This story is inspired by Season 1 Scandal, Vermont and the Olitz actors – Kerry Washington and Tony Goldwyn
NO-Mellie and NO-Joke: Public Service Announcement for any accidental non-Olitz readers
Hollis Doyle returns…
When Hollis Doyle walked into the corporate offices of Feinsch, Groucho, Landry and McGuinness PLLC, a couple of people fainted.
While they were being revived, the senior partners – who could only be pried loose from their wood-panelled corner suites with panoramic views, if there was an actual fire – ushered Hollis into the executive meeting room and stared for several long silent minutes.
Finally one of them said, "If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it must be a duck."
"Are you waiting for a gotdamn quack?" said Hollis.
"Okay, I'm convinced," said one.
"The drawl and the sarcasm sounds about right," said another.
Hollis cackled. "Damn straight - ain't no other gator in these parts with a bigger bite."
"That sounds like something Hollis Doyle would say."
"I keep tellin' yer, I am the man."
"We thought you were dead."
"The dead shall rise, gentlemen. The dead shall rise."
"I need a drink," one of the partners muttered.
"It's only ten in the morning." His colleague raised a brow.
"I've seen a dead man walk into our office - if that's not reason enough for a drink, hell if I know a better one."
Once the men were seated around the table, drinks in hand, still staring at Hollis, the conversation resumed.
"So I take it you want to get your fortune back?"
"All in good time. I've got me a bigger fish to fry."
"Oh."
"I want to sue the President."
Hollis Doyle's has a Psychiatric Forensic Interview
"Look, Doc, I see you looking at me like I'm a few pickles short of a barrel, but I ain't crazy."
"Is that your first impression of the people you meet - that they think you are in your own words 'crazy'?"
"I ain't talking about meeting people. Right now, I am in this room with you and I get the feeling you think I'm crazier than a bullbat because I want to sue the President."
"Why don't we start from when you disappeared? What do you recall?"
"I recall getting into my private jet."
"Do you remember the date that you took the flight?"
Hollis gave the date and time.
"How long do you think before you woke up?"
"It felt like I'd been gone a fair while. I had an itch in my beard I couldn't scratch."
"What else do you remember?"
"I recall waking up strapped to a bed like a hog on a roasting spit, staring at a screen showing my beloved family speakin' ill of the dead."
"How did you feel watching your family speak candidly about how they felt about you?"
"Lower than a gopher hole. But didn't surprise me. All they ever wanted from me was me money."
Half an hour later…
"Mr Doyle, can we turn our attention to the President. You mentioned earlier that you would like to sue the President."
"Yes."
"Can we talk about the reasons you'd like to do that?"
"No."
"Why is that?"
"Well, doc, I don't need word to get out there, warning Fitzgerald Grant about the rocket I'm going to send up his ass before my day in court."
"So you're saying this information will come as a surprise?"
"Listen, Doc, Fitzgerald Grant made sure I was as good as dead. I sure hope to hell that man gets a surprise when he learns I ain't dead, and I have no intention of staying dead!"
"You mentioned the President by name. You know him well enough to be on speaking terms?"
"Hell yeah, we're on speaking terms, which is why the man and his wife came to my memorial service."
"Would you say that before your untimely and seeming demise, you were friends?"
"Hell no, we weren't friends."
"How well would you say you knew him?"
"We were fishin' buddies – he wanted to go fishin' for any excuse to bomb that factory, I brought him the catch he was looking for."
The Law Partners Meet in Private
"The psychiatrist doesn't think Hollis is crazy, says he's a high-functioning psychopath but not mentally unsound."
"Is the man a quack? Where'd you find this bozo? Any layman can tell you that a homeless bum who shows up wanting to sue the President is batshit crazy."
"We need a second opinion."
The Law Partners have a Second Meeting in Private
"The second guy basically agrees with the first."
"Now, what do we do?"
"We're going to sue the President."
