The Practice (1997–2004): Season 7, Episode 12 - Final Judgement - full transcript
DOLE: Previously
on The Practice.
JOSHUA: He began to have
a problem in high school
in his senior year.
A drinking problem?
JOSHUA: Yes,
then in college, uh,
he got into the frat scene.
He died
of alcohol poisoning.
And you're blaming
Portiss Brewery.
JOSHUA: I'm certainly aware
that there were other beers,
but for the most part,
it was Portiss.
Do you take any responsibility,
Mr. Berry?
Your son was underage,
drinking illegally.
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.
We make it our business
to curtail underage drinkers.
Really?
Besides those sex
and alcohol commercials,
what else?
Objection!
This kid couldn't so much
as watch a baseball game
without hearing your jingle,
Mr. Carroll,
and he's dead, he's dead!
GRUNDEL: Your Honor, could
I have a two-minute recess?
We have an offer
we'd like to propose
to the plaintiff.
1.6 million.
Should we take it?
Let's take our chances.
What?
The offer is rejected,
Your Honor.
Mr. Foreman, what say you?
We, the jury,
find in favor of the plaintiff,
and order the defendant
to pay punitive damages
in the amount of $125 million.
We appeal!
One of my inmates
is Denise Freeman.
She shot two young boys
playing in the park.
She's scheduled
to be executed next week.
How can I help?
I'd like you
to stop it.
Are you against
the death penalty?
MARSHALL: No, not at all.
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.
FREEMAN: I heard voices,
I thought they were
a mandate from God.
You know,
there's somebody like me
on "Dateline" once a week.
And the actual diagnosis?
Paranoid schizophrenia.
Do you have a memory
of the killings?
They haven't found the
medication yet to erase memory.
You wanna take her
off the meds?
FRUTT: And stop the execution
on the grounds
that she's insane.
The Supreme Court
has expressly held
Eighth Amendment
prohibits executing the insane.
Go off my medication?!
It's our last best shot.
I will go crazy, Ellenor.
You do realize that.
FREEMAN: Uh, it's, uh, just--
it's just that
they would laugh, you know.
Not really laugh,
"ha-ha-ha"
because then they would get
into trouble.
They would get sent
to the principal's office.
And they all knew better.
Denise, who talked?
The kids,
all the kids.
Kids.
The kids you shot?
Denise, the kids you shot?
FREEMAN:
Every time I entered a room,
except they would disguise it
because they knew that
they would get into trouble,
they'd cough.
That was their plan.
And sometimes,
they would sneeze,
but usually they would cough,
and that was to laugh at me.
Denise, which kids?
FREEMAN: All the kids...
at school,
the kids at school.
They'd always cough.
The boys in the park,
did they cough?
I'm not supposed
to talk about that.
That's a secret.
A secret? Between...
Me and him.
Who's "him"?
He doesn't cough.
STUCKY:
You don't know who "him" is,
but you and he entered
into a secret?
He talks to me
from the inside!
The inside of...
Me!
(music playing)
PARKER: We have no way
of knowing this isn't an act.
She certainly has motive.
She was examined
by six different doctors,
including two
from the state.
They all came
to the same conclusion.
PARKER:
If she's legally insane
and I make no such concession,
her state of mind
is self-inflicted here.
How does that--
That's not an issue
before this court.
This is a hearing
to determine
her mental state only.
The consequence
of that determination
is up to another court.
This, to me, is a perversity
of our legal system.
It may very well be,
Mr. Parker.
But this hearing,
like Ms. Frutt says,
is only about the petitioner's
current mental health.
Ms. Freeman,
I have wonderful news.
The court hereby
finds you insane.
You must be pleased.
(music playing)
FREEMAN: So, what now?
The next step
is we go to
the Federal District Court
to stop the execution
on the grounds
that you're insane.
And that's a matter
of course, right?
I mean, it's perfunctory.
The Supreme Court has
already ruled on this, right?
Nothing is perfunctory,
and as the attorney general
said before,
the fact that your insanity
is somewhat self-inflicted--
When can I get back
on my medication?
Well, the state will try
to force you back on.
And under the current law,
they might be able to do that.
For our purposes--
It's too loud.
It's too loud.
(coughs)
Hey!
Denise,
remember,
that's your illness.
When people cough,
they're not really laughing
at you.
That's your illness.
FREEMAN: Then why
is she looking back at me
like she's sorry?
You're sorry, aren't you?
Yes.
See?!
FRUTT: Jamie.
No, I'm not.
To answer your question,
for our purposes,
first,
let's stop the execution,
then,
we'll try to get you back
on your medication.
You need to hurry, Ellenor.
It's getting too loud.
2.5?
And you're advising us
to take it?
I'm advising you to consider it.
JOSHUA: The verdict was a
hundred and twenty-five million.
YOUNG: They have a motion
for remittative schedule
for Wednesday.
The judge will likely
knock it down anyway to--
To 2.5?
YOUNG: I don't know.
He could even throw it out
altogether.
It could happen.
JOSHUA: I don't believe this.
We won.
Joshua,
after more than 300 lawsuits
and many adverse verdicts,
the tobacco companies
have yet to pay out a cent
in individual-smoker cases.
It'll be the same here.
If we're to get anything,
it could be years.
2.5 in the hand
is so much--
No!
Now I am angry.
I stuck it out
through a trial.
I got a verdict.
And now you are
advising me to settle
because the defendant
won't honor that verdict.
It's outrageous.
I don't disagree, but--
JOSHUA:
I don't need the money.
I live a comfortable life.
If I have to wait
another 10 years, I'll do it.
Joshua...
I said no.
If they had offered me
something at the beginning
before the trial--
but they offered nothing.
And now after they lose--
of all the arrogance.
We beat them.
I will not settle for this.
No, I will not.
FRUTT: I direct
the court's attention
to Ford versus Wainwright,
where the Supreme Court held
that the Eighth Amendment
Prohibits the state
from executing an insane inmate.
Denise Freeman has been
adjudicated to be insane,
and, therefore--
First of all, Your Honor,
that ruling is suspect.
Suspect with whom?
How about the chief justice
of the Supreme Court,
who scoffed at the ruling?
It's nevertheless
the majority opinion.
SEYMOUR: The court also held
the defendant waived his right
if he voluntarily
went off medication.
That was for competency.
They never talked
about waiver
when it comes to punishment.
Look, Wainwright makes clear
to kill an insane person
has little retributive value.
It presents no example
to others.
It is not a deterrent
and it offends humanity.
PARKER:
And I would ask the court,
as Justice Rehnquist does,
where does it all stop?
There has to be
some finality to the law.
Miss Freeman was judged sane
at her trial.
She was found guilty.
She basically had another trial
on the issue of punishment.
Now here she comes again,
saying she's insane,
can't kill her.
Suppose she loses this one,
what's to stop her from
coming back tomorrow saying,
"Now I'm really insane?"
or the day after?
We could be conducting
insanity trials in perpetuity.
Every death-row inmate
would be jumping up and down,
screaming,
"Look at me! I'm nuts!"
And here, for a sane inmate
to deliberately
go off her medication,
for the express purpose
of making herself crazy
so she can escape execution,
that's a mockery.
It may be a mockery,
Mr. Parker,
but as I interpret
the Supreme Court,
with all due respect
to Justice Rehnquist,
we cannot execute the insane.
I, therefore,
stay the execution.
PARKER: I petition the court
to allow the state
to medicate Ms. Freeman.
The New Hampshire Supreme Court
has previously held
that a mentally ill defendant
can be medicated
against his or her will
if it's--
FRUTT: Once again,
that was for trial.
It was not for punishment,
certainly not the death penalty.
The same rationale
would support forced medication
for punishment purposes.
Your Honor,
this is a separate issue,
a very complicated one.
I would request
additional time to prepare.
She's stalling.
I am not stalling.
It's called "due process."
SEYMOUR: All right.
We'll reconvene tomorrow
at 9:00 a. m.
on the issue
of forced medication.
Until then, we're adjourned.
(gavel bangs)
Now for the tough part.
They wanna force-medicate you
to make you sane
so they can then carry out
the execution.
As I said before,
under the current law,
they may be able to do this.
It's unclear.
You need to stop it.
I can't.
I can't.
It's getting worse.
Explain to me
what's happening.
I know. I know.
I wrote myself a letter
before I went off
the medication.
I told myself
that what's happening
is not really happening,
so I know. I know.
It's just,
I'm not feeling very well,
and I need--
We can't put you back
on the medication now
because it would mean
sanity and death.
So, I need you
to hang in there
just a little longer.
DONNELL: What do you mean
he won't take it?
YOUNG: He said no.
If it means waiting 10 years
to see a nickel,
then so be it.
The guy's dug in.
He was adamant.
Get him in here.
Why? What do you wanna--
I want to talk to the client.
Bobby, we can't force him
to accept an offer
if he doesn't--
DONNELL: It's not about forcing.
It's about making him
understand.
We did that.
He understood.
DONNELL:
Please have him come in
for one more meeting.
FRUTT: The idea
of treating somebody,
healing her,
making her well,
so that you can
then kill her,
that itself
is insane.
The court has done this
many times.
It's one thing
to force-medicate
so a defendant
can help herself at trial.
It's quite another
to facilitate killing her.
SEYMOUR: Hold on.
Mr. Parker, I don't mean
to be picking on you,
but I agree
with Ms. Frutt here.
The idea of medicating
a person against his or her will
is in and of itself suspect.
To do so, to make her fit
for execution,
offends common sense,
as it does common decency.
How decent is it
to let these people
manipulate the system,
distort the spirit of the law?
Your motion is denied.
Thank you.
Your Honor, at this time,
we would like
a declaratory judgment,
that should my client go back
on medication,
making herself sane,
she will not be executed.
Say that again?
To force my client to live out
her life mentally ill,
to be denied medication,
that certainly constitutes cruel
and unusual punishment
under the Eighth Amendment.
SEYMOUR: Counsel,
what are you trying to pull?
Your client is choosing
to be off the medication.
FRUTT: I would argue
that she really doesn't have
such a choice, Your Honor,
if the consequence
of being medicated is death.
You got to be kidding.
You can't say to a sick inmate,
"We're willing to treat you,
but if you get well,
you die."
If that's her option,
she's basically
being denied treatment.
It's cruel and unusual.
That is so ingenious,
I'm surprised no lawyer
has thought of it before.
But I'm not going to let you
have it both ways.
As long as she's insane,
she lives.
If she becomes sane again,
she dies.
The choice is hers,
or, since
you're the guardian ad litem,
I guess it's yours.
We're adjourned.
(gavel bangs)
(music playing)
(buzzer buzzes)
The news is good
and bad.
The judge ruled that
they can't force-medicate you.
What about my pills?
When can I take my pills?
That's the bad news.
If you go back
on the medication,
they'll execute you.
Well, I can't stay like this.
It's too loud.
FRUTT: Denise,
I'd like to work
on an appeal.
It's too loud.
You said
that you would make it stop.
I will.
FREEMAN: Ellenor,
it needs to be now!
I can't.
No!
No!
Then let me die!
I'm choosing
to be executed!
FRUTT: It's actually
not your choice.
You have no capacity--
Yet you said
that you would make it stop!
It's loud!
We can at least get her
to a hospital now, right?
If she's--
Shut up!
You shut up!
You shut up!
That bitch is against me.
(music playing)
Mr. and Mrs. Berry,
Bobby Donnell.
Thanks for coming in.
I'm not sure
what the purpose is.
Eugene tells me
you want us to settle,
but I've made
our feelings quite clear.
You're not going
to get any money, Mr. Berry,
not by pursuing this.
The alcohol industry--
Can't afford to set
a precedent of losing.
Yes.
Eugene has already
told me that.
But as I told him,
I don't care
if I never see any money.
Yes, but we do.
I'm sorry?
DONNELL: We took this case
on a contingency,
Mr. Berry.
There's an implied contract
of good faith.
Good faith requires you to
accept a reasonable settlement.
Failure to do so may give us
a cause of action against you.
Bobby.
DONNELL: 825,000 of 2.5
belongs to us, Mr. Berry,
and I'm not gonna let you
give that away
because you're too emotional--
Bobby.
DONNELL: Excuse me, Eugene.
Lawsuits are about money.
You hired us
to get you money.
We prosecuted this claim
for free on a contingency.
We took a chance on a back end,
and now we want our payoff.
What are you talking about?
DONNELL: The choice to settle
or not to settle legally
belongs to you,
but if you choose not to,
and you end up getting nothing,
if we end up getting nothing,
this firm will file
a claim against you
for $825,000.
And please keep in mind,
Mr. Berry,
when you are the defendant,
lawyers won't represent you
on a contingency.
Turning this settlement down
will cost you.
You need to be aware of that.
Thank you for your time.
(music playing)
You could lose your bar card
over that one.
I don't think so.
Eugene, we need cash.
Threatening a lawsuit
against a client to get cash?
The client needed a dose
of reality.
Then why didn't you
tell me and Jimmy,
that's what
you were planning--
Because I was taking you
off the hook.
The fact that you didn't know
what the meeting was about
makes me the only bad guy.
Well, your threat to sue
is completely frivolous.
I told the client as much
and he maintains
his refusal to settle.
We go in tomorrow
on the defendant's motion
to knock the verdict down.
Bobby, you and I
have been estranged lately.
A lot of it's been over
the Catholic Church,
but at least we've managed
to be honest with one another,
so I'm gonna be honest now.
What you just did,
it wasn't in keeping
with being an ethical person,
it wasn't in keeping
with being an honorable lawyer,
and from what I know
of your faith,
it wasn't in keeping
with being a good Catholic.
You humiliated this firm
with that little performance.
And more than that,
you embarrassed yourself.
(door opens)
She started banging her head
against the bars
and looked like she was trying
to gouge her eyes.
FRUTT: Is she sedated?
MARSHALL:
(sighs) Not yet.
She's in restraints.
She wanted to talk to you first.
FRUTT: Denise?
I want the drugs.
I can't live like this, Ellenor.
Try to calm--
Don't tell me that!
I can't live like this!
FRUTT: Denise,
if you go back on the--
I know!
I know!
FRUTT: I need you
to listen to me!
If you go back on the drugs,
they will put you to death.
I can't live--
it's too loud!
I want the medicine!
They said
that it's your decision!
Tell them to give it to me!
I would be signing
your death warrant.
FREEMAN: Now!
(sobbing)
Give her the drugs.
MARSHALL: Ellenor, are you sure?
Of course I'm not sure.
Give her the drugs.
Now!
(music playing)
(breathing rapidly)
Great.
I just helped
kill my client.
Hey.
Hey.
Great news
from the hospital.
Denise is feeling well enough
to be executed.
You come up
with anything?
Well, only thing left
is to argue
it's unconstitutional
to kill her
on Eighth
Amendment grounds.
That's sort of
been tried, Jamie.
Well, instead of arguing
the death penalty
is per se unconstitutional,
you could argue
it's cruel and unusual
as applied
to Denise Freeman.
It's our only shot, Ellenor.
Hey.
BERLUTI: Hey.
The client's had
a change of heart.
They agreed to settle.
We chipped
the number up to 3.2.
We're closed.
Really?
What changed their minds?
I guess you did.
Congratulations.
That's a good
settlement, Jimmy.
For you, maybe.
For the client.
Well, that would be
a lucky coincidence then,
wouldn't it?
Don't pretend you had
the client's interest
in mind, Bobby.
Maybe I had yours,
and Rebecca's,
and Ellenor's.
You think it's easy
running this place, Jimmy?
You like taking home
a salary?
You wanna see the books?
I don't doubt in your heart
you are serving the firm,
but I guess--
I just wish when serving us,
you'd consider what at heart
this firm is.
Anyway,
congratulations again
on the settlement.
I'm sorry.
You now want to challenge
the constitutionality
of the death penalty?
FRUTT: As it applies
to my client, yes.
And the show goes on.
I object to that.
This is not a show.
My client is scheduled
to be injected
with lethal poison
the day after tomorrow.
Your client murdered
two young boys
and has since been
on a mission
to manipulate the system!
To say nothing--
She is entitled to be heard,
Mr. Parker!
All right!
Ms. Frutt, I must admit
I share Mr. Parker's
exasperation.
FRUTT: Your Honor,
you represent Denise Freeman's
last chance at life.
It is certainly
within your discretion
to let her die.
But it would be an abuse
of that discretion to do so
without at least hearing
from her attorney.
I've done nothing
but hear from you!
Damn it!
Say no if you want,
but I would like to be heard,
however much it exasperates
the court's patience.
Speak to me like that again,
you'll get a jail cell
of your very own.
All right.
Let's go back in.
I'll hear you.
I need time to prepare.
9:00 tomorrow.
Last call, Counsel.
FRUTT: I need you
to pull up Furman.
Check the concurring opinions.
See if there's any language
we can make use of.
Then pull up Gregg.
Look for any
dissenting opinion.
Are you holding up?
I'm fine.
I'm gonna go see Denise.
You get the cases.
I'll meet you back
at the hotel.
STRINGER: Okay.
FREEMAN:
Is the ACLU coming in
with you?
Well...
no.
So you're going to try
to overturn
the death penalty
all by yourself?
You could go back off
the medication,
though I'm not even sure--
I won't do that again.
I either live on the meds,
or I die.
So, Ellenor,
exactly how good are you?
I'm not this good.
Obviously, Denise,
this is the ultimate
Hail Mary.
I will do my very best, but...
We're at the end.
I'm afraid so.
FREEMAN: Well,
I don't know how to begin
thanking you for...
We don't have
to get into that.
FRUTT: I've arranged for you
to be present in court, so...
One last outing.
Should I try to escape?
Well,
I should probably get
to work on...
whatever it is I'm gonna say.
I'll see you tomorrow, okay?
Okay.
(music playing)
Okay.
BAILIFF: All rise.
Be seated.
Okay, Ms. Frutt, I'm listening.
Whether one agrees
or disagrees
with the death penalty--
One does.
It is reserved
as punishment
for the worst
of criminals,
the most terrible.
Denise Freeman doesn't fall
into that category.
Of course, her acts
of murder were heinous
against God, and especially
against two innocent,
young children.
But Denise Freeman
was mentally ill.
Though judged
legally sane by a jury,
she clearly wasn't.
She was diagnosed
with paranoid schizophrenia
shortly after the trial.
Medication not only successfully
treated this disease,
but she developed
into a role model,
offering such profound
public service to others
that Steven Marshall,
the Warden
at the Goffstown
Correctional Facility,
has petitioned you
to save her life.
Had Ms. Freeman received
an adequate defense,
she likely--
Counsel, this is neither
a retrial of the facts
nor your client's defense.
I understand that,
Your Honor,
but you are permitted
to consider
that the finding
of sanity was made
by 12 laypeople,
with almost no psychiatric
testimony introduced
on my client's behalf.
