Original subtitles

Previously on L .A. Law. I will not consider renting space to Susan Bloom.

Her practice is phenomenal.

She represents half of Hollywood, and she's willing to pay top dollar. They

her Jaws, Douglas.

Together, we're Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.

She had the sex, he had the class.

If you mean a merger, that's out of the question.

I like to cohabit before I get married. We, uh, share space, see what happens.

You're just looking for a conviction to insulate the department from a civil

suit. That's not gonna happen. Then we got another problem.

See, the grandmother that was raped, we showed her your picture.

With others, of course.

And while she couldn't conclusively ID you as the rapist, she couldn't rule you

out either.

How's Zoe doing?

Zoe? She's the DA.

She's also my ex -wife.

You can't win this, Tommy.

Don't try to be a hero. The kid needs a hero. Tommy!

Look, Zoe, I'm sorry.

I know I got no right putting you in the middle. Yeah.

But this thing, it's just a little hard to walk away from.

I am coming forward as an officer of the court to prevent what I believe to be a

gross violation of the judicial process.

Bruce Rogoff abused his power. Jonathan Rollins is an innocent man.

Sometimes it's hard to believe that you were such a god -awful wife.

Because you are still the greatest person that I ever met.

You are such a bad influence.

I know.

I knew you'd appreciate it.

I give it an 8 .5.

This place must be the best -kept secret in town.

Douglas, there's a reason why I wanted to have dinner here. Aren't we

celebrating?

My citation from the bar?

A well -deserved honor.

But I also needed to discuss something personal.

Fire away. What offense for?

Douglas, I'm gay.

What? I'm gay.

Bob, please.

It's no secret. Not here.

I know it's a shock, hearing it like this.

Or maybe not. Marilyn had suspected for years.

You told your ex -wife?

I wasn't sure how the kids would handle it. You told your kids? I want to tell

everyone who's close to me. Why are you telling me?

You're my oldest friend.

I've always admired you.

Ever since we were roommates our freshman year... Now, hold on. For me.

Our friendship has been strictly heterosexual male bonding.

I'm not interested in being propositioned. I'm not propositioning

I'm not attracted to you.

Oh, I only wanted you to know because it's who I am.

I hope you can accept it.

Well, certainly, it's your right. And I hope you'll meet my lover, Bill.

We're planning a spring wedding.

It would mean a lot to me if you'd be my best man again.

That could be the weekend I have the kid.

They'd be welcome.

We'll see.

Sorry. You're gonna be sucker.

Hey, what are you doing?

You keep your fag face out of here, queer.

Oh!

Well, in addition to the broken nose, he suffered facial bruising and a cracked

rib. How much did he get? Well, robbery was apparently not the motive.

He had $200 in his wallet when he was admitted to Cedars. Where did this

West side, outside a restaurant, Androcles.

Androcles? You know the place?

Uh, yeah, rings a bell. So is he going to miss his own awards luncheon? Well, I

hope not. If his condition remains stable, they'll let him come home

In his absence, we'll keep this brief.

Roxanne. Okay, first, have we... Oh, by the way, word is, the Board of

Supervisors has completed its investigation of Mr. Rogoff. As of

district attorney is history.

Yeah. Woo!

Rogoff's final appeal was rejected. He withdrew his appeal and got to keep his

pension. Hey, when did your ties with the DA's office get better than mine?

Hey, what a relief. Moving along. Oh, yeah, you bet. Can we get started,

Roxanne? Good idea.

Uh, Paul versus Humboldt Logging. Oh, yes, that's the sawmill accident.

I'm down to my last motion. Ann, are you going to revoke your Sierra Club

membership because you're defending loggers? This time the logging company

not at fault. The tree spiker caused the accident. Tree spiker? An activist that

drives nails into trees to keep them from being cut down. An activist?

He's a terrorist.

He's also our co -defendant. Oh, no.

Can we move on, people? Thanks for the encouragement, guys.

Okay, people, listen up.

Now. Jonathan's got the McFarland deposition. C .J.'s got Jackson v.

