Original subtitles

Previously on L .A. Law.

Death penalty appeals are usually losers. I'm not going to lie to you

that, but we do have a chance, Earl. We have a legitimate chance.

Well, there'll be other big clients, Rosalind. I'm not talking about clients

right now. I'm talking about the senior partner.

I'm talking about somebody who can't make a hard decision when he needs to

because he's too afraid of risking his popularity.

Which way did you vote?

Someday you'll probably head up your own firm, Jonathan.

You'll see. It gets complicated.

Sometimes you just have to compromise.

No. You always struck me as a man who didn't.

The surprise DNA evidence prejudiced the defendant's right to a fair trial under

the United States Constitution.

Accordingly, we hereby set aside the verdict and the death penalty and order

new trial to be scheduled immediately.

Ronald Sewell, street name Pinto, last seen around Olympic Grand, but he could

be anywhere.

I want you to find out where he lives and search it. All right.

I want to thank you all for staying late.

So, what's going on, Leland?

This.

Effective as of this Friday, I am resigning as senior partner of this law

What? I'll stay on as of council.

But one of you will have to take over.

Are you sick?

No, I'm not sick.

My health has nothing to do with it. Then what?

What possible reason could you have for dropping this kind of bomb on us?

Because for some time now, I've hated to come into work, Anne.

People keep threatening to quit. People tell me to go to hell. The place is

splitting at the seams, and I can't be the one to hold it together any longer.

So what are we supposed to do? You elect a new senior partner. That's what you

do. Who? Who here can do this job?

Anybody but me.

Well, you can't do this, Leland. Oh, yes, I can.

I'm old.

I'm rich.

I'm done.

Proceeding along, Perel versus Diane.

Victor? Yes, the hospital has settled out, leaving just the good doctor.

We've offered $40 ,000, but they've rejected.

Isn't $40 ,000 a little low for wrongful death? Well, the victim was terminal

anyway, Jonathan, so that damage claim's a little weak.

Start today?

Keep it surprised.

People versus Earl Williams.

No mas.

Motion to dismiss Wednesday.

Any chance of getting this kicked?

Slim. But Pinto has been seen, and the PIs I'm working with expect to find him.

And then?

I question him.

Which reminds me, if I do find the guy, I need somebody to be there with me when

I talk to him. I may need an impeachment witness down the road.

I can do it.

Good. Lastly, cleanup items.

As you know, the vote for the new senior partner is Friday, which is just three

short days away.

Winner decided by plurality, the declared candidates are Rosalind,

myself.

Stuart, you little power hog.

I believe I'm qualified.

Yes, well... Best of luck to us all. Let's try to run a clean campaign.

And very lastly, I've been instructed to request that you keep the evening of

May 4th clear on your calendar, though I have no idea why.

Benny's clinic is doing a play, and he's landed a major role, so I think we

should all be there. Oh, no.

First, Roxanne thinks she's Aretha Franklin. What's he doing? An evening

Mark Twain?

The Wizard of Oz.

He's playing the Cowardly Lion. And Alice has been cast as Dorothy.

That's great.

Well, that's it, people.

We're adjourned.

Leland.

I'd like a minute of your time.

I wasn't going to say anything, but there's no way I can just swallow it.

You betrayed me, Leland.

Excuse me? How many times have we talked about your turning over the reins to

me? Pretty soon it'll be your firm, Douglas. How many times have you said

You got my vote, Douglas.

But not your endorsement.

You could have sat down with me beforehand, we could have mapped out a

transition, and you could have coupled your announcement with a recommendation.

But you didn't do that.

Instead, you invited everyone to throw his or her hat in the ring.

You can't expect me to mandate how the others should feel. You've made a career

out of mandating and steering people in directions you wanted them to go, and

for my money, you were steering them here too. Your non -endorsement was

conspicuous, Leland. Senior partners don't have it given to them, Douglas.

You want that job? You go out there. You take it.

Now, you've got my vote.

If you can't muster the support of your colleagues, that's not my problem.

And how soon after the accident did the ambulance arrive?

Maybe 15 minutes.

And it was probably another 10 before we got to Cedric's. And that would be

Cedric's Israel Hospital?

Yes. They wheeled him right in.

Some nurses or paramedics or something checked him over, but they weren't

able to help much.

After a few minutes, he came.

Let the record reflect that the witnesses indicated the defendant, Dr.