You are allowed to consider
that Denise Freeman was poor,
that her murder trial
lasted a total of three days,
her defense taking up one day.
You are allowed to consider
that the overwhelming
medical evidence found her
to be insane.
And as such, I would submit
you are certainly
allowed to conclude
that Denise Freeman
does not fall
into "the most
terrible of criminals,"
the ones for which we reserve
the penalty of death.
And I would also remind
the court
that as horrible
as these murders were,
they did not involve
rape or torture.
There was no evidence
of any physical suffering.
The deaths were instantaneous.
She did not act
out of hatred or evil.
If you are to execute
a mentally ill person
who kills painlessly,
without judgment,
without premeditation,
then we are to say
all murderers
should be executed,
and we don't say that,
Your Honor.
Instead, we reserve
the penalty of death
for the most evil,
the most dastardly.
Denise Freeman
simply does not fall
into that category,
and her punishment
should accordingly
be reduced
to life imprisonment.
We judge the criminal act,
not the criminal actor.
When a young child
is murdered,
that's the most terrible
of crimes.
When two are murdered--
this murderer was judged sane,
Your Honor.
Ms. Frutt knows this.
She's here mostly
because she's against
the death penalty.
Objection!
I say this only
to put her eloquent pleas
in a proper context.
The commitment that she feigns
towards Denise Freeman's life
is inextricably bound up
with her opposition
to the death penalty.
Mr. Parker,
I'll ask you
to confine your remarks
to this case only.
PARKER: All right, Your Honor.
Ms. Frutt said
that these crimes
didn't involve
much suffering.
Here sit Arnold
and Cindy Graham,
the boys' parents.
This woman
was at the park that day.
She saw the heads
of her only two
children explode.
They've had to go
through trials and tribulations
for eight long years,
waiting for this day,
for closure,
only to have
to come to this room
to listen
to a defense attorney claim
that the murders
weren't terrible enough,
not enough suffering,
no evil at work.
They've had to witness
a last-minute gross distortion
of our legal system,
where the killer
goes off medication
for the purpose
of becoming too insane
to execute.
I asked before,
I'll ask you again,
where does it stop?
Uh, when I grow up,
I wanna be vice-president.
Vice-Presidents get
to have girlfriends,
and people
don't make a big deal.
RYAN (over TV): You're gonna
have a girlfriend?
Lots of them.
I got that "thang."
Girls like it.
RYAN (over TV): What thang?
That thang I got.
Timothy Graham
for VP,
the candidate
with "thang."
Tim Graham won't get to run
for vice-president.
In the last eight years,
Denise Freeman got to laugh,
Timothy and Ryan Graham didn't.
Denise Freeman experienced
joy on occasion,
Timothy and Ryan didn't.
Denise Freeman got to live,
Timothy and Ryan didn't.
Society can only express
its feelings for crime
by the punishment it metes out.
To let her live now
is to ignore and prolong
the misery of these parents,
and to say that the life
of Denise Freeman...
matters more than those
two innocent children.
Ms. Frutt,
I'll give you the final word.
FRUTT: I have
a two-year-old daughter.
If somebody
were to shoot her dead
on a jungle gym,
I would not only want
that person killed,
I would like
the satisfaction
of doing it myself.
I would even want
that killer to suffer.
It's human nature,
but it isn't right.
One of the reasons
I'm here today
is because my daughter
is still alive,
and I worry about the world
we pass on to her.
I plan to teach my little girl
that it is never okay
to commit murder,
though the state
says otherwise.
I plan to teach my daughter
that we do not respond
to violence
with more violence
or vengeance,
though the state
says otherwise.
I plan to teach her
that life, every life,
is sacred,
though the state
says otherwise.
In truth, the murder
being advocated
by the government today
is far more premeditated
than the ones committed
by Denise Freeman.
The murder being advocated
by the government today
is with clarity of mind,
with reason,
and with much more hatred
in the heart
than was true
of Denise Freeman.
The murder being advocated
by the government today
is one of ceremony.
Killing Denise Freeman
might bring closure
for the victims' family.
It will no doubt bring cheers
from much of the community,
but it isn't right.
When I was a kid,
I memorized
Clarence Darrow's
closing argument
on Leopold and Loeb.
It's what made me
wanna become a lawyer.
I often wondered
if I'd ever have
a case like that,
where I would stand
before a judge
and ask him to spare
another human being's life.
I can't improve
on Clarence Darrow,
so I will finish
with what he said.
"I am pleading
for the future.
I am pleading for a time
when hatred and cruelty
will not control
the hearts of men,
when we can learn
by reason and judgment,
and understanding
and faith,
that all life
is worth saving,
and that mercy
is the highest
attribute of man."
(music playing)
Ellenor...
honestly...
if I killed your daughter,
do you think you could
find it in your heart
to argue for my life?
Absolutely not.
So, all that talk
about kindness
overcoming cruelty--
I believe in it, totally,
except if anyone harmed
my daughter.
You didn't quote
my favorite part.
I'm sorry?
Darrow's closing.
He talked about how...
we used to hang,
and behead,
and torture
and cut into pieces,
all these inconceivable
punishments.
But then, we began to evolve
as a nation
to a point
where now we look back
on those things
with horror.
He said the future
was on his side,
because one day
we, too, would look back
at capital punishment
with embarrassment and shame.
"The future is with me,"
he said.
We need the future
to be today.
(door opens)
Judge is coming in.
BAILIFF: Be seated.
Stand up, Ms. Freeman.
Ms. Frutt, as much
as you'd like me
to overturn the death penalty,
I'm not going to do that.
Anybody who murders
two innocent children,
I have a difficult time
having that person's attorney
preach to me on morality.
But I have to acknowledge
the evidence is overwhelming.
If not insane, Ms. Freeman
was at least mentally infirm
at the time she committed
those heinous acts.
I therefore find
that the death penalty
is not appropriate here,
and the execution
is hereby stayed.
That's all.
(music playing)
I live.
You live.
(music playing)
YOUNG: Next on The Practice.
Hey, get out the truck.
MILLER: I saw the gun
and then I just hit
the accelerator.
Did you call the police?
No.
What?
GAMBLE: The man
your client ran over
in her garage,
he had a bullet in his back.
DONNELL: Do you have feelings
for this woman?
I might love her.
DONNELL: You have to think
of her as a client.
I can't do that, Bobby.
