03x10 - Wheels of Justice: Part 2

Episode transcripts for the TV show "Night Court". Aired: January 4, 1984 to May 31, 1992.*
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Honorable Judge Harry T. Stone is a young, hip, jeans-wearing liberal eccentric presiding over the night shift of a Manhattan courtroom -- which means his views on various cases aren't always normal, nor are his judgments.
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03x10 - Wheels of Justice: Part 2

Post by bunniefuu »

NARRATOR: Last week an Night Court,
there was trouble for the Blakes.

Your Honor, Mrs. Blake returned from work
and found an eviction notice on her door.

I got a simple policy:
you don't pay, you don't stay.

I made that up myself.

We just moved here.

We don't know anyone.

Can't you help us?

And there was trouble fur the Wheelers.

Your Honor, the Wheelers were found
on a park bench crying.

They were arrested for vagrancy.

Will I ever see Disney World now, Daddy?

Never, sweetheart.

Never in a million years.

- This took so long, I'm frightened.
- Oh, don't worry, Mrs. Blake.

I have a feeling
we're about to see some magic.

The State finds the defendant
guilty as charged.

Ta-da.

Take it easy, kid.

I'll take it any way I can get it.

You're a pig!

Remember that lady and her kid
from last night?

- Yeah.
- Kid tried to rob a liquor store on Broadway.

So he got arrested?

He got sh*t.

Uh, Your Honor?

If it's about the kid, he heard already.

- The cops gave him a call.
- When?

Few minutes ago.

Right before he quit.

That's right, officer.
He's been missing since last night.

Let's see, he's tall, he's skinny...

...he's wearing along black robe
and blue suede shoes.

Oh, and there's a possibility
he's got a stuffed armadillo with him.

Hello?

- We get that a lot with Harry.
- Any word from the hospital, Mac?

Yeah, I just talked to them.
The kid came through fine.

- Oh. Oh, thank God.
- Yeah.

Now the only problem is...

...the one man that needs to hear that
has vanished into thin air.

Mac, where is he? It's driving me crazy.

Well, he's not in Manhattan.

Bull.

Are you all right?

I checked everywhere.

I checked his apartment, no luck.

I checked his favorite restaurants...

...all the magic shops, the toy stores,
the parks, the zoo.

Is that seaweed on your lapel?

You swam around the whole island,
didn't you?

And the last few miles were the hardest.

I felt like I was pulling a lead weight.

Bull, what are those little round marks
on the back of your uniform?

Tentacles?

That's what they were yelling
from shore.

MAC:
Uh-huh. Yeah.

Well, okay, thanks anyway.

What did you tell them at city hall
when you asked for a replacement judge?

Well, last night I said Harry had to leave
because his place had a flood.

Tonight,
I went with a death in the family.

Mac.

I know.
this is how Pinocchio got started.

Well...

...he's not at the morgue.

You looked for Judge Stone
at the morgue?

Yeah, I got a friend who works there.

As a matter of fact,
I got about a dozen friends who work there.

We sit around swapping recipes,
we play board games.

They even gave me a spare locker
to keep my things in.

You know how some people
like the park?

Me, I like the morgue.

Getting to know you.

Getting to know all about you.

All rise.

Criminal Court Part Two
is now in session.

The honorable--

[YAWNS]

--Harrison Kemp presiding .

You okay?

Yeah, Mr. Sandman didn't get a chance
to visit me last night.

Probably afraid to come in.

- Tonight's docket, sir.
- Thank you.

[BANGS]

Ow!

Oh, I'm sorry, sir.

That belongs to the judge
who usually presides here.

Evening.

Well, if it isn't
Mr. and Mrs. Night of the Living Dead.

Just so you know,
we're looking for a ride to Florida.

If we have to, we can split the gas.

My wife have is willing to sell her hair.

I've always considered it
just a luxury item.

So many of us forget that.

We spent the night at the mission.

It was the most beautiful place
on the face of the earth.

They gave us a slice of olive loaf.

And the entertainment portion
of the evening was a true pleasure.

Entertainment?

A man ate live insects for three hours.

They had to beg us to leave.

You brush your teeth with your fingers,
don't you?

First case, Your Honor.

- Peaple v. Anthony Raga.
KEMP: Mm-hm.

Mr. Rego, it says here
you assaulted a waiter with a pool cue.

- Allegedly assaulted, Your Honor.
- Oh, no, I hit him, all right.

The defense rests.

You see, Your Honor...

...he gave me a bowl of soup
with this giant dead fly in it.

So I says to him,
“Hey, there's a fly in my soup.“

And he says,
“So? Get him to split the check.“

[LAUGHS]

“Get him to split the check.“

Give me a hand, will you?
I'm dying up here.

