Original subtitles

[birds chirping]

Stone: What ever happened to freedom of expression?

Right of assembly, does that count for anything or not?

Well, I guess some people just don't like

nudist colonies in their community.

Oh, it's the same damn bunch every time.

First they say fire hazard. Two years ago it was zoning.

And now it's nuisance.

How the hell are we a nuisance?

Well, basically what they're gonna say is

ever since you welcomed Miss Nude Galaxy into the compound,

it's become a kind of teenage male tourist trap.

Speaking of which, she's given two separate statements

and I'm gonna have to review these with her.

Stone: She should be right outside.

Marcia, if Tracy Shoe is here, send her in please.

This is a wholesome young woman, Mike.

And these people are just a bunch of

narrow-minded nature bigots.

Oh, maybe so but the kids did try to scale the walls

on the weekends, and it has caused a stir

in the neighborhood, and that's what they're gonna

base their nuisance action on.

The judge can shut us down for that?

Because they can't control their own kids?

Tracy: Lawrence? - Ah Tracy! Come on, in.

Michael Kuzak, Tracy Shoe.

Tracy this is the lawyer who will be trying the case.

- Hi. - Hello.

Ah, Lawrence said you wanted to go over my affidavits.

[theme music]

[music continues]

[music continues]

[instrumental music]

[instrumental music]

- Sorry. Brackman: Well, well.

Brackman: Welcome back, brother Kuzak.

Freshly returned from exile.

Thank you. Thank you.

Becker: Boy, did that month fly by!

I take it you're all ready to plunge

into your defense of the nudist colony?

Yeah, I just came from there. We're ready for trial.

Sifuentes: Ready for trial?

Do I detect a little unauthorized

practice of the law at home, here?

Kuzak: Certainly not, my suspension ended

on Friday and I prepared over the weekend.

Brackman: Well, in the interest of the firm and the client,

I wish you good luck, but as a purely personal observation,

I wouldn't want those perverts

prancing around my neighborhood either.

Check out the centerfold of this month's

Flamingo, Mike.

It's your star witness.

Yeah, thanks, but, uh, I've already seen the evidence.

Brackman: Moving along, Milley versus Century Partners Limited.

Markowitz: That's actually Abby's case.

I'm doing a little tax work on it for her.

Brackman: Abby Perkins is hiring

Mckenzie Brackman to work for her?

Markowitz: That is correct, Douglas.

And am I assuming we are to be

compensated for these services?

Markowitz: Also correct. You're assuming that.

Brackman: In re Jamie Ferguson.

Doctor takes the stand today.

Kelsey: How's it going, Victor?

It's rough, Ann. Real rough.

This is the girl in the coma, right?

Markowitz: Forgive me, but I can't see forcing

anybody to stay alive like that.

Euthanasia is illegal, Stuart.

You can't just kill somebody because--

Becker: Even her parents want her to die.

Sifuentes: So where do we draw the line?

First we start killing coma patients and then what?

Babies with Down Syndrome? Retarded people?

Rollins: Come on, Victor, the woman's practically brain dead.

If her own parents want to pull

the plug, who are you to say "no?"

Now, we are representing the hospital.

This is the firm's client, not just Viktor's.

Which means to the extent that this draws any questions

from the press directed to any one of you,

you recite the company line.

Your personal feelings aside, on the record,

we stand committed to keeping Jamie Ferguson alive.

On the record, the taking of a human life is wrong.

That is the client's position, therefore it is our position.

Are we understood?

Yeah.

Good. Move along, Douglas.

That's it. We're adjourned.

[telephone ringing]

Alison: Arnie... - Hi, Alison.

Final cut. It's stunning. Hi, Rox. How's the diet?

- Fine. - Well, come on in.

- Let's put it on. - I can't. I'm running way late.

- Are we still on for tonight? - 7 o'clock, Clooneys.

See you then. He's a star.

[telephone ringing]

Alison: Hi, Benny.

- Hi. - How are you?

Good.

I-- I played my tape.

Did you like it?

