Original subtitles

- Ben, give me another hit, would you?

- Yeah.

- So tonight's the big night, huh?

You ready?

- I guess so.

- You guess so?

Ben, you guess so is not the right attitude.

You remember what we talked about?

You can't be tentative, all right?

He who hesitates is lost.

You snooze, you lose.

You sleep, you weep.

You follow me?

[groans]

If you want this woman, you have to go after her,

and you have to go after her strong.

- What if she doesn't like me?

- She said she'd go out with you, didn't she?

- Yeah. - What more do you want?

- You think sh-- she just likes me because she's retarded?

- She likes you, Ben, because you're a likeable guy.

- Uh-huh.

- Let me tell you something, Ben.

Women are different from men.

Women know what they want and what they don't want.

And one thing for sure they don't want is weakness.

And they can smell weakness the way a shark smells blood.

You deal from strength, and they're

yours to do with as you will.

How are you today?

- Do you mind not smoking in here?

- Absolutely not.

Tell me something, you like Italian food?

Ben and I were just discussing our plans for this evening.

We thought you might be interested in a little dinner,

some wine, a little veal scallopini.

- I don't eat veal.

- A little linguine with white clam sauce.

A little steak pizzaiola.

Or in the alternative, we can dispense with the

restaurant altogether.

I can bring my Jerry Vale records over to your house,

and we can send out for Chinese.

Look at that.

I can't get a rise out of this one no matter what I do.

Come on.

I'll see you tonight, Ben.

Last chance.

No?

OK.

[theme music]

[upbeat music]

Rawner versus Jayaraman, Poondar, and Chandra.

What on Earth is this?

- It's mine, Douglas.

We represent three men who work at an Indian restaurant, who

are being sued by a couple who claim to have been beaten

by them while dining there.

- How are we so fortunate as to have this one fall in our laps?

- Stuart made the mistake of telling

the owner of the restaurant that we were attorneys.

- It's a great restaurant.

- Is this one on the cuff, Stuart?

- Absolutely not.

Ali Jayaraman is a paying customer.

- I happen to like Indian food.

Sheila prevailed on me one night to give it a try.

I found it to be rather good. - We'll take you to Ali's place.

You'll love it.

- Lake versus Seaverson.

- Lucille Lake is the direct descendant of a slave

named Dandridge Bright.

Dandridge Bright was a painter.

20 of the paintings that he made while he was a slave

are now in the possession of Mr. and Mrs. Seaverson,

Mr. Seaverson being the direct descendant of the slave owner.

And Mrs. Lake would like her paintings

returned to her family.

- She's suing over this now?

How do you get past statute of limitations?

- The value of the collection was only

made known to her recently.

I also intend to argue that title in the paintings never

vested with the Seaverson family because Dandridge

Bright was their slave.

- This is a case you're entertaining

some chance of winning?

- Yes, it is.

- It's also a case that could lead to lots of other cases.

If we're even slightly successful, if we come away

with anything, this could lead to an explosion

of subsequent litigation.

- And we in all likelihood would be the first place

that these plaintiffs come.

- Oh, I think you're dreaming.

I think no matter what platitudes

people mouth regarding slavery, nobody gives anything back.

- We're looking to break new ground, Jonathan.

I think it's a risk worth taking.

- And also, it's not as though we've got anything to lose.

- What about the client?

- We're handling this on a contingency basis.

She's really got nothing to lose.

- And that makes it OK for her to go along thinking

she's actually got a chance?

- I think she has a chance.

If I didn't think so, I wouldn't be representing her.

- [sighs]

- Let me make this as clear as I can.

I've got a medical malpractice and a wrongful death

both scheduled for trial.

The last thing I need on my calendar is a food fight.

- The defense agrees, Your Honor.

We're ready to settle.

- I'm prepared to write a check this instant.

And in the spirit of reconciliation,

I will also provide to the plaintiff, mister and missus,

complimentary meals at my restaurant for one month,

tax included.

- First of all, my clients have no interest

in eating at Mr. Jayaraman's restaurant ever again.

Secondly, he's only offering $1,200.

- You have a figure in mind?

- $250,000.

- For spilling food?

- There was no spilling.

The waiter and busboy attacked us.

- Please, sir, it was but a tragic misunderstanding.

- He hit Warren with the lamb vindaloo

while the other one pelted us with chutney.

