Nominations for your favorite TV/Movie attorney?

Cafe Society
#1

I’ve been mulling over starting a poll about who is everyone’s favorite TV/Movie attorney, so I’m throwing the floor open to nominations. We could have different categories for prosecutor/D.A., defense attorney, etc. Who should we include?

My nominations, in no particular order, are:

Ben Stone, ADA Law & Order
Jack McCoy, ADA * Law & Order*
Dan Fielding, state’s attorney Night Court
Christine Sullivan, public defender Night Court
Beth Davenport, defense attorney The Rockford Files
Joyce Davenport, defense attorney Hill Street Blues
Ben Matlock, defense attorney Matlock
Ed Danvers, state’s attorney Homicide: Life on the Street

Who else?

#2

Perry Mason

#3

Arnie Becker - L.A. Law (Horniest)
Stuart Markowitz - L.A. Law (Most Innovative)(Venus Butterfly)

#4

Perry Mason, definitely.

Jimmy Stewart and George C. Scott in Anatomy of a Murder.

Charles Laughton in Witness for the Prosecution.

Kirk Douglas in Town without Pity.

Anthony Quayle in QB VII.

William Shatner in The Andersonville Trials.

Dan and Christine in “Night Court,” definitely.

Let’s not forget Hamilton Burger, poor guy. I know Perry lost a few cases, but did Hamilton ever actually win any? :confused:

#5

Mitch McDeere (The Firm) should at least be on the poll.

Mickey Haller (The Lincoln Lawyer, et al.), if only for being Harry Bosch’s half-brother.

A late fourth season episode has Perry getting a phone call from a fellow attorney who is getting his ass handed to him by the D.A. Perry hangs up the phone and makes a bee-line for the door, explaining his haste to Della with the line “It’s looking like Hamilton Burger might win a case!”

#6

Henry Fonda in The Young Mr. Lincoln.

#7

Wait, no one has mentioned Atticus Finch yet?

Also, my sf geek side wants to give props to the Klingon defense attorney in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.

#8

Denny Crane.

#9

Vinny Gambini (aka My Cousin Vinny)

Daniel Kaffee (A Few Good Men)

#10

Lionel Hutz

#11

John Houseman as Kingsfield in “The Paper Chase.” (TV and movie.)

#12

Cool! :cool:

I saw “The Case of the Terrified Typist” a couple of years ago. Perry lost, but it didn’t matter because the case hinged on a fraudulent identity and a murder that never really happened. The judge indicated he was throwing the whole case out, and there would be a retrial once they got things sorted out.

Confusing as hell, but the look on Perry’s face when he lost was priceless!

#13

If Dan and Christine are in the running then so is Barry Zuckercorn and since I was never into law shows if we can include shows that included a lawyer but didn’t focus around law, I’ll toss in Will Truman.

#14

Paul Newman, “The Verdict”.

Richard Gere, “Primal Fear”.

The faux-Jewish attorney on “Breaking Bad” is hilarious.

All three of these guys are deeply flawed, but fun.

And I’ll second Tom Cruise in “A Few Good Men”.

ETA: Steve Martin in “All of Me” and Jim Carrey in “Liar Liar”!

#15

Horace Rumpole

#16

Perry Mason as well.

#17

Denny Crane.

#18

Ling Woo. (Hey you never said I had to be because of their legal skills) :wink: :smiley:

#19

Peter Kingdom

#20

Exactly.

Denny Crane.