A New Way To Examine Law and Film

Suzanne Bouclin, University of Ottawa, Common Law Section, has published Méthodologies ambidextres en droit (Ambidextrous Legal Methodologies) in Les cadres théoriques et le droit  347 (Georges Azzaria, ed.; Éditions Yvon Blais, 2013). Here is the abstract.
   

Dans cet ar ticle, j’élabore une métaphore pour aborder la recherche qui se trouve au carrefour du droit et du cinéma. Je qualifie cette approche d’ambidextre. Dans la première partie, je discute des modes interdisciplinaires de recherche juridique et je propose quelques lignes directrices en matière de travaux explicitement transdisciplinaires. Je décris ensuite la manière dont mes méthodes ambidextres s’efforcent d’être transdisciplinaires. Mon travail est ancré dans le droit et le cinéma, tout en se déplaçant audelà de ces disciplines, afin de faire émerger un sens par rapport à la marginalisation des personnes vivant en situation d’itinérance.

In this research, I elaborate a metaphor (ambidexterity) to describe research located at the law/film nexus. I discuss interdisciplinary models of legal research and provide a few guidelines for producing explicitly trans-disciplinary work. I describe how I deploy ambidextrous methods and methodology to explore the legal marginalization of street-involved people.

Download the essay from SSRN at the link. 

Eager Prosecutor Cuts Short Tom Hanks' Career As Juror

A trial in which actor Tom Hanks was serving as a juror skidded to a halt when a prosecutor not assigned to the case approached him during a break and "thanked him" for his service. Oh, dear. The D.A. on the case came to know about the communication and reported it to the judge. As a result, both the D.A. and the defense team reached a plea deal. No one faults Mr. Hanks, who by all accounts seems to have been both gracious and serious about his civic duty.

More here from the Telegraph, here from CNN.

Where Stories Come From

Andrew C. Isenberg on the creation of the Wyatt Earp myth. From the Daily Beast.