All language subtitles for L.A.Law.S08E19.Tunnel.of.Love.1080p.DSNP.WEB-DL.DDP5.1.H.264-NTb_track4_[eng]

As far as I'm concerned,
Patrick Flanagan is a felon.

He gave assurances that
this girl wouldn't testify.

That is obstruction of justice.

- Do you have any proof of that?

- Of course I don't have proof.

- Patrick says he
tried to notify

you of the settlement offer.

You were unavailable.

- He also maintains that no
such assurances were made.

- He's lying.

Lest you be under any
further illusions,

this is someone who lies.

He stood in my office.

He told me what he wanted to do.

I told him in no uncertain
terms, do not do it.

He went ahead and did it anyway.

- Parenthetically, it
should be noted that he

did bring in about $9 million.

- Douglas, he is dangerous.

- Well, I think that
might be a little harsh.

- All right, Leland, look, you
do whatever you want with him.

I'm telling you right now, I
will not work with him again.

- That's your prerogative.

- On this one,
Morales was right.

- Well, Patrick maintains
that no assurances were given.

- Patrick maintains a
lot of things, Leland.

- Yes, he does.

- At a minimum, he
does seem to be someone

who gets accused pretty often.

- Well, so far,
all the accusations

have been groundless.

- So far.

[theme music]

- [laughs]

- Mm.

[sighs] We can't
get started again.

- Sure we can.

- I've got a staff
meeting at 10:00.

- I got to be in court at 9:30.

[doorbell ringing]

Ah.

- Doorbell.

- Who's here at this hour?

- It's the takeout guy.

- Oh.

- Mm.

- [laughs] You ordered
breakfast to be delivered?

- I knew I'd need my sustenance.

- [laughs]

[sighs]

I would have made
breakfast for us.

- That's all right.

You were busy
doing other things.

- I was, wasn't I?

- Yes, you were.

- Ah.

Mm.

- You plan on getting
dressed in your own clothes

any time today?

- What do you care?

- I've got to be out
of here in 15 minutes.

- So?

What does that have to do
with me getting dressed?

- I thought you
had to be in court.

- When you leave, you want
us both to leave, right?

- We both have to go to work.

I figured we'd both leave.

- What exactly do you think
I'll do if I'm alone here?

- I don't think
you'll do anything.

- But you'd rather I wasn't
here when you weren't here.

- Belinda, if you want to let
yourself out, let yourself out.

Is this a test?

- Yes.

- Good.

How'd I do?

- [laughs] You passed.

- Then let me have my keys
so I can get out of here.

- Come get 'em.

Ah!

- Has anyone heard from Arnold?

- His secretary said he's
having breakfast with a client

and not to wait.

- In that case, Palmer
Versus Schoettle.

- Mine.

We represent Dr. Joseph
Palmer, a Beverly Hills dentist

who lost half his practice due
to a rumor he was HIV positive.

- Is he?

- No, he's not.

- Who's he suing?

- The rival dentist
who started the rumor.

- You can prove he
started the rumor?

- We'll see.
- Sounds tough.

- Believe me, I would
have preferred to settle.

- Stanton Versus Frye.

- That belongs to me.

We represent Ernest Frye.

He is the defendant in
a damage to property

suit brought by his neighbor.

- What's been damaged?

- His neighbor's Afghan.

- Rug?
- Dog.

- What happened to the dog?

- She was allegedly impregnated
by our client's mixed breed.

- Woof.

- The Afghan's owner
is seeking compensation

for loss of a breeding
cycle and medical expenses.

- What's the defense?

- Well, we deny paternity.

Assuming paternity,
we deny liability.

- Why are you doing this?

- Well, I've known Ernest
Frye for quite a few years,

and I'd like to be
of service to him.

Is that an adequate explanation?

- Sorry.

- Well, well.

- I was in a meeting
with a client.

- From all appearances,
it went pretty well.

- Now what is that
supposed to mean?

- Boop-boop.

[laughter]

- Now that Arnold has finally
arrived, we're adjourned.

- I've been informed
that the other side

is amending their pleadings.

- What does that mean?

- It means that in
addition to money,

they're also asking
for a court order

compelling your
dog to be neutered.

- Leland, that
will never happen.

- Ernest, I know how you feel.

- My dog did what dogs do.

They're gonna
punish him for that?

They're going to
neuter him for that?

I don't think so.

- Now don't get yourself
all worked up over this.

