"This pestilent dust referred to has appeared on three occasions." "Each time it was tested." "The results, limestone." "Messy, but innocuous." " Innocuous?" " Defined by Webster's as "harmless."" "I know what it means." "May I?" "Thank you." "Your Honour?" "Lmagine how the children in this neighbourhood feel." "The constant pounding of construction ringing in their ears as this skyscraper, a tribute to mankind's greed, grows daily." "Casting an ominous shadow over their lives as they are surrounded with toxic dust." "Kendall Construction builds neighbourhoods." "It doesn't destroy them." "A restraining order against this site will throw 753 people out of work and lend validation to this groundless nuisance suit." "An example of rapacious litigation that tears at the fabric of our society." "Let's not go off the deep end." "You've made an articulate and compelling presentation." " You haven't proven irreparable harm." " Not yet." " Is that you?" " Yeah, that's me." "Miller." "A client of yours?" "Funny!" "Hold on." "Excuse me, sir." "Sir?" "Yo!" "My sons and I went to a restaurant the other day." "We ordered coffee." "The waiter asked, "Would you like sugar or Sweet 'N Low?"" "I said, " Do I look like I should be on a diet?"" " Andy." " Hi, doc." "Your blood work came back." "I'm gonna come back and talk to you about it." " I'll be right here." " Good." " Hi, how are you feeling?" " Pretty good." "Make a fist for me." "Once more." "We'll have to start looking for veins in your feet." "Patience, Tyrone." "Once more." " Terrific job on the Kendall situation." " Thanks, Kenneth." "Hi, Rose." "Anthea, just the paralegal extraordinaire I was hoping to see." " I know what that means." "No." " Dinner at Felicia's..." " I got a class." " I got some briefs that need proofing." "You can exploit somebody else." "Since you've asked..." " Your exam!" " Thank you." "Ninety-eight." "Ninety-eight!" "Congratulations!" "I wanna talk to you about Hansen." "Give me a call." "Tell Amy I loved her painting." "Conference call's up." "This is the settlement agreement." "The red- lined copy's on your desk." "You need me?" "No." "It's 6:30." "Go home." " Hello?" " Hey, Mom!" "Hi, darling." "What a surprise." "How are you?" " Good." " What does Dr. Gillman say?" "She says I am fine." "My blood work is excellent." "My T cells are steady." " How about your platelets?" " Even my p/ate/ets /ook good." "Great." "More importantly, how are you?" "Mom?" " I'm fine." "And Dad is fine." " What are you doing?" " Andy." "Am I interrupting you?" " In a word, Bob." "Charles wants to see you upstairs." "I was just about to take a break." "You're sure I'm not underdressed?" "Andy has expressed a keen interest in Highline versus Sander Systems." "The fate of the participants interests me." "Yes, sir." "It's an antitrust action." "It is, and it isn't, Charles." "Sander Systems copies Highline's spreadsheet program." "For me, the legal principle involved is copyright infringement." "Tell me this, Andy." "Which side would you wish to see emerge victorious?" "Don't allow my close relationship with Bill Wright, Sander's CEO to influence your answer in any way." " I'd like to see Highline win." " Why, Beckett?" "If Sander Systems wins, an energetic young company is destroyed." "Antitrust and copyright laws were enacted to prevent exactly the kind of bullshit Sander tries to pull." " You know who reps Highline?" " Rodney Bailey." "I object!" "Rodney Bailey couldn't find his way around copyright law with a map." "Apparently the fellows at Highline agree with you." "Which is why, as of 9:03 this evening, right after the dessert course Highline is represented by Wyant, Wheeler, Hellerman, Tetlow  Brown." "Outstanding!" "And more specifically, senior associate Andrew Beckett." " Yes!" " Bravo!" " Thank you, Robert." " Get on Highline right away." " Statute of limitations." "I'm on it." " We've got 10 days to file." " Tokyo on line four, Bob." " Walter, thank you." " Kenneth, thank you." " Congratulations." " I'm overwhelmed." " What's that on your forehead?" "What?" "Where?" "That, right there on your forehead." "I got whacked in the head with a racquetball." "Excuse me." "Charles, I..." "I sincerely appreciate your faith in my abilities." "Faith is a belief in something for which we have no evidence." "It does not apply to this situation." "Go home." "Oh, no, go back to work!" " Thank you, Charles." " No sweat, buddy." "Tommy, how are you?" "The High/ine comp/aint is on my desk, a// set to go." "Mak e sure Jamey is on top of it." "Sure, anything else?" "No, I'll be working out of the house for the rest of the afternoon." " Bye- bye!" " Bye." "You're gonna want to apply this foundation as evenly as you can." "You don't want it to look like you threw it on with a spoon." "You try." " I got it." " Right there." "You don't think this is a little too orange for me?" "It's Tahitian bronze." "That works best on these lesions." "It's the " I just got back from Aruba" look." "I've called in sick for four days." "Now they'll think I was on a cruise." " Fax." " Thank you, Bruno." "Here, we could try this light Egypt..." "Andy?" "Excuse me." "Just like my cousin Fredo." "Does anybody want a bagel?" "You okay, Andy?" "I think I need to go to the hospital." " It's all right." " I'm getting out of here." "One more." "Thank you for driving like a bat out of hell." "I told Dr. Gillman to take a day off and she took a day