All language subtitles for L.A.Law.S07E20.Testing.Testing.1.2.3.4.1080p.HULU.WEB-DL.DDP5.1.H.264-BurCyg_track3_[eng]

- Doctor, did you have
occasion to examine Mr.

Hicks on September 15, 1992?

Yes, I did.

- Would you tell us what
that examination revealed?

- Mr. Hicks was suffering
from multiple contusions

about the head and the face.

Both his neck and his
right arm were strained.

- What about the blood pressure?
- Mr. Hicks.

Come on.

- Did you observe
anything else, Doctor?

- His blood pressure
was somewhat elevated.

- And to what did Mr. Hicks
attribute his injuries?

- He said that he was
beaten up by Val Bodine.

- Did he tell you how
this attack occurred?

- He said that Mr. Bodine
charged into the stands

and attacked him.

- What, if any, were the
short-term consequences of Mr.

Hicks injuries?

Stiffness, soreness.

I believe that he was out
of work for about a week.

How about two weeks!

Mr. Hicks.

- What, if any, were the likely
long-term consequences of Mr.

Hicks' injuries?

- Some residual
soreness is possible.

Sleeplessness,
nervousness, a loss

of attention-- any and
all of these things

are possible long-term effects.

Thank you.

I have nothing further.

- Nothing further?
Come on.

The guy's hitting us for
$3,000, and you got--

Mr. Hicks.

- --nothing further?

Mr. Hicks, sit down!

Hey, Doc!

You're taking money
under false pretenses!

That's called stealing!

- Mr. Hammond, will
you kindly advise

your client as to the manner in
which he's to conduct himself?

Hang on, Your Honor!

I'm not going to take
lessons in etiquette

from some guy who's
selling me down the river.

- You think I'm selling
you down the river, Ed?

- Yes, I think you're
selling me down the river.

- I think you're more
interested in cozying up

to a big, famous baseball star
than you are with providing me

with adequate representation!

- Your Honor, at this
time, I would ask to be

- relieved as Mr. Hicks' counsel.
- Whoa, whoa.

Your Honor, we have been through
delay after delay after delay.

- I can assure you,
that's not my intention.

- Well, it may not
be your intention,

but that is the effect.

- Your Honor, we are now
into the baseball season.

My client's practice
has been disrupted,

and his performance on the
field is being affected.

Mr Hicks has been through
four different attorneys.

Each time he gets a new one,
he buys himself another delay.

- Mr. Rollins is
absolutely right.

Mr. Hammond, I'm not going
to allow you to withdraw.

- Your Honor, I cannot
effectively represent this man.

Hey, Judge?

How about if I represent myself?

- Mr. Hicks, do you have
legal background of any kind?

No, I do not.

- And you feel competent
to, uh, represent yourself?

- (SCOFFING) I'm at least
as competent as this idiot.

All right, Mr. Hicks.

We'll adjourn for
now in order to give

you an opportunity to prepare.

Thank you, Your Honor.

- We'll resume Wednesday
morning at 10:00 AM.

And please, be
prepared to proceed.

Don't worry, Judge.

I'll be ready.

Hey, Mr. Rollins.

Now, we got us a game!

[laughs]

[theme music]

[upbeat music]

Hey.

Hey, Gwen.

- How's everything going
with the bar exam, Gwen?

Oh, it's OK.

I'm taking this review course
with this guy, Tony Henderson.

I go to class every day,
and I study every night.

I can attest to that.

- Are you taking enough
time off from work?

Uh, yeah, I am.

Plus, as the test gets closer,
I'll be cutting back more.

Plus, most of the time that
I'm here, all I'm doing

is studying.

Good.

- Don't be shy about
asking for help.

- Thanks.
- Shall we?

By all means.

Hicks versus Bodine.

That's me.

We are representing Val Bodine.

The ballplayer?

The ballplayer.

A guy named Hicks
had been heckling

him for an entire season.

Uh, Bodine went into the
stands and committed battery

upon his person.

The team offered Hicks
$100,000 to settle.

Hicks refused.

He wanted his day in court.

He hired and fired
five different lawyers,

and now he's
representing himself.

Temporary insanity.

No.

- Self-defense.

No, all he did was yell.

- Plead provocation to try
to mitigate the damages.

That's what I'm doing.

- And makes sure we
get some tickets.

[chuckles] Done.

- Salter versus
Sunny Hills School.

That's mine.

We represent Ben Salter.

He's a second-grade teacher
who was accused of sexually

molesting a student.

- A male second-grade teacher?

What kind of guy
teaches second grade?

- We're not representing
child molesters, are we, Ann?

- I said he was
accused, Douglas.

The charges were dropped.

What's he suing for?

- The school asked
that he take something

called a penile plethysmograph
before they reinstate him.

- Yeah, I don't like
the sound of that.

What is it?

- It's a machine that attaches
a wire to the male organ

and measures sexual arousal.

