Lawyers in Your Living Room

reviewed by Bo Links

Televising the O. J. Simpson murder trial might have been a good thing or a bad thing, but it was not a new thing. Indeed, representations of the law have been coming into our homes ever since the first television set was turned on. The only surprise is that no one has taken the time to catalogue the phenomenon.

Thanks to UCLA law professor emeritus Michael Asimow, we now have a handy reference book that critiques, analyzes, and memorializes just about every lawyer (real or imagined)-from Perry Mason to Ally McBeal - who ever hit the small screen.

For his latest book, Asimow assembles a diverse team of contributing writers that includes law professors from the United States and the United Kingdom, and TV script writers and producers for shows such as Boston Legal and Law & Order.

Asimow and his crew begin their journey with the dramatic lawyer shows, wind their way through the criminal and civil justice systems, then continue covering those loud TV forums where justice thunders down like a mighty stream (daytime television judges are covered in Part VI).

The book even devotes a section to attorneys who appear on "nonlawyer" shows, including Lionel Hutz, the self-professed "law talkin' guy" who is the most visible member of the Springfield Bar on the long-running animated series The Simpsons, and Jackie Chiles, the bombastic barrister who appeared occasionally on Seinfeld (and who battled bravely but futilely in the last episode to save Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer from a jail cell).

Through the efforts of Asimow and his colleagues, lawyers can relive the glory days of law on television (The Defenders, aired 1961?65, gets two thumbs up) while also reminiscing about McKenzie, Brackman, Chaney & Kuzak, a firm that was the pride of Tinseltown itself on L.A. Law.

This book is a pleasant companion that underscores how and why these legal shows are not merely entertainment but part of our culture. And in case one doubts that, pause to reflect on a story Asimow relates in the preface. Asimow's barber tells him that when he appeared for jury duty, a defense lawyer asked one of the potential jurors whether a police officer would lie to protect another officer. "Of course," said the juror, "I've seen it on television many times."

Bo Links is the legal editor for California Lawyer.

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