PHILADELPHIA
JUDGE LUCAS GARNETT enters his chambers (not wearing a
Judge's robe). He shakes hands with Wheeler and Kenton.
JUDGE GARNETT
Charles, Walter...
WHEELER
Congratulations on the new
grandson.
JUDGE GARNETT
Thank you. We're very happy.
The Judge brushes by Joe and Andrew without a word. The room
becomes SILENT as the Judge takes a seat.
JUDGE GARNETT
Attorney for the plaintiff?
JOE
Joseph Miller, Your Honor.
Macready and Shilts Legal Services.
JUDGE GARNETT
I've seen your television commercials.
"If you or anyone you know has
been injured through the fault of
others... It should say, "through
the negligence of others."
JOE
I'll take that under consideration,
Your Honor.
JUDGE GARNETT
On behalf of the defendants?
BELINDA CONINE
Belinda Conine. Of Petersen,
Lehigh, Monroe and Smith.
JEROME GREEN
And Jerome Green.
And a WASPISH lawyer wearing round glasses:
DEXTER SMITH
Dexter Smith.
A white-haired lawyer next to Belinda:
RALPH PETERSEN
Ralph Petersen.
JUDGE GARNETT
(to Joe)
You're outnumbered four to one.
(to the others)
Whom do I address?
I can't talk to four lawyers at
once.
BELINDA
I'm chief litigator, Your Honor.
JUDGE GARNETT
Fine. I've asked the litigants to be
present for this conference, in the
hope we can settle this matter
today, among ourselves... There is
nothing I hate more, than to see
lawyers suing each other. If you
look at the opinion polls, when Mr.
John Q. Citizen is asked to rank
professions according to the
respect he holds for them... Where
are the lawyers? Somewhere below
personal fitness trainers and only
slightly above child pornographers.
If we keep suing each other, if we
fail to settle the smallest
difference among ourselves with
mutual respect, if we continue to
scrap like bucks in heat, we'll
fall lower on that list. And when
people lose respect for lawyers,
they lose respect for the law. And
when this society loses all respect
for the law, we'll be murdered in
our beds, my friends, our cherished
institutions will be burned to the
ground and our children and our
grandchildren will live like
savages.
JOE
If it please Your Honor, we hope to
settle this matter.
JUDGE GARNETT
By God you will settle it! If you
force this case to trial, young man,
you'll regret it for the rest of
your natural-born days...
Now, Joseph. What would you
require to settle this matter
today?
JOE
Reinstatement at full salary.
Back pay covering the period of
unemployment and...
JUDGE GARNETT
Hold it, Joe.
(to Wheeler)
He wants to come back to work,
Chuck.
WHEELER
That's impossible, Your Honor.
JUDGE GARNETT
That's impossible, Joe.
BELINDA CONINE
If it please Your Honor, we're
prepared to offer a cash
settlement of twenty-five
thousand dollars.
JOE
Your generosity overwhelms me,
Belinda, considering my client
was earning over a hundred thou
when he was terminated almost six
months ago.
JUDGE GARNETT
Give me a break, Joe. Let's cut
through these false attitudes.
Give them a figure. How much do
you want?
ANDREW
I want to go back to work, Your
Honor.
JUDGE GARNETT
You're here at my indulgence,
young man. I'm waiting for a
figure, Joe.
Andrew and Joe confer with each other.
JOE
Based on what my client would
have earned over the next three
years, including benefits and
projected raises, and the
extraordinary cost of medical
care for someone with Acquired
Immune Deficiency Syndrome...
We would settle today for the
very fair amount of one million
five hundred thousand dollars.
JUDGE GARNETT
Very good, Joe. Now, Belinda,
I've got a figure over here, of
one million, five. I...
Andrew WHISPERS to Joe, who interrupts the Judge:
JOE
One more thing, Your Honor...
ANDREW
(jumping in)
Any settlement agreement must
include, and this is critical,
a letter of exoneration, making
clear my termination had nothing
to do with the quality of my work.
Charles Wheeler WHISPERS to Belinda Conine.
BELINDA CONINE
Your Honor, Mr. Beckett's
incompetence nearly sabotaged a
350 million dollar suit.
ANDREW
I was the one who was sabotaged.
BELINDA CONINE
We have complaints about Mr.
Beckett's lack of preparation,
his disorganization, his
arrogant, defensive attitude...
The list goes on.
JEROME GREEN
We have letters.
JOE
Why haven't you produced these
letters?
JUDGE GARNETT
Take it easy.
(to Wheeler)
What's the big deal, Chuck? The
boy wants a letter, to show to
his mother, for her to keep after
he's gone. Why are you being hard-
assed about this?
WHEELER
I wish I could exonerate you, Andy.
But I'd have to lie to do it.
ANDREW
(very calm)
You can save it for the jury,
Charles. I want to hear you say,
under oath, in front of a judge and
a jury, I'm a bad lawyer.
(rises)
Gentlemen.
(to Belinda)
Counselor.
WHEELER
Don't do this, Andy.
JOE
Whoa, whoa...
(to Andrew)
What do you expect them to say,
you're Alan Dershowitz?
KENTON
A trial takes time, Beckett. Do
you know what I'm saying?
ANDREW
I think I catch your subtle drift,
Walter.
Andrew saunters out.
KENTON
You'll be sorry, Beckett.