[groans]

- Ah, sounds like
A Clockwork Orange.

He refused to do it.

- You're convinced there was
no basis for the accusation?

- The charges were dropped.
- Yeah, yeah.

I understand, but that
doesn't necessarily

- mean he didn't do it.
- In this country, it does.

They attach a wire?

- I keep telling myself, Gwen,
there are over 100,000 lawyers

in the state of California.

Most of those people pass
the bar without having

a nervous breakdown.

You can too.

You're going to do great.

- I don't know how
I'm going to do.

Oh, you got work to do.

A little, yeah.

OK.

- You're going to
pass the test, Gwen.

- You've been pretty distant
lately, you know that?

It's nothing.

It's not nothing, Daniel.

It's something.

Tell me what it is.

I'm worried about my kid.

I'm worried that she needs
more of a home life with me

than she's getting.

And I'm worried
that she needs more

of a constant female influence.

- And I don't fit
that description.

- I'm not sure you want
to fit that description.

- I can't discuss
this right now.

I've got to study.

OK.

Um, I'll talk to you later.

[door shutting]

What are the exceptions?

Unavailability of the
declarant, previous testimony,

statement against interest,
dying declarations, pedigree.

All right, we'll go into the
specifics of each tomorrow.

Right now, I want to
say something to you

about this whole process.

Put down your pens.

I'm seeing the look of
panic on a number of faces.

Panic isn't helpful.

Put down your pens.

There's a tremendous
amount of information

you're going to have to
integrate between now

and the day of the bar exam.
You need to be organized.

You need to be disciplined.
You need to work your tail off.

But at the end of the day,
you need to forget about it.

What?

Hey!

You.

Stop writing.

Just listen.

There are going to be
questions on this test

you will get wrong.

It makes absolutely
no difference

if you pass by one point or by
40 points so long as you pass.

Panic will not make you pass.

Panic will make you fail.

Don't panic.

Eat well!

Have great sex.

[laughter]

Get a good night's sleep.

I'll see you tomorrow night.

[scattered applause]

Hey, Joel.

Do you understand the
parole evidence rule?

- All prior or
contemporaneous negotiations

are subsumed into the
written agreement,

assuming there is one.

You want to get a beer?

- Get a beer?
Don't you have to study?

- I've studied
enough for one day.

- Why is it I can
never feel that way?

- All you have to do is
understand what they're looking

for and give it to 'em.

It's a test.

It's no big deal.

[synth jazz music]

- I taught second grade at Sunny
Hills School for six years.

- What reason was given
for your dismissal?

- I refused to take a
penile plethysmograph test.

- What is a penile
plethysmograph test?

- They attach a metal
ring to your penis

and measure your response to
pictures of naked children.

- Why were you asked
to take such a test?

- I'd been accused of molesting
an eight-year-old boy.

Did you?

No.

- How did you first learn that
this accusation had been made?

- Six police officers
came to the school,

and in front of
students and faculty,

I was placed under arrest.

- Were you convicted of the
crime of child molestation?

- No, I was never tried for
the crime of child molestation.

The charges were dropped
for lack of evidence.

- What position did
the administration

at Sunny Hills
School take regarding

your employment there?

- Well, they said they were
happy and relieved and anxious

to have me back
there teaching again.

They said they knew right
along that I was innocent,

but unfortunately there
were some lingering doubts

among some of the parents,
and they asked me if I would

help put those doubts to rest.

- How did they
suggest you do that?

- First, they asked me to
take a lie detector test.

Did you agree to do so?

Yes, I did.

What was the result?

I passed.

- What, if anything, did
they ask you to do next?

- They asked me to be
interviewed by a psychiatrist.

Did you agree to do that?

- Yes, I was interviewed
on five separate occasions,

and to the best of my knowledge,
I was pronounced normal.

- Did that suffice
for the administration

of Sunny Hills School?

No.

They then asked that I take
a penile plethysmograph test.

And when I refused,
I was dismissed.

Why did you refuse?

Because enough is enough.

At some point, I had to reclaim
a little bit of dignity.

That's what I did, and
that's what I was fired for.

Thank you.

I have nothing further.

[courtroom murmuring]

- Do you have children
of your own, Mr. Salter?

No, I do not.

- Well, if you
did, how would you

feel about them being placed
in the care of a pedophile?

I am not a pedophile.

No, no.

No, I'm not saying that you are.

I'm asking you, how would you
feel about your own child,

assuming that you had one, being
taken care of by a pedophile?

- I would not allow
my child to be

taken care of by a pedophile.

- Well, then my question to
you, sir, is simply this.

Shouldn't a school
do everything it can

to stop that from happening?

Not this.

Why not this?

- Because I'm not
a laboratory rat.

That's why not.

I'm a human being.

- You're a human being that was
accused of being a pedophile.

Those charges were dropped.

