L.A. Law (TV Series)

TV or Not TV (1991)

Blair Underwood: Jonathan Rollins

Quotes 

• Judge Myron Swaybill : After reviewing the records of this trial as well as the government files, I've concluded that the evidence is sufficient to overcome the presumption of death, and to justify the conclusion that Captain Riley may still be alive. Therefore, Mr. Riley, I'm refusing to declare your father dead. In the matter of your mother's estate, I have no choice. I directed that a trust be established, and that Sean Riley be named trustee. He may use the money under court supervision to look for your father. My ruling notwithstanding, it saddens me that the Vietnam War continues to claim your family. And I sincerely hope that you can find a way to be brothers again. This case is adjourned.

  [the trial is over. Judge Myron Swaybill heads back to his chambers] 

  Jonathan Rollins : Good luck.

  Sean Riley : Thank you. Thank you for everything.

  Jane Maxon : I'm sorry, Michael.

  [Mike Riley is leaving after losing the case] 

  Sean Riley : Hey. If you change your mind, I could use your help.

  Mike Riley : I don't think so.

  Sean Riley : Mike. Mike, I never wanted to cut you off. I'll talk to the judge, I'll try to get you something.

  Mike Riley : You still don't get it, do you? It wasn't about the money. It's never about the money.

  [Mike Riley exits the courtroom and leave] 

  Jonathan Rollins : You okay?

• Mr. Pham : There were 4 Americans at Quyet Tien. They were kept at their own place, away from the rest of us.

  Jonathan Rollins : You were also a prisoner there, Mr. Pham?

  Mr. Pham : It was one of the camps that I was sent to for re-education.

  Jonathan Rollins : How did you know these 4 men were Americans?

  Mr. Pham : The guards call them GI number 10, an insulting term for Americans.

  Jonathan Rollins : Could you describe the appearance of these men?

  Mr. Pham : They were very thin. Their uniforms were torn and dirty.

  Jonathan Rollins : And how were they treated?

  Mr. Pham : Live in the camp is very harsh, Mr. Rollins. But for Americans, it was particularly cruel. Some mornings they were marched down to the yard, and the guard made them stand there for many hours. No talking. No shade. No sitting.

  Jonathan Rollins : And did you ever have any direct contact with any of these men?

  Mr. Pham : Several times. I brought them water. One time I saw on the earth, next to a tall man, the letters, uh, R-I-L-E-Y. The man has written them with his foot. Then a guard moved closer. And when I looked down again, the letters were gone.

  Jonathan Rollins : When did this happen?

  Mr. Pham : 5 years ago, in April, 1986.

  Jonathan Rollins : [Mr. Rollins show the photo of U.S. Air Force Captain James Riley]  Was this the man you saw?

  Mr. Pham : Yes.

  Mike Riley : That's a lie!

  Judge Myron Swaybill : Mr. Riley.

  Mr. Pham : That's the man.

  Mike Riley : The picture is 20 years old! How could you possibly tell?

  Sean Riley : Why can't you believe him?

  Judge Myron Swaybill : Both of you! This is enough!

  Mike Riley : Would you tell him he's under oath here? Do you know what that means?

  Judge Myron Swaybill : Mr. Riley!

  Sean Riley : He's telling the truth.

  Judge Myron Swaybill : Mr. Riley!

  Mike Riley : My mother sponsored his entire family! She paid for them to come over here, what do you expect him to say?

  Judge Myron Swaybill : I will not tolerate this! Counselors, you have 20 minutes. Don't bring your clients back into my courtroom till they're under control.

  [the two attorneys take the two clients outside the courtroom and cool off their behavior because of outburst incident] 

• [They arrived at the witness room and talk] 

  Jonathan Rollins : All right, listen. We'd like to make peace here. My client wants to propose a settlement.

  Jane Maxon : I don't know if the court'll approve it, but let's hear it.

  Jonathan Rollins : $50,000.

  Mike Riley : And the rest goes to guys like Pham? Forget it, Sean.

  Sean Riley : How do you do it? How do you hear a story like that and not feel anything?

  Mike Riley : I gave up on the stories.

  [mouthing] 

  Mike Riley : - - After that commando with the phony dog tags, you let Mom get taken in by that nut. We have to move on, Sean. We have to forget.

  Sean Riley : No!

  [Mike was shock] 

  Sean Riley : He's my father, if it takes the rest of my life, Mike, I'm going to find him.

  Mike Riley : Well, then, the judge can declare us all dead. We died that day he crashed in the jungle.

