The Ross-Blakley Law Library has a number of legal-themed films in its Law Media collection. In the mood for something light? How about Chicago, Legally Blond, Liar Liar, or My Cousin Vinny? Dramatic selections at the Law Library include 12 Angry Men, The Client, Erin Brockovich, A Few Good Men, The Firm, The Rainmaker, Michael Clayton, North Country, The Paper Chase, The Pelican Brief, and The People vs. Larry Flynt. Check a DVD out for a movie night over Fall Break!
In other legal-themed movie news, a documentary film titled Hot Coffee, which discusses the impact of tort reform on the U.S. judicial System, will soon be available on DVD. The film takes its name from the famous Liebeck v. McDonald’s Restaurants case, in which the plaintiff was severely burned by hot coffee purchased from a New Mexico McDonald’s. The documentary premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival and has aired on HBO. Its website says this about the film’s subject:
“Seinfeld mocked it. Letterman ranked it in his top ten list. And more than fifteen years later, its infamy continues. Everyone knows the McDonald’s coffee case. It has been routinely cited as an example of how citizens have taken advantage of America’s legal system, but is that a fair rendition of the facts? Hot Coffee reveals what really happened to Stella Liebeck, the Albuquerque woman who spilled coffee on herself and sued McDonald’s, while exploring how and why the case garnered so much media attention, who funded the effort and to what end. After seeing this film, you will decide who really profited from spilling hot coffee.”