- That's right,
they were dropped.

They were never disproved.
They were dropped.

- Objection!
- I thought you were--

Sustained.

- --innocent until proven
guilty in this country.

I thought charges had to
be proved, not disproved.

I'm curious about something.

You agreed to a
lie detector test.

You agreed to a
psychological profile.

Why did you not agree to
the plethysmograph test?

- Because I wouldn't
strip naked and have wires

attached to my genitals.

Because I felt that
it was my right

as a citizen of this country
not to be forced to do that.

- It wouldn't be because
you were afraid of what

- might happen, would it?
- No.

- It wouldn't be because
you were afraid that when

photographs of naked young
boys were put in front of you

that your genitals
would betray you?

Objection.

He's already answered
the question.

- Wouldn't it be that
the penis doesn't lie?

- Your Honor--

- Mr. Colquitt, you will
stop badgering this witness.

- Sir, I have never
molested a child in my life.

I have never wanted
to molest a child.

Now, unless and until somebody
proves that I'm lying,

I don't want to
take any more tests.

I want my job back,
I want my name back,

and I want to be left alone.

- Question, where were
you on the afternoon

of September 15, 1992?

Answer, I was in the
ballpark, sitting in my seat.

[chuckling]

Question, what were
you doing there?

Answer, I was
watching a ball game.

- Mr. Hicks, really not
necessary to keep saying

question and answer.

Whatever you want, Judge.

What was Mr. Bodine
doing that day?

He was playing left field.

Did you say anything to him?

Oh, yes, I did.

What did I say?

I said a lot of things.

I commented on his
fielding, such as it is.

He'd throw rainbows.

He never figured it out.

The shortest distance between
two points is a straight line!

I commented on his propensity
to swing at bad pitches,

to strikeout in
clutch situations!

- Objection!
Your Honor--

Sit down!

- Mr. Hicks, I'll run the
courtroom if you don't mind.

And the objection is sustained.

Mr. Bodine's performance isn't
relevant to these proceedings.

[chuckles] Ah.

Did you use profanity?

No, I did not.

I make it a point not to.

What did Val Bodine do upon
hearing my remarks, Mr. Hicks?

Around the fifth
inning, he comes

charging up into the
stands and assaults me.

Did I fight back?

No, I did not.

Why did you not fight
back, Mr. Hicks?

I was overmatched in
size and strength!

What injuries did you sustain?

Both eyes swollen shut, a head
that looked like a pumpkin.

And that, I'm a shoe salesman.

I deal with the public.

I was unable to work
for some two weeks.

And I was also left
a little frightened,

shaken up, given the fact that
my 11-year-old son had just

returned from buying
a hot dog in time

to see his father beaten up.

I felt deeply humiliated!

[courtroom murmuring]

- Well, I have no
further questions.

- How many games had you
attended in the 1992 season

by September the
15th, Mr. Hicks?

- Every time there's a
home game, I was there.

- Isn't it a fact,
sir, that at each

and every one of those games,
you made continuous denigrating

remarks to Mr. Bodine?

- Hey, I got something
on my mind, I say it.

You're allowed to do
that in the US of A.

- You made remarks
about his fielding.

You made remarks
about his hitting.

I'm a student of the game.

My observations happen
to have some merit.

- But your observations weren't
limited to the game, were they?

In what way weren't they?

- Did you make remarks about
the failure of a restaurant

that Mr. Bodine had invested in?

It was in all the papers.

It's not like I'm giving
away any state secrets.

- You also saw fit
to harangue Mr.

Bodine about a paternity suit
he was involved in, didn't you?

- That paternity suit took 40
points off his batting average.

- You were somewhat fixated
by Val Bodine, weren't you,

Mr. Hicks?

I was paying attention.

- Isn't what you did a
little more than that, sir?

Isn't what you did to have
kept up a non-stop barrage

of verbal abuse, taunting,
and baiting this man until,

on September 15,
you finally provoked

him into making a response?

- He's wasting his
God given talent!

That's a sin by me.

Look, I followed
this guy's career

going back to the day they
brought him up from the minors.

I tell the whole
world, this guy is it.

This guy, he's the difference
between having and hoping.

I stood by him because
I saw something in him!

Look, my kid liked him.

I liked him.

We picked him as our guy.

- And when he didn't live up
to that, you let him know.

- This lucky bastard
makes more money

playing nine innings
of baseball than I do

selling shoes for six months.

You bet I told him!

I have no further questions.

[courtroom murmuring]

- Doctor, would you tell
us your field of expertise?

- I'm a psychiatrist
specializing in the treatment

of sexual disorders.

- Did you have occasion to
interview the plaintiff?

Yes, I did.

- Would you tell
us what, if any,

conclusions you
reached regarding

his sexual orientation?

- I found Mr. Salter
to be both heterosexual

and age appropriate in his
social and sexual development.

