THE WEST WING “TAKE THIS SABBATH DAY” TELEPLAY BY: AARON SORKIN STORY BY: LAWRENCE O’DONNELL JR., PAUL REDFORD & AARON SORKIN DIRECTED BY: THOMAS SCHLAMME TEASER FADE IN: INT. THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT - FRIDAY EVENING We see the panel of Supreme Court Judges sitting on the bench. One of them is reading a verdict in front of three public defenders. JUDGE Assuming arguendo that the district court erred in allowing the jury to consider non- statutory factors that were vague, overbroad or duplicative in violation of the eighth amendment such error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. The application for a stay of execution of the sentence of death, presented to the Chief Justice and referred by him to the court, is denied. The petition for a writ of certiorary is denied. The petitioner is remanded to the federal facility in Terre Haute, Indiana, to be executed by lethal injection, Monday morning at 12:01 a.m. At the sound of the gavel, we-- CUT TO: INT. HALLWAY - NIGHT The three public defenders are walking down the hall. P.D. 1 Who’s our guy at the White House? JERRY It’s over. P.D. 1 Jerry... JERRY It’s over. P.D. 1 Who’s our guy at the White House? JERRY We don’t have a guy at the White House. P.D. 1 I’m saying who can we call right now? JERRY At eight o’clock on a Friday? P.D. 1 Yes. JERRY The switchboard operator. P.D. 1 Jerry, who do we know who’s got the ear of the President? JERRY Nobody! BOBBY Sam Seaborn. [They all stop walking.] JERRY You know Seaborn? BOBBY I used to beat him up in high school. JERRY You’re kidding me. BOBBY No. P.D. 1 You can call him right now? BOBBY Yeah. P.D. 1 He’ll take the call? BOBBY Let’s find out. CUT TO: INT. THE WHITE HOUSE - JOSH'S BULLPEN AREA - NIGHT Josh had just finished work and is about to leave. He tries to tell Donna that he’s going to go. JOSH I’m out of here. DONNA You’ve got to see Sam. Josh turns back and walks the other way. Donna joins him into the HALLWAY. JOSH I’m seeing Sam, and then I’m out of here. DONNA Are you going to behave yourself tonight? JOSH It’s a bachelor party. DONNA I’m saying... JOSH I can hold my liquor. DONNA No you can’t. JOSH I can drink with the best of them. DONNA You can’t drink with any of them, Josh. JOSH I’m in politics, okay. I can drink. DONNA You have a very sensitive system. JOSH I wish you’d stop telling people that. It makes me sound like an idiot. DONNA You’re gonna have two drinks and spend the rest of the weekend sleeping it off. JOSH And this is the first time in a long time I’ve had the opportunity to spend the weekend doing anything but working, is my point. DONNA Are there going to be strippers? JOSH Nah. DONNA Really? JOSH Yeah. DONNA Tell me the truth. JOSH There aren’t going to be strippers there. Men don’t like that anymore. DONNA Men don’t like naked women anymore? JOSH No, we still like naked women a lot. It’s looking at them in a room full of your best friends that makes you feel a little... DONNA Sleazy? JOSH Uncomfortable. Josh walks up to Sam as he comes out of the COMMUNICATIONS OFFICE. Donna walks away. JOSH Sam. SAM Hi. JOSH I’m out of here. What do you need? [They start walking.] SAM [calls to office in general] What do I need? BONNIE O’Dwyer. SAM Yes. I need you to do me a favor. JOSH On O’Dwyer? SAM His people are calling. They want to know what’s going on. JOSH Who’s his people? SAM A campaign manager. A guy named Joey Lucas. JOSH Never heard of him. SAM Me neither. JOSH What’s he like? SAM I didn’t speak with him. I spoke with his assistant. JOSH What’s the favor? SAM I scheduled a meeting for tomorrow with him to try to figure out what’s going on. JOSH Aren’t you going sailing tomorrow? SAM Yeah. JOSH Then how are you gonna... [light dawns] Oh, come on! SAM Ten minutes. They had gone back to the COMMUNICATIONS OFFICE. JOSH On a Saturday! SAM Well, do you have plans? JOSH I was planning on doing nothing. SAM Ten minutes, fifteen minutes tops. JOSH Sam... SAM He’s going to be very excited to meet with you. Joshua Lyman, Deputy Chief of Staff. He can hear it from the horse’s mouth. JOSH What am I supposed to tell him? SAM On O’Dwyer? JOSH Yeah. Donna walks up. SAM Tell him the truth. JOSH I don’t think so. What else you got? DONNA What time? SAM 10:00 tomorrow morning. DONNA [to Josh] You have to be here at 10:00 tomorrow morning. JOSH We have to be here at 10:00 tomorrow morning. DONNA Why me? JOSH ‘Cause you work for me. DONNA [pouts] I have things to do tomorrow morning, Josh. It was my Saturday too. JOSH What things? DONNA I have to go shopping. JOSH For what? DONNA Whatever! It’s Saturday. JOSH Ten minutes. When it’s over I’ll buy you some shoes. DONNA [smiles] Really? [leaves] JOSH I’m out of here. SAM I’m bringing back the Cup, man. JOSH Sam, just stay in the boat this time and I’m a happy guy. SAM Okay. JOSH Good luck. [walks off] SAM [shouting after Josh] I’ve got foul weather gear. JOSH [shouts back] See you later. Bonnie is getting ready to leave. So is Sam. They start to put on their jackets. SAM Bonnie, I’m done? BONNIE You’re done. SAM I’m cutting the cord, Bonnie. I’m gonna be unreachable for the weekend. BONNIE Good. SAM Not taking my pager. [puts it on desk] Not taking my cell phone. [puts it next to pager] BONNIE You’ve earned it! SAM Out on the ocean blue. Totally cut off from the White House. BONNIE It’ll be good for you. SAM [to himself] I’m taking my pager. [sticks it in his coat pocket] Should probably take my cell phone too. [picks it up] No. No. Cutting the cord. [puts it down] Not taking the cell phone. [pulls pager out and puts it on desk] Not taking the pager. BONNIE Sam. SAM Yeah? BONNIE You need to relax. SAM Yeah. BONNIE Have