05x04 - Armand's Hammer

[bunniefuu]

Previously on "L.A. Law"...

The city is on the verge of a race riot

and the judge on the case is a total victim

of the hysteria.

Judge Stone has served with distinction for seven years.

You're the presiding superior court judge.

You have to take responsibility here.

Okay.

I'll get you a new judge.

You have no business going forward.

No witness, no physical or testimonial evidence.

Actually, Your Honor, we now do have a witness.

Excuse me?

If I find out that you manufactured this witness,

in any way or that you suborned perjury,

I will make it my personal purpose in life

to see you disbarred.

The eyewitness is lying.

The eyewitness was never there.

Drug dealers were there.

They sh*t at this man, he fired back,

and yes, William Russ was accidentally k*lled.

That's what happened.

We find in favor of the plaintiff

and order the defendant

to pay punitive damages in the amount of

. million dollars.

Listen, now that I'm not b*ating your brains out,

would you consider having dinner with me?

Dinner? Like a date?

See, that was too direct, wasn't it?

I'm always either too subtle or too direct.

Women never know what I mean, you know what I mean?

I'm not sure I know what I mean.

I'm a little confused.

Pretty interesting, huh?

I was reading in my bedroom

when all of a sudden, I heard it.

First I thought backfire,

but then I heard two more, and I know it was g*nshots.

And what did you do, Mrs. Russ?

I got up and went over to the window,

and that's when I saw my son lying in the street.

You knew immediately that it was him?

Yes, ma'am.

By his gold jacket.

And what did you do then?

I ran out to him.

He had blood coming out of his back.

And then I turn him over...

and there was blood in his mouth, too.

His eyes was open, but he wasn't there.

Your son was dead.

Yes, ma'am.

Mrs. Russ, did you see anyone else in the alley?

I saw that man.

Let the record reflect that the witness

has indicated the defendant Brian Chisolm.

What was he doing, Mrs. Russ?

He was standing there with his g*n.

And then he came over to us, but then he ran away.

He just ran away.

Thank you, ma'am.

I have nothing further.

How long did it take you to get to your son

from the time you first heard the sh*ts?

, seconds.

It would be fair to say as you were running toward him,

the only place you were looking,

the only thing you saw at that time

was your son, William, isn't that probably true?

Probably.

So, Mrs. Russ, it could've been maybe to seconds

between the time you heard those sh*ts

and the time you looked around to see anything else.

Or anybody else.

I don't know how many seconds it was.

No, no, no, of course not.

You... you were concerned about William.

But it could have been to seconds.

So what?

Well, ma'am, you're sitting in this courtroom suggesting

my client was the only other person in that alley

when in fact there was plenty of time
-
-

No, I'm sitting in this courtroom because my boy is dead.

I'm sitting in this courtroom because he was sh*t in the back

by that man!

Objection, move to strike.

Mrs. Russ, that'll do.

That's why I'm here, Mr. Rollins.

Can you tell us why you're here?

Mrs. Russ.

He sh*t my boy!

But it was an accident.

The b*llet hole is in my boy's back,

how can that be an accident?

♪♪

♪♪

People vs. Chisolm.

Prosecution's supposed eyewitness

takes the stand today.

How's it going?

It's tough.

Anything we can do to help, you let us know.

Moving along... Totten tax audit.

How's it coming, Stuart?

It's not.

I think I've persuaded the IRS to call off the dogs.

Wonderful, and how are you feeling?


-Fine.
-Fine?

Fine.

LELAND: Well, I'm not so fine.

August Oberzon, Oberzon development

is in my office right now and he is very unhappy.

The king of the mini
-malls?

Evidently, an outspoken student

has been gathering up signatures

trying to block his zoning variance

and the movement's beginning to pick up steam.

Stuart, Douglas, I'd like you both in the meeting,

see what we can come up with.

Okay. And last but not least,

Lowens vs. America's Most Embarrassing Practical Jokes.

Couldn't settle. Looks like we're going to have to try it.

Are you kidding?

Don't you think this guy is taking this a little too seriously?

He had his toupee lifted off on national television.

How would you feel?

Can't relate, Doug. How would you feel?

Oh, I think he has a case.

These television shows make money from embarrassing people.

Why not share the profits with the victims?

All right, are we done?

