All language subtitles for Picket.Fences.S01E16.The.Body.Politic.1080p.DSNP.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-WELP_track4_[eng]

PAYMER: Well, your inside
gums are a little puffy.

Don't forget to
brush them, Walter.

Fronts, too.
Your enamel looks splendid.

Mr. Tooth is very happy today.

Open.

Oh, I see some plaque buildup.

You're not flossing, Karen.

Next.

Remember, decay is the
number one cause of tooth loss.

It's preventable.

Yeah, you need to
get a longer brush.

You're not reaching the back.

And don't forget the gums.
Zack?

(GULPS)

Zack, tell your
daddy I want him in.

His cavity's only
going to get bigger.

Open.

Oh!

I see something stuck.

It looks like
a little beef jerky.

Ow! Hey!

Don't you do that, ever.
You never bite your dentist.

I'm sorry.
Well, sorry isn't good enough.

Dr. Paymer.
You don't bite people, damn it.

You never ever
bite your dentist.

You listen here, you kids.

You never ever bite your dentist,
you hear me?

Never ever bite your dentist!

Dr. Paymer, calm down.

Zachary bit the dentist.

What?

Bob Paymer, Zachary bit him,

and then he went berserk right there
in the classroom.

Um, Berserk how?

Well, he started yelling at the children,
especially Zack.

The teacher said it
was just a little nip.

There's something wrong
with this man, Jimmy.

All right, I...

Never mind "all right."

This is not a normal dentist.

She's dead.

Who?
I don't know who,

but I saw a dead body go
into the Springer house last night.

The Springers
moved out, Howard.

I know they moved out,

but somebody else
moved in last night.

I saw movers
bringing in a dead woman.

Did you kill her?

This isn't my Alzheimer's.

There's a real dead woman
inside that house.

I saw the body.

JIMMY: He didn't see a body.

I'm sure he didn't, but I think I should
go and check it out.

I had a psychic
episode last night.

Somebody is
dead in this town.

ELENA: Hi, Kenny.

Hi, Kenny. Hey.

We're going
apartment hunting.

Gotta get there early.
Before all the good ones are taken.

So we...
We made you some lunch.

Payback for hospitality.

You shouldn't have done that.

Oh, well...
We did.

Bye.

Bye.
Bye.

ELENA: So
we'll see you tonight.

KENNY: Yeah.

What do you mean,
you want to look around?

Well, you have kind of
an eccentric neighbor,

and he thought he saw
something last night.

What? He says he saw what?

He thought he saw you bring
a dead body inside your house.

Well, he was mistaken.

Well, I'm sure he was,
but he did make a report,

so I just thought if I could
take a quick look around...

Do you have a warrant?

No, I don't. I didn't think I'd
need to get a warrant.

I thought I could just...

Well, I'm ill-inclined to let you search
my house, Deputy.

I'm sorry, but I just don't think that
that's appropriate.

Mr. Baker, a man reported
seeing a corpse go into your home.

I have to follow this up.

Now, I could go to court
and get a warrant,

or I could come in
and just take a quick look around...

No, I don't believe
that that's appropriate.

You'll have to get a warrant.

Now, if you'll excuse me...

I can't issue a warrant
on the say-so of Howard Buss.

The man's crazy.

He's not crazy. He has Alzheimer's
disease. That doesn't mean...

He suffers from dementia.

He's confessed to half a dozen crimes
he hasn't committed.

So what are you saying?

A person with Alzheimer's,
as a matter of law, can't be credible?

I'm not discriminating
against the disease.

I'm basing this on what
I know about Howard.

I talked to the Baker guy.

I think he's
hiding something.

Issue a warrant
on my credibility.

Look, Maxine,

you're asking me to authorize
your going into a person's house.

The home is sacred.

It's where people are entitled
to be left alone.

I smell foul play.

Now, Howard is convinced
he saw what he saw.

If there is
a corpse in there,

the guy will have
time to move it,

and I don't want
that to happen.

Please, can I have a warrant?