- These are vicious lies.

The man and woman were the aggressors.

They are responsible for the violence.

- What Rupesh means is we must put blame

aside and seek accommodation.

- Your Honor, the Rawners have no medicals.

Their losses are nowhere near six figures.

- Because of the associations with that night of terror,

an entire subcontinent of gastronomia

has been poisoned for both of us.

For us, it is a loss you cannot put a price on.

- Try, Mr. Rawner.

I'm sorry you can't enjoy Indian food anymore,

but I suggest you lower your sights and settle.

And I suggest you make it well south of $250,000.

- Your Honor, I'm not going to allow my clients to enter

settlement negotiations until I've had a chance

to depose the defendants.

- I am not extending discovery beyond this week, counselor.

Either finish by then, or I'll invite a motion

to dismiss with prejudice.

Got it?

- My god, I like this woman.

- Not as an admission of fraud or guilt,

but as a gesture of goodwill, the Seaversons

would like to offer you 50% of the royalties from the book

that they have just written about Dandridge Bright.

They would also like Mrs. Lake to write

a foreword to the book.

- What kind of numbers are we talking about, Mr. Richards?

- If this book sells to colleges as a text,

your client could make up to $30,000.

- And if it doesn't sell to colleges?

- Publisher estimates $10,000 to $15,000.

- No.

- No?

That's it?

- Mama, I think we should discuss this.

- We're not rich people, Mrs. Lake.

We don't plan to sell the paintings.

What we want to do is continue lending them

to museums, giving everyone a chance to look

at this great artist's work.

- It still comes down to you deciding

what to do with my great-grandfather's paintings.

- Could I have a moment with my mother, please?

- I don't need a moment.

The answer is no.

- Mrs. Lake, if you win and sell the collection in pieces

or, God forbid, sell it to a foreign buyer,

you've lost an invaluable piece of American art and heritage.

- Mrs. Seaverson, I see the results

of the heritage of slavery and oppression

every time I open my eyes.

My daughter's little girl is smart enough to be a doctor,

but nobody she's ever known has ever been that.

We don't have enough money to send her to medical school.

So you know what her highest aspirations are?

To have a nice car and to keep from getting

pregnant until she's 18.

My grandson doesn't believe he'll live past 20,

so he doesn't even bother to think about the future.

I want my grandchildren to have at least

a chance at the kind of life your children take for granted.

And if selling a few of my great grandfather's paintings

will help me to do that, I think he'd say go to it.

[accordion playing]

- [singing in italian]

Santa Lucia.

[applause]

- Bravo.

- Are we having a great time, huh?

Is this place great or what?

And look what else we got here.

Italian good-luck cookies.

- What are you doing?

- What am I doing?

Wait and see.

Ah?

The higher it floats, the better the luck.

- [gasps]

- Not bad, huh?

[chuckles] So Rosalie, you having a good time?

- Yeah.

- Mm-hmm.

They make a good marinara sauce here, you know?

Not too heavy.

[smacks lips, sighs]

Hey, I got to hold up the conversational all

by myself here?

What's the story?

Usually I can't get him to shut up,

but here he's got a beautiful woman sitting next to him.

He's speechless.

- Um, doesn't Dominic have a beautiful voice?

- Yeah.

- Gotta love this girl.

She never says no.

[chuckles]

- Hi, Mama.

- Hello, Rosalie.

I hope I'm not too early picking you up, but you did say 8:30.

- Mm-hmm.

This is my mother.

This is Dominic.

- Pleased to meet you.

- [laughs]

- And this is Benny.

- Hello, Benny.

- Hello.

- So are you ready to go home?

- Ah, what's the rush?

Come on. Sit down.

- Well-- - Take a load off.

- No, I don't-- no, really-- - Have a cup of coffee.

[snaps]

- Would you like to stay a little longer?

- Dominic just sang a song.

- Really?

- They were playing "Santa Lucia."

I couldn't resist.

- Ah.

- And-- and he knows all sorts of tricks too.

- Show her the one with your hands.

- I'm not sure which one you mean.

- You know, retarded three-card monte.

- Ah, I'm not sure that's really such a good one, Ben.

There's other games that are a lot funnier.

- I'd really like to see that one.

- Sure.

Um, put your hand on the table.

Like that, yeah.

