All language subtitles for And Justice for All (1979)

BOY 1:
I pledge allegiance to the flag

of the United States of America

and to the republic
for which it stands.

One nation under God, indivisible,

with liberty and justice for all.

GIRL:
I pledge allegiance to the flag

of the United States of America

and to republic
for which it stands.

One nation under God, indivisible,

with liberty and justice for all.

BOY 2:
I pledge allegiance to the flag

of United States of America

and to the republic
for which it stands.

One nation under God, indivisible,

with liberty...

KIDS:
And justice for all.

[♪♪♪]

[POLICE SIREN WAILING
IN DISTANCE]

COP:
Take your wig off.

Take your wig off.

[CAMERA CLICKS]

Turn and face the wall.

This way.
Turn and face the wall.

Face the wall.

All right. That's it.

PRISONER 1:
Are you a natural blond?

[PRISONERS WHISTLING]

PRISONER 2:
Chicken delight. He deliver.

PRISONER 3:
Don't put that in here.
Chick ain't my type.

PRISONER 4:
Easy, easy. That's my wife
you're talking about.

She here
for our conjugal visit.

Come over here
and let daddy show you
what he got in his pants.

PRISONER 1:
Shit, she got the same thing
up under her skirt

that you got in your pants.
GUARD 1: Come on. Hold it, hold it.

Come on, we got a lady here.

Okay, Agee. You got any
concealed weapons that
they didn't find up front?

PRISONER 2:
He got something concealed.

PRISONER 3: But it ain't no weapon.
PRISONERS: Ha, ha, ha.

What do you say you strip
to make sure?

Whoo!

[PRISONERS HOOTING
AND WHISTLING]

PRISONER 4:
A star is born.

[PRISONERS HOOTING
AND WHISTLING]

GUARD 2:
Hey, Kirkland. Watch your hands.

PRISONER 1:
Hey, what's that?

GUARD 2:
Come on, Kirkland. Let's go.

PRISONER 2:
Hey, dude. Wow, look at that.

PRISONER 3:
I say, hey, man.
Make a phone call for me, man.

PRISONER 4:
Hey, man, don't run off now,
big shot.

[PRISONERS CHEERING
AND WHISTLING]

PRISONER 1:
All right. All right.

Where the hell is he?

What do you mean, he's in jail?

My lawyer's in jail?

Contempt of court?

He's too goddamn emotional.

Get him. I've had a car accident.

I haven't left the scene
of the accident, I'm in it!

DISPATCHER [ON RADIO]:
Unit 4-Adam. Be advised,
no record, no warrant.

Can't you hear the confusion around
me? You hear this noise?

Firemen trying to get me out
of the car. I'm trapped
because some son...

FIREMAN 1:
Could you move back?
We're gonna try and get you out.

I'm on the phone.
FIREMAN 2: Just a minute.

Keep it down, for chrissake.
I'm trying... Goddamn it.

Listen, I want you to tell
Arthur to get over here.

I'm on the... Where are we?
Eager Street.

The Eager Street ex...

Just tell him to get over here.
You can't miss it.

KILEY:
I understand you took a swing
at Judge Fleming. Is that true?

Hey, Kiley. Why don't you
do something about
that kid in there?

Put him someplace else?

Oh, they're just having
some fun with him, that's all.

Fun?

Well, sometimes
the boys get bored.

[PRISONERS HOOTING]

With you,
it's still new and exciting.

Sign here.

Why don't you ease up
on the judge?

He's your kind of guy,
huh?

Yeah, Fleming's a tough man.

Hates scum
almost as much as we do.

[GROANS]

Good morning,
Mr. Kirkland.

Carl.
Yeah, Arthur.

Come on. Are you all right?

I want you to sue the son
of a bitch who did this to me.

Every cent he's got.
Every nickel.

Thank God I can walk.
Carl, are you all right?

Disappear.

Why don't you wait...
She wasn't hurt, nothing in the report.

Why don't you wait in the car.
No need for the wife to know.

All right.
After all, I was your first.

You know, Arthur?
I was your first client.

You broke cherry on me.

Not the time to go
down memory lane, Carl.

Let's just get you to the hospital,
get you checked out.

Lie back.
You are the best.

Get every nickel,
then have him put away.

I'll see he gets
the death penalty, Carl.

Lie back, sir.
Death is okay too.

Jesus, you stink.
Somebody piss on you?

Get him out
of here.

Make sure nobody uses
my car phone.

I'm in a hospital,
some jerk calls Rome.

You son of a bitch! You lunatic!

Carl. Carl, you're
gonna have a stroke.

You'll have to deal
with my lawyer!

The death penalty!
You'll die for this. He's the best.

It's not even my car.

Carl. Carl. Carl.

I got a terrible headache.
You'll be all right.

I'll call you at the hospital.

What about this guy here?

He says he's all right.

I mean, it's a friend's car.

I just borrowed it for the night,
and now how am I gonna tell him?

I think you should
go to the hospital.

Well, I'm okay, but the car...
I know. I know.

Let me take you over
to the hospital.

My horoscope said
it was gonna be a great day.

And look what happened.
You'll be fine.

[♪♪♪]

No, it's not gonna
be that way this time.

Look at me
when I'm talking to you.

DA's willing to go two years,
one year probation.

That's a lot of fucking time, man.

Okay? Hi, Artie.

I ain't kissing nobody's ass.
I'm not asking you to kiss it.

Just give it a little pat.

Arthur.

Excuse me.
Yes?

Hold it, Wenke.
Where are you going?

Bathroom.
Go home.

No.
Go home and change.

No.
You look like shit.

What would you say
if I walked into court like that?

Arthur? What would...?
Arthur, what would you say?

I don't want
to keep harping on this,

but the ethics committee's
checking up on everyone.

Please,
you gotta watch it.

Okay, I'll watch it.

Last week, two lawyers were
disbarred on minor charges.

You run around, get thrown into
jail on contempt of court.

Fleming got me crazy.
You push Fleming

on that McCullaugh thing,

there's gonna be big trouble,
I'm telling you.

McCullaugh's innocent,
and I can't get
that goddamn Fleming

to even look
at the evidence, Jay.

What do you want me to do?
You don't threaten the judge.

You don't threaten the judge!

You do me
a personal favor?

Put this on.

Chanel something.

I got Fleming
first thing this morning.

Give him my love.

That tie, I like it.

It's Fleming's favorite color.

[BOTH LAUGHING]

BAILIFF:
All rise.

Criminal court of Baltimore City
is now in session.

The Honorable Henry T. Fleming
presiding.

Be seated.

If Your Honor please,
for the first matter,

the state would call
case number 577-46898,

State v. Robert Wenke.

FLEMING:
Mr. Wenke, may I ask you
to step forward, please?

And how many times have you been
before the bench, Mr. Wenke?

Three times, Your Honor.

Once for assault, once for arson,
once for grand larceny.

And now we have
indecent exposure.

What's the matter, Mr. Wenke?

Can't you decide what you
wanna be when you grow up?

[PEOPLE LAUGHING]

Got anything to say?

Yes, Your Honor.

I'm a loyal Colts fan.

[PEOPLE LAUGHING]

You are also a revolting,
despicable, scum of the earth

who should be taken out
and squashed like a cockroach.

Judge, I object. My client
has not been found guilty yet.

You're absolutely right, counselor.

Let's see, it's now 9:40.

At 9:41 he will be guilty.

I find the defendant,
Ronald Wenke, guilty.

Sentence to be imposed
at a later time.

Your Honor, I would request
that Mr. Wenke's bail be continued.

Bail is revoked.
Thank you, Your Honor.

PROSECUTOR:
If Your Honor please, the state will now
call indictment number 577-46899...

That was good. Very good
work. I wanna thank you
for your counsel.

Very nice. Colts fan.
I need Colts?

That's terrific, Wenke.

You do know.

The big white house.

You know, with the fat
columns out in front?

On Greenway Avenue.

Guess how much
that house is worth
on the market today?

I don't know.
Take a guess.

Seven million.

Two-hundred and forty-three
thousand dollars.

Now, that's some nut
I've got, huh?

That's okay. I get enough
accident cases this year,
I'll be all right.

Maybe I ought to start
throwing out banana peels.

Listen, recess is almost over and all
I've got left is this illegal lottery case...

Did you know that there's a guy

eating something off your table?
Huh?

The guy you're prosecuting?
Yeah?

He's eating the lottery tickets.

Holy shit.

Gibson, get the hell away...
Get out of there.

GIBSON: Leave me alone.
Don't swallow.

You son of a bitch.
ARTHUR: My client.

MAN 1: Give me that. Don't swallow.
ARTHUR: My client.

MAN 1:
Spit it out.

[INDISTINCT SHOUTING]

[WOMAN SCREAMS]

Gentlemen,

need I remind you,
you are in a court of law?

Now, let's proceed
in an orderly fashion.

What the hell are you doing?