- Doctor, are you familiar
with this machine?

Yes, I am.

- Would you tell us what
it is and what it does?

It's a penile plethysmograph.

It measures the
degree of arousal

a man undergoes when presented
with various stimuli,

both visual and auditory.

It operates by the use
of a strain gauge placed

around the shaft of the penis.

- In your opinion, Doctor, was
its use on this man indicated?

- It most decidedly
was not indicated.

And why do you say that?

- Because far less intrusive
and, in my opinion,

far more reliable diagnostic
techniques told you all

you needed to know
about this man.

Simply put, he is
not a pedophile.

- Doctor, in your
opinion, does Ben Salter

represent a threat
to the children

who are placed in his care.

Absolutely not.

Thank you.

I have nothing further.

- Tell us, Doctor, is
there ever an occasion

when a penile plethysmograph
would be indicated?

- If you're trying to determine
an appropriate treatment

modality, if you are designing
some sort of aversion therapy,

or if the results of other
diagnostic techniques

are inconclusive.

- But the results of your
diagnostic techniques

were conclusive?

That's right.

- Doctor, you administered
various psychological tests

to Ben Salter, did you not?

Yes, I did.

- And these tests were
voluntary, were they

not, Doctor?

You asked a question,
he thought about it,

and he gave you an answer.

That's right.

- The penile plethysmograph
test measures

an involuntary response,
doesn't it, Doctor?

Yes.

- So when the school's
clinician got to the only test

that Ben Salter couldn't
fake, and he backs off,

doesn't that raise the
tiniest question in your mind

about how conclusive
your diagnosis is?

- He stated his reasons,
and I agree with him.

- Is it possible that Ben Salter
could have fooled you, Doctor?

- I've been practicing for
a long time, Mr Colquitt.

It's not likely.

- I asked you whether
or not it were possible.

Anything's possible.

That's what we're afraid of.

I have nothing further, Doctor.

Thank you.

[sighs]

Hey, Gwen.

Arnie.

How's the bar review going?

Fine.

You're handling the pressure?

Hey.

You all right?

- Every minute I'm awake,
all I want to do is sleep.

Every minute I try and sleep, I
lie in bed, my eyes wide open,

trying the hell to
understand collateral

estoppel or-- or
prior restraint or--or

the rule against perpetuities.

Do you understand the
rule against perpetuities?

No.

Oh, great.

Nobody does.

- How does anybody
pass the bar exam?

- Gwen, you can't get hung
up on what you don't know.

You don't have to
know everything.

Right, just enough to pass.

That's right.

I don't know, Arnie.

Why-- why did I ever
think I could be a lawyer?

What kind of bright
idea was that?

Hey, come on.

- I mean, did-- no, no,
really, did my parents

want me to be a lawyer?

No.

Did I grow up watching
To Kill a Mockingbird

and thrilled at the
knowledge that I could

be the next Atticus Finch?

No.

I-- I don't even
remember deciding

I wanted to go to law school.

I don't remember that.

- What's the worst
thing that can happen?

You fail.

So what?

I failed the first
time I took the exam.

You can take it as
many times as you want.

- I don't think I could survive
going through this one

more time.

- What was your
reaction when you first

heard that Ben
Salter was accused

of sexually molesting a child?

Shock.

Complete and utter shock.

This, after all, was someone
I considered a friend.

What did you do?

- Pending the resolution
of the criminal charges,

I suspended him.

When the charges were
dropped, I called

him into my office to map out
a plan for his reinstatement.

Why did you need a plan?

Why didn't you
just reinstate him?

- There was a lot of concern
on the part of the parents.

That's why.

- How did you seek to
address that concern?

- By conducting our own
investigation of Ben and then

by being able to go
to the parents and say

he got a clean bill of health.

- And did Mr. Salter
indicate to you

that he was willing to cooperate
with such an examination?

Yes, he did.

And did he, in fact, do so?

Up to a point, he did.

When it came time to use the
plethysmograph, he refused.

I had no choice but to fire him.

- Would you tell the court why
you felt that to be the case?

- The question had been raised
as to the advisability of

letting Ben be around children.

That question had to
be settled, and it

had to be settled by him.

I have no further questions.

- I assume you were relieved
when the charges were dropped,

were you not?

Profoundly relieved.

- You just had the problem of
those parents to deal with.

That's right.

- Had any of the
parents actually

communicated their concern over
Mr. Salter's reinstatement?

- If I had reinstated him, I
would have heard from them.

Believe me.

These people pay
$7,000 a year to put

their kids in our school.

- And you figure that entitled
them to have a wire hooked up

to this man's genitals, right?

Objection.

Sustained.

- What other
requirements would you

be willing to impose
on your faculty

in an effort to
please the parents?

I don't know what you mean.

- What if there were
a teacher that someone

suspected of being gay?

Being gay isn't a crime.

- What crime did
Ben Salter commit?