Done. Best of luck, Victor.

Thanks.

If I don't get that variance, I can't build the mall.

Now, I am not going to be run into the ground

by some little save the trees activist.

Offer the kid nuisance value.

$,.

Oh, great, what's to keep everyone else

from lining up for their money?

Oh, come on.

You've got to do better than that.

I'm set to break ground next month.

Why don't we hit them with a SLAPP suit?

Excuse me?

SLAPP suit.

Strategic lawsuit against public participants.

I.e. SLAPP.

Basically what you do is sure the protestors for harassment.

You tie them up in court, make them

spend all their money on lawyers.

And the thing is, you do it publically,

and that intimidates other would
-be protestors.

They don't dare speak up.

I like it.

How soon can we file a complaint?

By the end of tomorrow.

Well, I'm not sure we want to do it.

No, it's perfect.

You add every count you can think of.

We'll tie that little bastard up until his junior year.

SLAPP suit.

Great job, Stuart. Way to go.

Thank you.

Well, what did you think you were taping, Mr. Lowens?

I thought I was taping a rebuttal to a news editorial.

I'm a professor of Soviet history,

they asked for my views on Perestroika.

I thought the whole thing was legitimate.

And sir, when did you first discover

that your hair had left your head?

When I saw it on television,

along with million other people.

And the defendants never told you

that they were going to air this.

Yes, but I didn't know what had actually happened

until I saw the tape.

Sir, could you tell the court, and I know this is difficult,

but could you tell the court what it was like

to see yourself become bald on national television?

I can't really describe it.

I was held up to ridicule.

My friends snicker at me.

I even lost my job.


-Because of this?
-Yes.

The dean told me he couldn't have a professor

who the students didn't take seriously.

He fired me.

And have you been able to find other employment since then, sir?

After a couple of months I found another teaching job,

but at less pay and virtually no sh*t at tenure.

This thing has just devastated me.

Thank you, Mr. Lowens.

I have nothing further.

You gave my clients a signed release

authorizing them to air the tape, didn't you?

I didn't know my toupee had been dislodged

when I signed the release.

Come on, Mr. Lowens.

They yanked your rug off your head,

and you had no idea?

Objection to the term "rug".

Overruled.

I didn't feel the fishhooks in my hairpiece.

But when they lifted it off, how could you not feel that?

Yes, I did feel a draft,

but I put my hand up and everything felt okay.

I thought some of the wires might have moved it a little.

Don't you glue it on?

No, I use tape, but I didn't use tape that day

because I knew I was going to be under hot lights

and heat sometimes make the tape gooey.

Plus, when I sweat, the thing smells.

I see.

All right, look, I don't know how far this joke went

or how humiliating it was. I want to see the tape.

Oh my God.

We'll set up some video monitors,

take a look at it tomorrow

so we can all see for ourselves.

Your Honor, my client would request that the courtroom be sealed.

I think not.

We'll all be able to take it.

That's tomorrow, :, we're adjourned.

And you were walking in the next alley.

Yes, and when I heard the sh*t

I ran around the next corner.

And what did you see?

I saw this kid running straight at me.

And the cop pulls right behind him, maybe feet.

You see that cop in this courtroom?

The defendant.

And what did you see next?

Well, the cop was screaming at the kid to stop or something.

And when he didn't, he sh*t him.

He just sh*t him.

And what did you do?

I just stood there like in disbelief.

And I just took off.

You didn't go to the boy's aid?

I was afraid I might get sh*t, too.

Mr. Bailey, you didn't come forward for almost two months.

I didn't think it would do any good.

telling on the police.

I was afraid they'd come after me.

Well, why have you come forward?

Mr. Holloway convinced me.

He said I had a responsibility to my community

and if I saw something, I should say what I saw

and that's what I'm doing now.

Thank you, sir. I have nothing else.

Did Mr. Holloway tell you what it was you saw?


-Objection.
-Overruled.

Did he tell you what to say?

Would you like to confer with him before answering?

He didn't tell me what to say, I saw it.

Mr. Holloway is your lawyer now, isn't he?

This has no relevance.

Sit down, Miss Fusco.

Is Mr. Holloway your lawyer?


-Yes.
-Yes.

Now, Mr. Bailey, you said you just stood there

as Officer Chisolm was sh**ting at William Russ.

