I don't know what crime Hope Brady (Kristian Alfonso) plead guilty to on today's episode of Days of Our Lives, but the ensuing sentencing hearing served to confirm that the soap's writers have no more than a vague clue of how a courtroom actually runs.
Several of the show's main characters got on the witness stand at random to essentially give closing statements rather than to actually testify. Anyone can raise her hand and say "Can I say something, Judge?" and the judge will let her get on the stand.
The extras tasked with the rôles of lawyers were mostly deprived of lines because the episode's writer seems to be completely unaware that in a sentencing hearing, the defense lawyer is supposed to gather witnesses to present evidence in favor of mitigating the sentence, while the prosecutor is supposed to gather witnesses to present evidence in favor of aggravating the sentence.
How do I know all this? Do I have a fancy law degree framed in my office? No. I watch shows like Law & Order (and its various spin-offs), The Practice, Ally McBeal, Boston Legal, JAG, The Deep End, Judging Amy, The Defenders, Perry Mason, Matlock, Crossing Jordan, Family Law, etc. It wouldn't hurt the soap writers to watch an episode of any legal drama they can catch on TV these days.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment