03

My Cousin Vinny (1992)

Vincent “Vinny” Gambini (Joe Pesci) is a brash Brooklyn lawyer who only recently managed to pass the bar exam on his sixth try. He’s representing his cousin and a friend—two California-bound college students who are arrested for capital murder after a short stop at a convenience store in rural Alabama. Still, the rule of law prevails in the courtroom of Judge Chamberlain Haller (Fred Gwynne).

The movie packs in cinema’s briefest opening argument (“Everything that guy just said is bullshit.”), its best-ever introduction to the rules of criminal procedure, and a case that hinges on properly introduced expert tes timony regarding tire marks left by a 1964 Skylark and the optimal boiling time of grits.

TRIVIA: Marisa Tomei won the Oscar for best supporting actress.

Stages of trial process portrayed in "My Cousin Vinny"

1. arrest (custody

2. arraignment (entering of pleas

3. preliminary hearing (judge determines whether or not probable cause exists to proceed to a trial -- in federal courts and some state courts, a grand jury performs this function)

4. discovery stage -- both sides (but primarily the defense) conducts an investigation of the case. This includes formal requests for all evidence gathered by the prosecution, plus an independent investigation through witness interviews)

5. formal arraignment, leading to either a pre-trial agreement and sentencing , or to setting a trial date, with either a jury or a bench trial (that is, the judge serves the jury role, at the request of the defendant)

6. Trial 

__ opening statements by both sides

--- prosecution case-in-chief

                * exhibits (such as weapon, documents, etc)

                * witnesses for the prosecution 

 -- defense case in chief

                 * exhibits

                 *witnesses

-- either a motion to dismiss the charges by the defense, if the latter believes the prosecution has failed to meet its burden of proof

               or

--- final arguments to the jury

--- jury deliberations and verdict

__ sentencing hearing and sentencing, if a guilty verdict was entered

7. initiation of the appeals process by either side if they are dissatisfied by the trial results