''Mistrial'' is a 1996 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 Heywood Gould and starring

Bill Pullman William Pullman (born December 17, 1953) is an American actor. After graduating with a Master of Fine Arts degree in theater, he was an adjunct professor at Montana State University before deciding to pursue acting. Pullman made his film debut i ...

, Jon Seda, and

Robert Loggia Salvatore "Robert" Loggia ( , ; January 3, 1930 – December 4, 2015) was an American actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for '' Jagged Edge'' (1985) and won the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor for ...

. The film aired 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 ...

Plot

After

community activist Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...

Eddie Rios (Seda), charged with the murder of two

NYPD The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...

officers, one of them his ex-wife, is found not guilty due to legal technicalities, arresting detective Steve Donohue (Pullman) takes the

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

jury A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence, make Question of fact, findings of fact, and render an impartiality, impartial verdict officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a sentence (law), penalty or Judgmen ...

, and Rios

hostage A hostage is a person seized by an abductor in order to compel another party, one which places a high value on the liberty, well-being and safety of the person seized—such as a relative, employer, law enforcement, or government—to act, o ...

, and decides to have a new

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 ...

, presenting

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 ...

that was not previously allowed. His captain Lou Unger (Loggia) tries to convince Donohue to end his hostage taking peaceably.

Cast

as Steve Donohue *

as Captain Lou Unger * Jon Seda as Eddie Rios *

Blair Underwood Blair Erwin Underwood (born August 25, 1964) is an American actor. He made his debut in the 1985 musical film '' Krush Groove'' and from 1987 to 1994 starred as attorney Jonathan Rollins in the NBC legal drama series ''L.A. Law''. Underwood has ...

as Lieutenant C. Hodges *

Casey Siemaszko Kazimierz Andrew "Casey" Siemaszko (; born March 17, 1961) is an American actor. He had supporting roles in ''Back to the Future'' and '' Stand By Me'' before having starring roles in '' Three O'Clock High'' and '' Young Guns''. Personal life Sie ...

as Detective Bobby Zito *

Leo Burmester Bernard Leo Burmester (February 1, 1944 – June 28, 2007) was an American actor. Burmester worked for director John Sayles several times, including in '' Passion Fish'' (1992) and '' Lone Star'' (1996), and also for directors such as John Sch ...

as Commissioner Russell Crane *

Roma Maffia Roma Maffia (born May 31, 1958)Editors of Chase's (2021). Chase's Calendar of Events 2022: The Ultimate Go-to Guide for Special Days, Weeks and Months'. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 300. . is an American actress. Best known for Grac ...

as Laurie Meisinger *

James Rebhorn James Robert Rebhorn (September 1, 1948 – March 21, 2014) was an American character actor. Rebhorn appeared in over 100 films, television series, and plays. Rebhorn portrayed George Wilbur in '' My Cousin Vinny'', Dr. McElwaine in '' Basic In ...

as Mayor Taylor * Christina Cox as Officer Ida Cruz *

Josef Sommer Maximilian Josef Sommer (born June 26, 1934) is a German-American retired stage, television, and film actor. Early life He was born in Greifswald, Germany, and raised in North Carolina, the son of Elisabeth and Clemens Sommer, a professor of Ar ...

as Nick Mirsky *

Penny Crone Barbara Penny Crone Forney (born 1950 in New York City) is a former United States, American television and radio reporter, media personality, and current real estate broker for the Douglas Elliman real estate company in New York. Career Born in ...

as Reporter

Background

Although the film was shot principally in Canada, the NYPD and other NYC sources were credited with assisting and advising.

Sources

* *https://www.variety.com/profiles/TVMOW/main/55385/Mistrial.html?dataSet=1 1996 drama films 1996 films HBO Films films Films about hostage taking American courtroom films Films scored by Brad Fiedel American drama television films 1990s English-language films 1990s American films {{1990s-US-drama-film-stub