a good weekend. SAM You too. Bonnie leaves. The phone rings as Sam is leaving. He looks at it, then shuts off the light and closes the door behind him. The phone rings some more before Sam comes back in and picks it up. SAM Sam Seaborn. SMASH CUT TO: MAIN TITLES. END TEASER * * * ACT ONE FADE IN: INT. COURTHOUSE - NIGHT Sam and BOBBY ZANE, one of the public defenders, are walking through. SAM Is he guilty? BOBBY That’s not the point. SAM Is he guilty? BOBBY Sam. SAM Bobby, is he guilty? BOBBY In ‘94 Justice Blackmun officially went on record... SAM Bobby! BOBBY It was a drug cartel. He killed two kingpins. SAM You want me to argue it was a public service measure? BOBBY Sam, I’m not talking about a couple of schoolgirls. SAM Blackmun’s in support of the death penalty. BOBBY I tell you he reversed himself in ‘94. “From this day forward,” he said, “I no longer shall tinker with the machinery of death.” SAM Yes. BOBBY “I feel morally and intellectually obligated simply to concede that the death penalty experiment has failed.” SAM You don’t have to quote Harry Blackmun with me. BOBBY You are going to go to the President, and you’re gonna tell him he can’t run from this one. He’s got to consider my client. You’re gonna tell him that. SAM I don’t talk to the President that way, Bobby. Nobody talks to the President that way. And I’m gonna tell you not that many people talk to me that way anymore. BOBBY I’ve got a guy 48 hours away from death. You’re gonna make this personal? SAM How long you been with the P.D.’s office? BOBBY About two years. SAM I heard you were at Ross-Lipton. BOBBY Yeah, I was. SAM What happened? BOBBY They gave me a partnership and a corner office, Sam. What do you think happened? SAM The President’s very serious about the separation of powers. BOBBY Yeah, but so’s the Constitution. In Article 2, Section 2 says, “He shall have the power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States.” SAM Thanks for pointing that out. I’m saying the judicial branch has spoken, so why should...? BOBBY Oh, that’s what he’s going to hide behind? SAM The President’s not hiding behind anything. Right now the President’s on Air Force One coming back home from Stockholm. BOBBY So when does he land? SAM Around 9:00 a.m. BOBBY That’s when you’re going to talk to him? SAM Well, I won’t be here tomorrow morning, but I’ll ask Toby Ziegler to talk... BOBBY Where are you going? SAM Bobby. BOBBY Sam. SAM I’ll pass it up to Toby Ziegler. He’ll ask for a few minutes of the President’s time, but I have to be honest with you. After a long trip... BOBBY He’ll talk to the President first thing in the morning? SAM Well, it’s Saturday. I think Toby will probably be at temple first thing in the morning. BOBBY What temple? SAM Bobby. BOBBY What temple? SAM I don’t know the name of the temple. BOBBY You know where it is? SAM [caught off guard] I think it’s on Delaware. BOBBY Thank you. Sam is a little surprised after Bobby quickly walks away. CUT TO: INT. SAM’S OFFICE - NIGHT Sam returns to his office to grab his bag. CUT TO: INT. HALLWAY - NIGHT Leo comes out of the Roosevelt Room. Sam sees him behind. They walk together. SAM Leo. LEO I thought you left. SAM I just came back to get my bag. LEO What’s going on? SAM They denied the appeal. LEO Simon Cruz. SAM Yeah. LEO I thought they were sending it back to the... SAM Me too. LEO No, our guy said they were going to send it back to the sixth circuit. SAM Well they didn’t. The denied the appeal five-three. LEO That’s not what was supposed to happen. SAM We’ve got the get Mendoza on the Bench. LEO Come on. SAM Leo. LEO If Mendoza was on the bench, they would have lost five-four. So what are we talking about? SAM The execution is scheduled... LEO What? They reach LEO’S OFFICE. SAM The execution is scheduled for 12:01 Monday morning, so the ball’s in our court. LEO I’m not sure the President wants the ball in our court. SAM Well, that makes two of us. LEO Have a good weekend. SAM You’re not gonna... LEO He lands at 9:00 tomorrow morning. I’ll let him sleep a little bit then I’ll talk it through with him. SAM I can brief Toby before I leave. LEO Right. SAM I’ll see you later. [starts to leave] LEO Sam. SAM Yeah? [turns back] LEO Why Monday morning? SAM What do you mean? LEO The court denied the appeal. Why isn’t he being executed at midnight tonight? SAM We don’t execute people between sundown Friday and sundown Sunday. LEO Why? SAM Hard as it is to believe... LEO [figures it out for himself] You’re kidding me. SAM No. LEO We don’t execute people on the Sabbath. SAM No. LEO Well, that’s about the most bizarre thing I’ve ever heard. SAM Leo, I think you’re gonna find as you go through this weekend that there’s virtually no part of this discussion that isn’t bizarre. I’m gonna go home now. I got to race in the morning. [leaves] LEO [calls after Sam] Hold on to a rope or something, would you. SAM Yeah. Sam leaves. The camera closes on Leo. LEO Damn it. CUT TO: INT. NORTHWEST LOBBY - NIGHT Sam goes to sign out. He picks up the pen and thinks. He changes his mind and heads back. CUT TO: INT. SAM’S OFFICE - NIGHT Sam sets down his bag, pulls a book off the shelf and sits down at his desk. He turns on the light, puts on his glasses and starts reading. FADE TO: INT. JOSH'S BULLPEN AREA - DAY SATURDAY, 9:00 A.M. Donna arrives. She puts down her bag and hangs her jacket. She opens the door to JOSH’S OFFICE. She finds Josh lying on the floor in front of his desk in disgustingly dirty clothes, snoring. DONNA Josh. Josh snores. DONNA Josh! Josh, sputtering, wakes up and sits up, blinking. He is very obviously hung over, and has a pair of lacy red panties around his neck. JOSH Hi. DONNA What are you