Chicago Justice (2017): Season 1, Episode 10 - Drill - full transcript
[quiet rustling]
[overlapping chatter]
[police radio chatter]
Hey, fella.
Thanks for your service.
[brakes hissing]
[church bells chiming]
♪ ♪
Circa the Battle of Gettysburg.
Perfect backup weapon for you, Dawson.
41 caliber stops your average
sumo wrestler in his tracks.
Tucks neatly in a fanny pack.
- Man purse.
- Sports bra, Gstring, thong.
[stammers] I'd like to turn in a gun.
- Yeah, let's take a look.
- [exhales]
- Where'd you serve?
- Iraq.
Two tours.
I'm glad that's over, man.
I was sweating' bullets
walking around with that thing.
I mean, if I got stopped, you know?
It'd have been real bad.
- Thing's jammed.
- Let me see.
I still get the money
even though it's broke?
- Absolutely.
- Cool.
My nephew wants a
clarinet for his birthday.
I figured this would cover a used one.
On the barrel. Is that...
You have to come with us.
Why, what'd I do?
You see the dots?
That's blood spatter.
What?
I'm pretty sure your
gun has a body on it.
- [handcuffs clicking]
- Oh, shoot.
The radio said bring any
gun to the church today
and get $100.
A'ight? So that's what I did.
All true, Mr. Williams,
but your gun has dried
blood on it, and...
It's not my gun.
Whose gun is it?
I don't really know. I found it.
Where?
[exhales sharply] Well...
I was waiting for the
bus early this morning,
and I... [stammers]
I threw away some chewing gum,
and it was laying right...
Right there in a...
A trash barrel.
Your heart seems to be in
the right place, Mr. Williams,
but this story, to be
honest, sounds like BS.
I'm telling you, it isn't mine.
Then the last thing we want
is someone blaming you
when they find their gun missing.
Can I just go home?
I'll give back the money.
The money's yours.
Yeah, but you're not leaving
until we know where you got that gun.
- All right.
- Get up.
All right.
I...
I was fixing my nephew's
bed this morning.
And then that's when I
found it under the mattress.
Your nephew the clarinet player?
No, his name's Andre.
A'ight? He's a good kid.
Made all A's last year.
Never been in any kind of
trouble with the police.
When I saw that gun under Andre's bed,
you know, it scared the hell out of me,
and believe me, when he
comes home from school,
I'm gon' get to the bottom of this.
Is my uncle in some kind of trouble?
That depends on how this goes.
He found your gun.
What gun?
The one under your mattress.
But I don't know anything about that.
[sighs]
I mean, if he found it,
I didn't put it there.
So you want your uncle to
take the weight for this?
No, ma'am.
You shot somebody, didn't you, Andre?
Shot? No, sir.
If that gun was used to shoot somebody,
we're gonna find out.
Maybe we can help you now.
But once we walk out of
here, all bets are off.
Do you understand?
Bad decision, Andre.
Get back to class.
The serial number tracks
an Indiana gun store sale in '89.
Looks like somebody's
been playing street hockey
- with it ever since.
- It's still operable?
Ballistics says it fires just fine.
Loading, not so much.
The spring on the magazine release
is shot to hell.
Latent didn't find any
prints on the weapon
other than the e-lims you provided.
What about the blood?
Did we get a DNA hit?
As a matter of fact...
[mouse clicks]
Damon Cafferty.
Age 19.
Two priors.
Can I get in there?
That's a gang tatt.
PD Killaz. They roll out of Englewood.
Damon Cafferty's the banger
that wouldn't cooperate
in the Lara Haley shooting.
Stone's just starting that trial now.
Part of our opening statement
will be making an emotional connection
with our jurors.
I'll be telling them
about your daughter.
Taking them through what
happened to her that day.
It may be hard for you to hear.
We'll be all right.
If you need to step out at any time...
We live with this every single day.
I was holding Lara's hand...
when the shooting started.
The sidewalk outside our
home where she was shot...
- The blood is still...
- I'm really sorry
to do this to you, Mrs. Haley,
but it helps that you're here.
We'll do what we need to do
to see the person who did this
go to jail.
Thank you. So will we.
Mr. Stone?
Hi. Hope I'm not interrupting.
Kerry Schmidt. Cook
County Public Defender.
I'll be taking over the defense case.
- Hey, Anna.
- Hi.
Kerry was one year
behind me at Michigan Law.
Uh, two.
Believe it or not, this is
my very first murder trial.
[chuckles] Butterflies, you know?
So, uh, I would be
more than grateful for
any professional courtesies
you might throw my way.
Not that I'm looking for
you to take it easy on me.
Okay, then. You can meet the Haleys.
They're the parents of the little girl
your client killed.
On the afternoon of July 11th,
Lara Haley was walking
home from summer school
with her mom, Corrine.
It's a walk they've taken
a hundred times before.
It was just another average day.
They talked about
Lara's science classes,
and what they'd cook for dinner.
But it was the last average
day that Lara would ever have.
And the last moment that Corrine Haley
would ever spend with her daughter.
'Cause a few hours earlier,
this man, Chris Stackhouse,
a member of a south side street gang
known as the Drexel Posse,
found an Instagram message on his phone
from a rival gang.
It said, and I'm paraphrasing
some rough language here,
"Had sex with your
girlfriend last night.
Hahaha."
Attached to the message was a photograph
of a half naked young lady.
The defendant then grabbed
a 9 millimeter handgun,
pulled a hoodie over his head,
and rode his bike to the corner
of 68th Street and Marshfield Avenue,
where he opened fire on a
group of rival gang members
who charmingly call themselves
PD Killaz.
The man he was gunning for,
Damon Cafferty, was wounded.
But a stray bullet
from the defendant's gun
tore into Lara's back, killing her
as Corrine cradled her in her arms
and felt the life drain
out of her daughter.
[bell dings]
- They're still not answering.
- What courtroom?
304.
Yes, this is a very tragic
situation for Lara's parents.
I mean, not just for her parents,
but for all of us. Really.
But when you look at
the evidence logically...
- Stone!
- It will show that my client
did not fire the firearm
that killed that poor girl.
We just found your murder weapon.
It was in another kid's bedroom.
- What?
- In fact, he was nowhere near...
Your Honor, I'm
addressing the Jury here.
I'm sorry, would you
bear with us, please?
Are you sure?
Damon Cafferty's blood spatter
is on the business end of the gun.
Looks like you might have
the wrong kid on trial here.
The ballistic tests confirmed it.
Lara Haley was killed
with a bullet from
the weapon turned in
at the gun buy-back.
It's like the wild west
out there, and we can't get
a simple murder case right.
Thought you had this.
We knew there were a
few problems going in.
- You call this a problem?
- There's no need to panic.
Just because some other kid was
babysitting the murder weapon,
doesn't mean the shooter isn't
sitting at the defense table.
Is the boy who had the
gun in the same street gang
- as the defendant?
- Not as far as we know.
He seems to be a model citizen.
So what was the gun
doing under his mattress?
We'll get a continuance.
It'll buy us some time
to find more answers.
What makes you think Judge Sanford
will grant us a continuance?
Newly discovered evidence.
So you're going to let
Schmidt know about the gun?
I want a conviction as much as anybody.
Don't you think we need
to disclose that we found
the murder weapon?
You just told Jefferies
it's not exculpatory.