(SIGHS)

JIMMY: You're
an even-tempered man, Bob.

As the Sheriff, I collect a lot
of information.

I maybe know how
people live their lives.

What are you talking about?

May I be blunt?

Please.

I know you're gay.

The city dental plan contract
entitles you to municipal life insurance.

Though they refuse to extend it,
they don't tell us why.

Now, you became extremely
agitated this morning

at the chance that your skin
may have been punctured.

Are you HIV positive?

No.

Mind if we give
you a blood test?

Absolutely, I mind.

Okay.

Not as a sheriff and not as
a school-committee member,

but as a patient,
patient to doctor,

I would have
a problem going to a dentist

that I suspected
was HIV positive,

so as a patient...
Find yourself another dentist.

I'm a dentist you
suspect is HIV positive.

Go find another dentist.
That's easy.

JIMMY:
How long have you known?

JILL: I diagnosed him
two years ago.

And you didn't tell me?

Doctor-patient privilege,
Jimmy. How many times...

The man is our
family dentist, Jill.

We've been going
to him for 12 years.

Look, don't think I didn't agonize
over this, but I checked him out fully.

I checked out his practice.
He's completely safe.

Zachary bit him.
He could have drawn blood.

He was wearing
the double latex gloves.

Jill!

The minute he was diagnosed,
he reported it to an expert medical panel.

They advised him it was okay for him
to keep practicing.

He puts his hands
into our children's mouths.

It's not dangerous.

Then why did you
agonize over it?

Reflexively, as a mother,
I had some concerns,

but as a doctor, I felt completely
satisfied that he was safe.

Whether or not
you were convinced of safety,

how dare you not involve me
in the decision.

Privilege, Jimmy.
I couldn't...

My children!

How could you
keep me out of it?

That's betrayal,
fundamental betrayal.

(DOOR SLAMS)

We haven't found anything.

I told you.

Boy, this is a fine welcome
to Rome, Wisconsin.

If you had nothing to hide,
why didn't you let us look earlier?

Because
constitutional rights extend

to the innocent as
well as the guilty.

I happen to be
an extremely private person.

You checked everywhere?

Yep.

We're very sorry to
have bothered you.

Did you find the body?

No,
Howard, there was no body.

Maybe he moved it.

Maybe he killed
her and then...

What are you talking about?

Vicious.

Howard, we've had the house watched.
Nothing was moved out.

There was no murder, no body.

So, I'm crazy again.

What's in the truck?

Stuff. More
furniture and some boxes.

Let me see it.

Wait. Excuse me, Deputy,

you have a warrant to search the house,
nothing more.

The warrant goes to
the premises. Open it.

You can't do this.
It's unconstitutional.

Open it. No.

MAXINE: Kenny,
what are you doing?

Who is this?

Cindy Baker. She's my wife.

What's she doing in
the back of a truck?

KENNY: And how did you get
all this equipment?

Look, I don't have
to tell you anything.

Well, let me tell you this.
You're under arrest.

What is she doing in there?

Look, I demand to know.

She's examining your wife.

I didn't ask for
any examination.

Look, I've done nothing wrong.
You have no right to do this.

You've got a coma woman
in the back of a truck.

She's my wife.

I was preserving our privacy.
Now, if that's a crime...

Then why were you
trying to hide her?

You take her into your house
in the dead of night,

and then you stick her
in the back of a truck

'cause you knew
we'd be searching the house.

Okay, excuse me.

What did you do to her?
I didn't do anything to her, Mr. Baker.

I just checked her over.

Is she all right?

No, she's dead.

She is not dead.

Legally, she meets
the definition of death.

There's no brain activity.

She is breathing?

Yes, her heart pumps
and her lungs

breathe because
of the machines,

but the EEG flat-lined.

She's completely brain dead.

She is alive. Cindy is alive.

The ethicists
would debate it,

but, medically,
your wife is gone.

She's not coming back
to any quality of life.

The child is another matter.

What child?

She's pregnant.

I'd say three months.