doing? JOSH What? DONNA Did you spend the night here? JOSH No. Just since a couple of hours ago. DONNA The party went to morning? JOSH Yup. DONNA Why didn’t you go home? JOSH What? DONNA Why didn’t you go home after the party? JOSH I couldn’t find my keys, or remember where I lived. [pulls the panties off over his head] DONNA Josh. JOSH I think there might have been strippers there. [gets up] DONNA [yells] Oh my God! Josh shushes her. DONNA What happened to your clothes? JOSH I may have wrinkled my suit. DONNA Josh! JOSH Donna. You... You really want to speak very softly. DONNA How did you get like this? JOSH People were pouring champagne over each other. DONNA And then wrestling in dirt? JOSH I can’t remember, but it’s certainly not out of the question. DONNA You have a meeting. JOSH Yeah, I know. I’m not, you know. Uh... what was the meeting again? DONNA Joey Lucas about O’Dwyer. JOSH Yes. [puts on his suit jacket.] DONNA Josh. JOSH I’m fine. DONNA You can’t wear those clothes. [holds her nose] JOSH I’m fine. DONNA Trust me. JOSH They’re the only clothes I got. DONNA I’ll find some other clothes. JOSH Fine. [sits in his chair as Donna starts to leave] DONNA Are you going to listen to me from now on? JOSH [under breath] I’m not even listening to you now. DONNA [shouts] I said, are you going to listen... JOSH Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Donna leaves and Josh slumps forward onto his desk. CUT TO: EXT. ANDREW'S AIR FORCE BASE - DAY Leo gets out of a limousine. He walks toward Bartlet, C.J. and Charlie as they come off of Air Force One. BARTLET C.J., look... C.J. Don’t start with me, Mr. President. BARTLET I was helping pass the time. I was being entertaining as well as instructive. C.J. I’m back in America now, I have rights. I’m no longer belted down next to the passenger from hell. LEO [walks up] Welcome back, Mr. President. BARTLET Leo! What’re you doing here? LEO I needed a minute, sir. How was the flight? C.J. It was -- BARTLET Great! C.J. -- gruesome. “If you’ll look out the left side of the cabin, you’ll see the fjords.” Then we got a history of the fjords. Then we got a quiz on the fjords. [to Bartlet] Do you have any idea how much I would like to dress you up in lederhosen and drop kick you into the fjords right now? BARTLET Aww. You don’t know how to have fun when we’re traveling... C.J. and Bartlet get into the car. CHARLIE [quietly to Leo] It was quite a trip. [gets into car] LEO [under breath] It ain’t over yet. He gets into the limousine. C.J. sneezes as they drive off. FADE OUT. END ACT ONE * * * ACT TWO FADE IN: INT. JOSH’S OFFICE - DAY Donna walks into Josh's office with bright yellow hip-waders in one hand and a cup in the other. DONNA Josh. JOSH Huh. DONNA Here. [puts foul weather gear on desk] JOSH What’s that? DONNA It’s Sam’s foul weather gear. Drink this. [puts cup on desk] JOSH Coffee? DONNA It’s strong. Drink it all. Donna walks out. Josh drinks, gags, and lets the coffee run out of his mouth down the front of his shirt. JOSH Blah. DONNA [comes back in] It’s from yesterday, so it might not be hot anymore. JOSH What time is this person coming? DONNA Forty minutes. Put this on. [indicates hip-waders] JOSH I’m not wearing that. DONNA There’s a one-hour cleaners on Connecticut. JOSH He’s getting here in forty minutes. DONNA Zuzu will do it in half an hour. JOSH Who’s Zuzu? DONNA The guy from the dry cleaners, Josh. Change your clothes! JOSH His name is Zuzu? DONNA Change your clothes. JOSH I’ll look like the Gorton’s fisherman in this thing. [gets up and starts to change] CUT TO: INT. JEWISH SYNAGOGUE - DAY People sit down as the rabbi starts his sermon. We see Toby in the crowd. RABBI With Passover on the horizon, millions of Jews will gather round Seder tables, will sing our songs and ask our questions. Toby's beeper suddenly goes off. People look at him. RABBI [cont.] About the stick that beat the dog that bit the cat that ate the kid. Toby checks his beeper, then gets up and works his way out of the row and walks to the back while the rabbi continues. RABBI [cont.] We’ll sing not only to entertain our children but to be reminded by the Haggadah, the simple truth. That violence begets violence. Vengeance is not Jewish. We’ll pour ten drops... CUT TO: INT. SYNAGOGUE ENTRANCEWAY - CONTINUOUS Toby gets to the entranceway and pulls out his cell phone, dials. CUT TO: INT. SAM’S OFFICE - DAY The phone rings and Sam answers it. SAM Sam Seaborn. TOBY What do you want? SAM How ya doing? TOBY Sam, I’m at temple right now. SAM Yeah, by any chance is your rabbi giving a sermon on capital punishment? TOBY What? SAM Is your rabbi giving a sermon on capital punishment? Toby puts his cell phone to his shoulder and listens to the rabbi. RABBI No matter how deep our desire to witness the sufferings of our enemies, we are commanded to relocate our humanity. Vengeance is not Jewish. We are commanded to relocate... TOBY [puts the phone back to his ear] Yeah, he is. How did you know that? SAM I’ll explain it to you when you get over here. TOBY Why am I coming over there? SAM The appeal was denied. TOBY All right, I’m on my way. Toby puts his phone away. Just as we hear the rabbi say “quietly,” he leans slightly against a stack of folded metal chairs and then watches in horror as they slide to the floor in a horrendous crash. CUT TO: INT. JOSH’S OFFICE - DAY A man and a woman burst in, to find Josh in an undershirt and the hip-waders. JOEY LUCAS, a deaf campaign manager is signing and her assistant, KENNY THURMAN is translating. JOEY [KENNY] Are you the unmitigated jackass who has the DNC choking off funding for the O’Dwyer campaign in the California forty-sixth? JOSH [bleary] What is God’s name