  [Jane Maxon and her client Mike Riley leave the witness room. And Jonathan Rollins stays with his client Sean Riley] 

• Jane Maxon : Madeline Riley spent 20 years keeping a memory alive. We're all moved by the loyalty she felt for James Riley. She never stopped loving him. But she never married, either. She never even considered it. Madeline Riley gave up her life for her husband. And now Sean Riley wants to chase the same false hope. Would James Riley have wanted this? Or would he have wanted his family to get on with their lives? Your Honor, there is no credible evidence that James Riley is still alive. There's only the testimony of one Vietnamese refugee, who owes his family's relocation to Madeline Riley. That's not proof. That's a shred of hope that Sean Riley has convinced is a fact. But Mike Riley doesn't want to live on hope any longer. He wants a life of his own. In Vietnam, they say the spirits of the dead can't rest until their bodies are given a proper burial. Please give James Riley a proper burial here, Your Honor. It's time to let his spirit rest.

  Jonathan Rollins : Your Honor, in 1969, the US Government Madeline Riley that her husband was needed to stop Communism in Vietnam, and she believed them. In 1970, the government told her Jim had been shot down, but that everything possible is being done to secure his release, and she believed them. In 1974, when the government issued its blanket death certificate for all MIAs, she stopped believing them. These are the facts. A witness near where Captain Riley was shot down saw a pilot parachute from the same lind of plane as his. In 1986, a Vietnamese prisoner saw a man write the name Riley in the dirt, and later identified him from a picture of James Riley. In 1986. Your Honor, there is credible evidence that Captain Riley is still alive. The government has abandoned him. Please, don't force his family to do the same.

• Mike Riley : My father was a pilot assigned to the 388th tactical wing. On May 2, 1970, he was shot down over the Hoòa Binh Province. He radioed the plane was on fire, and he was going to eject.

  Jane Maxon : Was he ever heard from again?

  Mike Riley : No, by the time the search and rescue team reached the area, there was no sign of him. The plane exploded on impact.

  Jane Maxon : And at that time, the Air Force classified your father as missing in action.

  Mike Riley : Yes, but in '74, my mother was notified that his classification had been changed to KIA, killed in action.

  Jane Maxon : And do you agree with that conclusion?

  Mike Riley : I've read the file over and over trying to find something-- anything-- that would let me believe that he's still alive, but he's not. He's gone. My father died in that crash.

  Jane Maxon : Thank you, Mr. Riley.

  Jonathan Rollins : You have no memory of your father, do you, Mr. Riley?

  Jane Maxon : Objection, Your Honor. Relevance?

  Jonathan Rollins : His perception of his father's loss is directly relevant, Your Honor.

  Judge Myron Swaybill : I'll allow it.

  Mike Riley : Well, I was 2 years old when the plane crashed. I remember a man who swung me over his head once, -that's all.

  Jonathan Rollins : Okay. In 1973, when 591 POWs were returned to this country in Operational Homecoming, you were 5 years old. Do you remember that day watching it on TV?

  Mike Riley : Yes.

  Jonathan Rollins : Do you remember what your mother did during the broadcast as each man got off the plane and was reunited with his family?

  Mike Riley : She kept saying my dad's name over and over again. "Jim. Come on, Jim. Please, Jimmy." She knew he wasn't on any of the lists but she couldn't help it.

  Jonathan Rollins : And he wasn't one of the men that got off that plane, she started to cry. Then what did you do, Mr. Riley?

  Mike Riley : I threw a picture of my dad against the wall. I was 5 years old, Mr. Rollins, I blamed my father for making her cry, but I grew out of that.

  Jonathan Rollins : But over the years, there were other family disagreements, weren't there?

  Jonathan Rollins : She and Sean couldn't stop hoping.

  Jonathan Rollins : But they did have information that justified hope.

  Mike Riley : The United States government reviewed my father's case and determined he was dead.

  Jonathan Rollins : As part of a blanket ruling, a ruling that resulted in all MIAs being declared dead, all 2300 of them.

  Jane Maxon : Your Honor, is there a question here?

  Judge Myron Swaybill : Get to the point, Mr. Rollins.

  Jonathan Rollins : You stand to benefit from proceedings, don't you?

  Mike Riley : What do you mean?

  Jonathan Rollins : About to be married, maybe have a family. Inheriting $350,000, that's not a bad start.

  Mike Riley : Don't tell me about bad starts, Mr. Rollins. I grew up watching my mother waste her life. Waiting for the phone to ring. Don't tell me about bad starts.