Attack of the 20-Foot Lawyers

Since the days of D.W. Griffith, courtrooms have been one of Hollywood’s favorite settings for drama.Think of it, all the elements of a good movie can be found there: heroic protagonists, scheming villains, intricate plot twists, surprise endings, sturdy bailiffs. For your viewing pleasure, the staff at Texas Super Lawyers dimmed the lights, loaded up on Jujyfruits, and maxed out our Blockbuster membership cards to come up with this: our ranking of the 100 best legal movies of all time.

1. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) How many legal careers have been inspired by Gregory Peck’s timeless performance as noble country lawyer Atticus Finch? The riveting story supplied by novelist Harper Lee is only augmented by the elegant performances of Peck and the other leads (keep an eye out for Robert Duvall as Boo Radley). Cinematic perfection.

2. Witness for the Prosecution (1957) Billy Wilder co-wrote and directed this mystery based on an Agatha Christie play about an aging London barrister who’s preparing to retire when he takes the defense in the most challenging murder case of his career. Tyrone Power is the defendant, and Marlene Dietrich is the wife of the accused. The writing and acting are exquisite, and there are enough twists to keep even the most squirrelly of viewers mesmerized.

3. 12 Angry Men (1957)What a year 1957 was for legal movies. This Sidney Lumet film illustrates just how difficult it can be to get twelve people to agree on anything, much less the verdict in a murder trial. The brilliant cast features Henry Fonda, Jack Klugman, Lee Cobb, and Jack Warden.

4. The Verdict (1982) Paul Newman delivers a virtuoso performance as an alcoholic attorney who changes his mind about settling a cut-and-dried medical malpractice case after meeting the victim. He takes the case to trial and wins back a measure of self-respect.

5. The Paper Chase (1973) Warning to students considering law school: Do not watch this movie. John Houseman is unforgettable as the Harvard law professor who instills fear and loathing into the hearts and minds of his students. A beauty of a performance and a movie.

6. Inherit the Wind (1960) A fictional version of the “Scopes Monkey Trial,” which pits Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution against creationism. Tremendous acting turns put in by Spencer Tracy and Fredric March.

7. A Few Good Men (1992) The U.S. military stands trial as Navy prosecutor Tom Cruise baits Colonel Nathan Jessup, played by Jack Nicholson, into admitting he ordered a “code red” of a young marine not performing up to snuff. The tension crackles between Cruise and Nicholson in the climactic courtroom scene. Adapted from the play by “The West Wing” creator Aaron Sorkin.

8. Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) A true story from the Nazi war crimes trials, dealing with of several members of the German judiciary. Here the focus is on the judge who must render a final opinion and on a well-respected German scholar. Burt Lancaster is outstanding as the defendant. Directed by Stanley Kramer.

9. Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep take their marital discord into family court, where they fight bitterly over custody of their young son. Fantastic performances by Hoffman and Streep, and also by Justin Henry as the child caught in the tug of war.

10. Double Indemnity (1944) Billy Wilder directs Fred MacMurray as a hapless insurance salesman who is duped into murdering the lovely Barbara Stanwyck’s husband. A movie that can be watched every day without boredom. The inspiration for Body Heat.

11. My Cousin Vinny (1992) Inexperienced lawyer Joe Pesci struggles in a down-South courtroom — (presided over by Fred Gwynne of “Munsters” fame) — to free his falsely accused cousin of murder charges. Marisa Tomei took home an Oscar for her role as Pesci’s street-wise girlfriend.

12. The Caine Mutiny (1954) Naval officers revolt against Captain Queeg, whom they consider unfit for duty. Humphrey Bogart is perfect as Queeg, both on the ship and later during the court-martial of a crew member. Every minute of this film succeeds.

13. A Place in the Sun (1951) In this adaptation of Theodore Dreiser’s An American Tragedy, Montgomery Clift is magnetic as the ambitious laborer whose aspirations to the high life are threatened by his lower-class lover’s pregnancy. One look at Elizabeth Taylor as the woman who catches Clift’s eye and you can understand why he does what he does. Look for Raymond Burr as the district attorney.

14. Anatomy of a Murder (1959) An army lieutenant shoots a bar owner for allegedly raping his wife. A trial ensues, and the defendant’s lawyer attempts to get his client off by saying the lieutenant just had an “irresistible impulse.” Directed by Otto Preminger. Jimmy Stewart shines in the lead role.

