Harry Claiborne was a flamboyant defense attorney in the Golden Years of Las Vegas from the end of WWII to the 80s. He drank a lot, chased women and got off a number of people the Justice Department wanted jailed. When his name was presented as a possible Federal Judge, alarm bells went off at DOJ.

Drama

Claiborne is enjoying his tenure as a Federal judge in Las Vegas when he receives word that DOJ is investigating him for taking bribes from brothel owner Joe Conforte.

After losing at trial, undergoing impeachment and limping back to Las Vegas to pick up the crumbs of a legal career, Claiborne contracts cancer and eventually takes his own life.

Las Vegas, Washington, DC

Yes

Tragedy

Meaningful Message

Language/Profanity

Name: Harry Claiborne

Age: 60s

Gender: Male

Role: Protagonist

Key Traits: Aggressive,Charming,Confident,Masculine,Engaging,Educated,Outspoken,Funny,Unapologetic,Lone Wolf

Name: Oscar Goodman, former mob attorney, later Mayor of Las Vegas, Claiborne's defense attorney.

Age: 60s

Gender: Male

Role: Mentor

Key Traits: Aggressive,Charming,Confident,Masculine,Blunt,Engaging,Skillful,Funny,Educated,Lone Wolf

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Harry Claiborne, a high-flying defense attorney in Las Vegas in the days of the Rat Pack and beyond, achieved his fondest dream with an appointment to a Federal judgeship in Las Vegas in the 80s. His dream turned to nightmare, however, when he found himself the object of a criminal investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). Although he was led in his defense by colorful, successful former mob attorney Oscar Goodman, Claiborne was convicted on two rather small tax offenses and sentenced to two years in prison. Stubbornly hanging on to the Constitution's protection of Federal judges with a lifetime appointment, Claiborne refuses to step down from his position even when jailed. Outraged Members of Congress launch an impeachment proceeding, which results in his removal from office.

Michael Vernetti is a former newsman in Las Vegas and former press secretary to powerful Nevada U.S. Senator Howard Cannon. He had a front-row seat to the events that brought Nevada Judge Harry Claiborne into the crosshairs of a Department of Justice investigation, trial, imprisonment and, eventually, impeachment. In addition to the book on Claiborne on which the script is based, Vernetti is the biography of the late Sen. Howard Cannon.

Age: 35-54

Target Gender: Universal

No

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