Yeah, that's right.

Well, now since you testified

that the boy was coming right at you,

that means you were in the line of fire.

You just stood there?

Don't look at Mr. Holloway, you look at me.

You just stood there while he was sh**ting right at you?

Well, it... wasn't right at me.

It was more like to the side.

Now wait a minute.

Just a minute ago you said under oath

that he was coming right at you.

Did you lie?

I made a mistake.

A mistake?

Okay, now the night of the sh**ting

you told the police you saw nothing.

Was that a mistake, too?

I told you, I was afraid to tell the police what I saw.

You afraid of you're own mother?

What?

According to your mother's statement,

you never told her you saw anything.

Come on, Jerome, two months go by,

you don't tell a single friend?

You don't tell anybody.

Are you afraid of your friends and relatives, too?

Why are you looking at him?


-Objection.
-Overruled.

Why didn't you tell anybody what you saw?

I don't know.

Because you saw nothing.

Objection.

Holloway got to you and you're here lying.

You're the one telling lies.

Mr. Holloway, get yourself down, now.

Mr. Rollins, don't badger the witness.

Now, do you have anything more?

Naw, I don't think so.

♪♪

I really don't think this was smart.

It's too late to reconsider now.

I'm aware of that.

But I've lost the feeling in my hands.

Yeah, well, maybe you should unclench a little.

No. No, no!

Oh, man, look!

You can see the whole park from up here!

Isn't that incredible!

It's beautiful, it's beautiful. It's beautiful.

[screaming]

Wasn't that incredible?

Uh
-huh.

I'm not having fun.

Come on, don't suppress so much. Let it out.


-Really?
-Yeah! Come on!

[screaming]

You know, our first date was four star French cuisine.

Now, we're down to hot dogs.

Yeah, but they're great with mustard,

and they're cheap, too.

The problem is I'm not getting any better

at figuring out the real you.

Power lawyer, kid on the roller coaster?

You know the kind of person who's really great at career stuff

but not too good at life stuff?


-Yeah, me.
-No, no, me.

Oh, no you seem to be pretty good at the life stuff.

You seem to know how to have fun.

Well, the truth is I've probably had more fun

in the last four days than I've had in the last four years.

Oh, come on, you're supposed to say me, too.

Well...

Four years is a long...

Okay, okay, okay. Two years.


-Two years?
-Two years.

All right, me, too.

What time you got?

Uh, :.

:, okay either we can go back to work right now,

or we can ride the dragon.

I vote for the dragon.

I think I like you.

I think I like you, too.

Hi, Benny.

What's that?

It's a treadmill.

Good exercise. I can walk three miles a day

and never leave my office.

That because you had a heart att*ck?

Yeah, yeah, it's exercise for my heart.

And for everything else for that matter.

You should try it sometime.

Arnie says heart att*cks can make you croak.

I'm not going to croak, Benny.

I just had a little tiny heart att*ck.

Stuart, Dennis Braden, the tree activist?

Hired a lawyer to defend against our SLAPP suit.

Sole practitioner coming in this afternoon for a meeting.

I want to get as many of our lawyers as possible into that room.

Want to send the message that they are up against an army.

Good, I'll be there.

Mr. Holloway!

Why hasn't there been any white public outcry?

The reason there's no white public outcry?

Because it was just a black life that ended.

Cheaper market value. don't you know.

Maybe 'cause some of us get bought so cheap.

But not you, counsel.

I'm sure you're just leased with an option.

Can I talk to you a minute?

Hadn't you better clear this with Mr. Kuzak, first?

No, you and me alone.

Or maybe you don't talk to people unless there's a microphone around.

Excuse us, please.

[reporters clamoring]

I want to say this just once for the record.

There has been nobody, no lawyer, anyway,

I have admired more than you, Mr. Holloway.

I can't tell you how many times over the years

I've looked in the mirror

wanting to see some reflection, some hint

of what I've always seen in you.

But after watching you and listening to you

for the last three weeks,

I don't think there's anybody I'm more sickened by.

This your closing summation?

You talk about the system, you talk about the process,

then you stand in front of cameras and film crews

and willingly pervert it.

The perversion is the system.

The system was gonna free that man on involuntary manslaughter.

You don't know that it wasn't that.

