''Criminal Justice'' is a 1990 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

written and directed by

Andy Wolk Andy Wolk is an American television and theatre director. His television credits include '' Tales of the Crypt'', ''The Sopranos'', '' Arli$$'', ''The Practice'', ''The Division'', ''Medium'', ''Ugly Betty'', and ''Criminal Minds'', as well as a ...

. The film stars

Forest Whitaker Forest Steven Whitaker (born July 15, 1961) is an American actor, filmmaker, and activist. His accolades include an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a British Academy Film Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards and the Best Actor Award at the ...

Anthony LaPaglia Anthony LaPaglia (, ; born 31 January 1959) is an Australian actor. Known for his roles on stage and screen he has received several accolades including three AACTA Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Tony Award. For his starring role as Jac ...

Rosie Perez Rosa Maria Perez (born September 6, 1964) is an American actress. Her breakthrough came at age 24 with her portrayal of Tina in the film '' Do the Right Thing'' (1989), followed by '' White Men Can't Jump'' (1992). Perez's performance in '' Fear ...

Jennifer Grey Jennifer Grey (born March 26, 1960) is an American actress. She made her acting debut with the film Reckless (1984 film), ''Reckless'' (1984), and had her breakthrough with the teen comedy film ''Ferris Bueller's Day Off'' (1986). She earned wo ...

Tony Todd Anthony Tiran Todd (December 4, 1954 – November 6, 2024) was an American actor known for his distinctly deep and gravelly voice. He amassed several credits on screen and in video games since the 1980s, including the Candyman (character), titl ...

and Saundra McClain. The film premiered on

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

on September 8, 1990.

Plot

A young

prostitute Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-pe ...

is robbed in the vestibule of a building after having bought

drugs A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalation, injection, smoking, ingestio ...

and in the encounter suffers a deep and disfiguring slash to her face. The detectives called to the crime scene, take the injured victim to the

police station A police station is a facility operated by police or a similar law enforcement agency that serves to accommodate police officers and other law enforcement personnel. The role served by a police station varies by agency, type, and jurisdiction, ...

where she is handed photographs of some felons on their records. She identifies the perpetrator of the crime in the photograph. The police arrest the suspect and after the victim again identifies her assailant in the police line-up, the perpetrator is charged with aggravated

robbery Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person o ...

. At the

arraignment Arraignment is a formal reading of a criminal charging document in the presence of the defendant, to inform them of the criminal charges against them. In response to arraignment, in some jurisdictions, the accused is expected to enter a plea; i ...

, his

bail Bail is a set of pre-trial restrictions that are imposed on a suspect to ensure that they will not hamper the judicial process. Court bail may be offered to secure the conditional release of a defendant with the promise to appear in court when ...

is set at an unaffordable amount. Despite having to remain in custody, he denies any wrongdoing to his keen legal-aid lawyer. On account of his repeated claims of innocence, he refuses to accept any

plea-bargain A plea bargain, also known as a plea agreement or plea deal, is a legal arrangement in criminal law where the defendant agrees to plead guilty or no contest to a charge in exchange for concessions from the prosecutor. These concessions can include ...

deal, no matter how favourable. On the other hand, the District Attorney, battles to make the best of the victim/complainant’s case which, despite her positive identification of the accused, is based only on her sole

evidence Evidence for a proposition is what supports the proposition. It is usually understood as an indication that the proposition is truth, true. The exact definition and role of evidence vary across different fields. In epistemology, evidence is what J ...

. Coupled with this, the

District Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

has reason to believe she might not have been truthful about her reason for being in the building where she was assaulted and robbed in the first place. The complainant is apprehensive about the

legal system A legal system is a set of legal norms and institutions and processes by which those norms are applied, often within a particular jurisdiction or community. It may also be referred to as a legal order. The comparative study of legal systems is th ...

but certain that the accused was her assailant. Bail is refused for the accused and several court appearances take place while he awaits trial. The complainant, who suffers the effects of a drug lifestyle is outraged at the refusal of the accused to plead guilty, and, becomes increasingly unwilling to testify. The

trial In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribunal, w ...

date is set and, to the relief of the District Attorney on the day, the complainant enters the

courtroom A courtroom is the enclosed space in which courts of law are held in front of a judge. A number of courtrooms, which may also be known as "courts", may be housed in a courthouse. In recent years, courtrooms have been equipped with audiovisual ...

to commence her

testimony Testimony is a solemn attestation as to the truth of a matter. Etymology The words "testimony" and "testify" both derive from the Latin word ''testis'', referring to the notion of a disinterested third-party witness. Law In the law, testimon ...

. Upon seeing her enter the courtroom, the accused volubly instructs his lawyer to make a plea-bargain deal so that the trial is stopped. For

pleading guilty ''Pleading Guilty'' (1993), is Scott Turow's third novel, and like the previous two it is set in fictional Kindle County. The story is a legal thriller about Mack Malloy, a middle-aged lawyer basically waiting to retire, who is assigned by his ...

to both the robbery and slashing of the complainant, he is sentenced to to 7 years in the penitentiary. From their divergent perspectives both the complainant and the mother of the accused feel dissatisfied about the outcome of the case.

Cast

as Jessie Williams *

as David Ringel *

as Denise Moore *

as Liz Carter *

as Detective Riley * Saundra McClain as Loretta Charles *

Joe Lisi Joe Lisi (born September 9, 1950), also credited as Joe Lissi, is an American television actor. He appeared in the NBC television show ''Third Watch'' as NYPD Lieutenant Swersky from 2000 to 2005. He also appeared on the NBC television show '' La ...

as Detective Lane * Stephen Pearlman as Judge Ratner * William Cameron as Mitchell * Chuck Cooper as Judge Whitney * Bill Dalzell as Ratner's Clerk * Charles Sanders as Assistant District Attorney Crosley *

Don Brockett Don Brockett (January 30, 1930 – May 2, 1995) was an American actor, comedian, producer, and director from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was known for his portrayal of Chef Brockett on ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood''. He had small parts in man ...

as Judge Mulino * Rick Applegate as Assistant District Attorney Matson * Ro'ee Levi as T.N.T. Officer Rivers * Benjamin J. Cain Jr. as P.J. * Jacquay L. McCall as Jessie's Son *

Yancey Arias Yancey Arias (born June 27, 1971) is an American actor. He played Miguel Cadena in the NBC series '' Kingpin'' and Gabriel Williams in the FX series '' Thief''. Life and career Born and raised in New York City to a Puerto Rican mother, Miriam, ...

as Raymond Alvarez * Marc Field as Ratner's Law Secretary * Patricia Hicok as Juror Carson * Lonzo Green as Juror Evans * Ellsworth Gearinger as Juror Hughs * Etta Cox as Juror Gibson * Peter Wolk as Weiss

References

External links

* {{Andy Wolk 1990 television films 1990 films 1990 drama films HBO Films films Films directed by Andy Wolk Films scored by Elliot Goldenthal American drama television films 1990s English-language films 1990s American films English-language drama films