Tropescilloscope: Artistic License – Law

Law and legal proceedings are presented in a way that isn't factually accurate. (read more at tvtropes.org)

More Tropes Unspoken Plan Guarantee Sinister Minister Manic Pixie Dream Girl Establishing Character Moment Stalker with a Crush I Need a Freaking Drink Crapsack World Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil Exact Words Big Eater Woman in White Fanservice Extra Lighter and Softer Film Noir I Just Shot Marvin in the Face Names to Run Away from Really Fast Nice Hat Left the Background Music On Sequel Escalation Time Skip Shut Up, Hannibal! Scenery Porn Off-into-the-Distance Ending Biopic Author Appeal Groin Attack Bunny-Ears Lawyer Tagline Motor Mouth Intrepid Reporter Captain Ersatz Arc Words Fake Shemp Spanner in the Works Air-Vent Passageway Slashed Throat Truth in Television Eureka Moment Funny Foreigner Psycho for Hire Australian Movies Sacrificial Lion Deconstruction Vomit Indiscretion Shot Man on Fire Sir Not-Appearing-in-This-Trailer Corrupt Corporate Executive Green-Eyed Monster Gory Discretion Shot Mad Scientist Older Than They Look Christmas Movies Index No Good Deed Goes Unpunished Gainax Ending Comically Missing the Point Almost Kiss Dark Reprise Actually Pretty Funny Hollywood Law Catapult Nightmare Offscreen Teleportation timeperiod Pretty in Mink Nice Job Breaking It, Hero! Death by Adaptation Scenery Gorn Brainless Beauty Bullying a Dragon Tempting Fate Dark Is Not Evil Jerk with a Heart of Gold Index of Film Westerns Authority Equals Asskicking Ripped from the Headlines Driven to Suicide Death Glare Damsel in Distress Pre-Asskicking One-Liner Grievous Bottley Harm Film Noir Index Camp Gay Famous Last Words Badass Grandpa Black Comedy Cool Old Guy Malevolent Masked Men Ass Shove Chuck Cunningham Syndrome Pre-Mortem One-Liner Disappeared Dad Abusive Parents Didn't Think This Through Composite Character Made of Explodium A Minor Kidroduction Dull Surprise Every Car Is a Pinto Horror Doesn't Settle for Simple Tuesday Idiot Ball It's All About Me Peek-a-Boo Corpse Coming-of-Age Story Kill It with Fire Thriller Pimped-Out Dress Heel Realization Alas, Poor Villain The Un-Favourite aka: The Un Favorite Blood Knight Match Cut Our Vampires Are Different Improbable Weapon User Mercy Kill Adapted Out Up to Eleven Empathic Environment Vampire Fiction Throwing Your Sword Always Works A Father to His Men Sassy Black Woman Department of Redundancy Department Rousing Speech Monumental Damage B-Movie Animal Motifs Skewed Priorities She Cleans Up Nicely In the Back Ambiguous Ending Action Survivor Horror Comedy For Want of a Nail Cat Fight Big Bad Video Credits Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas Corpsing The Vamp Kubrick Stare Big "NO!" Sexy Discretion Shot Nothing Is Scarier Offscreen Moment of Awesome Screw This, I'm Outta Here! Police Brutality Covers Always Lie Action Prologue Author Avatar Mr. Fanservice Anyone Can Die Sequel Hook Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane Same Language Dub The '90s Did Not Get the Girl Alliterative Name Not What It Looks Like Sanity Slippage Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold Revenge I Want My Beloved to Be Happy No Celebrities Were Harmed Gorn Yandere Only Known by Their Nickname Retirony Foreshadowing Noodle Incident Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking Cool Old Lady Maybe Ever After Demonic Possession Not Even Bothering with the Accent Hate Sink The Dragon Real Life Jump Scare Our Zombies Are Different Meaningful Echo Not So Above It All Stylistic