The Practice (1997–2004): Season 7, Episode 11 - Down the Hatch - full transcript
BERLUTI: I thought
they said 9:00.
YOUNG: They did.
WASHINGTON:
Do we really think
they're going to settle now,
12 hours before we start?
That's when they all settle.
BERLUTI: Maybe we should put
our jackets on.
I read an article,
lawyers look more formidable
in their coats.
Jimmy,
they're coming in here
to either settle or not.
I doubt it'll turn
on whether or not
we're wearing jackets.
(door opens)
They're here.
Show them in.
(door closes)
Sorry we're a little late.
It's okay.
Please.
We're declining
to make an offer.
Any offer?
Look, how you got past
Summary Judgment
still remains a mystery.
The point is, we did.
Eugene, you would have
rejected the number
we were toying with anyway.
But the feeling is that
the precedent of any number
would be exponentially
devastating.
If every problem drinker
starts suing us--
WASHINGTON:
This problem drinker is dead.
Rebecca, it's not that
we don't sympathize.
WASHINGTON: You just
won't cough up a nickel.
Look me in the eye
and tell me
that you would advise
my client to settle here.
All right, look,
you came all the way over here
at 9:30 at night,
is there room for negotiation
or are you just messengers
for bad news?
The latter.
$125,000, sealed,
no admission of liability.
We can't on principle.
This was a kid.
He died of alcoholism.
Your client bears
some responsibility,
and you won't take it
on principle?
Okay, look, this need not
to get ugly.
We'll see you tomorrow.
Do the research on us, Mark,
would you?
Meaning?
When we try cases,
it gets ugly.
Eugene, this isn't criminal.
This is a civil case.
Lawyers tend to be--
what's the word?
Civil.
I don't think you scared them.
(music playing)
JOSHUA: He began to have
a problem in high school
in his senior year.
BERLUTI:
A drinking problem?
JOSHUA: Yes, I mean,
it wasn't that he was
terribly into parties.
Michael was an athlete.
But it started with beer
and it sort of shifted
into hard alcohol.
His mother and I got him
into a treatment program.
Was this successful?
Yes, for a year or two.
But then in college,
he got into the frat scene.
There was, uh...
What happened?
JOSHUA:
His grades suffered.
He didn't graduate.
His friends abandoned him.
We did an intervention
in 1999.
In April 2000,
he was released.
He spiraled down from there.
He was living on the streets.
He died of alcohol poisoning
that spring.
And you're blaming
Portiss Brewery
for your son's death?
He primarily drank
their beer
in high school.
I'm certainly aware that
there were other beers,
but for the most part,
it was Portiss.
Did he have other difficulties?
None.
Michael was an athlete.
He admired athletes.
He watched all those
beer commercials
they run during the games.
He saw his favorite
ballplayers
endorsing Portiss
and other beers
like they were
nutrition drinks.
These companies
targeted my son
and other young kids.
Drinking is cool.
Drinking will get you girls.
Well, it is not cool.
Drinking killed my son.
Is it your testimony, sir,
your son thought beer
was a nutritional drink
when he began consuming it?
That question reflects
the very arrogance
of your client,
who refuses
to take responsibility
for contributing
to a young man's death.
Do you take any
responsibility, Mr. Berry?
Your son was underage,
drinking illegally.
Let me ask you,
do you drink?
In moderation.
Responsibly?
Yes.
GRUNDEL: Your son
was raised in a household
where his parents
drank moderately
and responsibly?
Yes.
And when your son entered
his high school years,
did you ever talk to your son
about the dangers of drinking?
Many times.
You feel you adequately
informed him
as to all of the risks?
Look, no matter
what parents say,
it is hard to compete
with the images of fun
and social acceptance
that is being marketed
by the alcohol industry.
GRUNDEL: My question is,
do you feel you adequately
informed your son
as to the potential risks
of consuming alcohol?
Yes.
Thank you, sir.
And I'm very sorry
for your loss.
I thought alcohol companies
were exempt
from these lawsuits.
No one is exempt
from fraud.
They lie when they say
they don't market to kids.
HATCHER:
Can I help you?
Yes, I'm looking
for Ellenor Frutt.
I'm Ellenor Frutt.
Hello, my name
is Stephen Marshall.
I'd like to hire you.
Is there someplace
we can talk?
(door opens)
(door closes)
I guess I should just
get right to it.
I'm the warden of Goffstown
Correctional facility
in New Hampshire.
One of my inmates
is Denise Freeman.
She shot two young boys
who were playing
in the park.
She's scheduled to be
executed next week.
It's the first execution
in New Hampshire
in many years.
So, maybe you read about it.
I hadn't actually.
How can I help?
I'd like you to stop it.
Her execution?
Yes.
I read where you got
a death sentence
overturned several years ago.
I drove down here on the chance
that you could possibly
work your magic again.
You're the warden
trying to halt
the execution.
Yes.
Are you against
the death penalty?
No, not at all. No.
In fact, I think we should
employ it more often.
But we shouldn't be killing
Denise Freeman.
She's not the same person
who committed those crimes.
I know they all claim that,
but she really isn't.
That's why I drove down here
to convince you to help save
an extraordinary woman.
Oh, don't you even dare.
This is Sheila Berry.
She was just awarded
"Sister of the year."
Shut up!
North America only.
She competes for world
"Sister of the year"
next month.
Yeah, and I score
special endurance points
for having you
as my little brother.
Let me tell you
a little bit about Sheila.
Let's not.
She makes up her own words
playing scrabble.
She--
No, I don't.
That was your brother,
Michael?
Yes.
Does that video fairly
reflect his personality?
He had an amazing
sense of humor.
He was shy. You don't get that
from the video.
He was very shy.
I think that was one
of the reasons
he drank at parties.
Socially, he was
a little uncomfortable
until he got
to know people.
When was the last time
you saw your brother?
About a month
before he died.
Where did you see him?
My apartment.
He came...
to ask me for money.
He was living
on the streets.
Did you loan him money?
I told him he could
move in with me
if he wanted to,
but I wasn't gonna
give him money
so he could just go
buy liquor.
I begged him to get help
but he just walked away.
That was the last time
I ever saw him.
I have nothing further.
No questions, Your Honor.
It isn't exactly
great timing for us
to be taking
a pro bono case.
I'm not saying I definitely
want to take it on,
but...
I'd like to meet with her,
see who she is, what she is.
She's in New Hampshire?
Yes.
I thought I would
drive up there
with Jamie this afternoon.
Evidently, she runs this
"Talk straight" program
for troubled kids that...
the warden came here
personally.
I really think I should go.
I'll say yes
with one word of caution,
protect yourself.
I'm sure there'll
either be a guard
or a partition or--
I'm not talking
physically.
You're about
to emotionally invest
in somebody who, odds are,
will be dead in a week.
I won't invest emotionally.
Right.
Protect yourself.
BLOOMBERG: The cause of death
was alcohol poisoning.
Doctor, Michael Berry
went in and out
of many treatment programs.
Why couldn't he be cured?
Because he was addicted.
You mean, he lacked
the will to stop?
BLOOMBERG:
That oversimplifies it.
People think alcoholics
lack willpower.
I wish it were that easy.
The brain chemistry
is changed.
Telling a severely
impaired alcoholic
not to drink
is like telling someone
not to go to the bathroom.
