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Information about Legal Drama

A legal drama is a work of dramatic fiction about law, crime, punishment or the legal profession. Subtypes of legal dramas include courtroom dramas and legal thrillers, and come in all forms, including novels, television shows, and films.

It is widely believed by most practicing lawyers that legal dramas result in the general public having misconceptions about the legal process . Many of these misconceptions result from the desire to create an interesting story. For example, conflict between parties make for an interesting story, which is why legal dramas emphasize the trial and ignore the fact that the vast majority of civil and criminal cases in the United States are settled out of court. Legal dramas also focus on situations where there is an obvious injustice or ones in which either the plaintiff or defendant is very interesting and unusual. As a result, things such as the insanity defense occur far more often in legal drama than in real life. Finally, legal dramas often focus on areas of the legal process which can be portrayed dramatically, such as oral arguments, and ignore areas which are less easily portrayed, such as researching a written legal brief.

See also

Subgenres

Fiction is the telling of stories which are not entirely based upon facts. More specifically, fiction is an imaginative form of narrative, one of the four basic rhetorical modes.
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novel (from, Italian novella, Spanish novela, French nouvelle for "new", "news", or "short story of something new") is today a long prose narrative set out in writing.
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worldwide view.


A television program (US), television programme (UK) or simply television show is a segment of programming in television broadcasting.
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Film is a term that encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. Films are produced by recording images from the world with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or special effects.
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For the fish called "lawyer", see .
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person licensed to practice law.
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trial is an event in which parties to a dispute present information (in the form of evidence) in a formal setting, usually a court, before a judge, jury, or other designated finder of fact, in order to achieve a resolution to their dispute.
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Civil law, as opposed to criminal law, refers to that branch of law dealing with disputes between individuals and/or organisations, in which compensation may be awarded to the victim.
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Criminal law
Part of the common law series
Elements of crimes
Actus reus  · Causation  · Concurrence
Mens rea  · Intention (general)
Intention in English law  · Recklessness
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Motto
"In God We Trust"   (since 1956)
"E Pluribus Unum"   ("From Many, One"; Latin, traditional)
Anthem
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A plaintiff (Π in legal shorthand), also known as a claimant or complainant, is the party who initiates a lawsuit (also known as an action) before a court.
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A defendant or defender (Δ in legal shorthand) is any party who is required to answer the complaint of a plaintiff or pursuer in a civil lawsuit before a court, or any party who has been formally charged or accused of violating a criminal statute.
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s
Part of the common law series
See also Criminal law and procedure
Insanity  · Mental disorder
Diminished responsibility
Intoxication  · Infancy
Automatism
Consent  · Mistake
Duress  · Necessity
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Oral arguments are spoken presentations to a judge or appellate court by a lawyer (or the party when representing themselves) of the legal reasons why they should prevail. Oral argument at the appellate level accompanies written briefs, which also advance the argument of each party
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The police procedural is a sub-genre of the mystery story which attempts to accurately depict the activities of a police force as they investigate crimes.

Characteristics


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In the common law tradition, legal fictions are suppositions of fact taken to be true by the courts of law, but which are not necessarily true. They typically are used to evade archaic rules of procedure or to extend the jurisdiction of the courts in ways that were considered
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This is a list of police shows.

Dramas involving police work, detectives, secret agents, and the justice system have been a mainstay of broadcast television since the early days of broadcasting. Shows that aren't dramas are indicated (e.g. reality or comedy).
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“Murder mystery” redirects here. For other uses, see Murder mystery (disambiguation).


Crime fiction is the genre of fiction that deals with crimes, their detection, criminals, and their motives.
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Detective fiction is a branch of crime fiction that centers upon the investigation of a crime, usually murder, by a detective, either professional or amateur. Detective fiction is the most popular form of both mystery fiction and hardboiled crime fiction.
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Crime comics are a genre of American comic books popular in the 1940s and 1950s. The genre is marked by a moralistic editorial tone and graphic depictions of violence and criminal activity.
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For the 1970s UK game show, see .
A whodunit or whodunnit (for "Who done it?" and sometimes referred to as a Golden Age Mystery novel) is a complex, plot-driven variety of the detective story in which the puzzle is paramount.
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