Does the defense have
anything further to add?

Your Honor, it's, uh...

I guess I should, uh,
request a recess

so that my client
could get something to eat.

He's obviously very hungry.

[PEOPLE LAUGHING]

ARTHUR:
My client, McCullaugh,
could I see him for a minute?

GUARD 1:
Sure, Mr. Kirkland.

Put your hand out.

JEFF:
Hey, Mr. Kirkland. What happened?

I just want to reaffirm
what I said to you yesterday.

We're gonna get you out.
I know you're trying, Mr. Kirkland.

But this is crazy, you know?
I know it. I know it.

You told me
you have the evidence
that proves I'm innocent.

It does prove it, doesn't it?
Yes, you're innocent.

Judge Fleming agrees with you?
Right.

If everyone agrees that I'm innocent,
how come I'm going back to jail?

GUARD 2: Roll them.
There's enough proof, Jeff.

It's just the court
won't accept the proof.

Why not?
Well, there's a law...

There's a law which says
that evidence must be submitted

within a certain time period.

And our evidence came in
three days late.

JEFF:
What difference does that make?

What difference does it make
if it came years late?

They got the proof.
They should let me go.

I don't understand this.

That judge who sent me
to jail, he knows I'm innocent.
What's going on?

Jeff, it's just gonna take
a little more time.

Any other judge would have let
you out, but this guy,

he goes by the letter of the law.
I don't understand.

Jeff, I promise...
I promise I'll get you out. I promise.

MAN:
He promises he'll get
you out, buddy, don't worry.

Judge Fleming?

I want to apologize
to you, sir, for my...

My behavior in the courtroom...

I don't want to hear
your apologies.

I don't want to hear
anything you have to say.

That's understandable, sir.
It's just...

It's just I thought that maybe we could
discuss this McCullaugh case.

You know, you and I,
man to man?
Off the record, sir.

If you're gonna try to
make a deal with me,

you might wind up
right back in jail.

A deal? A deal? No, sir.

No, sir, I'm not
trying to make a deal.

I can understand
your strict enforcement
of the statute.

What I can't understand
is my client's constitutional
rights being denied.

Don't quote the law.
My client is innocent.

I don't give a shit
about your client.

Hi.
Hi, Sherry.

Hi, Mr. Kirkland. Nice to see you.
ARTHUR: How are you today?

SHERRY:
He'll be right with you.

Boy, do you look tired.
Coffee, please.

Mrs. Tate wants to talk
to you.

Her son broke his leg again,
neighbor's driveway.

And Bricker wants to know
if your client will settle for $60,000.

Coffee.
You can reach him at the club.

You have three new clients
coming in today.

One's a whiplash,
one's a divorce,

and the other one has something
to do with amnesia.

I don't know what it is.
Arthur, what are you doing?

[CAN HISSING]

It won't foam.

That's because
it's deodorant.

And today is Tuesday,
so don't forget
to visit your grandfather.

And you have to be
back in court at 2: 15.

Coffee, please.

You want some coffee?

Sherry, stay with me today, dear.

I need you today.

Arthur.

[WHISTLES]

Arthur.

Come here. Heh, heh, heh.

Hi, judge.

Are we gonna get together
this weekend, huh?

I don't know. You know,
you're the only one I've
been dating these days.

RAYFORD:
Come on, now.

You promised you'd go
flying with me.

Ugh, I gotta tell you, judge,
you know, I'm not...

I'm not too fond of anything
that takes place off the ground.

Heights. I don't know.
I got a thing about heights.

Come on, this is flying.
It's different.

How high up do you go?

How high up do you wanna go?

Come on, it'll be good for you.

Sure. Besides, it gets...
It gets lonesome up there.

Why don't you take
your wife, judge.

Heh, heh, heh.
Last thing we did together
was get married.

Come on, Arthur.
Now, you promised me, remember?

All right. What time?

Sunday morning, 10:00.

Do you always carry that with you?

There's law and there's order.

And that's order.

Hey, you like egg roll?

Uh, yeah.
Good. Come on, let's get out of here.

Easy, easy, easy.
All right, you got it.
Ha, ha, ha.

Son of a gun.

[♪♪♪]

So it's another week already.

Another week.
I don't know where time goes.

No problems, Grandpa.
Everything all right?

See this one?

Wonderful woman.

I went to her husband's funeral.
Fine man.

Gitel?

Oh, hello, Sam.

How are you?

This is my grandson,
Arthur.

Pleased to meet you.
Good to meet you.

He goes to law school.
I'm a lawyer.

Take my advice.
Don't be in a hurry.

He's a nice-looking boy.

My grandson.

Yes. Heh.

Good to meet you.
Pleased to have met you too.

See you.

So it's been a week.

Yeah, Grandpa, remember?
It's been a week.

Last week, we went for a ride
in the car. Remember?

Oh. That's a good
machine.

Always give signals
when you turn.

Right.
Right.

Left.

WOMAN:
Let's reach for the sky.

So...

Are you a good lawyer?
Heh, heh, heh.

Are you honest?

Well, I don't know.

Being honest doesn't have much
to do with being a lawyer, Grandpa.

If you're not honest,
you got nothing.

Yeah.

Your parents
should see you now.

The hell with them.

They've never cared before,
why are they gonna care now?

They're still your parents.
No.

You raised me.

You're the one that put
me through law school.

You're a wonderful man, Grandpa.

But your son, he's a shit.

He was born with colic.

Sam, I love you.

Look at you.

Filled out like a man.

Soon, you'll look like a lawyer,
and you'll be a lawyer.

I am a lawyer, Sam.

I've been a lawyer for 12 years.

[CHUCKLES]

So it's another week already?

MAN: Do you know Jules Stouffer?
ARTHUR: Yes, I do.

MAN: Client of yours, right?
ARTHUR: Yes.

MAN:
Wasn't he originally
represented by Alvin Burton?

ARTHUR:
Yes, that is correct.

MAN:
Why did he change representation?

Because I handled him on
an aggravated assault charge.

That's my area,
not Burton's area, so...

Did Jules Stouffer express
dissatisfaction with Mr. Burton?

No. Not at all.

Burton's an excellent lawyer.

You're not going after him, are you?

We're not going after anyone,
Mr. Kirkland. We are simply...

Do you
know David...?

We are trying to review
certain accusations

to determine whether or not
they are true.

And to, more or less,
clean our own house.

So please do not overdramatize
these proceedings.

This is not the McCarthy hearings.
Oh. That's a relief.

So you're not gonna ask me:

"Are you now,
or have you ever been, a lawyer?"

That wasn't amusing, Mr. Kirkland.

Do you know David Crebbs?

No, it wasn't, Miss, um...

Packer.
Packer.

This isn't amusing.
It is, however, ridiculous.

Yes. David Crebbs? I know him.

Have you ever seen...?
Is this mike working?

Do you know David Crebbs?

Why are we using microphones?

Why don't we just talk to each other?
We're close enough.

This is a hearing, Mr. Kirkland.

Ah. Yes. It's a hearing.

CRENNA:
Do you know Jules Stouffer?

We've already asked that
question, Mr. Crenna.

Oh, we're through with Stouffer?
How about Alvin Burton?

Do you know David Crebbs?
I already asked that.

What'd he say?

He said, "Yes."

Have you ever seen him
intoxicated in court?

David Crebbs
has a speech impediment.

Now, if you check your records,
you'll see it's there someplace.

No. That's the answer
to your question.

No, he doesn't drink.
Doesn't drink at all.

At this point,
I would just like to say

that what this committee
is doing, in theory,

is highly commendable.

However, in practice, it sucks.

And I am not going to
answer any more questions.

GAIL:
What do you think
we're trying to do in there?

Want a drink?
No.

Whatever you may think,

we are not conducting
some kind of witch hunt.

What are you doing then?

You might not be aware of this,

but there's a lot of
corruption going around

that nobody's
doing anything about.

You think your committee's
doing something?

Yes, I do.

That committee
is a very dangerous farce.

Whoa. Mr. Kirkland.

I spend 14 hours a day
working on that committee.

I don't do it for laughs.
I don't care how many hours.

Understand?
Spend your life.

You know what
you're accomplishing?

If we don't police our own activities,
Ruining the careers of guys

who wipe their ass wrong.
Nothing's gonna happen.

So, what do you think?

About what?

About me.
What do you think?

Think I'm kind of interesting?

Somebody you'd like
to have a drink with?

I think that you're crazy.

Oh. What about Daniels?

Say around 7:30?

I don't think so.

Eight?

Eight-thirty.

All right.

Uh, I'm Arthur Kirkland.
You wanted to see me?

Yeah.

Yeah, my man, Bambi,

ooh, he recommended you
real highly.

He said, "Arthur Kirkland,
he the man to see."

Okay, Ralph. Why don't you
tell me what happened.

It says here in the report
that you were involved in a robbery.

Uh-uh. No, sir.
Uh-uh. No.

