Law and order on the screen: Best real-life courtroom dramas of all time

The summer of 2022 brought with it the captivating trial of Johnny Depp and Amber Heard. The world was on the edge of its seat as Jack Sparrow and Mera battled it out in the courtroom. For years, prior news reports shed details on their tumultuous relationship that even made appearances in the emergency room. The trial gained notoriety not because of the celebrity couple but because of social media. It became a hot topic on Instagram, Tik Tok, and YouTube, with influencers, YouTubers, and anyone with a social media account sharing their opinions and theories. Fairly early on, Johnny Depp had been declared innocent in the court of public opinion. The internet can be a brutal place, and Amber Heard experienced it firsthand. One could say this entire spectacle was Netflix-worthy. Netflix too realised this and just released a trailer for their new docu-series Depp V. Heard, which will release on August 16.

This latest release has us looking back at all the other trials that became so culturally significant thanks to becoming a film or show.

OJ Simpson Trial

You cannot say trial, and not think of OJ Simpson. The world followed the 1995 proceedings surrounding the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman with rapt attention. Millions tuned into the trial that was televised. Even today, nearly 30 years later, this trial is still talked about. There are countless films and docu-series based on it; however, the most famous out of the lot is The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, which released in 2016 and starred David Schwimmer, Sterling K. Brown, and Sarah Paulson, among others. O.J.: Made in America is another well-received documentary. It is directed by Ezra Edelman and released in 2016. According to critics, it provided a well-balanced perspective on the tragedy.
  
The Trial of the Chicago 7 

Written and directed by Aaron Sorkin, this film focuses on the 1969 trial of seven defendants who were charged with conspiracy by the government. The seven were accused of inciting the antiwar protests happening in Chicago at that time. The leader of the Black Panther Party, Bobby Seale, was the primary accused, but his trial was separated from that of the rest, making them go from eight defendants to seven. One of the most infamous scenes is that of Seale being gagged and bound to the chair, and due to the restriction on having press in the room, the sketch of this incident—a black man in chains in a courtroom—caused an uproar in the public. 

When They See Us 

This Netflix limited series is the story of the infamous Central Park 5. Created by Ava Duverney, this series tells us the story from the boy's point of view. In April 1989, a young white female jogger was brutally beaten and raped in Central Park, and five young boys were accused of the crime. The commonality between them? They were not white. Despite there being no evidence to support these accusations, the boys were pressured into making a confession. This series shows us the reality of being a person of colour in America in the late 1900s, something that is unfortunately still very relevant today.

Dark Waters

Directed by Todd Haynes, this Mark Ruffalo starrer focuses on a lawyer's fight with DuPont, a chemical company. Ruffalo plays the role of Robert Billot, a corporate defence attorney who used to defend large chemical companies until he was asked to take up a case as a favour to his grandmother. He finds out that DuPont released a toxic chemical into the water supply of a town in West Virginia, which affected 70,000 townspeople and hundreds of livestock. Although not a documentary, this film is based on true events.