Do courtroom dramas change peoples understanding of the law?
Courtrooms seem like the perfect setting for great drama: Witnesses recount crimes under oath, lawyers display bloody gloves, and judges and juries ultimately decide fates. Countless films and TV shows have used the courtroom to capitalize on the climactic moments and sensational elements of the justice system. In fact, it’s not a stretch to say that many of us who don’t have much personal experience in a courtroom get a lot of our preconceived notions about law from these kinds of movies and shows. In one sense, this isn’t such a bad thing. Watching movies like “A Time to Kill” and shows like “Law & Order” has helped audiences familiarize themselves with common legal jargon that you might hear thrown around in a courtroom. We learn the procedures and rules that help structure our justice system and, hopefully, ensure fairness. One could also argue that, in gene
