History Film / TheVerdict

** Judge Hoyle incorrectly rules that Nurse Kaitlin Price's testimony is inadmissible hearsay, though it fulls under the "admissions" exception. Topping it off, the "best evidence" rule (that when witnesses testify to the content of a document, it must be produced) gets utterly bungled. The document is a photocopy that Nurse Price brings in showing that she altered an admissions form at Towler's order to cover up his negligence. To explain, the form is a ''photocopy'' of the original, and the best evidence rule requires that the original document be entered into evidence. The real problem was that the best evidence rule allows the exclusion of a copy of a writing; it does not bar a witness from testifying about what she wrote in the original document. Galvin does not even attempt to offer the document into evidence. Rather, he just asks the witness what she wrote in the document. Furthermore, there is an exception to the best evidence rule: when the original is unavailable owing to a bad act by the party against whom the copy would be offered. Here, the witness is claiming that she altered the original document under the threat of the defendant, but made a photocopy of the original before she did so. So in real life, the copy would almost certainly be admissible. As for the hearsay issue, while the admissions exception would apply to Towler's out-of-court statement to Price, the statement was not hearsay to begin with, because it was not being offered to prove the content of the statement; whether Dr. Towler would have actually had Nurse Price fired for refusing to alter the admissions form is completely irrelevant to Galvin's case. It is only hearsay when the out-of-court statement is offered as evidence for the truth of the statement.

* DisregardThatStatement: Costello's entire testimony is thrown out on a legal technicality, and both Concannon and the judge strenuously urge the jury to forget they ever heard it. In the end, however, it's pretty clear that the jury makes their decision based ''entirely'' on said witness's testimony.

* TheAlcoholic: Galvin. In one early scene his hands shake so badly that he can't pick up his drink, so he leans down to sip from the cup like a dog. The last scene hints that he's quit drinking--he is seen with a cup of coffee.

* AmbulanceChaser: What Galvin is at the start. He rejects the settlement party to get out of this.
* AmoralAttorney: Both Galvin and Concannon have a bit of this, with Galvin not above lying and breaking into mailboxes, and with Concannon resorting to having Laura spy on Galvin, though on the other hand he's quite disgusted when he finds out Dr. Towler really is guilty.
** Judge Hoyle seemingly makes an active effort to destroy Galvin's case, and is heavily biased in favor of Concannon. Galvin calls him out on it only to be threatened with arrest and contempt of court.

* DisregardThatStatement: One witness's entire ''testimony'' is thrown out, and the judge strenuously urges the jury to forget they ever heard it. In the end, however, it's pretty clear that the jury makes their decision based ''entirely'' on said witness's testimony.

* HollywoodLaw: The defense should have been able to win at the close of Galvin's case by making a motion for "judgment as a matter of law" (i.e. the judge ruling in their favor as no rational jury could find against them). However that doesn't happen, and then Galvin puts on his surprise witness Nurse Kaitlin Price, who shows Dr. Towler was indeed negligent. Judge Hoyle then incorrectly rules that her testimony is inadmissible hearsay, though it fulls under the "admissions" exception. Topping it off, the "best evidence" rule (that when witnesses testify to the content of a document, it must be produced) gets utterly bungled. The document is a photocopy that Nurse Price brings in showing that she altered an admissions form at Towler's order to cover up his negligence. To explain, the form is a ''photocopy'' of the original, and the best evidence rule requires that the original document be entered into evidence. The real problem was that the best evidence rule allows the exclusion of a copy of a writing; it does not bar a witness from testifying about what she wrote in the original document. Galvin does not even attempt to offer the document into evidence. Rather, he just asks the witness what she wrote in the document. Furthermore, there is an exception to the best evidence rule: when the original is unavailable owing to a bad act by the party against whom the copy would be offered. Here, the witness is claiming that she altered the original document under the threat of the defendant, but made a photocopy of the original before she did so. So in real life, the copy would almost certainly be admissible. As for the hearsay issue, while the admissions exception would apply to Towler's out-of-court statement to Price, the statement was not hearsay to begin with, because it was not being offered to prove the content of the statement; whether Dr. Towler would have actually had Nurse Price fired for refusing to alter the admissions form is completely irrelevant to Galvin's case. It is only hearsay when the out-of-court statement is offered as evidence for the truth of the statement.
** Judge Hoyle, who was obviously in the defense's pocket, could have issued a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judgment_notwithstanding_verdict judgment notwithstanding verdict]] nullifying the jury's decision, if only Concannon had asked for it.
** And of course Galvin could have appealed and gotten a new trial based on the defense's misconduct in placing a mole in his office.