(music playing)
WOMAN: You stinker!
(music playing)
on The Practice.
JOSHUA: He began to have
a problem in high school
in his senior year.
A drinking problem?
JOSHUA: Yes,
then in college, uh,
he got into the frat scene.
He died
of alcohol poisoning.
And you're blaming
Portiss Brewery.
JOSHUA: I'm certainly aware
that there were other beers,
but for the most part,
it was Portiss.
Do you take any responsibility,
Mr. Berry?
Your son was underage,
drinking illegally.
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.
We make it our business
to curtail underage drinkers.
Really?
Besides those sex
and alcohol commercials,
what else?
Objection!
This kid couldn't so much
as watch a baseball game
without hearing your jingle,
Mr. Carroll,
and he's dead, he's dead!
GRUNDEL: Your Honor, could
I have a two-minute recess?
We have an offer
we'd like to propose
to the plaintiff.
1.6 million.
Should we take it?
Let's take our chances.
What?
The offer is rejected,
Your Honor.
Mr. Foreman, what say you?
We, the jury,
find in favor of the plaintiff,
and order the defendant
to pay punitive damages
in the amount of $125 million.
We appeal!
One of my inmates
is Denise Freeman.
She shot two young boys
playing in the park.
She's scheduled
to be executed next week.
How can I help?
I'd like you
to stop it.
Are you against
the death penalty?
MARSHALL: No, not at all.
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.
FREEMAN: I heard voices,
I thought they were
a mandate from God.
You know,
there's somebody like me
on "Dateline" once a week.
And the actual diagnosis?
Paranoid schizophrenia.
Do you have a memory
of the killings?
They haven't found the
medication yet to erase memory.
You wanna take her
off the meds?
FRUTT: And stop the execution
on the grounds
that she's insane.
The Supreme Court
has expressly held
Eighth Amendment
prohibits executing the insane.
Go off my medication?!
It's our last best shot.
I will go crazy, Ellenor.
You do realize that.
FREEMAN: Uh, it's, uh, just--
it's just that
they would laugh, you know.
Not really laugh,
"ha-ha-ha"
because then they would get
into trouble.
They would get sent
to the principal's office.
And they all knew better.
Denise, who talked?
The kids,
all the kids.
Kids.
The kids you shot?
Denise, the kids you shot?
FREEMAN:
Every time I entered a room,
except they would disguise it
because they knew that
they would get into trouble,
they'd cough.
That was their plan.
And sometimes,
they would sneeze,
but usually they would cough,
and that was to laugh at me.
Denise, which kids?
FREEMAN: All the kids...
at school,
the kids at school.
They'd always cough.
The boys in the park,
did they cough?
I'm not supposed
to talk about that.
That's a secret.
A secret? Between...
Me and him.
Who's "him"?
He doesn't cough.
STUCKY:
You don't know who "him" is,
but you and he entered
into a secret?
He talks to me
from the inside!
The inside of...
Me!
(music playing)
PARKER: We have no way
of knowing this isn't an act.
She certainly has motive.
She was examined
by six different doctors,
including two
from the state.
They all came
to the same conclusion.
PARKER:
If she's legally insane
and I make no such concession,
her state of mind
is self-inflicted here.
How does that--
That's not an issue
before this court.
This is a hearing
to determine
her mental state only.
The consequence
of that determination
is up to another court.
This, to me, is a perversity
of our legal system.
It may very well be,
Mr. Parker.
But this hearing,
like Ms. Frutt says,
is only about the petitioner's
current mental health.
Ms. Freeman,
I have wonderful news.
The court hereby
finds you insane.
You must be pleased.
(music playing)
FREEMAN: So, what now?
The next step
is we go to
the Federal District Court
to stop the execution
on the grounds
that you're insane.
And that's a matter
of course, right?
I mean, it's perfunctory.
The Supreme Court has
already ruled on this, right?
Nothing is perfunctory,
and as the attorney general
said before,
the fact that your insanity
is somewhat self-inflicted--
When can I get back
on my medication?
Well, the state will try
to force you back on.
And under the current law,
they might be able to do that.
For our purposes--
It's too loud.
It's too loud.
(coughs)
Hey!
Denise,
remember,
that's your illness.
When people cough,
they're not really laughing
at you.
That's your illness.
FREEMAN: Then why
is she looking back at me
like she's sorry?
You're sorry, aren't you?
Yes.
See?!
FRUTT: Jamie.
No, I'm not.
To answer your question,
for our purposes,
first,
let's stop the execution,
then,
we'll try to get you back
on your medication.
You need to hurry, Ellenor.
It's getting too loud.
2.5?
And you're advising us
to take it?
I'm advising you to consider it.
JOSHUA: The verdict was a
hundred and twenty-five million.
YOUNG: They have a motion
for remittative schedule
for Wednesday.
The judge will likely
knock it down anyway to--
To 2.5?
YOUNG: I don't know.
He could even throw it out
altogether.
It could happen.
JOSHUA: I don't believe this.
We won.
Joshua,
after more than 300 lawsuits
and many adverse verdicts,
the tobacco companies
have yet to pay out a cent
in individual-smoker cases.
It'll be the same here.
If we're to get anything,
it could be years.
2.5 in the hand
is so much--
No!
Now I am angry.
I stuck it out
through a trial.
I got a verdict.
And now you are
advising me to settle
because the defendant
won't honor that verdict.
It's outrageous.
I don't disagree, but--
JOSHUA:
I don't need the money.
I live a comfortable life.
If I have to wait
another 10 years, I'll do it.
Joshua...
I said no.
If they had offered me
something at the beginning
before the trial--
but they offered nothing.
And now after they lose--
of all the arrogance.
We beat them.
I will not settle for this.
No, I will not.
FRUTT: I direct
the court's attention
to Ford versus Wainwright,
where the Supreme Court held
that the Eighth Amendment
Prohibits the state
from executing an insane inmate.
Denise Freeman has been
adjudicated to be insane,
and, therefore--
First of all, Your Honor,
that ruling is suspect.
Suspect with whom?
How about the chief justice
of the Supreme Court,
who scoffed at the ruling?
It's nevertheless
the majority opinion.
SEYMOUR: The court also held
the defendant waived his right
if he voluntarily
went off medication.
That was for competency.
They never talked
about waiver
when it comes to punishment.
Look, Wainwright makes clear
to kill an insane person
has little retributive value.
It presents no example
to others.
