Original subtitles

- Do you mind that I'm here?

- No, you got to be here, right?

- Sort of.

How often have you been seeing Gail?

- Once or twice a week.

- You saw her the day she was killed?

- Yeah.

- Had you had a fight with her of any kind?

- You're from New York?

- Yeah.

- There's a lot of crazy people in New York.

[scoffs]

It's like they're all talking at the same time--

or arguing-- or crying and praying.

- Sandy.

- Seat opens up on the subway, so I sit down.

And the lady next to me was standing, starts crying

because she wanted to sit down.

- Sandy, I need your help.

I need you to stop thinking about crazy people in New York

and start thinking about the crime you've been charged with.

- Oh, I hate these patterns.

- What patterns?

- Patterns on the floor, the linoleum.

Keep dividing and subdividing.

There's lines, and there's quadrants and hemispheres.

And it's not that restful to have to look at that.

I prefer to have plain floors--

plain walls.

Although these walls are pretty plain,

but there's too much going on with those floors.

- Did you kill anybody, Sandy?

- Now, what the hell will you do if I said I did?

- I'd be your lawyer.

The same thing I'd do if you said you didn't.

- Then what's the difference?

- It might affect the way I try the case.

- Yeah, but it shouldn't though.

You should try and get me off no matter what, right?

- If that's what you want.

- That's what I want.

[theme music]

[music playing]

- Let me begin this morning by welcoming our newest

associate, Ms. Jane Halliday.

- Here, here. Welcome.

- How do you do? - Hi.

- Hi. - Daniel.

- I appreciate you giving me the opportunity to work with you.

I do you hope I can be of some service.

Also, I would like to thank everyone in advance

for all of the help I'm sure I will be asking for.

- Ask and it shall be given you.

Seek and you shall find.

Knock and it shall be opened unto you.

- Matthew 7. - Yes, indeed.

- Well, I don't know the appropriate biblical passage

for new business, but whatever it is,

this young lady is responsible for bringing some with her.

Kerry versus the Department of Veteran Affairs.

Ms. Halliday?

- David Kerry is a veteran of the Gulf War.

Like hundreds of others, he's come down

with a debilitating illness as a result of exposure

to chemicals in Kuwait.

- Yeah, I heard about that.

They have all kinds of strange symptoms like hair

loss, immune system problems.

- Well, until recently, VA doctors

routinely dismissed this condition as psychosomatic.

- How did you come to represent him?

- Well, he's a member of my church.

- Great.

Religious organizations, I believe,

are a terrific and largely untapped source of referrals.

With that, more of us were trolling in those waters.

Next up, Bannister versus the American Buying Network.

[chuckles]

- That's mine.

We represent the buying network.

The plaintiff is a guy who's suing

them for selling to his wife.

He claims she's got an obsessive compulsive shopping

disorder that they took undue advantage of.

- You're kidding.

- Yet another theory for avoiding

personal responsibility.

- Those channels do play to people's compulsions.

- Oh, come on, she's weak.

She's extravagant, and she's weak.

Compulsions like this are a sign of weakness.

- That wouldn't apply to your desire to own

a $275,000 Bentley, would it?

- No, it wouldn't.

- I'm expecting that if we're successful in this matter, then

the American Buying Network may tap us for a variety

of other services.

- Eli, what's happening with your case?

- I'm preparing for trial, interviewing

witnesses, going over police reports, that kind of thing.

I do need to hire a private investigator.

If you've used somebody who you recommend, I'd--

- Jinx Baldasseri.

- You've used her?

[distant yelling] - Yes, I have.

- Look out! Look out!

Look out!

- Whoa!

- I'll call an ambulance.

- How much is this one going to cost us, Douglas?

- Not a dime. - Are you sure?

- First of all, the contractor is primarily liable.

Second of all, those stilts are illegal in the state

of California.

Assumption of risk, comparative negligence,

we got nothing to worry about.

Excuse me.

- How many do you see, Dave?

[music playing]

- Mr. Bannister, how long has your wife

been shopping with the American Buying Network?

- Since March of 1992.

- What kinds of items did she purchase?

- Clothes, power tools, kitchen appliances,

a radio transmitter, dog fence-- never mind that we don't have

a dog--stuffed animals and dolls-- never mind that

we don't have any children.

- Uh, the stuffed animals and dolls are collectibles.

- Ms. Bannister, please.

- The ceramic ducks wearing galoshes are also collectibles?

- Yes, they are.

- Uh, folks, for the purposes of this trial,

you two are on the same side.

I don't want to hear any arguing.

- I'm sorry, Your Honor.

