tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47156050851075391742024-03-05T23:02:33.581-05:00Now You're Thinking Like a LawyerMaking a criminal case out of pop culture fictionJPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033325515725468905noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4715605085107539174.post-67294833397751584852009-09-10T00:17:00.003-04:002009-09-10T11:28:11.555-04:00Glee: Beware of Flying MailmenFacts: To help him concentrate on the road while driving, Finn likes to think about unusual things, such as dead cats. While he's out practicing his driving skills with his mother, Finn is distracted by such thoughts and runs into the local mail carrier, who is severely injured by the collision.Issue: Did Finn commit a crime even though he accidentally struck the mail carrier?Law: A battery is Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4715605085107539174.post-43241614421484959642009-09-08T21:32:00.007-04:002009-09-08T22:30:01.933-04:0090210: I Know What You Did Last Summer90210: To New Beginnings(originally aired Sept. 8, 2009)Facts: At an end of the school year party, Naomi (wrongly) accuses Annie of sleeping with Naomi's boyfriend, Liam. Annie, who's been drinking, denies the allegation but Naomi continues to berate Annie in front of everyone. Annie calls the police on the party and runs out in tears.While driving home, Annie is still emotionally distraught Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4715605085107539174.post-53211069520966971742009-08-05T11:25:00.001-04:002009-08-18T11:30:01.198-04:00August RecessWe will resume our regular programming later this month in advance of the launch of the fall television season premiere.Meanwhile, enjoy two recent articles from the ABA on their ranking of top legal television shows:The Top 25 Honorable Mention Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4715605085107539174.post-90781204361834026432009-07-23T10:42:00.004-04:002009-07-23T10:47:09.658-04:00Ideas SoliciationWith few new (or interesting) shows on television this summer, I'm noticeably lacking in sources for new posts. And since I'm about to hit 200 visitors, I thought I'd solict you for ideas from movies, television, literature, whatever. Please post your ideas in the comments section. Assuming I'm familiar enough with the facts, I'll write up a post.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4715605085107539174.post-92213861421951030462009-07-19T19:38:00.008-04:002009-07-19T20:00:58.383-04:00Harry Potter (Part II): Not Without My HorcruxHarry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)Facts: Albus Dumbledore and Harry Potter travel to a magical cave over a stormy coast, in hopes of recovering a magical locket belonging to Voldemort. After travelling across an enchanted lagoon, they arrive at an island, where they see a case under a pool of potion. Dumbledore (with Harry's assistance) drinks all of the potion and Harry takes the Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4715605085107539174.post-70830978004681968972009-07-19T19:00:00.010-04:002009-07-19T19:59:11.797-04:00Harry Potter (Part I): TransferrenceHarry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)Facts: Romilda Vane slips some love potion into a box of chocolates and leaves them for Harry Potter to eat. Harry's roommate, Ron Weasley, eats some of the chocolates and falls into a trance. Harry finds Ron and takes him to Professor Slughorn, who's an expert in potions. Slughorn gives Ron a tonic and Ron recovers, without any physical damage. ToUnknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4715605085107539174.post-81092930413350887422009-07-17T18:50:00.008-04:002009-07-19T18:59:32.833-04:00I Love You, Beth Cooper: A Final ExamI Love You, Beth Cooper (2009)Ed. Note: Because this movie was so awful, I spent a lot of time thinking during the show that the facts of this movie would be great for a criminal law exam since many of the fundamental criminal law issues came up. Now, I doubt the screenwriters were thinking about criminal law at the time (or a good plot, for that matter), but I thought it would be amusing to seeUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4715605085107539174.post-87574870863110456082009-07-15T08:57:00.009-04:002009-07-19T18:00:20.115-04:00The Hangover: The Tyson or the TigerThe Hangover (2009)Facts: Doug, his two best friends (Phil and Stu), and his future brother-in-law Alan go to Las Vegas for one last weekend of bachelor mayhem before Doug's wedding. To start the night, the guys head to the roof of Caesar's Palace, where Alan offers a bottle of Jagermeister and shot glasses. Unknown to the other guys, Alan dropped what he thought were pills of Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4715605085107539174.post-76476900756044605712009-07-12T15:41:00.003-04:002009-07-12T22:21:39.984-04:00The Proposal: Scamming Your Way into the Country, One Canadian at a TimeThe Proposal (2009)Facts: Margaret is a Canadian and a demanding editor at a publishing house. After she is unable to renew her work visa, she blackmails her assistant Andrew to marry her so she can stay in the country. In exchange, she'll make him an editor. To help convince a nosy immigration agent, Margaret goes with Andrew back to his hometown of Sitka, Alaska, for the celebration of his Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4715605085107539174.post-88482245784304365412009-06-15T21:48:00.006-04:002009-07-12T15:49:45.407-04:00Pushing Daisies: Swimming With the Fishes (Almost)Pushing Daisies: Kerplunk(originally aired June 13, 2009)Facts: Shane Trickle is having an affair with his sister-in-law Coral Ramona, who is one half of the Aquadolls---a synchronized swimming sister duo. After Shane arranges for Bubba the Shark to eat Coral's sister, Coral's bitter rivals---the Darling Mermaid Darlings---take her place as the headlining show. Shane is not pleased that Coral Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4715605085107539174.post-27491434020947057582009-05-30T22:53:00.006-04:002009-05-30T23:36:50.478-04:00Up: Watch Out For Flying CanesUp (2009)Facts: Carl Fredricksen is old and living alone in the house he shared with his recently deceased wife, Elie. The neighborhood around the Fredricksen house has changed over the years, particularly since a development company purchased all of the surrounding land and started building around the Fredricksen lot. Mr. Fredricksen