- Yeah. - Well, you should.

You are very handsome on screen.

- Me? - Yes, you.

You want a bagel?

For later. I got to go now, Benny.

But I'll see you real soon, okay?

- Okay. Bye. - Bye.

How does a normal,

healthy... twenty year old

suddenly get struck down by an aneurysm?

There's no real explanation. It just happens sometimes.

In Jamie's case, she suffered a rupture

at the apex of the basilar artery.

It's like a time bomb in the head

that can go off with no warning whatsoever.

And what is Jamie's condition today?

She's in what we call a chronic or persistent

vegetative state and has been for two years.

She has no cognitive brain function

and no ability to interact with the outside world.

Basically, she just exists.

And what is the prognosis and recommended

treatment for this, doctor?

Her condition is irreversible.

It's my opinion she should be allowed to die.

Thank you, doctor. Nothing further.

She's not brain dead, is she?

Well, technically, no, but she has no

capability for thought or emotion.

The left side of her thalamus is completely destroyed and--

But her hind brain is still alive, right?

Yes.

And her EEG measures

some forebrain activity, right?

But it's completely dysfunctional.

Yes or no, doctor.

Does the EEG indicate activity by the forebrain?

- Yes. - Thank you.

Is Jamie Ferguson terminal, sir?

No.

She could live for another

thirty or forty years, right?

Dr. Allard: She could.

And tell me, doctor, when you say

that her condition is irreversible,

is that medical certainty

or is that simply your opinion?

My opinion, as well as everybody else's--

I see, and to your knowledge, sir,

has such a person ever regained consciousness?

Well, that's not going to happen here.

The question is, Doctor, has it ever happened.

It's happened. Yes.

And despite this possibility,

you want to kill a non terminal patient

without ever giving her a chance to recover.

That possibility is so unrealistic

it can't justify prolonging this woman's misery.

Wait a second. Jamie Ferguson is feeling misery?

I'm just talking about allowing her to die with dignity.

Oh, so she's capable of feeling dignity, then?

- I didn't say that-- - Well, I'm confused, doctor.

You say that she can't feel. But you want to end her misery.

You say that she can't think,

but you want to preserve her self-esteem.

You know damn well what I'm talking about.

The patient is gone.

There's nothing going on in her head.

Doctor, when you make your regular checkups

with Jamie, do you ever talk to her?

Sometimes I talk aloud, yes.

Well according to some of your nurses,

you often take her hand to comfort her.

You talk to her. You tell her little stories.

Once you even sang her a song, didn't you?

That doesn't mean she hears me.

No, but if you're

so positive that she doesn't.

- Why do you bother? - I just do.

Is it because maybe, just maybe, she somehow does hear you?

I'm sure she doesn't.

But I suppose you can't ever really know for sure.

No, you can't.

That's all, doctor. Thank you.

[upbeat music]

[indistinct conversations]

Hi.

Hey, Benny.

What brings you here?

Arnie has to be late.

He sent me to keep you company.

Great.

Would you like something to drink?

Oh, well, okay, a root beer.

Coming right up.

Could I have a root beer, please?

Excuse me. Is this seat taken?

You want a place to sit?

I got a place you can sit. That'll make us both happy.

[men laughs]

Go ahead, Benny, sit down.

Man: Oh, come on.

Just a little barroom humor.

Practically protocol.

More like pro-magnum.

[laughter]

Well, judging from your friend here,

it looks like you're into that.

Alison: You know, you're kinda cute

for an ignorant drunk.

Yeah?

And I think you've got a big mouth.

Leave her alone.

Hey, Hey, it talks.

Come on, Benny. Let's go.

Where you going? Off to ride Dumbo's pony?

[slaps]

- Bitch. - Stop it!

Stop it! Stop it or I'll hurt you!

Alison: Let him go, Benny.

Let him go.

Yeah. Ever-- everything's cool.

We're just leaving, that's all.

[pensive music]

Thank you, Benny.

Thank you.

Come on.

She was so vital.

She should be remembered that way.

Not the way she is now.