- Mr. Bannister, is your wife currently

under treatment for any kind of mental disorder?

- She's under treatment for obsessive compulsive shopping.

- Did you inform the American Buying Network of that fact?

- By registered mail.

- How did they respond?

- They responded by continuing to sell her anything

and everything she wanted.

- Mr. Bannister, what has been the result?

- The result has been that I'm facing bankruptcy.

- I have no further questions.

- Mr. Bannister, let's talk about those ceramic ducks.

Your wife has collected ornamental birds for some time,

hasn't she?

- Birds, rabbits, souvenir spoons.

She collects everything.

- But your wife started collecting

before she started watching the American Buying Network,

didn't she?

- In a limited capacity, I suppose she did.

- $1,500's worth of glass swans your wife bought

in 1989 at the Crystal Palace Boutique,

is that a limited capacity?

- All I know is that since they have been broadcasting,

a day doesn't go by when a delivery truck

does not come to my house.

- You claim your wife suffers from a shopping compulsion.

Is there anything about your wife's voice that

would indicate this compulsion?

- No.

- Anything at all that would in your opinion

indicate to a phone operator at the American Buying Network

that your wife was compulsive?

- Well, how about the fact that she calls 50 times a day?

- So you're saying that based on the frequency of your wife's

calls, an operator should have been

able to diagnose her as having a psychiatric disorder?

- That's right.

- And furthermore, based on the diagnosis,

they should have refused to sell her anything?

- That's right.

You don't have an American Booze Network

selling to drunks, an American Dope

Network selling to junkies.

By the same token, you should not have an American Buying

Network selling to my wife.

- Mr. Kerry, when did you first experience symptoms related

to your current condition?

- During Operation Desert Storm.

My unit secured the Al Wafra oilfields which

the Iraqis had set on fire.

And the smoke was so thick that you could taste it.

And that week, I got a skin rash, headaches, and I--

I coughed black fluid from my lungs.

- And how was your health after returning to the United States?

- I experienced fatigue, pain in my joints and some hair loss,

as well as severe headaches whenever I smelled anything

chemical, but I didn't realize how bad off I

was until I failed my annual physical performance

test that August.

- What happened after you failed?

- Uh, I was discharged.

- What, if any, medical treatment did you

receive after your discharge?

- I went to the veterans hospital maybe a dozen times

over a period of six months, but the doctor

said they could never find anything wrong with me.

Dr. Croyder asked me if I was malingering right to my face.

In the end, he just wrote me down as being depressed

and he gave me some pills.

- How has your illness affected your life?

- Two years ago, my wife and I had plans to buy a house

and start a family.

Today, I have-- no job, no savings,

$100,000 in medical bills, my wife divorce me, and my career

in the military is over.

- Why are you suing the Department of Veterans Affairs?

- I served my country, and I don't regret that for a second,

but the deal was if I got hurt that the VA was

supposed to take care of me.

And instead, they-- they just watched me fall apart.

- I have nothing further.

- Mr. Kerry, according to your hospital file,

you were seen by nine VA specialists who conducted

no fewer than 23 diagnostic tests

on you, blood panels, bone marrow biopsies,

EMGs, EKGs, CAT scans.

Is this your idea of doctors just watching you fall apart?

- They never tested me for chemical poisoning.

- Let me ask you something, Mr. Kerry,

how do you explain the fact that of the 120 men in your unit,

you're the only one claiming to be permanently

harmed by oil fires?

- Maybe I breathed more smoke. I don't know.

Look, there are hundreds of guys from other units

who came back just as sick as me.

- Nobody disputes that you and other vets are sick,

but you're accusing VA doctors of negligence.

Do you have any reason for believing

that Dr. Croyder and his staff were

less than diligent in their attempts

to diagnose and treat you?

- Yes, I got hurt over there--

just as sure as if I'd taken a bullet!

And Dr. Croyder, he told me it was all in my head.

- Mr. Kerry.

- I mean, he let me get worse and worse

to where I'll never recover.

To me, that's being less than diligent.

To me, he was just being a government

bureaucrat when what he should have been was a doctor!

- I don't like what's happening.

- Rae, I entered a plea of not guilty

because I think there's a chance of getting him off.

- I hate to say this, but I don't think that's necessarily

what's best for him.

- What are you talking about?

- Ed, face it.

For once in your life, look at things the way they really are.

Our son is incapable of living outside of an institution.

We have known that since he was a teenager.

- I don't accept that.

- I know you don't accept it.

But whether you accept it or not, it's the truth.

Eli, I want you to change the plea to insanity.

- I won't do that.

- What do you mean you won't do that?

- Just what I said.

