Law in Popular Culture

CBS develops comedy based on law school experiences of Dr. Phil’s son

CBS is developing a comedy called Class Action that is based on the law school experiences of Dr. Phil’s son, Jay McGraw. The show follows a law student who is looking for an easy experience, but instead finds himself in a group of eclectic law students who have to argue…

Dec 11, 2017 7:00 AM CST

En banc 7th Circuit reinstates Brendan Dassey’s conviction in ‘Making a Murderer’ case

An en banc federal appeals court has reinstated the conviction of Brendan Dassey for helping his uncle kill a woman in a case featured in the Making a Murderer Netflix series.

Dec 8, 2017 4:55 PM CST

The Keanu Reeves cinematic guide to being an ‘excellent!’ criminal defense attorney

Disclaimer: this is not the article I intended to write. Keanu Reeves’ hasn’t endorsed it ... yet.

Dec 7, 2017 8:00 AM CST

A dozen gift suggestions for lawyers (gallery)

Don’t look now, but the calendar is on the last page of the year. Time is running out: Have you figured out what’s the perfect holiday gift for the lawyer or legal professional in your life? A tie or a briefcase just won’t cut it—what do you do now? Perhaps…

Dec 5, 2017 4:51 PM CST

‘Thor: Ragnarok’ is latest instance of trial by combat in popular culture

Two things recently got me thinking about the age-old, quasi-legal theory of trial by combat: first and foremost, the new Marvel film Thor: Ragnarok, and secondly, the recent news that an attorney who actually requested trial by combat in one of his cases is apparently being investigated on criminal allegations.

Nov 21, 2017 8:30 AM CST

‘The Orville’ explores issues related to gender neutrality

A new television series created by and starring Seth MacFarlane (of Family Guy fame)—one set aboard a spaceship patrolling the galaxies four centuries from now—decided to delve into the issue of gender neutrality.

Nov 9, 2017 8:30 AM CST

It’s Global Love Your Lawyer Day

It’s the first Friday of November, and that means it’s Love Your Lawyer Day.

In fact, it’s National, International and Global Love Your Lawyer Day, according to the group promoting the day, the American Lawyers Public Image Association.

Nov 3, 2017 7:00 AM CDT

For-profit law schools set scene in John Grisham’s new novel

Third-year students at a for-profit law school who have accumulated huge amounts of student debt are the subjects of John Grisham’s latest legal thriller, The Rooster Bar. The attorney-author told CBS News that his plot was inspired by a 2014 story in the Atlantic titled “The Law-School Scam.” “I was…

Oct 26, 2017 4:15 PM CDT

‘Reinhold Niebuhr’ Twitter account is actually written by James Comey, friend confirms

James Comey has been tweeting under the name “Reinhold Niebuhr,” a theologian the fired FBI director wrote about in his college thesis. Gizmodo wrote a story in March asserting that “Reinhold Niebuhr” was “almost certainly” Comey. Now there is confirmation that Comey is the tweeter, report Gizmodo, NPR, the New…

Oct 23, 2017 3:33 PM CDT

Is prolific tweeting Texas justice’s social media farewell a thank you for 5th Circuit nomination?

Texas Supreme Court Justice Don Willett has more than 100,000 Twitter followers on Twitter, but they haven’t seen anything new on the social media platform from the justice since Sept. 28. On that date, Willett thanked President Donald Trump and Texas’ two senators for his nomination to the New Orleans-based…

Oct 20, 2017 11:19 AM CDT

Above the Law’s David Lat taking a break from ‘the trenches’ of daily journalism

David Lat is stepping down as managing editor of Above the Law after a change in his personal life. Lat and his husband are the parents of a baby boy. “As a parent and primary caregiver,” he writes at Above the Law, “I’d like to take a break from being…

Oct 19, 2017 9:04 AM CDT

‘Wolf of Wall Street’ producers fight lawyer’s defamation suit with prostitute party allegation

The Wolf of Wall Street may have been inspired by fact, but it is a work of fiction that didn’t defame a lawyer who claimed viewers would believe he was the drug-using, toupee-wearing character in the film, according to a court document in the case.

Oct 19, 2017 8:00 AM CDT

True-crime parody ‘American Vandal’ provides powerful correlations to actual criminal cases

I had my reservations about Netflix’s original true-crime-documentary parody series American Vandal from the beginning. Did I laugh out loud the first time I watched the promo? Sure. But I thought it had to be nothing more than a one-off skit for some internet comedy provider such as Funny or Die and the like.

Oct 18, 2017 8:30 AM CDT

Chance the Rapper gives out free tickets to ‘Marshall’

Chance the Rapper announced on Twitter on Friday that he will give away tickets to see Marshall at two Chicago movie theaters. The rapper said he has purchased tickets for all Marshall screenings at the theaters on Friday. The film is about a case handled by Thurgood Marshall early in…

Oct 13, 2017 1:28 PM CDT

New true crime TV series should reopen debate over cameras in the courtroom

It’s been almost 30 years since the Menendez brothers returned to their Beverly Hills, California, home and found their parents brutally murdered. The brothers’ call to a 911 operator set in motion a criminal investigation that would eventually lead to their arrest and conviction.

Oct 10, 2017 8:00 AM CDT