Now, I put my hands like this, and then--

now, which hand is yours?

- I don't know.

[laughter]

- That's why they call it retarded three-card monte.

- OK, so hey, Fran, can I interest you

in a little spumoni?

- I really don't find games like that amusing.

- Oh, we were just having a little fun, you know?

- I think you were just having a little fun

at someone else's expense.

- Hey, come on, Fran.

Let's not ruin a nice evening here.

- Rosalie, I think it's time for us to go home.

Benny, very nice meeting you.

- Dr. Haverford, as an historian, what

is your area of speciality?

- African-American life in the antebellum South.

- Are you familiar with the work of Dandridge Bright?

- Yes, I've done considerable research and published a number

of articles on Mr. Bright and his works,

as well as other African-American

slave artisans and artists.

- What makes these 20 paintings of Mr. Bright's so valuable?

- They represent a very rare look at plantation life

from the point of view of a slave.

Beyond that, examples of arts and crafts of this quality,

or any quality for that matter, done by slaves

are almost nonexistent.

What they did was not generally recognized as art,

and very little was preserved.

- What were your sources in researching Mr. Bright?

- The overseer's book from the Seaverson plantation

as well as a detailed journal kept by Dr. Philip Seaverson.

- Who was Dr. Philip Seaverson?

- He was Dandridge Bright's owner

and the great-great-grandfather of the gentleman

sitting over there.

- What was Dandridge Bright's job as a slave

on the Seaverson plantation?

- Initially, he was a stable boy.

As he got older and the Seaverson children

took a fancy to him, he was moved

into the house as a butler and babysitter of sorts.

- Is that when he started painting?

- To the best of our knowledge, yes.

- Dr. Haverford, in your expert opinion,

did Dandridge Bright freely give his paintings to Dr. Seaverson?

- No.

A slave had no property.

He was property, just like livestock.

It would be impossible for a slave

to make a gift of something that his master already owned.

- Thank you, Dr. Haverford.

- Dr. Haverford, is there any indication

in Philip Seaverson's journals that he

forcibly took those paintings from Mr. Bright?

- No.

- Well, in your opinion, is it impossible for a slave

of his own free will to make the gesture

of giving a gift to his master?

- In my opinion, a slave by definition has no free will.

- Dr. Haverford, in the interests of serving justice

here, I have to ask you this.

Do you think, as an African American yourself,

that it is possible for you to render an unbiased opinion

on this subject?

- I was unaware, Mr. Richards, that the condemnation

of human slavery was a bias.

- I have no further questions for Mrs. Lake's witness.

[courtroom murmuring]

- Mr. Rawner, in looking over the order slip for the meal

that night, I noticed that there's a dish

I couldn't find on the menu.

- He means the chicken "karihay."

- It is karahi.

If the woman cannot pronounce the Hindi properly, perhaps

she should stick to English.

- Please, forgive my cousin's playful chiding.

Actually, the missus' dialect is quite good.

Most authentic.

- We asked the chef to prepare the "karihay" because we

desired a dish from the Punjab.

- And how did you find the karahi?

- The chicken was overwhelmed with fenugreek.

And with no cayenne to stand up to it, the dish was unbalanced.

- So you sent it back?

- Yes, it was inedible.

- Sounds like you're a hard man to please.

- Is that a question?

- Mr. Rawner, let's turn to the events

that immediately precipitated the alleged assault.

How would you describe it?

- Our waiter, that dangerous looking one they call Rupesh,

brought out a serving of lamb vindaloo.

I took one bite, and I was overwhelmed with nausea.

- Too hot for you?

- No.

- He could not eat it.

I could not help myself but laugh.

In my village, small girls can eat vindaloo twice as spicy.

That's why he attacked me.

- It was you who attacked.

When I told him to take back the vindaloo,

he got this strange look in his eye

and started mumbling in Hindu.

The next thing I knew, the plate of vindaloo

came crashing down on my head.

- And what did you do?

- Well, I was fighting for my life and for Lois.

- So you admit that you hit them back?

- He had to.

It was self-defense.

- Oh, not so.

- Mr. Rawner, isn't it possible this entire melee

resulted because you overreacted to having food spilled on you?

- No.

It was an attack--

a brutal, vicious attack.

- Lies! All lies!

- A simple mistake, sir. A tragic blunder.

