A Civil Action (1998)

Robert Duvall: Jerome Facher

Photos 

Quotes 

• Jerome Facher : [sitting across from each other in the hallway outside the courtroom as the jury deliberates]  What's your take?

  Jan Schlichtmann : They'll see the truth.

  Jerome Facher : The truth? I thought we were talking about a court of law. Come on, you've been around long enough to know that a courtroom isn't a place to look for the truth.

• Jerome Facher : [to law students]  Now the single greatest liability a lawyer can have is pride. Pride... Pride has lost more cases than lousy evidence, idiot witnesses and a hanging judge all put together. There is absolutely no place in a courtroom for pride.

• Jerome Facher : [after clerk interrupts his lunch to deliver a brief]  You know, if I were you, I'd make it a point of taking that hour or so away from all the noise and insanity of this place.

  Law Clerk : I should do that.

  Jerome Facher : I'd find a place for myself where I could go that was relatively quiet and peaceful. Have a sandwich, read a magazine, maybe listen to a game out at Fenway if one was on. And I'd make sure everyone knew I didn't want to be disturbed during that hour of sole solitude. Because that would be my time - my own private time. Which no one if they had any sense of any self-preservation at all... would dare interrupt. If I were you.

  Law Clerk : [terrified]  I'm sorry.

• Jerome Facher : How's business by the way?

  Jan Schlichtmann : Business is good

  Jerome Facher : That's good I'm afraid with all the scientists and other expenses a small boutique firm like yours might be in trouble

  Jan Schlichtmann : I appreciate your concern we got more than enough to go the distance.

  Jerome Facher : Are you sure? I'm afraid one day you miscalculated the arithmetic and there you were digging quarters out of the seats of your shiny black sports car

  Jan Schlichtmann : You really don't have to worry

  Jerome Facher : That's a relief, you don't want me in this case I'm only going to hurt you, so get rid of me, tell me what you got in so far and I'll have a check cut and we'll get on with our lives

  Jan Schlichtmann : My expenses? You're offering to cover my expenses? Your expenses and your pride you think you're going to put the families on the stand, the mothers and fathers are going to tell their stories and the jury members will pull out their handkerchiefs and dab their eyes, do you really think I'd let that happen?

  Jan Schlichtmann : I don't see how you could prevent it

  Jerome Facher : [before biting into his jelly donut]  Of course you don't

• Jerome Facher : [Defendant opening statement]  The idea of criminal court is crime and punishment. The idea of civil court and of personal injury law by nature, although no one likes to say it out loud, least of all the personal injury lawyer himself is money. Money for suffering and money for death as if that could somehow relieve suffering, as if somehow it can bring dead children back to life.

• Jerome Facher : In forty five years of practicing law, I've never waited in a corridor for a verdict.

  Jan Schlichtmann : I always do.

  Jerome Facher : I can tell you're good at it: you seem to be at peace doing it, do you think its good staying outside this long? Or is it bad?

  Jan Schlichtmann : For who?

  Jerome Facher : For me, you can never tell, jury duty is more fun than working at the post office.

  Jan Schlichtmann : It's bad for both of us, the jury will see the truth.

  Jerome Facher : In a courtroom you won't find anything that even resembles the truth.

  Jan Schlichtmann : Eight kids are dead.

  Jerome Facher : The minute you filed the compliant the minute it entered the justice system is when this case stopped being about dead children. I know you're a high stakes gambler, its apart of your profession, why don't we test your born again righteousness of our courts with a high stakes gamble?

  Jan Schlichtmann : [Jerry takes out a twenty dollar bill]  If that's a settlement offer, that's not enough.

  Jerome Facher : What if I could add six zeroes to that? That'd be twenty million dollars, wouldn't that put things in prospective in terms of truth, justice and dead children?

  Jan Schlichtmann : If you want to talk seriously about a settlement offer let's get the decision makers and talk seriously.

  Jerome Facher : The decision makers are already here, it's just you and me we're like kings sitting in a castle deciding important things like the fate of others. Counting money in our counting room. I'll leave the twenty dollars here, go back to my throne room and wait for your decision but if you're looking for the truth you'll find it where it always is: the bottom of the deepest ocean.

• Jan Schlichtmann : [during a settlement agreement meeting, referring to the companies they're suing represented by their lawyers]  Bill, how much did Grace make last year?

  William Cheeseman : I have no idea but I have a feeling you do

  Jan Schlichtmann : One hundred ninety eight million dollars

  [to Jerry] 

  Jan Schlichtmann : And, Beatrice?

  Jerome Facher : I don't know

  Jan Schlichtmann : Four hundred thirty six million dollars together that's six hundred thirty four million dollars. One year that's net. So that's what they made, this is how much they'd be made to pay: to compensate the families, to provide for their economic security in the future

  William Cheeseman : Don't forget you, compensating you

  Jan Schlichtmann : And to make sure this kind of thing doesn't happen again

• Jerome Facher : [to his class]  And one last thing: if you don't know what the answer is going to be, never ask a witness "why". Ever.

• Jerome Facher : You were aware that when you moved the Woburn the water didn't taste good

  Richard Aufiero : [during his deposition]  A lot of places the water doesn't taste good

  Jerome Facher : Do you ever use bottled water?

  Richard Aufiero : We use bottled water off and on, we cook with regular tap water if were to make something like orange juice we'd use half bottled water and half tap water but to drink straight water we'd drink bottled water

  Jerome Facher : Has any doctor ever tell you, you had any dysfunction with your immune system?

  Richard Aufiero : No, when my son died they told us that's why he died his immune system tore down to nothing

  Jerome Facher : Why'd you have him autopsied?

  Richard Aufiero : Because he was doing good he only lived three months with Leukemia he looked fine

  Jerome Facher : Did you talk to the doctor after?

  Richard Aufiero : More like a "violent" talk

  Jerome Facher : "Violent" meaning you were angry?

  Richard Aufiero : Yelling at him

  Jerome Facher : Your son seemed to be doing alright he was admission and doctors were optimistic about his future suddenly he became ill and died

  Richard Aufiero : They said that was expected and anybody with a disease like leukemia could die at any minute, you can tell if your child isn't feeling good you try to explain it over the phone and they'll ask "does he have a temperature?" I said "no, they said doesn't worry he'll be fine bring him into the clinic Monday morning, he died Monday morning

• Jerome Facher : [lecturing to his class]  A plaintiff's case depends on momentum the few objections he gets the better the case will go so whenever you can you should object, irrelevance: objection hearsay: objection best evidence: objection authenticity: objection if you should fall asleep at the counsel chair the first thing you say when you wake up should be "objection"

• Jerome Facher : [meeting inside the judge's chambers]  Last night I was at the ball game, it was the seventh inning stretch, I was standing there I don't know why but it occurred to me unless you've proven any chemicals actually reached the wells there's no case: therefore there's no need for the families who've suffered so much to relive the suffering by putting them on the stand.

  Judge Walter J. Skinner : That's interesting I think I'd have to agree with that, if the jury decides favorably on the geological evidence then you can bring your families.

  Jan Schlichtmann : [protesting against Facher's suggestion]  The jury came into this courtroom expecting a human drama but instead for three months we've been giving them lessons in geology but we had to do that and it's over, finally: they want to testify, they need to testify.