Philadelphia (1993)

1. This "pestilent dust" that counselor refers to

2. has appeared on only three occasions.

3. Each time it was tested, and the results... limestone.

4. It's messy...

5. but innocuous.

6. Innocuous?

7. Defined by Webster's as harmless.

8. I know what it means.

9. May I? Thank you.

10. Your Honor...

11. imagine how the children in this neighborhood

12. are being made to feel.

13. The constant pounding of construction

14. ringing in their ears,

15. as this skyscraper, a tribute to mankind's greed,

16. grows daily,

17. casting an ominous shadow over their lives,

18. filling them with dread

19. even as they are surrounded by this toxic dust.

20. Your Honor, Kendall Construction

21. builds neighborhoods.

22. It doesn't destroy them.

23. Granting a restraining order against this construction site will throw

24. 753 Philadelphians out of work,

25. and lend validation

26. to this contemptible and groundless

27. nuisance suit.

28. It's an example of the rapacious litigation

29. that today is tearing at the very fabric of our society.

30. Let's not go off the deep end, gentlemen.

31. You've made an articulate and compelling presentation,

32. Mr. Miller,

33. but I don't believe you've proven irreparable harm.

34. Not yet, Your Honor.

35. 9:42, whereas decedent...

36. Of trade name without...

37. Without complete approval.

38. Is that you?

39. Yeah, that's me.

40. Miller. Yes.

41. Hello, Iris. Client of yours?

42. Funny!

43. Hold on, Iris. Excuse me, sir?

44. Uh, sir? Yo!

45. Yo!

46. My sons and I went to a restaurant the other day.

47. We ordered coffee.

48. The waiter comes up and goes...

49. Here's the literature.

50. "Would you like sugar or Sweet 'N' Low?"

51. I said, "Do I look like I should be on a diet?"

52. Oh, God.

53. Andy.

54. Hi, doc.

55. Your blood work came back this morning.

56. I'm going to come back in a few minutes

57. and talk to you about it.

58. All right?

59. I'll be right here.

60. Good.

61. Hi.

62. How are you feeling?

63. Feeling pretty good.

64. Great.

65. Make a fist for me.

66. Once more.

67. Going to have to start

68. looking for veins in your feet, sweetheart.

69. Patience, Tyrone.

70. Okay. Okay.

71. Once more.

72. Hey, cab.

73. Hey, Andy,

74. terrific job on the Kendall situation.

75. Top-notch, Mr. Beckett.

76. Thanks, Kenneth, Robert.

77. Hi, Mr. Beckett.

78. Hi, Rose. Anthea.

79. Just the paralegal extraordinaire

80. I was hoping to see.

81. I know what that means. The answer is no.

82. I'm talking dinner at Felicia's.

83. I've got a class.

84. I've got some pretty compelling briefs

85. that need proofing.

86. You can exploit somebody else.

87. Since you've asked...

88. Your exam.

89. Thank you. 98.

90. 98?

91. 98. Congratulations. Hey.

92. I have to pick up Amy from her after-school,

93. but I want to talk to you about that Hansen thing.

94. Give me a call.

95. Tell Amy that I loved her painting. It's on my wall.

96. Hi, Andrew. Conference call's up.

97. The roll call just started.

98. Now, this is the settlement agreement.

99. The red-line copy's on your desk.

100. You need me in there?

101. No. It's 6:30. Go home.

102. Hello?

103. Hey, Mom.

104. Oh, hi, darling.

105. What a wonderful surprise.

106. How are you?

107. Good.

108. Well, what does Dr. Gillman say?

109. Dr. Gillman says I am fine.

110. My blood work is excellent.

111. She says my T-cells are steady.

112. Honey, how about your platelets?

113. What did she say?

114. Even my platelets look good.

115. Great.

116. Mom, more importantly, how are you?

117. Mom?

118. I...

119. I'm fine.

120. And how's Dad?

121. Dad is fine.

122. And what are you doing?

123. Okay.

124. "Action for the wrongful interference

125. with prospective economic relations."

126. Okay.

127. Andy?

128. Yo?

129. Am I interrupting you?

130. Uh, in a word, Bob-

131. Charles wants to see you upstairs.

132. I was just about to take a break.

133. You're sure I'm not under-dressed for this?

134. No, no, you're not.

135. Charles,

136. Andy has expressed a keen interest

137. in Highline versus Sander Systems.

138. Isn't that right, Andy?

139. The fate of the participants interests me.

140. Yes, sir.

141. It's an antitrust action.

142. It is...

143. and it isn't, Charles.

144. Sander Systems copies Highline's spreadsheet program.

145. For me,

146. the legal principle involved is copyright infringement.

147. Hmm.

148. Well, tell me this, Andy.

149. Which side of this conflict would you wish to see emerge victorious?

150. And don't allow my close, personal relationship

151. with Bill Wright, Sander Systems' CEO,

152. to influence your answer in any way.

153. I'd like to see Highline win this one.

154. Oh. Why, Beckett?

155. If Sander Systems wins,

156. an energetic, young company is destroyed.

157. The laws for antitrust and copyright

158. were enacted to prevent

159. exactly the kind of bullshit

160. that Sander Systems is trying to pull.

161. Andy, you know who reps Highline?

162. Rodney Bailey.

163. Oh, I object.

164. Rodney Bailey,

165. who couldn't find his way around copyright law

166. with a map.

167. Well, apparently,

168. the fellas at Highline agree with you, Andy,

169. which explains why, as of9:03 this evening,

170. right after the dessert course,

171. Highline, Inc. Is now represented

172. by Wyant, Wheeler, Hellerman, Tetlow & Brown...

173. Outstanding.

174. And more specifically,

175. senior associate Andrew Beckett.

176. Bravo!

177. Yes!

178. Yeah!

179. Congratulations.

180. Thank you, Robert. Thank you.

181. Now, we've got to get on Highline right away.

182. Statute of limitations.

183. Yeah, I'm right on it.

184. 10 days before we have to file.

185. Tokyo on line four, Bob.

186. Walter, thank you.

187. Thank you.

188. Kenneth, thank you.

189. You bet, Andy. Congratulations.

190. Aw, thanks.

191. I'm overwhelmed.

192. What's that on your forehead, pal?

193. What? Where?

194. That, right there on your forehead.

195. Oh, I got whacked in the head with a racquetball.

196. Ooh.

197. Excuse me.

198. Charles, I...

199. I sincerely appreciate your faith in my abilities.

200. Faith, Andy,

201. is a belief in something for which we have no evidence.

202. It does not apply to this situation.

203. Well, go home.

204. Oh, no! Go back to work.

205. Yeah. Yeah.

206. Thank you, Charles.

207. No sweat, buddy.

208. The committee meeting planned for next week.

209. Staff members...

210. Tommy, how are you?

211. The Highline complaint

212. is right there on my desk, Shelby.

213. It's all set to go,

214. so make sure Jamey is on top of it.

215. Sure, you got it. Anything else?

216. No. No, that's it.

217. I'm going to be working out of the house here

218. for the rest of the afternoon,

219. so thanks a lot.

220. Bye, bye.

221. Okay, now, you're going to want

222. to apply this foundation as evenly as you can.

223. Mm-hmm.

224. Because you don't want it to look like

225. you threw it on with a spoon...

226. Yeah.

227. So over here, you try this.

228. I got it. Right there.

229. Chandra, you don't think this is just a little too orange for me?

230. Well, okay, it's Tahitian bronze,

231. and that works best on these lesions, okay?

232. Think of it as the "I just got back from Aruba" look.

233. Exactly.

234. I've called in sick for four days,

235. and now they're going to think that I was taking a cruise.

236. Fax.

237. Thank you, Bruno.

238. Here, okay, look.

239. We can try this light Egypt-

240. Ah, ow.

241. What?

242. Oh, ow.

243. Andy?

244. Excuse me.

245. Just like my cousin Fredo.

246. Hi.

247. Does anybody want a bagel?

248. You okay, Andy?

249. I think...

250. I think I need to go to the hospital.

251. Watch out!

252. Hello, hello.

253. Oh...

254. It's all right.

255. I'm getting out of here.

256. Okay.

257. I'll talk to you later.

258. Oh, one more, one more.

259. Thank you for driving like a bat out of hell.

260. Take it easy, all right?

261. Dr. Gillman is out of her office.

262. I told her to take a day off and she took a day off.

263. Can you believe that?

264. So they took blood? A specimen or something?

265. Blood, yes. A specimen, I'm empty.

266. Did you find somebody to take your class?

267. Don't worry about it. Let me see.

268. Oh, you got a fever, baby.

269. Oh, there's my guy. Excuse me.

270. Uh, doctor? Hello, hi.

271. Just one second.

272. I came that close to not making it into the bathroom again.

273. I almost lost it in front of everybody.

274. Well, so what?

275. It's nothing to be ashamed of.

276. I'm not ashamed, it's just...

277. Oh, uh...

278. Uh, what about my blood work?

279. We're waiting.

280. Meanwhile, I want to prep you for a colonoscopy.

281. We want to take a look inside.

282. It sounds delightful.

283. Wait a minute, wait a minute.

284. Why you need to do this?

285. Who are you?

286. Who are you, uh, Dr., uh...

287. This is my partner.

288. Yeah?

289. Uh, he keeps records of my hospital visits.

290. It's nothing personal.

291. Oh, I'm Dr. Klenstein.

292. Listen, you're right.

293. A colonoscopy is not a pleasant procedure,

294. but if the KS is causing the diarrhea,

295. we've got to know about that right away.