If you were defense counsel,
wouldn't you want to know about this?
Landmark case of State v. Jagger.
You can't always get what you want.
Law's not rock 'n' roll.
We play by the rules,
and we err on the side of
- do unto others.
- Gospel. Not my jam.
My client wants his day in court.
Enough delays already.
Why do you need more time, Mr. Stone?
Our investigators just recovered the gun
that killed Lara Haley.
Where?
In another teenager's bedroom.
Forget about a continuance.
I'm moving for a dismissal.
No, that's ridiculous.
Our case is still viable.
My client's been swearing up
and down he didn't do this.
He bragged about it.
- He's been ID'd.
- And I'm hearing
your star witness is the
neighborhood crackhead.
We don't want to see an
innocent man convicted
any more than Ms. Schmidt does.
We need a week to investigate.
You've got 72 hours.
In light of this development,
Judge, my client should be
released without bail.
Well, the People strongly oppose.
I'll release him,
but I'm ordering that he
be restricted to his home.
You understand that, Ms. Schmidt?
If I hear that he puts
one foot on the street,
he goes back to County, and
I'll slap a contempt finding
on both of you.
I don't see why this guy
can't just call an Uber.
You have something better to do?
Than running a car
service for a murderer?
Bogey. Two o'clock.
You're here to transport my client?
That's what the court order says.
You know you're not allowed to
ask him any questions, right?
Was that in the order?
It's in the Fifth Amendment.
I have an idea.
Why don't you ride along
with us to Englewood?
Make sure we don't violate
any of your client's
constitutional rights.
It's okay.
Stackhouse!
- Come on, come on, come on.
- Get in the car.
Oh, remember, Chris.
- Home restriction.
- Yeah. Yeah, it's all good.
Look. Do me a favor.
Drop me off on Ashland.
I don't wanna be rolling'
up on my block with PD.
Not a chance. You're
getting door-to-door service.
You heard your lawyer.
Get inside, stay inside.
Yeah. All right.
We'll be back to pick
you up Friday morning.
- Yo, Stack, what up, man?
- Hey, yo, what up?
Can you believe this knucklehead?
Hey! Stackhouse!
P-D-K drilling' snitches today.
[gunshots]
[brakes screeching]
Go! I got it!
[groaning]
10-71. Shots fired.
- [siren wailing]
- One down.
Need an ambo at 62nd and Wolcott.
Chris Stackhouse took
one round to the thigh.
He's being treated at Chicago Med,
but no reason he can't
limp back into court
when the trial resumes.
Our shooter jumped on the Ryan.
We lost him in traffic.
I don't suppose you got
a DMV hit on the plate?
It's stolen. We'll lift prints
when the vehicle turns up.
We're pulling known PDK mug shots
to see if we can put a name to the face.
What about posting up on their turf?
Maybe you can spot the shooter.
It's not great timing.
Stackhouse's release lit a spark
between PDK and the Drexel Posse.
Why?
'Cause a banger who skates out
from under a murder
charge looks like a snitch.
There were three shootings
in Englewood just last night.
Four wounded. One PDK kid dead.
Bystanders?
A pedestrian caught a round in his neck.
Missed his jugular by a half inch.
The District has its hands full.
There is a surge in place.
[chamber clicks]
The mag release on that thing's shot.
All right. Voight and his
crew can jump on the drive-by.
There's a ticking clock
on the Haley trial.
Andre had nothing to do
with that little girl getting killed.
All right? He's not in a gang.
He goes to school, and he comes home.
I don't let him leave the house
without me going with him.
The principal at Harper speaks
very highly of your nephew.
But the fact remains, he
had a gun under his bed.
Which I turned in.
A gun that was used in
the homicide of Lara Haley.
[exhales]
We can have him arrested right now
- while we sort this out.
- Oh, no.
- Please don't do that.
- So if there's an explanation
for this, now's the time.
I know this is hard, Mr. Williams.
You're asking me to throw
another boy to the lions?
It's your choice,
but it looks to me
like Andre's a young man
who has a shot to make
a life for himself.
You can protect this other kid,
or you can be straight with us.
The day the girl was shot,
Andre's cousin, Keo, came to the house.
Keo Vincent.
And, uh, he said he was, uh,
coming from the playground
and needed to shower.
To scrub off gunshot residue?
Or a sweaty kid who needed to wash up.
He had something in a lunch bag
that he gave to Andre. All right?
Something heavy.
About the size of a gun?
Yes, ma'am.
And when he left here, he
was wearing Andre's clothes.
Why didn't you tell this
to our investigators?
All right, look. You have to understand.
Keo is my sister's only child.
All right? Family.
But between you and me,
kid's been in some trouble before.
Where do we find Keo?
This is Drexel Posse territory.
It's the kid in the white tank top.
The Chief Keef wannabe.
Keo.
Yo, Keo!
What?
Talk to you for a minute.
I'm busy.
All right. You gon'
make me come over there
and see who all's got warrants?
Yeah?
These gentlemen here are
with the State's Attorney.
They want to talk to you
about Chris Stackhouse.
He's locked up.
Not anymore. He just got shot.
There's a lot of that going around.
He said you were with him on
Marshfield a few months ago
when that little girl got killed.
I don't think so.
Check it. Man says C-Stax
trying to put a case on me.
That's hella cold.
No one said anything about a case.
You ain't come all the way
out here for the scenery.
I think we need to discuss this
where we have your full attention.
Are you arresting me?
'Cause I didn't drill nobody.
I guess black lives do matter.
Chill out, Keo.
Keo had six juvie
arrests by the age of 15.
He did a bid at JDC.
He's suspected of being cliqued up
with a Drexel Posse crew on his block.
A junior associate?
A kid who'd try to
make a name for himself
by spraying bullets at a rival gang.
Yeah. With an attitude
to match his ambition.
If this little wise-ass
killed Lara Haley,
he's going away for a long time.
We've got an all-out war now
between Drexel Posse and PDK.
Gang Intel sent me this
after Stackhouse got
shot a couple of days ago.
A gang member from
PDK posted an Instagram
threatening Stackhouse ten
minutes before he was shot.
Drexel retaliates by
shooting three PDK bangers.
And then they posted photos
of it on social media.
The two gangs tweet some insults
back and forth, and finally,
there's a challenge to throw down
by the railroad tracks
near Lindblom Park.
"PDK bitches gonna bleed."
Bottom line... Three dead, five wounded.
All in the space of eight hours.
So basically, they're inciting
these retaliations on social media?
Uh-huh. That's how
these crews roll now.
You call out a rival in a DM.
Drop a dis video.
Geo-tag your turf.
Shoot. Rinse. Repeat.
Cyber-banging.
Makes "Boyz n the Hood"
look like a Disney movie.
Cell tower pings put
Keo Vincent on the block
when Lara Haley was killed.
I'm getting this strong feeling
we actually do have the wrong
Drexel Posse banger on trial.
Yeah. You and me both.
Here. Check this out.
Your cell phone account?
It's my user agreement. Read that.
"The customer agrees not to
use the phone or the account
for any unlawful purpose."
I'd say orchestrating a gang war
in a series of digital messages
qualifies as an unlawful purpose.
Maybe, but it'll take years to litigate.
And that's why I'm
shutting off their phones.
Let's see if I understand
this, Mr. Stone.
You want to unilaterally terminate
cellular and Internet
service for 39 individuals.