WHEELER
Andy, you don't want this.
Joe scans the room, all eyes are on him. His frown turns into
a grin. He faces the Judge.
JOE
With all due respect, Your Honor,
my client chooses to pursue his
constitutionally guaranteed
right to a trial.
Joe exits.
CUT TO:
HAND HELD CAMERA SHOT OF: THE FRONT YARD OF A TWO-STORY
Colonial house in Downington, Pennsylvania (EXT./DAY) ...
Andrew walks toward the house, TALKING DIRECTLY TO CAMERA.
ANDREW
This is the house where I grew up.
In Downington, Pennsylvania.
(pointing to the ground)
See this... ?
The CAMERA POINTS to SEVERAL PAIRS OF CHILD'S HAND PRINTS in the
sidewalk, then, BACK TO ANDREW IN CLOSE UP, SMILING.
ANDREW (CONT.)
Those are my cute little hand
prints. And my brother's and my
sister's.
MIGUEL'S VOICE
(BEHIND CAMERA)
And today is... ?
ANDREW
Today is my parents' fortieth
wedding anniversary.
Andrew goes inside, speaking to the CAMERA:
ANDREW (CONT.)
This is the front door. I caught a
finger in this door, once...
(holds it up)
This one. Broke it.
(stepping inside)
This is the hallway, my mother
calls it a foyer...
INSIDE THE HOUSE (INT./DAY):
CHILDREN are running through the house, while WOMEN sporting
corsages confer in the kitchen. A SIX YEAR OLD GIRL jumps into
Andrew's arms.
ALEXIS
Uncle Andrew!
ANDREW
(to CAMERA)
This is my niece, Alexis. Say
hello, Alexis.
ALEXIS
Mommy's pregnant again.
ANDREW
(doing Walter Cronkite)
You heard it here first, folks.
News as it happens.
Andrew's older and very down to earth sister JILL, puts her
arms around Andrew, squeezing tight.
JILL
Hello, darlin'.
ANDREW
This is my sister, Jill, the most
fertile woman on the planet. She's
married to Reverend Jim.
JILL
You feel thin.
(over Andrew's shoulder)
Hello, Miguel.
As Jill leaves Andrew's arms, the CAMERA IS TRADED OFF TO
ANDREW, who SHOOTS JILL GIVING MIGUEL A HUG.
MIGUEL
Hey, Jill. Nice to see you,
sweetheart.
JILL
(hugging Miguel)
Handsome devil.
(referring to Andrew)
Is he eating?
MIGUEL
We don't discuss his weight.
(to Andrew, behind CAMERA)
Do we?
CAMERA MOVES DOWN THE CORRIDOR...
ANDREW (OS)
And what will we find in... da duh
da duh da duh... the KITCHEN!
A GROUP OF LADIES SCREAM when CAMERA ENTERS KITCHEN.
LADIES
There he is! Hi, Andrew! Don't
point that thing at me! etc...
Andrew's mother Sarah wears an unpretentious flowery dress.
ANDREW
Hi, Mom. How do you feel on your
fortieth anniversary?
SARAH
Ancient. How do you think I feel?
Put that thing down and give me a
hug.
(he keeps it pointed at her)
Andrew, stop! ... He still
doesn't listen.
ANDREW
Where's Dad?
SARAH
He's out in his shed showing your
uncle his new riding mower.
One of Andrew's YOUNG NEPHEWS SHOVES HIS FACE into the
CAMERA, UNTIL SCREEN GOES BLACK.
CUT TO:
QUIET (INT./DAY) ...
Andrew and his immediate family are gathered in the den, sitting
quietly, facing each other. Andrew's father, BUD, with an
American flag pin in his lapel, sits next to Sarah. Jill holds
the hand of her husband, REVEREND JIM. Two of Andrew's brothers,
MATT and RANDY, (big, athletic guys with mustaches) are there.
Andrew sits next to Miguel.
ANDREW
Things might be said, at the
trial, that... are not going to
be easy for you to hear. Things
about me, about my private life.
And I want to make sure it's
okay with everybody.
MATT
I appreciate you asking, Andy,
but really, it's your call.
ANDREW
What do you think, Jill?
JILL
To be honest, I'm worried about
Mommy and Daddy. They've had to
go through so much already...
And, we all know...
(very difficult to say)
There's going to be even worse
things to deal with, eventually.
I wonder if it's fair to put
them through this.
Andrew's father STARES at his folded hands.
ANDREW
Mom?
SARAH
All I know is, you got through
your diagnosis fine, like a
trooper. But when they fired
you... you were so devastated,
Andy... I don't expect any of
my kids to sit in the back of
the bus. Fight for your rights.
ANDREW
Thanks, Mom... Dad?
There's a pause before Bud Beckett speaks.
BUD
Supposedly, the Lord doesn't
give you more trouble than you
can handle. But I'm having a
hard time believing that these days.
Andrew's construction worker brother, RANDY, wipes tears
from his eyes. Clearly their father is in alot of pain.
BUD (CONT.)
Andy, the way you've faced this
whole thing, you and Miguel, with
so much courage... your mother and
I have been so very impressed...
Andrew gazes at his father with incredible love. Miguel puts
an arm around Andrew.
BUD (CONT.)
I can't imagine there is anything,
that anyone could say, that would
make us feel less proud of you.
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