296. No, no, no.

297. It could be parasites, an infection, I mean-

298. Reaction to the AZT.

299. All of these are possibilities,

300. but we've got to go forward-

301. Listen to me.

302. He's not going through some painful procedure

303. until we've canceled out everything else.

304. You know what I mean?

305. Listen, I'm trying to help your partner, okay?

306. And you're not a member of his immediate family.

307. I'm not.

308. I could have you removed from the ER.

309. Really?

310. Look, look, look. He's upset. He's sorry.

311. No, don't apologize for me, okay?

312. Okay, he's not sorry.

313. Let's do this.

314. Let's find out what the blood work tells us,

315. I will try to give you

316. a specimen-

317. some hospital food may help me along-

318. and then we might hear from Dr. Gillman,

319. and we can start from there.

320. Okay? Everybody happy? All right?

321. All right?

322. I'll get on the lab about the blood work.

323. Thank you, doctor.

324. I'm sorry.

325. - Oh, that's...

326. that's the third time the office has beeped me.

327. I better go.

328. Klenstein.

329. I've got to give them a call.

330. I want you to sit down,

331. and I want you to relax.

332. I am relaxed.

333. Oh, good, good.

334. Is there a phone around somewhere nearby?

335. Down the hall.

336. Thank you.

337. If you or someone you know

338. has been injured through the fault of others,

339. you may be entitled

340. to a tax settlement or money damages

341. for your pain and suffering.

342. Good Lord.

343. I'm attorney Joseph Miller...

344. Mr. Beckett's office.

345. Shelby, it's me.

346. Jamey's been beeping me.

347. Oh, I'm so glad you called, Andrew.

348. Listen, I just want to let you know

349. we have a minor catastrophe in the making here.

350. It's about that Highline complaint.

351. Jamey is going absolutely ballistic.

352. All right, all right. Calm down. Put him on.

353. One second.

354. Andy, this is a disaster.

355. We can't find the revisions on the Highline complaint.

356. Well, wait, wait, wait. Slow down, slow down.

357. Okay. I told them you were working on it at home,

358. and it was supposed to be here this morning.

359. No, no.

360. I brought it into the office last night.

361. I was there till 3:00 A.M.

362. There should be a copy with corrections on my desk.

363. I'm telling you,

364. it's not here, Andy. Shelby can't find it, either.

365. All right.

366. Uh...

367. the hard disk on my computer.

368. Print it up on the double

369. and run it through word processing yourself.

370. Okay, what did you file it under?

371. H-L-1.

372. Jamey, I don't have to remind you, do I,

373. that we are up against the statute of limitations

374. on this complaint?

375. And it runs out in...

376. in...

377. in 75 minutes.

378. It's not here, Andy.

379. Not there? I'm on my way.

380. Every problem has a solution.

381. Push, baby. Push.

382. Push.

383. Oh, it's coming.

384. Yeah, baby, it's coming.

385. It's...

386. It's a girl.

387. It's a girl. Oh, my God.

388. Oh, my God.

389. Take a picture, Joe.

390. I'm trying. I can't get the film in there.

391. Oh, my God.

392. Help me, baby.

393. Oh, look at her, look at her.

394. Look at our baby.

395. That little, sweet little...

396. Get her before she gets too old.

397. Oh, my God.

398. She's perfect, Lisa.

399. She has long hair.

400. Yeah, go down to Famous 4th Street Deli,

401. get a pound of Scotch salmon.

402. She likes that Scotch salmon.

403. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

404. You know, some onion rolls, bagels.

405. Here, give me a call.

406. Onion rolls, bagels.

407. Yeah, champagne, nice champagne. Yeah.

408. You're that TV guy.

409. I don't care how much it costs.

410. Get some nice Dom Perignon. Thank you.

411. How much? Oh, $100.

412. No, don't get me Dom Perignon.

413. Get a nice Californian. Dom Perignon's too much.

414. Get it all over here, because she's starving.

415. No, no, Iris, not the baby.

416. Lisa is starving.

417. Yeah, Lisa.

418. Iris, Iris, Iris, Iris, listen.

419. Anybody call?

420. An Andrew Beckett called.

421. Beckett?

422. Who's Andrew Beckett?

423. There he is! Joseph!

424. Hey! Hey!

425. All right, look,

426. I want you to explain this to me like I'm a 6-year-old, okay?

427. The entire street is clear

428. except for one small area under construction,

429. this huge hole that is clearly marked and blocked off.

430. Yes.

431. You decide you must cross the street

432. at this spot, no other.

433. You fall into the hole.

434. Now you want to sue the city for negligence, right?

435. Yes. Do I have a case?

436. Yes.

437. Yeah, of course you've got a case.

438. Great.

439. I want you to go with my assistant Iris here.

440. She'll have you fill out some forms,

441. tell you all about our fee arrangement.

442. Of course, you know we take no cash

443. unless we get cash justice for you.

444. Uh-huh. How's your back?

445. You got any lower back pain, dizziness, nightmares?

446. Funny you should mention that-

447. Iris will take good care of you.

448. Iris, you take good care of Mr. Finley.

449. I will.

450. Mr. Beckett's here.

451. Hey, thanks a lot.

452. Thank you very, very much.

453. All right, take care.

454. Mr. Beckett?

455. Mr. Beckett, come in.

456. It's good to see you again, counselor.

457. Judge Tate.

458. Kendall Construction.

459. Innocuous.

460. How are you?

461. What happened to your face?

462. I have AIDS.

463. Oh.

464. Oh, I'm sorry.

465. I, uh...

466. Can I sit down?

467. Yeah.

468. Thank you.

469. Oh, look at this.

470. You have a new baby.

471. Yeah.

472. A little baby girl.

473. Oh, "It's a girl."

474. Congratulations.

475. Yeah. One week old.

476. Kids are great.

477. Yeah, thank you, Beckett.

478. I'm real excited about it.

479. Listen, I, uh...

480. What can I do for you?

481. I've, uh...

482. I've been fired by Wyant-Wheeler.

483. I plan on bringing a wrongful termination suit

484. against Charles Wheeler and his partners.

485. You want to sue Wyant, Wheeler, Hellerman, Tetlow & Brown?

486. Correct. I'm seeking representation.

487. Continue.

488. I misplaced an important complaint.

489. That's their story.

490. Want to hear mine?

491. How many lawyers you go to before you called me?

492. Nine.

493. Continue.

494. The night before it was due,

495. I worked on the complaint in my office.

496. I left a copy of it on my desk.

497. The next day,

498. the complaint vanished.

499. No hard copy.

500. All traces of it

501. mysteriously gone from my computer.

502. Miraculously,

503. a copy of the complaint was located at the last minute,

504. and we got it to court on time,

505. but the next day,

506. I was summoned to a meeting with the managing partners.

507. They were waiting for me in the conference room.

508. Oh, hello, Andy. Come on in.

509. Would you mind hitting the windows?

510. Thanks.

511. Hey, come on in, come on in.

512. Robert, Charles, Walter and Lydia.

513. Thanks for coming in.

514. Oh, of course.

515. Andy, before we begin,

516. I'd just like to say

517. that everyone in this room is your friend.

518. I know that, Charles.

519. More than your friend.

520. Family.

521. Charles, I must apologize again

522. for the Highline mishap yesterday.

523. That was some scary moment around here.

524. Wow, thank God the complaint was found

525. and no damage was done.

526. This time.

527. What about next time?

528. There won't be a next time.

529. I guarantee it.

530. Yeah.

531. It's just that something's come over you lately, Andy.

532. I don't know.

533. Some kind of stupor or fogginess.

534. Some people think you have an attitude problem, Beckett.

535. Really?

536. Who thinks that?

537. I do.

538. Excuse me.

539. Am I being fired?

540. Let me put it this way, Andy.

541. Your place in the future of this firm

542. is no longer secure.