- The fact that
she would even ask

for that pretty much tells you
all you need to know about her,

doesn't it?
- Yeah, yeah.

- Isabella.

Isabella, here.

- How long have you had
Isabella, Ms. Stanton?

- I got her as a
puppy four years ago.

- And would you describe for
us the kind of dog she is?

- Isabella is a purebred
champion Afghan.

Both sire and dam
were also champions.

Her grand sire
was E. Magnus Rex,

one of the top winning Afghans
in the history of the breed.

- Has Isabella herself, in
fact, been judged a champion?

- She won her class in
puppy, novice, and open.

She's been judged best
in breed at enough shows

to have earned the designation
champion many times over.

- Now, I know this is
very difficult for you,

but I need for you
to tell us what

happened on November 15, 1993.

- I came home from
work at around 5:00 PM

and found him on top
of the picnic table

in the backyard
mounting Isabella.

- Ms. Stanton, are you
pointing at Mr. Frye?

Or are you pointing
at Mr. Frye's dog?

- His dog.

- I thought so.

[chuckles] Resourceful
little fella, isn't he?

When I say "resourceful
little fella,"

I am referring, of
course, to Mr. Frye's dog,

not to Mr. Frye.

- Now, Ms. Stanton,
did you attempt

to breed Isabella after
this unfortunate incident?

- Yes, I did.

I put Isabella with a
triple champion stud.

But she rejected him.

All she wanted was the mutt.

In the end, we had to
inseminate her artificially.

- And did Isabella
subsequently whelp?

- Yes, but instead
of champion Afghans,

she gave birth to mongrels.

- How much money do you
estimate you lost as a result?

- Her puppies would have
gone for $7,500 each.

Speaking conservatively,
that comes out to $30,000.

Plus veterinary bills and food
for the puppies she did have.

- I have nothing further.

- Ms. Stanton,
have you considered

that a mixed breed other
than Mr. Frye's could have

fathered Isabella's puppies?

- I caught Mr. Frye's dog
on flagrante, Mr. McKenzie.

- Assuming that it was
Mr. Frye's dog you saw

that dark November
night, your dog's

pregnancy could still be
attributable to another dog,

could it not?

- Objection, speculative.

- Oh, is there a specific
putative sire, Counselor?

- Yes, Your Honor.

- Right.

Well, then confine your
questions accordingly.

- Are you familiar with
an unneutered shepherd mix

named Bismarck who
lives on your block?

- That dog is 11
years old and blind.

- According to its owner,
it still functions sexually.

- He never leaves the driveway.

- Is it possible
Isabella went to him?

- Objection, speculative.

- Sustained.

Speculative it is.

- Animal control records show
that you reported Isabella

missing on November 12
and did not report her

found until the following day.

- The gardener
left the gate open.

- So for almost
24 hours, Isabella

was running around loose
while in heat, wasn't she?

- Yes.

- During this 24-hour
spree, couldn't Isabella

have had intercourse with
countless mongrel suitors?

- You seem to forget.

Mr. McKenzie, that I saw that
dog mounting my Isabella.

I saw the tunnel he dug to
get from his yard to my yard.

- How do you know Isabella
didn't dig the tunnel?

- Mr. McKenzie, I can't help but
feel as though my dog has been

defiled by your client's
dog, by your client,

and now she's being
defiled again by you.

- Ms. Stanton, how do you know
Isabella didn't dig the tunnel?

- I know my dog.

- I see.

Nothing further.

- What did your dental
practice generate in income

for fiscal 1992, Doctor?

- About $800,000.

- How about 1993?

- Less than 100,000.

- To what do you
attribute the fall off?

- I attribute it
to a rumor started

by Dr. Frederick Schoettle
that I was HIV positive.

- Would you tell us on what
basis you make that allegation?

- Yes.

I had a patient named Sid Green.

He'd been with me for
a number of years.

Actually, I thought
we were friends.

One day, my secretary
told me that he called

and requested that
his records be sent

over to another dental office.

- How did he respond?

- Objection, hearsay.

- The witness is being
asked to testify to state

of mind, not truth, Your Honor.

- The objection is overruled.

The witness can answer.

- He said that he worked with
a patient of Dr. Schoettle's.

He said that they had told
him that Dr. Schoettle

said I was HIV positive.

- Are you HIV positive?

- No, I'm not.

- I ask that the witness's
stipulated medical report

containing his HIV
test results be entered

as plaintiff's exhibit A.

- So ordered.