- He was accused of
molesting a child.

What crime did he commit?

- So far as we know, he
didn't commit any crime.

- Then why were you treating
him like a criminal?

- I was doing my
job as headmaster

by protecting our
students and the school

at which I was employed.

- What were you protecting
the school from, Mr. Hollis?

- From the possibility
of being sued in case

Ben Salter did commit
a crime, in case

he wasn't age appropriate
in his sexual orientation.

- In other words, this was
a legal strategy, wasn't it?

You were preparing
for a lawsuit,

and you wanted to be
able to say if anything

happened that it was the
machine's fault and not yours?

- I think that way because
I have to think that way,

because lawyers like you
make me think that way.

- You had a prosecutor dismiss
the charges against this man,

you had a lie detector test
and a psychiatric evaluation

both conclude that he
was not a pedophile,

and still that wasn't
enough for you.

- No, it wasn't, and it wouldn't
have been enough for anyone

in my position.

Most schools would have
dropped him on his head.

I'm bending over backwards
to give him back his job.

I'm spending a fortune to employ
"state of the art" technology,

and he wants to pick and choose
what he will and will not do?

He's lucky I'm willing to
strap him up to that machine!

Thank you, Mr. Hollis.

I have no further questions.

[tense music]

[synth jazz music]

- Describe for us, if you will,
Mr. Bodine, the first time you

noticed Ed Hicks.

- It was opening day
of the 1992 season.

He was yelling at
me for the mistakes

he said I made back in 1991.

- I was supposed to
pretend they didn't happen?

Mr. Hicks.

Yeah, I know.

- How was it that you were
able to tell from whom

those remarks were coming?

How could I tell?

Yeah.

- When other people
sat down, he stood up.

Uh, when other people
got quiet, he got loud.

When other people got
loud, he got louder.

You couldn't help
but notice this guy.

- And did his behavior
continue in a similar fashion

beyond opening day?

- Yeah, how about
all season long?

- What was it that
caused you to go

into the stand and-- and
physically assault Ed Hicks?

- I just settled this paternity
suit, and, uh, it was painful.

It was messy.

And even though it was in the
papers, when he mentioned it,

I went nuts.

I had to listen to his voice
for five and a half months.

And I'm sorry that it
happened, but hearing

him talk about my personal
life on that particular day

was more than I could take.

I have nothing further.

[courtroom murmuring]

- How much money did
you make last year, Val?

Objection, irrelevant.

Hey, Judge!

Is it irrelevant to them?

I'm going to allow it.

Hey!

[claps] Way to go, Judge!

[chuckles] Excuse me.

How much, Val?

I made 2.2 million.

2.2 million?

Whoa-oh!

Heh-heh-heh.

How much is that per
game, do you know?

No, I don't know.

Well, let's look it up.

162 games into 2.2
million, that's--

whoa.

It's a little more than $13,580.

- There are probably 150
other guys in this league

- who make more money than I do.
- Really?

- There's probably 400
who had a better season.

- [laughs]
- I was hurt!

You were hurt.

So what were you
doing playing hurt?

- I mean, who were you helping?
- Objection, Your Honor.

Sustained.

We're not here to discuss
Mr. Bodine's performance

on the field, Mr. Hicks.

Understood, Your Honor.

Do you know you were called out
on strikes 24 times last year?

Objection.

Mr. Hicks!

- There were some bad
calls in there, Mr. Hicks.

- Oh, come on, please, let's not
start crying about the ump now.

Do me a favor.

Gentlemen, enough!

If you want to argue the
fine points of baseball,

do it on your own time.

[sighs]

Why did you hit me, Val?

- I hit you because
you wouldn't shut up.

- Why did you hit me
in front of my kid?

I'm sorry.

I didn't see your kid.

Let me ask you something.

Do you ever listen
to what I'm saying?

I can't help listening to it!

You can't help hearing.

What I'm asking is
do you ever listen.

Look it, I've got a manager.

I've got coaches.

I've got teammates.

I got people.

I've got friends.

I got enough people to
listen to who actually know

what they're talking about.
I don't need to listen to you!

- My son came home from
school, and right away

I knew something was wrong.

How did you know?

Well, because I'm his mother.

Mothers know.

What, if anything, did you do?

I talked to him.

It took a while, but he
finally told me what was wrong.

He told me that his teacher,
Ben Salter, had molested him.

Objection, hearsay.

- This is being used to
demonstrate the state of mind

of the witness, Your Honor.

I'll allow it.

- Your Honor, I want the jury
instructed that this statement

by the witness's child
is being admitted solely

to demonstrate the
witness's state of mind

and should not be taken as fact.

The jury is so advised.

What, if anything, did you do?

- First, I called the police,
and then I called the school.

- And you continue to
believe that your child

was molested by this man?

Yes, I do.

- Despite the fact that
the District Attorney's

Office found there to
be insufficient evidence

to proceed to trial?

