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The Star Chamber

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The Star Chamber is a 1983 film about an idealistic young judge who, disgusted with criminals escaping the judicial system via technicalities, investigates an alternative method for punishing the guilty.

Directed by Peter Hyams. Written by Roderick Taylor and Peter Hyams.
They meet. They judge. They execute... All in the name of the law.  (taglines)

Superior Court Judge Steven R. Hardin

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  • The law. Nothing is right or wrong! It's either the law or it's not the law. Well, we got a problem here, because it's not working anymore. It turns out that right and wrong count.
  • There's a lot of nobility in this room. Must be the paneling.

Judge Benjamin Caulfield

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  • Someone has taken justice and hidden it in the law.

Other

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  • Newscaster: Dr. Harold Lewin, who was scheduled to go on trial next month for the courtroom shooting of a policeman, has apparently committed suicide, by taking a massive overdose of sleeping pills. Dr. Lewin is the father of 8-year-old Daniel Lewin. Daniel Lewin was one of nine children who have been brutally murdered in what police suspect may be a child pornography ring. Lawrence Monk and Arthur Cooms, who were accused of murdering Dr. Lewin's son, were released from custody, and all charges against them were dropped when Judge Steven Hardin ruled that a crucial piece of evidence linking them to the murdered child could not be used in the trial. When the ruling was announced by Judge Hardin in court, Dr. Lewin allegedly tried to shoot Monk and Cooms. In the ensuing struggle, a police officer was wounded. Dr. Lewin left a note asking his wife Carol to please forgive him.

