In June, “Star Trek” actor Anton Yelchin was killed at age 27 after his Jeep Grand Cherokee rolled away from where it was parked and pinned him against a gate in his driveway. In the media scrutiny that followed, some major issues surrounding the car model and its gear shift became widely publicized, including the recall of nearly 1.1 million vehicles that included Yelchin’s model. On Tuesday, the actor’s parents announced that they would be filing a lawsuit against Fiat Chrysler, the parent company of Jeep, for the wrongful death of their son.

In an emotional press conference on Tuesday, Victor and Irina Yelchin announced the lawsuit, with the actor’s mother explaining that she hoped that his death “might save another life.” Their lawyer, Gary Dordick, blamed the carmakers for the accident, saying the company “failed to take action to protect the families that trusted them to make their vehicle safe. The safety recall was way too little and way too late.”

Yelchin’s death is attributed to the monostable shifter found in the car model and others made by the company. The design and operation of the shifter is reportedly not intuitive for drivers, many of whom mistakenly believe that their cars are in “park” when they are not. This issue has allegedly caused nearly 300 accidents and 68 injuries, leading the company to issue a recall this past April. The shifters were also investigated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which stated in its report that the “absence of an additional mechanism to mitigate the effects of driver error…constitutes a defect presenting a risk to motor vehicle safety.”

The suit isn’t the first example of legal action taken against the company since Yelchin’s death. In late June, a class action lawsuit for $5 million was filed against the company by drivers of vehicles with the same monostable shifter found in Yelchin’s vehicle. In April, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released the results of their investigation into the shifters, in which they reported that drivers often exited their vehicles after mistakenly believing them to be in the “Park” position. This defect, the report stated, “constitutes a defect presenting a risk to motor vehicle safety.”

Perhaps one of the most tragic parts of this story? The fact that the recall notice was mailed to Yelchin’s house just one week after his death. The notice informed drivers that the software in the cars could be updated to add an “Auto Park” feature which would reduce the risk of rollaway vehicles. The fact that the actor’s death could possibly have been prevented is sure to be a large part of the Yelchins’ case against the company.

Mariam Jaffery

Mariam was an Executive Assistant at Law Street Media and a native of Northern Virginia. She has a B.A. in International Affairs with a minor in Business Administration from George Washington University. Contact Mariam at mjaffery@lawstreetmedia.com.

The post Anton Yelchin’s Parents to Sue Fiat Chrysler for Their Son’s Death appeared first on Law Street.

Yes, you read the title right. Incorporating elements of pop culture, like “Breaking Bad,” into the classroom has become a popular new trend for undergraduate and graduate schools looking to engage their students. Schools such as the University of New Mexico have begun using pop culture case studies as instructional tools, while others major universities including Rutgers, the University of South Carolina, UC Berkeley, and Georgetown have opted to design courses dedicated entirely to singers, movies, television shows, sports, and other celebrities.

Have you ever considered the legal ramifications that fictional meth producers Walter White and Jesse Pinkman would have faced in the real world, as well as the questionable legal practices of defense attorney, Saul Goodman? A class at the University of New Mexico Law School analyzed the legal issues surrounding this popular television show and published their findings in a student-run journal for the school.

From The New Mexico Law Review “Breaking Bad” edition. http://t.co/xSmSg84ONg pic.twitter.com/1gYrz12VQy

— Ed Bott (@edbott) May 20, 2015

The students of this criminal law class, as well as the other contributing professors who helped to create this journal, found a multitude of legal issues within “Breaking Bad.” They discovered the actions of the show’s DEA agents to be controversial in certain instances and obviously illegal at other times, and yet these fictional agents were never stopped or questioned.

Saul’s practices as a lawyer are very shady and illegal, as he is known for laundering money to drug lords and going beyond his legal reach. When examining how Walter would likely be prosecuted, the students concluded that he would most likely receive a harsh sentience but avoid the death penalty in real life since the practice is no longer used in the state of New Mexico. While this show was very entertaining for viewers, it was not always realistic due to the exaggerated and felonious actions of most of the characters.

Other universities have chosen to create classes entirely pop-culture themed. At the University of New Hampshire, a class was created to analyze Deflategate–the recent scandal where the New England Patriots football team was accused of deflating its footballs before a game–as well as other sporting events and how they relate to the legal system. UCLA Law School has also joined in on this trend with a course called Law and Pop Culture, where students are assigned the task of watching popular television shows or films relating to the legal system, including lawyers, the criminal justice system, and the jury, which they will later apply to their coursework.

There are also many options available for undergraduate students who are interested in learning about their favorite pop-culture subjects. Famous singers such as Lady Gaga, Miley Cyrus, and Beyonce now all have classes devoted to them and studying their fame, allowing students to draw connections to subjects like sociology and philosophy.

According to the Mother Nature Network (MNM), movies such as Harry Potter, Spiderman, and Star Trek are all subjects of classes analyzing the popular franchises. MNM also noted that many popular television shows have become the core focus of several college classes throughout the country, such as The Simpsons, Judge Judy, and Days of Our Lives.

Times are changing, and as a result universities are beginning to recognize that in order to better accommodate and attract students to their schools, they have to vary their course offerings. No matter what you are interested in, there is probably a course out there that would appeal to you. Comparing core principles of classes to new themes could actually be a very effective way of maintaining students’ attention, as well as give them new ways to better comprehend course material.

What topics would YOU like to see being incorporated into your classes?

Toni Keddell

Toni Keddell is a member of the University of Maryland Class of 2017 and a Law Street Media Fellow for the Summer of 2015. Contact Toni at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Law School Uses AMC’s ‘Breaking Bad’ as Teaching Tool appeared first on Law Street.