My Cousin Vinny Essay Questions

Question Presented

Does the movie My Cousin Vinny adequately represent realistic values and rules that actual cases and trials do. Also the question that under Delaware law and the ABA rulebook did Vinny Gambini abide by the rules during the course of the trial.

Introduction

My Cousin Vinny is a film directed and produced in 1992. It depicts a story of two college roommates, Bill and Stan, who embark on a road trip to UCLA. However, on their way down as they passed through Alabama they were arrested and accused mistakenly for murder in a small town. When their families find out, Bills father arranged for a family lawyer, Vinny Gambini, to go down and defend both of them. Vinny is an inexperienced lawyer from the Bronx who failed the bar

The crime took place at a convenience store in the fictional county of Beechum Alabama. While at the store Billy and Stan accidentally shoplift a can of tuna. After they leave the sore however, the clerk is shot and killed, and Billy and Stan are arrested in the connection of this murder. When they are arrested the boys are questioned. This is when due to circumstantial evidence, and miscommunications between the two, based off the thought that they were being charged for shoplifting, Billy is charged with murder and Stan charged as an accessory to the

Firstly, according to the Del. Prof. Cond. R 1.7 subsection (b) Vinny cannot represent both clients during this case. It states: “a lawyer shall not represent a client if the representation involves a concurrent conflict of interest” (Del. Pg. 7) Furthermore, the handbook goes on to state that a conflict of interest may be “the representation of one client will be directly adverse to another client; or there is a significant risk that the representation of one or more clients will be materially limited by the lawyer’s responsibilities to another client, a former client or a third person or by a personal interest of the lawyer” (Del. Pg. 7) After doing further research this rule was adopted January 1, 1991. This means that at the time this movie was being filmed this rule was in place. Also paragraph (1) of this rule states “the lawyer reasonably believes that the lawyer will be able to provide competent and diligent representation to each affected client” (Del. Pg. 7). A specific event that this rule applies to in the movie would be the fact that simply Vinny cannot truthfully believe that he can represent both clients with “competent and diligent representation.” This is because this is his first true trial case. He lacks both knowledge as well as experience. Another key issue in this movie that goes along with Rule 1.7 is truly the fact of conflict of interest between Billy