Forty-two years ago, "Perry Mason" aired for the first time on television screens across the country and everyone wanted to be him. They wanted to hold his briefcase, have his stare, and recite his cross. Since then, America has not lost its love affair with the lawyer. The images are varied — perverts and sycophants, crusaders for justice and savages.

From slapstick situational comedies to crime-scene dramas, television shows have crafted — or, much more likely, picked up on — a number of misconceptions about what it means to be a lawyer. The best television shows, with large fan bases and numerous awards, are drenched in behaviors forbidden by the oath attorneys take before they practice. The following are the best shows, but worst offenders, for the reputation of attorneys.

Show: "Damages"

Network: FX

Airdate: July 2007

Washington Oath Violated: "I am fully subject to the laws of the State of Washington and the laws of the United States and will abide by the same."

"Everyone is looking to play an angle," Patty Hewes says, while the corner of her glasses hangs from her mouth. If Hewes, played by Glenn Close, were to practice in the state of Washington, she'd probably have a hard time saying the first oath of an attorney and vowing to not break the law.

Be it libel, wiretapping, or a myriad of other crimes, her intrigue, and the show's success, is based around the ruthlessness of attorneys.

Show: "Law & Order"

Network: NBC

Airdate: September 1990

Washington Oath Violated: "I will support the constitution of the State of Washington and the constitution of the United States."

Jack McCoy is the vision most Americans see when they imagine prosecutors. While the show portrays him as a hero, he walks a fine line when it comes to supporting the Constitution. Miranda violations or charging an individual he knows is innocent — Jack McCoy and the other attorneys on this show should have taken an extra class in con-law. "Law & Order" is the longest-running prime-time drama in American history, but shows yet another ruthless portrayal of the law and those who practice it.

Show: "Boston Legal"

Network: ABC

Airdate: October 3, 2004

Washington Oath Violated: "I will abide by the Rules of Professional Conduct approved by the Supreme Court of the State of Washington."

After watching the first episode of "Boston Legal" in 2004, Los Angeles attorney Bret Fausett published an article in The Daily Journal. While watching the episode, he had flashbacks to issue-spotting in his law school professional responsibility class, and grabbed a pen. He documented in this one episode: legal spoliation, sexual relationships with active clients, failing to disclose conflicts, ex parte contact, cases without merit, and firm complacency with the violations. At the end of his article, Fausett says, "Don't get me wrong, I loved every sleazy minute."

Show: "Moral Court"

Network: Warner Brothers (WB) Airdate: October 2000

Washington Oath Violated: "I will maintain the respect due to the courts of justice and judicial officers."

It only ran one year. You may have missed it. But if you didn't, the effects of "Moral Court" linger in dark places no one wants to admit they once traveled. Modeled on "The People's Court," "Moral Court" put a lawyer/talk show host in a robe and gave him a gavel, but it was not the law that Larry Elder wielded. Instead, he presided over moral disputes. (Read as: he slept with my best friend and didn't water my houseplant.) He awarded money to the wronged party — a maximum of $2,000 — for ethical missteps. Unsurprisingly, or maybe surprisingly in the age of reality television, the ratings were low and the reviews bad. But it did its part to lower the respect Americans have for the bench.

Show: "Ally McBeal"

Network: FOX

Airdate: September 1997

Washington Oath Violated: "I will not counsel, or maintain any suit, or proceeding, which shall appear to me to be unjust, or any defense except as I believe to be honestly debatable under the law, unless it is in defense of a person charged with a public offense. I will employ for the purpose of maintaining the causes confided to me only those means consistent with truth and honor. I will never seek to mislead the judge or jury by any artifice or false statement."

One has not seen a frivolous lawsuit until one has seen "Ally McBeal — the little boy suing God, or the suit against the matchmaker who calls someone unmatchable. The comedy drama reinvented the frivolous lawsuit in the post-McDonald's coffee era. The attorneys talk about the details of their cases openly to their significant others and roommates. They date their judges and then mislead them. The attorneys on "Ally McBeal" could, in almost every episode, make breaking this oath a mantra.

Show: "Night Court"

Network: NBC

Airdate: January 4, 1984

Washington Oath Violated: "I will abstain from all offensive personalities, and advance no fact prejudicial to the honor or reputation of a party or witness unless required by the justice of the cause with which I am charged."

If there were an employee in a dusty room at Time magazine keeping track of the most ludicrous statements printed on high-gloss pages, the issue that stated that "Night Court" was one of the most realistic law shows on the air should be on his bulletin board. But overlooking the insane defendants (one episode involved Wile E. Coyote), the largest oath violations came from the lecherous Dan Fielding. Played by John Larroquette, Dan Fielding spent more time trying to get into the fishnets of whatever call girl was in the courtroom than actually practicing law. He also had a tendency to sell his clients downstream.

Show: "L.A. Law"

Network: NBC

Airdate: September 15, 1986

Washington Oath Violated: "I will never reject, from any consideration personal to myself, the cause of the defenseless or oppressed, or delay unjustly the cause of any person."

If anthropologists in the future want to took back to the 1980s to understand the value and ideologies of the time, they might look to "L.A. Law." But if they did, attorney reputations for championing the defenseless would be in serious trouble. It is a vision of fast cars, red heels, and flashy-dressing attorneys. They are worried first and foremost about the money. The classic opening sequence sports an "L.A. Law" license plate attached to a Jaguar XJ, but eventually the car was replaced with a Bentley. While the show frequently tried to touch on social issues (the 1992 riots, for instance), it wins special recognition here for overlooking the defenseless in exchange for car wax.

As published, De Novo, Official Publication of the Washington State Bar Association Young Lawyers Division, April 2009.