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Favorite Scenes   March 11, 1994 N: Dorian, if you don’t like the way I’m representing you, (Etc. of above) N: Let’s have a little reality check, Dorian, shall we? At this point, we have no defense, we have no character wit- D: The operative phrase is, at this point. N: I do law, not miracles. D: Oh, but you do. I checked your record, remember? N: Fine, fine, fine, yes. D: You have never lost a murder case. And my bet is, you never will. Now then, I suggest that you make a telephone call, find out about the new evidence, and who the new witness is that the DA and your boyfriend have on their hands. N: I thought we’d set all the ground rules, Dorian, but obviously you weren’t listening well enough. Number one, don’t interfere. Number two, you never try to push me around. If you want to win this case- D: Oh, but I do. N: But out! And in case you may have forgotten, all those cases that I won before, I didn’t have any help from you. D: Fine. I now know my place. I am a humble client, just tell me what you want me to do. N: Plead guilty. D: No! What’s the sense of having you as my lawyer if I’m going to walk in the courtroom and say I’m guilty when I am not. N: Fine, fine, fine. The least I had to do was ask. All right. Then what we have to do is come up with a really strong defense, but how can we do that, Dorian, when we can’t come up with one legitimate character witness? D: I gave you names and numbers. N: Three employees, two tenants of yours. One of them says she owes you $6,000. D: They’re legitimate people. N: Well, obviously she’s under your thumb! D: That’s outrageous, I’ve never intimidated- N: They’re scared to death of you. Dorian, how can they possibly convince a jury when they’re scared to death of you? D: My niece, Blair Daimler. N: Blair Daimler, there’s an upstanding member of the community, forget it. Dorian, what about friends? Don’t you have any friends? D: Of course I do, like everybody else. N: Good. Names, names. D: Look, the fact is that Viki Buchanan owns this whole town. N: I’m sorry, I’m at a loss, what? D: I’m trying to explain why I seem to be a bit short of friends at the moment. No, maybe I’m just feeling that way, and if I just think about it a bit harder, I’m sure I could come up with any number of names. N: Do that. Go do that. D: Wait a minute, you haven’t got any other cases, have you, because this one must be your priority. N: You do you work, get the names, I’ll do my work. Leave, please. (D leaves) (N picks up phone) Cassie: Hello? N: Cassie, hi, it’s Nora Gannon. Um, I was wondering if you could come down and see me, I have something important I want to talk to you about. C: Well, yeah, I guess I could. When would you like to see me? N: I’m not going to beat around the bush, Cassie. You know I’m representing your mother. C: Yes, I read it in the newspaper. I was surprised, uh…Nora, do you believe that my mother is innocent? I mean, when a client and a lawyer get together, doesn’t a lawyer have to- N: Uh, this case was assigned to me, it wasn’t my choice. But, my job is to provide the best defense I can for your mother, and that’s what I’m going to try and do. C: Thank you. N: Which is why I’ve asked you to come here today. I’m looking for character references, and I’d really like to put you on the stand. C: Why are you asking me- N: Cassie, I can’t find one character witness for your mother. I mean, let’s be real here. Hank Gannon would not possibly prosecute this case that has been buried for 18 years unless he was positive he could win it.ep C: Do you know what evidence he has? N: Not yet, that will be turned over to me later. C: But then, you know, even if he has this evidence, whatever it is, uh, then the jury still has to decide. N: Oh, yeah, right, but where am I going to find a jury, Cassie? Where am I going to find twelve men and women who haven’t already convicted your mother as soon as they heard her name? C: What do you want me to do? N: I want you to endorse your mother. I want to put you on the stand, the clergyman’s wife, the respected, good, kind woman who love her mother. Cassie, for all that she is, there must be some part of you that still loves her, or at least wants to help her. C: Don’t do this. Don’t tell me that the whole world hates my mother. It hurts. N: I’m sorry. C: Yes, deep down inside, yes, I do love her. N: Then you’ll help her? C: (remembers asking her if she did it) I’m sorry, I can’t. (D is listening) I can’t defend her. N: I know, you’ve had a tough time of things- C: No, no- it’s not that. The nightmare is over, and Andrew and I- we’re trying to have a baby, you know? And it won’t work if my life is