- District attorneys often
find insufficient evidence

to proceed to trial,
but that does not

shake my conviction one iota.

I believe my child.

I have nothing further.

- Had your son ever
been sexually assaulted

prior to that day at school?

Objection, irrelevant.

- It's being offered
to demonstrate

the witness's state of mind.

I'll allow it.

Had he?

Yes.

- Who was it that
molested him that time?

- His father, my ex-husband.

- You first accused your
ex-husband of sexual

molestation while the two
of you were in the middle

of a divorce, isn't that right?

Yes, I did.

That was one of the reasons
he and I got a divorce.

- Tell us, was he ever
tried for the crime

of sexual molestation?

No, he wasn't.

Why was that?

- The district
attorney felt there

was insufficient evidence.

Do you think that
means that I'm crazy?

- Ask that the witness
confine her remarks

to answering the questions
she's being asked.

- The witness will refrain
from engaging in colloquy

with plaintiff counsel.

- Does your son's father
have visitation rights?

Yes, he does.

- Does he have unsupervised
visitation rights?

Yes.

- It's safe to
assume then, is it

not, that there was not
only insufficient evidence

to support a
criminal prosecution,

there was insufficient
evidence to prevent

him from being alone with the
child you claim he molested.

- You can be sure that
if it were up to me,

that wouldn't be the case.

- Was it you or your ex-husband
who wanted to keep your son

enrolled at Sunny Hills?

- That doesn't have
anything to do with this.

- Ask that the
witness be directed

to answer the question.

It was him.

- Your husband got to keep the
house in Brentwood, didn't he?

Objection.

Overruled.

- It was his before
we got married.

- You wanted to enroll
your son in a school that

was close to where you
lived, close to where you

had to move to,
because you couldn't

afford a house in Brentwood.

You were the one that
had to pick him up,

you were the one that had
to take him to school,

and the judge who presided
over your divorce required

you to keep him in Sunny Hills.

The judge listened to
your husband about that

just the way he listened to your
husband about everything else.

Do you think I made it up?

Do you think I made
this whole thing up?

These things happen.

People's lives are ruined.

Men do whatever they want
to do, and lives are ruined.

Women and children's
lives are ruined.

- Did your son tell you that
he'd been molested, Mrs.

Hartshorn, or did you tell him?

[shakily exhales]

He told me, and I believed him.

I have nothing further.

[courtroom murmuring]

- Mr. Henderson--
- Tony.

Right, Tony.

And you are?

Gwen Taylor.

- What can I do for
you, Gwen Taylor?

- I was wondering if
you could recommend

a tutor or an outside class
or someplace where I can get

a little extra help preparing
because otherwise I'm not

going to make it through this.

Everybody feels that way.

No, you don't understand.

I don't-- I don't
have a law degree.

I've been apprenticing.

I haven't had a lot of practice
being tested like this.

I'm going under, and I
really need some help.

Hi, Tony.

Hi, Sheryl.

- Are we going to
cover third-party

beneficiaries today?

Yes, we are.

- Good, because I'm
hopelessly confused.

You see?

You're not alone.

- Tony, I passed hopelessly
confused last Tuesday.

I--I learned all
these these mnemonics,

MY LEGS for written contracts
and COPE for the rules against

perpetuities, but
now I can't remember

what the letters stand for.
Does the E--

- Gwen--

- --in-- in LEGS stand for
Executor, or is it Escrow?

- The O--
- Gwen--Gwen, I will help you.

- You will?
- Is tomorrow night soon enough?

- Yeah.
- Good.

Tomorrow night it is.

- I can't believe you have
time enough to help me.

I'll make time.

I like a challenge.

Come on.

- Imagine that every
morning you go to work,

you encounter the same person.

Wherever you are, there he is.

And all day, every
day, he yells at you.

He reminds you of
mistakes you've made.

He tells you what you're not
doing as well as you should,

what opportunities
you've missed,

what-- what a
disappointment you've been.

And he comments on
your personal life

loud enough so that everybody
can hear, that he won't stop.

So you try to ignore him.

You try to concentrate on your
work, and you tell yourself,

it's-- it's part of the job.

It's a part of the job.

In one way or another, you
manage not to lose your temper

until that day, until that
day when the circumstances

in your life are such that
this-- this guy yelling at you

just pushes you over the edge.

It could happen to me.

It could happen to you.

It happened to him.

Val Bodine is a
professional baseball

player, ladies and gentlemen.

He is not a trained bear.

Yes, he's paid.

He's paid very well to play
baseball in front of people,

and, yes, he should be able
to take the booing along

with the cheering.

But what's a little
tough to take

is the relentless and
obsessive taunting

by a man like Ed Hicks.

I mean-- I mean, just think--
think what it would be like

if it were him waiting
for you every day

at work, every day for
five and a half months.

