JOHNSON: Two witnesses-

HELEN: And who takes the heat with the N.G.? Me.

JOHNSON: There's no heat on this, I promise. The victim's a John Doe, homeless guy. It doesn't matter if we lose, but we can't dismiss, the defendant's wealthy, it would look bad. Just put on a case, it's a two day trial- -

HELEN: No.

JOHNSON: Helen. I didn't ask.

BOBBY: Okay. Rebecca's lunch Wednesday, everybody's in?

REBECCA: You don't have to.

JIMMY: What do you mean, we don't have to? This is like the highest dog lover honor, isn't it?

REBECCA: It's animal rights, and it's not a big deal.

JIMMY: Not that big a deal. You saved two shelters.

BOBBY: Great. Anything else, I'm late for a settlement--

LINDSAY: One other thing. Actually. I'd like some equity in this firm.

BOBBY: Excuse me?

LINDSAY: If you run the numbers, I've probably generated half our revenues. I've been getting feelers from headhunters, I really don't want to leave, I like it here. But I want some equity.

BOBBY: What... like partner?

LINDSAY: Not equal but... yes.

BOBBY: The issue aside, don't you think that's something you should have addressed one-on-one?

LINDSAY: There's no one-on-one in this firm, everything comes out so I wanted to be up front--

BOBBY: And exactly how am I supposed to react--

LINDSAY: Bobby.

BOBBY: That was an ultimatum, Lindsay. I don't handle ultimatums well.

LINDSAY: I make a third of what I'm worth, and it's not like I'm trading in salary for prestige, this place doesn't leave you with much of a pedigree- -

BOBBY: I'm so sick of you complaining about--

LINDSAY: I didn't make a complaint in there I made a demand! There's a difference.

BOBBY: You want to go?

LINDSAY: I want to stay. And I'm willing to make less. But I won't be an idiot.

EUGENE: How long have you been connected with the Gang Unit?

HORNE: Going on fifteen years.

EUGENE: Would you say that you are an expert on street gangs?

HORNE: With regard to this city, yes, I would.

EUGENE: Have you ever heard the term "jumpin' in"?

HORNE: Yes.

EUGENE: Would you explain it for us, Detective Horne?

HORNE: It's a gang initiation ritual. Different gangs do it differently, in this case they used playing cards.

EUGENE: Playing cards?

HORNE: Yes. The prospective gang member picks a card. The number of the card will decide how many existing gang members he has to walk through, allowing himself to be punched by.

EUGENE: And did the victim draw a card, to your knowledge?

HORNE: He drew the ace of spades.

EUGENE: Did that have any special significance?

HORNE: Yes. In this particular gang, drawing the ace means the one being initiated has to go against the gang member considered to be the toughest.

EUGENE: Do you know who that member would be?

HORNE: It was the defendant.

EUGENE: So by drawing the ace, the victim, Mr. Charles Johnson... he was to fight the defendant?

HORNE: Yes.

EUGENE: And to your knowledge, it was in that fight that Mr. Johnson suffered the injury which caused his death?

HORNE: That's correct.

EUGENE: And Detective... when you detained my client and talked to him... could you describe his demeanor?

HORNE: He was crying.

EUGENE: Thank you.

REBECCA: It was an ambush, Lindsay.

LINDSAY: Why?

REBECCA: To just spring it at a staff meeting like that.

LINDSAY: Eugene told me that you know.

REBECCA: Know what?

LINDSAY: That Bobby and I used to sleep together. There. It's been said. Now. Suppose I went to Bobby privately and made my request. And suppose he granted it. And then suppose it got out that he used to suck my elbows through the night. There'd be a mutiny. This way, out in the open... Bobby doesn't get accused of special favors, does he? It's better for everybody I did it this way.

ELLENOR: How long are we gonna stay like this?

REBECCA: Till she gets it.

LINDSAY: I'm not getting it.

