The Star Chamber is a 1983 thriller film written by Roderick Taylor and directed by Peter Hyams. It stars Michael Douglas and Hal Holbrook. Its title is taken from the name of the notorious 17th century English court.
Plot details
Judge Hardin (Douglas) is an idealistic Los Angeles judge who gets frustrated when the technicalities of the law prevent the prosecution of two men who are accused of raping and killing a 10-year-old boy. They were driving slowly late at night and attracted the suspicion of two police officers, who wondered if the van's occupants might be burglars. After checking the license plate for violations, the policemen pulled them over for expired paperwork, smelled marijuana, then saw a bloody shoe inside the van. However, the paperwork was actually submitted on time (it was merely processed late), meaning the police had no reason to pull over the van and Hardin has no choice but to throw out any subsequently discovered evidence, i.e. the bloody shoe. Hardin is even more distraught when the father of the boy attempts to shoot the criminals in court but misses and shoots a cop instead. Subsequently, the father commits suicide while in jail. After hearing all this, Judge Hardin approaches his friend, Judge Caulfield (Hal Holbrook), who tells him of a modern-day "Star Chamber": a group of judges who identify criminals who fell through the judicial system's cracks and then 'do something about them.'
Judge Hardin participates in one of these proceedings in which he presents the case of the two criminals. The Star Chamber declares them "guilty" and dispatches a hired assassin. Soon afterward, however, a police detective (Yaphet Kotto) comes to Judge Hardin with conclusive evidence that someone else raped and killed the boy. Realizing that he and the Star Chamber have just sentenced two men to die for a crime they didn't commit, Hardin implores the Star Chamber to recall the assassin, but is told by the other judges that the hit cannot be canceled. For the judges' own protection, their system includes a buffer between themselves and the assassin; they don't know who he is and he doesn't know who they are. They rationalize to Hardin that although an occasional mistake is inevitable and regrettable, what they are doing still serves society's greater good--especially, they argue, considering that the two targeted men are clearly criminals guilty of plenty of other crimes, even if not of the specific crime for which the group convicted them.
Hardin makes it clear that he does not accept their reasoning. Caulfield warns him to back down because the group will do whatever they have to in order to protect themselves. Hardin refuses to heed this warning and says he will do whatever he can to stop the men from being killed. He then tracks down the men in an attempt to warn them. However, when he arrives, they do not trust him as he has stumbled across their illegal drug operation. After they attack him, Hardin is saved by the hitman, disguised as a police officer, who kills the two men before they can kill Hardin. It becomes clear that the hitman has also been instructed to kill Hardin. At the last moment, the detective arrives and kills the hitman.
The movie ends with the Star Chamber deciding another "case" without Hardin, who is outside in a car with the detective, recording their conversations.
Legal Accuracy
The initial evidentiary ruling by Hardin regarding the search of the trash can has since been addressed by the United States Supreme Court. In California v. Greenwood (1988) 486 U.S. 35, the United States Supreme Court ruled there is no reasonable expectation of privacy in a trash can placed outside of a residence. Although the movie accurately reflects the law at the time it was released in 1983, Greenwood later invalidated that particular legal underpinning.
The evidentiary ruling by Hardin regarding the police officers' reliance upon DMV records that were out-of-date has also been addressed by the United States Supreme Court. In United States v. Leon (1984) 468 U.S. 897, the United States Supreme Court carved out an exception to the exclusionary rule where a police officer relies on invalid information, but does so in good faith. Again, although the movie accurately reflects the law at the time it was released in 1983, Leon later invalidated that legal underpinning.
Cast
External links