- Don't say anything.

[all talking at once]

- Hi, Benny.

- Hi.

- This is where you work.

- Yeah.

- I'm-- I'm making copies.

- Mm.

I had fun last night.

- I did too.

- Good.

Good.

[laughs]

Dominic wasn't mad at my mom, was he?

- I don't think so.

- I hope not 'cause she said she was glad to meet you.

She said she was especially glad to meet Dominic.

[laughter]

She has to meet everyone now.

Anyone I'm with, she has to meet--

- Oh.

- ever since this thing happened.

- What thing?

- This thing that happened with this guy.

Well, he goes to rec center sometimes,

and this thing happened.

- What happened, Rosalie?

- Well, this guy came into the locker rooms

while I was changing into my bathing suit,

and he did some things to me that--

he did some things that were not very nice.

- What kind of things?

- You know.

- Sex?

- Uh-huh.

- Did-- did you tell the police?

- No.

- Oh, Rosalie, you got to tell somebody about this.

- I did.

I told my mom, and I told you.

- No, you-- you got to tell somebody

that can do something about it, somebody like my friend Tommy.

- What can he do?

- He works in the District Attorney's Office.

He can make sure that man goes to jail.

- I don't--

I don't want to talk to anybody.

- It'll be OK.

I'll go with ya.

- Mrs. Lake, how much do you know about your family?

- We can trace our family history back five generations,

when my great-great-grandfather, Moses Bright,

was brought to South Carolina from the Niger Delta

in Africa by slave traders.

Dandridge was born in 1843 and sold to the Seaversons,

away from his own family, in 1855.

- Were you close with your great-grandfather, Mrs. Lake?

- I didn't get to know him very long.

When his wife died in 1925, he just disappeared,

and nobody could find him until he showed up on my aunt's

doorstep in Cleveland in 1935.

Apparently, he had been living on the streets.

He didn't like to talk about it much.

And then three years later, he died.

- When did you discover that your great-grandfather

was a recognized artist?

- About six months ago.

- How did you make that discovery?

- I got this call from an art dealer in Chicago,

and he said that he had recently seen the Seaverson collection.

- Why was he calling you?

- He said that he had traced the family tree of Dandridge Bright

in hopes of finding some descendants who

might have paintings that they were willing to sell.

- What did you do then, Mrs. Lake?

- I called the Seaversons.

- How did they respond to you?

- Well, at first, they treated me like I was visiting royalty.

They invited me out to their house in Pasadena

to look at the paintings.

They even came to Nickerson Gardens and picked me up.

- And what happened?

- They said they were ashamed that

their great-great-grandfather had owned the slaves,

and they hoped they were making some amends

by allowing the paintings to be seen

and appreciated by the public.

- What did you say?

- I said if they really wanted to make amends,

they would give the paintings back

to Dandridge Bright's family.

They thought I was joking till I got a lawyer.

Then they stopped returning my calls.

- Thank you, Mrs. Lake.

I have no further questions.

[courtroom murmuring]

- Mrs. Lake, is it your testimony

that you did not know that your great-grandfather

was an artist?

- I knew he liked to paint, but I didn't know how

much his paintings were worth.

- So prior to contacting the Seaversons,

you never made any attempt to locate any of his paintings?

- That's right.

- This is a newspaper account of a family reunion

at your aunt's home in 1937.

Would you please look at the accompanying photograph

and tell us whether or not that is, in fact, your aunt's house?

- Yes.

- And is the man in the photograph

your great-grandfather, Dandridge Bright?

- Yes.

- Would you please describe for the court what

Mr. Bright is standing next to?

- He's standing next to his painting.

- What became of those paintings, Mrs. Lake?

- Objection.

Dandridge Bright's total output is not

in dispute here, Your Honor.

What is in dispute are the 20 paintings currently held

by Chet and Janet Seaverson.

- It goes to the question of reasonable discovery.

I'll allow it.

- Do you know what happened to those paintings, Mrs. Lake?

- My aunt did not have a big house

in Pasadena, Mr. Richards.

- Please, Mrs. Lake, just answer the question.

- When my grandfather died, the only way my aunt could make

ends meet was to rent his room.

She didn't have any place to put his paintings.

- What became of the paintings of Dandridge Bright

that your family owned?

- My aunt threw them away.

- Thank you.

