Bluff City Law (2019) s01e09 Episode Script

1 When my son called, he was panicked.
He just kept saying over and over again that whatever happened between him and Tess was an accident, and I believed him.
But even so, I knew that my boy's life would be ruined.
So I gave him an alibi, and I helped him get rid of Tess's body.
And when that teacher got grabbed up, I-I felt bad about that, I really did, but it was between him and my son, and I chose my son.
When you're a parent, that's what you do.
It's over.
You protect your boy.
It's really over.
They protect their boy No matter what.
Breakfast of champions.
Long weekend, helping Mom pack for Somalia.
About that, we haven't had a chance to talk since your mom was here.
I'm headed over to St.
Vincent's to see Father Charles.
Why don't you walk with me? Yeah, um, I'm, like, kind of an agnostic.
A what? I mean, I-I believe in a higher power and all that.
I'm just not really into the whole church-going thing.
No offense.
None taken.
You have anything to add to this conversation? Amen.
I'll have Father Charles pray for both your souls.
- Bye, Dad.
- Thank you, Dad.
Thanks for coming by on such short notice.
Your message sounded important.
Something about a teacher? Teacher I had to fire last week.
Um, yeah? For what reason? She got pregnant through in vitro fertilization.
Was hoping you'd represent her.
Hold on now, Charles.
You fired someone, and now you want me to help her sue your parish? Ava and her husband have struggled for years to have a child.
Nothing worked.
That's when they turned to IVF to get pregnant.
She must've known it was against church policy.
She did.
But there's nothing in the Bible that says a couple can't turn to a doctor for help.
Science is a part of God's grand design.
As far as I'm concerned, her child is a miracle.
Still, suing your parish, I don't know.
She's a good Catholic, Elijah.
A great teacher.
Only thing she's guilty of is wanting to be a mother to her own kids.
So how many recruiters we expecting today? At least three.
Memphis, Ole Miss, even Vanderbilt.
- Vandy's in the house? - Mm-hmm.
Better tell the rest of the recruiters - they're wasting their time.
- You know Maceo intends on breaking your wrestling record today.
How you feel about that? Great.
Oh, my God.
You rooting for my nephew to fail? Hey, it is my record.
Uh, not for long.
What are you talking about? I've wrestled like this all season.
- It doesn't matter.
- I'm not doing it.
I'm not cutting my hair.
Now it's a problem? No, it's always been a problem.
- No, I'm not doing it, no.
- Maceo, what's going on? This ref says I have to cut my locks if I want to compete today.
What? Absolutely not.
Those are the rules.
A player cannot have hair below the ear lobes or on the collar.
What happened to the bandanna he's worn over his head all season? A bandanna is not considered a legal hair cover according to Tennessee regulations.
Now, if I had been the ref in his other matches, there's no way I would've allowed it.
Coach, what are our choices? Ref says his hair has to be short enough to fit into a regulation cap, or he forfeits the match.
Coach, but that's messed up.
Okay, so, if he forfeits today He's our best wrestler.
If he doesn't compete today, our undefeated season is at risk.
But he can still compete at State.
- Yeah, he can compete.
- Let's be very clear.
I am the lead ref at State.
If he doesn't cut it, he's not gonna be able to - This is total bull - Maceo.
No Whatever.
Just get it done.
No, no, no.
- No.
- Do not touch his hair.
Who are you? I'm his attorney.
You, uh You teach music, Ava? I lead the youth choir and teach English Literature.
Mm.
Oh, I saw the go-bag out there.
Yeah, packing that bag is nearly the last of my pre-daddy chores.
All that's left is putting together the baby's crib, which will probably take me a month 'cause the instructions are in German.
Dad The morals clause in Ava's employment contract, is absurd and as expansive as the Grand Canyon.
Look.
Any action deemed offensive by the Catholic Church is grounds for termination.
Father Charles told us the church felt we had committed a grave and offensive sin against God.
How is seeking help to get pregnant a sin against God? We knew t-the church's stance on IVF.