See... See, what happened is,

it was time
to come down on the nigga.

Mr. Kirkland, you know,
it's like smoking.

They got to have
a nigga every 20 minutes.

See, what happened is,

I was in this alley petting my dog
when they came down on me.

It states here that you were...
The dog was attacking you

when you were first seen
in the alley.

Yeah? Yeah, well...

Well, see, my dog,
he gets like that sometimes.

It also states that the dog

belonged to a Mrs. B. Jackson.

Well, he sure looked like my dog.

You know, he had that...
Come on, Ralph.

It also states here

that when asked what you were
doing in the alley,

you replied, "I don't know nothing
about that taxi-cab robbery."

Now, that's true, because I don't.

How'd you know
there was one, Ralph?

Mr. Kirkland, there's always one.

Ralph, tell me the truth
or get another lawyer.

I don't need the bullshit. Let's go.

Okay.

I was in that cab. But I didn't rob it.

It was my cousin's idea.

I didn't know nothing. It was my
cousin's idea. See, he... He crazy.

What's your cousin's name?
I don't know.

I mean...

He live over on Hillsdale.

You don't know
your cousin's name?

Ralph, who do you think
you're talking to?

You think I'm an idiot?
Okay, I read a report,

I can tell if somebody's
bullshitting me or not.

Either you give me
straight answers

or you get another lawyer.

I don't have time to listen
to some jive-ass put me on.

Okay.

It wasn't my idea, but I did
know what was coming down.

See, me and
my cousin Royce...

Royce Shavers.

See, he figures that
since I am the way I am...

Mr. Kirkland,

I can look real fine
sometimes, you know?

Yeah,
I'm sure you can, Ralph.

Well, Royce figures
that we can be a couple.

You know, like a man
and a woman couple.

Because a cab driver will pick
up a couple a whole lot faster

than they will two nigga men.

So, uh...

we got into this cab over
on Garrison Boulevard,

and we asked him to take us down
to the harbor.

You know, like...
Like we was tourists.

And, um...

Hey, man, I...
I can't go to jail, man.

I just can't do it.
I can't go to that place.

Please, Mr. Kirkland,
you've got to help me.

Please.

Okay.
Please.

Okay, I'll help you, Ralph.
Just don't lie to me, that's all.

Okay? Okay.
Yes, sir.

Thank you.
Don't lie to me. Okay?

Yes, sir.
Okay.

Thank you.

[GAIL & ARTHUR LAUGHING]

ARTHUR:
Thanks for bringing me home, Gail.

[BOTH LAUGHING]

Oh, God.

Well...

You really take renting
an unfurnished apartment
literally, don't you?

Arthur, you know it doesn't
have to stay this way.

What happened?

Did your wife take you
in the divorce settlement?

She had a better lawyer.
Oh.

What about your kids?
Get to see them much?

Well, they're in California,
you know.

Phone calls, holidays.

Put the food out,
I'll get the plates.

I guess I was lucky.
We never had any kids.

How long were you married?
Three years.

Were you in love?
No.

I was in love with the law.

You know what I mean?

Got a serving spoon?

Serving spoon.

Thank you.

So, uh, you eat out a lot?

Yeah, you?

Yeah.

The committee works
just about every night.

How did you feel when you walked
out on the committee this morning?

Did you feel all those daggers
in your back?

That's a very
dangerous group, you know?

Jesus.

Here we go, here we go.

Arthur, why?

Why do you feel
it's dangerous?

Because you're conning
the public into thinking
you're doing something.

And you're not.
Yeah. But we are doing something.

No.
We are protecting the public

from a lot of corrupt lawyers,
is what we're doing.

You're skimming the surface.
You're not going after
real power.

[WHISTLES]

Wow. That's scary.
What real power, Arthur?

You don't know?
No, why don't you tell me?

Well, now we know
they're definitely safe.

What makes you think
you know so goddamn much?

I don't know so much.
No, no. Tell me.

What makes you the great
voice of authority?

[CHUCKLES]

I don't pretend to be
a voice of authority.

It's just, I don't think
you know what you're doing,
that's all.

Oh, I see. Yeah, yeah.

This is nice,
don't you think?

No, I don't find this
particularly nice.

Arthur, I'm, um...

I'm angry again.

You know? I don't like being angry.

It's not pleasant.
I don't understand

how you can criticize me
for what I do.

I'm not criticizing you, Gail.
I mean, you're taking it
too personally.

Arthur, the committee is doing
something about what's going on.

We are not sitting in jail at nights
because of contempt of court.

Do you know what that's about?
Yeah.

Yeah?
You threw a punch at Judge Fleming.

Uh-huh. You know why?
I have no idea. Tell me.

I got a client who's in jail
because of a faulty taillight

and I can't get him out.

What do you mean
you can't get him out?

You wanna hear a story
about our wonderful judicial system?

Hm?
Sure.

There's a guy named
Jeff McCullaugh,

and he's going down
the highway one night

and the cops stop him
because his taillight isn't working.

They pull him over to the side,
run a make on him.

Computer kicks back
that there's a Jeff McCullaugh

wanted in Alabama
for assault with a deadly weapon.

Was this the same Jeff McCullaugh?
No.

But he fits
the general description
so they arrest him.

Why didn't McCullaugh tell them
they had the wrong person?

He told the public defender,
who I don't think really believed him.

And he was too busy.

He never even bothered to check.
Are you serious?

Ah, wait. It gets better.

While Jeff is sitting in jail,
a guard is stabbed.

And the knife is planted
in Jeff's cell.

And Jeff is brought to trial
on a new charge,

this time, assaulting a guard
with a deadly weapon.

And a trial date is set

six months from the time
he was first picked up.

I'll make a long story short for you.
Six months go by

and a very shaky, very crazy
Jeff McCullaugh goes to court.

Now, the public defender
who's defending him, he says...

He tells Jeff that he can get him off
Mm-hm.

If he pleads guilty.

He'll make a deal with the judge,
and he'll get him off.

Time served.
Right.

So he pleads guilty
even though he's innocent.

That's right. However,
the deal was made
with a Judge Callahan.

The day of the trial,
Judge Callahan cannot be found.

Fleming is in his place.

Fleming doesn't know
anything about the deal.

Jeff pleads guilty.

Fleming sentences Jeff
to five years in prison.

[SIGHS]

Goddamn.
So one little guy

has already spent
a year and a half in jail

because his lights didn't work.

I've spent the last year

putting together enough evidence
to prove he's innocent.

And I prove it.

I get it all together,
and I bring it into Fleming's court

and he throws it out.

Why?
Because it came in three days late.

Holy shit.

That's incredible.

It's not incredible, it's Fleming.

[CHUCKLES]

No, Arthur. That's the law.

You can't fault Fleming legally

because he was going
by the letter of the law.

Are you kidding?
No, I'm not.

You talk to me like that,
you're not gonna get me
into bed, dear.

Yes, I will.

I've had tougher cases.

You're so easy. Heh, heh.

You knew that, huh?
Ha, ha, ha.

That's why you went out
with me.

Finish your egg roll.
Ha, ha, ha.

Arthur. Arthur.

You'll never guess
who the police just grabbed.

Who?
Take a guess.

Warren, please.

This may sound crazy,

but Judge Fleming
was just taken away.

What do you mean,
taken away?

Arrested.

Come on.

I'm telling you,
they just arrested the judge.

Your very own favorite judge.
Judge Fleming?

Judge Fleming.

What's the joke, Warren?

There's a joke connected to this.
There is no joke.

I don't know what it's about.
They're sitting on this very hard.

I can't get anything from anybody.
I'll see you later.

Warren, uh... Uh...

Let me know the...

Judge, we're ready to reconvene.
Be right there.

Okay.

[COUGHS]

Congratulations, counsel.

Well, thank you
very much.

What did I do?

Come here.
Come here, come here.

Go.
Judge Fleming.

Yeah?
I was right.

He was arrested
this morning and booked.

We know that...

But, Arthur,
you'll never guess
what for.

Take a guess.
What for?

Rape.
Fleming was booked on a rape.

I can't stand it.
Isn't that the best?

Rape.
I don't believe it.

That's not the best.
That's not the best.

No. I'm gonna tell you...
Give him the punchline.

Tell you the punchline.
You're gonna love this.

His people just called the office,

and Mr. Fleming
would like you to represent him.

Me?

[WARREN & JAY LAUGHING]

Me?

[WARREN & JAY LAUGHING]

Why me?

[WARREN & JAY LAUGHING]

I hate the son of a bitch.

[ALL LAUGHING]

I'm going crazy.

BATES:
Mr. Kirkland,
as you undoubtedly know,

Judge Fleming has been accused,
falsely, I might add,

of sexually assaulting
a young lady.

He wants you to represent him
in this case.

[LAUGHING]

Excuse me. I can't...

What, may I ask, is so funny?
I just think it's...

It's just crazy.

