316. End Games

United States, Original Airdate, February 28, 1999.
Written by: David E. Kelley
Directed by: Keith Samples

THIS TRANSCRIPT WAS LOVINGLY AND METICULOUSLY TRANSCRIBED BY RYANA. ALL QUESTIONS, COMMENTS AND PRAISE SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO HER AT ryana_@hotmail.com. LET'S ALL THANK HER FOR HER HARD WORK!

-------------------- Disclaimer --------------------

I do not own the characters in this story, nor do I own any rights to the television show 'The Practice'. They were created by David E. Kelley and belong to him and David E. Kelley Productions.

This is not a novelisation or a script. It is a straightforward and dry transcript of the episode 'End Games'. It also includes descriptions of the settings and camera movements where I felt they were needed.

I made every effort to accurately transcribe the dialogue from this episode. If you notice anything that has been transcribed incorrectly, please let me know, at ryana_@hotmail.com, and I will post an update.

This transcript was written by Ryana.

-------------------- Prologue --------------------

[Sorry, I missed the prologue on this one]

-------------------- Opening Credits --------------------

We see the Donnell, Young Dole and Frutt offices, where the police are searching

Ellenor's desk. The camera pans to Bobby giving out orders to Rebecca, Jimmy, Lindsay and Eugene.

Bobby: Eugene, you take Ellenor, Rebecca, Leonard, Jimmy, jump in.

Jimmy: Bobby, we might be witnesses, we can't represent-

Bobby: (demanding) What did you see?

Jimmy: Well, I didn't see anything...

Bobby: Lindsay? Bec? Anyone see Leonard drop that stuff on Ellenor's desk? Nobody?

Rebecca: I think we were all looking at the door.

Lindsay: (pointing over her shoulder) Leonard came running in first and the police were right behind him.

A policeman opens a drawer in Lucy's desk to look inside

Lucy: Hey! Get your nose out of there.

Policeman: Ma'am,

Lucy: (in disbelief) Ma'am?

Rebecca: You can't search that desk.

Policeman: We've made an arrest.

Rebecca: You can only search the suspect's desk, that's it.

Policeman: Anything subject to the suspect's control.

All the laywers begin objecting at once and pointing.

Policeman: Hey, hey, hey, hey!

Other policeman: (holding up a blood-stained knife) John,

Bobby: Where'd that come from?

Other policeman: Bottom drawer, under some files. Looks like there's some dried blood on it.

Bobby: (moving forward) Let me see that.

Policeman: (stopping him warningly) Counsel. (to the other policeman) Bag it.

Judge Kittleson walks in and looks around, surprised.

Lucy: God, Lindsay, you been provoking her?

Everyone: Lucy!

Kittleson: Bobby?

Bobby: (surprised to see her there) Your Honour -

Kittleson: What's going on?

Lucy: One of our lawyers just got arrested.

Everyone: Lucy!

Kittleson: Uh, can we talk, in private?

We see Lindsay giving Bobby a don't-you-dare look.

Bobby: Uh, sure. Um, my office. Lucy... Okay. Eugene, Bec, get going. Take Lindsay.

Lindsay: I'd rather take that case.

Bobby: Never mind.

Lindsay: What never mind?

Bobby: Lindsay, go with Eugene, get Helen. Maybe she can help with Ellenor.

Camera cuts to Bobby walking into his office, where Judge Kittleson is waiting.

Bobby: What's up?

Kittleson: Well, you're not gonna believe it when I tell you. Actually you might, considering our... (she pauses) Yesterday afternoon, I was served with a complaint against me, filed under seal, by one of my former law clerks. He's claiming sexual harrasment.

Bobby: (drily) What a shock.

Kittleson: Funny. The claim is baseless, but nevertheless I have to defend myself against it. That's why I'm here. To hire you.

Bobby: You wanna hire me? To defend you in a sexual harrasment case? Don't you think that's a little strange?

Kittleson: Why? You're an excellent attorney..

Bobby: Who you had erotic dreams about...

Kittleson: Oh please. If I had a dime for every erotic dream I'd ever had... Forget it.

Bobby: Oh, is that what you'd say in your deposition?

Kittleson: Look, if you choose not to represent me, that's fine. But I don't think you need be discourteous, I'm sorry to have bothered you.

Bobby: Why would you wanna hire me? Sexual harrasment is not my specialty, though it would be a good way to disqualify me as a witness, should I ever be called to testify....

Kittleson: And why would you be called as a witness? Nobody knows what happened between us, unless you told someone. I certainly didn't.

Bobby: (stepping forward and speaking slowly, seriously and definately) Nothing happened between you and me.

Kittleson: So this hostility just comes out whenever somebody tries to engage your services.

Bobby: Let's just say I have a hard time believing you're totally innocent.

