The Best Courtroom Dramas To Keep You Guessing

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Would you hire a lawyer who worked out of his car? You might give the idea another chance if you watch 2011’s The Lincoln Lawyer starring Matthew McConaughey as Mick Haller. Based on Michael Connelly’s 2005 novel of the same name, the story finds the usually low-rent attorney hired to defend a wealthy playboy accused of beating a sex worker within an inch of her life.

Part of what makes The Lincoln Lawyer one of the best courtroom dramas is an amazing cast that includes Marisa Tomei, William H. Macy, Bryan Cranston, John Leguizamo, Michael Peña, and more.

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There may be better courtroom dramas than 1992’s My Cousin Vinny, but few can also rank among the very best of comedies. Joe Pesci stars as the rookie lawyer Vinny Gambini who rushes to a small town in Alabama with his fiancee Mona Lisa Vito (Marisa Tomei) in tow to defend his cousin Bill (Ralph Macchio) and friend Stan (Mitchell Whitfield) after they’re wrongly accused of murder.

Along with being one of the laugh-out-loud funniest things you could ever see, My Cousin Vinny went somewhere few comedies go: The Oscars. The film was nominated for 5 of the prestigious awards, with Tomei taking home Best Supporting Actress.

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Not purely one of the best courtroom dramas but also a powerful biopic, The People vs. Larry Flynt stars Woody Harrelson as the titular pornographer, Courtney Love as his wife Althea, and Edward Norton as Flynt’s lawyer Alan Isaacman. Along with following the life of the controversial Flynt, the film chronicles his courtroom battles that ultimately find him in the Supreme Court. Along with taking an unflinching look at Flynt as a person, the film asks, when it comes to free speech, how far is too far… and is there such a thing?

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While the first of bestselling novelist’s John Grisham’s books to be adapted to film was 1993’s The Firm, his very first novel was A Time to Kill which went from being one of the best literary courtroom dramas to one of best movies in the genre in 1996. Samuel L. Jackson plays Carl Lee Hailey, a man who kills the two men who sexually assaulted his young daughter. Matthew McConaughey plays his lawyer Jake Brigance and Sandra Bullock is his assistant Ellen Roark.

A Time to Kill asks big questions, including those revolving around race and the morality of violence. Directed by the late Joel Schumacher, A Time to Kill is blessed with an ensemble cast that includes Ashley Judd, Kevin Spacey, Oliver Platt, Donald Sutherland, Kiefer Sutherland, Charles S. Dutton, Brenda Fricker, and Patrick McGoohan.

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If you talked about the best courtroom dramas in the nineties and you didn’t mention Rob Reiner’s A Few Good Men, you’d be laughed out of the discussion and with good reason. When a marine winds up dead after what was meant to be a hazing, the two marines accused to the killing are defended by Lt. Daniel Kaffee (Tom Cruise) who is known not for his skill in the courtroom but or his plea deal negotiations.

But as Kaffee digs deeper into their case, pushed by the passionate Lt. Cdr. JoAnne Galloway (Demi Moore), he becomes more convinced his clients deserve their day in court.

Among other things, A Few Good Men is, of course, the source of Jack Nicholson’s famous “You can’t handle the truth” monologue which, to this day, inspires questions about how we can punish the violence of those whose violence we’re counting on to keep us safe.

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Today it is not a particularly controversial thing to say that someone who is diagnosed with AIDS doesn’t deserve to lose their livelihood because of it, but in the eighties and even early nineties AIDS was one of the most hotly debated subjects of the day. It was then no small act of courage for actors like Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington to star in Philadelphia, about a gay lawyer diagnosed with AIDS who is fired from his firm once his colleagues learn about his condition. What helped make the Jonathan Demme film one of the best courtroom dramas was its refusal to shy away from controversial and, for some, difficult subjects.

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Along with being a surprising and suspenseful story, Primal Fear is in large part responsible for the career of Edward Norton who makes his screen debut in the movie. Richard Gere leads the film as defense attorney Martin Vail, and when it comes to Norton’s Aaron, Vail believes he’s landed both a PR goldmine and a genuinely innocent man. Along with Gere and Norton, the film is armed with an incredible cast that includes Laura Linney, John Mahoney, Alfre Woodard, Terry O’Quinn, and Andre Braugher.

A large part of what makes Primal Fear one of cinema’s best courtroom dramas — and honestly the best reason to watch the film — is Norton’s performance. His character may or may not have multiple personalities, and after seeing him embody both the meek Aaron and the more intimidating Roy, it will become clear why he was tapped to play other characters who had splintered personalities in films like Fight Club and Incredible Hulk.

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Many of the best courtroom dramas feature lawyer heroes who are, in their own way, in as much jeopardy as their clients, and such is the case with 1982’s The Verdict. The late Paul Newman plays Frank Galvin, an alcoholic lawyer who isn’t very proud of how he’s made a living. When he takes a malpractice case and is pressured from all sides to take a settlement, he instead forces it into the courtroom and finds his own salvation along the way.

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If we didn’t include To Kill a Mockingbird on this list, we might as well forget the subject of best courtroom dramas altogether. Based on Harper Lee’s 1960 novel of the same name, the film stars Gregory Peck as the idealistic Atticus Finch who defends the obviously innocent Tom Robinson (Brock Peters), who nevertheless faces the scrutiny of a community steeped in racism. The powerful drama netted Peck his one and only Oscar win for Best Leading Actor.

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While 1957’s 12 Angry Men more than deserves its spot on top of our list of best courtroom dramas, technically — rather than the courtroom — most of it takes place in the jury deliberation room. Early on most of the jury sees their case, of a teenager accused of murder, as open and shut. But as Juror 8 (Henry Fonda) begins to air his doubts, what seemed like an easy decision changes drastically.