曹慧雯 朱恩妮 孙佳林

Background

Process

Case point

• It is a story about an AIDS patient, also a gay, a lawyer, used law to maintain his rights and interests.

• In the film, because Andrew had AIDS, his boss made an excuse for firing him. So he resorted to law to protect his rights and interests.

• Perfect • Promising • AIDS• Gay• Unfair• Helpless• Gain recognition

• competitor

• hesitating

• kind-hearted

• justifiably

• frame

• lose the lawsuit• frame

• lose the lawsuit＃

ProcessAt the beginning of the court :

Both sides lawyer state the fact

Plaintiff’s lawyer Defendant’s lawyer

Plaintiff’s lawyer

• 1.Andrew Beckett is a great lawyer • 2.Andrew Beckett afflicted with a

debilitating disease, keep the fact of his illness to himself ,not open .----AIDS

• 3.his employers discovered his illness and panicked .

so employers broke the law when they fired him for his aids.

• 1.Andrew Beckett is a great lawyer • 2.Andrew Beckett afflicted with a

debilitating disease, keep the fact of his illness to himself ,not open .----AIDS

• 3.his employers discovered his illness and panicked .

so employers broke the law when they fired him for his aids.

Plaintiff’s lawyer

• 1.Andrew Beckett is a great lawyer • 2.Andrew Beckett afflicted with a

debilitating disease, keep the fact of his illness to himself ,not open .----AIDS

• 3.his employers discovered his illness and panicked .

so employers broke the law when they fired him for his aids.

• 1.Andrew Beckett performance on the job is incompetent

• 2.Andrew Beckett was successfully conceal his disease from his employers.

• 3.empleyers did not know Andrew Beckett had aids.

• 4.Andrew Beckett is dying .• 5.Andrew Beckett want someone to pay

his losses.

Defendant’s lawyer

A boss.

Andrew Beckett represented his company in the lawsuit and won the cases.

Witness

Ms.benedict.an AIDS victim too.She suffer the disease not caused by her behavior.BUT she also feel discriminated

Witness

• Ms.burton .

• An African-American woman who suffered discrimination by this company too.

Witness

Witness

• ms o 'hara

• a college with Andrew Beckett

Next several colleagues witness proffered testimony 提供证词

Above all, Their colleagues didn’t think that Andrew Beckett is reckless of making such a big mistake.

• He declared a lot of thing that can certify his ability and not like

The plaintiff

Reason:⑴The company sent Andrew to

represent them to take over an extremely difficult cases because his brilliant talent.

⑵They fired him when they found Andrew AIDS caused by sexuality----against the discrimination law

The jury pronounced that Andrew won the case

Relevant precedent--Arline decision

• The Federal Vocational Rehabilitation act of 1973 (联邦富康法 )prohibits discrimination against otherwise qualified handicapped persons who are able to perform the duties required by their employment.

Case Point

Relevant precedent--Arline decision (continued)

• Although the ruling( 法例 ) did not address the specific issue of HIV and AIDS discrimination, subsequent decisions have held that AIDS is protected as handicap under law, not only because of

the physical limitations it imposes, but als

o because the prejudice surrounding AIDS ex

acts a social death which precedes the actual physical one.

Discrimination

• Forming opinions about others not based on their

individual merits but rather their membership in a

group with assumed characteristics

←＃

Social death

• Social death is a term used to describe the condition of people not accepted as fully human by wide society

• 社会性死亡• 有别于生活或临床上的死亡• 不可逆状况