I don't think it sounds so crazy.
Not really.

Well, there are two lawyers
up in the third floor men's room

who think differently.

As a matter of fact,
one of them, right now,

is laughing so hard,
he's choking in the sink.

I'm aware
that I'm not particularly, uh, well-liked.

But the fact remains,
I am innocent.

And I fully intend to have that proven
in a court of law.

Now, Mr. Bates and I feel,
in this particular situation,

you would be the perfect lawyer
to handle my defense.

What is this?
The two of you got together,

put your little heads together,
came up with that one.

That's a beauty.

Real question is, why?

Why me, fellas? Come on.

We need you for political reasons.

Political reasons?
Yes.

What kind of political reasons?

BATES:
This case will create a tremendous
amount of media coverage.

The animosity between you
and the judge is well-known.

But we can use that
to our advantage.

Why else would you defend
a man you dislike so much,

unless he was truly innocent?

And he is, you know.
Remarkable.

Remarkable.

But, you see, personally,

I don't give a shit.

Why, you smug son of a bitch.

Henry. Henry. Henry.

I've never committed
a crime in my life.

Judge, if you're innocent,

truly innocent, you don't need me.

Get yourself another lawyer.

[GAIL GIGGLING]

[GAIL LAUGHING]

ARTHUR:
What are you laughing at?

GAIL:
Well...

I really hate to tell you this,

but you remind me a little
of my ex-husband.

[ARTHUR GROWLS
AND GAIL LAUGHING]

ARTHUR:
In what way?

Because during sex,

he would always say:

"Go.

Go."

"Go"?
Yeah.

I don't say, "Go."

I heard you say, "Go."

No, I don't say, "Go."

"Go" is dumb.

I say, "God."

Are you sure you didn't say, "Go"?
I'm sure.

Could've sworn I heard a couple
of "go's" coming from you.

Heh, heh, heh.
That was, "God."

I said, "Oh."
Sounded like, "Go."

It was, "Oh,"
and then I said, "God."

Oh, God.

[POUNDING ON DOOR]

ARTHUR:
Oh, God.

Yeah? Who is it?

JAY:
Arthur. It's Jay.

ARTHUR: Jay?
GAIL: What the heck?

ARTHUR:
It's my partner.

[POUNDING ON DOOR]

ARTHUR: Jay? Jay?
GAIL: It's so late.

[KNOCKING ON DOOR]

ARTHUR:
All right, all right.

Jay.

What do you say?

Hell of a night tonight.

It's 2:00 in the morning, Jay.

I know it's 2.
The bars just closed.

So, what are you doing here?

I came to ask you a question.

Oh, yeah? What?

I'm a good lawyer. Right?

Right.

I got Earl Soames off. Right?

What are you talking about, Jay?
I got Earl Soames.

I got Earl Soames.

Yeah, you got him off.

No. No, I just didn't get him off.

I got him off on murder.

And we all know
that Mr. Soames did it.

Right, he did it, Jay.
He was guilty.
We all know that.

Brilliant defense. Brilliant.

Brilliant defense, Arthur.

Brilliant. Right. Right.
Brilliant.

Brilliant.
Right.

Brilliant!

I got him off on a...
On a technicality.

I know, Jay. Right. Good.

Mr. Soames did it again.

What do you mean?

At 12:00 tonight, he went out
and he killed two kids.

Oh, Jesus.

I mean, he killed kids. You see?

Oh, Jay.

I gotta take a piss.

Jay...

ARTHUR:
My partner.

JAY:
There's women in here.

Hello?

Arthur,
what's going on?

Come on, it won't hurt you.
Just duck a little.

You got about three feet there.
Ha, ha, ha.

For chrissakes,
come on, get in.

How do you feel?
You ready to go?

Whoa. I thought
you flew, uh, planes.

You know? With wings.
No, no.

Been flying helicopters
ever since Korea.

Come on. Get in.

Here you are. Button up.
Close the door.

I gotta tell you, judge,

I'm not too happy about this.

Relax, Arthur. Now just relax.

Do you think maybe we could just sort
of, you know, go out a bit? Not...

Kind of just go and hover?

We'll do any goddamn thing
you want.

Now hold on to your cojones, huh?
Ha, ha, ha.

Whoo!
Oh...

RAYFORD:
Ah, this is what it's all about.

[♪♪♪]

Pretty, isn't it?
[GASPS]

I don't wanna talk.

What?

I don't wanna talk.

RAYFORD:
Did you ever skydive?

Skydive. Did you ever skydive?
No. Why?

You ought to try it.
You might learn something.

You know,
I was skydiving once

and my main chute,
it didn't open.

I pulled my reserve.
Didn't open either.

There I was,
plunging to the earth.

Just as I hit the treetops,
I discovered the meaning of life.

Which is?

It sucks, Arthur. It really sucks.

They used to keep
Native Dancer down there.

Native Dancer, the horse?
Yeah.

They used to keep him
down there.

Beautiful animal.
Oh...

ARTHUR:
Where are we going?

RAYFORD:
You wanna go someplace
in particular?

No. Down,
I would prefer to go down.

RAYFORD:
Now, just relax, Arthur.
Just relax and enjoy it.

The old Chinese proverb.
Ha, ha, ha.

Whoo.
Whoa!

[FRANCIS LAUGHING]

Oh...
Great, isn't it?

[FRANCIS LAUGHING]

Oh, my, my!

RAYFORD:
Here, let me
show you something.

Oh, my! Oh, my.

Look at that. Ha, ha, ha.

Wild, isn't it?

Oh, boy.

We've hit it.
Hit what?

What? What have we hit?

The halfway point.

It's a little game I play.
Each time I go out,

I calculate how much fuel I have

and how far I can go
and still get back on it.

Then I figure out the halfway point,

and I go just a little beyond it.
Heh, heh, heh.

You mean, we're beyond
the halfway point?

Yeah.

Well, what are...?

Well, you mean, we're not
gonna make it back?

Ha, ha, ha.
Well, maybe, maybe not.

Well, land.

Land! Put it down!

Arthur, come on now.
We're all right.

If we're beyond the halfway point,
judge, we're not all right.

That's all right.
Land!

Here we go.
Heading back.

Sixteen years of marriage

and my wife still
won't eat Chinese food.

It's crazy.

Especially since we met
in a Chinese restaurant.

How're we doing?

Where are we? Are we back yet?

Trust me, Arthur.
I know what I'm doing.

It's a protest on her behalf.

She relates Chinese food
to our marriage.

We're not gonna make it back.
We're not gonna make it back.

I knew it! I knew it!

We're not gonna
make it back. I knew it!

Arthur. Look at that, huh?
Didn't I tell you
I got good instincts?

[LAUGHS]

[MOTOR SPUTTERS]

Oh. Hang on, Arthur.
Hang on, now.

Hang on.
Get us back.

Hang on, Arthur.
We'll make it.

Hang on.
Oh!

Just hang on.
Oh, God!

Oh, God!

Hang on.
Jesus.

Hang on.
God.

Home free.

We almost made it
right on the button.

Another 90 feet.

Told you I had good instincts.

Come on.

Let's go ashore.

God.

Ah, shit. My wheel.

Come on, Arthur.

Come on, it's easier when
you take the belt off.

That's it.

You all right? Come on.

Let's get some coffee.

You'll be all right.

Your adrenaline's still charged.

You gotta admit, though,
makes you feel alive, vital.

[SIGHS]

When I think that we could be
dead right now, I tell you...

Yeah. Listen, why is everyone
so preoccupied with death?

I'm not usually
preoccupied with it,

but this certainly seems
like a valid time, wouldn't you say?

[CHUCKLES]

How about another
chicken-salad sandwich, huh?

Arthur?
No.

Listen, let's get back
to Fleming.

You mean, you won't even
consider taking his case?

Nope, not interested.

Well, you better be interested,
Arthur.

There's some very
powerful people in this town

who can ruin your career.

Ruin my career?

What do you mean, ruin my career?

Well, they can have you disbarred.

Do you want some more coffee?
Yeah.

Yeah.
Okay.

Disbarred? What are you
talking about, disbarred?

Did you ever have a client
named Ernest Drago?

Sure. Yeah, Drago.
Yeah. What about him?

Well, you gave information
to the police on the q.t.

That led to his arrest and conviction.
Drago was a nut.

Drago was insane.

He used to sit in my office
and rattle off to me

some of the most grotesque
fantasies you can imagine.

I handled him
on a burglary charge

and I used to hear
that stuff every day.

He would tell me these fantasies,
and one of his favorites was

what would happen if he stuck
a firecracker in somebody's mouth?

Yeah, that was
one of his favorites.

So I read in the newspapers
that there was this...

This nut who was holding people up
with a gun,

forcing cherry bombs
in their mouths.

I knew it was Drago, I told the police.
The specifics don't matter.

By telling the police,
you didn't prevent a crime.

You betrayed a client.
You violated the code of ethics.

