Well, believe it or not, the writers did research obscure Maine laws for the witchcraft trials that took place on the show. So, they were motivated when the spirit moved them. Unfortunately, it didn't move them often enough.
Don't get me started on how it never moooved them (
to sheenasma) to do any medical research. How ridiculous was it for Julia, a medical doctor, to hover over a feverish baby Joseph while he's wrapped in a wool blanket? Okay, so he
was the wool blanket, but still...
Even the most dimwitted attorney imaginable could have gotten Philip off had his case ever actually gone to trial.
Except Peter Bradford, snort.