Harry's Law (2011) s02e14 Episode Script
Les Horribles
It was horrible.
I've never seen anything like it.
Fred, you cannot expel a seven-year-old kid for making faces.
Well, you need to see it for yourself.
It doesn't matter.
I'm responsible for the well-being of all the students.
Oh, give me a break.
Harry, they're all here.
Okay.
Hello, I'm Harry Korn, representing the school.
I'm sure you're familiar with Principal Villings.
You must be Natalie.
Hello.
It's so nice to meet you, dear.
My, you're adorable! The fact that we're even having this meeting is disgraceful.
Adam? Can I help you? It's me, Mags.
Maggie Buchanan.
Maggie? Hey! Wow, Maggie, hi.
Hi.
Big shot lawyer now, huh? I I wouldn't say big shot.
God, you look fantastic.
Cassie Reynolds, Maggie Buchanan.
She's an old high school classmate.
Another one.
Um, Adam, can I talk to you? I kind of need some lawyer help.
Yeah, sure.
The question I have is: if we did find a suitable alternative school, would you entertain the No.
Non-starter.
Okay.
There's no reason Natalie shouldn't be schooled at Moorepark.
She's done nothing wrong.
Understood.
And by the way, Natalie, if I implied otherwise, honey, I apologize, because I've heard nothing but what a terrific kid you are.
Thank you.
It's just that all the other students are afraid of you, sweetheart.
Okay, Fred.
May I respond to that? As principal, you might keep in mind that school represents a child's first introduction into society, and it might be a goal to introduce tolerance into that society.
We have a safe-school policy, and we're very proud of it.
And this is safe-school Zero tolerance for intolerance! victimized by bigotry and prejudice! Okay, okay.
Let's just all take a breath.
Neville, maybe this might be a good time for Natalie to be excused.
No.
Natalie is a big girl, in part because she was forced to grow up quickly.
So whatever you have to say, you can say in front of her.
Okay.
A school system is about serving the masses.
It's a one-size-fits-all kind of deal and they don't tailor-make their programs to fit the needs of one special student My daughter is not a special needs student.
- Okay.
- Excuse me? Mrs.
Drake, for one student to disrupt the decorum to the point She is not a disruption! - Honey - She has a mild disability.
Mrs.
Drake, I can appreciate that you're upset! There it is! There it is! Didn't I tell you? She'll be fine! Just let her relax! It's horrible.
It's horrible! All right, Fred! Shut up! Deep breaths.
There you go.
There you go.
Harry's Law 2x14 - Les Horribles Original air date March 18, 2012 The technical name for it is conversion disorder.
Used to be called hysteria.
It caused that ocular spasm with her eyeball.
And the sounds come from a laryngeal spasm.
Well, Neville, you can see why it would freak out the other kids.
Still isn't grounds for expelling her, Harry.
Harry.
Sorry.
Zachary Quinn called from Summit.
He sounds pretty distressed.
Zachary.
Okay.
Look, Harry, we got to work this out.
You know as well as I do, if we go to court, your guy's gonna get hammered, and mine I'm just worried that that little girl is gonna get traumatized.
We need to work it out.
Ollie.
Yeah? The trial lawyers gala you going? No, not if I can help it.
Listen, I'm one of the nominees for Trial Lawyer of the Year, 2011.
No kidding.
You? What do you think of my chances? Be honest.
Okay.
Zilch.
I got a judgment out of fast food.
Nobody does that.
I got a Purple Heart for a vet.
I was a strong advocate for those green burials.
It's environmental.
Tommy.
Maggie, if this is accurate, it says you've already been found guilty for the offense we're talking about here.
But that's because the prosecution and my public defender said that I would get off lenient.
Now he's telling me three years.
I can't do three years in jail, Adam.
You have a pretty extensive record.
It's just drugs and prostitution; it's all victimless.
Ugh, uh-oh.
What? You got Choirboy.
The prosecuting attorney, Upton Cruickshank.
Nicknamed Choirboy 'cause he's he's kind of like the morality police.
This is his cause.
Big-time.
They didn't give me reasons.
They'll perhaps give some to you.
All they said is they don't think I'm quite ready, like a biscuit in the oven, I just need to be left in a little longer.
And in your sessions with the doctors, I take it your sister came up.
Of course she comes up, Harry.
She's pretty much why I'm here.
Does she still talk to you, Zach? Sometimes.
A lot of people dream about deceased family members.
That doesn't make me crazy.
And in your dreams, she tell you the same message? It's the same message, Zach? Yes.
Zach is convinced that his older sister was murdered by her husband.
Because he did.
He never loved her.
Not even when he married her.
She told me she was going to leave him, and then five days later, they're in a car accident where she dies and he somehow magically lives, inheriting the house that she built and paid for and an insurance policy worth $700,000.
He had her killed.
- I know it! - The police - ever investigate this? - No.
- Well, they - They didn't! The accident was the accident was staged.
The man who ran the stop sign took full responsibility.
It wasn't staged.
You're obsessing again.
Zach, are you taking your medication? I am not denying that I have a delusional disorder.
What I'm saying is that this is not one of my delusions.
He had her killed.
We already have a deal in place.
That deal presupposed leniency.
Which she got, Mr.
Branch.
Three years is especially lenient, given her infractions, together with her past record.
The thing is it's a struggle for her to stay sober, a battle she's currently winning with the help of a program which she attends every day.
If she were put in jail they won't be able to provide adequate treatment for her in prison.
Three years is the best I can do.
Please, Mr.
Cruickshank.
I'm really trying here.
Three years is the best I can do.
You know, you think that you know me, but you don't.
Okay, Maggie.
You haven't even made an attempt to know me.
And yet you'd throw me into prison without even a thought.
But I do know you, Ms.
Buchanan.
- You are a blight.
- Okay You destroy marriages and families.
Husbands have relations with your disease-ridden offerings, and loving wives are devastated children, too.
Your crimes are anything but victimless, Ms.
Buchanan.
Three years is the best I can do.
Wait a second.
You want me to go see him? Mr.
Bagley, Zachary, right now is being dominated by this obsession.
You're actually in the best position to defuse it.
Counsel, the boy accuses me of murdering my wife.
If he were free, he'd be running around saying that at large.
The goal is to get him to stop saying it and stop thinking it.
And again He's not the only one who suffered a tragedy, Ms.
Korn.
I lost my wife, a woman I loved deeply.
Understood.
And loving her as deeply as you did and I'm sure still do you must know how important her brother was to her.
She would want Zachary to get well, Mr.
Bagley, and if there was anything you could to to I can't.
Frankly, I'm offended.
You have me come to, to what, this little tavern so you can successfully represent your client, after which, you will no doubt bill the state for your services, at, what, $400 an hour? You're being a little hostile.
- I lost my wife, Ms.
Korn.
- Yes, you've told me that three times.
Are you trying to convince me of something? Now what's that supposed to mean? Well, as long as we're putting our cards on the table, I'm finding you surprisingly unlikable.
And what's also surprising, to be honest, is that this woman left you a very wealthy man, and you haven't offered a nickel to help the one person in life she loved the most, next to you.
Zachary is ill, Mr.
Bagley.
I would have expected you to sympathize.
But maybe you don't think he's ill at all.