We're talking about
an overwhelming urge
related to a bodily function.
Come on, doctor,
it's not like
he had no choice here.
He chose
to drink initially.
BLOOMBERG: Of course he did,
like smokers choose to smoke,
like people choose
to use cocaine.
But once the addiction
took hold,
he was robbed
of his free will.
That kid was dying
on the street,
homeless, for God's sake.
Does anybody think
he chose that?
GRUNDEL: Many alcoholics
do recover.
As do many smokers.
That doesn't mean
the addiction's not real.
But, doctor,
you make it sound like
an involuntary affliction,
when, in fact, as you--
I make it sound like
a disease, Counsel.
The very definition
of disease
is an involuntary disability,
which Michael Berry had.
May I be allowed
to finish my questions?
BLOOMBERG: You may,
but if you wrongfully
restate my answers,
I'll interrupt.
WEEKS: Doctor,
this isn't a rugby match.
GRUNDEL:
What is the likelihood
if one drinks moderately
that he or she will become
addicted to alcohol?
I can't answer that.
No one can.
Alcohol affects people
differently.
We need to do more studies,
which they haven't done.
GRUNDEL:
In your experience,
if someone
drinks moderately,
how likely is it--
It's extremely likely
that young kids
won't drink moderately--
If a person
drinks responsibly
in moderation,
he or she is not likely
to become addicted.
That would be fair.
Thank you.
I need you to look
at me, Janice.
You see, we're on a bit
of a time crunch here.
I'm scheduled to be killed
next week.
If I'm gonna help you,
I need to make fast progress.
Now, how about we...
let that anger give way
to greed, then?
You will probably be
the last person
who gets to talk to me.
You could write an article,
get paid for it.
Lots of good things
could come from you
talking to me.
Janice...
it all starts with your eyes
finding mine.
MARSHALL: I can't tell you
how many kids
whose lives she's rerouted.
She connects
with every single one, too.
She'll get to this one, too.
You watch.
All the appeals
are exhausted?
MARSHALL: Every one.
There's a petition
for a stay
with the Supreme Court,
but that's not going
to happen.
Look, as I said,
I'm pro-death penalty,
but this one,
she's something.
The problem is that
I am also a murderer.
At least, I was before
I got on the medication.
I shot a 13-year-old boy
playing on a jungle gym,
and then I pointed the gun
and shot his
11-year-old brother.
I was every bit the monster
the prosecution
made me out to be.
You need to be clear
about that.
You mentioned medication.
What medication?
I've been on
a psychotropic cocktail
for the last eight years.
And before you took it?
Monster.
You weren't listening.
FRUTT: Did you argue
diminished capacity
at the trial?
Yes, it failed.
The jury saw me sane
since I was medicated
for the trial, also.
Forced?
Sorry?
The medication
you took for the trial
was it forced?
Well it had to be,
I had no capacity to consent.
Why?
I'm just searching
for an angle.
Well, the insanity
one's been tried.
We need to come up
with something else.
FRUTT: You seem...
well, most death-row inmates
have a little
desperation going,
especially as the day
gets closer.
Is there a way
you want me to act?
No, but...
FREEMAN: You know,
the funny thing is,
there's a calm
that comes with it.
Actually
I'm a prolific worrier.
But now, you know,
I'm not afraid
of getting cancer,
financial security,
problems in the Middle East.
None of that gets to me.
I--I'm gonna be dead
in a week.
There's a calm that comes.
(scoffs)
Underneath the cool.
I'm gonna be dead in a week.
Do I really need to make
a showing of desperation?
PICKFORD: Alcohol addiction
is both genetic and social.
Some of the predisposition
is in the brain chemistry.
Some of it obviously
is environmental,
how a person lives.
But, doctor,
my question is,
is it possible a person
can become addicted
to alcohol
without drinking
excessively?
We have not proven it,
but my opinion is
it's absolutely possible.
How?
Well, the limbic system
in the brain
is very different in people
who suffer from alcoholism.
How do we know this?
Autopsies.
Problem is, we can't be sure
what came first.
Is it the alcoholism
that altered the brain
or is it the abnormal brain
that caused the alcoholism?
It may very well be
that many people
are born alcoholics
waiting to happen.
Michael Berry
could have been one of them.
Have you found
a single person
who became an alcoholic
who didn't drink
excessively?
No, but the reason
he drank heavily
could be the genetic makeup
of his brain.
That's what people don't get.
Did you study the brain
of Michael Berry?
No, because no autopsy
was ever done.
So you have no idea
as to the genetic makeup
of the plaintiff?
That's correct.
(knocks on door)
Hey.
How's it going?
So far, so good.
The case is still
a long shot,
but we'll see.
Your brother?
Yeah.
Hard to believe,
almost nine years
since he died.
He was an alcoholic.
Is that in play at all?
Did you come in to check
on the case or me?
I know you fully appreciate
the difficulty of the case.
I do wonder whether
that appreciation
could get blurred
by a sense of...
mission.
I'm not on a mission.
Did alcohol
help kill my brother?
Yes, but that hardly puts me
in a small group.
Half the adult population
in this country
has alcoholism
in their family.
That's a point worth arguing.
I plan to!
Eugene, I feel like
it's getting harder
and harder for you and me
just to have a conversation.
Bobby, you didn't
come in here to have
a conversation.
You came in here worried
about my objectivity
because of how my brother...
Like you say,
I have a full appreciation
of the difficulty of the case,
and if an offer does come in,
I'll recommend settlement
to the client.
Okay.
(door closes)
FREEMAN: I think
the biggest problem
with my insanity defense
was that
it played
so stereotypically.
I heard voices.
I thought they were
a mandate from God.
You know,
there's somebody like me
on Dateline once a week.
I think the jury just went,
"Yeah, yeah, next."
And the actual diagnosis?
Paranoid schizophrenia.
Do you have a memory
of the killings?
They haven't found
the medication yet
to erase memory.
Can you tell me
what you remember?
Can you tell me
how that's relevant?
Denise...
as you said to that young girl,
we're a little crunched
for time.
So I need you
to let me be the lawyer
and trust me to decide
what's relevant.
If the memory's vivid,
I want to know.
If not, I want
to know that, too.
Tell me what you remember.
In the moment,
time slowed down.
I saw the bullets travel.
I saw them floating
through the air
like feathers.
They hit the skulls.
Two incredibly
sweet little boys.
These floating feathers
just made their heads go
(imitates explosion).
That vivid enough?
Alcoholism is something
we all need
to be concerned with,
and we are at Portiss.
I guess the question becomes,
how do you manifest
that concern?
CARROLL: First,
by putting warnings
on every single
one of our products.
But I'll tell you something,
we probably should do
a better job of publicizing
the health benefits.
The benefits?
CARROLL: Absolutely.
Studies now show
that having a drink or two
of alcohol every day
can help fight
heart disease.
Evidence is now coming in
that it can even promote
mental health
and possibly prevent
Alzheimer's.
Some doctors are recommending
to their patients
that they consume moderate
amounts of alcohol
to promote general health,
well-being, and longevity.
Is the defendant testifying
in the narrative?
Mr. Carroll,
a young man died here.
And it's a tragedy.
My heart goes out
to his family.
