Starring Julia Roberts, Denzel Washington, and Sam Shepard; Directed by Alan J. Pakula
The Pelican Brief on IMDB

Two Supreme Court Justices have been assassinated. One lone law student has stumbled upon the truth. An investigative journalist wants her story. Everybody else wants her dead

Darby Shaw, a 24-year-old law student writes up an insightful theory about the recent murder of two Supreme Court justices, one of whom, Abraham Rosenberg (Hume Cronyn), served as her professor’s mentor. When her professor shares this so-called “Pelican Brief” with buddy Gavin Verheek , an FBI lawyer, the document makes its way to White House personnel, who believe it could topple the current administration. When Darby’s professor is murdered and the President convinces the FBI to hold off on investigating Darby’s theory, the resourceful student must go into hiding. Her only escape is working with an investigative reporter, Gary Grantham. Can they stay alive?

Based on the novel The Pelican Brief by John Grisham