15. Primal Fear (1996) Edward Norton explodes on the scene in his star-making screen debut. He plays an altar boy with multiple personalities who is accused of murdering the archbishop. Richard Gere does his Richard Gere thing as an arrogant defense lawyer. See it for Norton’s performance. It’s time-capsule quality.

16. Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills (1996) An absolutely unforgettable documentary about a gruesome triple murder in Arkansas and the bizarre trials of the three suspects. You’ll walk away a different person after watching this movie, we promise you.

17. Breaker Morant (1980) In South Africa, three Australian soldiers are put on trial for the murder of several prisoners at the end of the nineteenth century. Based on a true story, this antiwar statement and riveting courtroom drama features a knockout performance by Edward Woodward.

18. Gideon’s Trumpet (1980) The powerful, true story of Clarence Earl Gideon, a Florida convict whose case established the precedent that everyone is entitled to defense by a lawyer, whether or not he can afford it. Henry Fonda and John Houseman do solid work.

19. Philadelphia (1993) This is the role that made Tom Hanks an Oscar winner. He plays a lawyer who is fired by his firm ostensibly for incompetence, but he suspects it is because he has AIDS. He hires Denzel Washington to represent him in his wrongful-termination suit. The opera scene alone is reason to see it. Directed masterfully by Jonathan Demme.

20. The Fortune Cookie (1966) This Billy Wilder comedy stars the director’s favorite duo—Walter Matthau as the crooked lawyer “Whiplash Willie” Gingrich and Jack Lemmon as his brother-in-law Harry Hinkle, whom Gingrich talks into faking an injury for a settlement—in this classic, biting movie.

21. Body Heat (1981) Lawyer William Hurt is played like a fiddle by the vampish and irresistible Kathleen Turner in this steamy noir classic. Lawrence Kasdan’s directorial debut.

22. Compulsion (1959) A fictionalized account of the Leopold and Loeb case, in which two men kill a man just to see if they can get away with it. Defense lawyer Orson Welles knows he doesn’t have much of a case, so he attacks the system instead. First-rate all around.

23. In the Name of the Father (1993) The always remarkable Daniel Day-Lewis excels in this indictment of the British court system. Day-Lewis is a drifter wrongly imprisoned for an IRA bombing, and Emma Thompson stars as the lawyer who fights to set him free.

24. Reversal of Fortune (1990) Part courtroom drama, part black comedy, the movie reviews the circumstances leading up to the trial and acquittal of Claus von Bulow. Jeremy Irons won a well-deserved Oscar for his portrayal of von Bulow, and Ron Silver serves a helping of righteous indignation as lawyer Alan Dershowitz.

25. A Man for All Seasons (1966) A timeless film about Sir Thomas Moore’s conflict with King Henry VIII over breaking with the Pope and forming the Church of England. Based on Robert Bolt’s play, the movie won six Oscars.

26. Presumed Innocent (1990) Harrison Ford is an assistant state attorney assigned to the murder case of a young female lawyer in his office. When it turns out he was having an affair with the woman, he is named as the accused. The luminous Greta Scacchi co-stars in this excellent drama.

27. The Young Philadelphians (1959) Ambitious young lawyer Paul Newman works to break into the elite in Philadelphia, but as he schemes he finds he must choose between his desires and his ethics. It comes in well over two hours, but it’s worth it.

28. The Winslow Boy (1999) David Mamet directs this remake about a young British cadet wrongfully expelled from military school for theft. The boy’s father hires a prominent attorney to sue the government, despite being close to bankruptcy. Based on a real case, the movie is well-paced and expertly acted, particularly by attorney Jeremy Northam.

29. Chicago (2002) The cocksure lawyer Billy Flynn, who specializes in spinning sympathetic tales of showgirls on trial, is the role Richard Gere was born to play. In fact, it’s the same role he has played in many of his films, only just, well, without the tap-dancing. His tactics in preparing clients for trial and for questioning witnesses on the stand are hilarious, and not that far off the mark.

30. The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996) Director Milos Forman canonizes porn publisher Larry Flynt in this compelling study of the protections of the First Amendment. Woody Harrelson does nice work as Mr. Hustler, and Courtney Love seems born to play the role of Flynt’s strung-out wife.