I had a nephew who was killed
by a drunk driver,
and I'm angry about it
to this day.
But I'll tell you,
this country as a whole
is vigilant about this.
We have mothers
against drunk drivers.
We have PSAs
on every channel.
In our own advertisements,
we warn about drinking
and driving.
This isn't some obscure,
latent peril lurking
in the bushes.
The message on irresponsible
drinking is out there,
and it's been out there
for many, many years.
Our industry...
has spent millions of dollars
on that message.
And I'll tell you
something else
the majority
of Americans get it.
Objection!
Mr. Grundel, you need
to ask your client a question.
He only need respond
to that question.
Mr. Carroll,
what about the specific problem
of underage drinking?
We fund numerous
educational awareness programs
more than
any other industry.
We pay to train vendors
not to sell to kids.
We agree with the law
which raises
the legal drinking age
from 18 to 21.
And let's think about that.
You can vote,
you can fight in a war,
you're considered an adult
for the purpose of the law
in every single way
at the age of 18
and we still say,
"Whoa. We're gonna
make you wait
an additional three years
before you can drink."
Why?
Because we recognize the need
for maturity
and responsibility.
In fact, the only thing
left for us to do
would be to ban
alcohol altogether.
We tried that
in this country once
and it didn't work.
DONNELL:
Run that by me again.
FRUTT: It's not
as crazy as it sounds.
DONNELL: Just the same,
once more.
Okay.
She stops taking the meds,
in which case
she regresses quickly,
I might add,
according to the doctors.
Once she becomes
schizophrenic again,
we get the diagnosis
of insanity.
Supreme Court
has expressly held
the Eighth Amendment
prohibits executing the insane.
They also held
you can force-medicate
to make a person sane.
STRINGER: They upheld
forced medication
to make a defendant
competent for trial.
Not necessarily
for punishment.
FRUTT: Bobby, I can't think
of anything else.
You want to
take her off the meds?
FRUTT: And try
and stop the execution
on the grounds
that she's insane.
At a minimum,
it could buy us time.
The death penalty
is vulnerable.
Time is time.
What do we have to lose?
YOUNG: How much money
does the alcohol industry
make per year?
A lot.
You're a major manufacturer.
I'm sure you can get
more specific
than "a lot,"
can't you, Mr. Carroll?
It's in the billions.
It's close
to $120 billion a year,
$120 billion.
Which contributes to a healthier
U.S. economy, Mr. Young,
and employs hundreds
of thousands of Americans.
Thank you for that.
And how much money
does your company
spend to build or contribute
to treatment facilities
for alcohol abuse?
We make beer, Mr. Young.
We're not
in the hospital business.
The answer is zero?
CARROLL: No, it is not.
We donate a great deal of money
to prevention programs.
A great deal?
More or less than 1%
of what you spend
promoting alcohol use?
Hey, since it's voluntary--
Less than 1%?
I'd have
to check the figures.
Well, I have some figures.
Your industry takes in a hundred
and twenty billion a year,
fifteen million Americans
struggle with alcoholism--
Look, our product
is only dangerous
when used excessively.
So as aspirin,
for that matter.
Aspirin?
You're just like aspirin?
You understand my point,
Counsel.
When used responsibly--
Do you advertise
to young people?
Not underage, we don't.
Your key target demo is
21 to 25-year-olds, isn't it?
Which is perfectly legal.
What research do you do
to make sure
those ads intended
for 21-year-olds
don't influence
19-year-olds?
Look--
Are you aware, sir,
that underage kids
are drinking your beer?
We take every step to ensure
that doesn't happen,
but parents have to take
some responsibility.
YOUNG: You're aware...
minors drink your beer?
We're aware that
it happens sometimes.
YOUNG: Sometimes?
You're aware underage kids
are responsible
for 12% of the consumption
of all your beer,
aren't you?
That figure is debatable.
And that over 90%
of all the alcohol consumed
by underage drinkers
is for bingeing.
Is that debatable?
We do not target
underage drinkers!
Well, according
to the surgeon general,
over half of all high school
juniors and seniors drink.
But you don't target them?
CARROLL:
We make it our business
to curtail underage drinkers.
Really?
Besides those sex
and alcohol commercials,
what else?
Objection!
YOUNG: What the hell
do you do to curtail it?!
Objection!
WEEKS: Mr. Young...
YOUNG: Two-thirds
of underage drinkers
buy their own beer,
Mr. Carroll!
That's a vendor problem, not--
YOUNG: Oh, I see,
It's not your problem?
You just make the stuff
and put the logo on blimps?
Objection!
Mr. Young!
This kid couldn't so much
as watch a baseball game--
WEEKS: Mr. Young.
--without hearing your jingle,
Mr. Carroll, and he's dead.
He's dead!
WEEKS: Mr. Young, that's enough!
And you sit here testifying
nothing you can do.
Nothing you can do
for Michael Berry.
Go off my medication?
The Supreme Court has said
we can't execute the insane.
It's our last best shot.
Up until now, we have argued,
"Don't kill her. She's not
the monster she used to be."
And now you want me
to go off my medication
so that you can argue,
"Don't kill her.
She is the monster
she used to be"?
Yes.
And then, after that,
we'll argue that
it's cruel and unusual
to keep you insane
and we'll hopefully
get you on the meds again.
Oh, that sounds...
Perverse.
It is, and they will no doubt
try to force-medicate you.
It's been upheld in the past
but I have a better chance
at beating it.
How long after you stopped
taking the medication before--
It won't take long.
Okay.
I'm gonna draft up the document
stating your intent.
I'm gonna need you
to sign them
while you're
still competent.
My intent being?
You don't want the meds
under any circumstances.
I will go crazy, Ellenor.
You do realize that?
Alcohol is part
of the American culture.
I know it.
I get it.
We indulge openly,
proudly even.
We toast at weddings.
We drink to our health.
We drink
in front of our kids,
be it eggnog at Christmas,
mint julep
at Kentucky Derby parties,
Saint Patrick's Day.
And we romanticize it,
don't we?
Win a World Series
or a Super Bowl,
out comes the champagne
on national television.
Our best athletes,
role models
for physical fitness,
watch them drink.
Hey, it's our culture.
Like I said, I get it.
But you know what,
they never really warn you
about the downside.
Fifteen million Americans
are alcoholics.
Fifteen million.
And the statistics,
they go on and on.
It's the number one
teenage drug problem,
the number one
drug problem in college,
one quarter of all
emergency room admissions,
almost a third of all suicides,
one half
of all homicides, rapes,
one third of traffic fatalities,
alcohol-related.
It is the leading
cause of mental retardation,
fetal alcohol syndrome.
The cost to us,
the taxpayer,
and our economy,
over $185 billion
in lost productivity,
healthcare expenses, crime,
car crashes, and other costs.
The cost to Margaret
and Joshua Berry,
their son.
The cost to Sheila Berry,
her brother.
This was a decent kid,
B student, shy, good athlete,
who started having a few beers
with his high school buddies,
who developed
an addiction to a drug
that ended up taking his life.
This industry makes upward
of a hundred billion dollars
a year,
a lot of it coming from kids,
children, and however
much they deny it,
they target those kids
with their advertising.
They buy time on the programs
these kids watch.
We've all seen the ads.
They're funny.
Drinking is hip.
It's cool. It's now.