Swoo. Tommy, you're downtown on the Velasquez arraignment.

Okay, any questions? That's it. We're adjourned.

I just got Hanson to O .R. my

client on the third offense.

I'm never up for murder. You're my first call.

I got your message.

Oh, yeah, I know we said we'd hang on to the lot, but the offer is 60 thou.

That's almost what? Double what we paid in 85.

I need to sleep on it, Tommy. Real estate in Mammoth is still going up.

Can't bring yourself to sell our last piece of joint property? Hey, I'm still

trying to profit somehow from our marriage.

Mr. Mullaney, you're a member of the bar panel, aren't you? You know I am, Your

Honor. Well, it appears this young lady is without representation.

The PD's swamped right now. Sure, I'll take it on.

Anything to get you out of the office.

Court appreciates your assistance.

Ms. Johnson is charged with felony possession of narcotics.

Bail is set at $10 ,000.

Request the continuance to consult with Ms. Johnson before entering a plea. I'm

pleading guilty. I don't need to consult.

Miss, you need to talk to Mr. Mullaney. I can't make any bail, and I'm pleading

guilty. Much as I'd like to clear my calendar, we need to do this by the

Mr. Mullaney will explain.

Continuance is granted until tomorrow.

I'm going to read your file, and then we can talk about your plea. I told you my

plea.

Guilty. Come with me, miss.

Oh, you're early.

Lamb chops.

Ah, look at you, look at you.

Now, look at this place. I presume you negotiated your own pact with the devil.

I thought your flight got in tonight, Dad.

No, I cancelled the MGM Grand.

I had a nightmare. I was stuck in a perpetual audition at 30 ,000 feet with

horde of schoolboys in short pants.

They turned out to be producers.

So I woke up in a cold sweat and changed my ticket.

New comedy clothes out of town?

Mercifully, yes.

Daddy,

I have a name.

I also have a hellish day.

How about drinks later?

No, I've given it up.

Oh?

How about you join me at the Polo Lounge for breakfast tomorrow?

You're staying at the Beverly Hills?

Well, you know, when in Rome and all that.

I thought you'd sworn off Hollywood.

Well, only the telly.

And even that's coming back to haunt me. The studio will not cuff up my foreign

residuals. Oh, I see. You need legal advice.

I didn't say I needed anything.

You're here.

And you must have read in the trades that Susan Bloom is our new roomie. Ah,

well, I might have done. Might have done.

Daddy, we have been through this before. You have a habit of burning bridges,

which makes it impossible for me to introduce you to... Hey, Pete, you ready

go? Your dad has charmed me into lunch. I hope Trump's is to your liking.

It's one of my hearts.

You'll, um, ring me later, will you, love?

Your Honor, before you bring in the jurors, I would like to renew my motion

severance. On what grounds?

on the grounds that the presence of this co -defendant will result in a

confusion of the issues and will materially prejudice my client's right

fair trial.

Don't like my smell letter. Your Honor, we share counsel's concern that Humboldt

Logging's impeccable reputation for rape and pillage of the Redwoods could be

sullied by association with a concerned environmentalist. This is exactly the

kind of mudslinging I anticipate, Your Honor. Mr. Dillon, why are you on your

feet in the middle of Miss Kelsey's motion? Because I agree. My client

be here now or later.

I renew my motion to dismiss the charges against my client. There's no evidence

to suggest my... Let's hear the evidence, Mr. Dillon. Motion denied.

As to your motion, this gentleman claims that your client and Mr. Dillon's

client shared in the act that led to his injury.

I don't think finger -pointing will confuse the jury.

Blame is the issue.

Motion denied.

What did your doctor advise?

I advised him that I'm receiving a major reward from the Bar Association, and it

would take more than a random act of urban violence to prevent me from

attending. Fedlis, I had a talk with Detective Connolly out in the hall.

And?

He explained to me the nature of the establishment that you'd been visiting.

It's not an establishment.

It's a restaurant.

Well, that's entirely your business, and as far as I'm concerned, it'll stay

that way. Are you...

For goodness sakes, Leland, I was meeting a friend there. There's no need

you to explain your friendships.

