‘The Law Firm,’ 9 p.m. NBC

The Case of the Etna Terrorist will be decided on today’s episode of “The Law Firm.”

That’s Etna, as in Etna, Maine, suburb of Carmel.

And, terrorist, as in EATME – Extreme Activist Terrorism Militia of Etna.

David E. Kelley, creator of legal-eagle dramas “The Practice,” “Ally McBeal” and “Boston Legal,” has reached into the case files at the Penobscot County Courthouse to pluck a scintillating lawsuit for the second episode of his reality series.

The case, filed last summer, caught the attention of Kelley’s California-based production company after the Associated Press picked up a Bangor Daily News story about the lawsuit. After a deluge of phone calls, both parties agreed to have the case decided on the show.

The lawsuit stemmed from a joke that went awry when a fake wanted poster was display in May 2004 on the cash register of the Country Corner Variety store in Etna. Brad Graves sued Ronald Hicks in July 2004 in Penobscot County Superior Court claiming that Hicks damaged his reputation by displaying a fake wanted poster that called him a “terrorist.”

The poster included a photograph of Graves with the words “Mohamed Abdul Graves, suspected leader of the outlaw organization Extreme Activist Terrorism Militia of Etna” or “EATME” displayed under his pictures, according to court documents.

Bangor attorneys Brett Baber, representing Graves, and Terrence Harrigan, representing Hicks, were gearing up for summary judgment and discovery motions standard in civil cases when Hollywood called. Kelley’s production team made an offer their clients simply couldn’t refuse.

Three weeks after Graves sued Hicks, the case was closed.

“For what it’s worth,” Harrigan, the defendant’s attorney, said earlier this week, “it worked out for my client. It was resolved quickly, it didn’t cost them any money and they and their witnesses got a free trip to L.A.”

Graves and Hicks spent a weekend in Hollywood last August when the courtroom scenes were filmed. All expenses, attorney’s fees and any possible judgement were paid by the show.

“Mr. Graves and I are grateful that a television network found interest in his case and provided a public mechanism for him to air his grievances,” Baber, the plaintiff’s attorney, said earlier this week.

Although the Bangor attorneys disagreed over whether the outcome of the case would have been different had it gone to trial in Penobscot County, they do agree that California lawyering doesn’t measure up to the exacting standards set by the Penobscot Bar Association.

“Having watched the first episode, I was rather surprised at the lack of trial skills shown by the contestants,” Baber said. “It’s portrayed as a showcase for the best and brightest trial lawyers presumably in California, but based upon my 20 years experience with the Penobscot County trial bar, I’d match up any Penobscot County trial lawyer with their cast any day of the week.”