- Is it fair to say, Doctor,
that you and Dr. Schoettle

were in competition
with one another?

- Well, I never considered
us as being in competition.

Apparently, he did.

- Objection, speculation.

- Sustained.

- Was there ever an incidence
of Dr. Schoettle's patients

becoming your patients?

- Yes, a number of his
patients came over to me.

- Did you ever
solicit them to do so?

- No, I did not.

Some of his patients
came over because they

had emergency situations and
Dr. Schoettle was unavailable.

Others came out of
various dissatisfactions

for the treatment
they'd been receiving.

- How, if at all,
did Dr. Schoettle

react to those losses?

- Well, he came into my
office, and he accused me

of stealing his
patients by telling

them that he was incompetent.

Well, I denied it, but
he refused to believe me.

- Doctor, what effect, if any,
has this rumor had on you?

- I can't have a dental
practice in Southern California

any longer, and up until
last year, I had one.

I was successful.

I was prosperous.

I was happy.

Now, I am none of those things.

- I have nothing further.

- Dr. Palmer, you
were hospitalized

over the past year.

Is that correct?

- Yes, I had pneumonia.

- Is it also correct that you
lost a considerable amount

of weight over the past year?

- Yes, by design.

- Are you gay, Doctor?

- Objection, irrelevant.

- Sustained.

- Have you ever been married?

- Objection, irrelevant.

- Sustained.

- Your Honor, I'm just
trying to establish

that this rumor started wholly
independent of my client.

- Being gay, Mr. Belknap,
does not correspond

to being HIV positive.

- Well, will the court
entertain the notion

that such correspondence does
exist in the minds of others?

- The court will not.

- [sighs] You never heard
Dr. Schoettle say you were

HIV positive, did you, Doctor?

- [sighs] He wouldn't
say it to my face.

- Is that a no, Doctor?

- Yes, it is.

- I have no further questions.

- Thanks for sitting
in for me, Denise.

If I don't have
to get a filling,

I should be back before
he needs anything.

- No rush.

Eli's still in court.

- Thanks.

- Good luck.

- [sighs]

- Can I help you?

- I'm looking for Arnold Becker.

- Do you have an appointment?

- I'm a friend of his.

- Oh, he's in a meeting.

- Is he in a meeting, or
is that a standard line?

- Excuse me?

- I'm asking if
that's what you say

whenever one of the attorneys
asks not to be disturbed.

- No, it's not.

- All right.

Do you know how long
he'll be in the meeting?

- No, I don't.

- Would it be possible
to leave him a note?

- By all means.

Here.

- Are you sure he's not
in there taking a nap?

- I was told he's in
there with someone.

- Hey.

What are you doing over here?

- I'm filling in for Joanne.

- Any messages for me?

- Yeah.

You have a bunch of them.

Excuse me.

- I couldn't find it.

- His insurance
premium wasn't paid.

- Wake up, Arnie.

I'm sorry.

I thought you were alone.

- Is everything all right?

- Yeah, everything's fine.

I was in the neighborhood,
thought I'd drop by.

- We're in the middle
of something here.

- OK.

- [scoffs] It really
isn't necessary

to use that tone with me.

- Could we talk about
this a little later?

- I don't know what
there is to talk about.

I stop by to say hello
and you bite my head off.

I wasn't planning to
stay all afternoon.

- Would you excuse us?

- I won't tolerate
being chastised, Arnie.

- You walked into the middle
of a meeting with a client.

- I made an honest mistake.

That doesn't call for an
act of intentional cruelty.

- What are you talking about?

- You were rude to me.

You were rude to me in
front of another person.

I won't tolerate that.

- Look, I don't have time
to get into this right now.

- Arnie, wait.

- What?

- I'll apologize if
you'll apologize.

- OK, I apologize.

- Me, too.

- Mm.

Call me.

- Have you ever met the
gentleman seated on the left?

- Yes, I have.

Dr. Schoettle is my dentist.

- Was there ever an
occasion on which

while in the offices of
Dr. Schoettle you overheard

him refer to the gentleman
seated on the right, Dr.

Joseph Palmer?

- Objection, hearsay.

- This is outside the
exception to the hearsay rule,

Your Honor.

- The objection is overruled.

The witness will answer.

- Yes.

- Would you describe
the circumstances

under which you did so?

- I was sitting in the chair
waiting for a temporary crown

to be fitted.

I overheard Dr. Schoettle
speaking to his nurse

just outside the door.