REBECCA: You speak his language, Lindsay. Fellow rat.

LINDSAY: What I did was good for the firm, Rebecca.

ELLENOR: There's a rat running around.

JIMMY: In here?

REBECCA: No, in Washington, that's why we're all up on our desks, Big Head.

JIMMY: Don't you be rude with me, Rebecca.

LINDSAY: Just get the rat.

JIMMY: He's the size of a beaver!

REBECCA: What are you doing? You have a gun?

ELLENOR: It's just a starter pistol.

LINDSAY: What are you gonna do, race him?

ELLENOR: I'll scare him.

JIMMY: That's not gonna scare him.

ELLENOR: Then go get him, Big Head!

JIMMY: It's normal size!

ELLENOR: Somebody's gotta get down and flush him out.

REBECCA: Why, you gonna blow his ears out with that?

ELLENOR: Rebecca, I'm an animal rights activist myself, there's a waiver for rats.

JIMMY: Hey, Bobby. How's it going?

BOBBY: "How's it going?"

LINDSAY: There he goes!!!

BOBBY: What in God's name?

JIMMY: I think I got him!

BOBBY: Got who? What?

LINDSAY: This law firm has rats. What a surprise.

EUGENE: What do you mean "no"?

SIMMONS: I want him for murder two.

EUGENE: C'mon, Curtis, yesterday you offered manslaughter, why--

SIMMONS: That was yesterday--

EUGENE: So what's changed?

SIMMONS: What's changed is I was lookin' at that boy's mother on the stand and I just got sick of hearing "didn't mean it" from the gangs, it's time--

EUGENE: C'mon, Curtis, you--

SIMMONS: And I took offense at you, I didn't like what I heard from you.

EUGENE: Which was?

SIMMONS: Which was, "these kids got nowhere else to turn but gangs, there's nobody there for them but gangs"--

EUGENE: You don't think that's the truth?

SIMMONS: I don't think it's an excuse! Now. Look. I was raised by a single parent, I grew up in those neighborhoods, I got out, Eugene, kids do make other choices.

EUGENE: So you got out, I'm happy for you, that still doesn't mean my guy should get murder two- -

SIMMONS: A kid is dead because of your guy!

EUGENE: Try the case, Curtis!

SIMMONS: I'm trying my case! You try yours.

BOBBY: I think I should just tell her to walk.

REBECCA: We can't let her walk.

BOBBY: Rebecca, I am not about to let her extort me, and- -

BOBBY: I don't like the way she did it and this is my practice.

REBECCA: You say "me" like you're the only one involved, you're not- -

REBECCA: Bobby, listen to me. This firm is not just you and me anymore. There's Eugene, Ellenor, and Jimmy- -

BOBBY: They're not behind what she's doing.

REBECCA: They don't know the numbers. And if they did, they might say give her some equity.

BOBBY: And if I do? What's to stop Eugene from wanting a piece, then Ellenor- -

REBECCA: Maybe it's time to deal with that.

BOBBY: I don't need to- -

REBECCA: Yes you do. Hey. I'd like to make more money. We all would. This is a firm, now, you have a group of people committing to it. Committing to a promise by you to build this place into something.

BOBBY: I won't have a gun put to my head.

REBECCA: Y'know what. Sometimes, I think you put the gun to your own head.

EUGENE: We need for you to describe how this happened, Raymond.

RAYMOND: Well, like I said, Charlie drew the ace . The ace means he's gotta go with the toughest guy for sixty seconds.

EUGENE: And that was you?

RAYMOND: I didn't say it was me. But...

EUGENE: Kind of like a vote?

RAYMOND: Yeah.

EUGENE: But Raymond... Charlie Johnson was your boy, your friend. You're the one who invited him in.

RAYMOND: Yeah.

EUGENE: Well... C'mon. Why didn't you take it a little easy on him? I mean, he's not allowed to fight back. This is your friend.