There's no life in my baby anymore.

What do you think about when you think of your daughter?

I think of a wonderfully giving person.

A college track star.

An optimistic little girl who thought

she could do anything in the whole world.

Kenyon: You realize, Mrs. Ferguson,

that if the doctors disconnect the G-tube...

Jamie will be gone forever.

She's been gone for two years.

That isn't Jamie living in that body.

And you're convinced that this is what

she would want you to do?

She wouldn't want to be seen this way.

It's so degrading.

God should just take her now.

Thank you, Mr. Ferguson.

Nothing further.

Mrs. Ferguson...

do you understand exactly what you're doing here?

I'm asking that my daughter be allowed to die.

Well, forgive me, ma'am, but it's a little more than that.

You're asking that she be killed, aren't you?

Objection.

Mrs. Ferguson: My daughter is dead.

- I'm just-- Sifuentes: No, ma'am.

She's alive.

She's being kept alive by that machine.

Well, she's not connected to a respirator

or any artificial life support system.

She's hooked up to a gastrosomy tube.

Yes, she is, ma'am and what is that for?

Nutrition and hydration.

Nutrition and hydration. That's food and water, right?

You see what's happening here is you're asking permission

to starve your daughter to death, starving her.

Mrs. Ferguson, that's not allowing her to die.

That is deliberately causing her death.

I hope you never have someone you love look like this.

I hope you never have a daughter who ends up

lifeless on a hospital bed, drooling,

staring at nothing day after day, unable to die.

Refusing to die.

Maybe because somewhere deep inside her, she wants to live.

Why are you doing this to me?

I'm doing it because you are trying to end

another human being's life.

And I really want you to consider that fact.

Oh, I've considered it.

And given the alternative, it's a decision I can live with.

Sifuentes: But your daughter can't, ma'am.

You see, she dies with that decision, doesn't she?

Kenyon: Your Honor.

Doesn't she, Mrs. Ferguson?

[sobbing]

[melancholic music]

I have nothing further.

Hey, hey, hey, look who's at McKenzie Brackman.

- With the long awaited file. - Good.

- I Hope you're a genius Stuart. - What, do you doubt me?

Well, the offer came in at 40, and I don't even know

if that's ball park, so if you could just run down

the stock valuations and tax consequences.

I'll just wade through it, and I'll let you know.

Great.

Now, do ask you the question that

Douglas Brackman will inevitably ask me?

My contingency is one third, so I'll give you 25%

of whatever my take is,

but I'd want the use of your office support staff.

How about if we charge you by the hour with cap of 25%?

That way, if you settle in couple of days you won't

owe us big chunk of change for couple of hours work.

Thanks, Stuart. I appreciate it.

And now, more important things.

- How you doing? - Good.

It's a struggle, but I'm making it so far. [laughs]

Really?

Ann says there's little something

with certain detective friend?

[sighs] Blabbermouth.

Well, hey, if you're doing it, flaunt it.

I think it's terrific.

Yeah, I guess I think it is, too.

Listen, Ann also told me about the adoption thing.

- I'm sorry. - We'll keep trying.

It may take little while, but it's gonna happen, Stuart.

- It is. - You know the worst part of it?

How damn determined we are never to get our hopes up again.

I mean...

Isn't that half the fun of having baby?

All the runaway hopes.

You'll get your baby.

That we are. I mean, we are.

[printer whirring]

[telephone ringing]

Wow. Are those for me?

I don't think so. Benny Stulwit?

Benny?

You can set them down there. I'll sign.

Benny, look.

Roxanne: These are for you. - Me?

Yes, you.

Look, there's a card.

Roxanne: Mm, they're gorgeous.

They're from Alison.

For me.

"To Benny Stulwicz, my fearless hero. Love, Alison."

That's for saving her life, you stud.

Boy, I bet they cost a lot of money.

Uh, they're for me.

They're beautiful, Benny.

They're from Alison.

Well, that was very nice of her.

I'm gonna go put water in them.

What they do in their private homes is their business.