- In what context did the
name of Dr. Palmer come up?

- I heard him ask
her if she knew

whether or not Dr. Palmer was
going back into the hospital.

I heard him ask her if
she had noticed that Dr.

Palmer had lost weight.

- I heard him ask her if she
knew that Dr. Palmer was gay.

I heard him ask her if she
knew Dr. Palmer was sick.

- What did you understand
the word "sick" to mean?

- I took it to mean AIDS.

- Did you subsequently tell
anyone else what you had heard?

- I'm sure that I did.

I don't know who or how
many, but I'm sure that I

told plenty of people.

- I have nothing further.

- These people, what
did you tell them?

- I told them that I heard
about a dentist who had AIDS.

- Had you, in fact, heard
Dr. Schoettle say that?

- I heard Dr. Schoettle
say words to that effect.

- But you never heard
him say those words?

- No.

- Did you ever have a
conversation with Dr.

Schoettle in which you
asked him whether or not

Dr. Palmer had AIDS?

- No.

- In other words, you
took it upon yourself

to disseminate as
fact that which you

had neither heard nor verified.

- Objection, argumentative.

- Sustained.

- Did you attribute your
actions to Dr. Schoettle?

- Objection, irrelevant.

- Objection is overruled.

The witness will answer.

- No.

- I have nothing further.

- Be seated.

As you can see, I brought my two
Boston terriers with me today.

You know, I saw the two of
you here with your dogs,

and it made me grow
kind of sad thinking

about my two little
fellas at home all alone.

And plus, I thought,
well, it's time

they saw what daddy does when
he goes to the office, huh?

Of course, if there's any--

would there be any objection
to Wally and Sluggo

sitting up here beside me?

- None here, sir.

- Oh, I have no objection.

- Those are good-looking
dogs, Judge.

- Why, thank you, Mr. Frye.

They-- where the heck were we?

Please proceed, Mr. McKenzie.

- Mr. Frye, during
last November,

were you aware that Ms.
Stanton's Afghan was in heat?

- No, I wasn't.

I don't keep track of her
dog's menstrual cycles.

- Did you ever see your dog
engage in sexual activity

with Ms. Stanton's dog?

- No, I did not.

- Do you deny that
there was a hole

under the fence
between your property

and Ms. Stanton's property?

- No, I don't.

What I do deny is
that my dog was

the only dog doing the digging.

This hole was dug
from both directions.

This was not a unilateral hole.

Just as much, if not more of
it, was dug from the other side.

- What does that suggest
to you, Mr. Frye?

- It suggests to me that for
all her class and pedigree, Ms.

Isabella knew what she wanted,
and it wasn't one of those

high-priced fancy-boy studs.

She wanted someone a little
more rugged, a little rough

around the edges, someone
who was all dog, a dog's dog.

- We get the idea, Mr. Frye.

- My point, Your Honor, is
that she went after the Duke.

- Yes, and your point is
taken, and now it is time

to go on to the next point.

- Did you knowingly
or intentionally

allow your dog to run loose?

- No, I did not.

If he was out, he
was either on a leash

or fenced in in the backyard.

The only time he ever
got out of the yard

was via the aforementioned hole.

- I have nothing further.

- Mr. Frye, your dog has a
history of digging, hasn't he?

- You're talking about the
rose bushes, aren't you?

- It is true, is it not,
that your dog destroyed

Ms. Stanton's rose bushes?

- First of all,
that was three years

ago when Duke was a puppy.

Second of all, I
replaced those bushes.

- Tell us, sir.

- I bought new ones and
planted them during the night

so that Ms. Stanton would have
a nice surprise in the morning.

But instead of thanking
me, she had them dug up.

Apparently, they
were the wrong kind.

- Mr. Frye, did you ever
have a romantic interest

in Ms. Stanton?

- Objection, irrelevant.

- Goes to motive
for his negligence

in failing to restrain his dog.

- I'll allow it.

- I left a note once in her
door inviting her to a barbecue.

So what?

- She never responded,
did she, Mr. Frye?

- No, she didn't.

- You made a number
of subsequent attempts

to contact Ms. Stanton,
didn't you, Mr. Frye?

- A few.

- And she ignored
them all, didn't she?

- Yes.

- And that's why you
deliberately left your dog

out, isn't it, Mr. Frye?

You knew Duke was
a digger, and you

knew he'd get into her yard.

And that's exactly
what you wanted.

- Objection.