Individuals who are
known violent gang members
- in your jurisdiction.
- Known by whom?
The Chicago PD maintains
a Strategic Subject List.
It's more commonly called the Heat List.
It ranks past offenders
who are most likely
to perpetrate gun
violence in the future.
Who makes this list?
It's based on a computer algorithm
developed by the Illinois
Institute of Technology.
So you're telling me some computer wonk
on a college campus
can predict the future?
Yes, Your Honor.
Young men at the top of the Heat List
are shooting each other
in Englewood as we speak.
And how's turning off their smartphones
gonna stop them from killing each other?
As you can see from these
social media messages
we've pulled, the
violence is being fueled by
these gang members on their devices.
Well...
you have whet my appetite.
I'll grant a full
hearing on your request
for injunctive relief,
but in addition to the service providers
you've named, I want
the Illinois ACLU here
on behalf of the account holders.
We'll put it on the
calendar for next Friday.
Thank you, but this
needs to be heard tomorrow
before there's more blood on the street.
We can have all the parties
notified within the hour.
I can't walk across the hall
without taking my cell phone.
But you don't use it to
light up your neighbor.
Maybe there's a way to
do this more surgically.
File complaints with
the social media apps
- they're using.
- I can name ten
messaging applications
off the top of my head.
These gang members can
migrate from one to the next
as easily as I can change
the brand of beer I order.
We don't have time to play
whack-a-mole with these killers.
Whoa! It was just a thought.
This city's buried too
many of its children.
You're trying to do what?
I don't know.
Save a few lives, maybe.
By turning off people's cell phones?
We can't just sit up
here and be reactive.
We try a few cases, and
we move on to the next,
and it doesn't make a dent.
What's happening now in
the south side of Chicago...
Right now, tonight...
Is a public emergency,
and we need to think outside the box.
The last thing I need
is the FCC breathing down my neck.
So we'll just sit on our
hands and let these kids
kill each other over
a few blocks of turf.
Come on, you know there's middle ground
between doing nothing and this.
Why not try to stop the worst offenders
from perpetrating this
violence before it happens?
Back in the day, they called that
"rounding up the usual suspects."
This is nothing new. It's
just high tech profiling.
Using race-neutral criteria.
Felony histories, gang affiliations.
Who's in the gangs?
The shooters.
People of color.
Lara Haley was a person of color.
I can't get their guns,
but maybe I can get
the phones they're using
to help kill each other,
or any other innocent kid
who just happens to be nearby.
[exhales]
Okay.
I'm not gonna pull
the plug on you, Peter.
But if the Justice Department
comes knocking on my door
with a civil rights complaint,
I'll throw you under
the bus so damn fast,
it'll make your head spin.
Understood.
And God help you if someone dies
because one of these kids
can't use their cell phone
in an emergency.
One the ACLU's biggest problems with
the Heat List is transparency.
The police won't reveal all
of the criteria they used
for the algorithm, or
say who's on the list,
never mind provide
basic due process to challenge it.
The city of Chicago
has demonized hundreds
of young men in secret.
And what about the fact that
the State's Attorney wants to
shut down their smartphones?
The last time I looked,
there was something called
the First Amendment.
The U.S. Supreme Court decided last year
that the Internet is a public utility.
So my company can't pick and choose
who we provide service to.
But isn't it a fact that
users who issue death threats
are violating the terms of
their customer agreement?
Maybe yes, maybe no.
That's a contractual
matter for us to decide.
Not you.
Are you suggesting this court
doesn't have the authority
to order these terminations?
I wouldn't have a problem
if the consumer could appeal
the shut off, but
you're just speculating.
A ten-year-old girl named
Lara Haley was murdered
in a shooting instigated on
your company's wireless service.
How is that speculation?
Is there anything else, Mr. Stone?
No further questions, Your Honor.
Oh, just one more thing.
The State's Attorney is asking for
novel and unprecedented relief.
But the record number
of dead and wounded
is also unprecedented.
And they are more than statistics.
These are young lives being snuffed out.
Parents grieving.
A community gripped by fear.
If I get reversed on appeal, so be it.
But I find that there is
no constitutional right
to operate a smartphone
that is being utilized
as a deadly weapon.
Shut down these 39 accounts immediately.
[gavel bangs]
Here you go,
39 end of service confirmations
from the companies.
There's some unhappy bangers
on the south side tonight.
And the ACLU's notice of appeal.
Slow play our response.
We want to milk these terminations
as long as we can.
You have no idea if
this is going to work.
I'm not expecting a miracle,
but if we can ratchet down
the gang war in Englewood,
- it was worth it.
- Hopefully,
we didn't win the war,
and lose the battle.
Thank you for coming, Mr. Williams.
Andre can wait in reception while we...
You need to hear what he has to say.
Tell him.
Keo's been calling me about the gun.
He got up in my face
at school yesterday.
Told me that he needed his gun back.
Then he came by the house later,
and started pounding on the door.
I pretended I wasn't home,
but I'm afraid if I go
back to school tomorrow,
something bad might happen.
This is all gonna work out.
We're gonna charge Keo with murder.
His visit to your
apartment the other day,
and the blood on the gun you turned in
are key pieces of evidence.
But we can't proceed without you.
We'll need you and Andre to
testify in the Grand Jury.
Testify against my sister's boy?
Your sister's boy killed
an innocent young girl.
What if it was Andre?
Andre won't have Keo
threatening him anymore.
Aren't you tired of all this?
Damn right, I am.
Then help us get justice.
I've tried to do the right thing
this whole time.
I turned in the gun
like I was supposed to.
I told you the truth about
Keo when you asked me.
I dropped what I was doing,
and came over here tonight.
But if Drexel Posse finds out
I was anywhere near a courtroom,
or a Grand Jury,
what do you expect is going
to happen to me and Andre?
What? You think locking Keo
up is gonna solve the problem?
We can offer you both some protection.
Protection. That sounds like a fine idea
sitting up here in this nice law office.
I'm sure you've got
programs, protocols, whatever.
But it's the law of the
street we talking about now.
These kids still paying back
grudges from five years ago.
So what are you going to do?
We'll stay with some friends
in Wrigleyville for a few days.
After that, I don't know.
But I've done all I can do for you now.
I need to keep me and Andre alive.
We appreciate your help.
Stay safe.
So that's it?
Keo Vincent skates,
and the Haleys get a
final kick in the gut.
Cubs won.
You came up here to
give me a baseball score?
The Lara Haley trial isn't going well.
Yeah. To say the least.
Go home, Peter.
There'll be another
innocent victim next week,
and then another, and there's nothing
you nor I can do about it.
You know, if I believed that,
I'd be coaching at some
junior college in Wisconsin.
[clears throat]
My grandparents lived in this small town
in eastern Tennessee.
And I went down there
many years ago to talk to
this lawyer who was
drafting their wills.
The walls of his offices were lined
with paintings of trees.
What kind of trees?
He'd painted every tree in the county
where a black man was lynched.
Black kids killing black kids.
This is 300 years in the making.
It doesn't mean we can't
try to make things better.
Better has to come from the inside.
Not from politicians like
me, or do-gooders like you.
You know, there are a
lot of people who think
nothing's going to change
until the mothers and fathers
in my community start
behaving like parents.
Enforcing some rules.
Reading books to their
sons and daughters.