It is not a deterrent
and it offends humanity.
PARKER:
And I would ask the court,
as Justice Rehnquist does,
where does it all stop?
There has to be
some finality to the law.
Miss Freeman was judged sane
at her trial.
She was found guilty.
She basically had another trial
on the issue of punishment.
Now here she comes again,
saying she's insane,
can't kill her.
Suppose she loses this one,
what's to stop her from
coming back tomorrow saying,
"Now I'm really insane?"
or the day after?
We could be conducting
insanity trials in perpetuity.
Every death-row inmate
would be jumping up and down,
screaming,
"Look at me! I'm nuts!"
And here, for a sane inmate
to deliberately
go off her medication,
for the express purpose
of making herself crazy
so she can escape execution,
that's a mockery.
It may be a mockery,
Mr. Parker,
but as I interpret
the Supreme Court,
with all due respect
to Justice Rehnquist,
we cannot execute the insane.
I, therefore,
stay the execution.
PARKER: I petition the court
to allow the state
to medicate Ms. Freeman.
The New Hampshire Supreme Court
has previously held
that a mentally ill defendant
can be medicated
against his or her will
if it's--
FRUTT: Once again,
that was for trial.
It was not for punishment,
certainly not the death penalty.
The same rationale
would support forced medication
for punishment purposes.
Your Honor,
this is a separate issue,
a very complicated one.
I would request
additional time to prepare.
She's stalling.
I am not stalling.
It's called "due process."
SEYMOUR: All right.
We'll reconvene tomorrow
at 9:00 a. m.
on the issue
of forced medication.
Until then, we're adjourned.
(gavel bangs)
Now for the tough part.
They wanna force-medicate you
to make you sane
so they can then carry out
the execution.
As I said before,
under the current law,
they may be able to do this.
It's unclear.
You need to stop it.
I can't.
I can't.
It's getting worse.
Explain to me
what's happening.
I know. I know.
I wrote myself a letter
before I went off
the medication.
I told myself
that what's happening
is not really happening,
so I know. I know.
It's just,
I'm not feeling very well,
and I need--
We can't put you back
on the medication now
because it would mean
sanity and death.
So, I need you
to hang in there
just a little longer.
DONNELL: What do you mean
he won't take it?
YOUNG: He said no.
If it means waiting 10 years
to see a nickel,
then so be it.
The guy's dug in.
He was adamant.
Get him in here.
Why? What do you wanna--
I want to talk to the client.
Bobby, we can't force him
to accept an offer
if he doesn't--
DONNELL: It's not about forcing.
It's about making him
understand.
We did that.
He understood.
DONNELL:
Please have him come in
for one more meeting.
FRUTT: The idea
of treating somebody,
healing her,
making her well,
so that you can
then kill her,
that itself
is insane.
The court has done this
many times.
It's one thing
to force-medicate
so a defendant
can help herself at trial.
It's quite another
to facilitate killing her.
SEYMOUR: Hold on.
Mr. Parker, I don't mean
to be picking on you,
but I agree
with Ms. Frutt here.
The idea of medicating
a person against his or her will
is in and of itself suspect.
To do so, to make her fit
for execution,
offends common sense,
as it does common decency.
How decent is it
to let these people
manipulate the system,
distort the spirit of the law?
Your motion is denied.
Thank you.
Your Honor, at this time,
we would like
a declaratory judgment,
that should my client go back
on medication,
making herself sane,
she will not be executed.
Say that again?
To force my client to live out
her life mentally ill,
to be denied medication,
that certainly constitutes cruel
and unusual punishment
under the Eighth Amendment.
SEYMOUR: Counsel,
what are you trying to pull?
Your client is choosing
to be off the medication.
FRUTT: I would argue
that she really doesn't have
such a choice, Your Honor,
if the consequence
of being medicated is death.
You got to be kidding.
You can't say to a sick inmate,
"We're willing to treat you,
but if you get well,
you die."
If that's her option,
she's basically
being denied treatment.
It's cruel and unusual.
That is so ingenious,
I'm surprised no lawyer
has thought of it before.
But I'm not going to let you
have it both ways.
As long as she's insane,
she lives.
If she becomes sane again,
she dies.
The choice is hers,
or, since
you're the guardian ad litem,
I guess it's yours.
We're adjourned.
(gavel bangs)
(music playing)
(buzzer buzzes)
The news is good
and bad.
The judge ruled that
they can't force-medicate you.
What about my pills?
When can I take my pills?
That's the bad news.
If you go back
on the medication,
they'll execute you.
Well, I can't stay like this.
It's too loud.
FRUTT: Denise,
I'd like to work
on an appeal.
It's too loud.
You said
that you would make it stop.
I will.
FREEMAN: Ellenor,
it needs to be now!
I can't.
No!
No!
Then let me die!
I'm choosing
to be executed!
FRUTT: It's actually
not your choice.
You have no capacity--
Yet you said
that you would make it stop!
It's loud!
We can at least get her
to a hospital now, right?
If she's--
Shut up!
You shut up!
You shut up!
That bitch is against me.
(music playing)
Mr. and Mrs. Berry,
Bobby Donnell.
Thanks for coming in.
I'm not sure
what the purpose is.
Eugene tells me
you want us to settle,
but I've made
our feelings quite clear.
You're not going
to get any money, Mr. Berry,
not by pursuing this.
The alcohol industry--
Can't afford to set
a precedent of losing.
Yes.
Eugene has already
told me that.
But as I told him,
I don't care
if I never see any money.
Yes, but we do.
I'm sorry?
DONNELL: We took this case
on a contingency,
Mr. Berry.
There's an implied contract
of good faith.
Good faith requires you to
accept a reasonable settlement.
Failure to do so may give us
a cause of action against you.
Bobby.
DONNELL: 825,000 of 2.5
belongs to us, Mr. Berry,
and I'm not gonna let you
give that away
because you're too emotional--
Bobby.
DONNELL: Excuse me, Eugene.
Lawsuits are about money.
You hired us
to get you money.
We prosecuted this claim
for free on a contingency.
We took a chance on a back end,
and now we want our payoff.
What are you talking about?
DONNELL: The choice to settle
or not to settle legally
belongs to you,
but if you choose not to,
and you end up getting nothing,
if we end up getting nothing,
this firm will file
a claim against you
for $825,000.
And please keep in mind,
Mr. Berry,
when you are the defendant,
lawyers won't represent you
on a contingency.