off." "They took blood, a specimen?" "Blood, yes." "Specimen, I'm empty." "You find a ride to class?" "Don't worry about it." "Let me see." "You got a fever, baby." " This is my guy." "Excuse me, doctor?" " Just one second." "I came close to not making it in the bathroom." "I almost lost it in front of everybody." " It's nothing to be ashamed of." " I'm not ashamed." "It's just..." "What about my blood work?" "We're waiting." "Meanwhile, I wanna prep you for a colonoscopy." " It sounds delightful." " Wait." "Why do you need to do this?" " Who are you?" " Who are you, Doctor?" "This is my partner." " He records all of my hospital visits." " I'm Dr. Klenstein." "A colonoscopy is not a pleasant procedure." "If the KS is causing the diarrhoea, we have to know now." " It could be parasites, an infection." " A reaction to the AZT." "All these are possibilities." "We have to..." "He won't have a painful procedure until we cancel out everything else." "I'm trying to help your partner." "You're not immediate family." " I could have you removed from the ER." " He's upset." "He's sorry." " No, don't apologize for me." " Okay, he's not sorry." "Let's find out what the blood work tells us." "I'll try to give you a specimen." "Hospital food may help." "We might hear from Dr. Gillman." "We can start from there." "Everybody happy?" " I'll get on the blood work." " Thank you, doctor." "Sorry about..." "That's the third time the office has beeped." " Klenstein?" " Yeah, Klenstein." "I have to call the office." "I want you to sit and relax." " I'm relaxed." " Good." "Is there a phone around?" " Down the hall." " Thank you." "If you have been injured through the fau/t of others  you may be entit/ed to a cash sett/ement for damages." "Good Lord!" " Mr. Beckett's office." " Shelby, it's me." " Jamey's been beeping me." " I'm g/ad you ca//ed." "We have a minor catastrophe in the making." "It's about the Highline complaint." "Jamey is going ballistic!" " Calm down." "Put him on." " One second." "We can't find the revisions on the Highline complaint." "Wait!" "Slow down." "Slow down." "I said it was supposed to be here this morning." "I brought it in the office last night." "I was there until 3." "I put the corrected copy on my desk." " I'm telling you, it's not here." " The hard disk on my computer." "You'// have to print it and run it through word processing." " What did you file it under?" " HL-1." "You know that there's a statute of /imitations on this." "It runs out in 75 minutes." " It's not here, Andy." " It's not there?" "I'm on my way!" "Every problem has a solution." "Every problem has a solution." "Push, baby, push." "It's coming!" "Yeah, baby, it's coming!" "It's a girl!" " Take a picture." " I can't get the film in." "Oh, my God!" "Baby, yeah." "Help me, baby." "Look at her." "Our sweet little..." " Oh, my God!" " She's perfect." "Go down to the deli." "Get a pound of Scotch salmon." "Some onion rolls, bagels..." "Give me a call." " And some champagne." " You're that TV guy." "I don't care how much it costs." "Get Dom Perignon." "How much?" "$100?" "No, get a nice Californian." "Dom Perignon's too much." "Get it over here, she's starving." "No, not the baby." "Lisa's starving!" " Iris, Iris." "Anybody call?" " An Andrew Beck ett ca//ed." " Who's Andrew Beckett?" " There he is." "Joseph!" "Explain it like I'm a 6-year-old." "The entire street is clear except for one small area under construction." " A hole that's marked and blocked off." " Yes." "You decide to cross the street at this spot and fall into the hole." " You wanna sue the city for negligence." " Yes." "Do I have a case?" " Yes, of course you got a case." " Great." "Go with my assistant." "You'll fill out forms." "Hear about our fees." "We take no cash unless we get cash justice." " How's your back?" "Any pain?" " Funny you should mention that..." "Iris, you take good care of Mr. Finley." " I will." "Mr. Beckett's here." " Thanks a lot." "Take care." "Mr. Beckett!" "Mr. Beckett, come in." "Good to see you again, counsellor." "Judge Tate?" "Kendall Construction?" ""Innocuous!" How are you?" "What happened to your face?" "I have AIDS." "I'm sorry." " Can I sit down?" " Yeah." "Thank you." "Look at this, you have a new baby." "Yeah, a little baby girl." ""It's a girl." Congratulations." "Yeah, 1 week old." "Kids are great." "Thank you." "I'm real excited about it." "Listen, I..." "What can I do for you?" "I've been fired by Wyant-Wheeler." "I plan on bringing a wrongful termination suit against them." "Sue Wyant, Wheeler, Hellerman, Tetlow  Brown?" " Correct." "I'm seeking representation." " Continue." "I misplaced an important complaint." "That's their story." "Wanna hear mine?" "How many lawyers you go to before you called me?" "Nine." "Continue." "The night before it was due, I worked on it in my office." "I left a copy of it on my desk." "The next day the complaint vanished." "No hard copy." "All traces of it mysteriously gone from my computer." "Miracu/ous/y, a copy of the comp/aint was /ocated at the /ast minute  and we got it to court on time." "The next day I was summoned to a meeting with the partners." "They were waiting for me." "Hello, Andy." "Come on in." "Would you mind hitting the windows?" "Thanks." "Come on in." "Robert, Charles, Walter." "Hey, Lydia." " Thanks for coming in." " Of course." "Now, before we begin I'd just like to say that everyone in this room is your friend." " I know