I didn't say that.
No.
But you think it.
Am I right?
[exhales]
Guilty as charged.
But we both know it's more complicated.
You're damn right it is.
Don't beat yourself up.
You are nothing if not persistent.
[chuckles] What's that supposed to mean?
You found a way to strong-arm
all those big telecom companies.
And I'm sure you're gonna
find a way to take down
the one little gangbanger
that killed Lara Haley.
Your client's out of the hospital?
He's on crutches, but he's good to go.
You've had your 72 hours, Mr. Stone.
- Are you ready to proceed?
- Yes and no.
We're moving to dismiss our case
against Ms. Schmidt's client.
- Fabulous, we consent...
- But...
we're still pressing
forward with his trial.
- I'm confused.
- You're not the only one.
We'd like for Mr. Stackhouse to believe
there's still a case against him.
Same with the Jury, and
anyone outside this room.
You're asking me to preside
over what's essentially a ruse?
Well, I wouldn't use that word.
We'd like the trial
to keep going so I can
call a witness to the
stand named Keo Vincent.
He's a gang associate
of Ms. Schmidt's client,
and in all probability,
the one who fired the shot
that killed Lara Haley.
I want the right person
in jail for this crime,
but what you're proposing
is highly unusual.
But not without precedent.
In certain extraordinary circumstances,
shadow proceedings have
been conducted in New York.
And in Operation Greylord,
right here in Cook County.
Okay, just so I'm clear on this.
You've mistakenly charged
my client with murder.
As a result, he was shot and wounded,
and is lucky to be alive.
And now you want to use him as bait?
Exactly. If there was
any other option...
He's a human being, not
a pawn in a chess game.
I won't be a party to this.
Give me a minute.
Kerry. Kerry!
- Please.
- How could you do this to me?
- To you?
- Yes, to me.
This is my first homicide trial,
and you're asking me to do
something that's shady at best.
We're dismissing the case.
Your client's gonna walk.
I'm deceiving a client,
participating in a sham trial.
Okay.
Wait.
We know who killed Lara Haley now,
and the only way we're
gonna get this guy
is if we all take a little risk.
When I started here,
they had me doing research in Appeals.
Stone was prosecuting Victor Cathridge.
The guy who murdered
three women on the L.
One day during the trial,
I walked into the courtroom
to drop off a brief.
Stone was cross-examining a witness,
and while I was waiting there,
I saw Cathridge was
fidgeting with something
under the defense table.
- Oh, no.
- It was suspicious,
and I thought about
alerting one the deputies,
but Cathridge would see it coming.
So I tip-toed into the well,
handed the brief to
Peter's second chair,
and as I was walking out,
I flipped over the defense table.
Before anyone knew what was going on,
there were four deputies
on top of Cathridge,
one had me in a choke hold
until I could point them
to the razorblade Cathridge
had wedged under the table.
If you want the right results,
sometimes you have to
do something unorthodox.
[exhales]
So what do you say?
Who is it?
Peoples Gas, ma'am.
Sorry to disturb you, but
I'm checking on a gas leak.
No gas in here.
Either you let me in to check it out,
or I go downstairs to shut
off your gas and electric.
State's Attorney, Mrs. Vincent.
You tricked me.
What's going on, Ma?
I got nothing to say to you.
We have a material witness order.
- You need to come with us.
- Material witness?
It means the judge wants him
to come to court to testify.
- Testify about what?
- Don't worry.
- I got this.
- You sure?
Give me a call when you get there.
No service on my cell, Ma.
You ain't paying my bill.
I did pay your bill. What you think?
You two can settle this later.
It should only take a couple of hours.
[sighs]
Call your next witness, Mr. Stone.
The People call Keo Vincent.
Do you solemnly swear that
the testimony you're about
to give will be the
truth, the whole truth,
and nothing but the
truth so help you God?
Do I got a choice?
I'll take that as a yes.
Morning, Keo.
I'd like to call your attention
to the afternoon of July 11th.
Were you in the Englewood
neighborhood that day?
- Could be.
- Specifically at the home
of your cousin, a boy
named Andre Williams?
Andre said I was there?
Just answer the question.
I don't remember.
But you do remember changing
into some of Andre's clothes
around that time, right?
What kind of clothes?
It was a black polo
shirt, some blue jeans.
[chuckles] He's littler than me.
We don't even wear the same size.
But you do remember being there now?
Can't say for sure.
And speaking with your
uncle, Ernest Williams.
If I was there and he
was there, then yeah,
I would've talked to him.
Maybe you remember that
Andre gave you something.
He gave you a...
It was a bag.
Just a small, brown bag
with something heavy in it.
I gotta answer all these questions?
Do your best.
I don't know nothing
about any brown bag.
Judge, I'd like to show the witness
what's being offered
as People's Exhibit 1.
All right.
You ever seen that
particular gun before?
No.
Fair enough.
Can defense counsel have
an opportunity to see
this exhibit?
Actually,
Keo, you wanna make sure
that thing's not loaded?
[chamber clicks]
Chamber's clear.
And what about the magazine?
Clip's empty, too.
Can I see the gun, please?
Now, the magazine release on this gun...
It's inoperable.
But you knew that
because this is your gun.
That's why you had to
smack the handle a few times
to get the mag to release.
Just like you did four months ago
when you loaded this same gun,
jumped on your bike,
and rode to the corner
of 68th Street and Marshfield Avenue
where you opened fire on
a group of gang rivals,
killing a ten-year-old
girl in the process.
Man, you making all this up.
Coming at me about some nonsense
about some button that don't work.
That means I drill somebody?
You know what? I'm out of here.
The People move to dismiss all charges
against Chris Stackhouse.
Arrest this man for the
murder of Lara Haley.
- Let me go.
- Hands behind your back!
Let me go!
[groaning] Let me go, man!
- Let me go, man.
- Stay down.
I didn't do nothing to that girl.
You're sure he's the one
who killed our daughter?
I am now.
Sometimes you have to make a wrong turn
before you find your way.
I'm sorry to put you through this again.
We'll be there.
Thank you.
That boy was barely older than Lara was.
[sighs]
Don't tell me. Another ride home?
Nope.
You're on your own now.
Hey, Stackhouse.
Yeah?
Crossroads for you.
What you mean?
You just beat a murder rap and a bullet.
Keep doing what you're
doing, sooner or later,
your luck's gonna run out.
- Here.
- [elevator dings]
A guy I know runs a
jobs training program
in Hyde Park.
Use my name. He'll hook you up.
Maybe.
Now was that so terrible?
I hate to admit it, but
I did enjoy the show.
And you get to walk back
to your office and tell them
you won your first homicide trial.
Hm. Not sure what I'll tell my boss
when he asks me how, but...
The prosecutors stunk up the courtroom?
Not bad.
At least I can say that
with a straight face.
[chuckles]
See you in court, Counsel.
I'm getting calls.
Detroit, Baltimore.
They want to know if
this thing actually works.
Well, the two gangs in
Englewood have been quiet
for a couple of days now.
You can't kick millenials
off social media forever.
It's like air and water to us.
They'll find out how to
get back on soon enough.
Still, not a bad week.
All it took was a phony trial,
tricking a 15-year-old
into incriminating himself,
and goosing the Due Process Clause
and The First Amendment.
All with judicial approval.
And a last minute save.
