Somebody you care about.
Somebody... you believe in.
Your honor...
do you have a moment for ed collins?
Send him in.
Thanks, colby.
How are you, eddie?
What can I do for you?
How are you?
Oh, just the commitment papers
for the cole Santa.
That's a shocker, huh?
The press is having a field day.
"age unknown." Old man, is he?
Very old, your honor.
Do I have to read all this?
No. It's a slam dunk.
Guy's out of his mind.
We'd like it over quick.
- "we"?
- Victor.
- "victor"?
- Lamberg.
Oh, yes.
Right there.
Well. Justice will have to prevail,
of course.
Oh, of course.
Yes, justice will have to prevail...
as always.
Money makes the world go around, eddie.
Yes, it does, your honor, it sure does.
By the way, Mr. Lamberg wanted you
to know that he's Very well aware of
your re-election campaign
coming up this spring.
Tell him I would welcome his support.
Will do.
Come in.
A Mr. Bedford's here to see you.
Who?
He represents Mr. Kringle?
Send him in.
Your honor, there seems to be
some undue haste in this case.
I wish to protect my client's rights,
as I'm sure you do.
Mr. Prosecutor, this is...
Bryan bedford.
Ed collins.
If your honor please, i request a formal
hearing where i may bring witnesses.
Sign the commitment papers now if you like,
but I'll bring in habeas corpus this afternoon.
We'll have a hearing.
Thursday morning, 9 a.m.?
Thank you, sir.
Mr. Collins.
Mr. Bedford.
I thought you said the old man
didn't have an attorney.
What's the difference?
It'll be a hearing, not a jury trial.
You're the only one
that has to be convinced.
Have a good day, judge.
Want to know somethin', mister?
I don't believe it.
This guy ain't dangerous.
He may be off his rails a little bit,
but he ain't no thug.
And if he wants to call himself santy Claus...
then god bless him.
Hello, Kriss.
Hello, Mr. Bedford.
What brings you out
on a miserable day like this?
A friend in need.
Hmm.
You failed your mental exam
on purpose, didn't you?
Huh. Why would I... do a thing like that?
I don't know.
Maybe you've served people long enough.
Maybe you've given all you have to give.
No.
Then why did you do it?
The charges against you were dropped.
The man you hit suffered no injury.
You could've been out of here
if you passed your exam.
I disgraced myself.
I read your transcript, Kriss.
You defended your honor.
You stood up for the dignity of every child.
That isn't a disgrace.
That's decency.
If I'm dismissed as a crazy old man...
then the good name of...
Santa Claus is spared.
That isn't true.
If not for you, there is no Santa Claus.
You are him.
Crazy or not, here or gone, you're Santa Claus.
Only if the children believe that.
And what kind of Santa Claus
were they believing in, anyway?
They can't look to me anymore,
not after knowing what happened
the other night.
Well, think about the other night.
A man was there to photograph the incident.
The man you hit was the man you replaced.
The cops told me this, Kriss.
The cops believe in you.
A lot of people do.
More will when we're finished.
Finished with what?
There's a hearing Thursday to decide
if you're to be committed.
I'm going to defend you.
We'll prove that there is Santa Claus
and that you're him.
I'm ready, counselor.
Now, we have a few days to distance
ourselves from this...scandal
And restart our advertising.
Uh, Mrs. Walker, we are in conference.
I have just read your press release.
You are all such a bunch of cowards.
You really don't deserve to run the store.
You are entirely out of line, Mrs. Walker.
We have spent millions telling people
that we are the store that cares.
Well, what is it that we care about?
Profits? Ourselves?
Our jobs?
Well, what about one of our
own who needs us now?
And what--what am I to do?
The public perception of Kriss is that
he's out of his mind.
He's dangerous.
We have to change that.
If...we stand with Kriss...
If we challenge the