# Courtroom dramas where the prosecution is the hero? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 19, 2002, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/courtroom-dramas-where-the-prosecution-is-the-hero/143892 "2002-12-19T20:57:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![hammos1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ba8739/32.png) [@hammos1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hammos1)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/courtroom-dramas-where-the-prosecution-is-the-hero/143892/1 "2002-12-19T20:57:40Z")
**Courtroom dramas where the prosecution is the hero?** Are there any? It always seems to be the defending side that we’re supposed to root for… ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/courtroom-dramas-where-the-prosecution-is-the-hero/143892/2 "2002-12-19T21:05:08Z")
_Helter Skelter_, the story of the Manson trial. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/courtroom-dramas-where-the-prosecution-is-the-hero/143892/3 "2002-12-19T21:16:04Z")
In the Criminal Justice System the people are represented by two separate, yet equally important groups. The police who investigate crime and the District Attorneys who prosecute the offenders. These are their stories… ---
**Author:** ![KarmaComa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e36b37/32.png) [@KarmaComa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarmaComa)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/courtroom-dramas-where-the-prosecution-is-the-hero/143892/4 "2002-12-19T21:18:44Z")
Buh buh buh buh buuuuuuuuuh (law and order song) ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/courtroom-dramas-where-the-prosecution-is-the-hero/143892/5 "2002-12-19T21:20:03Z")
_Compulsion Ghosts of Mississippi JFK Judgment at Nuremberg Philadelphia The Verdict_ ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/courtroom-dramas-where-the-prosecution-is-the-hero/143892/6 "2002-12-19T21:59:52Z")
The Untouchables comes down to a court room scene at the end. Oh and that Tom Cruise, Demi Moore and Jack Nickelson movie… I WANT THE TRUTH YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH!! ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/courtroom-dramas-where-the-prosecution-is-the-hero/143892/7 "2002-12-19T22:10:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ArchiveGuy \* > > * * * > > Philadelphia > The Verdict\* \*\* Denzel Washington isn’t a prosecutor in “Philadelphia,” nor is Paul Newman in “The Verdict.” Both are ambulance-chasing lawyers suing a large institution for a lot of money. And Tom Cruise isn’t the prosecutor in “A FEw Good Men,” Kevin Bacon is. - A better example? Kelly McGillis, prosecutor in “The Accused,” is clearly supposed to be the “good guy.” ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/courtroom-dramas-where-the-prosecution-is-the-hero/143892/8 "2002-12-19T22:13:09Z")
Oh, and there are a few movies that trick us- even though we’re supposed to be rooting against them, prosecutors Laura Linney (in “Primal Fear”) and Peter Coyote (in “Jagged Edge”) turn out to be right. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/courtroom-dramas-where-the-prosecution-is-the-hero/143892/9 "2002-12-19T22:29:42Z")
Sometimes, _L. A. Law_, sometimes not. And sometimes you don’t know which until a few episodes later. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/courtroom-dramas-where-the-prosecution-is-the-hero/143892/10 "2002-12-19T22:38:06Z")
If the OP really meant to say “plaintiff” rather than “prosecution” (to include civil trials), we can count _ **The Rainmaker** _. And probably at least two-thirds of the movies shown on Lifetime. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/courtroom-dramas-where-the-prosecution-is-the-hero/143892/11 "2002-12-19T22:46:19Z")
> [@](#): > > _astorian says:_ Denzel Washington isn’t a prosecutor in “Philadelphia,” nor is Paul Newman in “The Verdict.” Both are ambulance-chasing lawyers suing a large institution for a lot of money. If you read my title, you’d see I said Prosecutor/ **Plaintiff** , since the OP specifically referred to courtroom dramas that didn’t side with the defendant. ---
**Author:** ![Protesilaus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Protesilaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Protesilaus)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/courtroom-dramas-where-the-prosecution-is-the-hero/143892/12 "2002-12-19T23:47:20Z")
_A Civil Action_ is another one with a plantiff hero. ---
**Author:** ![audit1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@audit1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audit1)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2002, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/courtroom-dramas-where-the-prosecution-is-the-hero/143892/13 "2002-12-20T01:24:28Z")
In novels., Perry Mason Creater Earl Stanley Gardner also wrote novels about a prosecuter Doug Selby. One was filmed as a TV movie with Jim Hutton in the roll. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2002, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/courtroom-dramas-where-the-prosecution-is-the-hero/143892/14 "2002-12-20T01:37:47Z")
_The Caine Mutiny_ is a pretty good example, when the defendants are gradually revealed as bunch of creeps who didn’t support their captain when he needed them. The prosecution looks good by default. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2002, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/courtroom-dramas-where-the-prosecution-is-the-hero/143892/15 "2002-12-20T03:52:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ArchiveGuy \* > \*\*If you read my title, you’d see I said Prosecutor/ **Plaintiff** , since the OP specifically referred to courtroom dramas that didn’t side with the defendant. \*\* You’re right, and I apologize for misreading the OP. Still, the two things aren’t really comparable. When movies show CRIMINAL trials, the defendant is usually innocent, and we’re supposed to root for the defense. But when Hollywood shows a CIVIL trial, it’s a given that the defendants are big bad institutions like the Catholic Church (“The Verdict”) or evil polluting corporations (“Erin Brockovich,” “A Civil Action”). In those movies, the plaintiffs are almost ALWAYS portrayed as heroes. I mean, how many movies can you think of where the people suing a big corporation are WRONG, and DON’T deserve a huge payday? ---
**Author:** ![hammos1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ba8739/32.png) [@hammos1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hammos1)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2002, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/courtroom-dramas-where-the-prosecution-is-the-hero/143892/16 "2002-12-20T10:47:33Z")
Thanks for all the replies. Generally speaking, it seems to be the case that we side with the defence if the accused is an individual, but with the prosecution if the accused is a corporation. In fact, saying that makes me think of another example- _Class Action_ with Gene Hackman defending, and daughter Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio for the prosecution. Furthermore, Hackman was a prosecutor in _Narrow Margin_ , although it would be stretching it to call that a courtroom drama.