A Man in Full
Season 1 – Episode 6
Episode title: Judgment Day
Original release date: May 2, 2024
Based on: A Man in Full by Tom Wolfe
Plot: Roger demands justice at Conrad’s trial. Raymond exploits his enemy’s weakness. After a stunning press conference, Charlie fights to protect his own.
* * *
Saddlebags.
We’ll see about them saddlebags.
Not… over.
It hangs so well on you.
Sometimes, a suit makes the man, but sometimes, the opposite.
Mr. Mayor.
It looks beautiful.
Thank you.
It’ll be ready within the hour.
Can you gimme a little shimmy?
I beg your pardon?
It helps me to see how it falls. Just a little one. Just…
Good.
Beautiful.
You nervous?
What do you think?
Be bold, but with care.
And how does that work?
You’ll figure it out.
Just feel your way.
Well, another wet scorcher is basically the bottom line, Phil.
And for October, you could call that climate change…
…or just Atlanta being Atlanta.
Thanks, Lisa. And speaking of climate change, that’s pretty much been the only thing mayoral candidate, Norman Bagovitch, hasn’t pinned on Wes Jordan, though that changed last night, when the challenger did indeed blast the incumbent for enabling…
We’ve got yet some more revisions.
Oh, come on.
Are they gonna put this on a teleprompter?
No, the whole point is for me to seem off the cuff.
You look nice.
For court. They call it “sympathetic pretty.”
Meanwhile, Wes Jordan is expected to be at Georgia Tech today for the announcement that legendary football star, Charlie Croker, is being inducted into the University Hall of Fame.
Don’t you wanna hear that?
Not especially.
You tell Conrad to stand tall in there, okay?
Not haughty, “the law don’t apply to me” smug, but self-respecting, head high.
Judges pick up on that.
I’ll tell him.
Also, tell him I’d be there myself if I didn’t have this stupid presser.
He knows that.
All right. You tried Joyce Newman again?
Still unavailable.
Okay then.
Seems like a house call is officially in order.
You ready?
All set.
Clothes for Conrad?
I got ’em.
How about you? You ready?
Close as I’m gonna get.
Still set for five?
Show goes live on the early news. Wes doesn’t miss much.
If I get done with court, I’ll try to be there.
You just get it done with Conrad.
It’s a big day.
Yes.
It’s bullshit to me.
We on it, and you the last one.
God damn.
It’s a red-sky-in-the-morning type shit we got going on all over here, guys.
All right.
You know, maybe today might be a good day to break some metacarpal bones and shit.
Go all Jason Bourne.
Mutt.
I’m trying…
Hensley! Let’s go.
Boop. Hey, hey, hey.
Good luck, bro.
Conrad?
Ticktock, motherfucker.
He was standing over your bed?
Laughing.
What do you think it means?
This is actually good for you, this development.
Your assets are safe. At least, for now.
What do you mean, “for now”?
Oh, well, banks don’t just forgive 800-million dollar debts.
Planners will rear up at some point, as will the other creditors.
So, if you wanna safeguard your assets, you might wanna take care of that now.
Are you okay, Raymond?
Let’s just say that my… desire to take down your ex-husband
goes beyond what is healthy.
Oh, you really hate him.
Worse.
I admire him.
Because?
I don’t know.
Maybe because… he’s…
lived on his own terms.
And I’ve just drafted.
My entire life.
In his wake and the wake of others.
And I’m feeling…
…very much like the nothing
that he cracked me up to be.
And now I realize
that I don’t just wanna leave my mark.
I wanna leave it on him.
I just want you to hear me out.
I did. You said I could be on the bus or under it.
Joyce, you being present makes a strong statement for women.
For you.
Bullshit.
How disgusting can you possibly be?
It seems I’m just discovering.
But I know I’ll sleep okay taking down Norm Bagovitch.
So whatever happened that night…
What happened is I made a choice, Charlie.
And the choices I make now
and going forward won’t be made by you or any other man.
Well, I guess in the end,
we gotta do what we gotta do.
All rise.
Case number 32613, People of Georgia versus Conrad Hensley,
in re habeas corpus petition, all parties present.
The Honorable Judge Lawrence G. Taylor presiding. Please be seated.
All right, Mr. White. We shall hear from you on your habeas petition.
Thank you, Your Honor.
The Defense would also like to be heard on its motion to dismiss,
which I hereby attached together with the pleadings.