is happening right now? JOEY [KENNY] I’m Joey Lucas. JOSH [to Kenny] You’re Joey Lucas? Kenny looks at Joey, then back at Josh. JOEY [KENNY] No, I’m Joey Lucas. JOSH Help me, ‘cause I... I don’t... JOEY [yells] You idiot. I’m. Joey. Lucas. JOSH Ah. [pause] Ah, okay. I’m Josh Lyman. JOEY [KENNY] I know who you are. JOSH You’re Joey Lucas. JOEY [KENNY] What were you expecting? JOSH A man. JOEY [KENNY] I’m a woman. JOSH You’re O’Dwyer’s campaign manager? JOEY [KENNY] Yes, and I have three sources, two at the DNC... Josh stands up. JOEY What the hell are you wearing? JOSH Me? JOEY Yes. JOSH [looks down at himself] I was... I uh... I... I spilt some things on my clothes. Tell you what, let’s... let’s just take a deep breath for a second while I try and remember, you know, where I am right now. Josh walks around the desk, obviously to within smelling distance of Joey, who covers her nose. JOEY [KENNY] Are you drunk? JOSH I have a very delicate system. JOEY [KENNY] Okay, look, I’m totally serious about this. I’m trying to get a guy elected to Congress. It’s gonna be a very tight race and I want to know why the White House is screwing around with me. DONNA [comes to the door, holding Josh's suit] Excuse me. JOSH Thank God. DONNA What’s going on? JOSH [to Joey] This is my assistant, Donna Moss. Donna, Joey Lucas. DONNA [to Joey] Hi. JOSH I’m just going to go... I... I... I’m... I’m gonna go change my clothes. I’ll... I’ll be right back. Josh and Donna walk out to the HALLWAY. JOSH Took you long enough. DONNA I got stuck at Dupont Circle again. JOSH You have any idea how dumb I looked in there? DONNA So Joey Lucas is a woman. JOSH Yes. DONNA And she’s deaf. JOSH Yes. DONNA Cool. JOSH Give me those. He takes the clothes and heads into a room while Donna stays outside. DONNA You need to go see Sam. JOSH What’s Sam doing here? DONNA He told me to tell you the appeal was denied. JOSH What are you talking about? DONNA All he said was “The appeal was denied.” JOSH [nickel drops] Oh, man. Make sure they’re going to be okay in there. This might take a few minutes. CUT TO: INT. COMMUNICATIONS OFFICE - DAY Sam and Mandy are doing research. Toby is just standing there, looking at Sam. TOBY Are you saying my rabbi wrote a sermon just for me? SAM Yeah. TOBY How did he know what was going on here? SAM One of the public defenders, guy named Bobby Zane... TOBY One of the public defenders spoke to my rabbi? SAM Yeah. TOBY How did he know where I go to temple? How did he know I even go to temple? JOSH [comes in, tucking in his shirt] I thought they were sending it back to the sixth circuit. TOBY I thought so too. JOSH Where’s the President? SAM He’s in the residence. JOSH Are we getting a briefing from Justice? SAM He’ll be here in a minute. JOSH When’s the execution? SAM Sunday, 12:01. MANDY Monday, 12:01. SAM Minute after midnight tomorrow. JOSH Lethal injection? SAM Yeah. MANDY [looks at Josh in disgust] Josh, you sleep in a dumpster last night? JOSH Possibly. [to Sam] Hey, why aren’t you sailing right now? SAM I stayed. MANDY Is there any evidence that capital punishment serves as a deterrent? SAM Speculative evidence at best. MANDY What are the stats on federal executions and the President stepping in? SAM ‘63 was the last execution. MANDY Who was the last President to commute the sentence? JOSH Lincoln. MANDY Abraham? JOSH No, Bert Lincoln. Mandy, what are you-? MANDY I’m asking. I’m surprised. JOSH I don’t want a debate on the death penalty. Let’s get some stuff together and get ready for the President. MANDY I’m gonna start working with C.J. [leaves] JOSH I gotta get back to... [starts to leave] Oh... By the way, Sam. Joey Lucas is waiting for me in my office right now. SAM Well, what’s he like? JOSH Well, for a campaign manager, he’s got very nice legs. SAM He’s a woman? JOSH Yes. He is. He’s also deaf. And very pissed. Be right back. [leaves] TOBY [looking pissed] Sam. SAM You know there’s room to give the President some judicial cover if he wants to commute. TOBY Sam. SAM This guy was convicted of three murders by a Mexican court. Does that matter to us? During the penalty phase, the trial judge let the prosecutor introduce the evidence of the Mexican convictions. TOBY I know. SAM Well, the Mexican courts are ridiculous, Toby. That never should have... TOBY How did the public defender know I was at that temple? SAM I’m saying, this guy didn’t have the world’s greatest legal council. TOBY How did he know where I was going to be? SAM I told him. TOBY You told him. SAM Yeah. TOBY Sam, what’re you doing giving out that kind of information- SAM I know. I don’t know. Right at that moment it seemed like what I should do. TOBY He’s not going to commute the sentence, Sam. SAM We don’t know what the President’s gonna do. TOBY It seemed like what you should do? SAM Yeah. TOBY Okay. [leaves] CUT TO: INT. THE PRESIDENT’S BEDROOM - DAY Bartlet is dressing up. Leo is briefing him. LEO So, anyway, he was tried and found guilty four years ago in the district court in Michigan. And the sixth circuit turned down his appeal. The Supreme Court gave him a stay, heard the case, turned him down five-three. BARTLET We got to get Mendoza on the bench. LEO Well, that’s Monday’s problem. Your problem’s today. BARTLET Why is it my problem at all? LEO As opposed to who? BARTLET The governor of Michigan. LEO Oh, you mean, why isn’t it a state crime. BARTLET Yeah. LEO It was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney under the ‘88 drug kingpin law that was modified into the ‘94 omnibus crime bill. BARTLET Which allows for the death penalty in certain drug related homicides. LEO Well, basically. The deputy AG’s office is putting together a briefing