But when they cause our streets to be congested,

when they drive our property value down,

we have to be concerned.

And when did the nudist

colony start causing all this Mr. Weeks?

Its been going on for years,

and it's been getting worse, especially

when that woman arrived.

The one who won that contest.

And how did she change things?

Oh, lewd little juveniles started flooding into the area.

Driving all around, blasting their horns.

Shouting out their car windows...

"Tracy... T-T-Tracy..."

[chuckles] But Mr. Weeks, Tracy Shoe didn't really

do anything to encourage this madness, did she?

Oh, but she did. Three months ago.

Three or four of our neighborhood boys

snuck into their compound,

and she uh, engaged them.

And how did she engage them, sir?

Nude wiffle ball.

Knotts: The boys were nude as well?

Weeks: Completely naked. Nude.

And when the word got out,

every kid in town lined up for batting practice.

- Objection. Judge: Sustained.

I have nothing further.

Mr. Weeks...

Isn't it true you've been trying for a long time

to shut down this nudist colony?

Going back long time before Tracy Shoe ever appeared?

It's been interfering with the quiet enjoyment

of my property, yes.

Come on, Mr. Weeks,

transportation studies reveal

only a marginal increase in traffic.

And police records show that there's been

no substantial rise in criminal activity.

Just because we don't call the police,

doesn't mean we're not upset.

Well, tell us about the time that you did call the police.

Kuzak: Last 4th of July.

- When they put up the big tent. - That was an eyesore.

That's not how you described it to the police, is it, sir?

You said it looked like a giant condom.

That's what it looked like from the South Bridge.

[scattered laughs]

I've changed my position on that.

Well...

Isn't it true, Mr. Weeks

that what you're really trying to do here

is impose your own sense of morality

on how these people live?

No, that is not true.

You visited my client's colony for the event

of the nude chili cook-off, didn't you?

I was just curious, and I was fully clothed at all times.

Would you tell the court exactly what you saw there?

There were naked breasts all around me.

Bare buttocks and the men,

they just walked around with everything out.

And you found that to be horribly disgusting, didn't you?

Yes, I did.

Thank you, Mr. Weeks.

I have nothing further.

And Dr. Lacker, as chief of staff you made a decision

to overrule Jamie's physician?

- That's correct. - Can you tell us why, sir?

It's against hospital policy.

If a doctor comes to me and tells me he wants to discontinue

medical treatment, that's one thing. But food and water?

Those are basic human needs.

Doctor, could you tell us exactly what would happen

to Jamie if her nutrition were to be cut off?

Well, first, her mouth would dry out,

and her lips would crack.

Her tongue would swell

her eyes would recede to the back of their orbits.

The lining of the nose would crack and bleed.

The brain cells would dry out, as would the stomach lining.

She'd have convulsions. She'd vomit, her bladder would burn.

Eventually, all of her organs would just shut down.

[sighs] And, uh, would this cause Jamie to suffer?

We can't rule out the possibility of tremendous pain.

There are many experts who describe death

by dehydration as cruel and violent.

Thank you very much, doctor.

Do you think this death would be painful for her?

I honestly don't know.

Kenyon: And Dr. Lacker, you concur

with Dr. Allard's opinion that Jamie Ferguson has no capacity

for cognitive thought, don't you?

Yes, I do.

Kenyon: Do you think she'll ever regain consciousness?

[sighs] It's possible.

I didn't ask if it was possible.

I asked, do you think it'll happen?

No, I don't.

Thus, it would be your medical opinion that

Jamie Ferguson's vegetative state is irreversible.

That would be my opinion, yes.

Kenyon: And although it's against your policy, many

hospitals would, in fact, disconnect the G-tube

under these circumstances, wouldn't they?

- Perhaps. - Perhaps.

In fact, the reason that you have refused

to authorize the transfer of this patient

is because you're afraid that

another hospital might do just that. Correct?

- Yes. - Thank you, Doctor.

Nothing further.

Judge: You may step down, sir.

Your Honor, I'd like to adjourn until tomorrow morning,

at which time I'd like to call my last witness.