I’ve also provided District Attorney Jennings with a copy.
He has agreed to waive notice at this time.
What is this?
The parties are all present.
The District Attorney is prepared to argue.
It’s a short hearing.
What are you trying to pull?
Are you part of this ambush?
The State stands in opposition to the defense motion.
We do agree to waive notice and get rid of it today.
Counsel, I have no idea what you’re up to.
You are the judge, Your Honor. It’s your call.
{\an8}I would simply ask you to hear me before making it.
{\an8}Make it quick.
The defense calls the arresting officer, Michael Smith, to the stand.
What?
Mr. Smith has been subpoenaed.
He is present.
I would like the court’s permission to treat him as hostile.
Officer Smith, please approach and be sworn in.
You’re sure as shit gonna regret this.
{\an8}Let the record reflect the witness has informed me
that I will “sure as shit regret this.”
Sit yourself in the witness chair, Officer.
What we got goin’ on here?
What are you doing home?
Uh…
Time to kill. Nervous energy to burn.
Feeling a bit squirrelly, so…
The press conference?
Uh…
Don’t we have people to fix these things?
Yes.
But sometimes,
it just feels better to do it yourself.
Hmm…
I’m sorry… for, uh…
putting you through all this nonsense.
How’d I get so lucky?
You just did. That’s all.
What is that?
Still a few kinks.
Your knee?
It will get corrected out when we adjust it.
Oh my dear God.
Martha.
Talk to you for a minute?
Sorry to intrude.
That’s all right. Come on in.
I’ll try to keep it brief.
Uh, should I give y’all some privacy?
No, you could stay.
I mean, you’re his better half. He could certainly use one.
Okay, that’s all right.
All right.
All right? Nothing’s all right, and you know it.
What you’re endeavoring to do is just vile.
You made that point.
Well, evidently it didn’t take.
Oh, it took.
You’re the mother
who doesn’t want her son to grow up to be me.
It took.
But you don’t get to walk in my house and call me vile.
You are about to destroy Joyce
and sell whatever crumbs remain of your soul.
Shut up. This doesn’t affect you!
You don’t think so?
I loved you.
I even decided to try to spend the rest of my life with you,
however disastrous a mistake that was.
Did you expect me to shrivel up and lay down?
Forgive me for not wanting to be dead.
I don’t forgive you, not even a bit.
And you can forget about Wally being there for whatever this spectacle is.
He said he would come.
My son will see me fight
if it’s the last thing…
He will see me fight.
Fight dirty, that’s what he’ll see.
You think you’re the only one who knows how to fight dirty?
Just because you’ve never seen ugly in me doesn’t mean it’s not there.
Oh, I’ve seen plenty.
Tip of the iceberg.
I’ve warned you.
I will fuck you up.
Get out of the car now, or I will remove you.
Get the fuck out of this car now!
This is not right.
Hey, calm down.
Hey!
This is not necessary.
Asshole.
Stop!
Stop it! Let him go!
Taser! Taser! Taser!
I didn’t mean…
Stop!
He’s down already!
Officer,
does that accurately depict you removing my client from his vehicle?
There was a context.
We were called in for backup because the parking enforcement officer
perceived an escalating situation.
Upon arriving at the scene, I observed your client
behaving in a volatile and erratic manner, one that posed a safety risk
to several people, including myself.
So the context you speak of is you felt in danger, afraid.
You felt your safety was at risk.
Things I’ve seen happen and have known to happen.
So your fear was not only informed by the situation you encountered this day,
but by past experience?
Correct.
Do you recognize this person?
Come on motherfucker, just get out.
Get the fuck out of this car now!
The tow truck driver.
That’s not necessary.
What are you guys doing?
Oh, shit.
Taser!
No, I didn’t mean…
Stop, he’s down already.
You think you can hit a cop, you piece of shit?
Dispatch, this is 1099. Officer down.
You like that?
Most of that happened after I was unconscious.
You want more, motherfucker? You like that?
God. Hey! Hey! Stop kicking him!
Asshole.
Please, stop!
When you arrived on the scene, did you have an opportunity
to observe the demeanor of the tow truck driver?
He was pissed off.
He was pissed off. You were pissed off.
Is there a question?
You were armed?
I’m a police officer.
Your partner was armed.
Yes.
You stated that you were afraid.
Do you make room for the possibility that Conrad Hensley was also afraid?
I wouldn’t know.