31. Carlito’s Way (1993) Life as a mob lawyer has never been more vividly portrayed than by Sean Penn in this vehicle about a made man – Al Pacino – trying to go legit. See it just for Penn’s ridiculous haircut.

32. Defending Your Life (1991) Albert Brooks looks at the afterlife in this hilarious movie about having to justify, and relive in a courtroom setting, the decisions you make in life.Rip Torn is marvelous as Brooks’ defense attorney.The scene where Brooks goes to the Past Life Pavilion is worth the rental.

33. The Crucible (1996) Daniel Day-Lewis and Winona Ryder team up in the screen version of Arthur Miller’s story about the seventeenth-century Salem witch trials. An overlooked film that left theaters far too soon.

34. Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948) Cary Grant gives a lesson on mediation in this quaint film about a city couple who build a house in the country. Myrna Loy and Melvyn Douglas also star.

35. Music Box (1989) Talk about family secrets. Criminal attorney Jessica Lange defends her immigrant father against charges that he is a Nazi war criminal. Lange is at the top of her game here.

36. Legally Blonde (2001) Admit it, when you heard about this movie, three words went through your mind: straight to video. Who knew it would be Reese Witherspoon’s breakout role? Yet Witherspoon captivates as a vacuous Valley girl who refuses to let go of her Harvard-Law-bound boyfriend, showing up to win him back and take the school by storm.

37. Class Action (1991) Crusading lawyer Gene Hackman files a class-action suit against a negligent auto company and is opposed by his daughter, the lawyer for the defendant.An intense, emotional movie that should have received more attention than it did.

38. The Rainmaker (1997) Matt Damon is perfectly cast as an idealistic young lawyer fighting an insurance company that denied treatment to a leukemia victim. Jon Voigt thrives as the mouthpiece for the evil health concern. Directed with the even hand of Francis Ford Coppola, it’s the best of the Grisham adaptations.

39. The Insider (1999) Russell Crowe may have won an Oscar for Gladiator, but his performance here as whistleblower Jeffrey Wigand is his greatest work. Crowe slouches his way through the movie as a good man carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders as he seeks immunity for his testimony against Big Tobacco.Al Pacino restrains himself into a workmanlike performance as reporter Lowell Bergman, and director Michael Mann delivers a seamless narrative.

40. Helter Skelter (1976) Steve Railsback is terrifying as the devil incarnate, Charles Manson, in this fine adaptation of Vincent Bugliosi’s book.

41. Paths of Glory (1957) This Stanley Kubrick film has Kirk Douglas defending soldiers who are tried as scapegoats for refusing orders to make a suicidal charge at the enemy as ordered. Douglas is electrifying.

42. The Trial (1963) Orson Welles doing Kafka: how can that not be great? Mostly, it is. His interpretation of the classic novella about an innocent man accused, tried, and convicted of an unknown crime is captivating, if a bit muddled.

43. And Justice for All (1979) Lawyer Al Pacino barks the famous “You’re out of order!” line as only Pacino can. He plays a lawyer who takes on Maryland’s judicial system in a tale of greed and corruption.

44. The Untouchables (1987) How did Eliot Ness put away Al Capone in court? Tax evasion. As Robert DeNiro as Al Capone says: “If you ain’t got the bookkeeper, you ain’t got nuthin’!” Sean Connery won an Oscar for his role as a crusty Irish cop in this Brian De Palma film.

45. Absence of Malice (1981) Reporter Sally Field is tricked into writing a story that damages the reputation of Paul Newman by accusing him of a murder he didn’t commit.As he pursues his own justice, she hides behind journalistic confidentiality privilege. Strong performances by Field and Newman.

46. The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) Renée Maria Falconnetti delivers a tour de force performance in this film about Joan of Arc’s inquisition, trial, and fiery demise.

47. Jagged Edge (1985) Defense attorney Glenn Close represents Jeff Bridges, a powerful publisher accused of murder. The truth about the real killer isn’t revealed until the last scene. Robert Loggia is hilarious as Close’s foul-mouthed confidante.A top-notch thriller.

48. Sacco and Vanzetti (1971) The French-Italian film version of the quintessential story of injustice in America. Gian Maria Volonté and Riccardo Cucciolla are superb as the two martyrs.