- Ms. Jamie Ferguson. - What?

According to hospital officials, there's no problem

with bringing her into court.

- You can't be serious. - Mr. Sifuentes--

They've characterized her as being lifeless, Your Honor.

They are asking you to pronounce sentence of death upon her.

I think that you should at least look at her first.

Kenyon: This is cruel and sick. I'm not gonna sit back--

Bringing her in here is more cruel than killing her?

- More cruel to them. - This isn't about them.

It's about Jamie and if she's as dead as you say she is

it won't make damn bit of difference.

Both of you, be quiet now.

Mr. Sifuentes,

I have no intention of turning this thing into a sideshow.

It wouldn't be that way, Your Honor.

Jamie's capable of sitting up.

We can bring her in in a wheelchair.

[sighs]

Alright. Coordinate it with the hospital.

Your Honor, please.

Mr. Ferguson, I grant you

this is extraordinary, and I don't like it myself,

but you're in here seeking an extraordinary measure.

We'll see Jamie Ferguson in this courtroom,

tomorrow 10 o'clock.

We're adjourned.

[melancholic music]

Kuzak: So, Ms. Shoe,

you don't accept the label, then,

of being a sexual provocateur?

By walking around naked?

Psychiatrists will tell you if you want to stop men

from yearning to get inside your pants, don't wear pants.

Have you or any of your fellow members ever purposely done

anything to inflame the neighborhood teenagers?

Of course not.

Do you consider your community

to be promiscuous?

We just shed our clothes, Mr. Kuzak.

Not our morals.

Thank you, Ms. Shoe. I have nothing further.

So I suppose when these boys

swarm your gates every weekend, they're just hoping to see

a little high quality volleyball.

I wouldn't know. Maybe you should ask the boys.

I did ask the four who snuck in

to play nude wiffle ball with you.

They told me what they got a look at.

- Were they pleased? - Oh, yes.

You. Naked.

Pitching to four buck-naked teenagers.

letting them take their pokes.

- Objection. - Sustained.

Come on, Ms. Shoe level with us.

You enjoy working the neighborhood boys

into a frenzy, don't you?

I'm not ashamed of my body,

Mr. Knotts.

If it happens to give rise to a frenzy,

well, that's not my problem.

Well, in fact, it's a thrill, isn't it?

Tracy: No, it isn't.

[chuckles] Are you telling me,

Ms. Nude Galaxy doesn't get a charge

out of being admired by the teenagers?

Is it flattering to know that arouse them? Yes.

Do I enjoy seeing their young, hard, streamlined bodies?

Of course I do.

Do I often wonder what it would be like

to unlock that teenage passion

and feel the full fury of a lean sixteen year old Adonis?

Uh, Your Honor...

Excuse me.

They're just fantasies.

I wouldn't necessarily indulge them.

Knotts: Thank you, Ms. Shoe.

That was just fine.

[indistinct chatter]

You killed us. Buried us.

- I was just telling the truth. - Truth?

I never heard about this hard body truth before,

- For God's sakes. - Look.

I'm not gonna apologize for my sexuality, Lawrence.

And neither am I gonna deny it.

Your membership is hereby terminated.

- What? - You heard me.

You're not representative of my community.

You can find yourself another camp.

Well, how about that?

It's okay for us to expose our bodies.

But we should just keep our thoughts completely covered.

That's just fine.

So what do we do now?

Well, I'm not gonna lie to you.

We got very hurt in there.

Oh, the hell with it. I'm selling the place.

Come on, don't start getting rash on me.

I'm not being rash.

A buyer offered me $11 million for the land.

And I've been seriously thinking about it.

Well, think about it for another week, but don't--

I can't risk that injunction, Mike.

I'm barely floating this place as it is.

If I lose membership dues, I'm going down.

The banks would foreclose even before we could

complete the sale.

Set up a settlement conference.

I'll agree to close the camp if they'll agree

to suspend the trial and give me time to sell.

I don't know, Lawrence.

Do it.

I got no choice.

