309. State of Mind

United States, Original Airdate, December 6, 1998.

Written by: Jill Goldsmith and David E. Kelley
Directed by: Adam Nimoy
This transcript was transcribed by RYANA. All questions, comments and praise should be directed to her!

-------------------- 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 'State of Mind'. It also includes descriptions of the settings and camera movements where I felt they were needed. I am not making any money or any other benefit off of this, it is purely for fun. In other words, please don't sue!

I made every effort to accurately transcribe the dialogue from this episode. If you notice anything that has been transcribed incorrectly, please email me, and I will post an update.

This transcript was written by Ryana.

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

The office, it's night. Lucy is busy hanging decorations on a large Christmas tree, to the background music of 'Santa Claus is coming to town'. The office is festooned with Christmas decorations. Bobby walks in, and looks around in wonder.

Bobby: What's this?

Lucy: (turning around to see him and quickly switching off the music) Oh! It's Christmas! Surely, you've heard of it.

Bobby: (still in wonder) It's the first week in December...

Lucy: The people who don't like Christmas are the people who get behind in their shopping. And the reason they get behind is because it sneaks up on them. It's not sneaking up in this office. Not under my watch.

Bobby: (now curious) What's that on your head?

Lucy: Oh, it's mistletoe. My friend Elaine invented this thingy. It's cute, huh?

Bobby: (smiling) Yeah.

Lucy: It's eleven o'clock. Why are you here?

Bobby: Ah, couldn't sleep.

Lucy: Mayfield trial?

Bobby: Might as well work if I'm awake.

Lucy: (sighing) Do you think you have any chance? I mean, the baby died in her hands.

Bobby: Why are you convinced she's guilty?

Lucy: She just gives me the eebie-jeebies. You really think she's innocent?

Bobby: Yeah. Remember, she did pass the lie detector.

Lucy: (sighing again) Well, pleadings are all packed. Anything else you need? I'm about to go.

Bobby: Nah, I'm all set, thanks. And thanks for ah, decorating the place. It looks great.

Lucy: Well, Christmas should be Christmas.

Bobby: (smiling) Merry Christmas. (he leans forward and kisses her. As he pulls back she grabs his lapel and pulls him back, where she kisses him again passionately. She then lets him go and he just stands there in shock)

Lucy: Christmas should be Christmas, and a kiss should be a kiss. Good mistletoe. Night. (she grins cheekily and leaves. Bobby stands there in shock)

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

The office, daytime.

Ellenor: How can you not move for summary judgement?

Jimmy: Cause it won't fly -

Eugene: But still, you gotta try with the stakes so high.

Jimmy: It'd be just like our motion to dismiss, Eugene. The judge said this thing would turn on the facts.

Ellenor: But what about preserving appeal?

Jimmy: If this were gonna turn on law he would've kicked it. If we push for summary judgement and lose, it's gonna look like Footdragon. Judge Papp holds grudges, he lets the jury see them. We do not want an unfriendly judge in this trial.

Lucy: Let's calm down, nobody's talking Christmassy. (they all just look at her)

Bobby's office.

Bobby: Every time we break, every recess I want you to go to her. Embrace. I want the jury reminded every chance they get that you believe in her.

Mr Mayfield: Absolutely.

Bobby: You doing okay?

Mrs Mayfield: Believe or not, I am. I'm in God's hands now.

Bobby: Evelyn -

Mrs Mayfield: I know.

Bobby: All I'm saying is you're not in God's hands on this, you're in the jury's, and I don't want you to come across as a zealot.

Evelyn: I get it, Bobby.

Bobby: Good. Okay, Let's go. We've got a cab waiting downstairs, it's cold. (they walk out through the office)

Rebecca: Good luck.

Bobby: (smiling at her) Thanks.

Eugene: Bobby, I know that you think Jimmy matches up best against Silva, but -

Jimmy: I heard that.

Eugene: What?

Jimmy: Whatever you were saying behind my back.

Bobby: Listen, I gotta get to court, We'll talk about this later.

Jimmy: You think I can't do this, Eugene?