So you all just leave us be.

My wife is going to have our baby,
so you just leave us be.

This is possible?

Yes.

You said she was a corpse.

She is a corpse, operated by machines.

Well, how can she bring that baby to term?
There's no...

It's possible.

I don't know where he got all
that equipment,

but he's got the technology
to keep her organs going.

I don't get it. He can do this
without a hospital?

He hired nurses.

And he's a doctor.

What?

Real name is
Dr. Thomas Bufell.

Her name is Cindy Bufell.

She was in a car accident
in Saint Cloud, Minnesota.

Pronounced legally
dead on January 2nd.

The mother was
about to pull the plug

when the husband stole her
right out of the hospital.

He's been on the run with her
for two months.

DOUGLAS:
Where's my kidnapper?

MAXINE: Oh, God.
JIMMY: Get out, please.

Jimmy, I heard a comatose person
has been abducted,

and I want to see my client.

I'm confused.
Is she dead or pregnant?

Both.

Not now, please.

Maxine, question
Dr. Bufell about his...

I just heard. Is she alive?

Dead and expecting.

I need to talk to the Mayor alone,
please, in my office.

I'm feeling slighted.
Honey, I'm still trying...

Go!
I'm still trying to get a moment

alone with you, Jimmy.
I know,

I have to talk to the Mayor.
I'd like to explain my position

on the earlier situation.

I understand your
position clearly.

That's what I'm talking
to the Mayor about.

What?
Excuse me.

If you start a witch hunt
on this thing, Jimmy...

Excuse me, please.

What's going on?

Bob Paymer has the HIV virus.

What?
He's not symptomatic yet, but...

Oh, God.

Well, we've got to help him. I'll hit the
City Council up for a generous severance.

This man has
served this town...

He's not retiring.

What do you mean
he's not retiring?

I think he plans to
continue his practice.

You're joking.

He may not
necessarily pose a risk.

How the hell could he not?

I don't know.

He's under city contract.

He does the school checkups.

He does the city officials.

I gotta fire him.

That's discrimination.

I don't care.

You're the sheriff.
I'm the mayor.

We are the caretakers of
this community.

We have a duty
to keep people away from him.

It's illegal to fire him just because
he is HIV positive.

So sue me.

I'd rather have a lawsuit on my conscience
than a person's death.

He's telling the Mayor?

I think so.

You better brace yourself.

(SIGHS)

Oh, God.

Well, I guess it had to happen
sooner or later.

Bob, I...

When Zachary
bit you, do you...

No. No, no, it didn't go through
the glove. That's never happened.

I know.
I know. I just wanted...

Jill.

Oh, Jill.

When I see the fear even in your eyes,
somebody who knows better,

how can I expect anything but panic
from the general public?

It's disgraceful, and it's
upsetting all the parents.

It's none of your business,
Marjorie. It doesn't affect you.

It does affect us.

You run around
with two women,

living out your
erotic fantasies.

That is not respectable,
and the kids look up to you.

They may try to emulate you.

What's going on?

Kenny's having
sex with twins.

What?
Very bad.

MRS. PARKS: I think it's deplorable
that a public servant

could be setting
such an example.

Marjorie, Kenny's
private life is his own.

Kimberly had sex
with Billy O'Connell.

Cynthia.
Naked, nude sex.

Zack told me.

Never mind.

Deplorable.

Very bad.

(KENNY GROANS)

I gotta admit,
this seems pretty grotesque.

You're keeping a body alive
as a human incubator.

Look, I've lost my wife.

I know that, Deputy.

I'm not prepared to lose her child,
our child.

I bought this at
an electronic store.

It prevents power surges.

Could come in handy.

You hired Wambaugh?

Of course he did.

Kenny, don't waste my time.

If you charge him with kidnapping,
I'll argue that she's dead.

The medical
records will back me up.

If you charge him with stealing a corpse,
I'll argue that she's alive.

The church will back me up.

What about
the life-support equipment?

Did you steal it?

Don't answer that.
Kenny, please.

