Borderline Justice

action-drama movie screenplay

A judge must choose between his professional promotion, or his love for a woman determined to open his eyes to the politically charged world of power, money, illegals, drugs, and borderline justice.

Behind the story of romance are two families, one north of the border, one south, which clash in the violent, politically charged world of power, money, illegals, and drugs.

Borderline Justice is a story about two father-in-laws and two ambitious sons whose lives intersect and become entwined with one another at the border of love, greed, treachery and justice.

My script is based on California's Three Strikes sentencing law which was originally enacted in 1994. The essence of the Three Strikes law was to require a defendant convicted of any new felony, having suffered one prior conviction of a serious felony to be sentenced to state prison for twice the term otherwise provided for the crime. If the defendant was convicted of any felony with two or more prior strikes, the law mandated a state prison term of at least 25 years to life.

On November 6, 2012, the voters approved Proposition 36 which substantially amended the law with two primary provisions:

  1. The requirements for sentencing a defendant as a third strike offender were changed to 25 years to life by requiring the new felony to be a serious or violent felony with two or more prior strikes to qualify for the 25 year-to-life sentence as a third strike offender; and
  2. The addition of a means by which designated defendants currently serving a third strike sentence may petition the court for reduction of their term to a second-strike sentence, if they would have been eligible for second strike sentencing under the new law.

Despite this humane change, many poor defendants are still at the mercy of the charges levelled against them.  This is particularly true of farmworkers, many of whom are charged with trumped-up charges far more serious than the original sentence.  

 

TOP 10% OF DISCOVERABLE PROJECTS IN COVERFLY

--AWARD WINNER, Golden Sparrow International Film Festival, 2020

--BEST SOCIAL SCRIPT, GoldStar Movie Awards, 2020

--HONORABLE MENTION, The Wiki Screenplay Contest, 2021

--AWARD WINNER and BEST SCREENPLAY, Five Continents International Film Festival, 2021

--AWARD WINNER, Royal Society of Television and Motion Pictures, 10/29/21

--AWARD WINNER, Krimson Horyzon International Film Festival, 11/16/21

--AWARD WINNER.  Worldfest-Houston International Film Festival, 4/19/22

--AWARD WINNER.  Turkey Golden Wolf Awards, 2/12/22

--BEST UNPRODUCED SCRIPT/EXCEPTIONAL ACHIEVEMENT.  Multi Dimension Independent Film Festival, 10/26/22

AWARD WINNER.  Accolade Global Film Contest, 12/1/22

--AWARD WINNER.  Crown International Film Festival, accola12/5/22

--HONORABLE MENTION, Hollywood Gold Award, 12/6/22

--AWARD WINNER.  Royal Wolf Film Awards, 1/13/23.

--AWARD WINNER, Vision International Film Festival, 2/15/23

--AWARD WINNER, Gold Star Movie Awards, 3/24/23.

--AWARD WINNER.  Milan Gold Awards.  4/5/23

--AWARD WINNER, Watch Out International Film Festival (Philadelphia, USA), 5/1/23

--AWARD WINNER, Calgary Independent Film Festival (Canada), 5/3/23

--AWARD WINNER, Filmatic Filmfare Film Festival, Best Social Screenplay, London, 5/5/23

--HONORABLE NOMINEE.  Indobali International Film Festival, 5/23/23

--AWARD WINNER, Beyond the Flow International Film Festival (France), 8/6/23

--HONORABLE NOMINEE, London Global Film Awards, 11/24/23

--AWARD WINNER, Hawaii International Film Awards, 12/19/23

--AWARD WINNER.  8 & Halfilm, 1/26/24

 --AWARD WINNER, San Francisco Independent Filmmakers Contest, 6/14/24

--HONORABLE MENTION, Buenos Aires Indie Shorts Awards, 6/20/24

--AWARD WINNER, Monaco Film Meeting, 2024.  Best International Screenwriter, Best Screenplay & Best American Feature Script, Sweet Democracy Film Awards, Wildfilmmaker, (Monaco, FRANCE), 8/26/24

--AWARD WINNER, Best Feature Script, Wild Filmmaker Awards in TORONTO, 9/12/24

--NOMINEE, San Diego Independent Cinema Awards, 10/29/24.