Your Honor, at that point, the bartender
demanded payment, and a scuffle ensued.

It was my last buck.

This clown just cleaned me out
on a game of eight ball.

- Clown?
- Well, not a real clown.

It's just kind of a figure of speech.

I feel like I'm talking to a duffel bag.

Could you describe this clown, Mr. Rego?

Yeah, kind of tall and skinny.

Kind of were along black bathrobe.

He ran the table on me four times.

And then he shakes my hand
and zaps me with a joy buzzer.

- That's Harry.
- What?

- You said a black bathrobe?
- Yeah.

- Could it have been a judge's robe?
- I don't know.

Well, take a look, bozo.
A man's life may depend on it.

Oh, Your Honor, I am so sorry.

This is silk, isn't it?

If I may say, this is the strangest court
I've ever presided over.

Thank you.

I find the defendant guilty as charged.
Fifty-dollar fine.

- Don't hit me.
- Okay, then talk.

- Was his name Harry?
- Who?

- The geek who skunked you at eight ball.
- I don't know his name.

- You saw him at a pool hall?
- Yeah.

- I looked there.
- Well, I didn't even say which one.

There must be at least--

Nine hundred and sixty-two of them.

Yeah, well.
he's in the one across the street.

Nine hundred and sixty-three.

Come on.

Six in the comer.

Five in the side.

Eleven in the come!
off the cockroach stuck to the felt.

- I brought you your messages, sir.
- Hey, how about a quick game, Mac?

No, sir. I gotta go back to work.

- We were hoping you'd come with us, Harry.
- Yeah.

No, I can't. I gotta practice.

I'm going back out on the road.

Sir, I have some great news.

The b*llet only grazed
one of Joey's lungs.

- That is great news.
- That didn't come out well, did it?

No, it was you. I loved it.

Listen, Harry, the point is
that little Tiny Tim is fine.

- He came out of surgery this morning.
- I know. I was there.

He woke up, he opened his eyes...

...called me “pig.“

Maybe he meant it affectionately.

Sir, when are you gonna stop
whipping yourself about that kid?

I'm not whipping myself.

But there was a very nice couple in
the back mom who offered to do it for me.

Harry, now, we can't stand here and watch
while you throw your career away.

Why don't you watch from over there?
The view is better.

- But, sir, we can't--
- Hey, guys, can you take a hint?

I quit.

I am no longer interested
in what goes on up there.

I will not sit at that bench
and say what the books tell me to say...

...night after night.

If you think it's all
fair and equitable, fine.

As far as I'm concerned, it sucks rocks.

Case closed.

You're just gonna play pool
for the rest of your life?

Sure, hours are the same.

And besides,
it's something I'm pretty sure I'm good at.

Pardon me.

Two ball off the seven,
double-bank into the far comer.

Good luck with the new gig.

CHRISTINE:
You coming, Dan?

You guys go ahead.
I'll be up in a minute.

Hey, guys. Now, I'm counting on you
to come down here and keep me up to date.

You know, like.
when we get new presidents and stuff.

- Great bunch of kids, huh?
DAN: Yeah, right.

So...

You're not a judge anymore.

That's right.

You twerp.

I beg your pardon?

You simp.

You pathetic, whining, wheezing.
jackassed twig.

I get the feeling
you're trying to tell me something, Dan.

What the hell am I supposed to do now?

- You?
- Yes.

I just get you broken in
to where I can handle you.

And now I gotta take my chances
with some new judge.

Oh, I see your point.

What are the chances
of getting somebody...

...as naive and as ignorant
as you are again?

- I don't know, what, 50-, 6040-1 maybe?
- Do you think I'm kidding around here?

- Dan, I really--
- Why don't you shut your beanie little face?

You had a couple of bad nights.

Is that any reason to just quit?
Throw it all away?

It wasn't a couple of bad nights, Dan.

A kid got sh*t.

Now, you tell me that if I go back,
that's not gonna happen again.

It will happen again, eventually.

We can only do
what the law will allow us to do.

- That's it.
- That ain't good enough.

I understand you wanna
change water into wine once in a while.

Cure a few blind men here and there.

Dan...

...I can't go back.

I can't do it.

It's too hard.

Maybe it is.

I wouldn't know.

Maybe all of those people you helped
when they needed it...

...they'll make up for the few
that you couldn't.

I'll give your respects to the downtrodden
and the oppressed.

I'm sure they'll understand.

You're not playing fair, Dan.

You were good, Harry.

Very good.

You were impartial, you were fair.

Patient, compassionate, understanding.

And I admired you.

That's really getting below the belt,
isn't it?

Ciao, baby.

- He's right, you know.
- What?

- You were good.
- Mister--?

- Ray.
- Yeah, Ray, this is not--

Ray Muntz.

