All The Lies That Law & Order Told Us

What does watching the show do to our brains?

This week on John Oliver, the host takes on the TV show that launched a thousand legal careers: Law & Order. You can — and should — watch the full rant below, but the premise is that the show (and other similar procedural drams) creates a skewed view of the police, casting them as crime-stopping heroes, when, well, that’s not the case.

As Oliver notes:

“One study found, viewers of crime dramas are more likely to believe the police are successful at lowering crime, use force only when necessary and that misconduct does not typically lead to false confessions. Which would be great if it were true, but if you’re watching this show, you probably know it is not.”

For all the admitted downside, I will note that watching reruns of Law & Order absolutely got me through my evidence class in law school.


Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

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