It kills.
It kills.
And they just take the money,
a lot of it.
During the course
of this three-day trial,
the alcohol industry
made another billion dollars.
Now, we're
a capitalist society.
Like I said, I get it.
But when you contribute
to the death of human life
over a hundred thousand lives
every year,
how can you not take
some responsibility?
It can't always be
about the money.
That's what I don't get.
Mr. Young says
we've committed fraud.
He's wrong.
We sell an honest product,
honestly.
We are not tobacco.
The tobacco company lied
about the risks
associated with smoking.
The risks of drinking
have been known
for thousands of years
and so have the benefits.
We drink with our friends
to relax, to celebrate.
There are social benefits
to responsible drinking,
and we all know it.
The problem is,
with alcohol abuse.
And the question...
is what do we do about it.
What we've done so far
is to pass a multitude
of regulations.
My client has complied
with every one of them.
We have raised
the drinking age.
We've mandated warnings
on every bottle of beer.
We now have dram shop acts,
making people liable
who serve alcohol.
You could be sued today
just for throwing a party.
We have done everything
humanly possible.
In truth, the only thing
left to do is ban alcohol.
And we've already
tried that once
with spectacular failure,
because, as Mr. Young
correctly points out,
drinking is in our culture.
We're always gonna have
that cocktail.
And no jury,
no act of Congress,
will ever, ever prevent it.
I'll say this,
Mr. Young is disingenuous
when he says
that we're all about money
and they're not.
They are in here today
asking you...
to award them money.
Well, I won't be disingenuous.
We're a business.
Lawsuits, judgments, they become
a cost of doing business.
And I don't have to tell you
who that cost
always gets passed back to.
You can't bring back
Michael Berry.
I so wish you could.
But all you can really do,
unfortunately,
is raise the price of beer.
Because, like he told you,
it's our culture.
We're going to Court when?
Next week.
Obviously,
the more you regress,
the better our chances.
And if we lose, it's better
to die crazy than sane.
I guess.
Listen, um, given that,
I probably should put in my
goodbyes to people now, right?
So, I mean,
by this time next week,
I may not even know
who my friends are.
How are you feeling now?
Anxious, a little.
Nervous, I guess.
I'm not sure what from.
I don't know if it's because
I have come off my medication
or whether it's because
I'm getting closer to...
a lethal injection
but either way, uh,
it's worse than a root canal,
isn't it?
You already seem...
Hyper.
That's the first stage.
You know, oddly, I talk
a lot more in the beginning
and then I become withdrawn.
This is my nervous stage.
The good news is that
there is a heightened clarity
that comes with it, so.
Okay.
These are the documents.
It's basically the same
as a living will.
It expresses your intent
not to be given
the psychotropic drugs
under any circumstances.
Okay.
I need you to sign it
and date it.
FREEMAN: Okay.
Shouldn't this be notarized?
It isn't necessary.
If they argue
you lacked capacity,
it just plays into our claim
of incompetence.
FREEMAN: Okay, if we win,
how are you gonna get me
back on the drugs,
assuming I want to go
back on the drugs?
Why wouldn't you want
to go back on the drugs?
Well, you know,
I have to admit
I feel less dull.
But you said
when you really regressed...
FREEMAN: True, true.
Um, I guess
what I would like is a,
um, an adjustment in the meds
to keep me where I am now.
I mean, I--this is a good state
where I am now.
I feel more clear.
Denise, first...
let's work
on keeping you alive.
Right.
(door opens)
Jury's back.
What?
(door closes)
They have a verdict.
(sighs)
What's wrong?
They could never have computed
the damages in an hour.
Which means?
They didn't have to.
They found no liability.
BERLUTI: Or maybe
they're just angry enough,
they picked a big number
and said, "Screw them."
Let's go.
Come on.
WEEKS: Members of the jury,
you have reached a verdict?
We have, Your Honor.
Your Honor, could I have
a two-minute recess?
We have an offer we'd like
to propose to the plaintiff.
WEEKS: Your timing is curious,
Mr. Grundel.
Until that verdict is entered,
this case isn't decided.
It's Friday.
I'm not bringing
this jury back.
You have two minutes.
I'll confer with my client.
It's got
a two-minute clock, Eugene,
and it's final.
Excuse me, please.
Don't anybody scream.
$1.6 million.
No, why?
What?
He must've been
authorized to settle
if he didn't like
the faces of the jury.
Something tells him we've won.
And a verdict against them
is too devastating,
even if it's overturned
on appeal.
Should we take it?
It's a lot of money.
Let's take our chances.
What?!
You said that
they couldn't possibly
have computed damages
so fast.
Well, maybe they did pick
a big fat number.
And if we got them,
we'll let them off.
$1.6 million is a lot
to walk away from.
Not enough to make them hurt,
and if the idea--
Excuse me one second.
What are you doing?
This is a verdict that
could send a message, Jimmy.
We're this close.
It's not about
sending a message.
It's about getting
a result for our client.
And $1.6--
The faces on those jurors--
BERLUTI: We don't know
what those faces mean.
I realize you may want
to stick it
to the alcohol industry.
I'm only thinking
about the client.
It's got nothing to--
JOSHUA: What is going on?
BERLUTI: We're divided.
I think you should take it.
Eugene votes to reject it.
I have a feeling,
that's all I can say.
It's not a science.
(sighs)
Let's hear what the jury says.
Joshua.
Eugene?
If you want to make them pay,
$1.6 million
is a drop in the bucket.
Let's reject it.
The offer is rejected,
Your Honor.
Very well.
Mr. Foreman, what say you?
In the matter of the estate
of Michael Berry
versus Portiss Brewery,
on the count
of wrongful death,
we, the jury, find
in favor of the plaintiff.
And order the defendant
to pay compensatory damages
in the amount of $700,000.
We further order the defendant
to pay punitive damages
in the amount of $125 million.
Defense moves for a judgment,
notwithstanding the verdict!
Denied.
We appeal!
So noted.
Members of the jury,
thank you for your service.
You're excused.
And this matter is adjourned.
(gavel bangs)
MARGARET: Oh, my God.
(sobbing)
This will be appealed.
It'll be a long time
before you see any money, but...
this is...
A good start.
(sighs)
I don't know what to say.
Neither do I.
Wow.
Yeah, wow.
MARSHALL:
I tried to persuade her
to come to the visiting room.
It's okay.
Is she all right?
I think so. She's...
she just doesn't
want to come out,
and I didn't really
want to force her.
Denise?
Hi. I'm sorry.
I didn't, um, I didn't--
I didn't feel safe.
I'm--
I know it's not rational,
and I realize that
I am just a couple of pills away
from feeling better,
but even so--
I mean, do you mind?
I just--I feel
more comfortable in here.
No problem.
What's the news?
There is no news.
I just came by to tell you
that all the doctors
are lined up,
the appeal is being drafted,
and we're ready to file
as soon as...
As soon as I arrive
at my destination?
FRUTT: Basically.
How you doing?
I'm okay.
I'm okay.
I'm heading into that
I-don't-feel-like-being-
inside-my-skin part
but I'm all right.
FRUTT: Listen,
I'm gonna stop by daily
and check up on you, okay?
You know where to find me.
I don't travel much.
It's just as well.
It's not safe, is it?
