There was a timeline of events that was ruled implausible because "it takes longer than 5 minutes to cook grits".[21] The authors of Reel Justice: The Courtroom Goes to the Movies (2006) gave the film its highest rating along with several films based on real trials, such as Judgment at Nuremberg and Breaker Morant.[22] In 2008 the ABA Journal ranked the film #3 on its list of the "25 Greatest Legal Movies",[8] and in 2010 ranked Pesci's character as #12 on its list of "The 25 Greatest Fictional Lawyers (Who Are Not Atticus Finch)".[23]