- Because you knew
the only way you'd

ever have Margo
Stanton was vicariously

through the copulation
of your dog with her dog.

- Your Honor.

- Mr. Stoddard, get a
grip on yourself, man.

- Yes.

Sorry, Your Honor.

Tell us, Mr. Frye, once the
attraction between your dog

and Ms. Stanton's dog
was known, were you

not asked and asked
repeatedly by Ms. Stanton

to have your dog fixed?

- Fixed?

You mean fixed as in castrated?

That kind of fixed?

- Yes, Mr. Frye,
that kind of fixed.

- I will not alter my
animal's basic nature

for the purpose of making him
a more manageable house pet.

I will not see him
transformed into a eunuch.

- Boys, boys.

There's no use crying after
the train has left the station.

That was a pretty
thoughtless remark, Mr. Frye.

- I'm sorry, Your Honor.

- Have you quite
finished, Mr. Stoddard?

- Yes, Your Honor.

- Good.

Well, I'd like to cut
through some of this.

And so I would like to see
both parties in my chambers

tomorrow, and I would like
them to bring the puppies.

- Can I get a ride home?

- Sure, no problem.

- Tommy.

- Arnie.

- What brings you here?

- I'm doing a little
estate planning,

and Stuart's helping me out.

What, do you think I came with
a warrant for your arrest?

- Can I talk to
you for a minute?

- Sure.

- In private?

- So you want to confess
to obstructing justice?

- I want to clear
the air between us.

- And how do you
plan to do that?

- By telling you if I
had a shred of proof

that Judy Rudolph and Jack
Lambert struck a bargain

for Cindy Rudolph's
grand jury testimony,

I'd hand it over to you.

I don't have that.

- No?
- No.

I wasn't there, Tommy.

Judy Rudolph cut
this deal by herself.

I wasn't there when it happened.

I didn't know about it
till after it happened.

And nothing I said
at that point made

the least bit of difference.

- Did you take the money?

- Come on, Tommy.

- Well?

- Hey, whether or not I
agree with the outcome,

I'm entitled to take a fee.

- So what do you want from me?

- Let me off the hook.

- Any truth to the rumor that
you're dating Belinda Fox?

- Word travels fast.

Do you know her?

- Not personally.

She's got a reputation
for being pretty gung-ho

as a prosecutor, though.

- I'm not surprised.

- You remember when Judge Frank
Gurney got nailed for bribery?

- Yeah.

- Word was that Belinda was
sleeping with him at the time,

and she agreed to wear a wire
so they could get an indictment.

- Dr. Schoettle, did you
initiate a rumor that Jeffrey

Palmer was HIV positive?

- No, I did not.

- Did you hear of such a rumor?

- Many times.

- Do you recall when
you first heard it?

- I honestly can't.

- Do you recall whom
you heard it from?

- I don't recall that, either.

I might have been at a party.

I might have been at some
sort of professional function.

All I remember was that I
heard it and took note of it.

- Did you repeat it?

- I repeated that I heard it.

And I asked whether or not
anyone else had heard it.

- What was your intention
when you did so, Doctor?

- I don't recall
having any intention.

Somebody you know gets
sick, you talk about it.

We're, all of us,
afraid of getting sick.

We're, all of us,
afraid of dying.

When you hear about it
happening to someone you know,

you talk about it.

We all do.

- So was it your
intention or your hope

to drive Dr. Palmer's
patients away

and thereby gain some
competitive advantage

for yourself?

- Of course not.

I feel bad for what happened
to Dr. Palmer's practice.

I was also very happy to learn
that the rumor was false.

- I have nothing further.

- You don't remember where
you heard it and you don't

remember who you heard it from?

- I think that's often the
case with snippets of gossip.

- Did it ever occur
to you what effect

this particular
snippet of gossip

would have on this
man's practice?

- As I said, I
didn't think of that.

As far as I'm concerned,
if you're HIV positive,

the fate of your dental
practice is of less

than paramount significance.

- It doesn't, however, come as
a surprise to you that patients

might be apprehensive upon
hearing that their dentist was

HIV positive?

- No.

- Given that, do you
think it might have been

incumbent on you to verify
the accuracy of the rumor

before you spread it?
- Objection.

- Sustained.

- I didn't spread the
rumor, Mr. Flanagan.

- You had conversations
with your hygienist,

your nurse, and others in which
the import of what you said

was that Dr. Joseph
Palmer was HIV positive.

Is that right?

- Yes.