that, Charles." " More than your friend." "Family." "Charles, I must apologize again for the Highline mishap yesterday." "That was some scary moment around here." "Wow, thank God the complaint was found and no damage was done." "This time." "What about next time?" "There won't be a next time." "I guarantee it." "It's just that something's come over you lately." "I don't know..." "Some kind of stupor or fogginess." "Some people think you have an attitude problem." "Really?" " Who thinks that?" " I do." "Excuse me am I being fired?" "Let me put it this way, your place in this firm's future is no longer secure." "We feel it isn't fair to keep you here when your prospects are limited." " Now, I don't want to rush you..." " We've got a committee meeting." "Excuse me, Charles." "With all due respect, this is preposterous." "It doesn't make sense." " You don't have an attitude problem." " Take it easy." "If you'd lost confidence, why give me Highline?" "You nearly blew the entire case." "That alone is inexcusable." "It would have been catastrophic for us." "So you were concealing your illness?" "That's correct." "Explain it like I'm a 2-year-old." "There's an element to this thing I cannot get through my thick head." "Didn't you have an obligation to tell your employer you had an infectious disease?" "That's not the point." "From the day they hired me to the day I was fired I served my clients with absolute excellence." "If they hadn't fired me, I'd be doing it today." "And they don't wanna fire you for having AIDS so they tried to make you look incompetent." "Correct." "I was sabotaged." "I don't buy it, counsellor." " That's very disappointing." " I don't see a case." "I have a case." "If you don't want it for personal reasons..." "Thank you." "That's correct, I don't." "Thank you for your time, counsellor." "Mr. Beckett." "I'm sorry about what happened to you." "It's a bitch." " Have a nice day, Mr. Beckett." " What's the matter with him?" "Find out if Armbruster can see me." "Find out if Armbruster can see me sometime this afternoon." "No, right away, Iris." "Right away." "The HIV virus can only be transmitted by the exchange of bodily fluids." "Namely blood, semen and vaginal secretions." "Yeah, but they're finding out new things about this disease every day." "You say today there's no danger?" "I go home, pick up my baby." "I find out six months from now on the news, " Made a mistake." "Yeah, you can carry it on your shirt or your clothes."" "What are you doing?" " We're gonna draw blood." " Why are we gonna do that?" "Joe, little Joe." "I've known you since you were a kid." "And I don't care a whit about your private life." "Thanks, doc." "I don't need an AIDS test." "Listen, just send the bill to my office for me, okay?" "Thanks for the information, really." " You have a problem with gays." " Not especially." "Yes, you do." "How many gays do you know?" " How many you know?" " Lots." " Like who?" " Karen Berman." "My Aunt Teresa." "Cousin Tommy in Rochester." "Eddie Meyers from the office." " Stanley, who put in our cabinets." " Aunt Teresa is gay?" "That beautiful, sensuous, voluptuous woman is a lesbian?" " Since when?" " Probably since she was born." "I admit it, okay?" "I'm prejudiced." "I don't like homosexuals." "The way these guys do that thing, don't they get confused?" ""I don't know, is that yours or is that mine?"" "I don't wanna be in bed with anybody who is stronger or has more chest hair." "You can call me old-fashioned or conservative." "Just call me a man." "Besides, I think you have to be a man to understand how really disgusting that whole idea is." "Little caveman of the house." "You damn skippy." "Here you go." "Stay away from your Aunt Teresa." "Joe, don't say that to her." "Guys trying to be macho and faggot at the same time." "I can't stand that shit." "I'm being totally honest with you." " Oh, yeah, you are." " I got a question for you." "Would you accept a client if you were constantly thinking:" ""I don't want this person to touch me or even breathe on me"?" " Not if I was you, honey." " That's what I'm talking about." "What?" " Merry Christmas." " Thank you." "Hey, Merry Christmas." " Thank you." " Happy New Year." " You're the TV guy." " TV guy." "Sir?" "This is the supplement." "You're right." "There is a section on HIV-related discrimination." "Thank you." "Thank you very much." "We do have a private research room available." "I'm fine right here." "Do you know where I can find the State vs. Murdoch case?" "I'll be right with you." "Wouldn't you be more comfortable in a research room?" "No." "Would it make you more comfortable?" "Beckett, how you doing?" "Counsellor." "Whatever, sir." "Excuse me." " Who'd you get?" " What?" "Did you find a lawyer?" "I'm a lawyer." " Hey, how's your baby?" " Oh, yeah." "She's wonderful." "Great." " What's her name?" " Larice." "That's a beautiful name." "Named her after my sister." "Look, I'm..." "How'd they find out you have AIDS?" "One of the partners noticed a lesion on my forehead." "But how do you go from?" "How do you go from that, which could have been anything to deducing that you have AIDS and terminating you on that basis?" "That's a good point." "The partner who spotted the lesion, Walter Kenton worked for Walsh, Ulmer  Brahm in D.C." "A paralegal there, Melissa Benedict, showed lesions on and off for 2 years." "It was common knowledge that her lesions were caused by AIDS." " But