What the hell are you talking about?

What the hell is going on here?

Arthur, they want you.

You're a very principled,
ethical lawyer, with no political ties.

[SIGHS]

I tell you. They want me.

They want me to defend Fleming
because of my moral integrity.

And if I don't defend him,

they're gonna have me
disbarred for being unethical.

Look, Arthur.
Put aside your personal feelings.

Take the case.
You've worked too hard.

Come on, don't throw
your career away.

I can't believe this.
I tell you, I just don't believe it.

Judge, I want McCullaugh freed.

Nothing can be done.
Now, I don't buy that, judge.

Just reopen the case.
That's all I'm asking.

Reopen the case,
and give me a crack at a jury.

I'll get him acquitted.

Now, look, you are in no position
to ask for anything.

But I'll see what I can do to help.

Perhaps there's an exception
to the statute.

Okay.

Okay, so?

Why don't you tell me
about the girl then?

This Leah Shepard.

Can you tell me anything
about her?

What do you want to know?

I saw her on a couple of occasions.

She works over at city hall.

Did you have sex with her, first date?
Yes, I did.

First and second time.

That's why this thing
makes no sense to me.

Well, what do you think
happened to her?

I assure you that I did not rape her,

but I really don't know.

Maybe some angry boyfriend
showed up after I left.

Angry boyfriend?

That's a little mild, don't you think?

I mean, she wasn't just raped.

She was sadistically
beaten and sodomized.

That goes a little bit
beyond an angry boyfriend.

You're right. You're right. I'm sorry.

[SIGHS]

I don't know
how I got into this thing.

I've been involved in the law
for over 30 years,

and I tell you, I can't find
five people out there

who are willing to believe
that I'm innocent. Not five of them.

Will you take a lie-detector test?

Why? Polygraph
is not admissible evidence.

I know. I just... I would like you
to do it for me.

I'll think about it.
No, no, no.

I said that I would think about it.

You can't do this. No, no, I need
a polygraph to prepare your case.

Now, if I'm gonna be your lawyer,

you can't tie...
If you're going to be my lawyer?

Mr. Kirkland, you are my lawyer.

I know, I'm your lawyer.
I'm your lawyer. I know that.

And as your lawyer, there are certain
demands I'm gonna have to...

As I said to you before,

you don't ask for anything,
you don't demand anything.

Now, sit down.
I've got a lot of work to do.

I said, sit down.

[♪♪♪]

Leave it out here.

Give me a kiss.
All right.

Now one for you,
my man. All right.

Jeff, what happened to you?

Some... Somebody beat me up.

What...? What for?
I don't know. I didn't ask.

Listen, Jeff, I talked to Fleming.

And we're gonna
work something out.

We're gonna get you out of here.
When?

It's gonna take
a couple of weeks, Jeff.

Three weeks, tops.

I promise you,
I'll get you out by then.

Three weeks?
Three weeks. That's the best I can do.

You have to be kidding me.
Well, it's the best I can do, Jeff.

What am I supposed to do?

I don't know. You're gonna
have to hang in, that's all.

Just have to take care of yourself.
Take care of myself?

Mr. Kirkland, I got myself
locked up in solitary

just to get away from some guys.

I don't know how to fight.

Hey, you read in the paper
about all these guys

getting let out of prison
because it's too crowded.

And here I am,
and I didn't do nothing.

If that don't beat all.

I know, I know, I know it, Jeff.

You can't lose hope.

You understand me?
You can't lose hope.

Happy Thanksgiving.

I bet we're gonna
have good turkey.

SAM:
We're gonna have good turkey.
What are you talking about?

Where's your teeth?

You gotta have your teeth
if you're gonna eat turkey.

Where's your teeth,
Grandpa?

SAM:
Did I have my teeth
the last time you were here?

Of course you had teeth.
You had teeth this morning.
Heh, heh, heh.

He don't remember so good.

What did I do with my teeth?

ARNIE:
He's very proud of you.

He's always talking about how his
grandson is gonna become a lawyer.

Ugh. I wish he could remember
that I am a lawyer.

Well, sometimes he does,
sometimes he doesn't.

What's the difference?
He's still proud of you.

SAM: Arnie.
Huh?

Are you sure
I had my teeth this morning?

I know you had teeth.

Hey. What's that?

By the television.
Ugh.

All right.
Okay.

I'm ready.

Hope this friend of yours
won't mind me coming.

No, Arnie.
No, this is Thanksgiving.
It's an open house.

There are gonna be a lot of people.
Be all right. Be fine.

Let me get this here.

Okay, guys.
Let's go, let's go.

I hope they don't have yams.

I hate yams.

[CHATTERING]

I can't eat off my knees.
Hm.

What happened to sitting
at a table?

You say, "Pass the salt.

A little more stuffing,
if you don't mind."

Is it true that Fleming
passed a polygraph test?

Larry, that's privileged information.

Yeah, let's just say
I'm one of the privileged.

He did, didn't he?

What's the odds on that?

Nobody wanted to believe
he was innocent.

I can't talk about that.

I could tell this is catered.

Turkey, I know.
What is this? What is it?

MAN: Excuse me.
Go ahead, go ahead, go ahead.

MAN: Thank you.
Go already.

What is this fancy thing
over here?

You don't like it?
You don't eat it.

[LAUGHING]

I'll bet it's yams.

They're hiding the yams
so I'll eat it.

Hi. How are you?

Jay?
What?

What do you think, Arthur?

Hi, Tom. Happy Thanksgiving.
How are you?

Good to see you. How are you?

How are you? Good to see you.

Hello, Larry.
You're an asshole.

Ha, ha, ha. Do you like it?
It came to me during the night.

[BOTH LAUGHING]

I gotta talk to you.
Excuse me.

Sure.
Excuse me. Marcie, I'm coming back.

And when I do,
you are allowed to pet it.

So, what are you doing?
What's going on?

Nothing.

What do you mean, nothing?
What are you doing with that head?

Where'd you get it?
I shaved my head.

[CHUCKLES]

What for?
Change of pace.

Shave your head
for a change of pace? Jay.

So you see what it does?

Arthur, listen to me.
It's going to make it thick.

When this comes back,
it's gonna be thick.

What's bothering you, Jay?

Don't play big brother, all right?

Where's that Marcie?
Marcie.

Will the defendant please rise?

I find the defendant
guilty of armed robbery.

I don't understand.
What's going on?

Am I going to jail? I can't go.

Your Honor, in light of the fact that this
is the defendant's first major offense,

that he has no prior criminal record,
that he's currently employed,

I am requesting
a pre-sentence investigation.

You foresee a favorable
probation report?

Yes, Your Honor, I do.

Make note that a probation
report is to be drawn up

and presented to this court
within 15 days.

Sentencing will be withheld
until that time.

CLERK:
The next case...

What happens now?

They prepare a report,
present it to the judge,

and within 15 days,
you should be put on probation.

"Should be"? Mr. Kirkland, I got to be.
Don't worry, you'll be okay.

You'll be okay.

[CAR HORN HONKING]

CARL:
Arthur.

Arthur, where you going?
Uh, my office.

Come on in. I'll take you.
Okay.

It's a new one, huh?
Yeah, you like it?

Yeah.

Arthur?
Yeah?

I got a problem.
Yeah, what?

This young girl, it's, uh...

Not again, Carl.

I think it's a paternity suit.

[GROANS]

Well...

you know me, Arthur.

So is Jay letting his hair grow back,
or is he keeping it shaved?

ARTHUR:
He shaves it every day.

Carries around
a battery-operated razor.

Running it over his head
all day long.

GAIL:
Jesus. Sounds pretty bad.

He's not all right, is he?

ARTHUR:
He's all right. He'll be all right.

You know, Arthur,

the committee's considering
calling him in.

Don't look at me like that.
His clients are complaining.

He's postponing his court dates,
shaved his head, he's got a problem.

Look, he's all right. He's all right.

You know what this thing
comes down to, don't you?

What?

Every day defense lawyers
are out there

protecting guilty people and getting
them off and they're not affected by it.

GAIL: That's right.
It's not supposed to affect them.

Difference is that Jay was
affected by it. You see?

He was hurt by it.

He was injured by it.
I understand that.

ARTHUR: All right.
But that is not the point.

Isn't it ironic that the one lawyer,
the only lawyer, who felt something

should be brought up
before your ethics committee?

Stop trying to make yourself out to be
the only sensitive person around here.

I know. I know Jay was hurting.
I know that.

That's not the point.

The point is, he is not functioning
properly because of it.

He's all right.
He just needs a little time, that's all.

I've taken over
most of his court cases.

He's... He's putting
his emphasis on contracts.

Now, lay off him, okay?

It's not up to me. I'm trying
to let you know what's going on.

I just love the way
the hierarchy works.

I mean, you're going after guys
like Jay or whoever

and nobody is doing anything
about Judge Rayford,

who happens to be
a suicidal maniac.