I ask you to imagine
that right now

before you render your verdict.

How do you do this?

[chuckles] What, am I--

I'm supposed to get up
here and make a speech?

All right, I'm going
to get up here,

I'm going to make a speech,
and-- and everyone's

going to listen to me.

It's pretty good.

[chuckles] Doesn't
happen to me very often.

[laughs]

I mean, when you're
a kid, you dream

everybody will listen to you.

You dream about being
center of attention.

You dream big.

You dream you'd be a Senator
or a movie star or a-- or a,

you know, baseball player.

You don't dream you're
going to sell shoes.

That's just something you
wind up doing like-- and that

and watching baseball games.

Time stands still
at a baseball game.

There's no clock.

Who you are doesn't matter.

Anybody can go if you
come up with the money.

All right, so maybe
it sounds stupid,

but 12% of my take-home pay
goes to buy the tickets.

I used to go with my father,
and now my son goes with me.

I'm a-- I'm a nervous,
overweight guy who drives

an hour and a half back and
forth to work to make 37.5

a year selling shoes.

I mean, my kid's
not going to yell

from the rooftops about what
his old man does for a living.

He's got nothing to brag
about in that department.

He's stuck with me.

So I take him to the baseball
game, and I make a lot of noise

so my kid will see that I--

I love something, and
he'll love that thing too.

All right, you may
not believe this,

but when we're at the ballgame,
I am a real big shot to my kid.

Nobody knows the game better.

Nobody yells louder!

And that may not be a
lot, but it's something!

It is something.

[contemplative music]

- Did Sunny Hills
School act reasonably

in requiring Mr. Salter
to take this test,

the penile plethysmograph?

Much has been made of
the test's invasiveness.

We all feel discomfort
at hearing it described

and imagining it
administered to ourselves.

Admittedly, it's hard
to view it as anything

other than a violation
of one's privacy.

I would urge you to keep one
thing in perspective, though.

It's not as much a violation
as being sexually molested.

And that, ladies and gentlemen,
is what we are talking about.

If a school had any basis to
suspect one of its teachers

of molesting children sexually
and they did not do anything

they could to prevent that,
the next sound you would hear

would be the snapping open of
attorneys' briefcases hell bent

on suing that school
for all it's worth.

The penile plethysmograph
is the fastest

means we have of breaking
through a suspect's denial.

Its results may
not be conclusive,

but they definitely give
us a piece of the puzzle.

They enable us to identify who
is a threat to our children.

If any of you--

if you or if
someone close to you

was sexually abused
as a child, you

understand the enormity
of that threat,

and the momentary
discomfort or embarrassment

that Ben Salter may go through
as a result of this test

pales in significance
when compared

to the misery and the pain
that a victim of sexual abuse

carries with them the
rest of their life.

I would urge you to render
your verdict accordingly.

- Ladies and gentlemen,
I am not here to defend

the sexual abuse of children.

My adversary has done
his level best, however,

to make it appear that I am.

He knows that if you are
sufficiently caught up

in the drumbeat of
fear and suspicion,

you won't bother to
distinguish between that

which has been alleged and
that which has been proven.

And if you don't bother
to do that, he wins.

This case terrifies me.

I look at what
happened to Ben Salter,

and I understand how it was
that women called witches

were burned at the stake.

A person stands accused of
that which we as a society

revile and condemn.

He refuses to have wires
attached to his body, wires

which bypass the conscious
mind, which measure not guilt

or innocence but the physiology
of some disembodied part

of his anatomy as if
that defines who he is.

As a result, he loses his job
and has his reputation ruined.

Does it behoove him to suffer
whatever ordeal is put in front

of him in order to undo that?

Only if you're willing
to scrap the Constitution

and cast out the most basic
tenet of our judicial system,

innocent until proven guilty.

This is not a case about child
abuse, ladies and gentlemen.

It's a case about an
innocent man fighting

for his right to hold
on to the last shred

of what it means to be human.

[courtroom whispering]

[indistinct chatter]

Hi.

How you doing?

OK.

How's the bar review going?

OK.

How's Lucy?

She's great.

- I was, um, thinking about her,
and I was thinking about what

you said the other day.

- Gwen, this really can
wait until after the bar.

I don't think it should.

I-- I don't think I can
be the constant that she

needs in her life, Daniel.

And the truth is that
I don't think I can be

the constant you need either.

So.

So.

I thought this would feel
terrible but at least

be a relief, and instead
it just feels terrible.

Hey.

Oh, I'm so sorry.

So am I.

- Has the jury
reached a verdict?

We have, Your Honor.

What say you?

- We find for the plaintiff,
Edward Hicks, and award

the sum of $1 in damages.

So say you all?

$1?

Mr. Hicks.

- They don't give IQ tests
for jury duty, do they?

- Mr. Hicks--

Hey, morons.

Bailiff!

Here's a question for ya.

