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Supreme Court of the United States in fiction

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The U.S. Supreme Court Building, current home of the Supreme Court, which opened in 1935, has been described as having "an air of mystery" that makes it a good location to set fiction

Like many institutions that draw public interest, the Supreme Court of the United States has frequently been depicted in fiction, often in the form of legal drama.[1][2] In some instances, real decisions rendered by real courts are dramatized, as in Gideon's Trumpet and the seminal trial in The People vs. Larry Flynt. Other depictions are purely fictional, but center on realistic issues that come before the court. Television series centered on dramatizing the happenings of the court have proven to be short-lived, and have tended to receive overall negative critical reaction.[3][4] One reason that has been suggested is that the Supreme Count is a court of appeals, whereas most legal drama portrays trial courts. Appeals may appear "bookish" in contrast to the theatrical storytelling of trials, especially juries. Furthermore, American audiences are not very knowledgeable about or interested in the Supreme Court.[5]

Author Anthony Franze explained in an essay in The Strand the allure of writing fictional novels set in the Supreme Court, noting that as a location it has "an air of mystery", as well as interesting characters, a unique language, history, and tradition, and that it provides "a backdrop of unparalleled stakes".[6]

Film

The 2013 HBO television film, Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight, provided a partly fictionalized depiction of the Supreme Court's deliberations in the case of Clay v. United States, in which the court threw out the criminal conviction of Muhammad Ali for refusing to report for induction into the United States military during the Vietnam War. The film was based on the 2000 book Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight: Cassius Clay vs. the United States of America by Howard Bingham and Max Wallace.[7][8] Hank Stuever of The Washington Post commented that the film, focused as it was on the behind-the-scenes legal discussion of the Supreme Court's justices and law clerks, and depicting one of Justice Harlan's law clerks (a character that was "a fictional composite of several clerks") as playing a central role in the court's decision to free Ali, was at times "too much like a substandard episode of The Paper Chase" and "more Wikipedia entry than story, as characters speak to one another in long paragraphs of legal exposition". The Post did have positive comments about the lead performances of Christopher Plummer as Justice John Marshall Harlan II, and Frank Langella as Chief Justice Warren E. Burger.[7] Christopher Howse of The Daily Telegraph said the film "was worth watching in the comfort of the home, but if it had been shown in a cinema, it would hardly have been worth stirring from the fireside for".[9] Mary McNamara of the Los Angeles Times also commented on the excellent performances of the cast, while concluding that "[t]he legal wrangling of eight old white men behind closed doors simply pales in comparison" to Ali's part of the story.[10]

The 2018 film, On the Basis of Sex, depicts a circuit court ruling Moritz v. Commissioner, which the Supreme Court refused to take up. The final scene shows Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg climbing the steps of the Supreme Court building.[11]

Television

Two television series presenting fictionalized versions of the Supreme Court debuted in 2002, First Monday and The Court. First Monday starred Joe Mantegna and James Garner, with Mantegna portraying a fictional Joseph Novelli, a moderate and potential swing vote recently appointed to a Supreme Court evenly divided between conservatives and liberals. Garner was the conservative Chief Justice.[3][4] The series lasted for thirteen episodes before its cancellation. The Court starred Sally Field as newly-appointed Justice Kate Nolan, depicted as struggling her way through the political aspects of her occupation.[12] The Court was cancelled after three episodes, with several more produced but never aired.

A 2010 series, Outlaw, starred Jimmy Smits as the fictional Cyrus Garza, a Justice who resigns from the bench to start his own law firm, as a way to more directly promote the ends of justice. The show was placed on hiatus after three of its eight produced episodes were broadcast, and was never brought back.[13][14]

Literature

References

  1. ^ a b c d Franze, Anthony (July 2016). "10 great novels about the Supreme Court". ABA Journal. p. 22.
  2. ^ a b John B. Owens, "Review: The Simple Truth about 9 Scorpions and The Tenth Justice: Supreme Court Law Clerks in Legal Suspense Novels", California Law Review, Vol. 88, No. 1 (January 2000), p. 233-258.
  3. ^ a b TV Reviews: 'First Monday' guilty of mediocrity, 15 January 2002
  4. ^ a b FIRST MONDAY!! Talk Back!!, 15 January 2002.
  5. ^ Olsen, Michelle (29 September 2010). "Why TV Shows About the Supreme Court Tank". LexisNexis. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
  6. ^ Franze, Anthony (27 March 2017). "Why the Supreme Court Makes a Fantastic Setting for a Novel - Strand Magazine". Strand Mag.
  7. ^ a b Stuever, Hank (3 October 2013). "HBO's 'Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight': Interesting legal footwork, but no knockouts". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 7 October 2013. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
  8. ^ Bingham, Howard; Wallace, Max (2000). Muhammad Ali's greatest fight: Cassius Clay vs. the United States of America. New York: M. Evans. ISBN 978-0-87131-900-5.
  9. ^ Christopher Howse, "Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight, Sky Atlantic, review", The Daily Telegraph, October 29, 2013.
  10. ^ Mary McNamara, "TV review: 'Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight' stays out of the ring", Los Angeles Times, October 5, 2013.
  11. ^ Jack Shepard (21 December 2018). "On the Basis of Sex review roundup: What the critics are saying about the Felicity Jones-starring Ruth Bader Ginsburg biopic". The Independent. Retrieved 25 December 2018.
  12. ^ TV Guide. "The Court Cast and Details". TV Guide. Retrieved 19 February 2013.
  13. ^ Hibberd, James (6 October 2010). "NBC putting 'Outlaw' on production hiatus". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 8 October 2010. Retrieved 7 October 2010.
  14. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (6 October 2010). "NBC's 'Outlaw' Goes On Production Hiatus". Deadline.com. Retrieved 7 October 2010.
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