(music playing)
(music playing)
WOMAN: You stinker.
(music playing)
they said 9:00.
YOUNG: They did.
WASHINGTON:
Do we really think
they're going to settle now,
12 hours before we start?
That's when they all settle.
BERLUTI: Maybe we should put
our jackets on.
I read an article,
lawyers look more formidable
in their coats.
Jimmy,
they're coming in here
to either settle or not.
I doubt it'll turn
on whether or not
we're wearing jackets.
(door opens)
They're here.
Show them in.
(door closes)
Sorry we're a little late.
It's okay.
Please.
We're declining
to make an offer.
Any offer?
Look, how you got past
Summary Judgment
still remains a mystery.
The point is, we did.
Eugene, you would have
rejected the number
we were toying with anyway.
But the feeling is that
the precedent of any number
would be exponentially
devastating.
If every problem drinker
starts suing us--
WASHINGTON:
This problem drinker is dead.
Rebecca, it's not that
we don't sympathize.
WASHINGTON: You just
won't cough up a nickel.
Look me in the eye
and tell me
that you would advise
my client to settle here.
All right, look,
you came all the way over here
at 9:30 at night,
is there room for negotiation
or are you just messengers
for bad news?
The latter.
$125,000, sealed,
no admission of liability.
We can't on principle.
This was a kid.
He died of alcoholism.
Your client bears
some responsibility,
and you won't take it
on principle?
Okay, look, this need not
to get ugly.
We'll see you tomorrow.
Do the research on us, Mark,
would you?
Meaning?
When we try cases,
it gets ugly.
Eugene, this isn't criminal.
This is a civil case.
Lawyers tend to be--
what's the word?
Civil.
I don't think you scared them.
(music playing)
JOSHUA: He began to have
a problem in high school
in his senior year.
BERLUTI:
A drinking problem?
JOSHUA: Yes, I mean,
it wasn't that he was
terribly into parties.
Michael was an athlete.
But it started with beer
and it sort of shifted
into hard alcohol.
His mother and I got him
into a treatment program.
Was this successful?
Yes, for a year or two.
But then in college,
he got into the frat scene.
There was, uh...
What happened?
JOSHUA:
His grades suffered.
He didn't graduate.
His friends abandoned him.
We did an intervention
in 1999.
In April 2000,
he was released.
He spiraled down from there.
He was living on the streets.
He died of alcohol poisoning
that spring.
And you're blaming
Portiss Brewery
for your son's death?
He primarily drank
their beer
in high school.
I'm certainly aware that
there were other beers,
but for the most part,
it was Portiss.
Did he have other difficulties?
None.
Michael was an athlete.
He admired athletes.
He watched all those
beer commercials
they run during the games.
He saw his favorite
ballplayers
endorsing Portiss
and other beers
like they were
nutrition drinks.
These companies
targeted my son
and other young kids.
Drinking is cool.
Drinking will get you girls.
Well, it is not cool.
Drinking killed my son.
Is it your testimony, sir,
your son thought beer
was a nutritional drink
when he began consuming it?
That question reflects
the very arrogance
of your client,
who refuses
to take responsibility
for contributing
to a young man's death.
Do you take any
responsibility, Mr. Berry?
Your son was underage,
drinking illegally.
Let me ask you,
do you drink?
In moderation.
Responsibly?
Yes.
GRUNDEL: Your son
was raised in a household
where his parents
drank moderately
and responsibly?
Yes.
And when your son entered
his high school years,
did you ever talk to your son
about the dangers of drinking?
Many times.
You feel you adequately
informed him
as to all of the risks?
Look, no matter
what parents say,
it is hard to compete
with the images of fun
and social acceptance
that is being marketed
by the alcohol industry.
GRUNDEL: My question is,
do you feel you adequately
informed your son
as to the potential risks
of consuming alcohol?
Yes.
Thank you, sir.
And I'm very sorry
for your loss.
I thought alcohol companies
were exempt
from these lawsuits.
No one is exempt
from fraud.
They lie when they say
they don't market to kids.
HATCHER:
Can I help you?
Yes, I'm looking
for Ellenor Frutt.
I'm Ellenor Frutt.
Hello, my name
is Stephen Marshall.
I'd like to hire you.
Is there someplace
we can talk?
(door opens)
(door closes)
I guess I should just
get right to it.
I'm the warden of Goffstown
Correctional facility
in New Hampshire.
One of my inmates
is Denise Freeman.
She shot two young boys
who were playing
in the park.
She's scheduled to be
executed next week.
It's the first execution
in New Hampshire
in many years.
So, maybe you read about it.
I hadn't actually.
How can I help?
I'd like you to stop it.
Her execution?
Yes.
I read where you got
a death sentence
overturned several years ago.
I drove down here on the chance
that you could possibly
work your magic again.
You're the warden
trying to halt
the execution.
Yes.
Are you against
the death penalty?
No, not at all. No.
In fact, I think we should
employ it more often.
But we shouldn't be killing
Denise Freeman.
She's not the same person
who committed those crimes.
I know they all claim that,
but she really isn't.
That's why I drove down here
to convince you to help save
an extraordinary woman.
Oh, don't you even dare.
This is Sheila Berry.
She was just awarded
"Sister of the year."
Shut up!
North America only.
She competes for world
"Sister of the year"
next month.
Yeah, and I score
special endurance points
for having you
as my little brother.
Let me tell you
a little bit about Sheila.
Let's not.
She makes up her own words
playing scrabble.
She--
No, I don't.
That was your brother,
Michael?
Yes.
Does that video fairly
reflect his personality?
He had an amazing
sense of humor.
He was shy. You don't get that
from the video.
He was very shy.
I think that was one
of the reasons
he drank at parties.
Socially, he was
a little uncomfortable
until he got
to know people.
When was the last time
you saw your brother?
About a month
before he died.
Where did you see him?
My apartment.
He came...
to ask me for money.
He was living
on the streets.
Did you loan him money?
I told him he could
move in with me
if he wanted to,
but I wasn't gonna
give him money
so he could just go
buy liquor.
I begged him to get help
but he just walked away.
That was the last time
I ever saw him.
I have nothing further.
No questions, Your Honor.
It isn't exactly
great timing for us
to be taking
a pro bono case.
I'm not saying I definitely
want to take it on,
but...
I'd like to meet with her,
see who she is, what she is.
She's in New Hampshire?
Yes.
I thought I would
drive up there
with Jamie this afternoon.
Evidently, she runs this
"Talk straight" program
for troubled kids that...
the warden came here
personally.
I really think I should go.
I'll say yes
with one word of caution,
protect yourself.
I'm sure there'll
either be a guard
or a partition or--
I'm not talking
physically.
You're about
to emotionally invest
in somebody who, odds are,
will be dead in a week.
I won't invest emotionally.
Right.
Protect yourself.
BLOOMBERG: The cause of death
was alcohol poisoning.
Doctor, Michael Berry
went in and out
of many treatment programs.
Why couldn't he be cured?
Because he was addicted.
You mean, he lacked
the will to stop?
BLOOMBERG:
That oversimplifies it.
People think alcoholics
lack willpower.
I wish it were that easy.
The brain chemistry
is changed.
Telling a severely
impaired alcoholic
not to drink
is like telling someone
not to go to the bathroom.
