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previously on L .A. Law.

Say, Orrin, this might be a good time to clear the air, so to speak.

What about?

About this whole kind of tripartite substratum that exists among the three

us. Rock fans' attraction to you, me and rocks, you and me.

Maybe another time, Dave. I've got to get to a meeting.

Let the record show that Miss Kelsey has brought a newborn infant into this room

to willfully and purposely disrupt this proceeding. This is the dumbest thing

I've ever heard. This probably isn't even your baby. You probably rented it

the day just so you could screw up this deposition. I'll bet this is your idea.

This is just like you. Fine, if that's what you want to do, you want to bring

in here, I'll subpoena the little bastard and I'll drag it into court. I

the baby's intrusive crying on the record. And I also want the record to

a piercing, shrill -like shriek emanating from said infant. Will you

Bad day, huh?

Bad year.

I feel like the only reprieve I had was when I was suspended from practicing

altogether.

And that was for going up against a guy who'd never been to law school, who also

ended up beating me.

Well, it would appear as though you had a gas attack.

What about the cold sweats and the pacing heart?

Anxiety symptoms. You thought you were having a heart attack.

Gas? I don't know whether to be embarrassed or relieved. My vote is for

Look, go home, get a good night's rest, and have your internist call me in the

morning. Thank you, Doctor.

Thank you.

Mr.

McKenzie, Miss Kepler's here.

Hi.

I'm in.

Have a seat.

What?

You're always so awkward with me in your office.

Like you think I'm going to take off all my clothes or something.

Jennifer... There's no easy way to say this, except to just say it.

We have to stop seeing each other.

Why?

Because, simply...

I'm not happy. This is all about the anxiety attack the other night, isn't

That triggered it, yes.

I had a frighteningly clear vision of myself 10, 15 years from now when my

ailments might not be quite so psychosomatic.

And if the 35 years between us seems troublesome now, believe me, 10 years

now, you will hate me for it. Leland. From the very beginning, I told you how

awkward this relationship was for me.

You didn't warn me about anything. All you did was hide behind our age

difference.

You never really gave us a chance.

I'm sorry I can't give you the commitment you want, Jennifer.

At my age... At my age, I've earned the right to be who I am.

Anything else would be dishonest.

You are old, Leland.

I thought I could prove to you you weren't.

Instead you've proven to me that you are.

Thank you.

Moving on.

Hayes versus Skylight Entertainment, Inc. Arnold?

Yes, Melanie Hayes, be still my heart, has retained us to pry her out of her TV

series. Why? It made her a star. For the last two years, she's asked them to

write her out so she could pursue a film career. Her producers promised they

would. They never did.

Now she's up for a co -starring role opposite Gene Hackman, and they won't

her out to do it.

Is she single?

To my knowledge, yes.

Can you fix me up? Take a number. All right.

Dolgen versus the sports fitness clinic, Leland.

John Dolgen was a somewhat overweight corporate attorney who wanted to get in

shape. He went to the sports fitness clinic because they advertised

designed programs by trained fitness experts.

Midway through his first workout, he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage, and for

intents and purposes, he was vegetableized. This is potentially a

dollar case.

I'll buy a lot of Bearnaise sauce.

Indeed. Victor, you'll be handling it.

I'll get you the file.

Excuse me? Why is Victor being given this case?

It simply makes sense, given Victor's experience with personal injury cases.

What are you talking about? I've done twice as many as he has.

Yes, but he's been winning them.

It was felt that the firm's interest would be better served at this time if

backstopped Arnold's case.

That's a settlement negotiation. It's not even a court case, and you know it.

We'll discuss this later, Michael. No, we'll discuss it now.

I said later.

Move along, Douglas.

Jonathan, people versus Wanda Havens. Trial starts tomorrow.

I am this firm's chief litigator. Not only am I owed the decency of being

informed, but it is my function to make this decision.

I'm sorry, but I had to act in the best interest of this firm. This is not a

dictatorship, Leland!