This man is trying to save
his wife and child.

The judge is letting
everybody go lately.

There's no way that he's going to
put this guy in jail.

This is Claudia Graham,
Cindy Bufell's mother.

Mrs. Graham.

Claudia.

Where is my daughter?

She's at the hospital.

How dare you do this?

Claudia...

How can you say you love her...
She's my wife.

...then force her to suffer...
What gives you the right...

...this indignity?
...to decide if she should die or not?

I want my daughter to have peace.
You know, you're not God.

Who said you get to decide...

That's enough!

I'm sorry.

This is the court order we obtained
in Minnesota,

authorizing the termination of
life support.

Now, I'm going to the hospital
to say goodbye to Cindy,

and then I would like
this order carried out.

I won't let you do that.

I have a court order.

I'm going into court tomorrow,
and I will stop you.

This is extortion.

It's not extortion. We...

I either announce
I'm HIV positive,

or you fire me from
the city contract.

What the hell is
that if not extortion?

I don't want you to
give up your practice, Bob,

but your patients
have a right to know.

If I disclose,
my practice is finished.

Nobody will come
near that chair.

The fear surrounding
AIDS is what it is.

The people have
a right to their fear.

Not when those
fears are unjustified.

But they are justified.

Nobody knows for
sure all the ways

you can get
the virus or can't get it,

but one thing we
do know for sure is

that if you do
get it, you die.

I don't have to
tell you that.

I'm surprised at you backing this kind
of paranoid bigotry.

It causes death.

The disease you have kills.

You put your hands in people's mouths
with sharp instruments.

How the hell do you not tell?

I'm not resigning my job.

I am not waiving my privacy.

Then you're fired.

(LAUGHS)

Fine.
You want me to come out?

You watch me come out now.

(DOOR SLAMS)

You know,
I was raised by my aunt,

and whenever she got sick,
she used to say to me,

"Come over here, Douglas,
and kiss me on the cheek."

And after I did, she'd get better,
just like that.

She said that's
the magic of human spirit.

One night, the two of us
were having dinner,

and she stroked out
face first into her cabbage.

We went to the hospital. Coma.

The doctor said that she will
never come out of it,

so I walked over to her bed,

and I bent over
and kissed her

on the cheek
just like always.

Did she recover?

No.

She died.
Sometimes, it didn't work,

but that woman made
me believe in hope

and the force of love.

I know your hope, Doctor.

I know your love.

I didn't fire him.
Mayor Pugen fired him.

But you
supported his decision.

Yes, I did.

Doctors with AIDS have no right
to practice medicine?

They have every right,
but patients have a right to know.

Are they going to unplug
the dead lady today?

I don't know, honey,
but I think they should.

Well, what about the baby?

Good question.
What's that supposed to mean?

I have to stop by the office
before I go to court.

CLERK: Case Number 42222,
in re Cindy Bufell.

Douglas Wambaugh,
appearing for the body snatcher.

Eve Stockton, Your Honor,
appearing on behalf of Claudia Graham,

as well as on behalf of the
American Civil Liberties Union,

which joins
Mrs. Graham in her petition

seeking the discontinuance
of life support

for her daughter,
Cindy Bufell.

Well, that would make you
an advocate of murder.

(PEOPLE CLAMORING)

Objection.
Quiet.

Your Honor, this case should be
disposed of quickly.

The patient, Cindy Bufell,
has been declared legally brain dead.

But she's still breathing!

By machine. I show you a copy
of her living will,

executed in sound mind,

where she expressly requests,
in writing,

that she not be kept alive
by artificial means.

Her intent is clear.

There can be no basis
for prolonging her life or death,

no justification for overturning
the Minnesota order

and no justification for making Cindy
Bufell bear the burden

of this indignity
and degradation.

Your Honor, if the woman is dead...
WOMAN: Let her die in peace.

...why are we wasting our time
with her dignity?

We should be
worried about the baby.

MAN: Sit down, Doug. Quiet.

Your Honor, a fetus in the third
month is not a life.