[cell phone buzzes]
[police radio chatter]
Oh, no.
[low shudders]
[overlapping chatter]
[police radio chatter]
Hey, fella.
Thanks for your service.
[brakes hissing]
[church bells chiming]
♪ ♪
Circa the Battle of Gettysburg.
Perfect backup weapon for you, Dawson.
41 caliber stops your average
sumo wrestler in his tracks.
Tucks neatly in a fanny pack.
- Man purse.
- Sports bra, Gstring, thong.
[stammers] I'd like to turn in a gun.
- Yeah, let's take a look.
- [exhales]
- Where'd you serve?
- Iraq.
Two tours.
I'm glad that's over, man.
I was sweating' bullets
walking around with that thing.
I mean, if I got stopped, you know?
It'd have been real bad.
- Thing's jammed.
- Let me see.
I still get the money
even though it's broke?
- Absolutely.
- Cool.
My nephew wants a
clarinet for his birthday.
I figured this would cover a used one.
On the barrel. Is that...
You have to come with us.
Why, what'd I do?
You see the dots?
That's blood spatter.
What?
I'm pretty sure your
gun has a body on it.
- [handcuffs clicking]
- Oh, shoot.
The radio said bring any
gun to the church today
and get $100.
A'ight? So that's what I did.
All true, Mr. Williams,
but your gun has dried
blood on it, and...
It's not my gun.
Whose gun is it?
I don't really know. I found it.
Where?
[exhales sharply] Well...
I was waiting for the
bus early this morning,
and I... [stammers]
I threw away some chewing gum,
and it was laying right...
Right there in a...
A trash barrel.
Your heart seems to be in
the right place, Mr. Williams,
but this story, to be
honest, sounds like BS.
I'm telling you, it isn't mine.
Then the last thing we want
is someone blaming you
when they find their gun missing.
Can I just go home?
I'll give back the money.
The money's yours.
Yeah, but you're not leaving
until we know where you got that gun.
- All right.
- Get up.
All right.
I...
I was fixing my nephew's
bed this morning.
And then that's when I
found it under the mattress.
Your nephew the clarinet player?
No, his name's Andre.
A'ight? He's a good kid.
Made all A's last year.
Never been in any kind of
trouble with the police.
When I saw that gun under Andre's bed,
you know, it scared the hell out of me,
and believe me, when he
comes home from school,
I'm gon' get to the bottom of this.
Is my uncle in some kind of trouble?
That depends on how this goes.
He found your gun.
What gun?
The one under your mattress.
But I don't know anything about that.
[sighs]
I mean, if he found it,
I didn't put it there.
So you want your uncle to
take the weight for this?
No, ma'am.
You shot somebody, didn't you, Andre?
Shot? No, sir.
If that gun was used to shoot somebody,
we're gonna find out.
Maybe we can help you now.
But once we walk out of
here, all bets are off.
Do you understand?
Bad decision, Andre.
Get back to class.
The serial number tracks
an Indiana gun store sale in '89.
Looks like somebody's
been playing street hockey
- with it ever since.
- It's still operable?
Ballistics says it fires just fine.
Loading, not so much.
The spring on the magazine release
is shot to hell.
Latent didn't find any
prints on the weapon
other than the e-lims you provided.
What about the blood?
Did we get a DNA hit?
As a matter of fact...
[mouse clicks]
Damon Cafferty.
Age 19.
Two priors.
Can I get in there?
That's a gang tatt.
PD Killaz. They roll out of Englewood.
Damon Cafferty's the banger
that wouldn't cooperate
in the Lara Haley shooting.
Stone's just starting that trial now.
Part of our opening statement
will be making an emotional connection
with our jurors.
I'll be telling them
about your daughter.
Taking them through what
happened to her that day.
It may be hard for you to hear.
We'll be all right.
If you need to step out at any time...
We live with this every single day.
I was holding Lara's hand...
when the shooting started.
The sidewalk outside our
home where she was shot...
- The blood is still...
- I'm really sorry
to do this to you, Mrs. Haley,
but it helps that you're here.
We'll do what we need to do
to see the person who did this
go to jail.
Thank you. So will we.
Mr. Stone?
Hi. Hope I'm not interrupting.
Kerry Schmidt. Cook
County Public Defender.
I'll be taking over the defense case.
- Hey, Anna.
- Hi.
Kerry was one year
behind me at Michigan Law.
Uh, two.
Believe it or not, this is
my very first murder trial.
[chuckles] Butterflies, you know?
So, uh, I would be
more than grateful for
any professional courtesies
you might throw my way.
Not that I'm looking for
you to take it easy on me.
Okay, then. You can meet the Haleys.
They're the parents of the little girl
your client killed.
On the afternoon of July 11th,
Lara Haley was walking
home from summer school
with her mom, Corrine.
It's a walk they've taken
a hundred times before.
It was just another average day.
They talked about
Lara's science classes,
and what they'd cook for dinner.
But it was the last average
day that Lara would ever have.
And the last moment that Corrine Haley
would ever spend with her daughter.
'Cause a few hours earlier,
this man, Chris Stackhouse,
a member of a south side street gang
known as the Drexel Posse,
found an Instagram message on his phone
from a rival gang.
It said, and I'm paraphrasing
some rough language here,
"Had sex with your
girlfriend last night.
Hahaha."
Attached to the message was a photograph
of a half naked young lady.
The defendant then grabbed
a 9 millimeter handgun,
pulled a hoodie over his head,
and rode his bike to the corner
of 68th Street and Marshfield Avenue,
where he opened fire on a
group of rival gang members
who charmingly call themselves
PD Killaz.
The man he was gunning for,
Damon Cafferty, was wounded.
But a stray bullet
from the defendant's gun
tore into Lara's back, killing her
as Corrine cradled her in her arms
and felt the life drain
out of her daughter.
[bell dings]
- They're still not answering.
- What courtroom?
304.
Yes, this is a very tragic
situation for Lara's parents.
I mean, not just for her parents,
but for all of us. Really.
But when you look at
the evidence logically...
- Stone!
- It will show that my client
did not fire the firearm
that killed that poor girl.
We just found your murder weapon.
It was in another kid's bedroom.
- What?
- In fact, he was nowhere near...
Your Honor, I'm
addressing the Jury here.
I'm sorry, would you
bear with us, please?
Are you sure?
Damon Cafferty's blood spatter
is on the business end of the gun.
Looks like you might have
the wrong kid on trial here.
The ballistic tests confirmed it.
Lara Haley was killed
with a bullet from
the weapon turned in
at the gun buy-back.
It's like the wild west
out there, and we can't get
a simple murder case right.
Thought you had this.
We knew there were a
few problems going in.
- You call this a problem?
- There's no need to panic.
Just because some other kid was
babysitting the murder weapon,
doesn't mean the shooter isn't
sitting at the defense table.
Is the boy who had the
gun in the same street gang
- as the defendant?
- Not as far as we know.
He seems to be a model citizen.
So what was the gun
doing under his mattress?
We'll get a continuance.
It'll buy us some time
to find more answers.
What makes you think Judge Sanford
will grant us a continuance?
Newly discovered evidence.
So you're going to let
Schmidt know about the gun?
I want a conviction as much as anybody.
Don't you think we need
to disclose that we found
the murder weapon?
You just told Jefferies
it's not exculpatory.
If you were defense counsel,
wouldn't you want to know about this?