You wouldn’t know.
{\an8}You were armed. Your partner was armed. The tow truck driver was pissed off.
Conrad Hensley was suddenly and violently removed from his vehicle
and slammed against his car.
Is it your testimony, sir, that while you were afraid,
you cannot allow for the possibility that my client, too, was afraid?
I’m sure he was.
And you stated for your own fear,
you drew on past experiences, things you know to be true.
Is it possible Conrad drew on what he knew to be true?
That doesn’t excuse it.
If he felt fear for his life, he doesn’t have a right to defend that life?
Not against an officer.
Never?
A person reasonably fears for his life
{\an8}at the hands of a police officer doesn’t have the right to defend himself?
{\an8}I was doing my job, which he knew.
So you base your conclusions,
in part, on what you knew to be in my client’s head?
I base my concl…
He wouldn’t get out of the car, so I had to do my job.
Got it.
I pass the witness.
You identified yourself as a police officer
as you arrived on scene?
We arrived in a police car, wearing police uniforms,
and we had badges.
And the defendant refused to comply?
Resisted arrest?
He did.
Thank you.
The witness is excused.
{\an8}Counsel, am I to understand
you’re suggesting that because your client was afraid,
{\an8}he gets to take a swing at a law enforcement officer?
I’m suggesting that the policeman’s status as a law enforcement officer
offered my client no assurance that he was safe,
especially while in the throes of an assault by the officer.
Conrad Hensley lashed out in a nanosecond, in terror,
for which he’s already served a week in Fulton.
{\an8}Pending trial, not as punishment.
It was punishment.
Getting tased,
getting kicked.
Bearing witness to a rape.
Having his life threatened for going to the aid of a victim.
Conrad Hensley has been punished.
Officer Smith spoke of his context.
So, too, did my client have one.
{\an8}And I care about neither. What carries the day in this room is the law.
Then let’s turn to that.
The arresting officer has admitted,
testified to, that Conrad Hensley was likely afraid.
A young 20-something man of color being violently assaulted
by a police officer in this state or any other,
but especially this one, of course he felt fear.
And just as the officer drew on his experience, his reality,
to locate his own terror,
so did Conrad draw on what he knows his to be.
He felt fear for his life, which gave him the lawful right to act
in reasonable self-defense.
That’s the law.
No jury, after viewing that footage, could conclude beyond all reasonable doubt
that my client’s fear was unjustified.
Your Honor, Mr. White is basically asking you
to substitute your judgment for the jury.
No.
I’m asking Your Honor to recognize
that if the facts cannot satisfy the state’s burden,
the evidence cannot reasonably sustain a conviction,
then the judge has a lawful duty to dismiss.
The color of law.
I beg your pardon.
The defendant is being charged
with an assault on a law enforcement officer
who was acting reasonably under the color of the law.
That question, whether the officer was acting reasonably, is before the court
because it will be before a trial court jury.
A jury living in this climate with the full opportunity to appreciate
the attitudes of the participants.
You yourself have been known to quote Oliver Wendell Holmes.
The soul of the law is experience.
The court is not a robot.
It doesn’t simply apply the letter of the rule
but also common sense
and experience.
The side of the road,
Atlanta 2024…
a police officer,
a Black man.
Whether you bend to the law,
to justice,
to common sense, to fairness.
I respectfully submit.
Hey, hey, this is not necessary.
Stop it! Stop!
Stop it! Let him go!
Stop it! You’re gonna hurt him!
Taser! Taser! Taser!
I would simply ask that you do what you feel…
is to be right.
Mr. Jennings?
The state maintains the facts support a conviction,
and we stand by the charges as filed.
And again, he’s asking you to substitute your judgment for the jury.
{\an8}Mm-hmm
Well,
I disagree.
{\an8}The possibility of self-defense cannot be reasonably excluded.
If prosecution’s burden cannot be satisfied,
{\an8}then as a matter of law, the charges ought to be dropped.
I hereby do so.
The defendant is free to go.
This case is dismissed.
That’s it?
That’s it.
It’s over?
It’s over.
Let’s go.
You’re taking this too personally.
How can you not?
Because I’m military. Look at history.
The Germans were our enemy, then our allies.
Russians went from foe to friend, back to foe.
It’s all cyclical.
Be it the Iranians, the Iraqis.
Croker was a reason to get out of bed in the morning, someone to go after.
