My Cousin Vinny, the Legal Aid

My Cousin Vinny is used today
at many law schools as a teaching aid.

In 1992 My Cousin Vinny was released in theaters and starred Joe Pesci, Marisa Tomei and Ralph Macchio. The film is the story of two New York college students traveling through Alabama and who are arrested for a murder they didn’t commit. They are defended by Vinny, a newly licensed lawyer from New York, played comically by Joe Pesci.

The film did well both in box office and with movie critics but surprisingly, the strongest acclaim came from attorneys, law professors and even Supreme Court judges, who praise the realistic depiction of trial procedure and courtroom strategy.

There’s a moment in the film when Vinny’s girlfriend, Mona Lisa, realizes Vinny is out of his depth, having been thrown into jail briefly after being found in contempt. She angrily asks, “Don’t they teach you that in law school?” to which Vinny replies, “No! They teach you contracts!” Now, a good salesman can show you a product, teach you a product, tell you the history and construction of a product, but can they teach you how to sell a product? Can one teach charisma and confidence? The heavy implication of their exchange is that law school might teach the letter of the law, but might not effectively teach how to practice law.

The film effectively shows this through Vinny’s first case and how he fails, at first, to do or understand much of it.  The movie is now used both in textbooks and classrooms as an excellent example of how legal education should focus on not just law definitions and contracts, but also on how important it is to practice and fully understand communication skills.

Vinny might struggle with courtroom and trail specifics, but he excels in talents that are incredibly difficult to teach. He understands intuitively when to be silent and when to object. He is quietly charming during a cross-examination scene as he knows how to ask, not just what to ask, to get the response he wants. He is naturally good with people, excelling at interviewing to gather evidence and testimony for his clients.

The film is still shown at many prestigious law universities as an example on criminal procedure, ethical behavior, how judges expect people to act in their courtroom, cross-examination and expert witness testimony.