Barrio Barrister (F-13)
Go to Barrio Barrister (F-1) click here. Click for BB (F-12) here.
EXT. STREET OUTSIDE L. A. CENTER FOR LAW AND JUSTICE — DAY
Miguel has just parked on the street and gotten out of his car when he hears a horn blowing long and loudly. He looks over to see Antonio in his car smiling broadly and blowing his horn. Passersby look perplexed.
INT. L. A. CENTER FOR LAW AND JUSTICE — DAY
Miguel has just entered, accompanied by Antonio. A sign is strung from the ceiling reading CONGRATULATIONS MIGUEL! among streamers. Some OFFICE CROWD (law office personnel and friends) wear party hats, and bottles of champagne and beer are being passed about. A shout goes up when he enters.
OFFICE CROWD
Congrats! Surprise! We are proud of you, Miguel. Sí se puede.
Richard Cruz jumps up with a bottle in his hand and gives Miguel a hug, twirling him half around.
RICHARD
You did it, man.
MIGUEL
(laughs)
No kissing.
Miguel wanders through the crowd receiving handshakes, hugs and a few kisses. As he makes his triumphal way through the crowd a phone rings and an OFFICE MANAGER answers it. She vainly tries to wave for quiet and catches Miguel’s eye.
OFFICE MANAGER
(indicates to Miguel)
For you.
Miguel takes the phone and covers one ear.
MIGUEL
Hello?
INT. MARGOLIS AND ASSOCIATES LAW OFFICE — DAY
Ben Margolis, wearing a suit but with his coat off, plush office, now 64, smiling. There is a photograph of the house built for him on the wall.
BEN MARGOLIS
Guess they were right to be afraid of you.
INT. CENTER FOR LAW AND JUSTICE — DAY
Miguel’s eyes widen. INTERCUT.
MIGUEL
Mr. Margolis! It’s an honor.
BEN MARGOLIS
You’ve done real good, young Mr. Garcia.
MIGUEL
Thank you. I appreciate it.
BEN MARGOLIS
No, thank you. You may not realize it yet, but this is a pivotal civil rights decision.
MIGUEL
Really? I had just felt there was something missing.
BEN MARGOLIS
Congratulations. I hope someday you receive the recognition you deserve. But Miguel…
MIGUEL
Yes?
BEN MARGOLIS
It’s not over…but congrats. You deserve it.
(hangs up)
Miguel looks puzzled, slowly hangs up. Then smiles again. Antonio and Richard stand by, smiling.
MASON (V.O.)
That’s when you and other lawyers started using the new Pitchess Motion?
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. POLICE DEPARTMENT — DAY
Police personnel are busy going through file drawers retrieving complaints. Some are placing files into envelopes.
ELDER MIGUEL (V.O.)
Pretty soon the sheriff and police departments were swamped with Pitchess Motion requests for files of complaints against police officers.
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. RURAL CALIFORNIA POLICE DEPARTMENT — DAY
Police personnel in a smaller, rural police department are going through their files retrieving complaints.
ELDER MIGUEL (V.O.)(CONT’D)
Even smaller law enforcement agencies became swamped with requests for complaints against officers using excessive force. Many times the requests were simply not honored, resulting in mistrials. Hundreds of other cases were dropped when law enforcement officials realized that the truth about their departments would get revealed — a truth they wanted to avoid at all costs. After awhile, they began to fight back. Privilege doesn’t give itself up easily.
INT. SUPERIOR COURT — DAY
WARD MCCONNELL, head of City Attorney’s Office Criminal Apellate section, is speaking from DA’s table. JUDGE ARTHUR MARSHALL presides.
Subtitle: Ward McConnell, City Attorney’s Office during People vs Swartz trial.
WARD MCCONNELL
…There is really no reason why the L.A.P.D. or the city should keep a file or complaint against an officer…They are going to go out and burn these records.
