05x20 - There Goes the Judge

[bunniefuu]

[indistinct chatter]

Clarence, sweetheart...

[together] Could you stick mine up front?

I got a B and E set to go in division four.

[together] No further continuances, I owe you big.


-Thanks.
-Yeah, yeah.

[distant announcement]

I thought Vance was on today.

Connover did some reassigning. Looks like we got Judge Biel.

Tell me I'm not hearing what I'm hearing.

Forget about buying time, Billy.

You know how he is when he plays the music.

Judge Vance was on the list for God's sake.

Well, Billy, he ain't on it now.

All rise!

Hear ye, hear ye, this court is in session,

the Honorable Adam Biel presiding.

Draw ye near and ye shall be heard, God save the people.

First up, People vs. Checkles.

William Castroverti for the defense,

Your Honor, we'd b seeking a short continuance
-
-

Of course you would.

You want to continue long enough to claim that your client

is being denied his constitutional right

to a speedy trial, or

until all prosecution witnesses are dead
-
-

I assure you, I won't be raising that defense.

I'm merely asking for
-
-

Will it be your practice to interrupt me?

No, Your Honor.


- And how's my favorite student?
- Still learning.

Your Honor, I just got this case.

In the interest of justice
-
-

Those interests aren't served by clogging

the lungs of our judicial process

with a phlegm of continuances

and postponements and tactical delays.

Truth doesn't pick you up on the bus corner,

you must march on to uncover it

beneath whatever bowels it may lie.

So says the Constitution, so says God.

Glory, glory, hallelujah.

His truth is marching on.

Motion denied, trial starts o'clock today.

Next case, Clarence.

[theme music]

[music continues]

[music continues]

[instrumental music]

[music continues]

First up, status on Benny Stulwicz, he's still out,

evidently too depressed to leave the house.

I'm going to visit him today. Victor and I are bringing lunch.

Excellent. I trust now that all the fighting is behind us,

we can each take steps to make this a kinder, gentler law firm.

Arnold, I trust your therapy's going well.


- Shove it, Doug.
- Moving on.

Inre Crossland Corporation.

We've got a restless client here.

Not for long, Abby and I figured out a way

of saving them three quarters

of a million dollars in legal fees.


- How?
- Consolidation of counsel.

We've got conflict waivers and we can centralize

files for all their divisions.

And since the bulk of the work is Federal Anti
-trust,

one firm can do it all.

That firm would be us.

Which means the client pays less, we make more.

You two make quite the team.

Actually, Doug, since this consolidation amounts

to new business, it should be considered

as business brought in by Abby and myself
-
-


- No! Not a chance!
- No, you don't.

This is business originating with a firm client.

You don't get a percentage here.

Well, it was just a thought. Move along.

Next up. People versus Mark Wright. What is this?

Yeah, my client got in a high speed chase with the police.

Two officers were hurt. They're pressing charges.

Why were they chasing him?

He allegedly ran a stop sign.

A stop sign? Why didn't he just pull over?

Because it was the police. He was afraid to.


- We're going with self
-defense.
- Well, wait a second.

Did the police do anything to your client?

No, because he didn't give them the chance.

Wait, wait, wait, this is your defense?

He was afraid so that gives him the right to run away?


- Come on.
- I think we can win.

Well, what sort of a victory is that?

If I get an acquittal, it's a victory

for the client, at least that's
-
-

I have a big problem.

With a lawyer in this firm, an officer of the court,

standing up and endorsing anarchy.

I'm just as afraid of anarchy as you are, Leland.

Trust me.

Brackman: Well, administrative notes.

Effective today, Leland McKenzie returns as Senior Partner.

I am the Executive Managing Partner, Roxanne Melman,

Executive Office Administrator.

Be advised, new stationery will be out today

bearing our new firm name. McKenzie, Brackman, Chaney

and Becker.

I like it. That's all. We're adjourned.

Becker: I think we should drop Chaney now.

Arnold, you've only been in therapy a month.

Things don't happen overnight.

I just feel like we keep going over

the same old ground, that's all.

Birch: Then, let's try to break some new ground.

You haven't said much about your mother

other than she was "overbearing."

God, is that what all you guys always fall back on

when you're at a dead end?

Blame it all on Mommy?

Fear of intimacy can often be traced

to parents' destructive transfer
-
-

Whoa, whoa. Fear of intimacy?

If anything I want too much intimacy!