they didn't fire her." " No, they did not fire her." "I see." "So you got a relevant precedent?" " The Arline decision." " Arline?" "Supreme Court." ""The Federal Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1973 prohibits discrimination against handicapped persons who are able to perform the duties required by their employment." "Although the ruling did not specify AIDS discrimination..."" ""...subsequent decisions have held that AIDS is protected as a handicap because of the physical limitations it imposes and the prejudice surrounding AIDS, exacts a social death which precedes the actual physical one."" ""This is the essence of discrimination." "Formulating opinions about others not based on their merits but on their membership in a group with the same characteristics."" " Charles Wheeler!" " Julius Erving!" "Glad to see you." " Ken Starr." " Ken, how are you?" " Charles Wheeler." " How are you?" "Very good, very good." "Summons for you." "Take a look at it." "Hey, Dr. J. I love you." "You're the best." "If you ever need a lawyer for anything, give me a call." "Accidents, anything." "See you in court." " The TV guy." " Yeah, the TV guy." "What's up?" "I want to know everything about Andy's personal life." "Does he frequent those pathetic bars?" "What other homosexual facilities does he go to?" "What deviant groups does he secretly belong to?" "Wait a minute, Bob." "What is it?" "Let's make a fair settlement offer." "Put this business behind us." "Andy brought AIDS into our offices, into our men's room." "He brought AIDS to our annual goddamn family picnic!" " We ought to be suing him." " Where is your compassion?" "We gave him Highline." "Did Beckett say:" ""I might not be able to serve our client to the best of my ability"?" "He said nothing!" "Now, discarding the trust I conferred upon him Andrew Beckett proposes to haul me into court." "To sling accusations at me." "To call me a bigot in full view of the entire Philadelphia judicial establishment." "Excuse me." "He doesn't wanna go to court." "He wants a settlement." " A jury might decide he has a case." " Wait a minute." "He was fired for incompetence, not because he has AIDS." " You didn't know he was sick, did you?" " Holy shit!" "Did you, Bob?" "No, not really." "Okay, everybody." "Everybody, this is the house that I grew up in." "Here in the hometown of Lower Merion, Pennsylvania." "Oh, wait." "Here's proof." "There." "My handprints from when I was a cute little boy." "Today is the 40th wedding anniversary of my mom and dad." "Isn't that something?" "Pretty tough life around this poverty so many years." "Those can be mean streets." "Appearances can fool you." "Here's the front door." "I once broke this finger in this door." " Where's my brother?" " Hey!" "There's my sister Jill." " Say hello, Alexis." " Mommy's pregnant again!" " What?" "Are you really?" " Yes." " Hi, Meghan." " Uncle Andy!" " Where's Dad?" " Trying to fix the snow blower." "It snows once in seven years, Dad buys a new snow blower." " How are you?" " Oh, Mom, today's a good day." "Meghan, you're doing a great job." "I gotta say hello to the Bronte sisters." "Hello, everybody." "How are you?" "Put me down!" "Things will be said at the trial that will be hard for you to hear about me." "And there will be publicity." "Is that okay with everybody?" "Andy, you want me to take her?" "No, no, she's fine." "I think it's great that you're asking, but this is really your call." "All right." "Thank you, brother." "Thank you." "Hey, you're my kid brother." "That's all that matters, okay?" "To be honest, I'm worried about Mommy and Daddy." "They've been through so much already." "It's possible that there will be some tough times ahead." "Andy, the way that you've handled this whole thing you and Miguel, with so much courage I don't believe there's anything that anyone could say that would make us feel anything but incredibly proud of you." "I didn't raise my kids to sit in the back of the bus." "You get in there and you fight for your rights." "I love you guys." "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury forget everything you've seen on TV and in the movies." "There will be no surprise witnesses or tearful confessions." "You're going to be presented with a simple fact." "Andrew Beckett was fired." "You'll hear two explanations for why he was fired, ours and theirs." "It is up to you to sift through layer upon layer of truth until you determine which version sounds the most true." "Certain points I must prove to you." "Point one:" "Andrew Beckett was..." "Is a brilliant lawyer." "A great lawyer." "Two:" "Andrew Beckett, afflicted with a debilitating disease made the understandable, the personal, the legal choice to keep the fact of his illness to himself." "Three:" "His employers discovered his illness." "The illness I'm referring to is AIDS." "Point four:" "They panicked." "In their panic, they did what most would like to do with AIDS." "Get it and everybody who has it as far away from us as possible." "His employers' behaviour may seem reasonable to you." "It does to me." "AIDS is a deadly, incurable disease." "No matter how you come to judge Wheeler and his partners, in ethical and moral terms the fact of the matter is, when they fired Beckett because he had AIDS they broke the law!" "Fact:" "Andrew Beckett's performance on the job varied from competent, good, to oftentimes mediocre to sometimes flagrantly