Are you afraid he's of completely sound mind? Is that it? What do you mean you think he did it? I said maybe.
I just get the same eerie feeling that Zach does I don't trust this guy.
- Come on, Harry.
- Just do me a favor, will you? Find out what if any investigation took place, contact the insurance company and get their file.
Did you really nominate Tommy for Trial Lawyer of the Year? Oh, God.
He begged me.
I mean, what am I supposed to do, say no? - Harry? - Fred.
Come on in the office.
Cassie.
Yeah.
Wait.
Are are you friends with Choirboy, - by any chance.
- Why? I got a client prostitute, multiple offenses.
He's trying to jam her with three years.
- How many priors? - Two, three ten.
Take the three.
With good behavior, she'll be out in 18.
You don't want to go fooling with Choirboy on morals crimes.
Adam.
I've been nominated for Trial Lawyer of the Year.
Chunhua, I need you to give Maggie a bit of a makeover.
Can you do that? A makeover? We're in court tomorrow.
I need her looking a lot more presentable a lot.
Just get her a new dress, maybe some makeup.
Not too much makeup, given she's a Can you do it? And you can't just nominate yourself, bug.
Somebody has to second it, which Harry did.
Smart-ass.
Bug.
Maybe they just don't want you - to get your hopes up.
- It wasn't that.
They weren't supportive.
It was the idea that I could possibly win Trial Lawyer of the Year.
They scoffed at it.
Well you didn't hear this from me.
What? What? You know something.
What? All I know I know Karen Stillworth, the head of the committee.
What? What? You have got to give me your word that you do not repeat this.
I won't.
I won't.
- What? - Apparently, there's a human rights emphasis this year.
And that case you did, fighting for the albinos, it's gotten their attention.
Really? Plus they love it when a Cincinnati lawyer goes after anything Cleveland.
Wow.
Are you saying I could win? I don't know, Tommy.
I have no inside information.
But you have gotten their attention.
And Karen is a member of PETA.
So you trying to get the gorilla personhood status oh, big points.
Harry.
You're not going to believe this.
That accident barely investigated.
All cut and dry guy ran a stop sign, admitted doing so no other witnesses but no skid marks.
Is that unusual in collisions? Well, he hit the car broadside.
He had to have seen it, at least last second.
Possible he didn't have time to react, sure, but, usually, there's some evidence of skid marks.
What else? Our friend, Alan Bagley, didn't just inherit the house and the $700,000 insurance policy.
He sued the other driver.
The case settled for $4.
2 million.
Okay.
And this is where it gets interesting.
The other driver was a guy named Adrian Terrace string of part-time jobs, a few run-ins with the law.
Eight months after the settlement, his bank account suddenly grows by a half a million dollars, and Mr.
Terrace was a 2003 graduate of Indiana University, just like Alan Bagley.
Did they ever do an autopsy on our victim? Nope.
Please don't tell me cremated.
Columbus Memorial Cemetery.
What are my chances of getting a body exhumed? With police support, doable, without it, less so.
What if a prosecutor issued a warrant? That would speed things up.
Good, start calling all your friends.
We're going to dig this girl up.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, I don't have any any friends.
Never mind that prostitution should probably be legalized anyway, given it would save lives and allow police and courts to allocate time to more serious matters Yes, never mind that.
A plea bargain is basically a contract, Your Honor, an agreement between the prosecution and the defense.
It's a contract, and to be binding there must be a meeting of the minds.
Here there wasn't.
My client never agreed to a deal that would call for three years in prison.
She simply She was asked by a judge in the court, "Do you agree to this?" She said "Yes.
" That was to the guilty plea, not the sentence.
No sentence was ever agreed upon.
I have the proffer, Judge, as do you and defense counsel.
It says "in consideration" "for a reduced sentence.
" This would be a reduced sentence.
The defendant has multiple convictions both for prostitution and controlled substances.
Three years is more than fair.
And might I say I am beyond offended by the notion that prostitution be decriminalized? To do so would send the message that there's nothing wrong with it.
It would facilitate the sex slave trade, it would promote sex trafficking even at the schools amongst our children.
It would shock the conscience of God, of morality itself, of me, and I would hope you.
Yeah, thanks for that.
The defendant is ordered to serve three years at Carson Prison.
She will be remanded into custody forthwith.
Next matter, please.
You can't even look at her? You just throw somebody's life away, you can't even be bothered to look at her? That's a human being sitting over there, Judge, one who's fighting for her life.
Maybe you should switch careers if this one has you so calloused over.
Counsel, for your client's sake and perhaps your own, it would be wise to stop talking.
Take the defendant into custody, please.
Next case.
I'm sorry.
Adam, can I talk to you for two minutes? It's very important, and I need a friend of mine to be there.
She's sitting over there.
What's this about? Well, when I saw Cruickshank yesterday, I thought his face looked familiar, but I couldn't place it.
Then I used to work at this service.
Nina still works there.
An escort service? Yes.
I asked Nina to come in this morning to see if she can confirm.
Tell him.
That man is a client.
He comes in all the time, plus girls go to him.
- Cruickshank? - I've been in a hotel room with him two or three times, I'm sure of it.
We call him Gerber-boy because he makes these little baby sounds whenever you That man Upton Cruickshank? He also likes to dress up in women's clothing sometimes.
Tell him the rest.
Well, at The Elegant that's what the place is called, The Elegant we have some clients who give us safety concerns.
He's one.
He likes his sex on the rough side.
All of the rooms have cameras installed for our protection.
You have photographs of this man? And film.
- Choirboy? - They have film.
This girl Nina is gonna show it to me.
Can I see? What are you going to do? I don't know.
What do you mean you don't know? You use it you go to Choirboy, tell him to free your client or you'll expose him.
That's extortion.
It's unethical and criminal, Mr.
Trial Lawyer of the Year nominee.
You have a get-out-of-jail- free card, you use it.
What's to think about? I'm not hearing this.
This is a no-brainer, Adam.
Which is why you came up with it.
Get the pictures, get to Choirboy, and jack his righteous ass right up the flagpole.
Do it.
Thank you for agreeing to see me.
I didn't, I agreed to be seen by you, which you've done, so off you go now.
I need a favor.
I have a strong suspicion that a murder occurred, staged to look like a car accident.
There was motive, no skid marks.
Two college acquaintances in the crash, both profited, a wife was killed.
It's all here in this file, thin as it is because nobody really investigated.
I want to exhume the body.
If I go into court, the husband will oppose and likely prevail.
If, on the other hand, your office seeks the warrant, it could happen.
All the prosecutors that my associates have spoken with they're not interested in digging up a case where they'll likely never get a conviction.
Eh, why bother? Roseanna, if a murder has occurred, I know you'll care.
Am I right? You once told me that your job was a calling.
If that's true Roseanna, I've looked into this husband's eyes.
He's a bad guy.
He's living rich.
He just redid his house, he imported the front door from Italy worth $200,000 alone.
He takes exotic trips.
All with blood money, Roseanna, money he got from killing his wife.
I really appreciate your doing this.
Whatever.
You don't need to be here.
In fact, it'd be lovely if you weren't.
Can't you just be gracious and accept a little gratitude? No.
I'm due in court for the eyeball kid.
Maybe you need to take this over.
Unbelievable.
Is that even a position? It is now.