That's why we agreed to use every viable embryo that resulted from the procedure.
Even if that meant having triplets, then we were okay with that.
- That right, hon? - Mmhmm.
Ava, the law is on your side here.
We can sue for wrongful termination.
Also, as a pregnant woman, you're part of a protected class, which means we can sue the parish for violating your civil rights under Title VII.
Wait.
I love the church.
Going after them in court is not what I want from this.
What do you want, Ava? I want my job back at St.
Vincent's.
I grew up in a parish similar to St.
Vincent's, so I get why you might be hesitant to bring an action.
But trust me when I say the last thing the church wants is a lawsuit like yours going to trial.
Once they see that we're serious, they're gonna be much more inclined to negotiate.
Did you see the way my teammates looked at me? Like it's my fault we lost today.
So what happens now? Well, we go to the school board, and we get them to let you compete at State with your natural hair.
- The school board? - Yeah.
Man, that's too much.
I should just cut it.
I don't Is that what you want, Maceo? To cut your locks off? I mean, no.
It's my hair.
It's who I am.
It's like my Your identity? I understand.
Look, I'll cut them if I have to, but No, no, no, no, no buts.
You shouldn't have to lose something that is part of you just to conform to some kind of arbitrary regulation.
Yeah, a regulation that was left over from a time when only white kids were allowed to wrestle.
Mr.
Strait, the Archdiocese is prepared to offer Mrs.
Fullum two years' worth of salary as severance.
With respect, our client's not interested in a settlement.
Um She just wants to go back to teaching.
That's never going to happen.
Mrs.
Fullum committed a travesty.
The only travesty that was committed here, sir, was the wrongful termination of our client.
Despite the religious protections afforded the church by the state, it's a clear-cut case of discrimination.
Good luck proving that in court.
Mr.
Strait, you and I both know this is going to be a case about morality.
And on that issue, we hold the high ground.
Really? Have you read the papers in the last 10 years? Waging war against our client is a monumental mistake, one that shows just how out of step and arrogant the church really is.
- Syd - You know, we asked for this friendly negotiation because my father has respect for the church, but if you come after our client, I will come after the church, and mark my words, it will not be pretty.
If Ava decides to sue, we got to take the gloves off And expose the Catholic Church for the hypocritical and archaic institution that it is.
Dad, come on, the Church They protect priests for committing unspeakable crimes I applaud the way the Church continues to handle - that horrific situation.
- You can't condemn an entire religion because of the behavior of a few bad priests.
Watch me.
If the Church can evolve on things like divorce, why can't it evolve when it comes to science, like IVF, or allowing women to use birth control? Exactly, Emerson.
- Good point.
- A very good point.
But there is the matter of Ava's employment contract.
She agreed to the terms of the morals clause.
An overly ambiguous clause.
Ambiguous or not, Ava signed on the dotted line.
She knew what she was getting into, just like I knew what I was getting into when I came out in my family's church.
Once that cat was out of the bag, I was not welcome.
What did you do? Well, I found a new church that welcomed me, that had a more equitable view of morality, and they didn't rank one sin being worse than another.
Okay, that's how you attack this case.
You argue that if no sin is worse than another, why is Ava's sin being used against her? But then you have to dig up dirt on all the people employed by St.
Vincent's Academy.
That's an ugly way to do business.
- Ugly but effective.
- We're not that kind of firm.
Well, maybe we should be.
We can't win by demeaning the Catholic Church.
Dad, I get that you have this loyalty to the Church, but we're not gonna win unless you go dirty.
If Ava wants to sue the parish, we're not going dirty.
We win this case by showing the jury what a good teacher Ava is.
She tutored me every day after school for a whole semester.
Thanks to her, I got a full-ride scholarship to college.
We win by showing what a great Catholic she is.
Mrs.
Fullum started this soup kitchen, worked night and day to sign kids up to work here after school and on the weekends.
We win by showing what a great mother Ava will be.
Ava convinced the Diocese to open this pre-school for working mothers.
Most days, she spends her lunch hour down here playing with the kids.