How could he be guilty
and only owe $1?

Listen to me, Mr. Hicks.

- If I give you a dollar,
do I get to beat you up?

Mr. Hicks!

If you don't stop
haranguing the jury,

I'm going to have the
officer of the court place

you under arrest.

Ah!

The jury is dismissed with
the thanks of the court.

This court's adjourned.

- Hey, Ed!
Ed!

What?

What, you want to
rub my nose in it?

- You want to beat me up again?
- No, the jury already did that.

Hey, Val.

Are you sure this is
going to be constructive?

- Jonathan, I got
a little business

to take care of with this man.

Oh, what kind of business?

I want to give you something.

- Oh, what, you're going
to give me a dollar?

- No, I'm not going to
give you the dollar.

I want to give you
this for your boy.

What's this for?

- Y-- you showed me
something yesterday.

I thought you were just a pain
in the ass, which you are,

but you're more than that.

You-- you love the game.

You love your kid.

And I respect you for that.

I'd like it if you realize
that I'm a human being

and respect me too.

Is that the real deal?

I used it all last season.

- Including when you blew the
double play against the Astros?

Yeah, including then.

Thanks.

It'll mean a lot to him.

It means a lot to me.

All right.

Hey, sorry I beat you up.

I lived.

See you at the ballpark?

Yeah, count on it!

- Would the foreperson
please read the verdict?

- We the jury in the matter
of Salter versus Sunny

Hills School find for the
plaintiff and award $250,000

in damages.

- The court hereby orders
the plaintiff be reinstated.

The jury is discharged
with thanks of the court.

This court is adjourned.

I think we need to talk.

- I'm not worried about
the monetary damages.

They'll be covered by
our insurance carrier.

The problem comes
with reinstating you.

- What is it you're
asking, Mr. Hollis?

- I'm asking for you to
teach someplace else.

- Now, why would
I want to do that?

- Because it'll be a hell of
a lot more comfortable for you

someplace else.

I'm telling you this
as a friend, Ben.

There are quite a few parents
that don't want you back.

They've said to me that
if you do come back,

they want absolute
assurances that you won't

be alone with their children.

I'm going to have to put a
monitor in your classrooms.

- You do that, and I'll have
you back in court so fast,

your head will spin.

The judge's order calls for
his reinstatement, period--

no conditions, no
qualifications,

no holding him out to be
someone who can't be trusted.

She's right, Richard.

You can't do that.

Is it worth it, Ben?

- I'm going to be in room
nine Monday morning, Richard.

I expect to have a second-grade
class in there as well.

- You want to have a
second-grade class in there?

Then you call the parents
of those second graders

and tell them they have
nothing to worry about.

Tell them that no matter what
their fears are, if they want

to continue to have their
kids to Sunny Hills,

you're going to
be their teacher.

Do you want to tell them that?

No, because that's your job.

That's what you
have to tell them.

You have to tell them.

You have to stand up and
say that Ben Salter is

coming back to teach because Ben
Salter has done nothing wrong.

He's not a child molester.

He's not a suspected
child molester.

He's a teacher.

He's a good teacher.

- It appears as though
I have no choice, so OK.

For what it's worth,
though, I think

you're going to be miserable.

- Are you telling
me that as a friend?

- OK, you get in under
the exclusionary rule.

How?

[groans]

Independent source.

- Intervening act of free will--

- Intervening act of--

- --by the defendant--

- --free will by the defendant,
inevitable discovery, live

witness testimony, in-court ID.

Good.

And remember, if the
exclusionary rule

is on the essay question?

- Mention the exceptions
whether they're relevant or not.

Get in that I know
what they are.

- Right.
- Mm.

- OK, how about the rule
against perpetuities?

- The rule against
perpetuities, COPE--

Contingent remainders,
Option to purchase land,

Powers of appointment.

Oh, Executor interest?

- You love those
mnemonics, don't you?

- Yeah, they make
me feel more secure.

I really-- I want to thank you
for taking the time to help me.

I feel calmer now than I
have in the last few weeks.

And there was a moment
back there when I actually

pictured myself as a lawyer.

It was really great.

I can't believe I did that.

Mm.

[clears throat]

I can't believe I did that.

Why did you do that?

I don't know.

I-- I felt like I was
standing outside myself

watching me kiss you.

Look, it's late.

We're both tired.
It's OK.

I never do things like that.

It's totally out of
character for me.

- Why don't we just
get back to work?

- As long as you're
sure you're OK,

and you forgive me for
being so out of line?

- Yeah, I'm OK, and I'm--
yeah, I forgive you.

All right.

[clears throat] OK,
statute of frauds.

What contracts need
to be in writing?

Oh, right.

Right.

Where the consideration is
marriage, where the duration

of the contract is more
than a year, suretyship

land for the sale of goods
valued at more than $500

and for an executor to pay
the debts of an estate--

[theme music]