I mean, I've never meddled in the private affairs of colleagues.

It was not a private affair.

Douglas, you're a damn fine lawyer.

That's all that matters to me. Leland.

Excuse me, gentlemen.

You feeling better, Mr. Fragman? No.

I got something here to make us both feel better.

I've been after this S .O .B. for months.

What are you doing?

It's a photo gallery.

Suspect we picked up today. We'd like you to ID.

I've got three others like you to talk to.

Like me?

Other victims of this, uh, gay batty nut.

I resent the implication.

You did get a good look at him, though, right?

I want no part of this. Douglas, get those photos out of here. I am not

charges.

Look at you here, Tasha.

Makes me want to break this damn place.

Don't lie to me. Lie to them if that's what you think you need to do.

Look, be chill.

Sorry to interrupt.

You're Tasha's lawyer?

Who are you?

You're going to cut her a deal?

That's what she and I need to talk about.

Excuse me?

You know, there's chill and there's chill.

Taking the fall for someone else, not too chill.

I read your file.

First time up, I'll do six months tops.

Who told you that?

Your boyfriend thinks he's pretty smart, is he?

How smart is your girlfriend?

She's smart enough to be my ex. Whose eighth of Peruvian flake was that in

freezer? What do you care, huh?

I just don't like to see someone get taken for a ride.

The coat was mine.

Oh, you knew it was there and you let in two cops without a search warrant.

You seem too smart for that.

You be smart and get me a deal.

Next thing I know, I'm on the deck.

The metal had stopped flying and the rig operator was kneeling on my arm trying

to stop the bleeding.

Was it customary for you to be so close to the blades? Yes, sir. As off -bear in

the sawmill, it was my job to reach in with the pipe to guide the slabs.

Is that how you guided the logs, the way you were gesturing?

No.

I used my left arm.

Thank you.

Nothing further?

Mr. Paul.

Is it unusual for a band saw to strike foreign objects embedded in logs?

Blades don't break every day. But in your experience, you've had blades

nails from old homesteads, for example?

Yes, ma 'am. Ceramic insulators from telephone lines?

Yes.

And hunter's bullets and stones and horseshoes and even cable from your own

pond? This time it hit a spike.

Mr. Paul, didn't you initially turn down the job as off -bearer at South Creek?

Yeah, I was head rig operator at U -Kai, and off -bearer was a step down.

What made it a step down?

Less money, harder work. More dangerous?

Come on, anyone in a mill knows that off -bearer is the highest risk...

Objection! Call for speculation.

Sustained. Isn't it true that you were cited once for marijuana use? That was

years ago.

I think it's comparative negligence is relevant, Your Honor. Keep at it, Etter.

He still has two legs.

Mr. Dillon, control your client or I'll hold him in contempt. Your Honor, this

is typical of the industry's callous disregard for its own workers.

I ask for the record to show the Code Defense is not sharing this irrelevant

accusation. Sit down, Mr. Dillon. The objection is sustained.

Miss Kelsey?

Mr. Paul, were you drinking at the Blue Ox Tavern until 3 a .m. on the morning

of the accident?

That blade didn't break because I drank a sixer.

It broke because that ass drove a six -inch spike into the meather tree and

entered into Jack. Move to strike. The jury will disregard that outburst.

Did you close the Blue Ox Tavern only four hours before your shift began the

of the accident?

Yeah.

Thank you. Nothing further.

Your Honor.

We have no questions for Mr. Paul.

Then we'll adjourn until 10 a .m. tomorrow.

Nice stunt, counselor.

Stunt? You're shocked over my mention of the marijuana.

You know, if I hadn't brought it up, you would have. Maybe.

You saved me the trouble.

I won't have to roll up my sleeves till we get to the good part.

CJ, your dad ruined my afternoon yesterday.

Yes, well, I'm not entirely surprised.

We had such a blast at lunch that I couldn't stand to come back here and

death. Oh?

I sent him off to meet a few clients of mine. One guy's producing the new

Kenneth Braddock feature. Oh, that's very sweet of you.