You hired me to be your son's attorney.

That doesn't make you my client.

That makes him my client.

And I'm going to do what's in his best interests.

- Do you think it's in his best interest for him

to be on the street?

- I think it's in his best interest

to be in a controlled therapeutic environment.

That doesn't mean locking him up,

particularly when he's innocent of the crime

with which he's been charged.

- Dr. Anson, as a specialist in environmental medicine,

have you examined David Kerry?

- Yes, I have.

Mr. Kerry is suffering from chemical sensitivity

due to petroleum exposure.

I might also add that I've personally

diagnosed 27 Gulf veterans with the same condition.

- On what do you base your diagnoses?

- On chemical response tests.

Normally harmless concentrations of petroleum

triggered violent reactions in Mr. Kerry,

indicating a past exposure to a damaging dose of chemicals.

- What treatment, if any, exists for this condition?

- Patients are injected with tiny amounts

of petroleum derivates to rebuild their tolerance.

Now, if Mr. Kerry had received such treatment early on,

I expect he would have fully recovered.

- Doctor, in your opinion, should a physician

who isn't trained in your field, like Dr. Croyder,

be expected to know about chemical sensitivity?

- Generally, no.

But two years ago, when the first vet showed up

with these symptoms, I contacted Dr. Croyder to alert

him about chemical sensitivity.

I sent him case studies, treatment protocols.

If he would have used them, he could have saved

David Kerry untold suffering.

- I have nothing further.

- Doctor, isn't it true that the American Board of Medical

Specialists rejects environmental medicine

as a specialty because they find your methods inconclusive?

- Yes.

Naturally, I disagree.

- Naturally.

Now, these response tests you spoke of, assuming they're

accurate, they show that Mr. Kerry

is sensitive to chemicals, correct?

- Yes, and such sensitivity indicates

chemical poisoning in the past.

- But assuming that's true, how do

you know that chemical poisoning and not something else

is behind Mr. Kerry's fatigue, joint pain, and weight loss?

- Our research shows that those symptoms

are consistent with chemical exposure.

- Are you aware that there are other theories

that have been proposed for what's wrong with these vets?

Some doctors say they have a rare bacterial infection.

Others say the culprit is a parasite

transmitted in the bite of a Middle Eastern sand flea.

- I know that I have been treating these vets

and getting results.

- After a year of your treatments,

Mr. Kerry still appears to be quite ill.

- That's because Dr. Croyder has allowed

his condition to progress to an irreversible stage.

- That's one explanation.

Another is that your diagnosis is wrong

and your treatment is ineffective.

- Objection! - That's all right.

I'm done with the doctor.

- What is your position at the American

Buying Network, Mr. Atkins?

- Founder, president, chief cook and bottle washer.

It's pretty much my baby.

- Could you describe for us the kind of interaction

that would have likely taken place between Philomena

Bannister and the various operators

she would have taken orders with?

- Generally, there would have been an exchange

of pleasantries, then we'd take her name,

address, daytime telephone number,

and a major credit card.

She'd place an order.

And that would be that.

- Mr. Atkins, why did the American

Buying Network continue to sell to Philomena Bannister?

- It's not our role to decide for our customers

how much they should spend or what they should buy

or how often they should shop any more

than it's the role of Neiman Marcus

or Nordstrom's or Bob's Big Boy.

As long as Philomena Bannister wants to be our customer,

it's not up to me to say she can't be.

- Thank you.

Nothing further.

- Mr. Atkins, do you have any idea

how much Philomena Bannister purchased from the American

Buying Network?

- No, actually, I don't.

- Would it surprise you to learn that she averaged over $1,500

a week in the past two years?

- No.

- Would you say that sounds a little excessive?

- I'm in no position to say anything of the kind.

What's excessive for one person is moderate for another.

- Does the fact that these two people

face the prospect of the bank foreclosing on their mortgage

suggest to you that their case might not be moderate?

- Again, I don't presume to tell someone

how to spend their money.

If a shelf full of figurines or a strand of faux pearls

and matching earrings brings joy and a sense of well-being

to someone's existence, who am I to tell them they

shouldn't have those things?

- Tell me, Mr. Atkins, do you have

any familiarity with compulsive shopping disorder?

- Not really, no.

- Well, let me put it this way, did it ever occur to you

that Philomena Bannister might not need any more

shelves of figurines or strands of faux pearls

with matching earrings?

- If I thought that way, I'd be out of business.

- Spoken like a true visionary.

- Objection.

- Withdrawn.

Nothing further.

[chatter]

[knocking on door]

- Eli?

Eli, this is Jinx Baldasseri.