543. We feel it isn't fair to keep you here

544. when your prospects are limited...

545. and now, I don't want to rush you out.

546. We've got a committee meeting.

547. Excuse me, Charles.

548. With all due respect, this...

549. this is preposterous.

550. It doesn't make any sense.

551. Oh, you're right, Beckett.

552. You don't have an attitude problem.

553. Take it easy, Walter.

554. If you had lost confidence in me,

555. why did you give me the Highline suit?

556. Andy, you nearly blew the entire case, for chrissakes.

557. That alone is inexcusable.

558. It would've been catastrophic for us.

559. Uh-huh.

560. So you were concealing your illness?

561. That's correct.

562. All right, explain this to me like I'm a 2-year-old, okay?

563. Because there's an element to this thing

564. I just cannot get through my thick head.

565. Didn't you have an obligation to tell your employer

566. you had this dreaded, deadly, infectious disease?

567. That's not the point.

568. From the day they hired me to the day I was fired,

569. I served my clients consistently, thoroughly,

570. with absolute excellence.

571. If they hadn't fired me, that's what I'd be doing today.

572. And they don't want to fire you for having AIDS,

573. so, in spite of your brilliance, they make you look incompetent,

574. thus the mysterious lost files.

575. Is that what you're telling me?

576. Correct. I was sabotaged.

577. I don't buy it, counselor.

578. That's very disappointing.

579. I don't see a case.

580. I have a case.

581. If you don't want it for personal reasons-

582. Thank you. That's correct, I don't.

583. Well, thank you for your time, counselor.

584. Mr. Beckett?

585. Uh...

586. I'm sorry about what happened to you.

587. It's a bitch, you know?

588. Have a nice day, Mr. Beckett.

589. What the hell's the matter with that guy?

590. Iris, find out if Armbruster can see me.

591. Joe Miller's office.

592. Iris... find out if Armbruster can see me.

593. Armbruster? When?

594. Sometime this afternoon.

595. No, right away, Iris. Right away, Iris.

596. Okay.

597. Excuse me.

598. The HIV virus

599. can only be transmitted through the exchange of bodily fluids,

600. namely, blood, semen, and vaginal secretions.

601. Right, yeah,

602. but isn't it true that they're finding out

603. all kinds of new things about this disease every day?

604. All right, now, you tell me today

605. there's no danger, go home.

606. I go home, I pick up my little baby girl,

607. then I find out six months from now on the news,

608. whoops. Made a mistake.

609. Yeah, you can carry it

610. on your shirt or your clothes, or...

611. What are you doing?

612. We're going to draw blood.

613. - Why are we going to do that? - Joe.

614. Little Joe.

615. I've known you since you were a kid,

616. and I don't care a whit about your private life.

617. Thanks, doc.

618. I don't need an AIDS test, but thanks anyway.

619. Listen, just send a bill to my office for me,

620. okay?

621. Thanks for the information. Really.

622. You have a problem with gays, Joe.

623. Not especially.

624. Yes, you do.

625. How many gays do you know?

626. How many do you know?

627. Lots.

628. Like who?

629. Karen Berman.

630. My Aunt Teresa.

631. Cousin Tommy

632. who lives in Rochester.

633. Eddie Meyers from the office.

634. Um, Stanley,

635. the guy who's putting in our kitchen cabinets.

636. Aunt Teresa's gay?

637. That beautiful, sensuous,

638. voluptuous woman is a lesbian?

639. Duh.

640. Since when?

641. Probably since she was born.

642. Oh, man.

643. All right, well, hey, I admit it, okay?

644. I'm prejudiced.

645. I don't like homosexuals.

646. There, you got me.

647. All right.

648. I mean, the way these guys do that... thing.

649. Don't they get confused?

650. "I don't know, is that yours? Is that mine?"

651. You know,

652. I don't want to be in the bed

653. with anybody who's stronger than me,

654. or has more hair on their chest than I do.

655. Now, you can call me old-fashioned.

656. You can call me conservative.

657. Just call me a man.

658. Besides, I think you have to be a man to understand how...

659. really disgusting that whole idea is anyway.

660. Yeah? Yeah.

661. Well, well.

662. Little caveman of the house.

663. You damn skippy.

664. Here you go, baby.

665. Stay away from your Aunt Teresa too.

666. Joe, don't say that to her.

667. Think about it.

668. Those guys pumping up together,

669. trying to be macho and faggot at the same time.

670. I can't stand that shit.

671. Hey, I'm being totally honest with you, okay?

672. Oh, yeah, you are.

673. All right, I've got a question for you.

674. Would you accept a client if you were constantly thinking,

675. "I don't want this person to touch me.

676. I don't want him to even breathe on me"?

677. Not if I was you, honey.

678. That's what I'm talking about.

679. Mm-hmm. What?

680. Ho, ho, ho!

681. Merry Christmas!

682. Merry Christmas.

683. Thank you.

684. Ho, ho, ho!

685. Hey, Merry Christmas.

686. Merry Christmas, sir.

687. Ho, ho, ho! Thank...

688. Happy New Year.

689. You're the, uh...

690. The TV guy. The TV guy.

691. Sir?

692. This is the supplement.

693. You're right.

694. There is a section

695. on HIV related discrimination.

696. Oh, thank you.

697. Thank you very much.

698. We do have a private research room available.

699. I'm fine right here. Thank you.

700. Excuse me.

701. Do you know where I can find the State vs. Murdock case?

702. Just a moment.

703. I'll be right with you.

704. Wouldn't you be more comfortable

705. in a research room?

706. No.

707. Would it make you more comfortable?

708. Oh, uh...

709. Beckett.

710. How you doing?

711. Counselor.

712. Huh.

713. Whatever, sir.

714. Excuse me.

715. Who'd you get?

716. What?

717. Did you find a lawyer?

718. I'm a lawyer.

719. Hey, how's your baby?

720. Oh, yeah, she's...

721. She's wonderful, great.

722. What's her name?

723. Larice.

724. That's a beautiful name.

725. Named her after my sister.

726. Look, I'm, uh...

727. How'd they find out you have the AIDS?

728. One of the partners noticed a lesion on my forehead.

729. Um...

730. but how do you go from...

731. How do you go from a lawyer spotting a lesion,

732. which could've been anything,

733. to the partners deducing that you have AIDS,

734. and terminating you on the basis of that conclusion?

735. That's a good point.

736. The partner who spotted the lesion,

737. Walter Kenton,

738. worked for Walsh, Ulmer & Brahm in D.C.

739. A paralegal there, Melissa Benedict,

740. she showed lesions on and off for the better part of two, three years.

741. She says it was common knowledge around the office

742. that her lesions were caused by AIDS.

743. But they didn't fire her.

744. No.

745. They did not fire her.

746. So you got a relevant precedent?

747. Mm-hmm.

748. The Arline decision.

749. Arline?

750. Supreme Court.

751. "The Federal Vocational Rehabilitation Act

752. "of 1973 prohibits discrimination

753. "against otherwise qualified handicapped persons

754. "who are able to perform

755. "the duties required by their employment.

756. "Although the ruling

757. "did not address the specific issue of HIV and AIDS discrimination..."

758. "Subsequent decisions have held that AIDS

759. "is protected as a handicap under law,

760. "not only because of the physical limitations

761. "it imposes,

762. "but because the prejudice "surrounding AIDS

763. exacts a social death which precedes..."

764. "Which precedes the actual physical one."

765. "This is the essence of discrimination,

766. "formulating opinions about others

767. "not based on their individual merits,

768. "but rather on their membership in a group

769. with assumed characteristics."

770. Charles Wheeler.

771. Julius Erving!

772. By golly, I'm glad to see you.

773. Ken Starr.

774. How are you?

775. It's only going to take a minute.

776. Charles Wheeler. How you doing?

777. How are you?

778. Very good, very good. Summons for you.

779. Take a look at it. Have a good day.

780. Hey, Dr. J., how are you?

781. I love you, man. You're the best. You're the best.

782. If you ever need a lawyer for anything, you give me a call.

783. If you slip and fall,

784. you know, accidents, anything, let me know.

785. See you in court.

786. You're the TV guy.

787. Yeah, the TV guy.

788. Say, Chuck, what's up?

789. Now, regarding Andy,

790. I want to know everything about his personal life.

791. Does he frequent those pathetic bars on Chestnut Street?

792. Oh, Jesus.

793. What other homosexual facilities does he go to?

794. Absolutely.

795. What deviant groups or organizations

796. does he secretly belong to?

797. Wait a minute.

798. Bob, what is it?

799. Let's make a fair settlement offer,

800. and put this whole tragic business behind us.