Rayford?
Rayford.

The man is bent on killing himself.
It's no secret.

A court bailiff found him in his
chambers trying to hang himself once.

You know where he spends his lunch
every day?

No.
Outside his window on the ledge,

four stories high.

Now, this is a man
who's making value decisions

on people's lives.
Wait a minute.

Wait. His personal behavior
is not affecting his work.

Oh, you know that for sure?
Yes, he's an excellent judge.

And Jay's an excellent lawyer.

I know. He was an excellent lawyer.

That's not the point. The point is

his problems are affecting
his ability to serve his clients.

And that's why the committee
wants to see him.

[SIGHS]

Oh, God.

You know, there are times

when I'm not too sure I like you.

I mean, we are so opposite,

how we feel about things, Gail.

Yeah.

Maybe that's good.

That's perfect, right?
Right.

As long as we keep a little
friction between us, there's...

No problems.
No problems.

[SIGHS]

[♪♪♪]

SHERRY:
That's all the photos
in the Fleming case.

Here's the name
and address of a witness

that lives
in Leah Shepard's neighborhood.

You ought to see this guy yourself.
What's this say?

"Reisler? Reisler?"
"Reisler." Yeah, "Reisler."

ARTHUR:
She's a little constipated, I think.
Got that look on her face.

REISLER:
Yeah.

ARTHUR:
You say you saw somebody
go into Leah Shepard's house

the night she was attacked?

Can you describe
that person to me?

Well, I'd say he was
a young fella,

small build, maybe about 5'6",
5'7", something like that.

Cherry?
No, no, thanks.

Small fella, huh?
Yeah.

Would you be able to identify him
if you saw him again?

No. No, it was too dark, too...
Too far.

You knew about this publicity
that this case has been getting?

Yeah.

Newspapers about Judge Fleming
and all?

Sure.
And you knew this information,

how come you didn't report it
to the police?

I went to the police. I went down,
told them I had information for them.

They told me to wait there
on the bench.

And I waited an hour,
two hours, three hours.

Finally, turned around,
went home. I left.

I couldn't spend
the whole night there.

You know Leah Shepard,
Mr. Reisler?

To say, you know...
To wave to her,
to say hello.

Would you testify
what you just said in court?

I guess I would
if I had to.

But I'll tell you,
I really don't wanna
get involved.

RAYFORD:
And then what happened, officer?

I told him to move on,
but he continued to use profanity

and he refused
to leave the premises.

What sort of profanity?

You know, the normal kind.

Officer Leary, we've heard
these words before.

Now, for the record,
what did he say?

He used "fuck" a lot.

[PEOPLE LAUGHING]

And "piss on you."

And said he was "gonna bunghole
the short-order chef."

He was "gonna cream on a waitress."

[PEOPLE LAUGHING]

Stuff like that, Your Honor.

There's a good reason
for all that, Your Honor.

Oh? What is that?
I'm a diabetic.

[PEOPLE LAUGHING]

I fail to see the connection.

I have never heard of diabetes
causing foul language.

That's because you're
a douchebag.

[PEOPLE LAUGHING]

Make sure this man
gets over to the hospital

this afternoon
for a psychiatric evaluation.

I will withhold a verdict
pending a medical report.

Son of a bitch. Day in, day out,
the same goddamn thing.

Most of these people belong
in a mental home, for chrissakes.

That judge is slower
than the 6:00 news.

So, what can you do for me?
A year.

What? Are you kidding?
I thought it was bargain day.

Make it six months,
and I think he'll buy it.

All right.
All right, what else you got?

Fenwick.
Hm.

Eighteen months.
Eighteen months?

Good luck. You tell him.

Son of a bitch is crazy.
He'd snap your neck.

All right, tell him a year.

But the offer's only good for today.

Frank, come on.

He's got beady eyes. He's a maniac.
He bit off his cell-mate's fingers.

I don't have the nerve to tell him
a year in jail.

That is the best I can do.
I'm just not in a good mood,
you know?

Frank.
Yeah, here I am. Is that it?

Yeah, that's it.

I'll get back to you
on Fenwick.

All right.
Gotta talk to you.

I got a case
coming up here, Art.

MAN 1:
And then what happened,
Mr. Saltzman?

SALTZMAN:
This punk kept pulling
my wife's purse

and she wouldn't let go.

So I tried to get him off.

He pushes me aside,

and then he knocks
my wife into a wall...

ARTHUR:
You want the good news first?

Shoot.

Fleming passed the polygraph.

And I got an eyewitness.

MAN 2:
In that case, Your Honor,
we will call the defendant to the stand.

MAN 3:
Very well.

And as far as your star witness
goes, Leah Shepard,

well, we know about her
and her credibility.

So you want me to throw
the Fleming thing out
the window, is that it?

I got you by the balls, Frank.

He's innocent. He's innocent.

Yeah, well, if the DA's office
drops this case now,

everybody's gonna be
screaming political deal.

The old lady kept hanging on.

She lets go of that purse,
I'm on my way.

But, ma'am, she just
kept hanging on.

I don't mean no harm or nothing.

But you're the one that's gonna
come out of this looking like a jerk.

Well, maybe,
but let me tell you something.

If this is your run-of-the-mill
Saturday night killing,
maybe we could deal.

I'm not dealing with you.
This is not a trade-off.

MAN 1: I really don't.
Any further questions from the state?

What the hell are you doing?
This is a dream.

It's a dream come true.
You're not gonna spoil it.

When I get Fleming down,
I'm gonna tear him, crucify him.

My client, Mr. Avillar,
has no prior criminal record.

He merely wanted
to take her money.

This is the Super Bowl, Art.

It's the Super Bowl,
and I'm the quarterback.

And there's three seconds left to go,
and I drop back to pass,

and there's a touchdown.

Fleming's carried out
on a stretcher.

It's that big, Art.
JUDGE: I find you guilty.

But I'm not going to jail you.

I'm placing you on probation
for one year.

One-year probation?

What kind of punishment is that?

They're getting real pissed off
with the law these days, Art.

I can turn that to my advantage.
JUDGE: Remove this man.

You're gonna find yourself
representing a sacrificial lamb.

SALTZMAN: This is justice?
JUDGE: We can't have this in court.

SALTZMAN:
What kind of world do we live in?

You're crazy.
The whole world is crazy.

Ah!

What's going on?

It's Jay Porter.
He's gone completely crazy.

Jay!

It's me, Arthur.

Where the hell did he get
the plates?

From the cafeteria.

He's been bringing
them up all morning.

Nobody paid any
attention to him.

Oh, no. No, he's not armed.
What's he got?

He's got plates.
Plates?

There's some trouble, judge,
I don't know

Put that thing away.
What's going on?

There's a guy. Not armed.

He's throwing a bunch of plates.
Plates?

Does anybody know who this guy is?
Yeah, it's Jay Porter.

He's a lawyer. He's my partner.
A lawyer?

Mr. Porter.

Here.
No, wait, wait, wait.

No, no, no, hold this.
I'm gonna rush him.

You all right?
Yeah, fine.

Get some canisters.
We'll gas him out.

Oh, Christ.

What do you say?
I'll run interference.

What do you mean?
Well, I got this.

Now you stay right
on my tail, all right?

All right,
judge coming through.

Jay, it's me, Arthur. Jay.

ARTHUR:
Jay. Jay, listen to me.

Jay, listen to me.

RAYFORD:
Come on. Get... Get...

Help me. Come on.

JAY:
No. I'm not ready!

I'm not ready! No. No.

I'm not ready.
I'm not ready to try this case.

I'm not ready!
I'm not ready, judge!

Please. Please, judge!

Help me, help me, help me!
Ah!

Warren, could you do me
a favor?

Yeah.

Three o'clock, Courtroom A.

My client, Ralph Agee,

they're just gonna review
his probation report.

Now, they screwed up the report.

I made these corrections.

Make sure the judge
sees it, okay?

No problem. No problem.
You'll be in and out in five minutes.

Look, he'll be wearing
a blonde wig,
so don't let it throw you.

It makes him happy.
Yeah, go ahead, Arthur, go ahead.

Tell Agee I'll call him tonight.
Sorry I couldn't make it, okay?

Okay, okay.

[SIRENS WAILING]

I drew up the contract.

I did all the work.
I just wanted you to review it.

So I reviewed it.

For a $7000 fee?

Christ. Doctors treat
each other for nothing.

Where's some
professional courtesy?

Screw the courtesy.
This is business.

Besides, I got the lunch.

Oh, come on, Warren.
Oh, my God, Arthur's case.

I forgot all about it.
I'll see you later, all right?

What are we waiting for?

For Arthur Kirkland, Your Honor.
Sentencing on Ralph Agee.

Check the halls. See if he's lost.
Yes, sir.

Okay, let's move on here.

Sorry I'm late, your honor.
I'm filling in for Mr. Kirkland.