Turning this settlement down
will cost you.
You need to be aware of that.
Thank you for your time.
(music playing)
You could lose your bar card
over that one.
I don't think so.
Eugene, we need cash.
Threatening a lawsuit
against a client to get cash?
The client needed a dose
of reality.
Then why didn't you
tell me and Jimmy,
that's what
you were planning--
Because I was taking you
off the hook.
The fact that you didn't know
what the meeting was about
makes me the only bad guy.
Well, your threat to sue
is completely frivolous.
I told the client as much
and he maintains
his refusal to settle.
We go in tomorrow
on the defendant's motion
to knock the verdict down.
Bobby, you and I
have been estranged lately.
A lot of it's been over
the Catholic Church,
but at least we've managed
to be honest with one another,
so I'm gonna be honest now.
What you just did,
it wasn't in keeping
with being an ethical person,
it wasn't in keeping
with being an honorable lawyer,
and from what I know
of your faith,
it wasn't in keeping
with being a good Catholic.
You humiliated this firm
with that little performance.
And more than that,
you embarrassed yourself.
(door opens)
She started banging her head
against the bars
and looked like she was trying
to gouge her eyes.
FRUTT: Is she sedated?
MARSHALL:
(sighs) Not yet.
She's in restraints.
She wanted to talk to you first.
FRUTT: Denise?
I want the drugs.
I can't live like this, Ellenor.
Try to calm--
Don't tell me that!
I can't live like this!
FRUTT: Denise,
if you go back on the--
I know!
I know!
FRUTT: I need you
to listen to me!
If you go back on the drugs,
they will put you to death.
I can't live--
it's too loud!
I want the medicine!
They said
that it's your decision!
Tell them to give it to me!
I would be signing
your death warrant.
FREEMAN: Now!
(sobbing)
Give her the drugs.
MARSHALL: Ellenor, are you sure?
Of course I'm not sure.
Give her the drugs.
Now!
(music playing)
(breathing rapidly)
Great.
I just helped
kill my client.
Hey.
Hey.
Great news
from the hospital.
Denise is feeling well enough
to be executed.
You come up
with anything?
Well, only thing left
is to argue
it's unconstitutional
to kill her
on Eighth
Amendment grounds.
That's sort of
been tried, Jamie.
Well, instead of arguing
the death penalty
is per se unconstitutional,
you could argue
it's cruel and unusual
as applied
to Denise Freeman.
It's our only shot, Ellenor.
Hey.
BERLUTI: Hey.
The client's had
a change of heart.
They agreed to settle.
We chipped
the number up to 3.2.
We're closed.
Really?
What changed their minds?
I guess you did.
Congratulations.
That's a good
settlement, Jimmy.
For you, maybe.
For the client.
Well, that would be
a lucky coincidence then,
wouldn't it?
Don't pretend you had
the client's interest
in mind, Bobby.
Maybe I had yours,
and Rebecca's,
and Ellenor's.
You think it's easy
running this place, Jimmy?
You like taking home
a salary?
You wanna see the books?
I don't doubt in your heart
you are serving the firm,
but I guess--
I just wish when serving us,
you'd consider what at heart
this firm is.
Anyway,
congratulations again
on the settlement.
I'm sorry.
You now want to challenge
the constitutionality
of the death penalty?
FRUTT: As it applies
to my client, yes.
And the show goes on.
I object to that.
This is not a show.
My client is scheduled
to be injected
with lethal poison
the day after tomorrow.
Your client murdered
two young boys
and has since been
on a mission
to manipulate the system!
To say nothing--
She is entitled to be heard,
Mr. Parker!
All right!
Ms. Frutt, I must admit
I share Mr. Parker's
exasperation.
FRUTT: Your Honor,
you represent Denise Freeman's
last chance at life.
It is certainly
within your discretion
to let her die.
But it would be an abuse
of that discretion to do so
without at least hearing
from her attorney.
I've done nothing
but hear from you!
Damn it!
Say no if you want,
but I would like to be heard,
however much it exasperates
the court's patience.
Speak to me like that again,
you'll get a jail cell
of your very own.
All right.
Let's go back in.
I'll hear you.
I need time to prepare.
9:00 tomorrow.
Last call, Counsel.
FRUTT: I need you
to pull up Furman.
Check the concurring opinions.
See if there's any language
we can make use of.
Then pull up Gregg.
Look for any
dissenting opinion.
Are you holding up?
I'm fine.
I'm gonna go see Denise.
You get the cases.
I'll meet you back
at the hotel.
STRINGER: Okay.
FREEMAN:
Is the ACLU coming in
with you?
Well...
no.
So you're going to try
to overturn
the death penalty
all by yourself?
You could go back off
the medication,
though I'm not even sure--
I won't do that again.
I either live on the meds,
or I die.
So, Ellenor,
exactly how good are you?
I'm not this good.
Obviously, Denise,
this is the ultimate
Hail Mary.
I will do my very best, but...
We're at the end.
I'm afraid so.
FREEMAN: Well,
I don't know how to begin
thanking you for...
We don't have
to get into that.
FRUTT: I've arranged for you
to be present in court, so...
One last outing.
Should I try to escape?
Well,
I should probably get
to work on...
whatever it is I'm gonna say.
I'll see you tomorrow, okay?
Okay.
(music playing)
Okay.
BAILIFF: All rise.
Be seated.
Okay, Ms. Frutt, I'm listening.
Whether one agrees
or disagrees
with the death penalty--
One does.
It is reserved
as punishment
for the worst
of criminals,
the most terrible.
Denise Freeman doesn't fall
into that category.
Of course, her acts
of murder were heinous
against God, and especially
against two innocent,
young children.
But Denise Freeman
was mentally ill.
Though judged
legally sane by a jury,
she clearly wasn't.
She was diagnosed
with paranoid schizophrenia
shortly after the trial.
Medication not only successfully
treated this disease,
but she developed
into a role model,
offering such profound
public service to others
that Steven Marshall,
the Warden
at the Goffstown
Correctional Facility,
has petitioned you
to save her life.
Had Ms. Freeman received
an adequate defense,
she likely--
Counsel, this is neither
a retrial of the facts
nor your client's defense.
I understand that,
Your Honor,
but you are permitted
to consider
that the finding
of sanity was made
by 12 laypeople,
with almost no psychiatric
testimony introduced
on my client's behalf.