[courtroom murmuring]

[synth jazz music]

- I've loved these paintings since I was a kid.

- Why is that, Mr. Seaverson?

- Because I couldn't believe that someone who had lived

as a slave could still view life in such a-- a luminous

and a vibrant way.

- When did you discover that the paintings were valuable?

- Well, initially, they weren't very valuable.

They became valuable when I started taking the collection

to-- to art critics and galleries

and pushing for exhibitions and reviews.

- And why did you do that?

- Because we believed we had an incredibly important piece

of American artistic history that

belonged in the public domain, not

in our living room in Pasadena.

- Did you know that Mr. Bright had any living relatives?

- Not until Mrs. Lake called us.

- Did you ever do anything to conceal the existence

of these paintings from them?

- The-- the collection had been on exhibit in museums across

the country almost continually for the past 10 years,

including four months in Los Angeles, and Mrs.

Lake could have easily walked into that

exhibit as anyone else.

- Thank you.

- This collection has been appraised

at half a million dollars.

Is that correct, Mr. Seaverson?

- Yes, but that's really irrelevant

since I don't plan to sell it.

- Well, you don't have to sell it to reap the benefits of it,

though, do you?

- I am not sure what you mean.

- Your connection to these paintings

has helped you get a seat on the board

of directors of the American Folk Art Museum.

Isn't that so?

- Well, yes, but my, uh-- my work

there is completely voluntary.

I receive no compensation for that.

- What about the numerous lectures you've given

at museums across the country?

What about the book you're about to publish on the work

of Dandridge Bright?

- The remuneration from those things

does nothing more than offset the cost of my participation.

- But it has given you a high profile in the art world,

has it not?

- Ms. Paros, an artist, especially a folk artist

like Dandridge Bright, does not get to be well known

unless somebody makes it his business

to show his works to the world.

I am that person, and I've done so because I believe

that Dandridge Bright was an extraordinary talent whose work

could benefit a lot of people.

- Do you believe that one man should

benefit from the forced labor of another man?

- No.

- Well, if you don't believe that, Mr. Seaverson,

and if your only intention in all of this

is to bring Dandridge Bright's art to the people,

why don't you sell these paintings to a museum

and give the proceeds to the descendants

of Dandridge Bright?

- We shouldn't have to sell these paintings.

My family preserved them for five generations.

I have tended this collection.

I have promoted it!

And I am entitled to keep it!

- And the fact that it came to you through slavery

has no importance here?

- Objection.

Badgering, Your Honor.

- I didn't own slaves.

Why should I have to pay for a crime I didn't commit?

- Why should you get a benefit from it?

- Objection, Your Honor.

- Withdrawn.

I have no more questions.

[courtroom audience wincing]

- You did good.

- You claim you lost control of the tray.

- Yes, it bobbled, and the vindaloo

toppled onto the customers quite accidentally.

And before I could apologize, the mister

grabs me by the throat and begins to squeeze

the breath out of my body. - Oh, please.

- I thought I was a dead man.

Had my cousins not intervened, who

knows what he would have done.

- Exactly.

- Ali, let's just get through this.

- Mr. Poondar, how long have you been a waiter?

- Five years.

- Is it your life's ambition to be a waiter?

- No.

I'm an engineer with a PhD from Bombay Polytechnic.

- It must be difficult for an educated man such as yourself

to take orders all day.

- When the customers are well mannered and respectful,

I am content.

- I imagine the Rawners posed quite a challenge given

their demanding personalities.

- Oh, they were most discourteous,

always bossing and yelling.

I attribute this to low breeding.

- Is it true they sent back two dishes prior to sending

back the vindaloo? - Yes.

- We should have sent back the whole meal.

- And each time, did the cook then

have to prepare an entirely new dish from scratch?

- From scratch, yes.

- How long did this go on?

- More than two hours.

- Two hours?

The Rawners didn't even arrive at the restaurant

until after 11:00.

Are you telling me they kept you running back and forth

to the kitchen till 1:00 AM?

- And then they took one bite of the vindaloo

and sent it back too.

They were impossible.

- Didn't you just want to kill them?

- Yes, I wanted to kill them! - Ease off.

There's no jury here.

- So you took the vindaloo, and you smashed

it over Mr. Rawner's head. - Yes.

- Don't answer that.