for you. BARTLET How long? LEO About an hour. BARTLET Okay, I’ll wait for that then. LEO Yeah. BARTLET I’m gonna want to see our people over the next few days. LEO Everyone’s here now or on their way. BARTLET I’m not going to be very good at this, Leo. LEO Well, you’ll be joining a pretty big club, Mr. President. BARTLET Yeah. [calls] Charlie! LEO I’ll call you when the guys have put something together. BARTLET Thank you. LEO Thank you, Mr. President. [leaves] CHARLIE [comes in] Yes sir. BARTLET Charlie, there’s a priest in Hanover. His name is Thomas Cavanaugh. He’s at the Immaculate Heart of Mary. I’d like to arrange to have him come down and spend some time with me this weekend. Very important that the White House not pay for this. This is my nickel. CHARLIE Yes sir. BARTLET And I’m gonna want to... [stops] CHARLIE I’m sorry, sir? BARTLET No. No, never mind. [pause] Yeah. I’m gonna want to talk to the Pope. CHARLIE Yes sir. BARTLET Charlie. CHARLIE Yes sir. BARTLET [gets up and walks over to Charlie] I’m gonna ask you a question. And this is one of those times that it’s okay to tell me I’ve stepped over the line, and I should shut my mouth, okay. CHARLIE Okay. BARTLET What happened to the guy who shot your mother? CHARLIE They haven’t found him yet sir. BARTLET If they did, would you wanna see him executed? Charlie just looks at him. BARTLET Killing a police officer’s a capital crime. I figured you must have thought about it. CHARLIE Yes sir. BARTLET And? CHARLIE I wouldn’t want to see him executed, Mr. President -- Bartlet nods. CHARLIE -- I’d wanna do it myself. BARTLET [looks thoughtful] Yeah. CHARLIE I’ll get the ball rolling on these arrangements. BARTLET Thank you, Charlie. CHARLIE Thank you, Mr. President. [leaves] FADE OUT. END ACT TWO * * * ACT THREE FADE IN: INT. JOSH’S OFFICE - DAY Josh is back in his meeting. JOEY [KENNY] I’m running a campaign against a Conservative Republican who’s held his seat for over thirty years. He opposed gay rights, abortion, gun control, and raising the minimum wage. And supports government sponsored prayer in the schools and amending the Bill of Rights to prohibit burning an American flag. Now for the first time in three decades, we have a chance to beat him. Why are you telling the DNC to cut down my funding? JOSH Because you have a chance to beat him. JOEY [KENNY] Excuse me? JOSH We’ve been watching your campaign. You’re doing way too well. JOEY [KENNY] Are you deranged? JOSH He’s a preposterous figure. We want to keep him right where he is. JOEY [KENNY] You mean you want to keep him on as a poster boy for the Radical Right? JOSH Joey, every time he comes out with one of his declarations about brown people crossing the border, the DNC slaps it into a direct mail campaign, and he’s good for two or three million dollars. JOEY [KENNY] I want to speak to the President. JOSH [laughs] No problem. JOEY [KENNY] I’m perfectly serious. JOSH The President doesn’t take meetings on this level. I don’t even take meetings on this level! JOEY [KENNY] What level is that? JOSH Joey. [walks to the door] JOEY [KENNY] You can be afraid of me, pal. I can create problems for you, you’ve never even heard of. JOSH I’m not hearing a lot of party loyalty from you here, Joey. JOEY [KENNY] Well, maybe if your head wasn’t so far up your... JOSH Hey! JOEY I want to speak to the President! JOSH [shouting] Hey, Lunatic Lady! Trust me when I tell you that there’s absolutely no way that you are going to see the President! BARTLET [walks up] Hey, Josh. JOSH Hello, Mr. President. Welcome back. BARTLET How are you? JOSH Well, I’d like this day to be over pretty bad. BARTLET Who are your friends? JOSH Uh, this is Joey Lucas. BARTLET [to Joey] How are you? JOEY Honored to meet you, Mr. President. BARTLET Thank you. JOSH [indicates Kenny] And this is Kenny... somebody. BARTLET Hi, Kenny. KENNY Thurman. JOSH We were just finishing up. BARTLET I was just wandering the halls and thinking. JOSH Why don’t you let me show these people off and, uh, I can wander the halls with you. BARTLET [to Joey] You ever seen the White House? JOEY No sir. BARTLET Let’s take a walk. JOSH Sir. BARTLET Come on. Joey looks triumphant as she follows Bartlet out the office. JOSH Yes sir. CUT TO: INT. HALLWAY - DAY C.J. and Carol are walking through the COMMUNICATIONS OFFICE towards C.J.’S OFFICE. C.J. Carol. Good. I need biographical information on Simon Cruz. CAROL Is it C-R-U-Z? C.J. I don’t know. CAROL What kind of biographical information? C.J. Gonna need to know how to spell his name for sure. They head down the hall as the camera follows Bartlet and Joey, who are trailed by Josh and Kenny. BARTLET Do you read lips? JOEY Yes sir. BARTLET Joey? JOEY Yes sir. BARTLET Is that short for Joanne? JOEY Josephine. BARTLET And your last name is Lucas? JOEY Yes sir. BARTLET Is that Polish? JOEY Dutch. BARTLET Protestant? JOEY Quaker. They walk into THE OVAL OFFICE. Joey is completely in awe. BARTLET Well, this is the Oval Office. Come in, please. Sit down. He sits on chair, with Joey and Kenny on the opposite couch. Josh stands by the door. BARTLET Well, where did you go to school? JOEY [KENNY] UCLA and Stanford. BARTLET There’s a guy named Simon Cruz on death row. He’s going to be executed in about 36 hours. What do you think I should do? JOEY [KENNY] [thinks] Stay the execution. BARTLET Why? JOEY [KENNY] Because the state shouldn’t kill people. BARTLET He was found guilty of a double murder and drug trafficking. JOEY [KENNY] Send him to prison. BARTLET You’re against capital punishment. JOEY [KENNY] Yes sir. BARTLET Did you study St. Augustine at Stanford? JOEY [KENNY] Yes sir. BARTLET Thomas Aquinas? JOEY [KENNY] Yes sir. BARTLET Two