Michigan Law and Law & Order (TV)

Submitted by Blue Vet on June 18th, 2022 at 4:40 PM

Flipping through TV channels, I saw a University of Michigan Law degree. It's on the office wall of the lead prosecutor of the new Law & Order

Someone on the show—producer, writer, set designer—might be a Michigan fan.

OR because the character mentions his father was a cop, they want to reinforce a less than elite background* by showing a high quality degree but not a fancy one.

* Sez this ex-MP whose dad was a highway patrolman.

 

Blue Vet

June 18th, 2022 at 7:14 PM ^

Oops, I fretted that my comments might offend cops, but maybe I had it backwards, inadvertently offending UM Law grads—who of course earned a fancy and elite and impressive degree.

I know how impressive it is personally. My UM roommate attended UM Law, and I might have done the same except for my impulse not to repeat myself. (And maybe for the getting-accepted part.)

What I meant to suggest is that the Law & Order folks intended to suggest the prosecutor Jack McCoy was an up-by-his-bootstraps kind of guy with a fancy degree, and not someone who looked down on us ordinary folks.

Oh, great. Now I've offended anyone with an Ivy League degree. 

 

MgoBlaze

June 19th, 2022 at 12:12 PM ^

There are a lot of Michigan references throughout The Good Place. Michael Schur (also wrote The Office, Parks & Rec, etc) was born in Ann Arbor and his father went to Michigan as well as Kristen Bell being from there.

https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/the-good-place-nerdy-season-1-details-you-might-have-missed/

There's maize and blue on all kinds of clothing throughout the show as well. Like the multi-use chevron-striped suits that are supposed to symbolize the Good Place itself.

mgoblue78

June 19th, 2022 at 4:00 PM ^

It was always elite, and it's a lot fancier now than when I was attending. By fancier, I mean expensive. If I recall correctly, tuition was around $1,200/year, and room and board (3 meals/day, 7 days/week) at the Lawyers Club was $1,200 for a triple, $1,400 for a double and $1,600 for a single. The single I had 3L was ground floor, inside the Law Quad, with a bay window and wood burning fireplace. I'm pretty sure that unless I had a full-ride scholarship like I did back then, I would not have been able to afford law school today. Law school is not nearly as good of an investment today as it was back before electricity.