RAYMOND: I did take it a little easy. But I couldn't...

EUGENE: Couldn't what?

RAYMOND: I had to hit him some. If I didn't, they wouldn't let him in, it had to be a real initiation.

EUGENE: So you did hit him pretty hard? RAYMOND: I was mostly jabbin'.

RAYMOND: Like I said, he couldn't hit back. It had to go on sixty seconds. I did a lot of punchin' on the shoulder and the back 'cause I knew that wouldn't do much. But I hadda hit him some in the head. And then- -

EUGENE: Then what?

RAYMOND: I was throwing a right to his... he kinda swerved... and I hit him right on the throat. He just grabbed himself... and he went down. And I could see he couldn't breathe. I stopped and tried to help him. I thought maybe he swallowed his tongue, I stuck my fingers in his mouth. But he couldn't get air. He couldn't get air. And then he was twitchin' on the ground. He couldn't get air. And when the paramedics came... they said something about his windpipe. I crushed something inside his throat. And they took him away. And then he was dead. He was dead.

SIMMONS: It's okay to punch people in the head so long as we call it initiation. Some gangs require that you go out and cap somebody to get into the club. I don't know about you... but I've had enough. For all his remorse, Ladies and Gentlemen, there sits a gang member three times convicted on drug offenses, twice on prior assaults, and this is the man who lured the victim into drugs, into gang life, and this is the man who killed the victim with his own fists. What are we supposed to do here? Have a group cry for these poor kids, disenfranchised by society? Gangs are the only community they know, their fathers leave, their mothers work, society just isn't there for them, so it's okay to punch, to initiate, to fire a random shot on a drive-by, these are poor unfortunate victims. I don't buy it. You want to work on community outreach programs, great, where can I sign up to help? But first... we need to attack gang violence head on. If you kill, you go to jail, damnit. Don't tell me you had a lousy home life, don't tell me your dad was a drunk. If you sell drugs, if you recruit people into gangs, if you kill, then damnit, you go to jail. You go to jail.

EUGENE: I have a ten-year-old boy. My greatest fear is somebody like him might come along and convince him... "Hey, you're nothing without the colors". I hate gangs as much as he does. But this trial isn't about putting an end to gangs or gang violence. All this trial is about... is whether this man intended to kill Charles Johnson. Or was he so reckless that he should've known he put the victim at an extreme risk. He didn't. You heard the doctors. Crushed windpipe. Was it foreseeable that Raymond with one punch was going to kill his friend, of course not, did he want to kill his friend? You know he didn't, he wasn't even trying to hurt him; you know that. And so does the prosecution. That's why... he didn't get up here and go after Raymond Burnette. He went after gangs. He said, "Let's stop these gangs, the gangs are the culprits". And maybe he's right. But this isn't a forum to cure the ills of society, it is about one death, one defendant, and his intent. If you don't find that intent, you can't punish him just because he's in a gang. Who or what he is... that isn't on trial. If it were, I might say convict. For the sake of my boy, I might pray you convict. But this trial is about the act. And this act was an accident. Let's not see the twelve of you go back there and turn into a gang.

BOBBY: Rebecca told me your reason for springing this in front of everybody instead of taking it up with me privately. I don't buy it. There's no excuse for you not coming to me one-on-one.

LINDSAY: Bobby, I'm afraid what I might say to you one-on-one.

BOBBY: What's that supposed to mean?

LINDSAY: It means I might say that I think you're dysfunctional. Look at you. Fancy suits in a dumpy rat-infested office. As you try to get ahead, you fight yourself at the same time. And it hurts everybody here. One-on-one, I was afraid I might say that.

BOBBY: If that's the way you feel, why do you stay?

LINDSAY: Because my best friends work here, I don't want to leave. And I'm in love with you.

LINDSAY: I say that... with no hope that you'll love me back. I don't even know that I want it. But... I dunno. Maybe as a result of my loving you I also see you. And I know with you in charge, and only you in charge, this firm is maxed out. And you might be too.

