Defending Jacob (2020): Season 1, Episode 3 - Episode #1.3 - full transcript

Joanna called. She said we should meet her
at the courthouse garage.

Joanna?

Klein. The defense attorney
I told you about.

She knows the system better than anyone.

Oh, my God.

Andy.

Laurie, I'm Joanna Klein.

Pleased to meet you.

I'm so sorry
for what you're going through.

Thank you.

I have coffees in the car
in case you need one.



No, that's okay.

- Has Jacob arrived yet?
- He's on his way.

How is he this morning?

He's scared, but he is okay.

Andy, you've been through this before,
but never from this side.

And, Laurie, this will all be new to you,
so I'm gonna read you both the catechism.

From this moment on,

until you are back home
with the door closed behind you,

I want you to show no emotion at all.

Nothing.

I know it's a lot to ask,
but it's important, okay?

We're potted plants.

Laurie?

Yes.



Unfortunately, every expression, every
reaction will be interpreted against you.

Smile and they'll say
you're not taking it seriously.

You cry and they'll say you're faking it.

Do not answer any questions
they shout at you.

On TV, only the pictures matter.

And most important,

any sign of anger,
particularly from Jacob,

will confirm people's worst suspicions.

You have to remember that, in their eyes,
it isn't just Jacob who's guilty.

You all are.

They're looking for confirmation,
so don't give it to them.

Okay.

Remember, poker faces.

- You ready?
- Yeah.

Okay.

There they are!

The Barbers. Grab the camera!

Mr. and Mrs. Barber,
when did you last speak to Jacob?

We're live on the air!

Mrs. Barber,
when was the last time you saw your son?

How's the family?

How's the arrest affected your family?

Just how are you doing?

- Oh, my God.
- Are you okay?

Yeah.

...in ten minutes or something like that?

This one should go pretty quick.
You know, ten minutes or so.

Now what?

Now we wait.

Your attention, please.

As you all know, last night the terrible
tragedy that struck our community

was compounded in a way
that is truly difficult to fathom.

I'm referring to the arrest of Jacob
Barber, an eighth-grader here at Archer.

I want to stress how important it is
we not jump to conclusions.

This means ignoring rumors
and refraining from spreading rumors.

That said,

if you do have information you feel
would be of help to the investigation,

the police have asked that
you contact them immediately.

You can do this directly
or through our guidance center.

Hear ye! Hear ye! All rise.

The Honorable Justice Rivera presiding.

This court is now open. Please be seated.

Good morning. Let's get started.

Bring in the defendant.

Indictment number 08-44-07.

Commonwealth versus Jacob Owen Barber.

The charge is one count of murder
in the first degree.

Is the Commonwealth ready?

Yes, it is, Your Honor.

- Ms. Klein, how does the defendant plea?
- Jacob.

Not guilty, Your Honor.

Let's go to bail arguments. Commonwealth?

Yes, Your Honor. If I may,

we all know the defendant's father,
who is here with us today.

We all have fond feelings
towards Mr. Barber.

I, for one, have considered him to be
a mentor for many years.

Mr. Logiudice, I presume you know
Mr. Barber isn't accused of anything.

Of course, Your Honor.

But his history with this case
is of great relevance

to the argument I'd like to make
regarding bail.

Make it then, counselor.

Yes, Your Honor.

Commonwealth seeks a bail
in the amount of 500,000 cash,

five million surety.

Oh, come on.

Commonwealth feels the defendant
poses a particular risk of flight

in light of the savagery of the crime

and the overwhelming likelihood
of his conviction.

Your Honor, the defendant has no priors.
He has no history of arrests.

The court does not consider the defendant
a flight risk in the least.

Bail is set
exactly where it was yesterday.

Ten thousand. A hundred thousand surety.

I'll be sending this case
to Judge French for trial,

with pretrial set for August 21st.

Thank you, Your Honor.

- What happens now?
- It's okay. They're just gonna take him.

It's just procedural.
We'll see him in a minute.

Let's go.

When you get home,
there are gonna be reporters.

My assistant Ellen will swing by
with some groceries,

but you can't stay shut in.

Tomorrow you'll run a couple of errands,
you'll fill up the tank. Whatever.

Just let them get their pictures
and they'll leave you alone.

There's one more thing for you to sign.

- Sign here, please.
- Sorry.

Get close. He's coming out.

Jacob! Jacob!

Hey, hey, hey! Listen. Move, please.

Give us a little room here, please.

Out of the way. Get out of the way.

Give 'em some space, please.

Can we get a comment, please?

