5 Fantastic Court Case Movies

To Kill A Mockingbird is a famous book written by Harper Lee. It is also a famous movie starring Gregory Peck which tells the same story written in the book. This movie is a great court scene drama that depicts the racism in the Southern United States and the fight of an innocent black man against all odds for his life because of false accusations made against him. This story very realistically depicts the injustice and violence that African Americans suffered at the hands of white southern people. This is a sober movie that challenges all of us to seek the truth and know the difference between good and evil, truth and lies.

A Time to Kill is a movie based on a John Grisham novel. Also set in the time of racism in the south, it depicts the trial of a black man accused of a crime he did not commit. The story centers on a white attorney who takes on the cause of convincing an all white jury to acquit him (Samuel L. Jackson) of all the charges. This is a heart wrenching story that gives a window into the deep racism of the South, the horrors of the Klu Klux Klan (KKK), and challenges each one of us to examine the prejudices that we are prone to possess because of differences in culture, ethnicity, and socio-economic background. This is not a movie for young children, but its a great movie for teens and adults.

Sophie Scholl: The Final Days is a german film depicting Germany's greatest anti-Nazi heroine. It stars Julia Jentsch. This film is based on the actual trial transcripts of Sophie Scholl's trial and is probably one of the more accurately produced 'based on a true story' movies. Sophie Scholl was a devout Christian and is represented extremely well in this film. Although the producer is an atheist, he crafted a deeply spiritual movie that accurately portrays the clash in world views between Sophie's Christian world view and the atheistic 'blood and soil' world view of the Nazis. This is a movie every Christian will find inspiring but it is not for young children. This is a great movie for teenagers and adults.

Runaway Jury is a fun creative court case movie starring John Cusack and Rachel Weisz. Its also a highly political movie jumping into the gun laws controversy currently rocking the United States. This movie runs on the improbable premise that a jury can be bought. John Cusack works his way onto a jury that has already been manipulated and bought by outside gun groups and uses his own manipulation tactics to get them to fairly consider the case. The outcome is a verdict finding the gun industry guilty for the irresponsible distribution of guns. As I said, this is a fun and creative movie, with some subversive political messages. Its worth the watch. This movie is best for teens and adults. Its a movie that engages your mind and tugs at your heart and challenges everyone to think about gun violence issues.

The Amistad is a movie also based on a true story of a ship of African slaves found on a boat called the The Amistad. They are sent to trial, accused of killing their slave masters. This movie plays out in court as the Africans story is told; how they were kidnapped from their homes in Africa, packed onto ships like animals and chained. The horrors of the African slave trade are depicted during the course of the story and they are finally acquitted and granted their freedom. This movie is about racism, liberty, freedom, and the fundamental values of American society. This is not a movie for young kids, it includes graphic horrors of slavery. Its a good movie for older teens and adults and its a great educational movie for exploring discussions of slavery, racism, and freedom.