incompetent." "Fact:" "He claims he's the victim of lies and deceit." "Fact:" "It was Andrew Beckett who lied going to great lengths to conceal his disease from his employers." "Fact:" "He was successful in his duplicity." "The partners at Wyant-Wheeler did not know that Andrew Beckett had AIDS when they fired him." "Fact:" "Andrew Beckett is dying." "Fact." "Andrew Beckett is angry because his lifestyle, his reckless behaviour has cut short his life." "And in his anger, his rage, he is lashing out." "And he wants someone to pay." "Thank you." "Andrew Beckett represented your company in 1990, is that correct?" " That's correct." " Were you pleased with his work?" "We were satisfied with the outcome of the litigation." "Satisfied." "Mr. Laird, when I approached you about being a witness at this trial you gave sworn testimony in a deposition, correct?" "That's correct." "In that deposition you said that you were impressed and delighted with the quality of Andrew Beckett's work." "Do you recall saying that?" "In all honesty, I was delighted with certain aspects of Andy's efforts." "But in general, I found the work to be merely satisfactory." "Do you agree that a bologna sandwich is a satisfactory meal whereas caviar and champagne, roast duck and baked Alaska are considered delightful?" "We object." "These gastronomical comments are irrelevant to the proceedings." "They are not irrelevant." "Five months ago this witness characterised Beckett as caviar." "Now he's a bologna sandwich." "I think the jury is entitled to know what powerful force has caused him to change his mind." "He hasn't changed his mind." "He's amplified his answer." "Objection sustained." "All right." "Mr. Laird, explain this to me like I'm a 4-year-old." "Did Andrew Beckett win your lawsuit for you?" "Yes, we won." "Congratulations." "That must have been a very satisfactory experience." " Ready, Mr. Beckett?" " Get ready, here they come!" "Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve!" "Do you see this as a gay rights issue?" "I am not political." "I just want what is fair and right." "But you are gay, aren't you?" "I don't see how that's any of your business, but yes, I am." "Totally relevant." "Do homosexua/s deserve specia/ treatment?" "Hell, no!" "Standing in Phi/ade/phia, the city of brother/y /ove, home of freedom  where the founding fathers authored the Dec/aration of Independence." "I don't reca// it saying, "A// straight men are created equa/."" "It says, "A// men are created equa/."" "Give me a goddamn break." " If we found that their action was discriminatory  they cou/d not do business with the city." "Thank you, mayor." "Listen, you're not getting a little light in the sneakers, are you, pal?" "Yeah, I am, Filko." "I'm changing." "I'm on the prowl." "I'm looking for a hunk." "Not any hunk." "A man, a real man, like you." "You can tell them what we do." "Want to play sailor?" " I'm Columbus, you're the first mate." " That's not funny!" "These people make me sick, but a law's been broken." "You remember the law, don't you?" " At least we agree on one thing." " What's that?" "Tutti-fruttis make me sick too." "Ms. Benedict, you worked for Walsh, Ulmer  Brahm, three years ago at the same time as Walter Kenton?" "That's correct." "Did Kenton know the lesions on your face and arms were caused by AIDS?" "Definitely." "I told all the partners." "How did Walter Kenton treat you after you told him?" "Every time we came in contact, he'd get this look on his face." "It was the "Oh, God" expression." "As in, "Oh, God, that woman has AIDS."" "Thank you." "No more questions, Your Honour." "Ms. Benedict, how did you contract the AIDS virus?" "A transfusion." "I lost a lot of blood giving birth." "So there was no behaviour on your part which caused you to be infected." "It was something you were unable to avoid." "Isn't that correct?" "I guess." "Thank you." "But I don't consider myself different from anyone else with this disease." "I'm not guilty." "I'm not innocent." "I'm just trying to survive." "Thank you, Ms. Benedict." "No further questions at this time." "You may step down, Ms. Benedict." "Beyond the marks on his face, were there things about his appearance Ms. Burton, that made you suspect that Andrew had AIDS?" "He was getting thinner and he seemed tired, but he was working so hard." "Still, I felt something was wrong." "I can't believe they're pretending they didn't notice anything." "Objection." "Just answer the question, please." "Have you ever felt discriminated against at Wyant-Wheeler?" " Well, yes." " In what way?" "Well, Mr. Wheeler's secretary Lydia said that Mr. Wheeler had a problem with my earrings." "Really?" "Apparently Mr. Wheeler felt they were too ethnic, is the word she used." "She told me he said he would like it if I wore something less garish a little smaller and more "American."" "What'd you say?" "I said, " My earrings are American." "They're African-American."" " Let's have order, please." " Thank you." "No more questions." "Ms. Burton weren't you recently promoted?" "Yes, I'm in charge of the paralegal department." "Congratulations on your unfettered ascendancy at Wyant-Wheeler." "I wouldn't go so far as to call it unfettered." "I don't understand." "How do you explain the promotion of an obviously intelligent, articulate qualified African-American woman in a firm which practices discrimination as wantonly and consistently as you and Mr. Beckett claim?" "I