Adam, this is money in the bank.
You're talking about criminal extortion.
I'm talking about saving your damn client.
Maybe we should start calling you Choirboy.
Turf this over to me if you can't handle it.
Let Tommy Jefferson take over.
Oh, what's he doing now? Ooh Nobody's denying that hysteria or conversion disorder might be a disability, but the disruption caused by Natalie simply renders the classroom Ms.
Korn, we have laws, for God's sake.
Throwing the child out Nobody feels good about this, Judge.
Well, so long as you feel bad about it.
You know what, Your Honor? Sometimes the world gets crippled by all this political correctness crap.
Hey, maybe that's how I should put it.
The school is crippled.
That's a nice disability buzzword, isn't it? You're out of line, Counsel.
Maybe so, but so is all faux-tolerant, special-needs whoo-ha.
It's one thing to mainstream.
It's quite another to torpedo everybody else in the process.
Does common sense ever get any play? Your Honor, this is a very unusual case, and truth be told, I think it's hard for us to fully grasp the nature of I see that Natalie's mother is here with us today.
She probably knows the child better than any of us.
Maybe we should hear what she has to say.
What the hell was that? You were going south fast, Harry.
- No, I wasn't.
- Yes, you were, trust me.
Look, for this judge to truly get what we're talking about, he needs to see it.
It.
- What do you mean, "it"? - I mean the eyeball rolled back into the head.
He needs to hear the sounds.
It happened before when you got into it with the mother.
Just do it again.
That's your thinking? Get into it with the mother until the kid's eyeball rolls? Sometimes you have to win ugly.
- Are you out of your mind? - Harry? Preliminary findings Mrs.
Bagley died from head trauma, blunt instrument to the back of the head.
Would could that happen from the car crash? That's the problem.
It's conceivable it could.
The M.
E.
doesn't think it's likely given the angle of impact and so forth.
His call would be homicide, but there's no way we'd ever prove it.
So where does that leave us? That leaves you nowhere.
There's nothing else to be done.
Roseanna, you cannot be satisfied with this.
It was likely a murder.
You just move on? Roseanna, it's your calling.
Oh, enough with the calling, would you, please? I've done all that I could.
No, you didn't.
Go get a warrant.
I mean, this was a conspiracy.
I mean, there's probably evidence at his house, on his phone.
Go get a warrant.
All right, I need something from you.
Anything.
I'm getting Trial Lawyer of the Year Friday night.
It's a secret, but I know.
You? That's fantastic.
- Congratulations.
- Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Wow.
I'm on the committee.
I nominated myself, and I dared them all to disagree.
Everybody from my office already has tickets 'cause they go anyway.
I bought a table for family and friends, but for one reason or another, they've all managed to beg out.
I can't be sitting alone at a big empty table.
You'll bring your office.
What do you mean we're sitting at her table? How the hell did you agree to that? Because I did.
We get a favor, we give one.
It's black-tie, so, dust off your tux.
Preferably not the powder-blue.
So, you might as well be my date.
You asking me out, Ollie? Well, we have to go.
You heard her She didn't say that I have to be your date.
Why can't you just admit that you find me attractive? Maybe I'd like to go out with you.
Would you? No.
Harry? Oh, don't even start with me.
Harry, Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird said that sometimes being a lawyer means having to be an ogre.
You confuse Atticus Finch with Shrek.
You just need to do what you need to do.
I cannot stand up in open court and endeavor to get a child's eyeball to roll to the back of her skull.
I can't.
Can't or won't? It's criminal.
This kind of extortion.
Forget that I could be disbarred.
I could be put in prison.
So what do we do then? Is there anything that we can do? Well, this guy is he's an aggressive D.
A.
, but they don't call him Choirboy for nothing.
He's very active in his church, does a lot of charitable work.
I figure he must have a heart.
I'm going to meet with him, do my best to appeal to it.
- Okay.
- If nothing else, I think I can at least get you put in a facility with a drug program.
Okay.
Hey, look at me.
We're not done yet.
Okay? We're not done yet.
They're now in the two-three zone as Anderson brings the ball to the top of the circle, gives it over to Gates, Gates swings it to the left Freeze! Cincinnati Police! - Let me see your hands.
- What the hell's going on here? - Sit down and let me see your hands.
- Who the hell are you? - Sit down.
- Check the bedroom.
Perimeter clear.
Check around back.
Warrant.
Oh, nice door, by the way.
It's Italian? Tell them to stand down outside.
Sorry about all the to-do.
I always wanted to work SWAT.
You really think you'll get away with this? Actually, uh yeah, actually, I do.
I've gotten away with worse.
Evidently, the computer and his phone were a treasure trove.
Bagley was brought in for questioning.
The other guy, Terrace he was hauled in, too.
Get word to Zachary, would you, there may be a break? I got to get to court.
Set? Set.
Did you figure out what you're going to do? Well, I think I might sort of imply that I know something, but never actually threaten him.
Hmm.
That could be tricky.
I know.
Bagley's completely lawyered up.
And this guy? He's not saying anything.
Well, look at you the picture of defiance.
Or is it stupidity? I can never keep them straight.
Defiance and stupidity look the same sometimes.
Let's see.
You could avoid the death penalty by cooperating, or you could actually get out of prison one day and resume having a life by flipping your friend.
Yet, you say nothing.
You're one of the stupid criminals.
Oh, 'course we knew that, didn't we? It's only the stupid ones who get caught.
And the ones who go down when they actually have an out they're the dumbest of all.
Hmm.
Keep working on him.
He'll break.
The clinical name is now conversion disorder.
And is it neurologically based? No, that's the thing.
If there's any neurological cause, the diagnosis would not be conversion disorder.
The truth is, doctors don't know what causes it.
Natalie's episodes seem to be brought on by stress.
And do these episodes occur often? Well, they happen from time to time, but they don't last long.
Maybe 30 seconds in total.
Which is another reason that the school's decision is as Draconian as it is ridiculous.
Are we sure it's not neurological? I mean, I saw her face contort She has spasms, both physical and laryngeal.
They're harmless.
Well, you have to admit, it can be pretty terrifying for anyone who witnesses it.
Well, so are seizures.
Do we start tossing out all the kids with epilepsy? Mrs.
Drake, I admire the way you look out for your kid here, but what do you say to all the other parents who are looking out for theirs? I say, get over it.
Their kids are not being impacted.
But if classroom decorum is being breached to the point where nobody can learn If there's a breach, it's a result of the bigotry.
You seek to reward that by expelling my kid? Mrs.
Drake, no offense, but you seem to have a ghastly personality.
Objection.
I don't mean to be a jerk, but you're only too happy to be one.
How dare you.
You say that your daughter's episodes are brought on by stress, but you have no compunction about being antagonistic at every turn.
I'm just wondering how much you're contributing to the problem.
Are you seriously for real? May I ask, how much do you and your husband make? Objection.
Counsel, what's the point? Well, these are people of means.
They can afford private schools, some of which are better equipped to handle this situation.
Instead, they dump their daughter - in the public school system which - Dump?! - Did you say "dump"?! - I'm just saying if it were my daughter - Objection.
That's badgering.
- You accuse me of not caring for my daughter - Mrs.
Drake.
That's enough, Ms.
Korn.
- when all I do is tend to her - and worry about her.