taken over by my mother’s. I just want Andrew and a child, a simple life, and I have to keep myself together. Whenever I have anything to do with my mother, it goes the other way. Good luck with all this. Do the very best you can for her, but I can’t. (sees D as she leaves) Mother, I’m sorry. (leaves) N: Dorian, I’m sorry. D: Don’t worry, I’m fine. N: I didn’t know you were coming back- D: I said, I’m fine. The reason that I came back is because I thought of another character witness, that is what you need, what we need?ep N: Yes, we do. D: It’s my housekeeper, Carlotta Fernandez. She’s worked for me for several years, she’s very loyal to me, as I am to her. N: Thank you. (very subdued) D: It’s her name, her address. So now you see why I can’t plead guilty. If I ever expect to get my daughter back, I’ve got to be proven innocent. N: Dorian, it’s not that simple. D: Nora, think. What if it were your daughter? If Rachel turned your back on you, how would you feel? I’m not the easiest person in the world, but I mean it. Please help me. Make me innocent, Nora. For Cassie’s sake, please. N: I’m going against my better judgment, I don’t’ know why I’m doing this, I don’t think it’s possible for me to do it, but okay. We’ll plead not guilty. D: Thank you. N: But that means we have to provide a very strong defense, and I don’t know anything, but this- this is not going to be easy at all- D: Nora! N: No, I’m not finished! You will stay out of my way, you’re not going to tell me what to do, but you are going to tell me the truth, or no deal. D: Fine, deal. (intercom beeps) N: Yes, Jill? Line one, okay. Bo? Hi, honey. B: Hi, honey. This is a business call. N: Well, I sure wouldn’t expect any other kind. B: Not a very pleasant business call. Is Dorian still there? N: Right here. B: Can you give her a message, please? N: Better yet, why don’t I put her on the speaker phone? Hang on. Dorian. Go ahead, Bo. B: Dorian, as required by law, Hank and I have to notify you because you’re next of kin. We are planning to exhume the body of Victor Lord.   s N: (on phone) Yes, Bo, sure. No, I’ll talk to her. All right. Talk to you later. Bye-bye. Well, they want to exhume the body of Victor Lord, isn’t that an interesting little development, hmm? D: It’s absolutely outrageous, that’s what it is. N: Why? D: Because he’s been dead for 18 years. Can’t they let him rest in peace? N: Dorian, do I have to remind you what’ll happen to you if you’re found guilty of murder? D: No. N: Then can I suggest to you that you stop thinking about Victor resting in peace and start thinking about yourself? All right. Now why do you suppose the prosecution wants to do this, hmm? Do you have any idea at all what they’re hoping to find? D: I’ll tell you what they’ll find. Nothing, just the remains of an old man that died of a massive stroke. N: You’re sure? D: Yes. I mean, read the coroner’s report. I didn’t kill him, Nora. What is it going to take to get you to believe me? N: Dorian, let’s get something straight, all right? What I believe and what the prosecution believes has absolutely no bearing on the outcome of this trial. The only thing that matters is what the jury thinks. So I’m going to ask you again: If they exhume the body of Victor Lord, what do you think? Do you think they’ll find something that might help them prove their case? D: No. N: Dorian, why don’t we look at this logically, all right? Ethel Crawford happens to be the star witness of the prosecution, she says she saw you murder Victor Lord. Now, Hank knows he can’t get a conviction on just her story, because it will be her word against yours. So, he has to come up with some hard evidence in order to back her up. Whatever it is that she is telling him, he thinks that he can prove it if he just takes another look at the body. So, the question is, what is she telling them? D: Would you stop looking at me that way? N: Dorian, the woman has been blackmailing you for 18 years, you’re going to tell me you don’t know what she’s had over your head? Bull. Now, you know perfectly well what she’s telling the police, and I want to know it too! D: Nora, I swear to you- N: Dorian, I cannot possibly help you unless you tell me the truth. Think of it as your future, your freedom, depends entirely on the answer that you give me right now, okay? Think about it. D: Okay. I guess I go have some idea of what she might be saying, but Ethel Crawford is totally unpredictable, I could be completely wrong. N: I’m listening. D: On the night that she came to me to blackmail me, she accused me of murdering victor, and she went on and on about how she thought I did it. It was completely ridiculous, like everything else that she was