We win by showing that the kids of St.
Vincent Academy will be harmed if they lose their teacher.
So your strategy is that we go high, even when the Church goes low - and attacks Ava on the stand? - Especially then.
See, I don't think we can lose if we make Ava the face of this case.
- Hey, Ava.
- Hi, come in.
Oh, we skipping school now? Huh? Maceo.
Coach says you quit the team.
You just giving up? Huh? Bri, Bri, Bri.
I got this.
You know, I used to play a little bit.
High-school ball.
Yeah, I was all right.
You know getting kicked off the team isn't gonna fix things.
I'm a 16-year-old black kid from North Memphis.
If I do wrestle or don't wrestle, what does it matter? Matters to you teammates.
Should matter to you.
You can be the kid who quits.
Or you can be the man who stands up for what he believes in stands up for his truth.
I just want to get to State and win without losing the stuff I care about.
We can help you get what you want.
Just got to let us try.
We spoke to your former students and colleagues.
They have all agreed to testify on your behalf if we file against the church.
Honey, what do you think? I think suing the parish is a big deal.
That's our family.
I mean, it's who we are.
Yeah.
We shall overcome - We shall overcome - Ava, I think you need to see this.
Someday We shall overcome - We shall overcome - Ava, when they heard you were fired, they staged a walkout.
We support you, Mrs.
Fullum.
Thank you.
But ditching school is not going to help me get my job back, okay? Let's go back and finish the good work that we started.
Okay? You responsible for this? Right? The face of our lawsuit.
If she wants to be.
Thank you, guys.
We prayed that God would send us a sign about suing the parish.
I can't imagine a better sign than those kids.
Let's go forward.
Okay.
I'm worried that we're gonna lose if Dad doesn't try this case right.
- Hmm.
You know what I think? - What? You got an issue with the Catholic Church.
They just fired a woman for getting pregnant with IVF.
Yes, I have a problem with organized religion in general.
Oh, so, uh, you're an atheist now? Look, when I would go to Mass on Sunday, I would see Sunny Jenkins and Janice Hunt sitting in their pews, reading their missals, praying, only to find out that they were both sleeping with my dad.
The Church is just a sanctuary for hypocrites.
Also, when I asked that deacon if I could be a priest and he said no because I'm a girl, so add misogyny to the list of grievances - I've got with the Church.
- Syd, Syd, be real.
- Well, Bri - Be real.
Look, the Church isn't about a few individuals.
It's about having faith in God.
I'm just not sure that I can have faith in a system that's so flawed.
You have faith in our justice system.
That's different, you know, because the justice system, it relies on laws and precedent, you know? It's flawed, but it's always evolving.
And it's tangible.
If you can't see God or touch Him, you're trying to tell me He doesn't exist? 'Cause when I look around, I see God weaving His wonders everywhere, not just at church.
- At work, with my nephew - Oh.
Maceo.
How is that going, by the way? Anthony appealed to the school board, and, uh, we're just waiting to hear back.
Well, at least he's got his Auntie Bri.
And the king Anthony Little on his side.
- Do not tell Anthony that I said that.
- King? I'm so telling him.
I am so Oh, God.
Mrs.
Lambert, your daughter was in Mrs.
Fullum's English class, was she not? Until I had her transferred to a different class.
Why did you have her transferred? The last thing we need is for Abigail to be exposed to a teacher who was of questionable moral character.
Hold on.
Mrs.
Lambert is an accountant.
That hardly makes her an authority on good moral character.
Mrs.
Lambert was a friend of Mrs.
Fullum's.
We were friends, until her behavior became erratic the last few years.
And it wasn't because of the hormones that the IVF doctors had her on.
It was because she was on drugs.
I found a bottle of pills in her bathroom when I was at her house one day.
You've heard Mrs.
Lambert's previous testimony? Yes.
Have you ever been on drugs, Mrs.
Fullum? For a short time, my doctor prescribed me antidepressants.
Why were you depressed? I had I just gone through my third miscarriage.
And I was ready to give up on my dream of being a mom.