- We have heard five different
people testify that they

overheard those conversations.

Were you aware that there
were patients sitting

in the chair at the time?

- Given that I have appointments
running back to back from 8:30

in the morning to
5:30 in the afternoon,

you get accustomed to talking
about a variety of subjects

with a patient
sitting in the chair.

- Does it occur to you,
Doctor, that as a doctor,

people place a great
deal of credibility

on information coming
from your mouth?

- Yes, it does.

- Given that, do you feel you
had any obligation to pick up

the phone and call Dr.
Palmer before repeating again

and again and again
a rumor you knew

would result in his
professional death?

- Objection, argumentative.

- I'd like to answer that.

Maybe I did have a
special obligation.

And maybe I did
fail to uphold it.

But if that's the
case, then the same

can be said for every dentist
and doctor in this city

because every one of them that
heard the rumor repeated it.

I'm no more or less
guilty than they are.

- Dr. Joseph Palmer's
professional life

has been destroyed by a lie.

What he has spent 20 years
building has been reduced

to ruin in a matter of a year.

Is the defendant
responsible for that?

I submit to you that he is.

I submit to you that
he spread this rumor

deliberately and insidiously.

He said things within
earshot of others that

had the calculated
effect of marking Joseph

Palmer as a dentist with AIDS.

The defendant knew
what would happen.

He knew that he
spoke with authority

having Dr. before his name.

He knew what makes
for a good rumor,

and he knew how fast
a rumor spreads.

He also knew what
this rumor would

do to Joseph Palmer's practice.

Frederick Schoettle wanted
to wipe out a particularly

successful competitor.

He did what he set out to do.

We ask that you find for
the plaintiff and award

him the sum of $1 million in
special damages, $5 million

in general damages.

- Ladies and
gentlemen, nobody here

is arguing that what
happened to Joseph Palmer

is right, or just, or anything--

anything but tragic.

But that by itself does not
entitle him to be compensated.

Now, the defendant did
not start this rumor.

In the course of
conducting his business,

he repeated what he had heard.

He commented on
what he had seen.

But there was not one
single piece of evidence

that what he did was malicious.

There was not one
single piece of evidence

that he set out
to harm this man.

The worst thing
that Dr. Frederick

Schoettle can be
accused of is being

possessed of human nature.

If you make him responsible
for the damage done

to the plaintiff, you
will have seen to it

that this rumor
has destroyed two

innocent men rather than one.

- Yes, you give daddy kisses.

Give daddy a kiss.

Who is your daddy?
Yes.

Who's your daddy?

Ooh, ooh.

Now, now, Sluggo.

Don't get jealous
and exhibitionist.

Come on over here.

Help, help.

The wild dogs have got me.

Help, help.

I was just playing with my dogs.

- Yes, Your Honor.

Well, we believe an
examination of these puppies

will prove dispositive in
the issue of paternity.

- Your Honor, I
would categorically

object to the use of
visual examination

as a means of
establishing paternity.

- Are you suggesting
that the plaintiff spring

for DNA tests, Counselor?

- They chose to pursue
the claim, Your Honor.

I'm suggesting that they
offer up appropriate proofs.

- Hmm.

You're saying I can't tell
by looking at them, huh?

- Yes, I am.

- Well, sir.

I am going to go way
the heck out on a limb.

Mr. McKenzie, and say
that visual examination

tends to point almost
definitely to Duke's paternity.

- Assuming arguendo
that that's true,

it still has nothing to do
with the issue of liability.

Judge Zimmering?

- Oh, yeah.

Here.

Hold on, Ben.

Ah.

Wa, wa, wa, wa, wa.

Wa, wa, wa, wa, wa, wa.

Now here's what I propose we do.

There aren't any more
witnesses, are there?

- We have no further witnesses.

- Nor do we, Your Honor.

- All right, good.

Now, here's what
I propose we do.

Let's suspend oral
arguments and let

me decide the case based on
testimony and trial memoranda.

Unless, of course, someone
insists on giving a summation.

- Not I, Your Honor.

- Nor I, Your Honor.

- Excellent.

Well, then I shall see you
all in court on the morrow.

[barking]

- Has the jury
reached a verdict?

- We have, Your Honor.

- What say you?

- In the case of
Dr. Joseph Palmer

Versus Dr. Frederick Schoettle,
we find for the defendant.

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

We're adjourned.

- So that's it, right?

- Pretty much, yeah.

- No appeal?