- How do you do?

- Hi.

- Can I get you something?

- A bottled water would be great.

- Sure. - Thanks for coming over.

- You're representing that guy who's charged

with killing a social worker?

- Right.

- From what my friends in the DA's office tell me,

you've got your work cut out for you.

- That I do.

- What can I do for you?

- I have reason to suspect that the husband's not all he seems.

- You think he killed his wife?

- I don't know.

- Is this an exercise in wishful thinking then?

- It's a little bit more than that.

The husband's been seen around town with a woman

he seems to know quite well.

I'm led to believe their behavior

is on the libidinous side.

- I can put a tail on him 24 hours a day.

I can find out who the girlfriend

is and put a tail on her.

- Sounds good.

- I charge $750 per eight-hour day.

Overtime and out of pocket expenses are extra.

- You come very highly recommended.

I'm sure you're worth whatever you charge.

- Excuse me, here's your water.

- Thanks.

- Sure.

- I love your outfit.

- Oh, thank you.

- Really fabulous.

- Thank you.

Is that a Todd Oldham vest?

- Actually, it's a Comme de Garcon.

- Oh, really?

- Glass.

- Oh, I'm sorry.

I'll be right back.

- I'm sure people tell you all the time how you don't look

like a private investigator.

- Yes, they do.

- Yeah, I figured they did.

- Is that something you were planning on saying?

- Me? No.

- Good.

Why don't we start going over the file?

- Oh, right.

- Dr. Croyder, during your examination

of David Kerry, what evidence of physical illness did you find.

- Despite extensive diagnostic testing,

I found no evidence of anything physically wrong

with Mr. Kerry.

- And what did you conclude was the cause

of Mr. Kerry's symptoms?

- At the time, I concluded the cause was clinical depression.

Mr. Kerry's fatigue, weight loss,

mood swings, and loss of appetite fit the criteria.

I prescribed medication accordingly.

- Do you recall during this period

having a conversation with Dr. Anson on chemical sensitivity?

- Yes, and I received and read his materials.

- Did you consider treating Mr. Kerry for chemical sensitivity?

- No.

I found the theory speculative and I

wasn't about to experiment on my patients

with treatments whose efficacy and safety was unproven.

- Dr. Croyder, is there anything you

know now that might cause you to revise

your diagnosis of Mr. Kerry?

- The truth is nobody knows what's causing these symptoms.

But having seen more cases of Gulf veterans

with these sort of problems, we have a basis

for concluding that some sort of physiological condition

does exist.

So I might very well revise my diagnosis.

- I have nothing further.

[chatter]

- Dr. Croyder, in your mind, does

it indicate a prudent standard of care

when a patient is allowed to deteriorate to the point

where he can't walk unassisted?

- I watch Mr. Kerry decline with great frustration and sympathy,

but I did everything I could for him based

on accepted medical practice.

- Well, given that accepted medical practice

had failed Mr. Kerry, how could you

dismiss Dr. Anson's approach?

- I received my training at Johns Hopkins, Ms. Halliday.

I was taught not to subject my patients to the risks

of unproven treatments.

- You never told me a treatment existed.

How could you know and not tell me?

- Control your client, Ms. Halliday.

- I mean, it should have been up to me.

How could you know and not even tell me?

- David.

Dr. Croyder, the treatment for chemical exposure

is virtually risk-free.

Didn't you owe it to David Kerry to at least give it a try?

- We see hundreds of veterans a day, Ms. Halliday.

We do not have the time or the funds

to try every non-conventional treatment

that comes down the pike.

- So to be cost-effective, you gave

this man a handful of happy pills

and shoved him out the door? - Objection.

- Sustained.

- The fact that he laid down his life for his country

didn't matter? - Objection!

- Ms. Halliday.

- His country was through with him

and you weren't about to expend the time or money to treat him.

- Objection! - Sustained.

- Is it possible, Doctor, that had you tried

Dr. Anson's treatment two years ago,

David Kerry would be well by now?

Is it possible that had you been of the mind to try,

you could have done something to help David Kerry

when he asked you for help?

- I don't know the answer to that question.

- I have no others.

[chatter]

Thank you, Doctor.

[music playing]

If you go to war and get hit by a bullet,

they give you a medal, and everyone wants to see the scar.

But when you're hit with a bolt of toxic chemicals,

they tell you it's all in your head.

Like hundreds of other Desert Storm veterans,

David Kerry came home sick, only to face

skepticism and denial from those charged with making him well.

It was Dr. Croyder's job to do everything

in his power to relieve David Kerry's suffering.