* MagicalNegro: Averted with Dr. Thompson. His slightly bumbling demeanor is not ObfuscatingStupidity. Despite his serene "there's nothing they can do to me" attitude, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin he really is just a plain old country doctor]].

* SurpriseWitness: Kaitlin Price, the surprise witness called by Galvin who reveals that Dr. Towler didn't look at the admittance form and then had her falsify it after everything went wrong.

Frank Galvin is a washed-up alcoholic attorney who hasn't won a case in years and who spends his time lying his ways into funerals. His friend, Mickey Morrissey (Jack Warden), gets him a medical malpractice suit about a woman rendered comatose during surgery with a guaranteed large settlement that will let her family put her in a much better nursing home.

Frank Galvin is a washed-up alcoholic attorney who hasn't won a case in years and who spends his time lying his ways into funerals. His friend, Mickey Morrissey, gets him a medical malpractice suit about a woman rendered comatose during surgery with a guaranteed large settlement.

However, a visit to the girl deeply affects him, and at the meeting with Archdiocese of Boston to hammer out the settlement, he rejects the money, deciding that this is his last chance to save himself and resolves to fight it out. This, of course, displeases everyone, from the family to the judge. His opponent in the trial is Ed Concannon, backed by a large and professional legal team.

* HollywoodLaw: The defense should have been able to win at the close of Galvin's case by making a motion for "judgment as a matter of law" (i.e. the judge ruling in their favor as no rational jury could find against them). However that doesn't happen, and then Galvin puts on his surprise witness Nurse Kaitlin Price, who shows Dr. Towler was indeed negligent. Judge Hoyle then incorrectly rules that her testimony is inadmissible hearsay, though it fulls under the "admissions" exception. Topping it off, the "best evidence" rule (that when witnesses testify to the content of a document, it must be produced) gets utterly bungled, as the document (a photocopy that Price brings in showing that she altered an admissions form at Towler's order to cover up his negligence). To explain, the form is a photocopy of the original, and the best evidence rule requires that the original document be entered into evidence. The real problem was that the best evidence rule allows the exclusion of a copy of a writing; it does not bar a witness from testifying about what she wrote in the original document. Galvin does not even attempt to offer the document into evidence. Rather, he just asks the witness what she wrote in the document. Furthermore, there is an exception to the best evidence rule: when the original is unavailable owing to a bad act by the party against whom the copy would be offered. Here, the witness is claiming that she altered the original document under the threat of the defendant, but made a photocopy of the original before she did so. So in real life, the copy would almost certainly be admissible. As for the hearsay issue, while the admissions exception would apply to Towler's out-of-court statement to Price, the statement was not hearsay to begin with, because it was not being offered to prove the content of the statement; whether Dr. Towler would have actually had Nurse Price fired for refusing to alter the admissions form is completely irrelevant to Galvin's case. It is only hearsay when the out-of-court statement is offered as evidence for the truth of the statement.

* JuryAndWitnessTampering: Galvin took the fall for this in the backstory, when the prestigious law firm he belonged to was playing shenanigans. He avoided criminal prosecution but it was the decisive turning point in his life, as he lost his position with a prestigious law firm and divorced his wife.

* HollywoodLaw:
** The defense should have been able to win at the close of Galvin's case by making a motion for "judgment as a matter of law" (i.e. the judge ruling in their favor as no rational jury could find against them). However that doesn't happen, and then Galvin puts on his surprise witness Nurse Kaitlin Price, who shows Dr. Towler was indeed negligent. Judge Hoyle then incorrectly rules that her testimony is inadmissible hearsay, though it fulls under the "admissions" exception. Topping it off, the "best evidence" rule (that when witnesses testify to the content of a document, it must be produced) gets utterly bungled, as the document (a photocopy that Price brings in showing that she altered an admissions form at Towler's order to cover up his negligence) is ''right there in her hand''. Obviously it can easily be produced.

The film was nominated for five {{Academy Award}}s, including Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Director, and Best Screenplay, though in the end it lost in all categories.

-->''"Your Honor, if you're going to insist on presenting my case for me, I respectfully request that you don't try to lose it."''
-->'''Frank Galvin''' (Creator/PaulNewman) to Judge Hoyle (Milo O'Shea).

Both Tobin Bell (later of the ''Film/{{Saw}}'' franchise) and Creator/BruceWillis can be seen as courtroom spectators in the climactic court scenes.

* LastDisrepects: At the beginning, Frank gets most of his cases by trolling strangers' funerals with his business card. He gets away with it once, but the second time, the dead man's son calls him out and has him removed.