can't explain it." "Could it be, that these instances of discrimination are in fact misunderstandings that have been blown completely out of proportion?" "I think counsel tends to oversimplify the issue somewhat." "Well, thank you, Ms. Burton I'll take that note under consideration." " How's the trial?" " Excuse me?" "It's a great case." "I saw you on television." "I'm a law student at Penn." "You saw me?" "It's a good school, Penn." "What year are you?" " Second." " Good." "Listen, I just wanted to tell you, this case is tremendously important." "I just wanted to let you know, you're doing a fantastic job." "Thank you." " When you graduate, give me a call." " All right." "Thank you very much." " Listen, Joe." " Yeah?" "Would you like to have a drink?" "I could use a beer." "No, I can't." "My wife is..." "I don't pick up people in drugstores every day." " You think I'm gay?" " Aren't you?" "What's the matter with you?" "I look gay to you?" "Do I look gay to you?" " Relax." " I ought to kick your faggoty ass." "Take it as a compliment, jeez." "That's exactly the kind of bullshit that makes people hate your little faggoty asses." "You want to try and kick my ass, Joe?" "Asshole." "No, you're the asshole, buddy!" "Please continue, Ms. O'Hara." "We were going crazy looking for this complaint." "I felt I was in the Twilight Zone." "Mr. Beckett was screaming at everybody." "He looked so freaky." "Mr. Kenton kept saying, "You lost the Highline complaint?"" "He called Mr. Wheeler." "All of a sudden Jamey comes in with the complaint." " He says, "It was in central files!"" " Central files?" "Central files is where paperwork is sent when cases are closed." "Jamey ran it to the court in time." "And everybody just stood there completely wasted." "And Mr. Beckett just kept saying:" ""I'm sorry." "Sorry, I don't understand this."" "Thank you, Ms. O'Hara." " No further questions at this time." " All right." "Mr. Miller." " May I?" " Certainly." "Thank you." " Are you okay?" " Yes." " You want a glass of water?" " No." " Was Andy a good boss?" " Yes." "He was very sweet." "How would you characterize his work as an attorney?" "How would I know?" "I just worked for him." "Excuse me, Your Honour, but is this for the record?" "Mr. Miller, perhaps you should return to counsel's table." " Ms. O'Hara." " Yes." "Were you aware at any time of any problems that the partners had with Andrew's work prior to this missing file episode?" "No, no, I wasn't." "Thank you." "No more questions, Your Honour." "Is Andrew Beckett the kind of lawyer who misplaces crucial documents?" "Not to my knowledge." "No." "If you wanted to make a lawyer look incompetent, would this be a good way?" "Hiding an important document for a few hours then making it look like the responsible one misplaced it?" "Why would they behave so outrageously?" "Because they found out Andy was sick?" " He's not answering." " Perhaps." "We have lawyers who have had heart attacks, cancer, leukemia no one's sandbagged them." "Did you have something to do with it being lost accidentally on purpose?" "Objection." "Did you have anything to do with misplacing this file?" " Absolutely not." " Are you a homosexual?" "What?" "Are you a homosexual?" "Are you a homo?" "A faggot?" "You know, a punk, a queen, pillow-biter, a fairy?" "Booty-snatcher, rump-roaster?" "Are you gay?" " Objection!" " Order!" "Where did this come from?" "Counsel's attacking his witness." "Mr. Collins' sexual orientation has nothing to do with this case." "Please have a seat, Ms. Conine." "Would you approach the bench, Mr. Miller?" "Would you kindly share with me exactly what's going on inside your head?" "Because at this moment I don't have a clue." "Your Honour  everybody in this courtroom is thinking about sexual orientation sexual preference, whatever you want to call it." "Who does what to whom, and how they do it." "They're looking at Andrew Beckett and thinking about it." "At Mr. Wheeler, Ms. Conine." "Even you, Your Honour." "They're wondering about it." "I know they're looking at me and thinking about it." "Let's get it out in the open, let's get it out of the closet." "Because this case is not just about AIDS, is it?" "Let's talk about what this case is really about:" "The general public's hatred, our loathing, our fear of homosexuals." "And how that climate of hatred and fear translated into the firing of this particular homosexual, my client, Andrew Beckett." "Please have a seat, Mr. Miller." "Very good." "In this courtroom, justice is blind to matters of race, creed, colour, religion and sexual orientation." "With all due respect, Your Honour we don't live in this courtroom though, do we?" "No, we don't." "However, as regards to this witness, I'll sustain the defence's objection." "However, as regards to this witness, I'll sustain the defence's objection." "How many weeks at a time would you be out to sea without stopping at port?" "Anywhere from two weeks to several months." "Any women on board?" "Not when I was in the Navy." "So, during these long voyages, months at a time out to sea no women in sight, hundreds of hardworking, robust young men in the prime of their lives, the peak of their natural desires their God-given hormonal instincts, anything going on?" "Going on?" "Like what?" "Like two sailors down below making flippy-flop?" " Objection." " Mr. Miller." "We had one guy like that." " You haven't ruled on my objection." " Go