We're talking about
an overwhelming urge
related to a bodily function.
Come on, doctor,
it's not like
he had no choice here.
He chose
to drink initially.
BLOOMBERG: Of course he did,
like smokers choose to smoke,
like people choose
to use cocaine.
But once the addiction
took hold,
he was robbed
of his free will.
That kid was dying
on the street,
homeless, for God's sake.
Does anybody think
he chose that?
GRUNDEL: Many alcoholics
do recover.
As do many smokers.
That doesn't mean
the addiction's not real.
But, doctor,
you make it sound like
an involuntary affliction,
when, in fact, as you--
I make it sound like
a disease, Counsel.
The very definition
of disease
is an involuntary disability,
which Michael Berry had.
May I be allowed
to finish my questions?
BLOOMBERG: You may,
but if you wrongfully
restate my answers,
I'll interrupt.
WEEKS: Doctor,
this isn't a rugby match.
GRUNDEL:
What is the likelihood
if one drinks moderately
that he or she will become
addicted to alcohol?
I can't answer that.
No one can.
Alcohol affects people
differently.
We need to do more studies,
which they haven't done.
GRUNDEL:
In your experience,
if someone
drinks moderately,
how likely is it--
It's extremely likely
that young kids
won't drink moderately--
If a person
drinks responsibly
in moderation,
he or she is not likely
to become addicted.
That would be fair.
Thank you.
I need you to look
at me, Janice.
You see, we're on a bit
of a time crunch here.
I'm scheduled to be killed
next week.
If I'm gonna help you,
I need to make fast progress.
Now, how about we...
let that anger give way
to greed, then?
You will probably be
the last person
who gets to talk to me.
You could write an article,
get paid for it.
Lots of good things
could come from you
talking to me.
Janice...
it all starts with your eyes
finding mine.
MARSHALL: I can't tell you
how many kids
whose lives she's rerouted.
She connects
with every single one, too.
She'll get to this one, too.
You watch.
All the appeals
are exhausted?
MARSHALL: Every one.
There's a petition
for a stay
with the Supreme Court,
but that's not going
to happen.
Look, as I said,
I'm pro-death penalty,
but this one,
she's something.
The problem is that
I am also a murderer.
At least, I was before
I got on the medication.
I shot a 13-year-old boy
playing on a jungle gym,
and then I pointed the gun
and shot his
11-year-old brother.
I was every bit the monster
the prosecution
made me out to be.
You need to be clear
about that.
You mentioned medication.
What medication?
I've been on
a psychotropic cocktail
for the last eight years.
And before you took it?
Monster.
You weren't listening.
FRUTT: Did you argue
diminished capacity
at the trial?
Yes, it failed.
The jury saw me sane
since I was medicated
for the trial, also.
Forced?
Sorry?
The medication
you took for the trial
was it forced?
Well it had to be,
I had no capacity to consent.
Why?
I'm just searching
for an angle.
Well, the insanity
one's been tried.
We need to come up
with something else.
FRUTT: You seem...
well, most death-row inmates
have a little
desperation going,
especially as the day
gets closer.
Is there a way
you want me to act?
No, but...
FREEMAN: You know,
the funny thing is,
there's a calm
that comes with it.
Actually
I'm a prolific worrier.
But now, you know,
I'm not afraid
of getting cancer,
financial security,
problems in the Middle East.
None of that gets to me.
I--I'm gonna be dead
in a week.
There's a calm that comes.
(scoffs)
Underneath the cool.
I'm gonna be dead in a week.
Do I really need to make
a showing of desperation?
PICKFORD: Alcohol addiction
is both genetic and social.
Some of the predisposition
is in the brain chemistry.
Some of it obviously
is environmental,
how a person lives.
But, doctor,
my question is,
is it possible a person
can become addicted
to alcohol
without drinking
excessively?
We have not proven it,
but my opinion is
it's absolutely possible.
How?
Well, the limbic system
in the brain
is very different in people
who suffer from alcoholism.
How do we know this?
Autopsies.
Problem is, we can't be sure
what came first.
Is it the alcoholism
that altered the brain
or is it the abnormal brain
that caused the alcoholism?
It may very well be
that many people
are born alcoholics
waiting to happen.
Michael Berry
could have been one of them.
Have you found
a single person
who became an alcoholic
who didn't drink
excessively?
No, but the reason
he drank heavily
could be the genetic makeup
of his brain.
That's what people don't get.
Did you study the brain
of Michael Berry?
No, because no autopsy
was ever done.
So you have no idea
as to the genetic makeup
of the plaintiff?
That's correct.
(knocks on door)
Hey.
How's it going?
So far, so good.
The case is still
a long shot,
but we'll see.
Your brother?
Yeah.
Hard to believe,
almost nine years
since he died.
He was an alcoholic.
Is that in play at all?
Did you come in to check
on the case or me?
I know you fully appreciate
the difficulty of the case.
I do wonder whether
that appreciation
could get blurred
by a sense of...
mission.
I'm not on a mission.
Did alcohol
help kill my brother?
Yes, but that hardly puts me
in a small group.
Half the adult population
in this country
has alcoholism
in their family.
That's a point worth arguing.
I plan to!
Eugene, I feel like
it's getting harder
and harder for you and me
just to have a conversation.
Bobby, you didn't
come in here to have
a conversation.
You came in here worried
about my objectivity
because of how my brother...
Like you say,
I have a full appreciation
of the difficulty of the case,
and if an offer does come in,
I'll recommend settlement
to the client.
Okay.
(door closes)
FREEMAN: I think
the biggest problem
with my insanity defense
was that
it played
so stereotypically.
I heard voices.
I thought they were
a mandate from God.
You know,
there's somebody like me
on Dateline once a week.
I think the jury just went,
"Yeah, yeah, next."
And the actual diagnosis?
Paranoid schizophrenia.
Do you have a memory
of the killings?
They haven't found
the medication yet
to erase memory.
Can you tell me
what you remember?
Can you tell me
how that's relevant?
Denise...
as you said to that young girl,
we're a little crunched
for time.
So I need you
to let me be the lawyer
and trust me to decide
what's relevant.
If the memory's vivid,
I want to know.
If not, I want
to know that, too.
Tell me what you remember.
In the moment,
time slowed down.
I saw the bullets travel.
I saw them floating
through the air
like feathers.
They hit the skulls.
Two incredibly
sweet little boys.
These floating feathers
just made their heads go
(imitates explosion).
That vivid enough?
Alcoholism is something
we all need
to be concerned with,
and we are at Portiss.
I guess the question becomes,
how do you manifest
that concern?
CARROLL: First,
by putting warnings
on every single
one of our products.
But I'll tell you something,
we probably should do
a better job of publicizing
the health benefits.
The benefits?
CARROLL: Absolutely.
Studies now show
that having a drink or two
of alcohol every day
can help fight
heart disease.
Evidence is now coming in
that it can even promote
mental health
and possibly prevent
Alzheimer's.
Some doctors are recommending
to their patients
that they consume moderate
amounts of alcohol
to promote general health,
well-being, and longevity.
Is the defendant testifying
in the narrative?
Mr. Carroll,
a young man died here.
And it's a tragedy.
My heart goes out
to his family.
I had a nephew who was killed
by a drunk driver,
and I'm angry about it
to this day.