- Mrs.
Drake.
I've had her seen by All right, let's all settle.
I bet you cause half your daughter's stress.
You don't even seem to care I don't care?! - Mrs.
Drake.
- I don't care?! Honey, come on.
Was I not being clear before? This woman needs a break.
If she goes into jail, any continued treatment You're wasting my time now.
Mr.
Cruickshank, you're a man of God.
Do you not have a little charity in your heart? Mr.
Branch, I admire your vigor, but I strongly suggest, for your own career advancement, that you graduate from this riffraff and begin representing a higher class of clientele.
Could you not just put yourself in my client's shoes for one second, Mr.
Cruickshank? Is that so hard to do? Imagining yourself say, in a pair of high-heeled shoes? You really can't picture it? No.
Really? I can.
And I have a lousy imagination.
I can picture it just fine.
I picture it like this.
And like this.
And like this.
The film is better.
You know what? I've changed my mind.
Forget suspending the sentence.
I want the conviction set aside and the charges dropped altogether.
Or others will picture these events, as well.
Oh, you think you're about to extort me, do you? Not at all.
I know you'll only do the right thing.
The right thing for justice.
For your wife.
Your kids.
You've made a serious mistake.
So have you.
The difference is, yours was caught on tape.
So, how we gonna play this, Gerber-boy? Can you bring me a bourbon, neat? Yes.
Well? Why are you bugging me? - Here you go.
- Thanks.
- You're welcome.
- Bagley's got a lawyer.
The other guy's not talking, but he's wobbling.
I'm sure he'll crack.
I can't tell you how much I appreciate this, Roseanna.
Well, just make sure that table tonight is filled.
I can't believe your family wiggled out on you.
I mean, this is a major award.
You didn't invite them, did you? Why? I don't like my family.
Don't want to have to pretend I do.
Worse yet, feel indebted to them.
I won't pretend to like you or the other drips at your firm.
I always wanted to win this award.
Not the way I wanted to win it, but whatever.
Time's running out.
I'll take it.
Well, how meaningful can it be.
I mean, you nominated yourself.
You dared the committee not to vote for you.
I can fill in the meaningful blanks.
I've been doing it all my life.
You know, D.
A.
's don't get hugs from clients.
We never hear applause.
We learn to fill in the blanks.
Why don't you get out of the D.
A.
racket? Come over to our side.
Gather a few rosebuds and hugs.
Not in my DNA.
I'll stay where I am.
But we should cop the occasional hug.
We should hear the applause.
I'll hear mine tonight, and I'll know I earned it.
Hell with everybody else in the room.
I'll know I earned it.
He decided to dismiss? I'm free to go? It seems he had a sudden shift in conscience.
So you did it after all.
Thank you, Adam.
I promise I will repay you one day.
Repay me by getting better.
Deal.
Hey, are you busy tonight? You ever been to a really, really boring fund-raiser? I'm a strong advocate of mainstreaming.
Not simply because it benefits the child in question, but because it pays dividends to his or her non-disabled peers.
But sometimes inclusion comes at too high a cost.
Here we have teachers frustrated, throwing up their hands in surrender, parents threatening to pull their kid out of the school, not because they don't like Natalie, they do.
But because their kids aren't learning.
I mean, classes are falling behind schedule.
I mean, you saw the disruption yourself, Your Honor.
And this is not something that just passes.
It rattles anybody who witnesses it.
I begged you for a little common sense at the top, and I'll do it again now.
Our public school system stinks.
Of all the industrialized countries, we're at the bottom of the heap, and you want to add to the teachers' burdens in an already overcrowded classroom by what are we doing? So you just throw her out because the other kids don't like to look at her? They get rattled? The teachers find her to be a distraction, so broom her.
Natalie's a good student.
She contributes positively to the classroom.
She's popular, but because she has and occasional spasm School is about more than math or reading or science.
It's about preparing our young people to be good citizens.
Expelling the less-able child because it's icky to look at her, now is that the citizenry we want really? No, Counsel, it's not.
But the school system is a system.
One primarily designed to serve the masses, and in weighing the needs of this child versus those of the others, I have to take the teachers at their word here.
Their abilities are being compromised.
Many of them are getting hurt.
Now, I, too, am in favor of inclusion very much, but in some cases, it simply doesn't work, and I'm afraid that this is such a case.
Mr.
and Mrs.
Drake, Natalie, I am deeply sorry, but I am regrettably ruling in favor of the school.
We're adjourned.
First your hack department doesn't even investigate this it almost slips by you then, after I feed you two suspects, you can't get either of them to talk.
Okay.
Just stand behind me and look satisfied, like you've actually accomplished something, which, of course, you did not.
Worthless.
Well, well, well, well, well.
I can certainly understand your not wanting to talk now.
It seems the whole thing was your idea.
Here I am, thinking that Alan Bagley convinced you, when you convinced him, silly me.
Anyway, it all makes sense in the end, so long as I got one of you to talk.
So, happy life to you, Mr.
Terrace, whatever's left of it.
I'm really sorry that you weren't able to help yourself, but I'll live.
You won't, but I will.
Wait! He's saying it was my idea? Is that what he's saying? Both Bagley and Terrace are already in custody for questioning.
They will both be arraigned tomorrow on charges of first degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
- Felony theft by false pretenses - Hey.
For real? For real.
The other driver confessed.
Bagley's going down.
It all started with you, Zach.
I can't I knew he did it, but I still can't believe it, you know? So, this means I'm not crazy, right? Well, you still got a few issues, but at least we put this obsession to bed, right? With any luck, you'll be out of here soon.
Thank you, Harry.
I couldn't get anyone to believe me.
Well, they do now.
You just get well.
Okay? I will.
And my sister, maybe she can finally rest in peace, you know? Maybe now.
I really feel like Eliza Doolittle now.
- Cheers.
- Yeah.
Adam.
Maggie, I believe? Good to see you both.
This is my wife, Julie.
Adam Branch, Maggie Buchanan.
- Nice to meet you.
- Hi.
Hi.
Well, uh, we should uh be getting back.
Yes.
Nice to meet you.
I have to say, Roseanna, I'm impressed.
You made pretty quick work of it.
Mmm, I have a memento for you.
A piece of Alan Bagley's front door.
Thought you might want to stick it on your mantelpiece or your desk.
Or you might find someplace else to stick it.
Why can't you just admit we're friends? Please.
Tommy, aren't you gonna eat? Can't eat, too nervous.
Maybe you should just tell him.
It seems kind of cruel.
Well, actually, we're not sure Roseanna is winning.
Maybe she just thinks she is.
Maybe we could at least warn him.
Okay, we've come to that point in the evening where we name our Cincinnati Trial Lawyer of the Year.
This is it.
This is it.
Okay, take a deep breath; you're all right.
Now, don't forget to look surprised.
I'm still shocked, actually.
We had a record number of submissions this year, and some truly noble candidates.
Damn, did he say noble? - Shh.
- And the committee felt that they could give this prize to any number of excellent attorneys, but they had to pick one, and pick one they did.
It gives me great pleasure to announce that winner now.
Ladies and gentlemen, for outstanding pursuit of justice, and distinguished service to the HCL Association, we proudly present the Hamilton County Litigator of the Year award to Roseanna Remmick.