Diane. And what happened then, Mrs. Farrell? We went into a little room and

I think they took blood and then they took him off for tests.

And then Dr. Diane came back and said that there was something wrong with his

spleen and that they'd have to operate right away.

And what happened then?

They took him off to prep and they put me in a room where I could wait.

About half hour or so, the doctor comes back and says he's not going to do the

surgery.

Did the doctor tell you why not?

Yes, he said it was because my husband had AIDS. He said it would be too

dangerous. Too dangerous for whom?

Too dangerous for him, the doctor.

He told me not to worry, that he'd get another doctor to do it, but that he

wasn't going to operate, and then he left the room.

And when was the next time that you saw Dr. Diane?

About an hour later.

He came back in the room.

And he told me... He told me Warren was dead.

Thank you, Mrs. Burrell.

How did your husband contract AIDS, ma 'am?

He had an accident at work about six years ago, and he received a blood

transfusion that was contaminated.

And he was being treated for this disease?

He was getting treatment.

It wasn't effective.

Your husband was dying?

Yes, he was.

Um, sorry, ma 'am, but could you tell us how long the doctors had given him to

live? They said he probably wouldn't make it through the summer.

And was your husband employed at the time of his death?

No.

He hadn't worked since last October.

Thank you, ma 'am. Anything further, Your Honor?

That doesn't mean he should be left to just die.

Like he didn't matter. Thank you, ma 'am. There's no question before you.

I love you. I love you, too.

I'll see you there.

He's been having these dreams.

What dreams?

He keeps seeing a crowd of people surrounding him, screaming at him that

died. And he keeps having this other one that... It's like he's lying down.

And he can't wake up and he doesn't know if he's asleep or if that's the state

of consciousness when he's dead.

It's happening almost every night, Michael.

He's afraid to close his eyes.

Do you witness motion to do this?

I don't think so.

Well, you've got to try.

He's falling apart. And if we don't get him out of here pretty soon...

Stuart, I didn't say you wouldn't make a good senior partner.

No, you didn't say it, but you implied it, didn't you? I simply asked why it is

you want to run for it.

Oh, which means, how could I possibly consider for a single second that I

actually run a law firm, right? Oh, brother, if that is what you infer from

simple little question, Stuart, I don't know what to say. Well, let's get down

to it, Ann.

Are you going to vote for me?

Honey, of course I'm going to vote for you. You're my husband. How can I not

support you in this? Oh, great.

There it is.

You are unbelievable.

The absolute mitro of the backhanded compliment.

Oh, for God's sake. No, it's great, Ann. It's great.

You'll vote for me out of spousal obligation.

Not because I'd be any good at the job. No, not because I'd be a good leader.

Not because I'd be good for the firm. No, but because it's a wife's duty to

her husband, even though he may be tilting at windmills.

Stuart, what do you want from me?

You want me to stand up and cheer the firm is saved? Stuart Markowitz to the

rescue? You have never been the head of a single department.

You have never been the boss of anything.

At least Douglas has been an administrator.

That's all he is, Ann. He's an administrator.

He has no vision.

He can't see beyond the paperclip inventory.

And he has no business being vested with the direction of our lives. Better him

than Rosalind Shays. She can't win. She can, Stuart, if you and Douglas split

your vote.

You can take just enough support away from each other to make that queen bitch

the winner.

Ann. Stuart, I can live with Brackman.

Not happily, but I can live. But if Rosalind Shays gets control of this...

not gonna happen.

You wanna know how this thing's gonna break down?

Leland bags Douglas, Rosalind votes for herself, you and I vote for me.

That leaves Becker, and Cusack is the swing votes.

You think they'll vote for you?

Oh, yeah.

Arnie was never happy about her joining the firm to begin with, and he's never

taken Douglas seriously.

I think I can nail him down.

Trick is Cusack. Got to figure out a way to bag Cusack.

What?

75 ,000. Not a chance.

Come on, Mark. You can't show damages here.

He had a three -month life expectancy, no lost income. I'm throwing you a bone.

We're not going for wrongful death here, Victor. I'm going for hedonics, loss of

enjoyment of life.

How much enjoyment did he have coming to him, Mark?

He was a month away from his organs beginning to shut down. If anything,

thing spared him tremendous suffering. Your guy cost Warren Perel the rest of

his life. I'm not forgiving that for 75 grand.

Sorry.

