| “ | You know, so much of the time we're just lost. We say, "Please, God, tell us what is right; tell us what is true." And there is no justice: the rich win, the poor are powerless. We become tired of hearing people lie. And after a time, we become dead... a little dead. We think of ourselves as victims... and we become victims. We become... we become weak. We doubt ourselves, we doubt our beliefs. We doubt our institutions. And we doubt the law. But today you are the law. You ARE the law. Not some book... not the lawyers... not the, a marble statue... or the trappings of the court. See those are just symbols of our desire to be just. They are... they are, in fact, a prayer: a fervent and a frightened prayer. In my religion, they say, "Act as if ye had faith... and faith will be given to you." IF... if we are to have faith in justice, we need only to believe in ourselves. And ACT with justice. See, I believe there is justice in our hearts. | „ |
| ~ Galvin's closing argument. |
Frank Galvin was the protagonist hero of the 1982 movie The Verdict.
He was portrayed by Paul Newman.
Galvin graduated from Boston College's law school. Galvin had a promising legal career ahead of him at an elite Boston law firm until he was framed for jury tampering by a partner due to his plans to expose the firm's underhanded activities. Because of this he left that firm and his marriage fell apart.
Descending into alcoholism after this, Galvin became little more than an ambulance chaser who had very few cases that he argued, losing all of them.
In 1982 Galvin's friend and former teacher Mickey asked him to take on a medical malpractice case where the defendant was sure to settle. The case had involved a young woman vomited while under anaesthetic and went into a coma as a result. Approached by the woman's family, he agreed to take the case.
When the Archdiocese of Boston - the owners of the hospital - offered to settle for $210,000 Galvin turned them down, feeling it was important to pursue the case to trial.
Despite a number of set backs Galvin was able to convince the jury that the doctors, and by extension the Archdiocese, were responsible for what happened to the young woman, shocking Galvin and everyone else in the courtroom. The jury asked for permission to award an amount above what the plaintiffs had requested.