Thank you, Mrs.
Fullum.
Mrs.
Fullum, are you aware of the Catholic Church's stance against in vitro fertilization? I was, but it was the only way I was able to get pregnant.
Well, you sure have a history of violating the school's policies, don't you? I'm not sure what you mean.
You made this play - - available to your English students, even though it's not on the preapproved school's reading list.
As well as these books Walt Whitman, "Leaves of Grass," "Madame Bovary," "A Portrait of the Artist As a Young Man.
" These books are on a supplemental reading list for my honor students preparing for advanced-placement tests.
I give them copies only after I've met with their parents to explain to them that there may be material in the books some people find Offensive? Sophisticated for the young mind.
This is a copy of your employment contract.
Could you please read section 12.
4 of the morals clause? "No teacher is allowed to provide a student "with books not listed on St.
Vincent Academy's preapproved reading list.
" You recommend banned books take banned pills and undergo banned procedures.
How many offenses do you have to commit before the school has the right to fire you? That church lawyer is just warming up, okay? The second that we get into court, he's going to dig up anything he can find on Ava - and smear her with it.
- If we go low and there's one Catholic on that jury, we lose.
There's a right way to win this and a wrong way.
I'm sorry.
I just I don't get it.
I don't I-I do not understand how you can believe in an organization that is so flawed.
You used to ask your mom the same thing about me.
She had so much faith in people in me.
Her optimism just poured out to everyone.
Ava's got that same kind of optimism, Syd.
She's got that same kind of faith.
She loves the Church.
Last thing I want to do is win this case and send her back to some church that's a little more broken.
Okay, well, thank you for letting me know.
- Okay, I'll speak to you soon.
- Hey.
Okay, bye.
- You got a second? - Yeah, what's up? Um, I was thinking as soon as the settlement comes from the city, I'd like to set up a scholarship in Tess's name.
And that way, she'll she'll live on, and, uh and a few years from now, like, 20 years from now, there will be 20 people that she saved.
You know? I think that's a great idea, George.
I think that's great.
Ah Hey, what's up? Um Yeah, I just I got off the phone with Robbie.
Tess's mother The news hit her pretty bad.
She just got picked up for a DUI.
She's okay, but That poor woman.
I think I should talk to her.
No.
I-I don't think that's a good idea.
Yeah, you know, she's She's a victim, too, Jake.
I mean, right now she's all alone in the world.
I mean, that's not right.
That's not right.
And so, Father Charles, although you fired Mrs.
Fullum, you've been testifying here today on her behalf.
Can you tell us why? I believe the Church has it wrong.
.
Science isn't some abstract thing created outside of the realm of God.
The child that Ava is carrying is a miracle, assisted by science, but divined by God.
Thank you, Father.
Your witness.
We have no questions for Father Charles.
- Uh - We should rest.
Yeah.
Plaintiff rests.
The witness is excused.
Instead, Your Honor, the defense calls Dr.
Miles Jones to the stand.
Objection.
Uh, objection, Your Honor.
Uh, Dr.
Jones is not on the defense witness list.
Your Honor, we're calling the witness to testify Testify? Dr.
Jones was Mrs.
Fullum's former doctor.
Given the confidentiality of the patient-doctor relationship, - there's no way that - Ava this doctor should be allowed to testify, Your Honor.
The plaintiffs put Mrs.
Fullum's health in issue.
We have the right to call a witness to speak to her state of health.
I'll allow the witness.
Thank you, Your Honor.
Dr.
Jones, could you briefly tell the court how in vitro fertilization works? Simply put, I extract an egg from a woman, fertilize it with a man's sperm, and then insert the embryo into a woman's uterus.
If all goes well, the viable embryo attaches to the uterus, and 40 weeks later, a child is born.
And the embryo you implanted in Mrs.
Fullum's uterus, is is that the only viable embryo? No.
There was another.
What'd you do with the second embryo? Mrs.
Fullum gave us permission to destroy it.
Mrs.
Fullum allowed you to destroy a viable embryo? That's correct.