Jacob, tell us how you're doing.

Well?

This makes it sound like
we hardly know each other.

I don't know. I thought it read well.

Your campaign manager
thinks it's the right tone.

Well, he doesn't give a shit
who gets hurt, so long as it's not us.

I'm sorry. It's just...

It's usually Andy
whose advice I ask on things like this.

In a million years...

You need to issue some kind of statement.

I know.

So, hit send?

It's the Barbers.

They're here. Let's go. Let's go.

That's right. Look out. They're coming.
Closer, okay? Come on. You got it?

I don't have the heart to wake him.

Jacob, honey.

We're home.

Are you hungry? Can I make you something?

No, I just kinda wanna sleep.

Yeah.

Hey. We're really proud of you.

The way you stood up there today,
that took a lot of guts.

It was pretty scary.

It's okay now.

Go rest.

And... I never got my phone back
from the police.

All right, we'll get you another one.
Maybe a new laptop too.

They took my computer?

Yeah. It's just something
that happens when...

It's just something that happens.

Okay.

Hello?

Oh, my God.

Who is this?

I'll call the phone company tomorrow
and have them change the number.

Hey. I had to speak to
that lawyer again today.

The one in charge of Jacob's case.

He keeps calling me.

- Sarah, are you there?
- Yeah.

Listen, I got homework, so I gotta go.

In my experience, what we saw today,

the body language, the cold stare,
the avoidance of any eye contact...

...it's not a good look for someone
accused of a crime of this magnitude.

He's out cold.
Probably sleep through the whole night.

And quite frankly, it confirms a lot...

I don't think this is a good idea.

Have you seen what they're saying online?
What they're calling him?

We gotta block this stuff out.

They're saying
he looks smug and remorseless.

- He's not even 15 years old.
- Oh, honey,

it's par for the course.

What's gonna happen when he sees this?

Nothing's ever going to be the same
for him again.

This is gonna follow him around
for the rest of his life.

Laurie.

What?

What, Andy?

Listen.

I have to tell you something.

Something that's gonna come out soon.

About Jacob?

About me.

My family.

My father.

Jacob, before we begin,
I wanna make something clear.

You're the client here.

That means that as much as possible,
you are the decision maker.

Not your parents, not me. You.

To the extent you want to leave the
decision-making up to your mom and dad,

that's understandable.

But by law in Massachusetts,

a kid your age charged with
first-degree murder is tried as an adult.

So I'm gonna do my best
to treat you as an adult too, okay?

- Okay.
- Now then.

The theory seems to be
that Ben Rifkin was bullying you.

You got a knife,

and, when the opportunity
presented itself, took your revenge.

Wait, he was bullying you?

Not really. I mean, kind of, but...

- What do you mean, kind of?
- You never said anything until now.

- Why haven't you told us?
- I don't...

He was a dick to a lot of people.
Not just me.

Well, you still should've told us.
How was he bullying you?

Andy, Laurie. Please.

Now, as for the attack itself,

there don't seem to be any witnesses.

You have admitted to being in the park.

And a fellow student alleges
you had a knife

you would bring to school on occasion.

That would be Derek. Derek Yoo.

So it is a very circumstantial case.

Now, there's the fingerprint.

But fingerprints are
a very limited form of evidence.

Often there's an innocent explanation.

So you feel confident?

There's one other thing.

Laurie?

I have to tell you something.

You said yourself it's going to come out.
We're going to have to deal with it.

Better he hear it from us now
than see it on the news.

I'm sorry. Deal with what?

Mom?

Apparently, there's a history
of violence in our family.

Honey, I'm sorry you have to find out
this way, but it's true.

Sorry about this, Joanna.
This is my fault.

- Laurie just heard about this last night.
- Heard about what?

My father, your grandfather...

He's in prison.

He's been there for a very long time.

Last time I saw him I was six years old.

My mother took me to see him in prison
right after his arrest.

You said he left
when you were just a baby.

That's what I told everybody growing up.
It's the same lie my mother told people.

But you said you never knew your father.

I know.

I was ashamed of him.

So you lied to me.

So you've been lying to me.

I'm so sorry, Laurie.

I did not tell you the whole truth. No.

What did he do?

He killed a girl.

Who was she?

She was a student
at the community college.

They found her body in a boarded-up
row house on Congress Ave.

She had been stabbed to death.

What?

I wanted to tell you so many times,
Laurie. I swear.

Then why didn't you?

It's just what I come from.
It's not who I am.

Seventeen years, Andy?
You didn't trust me to understand that?