"What are you out of your mind? We need these shrinks to check you out – we're not going to sue the President."
"Let's call in the criminal investigators. See what they say."
The Law Partners have a Third Meeting in Private
"The detectives think we're on to something. Doyle's private jet made a re-fuelling stop in LA, and then air traffic control couldn't make radio contact with the pilot."
"Did the guy have a heart attack?"
"The team thinks the jet may have been using drone technology."
"Drone technology? Speak English!"
"Flown by remote control."
"They know this for sure?"
"The investigators got hold of the crew on the industrial fishing vessel, who witnessed the accident. Those guys say they didn't see anyone bail before the jet blew up."
"Where does the President come into it? I don't see the connection."
"Hollis said the President hired him to play fetch - fetch any excuse to help him bomb that factory, someplace in Africa."
"I still don't make the connection."
"What are you blind? It says that here in black and white."
"Just stop. Stop right there. We don't want to make this a race issue."
"Jeezus."
The Senior Law Partner gets a phone call at his private residence in the middle of the Night
"Who is this? Do you know what the hell time this is?"
He paused.
He listened.
Then he put the phone down and stayed awake the rest of the night.
In the morning, he walked into the office and told the other partners, "We're going to sue the President."
White House – Presidential suite.
"Mr President, I'm sorry to disturb this late in the evening, but I thought you should know – you've been sent a writ of summons by a man called Hollis Doyle. He's suing you on the grounds of inciting terrorism and destroying his livelihood."
"What?" Fitz gasped a laugh.
"My sentiments exactly," his lawyer responded drily. "It's probably another one of those crazies that I am sure you are very familiar with – except this one has good lawyers. But don't worry, we'll take care of it, sir. I'll send the details to the White House counsel to keep them informed about what's going on."
Fitz slipped his phone into his Tuxedo pocket as Olivia exited the bedroom in an off-the-shoulder lemon silk gown.
"I feel like a big rubber ducky, waddle, waddle, waddle," she grinned, coming towards him.
"A big gorgeous rubber ducky," he murmured, taking her in his arms, making her giggle. "Where can I kiss you without ruining your makeup?"
"Here." Olivia pointed to a spot beneath her ear.
With a rogue smile, Fitz kissed the spot, then strayed to her neck and shoulder.
"Mr President," Olivia laughed, dragging his face away with both her hands. "Behave."
"Don't want to," he pouted, planting a kiss on her nose.
Laughing, she slipped out of his arms and reached for her evening bag. "So who was that on the phone?"
"The lawyers."
"The lawyers? What did they want?"
Fitz stared at her, ruminating.
"Fitz."
"Hollis Doyle is suing me."
"What?!" Olivia glared.
"It's okay," Fitz said soothingly. "The lawyers will take care of it."
Injunction by the President's lawyers – judge's chambers
"This is a frivolous matter, your Honour. There is no legal basis for suing a President while in office."
"Your Honour, it seems my esteemed colleague has forgotten the landmark Supreme Court ruling in Clinton v. Jones, which established that a sitting President does not have immunity against civil claims. Essentially, your Honour, the Supreme Court ruled that 'no American, not even an incumbent President, is beyond the law's reach'.
"Your Honour, the Prosecution has convenient forgotten that the verdict was based on the matters unrelated to a President's official duties. Ms Jones filed suit alleging an incident that occurred during Mr Clinton's time as Arkansas State Governor, as such the Supreme Court made a constitutional distinction that Presidential immunity did not apply retrospectively to a claim of civil liability before a President took the oath of office."
"The matter before us is of such importance that we cannot wait until the President leaves to bring the necessary criminal and civil proceedings against him, your honour,"
"Don't we have an election around the corner?"
"Uh, yes, your honour…"
Dead Man Sues President – comedy sketch
"President Grant was among the mourners at this guy's funeral just a few months ago. Now the dead have risen – and the second coming of Mr Doyle hasn't been great for the President.