It's a human being.

A first-trimester fetus
is not a human being.

MAN: That's right.
According to who?

You know that, Counselor.

You have an obligation as a lawyer
to recognize the law.

Don't you tell me about the law!
Behave yourself. Your Honor.

Quiet! Quiet!
Everybody, shut up!

You better cancel the picnic, Kenny.
Jimmy says to get ready.

He may have to send units
down to the courthouse.

Why?

Seems the pro-lifers
want to murder the pro-choice people.

Really?

Well, it's
an abortion issue, Kenny.

Well, how do you figure?

Well, the case involves exalting

the rights of
an unborn fetus.

Over those of the mother.

Subject to Roe v Wade.

Yeah, but if the woman
is considered dead,

how can she have rights?

It falls within
the right to privacy.

I'm surprised
you don't see that.

Me, too.
Me, too.

What are you, the triplet?

Kenny, may I speak to you
a second? Alone.

I have no right to impose
my family values on you,

but as an officer
in the Sheriff's Department,

you have a duty to avoid even
the appearance of impropriety.

What are you talking about?

Twins.

If you are seeing two women,
that is your business, legally,

but if you're open and notorious about it,
Marjorie Parks was right.

It sets a bad moral example.

You gotta be kidding.

I am not kidding.

This town is in the wake
of a polygamy scandal.

Rome, Wisconsin,
is faced with moral bankruptcy.

You are a public figure
in this town.

You have an obligation to live
your life in an exemplary manner.

As Mayor, I implore you,

dump the twins.

This is not a pro-choice,
pro-life debate.

The only issue is
the intent of Cindy Bufell.

MAN: All right, Judge Bone!
WOMAN: Yeah!

Her rights are the only ones
I'm legally entitled to consider.

MAN: How about
the rights of the child?

Bailiff.
BAILIFF: Quiet, please.

Shut up, you people.
I'm going to read this will.

This afternoon, I want to meet
with Mrs. Graham and Dr. Bufell.

Tomorrow,
I'll make my decision.

Your Honor, while I'm here,

I'd like to file
my ex parte motion

on behalf of
Dr. Robert Paymer

and, once again,
on behalf of the ACLU.

Dr. Paymer seeks reinstatement
under a city contract

to provide dental work to
town officials and school children.

Why was he fired?

I was fired, Your Honor,

because I'm HIV positive.

WOMAN: HIV positive?

I'm supposed to be
a folksy country judge,

spending my golden years
settling pig disputes with farmers.

That's why
I came to this town.

To be folksy?
Shut up.

Now...
Now I have to decide whether

a husband can keep
his dead wife alive

on machines until she
carries a baby to term.

My own dentist has AIDS. HIV.

There's a difference, Judge.

Are you this man's
treating physician?

One of them, yes.

Your Honor, may I speak for the Mayor,
who isn't here?

Let me speak.
I'm sure he would retain me.

No!

Dr. Paymer wasn't
fired for having HIV.

He was fired because
he refused to reveal

his condition
to his patients.

There's no requirement that physicians

inform patients of
their HIV status.

That's ridiculous.
BONE: All right.

Yeah, 'cause you say so.

Your Honor,
we can't rely on doctors

to police their
own profession.

This doctor knew
of Bob Paymer's HIV status

and chose to remain silent.

I chose to honor
doctor-patient privilege.

At the expense of
everyone's safety!

I ought to book you
on criminal negligence.

DOUGLAS: I'll defend you.
Stop it. Stop it.

Jill, I'm putting you
on the stand.

Why?

I need testimony
as to this man's condition,

as well as to
the risk he poses.

That's the only
way I can decide

whether or not it was right to
discharge him.

Tomorrow morning,
you testify.

Jill?
Jill, Dr. Paymer's been hurt.

Somebody threw
a fire extinguisher at him.

He may be unconscious.

Bob!
WOMAN: Get away from him!

Excuse me. Bob!

WOMAN 2:
He's bleeding.