There will be others. There’s plenty of shitheads where he came from.
I cannot look at it that way.
Well, you’ll have to.
No,
I don’t.
It’s not over.
I still can’t believe what happened there.
How did you do that?
Honestly, this is gonna sound crazy.
I think you did it.
I’m sorry?
I mean, I was good today. Maybe the best I’ve ever been.
Like something or someone took me over.
I think it was you.
I’m not sure I know what you talking about, Mr. White,
but thank you.
Yeah.
Oh!
Oh, I got a press conference to get to. Yo! Keep it up!
I love you so much.
Mmm.
Gonna be a train wreck.
No, it isn’t.
I’ve already forgotten half of what I’m supposed to say.
You’re okay.
You got this, Charlie. You got this.
Thank you for coming, Wally.
I was thinking about opening up my own prop business.
I could just rent myself out to you exclusively.
I am not bringing you as a prop.
Your mother tell you that?
Kidding.
You know, when I invited you to my 60th,
It was bec… I thought if you could see me being celebrated,
maybe you might come to do so.
For once.
Dad, I was kidding.
I’m not proud that my legacy is something I did on the football field,
but it meant a lot to a whole lot of people.
If you make somebody else’s day or world better,
bring them joy, even if it’s only a flicker,
that’s somethin’.
That day was my somethin’.
That,
and the day you were born.
Also, I think your mother’s more fucked up than I am.
Probably shouldn’t say that, but somebody needs to.
So this can actually work?
No reason it shouldn’t. It’s cleaner than most deals.
Mmm.
I can’t remember the last time I had lemonade,
maybe never, like this.
Wait till you taste my chicken thighs.
Uh…
Sirja. Hey.
You sounded terrible. Like you want to leap off building.
Oh, just another day. I’m better now.
Don’t lie to me, Raymond, I read your face.
Well, I’m actually with Martha Croker at the moment.
Is this problem?
She made lemonade. She’s roasting a chicken.
Tonight could be the night.
And that gives me…
…a certain anxiety.
You big red dog, American pickup.
The thing is, Charlie is rumored to be
quite gifted in that area.
Take pill.
It might not be enough.
Take two.
Some wine?
Stop feeling sorry for yourself.
Take pill, think of me, fuck like a big red dog.
Raymond, do you like this woman?
I think I do.
Take pill.
I’ve enjoyed many days of honor and some honorary days.
Today, I get to do both.
As we both celebrate and recognize a man
that gave us a day that nobody at Georgia Tech will ever forget.
You know, someone was saying to me earlier, “Why today? Why now?”
Well, why not now?
Especially… now.
We live in a time when heroes are hard to come by,
and… and I mean heroes in the truest sense of the word,
not just people who achieve great things, but how they go about doing so.
A character and a dignity that tells us that it is still possible
to be both successful…
…and noble.
Charlie, could you join me at the podium?
Now, there will be another, more formal ceremony to come,
but it gives me great pleasure
to present you with this honorary commemorative football.
When into the end zone you took that leap, so did our hearts leap.
You let us taste something, and it gives me great joy
to recognize the joy
that you have bestowed upon all of us.
Ladies and gentlemen, the 60-Minute Man.
Yeah, Charlie!
Whoo!
I, uh… I really don’t know what to say, uh…
He knows exactly what he’s gonna say.
…I was both honored and humbled.
I was tellin’ my son earlier, he’s sitting right there. Hey, buddy.
I was tellin’ him, at the time, we…
I just thought it was another football game.
The…
You never know how big a moment can get
and find yourself in the middle of.
You know, you never quite know your role.
I sure was proud to be a Yellow Jacket that day.
I had great teammates.
The irony, Mr. Mayor, is one of them is running for your job.
Uh-oh!
Norm Bagovitch was a hell of a football player, I’ll tell you that.
But we got a lot bigger challenges now
than whoopin’ Bulldogs and winnin’ national titles,
which is why we are lucky to have you, Wes.
A mayor who prioritizes character.
Goodness.
Hell, everybody everywhere is running around, chasing greatness
and not enough, you know,
pursuing goodness.
I, uh…
can’t help but think of my buddy Norm when I look at this football,
playing along beside me.
The thing about Norm…
He, uh…
was a hell of a football player.
What you don’t know about Norm,
maybe you all do…
Not the man we need most as mayor right now.
We need human.
We need compassion. We need Wes.
A man capable of feeling and seeing that…
…all of us are human.