Hey, no sweat.

They've had a hell of a time casting the role.

Your dad's perfect for it, especially with his own experiences in Pakistan.

Susan, I feel obliged to caution you.

My father has a way of...

Promoting himself? He's an actor, honey.

Yeah, but with my father, you're always waiting for the second shoe to drop.

He has a few problems.

Comes with the territory.

Sounds like part of the problem may be yours, babe.

Well, there's no argument there, love.

Whereupon my mother asked, why do you want to be a cowboy, Douglas?

And I announced, so I can get the bad guys.

Well, this brought on another burst of laughter, followed by a mysterious

from my father.

Looks like we have another attorney in the family, another Brackman interested

in justice. And from that moment on, my dreams of home on the range began to

fade.

I don't know if I'd feel as honored today if I were being recognized the

downtown Los Angeles cowboy of the month, but I do know our profession has

very rewarding to me.

So this is doubly gratifying.

I only hope my father hears and knows he shares in this honor.

Thank you.

Congratulations. Thank you very much. Great. Great speech, Douglas.

Thanks.

Sorry I haven't answered your calls.

I feel responsible.

You shouldn't.

It was a random event.

But it wasn't.

What happened to you happens to thousands of gay men and women each

Well, this particular thug's been apprehended. Their case is falling

one can make a positive ID.

That's unfortunate.

Yeah. For a minute there, it looked like we really were going to get those bad

guys.

Nice speech, Douglas.

Hey!

How can you of all people expect me to get involved in this? You who have kept

silent for years because you've known even the rumor of homosexuality could

you professionally. That's why I'm starting to speak out.

I know how damaging silence can be.

It's on your mind.

I think the longer this goes on, the bigger the money's going to get.

Why don't we try to come up with a number, split it 50 -50, and offer to

I think you're right. I think we ought to settle. I think my client's fair

should be zero, not one dime.

Let's get out of here. My client didn't spike that tree.

The hell he didn't. How would you know what goes on in the woods?

You're always in the office counting your money. I earned mine.

Your daddy gave you yours.

And don't you talk to me about the woods. I hunted and fished those woods

whole damn life. Where the hell do you think your kids are going to take their

kids to hunt and fish? And if we don't help these men find some kind of common

ground, there's going to be more violence, more victims like Mr. Paul.

And that's fine with them as long as no trees get hurt, just workers losing

jobs. Over -harvesting is what's killing the industry. People want wood, right?

People want paper! Okay, that's enough.

I think we can forget a settlement.

Well, it looks like you brought the treats.

Yep. Are we celebrating a real estate transaction?

No, we are celebrating your instincts. The boyfriend has a record.

First arrest, 84.

You know, I thought about the land, Tommy. We should hang on.

I mean, it's going to skyrocket. It's Lakeview.

That is what that blue thing was between the tall green things.

How I ever thought I could drag you off for vacations in the mountains.

I don't know.

Hey, I was a terrific hiker.

You did not hike. You paced. You asked me where the casinos were. You're still

holding that sleeping bag thing against me. It was our very own land. I wanted

to sleep on it. The van was parked on our very own land. The van had a

in it. It is not the same thing.

All right, so what do you think of this?

God's been busy.

Mm -hmm.

Eight months juvie, GTA, two years served possession, parole violation.

I think you've got the wrong person sitting in jail.

It gets worse. The cops searched the girl's apartment in the first place

they had blown a raid at a freebase operation.

Yeah, so? The cops were after her boyfriend's old supplier.

The one that he did time for?

Mm -hmm.

So, he might be willing to talk.

Zoe, if you go after the boyfriend, you could catch the big fish.

I don't have anything on the boyfriend.

You want to get something on him?

I know I can make this creep talk.

What are you going to do, wear a wire?

Why not?

Because it's so dangerous?

You know a better way?

Why would you go out on a limb like that? You don't know this girl. I know

didn't. You are only her attorney.

Zoe, she's got nobody else to help her.

You're going to do it, aren't you, whether I help you or not?

All right, I'll see if I can get you a warrant.

Great.