Landmark case of State v. Jagger.
You can't always get what you want.
Law's not rock 'n' roll.
We play by the rules,
and we err on the side of
- do unto others.
- Gospel. Not my jam.
My client wants his day in court.
Enough delays already.
Why do you need more time, Mr. Stone?
Our investigators just recovered the gun
that killed Lara Haley.
Where?
In another teenager's bedroom.
Forget about a continuance.
I'm moving for a dismissal.
No, that's ridiculous.
Our case is still viable.
My client's been swearing up
and down he didn't do this.
He bragged about it.
- He's been ID'd.
- And I'm hearing
your star witness is the
neighborhood crackhead.
We don't want to see an
innocent man convicted
any more than Ms. Schmidt does.
We need a week to investigate.
You've got 72 hours.
In light of this development,
Judge, my client should be
released without bail.
Well, the People strongly oppose.
I'll release him,
but I'm ordering that he
be restricted to his home.
You understand that, Ms. Schmidt?
If I hear that he puts
one foot on the street,
he goes back to County, and
I'll slap a contempt finding
on both of you.
I don't see why this guy
can't just call an Uber.
You have something better to do?
Than running a car
service for a murderer?
Bogey. Two o'clock.
You're here to transport my client?
That's what the court order says.
You know you're not allowed to
ask him any questions, right?
Was that in the order?
It's in the Fifth Amendment.
I have an idea.
Why don't you ride along
with us to Englewood?
Make sure we don't violate
any of your client's
constitutional rights.
It's okay.
Stackhouse!
- Come on, come on, come on.
- Get in the car.
Oh, remember, Chris.
- Home restriction.
- Yeah. Yeah, it's all good.
Look. Do me a favor.
Drop me off on Ashland.
I don't wanna be rolling'
up on my block with PD.
Not a chance. You're
getting door-to-door service.
You heard your lawyer.
Get inside, stay inside.
Yeah. All right.
We'll be back to pick
you up Friday morning.
- Yo, Stack, what up, man?
- Hey, yo, what up?
Can you believe this knucklehead?
Hey! Stackhouse!
P-D-K drilling' snitches today.
[gunshots]
[brakes screeching]
Go! I got it!
[groaning]
10-71. Shots fired.
- [siren wailing]
- One down.
Need an ambo at 62nd and Wolcott.
Chris Stackhouse took
one round to the thigh.
He's being treated at Chicago Med,
but no reason he can't
limp back into court
when the trial resumes.
Our shooter jumped on the Ryan.
We lost him in traffic.
I don't suppose you got
a DMV hit on the plate?
It's stolen. We'll lift prints
when the vehicle turns up.
We're pulling known PDK mug shots
to see if we can put a name to the face.
What about posting up on their turf?
Maybe you can spot the shooter.
It's not great timing.
Stackhouse's release lit a spark
between PDK and the Drexel Posse.
Why?
'Cause a banger who skates out
from under a murder
charge looks like a snitch.
There were three shootings
in Englewood just last night.
Four wounded. One PDK kid dead.
Bystanders?
A pedestrian caught a round in his neck.
Missed his jugular by a half inch.
The District has its hands full.
There is a surge in place.
[chamber clicks]
The mag release on that thing's shot.
All right. Voight and his
crew can jump on the drive-by.
There's a ticking clock
on the Haley trial.
Andre had nothing to do
with that little girl getting killed.
All right? He's not in a gang.
He goes to school, and he comes home.
I don't let him leave the house
without me going with him.
The principal at Harper speaks
very highly of your nephew.
But the fact remains, he
had a gun under his bed.
Which I turned in.
A gun that was used in
the homicide of Lara Haley.
[exhales]
We can have him arrested right now
- while we sort this out.
- Oh, no.
- Please don't do that.
- So if there's an explanation
for this, now's the time.
I know this is hard, Mr. Williams.
You're asking me to throw
another boy to the lions?
It's your choice,
but it looks to me
like Andre's a young man
who has a shot to make
a life for himself.
You can protect this other kid,
or you can be straight with us.
The day the girl was shot,
Andre's cousin, Keo, came to the house.
Keo Vincent.
And, uh, he said he was, uh,
coming from the playground
and needed to shower.
To scrub off gunshot residue?
Or a sweaty kid who needed to wash up.
He had something in a lunch bag
that he gave to Andre. All right?
Something heavy.
About the size of a gun?
Yes, ma'am.
And when he left here, he
was wearing Andre's clothes.
Why didn't you tell this
to our investigators?
All right, look. You have to understand.
Keo is my sister's only child.
All right? Family.
But between you and me,
kid's been in some trouble before.
Where do we find Keo?
This is Drexel Posse territory.
It's the kid in the white tank top.
The Chief Keef wannabe.
Keo.
Yo, Keo!
What?
Talk to you for a minute.
I'm busy.
All right. You gon'
make me come over there
and see who all's got warrants?
Yeah?
These gentlemen here are
with the State's Attorney.
They want to talk to you
about Chris Stackhouse.
He's locked up.
Not anymore. He just got shot.
There's a lot of that going around.
He said you were with him on
Marshfield a few months ago
when that little girl got killed.
I don't think so.
Check it. Man says C-Stax
trying to put a case on me.
That's hella cold.
No one said anything about a case.
You ain't come all the way
out here for the scenery.
I think we need to discuss this
where we have your full attention.
Are you arresting me?
'Cause I didn't drill nobody.
I guess black lives do matter.
Chill out, Keo.
Keo had six juvie
arrests by the age of 15.
He did a bid at JDC.
He's suspected of being cliqued up
with a Drexel Posse crew on his block.
A junior associate?
A kid who'd try to
make a name for himself
by spraying bullets at a rival gang.
Yeah. With an attitude
to match his ambition.
If this little wise-ass
killed Lara Haley,
he's going away for a long time.
We've got an all-out war now
between Drexel Posse and PDK.
Gang Intel sent me this
after Stackhouse got
shot a couple of days ago.
A gang member from
PDK posted an Instagram
threatening Stackhouse ten
minutes before he was shot.
Drexel retaliates by
shooting three PDK bangers.
And then they posted photos
of it on social media.
The two gangs tweet some insults
back and forth, and finally,
there's a challenge to throw down
by the railroad tracks
near Lindblom Park.
"PDK bitches gonna bleed."
Bottom line... Three dead, five wounded.
All in the space of eight hours.
So basically, they're inciting
these retaliations on social media?
Uh-huh. That's how
these crews roll now.
You call out a rival in a DM.
Drop a dis video.
Geo-tag your turf.
Shoot. Rinse. Repeat.
Cyber-banging.
Makes "Boyz n the Hood"
look like a Disney movie.
Cell tower pings put
Keo Vincent on the block
when Lara Haley was killed.
I'm getting this strong feeling
we actually do have the wrong
Drexel Posse banger on trial.
Yeah. You and me both.
Here. Check this out.
Your cell phone account?
It's my user agreement. Read that.
"The customer agrees not to
use the phone or the account
for any unlawful purpose."
I'd say orchestrating a gang war
in a series of digital messages
qualifies as an unlawful purpose.
Maybe, but it'll take years to litigate.
And that's why I'm
shutting off their phones.
Let's see if I understand
this, Mr. Stone.
You want to unilaterally terminate
cellular and Internet
service for 39 individuals.