Not only did he fail to do so, but by choosing to ignore

a promising therapy, heaped enormous and needless amounts

of suffering onto his patient.

If not for Dr. Croyder's inaction,

David Kerry would be able to walk right now without using

a cane, he would be able to climb a flight of stairs

without gasping for breath.

David Kerry deserved better.

All of the men and women who risk their lives in service

of our country deserve better

Dr. Croyder got the physician's credo mixed up.

Instead of first do no harm, he heard first do nothing.

And by doing nothing, he caused David

Kerry a great deal of harm, harm from which

he will never recover.

[chatter]

- Standard of care, that's the guideline

you look to when judging whether a doctor acted negligently.

And Dr. Croyder acted no differently

in caring for Mr. Kerry than any responsible physician

would have.

The fact is nobody could pin down

this disease two years ago, and they can't pin it down now.

All we have are theories.

Against these odds, Dr. Croyder and his staff

worked diligently to try to find out

what was wrong with Mr. Kerry.

The fact that Dr. Croyder had read some literature

about a non-traditional method of treatment in no way

obliged him to experiment with it,

especially when he had such serious doubts

about its efficacy and safety.

Dr. Croyder is not an incompetent

or a negligent physician.

He is a kind and caring doctor who treated

his patients as best he could.

- Hey, don't ignore me, man.

Hey, I'm a human being.

- How much subterfuge should we be using here?

- Excuse me.

- Can't you pretend to be husband

and wife looking at paintings?

- You know, I could be wrong, but somehow I

don't think this woman is going to be all that interested

in our marital status.

- So no subterfuge?

- Mm-mm.

- You're Pamela Riesenfelt?

- Yes, I am.

- We'd like to talk to you about Jonah Burgee.

- Who are you?

- I'm a private investigator.

My name is Jinx Baldesseri.

This is Eli Levinson.

He's an attorney.

- Hi.

- I really have nothing to say about Jonah.

And if that's what you're here to talk to me about,

I'd like to ask you to leave.

- You don't want to talk to us?

- No, I don't want to talk to you.

- If I get a subpoena issued, you'll

have to testify in court.

If you talk to us, we may find there's no reason

to put you through that.

- Look, I don't know anything about Gail's death.

- I'm sure you don't.

What I'm looking for is just a little background information.

- What kind of background information?

[sighs]

- What kind of shape was Jonah's marriage in?

- I don't know what that means.

- Was he planning on getting a divorce?

- I wouldn't know.

- How long had the two of you been sleeping together

when his wife was murdered?

- I can't believe you're asking me that.

- That 1993 Jaguar you're driving is registered to him.

If you are trying to hide the nature of your relationship,

you're not doing a very good job.

- This discussion is over.

I want you both to leave.

- This is a murder trial, Ms. Riesenfelt.

There are no secrets anymore.

Come on.

- Be seated.

- Your Honor, at this time, defense would like

to call Philomena Bannister.

- Ms. Mitchell, where's your client?

- Your Honor, I apologize.

She said she'd be right back.

- (WHISPERING) Your Honor, she's in your chambers.

- She's what?

Are you kidding?

- Mm.

I love the fit.

I love the color.

I love the material.

- And I'll bet you love unicorns, don't you?

- Yvonne, I love those unicorns.

- Excuse me, Your Honor, case closed.

We got exhibit A right here.

- Your Honor, I want this excluded from the proceedings.

I do not want the jury told about this.

- I'll just be one minute.

- Never mind telling the jury. Just bring them in here.

Let them take a look for themselves.

- There will be no mention of this in front of the jury.

[honking]

- There's the bargain signal.

This must be your lucky day, Philomena, because right now--

- I want everyone back in that courtroom.

I want to continue this trial in an orderly fashion.

Now, get out of my chambers.

- Ms. Bannister, would you tell the court

if you are currently in therapy for treatment

of an obsessive compulsive disorder?

- Yes, I am.

- And it's a fact, is it not, that when you talk

to your husband and your therapist and others

about shopping via this television channel,

you didn't just refer to the merchandise you ordered?

- Oh, there's more to it than the merchandise.

I acknowledge that.

- You referred to each of on air hosts by name?

You referred to feeling a sense of physical exhilaration

each time they announced a price reduction

by tooting a bicycle horn.

- I know I'm a compulsive shopper.

And I know that some people might

find me ridiculous or pathetic.

But no matter what my therapist says,

I don't shop because there's something missing in my life

or because I'm secretly angry with my husband.

I'm sorry, Howard.

I look at your face and I know you're trying so hard to do

what you think is best for us.

I shop because I love to.

I love everything about it.

I love picking up the phone and placing the order.