Are you going to take this off with your client, Mark? Yes, Victor, I'll tell

her.

And I'll tell her not to accept it.

You told her everything?

You knew what?

Have I told her that I have AIDS?

Look, Mark, I'm sorry.

I just don't want to see your judgment here clouded by your own personal

situation. She knows about my situation, Victor.

And she knows me to be an honest attorney who would never compromise his

client's interest just to make a point, even.

If I'm dying.

I'm sorry, Mark. That was out of line.

Your offer is rejected.

Found him this morning.

Doing some business on Olympic.

He knows why you grabbed him?

Not yet. He's figured out it ain't no job interview.

You find out where he lives? One room studio on Olympic. It was clean.

Ronnie!

This is Mike Kuzak. He would like to know some things.

What the hell is this? I represent a man who's charged with killing Nina Corey.

Does that mean anything to you?

No. Well, it should. You were seen leaving her apartment the night that it

happened. That's what this is about.

I don't know what you're talking about.

You're going to talk to us, Ronnie. We are going to have a conversation here. I

don't know nothing about what you're asking me. You were seen, Pinto.

You were seen there.

Now either you start telling us what we want or prepare yourself for a very long

afternoon. You got that?

Hey!

What the hell are you guys doing?

Listen to me, you stupid son of a bitch.

I don't give a damn about you or laws or rules or anything. All I care about is

who killed Nina Corey.

You better start telling me some things very quickly or you're going to get

hurt. I told the police and I'm telling you. I was in the building that night,

but I didn't kill nobody. What do you mean you told the police?

I told them everything.

And the district attorney, too. You told the district attorney?

You were in that building that night? I told him everything.

What the hell is this? What was the district attorney's name?

Get the hell off me! I said, what was the district attorney's name?

Flanagan. Some sick name, Flanagan.

Arnie, I've been thinking.

Great. Every man should have a hobby. I've been thinking about the future of

firm. I think an entertainment department could be a very good idea.

And I'd be willing to support you in that endeavor should you decide to

it. Thank you, Douglas. I appreciate the bribe.

It's not a bribe. It is, however, an indication of how receptive I can be to

ideas. Perhaps your ideas.

I haven't decided who I'm voting for yet.

And I certainly don't want to influence you in any undue way.

But I might remind you of your own belief.

that Rosalind Shays is not a team player.

Not to mention the fact that having a woman at the helm would shatter a long

-standing tradition here.

What about Stuart? Do we have any tradition against him? A fine tax

But let's face it, a little Napoleon.

Who knows what would happen with him running around in charge.

But this much we do know.

A vote for Stuart Markowitz is a vote for Ann Kelsey.

She'd be the one calling the shots. That's pretty vicious, Douglas.

I'm not altogether sure I agree with it.

Well, then think about this.

If I get the nod, the totem pole stays basically the same.

But if Stuart gets elected, he becomes more powerful than you.

And so does Aunt Kelsey.

Thank you for that objective analysis, Douglas.

I'll, uh... I guess I'll have some thinking to do.

Oh, Stuart.

Douglas.

Hi, Aaron.

I just found out I can't make it to the Laker game this Saturday night. You want

the tickets?

And so you were the first doctor to examine this patient?

Yes. I don't usually work in the ER, but I was on call that night, and for a

series of other emergencies, I happened to be there when they brought Mr. Peral

in. And you diagnosed Mr. Peral as having a ruptured spleen?

It wasn't ruptured, but the CAT scan revealed a severe contusion and a lot of

blood in the abdomen. That's why I scheduled the surgery.

And then you decided not to operate. Is that right? Yes. I had noticed during

the initial examination that he was somewhat emaciated.

And then during prep, I saw the purple lesions on his skin and the advanced

yeast infection in his mouth.

I knew then that he had AIDS.

And that is why you declined to operate?

Yes, sir.

I will treat AIDS patients, but I will not perform surgery.

Why not, doctor? Because I would be exposing myself and my team to an

disease that is almost always fatal.

But can't you wear protective clothing?

It's very common for surgeons to get cuts and nicks on their hands while

performing the procedure.

Dr. Diane, when this patient went into shock, you knew that if you didn't

operate right away, he was going to die.

Yes.

And... Every single day, I'm haunted by the memory of watching him die.

I stood there and watched it. But I also knew, given his weakened immune system,

that there was a chance that he wouldn't survive the procedure.

