Best courtroom dramas

Trials, juries, lawyers and verdicts. This list mixes films and series where the courtroom drives the story, from jury rooms to appeals. Every pick has a TMDB rating of 7.0 or more from at least 200 votes, and new releases wait until their ratings settle. The order follows the Boxlist quality score, and we checked the list by hand to remove obvious misfits.

1
12 Angry Men (1957)
Film8.5
The defense and the prosecution have rested and the jury is filing into the jury room to decide if a young Spanish-American is guilty or innocent...
US Amazon Prime, IMDB TV, UK Amazon Prime, NowTV
2
Anatomy of a Fall (2023)
Film7.6
A woman is suspected of her husband's murder, and their blind son faces a moral dilemma as the sole witness.
US Hulu, Kanopy, UK Netflix, Amazon Prime (rent)
3
Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
Film7.9
Semi-retired Michigan lawyer Paul Biegler takes the case of Army Lt.
US Amazon Prime (rent), iTunes (rent), UK NowTV, Amazon Prime (rent)
4
Bridge of Spies (2015)
Film7.2
During the Cold War, the Soviet Union captures U.S.
US Paramount+, Amazon Prime (rent), UK Amazon Prime (rent), Google Play (rent)
5
Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
Film8.3
When Leonard Vole is arrested for the sensational murder of a rich, middle-aged widow, the famous Sir Wilfrid Robarts agrees to appear on his behalf.
US Amazon Prime, Tubi TV, UK Amazon Prime, Chili (rent)
6
The Good Wife (2009)
TV7.5
Alicia Florrick boldly assumes full responsibility for her family and re-enters the workforce after her husband's very public sex and political...
US IMDB TV, Paramount+, UK Channel 4, Amazon Prime (buy)
7
In the Name of the Father (1993)
Film7.9
A small time thief from Belfast, Gerry Conlon, is falsely implicated in the IRA bombing of a pub that kills several people while he is in London.
US Amazon Prime (rent), Google Play (rent), UK Amazon Prime (rent), Chili (rent)
8
JFK (1991)
Film7.6
Follows the investigation into the assassination of President John F.
US Amazon Prime (rent), iTunes (rent), UK Disney, Rakuten
9
The Lincoln Lawyer (2022)
TV7.7
Sidelined after an accident, hotshot Los Angeles lawyer Mickey Haller restarts his career - and his trademark Lincoln - when he takes on a murder...
US Amazon Prime, Apple TV+, UK Netflix
10
How to Get Away with Murder (2014)
TV7.9
A sexy, suspense-driven legal thriller about a group of ambitious law students and their brilliant, mysterious criminal defense professor.
US Netflix, Amazon Prime (buy), UK Netflix, Amazon Prime (buy)
11
A Few Good Men (1992)
Film7.5
When cocky military lawyer Lt. Daniel Kaffee and his co-counsel, Lt.
US AMC, Amazon Prime (buy), UK Amazon Prime (rent), iTunes (rent)
12
The Rainmaker (1997)
Film7.0
When Rudy Baylor, a young attorney with no clients, goes to work for a seedy ambulance chaser, he wants to help the parents of a terminally ill...
US Paramount+, Amazon Prime (rent), UK Amazon Prime (rent), Chili (rent)
13
Dark Waters (2019)
Film7.5
A tenacious attorney uncovers a dark secret that connects a growing number of unexplained deaths to one of the world's largest corporations.
US Amazon Prime (rent), iTunes (rent), UK Amazon Prime (rent), Bfi Player (rent)
14
Presumed Innocent (2024)
TV7.9
A horrific murder upends the Chicago Prosecuting Attorney's Office when one of its own is suspected of the crime, leaving the accused fighting to...
15
Primal Fear (1996)
Film7.7
An arrogant, high-powered attorney takes on the case of a poor altar boy found running away from the scene of the grisly murder of the bishop who...
US Kanopy, Paramount+, UK Amazon Prime (rent), Chili (rent)
16
Just Mercy (2019)
Film8.0
The powerful true story of Harvard-educated lawyer Bryan Stevenson, who goes to Alabama to defend the disenfranchised and wrongly condemned...
US Amazon Prime (rent), iTunes (rent), UK Amazon Prime (rent), Chili (rent)
17
The Hurricane (1999)
Film7.4
The story of Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, a boxer wrongly imprisoned for murder, and the people who aided in his fight to prove his innocence.
US STARZ, Amazon Prime (rent), UK Amazon Prime, Rakuten
18
Philadelphia (1993)
Film7.8
Two competing lawyers join forces to sue a prestigious law firm for AIDS discrimination.
US Amazon Prime (rent), Google Play (rent), UK NowTV, Amazon Prime (rent)
19
The Devil's Advocate (1997)
Film7.4
Aspiring Florida defense lawyer Kevin Lomax accepts a job at a New York law firm.
US Tubi TV, Amazon Prime (rent), UK Amazon Prime (rent), Chili (rent)
20
A Time to Kill (1996)
Film7.3
A young lawyer defends a black man accused of murdering two white men who raped his 10-year-old daughter, sparking a rebirth of the KKK.
US Paramount+, Amazon Prime (rent), UK Disney, Amazon Prime (rent)