Harry's Law & other ethical dilemmas

[Hate to clog the "Watching Tonight" thread with cross talk, so I made a seperate topic and I'm moving my comments on Harry's Law here. Maybe we can even use this thread to debate various ethical issues.]

Watched last week's Harry tonight, Sue. These thorny issues take some thought. To me, there are at least 2 issues at play here.

First, the teacher. What she did was wildly inappropriate, whether she submitted the vids or not. 1. She needed extra money and thought about doing it. That's fine. Anyone can think about anything. BUT 2. She actually made the vids, so she must have been seriously considering this course of action. That's where I get iffy. A teacher of young children should surely know that such a side job would be totally unacceptable for someone in her position. IMO, that calls her judgment seriously into question. That she decided not to submit them was merely a rational act, hardly to be applauded.

Second, the government, be it local police or Federal snoops. To spy into a person's home with no warrant appalls me, and Harry's argument on that point was spot on. Spying on the teacher was apparently okay because they had a "tip." I'd've liked to hear more about that. If I'm annoyed at my neighbor because his trash cans are messy, can I phone in an anonymous "tip" that he's making meth and get him harassed and spied on? Isn't this how the Nazi and McCarthy era's operated? If this is SOP, we should be very afraid.

Great idea Suzzz.

Back to Harry's Law. Even though she made the vids, she didn't release them. Every one suffers from clouded
judgement at one point or another. What she did was stupid beyond belief but she had not committed any crime. We
all do incredibly stupid things at one point or another but we shouldn't be loosing our jobs over it.

As to the government and spying, the anonymous "tip" . Tolaltarian(sp) states depend on citizens spying on each other
to keep their populations under control. Behavior like that causes more mischief making than people realize. Neighborhood
crime watches on paper are a great thing but the reality of it is that the people who get involved are the neighborhood busy bodies and
bullies.

So what did you think of tonight's Harry's Law.

Won't watch it until Friday, sorry.

I continue to be bugged by the little girl who had the exorsist syndrome thingie. The school and even Harry just drummed her out of the school because of a disturbing tic over which she had no control. I can't help thinking that an incredible teaching moment was lost with tragic results for the girl and the other kids. Not only did they learn that it was okay to shun someone different, but were denied a lesson in compassion. If they had been encouraged to talk about it, brainstorm with the girl (their friend, who they liked, after all) about ways to cope with her disability and minimise the disruption, they may have had a lesson in inclusiveness. And that poor girl may have had a lesson in friendship and maybe find strategies to cope with her strangeness as she grows up instead of being shunted into bitter isolation. That show was just a big bowl of wrong, IMO. Grr.

I think the biggest impediment was the child's mother. The child understood that she was different and
the effect it had on others. The mother on the other hand was in denial, still the show reflects that this is not
a perfect world.

Let me know when you see last Sunday's episode.

Watched it tonight. Seems to me there are 2 issues here, one legal, the other ethical. The jury's verdict was absurd -- the girl was clearly buying and distributing a controlled substance. Not guilty? Please. Now, whether or not the "morning after pill" SHOULD be freely available to any sexually active girl, is another matter. In my opinion it certainly should. That it's availability would promote promiscuity is, I think, equally absurd. What do you think?

One thing bugs me regarding the show in general. That smarmy little prosecutor plays his part with a (dreadful) Southern twang. It's a sly but effective insinuation that the South is a breeding ground for narrow minded ignorance and twisted sexual personality disorders. That may be true, but I dare say the South is not alone. As a Southerner I resent the implication that he is more understandable because of his Southern heritage. I read the papers, and from what I gather, stupidity, perversion and general wrong thinking knows no region. Twisted sisters can (and do) crop up anywhere. Humph.

I totally agree with you the not guilty verdict was a Pollyanna happening ending that audencies
love. I also agree with you in SPADES!!!!! about the d.a. Don't even get me started about Gone With
the Wind. Still it's a good show and brings up some interesting issues and very well crafted.

As a long time fan of Boston Legal, I enjoy David Kelley's shows enormously. They not only have a light but telling way with personal quirks and human interactions, they tackle political and ethical issues head on and fight them out on stage. Whether you agree with them or not, they make you think. Their research department must be fun (if crazy) to work for! They sure garner a lot of facts, on both sides, when arguments are made. I agree it's a very well crafted show. Besides, it's funny as h*ll.

Did you know their website has a place you can go and comment on the issues raised? I saw the link but haven't explored it.

I was a huge fan of Ally McBeal. I blew hot and cold on Boston Legal. As to the research department
well the term BAT(WAIT NO I CAN'T SAY THAT)CRAZY!!!! I wasn't familiar with Kathy Bates until this series.
I remember her from Titanic, didn't see her in the movie with James Caan. I don't like Stephen King. Great supporting
cast and the actors that are doing the parts of the judges are great.

I'm sure they have a community that you can sign up for an can comment on their website. Personally I prefer the
conversation here.

If you like Kathy Bates, try her in The Family That Preys, Bonneville, and (my personal favorite) Unconditional Love. Under no circumstances watch Misery. I rented it by accident once years ago and had to sleep with the lights on for days after. Seriously.