49. Citizen Cohn (1992) James Woods turns in an astonishing performance as lawyer Roy Cohn, Joe McCarthy’s hatchet man. Woods is a master at playing creeps, and as Cohn he hits the jackpot.

50. Murder in the First (1995) Young lawyer Christian Slater defends Alcatraz prisoner Kevin Bacon, who is accused of murdering a fellow inmate. Slater argues that Bacon was driven to violence by years of institutionalized abuse. A film made even more riveting by the knowledge that this is a true story.

51. JFK (1991) Oliver Stone reopens the Kennedy assassination debate in this film that centers on the lawsuit filed by New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison, who attempts to prove a cover-up in the investigation. A whirlwind of theories is hurled at the viewer, but if you don’t assume any of it is true, it’s a highly affecting movie.

52. The Pelican Brief (1993) Law student Julia Roberts watches her professor and lover Sam Shepard die in an explosion meant for her, after she discovers an Oval Office connection to the assassinations of two Supreme Court justices. A decent ride, made better by Denzel Washington as a reporter.

53. Changing Lanes (2002) Ben Affleck holds his own on-screen against Samuel Jackson. Affleck plays a lawyer who struggles with his role in his ethically challenged firm after a morning car accident sets off the day from hell.

54. Sleepers (1996) When four friends from Hell’s Kitchen are sent away to reform school, their lives are changed forever by an abusive system. As adults, they plot their revenge, using the legal system to get away with vigilantism. Fascinating, if painful to watch. A top-notch cast is headed by Robert DeNiro, Brad Pitt and Dustin Hoffman. Based on the novel by Lorenzo Carcaterra.

55. Cape Fear (1991) A remake of the 1962 original, this Martin Scorsese film has defense attorney Nick Nolte being terrorized by former client Robert DeNiro, whom he intentionally represented incompetently years earlier. The scene between DeNiro and a young Juliette Lewis is electric.

56. The Return of Martin Guerre (1982) Seven years after leaving for war, a sixteenth-century peasant returns to his family as a much more educated and refined person than before, to the bewilderment of his wife. The story is taken from an actual court case; Gerard Depardieu carries the film. Superior in every way to its remake, Sommersby.

57.The Accused (1988) Jodie Foster plays a rape victim who has trouble proving her case because she is not a “model citizen.” Intense and devastating. A well-deserved Oscar for Foster.

58. Q&A (1990) Assistant District Attorney Timothy Hutton takes on corrupt cop Nick Nolte over a murder investigation in this trenchant urban drama directed by hall-of-famer Sidney Lumet. Nolte can be hit and miss, but this is one of his best performances.

59. Guilty or Innocent: The Sam Sheppard Murder Case (1975) A television dramatization of the real-life trial of Dr. Sam Sheppard, who was accused of murdering his wife. Walter McGinn is excellent as F. Lee Bailey in the case that made him a celebrity.

60. A Dry White Season (1989) Schoolmaster Donald Sutherland heads a legal protest against the white establishment in South Africa after his black gardener’s son is imprisoned illegally.Powerful stuff, especially at the time of its release.

61. The Devil’s Advocate (1997) Al Pacino as the devil is ridiculous, but a lot of fun. His barking that “God is an absentee landlord” while recruiting our hero, lawyer Keanu Reeves, to the dark side is the dramatic equivalent of downing a pint of Haagen Dazs: It’s not good for you, but it goes down easy.

62. The Meanest Man in the World (1943) Jack Benny is at the top of his game in this movie about a mild-mannered lawyer who realizes he can succeed in business only by behaving obnoxiously.

63. Miracle on 34th Street (1947) Who can resist this legendary film about Santa Claus standing trial to prove he is who he says he is? Certainly not us. Edmund Gwenn won an Oscar for his portrayal of Kris Kringle.

64. A Time to Kill (1996) Idealist lawyer Matthew McConaughey argues for the rights of a man who murdered his daughter’s rapists. Director Joel Schumacher, never a master of subtlety, bangs the audience over the head with his swelled music and dramatic-moment visual cues, but the acting jobs of McConaughey, Kevin Spacey as the prosecutor and Samuel Jackson as the defendant hit the mark.