You are allowed to consider
that Denise Freeman was poor,
that her murder trial
lasted a total of three days,
her defense taking up one day.
You are allowed to consider
that the overwhelming
medical evidence found her
to be insane.
And as such, I would submit
you are certainly
allowed to conclude
that Denise Freeman
does not fall
into "the most
terrible of criminals,"
the ones for which we reserve
the penalty of death.
And I would also remind
the court
that as horrible
as these murders were,
they did not involve
rape or torture.
There was no evidence
of any physical suffering.
The deaths were instantaneous.
She did not act
out of hatred or evil.
If you are to execute
a mentally ill person
who kills painlessly,
without judgment,
without premeditation,
then we are to say
all murderers
should be executed,
and we don't say that,
Your Honor.
Instead, we reserve
the penalty of death
for the most evil,
the most dastardly.
Denise Freeman
simply does not fall
into that category,
and her punishment
should accordingly
be reduced
to life imprisonment.
We judge the criminal act,
not the criminal actor.
When a young child
is murdered,
that's the most terrible
of crimes.
When two are murdered--
this murderer was judged sane,
Your Honor.
Ms. Frutt knows this.
She's here mostly
because she's against
the death penalty.
Objection!
I say this only
to put her eloquent pleas
in a proper context.
The commitment that she feigns
towards Denise Freeman's life
is inextricably bound up
with her opposition
to the death penalty.
Mr. Parker,
I'll ask you
to confine your remarks
to this case only.
PARKER: All right, Your Honor.
Ms. Frutt said
that these crimes
didn't involve
much suffering.
Here sit Arnold
and Cindy Graham,
the boys' parents.
This woman
was at the park that day.
She saw the heads
of her only two
children explode.
They've had to go
through trials and tribulations
for eight long years,
waiting for this day,
for closure,
only to have
to come to this room
to listen
to a defense attorney claim
that the murders
weren't terrible enough,
not enough suffering,
no evil at work.
They've had to witness
a last-minute gross distortion
of our legal system,
where the killer
goes off medication
for the purpose
of becoming too insane
to execute.
I asked before,
I'll ask you again,
where does it stop?
Uh, when I grow up,
I wanna be vice-president.
Vice-Presidents get
to have girlfriends,
and people
don't make a big deal.
RYAN (over TV): You're gonna
have a girlfriend?
Lots of them.
I got that "thang."
Girls like it.
RYAN (over TV): What thang?
That thang I got.
Timothy Graham
for VP,
the candidate
with "thang."
Tim Graham won't get to run
for vice-president.
In the last eight years,
Denise Freeman got to laugh,
Timothy and Ryan Graham didn't.
Denise Freeman experienced
joy on occasion,
Timothy and Ryan didn't.
Denise Freeman got to live,
Timothy and Ryan didn't.
Society can only express
its feelings for crime
by the punishment it metes out.
To let her live now
is to ignore and prolong
the misery of these parents,
and to say that the life
of Denise Freeman...
matters more than those
two innocent children.
Ms. Frutt,
I'll give you the final word.
FRUTT: I have
a two-year-old daughter.
If somebody
were to shoot her dead
on a jungle gym,
I would not only want
that person killed,
I would like
the satisfaction
of doing it myself.
I would even want
that killer to suffer.
It's human nature,
but it isn't right.
One of the reasons
I'm here today
is because my daughter
is still alive,
and I worry about the world
we pass on to her.
I plan to teach my little girl
that it is never okay
to commit murder,
though the state
says otherwise.
I plan to teach my daughter
that we do not respond
to violence
with more violence
or vengeance,
though the state
says otherwise.
I plan to teach her
that life, every life,
is sacred,
though the state
says otherwise.
In truth, the murder
being advocated
by the government today
is far more premeditated
than the ones committed
by Denise Freeman.
The murder being advocated
by the government today
is with clarity of mind,
with reason,
and with much more hatred
in the heart
than was true
of Denise Freeman.
The murder being advocated
by the government today
is one of ceremony.
Killing Denise Freeman
might bring closure
for the victims' family.
It will no doubt bring cheers
from much of the community,
but it isn't right.
When I was a kid,
I memorized
Clarence Darrow's
closing argument
on Leopold and Loeb.
It's what made me
wanna become a lawyer.
I often wondered
if I'd ever have
a case like that,
where I would stand
before a judge
and ask him to spare
another human being's life.
I can't improve
on Clarence Darrow,
so I will finish
with what he said.
"I am pleading
for the future.
I am pleading for a time
when hatred and cruelty
will not control
the hearts of men,
when we can learn
by reason and judgment,
and understanding
and faith,
that all life
is worth saving,
and that mercy
is the highest
attribute of man."
(music playing)
Ellenor...
honestly...
if I killed your daughter,
do you think you could
find it in your heart
to argue for my life?
Absolutely not.
So, all that talk
about kindness
overcoming cruelty--
I believe in it, totally,
except if anyone harmed
my daughter.
You didn't quote
my favorite part.
I'm sorry?
Darrow's closing.
He talked about how...
we used to hang,
and behead,
and torture
and cut into pieces,
all these inconceivable
punishments.
But then, we began to evolve
as a nation
to a point
where now we look back
on those things
with horror.
He said the future
was on his side,
because one day
we, too, would look back
at capital punishment
with embarrassment and shame.
"The future is with me,"
he said.
We need the future
to be today.
(door opens)
Judge is coming in.
BAILIFF: Be seated.
Stand up, Ms. Freeman.
Ms. Frutt, as much
as you'd like me
to overturn the death penalty,
I'm not going to do that.
Anybody who murders
two innocent children,
I have a difficult time
having that person's attorney
preach to me on morality.
But I have to acknowledge
the evidence is overwhelming.
If not insane, Ms. Freeman
was at least mentally infirm
at the time she committed
those heinous acts.
I therefore find
that the death penalty
is not appropriate here,
and the execution
is hereby stayed.
That's all.
(music playing)
I live.
You live.
(music playing)
YOUNG: Next on The Practice.
Hey, get out the truck.
MILLER: I saw the gun
and then I just hit
the accelerator.
Did you call the police?
No.
What?
GAMBLE: The man
your client ran over
in her garage,
he had a bullet in his back.
DONNELL: Do you have feelings
for this woman?
I might love her.
DONNELL: You have to think
of her as a client.
I can't do that, Bobby.
(music playing)
WOMAN: You stinker!
(music playing)