Shortly after Elle is kicked out of Professor Stromwell's class, and meets Emmett, she runs into Warner, and immediately after him, Vivian. This makes no sense, as Stromwell's class had just started and Vivian would still be there.
When the new students are in a circle to introduce themselves there are 6 students shown in the shot of all of them; however, when they go round all students individually there are only 5 (including the experienced student) because the fourth student is cut out.
When Elle encounters Warner for the first time at Harvard, she turns around to speak to him in the hallway, and we see two students pass them. They are entirely out of the frame as the camera cuts back to Warner, but we see the same two students pass by them again.
Warner's hair changes from being combed over (left to right) when he picks Elle up at the sorority house to straight back in the restaurant, also shorter. It is again combed over when he picks her up in the car shortly after.
The cover of "Seventeen" magazine that the old woman is looking at in the LA beauty shop changes. (This is because the cover was digitally changed to show Josie and the Pussycats (2001)).
The judge refers to the case as "the State v. Brooke Windham".
Massachusetts, like Pennsylvania, Virginia and Kentucky, is a commonwealth and would have been referred to as such by any judge.
It isn't possible to do much of anything after having liposuction--you go under general anesthesia and need someone to be with you for at least 24 hours afterwards, as you will be in a load of pain and very woozy and slow moving. There's no way Brooke was able to wander into her house on her own immediately after having this procedure.
We know that Elle and Warner are both in Callahan's class together, but that Warner is not in Stromwell's class with Elle. However, Harvard, like most law schools, divides its first year class into sections that take every class together. Warner should either be in all of the same classes as Elle or none of them.
Characters make casual references to numerical class ranks at both Harvard and Yale Law Schools. Neither law school ranks students in this manner (Harvard has not done so since the late 1960s), and Yale Law School does not even assign grades (classes are pass/fail).
Elle brings Brooke a gift basket. Inmates are not allowed to receive anything other than letters and reading material, and these are never delivered personally.
When Elle and Paulette are confronting Paulette's ex-boyfriend about Paulette having custody of their dog, Rufus, Elle says that Paulette has custody rights according to Habeas Corpus. Habeas Corpus allows a prisoner the right to be presented before a court by a bailiff, not the right to have custody of pets. However, Elle is merely using this term so as to sound official and to confuse Paulette's ex-husband, not to be correct in her terminology.
Warner says, "If I'm going to be a senator by the time I'm 30..." when he breaks up with Elle. The U.S. Constitution requires U.S. senators to be at least 30 years old, but it is possible to be a senator at 30 (Joe Biden, for example, was elected to the U.S. Senate at 29 and turned 30 before taking office). Warner also never specifies the U.S. Senate; the Massachusetts State Senate only requires members to be over 18.
When Elle makes her way to the Elevator and gets inside of it, in the gold mirror on the back wall, you can see a shadow of Vivian, who is waiting to come on set for her part of the scene.
When Elle's friends Serena and Margot deliver the good luck card at the beginning of the movie, Serena licks and seal the envelope, then Margot slides it under Elle's door. When Elle opens it moments later, the glue should still be wet yet she has to rip the envelope open as if the glue was dry.
When the list of students selected for Callahan's internship are revealed, Warner and Vivian are surprised Elle is also chosen. There are only 4 names on the list. There is no way they would have missed that.
When Elle is waiting to use the water fountain outside the court room and on the phone to Paulette, the woman in front of her bends down to use the fountain but doesn't operate the tap and no actual water comes out. Shortly after, Enrique cuts the queue in front of Elle and he correctly operated the fountain and did take a drink of water showing the tap does work.
Warner is Warner Huntington III. In one scene Elle sees a picture of his brother and his girlfriend and calls him Huntington III as well. Warner and his brother cannot both be III.
No first-year law student would try to compete for an internship, owing to all first year students being consumed by all the stresses from the amount of studying and class work they are required to do in their first year of Law school. Also Professor Callahan wouldn't be teaching and continuing to practice law regularly. Just one of those jobs would take up most his time and he wouldn't be able have a side job.
When Emmett is driving Elle back from the spa, his lips aren't moving as he talks.
When Brooke and Elle are walking down the stairs at the end of the trial and Elle is asked a question, Brooke responds but her mouth isn't moving.
When Elle is saying goodbye to Paulette in the beauty salon, there is a shot in which Paulette's lips are moving but no audio is heard.
When Elle and Paulette drive to her ex-boyfriend's house to pick up Rufus, the camera is reflected in the car door.
When Elle is in the elevator after her argument with Vivian, you can see a camera man near the bottom right corner, looking back and forth between the camera and Elle.
When Elle and Paulette are in the house as the snow begins to fall and they look out the window, we see a reflection of bar holing the camera in the window.
Multiple times, while at Harvard, there are palms and other plants visible in the background that could not survive in Massachusetts.
On the way to meet Mrs. Wyndham at the spa, Elle and Emmett drive past assorted subtropical plants. The spa is in Massachusetts where the climate is far too cold for subtropical plants to survive.
As Elle is moving to Harvard, the moving van is briefly seen driving on Memorial Drive along the Charles River. In reality, trucks are prohibited from Memorial Drive unless delivering on that road, which Elle's dorm is not.
Elle is driving over the Tobin Bridge (distinct green color) to get to Boston. The Tobin Bridge is north of Boston. If she was driving from LA, she would be driving down Mass Pike. Also, since Harvard is on the north side of the Charles River, there would be no reason for her to cross over the Charles River via the Tobin Bridge, just to have to cross back over at a later point.
It would be nearly impossible for Brooke Taylor to live in a mansion in the Beacon Hill section of Boston. Mansions found on Beacon Hill do not sit on enough land to have a pool. The area is too densely inhabited.
Elle's career counselor discourages her from applying to Harvard because, despite her 4.0 average, her major was fashion merchandising. Contrary to popular belief, many laws schools, including and especially Harvard, do not require applicants to have a law-related undergraduate degree. In fact, having another major where a law degree could be useful might help her stand out from the crowd. In Elle's case, she could use a law degree to be legal counsel for a fashion house. And, as the climax proves, her knowledge of cosmetology proves invaluable in court.
When Elle is waiting at the water fountain, the girl right before her leans down to get water but there is no water shown. The fountain clearly works as Enrique cuts in front of Elle and he is seen drinking water that flows from the fountain. The actor clearly forgot to push the button.
The characters use the words "jail" and "prison" interchangeably and incorrectly. Jail is the holding place before sentencing, prison after sentencing. Brooke tells Elle, "I'd rather go to jail than lose my reputation" when she is sitting in jail. Callahan tells his team, "According to this communiqué from the prison, our client apparently had a visit from her sister..." Elle visited Brooke in jail, not prison.
Callahan repeatedly speaks of the need to provide Brooke with an alibi. Alibi literally means "elsewhere," meaning that the accused could not have committed the crime because they were not in the vicinity at the time. No one is arguing that this is the case. And since Brook was back home immediately after her husband's murder, her medical appointment would not have served as an alibi anyway, as the time of death was not specifically determined.
The judge says "tomorrow morning at 9 am"; by definition 9 am is in the morning; a correct way to say this would be "tomorrow morning at 9" or "tomorrow at 9 am".