You want to act in the best interest of the firm, you call a partners meeting,

and you put the damn thing to a vote. A vote would embarrass you, Michael,

because everybody would vote Victor.

Now, you're a fine attorney, we all know that, but you've hit a bad patch, and I

will not have this firm victimized by it.

Your Honor, at this time, I'd like to show the tape, if I may.

Very good.

Members of the jury, you're about to see a videotape that was recorded by the

bank security cameras the day of the robbery.

What? Television?

We're going to watch TV?

Objection. What did he say?

What did he say?

Motion to strike.

Mr. Henderson, what are you moving to strike?

That would be correct, Your Honor.

Run the tape.

Okay, this is me to the left of the screen.

The guy, Harold, is holding his gun in my stomach.

The other guy with the gun, Sam, is terrorizing the rest of the room. He's

everybody lying face down, spread -eagled.

This is Walter on the right with the other guy, Pike, up at the teller.

They've just got the money, and they're about to make their getaway. It's a very

clear picture.

I think it's a Sony.

Quiet! Run the tape.

They got us completely loaded.

Oh, for God's sakes, let's move.

Oh, Pike, calm down.

Pike, calm down. You idiot.

Come on, get him out.

We have to leave him. I'm going to shoot.

You can't leave him. He's the driver.

Then get him out.

Oh, God. Come on, Pike.

You can help us out a little. He's a ton. His colostomy bag must be full.

That's it.

I have nothing further, Your Honor.

Move to run the tape again, Judge.

Oh, yeah.

Yeah.

Mike, got a couple of minutes?

What for?

I could use some help with my opening argument.

What's the matter? Isn't Victor available?

I was hoping you could help me.

Look, Jonathan, don't get into the middle of it.

In the middle of what?

I'm in the doghouse around here, and they're sending you in to throw me a

I don't like it.

Everyone tells me I should accept a little more supervision.

And when I finally come in looking for it, you bounce me out on my ass.

I'm going into a courtroom tomorrow to defend my first murder case, a murder I

might add to which the client has confessed.

I'm fighting for this woman's life, and you're pouting over a bruised ego?

Jonathan. What?

I'm sorry.

Let's see what you got.

I said I'm sorry.

She had been repeatedly beaten and raped by her husband, ladies and gentlemen.

He terrorized her children.

This woman could not even go to sleep at night because she was too afraid he

would come charging through her front door with an axe.

Okay, okay, hold it.

Don't go into details about how she was terrorized by him.

Don't go into it. It's my whole defense.

Your defense is to get the jury to feel shocked and horrified by her story. If

you stand out there and tell it first, you're just going to soften the impact

her testimony.

I have to set up my case, don't I? All you have to do in your opening is to

establish your own credibility with the jury.

Act fair.

Sound reasonable.

Also, concede parts of the prosecution's case, the parts that don't really hurt

you. You come off believable.

The jury's going to be more inclined to believe your witness.

They see you accepting Wanda's story. They might be more apt to accept it,

because they trust your judgment.

Okay. One other thing.

You have a tendency to walk around and pace a lot while you're questioning

witnesses. Yeah? When she's up there testifying, stand still.

You want the jury's focus to be completely on her. Don't distract them

around a lot.

But to the extent that you have to move at all, go to the witness.

Drawing their eyes and attention to her if her testimony goes the way it should

nobody should even be aware that you're in the room What I

Just keep thinking here. I am in a first -degree murder case There's still so

much. I don't know and this woman's trusting her entire life to me. You can

this Jonathan You're a good lawyer You can do this

Thanks. Skylight is taking a very hard line with you, Melanie, which, quite

frankly, is fine with me.

I love your show.

You think this will end up in court?

Well, with your popularity and both of our connections with the press, I would

love to have this go to trial.

Play it out in public.

What do you think, Mike?

You know, there's a question I'm always dying to ask when I hear about

situations like this.

Why is it that you don't think contracts apply to you?

