Goofs for
A Time to Kill (1996) More at IMDbPro »

• Continuity: In a close up scene of Ellen in the diner, her bra strap is showing but in the wide shot, her bra strap is back under her shirt.
  
  
• Continuity: Sudden switch to night as the Klansman rolls around trying to put out the fire on him.
  
  
• Continuity: When Jake is giving his final summation and Lucien enters the courtroom, he stands at the back. Lucien is missing in subsequent shots of the room, only to return at the end of the summation.
  
  

• Continuity: During the picnic at the end of the movie, we see a black youth (with a dark scarf on his head) standing in the yard gathered with other people. Immediately afterward, there's an aerial shot looking down at the picnic, and we see the same youth coming down the front porch steps.
  
  
• Errors in geography: In the establishing aerial shot of the courthouse, the flag flying below the Stars and Stripes is the state flag of Arkansas, not Mississippi, where the story takes place.
  
  
• Plot holes: Roark was seen pulling up outside Jake's office right before the boys hearing, before Carl Lee killed them. She later said she was in town because of Carl Lee and to help with the case. There was no case yet when she arrived in town.
  
  
• Continuity: When Rufus Buckley is shown from afar, just before questioning Cora Mae Cobb, she is not in the stand. However, the next cut reveals her to be in the stand.
  
  
• Miscellaneous: In the airport scene when Jake sends his family away, an UPS aircraft can be seen in the background. Cargo terminals are south of the passenger terminals and cannot be seen from the north side of the terminal (where the outside scene was taking place).
  
  
• Continuity: Although it is pouring down rain outside, when Jake's wife Carla (Ashley Judd) comes to visit him in his office towards the end of the movie, she is completely dry, despite the absence of a raincoat or umbrella and saying she had driven in the storm.
  
  
• Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When Deputy Looney testifies in court, he is referred to as a "deputy" multiple times. However, when being questioned by District Attorney Rufus Buckley, he is referred to as a "detective" in one instance. Specifically, the question asked was, "And after the loss of your right leg Detective Looney, are you still able to serve as a police officer?" In police departments, there is a difference between a deputy and a detective.
  
  
• Continuity: Early in the film, Carla is doing something on the floor (painting?) and is shiny with sweat. When she gets up, her body and neck is shiny but her face is absolutely dry.
  
  
• Continuity: When Ellen Roark and Jake Brigance are in the restaurant after the KKK attack drinking shots and eating crawfish (mud bugs), Ellen licks her hand twice before drinking her shot. The first time the camera is behind her, the second time it's in front of her.
  
  
• Continuity: After the rumble begins in front of the courthouse, Ozzie and officers can be seen, from the air, running to the street. They reach the pavement, but in the next shot, they are still running full speed down the sidewalk.
  
  

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