"Mr Hollis Doyle, he's the dead man, is suing the President for taking away his livelihood – which means the President is being sued for taking a man's life, by a man who is no longer dead.
"You know this has to be greatest Halloween story I've never told my kids."
Olivia Pope Associates
Hollis Doyle's daughter and all his ex-wives were all talking at once in the OPA conference room.
"Why couldn't Dad stay dead?"
"Y'all know he'll want his money back."
"Dang it, he can't get his money, I've spent it."
"You've spent all the money you got? Sheesh, it's only been a couple of months."
"Hey, don't you act all superior around me – I'm not collecting alimony from half a dozen geriatrics so I can run Beverley Hills' finest cat motel."
"Do you think he knows what we said about him at the funeral?"
"No, then he'd be suing us, instead of the President."
"It's not our fault. We thought he was dead. If you can't speak ill of the dead, when can you tell the world how bad he was and have them listen?"
"Dad isn't dead."
"What if it isn't Hollis, and Hollis really is dead?"
The women all stopped talking and turned to look at Hollis Doyle's fourth wife. Then they all turned to stare at Quinn and Abby.
The two women looked at each other, then at Hollis Doyle's wives and daughter.
"Uh, you want us to…" began Quinn.
"Sue Dad for being an imposter," finished Maybelle Doyle.
"No, we want to sue the man saying he's Hollis Doyle, for pretending to be Hollis Doyle," her mother corrected.
First Lady's Office
"So the wives want to sue Hollis Doyle for being an imposter?"
Olivia heard the grin in Fitz's voice clear across Washington Circle. Fitz was on his way to a community forum, while she was meeting with her own chief of staff and the rest of the First Lady's administration to delegate more tasks. "Yes."
"You don't think it's a good idea?"
"It doesn't matter what I think at this stage – we have six very determined ladies who want to discredit Hollis. That should be a good thing."
"Unless they prove that he's the real deal."
"I've thought about that. And, I think we need to increase security around Cyrus."
"I didn't know we had any kind of security around Cyrus."
"That's the protective detail for a Presidential Asset you signed off, a couple of weeks ago."
"Olivia."
"Gotta go, Kiss, kiss. Love you."
"Oliv--!"
Dead Man's wives sue Dead Man – comedy sketch
"You remember the story about the dead man suing the President?
"FYI, this guy didn't just die the way most people die these days in America – you know by calling 9/11 for death by cop. No, no, Mr Hollis Doyle "died" [rabbit ears] when his plane blew up over the Pacific. Pretty spectacular stuff.
"The best part is that the guy just walked away. He just walked away from that fireball and boy, is he mad. You know how I know he's mad – because when you get mad you look around for someone to li-ti-gate and guess who this guy picked – yeah, that's right. He picked the same guy the Democrats and Republicans are blaming for every gotdamn thing wrong with this country. Yep, you got it, the President of the United States.
"But wait, the story gets even better, now the dead man's wives are suing the man for coming back! They are suing him because he didn't have the gonads to stay dead.
"This is no joke, folks. With that many women angry at you, you know this guy should have stayed dead wherever he was…"
Hollis Doyle's family sues Hollis Doyle for impersonating Hollis Doyle
"So you're filing a suit of Identity Theft in the Second Degree against the man claiming to be Hollis Doyle."
"Yes, Judge."
"Has the defendant obtained or attempted to obtain any property or services to the value of or less than $1000."
"No, Judge, but the man has brought a civil claim against the President of the United States. The actions of this man who claims to be Hollis Doyle has lead to another person being falsely accused."
"That's a bit of a stretch. What does the defense have to say about all this?"
"Judge, Mr Hollis Doyle did not choose to die."
"I don't believe death a choice by the majority of deceased."
"Of course not, Judge, but the statutory period of 7 years wasn't observed in Mr Doyle's case. He was declared legally dead because the Medical Examiner believed the explosion of Mr Doyle's private jet was sufficient evidence to meet the legal definition of 'imminent peril'."