Bob! Bob! Oh, God,
I don't have any gloves.

Help me get him down.
I'm not touching him.

Dave Brophy did it.
He's in custody.

JILL: Jimmy, give me your handkerchief.
I gotta stop the bleeding.

No, you'll get
blood all over you.

Just lay down. Lay down.
Max, you don't have any gloves?

They're in the squad car.

I called the paramedics.

Okay, Bob,
put your scarf on the wound.

The paramedics will bring you
to my office,

and I'll stitch you up.

Jill!
Jimmy, never mind!

Okay, Bob, just put some
pressure on it. There you go.

I can only think we have to be able
to work this out.

Your Honor, I have always
been pro-choice,

and I certainly know

that Cindy didn't want to be
hooked up to all those machines.

After the accident,

it was a miracle
that the baby survived.

Now, I...

I can't pull
the plug on that miracle.

Claudia, that baby is going to have
your daughter's eyes.

Don't you think
I want a grandchild,

Cindy's child?

But she shouldn't be forced
to bear this. It's degrading.

She would want this.

No.
This is medical perversity.

Your Honor,

my daughter was
a proud person.

She was
a dignified young woman.

How dare anybody reduce her to being
a footnote in medical science?

That's not being done.

It's being done.

Thank you, Jill. Okay.

You stitched him up?

Yes, I stitched him up.

Are you going to tell me
I don't have the right to do that?

Doctors can't treat
HIV-positive patients?

That's not what
this is about, Jill.

You want to assume risks as a doctor,
that's your job,

but to let Zachary expose...

The risk was minimal. Have you heard
anything I've said to you?

I hear you, Jill. I hear you.

I just don't trust you.

I can't trust you anymore.
You preempted me as a parent.

That's inexcusable.
I can't forgive that.

Well, let me tell you something, Jimmy.
You haven't earned my trust.

You betrayed my confidence
to Marcia Banks.

You violated me to
solve a murder case.

You were ready to
violate Kimberly

to solve
a potential incest case.

On balance,
the decision was...

On balance, your job is always
prioritized over my job.

And you put yours over the
welfare of this family.

Yeah?
Yeah, and when don't you?

On Christmas Eve,
you walked into a hostage situation,

stared down
the gun of a psychotic

while your only daughter was home
packing to walk out of our lives.

You prosecute her boyfriend
for statutory rape.

You risk maiming
her psychologically.

All in the line of duty.

You have always been the Sheriff first,
the parent second, always.

Don't you dare attack me for
withholding information from you.

I'm the one who
can't trust you.

We got problems.

We got big problems.

WOMAN ON PA:
Dr. Luellen to admitting.

Dr. Luellen,
please come to admitting.

What are you doing?

Believe it or not, I...

I just came to
look at your wife.

Why?

I'm not completely sure.

I've been having these recent
bouts with mortality,

and somehow I felt that just being
in the same room with her would,

I don't know,
bring me some peace.

Dr. Silverman to the ICU.

I admire your courage, Doctor.

What I'm doing is
mainly selfish, but you...

We're both fighting to hang on
to what belongs to us.

Yeah, I always thought
if somebody

told me that I had
a year or so to live,

that I'd travel, you know,

go to faraway places,

grab on to all
the things I never had.

Turns out the prospect of dying
makes you cling

to those things
that you've always had.

I'm going to court to fight
for my right to give root canals,

to put on a funny tooth hat

and give weekly checkups
to a bunch of freckle-faced...

What the hell am I
fighting for here?

Your life.

What's her name?

Cindy. That's a good name, Cindy.
I always liked that name.

STOCKTON: And as
Dr. Paymer's physician,

you're familiar with
his medical condition?

Yes, I am. He has
contracted the HIV virus,

but he is otherwise,
at this time, in good health,

and he manifests no symptoms.

And in your medical opinion,
Dr. Brock,

do you think
Robert Paymer presents

a health risk to
his dental patients?

No, I do not.

Why doesn't he pose a risk?

Well, first of all, I've observed
his practicing habits.