JUDGE ARTHUR MARSHALL
I hope council is not trying to intimidate this court. You will not find that to be so easy. If you don’t want a mistrial you will provide all the Internal Affairs Department complaints asked for.
INT. ELDER MIGUEL’S HOME OFFICE — PRESENT — DAY
Miguel organizes items on his desk.
ELDER MIGUEL
I got involved in doing work for Cesar Chavez that also wound up in the Supreme Court. The Murgia Decision has implications that I feel are as important as Pitchess, but that’s another story. I also defended much of the male population of a unique community called Casa Blanca who had a mini-war with law enforcement from Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego and Colton. And, I got married again.
MASON
Really?
ELDER MIGUEL
To the beautiful Lorraine, who shared an interest in justice with me. She gave me my beautiful Adeliz who in turn has given me two beautiful grandchildren. And Lorraine became a lawyer herself. Gotta change the water — back soon.
Elder Miguel exits. Mason turns off the recorder and walks about the room looking at a human skeleton and various photos. JOAQUIN (27), good looking young Chicano enters.
JOAQUIN
You Mason?
MASON
Yeah. You?
JOAQUIN
Joaquin. Dad asked me to tell you he got a call for some legal advice. He’s gonna be awhile. He said go ahead and eat.
MASON
What are they building out there in the back?
JOAQUIN
That’s for a party Dad is hosting for friends and family. He says you’re invited.
MASON
Great. You Lorraine’s son?
JOAQUIN
Adeliz is hers. I’m Angela’s.
MASON
Angela?
JOAQUIN
Dad’s third wife.
MASON
(muttering to himself)
I’m gonna need a fuckin’ scorecard pretty soon.
INT. ELDER MIGUEL’S HOME OFFICE — DAY
Miguel enters. It’s obvious Mason has been waiting.
ELDER MIGUEL
Sorry that took longer than I thought. My nephew was in an accident that was his fault.
MASON
You used to do accident work?
ELDER MIGUEL
Wrongful deaths, car accidents, one or two drug mules even. Civil rights didn’t pay as much then as it does now. Where were we?
MASON
You celebrated the Pitchess Motion victory, helped Cesar Chavez and defended the residents of Casa Blanca who went to war with the sheriff’s department. Did you win for them?
ELDER MIGUEL
My good friend Skip Glenn and I won our Casa Blanca cases. Later Skip represented Paul Skyhorse and Richard Mohawk of the American Indian Movement. He proved the FBI had colluded with murderers to give false evidence against them in a case in Ventura — yet the FBI has never been held accountable for conspiring to frame Skyhorse and Mohawk.
MASON
Are there any modern day examples of Chicanos fighting back at the police?
ELDER MIGUEL
The Casa Blanca event is a perfect example. Some people might think they were gang members, but they were just some tough customers who were used to defending their territory against anyone and had been for generations.
MASON
What did you mean about a mini-war? Did you celebrate that victory?
MIGUEL
A ver, a ver, a ver. We did indeed. We celebrated by killing a pig. I took a writer and photographer from Life Magazine with me because they were doing a story on a feud one of the families was engaged in. It was kind of like a modern day Hatfield and McCoy thing.
MASON
Was that the war?
MIGUEL
No. The case I represented them on began when a woman called the cops saying men accosted her in a park. When the cops came, the guys ran into a cornfield. The cops used dogs and even a helicopter, but surrounding neighbors got drawn in and started sniping at them. Twice, now, residents of Casa Blanca have shot down police helicopters. The whole thing started escalating out of control. It got so gnarly that a police lieutenant commandeered a large truck with metal sides and loaded it with over a dozen volunteer cops…
EXT. A FIELD NEAR CASA BLANCA, RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA — DAY
We can hear sporadic gunfire in the distance. A dozen heavily armed police volunteers with shotguns and semi-automatic rifles jump into the truck.