Mike, well... No, I mean, if your company decided to dump you four weeks

picking up your option, you would be crying breach, am I right? Mike, maybe I

didn't properly characterize Melanie's circumstance.

Maybe it's that you think of it as a kind of artistic license.

No, Mr. Cusack, I've never been mistaken for an artist.

But I have worked for the masters of Montecito for the past six seasons

missing a call.

I've never been stricken with a convenient case of laryngitis.

And not even last year, when a different movie offer came up, they agreed to let

me go.

And then reneged.

I have repeatedly demonstrated my good faith.

They have repeatedly demonstrated bad faith.

For the record, I don't know why you've hung in there as long as you have.

I'm going to fight for this, Mr. Cusack.

If that means I have to sit still for some harsh opinions from a good attorney

who's got more important things to do, that's a small price to pay.

What happened then, sir?

I had just served the guy another beer when she came in. It was around 11 .30.

She, you mean the defendant?

Yes. She walked up to the bar right where he was sitting. Then all of a

she has got a gun in her hand. Then what?

She says, you're not going to hurt my babies. You're not going to hurt us

anymore.

Then she raises the gun. And before he could move or say anything, before any

us could do anything, she pulls the trigger.

His head just fell to the floor.

There was blood everywhere.

What did you do, sir?

I think I stood there frozen for a minute or so, like I was in shock or

something.

The next thing I really remember was her crying.

She just started to cry, real uncontrollable.

I felt sorry for her.

Then the cops showed up and took her away.

Thank you, Mr. Gaston.

That's all.

Had you ever heard Mr. Havens make threats toward my client, sir?

Sometimes. After he'd had a few, he'd make very serious threats, yes.

Specifically, sir?

Sometimes he'd say he was going to kill her. In fact, on December 18th, 1988,

you reported one of these threats to the police, didn't you?

The way he stormed out of the bar, I thought he was going to hurt her.

What did the police say when you reported that?

They called it a domestic situation.

Did they indicate as to what they were going to do?

They indicated that they were going to do nothing.

Thank you, sir. And were you personally in fear for your life that night in the

bar? No.

This woman is holding a gun less than ten feet away from you. She just killed

man, and yet you weren't afraid?

I knew the man.

I figured she was just doing what she thought she had to do.

I didn't think she was any dangerous criminal or anything.

Thank you for your honesty, sir. Nothing further.

Mr. Henderson.

Mr. Henderson?

Oh, Miss Van Holden. Van Owen.

Van Owen?

Any relation to Ezekiel Van Owen?

No, sir, not to my knowledge.

That's just as well.

He was put to death by lethal gas in 1937 for murdering his third wife.

I defended him.

Mr. Henderson, may I speak with you in private?

Oh, absolutely.

I was hoping that we might be able to make this

case of ours go away.

Sure. Just withdraw all charges against my client.

I can't do that, Mr. Henderson.

But I am prepared to offer you a very favorable deal.

Such as?

Probation, contingent on community service, and no jail time.

No, thank you.

But they're guilty, Mr. Henderson. There is no question about it.

Nevertheless, my clients intend to exercise their...

constitutional rights to a fair trial by a jury of their peers.

Well, then I'm afraid I'm going to have to make a motion to have you removed as

attorney of record on the grounds of incompetence. Miss Van Overland, I have

never been incontinent in my life.

Incompetent, Mr. Henderson.

You... You misstated the facts in your opening.

You don't have the full command of the rules of evidence, and on top of that,

you're hard of hearing.

Hmm? Why don't we go into court tomorrow and get ourselves a continuance? Then

your clients can retain the services of another attorney, and you can still stay

on as co -counsel. But then I wouldn't get to give my closing.

Oh, I've already written it.

I think it's pretty good.

Would you like to hear a little of it?

No, Mr. Hendrickson.

I'm sorry.

This is not a nice thing to do to a fellow member of the legal fraternity.

I know.

