I suppose the boy was being protected from the evil government(?) but still aren't citizens supposed to help with criminal investigations. And other than a ridiculous change of venue request and allowing a perfectly innocent client in no real peril from a criminal investigation to plead the 5th(thats always a good thing for an innocent person to do) exactly what lawyering did Reggie do to earn her $1.
shareI think he was pleading the 5th to protect himself and his family from the Mob.
shareSo he was. However, what I was wondering throughout the film was: when were minors deprived of the right not to testify? Instead of taking the 5th amendment, couldn't he have said, "your honor, I refuse to testify"? The whole film was premised on the non-existence of this right. I have to give the author the credit for knowing the legal issues at stake in his writing, but in the interest of education shouldn't it at least have come up as a possibility? If children indeed still have this right, then we have a major plot hole.
No
To refuse to testify would be contempt of court. He was issued a subpoena, presumably, and so was legally compelled to testify. If he lied, that would be perjury. Being a minor doesn't enter into it.
It is not a plot hole.
It is what we call a dilemma. He cannot lie and he cannot tell the truth for what may happen. But in the end the truth overcomes, only with a price.
No, Cantoris-2, because he admitted he was there when he killed himself.
If he didn't admit that, he wouldn't have to testify, but once you admit that kind of information, you are required by law to testify.
My Source-Me, a Lawyer.
The whole film was premised on the non-existence of this right. I have to give the author the credit for knowing the legal issues at stake in his writing...
I think Reggie was an amazing lawyer. I mean, w/o her, what would Mark have done? honestly. She was the person who directed him and made sure the mob didn't kill or harm him or his family (remember the burnt-down house). He was in trouble. No other lawyer he found cared or would help, so Reggie came into the picture.(I hope my opinion doesn't offend you; I wasn't trying to be harsh.)
shareReggie was a great lawyer, especially considering that she specialized in divorce, custody, and domestic cases. The way she handled Rev Roy and his entourage of hot shot lawyers was impressive to say the least. You have to also consider the fact that Reggie charged only $1 for her services. Mark and his family could not afford a lawyer but a lawyer would not be appointed to them because they were not convicted even though he still needed a lawyer to protect his rights.
He was in no real peril from a criminal investigation but he was in peril from the New Orleans mob, which was plainly obvious. Pleading the 5th is intended to be used by a witness to prevent the person from having to supply self-incriminating evidence while under oath. Even though Mark's full testimony would not have incriminated him, it provided an outlet by which he was able to not testify in full and not lie while under oath.
The answers are out there... =Zee=
One of the issues in this movie is that it can be counter-productive for the police to push too hard. There are at least three instances of that. The investigators pushed too hard in the beginning and scared the boy. It did not help that they scared him further multiple times. The movie seems to be making the point that the investigators need to be more sensitive and understanding. It is exaggerating to call them evil but they did try to take shortcuts. At the time the child pleaded the fifth the justification is that the investigators (DA or whatever) pushed too hard and scared him various kinds of prosecution. It seems good to me that DAs should have a reason to be more considerate and understanding.
I might not understand what you mean by "no real peril from a criminal investigation" but I think the whole idea of pleading the fifth is that he was threatened substantially with prosecution.
During the court room scene. (I'm paraphrasing based off memory).
Thomas Fink: Your Honor, we're only asking Mark to testify to clear his good name. We're not charging him with anything...…(looks over at Mark) Not yet.
That statement alone makes it clear that there is a possibility that Mark's testimony could result in him being charged, so he could plead the 5th to protect himself.