"Where have you been all this time, Mr Doyle?"
"I woke up on Skid Row, in Los Angeles, your hon – er, Judge. I was homeless."
"Did you try to make contact with your family?"
"No, Judge. I didn't think they'd believe me, considering how glad they were to see me dead."
"Judge, this man who claiming to be Hollis Doyle has the resources to make his fictional story more factual because Hollis Doyle's Social Security information became a matter of public record on the Social Security Death Index after he was declared dead."
"Judge, Mr Doyle was arrested by LAPD and we have an affidavit confirming that the fingerprints taken from my client match those on record for Mr Hollis Doyle."
"Are any of Mr Doyle's biological relatives in this room?"
"His daughter, Judge."
"Before I make a judgement on this case, I required a DNA report matching samples from the defendant and Mr Hollis Doyle's daughter."
Why Dead Men should stay Dead – comedy sketch
"You heard about that guy in Ohio – Donald E Miller Jr – who was ordered to stay dead?
"I kid you not, the Judge ruled against the man's claim to be declared legally alive. Yeah, the Judge basically told the man, sitting there in his courtroom, clearly not dead, that 'yeah, I can see you're alive but as far as the law is concerned you have to stay dead'.
"Turns out you only have three years to change your mind about being dead. After that, the law goes - 'you're dead to me'. That's it. No ifs, buts or 'hey wait I am alive'. The law goes, 'meh, being alive and breathing doesn't count'.
"What I want to know is who makes these laws? You know, have you asked yourself that – is there like basic comprehension tests that legislators must pass before they makes these laws.
"Donald or Don as I like to call him, even though we've never met, was a deadbeat drunk who was declared dead 20 years after he went missing, and decided he wanted to be declared alive so he could get a bus licence. The poor guy, obviously didn't know there was a statute of limitations on the return of the Dead. Zombies need to hire a lobby group..."
White House – Oval Office
"The man suing you has been declared legally alive."
Fitz looked up to see Rowan in the doorway. Olivia had fallen asleep on the couch in the middle of a foot massage, with her feet still lying over his lap.
Setting the report he'd been reading aside, Fitz shifted Olivia's legs onto the cushions, careful not to wake her and motioned for Rowan to follow him out onto the West Wing Collonade. They stepped out to a chorus of cicadas chirping in the night.
"You've been following the case," Fitz prompted.
"It's not every day that you hear of a President being sued by a dead man. But I understand there's a mother of all catfights over Mr Doyle's estate, not to mention insurance companies lining up to recover compensation - it might have been in Mr Doyle's best interests to stay dead."
"Not to mention, mine."
"You know that Mr Doyle has no legal standing for his claim, so what's worrying you?"
Fitz glanced through the glass doors at Olivia. "This is not a good time for something like this to happen."
Rowan turned his gaze from Fitz to Olivia and back again, then said gently, "Let's take a walk. The night air feels good."
The two men walked down the columned walkway heading towards the open lawn, as Secret Service agents fell in step discreetly behind them.
They'd been walking in silence for several minutes before Rowan said softly, "My daughter is not as weak as you think."
Fitz's jaw flexed. It took several minutes for him to respond. "I've never thought of my wife as weak. She is the strongest person I know, but she isn't superhuman. She can't fix everything."
"Protecting you is her focus."
Fitz grunted, then released a heavy sigh. "I know."
The two men walked a bit further in silence. Then Rowan muttered, "Tell me how I can help." When Fitz swung his head round to stare, he added, "My daughter does not need to know."
"She'll find out."
"You will know how to handle it when that happens."
White House – Executive Residence [Several days later].
Fitz walked into the Family Room to see Karen and Jerry arguing over a plastic doll in Olivia's arms.
"You have to hold it like this," Jerry shifted Olivia's hand around the doll's head. "The head and neck needs to be supported."