I shall see you in court, Miss Manolin.

About a month after the divorce, he just started showing up.

he'd try to force me to have sex, and when I wouldn't, he'd rape me. Did you

report this to the police, Mrs. Phavens?

No, not at first.

He was the father of my children. I didn't want to see him locked up in

So you didn't do anything?

I told my lawyer, the one that did the divorce, and we went down and got a

order that said he had to stay away.

Only he didn't.

A week later, he was back.

And what happened this time?

He tried to drag me out of the apartment.

He threw me down a flight of stairs and broke my arm.

My oldest, Jimmy, yelled at his father to stop.

And Billy knocked him down and started to kick him.

He was kicking his own five -year -old son in the head.

And was it after this you decided to go to the police?

I had to. I was afraid he was going to end up killing us.

And what did the police do?

They arrested him for assault, and I had to testify against him, and they

give him 45 days in jail.

And in court, he told me when he gets out, he's

coming to kill me.

Did you tell this to the police?

They said that there was nothing they could do till he did.

They said, if you really want to be safe, buy a gun. The police told you to

buy a gun?

And I did, too.

I bought a pistol, and I kept it right in my bedroom.

When did you next see your husband, Mrs. Havens?

Two days after he got out of jail, he showed up in the day,

and he had this real crazy look.

And he told me that this was the last day me

and the kids was going to be alive.

And he meant it.

What'd you do?

I called the police.

And they said I could swear out a complaint or they could bring him in for

questioning, but they didn't think that they could lock him up. So what did you

do? I, um...

I put the kids in my bedroom for the night so they'd be safe.

And then about 11 o 'clock, the phone rang.

It was him.

He said he was coming to get me.

He was coming to kill me.

That's when I knew I had to do it.

What did you have to do, ma 'am?

Had to save myself and my baby.

So I stopped him.

You shot your husband?

I had to.

The police couldn't do nothing and the court order couldn't do nothing.

I couldn't just sit and wait for him to kill me.

I couldn't let him kill my children.

Thank you, Mrs. Havens.

Nothing further.

The reason that you claim you killed your husband was self -defense, right?

Yes. When you walked up to your husband at that bar, Mrs. Havens, did you think

he was about to kill you at that very moment?

No, not at the moment, but I... Thank you.

And was your husband armed with any weapon at the time you shot him?

Not that I knew about.

Thank you, ma 'am.

Nothing further.

Come in.

Miss Van Oren, can we talk to you?

Actually, we shouldn't speak.

You are represented by counsel.

That's why we're here.

He tells us you want to have him declared incompetent. That's correct.

We don't want another lawyer.

Laura Henderson's our man.

Did he tell you the deal I offered him?

We don't want a deal.

We want a trial.

Look, Miss Van Orden, we're four old geezers with nothing to do and no place

go. This trial's the most fun we've had since old Pike here stole a van last

year. and drove a bunch of us to do pies in reverse.

But the truth of it is, at least I did it.

Uh, gentlemen, holding up a bank, using a criminal trial as a playground

to fight boredom isn't fun.

Neither is walking into a bank and being told you can't withdraw any of your own

money. You made that deal when you joined the home.

We signed over our Social Security checks, and we signed over our pensions.

And then when the food and the care stinks and we want to supplement the

of our life with a little of our own money, we can't do it.

We never made that deal.

You broke the law.

And now we want our trial with our own lawyer.

Okay.

What'd she say?

She said, okay.

Well, let's get out of here before she changes her mind.

Miss Van Owen? Mr. Haber?

I couldn't help noticing in court.

You have a cute little tuchus there.

Thank you.

Just thought I'd mention it.

Jimmy, it's very important that you tell the truth.

Do you understand that?

Yes.

Good.

Could you please tell everybody your name?

Jimmy Havens.

How old are you, Jimmy?

Six.

Can you tell us who that person is sitting right over there?

That's my mother.

Jimmy, do you know what this trial is all about?