65. Legal Eagles (1986) Assistant District Attorney Robert Redford and lawyer Debra Winger meet, fall in love and practice law. It’s a trifle, but fun.

66. The Firm (1993) Harvard Law School graduate Tom Cruise gets a fabulous-sounding job with a Memphis firm that in reality is a front for the mob. The movie is gripping and nicely paced by director Sydney Pollack, but why in the world would he cast Wilfred Brimley as the heavy?

67. A Civil Action (1999) Great book, good movie. John Travolta excels as flashy attorney Jan Schlictmann, who takes on a quixotic quest to bring two conglomerates to their knees for causing an outbreak of leukemia among children. Robert Duvall steals every scene he is in as opposing counsel, but the movie never engages the viewer on an emotional level.

68. Erin Brockovich (2000) Yeah, yeah, yeah, the movie got a lot of attention and Julia Roberts won an Oscar, but it’s just good, not great. The story of an untrained legal assistant who takes on a power company is dramatic, and the performance by Roberts is fine (Albert Finney as her boss is the real standout), but there’s just too much hectoring and too little nuanc for this film to deserve all the acclaim it received.

69. Amistad (1997) Steven Spielberg succeeded wildly in transforming history into drama in Schindler’s List, but he doesn’t do the same here. It should have turned out better. You have a great story: a slave rebellion takes place upon a ship headed to America and the leader, Cinque, is put on trial. You have great actors like Anthony Hopkins as John Quincy Adams, who argues Cinque’s case.And, of course, you have Spielberg. But it doesn’t uplift as much as it should.

70. True Believer (1989) James Woods plays a radical lawyer from the ’60s who specializes in defending drug dealers. An average movie made above average by Woods, who always seems to rise above his material.

71. High Crimes (2002) Ashley Judd and Morgan Freeman acquit themselves nicely in this convoluted thriller directed by Carl Franklin. Judd is a lawyer whose husband is accused of murdering Salvadoran citizens years earlier while serving in the military. A cover-up ensues, Judd hires maverick attorney Freeman, and all manner of twists and turns take place.

72. Suspect (1987) Devoted public defender Cher takes an apparently unwinnable case, defending a deaf homeless man accused of murder, and gets help from Dennis Quaid, one of the jurors. Totally unrealistic, but it does hold the viewer.

73. I Am Sam (2002) It’s a flawed film to be sure — way too treacly and melodramatic for our tastes — but the performances of Sean Penn as a mentally retarded man fighting for custody of his daughter and Michelle Pfeiffer as his lawyer elevate the experience.

74. Nuts (1987) Richard Dreyfuss plays a legal-aid lawyer assigned to protect Barbra Streisand’s rights to stand trial for manslaughter against the wishes of those who brand her as mentally unstable. It’s midlevel Babs: better than The Main Event, nowhere near as good as Funny Girl.

75. The Gingerbread Man (1998) Combine John Grisham’s pulpish plots with Robert Altman’s freewheeling storytelling and Kenneth Branagh’s Elizabethan acting and what do you have? A mess, frankly, but at times a fascinating mess. Some of it works, more than you’d think, in this story of a lawyer who falls for a scheming beauty.

76. The War of the Roses (1989) Divorce attorney Danny DeVito works to help spouses Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner reach a settlement before they kill each other. Either this movie strikes you as over the top or painfully accurate. That probably depends on whether or not you’ve been divorced.

77. Seems Like Old Times (1980) Big-hearted lawyer Goldie Hawn hides her fugitive ex-husband Chevy Chase from her current husband, Charles Grodin, who happens to be the district attorney. Chase has made dozens of lame movies, but this one isn’t bad.

78. Regarding Henry (1991) Harrison Ford goes for the heartstrings here as a prominent yet self-involved attorney who learns some valuable lessons after getting shot in the head. A bit weepy, but Ford and co-star Annette Bening do good work.

79. Pacific Heights (1990) Possession is truly nine-tenths of the law in this film about tenant Michael Keaton, who makes life hell for his yuppie landlords Matthew Modine and Melanie Griffith. Nothing special here, but we love it when Keaton is the bad guy.

80. Judicial Consent (1994) Judge Bonnie Bedelia has a torrid affair with a law clerk and gets framed for the murder of a colleague. Bedelia is fine, but the movie would have improved had the always fascinating Will Patton been given more to do as her bland husband.