saying, but she said she saw it, and she was going to tell anybody who would listen to her. N: And what is it? D: That I took a pillow, put it over Victor’s face, and smothered him to death. N: Ethel Crawford thinks you suffocated him? D: It’s absolutely preposterous. I mean, I tried to save his life from the moment he started having that stroke, I tried to revive him, not kill him. N: This is what she’s been blackmailing you with for the past 18 years? Dorian, why didn’t you come and say something about this sooner? D: Because it’s so blatantly absurd. Because it’s a vindictive, deranged lie from a vindictive, deranged, greedy woman. Why in the world would I possibly try to suffocate a man who was already having a stroke? I wouldn’t, of course, it goes without saying. N: Don’t count on it. If this is the story that Ethel Crawford has been telling the police, I can guarantee you that Hank and Bo are going to follow it up with a thorough investigation. D: Well, they’re wasting their time. N: Well, their time and a forensic expert’s time too. D: What? N: Well, of course if they’re going to exhume the body, they’re going to have a forensic expert examine the body to see for signs of suffocation, or signs of struggle. D: Nora- N: No, no, Dorian. It’s time for you to tell me the truth, the whole truth. D: I have been. N: Dorian, don’t you realize that your dearly departed husband has been buried in the best vaulted mausoleum that his very considerable money could buy? D: Yes. N: That his remains are probably still intact? D: I know that. N: And that forensic examination might turn up something crucial, even after 18 years? D: Yes. N: So don’t you think it’s possible that Hank and Bo might find something incriminating? N: Yes, thank you, Jill, but please, no more interruptions, not until I’m done with Ms. Lord. Thank you. Now, where were we? D: Oh, uh, you were still wondering what hank would find out if he’s allowed to dig up Victor’s body. N: And? D: Nothing. N: You’re sure, you’re positive, I mean, you’re not going to come up with some sort of story after a couple more hours like you did with Ethel Crawford saying that she saw you suffocate your husband with a pillow? D: Which I didn’t do. N: Oh, fine, which you didn’t do. D: Nora, you’re always saying, let’s be logical, okay, let’s, okay? Let us think about this, okay? Assuming that Hank is allowed to exhume the body, and assuming that the body is intact, what can they possibly find out that the first autopsy didn’t already show? The medical facts are really quite simple. An older man with a history of cardiovascular disease died of a massive stroke. So why can’t he just leave it at that? N: Thank you. Oh, what the heck, you know, this could make us look good, you know? I’ll just call Hank right now and tell him that he doesn’t need to get a court order. We have the next of kin giving approval. (picks up phone) D: No, you won’t! Because I will not give my approval. No way, no how, at any time, will I consent to have Victor’s body dug up. Never! N: (hangs up phone) Sit down, Dorian. I said, sit down! Now you tell me what’s going on- D: I’m not going to let them do it, I am not, no matter what! N: You said there is nothing for them to fine! Now, what are you so afraid of? D: You wouldn’t understand. (weepy) N: Try me. D: Nora, you’ve never lost a husband. When Victor died, a part of me died with him. N: Dorian, forgive me for saying this, but it was my impression this wasn’t the happiest of marriages. D: Victor and I did have our differences, but we were still husband and wife, and, and I have a responsibility to him even in death. And I am not going to consent to let them dig him up. N: It’s very touching. It’s also very suspicious. D: Haven’t you got any compassion? Any respect for the dead? N: I have a lot of respect for the dead. I have a lot of respect for the living, some of them. Viki and her family have a right to know what really happened to her father. D: We already know the answer to that. All exhuming the body is going to do is rob the poor man of his dignity. No, I’m his widow, and I won’t consent to such an atrocity. N: And how’s that going to look? Like you have something to hide. You tell me, how am I supposed to go to Hank and, and stop this thing without making you look guiltier than you already do. D: I don’t know. Hey, you’re the hotshot lawyer. Figure out a way. N: All right, Dorian, let’s just say for a minute here, let’s say you don’t give your consent, and you do stop this exhumation, even though I strongly discourage it. Don’t think for a minute that this whole thing is going to disappear, because it won’t, all right? Hank is going to go to a judge faster than