For The People (2018–…): Season 1, Episode 3 - 18 Miles Outside of Roanoke - full transcript
Sandra and Kate go head-to-head on a high-profile case involving a young woman accused of leaking classified information; Allison struggles to make a case for a client; Leonard seeks ...
Previously on For the People.
This is your home. Your kitchen.
- Food.
- Not that, that Zack's.
[POUNDING ON DOOR] Your listing said
"One-bedroom apartment,"
nothing about sharing.
[AIR BLASTING]
My mother came by for lunch
and wanted to say hi.
I hope my son is doing
an adequate job for you,
but if he's not,
promise you'll never show him
any special favor just because of me.
Deal. If anything, I'll make it
even harder on him. How about that?
Prison isn't the answer for everything.
Have some compassion.
I have compassion for people
who follow the rules.
Did you ever break a rule?
For which you didn't pay
the appropriate price?
Has that ever happened?
You could be a good lawyer.
What did I get? You
said, on the first day,
"Get something."
You got beat.
And now you got to get up.
[ALEX GOOSE & HEMLOCK ERNST'S
"NO LABEL" PLAYS]
♪
♪ Wanna be respected as a man,
not a label ♪
♪ Wanna be a legend, not a fable ♪
♪ Just trying to put food
on my family's table ♪
♪ And I'm ready, willing, and able ♪
♪ To lay all the cash on this blacktop ♪
♪ The bar slinger, Harriet
with the hair trigger finger ♪
♪ Signed, sealed, delivered,
heavy ball swinger ♪
♪ Cash and card clinger ♪
♪ Remember the kiss behind the gym? ♪
♪ She stepped up at grade six ♪
- ♪ Now it's caked fish in the lobby ♪
- [ELEVATOR BELL DINGS]
♪ A diamond hobby, Lexington Grand ♪
♪ Handle hard and stick to the plan ♪
♪ Handle hard
and then we're in it for life ♪
♪ No passion out the dog in this fight ♪
♪ Just too bright in this limelight ♪
♪ Dimes pop up in low places,
give me your name ♪
♪ She likes the way I move platelets ♪
♪ Heaven and earth in one millisecond ♪
♪ Cursed to move heaven
from birth in one vivisection ♪
♪ And I'm up for it ♪
♪ Crowd's applause
all worth the problems ♪
♪ Seeming a gladiator in the coliseum ♪
♪ Problems find me
when I'm hardly breathing ♪
♪ Head heavy with my lady screaming ♪
♪ She love and hate me,
and she love to hate me ♪
♪ Wanna be respected as a man,
not a label ♪
♪ Wanna be a legend, not a fable ♪
♪ Just trying to put food
on my family's table ♪
♪ And I'm ready, willing, and able ♪
♪ To lay all the cash on this blacktop ♪
♪ Wanna be respected as a man,
not a label ♪
♪ Wanna be a legend, not a fable ♪
♪ Just trying to put food
on my family's table ♪
♪ And I'm ready, willing, and able ♪
♪ To lay all the cash on this blacktop ♪
Dani Rios.
Dani Rios.
26, ex-military,
now a government contractor
working for the NSA
in intelligence analysis.
You see where this is going?
- She's a whistle-blower...
- She's a thief...
...who allegedly leaked
documents revealing
that the NSA has been illegally accessing
confidential medical databases
in order to identify
undocumented Americans.
...who stole highly-classified
government files
jeopardizing an important
national security initiative.
She sent the documents
to a fringe left-wing website.
The mainstream media.
- The documents haven't been published.
- ...yet.
But there are rumors
of the programs existence.
If I were to guess... I am certain...
- ...Dani is an idealist...
- ...a punk...
- ...well-intentioned...
- ...sanctimonious...
- ...misguided...
- ...entitled...
- ...in over her...
- ...swollen head.
I'm giving this case to you, Sandra,
because I think you can
connect with her...
I'm giving this case to you, Littlejohn,
because I know you'll want
to crush her...
...because you understand
the rule breakers.
...because you believe
in the rule of law.
- Do your best.
- Win.
Taj Mahal?
No.
Do you know how long it took me
to get here on the train?
[CHUCKLES] You took the train?
45 minutes.
It takes 45 minutes.
You're nervous, aren't you?
It's my first sentencing.
Oh, well, you're gonna do great.
- Is this your new case?
- Mm-hmm.
Okay, now I'm nervous.
I've read your sentencing brief.
It's superb.
Y-You always do this.
Not that. This.
You're up against Kate Littlejohn.
- So what?
- Not so what.
Talk to Jay. Definitely not "so what."
Hey.
- I'm busy.
- I thought you'd like to know
that things are getting better
with me and Ezra.
My Airbnb roommate.
We worked out this, uh...
shower schedule.
As long as I'm in by 5:00, I can
stay in there as long as I want...
literally as long as I want.
I negotiated that.
So... that's pretty cool.
Do you need something?
Just wanted to say "hi," good morning.
I'm glad you showered.
I just have this new case,
and it's a lot.
This partner in my old law firm
once told me
the first thing you do
when you get a case
is find out who opposing counsel is.