- I smashed that fool over the head with it.

- And you took the chutney, and you threw it at Mrs. Rawner,

didn't you? - Yes, I threw it!

- Don't answer it!

- And your cousin beat them, too, didn't he?

- Yes! - Recess!

- We both beat them.

We hated them!

We beat them because they deserved to be beaten!

And if they ever sit at my table again, I shall beat them again.

- Oh, Rupesh, Rupesh, Rupesh.

[whimpers]

- Rosalie, this happened six weeks ago?

- You said you remembered because it

was right after your birthday.

- Yeah.

- OK.

Now, this man, Clark Sims, you knew him?

- He came to the rec center sometimes.

- Can you remember what happened after he followed

you into the locker room?

- He told me he wanted to talk to me.

- Was anyone else around?

- No.

It was late.

- Tell me what happened next.

- He told me that he--

he liked me.

And then he asked me if I liked him.

And he asked me if I--

if I wanted him to be my friend.

- And did you answer him?

- It's OK to tell Tommy.

- I said yes.

- And tell me what happened next.

- He touched my hair, and then he pushed me down on the bench.

And, um-- and he laid down on top of me.

And I tried to get up, but he was too big.

And then he-- he pul--

he pulled down my swimsuit bottoms.

- Rosalie, did he have any kind of a weapon?

- Um, no.

- Did he hit you or threaten you with violence?

- No.

- Did you tell him no?

- I told him I had to go home.

I told him I wanted to go.

I did.

- Rosalie, I'm going to ask you a question,

but I want you to think real hard before you answer it, OK?

Did you tell this man that you didn't

want to have sex with him?

- Yes.

- OK.

If that's what happened, I think we have a case against him.

But I want to be sure you understand

this isn't going to be easy.

You're going to have to talk to a lot of people you don't know.

You're going to have to answer a lot of questions

about a lot of different things.

- I'll help her.

- OK.

Rosalie, are you sure this is what you want to do?

- This is what I want to do.

- OK, then.

- The body of our country bears many scars from

a violent and tragic history.

But if we hold our contemporaries

responsible for wounds inflicted by our remote ancestors,

we risk descending into chaos.

Should we tear up the railroads because the tracks were laid

by exploited Chinese laborers?

Should we dismantle our cotton and rice and tobacco industries

because they were built on the back of Black slaves?

Should we turn back our clothing because somewhere

in our history, a child was forced to work 12 or 14 hours

a day at a sewing machine?

Or should we lay these tragedies to rest and move on?

There is no one in this courtroom

who is making an argument in favor of slavery.

You are not here to pass judgment on slavery.

What you are here to determine is whether or not to penalize

a man for something that his great-great-grandfather did,

not his father, nor his grandfather,

nor even his great-grandfather, but his father's father's

father's father.

This man has done nothing wrong.

The events of another century do not give us the right

to take away that which is his.

[courtroom murmuring]

- "That which is his."

That which he inherited.

That which was in his family.

That which is his.

Though the defense counsel would disagree, I maintain that it is

entirely acceptable for you to ask yourselves,

how did it get to be his?

Chet Seaverson has directly and personally benefited

from the work of a slave.

He has built a reputation in the art world

and increased his net worth by half a million dollars

based on 20 paintings that his great-great-grandfather

acquired without the consent of the artist.

He stole them.

I mean, that's not what it was called at the time,

but that's what it was, stealing.

And to say that Dandridge Bright gave his paintings

to the Seaversons is to imply that he had

a choice about keeping them.

He was a slave.

He had no choice, not about keeping his freedom

and not about keeping his family and not

about keeping his paintings.

I think if Dandridge Bright came before you

and asked to have returned to him that which he lost

as a result of his enslavement, the answer

would be very simple.

You'd give him what he asked for.

He wasn't allowed to make demands then,

and he can't be here now, but his direct descendant is here.

Tell her what you can no longer tell him.

- That was a fine speech, Miss Paros.

- Oh, thank you.

- I thought my mother was crazy bringing this lawsuit.

Now, I think we actually might win.

- So you thought I was crazy, huh?

- He admitted to the battery during the deposition,

Your Honor.

We see no reason why we should be the ones

to back down from our position.

- Because your clients don't have a quarter of a million

in damages, and my clients don't have a quarter of a million,

period. And they have no insurance.