801. Bob...

802. Andy brought AIDS into our offices,

803. into our men's room.

804. He brought AIDS

805. to our annual goddamn family picnic.

806. We ought to be suing him, Bob.

807. Where is your compassion, gentlemen?

808. Bob, we gave him Highline.

809. Did Andrew Beckett say,

810. "I might not be able to serve our client

811. to the best of my ability"?

812. He said nothing,

813. and now, discarding the trust and affection

814. I conferred upon him,

815. Andrew Beckett proposes to haul me into court,

816. to sling accusations at me, to call me a bigot...

817. in full view of the entire Philadelphia judicial establishment.

818. My God.

819. Excuse me.

820. Beckett doesn't want to go to court.

821. He's looking for a quick, tasty settlement.

822. A jury might decide that he has a case.

823. Wait a minute.

824. He was fired for incompetence,

825. not because he has AIDS.

826. You didn't know he was sick, did you, Bob?

827. Holy shit. Did you, Bob?

828. No, no. Not really.

829. Okay, okay. Everybody...

830. Everybody, this is the house that I grew up in.

831. Bonito.

832. Right here in the hometown of Lower Merion, Pennsylvania.

833. Wait, here...

834. and here's proof.

835. There.

836. My hand prints from when I was a cute, little boy.

837. Today is the 40th wedding anniversary

838. of my mom and dad, the Becketts.

839. Isn't that something?

840. Pretty tough life around this poverty so many years, huh?

841. Well, now, those can be mean streets.

842. Don't let appearances fool you.

843. Here's the front door.

844. Now, I once slammed this finger in the front door

845. and I broke it.

846. Where's my brother?

847. Hey.

848. Hey, there's my sister Jill, everybody.

849. Say hello, Alexis.

850. Mommy's pregnant again!

851. What?

852. Yes.

853. Are you really?

854. Hi, Meghan.

855. It's Uncle Andy.

856. Where's Dad?

857. He's out trying to get the snow blower fixed.

858. It snows once in seven years,

859. Dad buys a new snow blower.

860. Oh, how are you?

861. Oh, Mom, today's a good day.

862. Meghan, keep that up. You're doing a great job.

863. I got to say hello to the Brontë sisters.

864. How are you? Good to see you.

865. Hi, Andy.

866. How are you?

867. Hey, hey, hey.

868. Put me down.

869. There's going to be things said at the trial

870. that are going to be hard for you to hear

871. about me and my personal life,

872. and there's going to be publicity.

873. I want to make sure it's okay with everybody.

874. Andy, you want me to take her?

875. No, no.

876. She's...

877. she's fine.

878. I think it's great that you're asking,

879. Andy, but, uh...

880. this is really your call.

881. All right. Thank you, brother.

882. Thank you.

883. Hey, you're my kid brother.

884. That's all that matters, okay?

885. To be honest,

886. I'm worried about Mommy and Daddy.

887. They've been through so much already,

888. and it's possible that there are going to be some very tough times ahead.

889. Uh, Andy, the way...

890. the way that you've handled this whole thing,

891. you and Miguel, with so much courage,

892. I don't believe there's anything

893. that anyone could say

894. that would make us feel anything

895. but incredibly proud of you.

896. Well...

897. I didn't raise my kids to sit in the back of the bus.

898. You get in there

899. and you fight for your rights, okay?

900. Gee, I love you guys.

901. Ladies and gentlemen ofthejury...

902. forget everything you've seen on television

903. and in the movies.

904. There's not going to be any last-minute surprise witnesses.

905. Nobody's going to break down on the stand

906. with a tearful confession.

907. You're going to be presented with a simple fact.

908. Andrew Beckett was fired.

909. You'll hear two explanations for why he was fired.

910. Ours...

911. and theirs.

912. It is up to you

913. to sift through layer upon layer of truth

914. until you determine for yourselves

915. which version sounds the most true.

916. There are certain points that I must prove to you.

917. Point number one,

918. Andrew Beckett was...

919. is...

920. a brilliant lawyer,

921. a great lawyer.

922. Point number two,

923. Andrew Beckett,

924. afflicted with a debilitating disease,

925. made the understandable, the personal,

926. the legal choice

927. to keep the fact of his illness to himself.

928. Point number three, his employers discovered his illness,

929. and, ladies and gentlemen, the illness I'm referring to is AIDS.

930. Point number four,

931. they panicked.

932. And in their panic,

933. they did what most of us would like to do with AIDS,

934. which is just get it and everybody who has it as far away

935. from the rest of us as possible.

936. Now, the behavior of Andrew Beckett's employers

937. may seem reasonable to you.

938. Does to me.

939. After all, AIDS is a deadly, incurable disease,

940. but no matter how you come to judge

941. Charles Wheeler and his partners

942. in ethical, moral, and in human terms,

943. the fact of the matter is,

944. when they fired Andrew Beckett because he had AIDS,

945. they broke the law.

946. Fact.

947. Andrew Beckett's performance on the job

948. varied from competent, good,

949. to oftentimes mediocre,

950. to sometimes flagrantly incompetent.

951. Fact.

952. He claims he's the victim of lies and deceit.

953. Fact.

954. It was Andrew Beckett who lied,

955. going to great lengths to conceal his disease from his employers.

956. Fact.

957. He was...

958. successful in his duplicity.

959. The partners at Wyant-Wheeler did not know

960. that Andrew Beckett had AIDS when they fired him.

961. Fact.

962. Andrew Beckett is dying.

963. Fact.

964. Andrew Beckett is angry...

965. because his lifestyle,

966. his reckless behavior,

967. has cut short his life.

968. And in his anger, his rage,

969. he is lashing out,

970. and he wants someone to pay.

971. Thank you.

972. Andrew Beckett

973. represented your company in a lawsuit in 1990.

974. Is that correct?

975. That's correct.

976. Were you pleased with his work?

977. We were satisfied with the outcome of the litigation.

978. Satisfied.

979. Mr. Laird,

980. when I approached you about being a witness at this trial,

981. you gave sworn testimony in a deposition,

982. is that correct?

983. That's correct.

984. In that deposition, you said that you were,

985. "Impressed and delighted

986. with the quality of Andrew Beckett's work."

987. Do you recall saying that?

988. In all honesty,

989. I was delighted

990. with certain aspects of Andy's efforts,

991. but in general,

992. I found the work to be...

993. merely satisfactory.

994. Uh-huh.

995. Do you agree...

996. that a bologna sandwich is a satisfactory meal,

997. whereas caviar and champagne,

998. roast duck and baked Alaska,

999. that might be considered a delightful meal?

1000. We object.

1001. These gastronomical comments are irrelevant to these proceedings, Your Honor.

1002. They are not irrelevant.

1003. Your Honor, five months ago,

1004. this witness characterized Andrew Beckett as caviar.

1005. Now he's calling him a bologna sandwich.

1006. I think the jury is entitled to know

1007. what powerful force

1008. has caused him to change his mind.

1009. He hasn't changed his mind.

1010. He's amplified his answer.

1011. Objection sustained.

1012. All right.

1013. All right, Mr. Laird, explain this to me

1014. like I'm a 4-year-old, okay?

1015. Did Andrew Beckett win your lawsuit for you?

1016. Yes, we won.

1017. Oh, congratulations.

1018. That must've been a very...

1019. satisfactory experience.

1020. Homophobia's got to go!

1021. Hey, hey! Ho, ho! Homophobia's got to go.

1022. Hey, hey, ho, ho! Homophobia's got to go!

1023. Ready, Mr. Beckett?

1024. Get ready. Here they come.

1025. No rights for sodomites!

1026. It's Adam and Eve! Not Adam and Steve!

1027. Thou shalt not lie with mankind.

1028. Do you see this as a gay rights issue?

1029. I am not political.

1030. I just want what is fair, what is right.

1031. But you are gay, aren't you?

1032. I don't see how that's any of your business,

1033. but, yes, I am.

1034. Totally irrelevant.

1035. Doesn't matter.

1036. Do you think that homosexuals deserve special treatment?

1037. Hell no.

1038. We're standing here in Philadelphia,

1039. the city of brotherly love,

1040. the birthplace of freedom,

1041. where the founding fathers authored

1042. the Declaration of Independence.

1043. And I don't recall that glorious document

1044. saying anything about all straight men are created equal.

1045. I believe it says, "All men are created equal."

1046. Give me a goddamn break.

1047. As far as someone being fired from a law firm or a business,

1048. if we found that their action was discriminatory,

1049. they could no longer do business with the city.