Suck Lock and Load Montage Getting Crap Past the Radar Training Montage Artistic License – Biology Cool Shades This Is Gonna Suck Historical Villain Upgrade Chekhov's Gunman No-Sell Genre Shift Call-Back Serious Business Eye Scream Bloody Hilarious Daddy's Girl Age Lift Genre Savvy Neck Lift Hollywood Darkness The Alcoholic Immune to Bullets Jitter Cam Setting Update Dirty Coward MacGuffin Plot Hole Daylight Horror Fatal Flaw Works Set in World War II Broken Bird Bond Villain Stupidity Stealth Pun Took a Level in Jerkass In Medias Res Affably Evil Meaningful Name Get Out! "Awesome McCool" Name You Have Failed Me Aww, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other Not Using the "Z" Word Spiritual Successor Death by Sex Bi the Way Superhero A Date with Rosie Palms Outrun the Fireball Affectionate Parody "The Reason You Suck" Speech Dissonant Serenity Whole Plot Reference Big Damn Heroes Never Found the Body Only a Flesh Wound Parental Incest Make It Look Like an Accident Flipping the Bird Mama Bear Jerkass La Résistance Gold Digger Foregone Conclusion Back from the Dead Stealth Hi/Bye Eagleland Shell-Shocked Veteran Silent Movie Oh, Crap! Smug Snake Overprotective Dad Half the Man He Used to Be '80s Hair Badass Bookworm Public Domain Feature Films Fantastic Racism Arch-Enemy Only Sane Man Male Gaze Woman Scorned Breaking the Fourth Wall Danny Peary Cult Movies List Too Dumb to Live Manly Tears Card-Carrying Villain Really Gets Around Badass Longcoat Dramedy Chewing the Scenery The Chessmaster Stepford Smiler Nice Job Fixing It, Villain! Slasher Movie Men Are the Expendable Gender Neck Snap Morality Pet Race Lift Rated M for Manly Fate Worse than Death Playing Gertrude All Just a Dream My God, What Have I Done? Wrong Genre Savvy Vacation Films Curb-Stomp Battle Spiteful Spit The Bully Hypocritical Humor Canadian Movies Broken Aesop Adaptation Dye-Job Straight Gay Kill 'em All Evil Plan Show Within a Show Costume Porn Distracted by the Sexy Vitriolic Best Buds Bury Your Gays Reality Ensues Red Eyes, Take Warning Poor Communication Kills Television Movie Index Does This Remind You of Anything? Insistent Terminology Storming the Castle Martial Arts Movie O.O.C. Is Serious Business Beta Couple Armor-Piercing Question Roaring Rampage of Revenge Bloodier and Gorier Blatant Lies Romantic False Lead Why Don't You Just Shoot Him? Pragmatic Adaptation Mystery and Detective Films Never My Fault Undying Loyalty Implacable Man Ominous Latin Chanting Evil Is Petty Taking You with Me What Happened to the Mouse? Heroic BSoD Evil Is Hammy Blonde, Brunette, Redhead The Stoner Berserk Button You Killed My Father Framing Device Science Fiction Films Take That! Novelization Anti-Hero Earn Your Happy Ending Colour-Coded for Your Convenience aka: Color Coded For Your Convenience Ambiguous Disorder The X of Y Pun aka: Incredibly Lame Pun Sci-Fi Horror You Have Got to Be Kidding Me! Wicked Cultured Totally Radical Chiaroscuro Continuity Nod Leaning on the Fourth Wall Protagonist Title Cat Scare French Films The Remake Refuge in Audacity Love at First Sight Rule of Cool Hong Kong Films Together in Death Evil vs. Evil Married to the Job Not Quite Dead Dramatic Irony All Girls Want Bad Boys Spell My Name with an "S" An Axe to Grind Tap on the Head Flashback Eldritch Abomination Big-Bad Ensemble Body Horror Anguished Declaration of Love The Atoner Beard of Evil Shout-Out Would Hit a Girl Deadpan Snarker The Hero Those Wacky Nazis Take a Third Option Instant Death Bullet Fainting Butt-Monkey Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds Epic Fail Defiant to the End Double Entendre Failed a Spot Check Mood Whiplash Blood from the Mouth He Who Fights Monsters Belligerent Sexual Tension Mexican Standoff Loophole Abuse Russian Films One-Word Title Boom, Headshot! Reasonable Authority Figure Mistaken for Gay Hair-Trigger Temper Villain Opening Scene May–December Romance Bitch in Sheep's Clothing Slasher Smile Aluminum Christmas Trees The Lancer Love Triangle One-Man Army Silence Is Golden Film Series Bring My Brown Pants Epic Movie Dies Wide Open Line-of-Sight Name Dressing as the Enemy Big Applesauce Shown Their Work Documentary Fish out of Water Karmic Death It Can Think Despair Event Horizon Even Evil Has Loved Ones Broken Pedestal The Film of the Book Domestic Abuse Auto Erotica And the Adventure Continues Homage Deliberate Values Dissonance Ragtag Bunch of Misfits Informed Ability Badass in a Nice Suit The Starscream Wham Shot Guile Hero Shirtless Scene Horror Films Adaptational Badass Facial Horror Faux Affably Evil Smoking Is Cool Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep" Adults Are Useless Drowning My Sorrows Naïve Newcomer Kick the Dog Foil Expy Moment Killer Contrived Coincidence Mooks The Musical Italian Films Captain Obvious The Cavalry You Have Outlived Your Usefulness Anti-Villain The Great Depression Shoot the Shaggy Dog Artistic License – Physics Drill Sergeant Nasty Black Dude Dies First Those Two Guys The '70s Not So Stoic Due to the Dead Suddenly SHOUTING! Reality Is Unrealistic Closed Circle Pragmatic Villainy Beware the Nice Ones Heterosexual Life-Partners And Starring Reckless Gun Usage Hero of Another Story The Big Guy Laughing Mad Rasputinian Death Exactly What It Says on the Tin Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right! Pyrrhic Victory Casting Gag Anachronism Stew Catch-Phrase Overly Long Gag Artistic License – Gun Safety There Is No Kill Like Overkill Worthy Opponent Blackmail All Men Are Perverts The Voiceless Combat Pragmatist Villain Song Dwindling Party Last-Name Basis My Greatest Failure Plucky Comic Relief Bound and Gagged The Ace Villain Protagonist British Films Small Name, Big Ego The '60s As You Know Friend to All Children Double-Meaning Title Children Are Innocent Ungrateful Bastard All There in the Manual Put on a Bus Freeze-Frame Bonus Heroic Sacrifice Star-Crossed Lovers Pet the Dog Karma Houdini Sliding Scale of Idealism vs. Cynicism Dropped a Bridge on Him Creepy Child Suspiciously Similar Substitute Artistic License – History Based on a True Story Male Frontal Nudity Vomit Discretion Shot Romantic Comedy Unreliable Narrator Creative Closing Credits Kick the Son of a Bitch Crucified Hero Shot Advertised Extra Unresolved Sexual Tension Sadistic Choice The '80s Dirty Cop Becoming the Mask Enemy Mine Brick Joke Greater-Scope Villain Canon Foreigner Action Genre War Is Hell Hoist by His Own Petard Redshirt Army Adult Fear Only One Name Babies Ever After Adaptation Name Change Red Shirt Tranquil Fury Fatal Family Photo Better to Die than Be Killed Darker and Edgier Kids Are Cruel Title Drop Nice Guy Conspicuous CG It's Personal Roger Ebert: Great Movies List Rule of Symbolism Agony of the Feet Your Cheating Heart The Smurfette Principle Recap / RiffTrax aka: Riff Trax Movies Soundtrack Dissonance The Ditz Developing Doomed Characters Unusual Euphemism Destination Defenestration Artistic License – Law Actor Allusion Final Girl Logo Joke Abhorrent Admirer Shipper on Deck Face–Heel Turn Country Matters Large Ham Calling the Old Man Out Super Strength BFG Dark and Troubled Past Victoria's Secret