Okay, Mr. Sifuentes, I've seen her.

With the Court's permission

I'd like to ask her a couple of questions.

Come on! She's certainly not competent to testify.

Well, then let me do it as a demonstration.

Your Honor.

Sifuentes: We have already heard testimony

that her own doctor addresses her.

Now, that puts in issue the question

of whether she is capable of responding.

I don't see the point, really,

but I don't see the harm either, so...

Go ahead.

Jamie, do you understand why you're here?

I want you to listen to me.

Your parents tell us that it is your wish to die.

And they are asking this judge here

if it would be okay for them to starve you to your death,

For God's sakes.

They think that you should be killed, Jamie.

- Stop it. Judge Baldwin: Mr. Sifuentes--

They think your life has no value

and that it would be best for you to be dead.

Stop it! You stop it!

- Leave her alone. Judge: You're out of line.

I'm only out of line,

Your Honor, if she understands me.

And if she does, then we shouldn't even be here.

What the hell's wrong with you?

Mr. Ferguson, that's enough.

Everybody just settle down.

Mr. Sifuentes...

I've seen her, and you've asked enough questions.

We're recessed for 15 minutes.

Then I'll hear closing arguments. That's all.

We don't want you to suffer anymore like this. [cries]

We're doing it for you. Please understand.

Mrs. Ferguson: Please.

[telephone ringing]

- Hi. - Hi, Benny.

I have package here to be delivered

to Peterson and O'Brien.

Thank you.

Hi, Dorothy.

Have you lost weight?

Four pounds.

- Can you tell? - Oh, yes.

Even your face looks a little thinner.

- Really? - Really. Go look at yourself.

You look great.

[telephone ringing]

You know, I should be reading these first.

I'm a lawyer, for God's sakes,

and I'm blindly signing contracts

that directly involve me.

They are just promotional releases, Mr. Lawyer.

Sure, which gives you the unfettered

right to commercially exploit me.

Well, would you like me to exploit you in some other way?

Oh, yeah.

Now, there is a video we could sell.

Come on. Let's go to lunch.

- Benny. - Hi, Benny.

Roxanne said you had a package.

Yeah, it's right on her desk.

Well, I, can't do it now. I'm busy!

- Benny... - Uh maybe I should talk to him.

No... I'll-- I'll do it.

Excuse me.

Benny.

Leave me alone.

You want to tell me what's going on here?

Is she-- she your girlfriend?

She is my friend, and she is a girl.

She shouldn't be your girlfriend.

Look, Benny, whether Alison is or isn't my girlfriend

has nothing to do with her feelings for you.

You know how much she likes you.

She doesn't like me.

She's just nice to me cause I'm retarded.

Everybody's nice to me cause I'm retarded.

Not only is that mean thing to say about yourself, Benny,

but it's a mean thing to say about me.

I-- I don't wanna talk right now.

I'm busy. Go away.

- Benny. - Leave me alone!

[Benny crying]

Okay.

[melancholic music]

Okay, we'll go.

[grunts]

Kenyon: She cannot think, Your Honor.

She has no memory,

no personality, no emotional state.

She's not living.

This is modern medical science sustaining her body.

Forced medical treatment

that financially devastated these two people.

They sold their home.

They don't have anything left, judge.

Except the daily horror

of looking at their little girl that way.

She is irreversibly brain damaged,

and she will never get better.

She is forever incapable of having a life.

Please let her have her death.

Let her parents bury her.

Let her have her dignity.

And let her have her final peace.

Sifuentes: They're wrong, Your Honor.

They're wrong.

When they call food and water modern medical science.

They're wrong when they say the life of their daughter

is not without value.

And they are wrong when they ask a judge

to measure the quality of a person's being to decide

whether that person has a right to be.

A little while ago, this whole courtroom erupted.

Mrs. Ferguson was hugging her daughter.

Mr. Ferguson was screaming at me.

You were ready to hold me in contempt.

That all happened...

because in that chair...

sitting there...

is life.

Life.

Whatever its definition is by you

or me or some other fancy doctors.