JIMMY: This is really good a thing. Saving dog shelters, it's nice that they honor you for this. Y'know, the Jewish people believe one of the greatest things is kindness to animals. I'm not Jewish, though.

EUGENE: You look Jewish.

JIMMY: If you're insinuatin' Jewish people have big heads, that's prejudice. And mine's normal size.

Jamison: He didn't know he'd hurt anybody. You heard him. And who among us wouldn't have been afraid to get out of the car in that neighborhood? And who knows... it could've been a staged thing, an attempt to rob Mr. Feldman. We don't know who this John Doe was, what was in his mind, what he was up to. He could've been some crazy nut. He could've already been hurt when he stumbled out. There's a lot of unanswered questions here. What we do know is this is a good man. A very good man. Who didn't know that he'd hurt anybody.

HELEN: When I get up to do my closing arguments, I often look to the gallery, at the victim, or the victim's family, to remind myself who I am fighting for. But there's no family out there today. We don't even have a victim in all this, when you think about it. Somebody jumped out of darkness, now he no longer exists. But nobody know he existed anyway, what was really lost? Of course Mr. Feldman wasn't going to get out of his car to check. Why should he? If a man dies in a forest and nobody hears him cry... then he doesn't make a sound, does he? The other day I was stopped at traffic light and some bum came up asking to wash my windshield. I couldn't tell you what he looked like 'cause I never looked at him. I never do, just stare straight ahead. Stopped at the lights, or walking down the street, I never look at 'em. Do you? Easier not to. But uh... when you run one of these bums over... maybe we should stop the car. Get out of the car. Take a look. Mr. Feldman knew he hit somebody. That's all we know. I guess the question for you to go back and decide... Is there any intrinsic value to human life? Or does he have to be somebody? I don't know. It's your call.

JUDGE CAMP: Madame. Foreperson, the jury has reached a unanimous verdict?

FOREPERSON: We have, Your Honor.

JUDGE CAMP: What say you?

FOREPERSON: Commonwealth versus Raymond Burnette, on the charge of murder in the second degree... we find the defendant Raymond Burnette... not guilty.

RAYMOND: Thank you man. I don't know how to say thanks.

EUGENE: You asked me before if I was goin' to save your son. I told you I would try to keep him out of jail. I did. Whether he's saved, that's up to the two of you. You don't know how to say thanks. From now on, every ten-year-old kid you see out there? You pretend he's mine.

SHIRLEY: For her perseverance both the Roxbury Animal Shelter and her fundraising efforts to help build the Jamaica Plains Shelter, it gives me great pleasure to present the 1998 Bassethound Award to Miss Rebecca Washington.

REBECCA: Thank you so much. I was so honored to come here today. Especially... to be honored for something that I love. I so love dogs. But I uh... I should also be honest in saying I'm a little thrown. Okay, two days ago I had to kill a rat in my office and I guess there are some people in the association that are considering taking this trophy back from me because of that. And well... Shirley, who I adore... she mentioned some hypocrisy issues and well, . . the last thing I want to be accused of is hypocrisy, so I'm just gonna say this. I hate rats. Love dogs, but rats, I think they're filthy disgusting scummy little things, they may be one of God's creatures but they certainly don't represent His best work, and if one ever tries to run up my leg, I will not apologize for stompin' it to death. Rats. They're ugly, they got mashed up faces, they carry germs and rabies and... and... and come on. Let's all 'fess up. You'd all try to poison them if they were in your house. Part of me even likes those spring traps 'cause they make 'em suffer, the scummy little rat squeaks out in pain and the other rats know better than to come into the area. Ever see a drowned one in a pool? Yuck. I ain't savin' no rat and if that costs me this award then so be it. I just hope I hold on to this long enough so I can use it to bash in one little rat head. Otherwise, I thank you.