Legal System US: So you watch a law movie and walk out of the theater all sparked up! This means just one thing the film has shown you the right career path in your life (Finally, after years of wondering, you’ve made the choice!).
You decide to become a bad-ass attorney, unearth all those proofs that the cops weren’t smart enough to catch sight of and throw a bolt from the blue in the 3rd act of prosecution itself (Ahh, that feels great, isn’t it?).
Or maybe, you’ve thought of heading back home, building an Armour and flying around the entire globe saving lives (Oh, them superhero feels!).
But guess what… the portrayal of legal systems and courts in films are “Nothing” like those of real life! You aren’t allowed to do any of it; in fact, doing so will only land you behind the bars.
Reel v/s Real Legal System US
Truth be told, the sense of legality in movies is quite distorted, meaning, there are bags of ways in which reel life courtroom drama differs from the real life ones. And for all those embellishments that cinema adds, legal system in most cases may receive the most awful treatment.
Well, that’s the reason why we’ve compiled a list of ways, which will reveal all the real and reel life differences (understanding the differences are way easier than making a Will – mark our words!).
You Cannot Provide Proof Out Of The Blue!
As you might have seen, almost every legal movie has a climax scene and that’s when the underdog attorney comes with a case-breaking proof (which of course, no one was aware of!) turning the tables of the prosecution.
Needless to say, it does seem really thrilling (how you wish the same could happen in real life, right?), but entertainment isn’t worth even a single penny in real life courtrooms. That being said, it’s imperative to present all the evidence to the opposition in the course of discovery phase itself.
Real Life Trials Aren’t That Nail-Biting!
You know what… those edge-of-your-seat courtroom scenes are perhaps the biggest misleading notion of all time. In real life courts, even the most brutal trials are filled with countless recurrence of renowned evidence, paperwork, ins and outs of unknowing eyewitnesses, extensive examination of timing, etc.
So, if you ever think that the life of an attorney is full of thrills and chills, then better get your facts checked from a lawyer.
You Cannot Put Bad Guys Behind Bars Without Prosecution
All right we accept, Magneto is a threat to all and can easily man oeuvre metal, which is the sole reason why it’s best to put him behind plastic bars. After all, the well being of humankind is of utmost importance.
But in reality, every civilian has the right to fair prosecution. So, it isn’t possible for you to simply toss criminals into a Tupperware box and vacuum-seal them for an indefinite period of time.
Weapons Need License To Be Carried Around
Do you recall that scene in ‘Iron Man’, when Tony Stark proudly announces, “I AM Iron Man!”? Yeah, that’s the point when cuffs would’ve been slapped on him, if that was for real (but you see… anything can happen in a movie!).
Well, believe it or not, being a private citizen you do not have the right to possess a suit that can shoot live missiles. When a small handgun requires you to have a license, how can you even think of flying in an armour?
Moreover, you’ve ‘got to have’ a permit for hidden weapons. Wolverine, we’re extremely sorry, but you’ve got to give away those knives – Wait!? What do you mean by you cannot take them off?
Courts Aren’t As Practical As Shown In Movies
In movies you might have seen bad guys being arrested, going to trial and then judgement being given, everything within a week’s time. But real courtroom scene is ‘nothing’ like those reel ones; in fact, they are much more mind-numbing!
Although the legal system wouldn’t have been log jammed with thousands of pending cases, the jury would still take its own sweet time and have no second thoughts on allowing criminals to cool their heels behind bars until they’re all set to be in charge of the case. If not years, this could easily take several months!
You Cannot Murder People In Self-Defence And Walk Away!
In every other film, we always see the protagonist kill criminals, tell the cops that it was in self-defence and simply walk away (that’s so cool, isn’t it?)! But guess what… the truth of such circumstances are far more exhausting!
More often than not, in such cases the odds of you being arrested by cops, until it’s evident that it was truly done in self-defence, are higher than what you’d expect.
Though this doesn’t take place, the district lawyer would be handed over the facts to conduct a trial in order to decide whether the defence is viable or no. Since this might take away the pace off an action movie, Hollywood allows it to slide through!
It goes without saying that the episodes of legal drama that we pool in before hitting the sack, does informs and helps us harbour an interest in the same. But at the same time, we cannot deny the fact that it also has the power to manoeuvre our reasoning.
That being said, it’s better not to sway away with whatever is shown in movies. Rather, take a bowl full of popcorn and enjoy the film!
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