Compartment No OSHA Compliance Ms. Fanservice Evil Laugh The Smart Guy Adaptational Heroism Bad "Bad Acting" Pay Evil unto Evil The Ghost Leitmotif Demoted to Extra Mythology Gag Easily Forgiven Cain and Abel Hero Antagonist Evil Counterpart Aside Glance Very Loosely Based on a True Story Scare Chord Reality Has No Subtitles Cool Guns Bottomless Magazines Award-Bait Song The Sociopath Pretty Little Headshots Evil Brit Cloudcuckoolander Death Seeker Interrupted Suicide Celebrity Paradox Call-Forward Historical In-Joke Attempted Rape Stock Footage Disney Villain Death Black Best Friend Bad Boss Mighty Whitey Fantasy Films Japanese Films Self-Deprecation Those Two Bad Guys Insane Troll Logic Product Placement The Lost Lenore Brother–Sister Incest Irony Impaled with Extreme Prejudice Historical Hero Upgrade Deus ex Machina Book-Ends All for Nothing Meet Cute Naked People Are Funny Disguised in Drag Punctuated! For! Emphasis! Token Minority Sir Swears-a-Lot Slap-Slap-Kiss Punny Name Action Girl Meaningful Background Event In Name Only Dogged Nice Guy Parental Substitute Stuff Blowing Up Needs Wiki Magic Love The Mafia As the Good Book Says... Retcon Narrator Madness Mantra Guns Akimbo Jerkass Has a Point Fanservice Scary Black Man The End... Or Is It? The Casanova Serial Killer Screw the Rules, I Have Money! Asshole Victim Word of God Historical-Domain Character Big Brother Instinct Sports Stories Only in It for the Money Wham Line Improbable Infant Survival aka: Infant Immortality Crazy-Prepared Rule of Three Determinator Fingore No Antagonist Gilligan Cut Toilet Humour aka: Toilet Humor Break the Cutie Mind Screw Anachronic Order Early-Bird Cameo Honor Before Reason Good Is Not Nice Dumb Blonde Depraved Bisexual Papa Wolf The Brute Zombie Stories Translation Convention From Nobody to Nightmare 20 Minutes into the Future The Dog Bites Back Apocalypse How Gone Horribly Right The Mole Unusually Uninteresting Sight Defrosting Ice Queen I Did What I Had to Do Why Did It Have to Be Snakes? Bar Brawl Music Stories Arranged Marriage The Place Dramatic Gun Cock Let's Get Dangerous! For the Evulz An Aesop Once More, with Clarity! Your Head A-Splode Random Events Plot Parental Neglect The Power of Love Accidental Misnaming Gratuitous English Everyone Has Standards "Well Done, Son!" Guy Punch-Clock Villain The Oner Made of Iron Ironic Echo Amoral Attorney Wounded Gazelle Gambit Recycled IN SPACE! Credits Gag Downer Ending The Chick Sole Survivor Big Fancy House What the Hell, Hero? The Stoic Artistic License – Geography Disney Death Betty and Veronica Laser-Guided Karma Re-Cut Evil Cannot Comprehend Good Evil-Detecting Dog World of Ham Riddle for the Ages Real Life Writes the Plot Extreme Doormat Gender Flip Character Development Fan Disservice Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome Running Gag Adaptation Distillation The Load One Steve Limit Dark Action Girl Visual Pun Dutch Angle Knife Nut Bowdlerise Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique Chase Scene Early Installment Weirdness Soft Glass Never Trust a Trailer aka: Trailers Always Lie Ugly Guy, Hot Wife Frame-Up Badass Boast As Long as It Sounds Foreign My Beloved Smother Bland-Name Product Even Evil Has Standards He Knows Too Much The Faceless Rewatch Bonus Leave the Camera Running Jerk Jock Deliberately Monochrome Knight Templar Killed Mid-Sentence Politically Incorrect Villain Race Against the Clock Mr. Exposition Rape as Drama Shower Scene An Arm and a Leg Have a Gay Old Time Psychopathic Manchild Fat Bastard Rule of Funny Black Comedy Rape All There