Dialogue

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Judge Caulfield: It's always been a game, only now the bad guys have a stronger team, got a better draft.
Judge Hardin: You know I took a lot of notes in your class and I can never remember you saying anything quite like that.
Judge Caulfield: You should have taken fewer notes and listened more.
Dr. Lewin: Judge Hardin? Mr. Hardin, please? Can I talk to you? I have something that I want you to see.
Judge Hardin: What is it?
Dr. Lewin: It's a photograph of a boy; he's a ten-year-old 4th-grader, his front teeth are too big, and his hair falls on his face.
Judge Hardin: Are you Dr. Lewin?
Dr. Lewin: I was Dr. Lewin; I'm not anymore now. School sent us these pictures. They wanted to know how many we were gonna order. How many 5-by-7s, how many wallet-size. We took them all. I want you to have one.
Judge Hardin: I'm sorry, I can't take this.
Dr. Lewin: Why not? Might help in your deliberations, might help you decide whether these men go free or not.
Judge Hardin: Dr. Lewin, please try to understand: I am not deciding how guilty or not guilty these two men are. Now, I'm sure your son was a wonderful boy and I know how you must... no, I don't. I don't have any idea how you must feel. Can we sit down for a minute, please? [they both sit on a bench] I have to rule on a point of law that has nothing to do with these two defendants. It's only concerned with how a particular piece of evidence was obtained.
Dr. Lewin: My wife... she has to be sedated all the time. She says she can hear Danny screaming. We had to move out of the house. She kept going into Danny's room. I had to get her away from him. How can someone torture a child? How do you erase that sound from your head? Those two are creatures, they're not human beings. Look at the photograph. That was my little boy, not a plaintiff or a statue. That is my little boy, it's not a point of law. Look at the goddamn photograph!
[Hardin gets up]
Judge Hardin: I understand how you feel, I really do. But I can only deal with the law.
[Hardin walks to the elevator, Lewin follows him]
Dr. Lewin: What about justice? You ever deal with that? Does that ever fit into this little crossword puzzle that you call the law? You're so worried about the rights of those two monsters! What about my little Danny's rights? You don't escape so easily. You don't run and hide so easy.
[He sticks the photo under Hardin's arm]
Dr. Lewin: You take this photograph, and you look at it. That's what this is all about. Nothing else. Nothing else.
Judge Hardin: I wanted to check to see if you could make bail.
Dr. Lewin: Yes, I'm putting my house up as collateral. The policeman, I'm told he's gonna be alright?
Judge Hardin: Yes.
Dr. Lewin: That's good.
Judge Hardin: Well, if there is anything I can do, please just let me know.
Dr. Lewin: That's very kind of you, I think you've done enough. Tell me, do they really make license plates in prison, or is that just in the movies?
Judge Hardin: Dr. Lewin...
Dr. Lewin: I'm not upset, you know? I'm really not. I tried to do something. At least I tried to do something. My only regret is that I didn't kill those two creatures. You want absolution? I'm not gonna give it to you. Try a priest.
Judge Hardin: No, I understand. As a man, I would have tried to kill them too. As a judge, I can't.
Dr. Lewin: [sarcastically] Well, you don't have to worry; you didn't murder my son. So you're covered. I take it that's what you wanted to hear.
Judge Hardin: Maybe, yeah.
Dr. Lewin: You did murder someone else's son; you're gonna have to deal with that pretty soon.
Judge Hardin: What are you talking about?
Dr. Lewin: Didn't you hear? You should be in prison. They have a wonderful communication system in this place, it's better than the 6 o'clock news. Another little boy was tortured and murdered last night, just like Danny. There's another father that's gonna have those sounds in his ears for the rest of his life. And you're gonna have to face it, and explain to him how you let those two go, so they could murder his children. This one's on you, your Honor. This one you did. That boy would be alive if you hadn't let them go. You go tell that father about your system, you give him the... the lecture on your precious justice, save all the platitudes that you were gonna use on me, you use them on him. Better than that, use them on yourself. But don't worry about me, I am really alright. I can look at that man. I tried to do something. You killed his son.
Det. Mackey: Join the police department, see the world.
Det. Wiggan: No, it's join the navy and see the world.
Det. Mackey: Aw, shit. I joined the wrong thing.
Det. Wiggan: You got a hunch, right?
Det. Mackey: Right.
Det. Wiggan: Instinct, right?
Det. Mackey: Right.
Det. Wiggan: You've been watchin' too much television again.
Det. Wickman: When are you going home?
Det. Lowes: Soon.
Det. Wickman: Have you had something to eat?
Det. Lowes: Yes.
Det. Wickman: When?
Det. Lowes: Yesterday.
Det. Wickman: Yesterday? You look like shit.
Det. Lowes: Thank you.
Det. Wickman: You're welcome. You want a pizza?
Det. Lowes: No. I don't want any pizza.
Det. Wickman: Go home, Harry.
Det. Lowes: In a little while.
Det. Wickman: You can look at that stuff all you want. The words are not gonna change. You know that.
Det. Lowes: I know.
Det. Wickman: If you don't get some rest and something to eat, you're gonna die. And if you don't go home, you're gonna die here. I don't want you to die here... because if you die here, that'll mean I have to do all that paperwork. And right now, I'm up to my ass in paperwork.
Det. Lowes: The answer is in here somewhere. It always is.
Det. Wickman: It'll be there tomorrow.
Det. Lowes: [sighs] All right. Let's get a pizza.
Det. Wickman: I hate pizza. Let's go get drunk.
Det. Lowes: What? You're the one that's always worried about my health.
Det. Wickman: Oh, you can die in a bar. That's okay. I can skip out and leave you there. It's just when the bodies fall across my desk, you see? That's when it becomes a real drag.

Taglines

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  • They meet. They judge. They execute... All in the name of the law.
  • Someone has hidden justice within the law. Now justice is breaking out.
  • ...Where justice is served with a vengeance.
  • The only one willing to stop them is one of their own. And when you know who they really are, you'll wish you didn't.
  • They are the most powerful members of our community. They have a shattering secret. A secret that will affect us all. Only one man is willing to stop them. On August 5, you'll know who they really are.

Cast

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