My Cousin Vinny

Question: Why did the sheriff claim that it was his own hunch that made him take it upon himself to see about any reports about a 1964 Pontiac Tempest stolen or abandoned? Shouldn't he have said something like, "At the request of Mr. Gambini, I investigated whether there were any"? Is the sheriff simply looking to steal some glory and take some credit for the turnaround of the case?

Matty Blast

Chosen answer: He never says that it was "his" idea. The actual quote from the movie is that on "a" hunch he looked it up. From the way it is worded in the movie, it appears he said it this way in order to appear impartial in bringing any new evidence to the court's attention, not necessarily just information that would benefit the defendant's case.

Jazetopher

Answer: The sheriff made a point of telling Vinny that he doesn't work for the defense and Vinny should "do his own investigation." He's the local sheriff in a small town, while Vinny and the kids are unpopular and unwelcome visitors. The sheriff probably didn't want to appear like he was doing them any favors.

Question: Why does Pecsi lie so much to the judge about his credentials? He graduated from law school and passed the bar. The boys should be able to have whatever lawyer they want.

William Bergquist

Chosen answer: The judge is trying to ensure that Vinny will provide a competent and zealous defense for the boys, and not make a mockery of the courtroom procedure he loves so much. Since Vinny knows that six weeks of civil law practice, and zero courtroom time will not convince him, he lies.

troy fox

Answer: Vinny is an out of state lawyer who (presumably) isn't admitted to practice in Alabama. In order to practice in that jurisdiction, Vinny would have to be admitted "pro hac vice" or "for this occasion only." Especially in capital criminal cases, a defense lawyer must be certified as having a certain level of expertise to avoid later appellate claims of ineffective counsel. In this case, Judge Trotter is actually being fairly lax in just relying on a brief interview of Vinny to make a decision to allow an out of jurisdiction lawyer verbally provide his criminal defense credentials.

Question: What is the differences between 1st degree murder, second, and third degree murder?

Answer: First degree murder is premeditated, second degree is a crime of passion (i.e. murder in the heat of the moment) and third degree is now called manslaughter - accidental killing.

Krista

Question: Joe Pesci figures out from the photographs that Marisa Tomei took of the tire tracks that his defendants' car couldn't have made those tracks. But Marisa Tomei didn't realise it before Pesci got her on the stand, even though she saw the pictures before Pesci did as she took them and had them developed and then only showed them to Pesci. Why didn't she realise this, was she just not looking as carefully as Pesci was?

Rollie55

Answer: She didn't notice because she wasn't looking for it. When he asked her if the Skylark could have made the tracks, she realised it was impossible.

LorgSkyegon

Question: Why did the train that wakes Vinny and Lisa comes through town every morning rather than coming through anytime besides 5 or 4?

Trainman

Answer: A train has many stops on each trip it makes, and reaches each one at a different time of the day. It's not just going to one town where the time could be adjusted.

raywest

Question: How did the witnesses think that it was Bill and Stan who committed the murder? Didn't they even see the faces of the other killers after them?

Trainman

Answer: One more thing to add: At the end, when Sheriff Farley announces that the real killers have been apprehended, he says they look just like Bill and Stan.

Answer: This is actually fairly common in real life. It goes something like this: the witness sees two men in a green car fleeing the scene of the crime. Later they learn two men driving a green car have been arrested for the crime. In their minds, they saw these two men, and as time goes on they subconsciously "see" them in their memory of the event. This is addressed in the film. Vinny even questions one witness about that, asking if it's possible that they just saw "two guys in a green convertible, and not necessarily these two guys."

Answer: The witnesses saw two young men in a very similar car to Bill and Stan's drive off. The prosecutor made a compelling case that they were the murderers, while Vinnie initially bumbled. In cases like this, it's somewhat easy to convince someone to believe they saw what they want to believe, especially if they feel they're doing a civic duty or if it makes them feel important. See the play 'Twelve Angry Men' for an example of this.

Brian Katcher

Answer: They saw hardly anything at all, but they are convinced somehow that they saw these 2 boys and not someone else.

lionhead

Question: What's the name of the song at the final credits?

Answer: The name of the song is "Bible Belt" and it's sung by Travis Tritt.

Chanteuse66

Answer: It is Bible Belt by Travis Tritt; however, the lyrics were changed to fit the movie.

Kitty1019

Question: I would like to know the physical filming locations for this movie.

Answer: Mostly in Georgia, specifically Covington, Gainsville, Monticello and Alto, with a few scenes shot in Atascadero, California.

Tailkinker

Question: What's the name of the song when Vinny and Lisa make their first appearance in the town?

Answer: The song is called "Mind Your Own Business" By Clivilles & Cole.

Continuity mistake: In the scene where Vinny's car is stuck in the mud, he gets out and slips in the mud. When he falls, they show him land behind the door, In the next camera shot, his body has moved closer to the front of the car and his head is now in front of the door in the mud. (01:10:31)

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Trivia: During the stuttering lawyer's opening statements, if you look in the backround, you will see Vinny, Stan, and Ralph Macchio laughing. It's really obvious when the lawyer is walking back to the table, and Stan has a smirk on his face, trying not to laugh.

ACertainShadeofGreen

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