- Well, I can go
through the transcript,

and I can ask the
opinion of some

of the attorneys in the office.

- Do you know what it's like
to have people look at you

and be afraid?

They don't want to talk to you.

They don't want to touch you.

They don't want to go near you.

I might as well have AIDS.

You know, I never
expected to get the kind

of money we were asking for.

I was hoping we'd get something.

- I know you were.

- I mean, just enough so I could
move to another town, you know?

Start from scratch.

- Come on.

[tense music]

- You're still mad about
what happened at the office,

aren't you?

- No.

- I told you I was sorry.

- I heard something that
I wanted to ask you about.

- What did you hear?

- I heard that you were involved
with Frank Gurney when he

got busted for taking bribes.

I heard that you wore a
wire so that your office

could nail him.

- Who told you that?

- Is it true?

- I want to know who told you.

- It was told to
me in confidence.

I can't say.

- Really?

OK, yes.

I had a relationship
with Frank Gurney.

Yes, I wore a wire.

Is there anything else
you'd like to know?

- Whatever else there is
that you'd like to tell me.

- I can tell you that it was
the hardest thing I ever did.

I can tell you that I felt
as though I had no choice.

But the problem with
telling you that

is that it sounds like I'm
asking for forgiveness.

- It sounds like an explanation.

- Oh.

Oh, I love this.

You, with your past, should be
asking me for an explanation?

When were you going to tell
me about the blonde associate

in your office?

- Who?

- Jane Halliday, I
think, is her name.

I heard that she's
a devout Christian

and that the two of you
are something of an item.

- Who told you that?

- It was told to me
in confidence, Arnie.

I can't say.

- Well, whoever
told you was wrong.

- How could you bring
up Frank Gurney to me?

How could you be talking
about me behind my back?

- It came up in the
course of a conversation.

You have to concede it's a
somewhat disquieting piece

of information.

- Do you think I did
it because I wanted to?

Because I'm wicked?

I mean, are you afraid
that I'll do it to you?

Are you afraid that--
are you afraid that I'm

doing it to you?

Oh.

Let's just check and see.

All clear, Arnie.

- Belinda, don't do this.

- Right.

[tense music]

- Belinda!

- Is there a problem here?

- No.

No problem.

[tense music]

- Who is that?

- I like to get in early and
get a jump on the day myself.

- What do you want?

- I want to talk to you.

- About what?

- About how we can
resolve this case.

- I thought it was resolved.

- No.

- What do you
want, Mr. Flanagan?

And shouldn't my lawyer be here?

- I want $750,000, Doctor.

- Give that to me again.

- One payment, non-negotiable.

- In case no one mentioned
it to you, I won.

The jury came back for me.

According to my lawyer, you've
got less chance at appeal

than you had at trial.

So if you're gonna threaten
me with that, forget it.

- I don't think your
lawyer is taking

all the facts into account.

- Like what facts?

- Like things about
you that would

unfortunately become public
should we be unable to settle.

- Things about me?

What things?

- Like what happened to your
practice in Philadelphia.

- I never had a practice
in Philadelphia.

- I think you did.

I think you had to pack
up and leave Philadelphia

just like you had to pack up and
leave Framingham, Massachusetts

and Exeter, New Hampshire.

- I've never even
been to those places.

- I think you have.

- You think I have?

I'm telling you I haven't.

- What do you think it
would do to your reputation,

Doctor, if it came out that the
reason you left those places

was because you'd been caught
molesting female patients

while they were anesthetized?

- Who told you that?

- I honestly don't recall.

It might have been at a party.

It might have been at some
sort of professional function.

"All I remember was that I
heard it and I took note of it,"

end quote.

- So you're telling me you're
going to start this rumor?

- I'm just telling
you what I heard.

- Consider the dog.

In its heart, there
is no pretension,

no prejudice, no vanity.

It cares nothing for titles
or pedigrees or breeds.

As Juliet Capulet once
so wisely pointed out,

"What's in a name?"

However, we must recognize
that this is a court of humans.

Thus, it is humans
that we must consider.

Doing so, this court
finds that by leaving

a prize-winning animal out of
doors during the full bloom

of estrus, the plaintiff
was contributorily negligent

and partially responsible
for the act of nature

that henceforth occurred.

That, however, does not
relieve the defendant

of responsibility.

As such, I find the
evidence that Duke, that

is to say the defendant's
dog, is the sire of the litter

is overwhelming and that
the act of sexual congress

between the dogs occurred
against the express

wishes of the plaintiff.