Wow! - What? - You're kidding.
I've never seen anything like it.
Fred, you cannot expel a seven-year-old kid for making faces.
Well, you need to see it for yourself.
It doesn't matter.
I'm responsible for the well-being of all the students.
Oh, give me a break.
Harry, they're all here.
Okay.
Hello, I'm Harry Korn, representing the school.
I'm sure you're familiar with Principal Villings.
You must be Natalie.
Hello.
It's so nice to meet you, dear.
My, you're adorable! The fact that we're even having this meeting is disgraceful.
Adam? Can I help you? It's me, Mags.
Maggie Buchanan.
Maggie? Hey! Wow, Maggie, hi.
Hi.
Big shot lawyer now, huh? I I wouldn't say big shot.
God, you look fantastic.
Cassie Reynolds, Maggie Buchanan.
She's an old high school classmate.
Another one.
Um, Adam, can I talk to you? I kind of need some lawyer help.
Yeah, sure.
The question I have is: if we did find a suitable alternative school, would you entertain the No.
Non-starter.
Okay.
There's no reason Natalie shouldn't be schooled at Moorepark.
She's done nothing wrong.
Understood.
And by the way, Natalie, if I implied otherwise, honey, I apologize, because I've heard nothing but what a terrific kid you are.
Thank you.
It's just that all the other students are afraid of you, sweetheart.
Okay, Fred.
May I respond to that? As principal, you might keep in mind that school represents a child's first introduction into society, and it might be a goal to introduce tolerance into that society.
We have a safe-school policy, and we're very proud of it.
And this is safe-school Zero tolerance for intolerance! victimized by bigotry and prejudice! Okay, okay.
Let's just all take a breath.
Neville, maybe this might be a good time for Natalie to be excused.
No.
Natalie is a big girl, in part because she was forced to grow up quickly.
So whatever you have to say, you can say in front of her.
Okay.
A school system is about serving the masses.
It's a one-size-fits-all kind of deal and they don't tailor-make their programs to fit the needs of one special student My daughter is not a special needs student.
- Okay.
- Excuse me? Mrs.
Drake, for one student to disrupt the decorum to the point She is not a disruption! - Honey - She has a mild disability.
Mrs.
Drake, I can appreciate that you're upset! There it is! There it is! Didn't I tell you? She'll be fine! Just let her relax! It's horrible.
It's horrible! All right, Fred! Shut up! Deep breaths.
There you go.
There you go.
Harry's Law 2x14 - Les Horribles Original air date March 18, 2012 The technical name for it is conversion disorder.
Used to be called hysteria.
It caused that ocular spasm with her eyeball.
And the sounds come from a laryngeal spasm.
Well, Neville, you can see why it would freak out the other kids.
Still isn't grounds for expelling her, Harry.
Harry.
Sorry.
Zachary Quinn called from Summit.
He sounds pretty distressed.
Zachary.
Okay.
Look, Harry, we got to work this out.
You know as well as I do, if we go to court, your guy's gonna get hammered, and mine I'm just worried that that little girl is gonna get traumatized.
We need to work it out.
Ollie.
Yeah? The trial lawyers gala you going? No, not if I can help it.
Listen, I'm one of the nominees for Trial Lawyer of the Year, 2011.
No kidding.
You? What do you think of my chances? Be honest.
Okay.
Zilch.
I got a judgment out of fast food.
Nobody does that.
I got a Purple Heart for a vet.
I was a strong advocate for those green burials.
It's environmental.
Tommy.
Maggie, if this is accurate, it says you've already been found guilty for the offense we're talking about here.
But that's because the prosecution and my public defender said that I would get off lenient.
Now he's telling me three years.
I can't do three years in jail, Adam.
You have a pretty extensive record.
It's just drugs and prostitution; it's all victimless.
Ugh, uh-oh.
What? You got Choirboy.
The prosecuting attorney, Upton Cruickshank.
Nicknamed Choirboy 'cause he's he's kind of like the morality police.
This is his cause.
Big-time.
They didn't give me reasons.
They'll perhaps give some to you.
All they said is they don't think I'm quite ready, like a biscuit in the oven, I just need to be left in a little longer.
And in your sessions with the doctors, I take it your sister came up.
Of course she comes up, Harry.
She's pretty much why I'm here.
Does she still talk to you, Zach? Sometimes.
A lot of people dream about deceased family members.
That doesn't make me crazy.
And in your dreams, she tell you the same message? It's the same message, Zach? Yes.
Zach is convinced that his older sister was murdered by her husband.
Because he did.
He never loved her.
Not even when he married her.
She told me she was going to leave him, and then five days later, they're in a car accident where she dies and he somehow magically lives, inheriting the house that she built and paid for and an insurance policy worth $700,000.
He had her killed.
- I know it! - The police - ever investigate this? - No.
- Well, they - They didn't! The accident was the accident was staged.
The man who ran the stop sign took full responsibility.
It wasn't staged.
You're obsessing again.
Zach, are you taking your medication? I am not denying that I have a delusional disorder.
What I'm saying is that this is not one of my delusions.
He had her killed.
We already have a deal in place.
That deal presupposed leniency.
Which she got, Mr.
Branch.
Three years is especially lenient, given her infractions, together with her past record.
The thing is it's a struggle for her to stay sober, a battle she's currently winning with the help of a program which she attends every day.
If she were put in jail they won't be able to provide adequate treatment for her in prison.
Three years is the best I can do.
Please, Mr.
Cruickshank.
I'm really trying here.
Three years is the best I can do.
You know, you think that you know me, but you don't.
Okay, Maggie.
You haven't even made an attempt to know me.
And yet you'd throw me into prison without even a thought.
But I do know you, Ms.
Buchanan.
- You are a blight.
- Okay You destroy marriages and families.
Husbands have relations with your disease-ridden offerings, and loving wives are devastated children, too.
Your crimes are anything but victimless, Ms.
Buchanan.
Three years is the best I can do.
Wait a second.
You want me to go see him? Mr.
Bagley, Zachary, right now is being dominated by this obsession.
You're actually in the best position to defuse it.
Counsel, the boy accuses me of murdering my wife.
If he were free, he'd be running around saying that at large.
The goal is to get him to stop saying it and stop thinking it.
And again He's not the only one who suffered a tragedy, Ms.
Korn.
I lost my wife, a woman I loved deeply.
Understood.
And loving her as deeply as you did and I'm sure still do you must know how important her brother was to her.
She would want Zachary to get well, Mr.
Bagley, and if there was anything you could to to I can't.
Frankly, I'm offended.
You have me come to, to what, this little tavern so you can successfully represent your client, after which, you will no doubt bill the state for your services, at, what, $400 an hour? You're being a little hostile.
- I lost my wife, Ms.
Korn.
- Yes, you've told me that three times.
Are you trying to convince me of something? Now what's that supposed to mean? Well, as long as we're putting our cards on the table, I'm finding you surprisingly unlikable.
And what's also surprising, to be honest, is that this woman left you a very wealthy man, and you haven't offered a nickel to help the one person in life she loved the most, next to you.
Zachary is ill, Mr.
Bagley.
I would have expected you to sympathize.
But maybe you don't think he's ill at all.
Are you afraid he's of completely sound mind? Is that it? What do you mean you think he did it? I said maybe.