I was afraid that if I said anything
it would change the way you saw me.

And then it would have been for nothing
because it means nothing.

Does it?

Now I understand.

I'm not saying Logiudice won't try
to dredge this up in some capacity,

but he won't get anywhere with it.

Except maybe
in the court of public opinion.

Are you sure?

Laurie's concerned that the prosecution
will somehow argue

a genetic predisposition.

I was reading about it online
this morning.

Apparently,
there have been cases like this

where that kind of thing
has been used as evidence.

They call it the "murder gene."

That's ridiculous.

You think I have the murder gene?

No. It's just a phrase.

Our only worry is if something like this
could be used against you.

I highly doubt it would be admissible.

That doesn't mean they wouldn't try,

but if they do,
we will fight it tooth and nail.

I have to go to the bathroom.
I don't feel good.

Mary, would you please show Jacob
where the bathroom is?

Yeah, of course.

Right this way.

Jesus Christ.
Did you have to bring it up right now?

He has a right to the truth.

I won't tolerate any more lying.
Not from you, not from him.

- From him? What, the bullying?
- He never said a word about it.

He made it sound like
they barely knew each other.

- And the fingerprint...
- He explained the fingerprint.

- He found the body, and he panicked.
- He never said a word about that either.

I just think we all need
to come clean with each other.

No more secrets.

Maybe this is enough for today.

- Here you go.
- Appreciate it.

You should've told me.

Sweetheart, we're all still figuring out
how to process all of this.

I didn't tell anyone, Jake.

I was afraid
of how people would look at me.

Just like now I'm afraid
of how people will look at you.

Why shouldn't they?

It's who I am, right?

- Jacob.
- It's okay.

He's angry at me, and I don't blame him.

That's not who you are.

How do you know?

Maybe Mom is right. Maybe I'm...

- Maybe I've got the murder gene.
- I never said that.

The murder gene is bullshit.

Maybe not. Maybe I'm just like him.

Hey!

Enough, okay?

He's one guy, one bad man.
He has nothing to do with you.

Don't you see?
This is what I was worried about.

This is why I kept it from you.

You had a right to not know.

To start with a clean slate.
Not have it hanging over your head like...

Thank you.

Thank you.

Shit.

Just ignore it.

Andy.

I'm sorry. I didn't...
I thought you'd be alone.

I get her every other week.

It's okay, sweetheart.
It's a friend from work.

Wait here.

Come on. Let's go inside.
You can watch some TV.

She's gotten big.

Let's talk out back.

The fuck are you doing here?
You trying to get me suspended?

- I need your help.
- With what?

Leonard Patz.

Jesus Christ, Andy.

Come on, Duff.
We both know there were red flags there.

Don't say that.

- Say what?
- Shit like "we both know."

You know that if Lynn hadn't
moved on to Jacob so fast,

- Patz would still be on your radar.
- How do you know he's not?

Is he?

I haven't forgotten about him,
if that's what you're asking.

But he's not a priority.

Not anymore. No.

- He is to me.
- I don't doubt that.

What exactly are you getting at?

I wanna dig deeper into Leonard Patz.
I wanna see his case file.

So?

So, you seized my computer.

No one would need to know.

Even if they did, it's not illegal.
It's just improper.

Yeah, I'll remember that when
I'm writing speeding tickets on the Pike.

- Please, Duff.
- No.

I get why you're pursuing this.

I'd probably do the same thing
if I was in your shoes, but I'm not.

I'm asking you as a friend.

All I need is his file.

A friend?

What?

Come on, man. We worked together.
It's not like we ever hung out.

The first time I set foot in your house
was with a warrant.

Wow, that's...

I always thought we were friends.
I'm sorry you didn't feel the same way.

Look, don't get me wrong.
You're a good guy.

But if this is what you think
an actual friendship is,

it's you I feel sorry for.

Mama?

- Yeah, I'm coming, sweetheart.
- Okay.

Is that all or...

Andy.

Andy?

Andy.

I asked if you could describe for us
the first few weeks after Jacob's arrest.

Let's see.

I think it started with a Sunday.

Then a Monday.

Pretty sure a Tuesday came next.

Always stay precise, Neal.

The scope of any query
should be as narrow as possible.

One of your many nuggets, yes.

All right. I'll rephrase the question.

Could you describe for us the atmosphere
in your household

in the weeks after Jacob's arrest?

- The atmosphere?
- Oh, God.

Just make me say what you want me to say.
It's not that hard.

You wanna know if Jacob seemed guilty.
Have the balls to ask it.

