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* GoodLawyersGoodClients: Arthur Kirkland appears to be a straight example, because Aggie's guilt is firmly established, but he'd probably be fine if he was kept in good company, while Jeff is innocent of everything except for having a broken taillight, for which he's spent months in jail as a result. But Kirkland's other two on-screen clients aren't as good; his "first" client (the first one he ever represented, not the first one the audience sees) turns out to be a ManipulativeBastard of his own, regularly getting into trouble by consorting with prostitutes and hiding it from his wife. He gets great information that Judge Fleming is actually ''innocent'' of this crime, despite the judge's horrible ideas. [[spoiler:Which turns out to have been manufactured by the judge's "friends", without ever having to give an explicit request.]]

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* GoodLawyersGoodClients: Arthur Kirkland appears to be a straight example, because Aggie's Ralph's guilt is firmly established, but he'd probably be fine if he was kept in good company, while Jeff is innocent of everything except for having a broken taillight, for which he's spent months in jail as a result. But Kirkland's other two on-screen clients aren't as good; his "first" client (the first one he ever represented, not the first one the audience sees) turns out to be a ManipulativeBastard of his own, regularly getting into trouble by consorting with prostitutes and hiding it from his wife. He gets great information that Judge Fleming is actually ''innocent'' of this crime, despite the judge's horrible ideas. [[spoiler:Which turns out to have been manufactured by the judge's "friends", without ever having to give an explicit request.]]
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*LargeHam: Both Creator/AlPacino as Kirkland and (especially) Creator/JackWarden as Judge Rayford are clearly enjoying themselves in their colorful roles.
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*JaywalkingWillRuinYourLife: Poor Jeff was pulled over for having a taillight out in his car. Because he had the same name as a suspect of a major crime, he was arrested and couldn't get a timely hearing to clear his name, largely thanks to Judge Fleming's spiteful behavior. While in jail, he was routinely beaten, raped, and eventually [[spoiler: DrivenToSuicide]].
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* AmbiguousGenderIdentity: It's not entirely clear if Ralph is transgender or just a crossdresser.


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* DeathOfAChild: Jay has a breakdown over the fact a client he got off on a murder charge later murdered two kids, and Kirkland's sympathetic while horrified hearing of this.


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* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Fleming is a HangingJudge protagonist Kirkland's archnemesis. He's very conservative, strictly abiding by the law to keep an innocent man in prison and advocates having capital punishment for more crimes than is allowed at present. [[spoiler:Fleming also turns out to be a sadistic, unrepentant rapist.]]


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* ShamefulStrip: Ralph is introduced being forced to strip by the guards in the local jail, which means removing a dress before catcalling inmates.
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* NoYou: Perhaps the most well-known example in all of film. When Kirkland is told Judge Rayford that he is "out of order", he replies: "''You're'' out of order!"
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Pacino was nominated for an UsefulNotes/AcademyAward, as was the screenplay by Valerie Curtin and Creator/BarryLevinson. Not to be confused with Music/{{Metallica}}'s [[Music/AndJusticeForAll1988 1988]] album of the same name.

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Pacino was nominated for an UsefulNotes/AcademyAward, as was the screenplay by Valerie Curtin and Creator/BarryLevinson. Not to be confused with Music/{{Metallica}}'s [[Music/AndJusticeForAll1988 1988]] album 1988 album]] of the same name.
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Pacino was nominated for an UsefulNotes/AcademyAward, as was the screenplay by Valerie Curtin and Creator/BarryLevinson. Not to be confused with Music/{{Metallica}}'s 1988 album of the same name.

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Pacino was nominated for an UsefulNotes/AcademyAward, as was the screenplay by Valerie Curtin and Creator/BarryLevinson. Not to be confused with Music/{{Metallica}}'s 1988 [[Music/AndJusticeForAll1988 1988]] album of the same name.
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* RightForTheWrongReasons: Frank, the Prosecutor, is extremely zealous and borderline obsessed with getting Fleming convicted. This isn't because he cares about the victim or because of justice but because he's a massive GloryHound who wants to look good in the papers for nailing a judge. This is deconstructed as his arrogance and preoccupation with looking good causes him to be overconfident and deliver a terrible opening statement by simply asking the Jury to give him a guilty verdict.