on, Mr. Miller." "You had one guy like that?" "You mean a homosexual?" "He strutted around naked, trying to get everyone to notice." "It made everyone sick." "It was destroying our morale." "So we let him know this kind of behaviour was not acceptable." "How?" "Wrote him a letter?" "We stuck his head in a latrine after 10 of us used it." " You taught him a lesson." " Yes." "And firing Beckett was a lesson." " Objection." " I withdraw." "You were aware when you worked with Ms. Benedict she had AIDS, right?" " She didn't conceal it." " You know the difference from a bruise and a lesion?" "Beckett said he'd been hit by a racquetball." "Didn't you avoid Ms. Benedict after you found out she had AIDS?" "She says, and I quote, that you were repulsed by her, you avoided her, correct?" "I felt and I still feel nothing but the deepest sympathy for people like Melissa who contracted this terrible disease through no fault of their own." "Andy, don't move now." "Oh, boy." "It's not going through." "We may have to flush it out again." "The vein's closed." "We've got to call Barbara." " Nurse Ratched?" " Wait a minute." "Yeah, tell her to come over." "Look, there's so much stuff that I need to get done." "Can we just skip the treatment for tonight?" "No." "We are not skipping this treatment." "It's my arm and it's my treatment, and I say skip it." "You know something?" " That stuff is saving your life." " What's the matter with you?" " Close the law book." " Let me just..." "The least you can do is look at me and give me a little of your time." "Got it?" "You are worried we don't have very much time left, now, aren't you?" "No, no." "I'll tell you what I'm going to do." "I'm going to start planning my memorial service." "I'm going to start preparing for the inevitable." "Maybe you should think about it." "No." "No, no, no." "Nope, nope, nope, nope." "I've got a better idea." "Hi, Andrew." "Hi, Miguel." " Joe Miller." " Are you Lisa?" "Nice to meet you!" " Very nice, you look wonderful." " Maria, Lisa." "This is Miguel's sister, Maria." " Do you care for something to drink?" " I'll take care of Joe." "Thanks." "You're looking alive tonight." "Oh, I had a blood transfusion and I feel great." "So you like it?" "I'm a lawsuit." "You get it?" "I'm a lawsuit." "It's not bad." "It's not bad." "What are you drinking?" " Wine." " Could I have some of the red, please?" "We gotta get to this q  a sometime tonight, you know?" "Sure." "Just one problem." "I'm at a party right now." " That's fine." "Whatever." " We'll get to it later." "Hi, Joe Miller." " Do I know you?" " Mona Lisa." " Lawsuit." " Nice." "Have fun." "Thank you." " Thank you." " Sure." " Congratulations, counsellor." " Congratulations?" "You survived what I assume to be your first gay party intact." "When you're brought up the way I and most people are there's not a lot of discussion about "homosexuality."" "What do you call it?" "Alternate lifestyles?" "As a kid, you're taught queers are weird." "Queers dress like their mother." "They're afraid to fight." "That they're a danger to kids." "And all they want to do is get into your pants." "That sums up the general thinking out there, if you want to know the truth." "Thank you for sharing." "Let's go over this testimony." "We got a big day on Monday." "Okay." "First I'll ask you, " Can you describe the circumstances in which you joined the firm Wyant-Wheeler?"" "Miller?" "Do you ever pray?" "Andrew, that is not the answer to the question." "But, yes, I pray." "What do you pray for?" "What do you mean?" "I pray." "I pray that..." "I pray my baby's healthy." "I prayed my wife made it through the delivery." "I pray that the Phillies win the pennant." "Now, can we go through the questions?" "Can you describe the circumstances in which you joined Wyant-Wheeler?" "Can you do that?" "There's a possibility I won't be around to see the end of this trial." "Yes, I've considered that." "I've made some provisions in my will for some charities." "Miguel will need a lawyer." "It's not your area." "I know a good probate." " Thank you." " You're welcome." "Now, can you describe the circumstances in which you joined the firm Wyant-Wheeler?" "Do you mind this music?" "Do you like opera?" "I am not that familiar with opera, Andrew." "Oh, this is my favourite aria." "It's Maria Callas." "It's Andrea Chénier." "Umberto Giordano." "This is Madeleine." "She's saying how, during the French Revolution..." " No." " For absolute clarity did you fire Andrew Beckett because he had AIDS?" "No, I did not fire Andrew Beckett because he had AIDS." "Mr. Wheeler, can you explain in a way that leaves no doubt why you promoted Andrew Beckett through your firm?" "And then, most importantly, why you eventually asked him to leave?" "If you're the owner of a major-league ball club, you recruit the hot rookie." "And Andy was tremendously promising as a young attorney." "Fresh out of Penn." "Crackerjack." "That's why we went after him and hired him." "That's why we stuck with him, year after year." "Why did you give him opportunity after opportunity?" "When you've groomed someone the way we groomed Andy nurturing him, lavishing all kinds of special treatment on him you make quite an investment." "We were waiting for the promise to kick in and deliver." "But ultimately we could no longer ignore the gap between the reality and the promise." "Thank you, Mr. Wheeler." "No more questions at this time." "Mr. Miller?" "Objection." "Your