Is that even permitted? She just shows up and practices law in a foreign country? And why would someone facing execution hire a foreigner to represent him instead of someone more proficient in U.S. law?
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It certainly is not odd to me given that Clive Stafford Smith, a British lawyer was rather famous for representing prisoners in death row.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clive_Stafford_Smith
It's that man again!!
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She could be dual qualified - lots of people are.
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Like somebody else already said lots of lawyers have different qualifications.
Perhaps a black British lawyer (like black British actors)had felt that they might have less racial issues in the USA?
I am not a lawyer but I have seen several documentaries about British/English lawyers (we Scots have our own legal system)working in the USA on death row campaigns.
Surely American law is based on the English system rather than the French or Dutch or whatever,would it be that difficult to pass the bar exams in the USA for an english lawyer?
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I have not yet watched the show,it is a defect in the writing given what you say but I don't think it is a big deal,British lawyers do practise on both sides of the Atlantic.
Does someone have to be born in the USA to sit the Louisiana bar exam?
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I don't think its a big deal either, but was curious. It took me about 5 minutes research to find that the director of the Louisiana Capital Assistance Center (which provides legal representation to death row inmates) is an Australian who doesn't have a degree from an American university as his biography shows
"Richard Bourke is the director of the LCAC. He graduated from the Melbourne University School of Law in Australia where he also gained a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Psychology and Criminology. Richard came to New Orleans to volunteer and then worked at the LCAC after pursuing a successful career as a criminal barrister in Australia. Richard is certified as capital trial lead counsel in Louisiana and also represents defendants in state and federal capital post-conviction proceedings in Texas and Mississippi."
There is also someone working for them who has a UK degree and a member of the bar in England & Wales, like Maya.
So no deficit in research, I think.
On the other hand, take a look at the Lousiana Bar Association rules for getting a license to practice law in Louisiana, as backed up by the state legislature.
You must pass the bar in Louisiana, according to their own web site. And you must be licensed to practice--I did not see any exceptions listed, even though they may exist.
The above never mentions whether or not Mr. Bourke went to the work of passing the bar exam in Louisiana. Perhaps he did.
The glaring problem with "Undercover" is not the basic problem of possible poor research.
It's that, without one or two lines to explain that because Maya wanted to represent Rudy, she went to the hard work of revising for and passing the Louisiana bar exam, to give her that right.
That is the problem with the show. People will immediately wonder how accurate her presence in Louisiana can be. Viewers are not dumb. They pick up on things that on the face of it seem wrong.
I was in and around courts for a newspaper for almost 30 years. I never once encountered somebody representing anybody before a judge without a license from the bar association (or relevant body) in that state, or from a state that is reciprocal (which exists in some states and commonwealths, they honor others bars).
The license is critical...I don't believe you can get insurance as a lawyer without one.
And just imagine a barrister who hasn't studied the same four years of U.S. law and the Constitution. So, she just boned up on cruel and unusual punishment? She boned up on the pertinent laws that pertained to Rudy?
The whole thing seems weird.
I'm puzzled too, but how do you explain the people mentioned in Bill McGovern's post immediately before yours?
shareI agree the whole thing seems weird. Would she have taken the Louisana Bar exam just for one case??? And, who paid for her to defend him??
shareI am not sure hes a great researcher, hes a "big idea" guy.
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