And when you received the warning, how did you respond?

Well, I sent a team out to see if it was true.

Did you have any reason to suspect the warning wasn't genuine?

Yes, I'd received two earlier warnings on other tracks, and we never found any

spikes. But why would they warn of spikes if they hadn't actually spiked

trees? Well, you just got to understand these Redwood warriors.

You see, their whole mission is to put loggers out of business, so they'll do

anything to cost me time and money.

Such as?

Well, such as damaging vehicles and equipment.

causing downtime by burying themselves in a road and chaining themselves in

trees? On this occasion, did your team find any evidence of spiking?

No. No, they didn't find anything.

Did you take any further action?

Well, yeah.

Yeah. I called Russ Snyder and cussed him out.

Why? Because he's their ringleader. Objection! Ask anybody in town!

What was Russ Snyder's reaction to your call?

He laughed at me.

Did he deny responsibility for the spiking?

No, ma 'am.

No, he sure didn't.

Thank you, Mr. Etter.

Mr. Etter.

What was your team doing as they walked the track?

Looking for spikes.

They were eyeballing. That's right. But didn't you know tree spikers snip the

heads off nails so they can't be detected?

That's why they also had metal detectors.

But aren't ceramic spikes sometimes used?

Well, sometimes they drill holes in trees and pour rocks in. You cannot

these knives.

You couldn't outguess these nuts, but you still took only minor precautions. I

did all I could.

Approximately how many trees are on an acre of old -growth forest?

It varies.

300. So your team ran a metal detector over 12 ,000 trees?

No, no.

They used it on a sampling.

On what?

Half the trees?

6 ,000? It's hard to say. More than 100? I'm trying to get a feel for what makes

up a sampling.

Well... Maybe a few hundred. A few hundred.

Out of 12 ,000.

Mr. Eder, after you logged this site, did you alert the sawmill of a possible

threat of spikes?

I didn't think it was necessary.

But you were wrong about that, weren't you? I did my best. I did my best. Were

you wrong?

Yeah.

Nothing further?

Mr. Edder, what method of forestry did you use to harvest the salt fork tract?

We clear -cut it. Meaning you went through and leveled every 2 ,000 -year

tree on that tree? And replanted, as mandated by the Forest Service. Yeah?

it doing? What do you mean?

How's that reseeded forest look today?

I don't know. I haven't seen it recently.

So you haven't seen where mudslides washed away your reseeding along with

feet of topsoil?

Objection! Is my client responsible for flash mud? You didn't leave anything to

hold the soil. You're out of order. Your client is responsible for deciding to

cut that timber come hell or high water. That's enough.

Move on. Why were you in such a rush to harvest this old growth, Mr. Ed?

Objection! I'll rephrase.

Isn't it true you were racing to beat a court injunction to preserve that stand?

We're always racing.

We loggers have given and given.

We lose the old growth, and then they start hollering about water quality and

spotted owls and habitat.

Now, look, all I do is supply a demand and put food on my family's table. How

much demand was there for the tree being milled when Mr. Paul was injured? How

much did that particular tree bring?

$20 ,000.

$20 ,000 for one tree.

I ought to put a few meals on the table, Mr. Adder.

Objection! Withdrawn, nothing further.

You ought to ask Tasha about that. When Tasha answers, I hear you talking.

So I figured maybe that meant you were the one with something to say.

I'm busy here. Yeah, word is you're very busy.

Word is Iceman wants his men on the street to really hustle.

You know, I figure if a guy wants to get mixed up in a bunch of crap, what is

that to me? But if he drags in a girl, I'm supposed to be defending. Nobody

drags Tasha no place. Oh, so she wants to be sitting in Simple Brand right now

like a rock house toss -up? You got a car needs work.

Because if you don't, you come a long way for nothing.

No, I come here to tell you you got a problem, man.

I mean, you did okay getting the apartment and making sure that Tasha's

alone was on the lease. But you screwed up when it came to the location.

She's within a thousand feet of a school, ah, so... So no court's gonna

that away.

If you were thinking she'd do, what, maybe six months?

