Write a research paper explaining what business law considerations are.My goal is to make this interesting, fun and a little outside the norm. Additionally, with
COVID still disrupting our lives, I needed to come up with an idea that would entertain you
while you complied with restrictions in place and my request – to write a term paper!.
Enter Hollywood! Over the years, courtroom scenes and dramas have been a staple of
Hollywood. Many are dramatic, close to real life and fun to watch. They also have a point: some
ethical, some moral some exposing the dilemmas of life.
Your assignment; I will provide a list of movies below I believe fit the above description.
Your “courtroom visit” will be to select a movie to watch and write your paper based upon the
courtroom theme and its relationship to what we have learned about those principles.
In Miracle on 34th Street (the original, not the cheap imitation!) Attorney Fred Gaily
“proves” his client, Kris Kringle, is indeed the “one and only Santa Claus!” When you closely
follow the movie and especially the dramatic courtroom scenes, there are many other issues at
play (especially pertinent to Business students). What does Gaily actually prove? What does the
Judge decide and why? Is commercialism, in the end, the “ism” that saves Kris Kringle despite
his campaign against it? And, whether my favorite line in the movie, “Faith is believing when
your common sense tells you not to” is true, not true…or always or never to be followed?
A Few Good Men presents Jack Nicholson in one of his most famous roles. Did he order
the Code Red that caused the death of a Marine against all military rules, principles and ethical
considerations or was he maintaining the discipline and courage and physical strength of his unit
to defend freedom literally at a front line of communism? Did he give the order? Was that order
an illegal order when balanced with the stakes? Or did a lifetime commanding officer become so
obsessed with his self-importance, that he lost site of the mission and in “maintaining discipline,”
violate the heart of all Marines’ core beliefs? Does Willie, a Corporal and one of the co-
defendants, answer these questions better than the attorneys or the judge? Was the ruling of the
Court fair, in light of the facts presented, especially as to Willie’s co-defendant? What does the
Court ruling tell us? What was the real issue at stake in the trial?
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt is a different twist. A newspaper publisher who abhors the
death penalty convinces a reporter, his future son-in-law, to go along with a scheme where the
reporter and the publisher frame the reporter for a murder that remains unsolved. They carefully
record all the false leads and evidence they drum up with the plan to reveal all the evidence is a
hoax, after the reporter is convicted. This to demonstrate how dangerous the death penalty is as it
may lead to an innocent person being executed for a crime the person did not commit. But what,
in the end, is the true moral? What does the movie portray about manipulation of justice and the
end to which manipulation leads? Are the actions of the publisher to prove his moral convictions
justified in the end?
The Marcus Nelson Murders, as I mentioned in class, gives every person who doubts the
importance of Miranda reason to pause and question their doubt. It is a long movie and was the
pilot for one of my favorite television shows, Kojak, starring Telly Savalas as a tough, lollipop
sucking NYPD detective who truly had no fear, a sterling moral compass and a clear
understanding of the proper role of the police; and made sure the detectives under him lived by
his code! His boss, Captain McNeil, is truly a patient man who shares Kojak’s moral convictions
– up to the point of their execution conflicting with Department regulations. Regulations Kojak
has no stomach for!
Amistad is based on a true story. “The movie chronicles the incredible journey of a group
of enslaved Africans who overtake their captor’s ship and attempt to return to their beloved
homeland.” Former President John Quincy Adams represents the men and women who yearn for
freedom before the United States Supreme Court, who he sees as consisting of men who support
slavery. The case was heard in 1842. A copy of the Decision of the Court is made a part of
Course Content.
Judgment at Nuremberg brings to the courtroom the question of who is at fault for the
carrying out of orders given by a madman. It pits justice, mercy, punishment and retribution
against one another as justice is sought. It is considered one of the greatest films ever made.
Lastly, there is two-part episode from Kojak entitled Chain of Custody. As a former
Assistant District Attorney and Judge, to me it strikes at the heart of what prosecutors and judges
face in the confines of their minds and morals. Does the judge who aids Kojak in the end do it
because of his belief in justice or his own belief in his entitlement and ruthlessness in achieving
what he believes he is entitled to? Does his cooperation with Kojak justify his methods? Perhaps
Lt. Kojak answers that question in one of the last, dramatic lines of the second episode? (I could
only find it here, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0621310/, for $1.99. You may be able to find it
free as I have no idea how to use some of the streaming sites!)
Other qualifying movies: Twelve Angry Men, Anatomy of a Murder, My Cousin Vinny,
Philadelphia, Madame X, Reasonable Doubt.
These are the movies that come to my mind as presenting conflicting and interesting
views of the law and how the courtroom becomes the stage upon which moral convictions, or
lack thereof, are played out.
I believe the movies will be easy to find through the Turner Classic movie website or
YouTube.
Your paper must be double spaced and be 4-6 pages in length. It must discuss
specifically which movie you watched; the relevant courtroom scene; the nature of the incidents
before the court as portrayed and how they relate to the classroom work and discussions you
have selected.
For example, you may choose to discuss the applicability of the principles of separation
of powers to the proceedings you witnessed. You may wish to discuss the rules of evidence, any
principles of the Constitution you witnessed being discussed. YOU MUST HAND IN YOUR
bonus points, select one of the movies above highlighted, and write an additional report, between
3 and 5 pages following the format above
