Perry Mason syndrome

In a typical episode of Perry Mason, a series involving a fictional Los Angeles defense attorney which initially ran from September 1957 to May 1966, the first half of the show usually depicted several people, including Mason's client, as having strong motivations to kill the victim.

[1] The Perry Mason syndrome purports that, due to the oversimplified manner in which trial proceedings were presented on the popular crime drama Perry Mason, jurors who watched the program would enter trials with misconceptions about how the legal process works.

[4] In one case, a juror told the defense attorney that the jury had voted to convict the defendant because the prosecution's key witness did not confess during cross-examination.

[5] The Perry Mason syndrome has been cited as a reason some defendants would choose to appear pro se—representing oneself in court rather than being represented by a lawyer.

[6] Consistent viewers of the show may have also believed that they had gained an intimate understanding of the United States legal system and would be able to represent themselves better than an attorney could.