"It has a name; she's Rebecca," said Karen, "And she's my doll."
"Yeah, but you've never held a live baby. I have."
"Who was that?"
"You."
"Oh... Did you ever drop me on my head?"
"No," Fitz chuckled from the doorway. "But you peed on him once."
"Dad! I did not!"
"You did. After that Jerry would only carry you while wearing his raincoat."
Jerry made a face. "I always wondered about that. I looked really weird in Karen's baby pictures."
"What baby pictures?" Karen shot back.
"They're in my private study. Go see," Fitz encouraged.
Both kids stopped and looked at Fitz. "Are you trying to get rid of us?"
"MMmmay-be."
"Da-ad," Karen grinned.
"C'mon, PK, Dad just gave us an executive order," Jerry nudged Karen towards the door.
"PK?" Fitz queried.
"Pumpkin Karen."
"Ew!" Was the last thing they heard from Karen before Jerry managed to drag her out.
As the door closed, Olivia laughed. "Very smooth."
"So what's all this doll business?" Fitz murmured, slipping his arms around her.
"Our resident experts were showing me how to hold a baby," Olivia smiled.
"They aren't the resident experts," Fitz whispered, a smile ghosting his lips. "I am." He kissed her softly. "But it was cute watching you with them."
"Cute?" She drew back.
"Mm," he snuffled a laugh, coming in for another kiss. "Very cute."
As her fingers smoothed over his shoulders, she murmured, "You're smiling but your muscles tell me another story. What's going on?"
"The verdict is in."
Judge's Verdict in the Presidential Impunity case – points noted by lawyers
Issue: Extent of Presidential Immunity?
Verdict Essentials:
'Essence of civil liability' is to claim legal protection, with damages being the 'ordinary remedy for an invasion of personal interests in liberty' - Marbury v Madison.
Qualified Immunity: Presidential immunity is dependent on whether his actions are discretionary and within the guidelines of statute. Scheuer v. Rhodes - qualified immunity is available provided an executive acts within the scope of discretion and responsibilities of his office. (Lawyer's note – Scheuer: civil suit against Governor of Ohio by representatives of four students killed at Kent State University in 1970. Held: public officials required to have qualified immunity to carry out their duties which involve the need to act 'swiftly and firmly'.
Scope of authority: Barr v Matteo - scope of authority does not exclude unlawful acts if the purpose was authorised by either statute or the Constitution In Matteo, also held that executives are required to have immunity in order to carry out their official duties without spending all their time defending civil lawsuits at taxpayers' expense.
Nixon: Nixon v Fitzgerald held by Supreme court in four to five ruling that the President of the United States, at the time – Richard M Nixon – was entitled to absolute immunity within 'the outer perimeter of his authority'. United States V Nixon held President of the United States is subject to compulsory Judicial Process
Absolute Immunity: System of justice is based on the common law position of absolute immunity where a 'King can do no wrong'. As such absolute immunity granted under Article II, section I of the Constitution. President's actions subject to impeachment by House of Representatives and trial by Senate.
Conclusion: McColluch v Maryland – in theory a President is elected by the whole nation, as such 'no one part of the nation should have the power to undo the decision of the whole'; the President should answer to all of the people through their chosen representatives
Olivia placed the document back in the folder, then slipped her arms around Fitz. "He wants you to be impeached."
"Yep," he kissed her temple. "I think that's where this was heading from the start."
She gave him a considering look. "You sound almost... relaxed about it."
He kissed her upper lip. "I love you."
"What does that mean?"
"It means - 'I love you'." He gave her another kiss.
Edison's Living Room
"That went according to plan," Reston's voice came over the phone line.
"Yeah," Edison smiled, stretched out on the sofa as he watched visuals of the evening news with the sound muted. "Now the tricky stuff begins."
A/N: Any mistakes relating to legal judgements and procedures (etc) are mine. Apologies. ;)