Eugene: I know you can do it.

Lucy: Bobby, Bobby. Two things. One, good luck. Two, sorry if I embarrassed you. I didn't mean to. But, it was an awesome kiss. Not that I have any designs, but if your lousy personal life comes from any insecurity, you should know that 90% of women are looking for a cute guy, with a steady job, who can kiss. You're three for three! (Bobby's in shock again, Lucy turns him around and pushes him out the door) Trial. Don't be late.

As he leaves and the door's about to close, it's caught and Michael (the boy Rebecca got off for bicycle theft in her first trial) walks in.

Rebecca: (pleasantly surprised) Michael! (he is followed in my his mother, Rebecca's face loses the pleasantly surprised look) And you.

Ms Baylor: They suspended him from school!

Rebecca: For what?

Ms Baylor: For passing a few notes! It's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard of, and I want to take them to court.

Rebecca: (motioning into the conference room) In here.

Ms Baylor: And don't you be swatting him.

Rebecca: I'm not going to swat him.

Ms Baylor: You just keep the blinds open (Rebecca breaks in here) because I don't trust you.

Rebecca: You know, you don't have to come here (Ms Baylor breaks in here) you could go to any other lawyer (she continues on this track)

Ms Baylor: I came here for some civilised lawyering.

Rebecca: In here, Michael. (Ms Baylor looks at her suspiciously) You can come.

Time shifts and we see them in the conference room.

Rebecca: (shocked) Sexual harassment?

Ms Baylor: Yes. A few notes in the back of the classroom and they bounce him.

Rebecca: Well, what was in these notes?

Michael: Not much, just -

Ms Baylor: He's got a crush on this girl, Kitty Nelson. You know, she finds one of these notes, she takes it home to her mental mother, her mother makes a complaint, and they bounce him.

Rebecca: What was in the notes?

Michael: Just stuff.

Rebecca: What just stuff?

Michael: You know, nice ass and stuff. Nothing bad. (there's a pause)

A courtroom. Helen is questioning a witness in the Mayfield trial.

Helen: The autopsy was conclusive.

Doctor: Yes, it showed Kevin Barlow died from injuries consistent with 'shaken baby' syndrome.

Helen: Doctor, is it possible that these injuries could've been caused by an accident?

Doctor: No, there was extreme haemorrhaging in the bilateral anterior chamber, and also retinal haemorrhaging.

Helen: Which means...?

Doctor: It was not an accident. The degree of force had to be severe.

Helen: What about some other medical condition?

Doctor: Well, nothing in his prior medical records or my examination revealed any other cause for these symptoms.

Helen: Is it possible to tell when the shaking occurred?

Doctor: Well, based on the acute conditions present, Kevin's death would've been almost immediate.

Bobby steps up

Bobby: Now you found a contusion on Kevin Barlow's forehead, didn't you?

Doctor: Yes, but that -

Bobby: Which was about ten days old?

Doctor: That injury was not life threatening, and was in fact healing when he died.

Bobby: Isn't it true that a prior head injury could begin to bleed spontaneously in the brain?

Doctor: Yes, but in this case it wouldn't explain the extent of the injuries.

Bobby: Well, isn't it also possible that something could've happened to Kevin, just prior to being dropped off at Evelyn Mayfield's house?

Doctor: The likelihood of that is so negligible that -

Bobby: Is it possible?

Doctor: I suppose anything's possible, but -

Bobby: Thank you, Doctor. You answered the question. (He sits)

Helen: (standing) How possible?

Doctor: Minuscule. The symptoms here suggest an immediate death, not one that occurred hours later.

Helen: Thank you. (she sits)

Bobby: (standing) But your findings don't conclusively exclude the boy dying hours later?

Doctor: We can't positively exclude it, no.

Bobby: Thank you, Doctor. (he sits)

The conference room.

Ms Baylor: We have been sitting here over an hour, Rebecca. You haven't given me anything.

Rebecca: I said that I will talk to the principal. But I have to tell you school's are big on sexual harassment policies -

Ms Baylor: Big cause all these rat lawyers got em running scared of getting sued. It is a big, cover-your-ass disgrace.

