American Legal History
This controversial presidential power, famously used by Gerald Ford to shield Richard Nixon after the Watergate scandal, completely clears an individual of a federal crime and restores their civil rights.
What is a pardon?
This long-running USA Network series follows a brilliant college dropout with a photographic memory who gets hired at a top NYC law firm despite never attending law school.
What is Suits?
Despite his reputation as a ruthless Chicago mob boss, federal prosecutors finally brought this infamous gangster down in 1931 on charges of tax evasion rather than violent crimes.
Who is Al Capone?
This is the specific crime of intentionally lying or making false statements while under oath during a trial, deposition, or official proceeding.
What is perjury?
An attorney will raise this objection if opposing counsel asks a witness a question during direct examination that suggests the specific answer the attorney wants to hear, effectively putting words in the witness's mouth.
What is a leading question?
This 1966 decision ruled that criminal suspects must be informed of their constitutional rights—such as the right to remain silent—prior to police interrogation.
What is Miranda v. Arizona?
Reese Witherspoon’s Elle Woods uses her knowledge of perm maintenance to solve a murder case in this 2001 comedy.
What is Legally Blonde?
During a high-stakes 1995 trial, defense attorney Johnnie Cochran delivered this unforgettable rhyming directive to the jury regarding a crucial piece of evidence: "If it doesn't fit, you must acquit.
What is the glove?
This Latin phrase, translating to "speak the truth," refers to the preliminary examination of potential jurors by judges and attorneys to determine their suitability for a trial.
What is voir dire?
This objection is used when an attorney asks a witness to testify about a topic that has absolutely nothing to do with the legal issues or facts at hand in the trial.
What is relevance?
This Stanford Law grad was the first woman to be appointed to the supreme court.
Who is Sandra Day O'Connor?
In this 1992 drama, Jack Nicholson's character exclaims "You can't handle the truth!"
What is A Few Good Men?
In 2018, this faux German heiress went on trial for conning New York banks, hotels, and socialites out of hundreds of thousands of dollars, a story that later inspired a hit Netflix series.
Who is Anna Delvey?
This constitutional protection prevents a criminal defendant from being prosecuted or tried a second time for the exact same offense after an acquittal or conviction.
What is double jeopardy?
This objection is raised if an attorney asks an expert witness or a person on the stand to guess or opine about a fact they have no firsthand, personal knowledge of.
What is speculation?
The Intolerable Acts, series of restrictive laws were passed in response to this iconic, rebellious American event that occurred on December 16, 1773?
What is the Boston Tea Party?
This 1957 courtroom masterpiece, directed by Sidney Lumet, takes place almost entirely inside a single sweltering deliberation room as one dissenting juror tries to prevent a miscarriage of justice.
What is 12 Angry Men?
Courtroom TV history was made when the first trial of these two co-defendants ended in a double mistrial because separate juries hopelessly deadlocked over murder vs. manslaughter charges.
Who are the Menendez brothers?
This specific type of civil wrong or injury—separate from a breach of contract—occurs when one person's negligence or intentional act causes harm to another, leading to legal liability.
What is a tort?
An attorney will raise this objection if the opposing counsel repeats the exact same question that the witness has already fully and clearly answered.
What is asked and answered?
Founded in 1878, this national organization of attorneys became the driving force behind standardizing legal education and pushing states to adopt strict written bar examinations to regulate the profession.
What is the American Bar Association?
Based on a true story, Julia Roberts won an Oscar for portraying a sharp-tongued, twice-divorced legal assistant who single-handedly uncovers a massive corporate water poisoning cover-up in California.
What is Erin Brockovich?
This 2017 luxury music festival in the Bahamas turned into an apocalyptic disaster of emergency tents and cheese sandwiches, resulting in its organizer, Billy McFarland, being sent to federal prison for defrauding investors
What is the Fyre Festival?
Meaning "friend of the court," this Latin legal term refers to an individual or group who is not a party to a lawsuit but files a brief to volunteer information or analysis to assist the court.
What is an amicus curiae brief?
This objection applies if a witness offers a random opinion on a scientific or technical matter without first being qualified as an expert under rules like Daubert
What is improper lay opinion?