--AWARD WINNER, Best Indie Director and Best Original Screenwriter, Film Emmy Awards 2025, 3/26/25

--AWARD WINNER, Best Original Feature Script, Venice, City of Cinema (Wild Filmmaker), 5/27/25

--AWARD WINNER, Best Original Feature Script, The Indie Filmmaker Week, Nice, 5/29/25

--HONORABLE MENTION, Monthly Future of Film Awards (India), 6/5/25

--AWARD WINNER. Best Original Feature Script, TriBeCa Film Maverick Network, 2025.   6/7/25

--AWARD WINNER, Best Original Feature Script, Frida Film Festival (Mexico), 7/1/25

--AWARD WINNER, Best Original Feature Script & Best International Indie, 2025, San Francisco Film Achievement Awards, Wild Filmmaker 7/3/25.

AWARD WINNER as Best Original Feature Script & Best International Indie Screenwriter 2025

at Silicon Valley Film Experience. 7/14/25.

--upgraded to NOMINEE, California Indies, 7/26/25.

 

 

 

 

 

 

FINALIST:

-- FINALIST in the 2017 Finish Line Script Competition.

--FINALIST, Lonely Wolf (London) International Film Festival, 2020

--FINALIST, Delta International  Film Festival, 2021.

--FINALIST, Beyond the Curve International Film Festival, 12/24/2020

--FINALIST.  Arrow International Film Festival (Paris), 8/2/22

--FINALIST.  EdiPlay International Film Festival (LONDONN) 10/5/22

--FINALIST, Sydney Film And Screenplay Festival, 7/4/23.

 

 

SEMI-FINALIST:

--SEMIFINALIST, Inroads Fellowship, 2019, 5/15/19.

--SEMI-FINALIST, Filmmatic Drama Screenplay Award, 2020.

--SEMI-FINALIST, Utah Film Award, 2020.

--SEMI-FINALIST, Niagara Falls International Short Festival, 12/17/2021

-- SEMI-FINALIST, Dublin World Film Festival, 2/21/22

--SEMI-FINALIST, Santa Monica Film Awards, 11/6/22

--SEMIFINALIST, Dallas Movie Awards Festival, 8/27/23.

--SEMIFINALIST, Oakland Awards (Film Festival), 12/1/23

 

 

--OFFICIAL SELECTION, Depth of Film Field International .  2020

--OFFICIAL SELECTION, Moody Crab .  10/25/21

--OFFICIAL SELECTION, Montreal Independent.  10/25/21

--Official Selection, LA Sun Fest Festival, 10/28/21

--OFFICIAL SELECTION, Hollywood Gold Award, 12/3/22

--OFFICIAL SELECTION, Chicago Indie Film Awards, 6/3/23.

--OFFICIAL SELECTION.  Best International Motion Pictures, 8/16/23

--OFFICIAL SELECTION, London Global Film Awards, 10/26/23

--OFFICIAL SELECTION, Movie Town Online Film Festival, 10/31/23

--OFFICIAL SELECTION.  8 & Halfilm, 1/16/24

--OFFICIAL SELECTION, Angelic Stars International Film Festival, 7/26/25

--OFFICIAL SELECTION, Pembroke Taparelli  Film Festival (Los Angeles), 7/31/25

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RITA

He’s a mule who made one stupid mistake.  A fly caught in the spider’s web.  Both images work.  Mules and flies.  Easy to catch.  Not the cartels, the businessmen, the ones at the top.  They know how to avoid your courtroom, Martin.

 

“It is a screenplay that would have a broad appeal to those interested in movies combining social justice, politics and romance.” (Wiki Screenplay Contest)