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* CastingGag: Lee Strasberg plays Arthur's (Al Pacino) scatterbrained and loving grandpa while just a few years earlier he was playing Michael Corleone's (also Al Pacino) hated ArchEnemy Hyman Roth in ''Film/TheGodfatherPartII''.

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* CastingGag: Lee Strasberg plays Arthur's (Al Pacino) scatterbrained senile and loving grandpa while just a few years earlier he was playing Michael Corleone's (also Al Pacino) hated ArchEnemy Hyman Roth in ''Film/TheGodfatherPartII''.


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* CloudCuckooLander: Jay Porter, especially after a sadistic killer he successfully defended went on to kill again. Judge Rayford as well - he's a walking collection of eccentricities and dangerous personality quirks.
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Arthur Kirkland (Pacino), a [[GoodLawyersGoodClients very moral public defender]] in UsefulNotes/{{Baltimore}}, is [[BreakTheCutie growing sick]] of all the evils inherent in the justice system. One of his clients is a man wrongly imprisoned due to a name mix-up and frame job, and whom the {{Jerkass}} [[HangingJudge Judge Henry T. Fleming]] (Forsythe) won't release due to a minor technicality; his close friend and colleague Jay Porter (Creator/JeffreyTambor) has a serious mental breakdown, after a client murders again following acquittal; and Kirkland is subsequently forced to hand over one of his cases to an apathetic lawyer, with disastrous results.

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Arthur Kirkland (Pacino), a [[GoodLawyersGoodClients very moral public defender]] in UsefulNotes/{{Baltimore}}, is [[BreakTheCutie growing sick]] of all the evils inherent in the justice system. One of his clients is Jeff [=McCullaugh=] (Creator/ThomasGWaites), a man wrongly imprisoned due to a name mix-up and frame job, and whom the {{Jerkass}} [[HangingJudge Judge Henry T. Fleming]] (Forsythe) won't release due to a minor technicality; his close friend and colleague Jay Porter (Creator/JeffreyTambor) has a serious mental breakdown, after a client murders again following acquittal; and Kirkland is subsequently forced to hand over one of his cases to an apathetic lawyer, with disastrous results.
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* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: When Kirkland is interviewing Ralph for the first time, he reads from the police report of his arrest:
--> '''Kirkland:''' ...it also states here that when asked what you were doing in the alley, you replied, "I don't know nothin' about that taxicab robbery."
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A 1979 American courtroom comedy-drama film directed by Creator/NormanJewison, starring Creator/AlPacino and Creator/JohnForsythe.

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A 1979 American courtroom comedy-drama dramedy film directed by Creator/NormanJewison, starring Creator/AlPacino Creator/AlPacino, Creator/JohnForsythe, and Creator/JohnForsythe.Creator/JackWarden.



Meanwhile, Kirkland is in trouble with the state bar association's ethics committee for having snitched on a client (after he learned that somebody was forcing people to put lit cherry bombs into their mouths at gunpoint, which said client had repeatedly fantasized about doing); he's become romantically involved with Gail Packer (Creator/ChristineLahti), one of the committee's members; his beloved grandfather Sam (Creator/LeeStrasberg) is slipping into dementia; and the closest thing he has to a mentor is the eccentric Judge Francis Rayford (Creator/JackWarden), who repeatedly engages in borderline-suicidal behavior.

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Meanwhile, Kirkland is in trouble with the state bar association's ethics committee for having snitched on a client (after he learned that somebody was forcing people to put lit cherry bombs into their mouths at gunpoint, which said client had repeatedly fantasized about doing); he's become romantically involved with Gail Packer (Creator/ChristineLahti), one of the committee's members; his beloved grandfather Sam (Creator/LeeStrasberg) is slipping into dementia; and the closest thing he has to a mentor is the eccentric Judge Francis Rayford (Creator/JackWarden), (Warden), who repeatedly engages in borderline-suicidal behavior.
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* AmoralAttorney: Played with. Kirkland's girlfriend Gail Packer, from the ethics committee, points out that much of what disgusts him about the justice system is, in fact, legally and procedurally correct. She presents an opposing view from Kirkland by standing up for the law and enforcing a separation of emotions from duty; people who let their emotions or personal convictions interfere with their job can't be effective lawyers. Kirkland retorts that something being legal doesn't make it ''right'', but on the latter point she's vindicated by the end.

