United States, Original Airdate, December 6, 1998.
Written by: Jill Goldsmith and David E. Kelley
-------------------- 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?
Directed by: Adam Nimoy
This transcript was transcribed by RYANA. All questions, comments and praise should be directed to her!