And when I considered that, along with the fact that it's a bloody operation

that I would be risking my own life as well, I made my decision.

Now, am I conflicted about this?

Absolutely.

Was I wrong? I don't think so.

Thank you, doctor.

Nothing further?

Dr. Diane.

You let a man die because he had AIDS.

I declined to operate because I didn't want to die of AIDS.

Well, what exactly are the odds of contracting AIDS in that way, doctor?

Well, odds are only significant if you're willing to gamble, counselor. I'm

Ever operate on a patient who is infected with hepatitis B?

Yes. Well, I'm confused.

Hepatitis B is a deadly disease which is more easily transmitted than the HIV

virus.

You don't mind dying from hepatitis?

First of all, hepatitis B is not always fatal.

There is a treatment for hepatitis B. There is no cure for AIDS. If you get

you die. Well, over 200 health care workers die every year from hepatitis B.

Only 19 have ever contracted the HIV virus from job exposure, and none have

died. We don't know how many doctors have contracted the HIV virus.

This disease has a long incubation period, Counselor. There could be

of health care workers out there who have this disease and don't know it.

and Susan Perel counted on you. They went to the hospital for help.

And what they got was a doctor who discriminates against patients on the

of what diseases they have. You see those two kids over there, counselor?

They count on me, too. They count on having a father around when they grow

You took a note to save lives, and you let him die. He was going to die anyway.

So are we all, doctor.

We're all just trying to put that day off for as long as we can. Have you ever

been in an OR, Counselor? We are passing around razor -sharp instruments that

can cut through your gloves, that can cut your hand.

Move to strike. And if you're asking me to risk my life to buy three extra

months for a man who's likely to spend them in excruciating agony, yes, it's

worth it.

Jonathan told me what happened this morning.

Needless to say, I was shocked.

Terribly shocked.

Well, I guess we've both been shocking each other these days.

We're all desperate.

I don't know what's going to happen if this thing goes on much longer.

What happened this morning makes me worry about you, Michael.

I think you're too close to this thing.

Maybe step back?

Let Victor spell you a little? Oh, Victor's in trial. He can't do it.

No, I've got to do this, Leland. I'm the only one who knows about this case.

And what happened today will not happen again, I promise you that.

And what is your opinion, Dr. Pettit, of the defendant's conduct that night at

the hospital?

His conduct was atrocious.

The code of ethics promulgated by the American Medical Association requires

to treat that patient.

He's in the emergency room, for God's sake. He has a legal obligation to treat

him. Even if the patient has a deadly infectious disease?

We're doctors.

We've been treating deadly diseases for 100 years.

Tuberculosis, malaria, yellow fever, smallpox.

Those are all once deadly diseases.

So his conduct, then, in your opinion, was a breach of the accepted standard of

medical care. He let a man die because he had AIDS.

That's an affront to every decent doctor in this country. Thank you, sir.

Nothing further.

His conduct wasn't an affront to every doctor, was it? To every responsible

doctor, I believe it was.

Well, you know, I'm not sure what doctors you've been talking to.

Because a recent survey of medical school graduates found that 25 % do not

to treat AIDS patients.

Well, that's a bigotry. Maybe so, but it is shared by a big part of your

profession, sir. I don't care how widespread the paranoia is, it's wrong.

The AMA has an ethical code of conduct, Counselor. He violated it. Did the AMA

take any action against my client as a result of his conduct?

The AMA has pronounced that a doctor cannot refuse to treat someone because

has AIDS. Did they take any action against my client, sir? They should

they didn't.

Maybe because they're more concerned with protecting their own than in

out negligence. Wait a second. A minute ago, you were exalting the AMA as the

example that he should live up to. Now you're condemning it. If anything, I'm

just condemning the fact they failed to discipline him. But the fact is that

nobody has disciplined him.

Not the AMA, not the hospital that he works at. Well, I think that's

disgraceful. Yes, sir, you think it's disgraceful, but you do not speak for

medical community here, do you? I don't care what other doctors may say. Many

doctors would do exactly what my client did under the circumstances.

And that's what scares me the most. Thank you, Dr. Pettit.

Nothing further.

Case number 89 -4035, the people versus Earl Williams. Motion to dismiss.

Your Honor.

Defendant's motion asserts lack of probable cause for the retrial.

The people submit the entire transcripts from the first trial as modified by the

Supreme Court ruling as evidence in support of probable cause. So entered.