Rebecca: Yes, I'll stick that argument in a foot note and not lead with it. But that does give me an idea as to how the word ass slipped into his vocabulary.

Ms Baylor: You be the lawyer, all right? Not the mother.

Michael: Why are you two always fighting?

Rebecca: I am not fighting.

Ms Baylor: You watch your mouth, all right, Michael? You talk with some respect. Plus which she might hit you.

Rebecca: Hey. One more word like that and you can get yourself another rat. Are we clear? (Ms Baylor sighs in resignation)

The courtroom.

Helen: We're not all optimologists, Doctor. Would you explain retinal haemorrhaging?

Doctor: That's when blood vessels leak into the eye. But here, there were also retinal folds, where the retinas were essentially folded over, almost like contact lenses. These are both indicators that a child has been forcibly shaken.

Helen: Now, would an individual suffering from retinal folds be able to focus their eyes, or respond to visual cues?

Doctor: Absolutely not.

Time shifts and we see Helen questioning a police detective.

Detective: So then I asked Evelyn Mayfield if the baby's eyes were tracking when he came to her, she said yes.

Helen: Which means what?

Detective: Which means either she was lying, or she killed him.

Bobby and Lindsay: (together) Objection.

Judge: Sustained.

Helen: You didn't believe her?

Detective: If the baby had been shaken before he came to her house, according to the doctors, it would have been impossible for him to track with eyes like she said. If she really did see them track, he was shaken after he got there.

Lindsay: Detective, when you use the word tracking, what do you mean?

Detective: It means whether or not someone's eyes could follow a visual cue, moving back and forth.

Lindsay: I see. Did you explain tracking to Evelyn Mayfield when you questioned her?

Detective: Did I explain it?

Lindsay: Yes. Did you explain the term?

Detective: I don't think I did, no.

Lindsay: In fact, you didn't know if Evelyn was even familiar with that term at the time you questioned her, did you?

Detective: In her statement, she said the baby's eyes were tracking. She said it. I assumed she understood the meaning.

Lindsay: Yes. She used the word tracking. But that doesn't mean she meant responsive to visual cues.

Detective: Then what did she mean?

Lindsay: We don't know, do we? Maybe just that they were open.

Helen: (standing) Move to strike. She's testifying, she's testifying.

Helen and Lindsay's kitchen, Lindsay is baking.

Lindsay: (mockingly) She's testifying, she's testifying. Aunty Em, come back. (in a more normal voice) You sound like the wicked witch of the west when you object.

Helen: (groaning) And you're Glenda. (mockingly) Did she understand tracking?

Lindsay: (flicking some mixture at her) Oh yeah? (she laughs)

Helen looks at her in a 'I-can't-believe-you'd-be-so-immature' way, then picks up a can of whipped cream and sprays Lindsay with it. Lindsay shrieks.

Lindsay: Stop it!

Helen: No.

Helen sprays her and she shrieks again.

Lindsay: Stop it, stop it, stop it, stop it, stop it! Okay, put down the can. Put down the can. (Helen stops spraying) Put it down. (Helen puts down the can) Okay. You (Lindsay grabs the can) never should have put the can down!!!!

Lindsay starts spraying and Helen retaliates by throwing the cake mixture at her. There's lot of shrieking and lots of laughter. Bobby walks in and looks at them in surprise.

Lindsay: Bobby... (she licks some of the mix off her fingers) Mmm, it's good. (they're both still giggling)

Bobby: What is going on?

Helen: (innocently) What? We do this every night. Lindsay: What are you doing here?

Bobby: Well, you weren't picking up and I need to talk to you... about something (he's still looking at them strangely)

Helen: Is it dessert? Cause we're ready!

Lindsay: (pointing) In my room. (as she walks off she sprays Helen with the can again and Helen stands there, spent)

Lindsay's room.

Lindsay: What's the matter? (she's looking in the mirror, cleaning the remains of the cake mix off with a towel.)

Bobby: The kid's father. He goes up tomorrow.