pretty smart guys, right? JOEY [KENNY] Yes sir. BARTLET They believed in that part of the Old Testament which said, “Who sheddeth a man’s blood by man shall his blood be shed.” JOEY [KENNY] And Immanuel Kant said that the death penalty is a categorical imperative. But, Mr. President, those writings are from other centuries. BARTLET I’ve got a Harris poll says seventy-one percent of the American people support capital punishment. JOEY [KENNY] That’s a political problem. BARTLET I’m a politician. JOEY [KENNY] Yes sir. Bartlet looks up at Josh, who gets the idea. JOSH Thank you, Mr. President. We should... [gestures to the door] Everyone stands. Bartlet turns to walk to his desk, but Joey reaches out to get his attention. JOEY Excuse me. JOEY [KENNY] Mr. President, I’m here ‘cause I’m running a campaign for Bill O’Dwyer, who’s running... BARTLET In the California forty-sixth? JOEY [KENNY] Yes sir. BARTLET O’Dwyer’s an empty shirt. JOEY [KENNY] Sir? BARTLET I don’t like guys who run for congress because they think it’s a great gig. Find yourself a live one and I’ll get interested. In the meantime, the devil you know beats the devil you don’t. And I like the devil I got. JOEY [KENNY] But, sir... BARTLET Josh will take care of you from here. Joey and Kenny pass Josh as they leave the room and continue walking. JOEY [KENNY] We’re going back to the hotel. KENNY It was nice meeting you. JOSH [to Joey] Nice to meet you. KENNY That was me saying that. JOSH [to Joey] You didn’t have a good time meeting me? Joey gives him the “universal sign.” JOSH You know what, I actually know that sign. Joey spells out something else and leaves, followed by Kenny. JOSH Don’t know that one, but I can probably guess. CUT TO: INT. JEWISH SYNAGOGUE - DAY SUNDAY MORNING, 9:10 A.M. A singer is walking down the aisle in the synagogue with her accompanist. SINGER I just want to go through this piece a few times. The camera moves to RABBI GLASSMAN, who is sitting in a pew. Toby walks up from behind him. TOBY Rabbi Glassman. RABBI GLASSMAN Toby. I didn’t hear you, which is fairly unusual. TOBY [chuckles] Yeah. [sits on a pew behind the rabbi] RABBI GLASSMAN You missed the end of my sermon yesterday. TOBY Yeah, well, I had to go back to my office and I think you know why. RABBI GLASSMAN A lawyer named Bobby Zane called me Friday night. He told me what was happening. He asked if I had any influence in Toby Ziegler. I told him clearly he hadn’t spent any time with Toby Ziegler. The singer starts her song in the background. TOBY Um? [gestures to singer] RABBI GLASSMAN Oh. I’m having a funeral service in the morning. She’s practicing a piece. TOBY That’s funny. RABBI GLASSMAN What? TOBY I never imagined the practicing. RABBI GLASSMAN Day and night. TOBY Rabbi. You - and Bobby Zane - what were you expecting of me when you gave your sermon yesterday? RABBI GLASSMAN Well, I suppose it was some hope you might take the Sabbath day to consider your position. TOBY As Communications Director, uh, I’m a counselor to the President to be sure. But my role in these situations is generally... I create a public face for what... I don’t influence policy. RABBI GLASSMAN Of course you do. TOBY You want me to go into the Oval Office and say, “Vengeance is not Jewish”? RABBI [shrugs] Why not? TOBY Well, for one thing, neither is the President! RABBI GLASSMAN You can say all you want about the Catholic Church, but their position on life is unimpeachable. No abortion, no death penalty. TOBY Look, I... I spent the day... RABBI GLASSMAN You spent the day hoping the President wouldn’t call the Pope. TOBY You’re damn right. I did. RABBI GLASSMAN If he had commuted the sentence after talking to the Pope, the worst fears of every non-Catholic who voted for him would be realized. Both chuckle. TOBY Congratulations, Rabbi Glassman, you may now join the White House communications staff. RABBI GLASSMAN Look, Toby, you look like you’re having a long weekend. I appreciate the courtesy of you stopping by. TOBY Yeah, well, you’re welcome. [Both get up.] The Torah doesn’t prohibit capital punishment. RABBI GLASSMAN No. TOBY It says, “An eye for an eye.” RABBI GLASSMAN You know what it also says? It says a rebellious child can be brought to the city gates and stoned to death. It says homosexuality is an abomination and punishable by death. It says men can be polygamous and slavery is acceptable. For all I know, that thinking reflected the best wisdom of its time, but it’s just plain wrong by any modern standard. Society has a right to protect itself, but it doesn’t have a right to be vengeful. It has a right to punish, but it doesn’t have to kill. TOBY You know what I think? I think you knew I was coming back here. And I think you put her there on purpose. [gestures to singer] RABBI GLASSMAN She’s our communications director. TOBY [chuckles] Yeah. Well, anyway. RABBI GLASSMAN Shalom, Toby. TOBY Shalom, Rabbi. [leaves] CUT TO: INT. C.J.’S OFFICE - DAY C.J. is sitting in her office, looking at a picture of three children playing. She is obviously bothered by something. Mandy comes in. MANDY C.J. C.J. Yeah. MANDY You have everything you need? C.J. Yeah. MANDY I mean for a briefing. C.J. I have his biographical information. His mother’s name is Sophia. Sophia. MANDY You’re gonna need more than that. C.J. I have more than that. MANDY Okay. [starts to leave] C.J. You know, I have no position on capital punishment. I try to get worked up about it, it seems like I should. But the truth is, I honestly don’t care if Simon Cruz lives or dies. And I suppose if it brings some measure of comfort to the families of the victims, then why the hell not. MANDY That’s valid. C.J. So, here’s my job tonight. If this