Arnold, intimacy is the last thing you want.

Sometimes the best way to avoid it is to pretend to be
-
-

What kind of fortune cookie psychobabble is this that you
-
-

Most people use sex as a way to connect with someone.

You use it as a way to insulate yourself

but still pretend that you're trying to connect.

I don't need to listen to this.

Arnold, don't you see?

You're doing the same thing now.

You can't let yourself get too intimate with me.

Look, check's in the mail, Doc.

Why don't you give my appointment to someone

who really needs it, huh?

When he was out I went into his apartment.

I got the key cause I'm the super.

There it was, my TV, VCR,

sittin' right on the sofa.

I told the police, then they arrested him.

But I didn't know nothin' about the dr*gs they found.

Thank you, Mr. Johnston. Nothing further.

Did the police know you were the superintendent

of the building when they told you to get more evidence?


- Yes.
- Your Honor
-
-

Counsel, approach.

You could have a big problem here, little lady.

As the person who taught you criminal procedure

I should be shocked.

If the police directed him to go in there,

he was acting as their agent,

their warrant
-less agent.

Which means the dr*gs they found incident to his arrest

are poisonous
-tree fruits,

which means you got no case.

The police never told him to search that apartment.

He was not their agent.

We'll, we're gonna find that out right now

when he asks the questions.

Step back. Step back.

[clears throat] Sir,

the police knew you had access

to my client's apartment, did they not?

Yes, they did.

And, Mr. Johnston, was it clear

in your mind after you left the police

that you should check this apartment to look for evidence?


- Move to strike!
- Strike two!

Three and two, one out,

nobody on, bottom half of the fifth.

Pete Rose should be banned for life, he gambled.

Forgive these little digressions, people.

But I find it a pity that sometimes our national pastime

is afforded more respect than our judicial process.

I mean, if a baseball game were interrupted

with continual meaningless protestations,

the umpire would simply eject the offender,

give him the thumb, the old heave
-ho .

But here in court I am forced to accommodate

endless repetitions and objections,

by defense attorneys and prosecutors,

whose tactics sometimes subvert the very process

we are here to uphold.

Sir, did the police suggest to you

that you should search the apartment or not?


- No, but
-
-
- Did they hint that you should?

Or did you do this on your own?


- I did it on my own.
- Fantastic!

Well, we don't have a problem then. Splendid.

Move on, Mr. Castroverti.

That stuff about Pete Rose.

God, I've never heard him ramble like that.

He's Judge Biel, what else is new?

No, but he's being weird even for him.

He never misses on the law, Zoe.

He may be crazy but his rulings are right on the money.

Reckless evasion, plus as*ault.

I'll go for one year, nine months suspended.

Come on, Kari. Gimme straight probation.


- We can take a long lunch.
- Very long, I'd be fired.

He was genuinely afraid. And the jury's gonna see that
-
-

I'll go down to three months if you plead,

but if we go through trial on this,

I'm going for at least a year.

No deal.

Jonathan, this thing's serious.

I couldn't agree more.

This thing is serious.

After seeing the vehicle go through the stop sign

I followed and signaled with my siren.

He just accelerated.


- So, then what'd you do?
- We chased him.

My partner called for backup and we were off.

And how fast was he going?

mph in a residential neighborhood.

One of the responding backups tried to block

the suspect's car at an intersection

and it was at this point that two of police units collided.

The suspect eventually pulled into

a residential driveway where he then fled

the vehicle and entered the residence.

Then what happened?

The suspect then stated that he had a g*n

and that he'd sh**t if we tried to enter.


- Continue.
- We secured the premises.

After about minutes,

a man representing himself as his lawyer arrived on the scene.


- This gentlemen here?
- No. It was another attorney.

He went inside and after about minutes they both came out.

We then placed the suspect under arrest

and took him into custody.

And, Officer, do you see this man in the courtroom today?

The defendant, sitting right there.

Thank you, sir.

I have nothing further to offer

the parties' stipulation, Your Honor,

that officers Cleary and Petroveck

were injured in this collision.

Officer Robert Cleary suffering a broken pelvis

Officer Petroveck bruises and lacerations.

Thank you.

Once my client's lawyer arrived,

he did come out voluntarily, did he not?

I don't think he had much choice.

We had officers surrounding the house.

Did he offer any resistance after his attorney arrived?

No. But before that, he threatened to sh**t us.