Individuals who are
known violent gang members
- in your jurisdiction.
- Known by whom?
The Chicago PD maintains
a Strategic Subject List.
It's more commonly called the Heat List.
It ranks past offenders
who are most likely
to perpetrate gun
violence in the future.
Who makes this list?
It's based on a computer algorithm
developed by the Illinois
Institute of Technology.
So you're telling me some computer wonk
on a college campus
can predict the future?
Yes, Your Honor.
Young men at the top of the Heat List
are shooting each other
in Englewood as we speak.
And how's turning off their smartphones
gonna stop them from killing each other?
As you can see from these
social media messages
we've pulled, the
violence is being fueled by
these gang members on their devices.
Well...
you have whet my appetite.
I'll grant a full
hearing on your request
for injunctive relief,
but in addition to the service providers
you've named, I want
the Illinois ACLU here
on behalf of the account holders.
We'll put it on the
calendar for next Friday.
Thank you, but this
needs to be heard tomorrow
before there's more blood on the street.
We can have all the parties
notified within the hour.
I can't walk across the hall
without taking my cell phone.
But you don't use it to
light up your neighbor.
Maybe there's a way to
do this more surgically.
File complaints with
the social media apps
- they're using.
- I can name ten
messaging applications
off the top of my head.
These gang members can
migrate from one to the next
as easily as I can change
the brand of beer I order.
We don't have time to play
whack-a-mole with these killers.
Whoa! It was just a thought.
This city's buried too
many of its children.
You're trying to do what?
I don't know.
Save a few lives, maybe.
By turning off people's cell phones?
We can't just sit up
here and be reactive.
We try a few cases, and
we move on to the next,
and it doesn't make a dent.
What's happening now in
the south side of Chicago...
Right now, tonight...
Is a public emergency,
and we need to think outside the box.
The last thing I need
is the FCC breathing down my neck.
So we'll just sit on our
hands and let these kids
kill each other over
a few blocks of turf.
Come on, you know there's middle ground
between doing nothing and this.
Why not try to stop the worst offenders
from perpetrating this
violence before it happens?
Back in the day, they called that
"rounding up the usual suspects."
This is nothing new. It's
just high tech profiling.
Using race-neutral criteria.
Felony histories, gang affiliations.
Who's in the gangs?
The shooters.
People of color.
Lara Haley was a person of color.
I can't get their guns,
but maybe I can get
the phones they're using
to help kill each other,
or any other innocent kid
who just happens to be nearby.
[exhales]
Okay.
I'm not gonna pull
the plug on you, Peter.
But if the Justice Department
comes knocking on my door
with a civil rights complaint,
I'll throw you under
the bus so damn fast,
it'll make your head spin.
Understood.
And God help you if someone dies
because one of these kids
can't use their cell phone
in an emergency.
One the ACLU's biggest problems with
the Heat List is transparency.
The police won't reveal all
of the criteria they used
for the algorithm, or
say who's on the list,
never mind provide
basic due process to challenge it.
The city of Chicago
has demonized hundreds
of young men in secret.
And what about the fact that
the State's Attorney wants to
shut down their smartphones?
The last time I looked,
there was something called
the First Amendment.
The U.S. Supreme Court decided last year
that the Internet is a public utility.
So my company can't pick and choose
who we provide service to.
But isn't it a fact that
users who issue death threats
are violating the terms of
their customer agreement?
Maybe yes, maybe no.
That's a contractual
matter for us to decide.
Not you.
Are you suggesting this court
doesn't have the authority
to order these terminations?
I wouldn't have a problem
if the consumer could appeal
the shut off, but
you're just speculating.
A ten-year-old girl named
Lara Haley was murdered
in a shooting instigated on
your company's wireless service.
How is that speculation?
Is there anything else, Mr. Stone?
No further questions, Your Honor.
Oh, just one more thing.
The State's Attorney is asking for
novel and unprecedented relief.
But the record number
of dead and wounded
is also unprecedented.
And they are more than statistics.
These are young lives being snuffed out.
Parents grieving.
A community gripped by fear.
If I get reversed on appeal, so be it.
But I find that there is
no constitutional right
to operate a smartphone
that is being utilized
as a deadly weapon.
Shut down these 39 accounts immediately.
[gavel bangs]
Here you go,
39 end of service confirmations
from the companies.
There's some unhappy bangers
on the south side tonight.
And the ACLU's notice of appeal.
Slow play our response.
We want to milk these terminations
as long as we can.
You have no idea if
this is going to work.
I'm not expecting a miracle,
but if we can ratchet down
the gang war in Englewood,
- it was worth it.
- Hopefully,
we didn't win the war,
and lose the battle.
Thank you for coming, Mr. Williams.
Andre can wait in reception while we...
You need to hear what he has to say.
Tell him.
Keo's been calling me about the gun.
He got up in my face
at school yesterday.
Told me that he needed his gun back.
Then he came by the house later,
and started pounding on the door.
I pretended I wasn't home,
but I'm afraid if I go
back to school tomorrow,
something bad might happen.
This is all gonna work out.
We're gonna charge Keo with murder.
His visit to your
apartment the other day,
and the blood on the gun you turned in
are key pieces of evidence.
But we can't proceed without you.
We'll need you and Andre to
testify in the Grand Jury.
Testify against my sister's boy?
Your sister's boy killed
an innocent young girl.
What if it was Andre?
Andre won't have Keo
threatening him anymore.
Aren't you tired of all this?
Damn right, I am.
Then help us get justice.
I've tried to do the right thing
this whole time.
I turned in the gun
like I was supposed to.
I told you the truth about
Keo when you asked me.
I dropped what I was doing,
and came over here tonight.
But if Drexel Posse finds out
I was anywhere near a courtroom,
or a Grand Jury,
what do you expect is going
to happen to me and Andre?
What? You think locking Keo
up is gonna solve the problem?
We can offer you both some protection.
Protection. That sounds like a fine idea
sitting up here in this nice law office.
I'm sure you've got
programs, protocols, whatever.
But it's the law of the
street we talking about now.
These kids still paying back
grudges from five years ago.
So what are you going to do?
We'll stay with some friends
in Wrigleyville for a few days.
After that, I don't know.
But I've done all I can do for you now.
I need to keep me and Andre alive.
We appreciate your help.
Stay safe.
So that's it?
Keo Vincent skates,
and the Haleys get a
final kick in the gut.
Cubs won.
You came up here to
give me a baseball score?
The Lara Haley trial isn't going well.
Yeah. To say the least.
Go home, Peter.
There'll be another
innocent victim next week,
and then another, and there's nothing
you nor I can do about it.
You know, if I believed that,
I'd be coaching at some
junior college in Wisconsin.
[clears throat]
My grandparents lived in this small town
in eastern Tennessee.
And I went down there
many years ago to talk to
this lawyer who was
drafting their wills.
The walls of his offices were lined
with paintings of trees.
What kind of trees?
He'd painted every tree in the county
where a black man was lynched.
Black kids killing black kids.
This is 300 years in the making.
It doesn't mean we can't
try to make things better.
Better has to come from the inside.
Not from politicians like
me, or do-gooders like you.
You know, there are a
lot of people who think
nothing's going to change
until the mothers and fathers
in my community start
behaving like parents.
Enforcing some rules.
Reading books to their
sons and daughters.
I didn't say that.
No.
But you think it.
Am I right?