I love standing at my window every morning

watching the truck arrive right on schedule,

asking the delivery man about his kids

while I sign for my package.

I love slicing open the packing tape and opening the box

and seeing what I got new today.

I'm a housewife.

I've been married to the same man for 20 years,

lived in the same house for 15.

The basics of my life don't change very much from day

to day, and I don't expect they ever will, but that's OK.

I'm not looking for a lot of excitement.

So I call the American Buying Network.

And I chat with the hosts.

And then I buy something, maybe a piece of jewelry

or a blouse or even something silly like a ceramic duck.

But at that moment--

I feel sustained--

I feel happy--

I have something new.

- Please be seated.

- The clerk will read the verdict.

- In the matter of Kerry versus the United States of America,

the jury finds for the defendant.

- Jury is dismissed with the thanks of the court.

We are adjourned.

[gavel thuds]

- I'm sorry, David.

- Well, we gave it a shot, right?

- We'll appeal.

- Right.

- Come on, why don't you let me give you a ride home?

- No, I can get home by myself.

I think I'll just sit here for a little while.

- Sure?

- Yeah.

- OK.

- I'd like to see Eli Levinson.

- You are?

- Jonah Burgee. - Do you have an appointment?

- No, I don't have an appointment.

[scoffs] - What's with the attitude?

I just asked a question.

- I don't have an appointment.

- Well, then how did you get past reception?

- I lied.

- Oh.

Let me see if Eli's available.

- Yeah? - Eli?

- What?

- Yeah, there's a Jonah Burgee here.

- What does he want?

- I have no idea.

Yeah.

- Send him in.

- OK.

Come right this way.

- What can I do for you, Mr. Burgee?

- You can honor a very simple request.

If you're interested in me, you come to me.

Don't violate the privacy of other people.

- Are you willing to answer a few questions?

What is it that you would like to know?

- How long have you been going out with Pamela Riesenfelt?

- I don't know what you mean by going out.

We've been friends for a number of years.

- Were the two of you having an affair

while your wife was alive?

- I assume that the import of that question

is that if we were, I killed my wife.

- I'm just trying to get a picture

of who everyone is in all this.

[chuckles]

- You know, whenever I've had dealings with lawyers,

I'm always struck by how utterly amoral they are.

- Really?

- You're willing to go into court

and spread absolute falsehoods.

You're willing to impugn me.

You're willing to encroach on the lives of innocent people,

not because you actually think that I'm guilty of anything,

but as a way of manufacturing doubt about whether or not

your client is guilty.

It's amazing you're totally unconcerned with what

actually happened.

- I don't know what actually happened.

- OK.

I'm not going to answer any more questions.

If I'm called to the stand, I'll testify,

but I don't want to answer any more questions voluntarily.

I find what you're doing deeply offensive,

and I'm not going to cooperate with you.

- I didn't really expect that you would.

- By the way, someone told me that you're a patient

of Max Binderman's.

- What someone was that?

- I don't know who it was.

They said that you had a major breakdown a couple of years ago

and that you've been under Max's care.

The reason I mention it is that Max and I were

in graduate school together.

- I didn't realize you were trained in psychology.

- One of my doctorates is in psychology.

I just never practiced.

- Uh-huh.

- Anyway, say hi to Max for me--

when you talk to him.

- Compulsive shopping disorder, it sounds like a joke.

I assure you, ladies and gentlemen, to those facing

bankruptcy, it is no joke.

An addiction to shopping is just like any other addiction.

It robs you of your free will, and it takes over your life.

This particular addiction is a little different, though.

This addiction is actively encouraged

by a powerful broadcast network that

lures in people like Philomena.

They get them and they don't let them go.

Gerard Atkins claims he is not familiar with this disorder.

The truth is he is all too familiar with it.

He's made a fortune exploiting it.

The American Buying Network is designed

to extract every dime they can from people

like Philomena Bannister.

They came into her home, they pretended to be her friend,

and then they systematically drove both her and her husband

to the brink of financial ruin.

We ask that damages be assessed in the amount of half a million

dollars to make these two whole and to tell this corporation

its behavior isn't justified by the fact that it made the sale.

- Philomena Bannister loves to shop.

We all heard her testimony.

Howard Bannister thinks his wife shops too much.

Do I think she shops too much?

Uh, maybe I do.

But the truth is whatever anybody thinks

about how much Philomena Bannister shops,

it's none of anybody's business.

And if you doubt that, ask yourselves this,

is it anybody's business how much you shop?

Philomena Bannister is seeing a therapist who says she has

shopping compulsion disorder.

Now, the fact is there's no listing

for this disorder in the American

Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic Manual.