I can't wait to hear you take on last Sunday's episode.

Sorry, love, I usually watch Harry on Friday nights. We'll both have to wait!

Okay, I watched last week's Harry tonight. Your turn to go first! What are your thoughts?

The runaway juror. Edward Hermann was great as the judge. He learned very quickly how he was
perceived by people especially the jurors. He was spot on about the cost, not only emotianal(sp) but financial
to everyone. The runaway juror could only see herself, the juror who tesitified(sp) against her summed it up very not
so very nicely but summed it up all the same. Remember the movie Twelve Angry Men. Well this was somewhat of remake of
it. Do you recall the reaction of her shrink when he was asked if he knew anyone who had been in the same situation. He was the
one who had been in the same situation.

As for the reality show angle, that was great. The shows that were listed had suidices that happened after their taping.
This is where people fail to due their research their due diligence about the shows. Especially shows like Hell's Kitchen and
Kitchen Nightmares. I can't speak to the others. I can only speak to the food reality shows simple because that's a business I'm
fimilar w

I can't speak to reality shows, I've never seen one. They strike me as being exploitative trash and nothing in this Harry episode dispelled that view. I'm convinced that woman fired the lawyer who wanted her to settle because she was determined to wring every ounce of fame from this event as possible. Disgusting.

I agreed with the verdict -- wrongful death wasn't on her head. Intentional infliction of emotional distress might have stuck of she had been tried WITH that slimy director, but that wasn't the case. Negligent infliction of emotional distress, yes. It should have cost her more than it did. Revolting, stupid woman playing a revolting, stupid game. *shudder*

I'm on the fence about the runaway juror. She was genuinely deeply troubled, and not nearly as strong as Henry Fonda who, after all, only spent one day in the jury room and could handle the bullying. She did try to talk to the judge and he basically told her to suck it up. Well, she couldn't. And yes, now everybody else will have to suck it up. There's no right answer here. Lose-lose all around, and that's tragic for everyone involved. The characters touch on what's wrong with the jury system, but even they had no answers. I certainly don't.

Ii watch Hell's Kitchen. I've worked with people who are in the industry who tell me that type of
behavior is so over the top that it would never be tolerated. Yes, some of it does go on. Read Kitchen
Confidential, on second thought don't if ever plan on eating out again. You are spot on about the woman,
she milked that for all she could. She should have been tried with that slimy director. The overwhelming
popularity of these shows say volumes about our culture.

The jury system is badly flawed but then again the people in the system are badly flawed. Listen to all the moaning
about having to do jury duty. This country requires very little of it's citizens and jury duty is one them. We all moan
and whine about jury verdicts that we disagree with but when the time comes we do everything in our power to get out
of it. She was deeply troubled but in the end she thought only of herself and not of the victims family who now had to
sit through another trial and relive the misery all over again.

I think you're being too hard on her. Yeah, she was weak, but this wasn't her fight, after all, and, although she was willing to serve, she simply didn't have the reserves to take the months of pressure. Of course the monetary and emotional expense she cost is tragic! Frankly, if she had been given a day with her family, even an hour with her shrink, she probably could have stuck it out. Why couldn't she have had just that much personal support? Is her life and mind not as important as anyone else's? I don't know. All I see are victims here.

It was her fight, to see that justice however imperfect was done. Trite phrase I know. Even if a jury
isn't sequestered the judges instructions are not to discuss the case with anyone. I'm sure this is ignored in
reality but before a verdict is rendered the instructions are not to discuss it with anyone. I think cases like that
are few and far between. We are going to have agree to disagree on this one.

Tonight's was good but not as great as some of the ones in the past.

I admit it was indeed her fight in that sense. And I certainly see that she could not be allowed to see anyone else -- that would have caused a mistrial as surely as her runaway did. Maybe the answer is a full complement of alternates for trials that are slated to run for months on end, 12 jurors and 12 alternates. Although who's going to pay for that, I don't know.

Yes, we will have to agree to disagree. Such is the nature of grey areas. At least we can debate with honesty and as friends. Too bad our politicians can't!

Disaster! I forgot to put a disc in the machine and I missed taping Sunday's Harry! I'm slapping my forehead all over the place. They used to re-run them sometime during the following week. If anyone sees Harry's Law in their listings this week, please alert me!

You should be able to catch it online, Suzzzz.

Sure will but it was somewhat a ripped from the headlines storyline.

Watched last Sunday's Harry tonight. It was good, but no real dilemmas as such. More carrying the characters forward. I think there are 2 more shows left in the season.

I actually remembered to not only record it but also not erase the disc! I'd be happy to send it to you, Sue. If you want to PM me your address, it will go out Monday.

Would love to see it. Yesterday's was good.

I hate to tell you this but you may not know...Harry's Law has been canceled despite good ratings. The show did not reach the right demograhic. What a DUMB reason to cancel a high rated show!

I heard that it was in danger of being cancelled, but hadn't heard that they had really pulled the plug. The marginal ratings and rumors of cancellation was what made me decide not to get back into watching it. I liked it at the beginning, and then lost track of it.