But I'll tell you,
this country as a whole
is vigilant about this.
We have mothers
against drunk drivers.
We have PSAs
on every channel.
In our own advertisements,
we warn about drinking
and driving.
This isn't some obscure,
latent peril lurking
in the bushes.
The message on irresponsible
drinking is out there,
and it's been out there
for many, many years.
Our industry...
has spent millions of dollars
on that message.
And I'll tell you
something else
the majority
of Americans get it.
Objection!
Mr. Grundel, you need
to ask your client a question.
He only need respond
to that question.
Mr. Carroll,
what about the specific problem
of underage drinking?
We fund numerous
educational awareness programs
more than
any other industry.
We pay to train vendors
not to sell to kids.
We agree with the law
which raises
the legal drinking age
from 18 to 21.
And let's think about that.
You can vote,
you can fight in a war,
you're considered an adult
for the purpose of the law
in every single way
at the age of 18
and we still say,
"Whoa. We're gonna
make you wait
an additional three years
before you can drink."
Why?
Because we recognize the need
for maturity
and responsibility.
In fact, the only thing
left for us to do
would be to ban
alcohol altogether.
We tried that
in this country once
and it didn't work.
DONNELL:
Run that by me again.
FRUTT: It's not
as crazy as it sounds.
DONNELL: Just the same,
once more.
Okay.
She stops taking the meds,
in which case
she regresses quickly,
I might add,
according to the doctors.
Once she becomes
schizophrenic again,
we get the diagnosis
of insanity.
Supreme Court
has expressly held
the Eighth Amendment
prohibits executing the insane.
They also held
you can force-medicate
to make a person sane.
STRINGER: They upheld
forced medication
to make a defendant
competent for trial.
Not necessarily
for punishment.
FRUTT: Bobby, I can't think
of anything else.
You want to
take her off the meds?
FRUTT: And try
and stop the execution
on the grounds
that she's insane.
At a minimum,
it could buy us time.
The death penalty
is vulnerable.
Time is time.
What do we have to lose?
YOUNG: How much money
does the alcohol industry
make per year?
A lot.
You're a major manufacturer.
I'm sure you can get
more specific
than "a lot,"
can't you, Mr. Carroll?
It's in the billions.
It's close
to $120 billion a year,
$120 billion.
Which contributes to a healthier
U.S. economy, Mr. Young,
and employs hundreds
of thousands of Americans.
Thank you for that.
And how much money
does your company
spend to build or contribute
to treatment facilities
for alcohol abuse?
We make beer, Mr. Young.
We're not
in the hospital business.
The answer is zero?
CARROLL: No, it is not.
We donate a great deal of money
to prevention programs.
A great deal?
More or less than 1%
of what you spend
promoting alcohol use?
Hey, since it's voluntary--
Less than 1%?
I'd have
to check the figures.
Well, I have some figures.
Your industry takes in a hundred
and twenty billion a year,
fifteen million Americans
struggle with alcoholism--
Look, our product
is only dangerous
when used excessively.
So as aspirin,
for that matter.
Aspirin?
You're just like aspirin?
You understand my point,
Counsel.
When used responsibly--
Do you advertise
to young people?
Not underage, we don't.
Your key target demo is
21 to 25-year-olds, isn't it?
Which is perfectly legal.
What research do you do
to make sure
those ads intended
for 21-year-olds
don't influence
19-year-olds?
Look--
Are you aware, sir,
that underage kids
are drinking your beer?
We take every step to ensure
that doesn't happen,
but parents have to take
some responsibility.
YOUNG: You're aware...
minors drink your beer?
We're aware that
it happens sometimes.
YOUNG: Sometimes?
You're aware underage kids
are responsible
for 12% of the consumption
of all your beer,
aren't you?
That figure is debatable.
And that over 90%
of all the alcohol consumed
by underage drinkers
is for bingeing.
Is that debatable?
We do not target
underage drinkers!
Well, according
to the surgeon general,
over half of all high school
juniors and seniors drink.
But you don't target them?
CARROLL:
We make it our business
to curtail underage drinkers.
Really?
Besides those sex
and alcohol commercials,
what else?
Objection!
YOUNG: What the hell
do you do to curtail it?!
Objection!
WEEKS: Mr. Young...
YOUNG: Two-thirds
of underage drinkers
buy their own beer,
Mr. Carroll!
That's a vendor problem, not--
YOUNG: Oh, I see,
It's not your problem?
You just make the stuff
and put the logo on blimps?
Objection!
Mr. Young!
This kid couldn't so much
as watch a baseball game--
WEEKS: Mr. Young.
--without hearing your jingle,
Mr. Carroll, and he's dead.
He's dead!
WEEKS: Mr. Young, that's enough!
And you sit here testifying
nothing you can do.
Nothing you can do
for Michael Berry.
Go off my medication?
The Supreme Court has said
we can't execute the insane.
It's our last best shot.
Up until now, we have argued,
"Don't kill her. She's not
the monster she used to be."
And now you want me
to go off my medication
so that you can argue,
"Don't kill her.
She is the monster
she used to be"?
Yes.
And then, after that,
we'll argue that
it's cruel and unusual
to keep you insane
and we'll hopefully
get you on the meds again.
Oh, that sounds...
Perverse.
It is, and they will no doubt
try to force-medicate you.
It's been upheld in the past
but I have a better chance
at beating it.
How long after you stopped
taking the medication before--
It won't take long.
Okay.
I'm gonna draft up the document
stating your intent.
I'm gonna need you
to sign them
while you're
still competent.
My intent being?
You don't want the meds
under any circumstances.
I will go crazy, Ellenor.
You do realize that?
Alcohol is part
of the American culture.
I know it.
I get it.
We indulge openly,
proudly even.
We toast at weddings.
We drink to our health.
We drink
in front of our kids,
be it eggnog at Christmas,
mint julep
at Kentucky Derby parties,
Saint Patrick's Day.
And we romanticize it,
don't we?
Win a World Series
or a Super Bowl,
out comes the champagne
on national television.
Our best athletes,
role models
for physical fitness,
watch them drink.
Hey, it's our culture.
Like I said, I get it.
But you know what,
they never really warn you
about the downside.
Fifteen million Americans
are alcoholics.
Fifteen million.
And the statistics,
they go on and on.
It's the number one
teenage drug problem,
the number one
drug problem in college,
one quarter of all
emergency room admissions,
almost a third of all suicides,
one half
of all homicides, rapes,
one third of traffic fatalities,
alcohol-related.
It is the leading
cause of mental retardation,
fetal alcohol syndrome.
The cost to us,
the taxpayer,
and our economy,
over $185 billion
in lost productivity,
healthcare expenses, crime,
car crashes, and other costs.
The cost to Margaret
and Joshua Berry,
their son.
The cost to Sheila Berry,
her brother.
This was a decent kid,
B student, shy, good athlete,
who started having a few beers
with his high school buddies,
who developed
an addiction to a drug
that ended up taking his life.
This industry makes upward
of a hundred billion dollars
a year,
a lot of it coming from kids,
children, and however
much they deny it,
they target those kids
with their advertising.
They buy time on the programs
these kids watch.
We've all seen the ads.
They're funny.
Drinking is hip.
It's cool. It's now.
It kills.
It kills.
And they just take the money,
a lot of it.