I was in your courtroom
for sleeping in the park.

Yeah, you were smiling and making jokes.

You said that benches weren't good
for my posture.

I remember.

Well, you should, it was funny.

Did I help you?

No.

You gave me a fine.

But you also did something else
I'll never forget.

You talked to me.

Well, the other judges,
they just shove your file aside and move on.

But you, you spent some time with me.

And that felt nice.

So I remember too...

...Your Honor.

I remember it like it was yesterday.

It was yesterday, Mr. Muntz.

Oh.

Where does the time go?

He's been like that an awfully long time.

I'm not gonna disturb him.

The last time I said something,
he nearly hit my head off.

How long are we just gonna stand here?

He does look awfully immobile,
doesn't he?

Well, we gotta do something.

- Excuse me, is there a doctor here?
- Yeah, I'm a doctor.

Sir, could you help us?

Sure. He's dead.

I'd say he's been dead
a good five minutes.

Amazing as it seems,
this happened to us once.

Bob's uncle Teddy
came over for Christmas dinner one year...

...and dropped his head
right into the stuffing.

I never got to open my presents.

You never had any presents, sweetheart.

What about the marble when I was 7?

We had to give that back to Grandma,
darling.

She couldn't wear the eye patch forever.

I guess we're gonna have to call
for another judge?

Well, what about this one?

Put him in the hall,
somebody will pick him up eventually.

Why does this junk
always have to be dumped on me?

Now, this could take hours.
And I get tickets to the Jets game tonight.

- You get tickets?
- Yeah, a pair on the 50-yard line.

I would k*ll for a single in the end zone.

Our grief appears to be inconsolable.

Oh, ain't no use in hanging around here.

Wait a minute!

Paragraph six, section 27 of the New York
City municipal code clearly states...

...that no session of criminal or civil court
may be recessed or dismissed...

...unless so ordered by the magistrate
presiding over said session.

Bull...

...the man is dead.

Drive safely, everybody.

Yeah, hi.

Yeah, this is Mac Robinson
of Arraignment Court Two.

It looks like we're gonna need
a replacement judge...

...to replace our replacement judge.

I know it's the third in 24 hours.

You're kidding.

We set a record.

Hi, guys.

Let me put you on hold for a sec.

How's it going?

I went home. I got washed up.

[SPEAKS IN ITALIAN]

Well, it's nice
to see everything's the way I left it.

Except, of course,
for the dead guy on my bench.

That would be Judge Kemp.

Yeah, well, he's got my gavel
and he won't let go of it.

And I guess I'll be needing it.

I said, I guess I'll be needing it.

I've decided to come back to work.

I'm real sorry I shouted at everybody.

And I'm sorry I acted like a two-legged,
Iobotomized jackass.

I think we could buy that one.

Apology accepted.

- Oh, welcome back, Harry.
- We're glad to have you back.

Guys, I am sorry.

I guess it is as simple
as taking the good with the bad.

No matter how bad the bad gets.

If you're sure you wanna be a judge...

I am sure.

At least I know I'm not the best pool player
in the world.

You should see me
when I have my own cue.

Come on, let's go and see
if we can retrieve his gavel.

- Your Honor--
- Miss Sullivan.

I've really come to appreciate
these little chats of ours.

- Glad to have you back, sir.
- The feeling's mutual, Mr. Robinson.

I'm real glad you guys were there.

Especially him.

Dan?

That man is the reason I'm standing here.

He made me want this job...

...more than anything I've ever wanted
in my entire life.

Dan Fielding?

Would you excuse us, Mac?

Yeah. Yes, sir.

- I'll just go tidy up your room a little bit.
- All right.

It's good to see you, Harry.

I owe you big, counselor.

It was an honor, sir.

No, I mean it, Dan.

From the bottom of my heart...

...to the tip...

...of my beanie little face.

[DAN YELLS]

All I had to do
was tell him what I was gonna do.

Hi.

Cat still got your tongue?

That happens to me sometimes.

I just have so much to say,
I can't say anything, I guess.

I know the feeling.

You mind if I ask you
what it was you were gonna say?

Welcome back.

I can see why that would be tough
to put into words.

You are very good up there.

And big hearts are hard to find
these days.

Well, I may be a pig,
but I'm a concerned pig.

You know, sir, if you're gonna feel sorry
for every person that comes in here...

-...you're not gonna last very long.
- Yeah.

I am beginning to understand that.

I haven't been up there
as long as you have...

...but I have managed
to develop a detachment from my work...

...and there's no reason
why you can't too.

Ready any time you are, Miss Sullivan.

Are you sure we ain't putting you out?

We'd be thrilled to sleep in your trunk.

You're breeding them for pets,
aren't you?
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