Well, tomorrow on t.v. is the Lifetime made-for-T.V. movie Amanda Knox, Murder on Trial in Italy. The movie seems like it takes a lot of artistic license as it tells the story of the arrest and trial of Amanda Knox.  I have decided that I will watch the movie even though it apparently depicts Amanda Knox brandishing a knife, a notion largely inconsistent with the evidence now on appeal. The movie seems like it tries to please both sides in the case, but both the Knox family and the family of Meredith Kercher despise the film so far. I will watch largely to see the depiction of Giuliano Mignini, the Italian “prosecutor” who is such a disgrace to the profession that it is hard to imagine how Lifetime will portray him in a “fair and balanced” way.  I would hope the movie drums up more interest in Amanda Knox’s case on the part of the American public, but who knows, maybe that is too much to hope for. I guess I am going to keep an open mind when I watch the movie. I am sure that Lifetime will at least approach the case with better intentions that the British press has.  Let me know what you think of the movie. No spoilers though because I will be watching the movie on Pacific time.

Since you have the T.V. on this week, you may also want to check out the new T.V. show The Chicago Code. I watched the pilot free on iTunes, but the show is also available to watch online free at the Fox.com site. I downloaded the show two weeks ago and gave up on it after the first 5 minutes after a corny chase scene.  I was lured back to it after Chicago blogger Mark Draughn kept talking about it.  The show stars Jason Clarke as the cop going after corrupt politicians. (In the past, he played the corrupt politician subject to a police investigation in Brotherhood.)  As a criminal defense lawyer, I usually don’t watch a lot of crime dramas on T.V.  I guess by 5 p.m., I have usually had my fill of that sort of thing. However, this show looks pretty good. Also, I think it is important for lawyers to have some familiarity with this genre because these shows really effect the way jurors look at cases.   On T.V. crime dramas the police are usually a lot rougher physically on suspects than real life, and don’t really stop interrogations just because the suspect has invoked his right to remain silent or his right to a lawyer.  The police on T.V. usually spend more time on investigations, whereas in my practice police hardly ever take the time to even try to dust for fingerprinting.

To see Mark Draughn’s opinions on the show, see here and here. Take the time to see his site. This guy has been a snarky blogger since before I even had an email address.

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