During the course
of this three-day trial,
the alcohol industry
made another billion dollars.
Now, we're
a capitalist society.
Like I said, I get it.
But when you contribute
to the death of human life
over a hundred thousand lives
every year,
how can you not take
some responsibility?
It can't always be
about the money.
That's what I don't get.
Mr. Young says
we've committed fraud.
He's wrong.
We sell an honest product,
honestly.
We are not tobacco.
The tobacco company lied
about the risks
associated with smoking.
The risks of drinking
have been known
for thousands of years
and so have the benefits.
We drink with our friends
to relax, to celebrate.
There are social benefits
to responsible drinking,
and we all know it.
The problem is,
with alcohol abuse.
And the question...
is what do we do about it.
What we've done so far
is to pass a multitude
of regulations.
My client has complied
with every one of them.
We have raised
the drinking age.
We've mandated warnings
on every bottle of beer.
We now have dram shop acts,
making people liable
who serve alcohol.
You could be sued today
just for throwing a party.
We have done everything
humanly possible.
In truth, the only thing
left to do is ban alcohol.
And we've already
tried that once
with spectacular failure,
because, as Mr. Young
correctly points out,
drinking is in our culture.
We're always gonna have
that cocktail.
And no jury,
no act of Congress,
will ever, ever prevent it.
I'll say this,
Mr. Young is disingenuous
when he says
that we're all about money
and they're not.
They are in here today
asking you...
to award them money.
Well, I won't be disingenuous.
We're a business.
Lawsuits, judgments, they become
a cost of doing business.
And I don't have to tell you
who that cost
always gets passed back to.
You can't bring back
Michael Berry.
I so wish you could.
But all you can really do,
unfortunately,
is raise the price of beer.
Because, like he told you,
it's our culture.
We're going to Court when?
Next week.
Obviously,
the more you regress,
the better our chances.
And if we lose, it's better
to die crazy than sane.
I guess.
Listen, um, given that,
I probably should put in my
goodbyes to people now, right?
So, I mean,
by this time next week,
I may not even know
who my friends are.
How are you feeling now?
Anxious, a little.
Nervous, I guess.
I'm not sure what from.
I don't know if it's because
I have come off my medication
or whether it's because
I'm getting closer to...
a lethal injection
but either way, uh,
it's worse than a root canal,
isn't it?
You already seem...
Hyper.
That's the first stage.
You know, oddly, I talk
a lot more in the beginning
and then I become withdrawn.
This is my nervous stage.
The good news is that
there is a heightened clarity
that comes with it, so.
Okay.
These are the documents.
It's basically the same
as a living will.
It expresses your intent
not to be given
the psychotropic drugs
under any circumstances.
Okay.
I need you to sign it
and date it.
FREEMAN: Okay.
Shouldn't this be notarized?
It isn't necessary.
If they argue
you lacked capacity,
it just plays into our claim
of incompetence.
FREEMAN: Okay, if we win,
how are you gonna get me
back on the drugs,
assuming I want to go
back on the drugs?
Why wouldn't you want
to go back on the drugs?
Well, you know,
I have to admit
I feel less dull.
But you said
when you really regressed...
FREEMAN: True, true.
Um, I guess
what I would like is a,
um, an adjustment in the meds
to keep me where I am now.
I mean, I--this is a good state
where I am now.
I feel more clear.
Denise, first...
let's work
on keeping you alive.
Right.
(door opens)
Jury's back.
What?
(door closes)
They have a verdict.
(sighs)
What's wrong?
They could never have computed
the damages in an hour.
Which means?
They didn't have to.
They found no liability.
BERLUTI: Or maybe
they're just angry enough,
they picked a big number
and said, "Screw them."
Let's go.
Come on.
WEEKS: Members of the jury,
you have reached a verdict?
We have, Your Honor.
Your Honor, could I have
a two-minute recess?
We have an offer we'd like
to propose to the plaintiff.
WEEKS: Your timing is curious,
Mr. Grundel.
Until that verdict is entered,
this case isn't decided.
It's Friday.
I'm not bringing
this jury back.
You have two minutes.
I'll confer with my client.
It's got
a two-minute clock, Eugene,
and it's final.
Excuse me, please.
Don't anybody scream.
$1.6 million.
No, why?
What?
He must've been
authorized to settle
if he didn't like
the faces of the jury.
Something tells him we've won.
And a verdict against them
is too devastating,
even if it's overturned
on appeal.
Should we take it?
It's a lot of money.
Let's take our chances.
What?!
You said that
they couldn't possibly
have computed damages
so fast.
Well, maybe they did pick
a big fat number.
And if we got them,
we'll let them off.
$1.6 million is a lot
to walk away from.
Not enough to make them hurt,
and if the idea--
Excuse me one second.
What are you doing?
This is a verdict that
could send a message, Jimmy.
We're this close.
It's not about
sending a message.
It's about getting
a result for our client.
And $1.6--
The faces on those jurors--
BERLUTI: We don't know
what those faces mean.
I realize you may want
to stick it
to the alcohol industry.
I'm only thinking
about the client.
It's got nothing to--
JOSHUA: What is going on?
BERLUTI: We're divided.
I think you should take it.
Eugene votes to reject it.
I have a feeling,
that's all I can say.
It's not a science.
(sighs)
Let's hear what the jury says.
Joshua.
Eugene?
If you want to make them pay,
$1.6 million
is a drop in the bucket.
Let's reject it.
The offer is rejected,
Your Honor.
Very well.
Mr. Foreman, what say you?
In the matter of the estate
of Michael Berry
versus Portiss Brewery,
on the count
of wrongful death,
we, the jury, find
in favor of the plaintiff.
And order the defendant
to pay compensatory damages
in the amount of $700,000.
We further order the defendant
to pay punitive damages
in the amount of $125 million.
Defense moves for a judgment,
notwithstanding the verdict!
Denied.
We appeal!
So noted.
Members of the jury,
thank you for your service.
You're excused.
And this matter is adjourned.
(gavel bangs)
MARGARET: Oh, my God.
(sobbing)
This will be appealed.
It'll be a long time
before you see any money, but...
this is...
A good start.
(sighs)
I don't know what to say.
Neither do I.
Wow.
Yeah, wow.
MARSHALL:
I tried to persuade her
to come to the visiting room.
It's okay.
Is she all right?
I think so. She's...
she just doesn't
want to come out,
and I didn't really
want to force her.
Denise?
Hi. I'm sorry.
I didn't, um, I didn't--
I didn't feel safe.
I'm--
I know it's not rational,
and I realize that
I am just a couple of pills away
from feeling better,
but even so--
I mean, do you mind?
I just--I feel
more comfortable in here.
No problem.
What's the news?
There is no news.
I just came by to tell you
that all the doctors
are lined up,
the appeal is being drafted,
and we're ready to file
as soon as...
As soon as I arrive
at my destination?
FRUTT: Basically.
How you doing?
I'm okay.
I'm okay.
I'm heading into that
I-don't-feel-like-being-
inside-my-skin part
but I'm all right.
FRUTT: Listen,
I'm gonna stop by daily
and check up on you, okay?
You know where to find me.
I don't travel much.
It's just as well.
It's not safe, is it?
(music playing)
(music playing)
WOMAN: You stinker.
(music playing)