[exhales]
Guilty as charged.
But we both know it's more complicated.
You're damn right it is.
Don't beat yourself up.
You are nothing if not persistent.
[chuckles] What's that supposed to mean?
You found a way to strong-arm
all those big telecom companies.
And I'm sure you're gonna
find a way to take down
the one little gangbanger
that killed Lara Haley.
Your client's out of the hospital?
He's on crutches, but he's good to go.
You've had your 72 hours, Mr. Stone.
- Are you ready to proceed?
- Yes and no.
We're moving to dismiss our case
against Ms. Schmidt's client.
- Fabulous, we consent...
- But...
we're still pressing
forward with his trial.
- I'm confused.
- You're not the only one.
We'd like for Mr. Stackhouse to believe
there's still a case against him.
Same with the Jury, and
anyone outside this room.
You're asking me to preside
over what's essentially a ruse?
Well, I wouldn't use that word.
We'd like the trial
to keep going so I can
call a witness to the
stand named Keo Vincent.
He's a gang associate
of Ms. Schmidt's client,
and in all probability,
the one who fired the shot
that killed Lara Haley.
I want the right person
in jail for this crime,
but what you're proposing
is highly unusual.
But not without precedent.
In certain extraordinary circumstances,
shadow proceedings have
been conducted in New York.
And in Operation Greylord,
right here in Cook County.
Okay, just so I'm clear on this.
You've mistakenly charged
my client with murder.
As a result, he was shot and wounded,
and is lucky to be alive.
And now you want to use him as bait?
Exactly. If there was
any other option...
He's a human being, not
a pawn in a chess game.
I won't be a party to this.
Give me a minute.
Kerry. Kerry!
- Please.
- How could you do this to me?
- To you?
- Yes, to me.
This is my first homicide trial,
and you're asking me to do
something that's shady at best.
We're dismissing the case.
Your client's gonna walk.
I'm deceiving a client,
participating in a sham trial.
Okay.
Wait.
We know who killed Lara Haley now,
and the only way we're
gonna get this guy
is if we all take a little risk.
When I started here,
they had me doing research in Appeals.
Stone was prosecuting Victor Cathridge.
The guy who murdered
three women on the L.
One day during the trial,
I walked into the courtroom
to drop off a brief.
Stone was cross-examining a witness,
and while I was waiting there,
I saw Cathridge was
fidgeting with something
under the defense table.
- Oh, no.
- It was suspicious,
and I thought about
alerting one the deputies,
but Cathridge would see it coming.
So I tip-toed into the well,
handed the brief to
Peter's second chair,
and as I was walking out,
I flipped over the defense table.
Before anyone knew what was going on,
there were four deputies
on top of Cathridge,
one had me in a choke hold
until I could point them
to the razorblade Cathridge
had wedged under the table.
If you want the right results,
sometimes you have to
do something unorthodox.
[exhales]
So what do you say?
Who is it?
Peoples Gas, ma'am.
Sorry to disturb you, but
I'm checking on a gas leak.
No gas in here.
Either you let me in to check it out,
or I go downstairs to shut
off your gas and electric.
State's Attorney, Mrs. Vincent.
You tricked me.
What's going on, Ma?
I got nothing to say to you.
We have a material witness order.
- You need to come with us.
- Material witness?
It means the judge wants him
to come to court to testify.
- Testify about what?
- Don't worry.
- I got this.
- You sure?
Give me a call when you get there.
No service on my cell, Ma.
You ain't paying my bill.
I did pay your bill. What you think?
You two can settle this later.
It should only take a couple of hours.
[sighs]
Call your next witness, Mr. Stone.
The People call Keo Vincent.
Do you solemnly swear that
the testimony you're about
to give will be the
truth, the whole truth,
and nothing but the
truth so help you God?
Do I got a choice?
I'll take that as a yes.
Morning, Keo.
I'd like to call your attention
to the afternoon of July 11th.
Were you in the Englewood
neighborhood that day?
- Could be.
- Specifically at the home
of your cousin, a boy
named Andre Williams?
Andre said I was there?
Just answer the question.
I don't remember.
But you do remember changing
into some of Andre's clothes
around that time, right?
What kind of clothes?
It was a black polo
shirt, some blue jeans.
[chuckles] He's littler than me.
We don't even wear the same size.
But you do remember being there now?
Can't say for sure.
And speaking with your
uncle, Ernest Williams.
If I was there and he
was there, then yeah,
I would've talked to him.
Maybe you remember that
Andre gave you something.
He gave you a...
It was a bag.
Just a small, brown bag
with something heavy in it.
I gotta answer all these questions?
Do your best.
I don't know nothing
about any brown bag.
Judge, I'd like to show the witness
what's being offered
as People's Exhibit 1.
All right.
You ever seen that
particular gun before?
No.
Fair enough.
Can defense counsel have
an opportunity to see
this exhibit?
Actually,
Keo, you wanna make sure
that thing's not loaded?
[chamber clicks]
Chamber's clear.
And what about the magazine?
Clip's empty, too.
Can I see the gun, please?
Now, the magazine release on this gun...
It's inoperable.
But you knew that
because this is your gun.
That's why you had to
smack the handle a few times
to get the mag to release.
Just like you did four months ago
when you loaded this same gun,
jumped on your bike,
and rode to the corner
of 68th Street and Marshfield Avenue
where you opened fire on
a group of gang rivals,
killing a ten-year-old
girl in the process.
Man, you making all this up.
Coming at me about some nonsense
about some button that don't work.
That means I drill somebody?
You know what? I'm out of here.
The People move to dismiss all charges
against Chris Stackhouse.
Arrest this man for the
murder of Lara Haley.
- Let me go.
- Hands behind your back!
Let me go!
[groaning] Let me go, man!
- Let me go, man.
- Stay down.
I didn't do nothing to that girl.
You're sure he's the one
who killed our daughter?
I am now.
Sometimes you have to make a wrong turn
before you find your way.
I'm sorry to put you through this again.
We'll be there.
Thank you.
That boy was barely older than Lara was.
[sighs]
Don't tell me. Another ride home?
Nope.
You're on your own now.
Hey, Stackhouse.
Yeah?
Crossroads for you.
What you mean?
You just beat a murder rap and a bullet.
Keep doing what you're
doing, sooner or later,
your luck's gonna run out.
- Here.
- [elevator dings]
A guy I know runs a
jobs training program
in Hyde Park.
Use my name. He'll hook you up.
Maybe.
Now was that so terrible?
I hate to admit it, but
I did enjoy the show.
And you get to walk back
to your office and tell them
you won your first homicide trial.
Hm. Not sure what I'll tell my boss
when he asks me how, but...
The prosecutors stunk up the courtroom?
Not bad.
At least I can say that
with a straight face.
[chuckles]
See you in court, Counsel.
I'm getting calls.
Detroit, Baltimore.
They want to know if
this thing actually works.
Well, the two gangs in
Englewood have been quiet
for a couple of days now.
You can't kick millenials
off social media forever.
It's like air and water to us.
They'll find out how to
get back on soon enough.
Still, not a bad week.
All it took was a phony trial,
tricking a 15-year-old
into incriminating himself,
and goosing the Due Process Clause
and The First Amendment.
All with judicial approval.
And a last minute save.
[cell phone buzzes]
[police radio chatter]
Oh, no.
[low shudders]