Nobody knows because the system

wasn't even going to ask the questions,

Now, you can get sick over me as much as you want to,

but get more sick by the fact that the system

was going to let that man walk without even a trial.

I mean, the only reason you've seen witnesses,

the only reason jurors are weighing evidence right now

is because of those cameras.

Because of those microphones, and because of me.

And if that kid had been white, you wouldn't be here right now.

Oh, man, where have you been?

If the kid had been white, I wouldn't have to be here.

Boy, but when that day comes.

when society cries for black children

with the same passion that it does for whites,

when a senseless death of an African
-American

is just as unacceptable, then I'll stop.

I'll stop but the truth is, Mr. Rollins,

that racism is going to outlive me.

What sickens me is to think that one day

my dream will then rest in the hands

of black lawyers like you.

The unification of Germany has to be considered

not simply urgent,

but utmost to the economic future of Europe.

Do we have to fast forward?

No, it comes up pretty quickly,

as soon as he starts in on Gorbachev.

If Gorbachev succeeds in his reform policies...

[creaking sound]

the Soviets can easily produce...

Let the record reflect that the sound effects

were added by the defendant.


-[wind blowing]
-...East German economy...

Four, three, two, one...

[rocket blasting off]

[sound effects]

[laughter]

Objection!

Move for a mistrial!

Oh, come on.

Um, shut it off. Okay.

Your Honor!

Your Honor, this is prejudicial.

Come on, no it's not.

It's not. The fact that we laugh is not the issue.

It's of no relevance.

The jury should give no consideration to my reaction.

Nor should they... give... uh...

Objection!

It's a ten minute recess. We're adjourned.

[knocks]

Hi.

Hi.

You ready?

We're not going out.

We're going to have lunch right here.

We are?

Yeah. You've got my stomach on a roller coaster.

So I'm going after yours with Moo Goo Gai Pan.

Oh, boy, I don't know.

What's the matter, you don't like Chinese food?

Uh
-uh, you're gonna shut up and eat.

No, I'll eat.

It's just that I don't know how personally

I should take all this.

What do you mean?

In the Amazon rainforest,

if a blonde lawyer takes the hunter

into her lodge for lunch,

that means she just likes him as a friend,

and will never feel waves of passion

equal to a thousand waterfalls.


-Napkin?
-Thank you.

So, I was just wondering

how personally I should take this?

Egg roll?

Ms. Lamb?


-Leland McKenzie.
-Hi.


-This is Anne Kelsey.
-Hi.


-And Stuart Markowitz.
-Hi.

Wow, I was only expecting one attorney.

Sit.

Ms. Lamb, as innocent as your client's protests may seem.

they're generating a backlash against our client,

and that's not acceptable.

Uh
-huh.

This meeting is to inform you that Oberzon development

is filing today a million dollar lawsuit

against Mr. Braden for interference with economic advantage,

interference with contract, and defamation.

As always, an easy settlement is preferable.

But should your client persist in making public statements

derogatory of our client's plans

to develop his shopping mall,

then this firm intends to avail itself

of all its resources in protracted litigation.

Protracted?

Mm
-hmm.

Meaning paper wars, court appointments, make work.

All the stuff that can bury a solo practitioner.

Okay, look.

This is a SLAPP suit, and I'm a little disappointed.

Bringing in four lawyers, trying to scare me?

That isn't very nice.

I bet at least one of you doesn't even know

the facts of this case.

And it's probably you.

May I? Excuse me.

See, if you'd done your homework,

you'd have known you'd have stood a much better chance

with a pretty boy.

Flirt me into settling.

What's his name? Becker.

Saw his video.

Anyway, ganging up on me was a mistake.

File your suit.

Oh, will all of you be coming to court,

or should I say some of my goodbyes now?

You're making a big mistake.

I'm young.

Bye.

And what happened after the boy got out of the car?

He started to run away.

And then I got out of my unit and went after him.

When I came around this corner,

I saw two black males engaged in what appeared

to be a drug transaction.

And what did you do?

I didn't have time to do anything.

One of them just pulled a g*n and sh*t at me.

I dropped to my knee and returned fire.

Then what happened?

The two males ran down a side alley.

I got up and started to go after them.

And that's when I saw the boy.

The boy being William Russ?

Yeah.