He's extremely conscientious.

He wears double latex gloves.

He heat disinfects.

He's an excellent dentist,
so, specifically,

I saw there was
no cause for alarm,

and statistically, I also feel
there's no cause for concern.

What statistics
are those, Doctor?

There are between
50,000 and 70,000

healthcare workers in this country

who've contracted the HIV virus,

most all of whom are still
practicing medicine.

50,000 to 70,000?

Yes, and only one has passed on
the virus. One.

One out of 50,000 to 70,000.

And that was from a doctor
with full-blown AIDS.

The Center for Disease Control
estimates that the risk of getting HIV

from an infected
doctor is between

one in 41,000
and one in 400,000.

It's more dangerous
to cross the street

than it is to visit
a dentist with HIV.

And, in fact, Doctor, knowing of Doctor
Paymer's HIV condition,

you continued to
send your own children

to him for dental work,
didn't you?

Yes, I did,
and I still would.

There is no significant risk.

And the decision to terminate
Dr. Paymer from his city contract...

Is blatant bigotry.
HIV and AIDS

are part of this
country's fabric now.

They're with us.

The only question is how
we're going to deal with it.

The way this town
chose to deal with it,

by firing Bob Paymer,
is indefensible discrimination,

which can only serve to drive
other HIV victims underground.

If we keep this disease
and its victims in closets,

the cure will come later
rather than sooner.

For this reason alone,
I am disgusted

with the decision
of this town.

Thank you, Dr. Brock.
That's all I have.

That was powerful testimony, Doctor.

If only it were on point.

Dr. Paymer wasn't fired
because he has that fatal virus

that can kill any
person it touches.

He was fired because
he refused to tell his own patients

that he had this
deadly disease.

Well, unfortunately, because of the
phobia surrounding AIDS,

if he did tell,
his career would be over.

So he put his own
economic well-being

over his
patients' right to know?

Would you like to walk a mile
in his shoes, Doug?

Oh, no, I wouldn't.

As anyone would say,
I would not like to walk in his shoes.

That means if I knew a doctor
that had this deadly, incurable virus,

I would go to
a different doctor.

And what I'm saying to you is
that fear is unreasonable.

But nevertheless,
I'm entitled to it.

Even if the chance
is as minuscule as you say,

isn't it the patient's choice
whether or not he takes it?

But if the patient's choice
is grounded in hysteria...

This man works
with razor-sharp instruments

inside the mouth.

Isn't it possible
that he can nick himself

right through
those latex gloves?

He's an excellent dentist.

One slip, and he can cut himself.
Isn't it possible?

It's possible.

Now, I'm not talking
about a patient getting sick.

I'm talking about
a man that is working

with open wounds
inside the mouth.

If he's HIV and cuts himself,

that can cost this
patient his life!

His life, Dr. Brock!

So how, in the name of God,

can you justify not telling
somebody about that risk?

(CROWD MURMURING)

Hi, Mr. Mayor.
Hi, Mr. Mayor.

Hello.

Hi, Mr. Mayor.

Kenny, a moment, please.

Hearing over?

They're at recess.

I've heard two reports that
you went to the movies last night,

that you kissed
them both in public.

Little kisses.

I'm just going to get more pressure
from parental groups.

Now, you listen to me.

There is a morals clause
in your employment contract.

I'll take
action if I have to.

Stop dating twins.

That is unacceptable.

It's beyond unacceptable.
It's reprehensible.

What?

Forgive me,
sir, but mayor or no mayor,

you have no right to tell him
who he can or can't date.

Maxine...
It's bad enough

that people don't have a right
to keep their diseases private.

It's bad enough that people
can't die without doctors

or courts charging in
with restraining orders.

Now you're going to start
monitoring our bedrooms?

Is there any right to privacy
left in this country?

I'm talking about twins,
not the Constitution.

But you're acting
in your capacity as Mayor.

That's government intrusion
into private personal matters.

It's out of line.

This is insubordination, Deputy.

I'll be back.

Good.

