Michael Asimow

When Harry Met Perry and Larry: Criminal Defense Lawyers on Television

Most of what people know (or think they know) about law, lawyers, and the legal system — as well as many other subjects of which they have little personal knowledge — is learned in television school. Two different theories explain the impact of pop cultural sources on consumers — the cultivation and viewer response approaches. Both theories have strong explanatory powers, but describe different conditions of consumption. This article describes the numerous television shows involving heroic criminal defense lawyer protagonists, starting with Perry Mason and The Defenders and continuing to the present with dramas like Harry’s Law. These shows probably affect the public perception of criminal defense lawyers in a favorable way (contrary to the distrust of lawyers held by the vast majority of the general public). It would be interesting to learn whether viewers take seriously the positive message about criminal defense conveyed by these shows, whether viewers reject this portrayal and view defense lawyers as slimy, or whether viewers enjoy the shows and pay little or no attention to the message. A well-conducted viewer response study could furnish an answer to this question.

Das Ansehen von Anwälten bei Jurastudenten

Zusammenfassung Ein international vergleichendes Forschungsvorhaben ging der Frage nach, wie Studienanfänger der Rechtswissenschaft Anwälte sehen und welche Faktoren dazu beitragen. Dabei lag das Hauptaugenmerk auf möglichen Wirkungen des Medienkonsums. Die Bochumer Befragten bescheinigten Anwälten ein hohes allgemeines Sozialprestige, auch, dass sie ihr Einkommen verdienen, zweifeln aber häufig an der Ehrlichkeit und Moral der Anwaltschaft. Die weitere Analyse zeigt dass TV-Anwaltsserien und Anwaltsfilme, das Vorbild von Anwälten innerhalb der eigenen Familie oder im Freundeskreis und der nationale Hintergrund der Jurastudenten für die Bewertungen ausschlaggebend sein können. Mediale Anwaltsdarstellungen wirken tendenziell legitimierend für die Anwaltschaft. Summary The article reports findings of comparative research about the prestige first year law students attribute to lawyers. Special emphasis lies on media effects. Respondents from Bochum / Germany stated that lawyers have a high prestige and that they deserve their incomes. However, the law students were skeptical on the question of honesty and ethicality of lawyers. Further analysis reveals that the first two measures are positively related to the consumption of TV lawyer shows and lawyer movies. Respondents having lawyers in their family or among their friends tended to rate them more positively. Students with a German family background were more optimistic on lawyers than students with a foreign background.