Did you find the presence of any g*n either

in my client's possession or in the house?

No, we did not.

And how many police did you say were at the scene?

About .

And to your knowledge, sir, has the LAPD

ever been guilty of brutality against
-
-

Objection! This witness
-
-

I'm just asking what he knows, that's all.

This thing has been so overblown, it's
-
-

Wait, wait, wait. Yes or no.

Has the LAPD ever been guilty of brutality?

Every force, at one time
-
-

Yes or no...sir.


- Yes.
- Thank you.

Nothing further.

[court murmuring]

I didn't roll through the stop sign.

I came to a complete stop.

Well, sir, if you really felt you'd done nothing wrong

why didn't you pull over when you heard the siren?

Because I wasn't carrying my driver's license.

And I wasn't about to deal with the police there.

What do you mean, there?

I mean in that neighborhood.

The same place as the man on the tape.

Your Honor, the parties stipulate, the witness

is referring to a videotape he saw on the television news,

which tape depicts an encounter between a speeding suspect

and the Los Angeles Police Department in the same area.

The people renew it's objection on the grounds of relevance
-
-

Overruled, it goes to state of mind. Play it.

[groaning]

[court murmuring]

[court gasps]

How many times, prior to the night

you were chased had you seen this tape?

Many times. You couldn't watch the news without seeing it.

And what, if anything, did it make you think

about the Los Angeles Police Department?

There was no way I was gonna get out of my car that night.

I wasn't gonna fall into their hands!

Okay, so, you drove home,

kept them at bay till you could get a lawyer.

Yes.

Mr. Wright, have you personally ever

been assaulted by a police officer?

When I was , I was handcuffed,

I was thrown face first into a sidewalk,

and kicked.


- What for?
- I was never told.

They made me lay there for about an hour or so,

and then they said "mistaken identity",

and they let me go.

Do you think all policemen are capable

of this kind of v*olence?

No.

I know the police have got a tough job

and most of 'em are good.

But there's a lot of 'em like the ones

in that tape, a lot of 'em.

And I couldn't be sure some of 'em

weren't chasin' me in the car that night.

I was not gonna hang around to find out.

Thank you. I have nothing further.

You ignored those sirens and drove your car

in excess of the speed limit to elude the police.


- Yes or no?
- Yes.

And after you went into your house,

you told the police you'd sh**t

anybody who tried to enter.


- Yes or no?
- Yes.

And you did this because of that videotape?

I did this because I was afraid for my life.

Would it be fair to say

that as you drove your car mph

in the residential neighborhood

and caused police officers to bear their arms

around your house,

that the only safety you were concerned with

was your own?

Absolutely.

Thank you. I have nothing further.

[court murmuring]

Knock, knock.

Hey! Victor.


- Back already?
- Yeah.

It's about Benny, Arnie.

You know, he's not doing too good.

Yeah, tell me about it.

He won't even come in to work,

my dry cleaning is stacked up like cordwood.

So how come you haven't gone to see him?

I'll get there.


- When?
- Excuse me?

When? Everybody's gone to see him, Arnie
-
-

You know something, Victor, maybe one of the reasons

I haven't got there is because I'm up to my ass filling in

for lawyers who deserted this place.

Hey, this isn't about that! Don't make it about
-
-

Don't you come strutting here like Mr. Concerned,

Mr. Guardian Angel.


- What?
- What's the problem, Victor?

Benny not responding to you, when you, when you reach out?

Well, maybe he sees the blood

on your hands from what you did here.

Go to hell!

One of the problems Benny's probably having

is all of you guys showing up ten times a day

trying to cram cheer down his throat.

You ever stop and think maybe he doesn't need

everybody pouncing on him, telling him to get better?

You ever stop and think about that for a single second?

Get some help, okay, Arnie!

Oh, yeah, right, it's me. It's always me!

Well, let me tell you somethin',

Victor, it's you!!

My friend, Mark Corey, asked me if I could

put the guy up for the night.

I didn't even know him.

He was a friend of a friend who needed a bed.

And it's your testimony that this person

stole the merchandise.

He had to. It wasn't me.

And the dr*gs were his, too.

I never do dr*gs, man, and that's the truth.

Thank you, Mr. Checkles. That's all.

What wonderful hospitality you have, Mr. Checkles.

Letting a complete stranger stay in your apartment.

Like I said, he was a friend of a friend.