He was... he was face down.

Did you know what had happened?

Uh... yeah.

I knew it had to have been one of my b*ll*ts.

The other guy was sh**ting towards me,

so it had to have been my b*llet.

What did you do?

I, uh...

I froze for a minute...

And then the mother came out.

I ran to my unit, and radioed for an ambulance.

Mr. Chisolm, why did you sh**t back

when William Russ was in your line of fire?

I don't know.

I made a mistake.

I'm sorry.

I screwed up,

but I didn't sh**t your son on purpose.

I know you can never forgive me.

but please know that that was an accident.

Please know that.

I have nothing further.

Do you have any explanation why nobody else

ever saw these two black drug dealers?

No.

Any explanation as to why we could never find the b*ll*ts

from the g*n of the guy who sh*t at you?

No.

When you radioed for help,

you said "suspect down", didn't you?

I'm not sure.

Yeah, you did. Here's a transcript.

You didn't say "bystander down". you said "suspect down".

Suggesting that your b*llet hit the one you sh*t at.


-Objection, argumentative.
-Sustained.

You didn't say anything about drug dealers,

you didn't say anything about tragic mistake,

you just said "suspect down".

And then I said, "send help, send an ambulance".

Over and over, I was panicked.

The only thing I was thinking about

was getting an ambulance for that kid.

The ambulances come faster is you say "citizen down".

Fastest if you say "officer down".

You said, "suspect down".

Move on, Miss Fusco.

Last year, you asked to be re
-assigned

to a different partner, didn't you?

Yes.

What was the problem with the officer Kenneth Simms?

Personality differences mainly.

I see. What was Mr. Simms race?


-Objection.
-Overruled.

What was his race, Mr. Chisolm?

He was black. But that has nothing
-
-

Thank you.

Ever been investigated for police brutality, Mr. Chisolm?

I was totally cleared.

You were investigated for committing

an unprovoked as*ault on a teenage suspect.

Investigated and cleared.

Yes, by other police investigators.

What was the race of that suspect, Mr. Chisolm?


-Objection.
-Overruled.

What was the boy's race?

He was black, but that has nothing
-
-

Thank you.

I have nothing further.

Mr. Chisolm, you're dismissed.

Does the defense have anything more?

Where are we?

I don't know, Jonathan,

but she did some damage.

Do you think I should put him up there?

You think you can take him?

I think we should take the risk.

Then do it.

Your Honor, the defense calls Derron Holloway.

Objection, no foundation, no relevance.

The defense submits this man

is relevant to this proceeding.

He has no information
-
-

Overruled, Miss Fusco.

The defense wishes to call a witness,

the defense can call a witness.

Tomorrow, a.m., Mr. Holloway will take the stand.

How can Mr. Lowens act surprised?

Didn't you get his permission?

He signed the release.

We were fully authorized to air it.

He claims he didn't know what you'd done.

Well, we're certainly sorry about the misunderstanding.

But believe me, we would never put anything on our television show

without the consent of all the participants,

and here we had it.

Thank you, Mrs. Egan. Nothing further.

You didn't bother to show my client

the tape before airing it, did you?

No, we don't do that.

You don't do that.

And so my client had no reason to know that

you'd also be putting in these little sound effects

that you do. Did he?

Those are creative choices that we make in post
-production.

Creative choices?

You profit off of other people's misery, don't you?

Listen to the lawyer here who takes

train wrecks on a contingency.

Objection, move to strike.

You don't ever profit off people's misery?

We don't willingly inflict it.

No, you're all here to make the world a better place.

Objection.

All right, touches all around. Go on.

Why... why would you pull off a man's hair piece

and embarrass him like that? Why?

Again, we thought he okayed it.

I mean, would you yank the false teeth from

the mouth of a senior citizen?

Would you pull the prostheses off an amputee?

Of course not, that wouldn't be funny.

But it's funny to victimize this man.

The judge laughed.

And as executive producer of this top ten show,

how much do you personally make?


-Objection.
-Overruled.

How much?

I make $, per episode.

You got paid $, to make his hair go up like a rocket?

Not just for that, there were three

other gags on this show.

The fat lady who tripped over the midget
-
-

The point is you got rich and Mr. Lowens lost his job.

We're sorry about that.

You're sorry about that.

Nothing further.