1050. Thank you, mayor.

1051. Joe.

1052. Listen, you're, uh...

1053. You're not getting a little light in the sneakers, are you, pal?

1054. Yeah, I am, Filko.

1055. I'm, uh...

1056. I'm changing.

1057. I'm on the prowl,

1058. and I'm looking for a hunk.

1059. Not just any hunk. I mean a man, a real man like you.

1060. You can tell everybody about it.

1061. You know what we do. You want to play sailor?

1062. You remember? I'm Columbus, you're the first mate?

1063. Knock if off. That's not funny.

1064. Let me tell you something. These people make me sick, Filko,

1065. but a law's been broken.

1066. You remember the law, don't you?

1067. At least we agree on one thing, Joe.

1068. What's that, Charlie?

1069. Tutti-fruttis make me sick too.

1070. Ms. Benedict, is it true that you worked for Walsh, Ulmer & Brahm

1071. three years ago, at the same time as Walter Kenton?

1072. That's correct.

1073. And at that time, did Walter Kenton know

1074. the KS lesions on your face and arms were caused by AIDS?

1075. Definitely.

1076. I told all the partners.

1077. How did Walter Kenton treat you

1078. after you told him you had AIDS?

1079. Every time he'd come in contact with me,

1080. he'd get this look on his face.

1081. I refer to it as the "Oh, God" expression.

1082. A in, "Oh, God, here comes that woman with AIDS."

1083. Thank you, Ms. Benedict. No more questions, Your Honor.

1084. Ms. Benedict, how did you contract the AIDS virus?

1085. Through a transfusion.

1086. I lost a lot of blood giving birth to my second child.

1087. So, in other words, in your case,

1088. there was no behavior on your part

1089. which caused you to be infected with the virus.

1090. It was something you were unable to avoid. Isn't that correct?

1091. I guess.

1092. Thank you.

1093. But I don't consider myself any different from anyone else with this disease.

1094. I'm not guilty. I'm not innocent.

1095. I'm just trying to survive.

1096. Thank you, Ms. Benedict.

1097. No further questions at this time, Your Honor.

1098. You may step down, Ms. Benedict.

1099. Beyond noticing the marks on his face,

1100. were there other things about his appearance, Miss Burton,

1101. that made you suspect that Andrew had AIDS?

1102. Well, he was getting thinner,

1103. and he seemed very tired sometimes,

1104. but he was working so hard.

1105. Still, I felt something was wrong,

1106. and I can't believe that they're trying to pretend

1107. that they didn't notice anything.

1108. Objection.

1109. Just answer the question, please.

1110. Have you ever felt discriminated against at Wyant-Wheeler?

1111. Well, yes.

1112. In what way?

1113. Well,

1114. Mr. Wheeler's secretary, Lydia,

1115. said that Mr. Wheeler had a problem with my earrings.

1116. Really?

1117. Apparently Mr. Wheeler felt they were

1118. too "ethnic" is the word she used,

1119. and she told me that he said he would like it

1120. if I wore something a little less garish,

1121. a little smaller, and more...

1122. "American."

1123. What'd you say?

1124. I said, "My earrings are American.

1125. They're African-American."

1126. Let's have order, please.

1127. Thank you. No more questions.

1128. Miss Burton,

1129. weren't you recently promoted?

1130. Yes, I'm in charge of the paralegal department.

1131. Congratulations on your unfettered ascendancy at Wyant-Wheeler.

1132. Well, I don't know if I'd go so far as to call it unfettered.

1133. I don't understand.

1134. How do you explain

1135. the promotion of an obviously

1136. intelligent, articulate,

1137. qualified African-American woman

1138. in a firm which practices discrimination

1139. as wantonly and consistently as you and Mr. Beckett claim?

1140. I can't explain it.

1141. Could it be

1142. that these...

1143. instances of discrimination are in fact misunderstandings...

1144. that have been blown completely out of proportion?

1145. I think counsel tends to oversimplify the issue somewhat.

1146. Well, thank you, Miss Burton.

1147. I'll... take that note under consideration.

1148. How's the trial going?

1149. Excuse me?

1150. It's a great case. I saw you on television.

1151. I'm a law student at Penn.

1152. Oh. How you doing?

1153. I'm all right. How are you?

1154. Saw me on TV? Yeah.

1155. It's a good school, Penn. What year are you in?

1156. Second.

1157. Listen, I just want to tell you,

1158. this case, it's tremendously important,

1159. and I just wanted to let you know I think you're doing a fantastic job.

1160. Hey.

1161. Thank you.

1162. Look, when you graduate, you give me a call.

1163. All right. Thank you. Thank you very much.

1164. Listen, Joe?

1165. Yeah?

1166. Would you like to have a drink with me?

1167. I just finished a game and I could use a beer, you know?

1168. Uh, no, I can't. My wife is...

1169. I don't pick up people in drugstores every day.

1170. What? You think I'm gay?

1171. Aren't you?

1172. What's the matter with you? I look gay to you?

1173. Do I look gay to you?

1174. Joe, relax. What do you mean, relax?

1175. You know, I ought to kick your faggoty little ass.

1176. Take it as a compliment. Jeez.

1177. You know, that is exactly the kind of bullshit

1178. that makes people hate your little...

1179. faggoty ass.

1180. You want to try and kick my ass, Joe?

1181. Asshole.

1182. No, you're the asshole, buddy.

1183. Please continue, Miss O'Hara.

1184. We were going crazy looking for this complaint.

1185. I felt like I was in the Twilight Zone.

1186. Mr. Beckett was screaming at everybody

1187. and hejust... he looked so freaky

1188. and Mr. Kenton kept saying, "You lost the Highline complaint?"

1189. And he called Mr. Wheeler, and all of a sudden,

1190. Jamey comes in with the complaint in his hand.

1191. He says, "It was in central files, Andy."

1192. Central files?

1193. Yes, central files is a place where paperwork is sent

1194. when cases are closed.

1195. Well, Jamey ran it over to the court just in time,

1196. and everybody just stood there, completely wasted,

1197. and Mr...

1198. and Mr. Beckett just kept saying,

1199. "I'm sorry. Sorry. I don't understand this."

1200. Thank you, Miss O'Hara.

1201. No further questions at this time, Your Honor.

1202. All right. Mr. Miller?

1203. May I?

1204. Certainly.

1205. Thank you.

1206. You okay?

1207. Yes.

1208. You want a glass of water or something?

1209. No.

1210. Was Andy a good boss?

1211. Yes.

1212. He was very sweet.

1213. How would you characterize his work as an attorney?

1214. How would I know? I just worked for him.

1215. Excuse me, Your Honor,

1216. but is this for the record?

1217. Mr. Miller, perhaps you should return to counsel's table.

1218. Yes, sir.

1219. Miss O'Hara?

1220. Yes?

1221. Were you aware,

1222. at any time,

1223. of any problems that the senior partners had

1224. with the quality of Andrew's work

1225. prior to this missing file episode?

1226. No.

1227. No, I wasn't.

1228. Thank you.

1229. No more questions, Your Honor.

1230. Is Andrew Beckett the kind of lawyer

1231. who misplaces crucial documents?

1232. Not to my knowledge.

1233. No.

1234. Mr. Collins, if you wanted to make a lawyer look incompetent,

1235. would this be a good way of going about it?

1236. Hiding an important document maybe for a few hours,

1237. and then making it look like the responsible lawyer misplaced it?

1238. Why would Mr. Wheeler and the others behave so outrageously?

1239. Because they found out Andy was sick?

1240. He's not answering the question.

1241. Perhaps.

1242. We have lawyers who've had heart attacks, ulcers,

1243. prostate cancer, leukemia.

1244. No one sandbagged them.

1245. Did you have something to do with this file being lost

1246. accidentally on purpose?

1247. Objection. I'll rephrase.

1248. Did you have anything to do with this file being misplaced?

1249. Absolutely not.

1250. Are you a homosexual?

1251. What?

1252. Are you a homosexual? Answer the question. Are you a homo?

1253. Are you a faggot? You know, a punk, queen, pillow biter, fairy?

1254. Bootie snatcher, rump roaster? Are you gay?

1255. Objection.

1256. Order. Order.

1257. Where did this come from?

1258. Suddenly counsel's attacking his own witness?

1259. Mr. Collins' sexual orientation has nothing to do with this case.

1260. Please have a seat, Miss Conine.

1261. Would you approach the bench, Mr. Miller?

1262. Could you kindly share with me

1263. exactly what's going on inside your head,

1264. because at this moment, I don't have a clue.

1265. Your Honor,

1266. everybody in this courtroom

1267. is thinking about...

1268. sexual orientation, you know, sexual preference,

1269. whatever you want to call it.