in the Script Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass I Have Your Wife Fourth Date Marriage Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy Happily Married Room Full of Crazy N-Word Privileges Rich Bitch Ascended Extra Never Trust a Trailer A.I. Is a Crapshoot Bavarian Fire Drill Wretched Hive Adaptation Expansion Death by Irony Important Haircut Bittersweet Ending Chekhov's Gun Ax-Crazy No Ending The Hero Dies Insult Backfire Disproportionate Retribution Major Injury Underreaction Bilingual Bonus Cruel and Unusual Death Cassandra Truth Unwitting Instigator of Doom Batman Gambit Extremely Short Timespan Faking the Dead Fiery Redhead Amusing Injuries The Quiet One Screw the Money, I Have Rules! Darkest Hour Alpha Bitch Market-Based Title folderlabel Determinator aka: The Determinator Ghost Fiction "Shaggy Dog" Story Car Fu Dying Moment of Awesome Beauty Is Never Tarnished She's Got Legs Obstructive Bureaucrat Spared by the Adaptation Hooker with a Heart of Gold Villainous Breakdown A God Am I Twist Ending Adaptational Attractiveness Well-Intentioned Extremist Intergenerational Friendship Face Death with Dignity Drives Like Crazy Ship Tease Bond One-Liner Say My Name Fire-Forged Friends How We Got Here NO INDOOR VOICE The Reveal Heroes Want Redheads "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue Took a Level in Badass Loads and Loads of Characters Bare Your Midriff Hidden Depths After the End Sealed Evil in a Can Off with His Head! German Films Antagonist Title Heel–Face Turn Obfuscating Stupidity What You Are in the Dark Drugs Are Bad Action Film, Quiet Drama Scene Hypocrite Four-Temperament Ensemble Henpecked Husband Redemption Equals Death Adaptational Villainy Does Not Like Shoes Big Bad Duumvirate Expository Hairstyle Change True Companions The Un-Reveal Central Theme Manchild I'm a Humanitarian Bolivian Army Ending Light Is Not Good Cluster F-Bomb Annoying Younger Sibling Humans Are Bastards No Name Given Curse Cut Short Freudian Excuse Crazy Jealous Guy It Will Never Catch On Manipulative Bastard Adorkable Death of a Child No-Holds-Barred Beatdown Red Right Hand Diabolus ex Machina The Dreaded Red Herring Chekhov's Skill Bait-and-Switch Femme Fatale Genre Throwback Cold-Blooded Torture Would Hurt a Child The Bad Guy Wins Black and Gray Morality Bald of Evil Toplessness from the Back Paper-Thin Disguise Eiffel Tower Effect Deal with the Devil Non-Indicative Name Retired Badass Dual Wielding Taking the Bullet As Himself Creator Cameo Five-Man Band Awesome, but Impractical Improvised Weapon Villain Ball Posthumous Character Military and Warfare Films And I Must Scream Humiliation Conga Improbable Aiming Skills Grey and Gray Morality The Stinger Police are Useless Be Careful What You Wish For Decoy Protagonist Camera Abuse Ambiguously Gay Mundane Made Awesome Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping Eyepatch of Power Imagine Spot Girl-on-Girl Is Hot Cool Car The Alleged Car Bloodless Carnage Mugging the Monster Evil Sounds Deep The '50s Trailers Always Spoil Lampshade Hanging Handicapped Badass Suspiciously Specific Denial Psychological Thriller More Dakka Fun with Acronyms Dirty Old Man Properly Paranoid Hell Is That Noise Badass Normal Cowboy Cop Red Oni, Blue Oni Break the Haughty From Bad to Worse Funny Background Event Here We Go Again! Parental Abandonment Villain with Good Publicity Artistic License – Military Animal Title Index Missing Mom Accidental Murder Not So Different The Cameo Obviously Evil Precision F-Strike Brutal Honesty Animated Credits Opening Hope Spot