so i am taking a graduate course on basic criminal justice.

one of our assignments is to come up with a list of movies that can be had on DVD or streamed from YouTube that deals with or surrounds something to do with the criminal justice system.

nothing too graphic or filled with nudity, but really portrays the criminal justice system well. older movies good, but looking for some updated takes as well.

so, i leave it to you guys to give me a good list...

1. 12 Angry Men
2. To Kill A Mockingbird

And Justice For All
The Verdict
Witness for the Prosecution

All of these jump to mind right away as movies I really enjoyed.

Here is the AFI Top 10 list:

1. To Kill a Mockingbird
2. 12 Angry Men
3. Kramer vs. Kramer
4. The Verdict
5. A Few Good Men
6. Witness for the Prosecution
7. Anatomy of a Murder
8. In Cold Blood
9. A Cry in the Dark
10. Judgment at Nuremberg

Inherit The Wind

My Cousin Vinny

Reversal Of Fortune
The People Vs. Larry Flynt (nudity)
Philadelphia

Is this just limited to courtroom movies? What about prison movies?

Dead Man Walking

The Green Mile, The Shawshank Redemption

In the Name of the Father

Murder in the First

Might be a bit extreme, but LAW ABIDING CITIZEN kinda counts.

I like Primal Fear (though that does have some nudity). Great ensemble cast

One of the best examples - "Runaway Jury".

My Cousin Vinny is often cited as one of the best all around law movies (unsurprising since the director does have a law degree from Cambridge). It's also on ABA (American Bar Association) Journal's Top 25 list at #3 (behind To Kill a Mockingbird and 12 Angry Men): http://www.abajournal.com/gallery/top25movies/

So why exactly are we doing OldBoy's homework for him?

From the Hip, Judd Nelson and John Hurt

The Rainmaker and The Star Chamber are great because the deal specifically with jurisprudence, specifically legal precedents and evidence handling/introduction.

One of the best, that hasn't been mentioned yet, also stars Henry Fonda and was made a year before 12 ANGRY MEN: Alfred Hitchcock's THE WRONG MAN (1956), in which Fonda plays a musician who resembles a robbery suspect and is arrested, booked, charged and tried and the film follows the process each step of the way, showing how harrowing it is for an innocent man to be put through this treatment. Also set in New York.

Two movies based on true stories: The Wrong Man and the TV movie Fear on Trial.

In The Verdict, when the jury comes back with a question, I've always felt that scene was lifted from Fear on Trial. And that particular incident really did happen.

There are several books on the law in the movies. I recommend Reel Justice, by Paul Bergman and Michael Asimow. The original and updated editions list some different movies between the two. And if you look it up on Amazon, you'll get a list of similarly themed books.

EDIT: Ash Ketchum beat me (by one minute!) listing The Wrong Man, but note that it was based on a true story. Several critics have compared Fonda's (character's) experience to going through a meat grinder.

Birdman of Alcatraz
I Want To Live
Ox-Bow Incident
An Innocent Man
Absence of Malice

Ace Attorney

Boomerang! (1947)

Ernest Goes to Jail (1990)

Aside from the brief Greta Scachi nudity, Presumed Innocent would probably qualify.

Kazan's Boomerang!
Kurosawa's Scandal - Original title (Shûbun)

American Me - it is a bit graphic at times, but a look at how the Mexican Mafia came to power in the California dept of corrections in the 60s-70s