I know how scary this seems, but there's nothing to be afraid of.

So I want you to be real brave and speak up for us, okay?

Okay.

Can you tell us why we're in court today?

Because Mommy killed Daddy.

Jimmy, your mother claims your father used to beat her up, and that sometimes

used to beat you up, too.

She also said... Objection to form, Your Honor.

He's six years old. I think it's appropriate to leave.

The objection's overruled.

Did your father used to hurt you and your mother?

Yes. Did he make you afraid?

Yes.

Can you tell us some of the things he did to hurt you or make you afraid?

He told me not to tell.

I'm really not supposed to tell.

Please, Jimmy, your mother needs your help now.

He knocked us down and kicked us.

Sometimes he cut me with a knife.

One time he poured hot water from the stove on us.

Okay.

It's going to be okay.

Are they going to put my mother in jail?

Are they going to put her in jail?

I hope not.

I hope not.

I have nothing further.

I have nothing, Your Honor.

When the bank told us we couldn't withdraw our own money, we were sorted

-help. That's all we did.

So, Mr. Grant, when you discovered that the senior citizen's home had frozen

your accounts...

Well, answer the question, sir. You didn't ask me the question. My God,

as bad as Sam.

Objection. Mr. Henderson.

Your Honor, may I approach the witness?

Certainly.

Where do you figure he's headed?

I think he's going to see Walter.

What's the big rush?

Gentlemen.

Stop making whys.

Just tell me how much money you took.

You didn't ask.

I'm going to ask you right now.

Mr. Graff, whose car did you drive to the bank?

We took $16 ,000.

That was what our four accounts totaled all pooled together.

We only took what was coming to us.

Ben.

I have nothing for her.

Your witness.

So you decided that since you couldn't take out your money with a

withdrawal slip, you'd do it with guns?

That's right. And I'm not ashamed of it.

Well, if you're not ashamed of it, then why were you wearing the masks?

Well, we knew it was illegal, technically.

We thought we'd get away with it.

And we would have, if Pike hadn't gone down.

I see.

Was the intent to rob the bank held mutually between all four of you?

Objection, Your Honor.

It seems that one of my clients has expired.

What? Pike Johnson's dead.

My God, Pike.

Dead, you say?

Bailiff. No, no, Pike, no.

No, wake up.

Clerk, call an ambulance and see if there's a doctor around.

Move it.

I need some time, Judge. This affects my strategy.

It's a contract.

Pure and simple.

We own her.

I'm not a thing to be owned, sir. Every contract has an implied covenant of good

faith. The studio has not once shown... The deal is, we give her dialogue, she

reads it, we pay her. The hell with good faith.

This is the very type of blatant contempt that caused this mess.

Melanie, hold on.

What caused this mess is the bloated ego of an actress who's suddenly too

important to service the very vehicle which made her famous.

That's it.

Meeting is over.

Suit yourself.

Be in court, Counselor.

Hold it. Hold it.

If this thing goes to trial, you both lose.

The courts don't order specific performance on personal service

you can never force her to be in your show.

But they will enjoin you from working for anyone else. Michael. Which means

there goes your movie deal and your income.

Michael, please.

So look, instead of winding up here with nothing but a stack of bills from your

lawyers, why not offer them...

six or seven episodes in exchange for time off to do your movie. It's not that

simple. It's exactly that simple, only you can't see it because you're too

intent on teaching her a lesson for the sake of some studio precedent.

And you can't see it because you're too blinded by anger over the way they've

tweeted you.

Michael.

Can I speak with you privately for a moment?

Use this.

If you could do this movie, Melanie, would you be willing to explore the

possibility of a settlement?

Maybe.

If you could have, say, half a dozen or so episodes so you could truly map out

the departure of her character, would you be willing to consider a settlement?

Possibly. So, I got one possibly and one maybe. That's very nice.

Why don't you put together a proposal, so will we, and we'll see if we can

hammer something out here.

Okay. Good.

Good.