Kittleson: Let's just say I have a hard time believing that you only represent the totally innocent.

Bobby: Let's assume, for the sake of argument, that I do.

Kittleson: I am innocent. I had an affair with the boy. The truth is, I think he still has a thing for me. After he finished as my law clerk, he asked me to write him a letter of recommendation. I did. It wasn't glowing enough in his eyes, and he's retaliating.

Bobby: Okay, which brings me back to why me?

Kittleson: If this goes public, I'd get destroyed, merits aside. I want somebody vicious enough to make this go away, who's not afraid to get ugly if he has to. I asked around. Word is, you're it.

Camera cuts to a courtroom for Ellenor's arraignment.

Eugene: She's up first, Leonard's being called second.

Rebecca: We have to get him independent counsel.

Eugene: First let's get through arraignment. (to Lindsay) Did you call Helen?

Clerk: All rise.

Lindsay: I left word - Oh no. It's Judge Whackadoo.

Eugene: Just what we need.

Clerk: Be seated. Case number 32111. Commonwealth versus Ellenor Frutt, possession of controlled substances.

Eugene: (walking to the bar) Eugene Young for the defendant. Waive reading, Your Honour. I move to dismiss this right now.

Judge Phillip Swackheim: On what grounds, hmm?

Eugene: Miss Frutt's a lawyer. She represents a man who charged into our office...

Lindsay: (standing) Objection...

Swackheim: What the hell?

Lindsay: (walking forward) Your Honour, I work with Mr Young.

Swackheim: Hurry up.

Eugene: (in a low voice) What are you doing?

Lindsay: (in an equally low voice) Technically, we still represent Leonard. You can't be serving up facts that incriminate him even if they help Ellenor. (Ellenor rolls her eyes, Lindsay sits back down)

Eugene: Your Honour, the police charged into our office, chasing a man they believed had drugs in his possession. This man ran to Miss Frutt's desk, the police followed. Suddenly, drugs were discovered on Miss Frutt's desk. They asked her how they got there, she, of course, refused to answer any questions. They arrested her for having drugs in her possession, and it's bogus.

Swackheim: (to DA) Is that what happened?

ADA: From what I know, that seems accurate.

Swackheim: Out of line. (standing and pacing) Out of line. Arresting the lawyer?

ADA: Your Honour, Miss Frutt was given opportunity to explain how the drugs came into her possession.

Swackheim: But if a client dropped them there... then she's not free to say so, is she? I wanna know who the officer is, I wanna know who said okay to this.... This case is dismissed. Dismissed, dismissed! We do not go around arresting lawyers. Hmmmm hmmm. Next case, next case, next case. (he sits back down)

Clerk: Case number 32112. Commonwealth versus Leonard Sawas (sp?), possession of controlled substances.

Rebecca: (walking forward) Rebecca Washington representing the defendant, Your Honour. Waive reading. I, too, ask that you dismiss all charges.

Swackheim: Why?

Rebecca: As the police report stipulates, they didn't find any drugs on my client, they were on Ellenor Frutt's desk.

Swackheim: Wait a second, second, second. This is the guy that went running in, so forth, so forth, so forth drugs?

Rebecca: Well, there's no evidence of that. The heroin was only found on the desk, never in Mr Sawas' possession.

Swackheim: What do I look like to you? A big dope? Am I a big dope to you? He's got a record as long as my intestine. He's a drug addict. Do I look like a dope?

Rebecca: (shaking her head) You do not look like a dope.

Swackheim: You have got a God-awful, scum-sucking, guilty client here. We all know that. Drug addict.

Rebecca: Your Honour -

Swackheim: Get yourself a jury. Hmm, I mean, they're the dopes. They'll probably let him go! Hmmm. Not dismissed. Bound over! And no bail either, because you got me angry, hmmm. Next case, next case, next case. (to the clerk) And give me something good.

We see the courtroom door being pushed open as Ellenor, Rebecca, Lindsay and Eugene come out.

Ellenor: You sold me out.

Rebecca: I did not sell you out.

Ellenor: You said in open court the drugs were in my possession..

Rebecca: I said it for the purpose of Leonard's case.

Ellenor: In my possession.

Lindsay: Your case was already dismissed, Ellenor.

Ellenor: Oh yes, Lindsay, take her side. I expect nothing less.

Lindsay: (warningly) Hey.

Eugene: This again?

Ellenor: Why is she even here?

Lindsay: To kick your ass like I did before.

Ellenor: Oh, please.

Ellenor and Lindsay begin fighting (Lindsay mentions something about PMS).

Rebecca: What the hell is wrong with you two?

Lindsay: Isn't it obvious? You said something she didn't like and it's clearly my fault.

Eugene: Enough.