Mr. Holloway, I'm curious.

The day after William Russ was k*lled,

you went on record publicly calling it a m*rder.

What information could you have possibly had that fast

that allowed you to conclude this was a m*rder?

A white man has a g*n, a black kid is running away.

The black kid ends up face down with a b*llet in his back.

That, to me, is m*rder.

[court clamoring]

Quiet, please!

So the fact that Mr. Chisolm is white

influenced your thinking.

Well, yes.

And what is that, sir, if not racism?

[chuckles]

Well, if I'm a r*cist, Mr. Rollins...

You know, I suppose I am.

But it's by necessity.

To combat a much larger white racism

built into the framework

not only of society in general,

but specifically a judicial system

which does not render fair treatment

to black Americans.

[applause, cheering]

Quiet!

Now, I don't want to warn you people again.

So the system is not fair.

The only reason this criminal was even brought to trial here

was because I generated enough public pressure

to stop the district attorney's office

from blindly looking the other way.

Which otherwise it would have done.

You admitted that your presumption

of my client's guilt was directly influenced

by the color of his skin.

This is a speech!

If William Russ had been white,

you would not have publicly come forward.

If he had been white, you would not have staged that rally

that produced Jerome Bailey.

Isn't that right?

If the victim had been white,

there would have been no need for me to make noise.

Answer my question, Mr. Holloway.

You're under oath.

If William Russ had been white,

Derron Holloway would not be involved here today.

Isn't that what you told me, sir?

Isn't that what you told me, yes or no?

Yes, or no?

Yes, I told you that.

[gasping]

And how can this trial be anything

but a product of your bigotry?

I have no doubt that you hurt him.

The question is, will it count for anything?

BENNY: Help!

What the hell?

Help! Help!

Help me!


-Benny, hang on.
-Stop, stop it!

Where's the button? Where's the stop button?

Help me! Help me!

Just pull the plug.

Benny!

Oh my God.


-Okay, okay.
-You okay?

Stuart, he said I could.

Are you all right?

Oh, what happened?

It was just a little accident.

Are you okay, Benny?

I cut myself.

It's just a scratch, Benny, come on.

Let's go wash it off.

Stuart, he said I could.

I'm sure he did, Benny. It's okay.

It'll be okay, Benny.

Wow.

Oh, I'm going to this black tie thing tomorrow

and I had to try it on.

You like it?

You look fantastic.

Thanks.

This thing is with Jack Sollers?

Yeah.

You like this guy, huh?

Well...

Yeah.

Uh...

You look great.

Thanks.

Ms. Lamb.


-How are you?
-Good, hi.

We weren't expecting you.

Well, I was in the neighborhood.


-Here.
-What's this?

It's a complaint in federal court,

alleging civil rights violations,

abuse of process, harassment,

and punitive damages.

You have McFadden Arps as co
-counsel?

Yeah, Jay McFadden owed me.

I got his daughter Madonna tickets.

Oh, plus which the civil rights claim provides for attorney fees,

so they were happy to jump in.

Protracted to them means more money.

It's so thick.

I think they put lawyers on it.

Okay, well, you have it.

Tell Anne I'm sorry I missed her.

This is awful.

Good going, Stuart.

SLAPP suit, great idea.

You liked it too, Douglas.

I never liked it.

All right, that's enough.

Look we've got to make this thing go away, and fast.

Set up a meeting.

You know, we could add another claim.


-No!
-No!

Get that woman back here tomorrow.

In the meantime, I've got to find a way to break this to Aug Oberzon.

God.

If Jerome Bailey had seen what he said he saw,

don't you think he would have told his own mother,

or his best friend?

Come on. Jerome Bailey came forward two months later

only after being addressed by that man, Derron Holloway.

A self
-admitted r*cist who, by his own testimony,

established that the only reason we're here today,

and the only reason Brian Chisolm is on trial

is because he's white, and the victim is black.

The boy's mother admitted that it could have taken

seconds for her to look around that alley

after hearing the sh*ts.

That's plenty of time for the drug dealers

who sh*t at my client to have run away.

There's been no evidence, ladies and gentlemen,

other than Jerome Bailey,

to controvert Brian Chisolm's testimony

that he was sh*t at that night,

no evidence other than a liar influenced by a r*cist.