Uh -uh, try years.

Get out of here.

You're going to have to find a new mama to front for you if you're going to stay

in the life. You don't know my life. I seen your rap sheet that deals the crazy

money to customize baby Benz. Pal, you were cruising around in one of these

before you were old enough to get a license. Maybe I was, but now I make

freaking bucks an hour working here.

And you're moonlight behind the scale.

Oz, you're a player.

I'm a damn babysitter.

Yeah, Iceman leaves his product in my freezer off and on, only way I can make

rent.

What do you want me to say, man?

Mr. Snyder, as leader of the Redwood Warriors, haven't you given numerous

speeches advocating tree spiking? I never advocated violence.

But you understood the danger. I mean, that was the whole point of using the

spikes, right? No.

The point was to act as a deterrent.

That's why I always stressed marking trees and sending warnings.

You thought...

Six -inch spikes of galvanized steel could be driven into logs that were

for saw blades moving 8 ,000 board feet per minute without the risk of a worker

being injured? I thought that the presence of spikes would prevent giant

sequoias from being milled. But you were mistaken.

The only mistake I made was overestimating the logging company's

safety of workers.

A man was injured by one of your spikes.

Objection! Not a shred of evidence has been produced that links this spike to

client. Sustain.

Mr. Snyder.

What was the motto which you wrote for the Redwood Warriors?

Equal rights for Mother Earth.

What does that mean?

The natural world doesn't exist solely for human beings to exploit.

All forms of life have an inherent value.

But equal value.

So the loss of a tree, for example, is worth the loss of a man's arm.

That's not a fair comparison.

I agree.

It's not fair.

Nothing further.

Mr. Snyder.

Weren't you twice discovered trespassing on the Salt Fork Tract? I was being

taken a walk in the woods. And on the first day of harvesting, were you

for chaining yourself to a crawler tractor at the site?

That's why I couldn't have spiked anything.

I was all tied up.

Move to strike.

So moved.

The jury will disregard.

Mr. Snyder, stick to answering the questions asked.

At the time of your arrest, did police confiscate from you a box of nails? From

the toolbox in my truck.

I'm a carpenter.

Nothing more for now.

Mr. Snyder, are you indeed a spokesman for the Redwood Warriors?

I'm proud of it. Were you always an environmental radical? The evolution of

man's philosophy is not relevant. Ms. Kelsey is the one who opened the door to

intention, Your Honor.

I'll allow the question.

After ten years in the environmental movement, I realized nothing's changed.

We're still devastating old -growth forests at the unchecked rate of 70 ,000

acres a year.

At that rate...

There'll be no virgin woods left in this state in 20 years.

Well, certainly we all like trees, Mr. Snyder, but aren't your tactics extreme?

This isn't just about the beauty of primal forests.

It's about our survival on this planet.

These old -growth ecosystems clean the air, protect the watershed.

Our tactics may seem extreme.

But the systematic annihilation of our environment wasn't fazed by any less

extreme actions. Objection. This isn't an answer. It's a prepared sermon.

Sustained. One more question.

Do you believe that any means justify the end in protecting these ancient

forests? No.

But as citizens, the wilderness is part of our home.

And just like you'd defend your home if somebody broke in, I want to protect

these woods.

But I advocate only nonviolent tactics.

Thank you.

One further question, Mr. Snyder.

Would you describe Mr. Paul's injury as nonviolent?

No, I would not.

Nothing further.

We rest, Your Honor. In that case, I move for a directed verdict.

The plaintiff and co -defensor failed to present a prima facie case against my

client. Your Honor, Mr. Dillon's client admits to the advocating of the spiking

of trees. He was seen on the property. Sorry, Miss Kelsey, but I agree with Mr.

Dillon. Your Honor, if you dismiss this co -defendant, you will be removing the

party who maliciously and criminally began the chain of events which led to

action. As much as I would like to have the party who spiked this tree held

liable for his or her actions, the court hasn't heard any evidence that could

reasonably link this defendant to this spike.

Accordingly, Mr. Snyder is dismissed from this lawsuit.