1270. Who does what to whom and how they do it.

1271. I mean, they're looking at Andrew Beckett.

1272. They're thinking about it.

1273. They're looking at Mr. Wheeler, Miss Conine, even you, Your Honor.

1274. They're wondering about it.

1275. Trust me,

1276. I know they're looking at me and thinking about it,

1277. so let's just get it out in the open.

1278. Let's get it out of the closet,

1279. because this case is not just about AIDS, is it?

1280. So let's talk about what this case is really all about.

1281. The general publics' hatred, our loathing,

1282. our fear of homosexuals,

1283. and how that climate of hatred and fear

1284. translated into the firing of this particular homosexual,

1285. my client, Andrew Beckett.

1286. Please have a seat, Mr. Miller.

1287. Very good.

1288. In this courtroom, Mr. Miller, justice is blind

1289. to matters of race, creed, color, religion,

1290. and sexual orientation.

1291. With all due respect, Your Honor...

1292. we don't live in this courtroom, though, do we?

1293. No, we don't.

1294. However, as regards to this witness,

1295. I'm going to sustain the defense's objection.

1296. How many weeks at a time

1297. would you be out to sea without stopping at port?

1298. Oh, anywhere from two weeks to several months.

1299. Any women on board?

1300. Uh, not when I was in the Navy.

1301. So, during these long voyages, months at a time out to sea,

1302. no women in sight,

1303. hundreds of hardworking,

1304. robust young men in the prime of their lives,

1305. at the peak of their natural appetites and desires,

1306. their God-given hormonal instincts,

1307. anything going on?

1308. Going on? Like what?

1309. Like two sailors down below making flippy-flop.

1310. Objection.

1311. Mr. Miller.

1312. We had one guy like that.

1313. You haven't ruled on my objection, Your Honor.

1314. Go on, Mr. Miller.

1315. You had one guy "like that."

1316. You mean a homosexual?

1317. He strutted around quarters naked, trying to get everybody to notice him.

1318. Made everyone sick.

1319. He was destroying our morale,

1320. so we let him know this kind of behavior was not acceptable.

1321. How'd you do that?

1322. What'd you do? Wrote him a letter?

1323. We stuck his head in a latrine after 10 of us had used it.

1324. You taught him a lesson, didn't you?

1325. Yes, we did.

1326. Just like firing Andrew Beckett taught him a lesson.

1327. Objection. I withdraw.

1328. You were aware when you worked with Melissa Benedict

1329. that she had AIDS, is that correct?

1330. She didn't try to conceal it.

1331. So you are aware of the difference between a bruise and a lesion.

1332. Is that correct?

1333. Beckett told me he had been hit by a racquetball,

1334. and I believed him.

1335. Didn't you try to avoid contact with Mrs. Benedict

1336. after you found out she had AIDS?

1337. She says, and I quote, that you...

1338. "were repulsed by her, you avoided her."

1339. Is that correct?

1340. I felt, and I still feel nothing but the deepest sympathy

1341. and compassion for people like Melissa

1342. who contracted this terrible disease

1343. through no fault of their own.

1344. Don't move, now.

1345. Oh... Okay.

1346. Boy... it's not going through.

1347. We may have to flush it out again.

1348. Oh...

1349. The vein's closed.

1350. We've got to call Barbara.

1351. Nurse Ratchett.

1352. Wait a minute.

1353. Yeah, tell her to come over.

1354. Look, I've-

1355. There's so much stuff I need to get done.

1356. Can we-can we just skip the treatment for tonight?

1357. No. No, we are not skipping this treatment.

1358. It's my arm, and it's my treatment,

1359. and I say skip it.

1360. Well...

1361. You know something?

1362. Hmm?

1363. That stuff is saving your life.

1364. What's the matter with you tonight?

1365. Close the law book.

1366. Will you just-

1367. Eh?

1368. The least you can do...

1369. is look at me,

1370. and give me a little of your time, man.

1371. Got it?

1372. You are worried...

1373. we don't have very much time left, now, aren't you?

1374. No. No.

1375. Well, I'll tell you what I'm gonna do.

1376. I'm going to start planning my memorial service.

1377. I'm going to start preparing for the inevitable.

1378. Maybe you should think about it.

1379. No...

1380. No, no, no.

1381. No, no, no, no, no, no, no.

1382. I've got a better idea.

1383. Hi, Andrew. Hi, Miguel.

1384. Hey, hey!

1385. Oh, Joe Miller, counselor.

1386. My wife, Lisa.

1387. Are you Lisa?

1388. Nice to meet you.

1389. Nice to meet you too.

1390. Miguel, Lisa.

1391. You look wonderful!

1392. Lisa, Joe. Miguel's sister, Maria.

1393. Do you care for something to drink?

1394. I'll take care of Joe, Maria.

1395. Okay.

1396. Thanks very much.

1397. You're looking, uh... alive tonight!

1398. Oh, I had a blood transfusion, and I feel great.

1399. Ah! So, you like it? I'm a lawsuit.

1400. You get it? I'm a lawsuit.

1401. It's not bad. It's not bad.

1402. Law... suit.

1403. What are you drinking?

1404. Wine is good.

1405. Can I have some of the red, please?

1406. So we've got to get to this Q& A sometime tonight, you know?

1407. Sure. Just one problem. I'm at a party right now.

1408. Yes, fine. Whatever.

1409. No, no, we'll get to it, just later, that's all.

1410. Thank you.

1411. Hi, Joe Miller.

1412. Do I know you?

1413. Mona Lisa.

1414. Ah... Uh, lawsuit.

1415. Nice. Have fun.

1416. Okay, Miguel, thank you.

1417. Ah, thank you.

1418. Sure.

1419. Congratulations, counselor.

1420. Congratulations?

1421. You've survived what I assume to be your first gay party intact.

1422. Let me tell you something, Andrew.

1423. When you're brought up the way I am, the way most people are in this country,

1424. there's not a whole lot of discussion about homosexuality,

1425. or what do you call it... alternate lifestyles.

1426. A a kid you're taught that queers are funny,

1427. queers are weird, queers dress up like their mother,

1428. that they're afraid to fight, that they're a danger to little kids,

1429. and that all they want to do is to get into your pants.

1430. And that pretty much sums up the general thinking out there,

1431. if you want to know the truth about it.

1432. Thank you for sharing that with me.

1433. All right, well, let's go over this testimony.

1434. We've got a big day on Monday.

1435. Okay. First I'll ask you,

1436. "Can you describe the circumstances in which you joined the firm

1437. Wyant, Wheeler, Hellerman, Tetlow & Brown?"

1438. Miller...

1439. do you ever pray?

1440. Andrew, that is not the answer to the question...

1441. but, yes, I pray.

1442. What do you pray for?

1443. What do you mean? I pray.

1444. I pray that, uh... I don't know,

1445. I pray that my... baby is healthy.

1446. I pray that my wife made it through the delivery.

1447. I pray the Phillies win the pennant.

1448. Now, can we go through these questions?

1449. Number one, "Can you describe the circumstances

1450. in which you joined the firm

1451. Wyant, Wheeler, Hellerman, Tetlow & Brown?"

1452. Can you do that for me?

1453. There's a possibility I won't be around to see the end of this trial.

1454. Yes, I've considered that.

1455. I've made some provisions in my will for some charities.

1456. Miguel will need a lawyer. I know it's not your area.

1457. I know a good probate lawyer.

1458. Thank you.

1459. You're welcome.

1460. Now, can you describe the circumstances

1461. in which you joined the firm

1462. Wyant, Wheeler, Hellerman, Tetlow & Brown?

1463. Do you mind this music? Do you like opera?

1464. I am not that familiar with opera, Andrew.

1465. Oh, this is my favorite aria.

1466. It's Maria Callas.

1467. It's Andrea Chenier.

1468. Umberto Giordano.

1469. This is Madeleine.

1470. She's saying how...

1471. during the French Revolution, the mob set fire to her house...

1472. And her mother died... saving her.

1473. She says, "Look!

1474. "The place that cradled me is burning...

1475. I'm alone."

1476. Do you hear the heartache in her voice?

1477. Can you feel it, Joe?

1478. Now in come the strings, and it changes everything.

1479. The music, it fills with a hope.

1480. Now, it'll change again. Listen.

1481. Listen.

1482. "I bring sorrow to those who love me."

1483. Oh... Oh, that single cello.

1484. "It was during this sorrow that love came to me."

1485. "A voice filled with harmony."

1486. "It said, live still."

1487. "I am life."

1488. "Heaven is in your eyes."

1489. "Is everything around you the blood and the mud?

1490. "I am divine.

1491. "I am oblivion.

1492. "I am the god...