We'll hear first from the defense.

Thank you, Your Honor.

They robbed that bank because they were not allowed to

withdraw their own money.

The senior citizen's home had it all tied up.

Well, my clients joined that home, ladies and gentlemen. They probably did

consent to be treated like old men.

They did not consent to be treated like children.

We're old, yes.

But dignity is not something that atrophies when our bones grow brittle.

still have every right to be proud and to be independent.

And when Walter Graff, Harold Cooley, Sam Haber, and Dead Pike Johnson walked

into the bank that day, they went in as messengers.

This is not just another stick -up, ladies and gentlemen. It was political

activism.

It was freedom of speech.

These men are not criminals. They are patriots.

Public servants of the greatest nation on earth, the United States of America.

Oh, my mistake, my mistake.

Not guilty.

Here.

Thank you.

You can do yours now.

Thank you.

They robbed a bank, ladies and gentlemen.

They went in with loaded guns, stole money.

And could have ended up hurting people.

They are very sweet men.

But they committed a very serious crime.

Thank you.

Is that it?

Mr. Henderson.

I didn't hear her closing.

Did you hear her closing?

What closing?

What'd she say? Something about a closing.

My client killed a man.

I certainly don't expect you to ignore that.

Nor do I expect you to ignore her agony or the terror which caused her to act

that night.

She was protecting her life against a man who had raped her, against a man who

had threatened to murder her.

Go to the police. She did that.

They told her to buy a gun.

There's a scared little boy sitting over there, praying to God you don't take

his mother away from him.

I know in the big picture, we don't want people arming themselves and having

shootouts in bars like the Wild West. But before you go back into that jury

room, take a look at the little picture.

She's no murderer, ladies and gentlemen.

What happened that night happened because, as the police put it, the

her family was in her own hands.

Now it's in yours.

What happened that night was she walked into a bar and shot an unarmed man in

the head.

A man who, by her own testimony, was not about to harm her at the moment she

pulled the trigger.

As a matter of law, ladies and gentlemen, that does not fall within the

definition of self -defense.

You want to feel sorry for her, please do.

You want to hate the victim and feel he's a horrible human being, please do.

That does not change the fact that she stalked him and shot him without any

legal justification.

However much you empathize with her or agonize for her, she committed first

-degree murder.

That's the only conclusion you could possibly reach.

Will the defendants rise?

Members of the jury, have you reached your verdict? We have, Your Honor. What

say you?

In the matter of people versus Samuel Haber, Walter Graff, Harold Cooley, and

Pike Johnson, we find each and every one of the defendants guilty as charged.

What'd she say? She said guilty.

I appeal, Your Honor. Go directly to jail. Jail? I thought you said we were

going to get sympathy.

We have to go to jail?

Gentlemen, please.

Your Honor, I would like to formally charge the district attorney with

Quiet.

Members of the jury, thank you.

Your service is completed.

Mr. Henderson, have your clients back in this room next Tuesday.

Ten o 'clock for sentencing. Mistrial.

Appeal. Trickery. We are adjourned.

Mr. Henderson.

Oh, hi.

Look, don't take this personally.

I'm just saying this stuff for the record.

Off the record, I like you.

I like you, too. And I'm willing to recommend suspended sentences so your

clients won't have to go to prison. Prison?

Oh, shut up, Sam.

You really would do that?

I would.

And I'd also like you to know that I thought your clothing argument was

brilliant.

Honestly. Honestly.

Mr. Henderson, you are a fine attorney.

And I wish you the very best of luck.

Well, thank you very much, Miss Van Orden.

Michael.

You did a good thing there.

Well, what else could I do? I want to be able to sleep at nights.

Speaking of which, I'd like to join you one of these nights.

I know, me too.

It has just been so crazy.

Well, how about this? We've been invited out to dinner tonight by this client of

mine who I negotiated out of a TV series. I can't.

Grace. Michael, Heiser and Monzio are both out with the flu.

