Analytical Reflection Analysis

The Verdict In the Movie The Verdict many legal issues were presented. Some of the legal issues witnessed were: medical malpractice/negligence, judicial misconduct, witness tampering, the confidential relationship between lawyer and client, and perjury. I felt that the movie did an accurate job depicting the moral dilemmas that can occur involving court cases that go to trial. In order for everything to run smoothly, the lawyer must be well prepared and maintain a confidential relationship with their client and vice versa. The case witnessed was a negligence case, which I believe to be a pretty common lawsuit nowadays. Generally the people who are getting sued, if enough money is available, will do whatever they can to sway the case. This moral dilemma is of no help to the injured party or their family. I was able to learn that not all judges are fair and can easily be bought, just as well as the witnesses, regardless of how wrong the defense is. A medical malpractice suit arises when harm is caused to the patient by the carelessness and neglect of the doctor and staff. In the movie, instead of the defense taking responsibility for their wrongdoings, they instead chose to cover up the truth and continued to push the blame off on everyone else. Since the defense had an undisclosed, but large amount of money (being that it was a business) they have the ability to buy people on their side. This is especially bothersome to me because it is entirely unethical. The defense also had the upper hand in this case because they had a judge who is referred to as a ‘defendant’s judge’. I’ve witnessed, heard, and read about judges who were clearly biased towards one party and the judicial misconduct has completely opened my eyes. Another issue presented was the abuse of the confidential relationship between the lawyer and the client. A lawyer who fails to disclose any material that their client has the right to know, is breaching their relationship. If the lawyer never speaks with their client about possibly settling outside of court, and chooses himself to go to trial, he is abusing the trust within their relationship and possibly his reputation, if he were to be reported. There also comes a time for desperation, but going through someone’s personal possessions to find out any personal information is a violation of privacy and confidentiality. Although witness tampering is considered illegal, it does happen more often than not. The defense will pay off the witnesses, or even go as far as threatening the witnesses not to testify. I also believe a mock trial has its negatives when the defense will walk through and coach the witness to lie, as to make themselves look better. As for perjury, the main reason I believe it happens is for fear. Either someone is being threatened or pressured, or they are fearful of losing their job or a relationship, or even to protect someone. Whatever the reason, it happens. The fact is, even when fighting for justice in what’s supposed to be a fair and unbiased environment, we should continue to do so in a legal and ethical way to ensure a better outcome.