81. Trial by Jury (1994) Single mother Joanne Whalley-Kilmer winds up on a jury that is trying mobster Armand Assante. Whalley-Kilmer gets word from one of Assante’s henchman that her son will be in danger if the jury doesn’t return the correct verdict. The actors do well in building tension despite an obvious script.

82. The Seven Minutes (1971) This competent but uneven film from the Irving Wallace best-seller centers around a pornography trial. Directed ably by Russ Meyer.

83. Criminal Law (1989) Hotshot attorney Gary Oldman matches wits in court with affluent serial murderer Kevin Bacon. (Oldman gets his revenge on Bacon in Murder in the First.) Decent performances, overblown direction.

84. The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell (1955) A military court drama starring Gary Cooper as the pilot who predicted a Japanese attack on the United States. By the numbers.

85. The Wrong Man (1956) This Alfred Hitchcock film has Henry Fonda playing a musician who is falsely accused of murder. Hitchcock is always worth watching, but he’s usually better than this.

86. Soul Man (1986) Student C. Thomas Howell learns about law and race relations when he darkens his skin to get into Harvard Law School on a scholarship meant for an African American. Spirited acting by Howell and James Earl Jones as a tough professor makes this silly movie mildly entertaining.

87. The Lawyer (1970) Barry Newman is a lawyer who defends a doctor accused of murdering his wife.You won’t be swept away with intrigue, but you won’t be bored either. Based loosely on the Sam Sheppard case.

88. See My Lawyer (1945) A trio of struggling lawyers helps a couple of goofballs fight a corrupt nightclub owner. Goodhumored antics supplied by Ole Olsen and Chic Johnson.

89. Fatal Attraction (1987) Yuppie attorney Michael Douglas cheats on his wife with psychotic Glenn Close, who ruins his career, wrecks his car and boils his rabbit after getting dumped. Scary, yet often annoying.

90. The Juror (1996) Alec Baldwin employs one of his favorite bad-guy acting techniques by whispering most of his lines in this thriller about juror Demi Moore who is threatened to make sure a certain verdict is returned. Nearly the same exact movie as Trial by Jury.

91. The Chamber (1996) Gene Hackman as an unrepentant racist on trial for killing two young boys? That has to be worth watching. And, as usual, Hackman is terrific. But Chris O’Donnell, as Hackman’s lawyer, is out of his depth.

92. Trial and Error (1997) Michael Richardsbrings his Kramer physical comedy to his role here. He plays an actor who impersonates a lawyer to help out his addled lawyer friend, Jeff Daniels. Some laughs, but it never rises above sitcom quality.

93. Criminal Court (1946) Defense attorney Tom Conway kills someone, then defends Martha O’Driscoll against charges for the crime he committed. Well, that’s certainly a new one. Unfortunately, the acting is as stiff as the plot is implausible.

94. Bedtime for Bonzo (1951) Our 40th president, Ronald Reagan, stars in this movie about a chimp put on trial for burglary, which Freddy de Cordova directed in his pre-Johnny Carson days.

95. Ghosts of Mississippi (1996) Director Rob Reiner stages the trial, and conviction, of the killer of Medgar Evers. James Woods is the assassin, Alec Baldwin the prosecutor.

96. The Life of David Gale (2003) There is a lot of talent in this story of a death-penalty abolitionist on death row, not only in Kevin Spacey but also in Kate Winslet and Laura Linney, and Alan Parker behind the camera.

97. Guilty As Sin (1993) Rebecca DeMornay plays a criminal defense lawyer who represents accused murderer Don Johnson, who seems more concerned with his hair than with emoting.

98. The Criminal Mind (1995)When district attorney Frank Rossi discovers that his brother Ben Cross dabbles on the wrong side of the law, he finds himself torn between his job and his family.

99. From the Hip (1987) Judd Nelson struts his stuff as a lawyer famous for winning cases by employing unorthodox courtroom stunts. Lawyers, do not try this at home.

100. Jury Duty (1995) Okay, Pauly Shore fans — both of you — we are throwing you a bone here. Shore plays a dimwit who would rather serve endlessly on a jury than get a job. There are so few legal comedies that we figured, what the hell.