Honour, objection!" "All right." "That will be sufficient." "Mr. Wheeler, you are magnificent." "You are my hero." "Andrew was right." "You are the greatest." "Are you gay?" "Objection." " How dare you!" " The witness will kindly answer." "No, I am not a homosexual." "Is it true that when you realized Andrew your future senior partner was gay and had AIDS it drove a stake of fear right through your heterosexual heart?" "Remembering the hugs and the handshakes, moments in the sauna?" "The pats on the backside that guys exchange sometimes." "It made you say, " My God!" "What does this say about me?"" "Objection, Your Honour." "The witness will please respond to the question." "You may tap dance around me all you wish with your innuendos and locker- room fantasies." "But the truth still remains that your client worked when he wanted to telling us what he thought we needed to know about who he was." "He insisted on bending the rules." "And his work suffered tremendously in the long run as a result." "Explain it like I'm a 6-year-old because I don't get it." "Who makes these rules that you're talking about?" "You?" "Read your Bible, Mr. Miller." "Old and the New Testament." "Pretty valuable rules in there." "Excuse me." "Andrew?" "Excuse..." "I can't s..." "Excuse me." "Andy!" "Chrissakes, somebody get a doctor!" "Turn him over now." " Call an ambulance, please." " Right away!" "Let him breathe!" "Please, make room for him!" "It's not working!" "It's not working!" "It's not working!" "No!" "It is making him worse!" "Did you notice any changes in Andrew's appearance over the course of the year leading up to his termination?" "Yes, I did." "Were these changes for the better or worse?" "Sometimes for the better, but generally for the worse." "Mr. Seidman, what did you think caused these changes in appearance?" "I was afraid." "I suspected Andy had AIDS." "Order!" " Thank you." "Your witness." " Ms. Conine?" "Mr. Seidman, did you share your suspicions with Mr. Wheeler or any of the other managing partners at any time before the decision to fire Mr. Beckett was made?" "No, I didn't." "I didn't mention it to anyone." "Not even Andy." "I didn't even give him a chance to talk about it." "And I think I'm going to regret that for as long as I live." " Any more questions?" " That's all." "They are saying that he wasn't a good lawyer." "And the fact that they gave him the most important lawsuit for an important client they say that doesn't prove anything because that was just a test." "What'd they call it?" "A carrot?" "To see if he'd rise to the occasion." "Say I gotta send a pilot into enemy territory." "He's gonna be flying a plane that cost $350 million." "Who am I gonna put in that plane?" "Some rookie who can't cut the grade to see if he'll rise to the challenge?" "Or am I gonna give that assignment to my best pilot?" "My sharpest, my most experienced, my top gun, the very best I got." "And I just don't get that." "Would somebody please explain it to me?" "Like I'm a 6-year-old?" " Juror number 6?" " I agree." " Juror number 7?" " I agree." " Juror number 9?" " I agree." " Juror number 10?" " I disagree." " Juror number 11?" " I agree." " Juror number 12?" " Agree." "Have you awarded any damages?" "Yes, Your Honour, we have." "For back pay and loss of benefits, we award $143,000." "For mental anguish and humiliation, we award $100,000." "And for punitive damages, we award $4,782,000." "You may record the verdict." "Everyone remain seated until the jury is removed." "How could they do that?" "This trial is now concluded." "Congratulations." "We'll get a reversal on this one." "We'll get started in the morning." "Congratulations, Mr. Miller." "I'll see you at the appeal." "Congratulations." "Well done." " Oh, man." "Thanks a lot." " I'll see you at the hospital." " Mr. Miller, hi." "How are you doing?" " He's just down the hall." "Thanks." "If he leaves the hospital, which is unlikely don't expect him to be remotely like he was before this crisis." "He's lost the vision in his right eye." "And because of the CMV he will not regain his vision." " Next door, to the right." " The CMV has ravaged his body." "Congratulations." " Way to go." " The man of the hour." "Hey, Joe." "We are so grateful to you." "Thank you so much." "Can I take that?" "I brought some cheese and stuff." "How are you doing?" "What do you call a thousand lawyers chained together at the bottom of the ocean?" "I don't know." "A good start." "Excellent work, counsellor." "I thank you." "It was great working with you, counsellor." "I'd better go." "Sure thing." "See you later?" "Thanks for stopping by." "I'll see you again." "I'll keep it on ice for you." "He's a fighter." "I just want to get him home." "Thank you, Joe." "What do you call a thousand lawyers chained at the bottom of the ocean?" " A good start?" " Very amusing." "I'll see you tomorrow, buddy." "God bless you, Andy." "Good night, son." "Try to get some rest." "I love you, Andy." "I love you too, Dad." "See you first thing tomorrow." " Hey." "It's okay." " Don't worry." "I'll see you tomorrow." " See you tomorrow." " Come on, sweetheart." "Good night, my angel." "My sweet boy." "Let me help you." "Miguel." "I'm ready." "Hello." "Joe, it's Miguel." "Hello?" "Oh, Jimmy!" " How are you?" " Great." "Look at my boy!" "Say hi, Auntie." "Oh, hi." "Can I get you something to drink?" "Hey, it's my turn." "Subtitles by SDI Media Group"