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* AwardSnub: One of Creator/AlPacino's many acting performances in TheSeventies that got nominated for an UsefulNotes/AcademyAward and didn't win. Also, Creator/JohnForsythe's underrated and unconventional performance as a monster of a HangingJudge that was considerably darker then his usual genial and very kind roles such as "[[Series/CharliesAngels Charlie]]" was overlooked for a Best Supporting Actor nomination.
* CompleteMonster: The "Honorable" [[HangingJudge Judge Henry T. Fleming]] is [[HatedByAll despised by the community]] for being a sadist in robes. Fleming frequently sentences people harshly, advocates death for armed robbery, and coldly sends them to prison to ruin their lives. Even when they are innocent, Fleming callously stonewalls any attempt to release them, resulting in their rapes, beatings, and even suicides. [[NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist For all his pretense of harsh justice to keep the peace]], Fleming is [[{{Hypocrite}} nothing more than a criminal himself]] who violently raped and beat a woman, selecting a defender who hates him [[KickTheDog just to force the man to compromise his ethics to help get Fleming off]].
* EnsembleDarkHorse: Creator/JackWarden really shines in his scenes as the eccentric, mentally unstable, but very charismatic Judge Rayford.
* SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome:
-->'''Kirkland:''' ''[shouting]'' My client, the Honorable Henry T. Fleming, [[spoiler:SHOULD GO ''[[PrecisionFStrike RIGHT TO FUCKING JAIL!]] THE SON OF A BITCH IS '''GUILTY!!!''']]''
* HarsherInHindsight: The similarly-named ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyJusticeForAll'' also has [[spoiler:a CrusadingLawyer blackmailed into defending a client he knows is guilty.]]
* SugarWiki/HeReallyCanAct: Who would have thought TheVoice of the benevolent, very kind and likable "Charlie" from ''Series/CharliesAngels'' Creator/JohnForsythe can play an utterly monstrous HangingJudge at his core so naturally.
* NightmareFuel:
** What happens to Jeff--an innocent man who still ended up going to jail despite all the evidence, and is cruelly raped by the prisoners and killed by the guards after he snaps, taking hostages--is enough to make you question the entire legal system.
** The pictures of the rape victim are horrifying, with her face severely disfigured and wounds all over her body.
** The rapist himself--[[HangingJudge Judge Henry T. Fleming]], combined with his corruption as a judge, it becomes increasingly apparent that the man at his core is an utterly monstrous inhuman being. In a subtle manner, it's unsettlingly and uncomfortably the darkest acting performance of screen acting veteran Creator/JohnForsythe aka TheVoice of the benevolent, very kind and likable "[[Series/CharliesAngels Charlie]]."
* RetroactiveRecognition:
** Creator/JeffreyTambor makes his film debut as Jay Porter.
** Creator/JoeMorton is the prison doctor.
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