I just get the same eerie feeling that Zach does I don't trust this guy.
- Come on, Harry.
- Just do me a favor, will you? Find out what if any investigation took place, contact the insurance company and get their file.
Did you really nominate Tommy for Trial Lawyer of the Year? Oh, God.
He begged me.
I mean, what am I supposed to do, say no? - Harry? - Fred.
Come on in the office.
Cassie.
Yeah.
Wait.
Are are you friends with Choirboy, - by any chance.
- Why? I got a client prostitute, multiple offenses.
He's trying to jam her with three years.
- How many priors? - Two, three ten.
Take the three.
With good behavior, she'll be out in 18.
You don't want to go fooling with Choirboy on morals crimes.
Adam.
I've been nominated for Trial Lawyer of the Year.
Chunhua, I need you to give Maggie a bit of a makeover.
Can you do that? A makeover? We're in court tomorrow.
I need her looking a lot more presentable a lot.
Just get her a new dress, maybe some makeup.
Not too much makeup, given she's a Can you do it? And you can't just nominate yourself, bug.
Somebody has to second it, which Harry did.
Smart-ass.
Bug.
Maybe they just don't want you - to get your hopes up.
- It wasn't that.
They weren't supportive.
It was the idea that I could possibly win Trial Lawyer of the Year.
They scoffed at it.
Well you didn't hear this from me.
What? What? You know something.
What? All I know I know Karen Stillworth, the head of the committee.
What? What? You have got to give me your word that you do not repeat this.
I won't.
I won't.
- What? - Apparently, there's a human rights emphasis this year.
And that case you did, fighting for the albinos, it's gotten their attention.
Really? Plus they love it when a Cincinnati lawyer goes after anything Cleveland.
Wow.
Are you saying I could win? I don't know, Tommy.
I have no inside information.
But you have gotten their attention.
And Karen is a member of PETA.
So you trying to get the gorilla personhood status oh, big points.
Harry.
You're not going to believe this.
That accident barely investigated.
All cut and dry guy ran a stop sign, admitted doing so no other witnesses but no skid marks.
Is that unusual in collisions? Well, he hit the car broadside.
He had to have seen it, at least last second.
Possible he didn't have time to react, sure, but, usually, there's some evidence of skid marks.
What else? Our friend, Alan Bagley, didn't just inherit the house and the $700,000 insurance policy.
He sued the other driver.
The case settled for $4.
2 million.
Okay.
And this is where it gets interesting.
The other driver was a guy named Adrian Terrace string of part-time jobs, a few run-ins with the law.
Eight months after the settlement, his bank account suddenly grows by a half a million dollars, and Mr.
Terrace was a 2003 graduate of Indiana University, just like Alan Bagley.
Did they ever do an autopsy on our victim? Nope.
Please don't tell me cremated.
Columbus Memorial Cemetery.
What are my chances of getting a body exhumed? With police support, doable, without it, less so.
What if a prosecutor issued a warrant? That would speed things up.
Good, start calling all your friends.
We're going to dig this girl up.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, I don't have any any friends.
Never mind that prostitution should probably be legalized anyway, given it would save lives and allow police and courts to allocate time to more serious matters Yes, never mind that.
A plea bargain is basically a contract, Your Honor, an agreement between the prosecution and the defense.
It's a contract, and to be binding there must be a meeting of the minds.
Here there wasn't.
My client never agreed to a deal that would call for three years in prison.
She simply She was asked by a judge in the court, "Do you agree to this?" She said "Yes.
" That was to the guilty plea, not the sentence.
No sentence was ever agreed upon.
I have the proffer, Judge, as do you and defense counsel.
It says "in consideration" "for a reduced sentence.
" This would be a reduced sentence.
The defendant has multiple convictions both for prostitution and controlled substances.
Three years is more than fair.
And might I say I am beyond offended by the notion that prostitution be decriminalized? To do so would send the message that there's nothing wrong with it.
It would facilitate the sex slave trade, it would promote sex trafficking even at the schools amongst our children.
It would shock the conscience of God, of morality itself, of me, and I would hope you.
Yeah, thanks for that.
The defendant is ordered to serve three years at Carson Prison.
She will be remanded into custody forthwith.
Next matter, please.
You can't even look at her? You just throw somebody's life away, you can't even be bothered to look at her? That's a human being sitting over there, Judge, one who's fighting for her life.
Maybe you should switch careers if this one has you so calloused over.
Counsel, for your client's sake and perhaps your own, it would be wise to stop talking.
Take the defendant into custody, please.
Next case.
I'm sorry.
Adam, can I talk to you for two minutes? It's very important, and I need a friend of mine to be there.
She's sitting over there.
What's this about? Well, when I saw Cruickshank yesterday, I thought his face looked familiar, but I couldn't place it.
Then I used to work at this service.
Nina still works there.
An escort service? Yes.
I asked Nina to come in this morning to see if she can confirm.
Tell him.
That man is a client.
He comes in all the time, plus girls go to him.
- Cruickshank? - I've been in a hotel room with him two or three times, I'm sure of it.
We call him Gerber-boy because he makes these little baby sounds whenever you That man Upton Cruickshank? He also likes to dress up in women's clothing sometimes.
Tell him the rest.
Well, at The Elegant that's what the place is called, The Elegant we have some clients who give us safety concerns.
He's one.
He likes his sex on the rough side.
All of the rooms have cameras installed for our protection.
You have photographs of this man? And film.
- Choirboy? - They have film.
This girl Nina is gonna show it to me.
Can I see? What are you going to do? I don't know.
What do you mean you don't know? You use it you go to Choirboy, tell him to free your client or you'll expose him.
That's extortion.
It's unethical and criminal, Mr.
Trial Lawyer of the Year nominee.
You have a get-out-of-jail- free card, you use it.
What's to think about? I'm not hearing this.
This is a no-brainer, Adam.
Which is why you came up with it.
Get the pictures, get to Choirboy, and jack his righteous ass right up the flagpole.
Do it.
Thank you for agreeing to see me.
I didn't, I agreed to be seen by you, which you've done, so off you go now.
I need a favor.
I have a strong suspicion that a murder occurred, staged to look like a car accident.
There was motive, no skid marks.
Two college acquaintances in the crash, both profited, a wife was killed.
It's all here in this file, thin as it is because nobody really investigated.
I want to exhume the body.
If I go into court, the husband will oppose and likely prevail.
If, on the other hand, your office seeks the warrant, it could happen.
All the prosecutors that my associates have spoken with they're not interested in digging up a case where they'll likely never get a conviction.
Eh, why bother? Roseanna, if a murder has occurred, I know you'll care.
Am I right? You once told me that your job was a calling.
If that's true Roseanna, I've looked into this husband's eyes.
He's a bad guy.
He's living rich.
He just redid his house, he imported the front door from Italy worth $200,000 alone.
He takes exotic trips.
All with blood money, Roseanna, money he got from killing his wife.
I really appreciate your doing this.
Whatever.
You don't need to be here.
In fact, it'd be lovely if you weren't.
Can't you just be gracious and accept a little gratitude? No.
I'm due in court for the eyeball kid.
Maybe you need to take this over.
Unbelievable.
Is that even a position? It is now.
Adam, this is money in the bank.