All right. Did he?

I have no idea.

He was 14 years old. He had just been
ripped away from his whole life.

- His classmates, activities...
- I'm sorry. His classmates?

Yes.

For a man so concerned with precision,
I find it curious you didn't say friends.

Oh, come on, Neal.

- Jacob had friends then?
- Yes.

Some, yes.

Was Ben Rifkin a friend?

No. He said that Ben
could be a jerk to him sometimes.

You know, just... name-calling.

What sort of names?

I don't know. The usual stuff.

Did he call Jacob a "faggot"?

Yes.

More than once?

That's my understanding.

So, Jacob being removed from his routine
affected his demeanor.

- Is that right?
- Yeah.

Plus, being all over TV and the Internet,

just sort of... shut down
for a little while.

At least initially.

So he was aware
of his burgeoning celebrity.

Yeah.

We urged him not to look.

He stayed busy with schoolwork.
Still eight weeks left in the school year.

School?

Yeah, we hired him a tutor.

Mrs. Mandel.

Was Jacob's second grade teacher,
now retired.

We figured that would make it
less awkward.

And did it?

I don't know. Maybe.

Like I said,
he just kinda retreated into himself.

We all did, to some degree.

It's just a really hard time.

For Laurie too?

All I meant was that if you look at
the true cost of a program like that,

not just our direct expenses,
but the staff salary, the additional...

Laurie.

How are you, Laurie?

Not great, but glad to be back.

May I...

Sure, yes.

We've all been thinking about you.

We didn't expect to see you back so soon.

Yeah, well, I could use the distraction.

Staring at the walls half the day,
I figured I could at least do some good.

We were just reviewing
our field trip budget for next year.

Okay.

What the fuck?

- Do you have a minute?
- Sure.

I just got off of a conference call
with some of our board members,

including legal advisory.

They all feel strongly that
your return to work might be premature.

Look, I'm fine. I swear.

You're not hearing me, Laurie.

This isn't gonna work for us.
Not right now.

You know how much we love you here.

How grateful we are for everything you've
done over these past, what, seven years?

Eight.

We just...

We're a haven for these kids.

We're supposed to be
the safest place available to them.

And you feel my being here is somehow...

No. Not you.

It's more...

The board is worried about
any kind of negative association.

We're skating on thin ice financially
as it is.

I see.

This isn't necessarily permanent.

No one is firing you.

We just feel that now isn't the time.

Not yet.

Well, when then?

I...

I'm sorry, honey.

For everything you're going through.

Thank you.

Hi, Mrs. Barber.

All right. I'm shooting him.
I'm shooting him. Go in. Go in. Go in.

You're dead.

Shoot him.

How are you so bad at this game?

You're so dead.

Hey, bud.

How 'bout taking a break?
You've been playing for a couple hours.

Jake.

Okay, I have to go. All right.

- When's dinner?
- Soon as Mom gets home.

Who you playing with?

I don't know. Just some guy.

You don't know his name?

I think he said it was, like, Tim or Tom.

You tell him your name?

I don't know. Yeah, probably.

You gotta be careful
what you say on there, buddy.

It's just trash talk.

I know, but people take things
out of context, they record stuff.

This is why you can't be on social media.

All this stuff gets stored somewhere.
It's a prosecutor's fantasy.

- We've talked about this.
- I know.

- So you're staying off it?
- Yes.

Okay.

Look, I'm sorry. I know this is tough,
but it's really important.

I don't mind if you play the games.
You just gotta be careful.

With your phone, with your texts.
Everything.

Yeah. No, I get it.

Okay.

You know, Dylan says I'm famous.

Talking to Dylan?

Yeah, we were playing before.

He was saying there's, like,
a fan page online.

Started by some girl in Ohio
or Iowa or something like that.

Jesus Christ.

Kinda wanna see it though.

Don't.

Okay? It's a bad idea. Just... don't.

Shouldn't Mom be home by now?

I'm gonna call her.
Why don't you set the table?

Starting to wonder where you were.

I was driving.

What do you mean?

I just needed to...

I don't know.

How'd it go at work?

That was...

Oh, my God.

Go inside. I'll handle this.

Hey, Mom.

I'll be right there.

All right. I get it. You love me.

Happy birthday!

Jacob!

Whose idea was it to consult Dr. Vogel?

Jacob's lawyer recommended her.

Dr. Vogel is considered an authority
in genetic inheritance in behavior,

- is she not?
- She is.

I thought Ms. Klein was of the opinion
that hereditary evidence had no value.