I see and your friend, Mark Corey

he won't provide you with the name of this person?

Do you know how much you remind me of my daughter?

Your Honor?

Do you have the slightest notion of what it's like

for me to see you like this, so grown up?

Good God, you're a woman

and you're an attorney.

Excuse me, your Honor
-

Members of the jury, I'm going

to let you in on a little secret.

I'm a chauvinist.

When I see women like Ms. Clemmons

I look at them like they could be my daughters.

That would be my inclination, albeit a wrong one.

My job, however, as a judge

is to see her as a district attorney.

Most jurors tend to look at defendants as criminals,

that is your inclination.

Your job, however,

is to presume innocence.

And not gauge this man's testimony

based on any preconceived notions on your part.

Most judges wait till the end of the trial

before giving such instruction.

Sometimes, however, I find it more timely

if given during the testimony of the accused.

Continue, Ms. Clemmons.

[clears throat] Uh...

Uh, did you ever see this person

before you let him stay at your place?


- Only once before.
- And, Mr. Checkles
-
-

I'm sorry. We'll have to have a short recess.

Clarence!

[clears throat]

All rise!

[crowd murmuring]

[door closes]

What is going on?

Glory, glory, hallelujah, the diatribe on Pete Rose,

the "daughter" business?

Oh, come on, Zoe.

You took three classes from me in law school,

I swore you in as an attorney.

You've tried a zillion cases before me,

and you're just figuring out now that I'm a total kook?

I am not talking about your eccentricities

or about your being crazy ol' Judge Biel.

You lost it in there and it scared you.

Listen to this! Completely restored.

This is like being in the same room with the orchestra.

[music playing]

♪ Ma, she's makin' eyes at me

♪ Ma, she's awful nice to me

♪ Ma, she's almost breakin' my heart ♪

I dedicate this to you. Shall we dance?

Oh, your Honor... your Honor.

Your Honor, I don't feel like dancing. Stop.

I certainly hope you didn't come in here to discuss the case!

That would be ex parte and totally inappropriate!

I am here as an officer of the court

concerned about the mental fitness of a judge.

I'm the most published jurist in this district!

Here, look at this.

I'm developing a de novo trial system

which will redefine the superior court calendars.

This is a breakthrough.

I'm not challenging your intellect.

You're challenging my mental fitness!

You called me your daughter in open court!

That was an analogy, for God's sake, just to show the jury
-
-

The analogy was a cover
-up.

There is something wrong with you.

There's nothing wrong!

Jean Valjean is nothing more!

Another story must begin!

That's a lyric from Les Miserables

when Valjean decides to erase his past.

I've heard you listening to that before.

Your Honor.

I have a virus.

I can barely pronounce it.

It's called...

Jacob Dreutzfeldt.

It makes me have these short lapses, nothing more.


- It's nothing I can't handle.
- It's affecting you!

Affecting me?

My rulings of law are still beyond reproach.

You see this system?

Look at it, Zoe. Look at it.

This'll cut the backlog of cases by %!

This thing that you have...

is it curable?

I'm on medication.

It'll all be over in a couple of months, they say.

I'll be a good boy, Counsel. I promise.

[scoffs]

Zoe...

sometimes you do remind me of my daughter.

[instrumental music]


- Goodnight.
- See you tomorrow.

Wow!

Ta
-da!

Family Law Center Benefit.


- Becker roped me into going.
- With him?

No, no. In his place.

He said he didn't feel up to it.

Look, Abby, I
-
-

man: C.J.?

My date.

He had to pick me up here. I was in court till six.


- Hey!
- God.

Let's just skip the dinner and lock the door.

Clay Jones, Abby Perkins.

Oh, excuse my manners.


- She has that effect on me.
- I've gotta go.

No, no, no. Don't let me drive you away.

I promise, I can be civilized.

Don't let him fool you!

Well, I fooled , didn't I?

Uh, we have got to go.

Hates to admit that she fell in love with me.

Out, Clay. I'll see you tomorrow.

Bye.

[upbeat music]

Doctor, did you make an examination of Mark Wright?

Yes, and I concluded that his anxiety

could likely be traced to two incidents

the false arrest as a teenager,

when he was arbitrarily pushed

to the sidewalk and kicked

and the videotape he saw on the news

the week before he was chased.

Wait a second, the videotape

that wasn't really his own experience.

In fact, it is, videotape footage, if graphic enough,

can easily penetrate into the viewer's psyche.