Howard Bannister couldn't tell us

one identifying characteristic, yet he expected the American

Buying Network to take his word for it

and act in the capacity of a surrogate parent

by refusing to sell to this woman what she asked to buy.

Was the American Buying Network negligent?

No.

No, the American Buying Network is a business,

and they do make a profit, but that does not

make them responsible for the personal choices

of their customers.

It does not make it their responsibility to decide

who can and cannot shop.

And frankly, ladies and gentlemen, I'm glad

they don't have that power.

I'm glad that each and every one of us

is free to make our own choices.

Because you see, the minute we make someone else responsible,

we give our freedom away.

- Hi.

Hi, Sandy.

- Hi, ma.

- I got you some reading material.

I didn't really know what your current tastes are,

so I picked out some stuff that I

liked, Larry McMurtry, Jim Harrison,

some mysteries, magazines.

- Dad, it's a little too much.

- Pick out what you like and I'll bring the rest back.

- No, it's all too much.

There's too much coming in.

I can't keep track of other people's stories and plots

and characters and some magazine article about something

different and-- and advertisements.

I can't keep track of all that.

- OK.

- Is there something that we need to discuss today?

- There are a couple of things I wanted to ask you.

- Come on, Ed, let's go.

- Is it necessary that we go?

Sandy, do you mind if we stay?

- Do what you want.

What do you want to ask me?

- Did you ever meet Gail's husband?

- No.

- He was never in the office when you were there?

- I don't know what he looks like.

- So you have no way of knowing whether or not

he was in the office when you were there?

- Right.

- OK.

- Is that it?

- Sandy-- can you tell me where you were in the morning

Gayle was killed?

- Yeah, I was in my room.

- Can you think of anybody who might

have seen you in your room?

- No.

- No one came by?

- No.

- Did you go out to eat?

OK.

Next week, we start picking the jury.

Then we go to trial.

- Right.

- You need clothes for your trial.

Do you have clothes?

- Yeah.

- Back in your room?

- Yeah.

- We'll go get them.

- Wait, if I'm found guilty, they won't keep me here, right?

- Don't be thinking about being found guilty.

- Well, excuse me, I'm sorry, but I am thinking about it.

And the question I have is whether or not

they're going to keep me here or move me someplace else.

- They'll move you someplace else.

- OK.

- OK, are you done?

Let's go.

- So nobody smokes around here, huh?

- No, I don't--

I don't think anyone here smokes.

- Oh.

- We had a temp who used to blow reefer in the stairwell.

Other than that, I don't think anybody smokes.

- So if I want to smoke, I have to go up with the elevator

to the ladies room, huh?

- Yeah, unless you want to risk incurring

the wrath of your coworkers.

- Damn, if there was a nun pounding on the door,

I'd feel like I was right back in high school.

- Let me help you with that.

- Uh, you're Jane Halliday, right?

- Yes.

- Uh, you have a call, line two.

- Here.

- Thank you.

Hello?

I'll be down in front of the building.

- What's wrong?

- My client's about to jump off a freeway overpass.

- Ooh!

[chatter]

[tires screeching]

- How long has he been there?

- About an hour.

We can't get close to him, but maybe you could.

- David!

David-- I'm coming over there.

It's all right.

I'm just-- I'm just coming a little closer.

I'm just going to sit right here.

OK?

- They made me beg like one of those guys

with the signs that stands by the freeway entrance.

- David, you never asked for anything you didn't deserve.

- You know, when I was 24 years old,

I was the youngest staff sergeant at Fort Sill.

I was responsible for 40 men.

I led my men into battle and I distinguished myself in combat.

- I've already filed a notice of appeals.

I intend to pursue this.

- I'll never be a soldier again.

I'll never get my wife back again.

I'll never be able to walk up a flight of stairs

without having to sit down!

- That's no reason to end your life.

[chuckles]

- Are you going to give me some article of religious faith?

Are you going to quote me some scripture?

- I can if you want me to.

- Sure.

You tell me what the Bible says I should do.

- The Bible says, wait for the Lord,

be strong and wait for the Lord.

If God is for us, who shall be against us?

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?

- And that does it for you, huh?

- Praying does it for me.

When I feel confused or depressed, I pray.

I ask God to guide me.

I ask him to show me the way.

- Well, I asked God to guide me, but I haven't

heard back from Him yet.

- You don't know any more than I know what the future holds.

You could find things that make you grateful for every year

of life you're given.

- Is this God talking?

- No, it's me talking.

David, I want you to take my hand and come down from here.

I want you to take my hand.

- I just want to have someone care about me.