you can blink, and he’ll get a court order to go ahead and do this anyway. D: I’m Victor’s next of kin, he can’t do that! N: You’re also the woman accused of murdering him. A little bit of a difference. D: So, either way, I’m the loser. N: The best I can do is delay it, for a few days at best. D: Then do that. I need time. N: Time for what? D: Time to get used to the idea of them digging up my husband’s body and desecrating his memory. And also, I don’t see why we should help them with their investigation, seems to me that they have all the advantages already, and it just makes sense for us to stall. N: Yes, it does. All right, I will have my secretary draw up the legal papers. You want to block it, we’ll block it. D: Thanks. (N leaves- D picks up phone) It’s Dorian. Don’t talk, just listen, okay? That favor that you owe me- oh, you know which favor. I’m calling it in. Right now. Tonight. No- listen- I mean this. It’s terribly urgent.   March 15, 1994 D on phone and N comes in. D: (on phone) No, make it ten- Don’t tell me that. Terrific- all right? I need you now. This is a matter of life and death. (hangs up) N-Nora. N: Whose life and whose death, Dorian? Come on, who were you talking to? D: All right, I confess. I was calling my hairdresser. N: That’s a matter of life or death? D: It will be if I don’t get an appointment to see him tomorrow. I can get witnesses on this, Nora. I’m not a natural redhead. N: I’ll put it in your file. Dorian, why don’t you get your priorities straight here? My secretary just called the DA’s office only to find that Hank and Bo are on their way to the courthouse, if they’re not there already. D: So you mean it’s over? They’re going to get some friendly judge to grant them permission to dig up poor Victor’s body. Nora, you’ve got to do something to stop them. N: Just wait a minute, wait a minute, they don’t have the court order yet. D: So you know some way to stop them? N: No, Dorian, delay, delay, remember? That's the best I can do. D: Well then, that’s what I’ll have to settle for. At least it will give me time. N: Right, to get over the shock, fine. In the meantime, we’ve got to get down to the courthouse right now, or Hank and Bo are going to dig up poor Victor whether you want them to or not. Move it, come on! (they leave) Jill, where’s my coat?   Fitz questions B and H’s request. H says original autopsy was incomplete. Fitz asks if they think they can get D to plead guilty if exhume. H says if evidence is overwhelming, sure. Next of kin? Have notified D and V. B:…and she has no objections, your honor. D: (enters) Oh, but I do! F: And I thought this was going to be a quiet night. N: Your honor, before you make any decisions- F: Take a number, Miss Gannon. As I understand it, the DA has followed the letter of the law. He has even done your client and Victor Lord’s daughter the courtesy of informing them of his intentions. D: Courtesy? To dig up poor Victor? B: Poor Victor? Poor Victor would be doing double backflips in his grave right now if he knew you were getting away with murder! D: Your honor, are you going to let him get away with talking to me like that? F: Everybody quiet. I see no further cause for delay. Mr. Gannon, your request, please. H: Yes, your honor. (hands it to her) N: Stop! N: Dorian Lord is the next of kin. As Victor Lord’s widow, it is her right and hers alone to approve this violation. H: Exhumation. Your honor, as I have already pointed out, Dorian Lord has been charged with the murder of Victor Lord. D: Charged, not convicted. N: Dorian, please. H: I don’t need Ms. Lord to remind me of the presumption of innocence. And as district attorney, I must insist that her so-called rights do not supersede the right of the court to learn the truth. F: So noted. The court has an overriding need to know all the facts in this case, and if those facts happen to be buried, then the only choice is to dig them up. N: Well, there may not appear to be a choice in this rush to judgment that these two gentlemen have engineered in the dark of night, but we believe a brief postponement of a week, at least, will give us a fair chance to present our position. H: Your honor, this has noting to do with fairness, this has nothing to do with fairness. It’s a flagrant attempt to block an investigation. N: With all due respect, your honor, it was you who warned me to give my best to my client. I’m merely following your instructions. B: You’ve got to admit she’s good. N: All we ask is a fair hearing, your honor, and given your passion for impartiality, I don’t think that’s too much to ask, do you? F: The court must acknowledge Ms. Gannon’s legitimate complaint that this hearing was rushed. H: Your