thing happens. [opens a folder, puts on glasses and starts to read] “At 12:01, he’ll get the injection...” MANDY C.J. [comes next to C.J.’S desk] C.J. No, I’m saying, I’m reading it, right here. “The first sign of death will be his hands twitching. After sixty seconds, he’ll strain against the straps, his head will have snapped back violently, and after ninety seconds he’ll be in convulsions. At 12:04, he’ll be pronounced dead.” MANDY He killed two people, probably more. I’m sorry. I don’t get worked up over it. C.J. Me neither. That’s what I’m saying, me neither. Except... at 12:04, ‘cause that’s when the warden calls me. That’s my job tonight. I have to go in and tell the President that Simon Cruz is dead and we’re the ones who killed him. So... [pause] I just wish I didn’t know his mother’s name was Sophia, is all I’m saying. MANDY [beat] Okay. Mandy leaves. C.J. continues to stare into space, looking even more upset. FADE OUT. END ACT THREE * * * ACT FOUR FADE IN: INT. THE OVAL OFFICE - NIGHT SUNDAY, 6:15 P.M. Bartlet is sitting at his desk, reading. Nancy comes in. NANCY Mr. President, Toby’s here. BARTLET Okay. TOBY [comes in] Good afternoon, sir. Welcome back. BARTLET Thank you. TOBY How was your trip? BARTLET Fine. What do you need? TOBY I had a strange experience this weekend. One of the P.D.s on the Cruz case, I guess trying the things you do when you’re desperate, he went and spoke to my rabbi. BARTLET Jewish law doesn’t prohibit... TOBY I know. BARTLET The commandment does not say, “Thou shalt not kill.” It says, “Thou shalt not murder.” TOBY I know. But the fact is that, even two thousand years ago, the rabbis of the Talmud couldn’t... [tries to find the right word] ...stomach it. I mean, they weren’t about to rewrite the Torah, but they came up with another way. They came up with legal restrictions, which make our criminal justice system look... They made it impossible for the state... to punish someone by killing them. BARTLET We make it very hard to kill anybody in this country, Toby. TOBY It should be impossible. BARTLET But it’s not. TOBY But it should be. They just stare at each other until Leo comes in. BARTLET Hey. LEO Hey. What’s going on? BARTLET Toby went to Shul. Leo looks back and forth between Bartlet and Toby. TOBY Yeah. Thank you, Mr. President. [leaves] LEO [sits in front of Bartlet] Japan opened huge. BARTLET Yeah. LEO Up two cents against the Yen. BARTLET I commute this guy, for no particular reason other than I don’t like the death penalty... LEO I know. BARTLET And the next President sees it in a different way. I’ve laid track to all kinds of... The next guy is gonna have eighth amendment problems up the ass. LEO Well, if that’s the only thing that’s stopping you... BARTLET We cannot execute some people and not execute others depending on the mood of the Oval Office. It’s cruel and unusual. LEO If that’s the only thing stopping you, then I’ll say this for the first time in your Presidency... Let that be the next guy’s problem. There’s a knock at the door, then Nancy sticks her head in. NANCY Sir. Sam Seaborn? BARTLET Okay. Give me a minute please, Nancy. [looks at Leo and shakes his head] LEO I’ll take care of it. BARTLET Thank you. CUT TO: INT. OUTER OVAL OFFICE - NIGHT Sam and Charlie are just outside the Oval Office. SAM The U.S. is one of five countries on earth that puts to death people who’re under the age of 18 when they committed a crime. CHARLIE Nigeria. SAM Pakistan. CHARLIE Saudi Arabia and Iran? SAM Yeah. So, that’s a list we definitely want to be on. LEO [comes out of the Oval Office] Sam. SAM Leo, I put my notes together. I... LEO Walk with me. SAM Actually, I was hoping to see the President. LEO You’re not going to see the President, Sam. SAM Leo. LEO He’s done. SAM We have six hours... LEO He’s done. They head off walking into the HALLWAY. SAM Leo, it’s not an impossible sell. LEO I’ve lived longer than you, Sam... SAM Leo. LEO [shouts] He’s done, and I gotta tell you, Sam, this was bungled. We were totally unprepared for this. SAM What the hell are you...? LEO We were caught in the headlights... This thing was supposed to go back to the sixth circuit. And I don’t know how it happened... SAM [shouts] What are you talking about, prepared? The court sat. What would you have done differently? [They stop walking.] LEO I’d have... SAM What would you have done different? You’d have kept the President out of the country another two days? LEO [quietly] Yes. SAM Leo, there are times when we are absolutely nowhere. [leaves] CUT TO: INT. HOTEL BAR - NIGHT Josh is sitting at the bar in a hotel. Joey and Kenny come in to meet him. JOSH Hello. [to Kenny] Hi. KENNY Hi. JOSH [to Joey] Thank you for meeting me. JOEY [KENNY] Our flight’s in one hour. JOSH Aren’t you impressed that I was able to track you down? JOEY [KENNY] Was it hard? JOSH It was very hard. I had to have my assistant call your office in California. Joey looks disgusted. JOSH It’s funny, when I say it out loud like that, it doesn’t sound that impressive. JOEY [KENNY] Do you make me meet you here so you could do more jokes? JOSH [gets serious] No, I came at the request of the President. He wanted you to know that he felt that he was rude to you in the Oval Office yesterday. He apologizes if he was abrupt about your problem and while the tightening of your funding was political strategy on our part, he honestly feels that your candidate is a schmuck who gives liberalism a bad name. Joey thinks about this, and then smiles. JOEY [KENNY] Yeah, I think so too. JOSH [with a big grin] I know you do. Why are you working for him? JOEY [KENNY] I’m a professional political operative. I need to work. I mean, it’s not exactly