- Stay ready.

- You have someone who cares about you.

You have me.

- Has the jury reached a verdict?

- We have, Your Honor.

- What say you?

- In the matter of Bannister versus the American Buying

Network, we find for the defendant.

- The jury is dismissed with the thanks of the court.

We are adjourned.

[chatter]

- Don't think this is over.

I'll appeal.

- Mr. Bannister, Mrs. Bannister, I'd like to discuss an idea

I had. Is there someplace we can talk?

- Sure.

- What are you proposing?

- We're proposing a job.

- What?

- I was watching you testify, Mrs. Bannister,

and I wasn't visualizing you on the witness stand.

I was visualizing you being broadcast

into 43 million homes.

- What are you talking about?

- I'm talking about offering you a position

at the American Buying Network as an on-air product host.

- Oh, no.

- We have the technology.

What we don't want to lose is the humanity, and that's you,

Mrs. Bannister.

- That's me?

- I believe you embody all the qualities that

will keep us grounded, all the qualities

our customers can relate to.

I believe you are the American Buying Network customer.

- Really?

- We'd be willing to negotiate a substantial salary

plus a signing bonus.

- Plus, you forgive the debt?

- Plus, we'll forgive the debt.

- And you agree not to sell her anything?

- Done.

- Gosh, I don't know what to say.

- Say yes.

- Now, wait a minute, wait a minute,

I'm going to stop being a lawyer here just for a second

and ask a question just as someone who's watched

you throughout the trial.

Is it a good idea for you to be surrounded

by this much temptation?

- Oh, Mr. Rollins, I'm surrounded by temptation

every day of my life.

I'm in therapy.

I realize the effect my extravagances

have had on my husband.

And I know that in order for our marriage to survive,

I must learn to control them.

So if I succumb to temptation, I will quit.

- OK.

- But right now, I'm going to go home

and figure out what to wear.

- Oh, we'll give you a help with that.

We'll give you a complete orientation

before we go on the air.

- Wonderful!

- I believe that you and I are going to have a lot of

fun together.

[knocking on door]

- I heard there was a little excitement today.

- Well, I guess you could call it that.

- And I'm glad to hear he's all right.

- He's alive.

I wouldn't say he's all right.

- Let me get to the point.

I understand you intend to move forward with an appeal.

I'd like to see if we can avoid that.

- What do you propose?

- $250,000, full and final payment.

The only condition being absolute confidentiality.

- Suicidal veterans make for bad press, don't they?

- As do overly eager young attorneys with a great deal

of time on their hands.

- Mr. Hygate, just so you know, I'm not overly eager

and I don't have a lot of time on my hands.

What I have is a client whom I believe in.

I'm prepared to pursue his case for as long as necessary

until he feels he's been adequately compensated.

- And I think a quarter of a million dollars

qualifies, wouldn't you?

- I'll talk to my client.

- I appreciate that.

We'd like this to be over.

- My God, this is where he lives?

[distant yelling]

- Let's take what there is to take and go.

- It's like a cell.

- What I'd like to know is how he was able to pay for it.

Cell or no cell, it costs money.

- I don't know how he paid for it.

- He wasn't working.

It's paid for through the end of the month.

Where did he get the money?

- Should we at least fold his things

so they don't get all wrinkled?

- I think we're best off just buying him something to

wear, Ed.

- I know, but he should hang his things up.

He's got a closet.

He's got hangers.

He should hang his things up when he takes them

off so when he puts them back on again,

they don't get all wrinkled.

Then he wouldn't have to send them out

to be dry cleaned as much, and they wouldn't look like hell

when he put them back on.

Hang them up!

You get into the habit.

When you take them off, you hang them up.

- Stop talking about him as though he's

well, as though he's normal.

He's not well!

He's not normal.

- OK, assume he's not.

What should we do, Rae?

Should we just forget about him?

Should we write him off and let him die?

Is that what you want to do?

- Folks, you can't turn on each other.

- You know, sometimes I get the feeling that she'd

just rather be done with him.

I get the feeling that it's too much trouble, that you'd

rather not be bothered.

- The way he pays for this room is that I send him money.

- You do?

- Yes.

- So you've known where he's been.

- I send a money order to a post office box.

I knew he was in LA.

That's all I knew.

- Why didn't you say something, Rae?

Why didn't you tell me?

- Because I knew you'd try to find him.

- What would have been wrong with that?

Didn't you want to find him?

- No!

No, I wanted him to have a roof over his head.

I wanted him not to starve.

Beyond that, I stopped wanting anything!

Oh, God, help me.

I never wanted to see him again.

[sobbing]

[theme music]