The best they can scrape up is $10,000.

- Garnish their wages.

- No, please, Your Excellency.

- Mr. Gaffney, if you and your clients

are foolish enough to proceed to trial,

I foresee a strong chance you'll wind up with nothing.

On the other hand, the court would

look favorably on an agreement that achieves the following.

The Rawners get 10,000 in compensatory damages

broken up over two years.

- And punitives?

- No punitives.

- Mr. Poondar will enter a psychological counseling

program to help him control his dangerous temper.

Finally, for the next six months while he undergoes treatment,

Mr. Poondar should be kept away from customers.

In the wrong circumstances, a loaded vindaloo

could be a deadly weapon.

I don't want to take any chances.

- I can put Rupesh in the kitchen.

- Pete?

- Done.

- And Mr. Jayaraman, keep an eye on the little guy too.

I'm not so sure about him.

- Oh, I certainly will, Your Excellency.

And I want you to know you are cordially invited to come down

to my restaurant free of charge and enjoy a full course meal

for you and a dining companion.

- No thanks.

I've got a peptic ulcer to take care of.

- My sympathies, Your Excellency.

- Goodbye, Mr. Jayaraman.

- Goodbye, Your Excellency.

- Tommy Mulaney?

- Yeah, can I help you?

- Fran Hendrickson.

Rosalie's mother.

- Oh, of course.

Please, come on.

- Thank you.

- Your daughter is very brave.

Going through a rape trial under any circumstances is an ordeal.

I don't need to tell you how much she's going

to need your full support.

- That's what I want to talk to you about.

- Of course.

- Rosalie told me what you discussed,

what she's going to have to testify

to on the witness stand.

- She's just going to have to tell the truth.

- I'm not worried about what she's going to do.

I'm worried about what you're going to do.

- What do you mean?

- Is the fact that Rosalie is developmentally disabled going

to factor into your case?

- Yeah, the fact that Rosalie's retarded

goes directly to the issue of consent.

- So you're going to say that she wasn't capable of consent?

- I'm going to say that in this particular instance,

she was not capable of consent, yes.

- So you're going to put my daughter in front

of a courtroom as, um, exhibit A,

as the perfect example of how the mentally retarded

are not responsible for their actions?

- I am going to do my best to see that the creep who raped

your daughter gets convicted.

- No matter how much you might damage Rosalie's self-esteem

in the process.

Mr. Mulaney, ever since Rosalie was a little baby,

I devoted myself to treating her like any other child.

I encouraged her independence.

I insisted that she be treated like a human being.

And she has grown into a beautiful, capable woman.

I won't let you put her on the stand

and destroy that self-confidence all for the sake

of obtaining a conviction.

- Your daughter was raped.

She has the right to see her attacker brought to justice.

- Tell me something.

If Rosalie wasn't retarded, would you

still be prosecuting this case?

- No, I would not.

- Why wouldn't you?

- She didn't file a police report.

She didn't seek medical attention.

There's no physical evidence, and there are no witnesses.

Besides, it's a month and a half after the fact.

- I've agonized over what happened

to my daughter that day, and I want very much for the man

who hurt her to suffer.

But presenting my daughter not as a woman who was raped,

but as a helpless retarded girl who is incapable of making

her own decisions, I believe you will

be doing her far more damage, and I won't let you do that.

I want to withdraw the complaint.

- That decision has to come from Rosalie.

- You'll hear from my daughter by the end of the day.

[tense music]

- It's good that we're doing this.

- It is good.

I'm ready to open myself up to different kinds

of restaurants, different kinds of ethnic eating experiences.

- There are so many different ethnic groups in this city.

I think we should take advantage of them all.

- Absolutely.

- Welcome, honored friends.

- Hi, Ali. These are friends of ours.

This is Douglas and Sheila Brackman.

- We're honored to have you here with us.

May I take your order, or would you like a little bit

more time?

- No, I think we're ready.

- I'll have the aloo chaat to start and my usual saag paneer.

I always get the same thing.

- Madame?

- Oh, let someone else go first.

- Yeah.

I'll have the tandoori chicken, and I'll

have my own saag paneer since I know my wife

won't give me any of hers.

- Another saag.

- Ali, what is the difference between the saag

paneer and the matar paneer?

- Saag paneer is with spinach.

Matar paneer is with green peas.