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* AmoralAttorney: Played with. Kirkland's girlfriend Gail Packer, Gail, who's from the ethics committee, points out that much of what disgusts him about the justice system is, in fact, legally and procedurally correct. She presents an opposing view from Kirkland by standing up for the law and enforcing a separation of emotions from duty; people who let their emotions or personal convictions interfere with their job can't be effective lawyers. Kirkland retorts that something being legal doesn't make it ''right'', but on the latter point she's vindicated by the end.
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Meanwhile, Kirkland is in trouble with the state bar association's ethics committee for having snitched on a client (after he learned that somebody was forcing people to put lit cherry bombs into their mouths at gunpoint, which said client had repeatedly fantasized about doing); he's become romantically involved with one of the committee members (Creator/ChristineLahti); his beloved grandfather Sam (Creator/LeeStrasberg) is slipping into dementia; and the closest thing he has to a mentor is the eccentric Judge Francis Rayford (Creator/JackWarden), who repeatedly engages in borderline-suicidal behavior.

to:

Meanwhile, Kirkland is in trouble with the state bar association's ethics committee for having snitched on a client (after he learned that somebody was forcing people to put lit cherry bombs into their mouths at gunpoint, which said client had repeatedly fantasized about doing); he's become romantically involved with Gail Packer (Creator/ChristineLahti), one of the committee members (Creator/ChristineLahti); committee's members; his beloved grandfather Sam (Creator/LeeStrasberg) is slipping into dementia; and the closest thing he has to a mentor is the eccentric Judge Francis Rayford (Creator/JackWarden), who repeatedly engages in borderline-suicidal behavior.
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Meanwhile, Kirkland is in trouble with the state bar association's ethics committee for having snitched on a client (after he learned that somebody was forcing people to put lit cherry bombs into their mouths at gunpoint, which said client had repeatedly fantasized about doing); he's become romantically involved with Gail Packer (Creator/ChristineLahti), one of the committee members; his beloved grandfather Sam (Creator/LeeStrasberg) is slipping into dementia; and the closest thing he has to a mentor is the eccentric Judge Francis Rayford (Creator/JackWarden), who repeatedly engages in borderline-suicidal behavior.

to:

Meanwhile, Kirkland is in trouble with the state bar association's ethics committee for having snitched on a client (after he learned that somebody was forcing people to put lit cherry bombs into their mouths at gunpoint, which said client had repeatedly fantasized about doing); he's become romantically involved with Gail Packer (Creator/ChristineLahti), one of the committee members; members (Creator/ChristineLahti); his beloved grandfather Sam (Creator/LeeStrasberg) is slipping into dementia; and the closest thing he has to a mentor is the eccentric Judge Francis Rayford (Creator/JackWarden), who repeatedly engages in borderline-suicidal behavior.
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Arthur Kirkland (Pacino), a [[GoodLawyersGoodClients very moral public defender]] in UsefulNotes/{{Baltimore}}, is [[BreakTheCutie growing sick]] of all the evils inherent in the justice system. One of his clients is a man wrongly imprisoned due to a name mix-up and frame job, and whom the {{Jerkass}} [[HangingJudge Judge Henry T. Fleming]] (Forsythe) won't release due to a minor technicality. His close friend and colleague Jay Porter (Creator/JeffreyTambor) has a mental breakdown when a client murders again after being acquitted, and Kirkland is subsequently forced to hand over one of his cases to an apathetic lawyer, with disastrous results.

to:

Arthur Kirkland (Pacino), a [[GoodLawyersGoodClients very moral public defender]] in UsefulNotes/{{Baltimore}}, is [[BreakTheCutie growing sick]] of all the evils inherent in the justice system. One of his clients is a man wrongly imprisoned due to a name mix-up and frame job, and whom the {{Jerkass}} [[HangingJudge Judge Henry T. Fleming]] (Forsythe) won't release due to a minor technicality. His technicality; his close friend and colleague Jay Porter (Creator/JeffreyTambor) has a serious mental breakdown when breakdown, after a client murders again after being acquitted, following acquittal; and Kirkland is subsequently forced to hand over one of his cases to an apathetic lawyer, with disastrous results.
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Meanwhile, Kirkland is in trouble with the state bar association's ethics committee for having snitched on a client (after he learned that somebody was forcing people to put lit cherry bombs into their mouths at gunpoint, which said client had repeatedly fantasized about doing), he's romantically involved with one of the committee members (Creator/ChristineLahti), his beloved grandfather (Creator/LeeStrasberg) is slipping into dementia, and the closest thing he has to a mentor is the eccentric Judge Francis Rayford (Creator/JackWarden), who repeatedly engages in borderline-suicidal behavior.