Lindsay: Yeah, so?

Bobby: How important do you think it is that we go after him? Like maybe he killed his son?

Lindsay: (turning to him in surprise) How important? Hello, that's our whole theory.

Bobby: Lindsay, next week we go on trial for accusing the Robin kid of killing his sister. Now, if we Plan B the father tomorrow on this case, guaranteed Tommy Silva will be making a big meal out of it. Think of how it would look! We scream that a brother killed his sister and now a father killed his son?

Lindsay: They're two different cases -

Bobby: Even so...

Lindsay: Look, we can't get out of Evelyn's trial now, we've already started, and we can't not go after the father, that's our defence. The only choice here is to settle the Robin lawsuit, which is what I've been saying all along. And beyond that... Jimmy... He's a good lawyer. But I think everybody's having a hard time with you putting our survival into his hands.

Bobby: Ellenor and Eugene can't do it, they're involved.

Lindsay: Then get outside counsel, or go with you and me. But not Jimmy.

Bobby steps forward and gently wipes some cake mix off her upper lip. Lindsay looks surprised, and immediately wipes the spot with the towel.

Bobby: (huskily) You know, Lindsay, about a month or so ago, we exchanged a kiss and we never even talked about it. It was in the middle of the Pearson trial. (he pauses) Should we talk about it?

Lindsay: (looking slightly overwhelmed) Why are bringing this up now, when we're in the middle of another trial?

Bobby: I don't know, it's just... (he considers) It's not something you wanna discuss?

Lindsay: Not right now, no.

Bobby: (looking disappointed) Okay. (he smiles slightly) I'll see you tomorrow.

Lindsay: Okay. (he leaves, and she turns back to the mirror thoughtfully.)

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

A courtroom. Helen is questioning Mr Barlow.

Barlow: I dropped my son off at Evelyn Mayfield's house that day on my way to the office. That was our routine.

Helen: What time did you drop him off?

Barlow: It was around 8:30 in the morning. About an hour and a half later, I got a phone call from the hospital, saying that Kevin, that my son, was dead.

Helen: Sir, the defendant claims your son was crying when you delivered him to her.

Barlow: He was hungry. But he wasn't upset or...

Helen: Physically, he was okay?

Barlow: He was fine.

Time shifts and we see Bobby questioning him.

Bobby: From the time you left your house that day and arrived at Evelyn Mayfield's, you and Kevin were alone together. Is that correct?

Barlow: Yes.

Bobby: There were no witnesses, no one else present during the twenty minutes before you arrived at Evelyn's?

Barlow: Witnesses to what? Me behind the wheel and Kevin in the child seat in back?

Bobby: Well, when you arrived at Evelyn's that particular morning, Kevin was crying uncontrollably.

Barlow: He was not crying uncontrollably, counsel. He was just crying.

Bobby: Why was he crying?

Barlow: He was probably hungry.

Bobby: There was a contusion on Kevin's forehead. You know anything about that?

Barlow: He hit his head on a coffee table.

Bobby: Aha. (he turns and looks at the gallery, specifically Tommy Silva, who's watching knowingly. Bobby takes a deep breath and turns back to Mr Barlow.) You didn't hit your son, Mr Barlow?

Helen: Objection.

Barlow: I certainly did not!

Bobby: Ever hit your wife?

Helen: Objection!

Bobby: Offer to show that this man has a history of violent behaviour.

Helen: (standing) Move to strike!

Judge: The objection is overruled.

Bobby: Mr Barlow, were you arrested for domestic battery stemming from an altercation between you and your wife?

Barlow: That was a long time ago!

Bobby: That was a yes?

Barlow: Yes.

Bobby: You hit her.

Barlow: I lost my temper and I -

Bobby: (more forcefully) You hit her.

Barlow: Yes.

Bobby: Open hand or fist? (Barlow doesn't answer) Open hand or fist, sir?

Barlow: Fist.

Bobby: Ever hit your son, Kevin with an open hand or fist?

Helen: Objection, he's badgering!

Judge: All right, counsel.

Bobby: Did you hurt your son?

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