The Runaway Jury - Movie Analysis Essay

Introduction

The Runaway Jury movie is about a trial that follows a workplace shooting in New Orleans (Fandango, 2020). A day trader murdered eleven other men and injured several people. Jacob Wood was among the people who died during the shooting leaving Celestine, his wife widowed. Two years later, Celestine Woods sued Vickburg Firearms Company, claiming that the firm’s negligence was responsible for Jacob’s murder. Celestine’s lawyer was attorney Wendell Rohr while the defense lawyer was Attorney Durwood Cable. Rankin Fitch is a ruthless jury consultant who has frequently succeeded in using injustice means to help the defense win trials (Fandango, 2020). Fitch arrived in town when the trial dates war near. Fitch came in a closed costume shop in the backroom; the room has around twelve people who are working for him to investigate all the jurors' backgrounds using their personal computers (IMDb, 2020).

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Fitch and his staff also have to listen and viewing devices to facilitate more natural communication between them and Durwood Cable in the courtroom using electronic surveillance for hearing the jurors' responses. Nicholas Easter tried to evade the jury duty and requests the judge to allow him to complete a video challenge game, which offered a reasonable price. The judge refused to let him evade the jury duty, thus allowing him to be a jury. Fitch informed Cable that Nicholas must be among the selected jurors according to the judge’s order (Fandango, 2020). All jurors accept him due to Nicholas’s congenial manner except Frank Hererra, who knew that a lot of money was at stake. Marlee and Nicholas offered Fitch the verdict that he needed for ten million dollars (IMDb, 2020). Fitch asked for a proof that Nicholas produced. The following day, the jury lead the entire courtroom in the Pledge for Allegiance, and Fitch was angry since Nicholas managed to manipulate the jury.

Fitch ordered his men to raid Nicholas's house, but Marlee counteracted by having Fitch’s juror beaten. One of Fitch’s men tried killing Marlee in her home, and she managed to fight off the man and escaped. As a result, Marlee raised the fee from ten million dollars to fifteen million dollars. Marlee also worked with Rohr to give him a similar verdict for a similar price. Rohr knew that his case could not win; the defense was well funded (Fandango, 2020). Therefore, he bailed out his money while Fitch agreed to pay the money. Fitch sent Doyle, his subordinate to investigate Nicholas and Marley. Doyle discovered that Nicholas was a law school dropout, and his real name was Jeff Kerr and that Marlee was Gabrielle Brant. Doyle traveled to a fictional town in Indiana, Gardner, where Nicholas and Marlee came from (IMDb, 2020).

Doyle questioned Marlee’s mother, and she revealed a shooting that happened many years when Marlee was still in secondary. The town sued the gun manufacturer, but since Mitch helped the defense side, the town lost the case causing it to be bankrupt. Fitch realized that Marlee and Nicholas had set-up Fitch through the offer and tried calling him, but it was already late since Fitch, who had already paid for the suggestion (IMDb, 2020). Nicholas received confirmation that Fitch had paid the money to a bank in the Cayman Islands. Nicholas asked other jurors to review the case’s details and facts to deliver Celeste a conviction, thus displeasing Frank, who tried disagreeing with the plaintiff but failed.

Frank claimed that although the facts of the case demanded that the plaintiff should be given the verdict, he did not want to give a verdict that would make Celeste more productive since she was in the upper-middle class. Frank added that despite his life hardship, he never asked for help, and he called the lawsuit frivolous. The jury held Vickburg Firearms Company liable for the mistakes and awarded Celeste $110 million. Fitch left the courtroom for a bar, and Nicholas and Marlee found him there and showed him the proof of money transfer and told him to retire before they could send the transfer documents to IRS. Fitch asked Marlee and Nicholas their intention with the money he sent and said that they could give it Garner Town because after they lost their case, they became bankrupt (IMDb, 2020). Wendell Rohr recognized Nicholas and Marley outside the bar smiled at each other. The movie ended when Marlee told Nicholas that she wanted to go home.

Crimes Involved

The crimes involved include murder and illegal possession of weapons. Another crime evident in the movie is the unlawful possession of weapons and murder. Vickburg Firearms Company made one of the guns responsible for the murder of Jacob Woods, among others. Jacob's colleague had appeared at his former workplace and shot his colleagues (IMDb, 2020). Celeste Wood sued Vickburg Firearms Company since she believed that their gross negligence led to her husband’s murder. Finally, the court held Vickburg Firearms Company liable for the death of Jacob Wood. Another shooting happened in Garner Town, although the town did not get justice due to Fitch's corrupt character.