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Meanwhile, Kirkland is in trouble with the state bar association's ethics committee for having snitched on a client (after he learned that somebody was forcing people to put lit cherry bombs into their mouths at gunpoint, which said client had repeatedly fantasized about doing), doing); he's become romantically involved with one of the committee members Gail Packer (Creator/ChristineLahti), one of the committee members; his beloved grandfather Sam (Creator/LeeStrasberg) is slipping into dementia, dementia; and the closest thing he has to a mentor is the eccentric Judge Francis Rayford (Creator/JackWarden), who repeatedly engages in borderline-suicidal behavior.
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Meanwhile, Kirkland is in trouble with the state bar association's ethics committee for having snitched on a client (after he learned that somebody was forcing people to put lit cherry bombs into their mouths at gunpoint, which said client had repeatedly fantasized about doing), he's romantically involved with one of the committee members (Creator/ChristineLahti), his beloved grandfather (Creator/LeeStrasberg) is slipping into dementia, and the closest thing he's got to a mentor is the eccentric Judge Francis Rayford (Creator/JackWarden), who repeatedly engages in borderline-suicidal behavior.

to:

Meanwhile, Kirkland is in trouble with the state bar association's ethics committee for having snitched on a client (after he learned that somebody was forcing people to put lit cherry bombs into their mouths at gunpoint, which said client had repeatedly fantasized about doing), he's romantically involved with one of the committee members (Creator/ChristineLahti), his beloved grandfather (Creator/LeeStrasberg) is slipping into dementia, and the closest thing he's got he has to a mentor is the eccentric Judge Francis Rayford (Creator/JackWarden), who repeatedly engages in borderline-suicidal behavior.
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Kirkland also finds himself in trouble with the state bar association's ethics committee, for having snitched on a client (after he learned that somebody was forcing people to put lit cherry bombs into their mouths at gunpoint, which said client had repeatedly fantasized about doing). Meanwhile, he's romantically involved with one of the committee members (Creator/ChristineLahti), his beloved grandfather (Creator/LeeStrasberg) is slipping into dementia, and the closest thing he's got to a mentor is the eccentric Judge Francis Rayford (Creator/JackWarden), who repeatedly engages in borderline-suicidal behavior.

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Meanwhile, Kirkland also finds himself is in trouble with the state bar association's ethics committee, committee for having snitched on a client (after he learned that somebody was forcing people to put lit cherry bombs into their mouths at gunpoint, which said client had repeatedly fantasized about doing). Meanwhile, doing), he's romantically involved with one of the committee members (Creator/ChristineLahti), his beloved grandfather (Creator/LeeStrasberg) is slipping into dementia, and the closest thing he's got to a mentor is the eccentric Judge Francis Rayford (Creator/JackWarden), who repeatedly engages in borderline-suicidal behavior.
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While he's in this happy place, Kirkland learns that Judge Fleming has been arrested for rape. Not only that, but--to his gaping incredulity--he learns that Fleming wants Kirkland to be his defense attorney. Fleming, though he loathes Kirkland, feels that if he's seen representing him, it will make people think Kirkland believes he's innocent and help the case (since why would anyone defend a man he so despises otherwise?). Kirkland can't get out of it, either, because Fleming has [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections friends in high places]], and holds great sway over the ethics committee (he is also the one that brought the client-snitching to their attention), [[AnOfferYouCantRefuse as the judge reminds him]].

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While he's in this happy place, Kirkland learns that Judge Fleming has been arrested for rape. Not only that, but--to his gaping incredulity--he learns that Fleming wants Kirkland to be his defense attorney. attorney; Fleming, though he loathes Kirkland, feels that if he's seen representing him, it will make people think Kirkland believes he's innocent and help the case (since why would anyone defend a man he so despises otherwise?). Kirkland can't get out of it, either, because Fleming has [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections friends in high places]], and holds great sway over the ethics committee (he is also the one that brought the client-snitching to their attention), [[AnOfferYouCantRefuse as the judge reminds him]].

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