refuses to sell his house due to the significance it playedUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4715605085107539174.post-84562161863298375482009-05-30T22:14:00.004-04:002009-05-30T23:32:39.811-04:00Glee: The Downside of Extorting Your StudentsGlee: Pilot(aired May 19, 2009)Facts: As the new head of the high school glee club, Will Schuester needs to recruit new students to join the club. His appeal to members of the football team is unsuccessful, so he plants marijuana on Finn, a student on the football team with a vocal talent for classic rock ballads. Mr. Schuester tells Finn that he won't report the marijuana possession (and placeUnknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4715605085107539174.post-84330716445347707352009-05-30T18:50:00.005-04:002009-05-30T23:34:18.069-04:00Fringe: Yes, Sir, That's My BabyFringe: There's More Than One of Everything(aired May 12, 2009)Facts: Dr. Walter Bishop's eight-year-old son, Peter, dies from a childhood illness. Dr. Bishop discovers a way to open a portal to a parallel dimension where there are duplicates of everything in Dr. Bishop's known dimension. Dr. Bishop enters the portal, finds the double of his very-much-alive son Peter, takes Peter back to Dr. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4715605085107539174.post-58606216539331704712009-05-30T17:52:00.007-04:002009-05-30T23:35:21.416-04:00Lost: A Fire in the JungleLost: The Incident(aired May 13, 2009)Facts: Ilana and Bram are walking through the woods. They spot their friend Jacob's cabin and go inside. There they discover that Jacob has been gone for some time but a squatter has been living in the house. To prevent the squatter from using the house, they set fire to the cabin. It burns to the ground.Law: Arson is the malicious burning of the dwellingUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4715605085107539174.post-12953838750239652972009-05-09T17:53:00.007-04:002012-03-19T06:19:39.296-04:00Time Travel: A PrimerAfter viewing the new Star Trek film last night, my film
companions expressed frustration with all of the time travel going on in J.J. Abrams productions, i.e., Lost. To help explain things, I quickly sketched out my interpretations of the different forms of time travel. They are reproduced below, with my annotations.
The first slide shows two states of time. No. 1 represents our concept of Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4715605085107539174.post-6410511218190759002009-05-08T23:33:00.007-04:002009-05-09T17:42:51.692-04:00Lost: There's a Storm ComingLost: Follow the Leader(aired May 6, 2009)Facts: An imminent "incident" is about occur on a certain Island. As a small group is trying to flee to safety, they gather up all supplies they can carry. One person, Hurley, secretly takes extra food rations to increase the chances he and his compatriots will survive the "incident." He heads off to meet up with the others. On his way, he meets Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4715605085107539174.post-52661335624555105702009-05-04T21:56:00.001-04:002009-05-09T17:46:18.317-04:00Gossip Girl: The Case of the Gifted BraceletGossip Girl: The Wrath of Con(aired May 4, 2009)Facts: Lily gives her daughter Serena an early graduation gift: an antique bracelet that has been in the family for generations. Serena is reluctant to accept the gift because of secrets she's been keeping from her mother, but she relents, accepts the gift, and puts on the bracelet.When Lily finds out about Serena's secret, Lily tells Serena to stopUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4715605085107539174.post-43974987734940908152009-05-01T13:08:00.005-04:002009-05-09T17:46:42.183-04:00Lost: Shot in the BackLost: The Variable(aired April 29, 2009)***SPOILER ALERT***Facts: Daniel sneaks into a hostile camp site. Daniel is holding a gun in his hand and starts shooting at the ground when one of the campers sees him. Daniel demands to speak with Ellie. Richard walks out to see Daniel and tells him that Ellie is not available. Daniel does not believe him, points his gun at Richard, and says Richard Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4715605085107539174.post-45402695034576524852009-04-27T21:32:00.007-04:002009-05-09T17:47:59.066-04:00Gossip Girl: What's Yours is OursGossip Girl: Southern Gentlemen Prefer Blondes(aired April 27, 2009)Facts: Serena goes on a Spanish holiday with her friend Poppy and Poppy's boyfriend Gabriel. While in Spain, Serena and Gabriel get married after a night of drinking. Serena returns to the United States regretting what happened, but soon Gabriel follows her and they begin to date. But Gabriel is still dating Poppy so he can Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4715605085107539174.post-40417663894856226172009-04-27T09:15:00.007-04:002009-05-09T17:48:37.525-04:0030 Rock: The Black Widow30 Rock: The Ones (aired April 23, 2009)Facts: Jack proposes to marry Elisa but Elisa has a secret. In confidence, she tells her friend Liz that years ago she killed her husband in a fit of rage after she caught him having an affair with another woman. Elisa was never convicted because they could not find an unbiased jury. After a night bundled up with her Slanket, Liz tells Jack about Elisa's Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4715605085107539174.post-59463100983285795122009-04-26T21:21:00.011-04:002009-05-09T17:49:05.401-04:00Observe & ReportObserve & Report (2009)Facts: Ronnie Barnhardt, head of security at a local mall, has made several attempts to go out on a date with mall shop girl, Brandi. After Brandi is the victim of a flasher, Barnhardt escorts Brandi back to her vehicle in the mall parking lot. He asks Brandi out on a date and while initially hesitant, she ultimately agrees.When Ronnie picks up Brandi at home, Brandi Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4715605085107539174.post-87333305045640703052009-04-19T10:24:00.002-04:002009-04-26T22:09:32.278-04:00An IntroductionHave you ever watched a television show or movie and wondered whether the fictional people on screen are committing a crime? Then this blog is for you. Each week I'll present the facts from whatever I happen to watch and give you the law and a brief analysis of whether I think any crime occurred. If have your own comments or take on the issue, share them in the comments.To avoid any state Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0