Friday, September 22, 2006

"Shark" Chum

How can a production company and network shell out big bucks to hire James Woods as a star, and Spike Lee to direct the pilot episode -- and yet use a writer who either fails to research, or doesn't care, that:

1. The County of Los Angeles and the City of Los Angeles are separate governments.

2. The mayor of Los Angeles does not control the DA's office, much less have the power to create an elite prosecution unit within it. The DA controls that office; and the DA answers to the County Board of Supervisors, not the city government.

3. Ergo, ADAs are not city attorneys.

4. Felony prosecutions in California are not entitled "County of Los Angeles v. So-and-so." The State prosecutes felonies. The cases are entitled "The People v. So and so."

5. When felonies are tried downtown, they are generally tried in the Clara Foltz Criminal Courts Building. The courthouse shown in an establishing shot was the Stanley Mosk Courthouse -- which generally tries civil trials. The courtroom shown in the episode did not look like any courtroom I've ever seen in the Mosk courthouse.

6. When a prosecutor asks multiple argumentative questions, defense attorneys generally object-- more than a couple times.

7. A prosecutor who commits such misconduct as bribing bailiffs to obtain inside information about jurors (who somehow, strangely, were chosen before trial) is simply sowing the seeds for reversal on appeal.

8. Lawyers generally, y'know, practice law. There wasn't more than a thimbleful of law in this episode.

1 comment:

Donald Burr of Borg said...

I suppose it can be said that "Shark" jumped itself.

- Donald, who amazingly actually remembered his Blogger password for once