History Film / TheStarChamber

* WellIntentionedExtremist: Judge Hardin and the rest are frustrated by the legal loopholes which help murderers go free, wanting to bring them all to justice. Their methods, however, are forming their own secret "court" that condemns such released murders to death, with a hitman "executing" the sentence.

* ProfessionalKillers: The hitman, though its hard to say if he falls in the first or second category.

* AntiHero: Judge Hardin, and possibly the rest of the judges.

* ImpersonatingAnOfficer: The hitman, unless he actually is a police officer.

* JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope: The turning point, stated above, if not before when Hardin and the rest go vigilante in order to pursue justice as they see it.

* VigilanteMilitia: An unusual example in the titular "Star Chamber", who are a bunch of judges who secretly review cases to decide whether or not the criminal is worthy of execution, then pay a hitman (though a proxy) to carry out the deed.

* WellIntentionedExtremist: Judge Hardin and the rest are frustrated by the legal loopholes which help killers go free, wanting to bring them all to justice. Their methods, however...

* JoinTheArmyTheySaid: When Detectives Mackey and Wiggan are searching the gooey garbage inside the truck:
--> '''Det. Mackey:''' Join the police and see the world.
--> '''Det. Wiggan:''' It's "join the ''navy'' and see the world."
--> '''Det. Mackey:''' Oh, shit. I joined the wrong thing.

* VigilanteMan: The father of the murdered boy; also the judges.

* ArtisticLicenseLaw: In the opening scene two police officers are chasing down an armed suspect who tosses his gun into a trash can in front of a suburban house. The police then have a lengthy discussion about how they can't just go digging for the gun in there as it is considered part of private property and they would need a search warrant. In fact, police are allowed to execute a warrantless search if they can establish a probable cause for doing so. Personally witnessing someone throw a gun in the trash would definitely qualify.

* ArtisticLicenseLaw: In the opening scene two police officers are chasing down an armed suspect who tosses his gun into a trash bin in front of a suburban house. The police then have a lengthy discussion about how they can't just go digging for the gun in there as it is considered part of private property and they would need a search warrant. In fact, police are allowed to execute a warrantless search if they can establish a probable cause for doing so. Personally witnessing someone throw a gun in the trash would definitely qualify.

* AllCrimesAreEqual: Subverted. We only see them go after freed killers, with the punishment that, in their view, fits the crime-death. This becomes a plot-point when Hardin discovers two men with criminal records accused of child-murder are actually innocent of the murder.

Released in 1983 and directed by Creator/PeterHyams, this crime drama starred Creator/MichaelDouglas and Creator/HalHolbrook. Michael Douglas is Stephen Hardin, a young superior court judge in L.A. who's frustrated with having to set guilty criminals [[OffonATechnicality free on technicalities]]. Hal Holbrook plays the older Judge Caulfield who initiates him into a group of judges who run an illegal secret court that reviews cases then votes to convict and sentence to death criminals they deem deserving. A hitman takes care of the rest.

Released in 1983 and directed by Creator/PeterHyams, this crime drama starred Creator/MichaelDouglas and Hal Holbrook. Michael Douglas is Stephen Hardin, a young superior court judge in L.A. who's frustrated with having to set guilty criminals [[OffonATechnicality free on technicalities]]. Hal Holbrook plays the older Judge Caulfield who initiates him into a group of judges who run an illegal secret court that reviews cases then votes to convict and sentence to death criminals they deem deserving. A hitman takes care of the rest.

* DrivenToSuicide: A judge early on in the film, who shoots himself in the restroom after a banquet in his honor, presumably out of guilt over his involvement with the titular secret vigilante court.

* HollywoodLaw: The entire opening sequence. Two undercover detectives are in hot pursuit of a suspect who ditches his gun in a garbage can and escapes. They wait until the garbage is emptied into the scoop of a garbage truck conveniently coming down the street, search it and find the gun, but the evidence is thrown out because they hadn't obtained a search warrant. In real life, the "hot pursuit" doctrine would have allowed them to grab the gun out of the garbage without even waiting for the truck, as they clearly saw him put it in. In addition, search warrants are not required in cases of "exigent circumstances," which means a situation where something irreversible is about to happen: examples include situations where evidence is about to be destroyed, someone is about to be hurt or a suspect is about to escape. This means they had every right to pull the gun out of the garbage, as mixing it in the truck could have damaged the gun or exposed it to moisture that could have corrupted the fingerprints. In short, '''the detectives did nothing wrong''' and the judge was completely incorrect in throwing out the evidence.

* ArtisticLicenseLaw: The entire opening sequence. Two undercover detectives are in hot pursuit of a suspect who ditches his gun in a garbage can and escapes. They wait until the garbage is emptied into the scoop of a garbage truck conveniently coming down the street, search it and find the gun, but the evidence is thrown out because they hadn't obtained a search warrant. In real life, a criminal suspect would have no expectation of privacy from placing something in a garbage can set out on a public sidewalk and would be considered to have released any "property interest," basically meaning whatever he put in there was no longer his. As such, no warrant would be required. In addition, search warrants are not required in cases of "exigent circumstances," which means a situation where something irreversible is about to happen: examples include situations where evidence is about to be destroyed, someone is about to be hurt or a suspect is about to escape. This means they had every right to pull the gun out of the garbage, as mixing it in the truck could have damaged the gun or exposed it to moisture that could have corrupted the fingerprints. In short '''the detectives did nothing wrong''' and the judge was completely incorrect in throwing out the evidence.

* AllCrimesAreEqual: Subverted. We only see them go after freed killers, with the punishment that, in their view, fits the crime-death. This becomes a plot-point when Hardin discovers two drug dealers accused of child-murder are actually innocent of that crime.

* AllCrimesAreEqual: Subverted. We only see them go after freed killers, with the punishment that, in their view, fits the crime-death.

* ProfessionalKillers: The hitman, though its hard to say if he falls in the first or second category, but see KnightTemplar entry.

After they dispatch two murderers, Hardin brings his own case up, wherein two burglars who allegedly raped and killed a little boy were set free by a good faith error of the police in gathering evidence. The hitman is sent out again. At the same time, a separate investigation has turned up evidence that indicates the boy was killed by members of a child porn ring, not them. Hardin is horrified by the error, and tries to have Judge Caulfield call off the hitman. Caulfield puts forth the following reasons for not calling off the hit: in order to protect themselves, neither the court or the hitman know each others' identity; also, the intended victims are probably guilty of other crimes and their deaths are an acceptable outcome. Besides, the court has to be protected for it to serve good. Hardin says they at least can warn the men, but Caulfield sees this as an unacceptable risk for exposure. Hardin attempts to stop the men from being killed before it's too late...

* VomitingCop: Rookie Officer Nelson throws up after he and his partner see the remains of Daniel Lewin.

Released in 1983, this crime drama starred Michael Douglas and Hal Holbrook. Michael Douglas is Stephen Hardin, a young superior court judge in L.A. who's frustrated with having to set guilty criminals [[OffonATechnicality free on technicalities]]. Hal Holbrook plays the older Judge Caulfield who initiates him into a group of judges who run an illegal secret court that reviews cases then votes to convict and sentence to death criminals they deem deserving. A hitman takes care of the rest.

* BadGuysDoTheDirtyWork: As Monk and Coombs catch up to Hardin in the warehouse during the final foot chase, [[spoiler:the hitman shows up and blasts both of them, saving Hardin from being hurt or killed by them. Granted, he ''was'' there specifically to kill them, and Hardin, too, but still....]]