* TheAlcoholic: Galvin. In one early scene his hands shake so badly that he can't pick up his drink, so he leans down to sip from the cup like a dog.

* AntiHero: Frank Galvin is a pretty scummy attorney, and even after he rediscovers his thirst for justice he's not above using tactics of questionable morality.

* HollywoodLaw: The defense should have been able to win at the close of Galvin's case by making a motion for "judgment as a matter of law" (i.e. the judge ruling in their favor as no rational jury could find against them). However that doesn't happen, and then Galvin puts on his surprise witness Nurse Kaitlin Price, who shows Dr. Towler was indeed negligent. Judge Hoyle then incorrectly rules that her testimony is inadmissible hearsay, though it fulls under the "admissions" exception. Topping it off, the "best evidence" rule (that when witnesses testify to the content of a document, it must be produced) gets utterly bungled, as the document (a photocopy that Price brings in showing that she altered an admissions form at Towler's order to cover up his negligence) is ''right there in her hand''. Obviously it can easily be produced.

* TheMole: Laura
* RedemptionQuest

* SurpriseWitness

* JuryAndWitnessTampering: Galvin apparently did this in the backstory. He avoided criminal prosecution but it was the decisive turning point in his life, as he lost his position with a prestigious law firm and divorced his wife.

-->'''Frank Galvin''' (PaulNewman) to Judge Hoyle (Milo O'Shea).

''The Verdict'' is a 1982 courtroom drama film directed by SidneyLumet and written by Creator/DavidMamet, based on a novel by Barry Reed and starring PaulNewman.

The film was nominated for five {{Academy Award}}s, including Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Director, and Best Screenplay, though in the end it lost in all categories..

* TheAlcoholic: Galvin

* AmoralAttorney: Both Galvin and Concannon have a bit of this, with Galvin not above lying and breaking into mailboxes, and with Concannon resorting to [[spoiler: having Laura spy on Galvin]], though on the other hand [[spoiler: he's quite disgusted when he finds out Dr. Towler really is guilty.]]

* TheMole: [[spoiler: Laura]]

* WouldHitAGirl: Galvin, when he finds out [[spoiler: Laura is TheMole.]]

* HollywoodLaw

** Judge Hoyle seemingly makes an active effort to destroy the defense's case, and is heavily biased in favor of Concannon. Galvin calls him out on it only to be threatened with arrest and contempt of court.

-->''"Your Honor, if you're going to insist on presenting my case for me, I respectfully request that you try to win."''

-->''"Your Honor, if you're going to insist on presenting my case for me, I respectfully request that you try to '''''win.'''''

* MagicalNegro: Averted with Dr. Thompson. His slightly bumbling demeanor is not ObfuscatingStupidity. Despite his serene "there's nothing they can do to me" attitude, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin he really is just a plain old country doctor]].

''The Verdict'' is a 1982 courtroom drama film directed by SidneyLumet and written by Creator/DavidMamet, based on a novel by Barry Reed and starring PaulNewman. Frank Galvin is a washed-up alcoholic attorney who hasn't won a case in years and who spends his time lying his ways into funerals. His friend, Mickey Morrissey, gets him a medical malpractice suit about a woman rendered comatose during surgery with a guaranteed large settlement. However, a visit to the girl deeply affects him, and at the meeting with Archdiocese of Boston to hammer out the settlement, he rejects the money, deciding that this is his last chance to save himself and resolves to fight it out. This, of course, displeases everyone, from the family to the judge, and his opponent in the trial is Ed Concannon, backed by a large and professional legal team. To make matters worse, no one seems to be able to tell him what actually happened during the surgery. Also along the way he finds a lover in a woman named Laura, a complex relationship that isn't made any easier by the trial.

''The Verdict'' is a 1982 courtroom drama film directed by SidneyLumet and written by DavidMamet, based on a novel by Barry Reed and starring PaulNewman. Frank Galvin is a washed-up alcoholic attorney who hasn't won a case in years and who spends his time lying his ways into funerals. His friend, Mickey Morrissey, gets him a medical malpractice suit about a woman rendered comatose during surgery with a guaranteed large settlement. However, a visit to the girl deeply affects him, and at the meeting with Archdiocese of Boston to hammer out the settlement, he rejects the money, deciding that this is his last chance to save himself and resolves to fight it out. This, of course, displeases everyone, from the family to the judge, and his opponent in the trial is Ed Concannon, backed by a large and professional legal team. To make matters worse, no one seems to be able to tell him what actually happened during the surgery. Also along the way he finds a lover in a woman named Laura, a complex relationship that isn't made any easier by the trial.