Helen walks up to them with another guy (I don't know who he is - can someone please help me out with that? I'm just going to assume he's a DA)

Helen: Ellenor,

Lindsay: I've been paging you.

Helen: Yeah, well. Some bad news.

DA(?): (moving forward) Ellenor Frutt, please place your hands behind your back.

Ellenor: Excuse me?

DA: (putting Ellenor in handcuffs) You have the right to remain silent.

Eugene: Now what?

Guy: Anything you san can -

Eugene: Enough with Miranda. What's going on now?

Helen: The knife they found in your drawer, did George Vodelman give it to you?

Ellenor: What?

Helen: It's the weapon used to cut off Susan Robin's head.

-------------------- Commercial --------------------

Cut to Donnell, Young, Dole and Frutt, where Rebecca, Lindsay and Eugene are talking all at once to Bobby.

Bobby: Hold on, one at a time.

They all talk again.

Bobby: Come on. Eugene.

Eugene: She's gonna be booked on concealing evidence, probably obstruction of justice.

Bobby: Did she say how the knife got in there?

Eugene: Well, we haven't had a chance to talk to her yet.

Bobby: Okay. First, we try to get it kicked. In my opinion, the search was illegal.

Rebecca: Incident to an arrest?

Bobby: They were after Leonard, not -

Lindsay: But they arrested her.

Bobby: Which got dismissed already. Lindsay, bring the motion at the arraignment. Rebecca, you handle Leonard. Eugene, go find George Vogelman!

Lucy: (walking past) Bobby, you have the lawyer coming in on Kittleson.

Lindsay: (stopping what she was doing and looking up) What?

Bobby: (very casually) Uh, she hired us. She's being sued.

Lindsay: (shocked) And you took the case?

Bobby: (warningly) Lindsay, never mind.

Lindsay: Bobby, she -

Bobby: Lindsay. Go see Ellenor. Jimmy, I need you to help me here. (pause, then to Eugene) Do they know if it's the murder weapon?

Eugene: It matched the blade, they're testing the blood scrapings.

Bobby: How the hell did it get in her desk?

Cut to Ellenor's cell, where she's looking out through the bars. Lindsay is sitting on the bed.

Ellenor: (frustrated) I don't know! (she thinks and turns back to Lindsay) It was the bottom left drawer?

Lindsay: Under some old files. Do you even remember the last time you looked down there?

Ellenor: (still frustrated) No. (more rationally) So, somebody's framing me? Or George?

Lindsay: Did George Vogelman ever have access? Was he ever in the office alone?

Ellenor: It isn't him, Lindsay.

Lindsay: Can you really know that now?

Ellenor: Yes.

Lindsay: Okay. Arraignment's at two. Division one. I can't imagine they'd set bail, but -

Ellenor: I don't believe this is really happening. A guy comes in, he throws heroin at me, and now I am suddenly being held for concealing a murder weapon!

Lindsay: It's gonna go away, Ellenor. Don't worry.

Cut to the office of Moreno Medical Associates. Eugene walks in.

Secretary: Can I help you?

Eugene: I'm looking for Dr George Vogelman? Does he work here?

Secretary: He does, or did. You're about ten minutes too late.

Eugene: Sorry?

Secretary: The police just arrested him, took him away.

Cut to Donnell, Young, Dole and Frutt, where Jimmy and Bobby are waiting for the lawyer.

Jimmy: Same charge, concealment.

Bobby: And he's in custody?

Jimmy: Eugene's on his way to see him in lockup. (pause) Lindsay talked to Helen. She thinks the police are determined to get him all over again. Is concealment a lesser included?

Bobby: To murder? No way. He's free game.

Milton: (coming in) Bobby Donnell?

Bobby: Yeah.

Milton: Milton Cadence.

Bobby: Oh, hi. Thanks for agreeing to come. Um, Jimmy Berluti.

Milton: A pleasure.

Bobby: As I said on the phone, Judge Kittleson is very anxious to dispose of this.

Milton: As is Mr Michaels. He certainly doesn't want to begin his law career as a plaintiff in a sexual harrasment case. That's why we filed under seal.

Bobby: Which I appreciate. Listen, we've been hit with a little emergency, and unfortunately, I have to run out. If we could agree to depose the two parties, also under seal, do it right here, get some kind of assessment on the case, we can pick a number and be done.

Milton: Can she go first?

Bobby: Sure. Six o'clock tonight?

Milton: (sounding doubtful) Tonight?

Bobby: You can always depose her again, if you want. My feeling is if we can flush out some facts quick, I think we can get rid of it. The faster the better for both sides.

Milton: Okay. I'll see you at six tonight.

Bobby: Great. (to Jimmy) Jimmy? (to Milton) Sorry to run out.

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