like there’s a seller’s market for deaf campaign managers. JOSH I’d imagine. He also wanted me to tell you that he meant what he said. Come up with a live one and we’ll get interested in a hurry. [puts money on the bar for his drink] JOEY [KENNY] Did he have any suggestions? JOSH As a matter of fact, he did. JOEY Who? JOSH [whispers] You. Joey looks shocked. JOSH You guys have a nice flight back. Joey looks absolutely stunned as she watches him go. CUT TO: INT. THE OVAL OFFICE - NIGHT SUNDAY, 11:57 P.M. Bartlet is standing at the window in the Oval Office. He is looking out at the falling snow and holding a rosary. Charlie comes in. CHARLIE Mr. President? [beat] Excuse me, Mr. President? BARTLET Yeah. CHARLIE Father Cavanaugh. BARTLET Thank you. He walks to the door. FATHER THOMAS CAVANAUGH enters. BARTLET Tom. FATHER CAVANAUGH Mr. President. [They hug.] BARTLET Thank you, Charlie. Charlie leaves. BARTLET Thanks for coming all this way down. FATHER CAVANAUGH It was no trouble. I’m just sorry I couldn’t get here until now. BARTLET Yeah, it seems like a wasted trip. FATHER CAVANAUGH Oh. I can see the Oval Office. BARTLET This is it. They walk farther into the room. FATHER CAVANAUGH Show me around the room. BARTLET You’re looking at the room. FATHER CAVANAUGH Well, uh, where’s the red phone? BARTLET We don’t use the red phone anymore. FATHER CAVANAUGH Well, how do you talk to the Kremlin? BARTLET I tell Mrs. Landingham I want to talk to the Kremlin. Would you like a drink? FATHER CAVANAUGH No. No thanks. [pause] I don’t know how to address you. Would you prefer Jed or Mr. President? BARTLET To be honest, I prefer Mr. President. FATHER CAVANAUGH That’s fine. BARTLET You understand why, right? FATHER CAVANAUGH Do I need to know why? BARTLET It’s not ego. FATHER CAVANAUGH I didn’t think it was. BARTLET There are certain decisions I have to make while I’m in this room. Do I send troops into harm’s way? Which fatal disease gets the most research money? FATHER CAVANAUGH Sure. BARTLET It’s helpful in those situations not to think of yourself as the man but as the office. FATHER CAVANAUGH Then Mr. President it is. BARTLET I want you to know that I had a number of people on my staff search for a reason the public would find palatable to commute the sentence. A technicality. Any evidence of racism. FATHER CAVANAUGH So your staff spent the weekend looking for a way out. BARTLET Yeah. FATHER CAVANAUGH Like the kid in right field who doesn’t want the ball to get hit to him. They sit down. BARTLET I’m the leader of a democracy, Tom. Seventy-one percent of the people support capital punishment. People have spoken. The courts have spoken. FATHER CAVANAUGH Did you call the Pope? BARTLET Yeah. FATHER CAVANAUGH And how do you do that? BARTLET [upset] Oh, for crying out loud, Tom. I open my mouth and say, “Somebody get me the Pope.” FATHER CAVANAUGH No, I’m sorry, Mr. President, but I was thinking... You’re just this kid from my parish and now you’re calling the Pope. BARTLET Anyway. I looked for a way out, I really did. FATHER CAVANAUGH “‘Vengeance is mine,’ sayeth the Lord.” You know what that means? God is the only one who gets to kill people. BARTLET I know. FATHER CAVANAUGH That was your way out. BARTLET I know. FATHER CAVANAUGH Did you pray? BARTLET I did, Tom. I know it’s hard to believe, but I prayed for wisdom. FATHER CAVANAUGH And none came? BARTLET [shakes his head] It never has. And I’m a little pissed off about that. He looks at his watch, which says it’s a few seconds before midnight. It hits him hard. BARTLET [dead serious] I’m not kidding. FATHER CAVANAUGH You know, you remind me of the man that lived by the river. He heard a radio report that the river was going to rush up and flood the town. And that all the residents should evacuate their homes. But the man said, “I’m religious. I pray. God loves me. God will save me.” The waters rose up. A guy in a row boat came along and he shouted, “Hey, hey you! You in there. The town is flooding. Let me take you to safety.” But the man shouted back, “I’m religious. I pray. God loves me. God will save me.” A helicopter was hovering overhead. And a guy with a megaphone shouted, “Hey you, you down there. The town is flooding. Let me drop this ladder and I’ll take you to safety.” But the man shouted back that he was religious, that he prayed, that God loved him and that God will take him to safety. Well... the man drowned. And standing at the gates of St. Peter, he demanded an audience with God. “Lord,” he said, “I’m a religious man, I pray. I thought you loved me. Why did this happen?” God said, “I sent you a radio report, a helicopter, and a guy in a rowboat. What the hell are you doing here?” He pauses. Bartlet looks very upset. FATHER CAVANAUGH He sent you a priest, a rabbi, and a Quaker, Mr. President. Not to mention his son, Jesus Christ. What do you want from him? There is a knock on the door. C.J. Excuse me. C.J. comes in, hands Bartlet a note, and leaves. Bartlet reads the note, and then crumples it up as he goes to lean on the desk. He looks exceedingly troubled. FATHER CAVANAUGH Jed. Would you like me to hear your confession? BARTLET Yes, please. Father Cavanaugh pulls out his stole and puts it on. The President kneels beside him, over the Presidential seal. He performs the sign of the cross. BARTLET Bless me, Father, for I have sinned... DISSOLVE TO: END CREDITS. FADE TO BLACK. THE END * * * The West Wing and all its characters are properties of Aaron Sorkin, John Wells Production, Warner Brothers Television, and NBC. No copyright infringement is intended. Episode 1.14 -- “Take This Sabbath Day” Original Airdate: February 8, 2000, 9:00 P.M. EST Transcript By: Cindy Dechief