And no motive.

No motive.

The prosecution is here before this court

not only without any physical evidence

or any real testimonial evidence,

but they have no motive whatsoever.

They're asking you to believe that Officer Chisolm

just suddenly turned into this psychotic k*ller.

Where is this coming from?

The prosecution has no case.

Yes, we have a tragedy here,

and yes, it was a horrible, horrible mistake.

But that's all it was.

A mistake.

For all the prejudice and the outrage

and the hurricane of anger surrounding this trial,

the facts will tell you that Brian Chisolm is innocent.

Thank you.

The facts.

Two witnesses swore under oath

they saw no one else in the alley.

Can the defense offer any evidence of drug dealers?

Any evidence of b*ll*ts being fired? No.

So those two black man are not a factual part of this case.

Office Brian Chisolm was the only other person seen in that alley.

Ballistics reveal it was Chisolm's b*llet

found inside the boy's body.

Those are the facts.

The question is whether you're going to let him go

simply because he's white.

The question is whether we're going to let hate crimes

continue to go unpunished in our courts.

A white police officer sh*t and k*lled an unarmed boy.

You can do something about that,

or I guess you can choose not to.

Imagine if you will, ladies and gentlemen,

the humiliation, the shame that my client

must have felt that night

as he sat there and watched his hair just go up

to the sound of twin booster engines.

And then the way it sputtered

before it came crashing down.

My client was wronged, ladies and gentlemen.

They snatched it right off with a fish hook.

[laughing]

Your Honor...

Yes?

I'd like to do my own closing.

It's his right, Mr. Sifuentes.

Go ahead, sir.

It's okay to laugh.

No, really, it's okay.

I know that by wearing a toupee,

I set myself up for that.

But the issue here isn't

whether my hairpiece is funny

or that that tape was funny.

We all know it was.

This is about respect.

It's about people showing other people simple respect.

Now, these shows, this one and that home video one,

they reward individuals for capturing

the embarrassing misfortunes of others.

And people like me occasionally, we get caught in it.

But no matter how humorous it is,

or how clever, it's disrespect.

If you watch these shows, you know

that the more embarrassing it is,

the more it hurts,

the funnier it is.

When you go back to the jury room and laugh at me,

I'll hope you remember that.

And I'll hope you remember that all the giggles

caused by these people in here

have been at my expense.

Thank you.

We're going to make it go away, Aug.


-Don't worry.
-How?

We'll bring a motion to dismiss,

starting with subject matter jurisdiction.

Oh, for God's sakes,

I'll be tied up in court for months.


-I'll lose the financing.
-[knocking]

I'm sorry, am I early?

No, come in. Come in.

Ms. Lamb, Mr. Oberzon.

Hi.

Let's get rid of this.

I'll give your client grand

to keep his mouth shut

and to drop this ridiculous Federal claim.

won't do it. will.

There is no way in this world's hell

I will ever pay
-
-

No, no, no, you don't pay. They do.

Excuse me?

Okay, this is how it works.

Officially, we dismiss the complaint.

You pay Mr. Braden nothing,

then you hire me to represent your corporation.


-Now hold on a minute
-
-
-Pardon me.

Since I'm all by myself,

I will need help in servicing all your needs.

So I in turn would have to refer your business

out to a bigger firm.

Say these guys!

For that, I hit them with a referral free of $,,

$ of which I pay to Mr. Braden.

But you can't do that.

Yes, I can.

And if you don't want to pay the to keep his business,

there's plenty of other firms who would,

including McFadden.

Wait, wait, wait just a second here.

Are you telling me that this would all go away,

they would still be my lawyers,

and I pay nothing?

Yeah, exactly.

But you can't do that!

He keeps saying this, but we can!

The only other thing I ask is that

you give Dennis Braden an audience,

'cause all he really wants besides the $,

is to be heard.

And you agree to provide him with pro bono legal services.

Done.
-Aug!

I said done.

But that kind of referral arrangement is unethical.

No, no, not with disclosure. Come on, you know better.

It's done. It accomplishes everything I want, Leland.

I like you.

Let's draw up the papers.

I love it when things work out.

In the matter of Lowens vs. America's Most Embarrassing Practical Jokes,

we find in favor of the plaintiff,

and order the defendant to pay damages

in the amount of $,.