Here are the Spidell contracts.

Leave them on my desk.

Maybe you should go home early.

Don't push yourself on your first day back.

Have you ever ridden a horse, Roxanne?

When I was a girl, I loved to ride.

The horses didn't frighten you?

No.

I wanted to be a cowboy until I was six.

Then my mother took me to a stable near Griffith Park.

The horses were huge.

They didn't look that big in the movies.

I wouldn't go near them, much less get on one.

And in one crushing instant, I knew I was too...

Frightened to be a cowboy.

I was a coward.

Fortunately, my father had other career plans for me.

Well, I think you make a much better attorney than you would have made a

But I don't think you're a coward.

Are you still afraid of horses?

I avoid horses.

This is not a city.

A city is a place where one can walk outside and hail a taxi.

You are five hours late because you couldn't get a taxi. I apologise for

dinner. I'm not disturbing anything. Yes, we're asleep.

I won't wake him.

Her?

Don't tell me you've discovered a third option. Were you this drunk at your

audition? Audition? It's a bloody cattle call when they let the phones ring

through. Oh, let me guess. After Bloom went out of the way, you make a scene

offend everyone.

They were semi -literate snot -noses.

And they wanted the character played for laughs. Oh, look, it's late, huh?

What about a little drop of something? No, no more to drink.

Oh, it was so hard.

Now, Charles.

Yes, well, someone had to be.

How you could choose law over an honourable life in the theatre killed

your mother.

Daddy, you do this to yourself and I am not going to wallow around in it with

you. Come on, it's late.

I'm too tired and it gets us nowhere.

Come on.

Go and sleep it off. I come to you utterly, utterly alone.

My career in a shambles. My very soul in peril.

You can't give me an inch.

There you go, Dad.

That's all you ever needed.

I thought you wanted them out of the case.

I wanted the case severed. I didn't want him walking away free. Now the jury's

heard from him. So those bastards break the law, and I pay the bill.

We can settle without admitting negligence.

They got to you, didn't they?

Those damn spikers have got you thinking that it's my fault.

Mr. Eder, I'm making a professional recommendation that we be flexible. No,

it. The Redwood Warriors don't compromise. They wage war, and they walk

here scot -free.

Well, I'll be damned if I lay down and take the blame.

Slow down, Mr. Wu. Listen, I'm sure that Mr. Jackson's offer was intended...

Look, can I call you back?

Bad idea, Dad.

The food of thy abusive father's wrath.

Would I but live to see thee in my touch.

Stop it.

I'd say I had eyes again. A light.

A light.

You think this is what I want?

Flowers and sonnets?

A sonnet?

A sonnet? It's from Leah.

I was trying to tell you I got a job. As you know how I feel about Shakespeare

on film, but I've always loved Gloucester.

What do you think, Dad?

I'll go to her office. She won't throw me out there.

Well, I couldn't leave town without apologising, could I? This isn't an

It's a bloody grand entrance.

Right, right.

Last night was an unfortunate lapse.

I threw you out, and I meant it.

Does that mean you don't want me in your life?

I don't want you in my office, ever.

I don't want you using my friends or my business relationships.

And I don't want you dropping by whenever you're on a bender, ever.

I'm an old dog, Kara.

It's hard to learn new tricks.

And these laughable attempts to stay sober are partly because of you.

It occurred to me that it might be of some help.

Well, we're shooting in New York. I am on my way.

Give me a call when you get there.

Anyway, who's shooting another Lear?

Well, it's not actually Lear.

A client of Susan's makes commercials.

A light. A light.

A light beer.

There you have a good trip, Dad.

And in the face of this known risk, not only did Humboldt Logging conduct a

cursory investigation, they also failed to warn the sawmill of a possible

threat. Why would they act with such...

Callous disregard.

Because it would have cost them time and money.

Wayne Paul worked on the line in the sawmills for 17 years. Apart from his

service in the army, it's the only job he'd known.

It was a hard job, but he did it well.

And like his father and his grandfather before him, Wayne expected it to be a

job for life.