Mr. Kuzak, do you have anything?

I do, Your Honor.

I'd like to call a witness.

This is a motion to dismiss.

I know, Your Honor, but new evidence has come to light and I would like to

present that evidence now.

Very well.

Call your witness.

The defense calls Ronald Sewell to the stand.

Your Honor, seek to treat the witness as hostile. I obtained a court order last

night to have him locked up as a material witness.

He's here today only through the courtesy of the sheriff's office.

I don't expect him to be cooperative.

You can lead.

Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth,

help you God?

Yeah, I do.

Would you state your name for the record, sir?

Ronald Sewell. And are you sometimes referred to as Pinto?

Sometimes. Turning your attention to the night of November 8th, 1988, were you

present at an apartment building at 8367 Sweetser in Hollywood?

I was present.

What occasioned you to be there, sir?

I don't remember.

While you were there, did you see or hear anything unusual?

Mr. Sewell.

I'm only asking you to tell the court what you've already told the police.

I know you have no interest in helping me, but you do have an interest in

avoiding perjury charges.

Did you see or hear anything unusual?

I heard a woman scream when I was leaving the building.

I had nothing to do with it, but I heard it. What did you do?

Nothing. I just got the hell out of there.

Did you pass a woman on your way out?

Yeah. Mr. Sewell, I show you this picture.

And ask if this could be that woman.

I don't know. I didn't really look at it.

But is it possible that this could be the woman? Yeah, it's possible.

Your Honor, I ask that this be marked.

This is a photograph of Amy Slesson, the witness who claimed she saw Earl

Williams leaving the building that night.

Objection. This man did not identify the woman in the picture. That has no

probative value.

Could it have been me you saw that night?

Yep.

Thank you.

Why don't we move on?

Mr. Sewell, did you see anyone else while you were there that night?

I saw a guy running.

White kid, about 20.

He was going the other direction when I was leaving.

Could you describe this person?

White, young, brown hair maybe.

That's all I saw.

Your Honor, let the record reflect that the witness has just given a description

which loosely matches the features of Todd Aaron Price, Nina Corey's

Let the record reflect that the description given by the witness loosely

the features of more than five million young men who live in greater Los

Angeles. The record will reflect it all. Let's move on.

Mr. Sewell, have you ever told anyone else what you've told the court here

today?

I've told the police and I've told the district attorney.

And when did you tell them this information?

About two days after the murder.

Maybe two.

Tell us, Mr. Sewell.

Is the district attorney with whom you spoke in this courtroom today?

Yes.

That's her right there.

I should have you thrown in jail. Your Honor, I did nothing to... You knew that

witness was there at the scene. You concealed it from him, you concealed it

me. That witness was on drugs that night. He could offer no meaningful...

have a duty.

To turn over all exculpatory evidence.

I have a duty to turn over all relevant evidence.

This Pinto is and was a drugged out liar. He was there.

That makes him relevant.

He also saw somebody who could have been the victim's boyfriend.

He was damn well relevant.

We questioned Nina's boyfriend.

It wasn't him. That doesn't matter.

You want to disqualify me, go ahead.

As for this case, he's already got a new trial. Don't tempt me, lady.

I locked him up for contempt.

I can do the same for you.

Now, is there anything else I don't know about?

No. Summation's tomorrow at 10 o 'clock.

That's all.

Your Honor, I would... Shut up and get out.

There's no dispute about what happened here, Dr. Diane.

refused to operate, and it cost Warren Peralta his life.

The real question here concerns the value of that life.

Now, since the patient was terminal with AIDS anyway, I guess you could easily

ask, well, what's the big loss?

So he just died a little sooner, that's all.

What's three months?

Well, I'll tell you something, ladies and gentlemen.

To a dying man, three months is a lifetime.

Warren Perel died at a time when he was clinging to life's joys. Death came when

he reveled in being alive.

The night before this happened, he sat at the foot of his six -year -old

daughter's bed, Marsha, and he studied her little face and he wondered, or

just tried to remember, what it is that little children dream about, or why she

would breathe through her nose and then suddenly switch and breathe through her

mouth.

And he said to his wife, Susan, that as long as he was looking at their child,

looking at what he had brought into this world, he couldn't feel unlucky.

He was dying.

But he knew he was extraordinarily fortunate because tomorrow he would wake

and it would all be there for him all over again.