No further questions.
Dr.
Jones given Mrs.
Fullum's medical history, had she carried both viable embryos, what were the chances that she would've been able to carry both of those to full term? Less than 5%.
Less than 5%.
And if she'd carried just one? She'd have greater than 50% success rate of giving birth to the one.
Wow.
Thank you.
Nothing further.
You know, I made Tess and her classmates come down to this cemetery once for a paper they were working on.
"Hamlet.
" I remember.
Thought it was a morbid choice.
Yeah, yeah, probably was.
Tess loved it.
You inspired her, made her love school.
Students like her inspired me.
Can you forgive me? Can you ever possibly forgive me? There's nothing to forgive.
I stole your life.
I Oh.
It's not your fault.
Not one bit of it is your fault.
You know, Tess loved you.
We're free now.
And so is she.
I don't know how he does it, man.
If I were George, I'd want to strangle everyone who had anything to do with putting me prison.
Do you know that this, uh this this all started with a post-it note? Led me to the best man I've ever met.
You know, I just can't get over the fact that she lied to me For all those months.
In my job, I find myself facing lots of decisions about what's wrong, what's right, should I, shouldn't I.
Where I landed, I asked myself do I have the right intentions? If my motivations are good, then I believe that's the best criteria to decide hard questions.
I believe Ava was trying to protect you.
I think if you can get to that you'll find a way to work through your anger.
Ava If we lose this case, you're gonna find another job at a school with students that adore you and a community that appreciates you This is my community.
Win or lose this is where Blake and I will raise our daughter.
After everything that's happened, you still have faith? My faith isn't about a parish or a building.
It's it's about knowing that I don't have to walk alone through this life.
My dad's always felt that way that God was present in his life, looking after him.
And you? Uh, honestly? Mm-hmm.
Uh I don't know.
You're not someone who thinks they have faith.
But you are a woman determined to leave this world a little better than you found it.
And if you think about it, that that is the most powerful act of faith of all.
Oh, you okay? She's active today.
- May I? - Yeah.
Okay.
- Right - Where? There.
Oh, oh.
Oh, that's wild.
This is an emergency board meeting requested by Attorney Anthony Little on behalf of Hilltop High Everyone's looking at me like this is my fault.
Everyone is here to support you.
It doesn't look that way to me.
In attendance, we have the full board and two representatives from the Tennessee Athletics League.
Mr.
Little, the mic is yours.
- Thank you.
- Yeah.
Good afternoon.
I'm sorry.
I'm out.
- Maceo.
- No.
I would I come today not as an attorney but as a father to talk about the responsibility we have as parents, teachers, and coaches to our youth.
Maceo Johnson has done everything that society has asked him to do in order to succeed.
He is an incredible student an excellent athlete and yet, here we are at a meeting where this young man's future is on the line.
Over what? Haircut? I mean, we can blame Maceo's haircut.
We can even blame the referee who made the call, or we could address the real problem.
It's a problem that is rooted in a system where black children are prevented from realizing their full potential simply because the thought of them succeeding makes some folks uncomfortable.
So I stand before the board and the state's athletic league with a proposal an opportunity for everyone to do what's right and change the rule so that athletes who look like Maceo Johnson can keep their hair and their identity and compete at the state level.
Because the future is now and Maceo Johnson is an integral part of what that future looks like.
Thank you.
Hey.
Mom just called.
Said to, uh, say hello, so She got in okay? Yeah.
Yeah, yeah, she's good.
You know, um when I was a kid, I used to really wonder what it would be like you know, having you two together under the same roof, like a like a regular family.
I'm sorry I wasn't able to give you that kind of experience growing up.
No, it's, um it's okay, you know? Now I have you and Sydney which is cool.
Got our first Thanksgiving coming up our first Christmas.
Yeah.
Hey, Dad.
- Hey.
- Hey.
I think, uh you were right Staying positive, making Ava the face of the case, that was the right call.
It was.
And I'd like to close tomorrow, if that's okay with you.