Fragile as we are fallible…
weak.
Thank you for this football.
I will be forever proud of the leap I got to take that day.
When I was playing ball, I had this mantra.
“Today’s the day I do better.”
It was simple, but it helped me run faster,
hit the sled harder.
Made me better.
So I think I’ll close with that.
Today’s the day.
Thank you for this kind honor.
Surely, you got something else to say.
I said it all, Wes.
I will fuck you up the ass, my brother.
You do what you gotta do.
Deep into your motherfucking intestines.
I thank you kindly again for this honor.
Right here, please. Thank you.
That was a betrayal. That was a goddamn motherfucking betrayal.
Take a breather.
Fuck that.
We had a deal, and then he goes off and he gets up there
and Pearl Harbor-Benedict Arnold’s me in my Judas ass!
That motherfucker!
I think it went pretty well.
No, fuck that.
Wes.
Fuck that.
Roger, fuck that.
Okay.
Wes, just check the news.
Fuck that.
Never mind what miracles he pulled off with a football,
humanizing Wes Jordan may be Charlie Croker’s biggest Hail Mary yet.
Early reactions show a spike in the mayor’s popularity,
with most respondents favoring Jordan.
Believe that shit?
Was that your plan?
No, I was just up there flying without a paddle.
I can’t even get my metaphors right. That’s how lost I am.
Charlie, Wismer Stroock is here.
What? Oh, okay, I’m… I’ll be right out.
Hey.
Um…
I’m proud of you.
That was cool what you did. That was…
or what you didn’t do.
I… I don’t want you to be proud of me, Wally.
I mean, I do, more than anything, but…
Wiz.
I’m sorry to just show up.
Must be important. What’s going on?
Serena, Wally, excuse me and Wiz for a second.
What’s going on, Wiz?
Oh…
I received a call from Mitchell Heilbronner,
a real estate attorney.
I know Mitchell.
I’m sure you do.
He represents Herb Richman and others.
He called regarding a new entity,
“Big Red Dog LLC.”
Excuse me?
Herb is part of it.
So is Raymond Peepgrass.
In fact, Raymond heads it.
You conveyed part of The Concourse to Martha and Wally.
Part of the divorce settlement, as well as tax shelter, life insurance shit.
28% to Martha, 28 to a trust for Wally.
Get to the point.
A trust where Martha serves as trustee.
I said, get to the point.
The point is Big Red Dog LLC is in the process of getting
a majority interest in The Concourse.
♪ When you move in right up close to me… ♪
♪ That’s when I get The chills all over me ♪
♪ Quivers down my backbone Just the shakes down my thighbone… ♪
Charlie! Charlie!
♪ Shivers in the knee bone ♪
♪ Shakin’ all over ♪
♪ Well, you make me shake And I like it, babe ♪
♪ Just the way you say goodnight to me ♪
♪ Brings that feeling on inside of me ♪
♪ Quivers down my backbone… ♪
Martha!
♪ Got the shakes in my thighbone ♪
♪ I got me shivers on my knee bone ♪
♪ Shakin’ all over ♪
♪ Quivers down my backbone ♪
♪ I Got the shakes in my thighbone ♪
♪ I got me shivers in the knee bone ♪
♪ Shakin’ all over… ♪
Charlie!
You seek to take my Concourse?
Get out! What the fuck!
I need a word with Raymond.
I will call the police.
Go ahead.
But do it outside this room, please. I need a moment with Raymond.
You can’t just barge in here.
Get out, Martha!
I will call the police right fucking now.
You think you’re gonna take my building,
Mr. Big Red Dog?
It is a lawful and legal transaction.
My ex-wife and my son will not be transferring their interest in The Concourse to your LLC.
You can’t stop them.
And lucky for them. At least they’ll still have something.
As will you. That the idea?
Damn right.
How dare you?
It’s time I dare.
If not now, when?
Big red dog, indeed.
Do you know what a Macnab is Charlie? It’s a Scottish thing.
When you trespass onto somebody else’s estate, and you shoot a deer and a grouse, and you catch a salmon in his river, all on the same day.
Kind of like my big Macnab
getting The Concourse.
Now, the Macshag, that’s even better.
That’s when you fuck the landowner’s wife.
Open the door!
The police are on their way.
Be a minute!
Not a little bug anymore, am I?
No.
What are you doin’ in there? Charlie!
Locked up.