1493. "that comes down from the heavens to the earth

1494. "and makes of the earth a heaven.

1495. "I am love.

1496. I am love."

1497. Well, uh...

1498. Hey...

1499. Geez, I- I better get out of here.

1500. Lisa's, uh...

1501. I told her that, you know...

1502. Uh, I'll look over the Q& A.

1503. No, you're ready. You're ready.

1504. Um...

1505. Jesus...

1506. Huh... God.

1507. Yes, baby.

1508. Oh, I love you, little Larice.

1509. Place your left hand on the Bible.

1510. Raise your right hand.

1511. Do you swear to tell the whole truth,

1512. and nothing but the truth, so help you God?

1513. I do.

1514. Please be seated.

1515. Andrew...

1516. can you describe the circumstances in which you joined the firm

1517. Wyant, Wheeler, Hellerman, Tetlow & Brown?

1518. Wyant-Wheeler aggressively recruited me.

1519. They were the most prestigious firm in Philadelphia,

1520. full of opportunity,

1521. and I was impressed with the partners.

1522. Including Charles Wheeler?

1523. Particularly Charles.

1524. What impressed you about him?

1525. He was the kind of lawyer I thought I wanted to be.

1526. And what kind of lawyer is that?

1527. Possessed of an encyclopedic knowledge of the law,

1528. a razor-sharp litigator, genuine leader,

1529. gifted at bringing out the very best in others,

1530. an awesome ability to illuminate

1531. the most complex of legal concepts

1532. to a colleague, to a courtroom,

1533. to the man in the street.

1534. The kind of person who can play three sets of tennis,

1535. but doesn't sweat.

1536. Underneath an elegant surface,

1537. he has an adventurous spirit.

1538. So in the years you worked at Wyant-Wheeler,

1539. did you ever tell Charles Wheeler you were gay?

1540. No, I-I didn't.

1541. Why not?

1542. You don't bring your personal life into a law firm.

1543. You're not supposed to have a personal life, really.

1544. Anyway, I did plan to tell Charles eventually,

1545. but then this- oh, something happened

1546. at the racquet club

1547. about three and ha- three years ago...

1548. Somebody started telling some jokes.

1549. What do you call a woman who has PMS and ESP

1550. at the same time?

1551. I don't know, Roger, what do you call her?

1552. A bitch who knows everything.

1553. Sounds like someone I know.

1554. Hey, Walter, how does a faggot fake an orgasm?

1555. He throws a quart of hot yogurt on your back!

1556. That reminds me of the hairdresser...

1557. JOE. How'd that make you feel?

1558. Relieved...

1559. that I never told him I was gay.

1560. Just very relieved.

1561. All right.

1562. Are you a good lawyer, Andrew?

1563. I'm an excellent lawyer.

1564. What makes you an excellent lawyer?

1565. I love the law.

1566. I know the law.

1567. I excel at practicing.

1568. What do you love about the law, Andrew?

1569. I... many things.

1570. Uh...

1571. What I love the most about the law?

1572. Yes.

1573. Is that every now and again, not often, but occasionally,

1574. you get to be a part of...

1575. justice being done.

1576. That really is...

1577. quite a thrill when that happens.

1578. Thank you, Andrew.

1579. You said earlieryou...

1580. aspire to be the kind of person who had an adventurous spirit.

1581. Is that correct?

1582. Something like that.

1583. Do you take risks?

1584. In my work, yes, calculated risks.

1585. You have to.

1586. Did your doctor ever tell you to reduce stress?

1587. That... long hours

1588. and stressful working conditions might damage the immune system

1589. and speed up your illness?

1590. My doctor mentioned the impact AIDS-

1591. Excuse me-

1592. My doctor mentioned the impact stress could have on the immune system.

1593. Have you ever been to the Stallion Showcase Cinema

1594. on 21 st street?

1595. I-I've been to... that-

1596. I've been to that theater...

1597. three times in my life.

1598. What kind of movies do they show there?

1599. Gay movies.

1600. Gay pornographic movies?

1601. Yes.

1602. Objection, Your Honor.

1603. Your honor, this line of questioning

1604. is vital to the issue of credibility.

1605. Let's, uh-

1606. Let's see where this is going. Continue, counselor.

1607. Do men have sex with each other in that theater?

1608. Some men.

1609. Have you ever had sex with anyone in that theater?

1610. I'm Robert.

1611. Andy.

1612. Yes.

1613. Once.

1614. When?

1615. Approximately what year did that event take place?

1616. I guess it was, uh...

1617. 1984.

1618. '84, '85.

1619. Were you aware in 1984, '85

1620. that there was a fatal disease out there called AIDS,

1621. and that you could contract it through... sexual activity?

1622. I'd heard of some- I'd heard of a thing, uh...

1623. the gay plague, the gay cancer.

1624. We didn't know how you could get it,

1625. or that it killed you.

1626. Do you need a break, Mr. Beckett?

1627. No...

1628. No, I-I could use some water, though.

1629. John, could you bring Mr. Beckett some water please?

1630. While you were employed at Wyant-Wheeler, you did everything you could

1631. to make sure no one knew that you were an active homosexual.

1632. Is that correct?

1633. No.

1634. That's not correct. I never lied about it.

1635. A a homosexual,

1636. one is often forced to conceal one's sexuality.

1637. Isn't that right?

1638. In some circumstances, yes.

1639. Isn't it true that you've spent your life pretending to be something you're not,

1640. so much so that the art of concealment and dishonesty

1641. has become second nature-

1642. Your Honor, I object.

1643. I'll withdraw it, Your Honor.

1644. Mr. Beckett, were you living with...

1645. Miguel Alvarez...

1646. in 1984 or '85

1647. when you had your...

1648. anonymous sexual encounter in the porn theater?

1649. Yes.

1650. So you could have infected him, isn't that right?

1651. Miguel has not been infected.

1652. You didn't answer my question.

1653. You could have infected Mr. Alvarez at that time.

1654. Is that correct?

1655. Yes.

1656. You've testified that the lesions on your face

1657. were visible to the people that you worked with, correct?

1658. That's right.

1659. And it's your contention

1660. that when the partners were made aware of the lesions,

1661. that they leapt to the conclusion that you had AIDS, and they fired you.

1662. Is that correct?

1663. A painful as it is

1664. to accuse my former colleagues

1665. of such reprehensible behavior,

1666. it is the only conclusion I could come to.

1667. Do you have any lesions on your face at this time?

1668. One...

1669. Here, right by my ear.

1670. Your Honor, may I approach the witness?

1671. Yes, you may.

1672. Remembering that you're under oath,

1673. answering truthfully,

1674. can you see the lesions on your face in this mirror

1675. from three feet away?

1676. Answering truthfully.

1677. Well, I-at the time I was fired,

1678. I had four lesions, and they were much bigger.

1679. Could you answer the question, please?

1680. Well, uh, no. No, I can't really see it.

1681. No.

1682. No more questions, Your Honor.

1683. I think this would be a good time

1684. to break for today.

1685. We can reconvene in the morning.

1686. I hate this case.

1687. Your Honor, may I have, uh, five minutes in redirect?

1688. Mr. Beckett, can you go on for five minutes?

1689. Three minutes.

1690. Yes. Yes.

1691. May I borrow your mirror, please?

1692. Andrew...

1693. do you have any lesions on any part of your body

1694. at this time that resemble the lesions you had on your face

1695. at the time that you were fired?

1696. Yes.

1697. On my tor-torso.

1698. Your torso. If it please the court,

1699. I would like to ask Andrew to remove his shirt,

1700. so that, you know, everyone here

1701. could get an accurate idea of what we're talking about.

1702. Objection!

1703. Your Honor, it would unfairly influence the jury.

1704. Your Honor, if Andrew was forced to use a wheelchair due to his illness,

1705. would the defense ask him to park it outside

1706. because it would unfairly influence the jury?

1707. Come on, we're talking about AIDS, we're talking about lesions.

1708. Let's see what we're talking about.

1709. I'll allow it.

1710. Mr. Beckett, would you please remove your shirt?

1711. My God, what a nightmare.

1712. He asked for it.

1713. Andrew...

1714. can you see the lesions on your chest in this mirror?

1715. Yes.

1716. Thank you.

1717. Do you swear to tell the whole truth, and nothing but the truth,

1718. so help you God?

1719. I do.

1720. Please be seated.

1721. Mr. Wheeler...

1722. were you aware that Andrew Beckett

1723. was suffering from AIDS

1724. at the time of his departure from Wyant-Wheeler?

1725. No.

1726. For absolute clarity,

1727. did you fire Andrew Beckett because he had AIDS?