Are you telling us it's the same as being there?

Of course not, but videos like this

don't simply transmit information.

They convey the trauma, as well.

Many people in this country, for example,

have suffered from post traumatic stress disorder

over the w*r in the Persian Gulf.

People whose only connection to the w*r was watching the news.

And you think by watching the footage of the police b*ating,

it contributed to my client's fear the night

he was confronted by the sirens?

My God, how could it not?

That tape shows policemen engaging in violent,

criminal behavior, b*ating and kicking a person

who was not even resisting.

How could any man, especially a black man,

look at that and not be afraid?

Thank you, Dr. Michaelson. Nothing further.

Are you telling us, Dr.,

that it's reasonable for a person,

when signaled to pull over by the police,

that it's reasonable to engage in a high speed chase

in a residential neighborhood,

barricading himself inside of a house

and threatening to sh**t?

I'm saying his fear is reasonable
-
-

I'm not talking about his fear,

I'm talking about his response.

The way he acted on that fear.

He was afraid for his safety.

That kind of panic can easily compromise your judgement
-
-

So, in fact, then you do agree his judgement was compromised.

He did the wrong thing, didn't he, Doctor?

I don't know that.

The circumstances were such
-
-

The circumstances were

that the police signaled him to pull over

and he tried to outrun them.

Now if it's okay under this scenario

for a civilian to initiate a high speed chase,

when would it not be?

I have nothing further.

[TV playing distantly]

You leave your clothes on the floor, the Laundry Police

come and take you away, you know that, don't you?

Hey, buddy. The, the doctors say that

you're ready to come back to work.


- I don't wanna.
- Why?

Because...

Look, Benny,

you can't just sit here all day.

You need to work.

You need your friends.

I don't want any friends.

Why would you say something like that?

Friends go away.

Victor's going away.

Michael's going away.

Look, Benny, I know it hurts
-

You don't know! You don't know!

I...

I do know.

I lost Corrinne.

I lost Chloe.

I've lost every woman who ever tried to get close to me

and I did it to myself just like you're doing now.

You can't stop trusting, Benny,

or you stop living.

You can't just walk away

from people who are trying to help you.

[knocks on door]

Counsel, we're not back in till tomorrow.

I know.

Sit, sit.

I did some checking on your illness.

Jacob...


- Dreutzfeldt.
- Yes.

It causes dementia.

There is no cure.

It's probably going to k*ll you.

Hell, it if kills me, we'll. appeal, that's all.

You're going to keep slipping into

these delusions more and more.

Maybe lawyers who don't know you

as well as I do won't be able to tell.

Pretty soon you won't even be able to tell.

I revel in being a judge. I do. I live for it.

I love the very process of justice

and my participation in that process.

The day I can serve it no longer, I'll step down.

I think that day is here.

No, no, no, no, no, I have spells, yes,

but even with this inane virus

I'm a better judge than most.

As soon as I finish restructuring the districts,

my de
-novo system should work.

It's simple.

Jury
-waived bench trials, a*t*matic appeals,

we can slice right through our dockets.

Zoe, this, this is big.

I am a district attorney

with knowledge of a judge with a mental infirmity.

I have an obligation to disclose this.

Let me tilt at windmills a little while longer.

I promise the day they start tilting back,

I'll get out.

You have to resign.

If you go back in to resume that trial,

I'll have to move in open court

to have you disqualified from the case

and I'll be forced to give the grounds.

I'm sorry.

But I have no choice.

I can't be removed because of an illness.

That's handicap discrimination,

I'll bring a action.

Title Seven Fourteenth Amendment.

Don't thr*aten me, Counsel, you can't win this.

[knocks] Hi.

Hi.

Um,

I thought you might be avoiding me.

Maybe a little.

Listen, about what happened with Clay, I
-
-

Clay is none of my business.

Yes, he is. And I didn't want you to meet him that way.

So...you and he are...

Were. We lived together for six months.

We broke up two years ago.

When I went into your office last night

I was gonna tell you I didn't think we should pursue this,

and then when I saw you with him,

I felt...jealous.

I mean, I couldn't believe it, but I, I was.

I love Clay. And I always will.

But we are just friends now.

I still have to deal with how I...felt.

I can't stay. I have to be in court in a half an hour.

I should get back to work, anyway.

Um, I'm glad you came by.

Yeah, me, too.