Attorney Wendell Rohr needed to prove that Vickburg Firearms Company was liable for gross negligence that contributed to the death of Jacob Wood. Rohr would not have met his burden without the help of Nicholas and Marlee, who tricked Fitch into an offer of getting the verdict he needed for a price and then saying the jury to give the verdict in favor of the plaintiff and not the defendant (IMDb, 2020). Finally, the jury managed to render justice to Celeste and offered her 110 million dollars for the damage. Marlee and Nicholas asked Mitch to retire from work before sending the transaction of money transfer to the IRS. This act could prevent future denial of justice.

The Movie’s Entertainment Value

Runaway Jury features a young hero, Nicholas, and his lover, Marlee, who work together to fight a corrupt establishment; thus, the movie presents passable entertainment. Marlee and Nicholas partner up to fight Fitch's corruption, they trick him together into paying for the verdict he wanted and face challenges together. For instance, Fitch sent people to search for his house and also sent someone to kill Marlee, but they survive. The ending is a happy one since they win the case, and Fitch is on the losing end since they demand him to retire, or else he would face legal charges.

The movie is dramatic since it represents box office and big-budget courtrooms except that it focused on the jury selection process and their duties (Hayden, 2019). The movie exaggerates the methods that influence the jury selection process (Hayden, 2019). As a jury consultant, Fitch could impact the jury selection process and have some jurors like Frank Hererra, who either work for him or support him. Although Fitch could influence the jury's selection, he did not have a say when the judge said that Nicholas must be in the jury. If a similar situation happened outside Hollywood, the corrupt legal system might have been discovered by other honest law enforcers.

How the Movie Portrays the Legal System

The movie portrays the corruption that exists within some staffs in the legal system that use their positions to sway the verdicts to suit them and in the jury selection process (Gale, 2016). Fitch sways the jury to give justice to the defense side if they offer him money. The movie revealed another case of town shooting that lead to the demise of Marlee’s sister. The town lost the case to Fitch and lost its treasury. Since the town did not have enough financial capabilities compared to the gun manufacturers. Fitch is a corrupt guy and helped the gun manufacturers win the case over the town. Fitch was also helping Vickburg Firearms Company to win the case over Celeste. Rohr knew that he could not win the well- funded defense. This fact reveals that if the defendant was rich, the plaintiff could never get justice. Fitch's corruption is evident; he agrees with Marlee’s offer of getting the verdict he wants for $10 million (Gale, 2016). Frank Herrera disliked Nicholas since he knew that there was a significant amount of money involved, and since he knew that Nicholas was not corrupt, they could lose a lot of money.

The legal system may deny victims justice instead of providing justice to them. Denial of justice was evident since Fitch always swayed the jury to deliver the verdicts that he wanted. Most times, Fitch stacked the jury with individuals who would support the defense. Marlee’s sister had been shot in a town shooting, and the town had sued the gun manufacturer. Fitch helped the defendants win the case, thus making the town bankrupt. Therefore, the court denied the town and Marlee’s family justice. Fitch also wanted to help Vicksburg Firearms Company to win the case that Celeste had sued. Fitch used electronic surveillance to hear the questions and responses in the courtroom. Nicholas realizes that the only way to deliver justice is by tricking Fitch.

Legal systems may have staff who engage in criminal activities or try to destroy evidence of specific crimes. Fitch had paid some people to find the background of every juror. Fitch also used electronic surveillance to hear the conversations in the courtrooms and used the personal information of three juries to blackmail them. Fitch sent some men to search Nicholas' apartment to search for a device that has stored information that could provide evidence, and they leave after burning his house. Courtrooms may have people who try to manipulate verdicts to suit their preferences, just like Fitch always did.

The Relevance of the Movie to the Public

Movies help expand people’s basic knowledge, inspire them, and help them understand issues around them. Since this movie is a legal thriller movie, it would help the public understand the justice system and legal practice (Marcu, 2018). Thriller movies are mysterious and predictable, thus giving viewers the creativity of thinking about the outcome. Movies, in general, help people, reflect and understand their lives. This kind of movie will enable the public to understand the issues within the legal systems and the challenges that they will experience when dealing will it.

References

Fandango (2020) Runaway Jury Synopsis. https://www.fandango.com/runaway-jury-71854/plot-summary

Gale, C. L. (2016). A Study Guide for Reginald Rose's" 12 Angry Men (Film entry)". Gale, Cengage Learning.

Hayden, K. E. (2019). Society and Law. Rowman & Littlefield.

IMDb (2020). Runaway Jury (2003) Plot. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0313542/plotsummary

Marcu, N. A. (2018). Reel justice and legal english teaching. Studia Universitatis Petru Maior-Philologia, (24).