A day when he could watch his child grow and see his wife smile and smell

everything. and measure every single minute.

And after that, there would be another day, and another one after that, and

another one after that.

Warren Perel had 90, maybe 100 of those days coming to him, and he felt lucky,

lucky, because he was getting those days at a time when the value of life for

him was at its zenith.

To be alive.

It's a rich thing.

And those days matter, ladies and gentlemen.

Warren Perel had those days, those moments coming to him.

And he looked forward to the rest of his life.

He looked forward to all of it.

The hardest and probably the most horrific thing

that Dr. Diane ever had to do in his career was to stand there that night and

watch his patient die.

The thing about AIDS, we just don't know everything about it yet. And that is a

shame. We don't know exactly how you get it or how you don't get it. But what we

do know is that once you do get it,

You're going to die.

My client, just like Warren Farrell, doesn't want to die.

And if we start imposing a duty on physicians that they have to take this

of risk, that they have to stick their hands into contaminated, deadly blood,

then people are going to stop becoming doctors.

For sure.

Doctors will refuse to staff emergency rooms.

And if that happens...

Well, then you and I are in trouble.

Because suddenly there's going to be nobody there for us.

I know that refusing to do surgery on an AIDS patient is a kind of prejudice.

I mean, I know this.

But when we are dealing with death, you've got to be pragmatic, ladies and

gentlemen. And when it comes to AIDS, we're dealing with death.

Right now, today, that is a fact that's indisputable.

A jury already convicted this man once, Your Honor, because they found guilt

beyond a reasonable doubt. We basically have the same evidence in this trial

that we had in the last, and therefore there can be no dispute that sufficient

evidence exists to bind this defendant over for a second trial.

Accordingly, the people request that the defendant, Earl Williams, be held for

retrial on the murder of Nina Corey, and that all pretrial motions be scheduled

for as quickly as possible. Thank you.

This was a gruesome, brutal murder. It was played out on the front pages of

every newspaper.

It was the lead story in every news broadcast.

And the people of this city were sickened, Your Honor.

Sickened and disgusted.

And all of the politicians in this city, in the district attorney's office, in

the media, and the police, and the public, all joined up to drop this

burden right at Margaret Flanagan's door.

Catch him.

The thing is, she couldn't.

She just couldn't.

She had suspects, yes.

Earl Williams was there that night. Pinto was there that night. So was an

unidentified white man who matched the general description of Todd Aaron Price,

the victim's boyfriend.

But the public wasn't going to buy a list of maybes here. They wanted the

Margaret Flanagan knew that she couldn't come back and say unsolved.

She had to offer up somebody.

Picking Earl Williams was the easy part.

He was having an affair with her.

That immediately made him thwarted, dirty. He had also hit his wife once, so

could be established as being violent.

But this wouldn't be enough.

Margaret Flanagan knew this.

There were no fingerprints on the murder weapon.

No blood spatterings on Earl's clothing.

No physical evidence of any kind which went to violence.

Nothing. So her only chance of getting a conviction, her only chance, was to put

this lying, unfaithful, wife -beating nigger in front of the

jury and say, who else could have possibly done this?

For that to work, she had to make sure that the jury had no one else to choose

from.

So she buried the evidence of Pinto having been there.

She buried the evidence of the white man having been there. She made sure they

only had one suspect.

And then she sat back and she hoped like hell that they still had enough hatred

and outrage left over to convict.

To convict whoever she put in front of them. And it worked.

Now, I know that the politically safe thing to do, Your Honor, is to let the

jury have this case and let the system turn its wheels again.

But the system isn't working.

When juries can ignore the burden of proof, when district attorneys can lie

withhold evidence, when innocent men can be sentenced to death, Your Honor, the

system isn't working.

Your Honor, for Earl Williams' sake, I'm asking you to take over now.

I'm asking you to do what you have to do.

Briefly in rebuttal, Your Honor, I would remind the court that Ronald Sewell is

also a black man.

I prosecuted Earl Williams because he had motive, because he had opportunity,

because an eyewitness and his own semen samples placed him inside Nina Corey's

apartment at the time of the murder. The jury didn't convict this man because of

the color of his skin. They did so because Earl Williams is a murderer.

Madam Foreman, has the jury reached its verdict?

We have, Your Honor.

What say you?

In the matter of Peral v. Diane, we, the jury, find in favor of the plaintiff

and order the defendant to pay damages in the amount of $145 ,000.