It's something that we as human beings instinctively cling to.

And Jamie Ferguson is clinging to it

with all of her 80 pound might.

No, she's probably not gonna get better.

But the microscopic chance that she might...

that belongs to her.

That is all that she has left.

And no judge should ever take that away.

You know, w-- we're always told that...

that the laws and the courts of this country exist

above all to extend society's protection to its weakest

and most vulnerable individuals.

Well, no one needs that protection any more

than does Jamie Ferguson at this very moment.

I-- I know they love her.

They love her very much.

But they are asking you to play God.

We're asking that you allow for that fraction of a hope

that God will be God in all of this,

not only for their sake,

but for her's.

[instrumental music]

[instrumental music]

Mr. Kuzak, I got your message.

- It sounded a little urgent. - Yeah.

Thanks for coming in.

I wanted to commend you personally

on your little performance in court yesterday.

Well, I'm really sorry about that,

but I felt I had to be honest,

even if it meant losing sight of our objective.

You're not sorry, Tracy.

And you didn't lose sight of your objective

for one single second.

You see, I did a little checking on that

investment group buying the colony.

Imagine my surprise at seeing your name

listed as one of the limited partners.

So I like real estate.

Yesterday's testimony was designed to lose that trial,

so Lawrence Stone would have to shut down

the colony, making him more inclined to sell the land.

Yesterday's testimony was the 100% truth.

I like being physical.

I enjoy entertaining a few sexual fantasies

and that was just me on the stand being my honest self.

Mm-hmm.

And, when you joined the camp six months ago...

when you enticed the boys into playing nude wiffle ball,

when you inflamed the neighbors into bringing this lawsuit,

you were still just being your honest self, right?

That sounds real calculating for dumb,

nude beauty queen, Mr. Kuzak.

Well, I'm gonna tell Lawrence Stone about this.

He's gonna cancel the deal.

Too late, offer's been accepted.

Then I'll have it nullified.

I can vitiate it on the grounds of fraud.

Spare me, counselor.

There's nothing fraudulent

about my testimony, and there's

nothing fraudulent about me

being one of the buyers.

And Lawrence Stone

needs the money.

if you queer the deal, you'll be

sending your own client

belly up.

Alright.

You want the land so badly.

Fine.

But the purchase price just went up to eleven-five.

In your dreams.

You think you have all the cards.

Well, maybe I can't win on a fraud count

but I can sure as hell make one stick long enough

to take the fun out of things.

Maybe you forgot, Lawrence Stone's personal residence

is on that property, which means I can put him into bankruptcy.

I can break this deal, and I can protect him

from his creditors, and I can make this thing

drag out forever.

So you go to your partners, tell them

to come up with another five hundred thousand.

Or tell them to get ready for a long, expensive, ugly fight.

[knocking]

Arnie...

I'm sorry I yelled at you yesterday.

Come on in.

Have a seat.

[door shuts]

Look... [sighs]

I don't care that you got mad

and yelled at me yesterday, buddy, that's gonna happen.

What does concern me is how wrong you were about something.

The people in this office aren't nice to you

because you're retarded.

These people are your friends. We care about you.

Not because you have a handicap,

not because you bring us donuts every morning.

It's because you're kind,

generous, and honest.

And we can share our trust with you.

Those are the things that go into a friendship, Benny.

And those are the things that you have.

Now...

With boyfriends and girlfriends,

it usually takes something more.

You have to have a real lot in common,

and you have to be alike in a lot of ways.

And if you don't,

they're not meant to be together as a couple.

They can still be very close friends.

Do you understand?

I-- I should be with somebody more like me.

Someday you'll find a woman you love, Benny.

She'll love you back even more.

[sighs]

- I don't know. - I know.

I know.

Would the parties and counsel approach.

I think it's ironic.

Maybe even stupid that while euthanasia is against the law,

we're legally entitled to starve people to death

and call it the withholding of medical treatment.

Frankly, I find it hard to call food and water

medical treatment.

