Assignment:
Courtroom Workgroup: My Cousin Vinny
Summary: We will use this film, as recommended by the Chief Probation Officer of Carbon County, to better understand how the "courtroom workgroup" works. To do this we will focus on the roles of the Judge, the District Attorney, the Defense Attorney(s), the Sheriff, and the defendants.
1. What crime did Bill and Stan think they were arrested for?
2. Where does this film take place?
3. What crime did the police think Bill and Stan committed?
4. Where did Judge Haller go to law school?
5. Why did Vinny and the Judge first meet in the Judge's chambers?
6. What did Judge Haller give Vinny to read?
7. How did the Judge react to Vinny during the arraignment?
8. How did the judge feel about "procedure"?
9. What business was both Mona and Vinny familiar with?
10. During the "presentment" how many witnesses did the District Attorney produce?
11. What was Bill's "confession" to the crime?
12. Judge Haller repeatedly sent Vinny to jail for what crime?
13. Why did Stan "fire" his public defender?
14. Who was Judge Malloy?
15. How did Trotter and Vinny get along?
16. Why did Trotter show Vinny "the file"?
17. Who gives their opening statement first? DA or Defense?
18. What is a "yute"?
19. What food did witness Sam Tipton make when he saw the men go into the store?
20. Why did Vinny object to the last-minute witness?
21. What is a "voir dire"?
22. Who was Vinny's last-minute witness? What was she an expert on?
23. What did Vinny ask the Sheriff to do?
24. What was the key piece of evidence that forced the District Attorney to dismiss the case?
25. How did Vinny "get away" with his ruse?