Mr. Paul paid dearly for Humboldt Locking's greed and negligence.

He looks to you for justice.

None of us can imagine the horror of sustaining an injury as critical as Mr.

Paul's. But we can sympathize with him as a victim of an unjust and violent

accident. Humboldt logging also sympathizes, especially since it has

been the target of the Redwood Warriors' destructive and criminal acts.

Radical groups like the Redwood Warriors admit to being saboteurs, advocates of

hit -and -run tactics, and true to form, they have vanished before we begin to

address responsibility.

But Mr. Eder did not build a family business by hit -and -run tactics.

My client is the only one who sits before you today, ladies and gentlemen.

And in the absence of the true wrongdoers, the plaintiff hopes that you

find him a convenient scapegoat.

The plaintiff suggests that Humboldt logging acted out of greed.

This may be an easy caricature for some of us to accept. Some of us already

blame the loggers for the vanishing forests.

We may already have made them the scapegoats for our society's

demand for wood and paper.

But in suggesting that Humboldt logging acted out of greed,

The plaintiff implies that tree spiking injuries are predictable and

commonplace. The truth is, only one other injury from the spiking of trees

ever been documented.

Personal injury from the shattering of a blade against a spike is so uncommon as

to be called a freak occurrence.

My client took every reasonable step to investigate the warnings that he

received, and he found nothing.

He could not have foreseen this accident.

Please. Don't compound Mr. Paul's tragedy by creating a scapegoat.

Well, it means the DA has dropped the charges against you. You're free to go.

Let's go. Move it. I told you I don't need you to pull him off. What the hell?

It's not your fight anymore.

What did you do? He had no right to make you take the rap.

Nobody makes me do anything other than I had it figured. He was working his way

clean. He had an eighth of a kilo of cocaine. It ain't that easy to get out.

I have no idea.

That's the only work anybody's out there begging us to take.

Because on the streets, they know how smart he is.

He was getting out.

We had ourselves a goal until you came along.

It wasn't your fight. It was our fight.

There's the man I love. Don't you get that?

Now he'll do hard time, get hooked all over again. They don't want him. They

want his connection. He can make a deal.

You don't know us.

And you don't know me.

Sorry, Tommy. He's not going to talk.

Mr. Foreman, has the jury arrived at a verdict?

We have, Your Honor.

What say you?

In the matter of Paul v.

Humboldt logging, we find in favor of the plaintiff.

And we order the defendant to pay compensatory damages in the amount of

,000.

Thank you.

Ladies and gentlemen, we're adjourned.

Thank you.

Stick around to see the blood.

Litigation junkie. I don't admire your politics, but I like your work. You

know anything about my politics. I know you keep your politics out of your work,

and that's a shame. Are you being radical or just plain rude?

You and I and your client are all on the same side of the fence, but you need to

reach people with the message. Breaking the law is... Let me guess. It turns

people off, gives us all a bad name?

You said it. Whereas you are so accommodating, you wind up arguing for

enemy.

Have we heard statements from all your witnesses?

Yes, Your Honor.

Uh, no, Your Honor.

Douglas Brackman.

Sorry I was late. I have Mr.

Brackman's statement.

All right, take a stand.

Then he, uh, he hit me in the face until I fell to the pavement.

Then he kicked me several times in the abdomen before fleeing.

Did the assailant speak to you?

Yes. He called me a fag and a queer.

And what was your reaction to that?

I was shocked.

Because, in fact, you are not a homosexual, are you, Mr. Brackman?

fact, my sexual habits were none of his business.

Did you get a look at your assailant?

A very good look.

That is the man.

And you'd be able to identify him if he were brought to trial?

I certainly would.

So? Hey, Zoe.

Are you here?

Tommy?

Yeah, now grab your sleeping bag.

Tommy, what the hell are you doing? You know that if we leave right now, we can

make it to Mammoth by 3 a .m.? Hey.

I owe you one night under the stars on your very own land before we die. Come

on. Come on. Where is your sense of adventure?

I'm so sorry, Tommy.

We were going to tell you.

It's me.

It's my fault.

Excuse me guys.