JUDGE:
I'm not going to permit this
type of conduct in the future.

When you're due in my court at 3,
I expect you here at that time.

Yes, Your Honor.
All right, let's get on with it.

I have a copy of Ralph Agee's
probation report in front of me.

Mr. Fresnell, are you familiar
with this report?

Yes, I am, Your Honor.

Who...? Who are you?

Mr. Kirkland asked me to handle this
for him. Don't worry, don't worry.

Routine. You'll be out of here
in a second.

Mr. Fresnell, is there anything
you'd like to say about this report?

I think it's all right there
in front of you.

Well, I'm not satisfied.

Ralph Agee,
will you stand before the court?

Stand up.

On the basis...

And take off that wig.

On the basis of this report,

I sentence you to a term
of three years

in the custody of
the department of corrections.

Mr. Kirkland said
I'd be out on probation.

Mr. Kirkland...

Mr. Kirkland said
I'd be out on probation.

I'd like to call your attention
to some corrections in that report.

JUDGE:
You are familiar with the proper
procedure of appeal.

Now I'd like to move
things along here.

CLERK:
We have another case, Your Honor:
State of Maryland vs. Della.

[TIRES SCREECHING]

What, are you crazy?

Arthur. My car.

Arthur, damn you.

Back off, Arthur.
Damn it.

Watch out for the car.

Arthur, knock it off,
for crying out loud.

What are you, nuts?

Get out!
For chrissakes, stop it, Arthur.

Get out.

Back off, and I'll get out.

What the hell's wrong with you?
What do you think you're doing?

ARTHUR:
Tell me about it.

You tell me about Agee.

Come on, Warren,
tell me about it.

It got by me.

It got by you?

It got by you! Got by you!
Goddamn it.

Now listen.

Just stay away from the car.

Agee did not have to go to jail.

Do you understand?
He did not have to go to jail.

So he gets out on probation
in 10 months.

Listen, that's not all my fault.

I don't like those penny-ante
bullshit cases.
I was doing you a favor.

Favor? What kind of favor?

It's nickel and dime, Arthur.
It's all nickel and dime.

Don't you care?

Warren, don't you even care?

If you care so much,
why weren't you in the courtroom?

You're goddamn right I care.
But not about them.

They're people, Warren. You know?

They're people. They're just people.

If he's not in jail this week,
he'll be in jail next week.

Arthur, goddamn it.
You know probation's at fault.
Appeal it.

I can't appeal it! He's dead!

He's dead!

Half hour after they put him
in the lockup,

he hanged himself.

Goddamn it!

I'm sorry.

Goddamn it!
I'm sorry, I...

Goddamn it.

[♪♪♪]

[WATER SPLASHING]

Judge?

Judge?
FLEMING: Yeah?

ARTHUR:
I, uh... I spoke with
the state's attorney's office

and they're gonna go ahead
with an indictment.

FLEMING:
Who'd you talk to?

ARTHUR:
Bowers. Frank Bowers.

FLEMING:
Well, he's right.

If we don't go into court on this,
it would look like a political maneuver.

I want everything out in the open.
I'm very pleased, Arthur.

Yeah.

Okay. What about McCullaugh?

I need your ruling
on my motion for a new trial.

What about it, judge?
Groundwork is prepared.

We should have a date
any time now.

What are you talking, groundwork?

What are you doing, judge?
Jerking me off, here?

All I need is a yes
or a no on my motion.

FLEMING:
Tell McCullaugh to be patient.

Patient?

FLEMING:
What? What'd you say?

ARTHUR:
Patient? What are you
talking about, patient?

Judge. Judge.

This is not a case
of monetary damages, judge.

This is a human being
we're talking about, okay?

This is a boy who's in prison,

frightened out of his mind,

fighting every day for his life.

I can't tell him to be patient.
Good.

Prison should be
a frightening place.

Let those criminals
create their own hellhole.

Are you crazy? What are you
talking to me about?

I tell you, Arthur,

the idea of punishment
to fit the crime doesn't work.

We need unjust punishment.

Hang somebody for armed robbery.
Try it.

We've got nothing to lose.

Do you understand what I'm
saying to you, for God sake?

You don't, do you?

You fellas with your fancy ideas
of rehabilitation.

I tell you that the concept
of rehabilitation is a farce.

Do you honestly think that...?

That bringing Johnny Cash
into prisons to sing railroad songs

is gonna rehabilitate anyone?

Most people are sick and tired
of mugging and crime in the streets.

Do you hear
what I'm telling you, Arthur?

Arthur? Arthur!

COP 1:
Come on, let's move. Let's go.

MAN 1: Tell us what's going on?
MAN 2: Give us your statement.

How many hostages are there?

[POLICE SIREN WAILING]

MAN 2:
Come on, just a statement.
That's all we want.

COP 1: Clear the way.
COP 2: Move out of the way.

MAN 3:
How many is he holding?

WARDEN:
The doctor felt he was
well enough to be sent back.

Was signing papers when...

I'm not sure what happened.
All of a sudden,
McCullaugh had a gun.

Guards, I don't know
where they come from.

No training, no education.
And motivation? Forget it.

I hope you got this under control.
I don't want anything crazy.

We're doing what we can.
Can't sit on this for long.

There are too many goddamn
criminals in this building.

WARDEN:
Open up.

Get those nurses off the floor.

Excuse me, warden.

Sorry, I couldn't
hold him any longer.
He had to go back.

He had to, huh?

Look, that's not even the point.
I'm surprised he's even awake.

I loaded him up on tranqs
just before it was time to leave.

Jeff?

Jeff?
JEFF: Yeah?

It's me, Jeff. Arthur.

Hi, Mr. Kirkland.

Hi.

Uh...
JEFF: How you doing?

Pretty good. How you doing?

I'm all right.

Can I come in here
a little further, Jeff?

Where are you?
I'm out here in the hallway.

I can't see you.

You can't see me?
Can you see me now?

Uh-uh.

I'm over here, Jeff, in the hallway.
Can you see me?

Can you see me?

Could I come in, you think?

Um. Yeah, I guess so.

Okay, I'm coming in.

So, uh, what's new? Heh, heh.

You know, the usual.

Oh, man.

Jeff, this is crazy.

You know?
I know.

I mean, me, taking hostages.

That's what's really crazy.

You know, I don't know
what the hell I'm doing.

It took 40 minutes
to tie these guys up.

I couldn't figure out
how to make a good knot.

I mean, would you know
how to do that?

I don't know. I guess I would, uh...

I don't know.
I guess you make a square knot.

And that's the easiest.

I don't know.

Would you take a look
to see if I did these okay?

Yeah, sure, Jeff. Yeah.

Look at that knot.

Oh, well, you sure tied them.

They're good knots, Jeff.

Tell them not to come in here!
I don't want anybody in here!

Get out. Down!

[CHATTER ON POLICE RADIO]

Oh, Jeff.

Oh, Jeff, now look.

Jeff, you can't win this thing.

You understand me? You can't win.

Jeff, this is their thing.

They gear up for this kind of thing,
Jeff. Please.

I can't stand it anymore.

They raped me.

A whole bunch of times.

And other stuff too.

[SOBBING]

COP 1:
Here. All right, take your positions.

Hey, Jeff.

Jeff.

Can I move closer, Jeff?

Can I move a little closer?
I guess so.

Just down here. I wanna talk to you.

Jeff.

Hey, listen to me, Jeff.

I don't know what to tell you.

I just don't know what to tell you.

Anything I tell you, you know?

It's just... It's just that
you gotta give up.

Give up?
Yeah.

To who?
Yeah, Jeff, you gotta do it.

Everybody screwed me.

Who else is there?

Would you go away, please?
Oh, no, Jeff.

That's all I want
is just this much free space.

Just this much, that's all I want.

I swear to God.

Jeff, I swear to God, it'll be all right.

You did what you could, Mr. Kirkland,
but nothing makes sense anymore.

Not in here.
What are you gonna do, Jeff?

Nothing. I don't have to do anything.

[CHATTER ON POLICE RADIO]

You can't just sit there, Jeff.
Yes, I can!

That's all I want to do
is just sit here.

Okay.

It's cold in here.

You want my coat, Jeff?

And my legs. Oh, God.

My legs are cramping so bad.

I can't hardly move my legs. Ow.
I'll give you my coat.

Stay down!

[GUNSHOT]

[SCREAMS]

[♪♪♪]

[HORN HONKING]

Hey, Arthur. Come on in.

It's Sunday, Carl.
Hey, come on in.

I wanna
show you something.

What's up?

Your partner's coming back,
I hear.

Yeah.

They gonna let him
practice again?

Sure. Why not?

Well, heh, heh...

who says you gotta
be sane to practice law?
Ha, ha, ha.

Come on, Carl, what's going on?
What do you want?

I got a little present for you.
You know, favor for favor.

Sweetheart,
give him the pictures.

There you have it.