Members of the jury, thank you. This case is adjourned.

Victor? Hey, Mark.

Congratulations.

Uh, tough case.

You deserved it. Hey, uh, who knows with juries, right?

Listen, uh, listen.

I have a few more cases than I care to handle at this time. You know how it is.

You get backed up, and sometimes cases drag on forever, and sometimes lawyers

don't.

I'd be glad to handle them, Mark.

That'd be great.

Great.

They're good cases.

Good people.

Good people. And I'll get the files right over to you. Okay?

Okay.

Great. Thanks. Thanks again.

Hey, uh... Ah!

I gotta get across town. You know, I got a meeting. I should have never

scheduled the damn thing. I don't know why I did. It's a real rat race, isn't

it? Yeah.

Yeah.

One of these days, I gotta slow down.

Okay, let's get going.

Stuart asked me if he could make a brief statement before the vote. In the

interests of fairness, Sir Rosalind and Douglas may also be heard. This isn't

fair. He got to prepare. I didn't know about speeches.

I didn't prepare.

This is not a speech, Douglas. It's a statement. Go ahead, Stuart.

Totally unfair.

It's not even really a statement. It's just that I know that I don't leap

out at first blush as senior partner material.

I think the main function of the job, and the one that Leland mastered so

compellingly, is bringing a sense of community to a sometimes cutthroat

environment. And that would be my goal.

I think the senior partner can never lose sight of the fact that this is more

than just a place to pick up a paycheck.

And I promise you I won't.

That was obviously prepared.

He prepared it.

All right, Douglas.

Perhaps you could go next.

This is off the cuff.

I think Stuart's sentiments are noble, but they also expose his naivete.

A law firm doesn't run on hugs.

It's run by doing good quality work.

I can run this place in an efficient way that will enable us to do our best

work. That will make us feel more productive.

And that will make us enjoy this place as well as each other a great deal more.

Rosalind? Well, I didn't really plan to be seeking this position. And to tell

you the truth, it's not something that I covet. But Stuart has absolutely no

experience. He's a fine attorney, but he's not ready for this.

And Douglas, from what I've seen, doesn't command enough respect around

be able to effectively lead.

I'm sorry to be blunt.

But this is not the kind of position you pass out on charity.

Leland is still the person for the job.

Let's not kid ourselves.

But if he refuses, well, let's face it, I'm better than the other two.

I am.

All right.

Let's vote.

Oh, I have Michael's proxy.

Don't sign your name. It's a secret rally.

Pass them forward, please.

Very good.

A moment.

Douglas Brackman.

Stuart Markowitz.

Rosalind Faze.

Rosalind Shays again.

Douglas Dean.

Stuart Markowitz.

That's two to two to two.

Three -way tie.

Come on.

Organist.

Rosalind Shays.

What? She wins.

Three to two to two.

Congratulations, Rosalind.

You're the new senior partner.

I'm overwhelmed.

I don't know what to say. I have a meeting.

I happen to know that Arnold voted for you.

And I voted for you.

You cast the deciding vote for Rosalind.

I didn't think I could make it, Leland.

I didn't think I'd get the vote.

The firm would be better served by Rosalind.

You had it, Douglas.

Before giving my ruling, I feel compelled to comment on the

justice that's gone on before me throughout the history of this case.

Miss Flanagan, you deliberately misled this court.

You willfully withheld evidence from defense counsel.

Mr. Cusack?

You committed ex parte abuse. You attempted to introduce excluded

And who knows what you did to enlist Mr. Sewell's testimony.

I do know that you have no right to look up here innocently and ask what's

happened to the system. We are all a part of this process. And to the extent

that any of us sees fit to ignore the rules or our responsibilities as

of the court, this system doesn't stand a chance.

Now. Turning to the issue before me, I've reviewed the modified trial

transcript thoroughly, as well as the new evidence given in this hearing.

And while probable cause certainly exists, I'm going to treat this as a

motion for a directed verdict.

And I'm holding that this evidence, as a matter of law, is insufficient to

support a finding of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

I hereby dismiss the complaint. The defendant is to be released from

This matter is adjourned.

It's over.

And I'm free.

Mr.

Williams, can we get a statement?

I'm coming home, Mama.

Mr. Williams, could we get a statement, please?

Thank you.

How are you feeling, Mr. Williams?

Can you tell us how you're feeling right now?