Would you excuse me for a moment?

I have to take care of some people.

Uh, Rupesh will take the rest of your order.

- What is the difference between the dal "mahani" and the

dal "goshed?"

- Uh, the dal gosht is with the lamb.

- And the dal "mahani" is with what?

- Dal makhani, sir.

Lentils.

Only lentils.

- The "murg "muse-illam," what is that?

- Murgh musallam.

It's chicken served over minced meat.

- Oh, so it's chicken and meat?

I think I'm better off with just chicken.

- Why don't you try the chicken curry?

- I'm not too big on curry.

- How about chicken korma?

- What is chicken korma?

- It's a cream sauce.

- You don't want cream.

- You're right.

- How about tandoori chicken?

- That sounds good.

That sounds good.

- Ooh, what is "beegan bah-tha?"

- Douglas, why don't you just order something?

- Let him ask, Stuart.

How else is he going to learn?

- What is "beegan bah-tha?"

What is navratan korma?

And what is the difference between parantha,

poppadoms, kulcha, and naan?

- Rupesh, no!

- [yelps]

- [gasps]

- Has the jury reached a verdict?

- We have, Your Honor.

- What say you?

- In the matter of Lake versus Seaverson,

we find for the plaintiff and award in the sum of $500,000.

- Yes.

- Your Honor, move for a judgment

notwithstanding the verdict.

- Your Honor, there are no grounds

to overturn this verdict.

- Sit down, counselors.

I'm prepared to do this on the court's own motion.

- What's going on?

- I'm not sure yet.

- Having reviewed all the testimony

and considered the arguments put forth in this courtroom,

I find that this case turns on questions of law

rather than questions of fact.

At the time Dandridge Bright produced the work in question,

he belonged to Philip Seaverson.

As reprehensible as we may find that now,

this collection of paintings came into the Seaverson family

through legal means.

Whether we like it or not, slavery

was a perfectly legal institution

prior to the passage of the 13th Amendment.

That Amendment abolished slavery,

but it said nothing, absolutely nothing, about transactions

between slave and master.

Given that, there is no basis for interfering

with present-day property rights.

To do so, in my opinion, would be tantamount to a taking

and would itself be constitutionally prohibited.

I also find the statute of limitations

not to have been told.

Accordingly, plaintiff's action is barred as a matter of law.

Jury verdict is set aside.

Judgment is hereby entered for the defendant.

This case is dismissed.

- Damn!

How could I be so foolish?

How could I look for justice from a system designed

by old white men to protect what they've got

and keep us begging at the door!

- Miss Palmer-- - How could I even consider--

- this is neither the time, nor the place!

- that you would leave anything to chance,

that you would relinquish control of your safe little

world to 12 people who might, just

maybe shake things up a bit!

- Oh, baby, wait.

- Oh, Mama! - Wait, baby, wait.

- It's a mockery!

- Wait, wait, wait.

Wait a minute.

Wait.

Aw.

- All right, we knew it would be a long shot.

- Well, I managed to forget all that.

I managed to fool myself into thinking that we were

actually being listened to!

- If you want me to, I can take it up on appeal.

- What would our chances be?

- Not great.

- Miss Paros, we appreciate all the hard work you put in,

and we thank you.

- I'm willing to keep going with this.

- If my daughter wants to pursue it, she's free to do so.

But for me, once is enough.

- Mama.

[somber music]

- Rosalie, hi.

- I'm not going to do it, Benny.

- Do what?

- I'm not going to talk to Tommy anymore.

I'm not going to court.

- My mom says that Tommy's going to say that I can't make up

my own mind because I'm retarded,

and my mom says that that is not true.

- What do you say?

- I say I'm going to listen to my mom.

- OK.

- So-- so you're not mad at me?

- No.

- [laughs]

I like you, Benny.

- You do?

- Yeah, I really do.

- I like you too.

- Come here.

Come here.

Do you want me to [indistinct whispering]??

Want me to?

- No!

- Why?

- Because.

- Because why?

- Because it's wrong!

- Sex is wrong.

- Well, it's w-- wrong if you don't love the person

you're doing it with.

[somber music]

- I'm sorry.

- Oh, it's-- it's OK.

- I guess you want me to go.

- No.

I want you to stay.

- [cries]

- It's OK.

It's OK.

[theme music]