1728. No, I did not fire Andrew Beckett because he had AIDS.

1729. Mr. Wheeler, can you explain in a way that leaves no doubt

1730. why you promoted

1731. Andrew Beckett through your firm,

1732. and then, most importantly,

1733. why you eventually asked him to leave?

1734. If, uh, you're the owner of a major league ball club,

1735. you recruit the hot rookie,

1736. and Andy was tremendously promising as a young attorney.

1737. Fresh out of Penn. Crackerjack.

1738. That's why we went after him, that's why we hired him,

1739. and that's why we stuck with him year after year.

1740. Why did you give him

1741. opportunity after opportunity?

1742. Well, when you groom someone

1743. the way we groomed Andy, nurturing him,

1744. lavishing all kinds of special treatment on him,

1745. you make quite an investment.

1746. We were waiting for the promise to kick in and deliver,

1747. but, uh, ultimately we could no longer ignore the gap

1748. between the reality and the promise.

1749. Thank you, Mr. Wheeler.

1750. No more questions at this time, Your Honor.

1751. Mr. Miller?

1752. Objection.

1753. Your Honor, objection!

1754. All right, Mr. Miller. That'll be sufficient.

1755. Mr. Wheeler, you are magnificent.

1756. You are... you are my hero.

1757. Andrew is right. You are the greatest.

1758. Are you gay?

1759. Objection.

1760. How dare you.

1761. Witness will kindly answer.

1762. No, I am not a homosexual.

1763. Isn't it true that when you realized

1764. Andrew Beckett, your golden boy,

1765. your future senior partner, was gay and had AIDS,

1766. it drove a stake of fear

1767. right through your heterosexual heart?

1768. Remembering all the hugs

1769. and the handshakes,

1770. the intimate moments in the sauna,

1771. the friendly pats on the backside that you and Andrew exchanged...

1772. - like I've exchanged sometimes.

1773. It made you say,

1774. "My God, what does this say about me?"

1775. Objection, Your Honor.

1776. The witness will please respond to the question.

1777. Mr. Miller, you may tap dance around me all you wish

1778. with your innuendos and locker-room fantasies,

1779. but the truth still remains that your client

1780. worked when he wanted to work,

1781. telling us what he thought we needed to know

1782. about who he really was.

1783. Andy insisted on bending the rules,

1784. and his work suffered tremendously in the long run

1785. as a result of that.

1786. Well, you explain this to me like I'm a six-year-old, Mr. Wheeler,

1787. because I just don't get it.

1788. Who makes these rules that you're talking about, huh?

1789. You?

1790. Read your Bible, Mr. Miller, Old and the New Testament.

1791. Pretty valuable rules in there.

1792. Excu-excuse me.

1793. Andrew?

1794. Excuse me. I-I can't s...

1795. Agh!

1796. Excuse me. Andy!

1797. For chrissakes, somebody get a doctor!

1798. Turn over now.

1799. Call an ambulance, please.

1800. Right away!

1801. An ambulance, please!

1802. Let him breathe!

1803. Please make room for him.

1804. It's not working! It's not working!

1805. It's not working!

1806. It is not working!

1807. No, it is making it worse!

1808. Did you notice any changes whatsoever

1809. in Andrew's appearance over the course of the year

1810. leading up to his termination?

1811. Yes... I did.

1812. Were these changes for the better or for the worse?

1813. Sometimes for the better, but generally, they were for the worse.

1814. Mr. Seidman, what did you think caused these changes

1815. in Andy's appearance?

1816. I was... afraid.

1817. I suspected Andy had AIDS.

1818. Order. Order!

1819. Thank you.

1820. Your witness.

1821. Miss Conine?

1822. Mr. Seidman,

1823. did you share your suspicions with Mr. Wheeler

1824. or any of the other managing partners

1825. at any time before the decision

1826. to fire Andrew Beckett was made?

1827. No. No, I didn't.

1828. I didn't mention it to anyone, not even Andy.

1829. I didn't even give him a chance to talk about it...

1830. and I think I'm going to regret that...

1831. for as long as I live.

1832. Any more questions, Miss Conine?

1833. That's all, Your Honor.

1834. Now, they are saying that he wasn't a good lawyer,

1835. he was mediocre,

1836. and the fact that they gave him

1837. the most important lawsuit that they ever had

1838. for one of their most important clients,

1839. now, they say that that doesn't prove anything

1840. because that was just a test.

1841. What'd they call it? A carrot?

1842. Yeah, what's up, doc?

1843. To see if he would rise to the occasion.

1844. Okay, okay,

1845. so say I've got to send a pilot into enemy territory,

1846. and he's gonna be flying a plane that costs $350 million.

1847. Who am I gonna put in that plane?

1848. Some rookie who can't cut the grade

1849. because I wanna see if he can rise to the challenge?

1850. Or am I gonna give that assignment to my best pilot,

1851. my sharpest, my most experienced, my top gun,

1852. the very best I've got?

1853. I just don't get that.

1854. Would somebody please explain it to me...

1855. like I'm a six-year-old.

1856. Juror number six.

1857. I agree.

1858. Juror number seven.

1859. I agree.

1860. Juror number eight.

1861. Agree.

1862. Juror number nine.

1863. I agree.

1864. Juror number ten.

1865. I disagree.

1866. Juror number 11.

1867. I agree.

1868. Juror number 12.

1869. Agree.

1870. Have you awarded any damages?

1871. Yes, Your Honor, we have.

1872. For back pay and loss of benefits,

1873. we award $143,000.

1874. For mental anguish and humiliation,

1875. we award $100,000,

1876. and for punitive damages, we award $4,782,000.

1877. You may record the verdict.

1878. Everyone remain seated until the jury is removed.

1879. How could they do that?

1880. This trial is now concluded.

1881. Ha-ha!

1882. Congratulations!

1883. We'll strain ourselves getting a reversal on this.

1884. We'll get started in the morning.

1885. Well, that's that.

1886. Congratulations, Mr. Miller.

1887. We'll see you at the appeal.

1888. Congratulations.

1889. Thank you. Well done.

1890. Oh, man...

1891. Thanks a lot.

1892. I'll see you at the hospital.

1893. Okay.

1894. Oh, Mr. Miller. Hi, how you doing?

1895. Do you know where his room is?

1896. Just down the hall.

1897. The one off the lounge.

1898. Thanks.

1899. DR. If he leaves the hospital, which is unlikely,

1900. don't expect him to be remotely like he was before this crisis.

1901. He's lost the vision in his right eye,

1902. and because of the CMV, he will not regain his vision.

1903. Next door to the right.

1904. The CMV has ravaged his body...

1905. Hi. Congratulations.

1906. Hey, Joe.

1907. Way to go!

1908. Man of the hour.

1909. Hey, Joe.

1910. Hi.

1911. We are so grateful to you.

1912. You were wonderful. Thank you so much.

1913. Can I take that?

1914. Yeah. I brought some... cheese and... stuff.

1915. Oh, wonderful. Thanks.

1916. How you doing?

1917. Mm.

1918. What do you call a thousand lawyers

1919. chained together at the bottom of the ocean?

1920. I don't know.

1921. A good start.

1922. Mm-hmm.

1923. Excellent work, counselor.

1924. I thank you.

1925. It was great working with you...

1926. counselor.

1927. Well, I'd better go.

1928. Y-yeah. Sure thing.

1929. I'll see you later?

1930. Thanks for stopping by.

1931. I'll see you again.

1932. Well, I'll...

1933. keep it on ice for you.

1934. See you.

1935. Joe, I just want to say thank you.

1936. We really appreciate it.

1937. We'll see you again?

1938. All right.

1939. He's a fighter.

1940. We just want to get him home.

1941. Thank you, Joe.

1942. Oh, sorry.

1943. What do you call a thousand lawyers

1944. chained together at the bottom of the ocean?

1945. A good start?

1946. Very amusing.

1947. I'll see you tomorrow, buddy, okay?

1948. See you tomorrow.

1949. God bless you, Andy.

1950. Good night, son.

1951. Try to get some rest, okay?

1952. Okay...

1953. I love you, Andy.

1954. I love you too, Dad.

1955. See you first thing tomorrow.

1956. It's okay.

1957. Don't worry, Don.

1958. See you tomorrow.

1959. It's okay.

1960. See you tomorrow.

1961. Come on, sweetheart. Come on.

1962. It's all right. It's all right.

1963. It's okay. It's all right.

1964. Don't worry about it.

1965. Good night, my angel.

1966. My sweet boy.

1967. Let me help you.

1968. Miguel...

1969. I'm ready.

1970. Hello.

1971. Joe, it's Miguel.

1972. Hello.

1973. Look at my boy.

1974. Oh, hi. Yes, I know.