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen of the jury.

This matter is now adjourned.


-Congratulations.
-Thank you.

Thank you.

Look, I'm sorry I sort of, uh...

It was unprofessional.

I'm sorry I started to laugh.

You don't have to apologize, Victor.

It's permissible to laugh at bald people.

Maybe because society

doesn't thinks it's so bad to be bald.

Maybe we're just insensitive to it

because it's no big deal.

Do you think I'm being silly?

No, no, I think you sued these people because

you felt your dignity was assaulted.

But I also think every time you put that on

you're saying you don't like yourself the way you are.

You wear an earring.

My wife likes her girdle.

We all do what we can to make us look better.

Make us feel better.

So why can't the bald guy indulge himself?

I like myself just fine, Victor.

I just like myself better with the hair.

Okay.

Okay.

Nah.

Has the jury reached its verdict?

We have, Your Honor.

What say you?

In the matter of people vs. Chisolm,

criminal complaint number ,

the jury finds the defendant guilty

of m*rder in the second degree.

[cheering]

Quiet!

The trial is not over!

I want everybody quiet now.

I have something to say.

Sit down.

I think its important for all of you to listen.

Last year I saw one of my courtrooms erupt in a riot.

Mr. Rollins, you were here, too.

And it was also a case of White America

trampling Black America,

and the hatred rose up and took that room,

and I'm seeing that hatred in this room, too,

and as a black man I understand that hatred.

I grew up in a poor neighborhood,

I've seen innocent black people sh*t dead

by white policemen.

I've seen it,

and every day as I sit up here I carry that baggage.

But first, and foremost,

I sit up here as a judge, and as a judge,

my job is not to affect race relations,

but to affect justice in this courtroom.

The only evidence that incriminated the defendant

was the testimony of Jerome Bailey.

A witness that I find as a matter of law is not credible.

I know I failed to instruct the jury to disregard his testimony.

The reason being I wanted to avoid an eruption here.

But if my choice is between another riot,

and an unjust verdict, I have to opt for the riot.

I find as a matter of law that no reasonable jury

could have reached this verdict

on the basis of the evidence presented.

I hereby set aside the jury's verdict.

The defendant is free to go.

We are adjourned. [shouting, clamoring]

You, uh, want to keep me in the dark all night

or let me know what's going on?

Well, I guess I'll tell you.

I want to hire McKenzie Brackman.

Excuse me?

Besides Oberzon I have a lot of commercial litigation

I can't keep up with.

Your trial lawyers have good reputations.

I'd love to farm some of my stuff over.

You give me % of the billings
-
-

I've got a better idea.

Why don't you come work for me?

Excuse me?

Same deal.

You take % of the business you bring in.

We supply you with space, administrative support,

the ability to quadruple your work output.

Wait a minute, you're offering me more

than I came in here asking for.

What's in it for you?

The right to call you ours.

I loathe law firms.

Yeah, so do I.

I'd only work in a place that would allow me to be myself.

McKenzie Brackman is that kind of place.

I'd have to think about it.

You are interested.

Yeah, I'm interested.

[car engine revs]

I'm this way.

Okay, see you tomorrow.

Jonathan, great job.

Incredible job.

Thank you.

Go home, get yourself some sleep.

Don't let it go to your head.

Okay, good night, Mike.

I guess this makes you the winner, huh?

I was expecting some shouting.

A noisy press conference, something.

Maybe I'm just tired.

Or maybe there's nothing to shout about.

You really handed it to me, didn't you?


-Hmm?
-On the stand.

You gave me what I needed.

Let's just say that I think justice was done here.

If you didn't believe Chisolm was guilty,

why'd you go after him?

I thought I had explained that.

I didn't know for sure

whether he was guilty or not guilty.

But I knew if we didn't put him on trial,

we'd never find out.

Did you tell Jerome Bailey to lie?

Nope.

I didn't totally believe him, either,

not after your cross
-examination.

That's when I knew it.

The D.A. had no case.

So what now, you'll just lay off, let it be?

Lay off?

Couple of weeks from now, maybe sooner,

another black man will be dead by a white cop's g*n,

and I'll be there,

making the same noise all over again.

Making sure questions get asked.

Maybe I'll meet you there.

That would be my pleasure.

♪♪ [theme]