But other courts have done so,

and I was prepared to do so as well.

I was also prepared to find that Jamie is incapable

of cognitive thought, that her condition is irreversible,

and that if competent,

she would probably want the G-tube disconnected.

What I wasn't prepared for,

having never done one of these cases...

was my own

personal feelings about something like this.

And how those feelings would pervade

my professional judgment.

And I have to tell you,

with the slightest chance that she could improve,

or that starvation could cause her pain

or that... [inhales deeply]

the not so remote chance

may be that she would like to go on fighting.

When I combine that with my...

basic presumption in favor of life...

I cannot terminate the nutrition and hydration.

- Oh, my God. - Your Honor, please.

Judge Baldwin: This is not easy, believe me.

I wish I could hide behind the law and tell you

that I am bound by some legal precedent.

But I'm not. I'm free to go either way on this.

Then why must she spend the rest of her life like this? Why?

Because I'm the judge here, Mrs. Ferguson.

And this thing turns

on my judgment alone, nobody else's.

And this is the call I'm making.

You can't do this. You just can't.

I'm sorry.

I hereby deny the plaintiff's petition

and order the continued provision of nutrition

and hydration to the patient, Jamie Ferguson.

This matter is... [sighs]

adjourned.

[indistinct chattering]

Hey, Mr. Sifuentes...

I hope you're happy about your big win.

I'm sorry.

Must be really nice just to be able to walk away, huh?

Just waltz on out of here.

Put it out of your mind.

Move on to your next case.

Mr. Ferguson, you're represented by counsel.

It's really inappropriate for me to be talking with you right--

Inappropriate?

Tell me something.

How appropriate is it for my daughter to lie there

like vegetable for twenty years.

And how appropriate is it for us

to have to watch her rot away

day after day after day?

You think we get to walk away, huh?

You think this is over for us?

[door sliding shut]

[gasps]

[melancholic music]

- Knock knock. - You're late, Kuzak.

Late, nothing. The reservations are for 7:30.

Can't we do something besides dinner or a movie?

Like Las Vegas, maybe?

- Las Vegas? - Well.

I don't know.

I'm just in the mood for something other than

what we do every single night of our boring, mundane,

monotonous, tedious, stagnant lives.

Well you know,

it-- it just so happens I've been invited to a party.

- But you wouldn't-- - A party? Let's go.

Uh, no, I don't think so.

- Well, come on! - Grace, trust me on this one.

You wouldn't be caught dead at this party.

Don't be silly.

[instrumental music]

Excuse me, ha-ha!

[woman laughing]

Van Owen: Michael, I feel so conspicuous.

That's their whole theory.

They figure you take your clothes off,

you become more anonymous.

Invisible.

I don't know if agree, counselor.

Stone: Michael...

Thanks for coming.

We figured we at least had to throw a farewell bash.

Grace Van Owen, Lawrence Stone.

- Hi. - My pleasure.

I don't know how you jacked up the purchase price, counselor,

but boy, I owe you.

Well, wait until you see my bill.

[chuckles]

Oh, my God.

Oh, [chuckles] I'm-- I'm sorry.

I imagine you must find all this rather embarrassing.

Well, no. Really, no.

[chuckles] A little.

This is the way we live, Miss Van Owen.

It might seem funny or embarrassing at first,

but I can tell you this, if the openness and the warmth

and the loyalty that exists among these people

is a product of our lifestyle, then the lifestyle

is well worth an occasional snicker, believe me.

Well, enjoy.

- I'll catch you two later. Man: Larry?

Thank you.

Well... [clears throat]

Mickey do you suppose they really are happier

with their lifestyles than we are with ours?

I don't know.

Van Owen: They all seem so at ease with themselves.

Kuzak: You thinking of running off and becoming a nudist?

No, but it might be fun to try it for an hour or two.

- You're kidding. Van Owen: Well, why not?

We could hang around and get, you know, invisible.

You are kidding.

- When in Rome, Mickey. - Grace.

Hey, it's a party.

[unzipping]

Kuzak: Grace!

[theme music]