature and understanding of discrimination and how it work in society. The difference in this case is also directly and explicitly related to the differences in the original plaintiffs
Upon becoming a paralegal, I may then begin to make use of the administrative and organizational skills I already possess to enhance my knowledge of the law. Further, other than my many years of experience in administrative positions, I have the advantage of many years in the military in general. Essentially, the law is a vast set of rules to be applied evenly and fairly across varying cultures. The military
Dworkin Jurisprudence The rule of law entails the practical manifestation of our social and philosophical ideals: the rule of law is ideals in action. The rule of law allows public standards to be applied to personal behaviors. The rule of law also requires the proper exercise of power by a governing body. The government enforces the law, but no individual is above the law. The principles of law include the following. The
One criticism is that the corporate and business world is more concerned with self-interest rather then ethics and human rights. "Corporate America, upon which much of the burden of economic growth depends, does what is good for itself. Such self-interest has had the effect of barring women from most executive suites and maintaining status quo gender roles...." (Gibelman, 2003. p 22) This is an aspect which, in combination with
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now