Well, she thought we might need
to confront it if it came up in trial.

It's called being a good lawyer.

And her initial session with Jacob
was on May 25th?

Is that right?

Yeah, that sounds right.

We met with her first.

Toby wants to drop off dinner
for us tonight.

Really?

It's what you do when someone dies.

She wants to be there for you.

If you don't let people in,
they're gonna think you don't want 'em.

I know.

Duffy came through, by the way.
With the Patz file.

Does she think that Patz did this?

Well, she can't say that, but we can.

Patz checks all the boxes.

We just gotta make
a credible case to the jury.

- That was nice of her.
- Yeah.

See, people are looking out for us.

Andy was still in law school.

We hadn't even been together a year.

So was the pregnancy unplanned?

Yeah, but we were happy about it.

We were practically engaged at that point.

We were excited.

But we were just kids ourselves.
We had a lot to learn.

So, how would you describe
Jacob as an infant?

- Beautiful.
- Difficult.

Of course he was beautiful,
that's not what she...

That's not what you were asking, was it?

Well, when you say difficult, in what way?

Well, he cried constantly.

You'd think he was being tortured.

At first we chalked it up to colic,
but it never really went away.

As a baby, I mean.

Was he quick to console?

- For the most part, yeah.
- Not really.

There were a few temper tantrums.
Things like that. Yeah.

Well, they were more than just tantrums.

Well, he'd throw things at us.

Scream for hours maybe.
You couldn't get him to stop.

That doesn't sound too unusual.

It wasn't.
I think Laurie's being a little dramatic.

How was Jacob with other children
as a toddler?

Laurie?

Okay. Let me just pause here for a second
and make something really clear.

I was hired by your defense team.

I work for you.

- I'm on Jacob's side.
- We know that.

Okay. So you know these conversations
are entirely confidential,

so there's absolutely
no reason to hold back.

Not in this room.

I'm just trying to get
the most complete picture possible.

Well, he didn't do well in day care.

He got too rough with the other kids.
There were complaints.

- Complaints?
- It was a few neurotic parents.

He once pushed a girl
off a play structure.

She needed stitches.

And one boy accused him of biting,
only Jacob denied it.

He was a four-year-old boy.
What are we talking about here?

Okay, Andy. Let her speak.
You'll have your turn. Go on, Laurie.

I'm just trying to talk honestly, Andy.

No. You're making it seem like Jacob
has something to answer for.

And he doesn't.

He was a little boy.
You're reading into every little thing.

That's what you always said.

You never wanted to admit
anything could ever be wrong.

He was an ordinary boy
with ordinary problems.

Like any other boy.

Our pediatrician said the same thing.

She thought that Jacob
was young, emotionally,

and that he should repeat
a year of kindergarten to catch up.

- And it would pass.
- And it did pass.

- The pediatrician was right.
- Was she?

Honey, look where we are.

What do you mean by that, Laurie?

Do you have any doubts
about Jacob's innocence?

- No. Of course not.
- And if you do, that's okay.

I don't. Not in the slightest.

I was just trying to answer
your questions honestly.

It's what you told us to do.

- Understood.
- I mean it.

I know what he is capable of
and what he isn't.

- Okay.
- A mother knows her child.

Toby's here.

- Hey, honey.
- Hi.

This is really sweet of you. Thank you.

Please.

How are you?

Hanging in. It's just all so...

I'm sure.

Sweetheart.

It's gonna be okay.

I don't know.

I really don't.

Hey, bud. What was today?

Global, Bio, and Spanish.

I think I liked her better
in second grade.

I mean, she's nice and all,
but she takes forever explaining things.

Plus, I don't think
she even knows Spanish.

She pronounces años "anus."

Hey, honey. Sounds like Jacob's...

- What's going on?
- Mom?

What happened is that
Gary doesn't want her seeing me anymore.

She wanted to tell me face-to-face.

That's insane. You're her best friend.

Yeah, well, Gary's her husband,

and he went to Cornell
with Dan Rifkin, so...

There are leftovers from last night.

You could tool around in this.

But I got... No, I'd recommend this one.

Of course. You gotta earn your money.

Hey, Sarah.

How's practice going?

This is Detective Duffy.

Hello?

Hello?

You said to call if we knew anything
about Ben's murder.

Yes. Right. Who am I speaking with?

My name is Sarah. Sarah Grohl.

"Where's the hat?"

Hey, buddy. Dinner.

Honey! Dinner!

Honey!

"Fifty dollars."

Laurie! Dinner!

Laurie!

Laurie?