My Cousin Vinny
Tracy Brown
Florida Institute of Technology
My Cousin Vinny
This week we were asked to watch a movie called My Cousin Vinny and compare this to the actual Criminal Justice System. I want to start off by saying the portrayal of the Criminal Justice System was much different than what we see it in real life. I really enjoyed the comedy that was displayed around it. The movie was based around two teenagers who were suspected of murdering a gas station attendant. This movie takes place in Alabama. The first similarity I noticed is that the movie depicted the due process model. In which they were allowed a complete trial to determine true guilt. It seemed as though the sheriff’s office…show more content… Criminal lawyers are those that are privately retained. (Bohm & Haley, p. 275) Most criminal lawyers only take cases that are highly public, those looking to make a new law or when it involves a large amount of money. (Bohm & Haley, p. 275) Court-Appointed lawyers are those that are appointed for a defendant whom can’t afford to pay for one. (Bohm & Haley, p. 275) These lawyers are normally on a volunteer or rotating basis and appointed by the judge.(Bohm & Haley, p. 275) The Public Defender are paid a fixed salary by the local area and used for folks that can’t afford to pay for a lawyer.(Bohm & Haley, p. 275) Contract lawyers are becoming more popular and would be contracted to defend folks that can’t afford to pay for a lawyer.(Bohm & Haley, p. 275) Stan then decided that he wanted to switch to a public defender because he felt Vinny didn’t have the experience necessary to win the case. The next stage in the system was to determine who the jurors would be. The jury was selected by only asking a few questions. In a normal jury selection process includes a random number of people who are considered the jury pool also known as a venire. (Bohm & Haley, 2008, p. 295) From this pool of possible jurors they go through a process called voir dire.(Bohm & Haley, p. 295) A voir dire is the process in which persons who might be
