In the latest All Things Judicial podcast episode, we discuss the portrayals of lawyers and judges in Hollywood films. Our guests are wife and husband, former North Carolina Court of Appeals Judge Lucy Inman and screenwriter and producer Billy Warden. In the episode, Inman and Warden engage in an entertaining and passionate discussion about their favorite legal-themed movies, the levels of realism in courtroom drama, and why courtroom dramas have proven popular with non-lawyer audiences.

"I think the reason we like these courtroom dramas is ... lawyers and judges have so much power over our lives," Inman said on the podcast. "But to see them struggle, to see them stumble, and to see them fail, reassures us that they are not as all-powerful as we might think they are."

Judge Lucy Inman served as a judge on the North Carolina Court of Appeals from 2015–2022 and served as a North Carolina Superior Court judge from 2010–2014. Before serving on the bench, she practiced law in Los Angeles, CA, where she worked in civil litigation concentrating on disputes in commercial, media, and entertainment law. 

Billy Warden is a marketing executive, journalist, multimedia producer, and screenwriter. Atlas Entertainment (know for movies like Uncharted and American Hustle) recently optioned one of his pieces as a possible motion picture. He is currently hunting for a compelling legal odyssey to turn into a movie or TV series.

Movie titles discussed on this podcast episode include:

• Adam's Rib (1949)
• Bonfire of the Vanities (1990)
• A Civil Action (1998)
• The Godfather (1972)
• Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
• My Cousin Vinny (1992)
• My Favorite Wife (1940)
• Philadelphia (1993)
• Primal Fear (1996)
• To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
• The Untouchables (1987)
• The Verdict (1982)
• Witness for the Prosecution (1957)