You agree with my strategy decision, and you want to close? Did hell free over and I didn't notice? Look, the jury knows that you believe in Ava, and I just want them to know that I believe in her, too.
Okay.
This is case isn't about in vitro fertilization.
It's about religious freedom and the Church's right to set its own rules for its clergy and employees.
Mrs.
Fullum's attorneys would like you to think that St.
Vincent Academy discriminated against her because she's a woman a pregnant woman part of a protected class.
That is categorically false.
This is a contractual issue.
Mrs.
Fullum was fired because she violated the morals clause of her employment contract when she underwent IVF treatment.
That violation is the reason, the only reason she was fired from her position as a teacher at St.
Vincent Academy.
Period.
I grew up in the Catholic Church, listening to God's teachings of love and faith and forgiveness.
The one concept I could never wrap my head around was blind faith.
How can someone just believe without seeing, without feeling, without touching? And then I met Ava Fullum, a woman with unshakable faith in God.
Ever since Ava was a little girl, she knew.
She knew that God wanted her to be a teacher and a mother.
So, despite the Church's rules against IVF, her allegiance belonged to a higher power to God and the plan that he had for her.
Ava's faith is is why we're here today, just weeks before she has a child, a child that is a blessing from God a miracle that she shouldn't be punished for by the Church let alone by this court.
Thank you.
Hey.
Hey.
Uh how's your, uh How's your case going? - You're suing the parish? - Mmhmm.
Yes, I am.
Mm.
Um, we're just waiting on the verdict.
Mm-hmm.
How's Lauren? I don't know.
What do you mean you don't know? She's your your girlfriend.
Not anymore.
What? Why? She broke up with me.
Oh, Robbie, I'm She said I was still in love with you.
And I guess I didn't deny it fast enough, so There's that.
All wrestlers must weigh in by 3:35 in order to compete in today's State Finals.
Is Anthony gonna make it on time? I hope so.
We're running out of time, Maceo.
It's either now or never.
You know where I stand, Coach.
It's all good, Aunt Bri.
I stood up for myself.
I can live with that.
About time.
- Can I wrestle? - Yeah, you can wrestle.
- Without cutting my hair? - That's right.
The Tennessee Athletics League is allowing you to wrestle as you have all season.
But next season, they'll supply all wrestlers with the appropriate headgear that will adjust to all students, regardless of hair length and style.
- Go, go, go, go, go, go, go.
- Yes.
Did I say thank you? About 100 times.
You ready to see your nephew wrestle? I'm ready to see him win.
What you talking about wrestle? Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, have you reached a verdict? We have, Your Honor.
We find in favor of the defendant, St.
Vincent Parish.
Tried calling, but I I think he turned his phone off.
Oh, he just needs some time.
- Here, Dad.
- Thanks.
You okay? No, no, no, no, no.
She's too early.
Okay.
Ava! Breathing.
- I got you.
- Thank you.
- It's okay.
- Hey, all right.
She's fine, but I'm still gonna go with Ava to the hospital.
I locked up.
You go on, and I'll meet you there.
- What happened? Is Ava okay? - She's in labor.
Ava? - It's okay.
She's coming.
- No.
You're about to have that family that you and Ava always dreamed of.
I am.
I am.
Go-bag.
Yeah.
Congratulations.
Okay? Go, go, go.
- Hi.
- Hi.
- All right.
Let's roll.
- Go.
But as we learned in today's reading from 1 Corinthians, love never fails us.
It always protects, always trusts.
We're gathered here today to apologize to an innocent man.
When is all this gonna end, Jake? It won't take long.
Just a quick speech.
Always hopes, and it always perseveres.
A man whose life and reputation was unfairly When this is over, you know, we can go and get some lunch or, uh, maybe even jump in a fountain? Mr.
Bell on behalf of the city of Memphis, I want to offer you public apology.
But we hope this check helps as you move forward in life toward bigger and brighter days.
Faith, hope, and love these are integral parts of our relationship with God and our fellow man.
But of all of these God told us in today's readings that the greatest of these is love.