Murray- Presumed Innocent

In Presumed Innocence, Rusty is not presumed innocent but instead is presumed guilty. The first scene that Rusty is undermined is where he tells his friend not to look into the phone calls made from his house to Carolyn Polhemus’. At this moment his friend begins to question why such a request would be made. In reality Rusty is simply attempting to exacerbate the affair which he had with Caroline. At this moment the audience is also given a shred of doubt that Rusty is in fact innocent. The behavior seems odd and in current culture oddities often mean guilt.

The next scene which is perhaps the most blatant leap to the presumption of guilt is when Rusty tells his lawyer that his is not guilty. Rusty explains that this was a massive mistake on his part because defendants always lie. It is presumed that everything that comes out of the defendant’s mouth is a lie. It is even presumed that they lie in every aspect of the trial. This includes when speaking to their lawyer and when they are the stand. This presumption falsehood is detrimental to the legal system. It would be perfectly logical for a defendant to say that they were in fact innocent. In fact I would assume that most every person would attempt to ensure their lawyer of this fact. By assuming people are lying society has deemed that people are guilty simply by saying they are not. This leaves no defense then. The accused is left to assume that the best defense will be taken care of for them for everything they do will taint their defense. Rusty is undermined in his every step of his trial.

The last way in which Rusty was blatantly assumed he was guilty was when his boss and mentor testified against him. This was extremely compelling as far as the jury would be concerned but they are not aware of the fact that he is lying under oath. The viewer sees that Rusty is being presumed, by his mentor, to be guilty. His mentor believed this to such an extent that he has fabricated a reality in which Rusty appear guiltier than he really is. Rusty is meant to be potrayed as having "the dark side of the character and make[s] the audience actually wonder if he just might be capable of obsession and murder"(Pfeiffer 185).

Guilt is not only portrayed through the action of the characters but also implanted into the minds of the audience at an early stage. The opening scene is an empty court room. This courtroom implies guilt. We as a society associate the courtroom with guilt. The courtroom is dark. The lighting is law and the furniture is dark. This creates an ominous feeling. This is furthered by the frame. It is loose creating room for and airy feeling that leaves the audience to believe that something is wrong. These create an air of doubt in the minds of the audience that has already decided that Rusty is gilty before anyone has even stepped into the court room.