It's the head
of the ethics committee,

Judge Fleming and a hooker.

[LAUGHING]

Takes a good picture, huh?

[CARL LAUGHING]

What do you think?

That take care of my legal fees
for the next two years?

Oh, Carl.
Take the pictures.

It's a token of my appreciation.

Oh, my, my.

Look, Arthur, come on.

These photographs are disgusting.

But they're not proof
Fleming raped Leah Shepard.

He did it.

The son of a bitch is guilty.

He's guilty.
Okay, okay. Then drop the case.

I can't.
Why not?

Because the man with the whip
is blackmailing me.

He's blackmailing you?
Yeah.

What for?

A long time ago
I betrayed a client's confidence.

It's a long story, Gail.
Oh, Jesus.

That's why Zinoff pulled
your file.

What do you...?
What do you mean?

After you walked out
on the committee,
we did a check on you.

A check on me?
Yeah.

Yeah, Zinoff requested it.
I had no idea why.

Wait, wait, wait.

You mean to tell me,
while we were sleeping together,

you and the fellas
were making decisions on my life?

Arthur...
Gail, on my life?

Would you just let me finish,
please?

The next thing I knew,
Zinoff stepped in.

He said he wanted
to personally review your case.

I swear to God, Arthur,
I had no idea.

Jesus, this whole thing stinks.

Okay, Arthur, if you feel that way
about it, then fight him.

Go ahead.

Go up against him,
take the consequences.

The consequences?

The consequences
are that I'll be disbarred, Gail.

I know that. That's right.

I'm a lawyer. That's all I know.

Then do it. Defend Fleming.

You'll win the case.
No disbarment, right?

You'll end up being
a very important lawyer.

The judge is guilty
Wait a minute.

Of beating and raping
a woman.

Arthur, you're talking crazy now.
You don't know he's guilty.

You're making
an assumption he's guilty

because you hate him
so much, right?

Even if he is, what difference
does it make? Come on.

A defense lawyer has to defend
people who are guilty.

You know that.

Would you defend him?

If you were me, would you do it?

I would, Arthur,
because it's my job, you know?

Look, you took an oath
to defend your clients

to the best of your ability.

Now, if you can't do that,
then get out.

[♪♪♪]

Where'd you get these?

I've been carrying them around
for a couple of days.

I'd like to know what they mean.

I see the wheels spinning.

"Sex photos, sex crime. Is he guilty?"
Is he?

Yes.

What about the polygraph?

The eyewitness? How'd you do that?

Those were taken care of for me.

So...

So now you have it.

Well, I'll see you in court, Arthur.

Oh. You forgot these.

So you're home on leave.

Arthur's in the Coast Guard.

I don't understand.
He's getting worse.

It depends. He comes, he goes.

You didn't come
for three weeks.

He missed you
very much.

Oh, yeah, well,
I was busy, Arnie.

You know,
I had the trial and all.

I know, I know.

It's important to you.

But you missed three Tuesdays,
so he lost his sense of time.

You know, Arnie,

I don't know what I'd do if he goes.

He's the only family I got.

He's very proud of you.

I'm a lawyer because of him.

He wanted it for me,
and he made sure I got it.

To him,

being a lawyer was
the finest thing you could be.

[GRUNTING]

[KNOCKING]

Your Honor, court's about to begin.

Coming.

[TOILET FLUSHES]

You must admit,
she's an attractive woman.

I wouldn't mind seeing her
again some time.

FRANK:
You're gonna be fine.
Take the stand.

Answer simply and directly.

BAILIFF:
Silence. All rise.

All persons having matters before this
court draw near, give your attention.

The honorable
Francis Rayford presiding.

Be seated.

FRANK:
So it's really very simple.

We have a judge,
the symbol of justice here...

who's accused

of raping and brutally beating
this young girl right here.

Now, we can do
something about it.

And we can do it today.

And we can do it together.

Now, let's make this
our goal-line stand.

Just give me a verdict of guilty.

I need your help.

Thank you.

[APPLAUSE]

Prosecutor's completed
his opening statement.

Defense counsel ready?

Yes, Your Honor.

Your Honor, Mr. Foreman,

ladies and gentleman of the jury,

my name is Arthur Kirkland,
and I am the defense counsel

for the defendant,
Judge Henry T. Fleming.

Now, that man over there,
he's the prosecuting attorney,

and he couldn't be happier today.

He is a happy man today,

because today he's going
after a judge.

And if he gets him...

If he gets him,
he's gonna be a star.

He's gonna have his name
in this month's law review.

Centerfold. Lawyer of the Month.

[PEOPLE LAUGHING]

Now, in order to win this case,

he needs you.

Naturally.
You're all he's got, believe me.

So he's counting on tapping
that emotion in you which says:

"Let's get somebody in power.
Let's get a judge."

However, these proceedings
are not about that.

These proceedings are here
to see that justice is done.

And justice is, as any
reasonable person would tell you,

the finding of the truth.

And what is the truth today?

One truth, a tragic one,

is that that girl
has been beaten and raped.

Another truth

is that the prosecution
doesn't have a witness.

Does not have one piece
of substantiating evidence,

other than the testimony
of the victim herself.

Another truth
is that my client voluntarily...

And the prosecution
is well aware of this fact.

Voluntarily took a lie-detector test...

Objection, Your Honor, inadmissible.
Objection.

Come on, Arthur.
He told the truth.

The jury will disregard that remark.

Polygraph tests have not
been proven 100 percent reliable.

Therefore, inadmissible
in a court of law.

Sorry, Your Honor.

Let's get back to justice.

What is justice?

What is the intention of justice?

The intention of justice

is to see that the guilty people
are proven guilty

and that the innocent are freed.

Simple, isn't it?

Only it's not that simple.

However,
it is the defense counselor's duty

to protect the rights
of the individual

as it is the prosecution's duty

to uphold and defend
the laws of the state.

Justice for all.

Only we have a problem here.

You know what it is?

Both sides wanna win.

We wanna win.

We wanna win
regardless of the truth.

And we wanna win
regardless of justice,

regardless of who's guilty
or innocent.

Winning...

is everything.

That man there
wants a win so badly today.

It means so much to him.

He is so carried away
with the prospect of winning,

the idea, that he forgot something

that's absolutely essential
to today's proceedings.

He forgot his case.

He forgot to bring it.

I don't know. I don't see it. Do you?
WOMAN: Heh, heh.

ARTHUR:
The prosecution's case.
He's gotta have one.

Not a witness.

Not one piece
of substantiating evidence

other than the testimony
of the victim herself.

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury,
I have a case to end all cases.

I have witnesses for my client.

I have character references,
testimonials

that are backed up
from here to Washington, D.C.

I got lie-detector tests...

Objection.
Objection.

RAYFORD: Objection sustained.
Sit down, Frank.

Mr. Kirkland, you are out of order!

The one thing that bothered me,

the one thing
that stayed in my mind

and I couldn't get rid of it,
that haunted me,

was why.

Why would she lie?

What was her motive for lying?

If my client is innocent, she's lying.

Why?

Was it blackmail?

No.

Was it jealousy?

No.

Yesterday,

I found out why.

She doesn't have a motive.

You know why?

Because she's not lying.

And ladies and gentlemen
of the jury,

the prosecution

is not gonna get
that man today.

No.

Because I'm gonna get him.

My client,

the honorable Henry T. Fleming,

should go right to fucking jail!

The son of a bitch is guilty!

FRANK: Your Honor.
ARTHUR: That man is guilty.

Mr. Kirkland.
Damn it, Arthur!

That man there.
That man is a slime.

He is a slime.

If he's allowed to go free,

then something really wrong
is going on here.

RAYFORD:
Mr. Kirkland, you are out of order.

You're out of order.
You're out of order!

The whole trial is out of order.

They're out of order. That man...

That sick, crazy, depraved man

raped and beat that woman there!

And he'd like to do it again!
He told me so.

MAN 1: Please.
ARTHUR: It's just a show. It's a show.

MAN 2: Come on.
ARTHUR: It's Let's Make a Deal.

Let's Make a Deal.
Hey, Frank, you wanna make a deal?

I got an insane judge who likes
to beat the shit out of women.

What do you wanna give me, Frank?

Three weeks' probation?
Damn it, Arthur.

You... You son of a bitch!

You're supposed
to stand for something.

You're supposed to protect people.

But instead,
you fuck and murder them.

RAYFORD:
Get him out of here.

You killed McCullaugh.
You killed him!

Hold it. Hold it.

I just completed
my opening statement.

[WHISTLES]

All right!

[CROWD MURMURING]

RAYFORD: Order in the court.
BAILIFF: Back behind the line.

RAYFORD: Order in the courtroom.
BAILIFF: Do what I say.

Oh, shit.

MAN:
The judge. The judge says
now you wanted a trial,

so now the guy's doing
two to 10.

Hi, Arthur.

Good to see you.
Nice day.

[♪♪♪]