- C.J.
- Uh
-huh?

Can we have dinner tomorrow night?


- Sure. Where?
- Your house?

Eric's spending the weekend with a friend.

Abby, maybe we should talk about this.

I'll see you at...:.

Okay.

Okay, simple misdemeanor,

operating a vehicle in an unsafe manner.


- Straight probation.
- No.


- Excuse me?
- I said "no."

I'm offerin' to let your guy walk, how can you just
-
-

Because you're afraid of losing.

Kari, your offer is rejected.

Are you gonna take this to your client?

I don't have to. My client wants a not guilty,

he's not interested in pleas.

And does he know that the lawyer advising him

has a personal grudge against the LAPD?

Does he know his attorney has a civil suit

pending against the police?

That is not relevant to this case.

Come on!

You're on a mission here that goes

beyond your client and this case
-
-

What's your mission, Kari?

We got a police chief with life tenure,

we got a Mayor who is powerless to remove him.

The police department is going on wielding sprees

costing the taxpayers ten million dollars a year

in civil lawsuits, and you pretend that
-
-

The police did nothing wrong here!

Two of them were injured, one very badly.

What happened to you, maybe they got away

with that, and if so, I'm sorry!

Hey, I've been stopped by the police,

sometimes probably for no other reason than that I'm black,

but that has nothing to do with this case!

Whatever your personal baggage is you gotta let that go.

You don't let that go!

They throw you face down onto a hood of a car,

they b*at you with a nightstick

and they want to prosecute me...!

You don't let that go.

Listen to yourself.

Forget about listening to me.

Do your client a favor and listen to yourself.

[distant chatter]

[elevator dings]


- You ready?
- Sit.

Look, Mark

you realize with the plea you're guaranteed no jail time, right?

Yeah, yeah, you explained all of that. So, let's go.

What I didn't explain, maybe, was my own agenda.

The police roughed me up a couple of months ago.

Their track record of brutality...

I steered you away from the plea to make a point.

About stuff that has nothing to do specifically

with you or your case.

I'm a law
-abiding citizen,

and I'm scared of the police.

In my own neighborhood, I have to be afraid.

This "stuff" you're talkin' about,

how can you say it has nothin' to do with me?

The plea is rejected.

Go in there and make your point.

Okay.

To protect and to serve.

That's the motto of the Los Angeles Police Department.

But this department does not instill a sense of safety.

Right or wrong, deserved or undeserved,

the LAPD has one of the worst reputations

for brutality of any urban force in this country.

Mark Wright was aware of that reputation.

He saw that tape and believed,

like the majority of L.A. residents believe,

this kind of police v*olence goes on all the time.

But you see, usually, it's not on tape.

Usually, it's just the say so of one "suspect"

versus two or three or twenty officers

whose motto is "To protect and to serve."

I know it's tough being a police officer, really.

They're fighting gangs armed with a*t*matic weapons

and they're risking their lives

but the thing is,

they encounter so many bad people every day

they have forgotten that also living in this society

are good people.

This department has lost the trust of those people.

The community,

the neighborhoods, we, the people,

don't respect you.

You scare us.

During a week where we had opportunity

as Americans to be so incredibly proud of our armed forces,

a time where we could take pride in our President,

and the soldiers who truly served us

in the fight for civil liberties

we had to look at that tape and see

what your fellow officers did.

We would turn on the news

and see our m*llitary in the desert

treating surrendering Iraqi soldiers

with humanity

and civility.

And we see our own public servants kicking

and b*ating an American citizen on our streets!

We would all love nothing better than to be able to trust

and respect our police,

to not feel fear and thr*at at the sight of them.

But we can't.

What a horrible tragedy that Mark Wright

felt compelled to run that night

but what's even worse

is that most of us feel the same way.

The defendant illegally tried to flee

the police after running a stop sign.

He caused a high speed chase that resulted in serious injury,

and he threatened to sh**t the police.

Basically, his defense to this is

since I'm afraid of the police I'm exempt.

That's ridiculous!

What we saw on that tape was clearly reprehensible.

As a public servant, I was shocked and disgraced

by the behavior of those officers.

As for the department's relationship to the public,

it's also a disgrace.

But this relationship is bilateral, ladies and gentlemen.

If you want the police department

to show you the respect you deserve,

it goes both ways.

Of the six largest forces in this country,

LAPD has the fewest per capita officers.