As such, I award her
the sum of $30,000.

- $30,000?

- As for the application for
a court order to have Duke,

that is to say
the defendant dog,

neutered, said application,
Duke, is denied.

Brr-rr.

[barks]

This court is adjourned.

Come, boys.

Ah.

- I'm gonna have to
declare bankruptcy.

- Well, we could appeal,
but that process could cost

you as much as the judgment.

- Excuse me.

Have you got a moment?

- What is it?

- Ms. Stanton has
generously offered

to forego the cash
award on the condition

that Mr. Frye neuter his animal.

- My concern is
protecting my dog.

This would seem more than fair.

- Well, what do you
think of that, Ernest?

- What about this?

I agree to keep him inside
except when I walk him?

- No.

I don't want to run
the risk he'll get out.

- All right.

All right, a vasectomy.

- A vasectomy?

- If I can find a
veterinary urologist

to perform a
reversible vasectomy,

I'll have that
procedure performed.

- Why does it have
to be reversible?

- At some point, I
may want to breed him.

- He's a mutt.

- At some point, he may
want to sire another litter.

- The answer is no, Mr. Frye.

I'm not interested in
a reversible vasectomy.

- Would you excuse us
for a moment, please?

Ernest, I think you're
letting some kind

of emotional attachment get
in the way of common sense.

- I can't do it, Leland.

I can't do that to my dog.

- Duke has had his day.

He's sewn his oats.

And with so many dogs
looking for homes,

it could be said you
were being socially

responsible by having it done.

- Duke, is this something
I should be considering?

- Isabella!

Isabella!

Stop!

Don't!

- Hey!

Hey!

- Isabella!

- Dukey!

Dukey!

That's my dog.

[theme music]

- Leland?

- Yes.

- You wanted to see me?

- Yes, I did.

Come in.

Close the door.

- I want to talk to you
about the Rudolph case.

- I know that Arnold
feels as though I

engineered the whole thing
and deliberately went

behind his back.

That's really not the case.

- You know, Patrick,
I've always thought

of McKenzie-Brackman as more
of a family than a law firm.

I want the people who
work for me to be happy.

I also want them
to be honorable.

There are some cases
we won't take on.

There are some
things we won't do.

- I don't believe
I've done anything

wrong in this case, sir.

- I'm going to ask you
one question, Patrick,

and I want you to look me in
the eye and tell me the truth.

- All right.

- Did you give assurances that
that girl would not testify?

- No, I did not.

- OK.

- The UN Security Council
will meet to decide--

- Before you say
anything, I just

want to tell you that
I'm very sorry about what

happened last night.

I would have told you
that over the phone,

but you didn't return
any of my calls.

- Belinda, look.

You're a very attractive,
very intriguing woman.

- And you're a very attractive,
very intriguing man.

- This isn't gonna work out.

I never thought I'd
hear myself say this,

but I need someone who
is more predictable.

- So I'll be more predictable.

- It's not that simple.

You're looking for a
certain level of commitment

that I'm not ready for.

- If you want to
go a little slower,

we can go a little slower.

That's not a problem.

And that's not what
we're talking about.

You brought up the
subject of Frank Gurney,

and that's what set me off.

But it's over.

It's-- it's-- it's done
with, and now we can go back

to exactly the way we were.

- No, we can't.

- Yes, we can.

- No, we can't.

- Yes, we can.

- Stop.

- You're hurting me.

- I think we should
call it a day, Belinda.

- I should have seen it.

- What the hell are
you talking about?

- I'm a prosecutor.

I deal with domestic
violence every day.

And I can promise you it's
not gonna happen to me.

I will not be a victim.

[tense music]

- Now, explain this to me again.

- I went to see him, and he
acknowledged he was wrong.

And he offered compensation.

- Why didn't he
acknowledge it in court?

- Because then his
reputation would be ruined.

- But he won.

- Right.

- So why would he pay anything?

- I convinced him that we viewed
this trial as the beginning

rather than the end, that
there would be appeals

and depositions and private
investigators and publicity

and that in the end, the best
and cheapest way to put an end

to it was to pay the money.

- [sighs] Was his lawyer there?

- Of course, he was.

I could never have
spoken to him otherwise.

- I can't believe this.

- Well, I only wish it was more.

- Oh, it's enough.

- Good luck.

- Thanks, Patrick.

- Yeah.

[theme music]

[audio logo]