I've got to get continuances on about a million cases. Plus, I've got to be

ready early tomorrow morning on People vs.

Alvarez, which I haven't even started.

Dinner's out. Sleep is out. And as far as sex is concerned, I vaguely recall it

is something very nice that normal people indulge in.

Which we're not.

Michael, I'm sorry.

I miss you. I love you.

But I'm going to have to make it up to you.

Hey,

this is a very nice closing yesterday.

Thanks, you too.

Look, I'm prepared to offer a deal.

Now?

Manslaughter two years.

These dens are looking stunned.

I'm not stunned, I'm just thinking about it. Come on, what's to think about?

Your client walks in premeditated, blasted, unarmed man. I'm offering

manslaughter? It's a dream.

A dream served up maybe by your nightmares of an acquittal?

Very true. Look, I admit, I didn't give you a chance in hell when this case

began. But you've even got me feeling sorry for her, and Lord knows what the

jury's doing. But she did murder the guy, and the best I can offer is

manslaughter.

Okay, I need a little time to think about it.

Think away.

The clock is ticking.

The jury could be out five more hours or five more minutes.

What to do?

Take the deal. It's two years and you're out.

The other way could be pretty fatal.

What about my kids?

Are they going to take my kids away?

Yeah.

But there's a chance we can get them back after you're relieved.

That means there's a chance I could lose them forever.

If they come back with first degree, you'll definitely lose them forever.

I can't lose my kids. I can't.

Jerry's coming in, Counselor. What?

Is it too late?

Did we wait too long?

No, but we gotta decide now.

I don't know. All right, let's take the deal.

I can't let you risk 30 years in jail. I promise I'll be all over social

services to help you get your kids back.

But, Wanda, we gotta decide.

Okay.

Okay.

The offer's still good?

Yeah. You want it? We want it.

Come on.

Nothing like waiting till the last minute.

Judge, believe it or not, we have a plea bargain.

Now? Right before the verdict?

Sorry about the timing, Judge, but we've reached an agreement which we both

believe serves the interest of justice.

The defendant will plead guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter with a

recommended sentence of two years.

Is that acceptable to you, Counselor?

Mr. Rollins.

Excuse me?

Mr. Rollins.

No, Your Honor, it's not acceptable.

What? I'd like a minute to confer with my client. Go ahead.

What the hell?

I want to call off the deal.

Why? They were looking at you. The jury members were looking right at you. What

does that mean?

Maybe nothing, but if they're about to hammer you with a guilty verdict, I

think they'd be so willing to make eye contact.

Are you sure?

No, it's just a feeling. You can still take the deal if you want, but my gut

says let's take the chance.

Okay, if that's what you think.

No plea bargain, Your Honor. Now, we had a deal. Malcolm, I'm sorry. I can't

force the defendant to accept a plea bargain, Mr. Gold.

Mr. Foreman, has the jury reached a verdict?

We have, Your Honor.

The defendant will rise.

In the matter of People v.

Wanda Havens, criminal complaint number 89243, we, the jury, find the defendant

not guilty.

Nice

work,

Counselor.

Thanks, Mike.

Thanks for everything.

This may be coming home, Mom.

Baby, I'm coming home.

I hope you won't mind if I say that, um, I'm glad your significant other

couldn't make it tonight.

Well, not if you don't mind the fact that I've bored you to death with the

endless recitation of all the cases I've lost in the last six months.

On the contrary.

It's been fascinating.

Well, you're very kind to say so.

Oh, really?

I mean...

What you do, the stakes are so high.

I know my case was just over a contract, but the settlement you hammered out is

going to make a profound difference in the quality of my life.

Well, I hope so.

You may be on a losing streak as far as Mackenzie Brackman is concerned, but as

far as Melanie Hayes is concerned...

You're a winner this was no big deal just take

Would you like to come inside?

I better not.

Well, it's been wonderful.

Thank you for a lovely, lovely evening.

Thank you.