Behind the Scenes
by Jessica Smith
I made a special point recently to attend our club’s Thursday morning breakfast to hear from our Club President and Honorable Suzanne Mitchell speak about her incredible work and the Judiciary system. A question was asked of her: What cinematic production is most like the court system? And which do you watch?
Those of us in the legal profession get asked that question quite a bit. Do you watch Suits, Law & Order, Presumed Innocent, etc.? As Judge Mitchell so eloquently explained, the court system is most often not accurately portrayed in those shows. For those looking in, it can be boring because legal matters don’t progress as quickly as those shown on the small and big screen. You don’t get assigned a case and then go to trial the next day. One earth-shattering argument or one obscure document you found just before rushing off to court won’t result in the judge ruling in your favor. So much is handled and resolved outside of the courtroom. The real magic happens behind the scenes.
That is exactly how I first met Judge Mitchell. I had just been hired as General Counsel for Oklahoma City Public Schools and accompanied our retained outside legal counsel to federal court for pretrial settlement discussions. Judge Mitchell called us together in the courtroom to announce ourselves and agree that we were in good faith seeking a resolution. Off we went to our separate rooms away from each other, and for the rest of the day, Judge Mitchell worked with us (separately) to whittle down the issues, legal arguments, prior settlement offers, and relief sought on both sides to find common ground and a solution that would suffice to avoid an expensive, time-consuming, and emotionally exhausting trial. And, we did thanks to her. I was very impressed.
Legal matters can certainly be enigmatic, which is what makes for a good story and show. I experienced the thrill of the enigma myself just out of law school when I briefly worked in a very ancillary role with a law clerk for fellow Rotarian and former club president, Chief Judge Jerome Holmes of the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. I was elated to get a peek behind the curtain of what really happens behind the cases that ultimately shape our society – not unlike the cinematic description given by Meryl Streep’s character (Miranda Priestly) in the movie, Devil Wears Prada, about how cerulean blue eventually creeps into everyday wear of those so far removed from the high fashion world. Behind the scenes, facts are reviewed, lawyers work on briefs, law clerks draft research memos, a panel of judges asks questions and ultimately decides through a very thoughtful and thorough decision. It all takes a lot of time. It would be very difficult to handily cram all of that from just one case into even a mini-series.
And yet, while a large majority of legal matters are not ultimately decided in court, the court system itself, as it was envisioned within Article III of the United States Constitution, provides the fair process to ensure justice and resolution for disputes. The timelines, procedures, and structure allow disputing parties to navigate towards their own unique resolution that will ultimately shape not only their future dealings but can also shape other practices and perhaps eventually laws that guide the rest of us.
The truth is that we each have a role to play. And ultimately, so much of it happens behind the scenes that shows and movies just can’t quite fully portray. But, the parties will sure have a story to tell, and we will certainly be entertained by their cinematic versions.