Oh! And if I'm not here,
check Molly's Motel.

I have a matinee with a troupe
of Chinese acrobat midgets.

Just peel them away.
You'll be able to find me.

Jimmy, I want you to know I could have
chopped her up much worse,

but since she's your wife and my friend,
I held back a little.

Thanks a lot, Doug.

Well, sometimes I'm sweet.

I don't know what's worse,

being wrong or having it pointed out
by Douglas Wambaugh.

Patients have the right to know.
Of course they do.

You had the right to know.

You...

You always make me feel...
Not on purpose, but...

you always make me feel that my job
is less important than yours, that...

The town sheriff counts
more than the town doctor. And...

Do I send that signal to you?

Do I make you feel that my job
is more important than yours?

Yes.

Yeah.

Somehow, with all this
career muscle-flexing, we've...

forgotten what comes naturally to us,

trusting each other.

How could you and I
not trust each other?

Maybe

we should start by being
a little more selfish.

I can try to be
a better sheriff.

You can try to be
a better doctor.

But one decision we make right now
is to put the family first.

I could live
without this job.

I couldn't live
with losing you.

I love you, Jimmy.

With all that we've lost sight of
through the years,

I pray to God that you've never
lost sight of that.

I haven't.

Sometimes I find myself
both shocked and terrified

at the power that
comes with this job.

The two cases
before me today,

I have never felt so humbled
as a judge and as a human being.

The first case, concerning the
life support of Cindy Bufell.

As a matter of law,
I can only consider Cindy's intent.

It's not what you want,
Dr. Bufell,

and it's not what
you want, Mrs. Graham.

This comes down to the wishes
of your daughter,

your wife.

The living will is expressed.
She clearly stated no life support,

but last night, as I reviewed
the hospital records,

I saw listed among
her purse contents

an organ-donor card.

This woman called

for her organs to be used to
preserve another's life.

Mrs. Graham, I see no reason
why those organs shouldn't be used

to preserve
the life of her own child.

Please, Your Honor,
let her have peace.

She's at peace.

She's already gone.

The only anguish you could extinguish
here would be your own.

As far as her dignity,

there's nothing degrading
about bringing a human life into being.

I can think of
nothing more dignified

than to give
the gift of life,

and I trust that when you hold
this baby in your arms,

your very own grandchild,

that today's pain will be displaced
by tomorrow's joy.

I hereby order
the continuation

of Cindy
Bufell's life support.

This case is closed.

Now,

Dr. Paymer.

Your Honor, may I say that the people here
are deeply moved and touched

by your first ruling.

I hope you don't blow
it with the next one.

The next one, Mr. Wambaugh,
will be to hold you in contempt

if you don't shut up.

There is no law that says
an HIV-infected doctor cannot practice.

Like it or not, there is also
no law that says

an HIV-infected doctor
has to inform his patients.

As far as
the health risk goes,

over a million Americans
have been infected by HIV.

Only five of them got it from a doctor,
and it was the same doctor,

who may have done
it intentionally.

I agree with Dr. Brock.
There is no reasonable health risk.

The discharge is
therefore unfounded,

and, Dr. Paymer, I think the Mayor knew
that when he fired you.

Right or wrong, he was trying to
protect this community

by publicly
outing your HIV status.

I can give you your job back,
and I hereby do so,

reinstating you
under this city contract,

but I can't force
people to sit in your chair.

I can't order society to abandon
its fears and prejudices.

The only thing I can really give you
today is your right.

As an HIV-infected person,
you can at least walk out of my courtroom

with your legal right to work
in this community,

to be a part of this society.

That may be nothing
more than a platitude

because the bigotry facing you
is overwhelming.

Frankly, I don't think this battle
is winnable for you.

Given the power of this virus

and the force of
this public fear,

the prejudice will
likely outlive you,

but I nevertheless
encourage you to fight,

fight it every day.

The war against AIDS
discrimination must begin.

I see no reason why it can't begin
in Rome, Wisconsin.

This court is adjourned.