You're talking about criminal extortion.
I'm talking about saving your damn client.
Maybe we should start calling you Choirboy.
Turf this over to me if you can't handle it.
Let Tommy Jefferson take over.
Oh, what's he doing now? Ooh Nobody's denying that hysteria or conversion disorder might be a disability, but the disruption caused by Natalie simply renders the classroom Ms.
Korn, we have laws, for God's sake.
Throwing the child out Nobody feels good about this, Judge.
Well, so long as you feel bad about it.
You know what, Your Honor? Sometimes the world gets crippled by all this political correctness crap.
Hey, maybe that's how I should put it.
The school is crippled.
That's a nice disability buzzword, isn't it? You're out of line, Counsel.
Maybe so, but so is all faux-tolerant, special-needs whoo-ha.
It's one thing to mainstream.
It's quite another to torpedo everybody else in the process.
Does common sense ever get any play? Your Honor, this is a very unusual case, and truth be told, I think it's hard for us to fully grasp the nature of I see that Natalie's mother is here with us today.
She probably knows the child better than any of us.
Maybe we should hear what she has to say.
What the hell was that? You were going south fast, Harry.
- No, I wasn't.
- Yes, you were, trust me.
Look, for this judge to truly get what we're talking about, he needs to see it.
It.
- What do you mean, "it"? - I mean the eyeball rolled back into the head.
He needs to hear the sounds.
It happened before when you got into it with the mother.
Just do it again.
That's your thinking? Get into it with the mother until the kid's eyeball rolls? Sometimes you have to win ugly.
- Are you out of your mind? - Harry? Preliminary findings Mrs.
Bagley died from head trauma, blunt instrument to the back of the head.
Would could that happen from the car crash? That's the problem.
It's conceivable it could.
The M.
E.
doesn't think it's likely given the angle of impact and so forth.
His call would be homicide, but there's no way we'd ever prove it.
So where does that leave us? That leaves you nowhere.
There's nothing else to be done.
Roseanna, you cannot be satisfied with this.
It was likely a murder.
You just move on? Roseanna, it's your calling.
Oh, enough with the calling, would you, please? I've done all that I could.
No, you didn't.
Go get a warrant.
I mean, this was a conspiracy.
I mean, there's probably evidence at his house, on his phone.
Go get a warrant.
All right, I need something from you.
Anything.
I'm getting Trial Lawyer of the Year Friday night.
It's a secret, but I know.
You? That's fantastic.
- Congratulations.
- Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Wow.
I'm on the committee.
I nominated myself, and I dared them all to disagree.
Everybody from my office already has tickets 'cause they go anyway.
I bought a table for family and friends, but for one reason or another, they've all managed to beg out.
I can't be sitting alone at a big empty table.
You'll bring your office.
What do you mean we're sitting at her table? How the hell did you agree to that? Because I did.
We get a favor, we give one.
It's black-tie, so, dust off your tux.
Preferably not the powder-blue.
So, you might as well be my date.
You asking me out, Ollie? Well, we have to go.
You heard her She didn't say that I have to be your date.
Why can't you just admit that you find me attractive? Maybe I'd like to go out with you.
Would you? No.
Harry? Oh, don't even start with me.
Harry, Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird said that sometimes being a lawyer means having to be an ogre.
You confuse Atticus Finch with Shrek.
You just need to do what you need to do.
I cannot stand up in open court and endeavor to get a child's eyeball to roll to the back of her skull.
I can't.
Can't or won't? It's criminal.
This kind of extortion.
Forget that I could be disbarred.
I could be put in prison.
So what do we do then? Is there anything that we can do? Well, this guy is he's an aggressive D.
A.
, but they don't call him Choirboy for nothing.
He's very active in his church, does a lot of charitable work.
I figure he must have a heart.
I'm going to meet with him, do my best to appeal to it.
- Okay.
- If nothing else, I think I can at least get you put in a facility with a drug program.
Okay.
Hey, look at me.
We're not done yet.
Okay? We're not done yet.
They're now in the two-three zone as Anderson brings the ball to the top of the circle, gives it over to Gates, Gates swings it to the left Freeze! Cincinnati Police! - Let me see your hands.
- What the hell's going on here? - Sit down and let me see your hands.
- Who the hell are you? - Sit down.
- Check the bedroom.
Perimeter clear.
Check around back.
Warrant.
Oh, nice door, by the way.
It's Italian? Tell them to stand down outside.
Sorry about all the to-do.
I always wanted to work SWAT.
You really think you'll get away with this? Actually, uh yeah, actually, I do.
I've gotten away with worse.
Evidently, the computer and his phone were a treasure trove.
Bagley was brought in for questioning.
The other guy, Terrace he was hauled in, too.
Get word to Zachary, would you, there may be a break? I got to get to court.
Set? Set.
Did you figure out what you're going to do? Well, I think I might sort of imply that I know something, but never actually threaten him.
Hmm.
That could be tricky.
I know.
Bagley's completely lawyered up.
And this guy? He's not saying anything.
Well, look at you the picture of defiance.
Or is it stupidity? I can never keep them straight.
Defiance and stupidity look the same sometimes.
Let's see.
You could avoid the death penalty by cooperating, or you could actually get out of prison one day and resume having a life by flipping your friend.
Yet, you say nothing.
You're one of the stupid criminals.
Oh, 'course we knew that, didn't we? It's only the stupid ones who get caught.
And the ones who go down when they actually have an out they're the dumbest of all.
Hmm.
Keep working on him.
He'll break.
The clinical name is now conversion disorder.
And is it neurologically based? No, that's the thing.
If there's any neurological cause, the diagnosis would not be conversion disorder.
The truth is, doctors don't know what causes it.
Natalie's episodes seem to be brought on by stress.
And do these episodes occur often? Well, they happen from time to time, but they don't last long.
Maybe 30 seconds in total.
Which is another reason that the school's decision is as Draconian as it is ridiculous.
Are we sure it's not neurological? I mean, I saw her face contort She has spasms, both physical and laryngeal.
They're harmless.
Well, you have to admit, it can be pretty terrifying for anyone who witnesses it.
Well, so are seizures.
Do we start tossing out all the kids with epilepsy? Mrs.
Drake, I admire the way you look out for your kid here, but what do you say to all the other parents who are looking out for theirs? I say, get over it.
Their kids are not being impacted.
But if classroom decorum is being breached to the point where nobody can learn If there's a breach, it's a result of the bigotry.
You seek to reward that by expelling my kid? Mrs.
Drake, no offense, but you seem to have a ghastly personality.
Objection.
I don't mean to be a jerk, but you're only too happy to be one.
How dare you.
You say that your daughter's episodes are brought on by stress, but you have no compunction about being antagonistic at every turn.
I'm just wondering how much you're contributing to the problem.
Are you seriously for real? May I ask, how much do you and your husband make? Objection.
Counsel, what's the point? Well, these are people of means.
They can afford private schools, some of which are better equipped to handle this situation.
Instead, they dump their daughter - in the public school system which - Dump?! - Did you say "dump"?! - I'm just saying if it were my daughter - Objection.
That's badgering.
- You accuse me of not caring for my daughter - Mrs.
Drake.
That's enough, Ms.
Korn.
- when all I do is tend to her - and worry about her.
- Mrs.
Drake.