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. CAB OF COMMANDEERED TRUCK — DAY
We see CASA BLANCA POLICE LT,30’s, driving truck as it bounces along a road. We hear a bullet hit the truck.
INT. BACK OF TRUCK WHERE OFFICERS ARE RIDING — DAY
We see the face of a YOUNG POLICEMAN among the others, heavily armed and wearing a helmet, react to the sound of a bullet hitting the truck near him. More bullets hit. It begins to sound like a hailstorm of bullets hitting the truck.
INT. CAB OF COMMANDEERED TRUCK — DAY
Suddenly a blast of buckshot through the open window hits the Casa Blanca Police Lt. on the left side of his face, knocking him across the cab to the floor on the passenger side.
EXT. COMMANDEERED TRUCK DRIVING ON ROAD — DAY
Truck comes to a stop.
INT. CAB OF COMMANDEERED TRUCK — DAY
Dazed, Casa Blanca Police Lt. fights against unconsciousness. He gets back behind the steering wheel.
EXT. COMMANDEERED TRUCK — DAY
Truck does a U-turn and speeds out of area, still peppered by gunshots.
INT. ELDER MIGUEL’S LAW STUDY — PRESENT — DAY
Miguel slices an avocado in half, then hacks into the pit to remove it.
MIGUEL
Basically, it was a war between the cops and about a hundred residents of Casa Blanca.
MASON
How did the Life Magazine guys do?
MIGUEL
Fine. The butcher was late so I shot the pig, and one of the magazine guys slit its throat so we could drain the blood.
EXT. NEAR RANCH HOUSE, CASA BLANCA — DAY
A large vat sits on an open fire with pig parts cooking in milk and sugar. Miguel’s client, Larry Romeo (35) Aka. MONGO, his brothers SMILEY (19), ANTHONY (32) the ALMADA BROTHERS, Miguel, the LIFE WRITER (40’s) and LIFE PHOTOG (30’s)both wearing inexpensive suits. All are using paper plates, plastic utensils — eating, and drinking beer.
(Subtitle): Almada Ranch, Casa Blanca, Riverside, California
MIGUEL
The butcher showed and did his thing. The Life Magazine guys did their thing doing interviews about the feud. Then my client, Mongo, asked if the Life guys wanted to make a beer run. They both jumped at it.
EXT. NEAR RANCH HOUSE, CASA BLANCA — DAY
A Chevy Impala low rider rises first in front, then back, then drops and bounces. A horn blows. It pulls away.
EXT. CASA BLANCA FIELD — DAY
From above we see a black and white squad car slowly coming across a field towards the direction of the low rider.
EXT. CASA BLANCE FIELD-DAY
As they get closer the cops do a double-take when they see the Life Magazine guys in the car, wearing ties. One smiles, then gives a small wave to them.
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. CASA BLANCA RANCH- EVENING
Miguel and Life Magazine crew have said their good byes and climbed into Miguel’s brown Pinto. Smiley walks over to the passenger window.
SMILEY
You guys gonna come back sometime?
LIFE PHOTOG
Oh sure, we’ll be back.
SMILEY
(long pause)
No you won’t.
LIFE PHOTOG
(admitting the real truth in his voice)
You never know.
INT. ELDER MIGUEL’S LAW STUDY — PRESENT — DAY
From the scraps we can see both men have been eating avocados.
MASON
Why represent them? What good do they do anyone?
ELDER MIGUEL
Those were proud family members who were protecting their land. Besides, if law is ever applied unequally, it’s not really justice, is it?
MASON
You stay in touch with any of them?
ELDER MIGUEL
Some of their families. Half of the guys at the party were dead within five years. Not one made it to 40. The mom is the only one still alive… I got a Skype meeting with a voter committee pretty soon. Betty and Alex are watching a movie if you want to join them.
MASON
I’m afraid to ask. Betty yet another wife?
ELDER MIGUEL
Sister. Alex is yet another son, though.
For Barrio Barrister (F-14) Click here.