They are outmanned and outgunned by the gangs,

and they're sh*t at every day.

During the six weeks of combat in the Gulf

one hundred and nineteen of our

American soldiers were lost in action.

During that same period

over three thousand American citizens

were m*rder*d right here at home.

Over two hundred and seventy thousand cases

of aggravated as*ault.

Over twenty thousand r*pes.

So don't think for one second that they're not in a w*r.

If you don't want the police department

resorting to street justice, fine.

Show them they don't have to.

This guy broke the law.

Show them the system works.

[court murmuring]

So, were we having ex parte fun?

Uh, Billy, so you know, uh

I've asked Judge Biel to disqualify himself

and call a mistrial.

Well, I don't want a mistrial. I think
-
-

But I do. And the reason he's not here...

I think he's going to disqualify himself from the bench.

Why?

With any luck you'll never know.

[upbeat music]

Well, you guessed wrong, Counselor.

That's his charge music he's playing.

The , that means he's on the att*ck.

[g*nsh*t]

[all screams]

Oh my God.

Oh!

Oh my God!

I'm in Judge Biel's chambers.

Get an ambulance up here immediately.

[dramatic music]

I was...

ten...ten, I guess.

I went over to my dad's office,

just to see him...a surprise.

When I got there there was already someone in his office.

A woman.

She was tall.

Red hair.

And he was...

touching her.

Touching and...

I
-I ran home.

I never told him.

Never told Mom.

That night, I heard them...

I heard them yelling at each other,

heard them calling each other names.

Whore
-lover, that was, that was her favorite phrase.

He'd call her a bitch.

And she'd call him a whore lover.

How did that make you feel?

Like I wanted to run.

Like I wanted to run and...

never be like that, be like them.

Not ever.

Have you succeeded?

What do you think?

We had a temp in here.

Boy, he screwed up the mail

like you wouldn't believe.

I know, but, uh,

it's okay now. I took care of it.

I gotta go pick up Arnie's dry cleaning.

Benny...it's good to have you back.

This place runs so much better with you here.

Has the jury reached it's verdict?


- We have.
- What say you?

In the matter of People versus Wright,

on the count of reckless evasion,

we find the defendant guilty.

On the count of as*ault with a dangerous w*apon,

we find the defendant not guilty.

On the count of resisting a law enforcement officer,

we find the defendant not guilty.

[court murmuring]

Judge: Sentencing next Tuesday.

The jurors and parties are free to go.

[court murmuring]

man: Mr. Rollins?

That was Mother Dominica.

She expelled me

for skateboarding into the nuns' chapel.

You skateboarded into the nuns' chapel?

Yeah, during Vespers.

Well, I didn't mean to. They left the doors open.

Mother Dominica didn't see the humor, I take it.

In anything, least of all me.

It's too bad. You're pretty funny.

Ack! No more of that! They're terrible.

[laughing]

No. No.


- You sure?
- Yeah, I'm fine.

Me, too.

Mm.

Then why do you look so scared?

Why?

Because...

you and I...

I've never done this before?

What makes you think something's gonna happen now?

Because I'm...

ready.

Well, first of all, I never said I was ready.


- Well, I'm
-
-
- You're not ready at all.

You've been jittery ever since you arrived,

nervous laughter all through dinner.

You haven't demonstrated enough honesty

to make for a decent friend,

let alone anything more than a friend.

I like you very much.

But I don't want to jeopardize our relationship

because you're trying to satisfy your curiosity.

It's not just curiosity.

Maybe it is and maybe it isn't.

But nothing is gonna happen tonight.

You can consider yourself two things...

dumped and relieved.

[instrumental music]

[door opens]

[sighs]

God.

You told me you gave me all the keys.

I did, except for one.

Thank you for coming.

If I'd known what happened, you wouldn't have had to call.

Maybe it was a blessing, you know.

I mean, they say the disease would've eventually

rotted his brain away.

It was probably a blessing.

You had to do what you did.

You're a D.A, you got wind of a judge losin' his mind,

you gotta blow the whistle. No discretion.

He was still gettin' the job done, Tommy.

He was shaky, but...

I didn't have to put the g*n to his head.

[sobs]

You didn't do that.

I'm not strong enough for this job.


- I'm not.
- You?

Yeah, you are.

[crying]

I'm so sorry I still need you.

Ssh.

I don't mean to need you anymore.

But I can't help it.

[somber music]

[crying]

[theme music]