honor, we moved as swiftly as the law allows, with all deliberate speed, isn’t that how it goes? F: It goes the way I say it goes in my courtroom. Sorry, Mr. Gannon. I am all for deliberate speed, but I am also all for the chance to give counsel an opportunity to prepare and respond. Therefore, I am granting Ms. Gannon and her client a full hearing. D: Oh, thank you, your honor, a week should really make a difference- F: Who said anything about a week? D: Well, you did. You just- F: No. One day. The hearing will begin tomorrow at 3 PM sharp. Until then, go home. That’s where I’m going. H: Well, counselor, you haven’t lost a step. N: Thank you, Mr. Prosecutor, but I’ve got somebody who keeps me on my toes. D: Nora, thank you so much, I mean, you played that judge like a Stradivarius, using her own words to get her to see things our way. Brilliant. H: Dorian, don’t get your hopes up. The only thing your lawyer did was buy you 24 hours. That exhumation will happen. You can bank on it. D: No wonder you divorced that man. He seems to thrive on other people’s misery. N: Hank’s a very good lawyer, so be prepared to have a lot of misery. I can’t block that exhumation forever. D: Oh, I’m not worried about that, not with you as my champion. N: Oh, Dorian, suddenly I feel like a Stradivarius. D: (laughs) Oh, dear, look at the time. I must run. Thank you again, and I’ll see you tomorrow at 3 PM. Sharp. B: Ms. Gannon, outside, please. N: I really need to- B: Outside, please, please, now. N: (go outside) Okay. I know you’re angry, and I can take it. It’s not fair, but I can take it. It is my job to defend my client the best possible way I can. If you don’t understand that, I’m sorry- (B kisses her) B: That’s just my way of saying, honey, you were the greatest in there. N: Say it again, I don’t remember anything you said. (kiss) Fitz walks out into hall. N: Judge Fitzwater! F: I thought I told you all to go home. B: Yeah, your honor, we can’t wait. F: Uh-huh. N: See you tomorrow, your honor. F: No, you won’t, Ms. Gannon. N: I won’t? F: I may as well tell you right now. I’ve come to a decision. N: Oh, please. Tell me you’re taking me off this case. F: Take you off the case? No way. Where did you get an idea like that? N: You just- Bo, didn’t you hear what she said, she said that she wasn’t going to see me in court, which, if you’re not going to see me in court, then I’m not going to be there, of course, I’m, of course, I mean, I assumed- F: Yes. That was your mistake. One of many. B: Uh, honey, maybe we better let Judge Fitzwater say what she really has to say. F: Yes, that’s been a long time coming. You know, the mess that you made of the rape trial- N: Excuse me, your honor, but I did then what I felt was right. F: You deliberately caused a mistrial. But I am not going to hash that old dispute. N: The state disciplinary committee gave me my suspension, I completed it, and I think it’s a clean slate, isn’t it? F: Officially. But I still have a problem with you. B: Well, what exactly is that, jury? F: Well, to be perfectly blunt, Bo, your fiancée is a pain in the backside. N: Now just a minute here, judge, I never wanted to take this case, I never wanted to take Dorian Lord on as a client, you insisted. F: I’m aware of that. N: Well then, you should also be aware that if I have to be a pain in that particular location, it’s because I’m trying to do my job right! B: The lady makes sense to me, judge. N: Yes! F: I know that. N: And none of it- you do? You know that/ F: Yes. It is my objectivity that I’m concerned about. That’s why I’m taking myself off the case. N: You? F: There will be another judge at the hearing tomorrow. One who does not have preconceptions that would be unfair to your client. N: I don’t know what to say, your honor. B: Thank you works for me, honey. F: Thanks are not necessary. It’s the ethical thing to do, given our personal differences. But I do hope that all that talk about defending your client is not just that, talk! N: I give you my word. F: The real test won’t be in the courtroom. It will be about how you maintain your objectivity in your relationship with Commissioner Buchanan. Good night. Good luck, both of you. B: Thank you. Goodnight. (F leaves) N: Was I that horrible? B: No, honey, I just told you. You were great in there. Believe me, I love it when you get this little glint in your eye when you just start firing on all cylinders. It’s just too bad you’re going to have to lose this one, that’s all. N: I don’t know, I think I won the first round on points alone. B: Well, yeah, but you’ve got to go the distance, and Hank Gannon has enough evidence for a knock-out. N: Oh? B: It’s just a matter of time. N: Oh. (kiss)