I've had her seen by All right, let's all settle.
I bet you cause half your daughter's stress.
You don't even seem to care I don't care?! - Mrs.
Drake.
- I don't care?! Honey, come on.
Was I not being clear before? This woman needs a break.
If she goes into jail, any continued treatment You're wasting my time now.
Mr.
Cruickshank, you're a man of God.
Do you not have a little charity in your heart? Mr.
Branch, I admire your vigor, but I strongly suggest, for your own career advancement, that you graduate from this riffraff and begin representing a higher class of clientele.
Could you not just put yourself in my client's shoes for one second, Mr.
Cruickshank? Is that so hard to do? Imagining yourself say, in a pair of high-heeled shoes? You really can't picture it? No.
Really? I can.
And I have a lousy imagination.
I can picture it just fine.
I picture it like this.
And like this.
And like this.
The film is better.
You know what? I've changed my mind.
Forget suspending the sentence.
I want the conviction set aside and the charges dropped altogether.
Or others will picture these events, as well.
Oh, you think you're about to extort me, do you? Not at all.
I know you'll only do the right thing.
The right thing for justice.
For your wife.
Your kids.
You've made a serious mistake.
So have you.
The difference is, yours was caught on tape.
So, how we gonna play this, Gerber-boy? Can you bring me a bourbon, neat? Yes.
Well? Why are you bugging me? - Here you go.
- Thanks.
- You're welcome.
- Bagley's got a lawyer.
The other guy's not talking, but he's wobbling.
I'm sure he'll crack.
I can't tell you how much I appreciate this, Roseanna.
Well, just make sure that table tonight is filled.
I can't believe your family wiggled out on you.
I mean, this is a major award.
You didn't invite them, did you? Why? I don't like my family.
Don't want to have to pretend I do.
Worse yet, feel indebted to them.
I won't pretend to like you or the other drips at your firm.
I always wanted to win this award.
Not the way I wanted to win it, but whatever.
Time's running out.
I'll take it.
Well, how meaningful can it be.
I mean, you nominated yourself.
You dared the committee not to vote for you.
I can fill in the meaningful blanks.
I've been doing it all my life.
You know, D.
A.
's don't get hugs from clients.
We never hear applause.
We learn to fill in the blanks.
Why don't you get out of the D.
A.
racket? Come over to our side.
Gather a few rosebuds and hugs.
Not in my DNA.
I'll stay where I am.
But we should cop the occasional hug.
We should hear the applause.
I'll hear mine tonight, and I'll know I earned it.
Hell with everybody else in the room.
I'll know I earned it.
He decided to dismiss? I'm free to go? It seems he had a sudden shift in conscience.
So you did it after all.
Thank you, Adam.
I promise I will repay you one day.
Repay me by getting better.
Deal.
Hey, are you busy tonight? You ever been to a really, really boring fund-raiser? I'm a strong advocate of mainstreaming.
Not simply because it benefits the child in question, but because it pays dividends to his or her non-disabled peers.
But sometimes inclusion comes at too high a cost.
Here we have teachers frustrated, throwing up their hands in surrender, parents threatening to pull their kid out of the school, not because they don't like Natalie, they do.
But because their kids aren't learning.
I mean, classes are falling behind schedule.
I mean, you saw the disruption yourself, Your Honor.
And this is not something that just passes.
It rattles anybody who witnesses it.
I begged you for a little common sense at the top, and I'll do it again now.
Our public school system stinks.
Of all the industrialized countries, we're at the bottom of the heap, and you want to add to the teachers' burdens in an already overcrowded classroom by what are we doing? So you just throw her out because the other kids don't like to look at her? They get rattled? The teachers find her to be a distraction, so broom her.
Natalie's a good student.
She contributes positively to the classroom.
She's popular, but because she has and occasional spasm School is about more than math or reading or science.
It's about preparing our young people to be good citizens.
Expelling the less-able child because it's icky to look at her, now is that the citizenry we want really? No, Counsel, it's not.
But the school system is a system.
One primarily designed to serve the masses, and in weighing the needs of this child versus those of the others, I have to take the teachers at their word here.
Their abilities are being compromised.
Many of them are getting hurt.
Now, I, too, am in favor of inclusion very much, but in some cases, it simply doesn't work, and I'm afraid that this is such a case.
Mr.
and Mrs.
Drake, Natalie, I am deeply sorry, but I am regrettably ruling in favor of the school.
We're adjourned.
First your hack department doesn't even investigate this it almost slips by you then, after I feed you two suspects, you can't get either of them to talk.
Okay.
Just stand behind me and look satisfied, like you've actually accomplished something, which, of course, you did not.
Worthless.
Well, well, well, well, well.
I can certainly understand your not wanting to talk now.
It seems the whole thing was your idea.
Here I am, thinking that Alan Bagley convinced you, when you convinced him, silly me.
Anyway, it all makes sense in the end, so long as I got one of you to talk.
So, happy life to you, Mr.
Terrace, whatever's left of it.
I'm really sorry that you weren't able to help yourself, but I'll live.
You won't, but I will.
Wait! He's saying it was my idea? Is that what he's saying? Both Bagley and Terrace are already in custody for questioning.
They will both be arraigned tomorrow on charges of first degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
- Felony theft by false pretenses - Hey.
For real? For real.
The other driver confessed.
Bagley's going down.
It all started with you, Zach.
I can't I knew he did it, but I still can't believe it, you know? So, this means I'm not crazy, right? Well, you still got a few issues, but at least we put this obsession to bed, right? With any luck, you'll be out of here soon.
Thank you, Harry.
I couldn't get anyone to believe me.
Well, they do now.
You just get well.
Okay? I will.
And my sister, maybe she can finally rest in peace, you know? Maybe now.
I really feel like Eliza Doolittle now.
- Cheers.
- Yeah.
Adam.
Maggie, I believe? Good to see you both.
This is my wife, Julie.
Adam Branch, Maggie Buchanan.
- Nice to meet you.
- Hi.
Hi.
Well, uh, we should uh be getting back.
Yes.
Nice to meet you.
I have to say, Roseanna, I'm impressed.
You made pretty quick work of it.
Mmm, I have a memento for you.
A piece of Alan Bagley's front door.
Thought you might want to stick it on your mantelpiece or your desk.
Or you might find someplace else to stick it.
Why can't you just admit we're friends? Please.
Tommy, aren't you gonna eat? Can't eat, too nervous.
Maybe you should just tell him.
It seems kind of cruel.
Well, actually, we're not sure Roseanna is winning.
Maybe she just thinks she is.
Maybe we could at least warn him.
Okay, we've come to that point in the evening where we name our Cincinnati Trial Lawyer of the Year.
This is it.
This is it.
Okay, take a deep breath; you're all right.
Now, don't forget to look surprised.
I'm still shocked, actually.
We had a record number of submissions this year, and some truly noble candidates.
Damn, did he say noble? - Shh.
- And the committee felt that they could give this prize to any number of excellent attorneys, but they had to pick one, and pick one they did.
It gives me great pleasure to announce that winner now.
Ladies and gentlemen, for outstanding pursuit of justice, and distinguished service to the HCL Association, we proudly present the Hamilton County Litigator of the Year award to Roseanna Remmick.
Wow! - What? - You're kidding.