Most of the time, it's some deadbeat,
and then you feel better about yourself.
Opposing counsel is Sandra Bell.
So that partner's advice
was pretty bad all around.
♪
♪
♪
You're gonna tell the judge
my uncle gave me that gun
after our apartment
got broken into twice?
Yes. Everything is in our papers.
And those kids who stopped me and
little brother that day are in a gang.
I bought the gun just
to get them to back off.
I would never hurt anyone,
but I got to protect Donovan.
We've only got each other.
I know, Keenan. I know.
But you did plead guilty
to possession of a firearm.
We have to be prepared
for some jail time.
If I go away for too long,
I don't know what'll happen
to my mom and Donovan.
- I take care of them.
- Judge Barish will factor all of this
into her sentencing determination.
She's reasonable.
[ELEVATOR BELL DINGS IN DISTANCE]
I've reviewed the pre-sentence report,
and I have both of your briefs.
I'm prepared to impose my sentence.
I do want to inform you
that I'll be utilizing
the Greene-Haot risk-assessment
software, EVALUATE,
to assist in determining
the appropriate sentence.
Software?
An algorithm that makes a determination
about the defendant's
potential recidivism.
Many courts across the country
are already utilizing this tool.
I'm sorry, Your Honor.
Can the court educate counsel
on what factors go into this algorithm?
There are a lot of factors,
but the exact formula is proprietary.
What we do know is that
this technology promises
to bring uniformity and fairness
and scientific discipline
to an area of law that has always been
arbitrary and capricious.
This is a good thing, Ms. Adams.
You're asking my client
to simply have faith
that this program is fair?
I am not asking you
or your client anything.
I am telling you how I plan
on determining this sentence.
If you need faith in something,
have faith that I've been
a federal judge for 17 years
and I know what I'm doing.
Respectfully, Your Honor,
I'd like the opportunity
to address the court
on the software before sentencing.
I'll give you one week
to prepare an argument.
We're in recess.
♪
[KNOCKS ON DOOR]
You went up against
Kate Littlejohn, right?
Why would you say that name
in this office?
This is a safe space.
What's the problem with her?
You ever go to a movie
and there are, like,
two people talking right behind you
and they're ruining your movie
and you're like,
"Mm! I really want to say something,
but I'm scared
they're gonna dog-pile me"?
And then some other person
just says, "Hey, shut up!"
And the people talking shut up,
and you're really grateful
for that person
and wondering why you were so wimpy,
but then you start worrying
that person who told them to shut up
is now gonna yell at you about something,
and you realize that person
is the person that really scares you?
That's Kate Littlejohn.
She's intense and uncompromising,
and she instills in you
an incalculable fear...
and dread.
I think you might not have
the same issues I did, though.
♪
You went up against Sandra Bell, right?
And won. Why?
She's opposing counsel on my next case.
Did you get the leaker case? Don't
tell me you got the leaker case.
O... kay.
Did you get the leaker case?
Yes.
If it was anybody but you,
I'd be annoyed.
- You're annoyed.
- Super-annoyed.
Roger's punishing me
for bringing my mom here.
Tell me about Sandra.
She's self-righteous,
passionate, in your face.
I don't like her. I don't
like what she represents.
I don't like who she represents,
and if I ever got arrested,
she'd probably be
the first person I'd call.
I can cancel my date tonight
and work on this with you.
I don't want you to cancel your date.
You sure?
- Yes.
- Oh.
I'll be thinking about you
the whole time.
High-profile case, Kate Littlejohn.
The press is gonna have
a field day with this.
It's important. It's not high profile.
[BUZZER BLARES]
You know what they're doing, right?
They're accessing hospital databases
without patients' permission.
They say it is an anti-terror program,
a-a way to find people
who are off the grid,
but they're not using it
to find terrorists.
They're using it to deport people,
regular people,
people who were brave enough
and hopeful enough
to leave everything they knew
and come here.
I was trying to do the right thing.
I know you were.
But it may have been the
right thing at the wrong time.
The government is aggressively
prosecuting leakers right now.
They're gonna try to punish you.
I believe our best chance
is gonna be to try
to negotiate with the government
for a deal.
You face decades in prison
if you get convicted at trial.
A deal, I might be able
to get it down to five years.
I never thought I'd end up in here.
In jail? Me?
Two tours in Iraq,
and now I'm an enemy of the state,
all over the news.
You're not all over the news.
♪
KATE: We never sent out a press release.
'Cause we didn't want any press.
Isn't the point of prosecuting
a leaker to send a message?
No, the point of prosecuting a leaker
is to stop the leaking
of classified information.
The more we talk about it, the greater
the risk that information gets out.
Well, I think it was a mistake.
Burying this makes it look like
we're hiding something.
We are.
[CHUCKLING] Well,
if I was on the other side,
I'd do something with that.
They never issued a press release.
Because they didn't want any press.
- Why?
- My guess?
Dani's a highly sympathetic defendant.
If her story gets out,
people will be mad,
and then they'll be more interested
in the very thing the government
was trying to protect.
That puts pressure on the government
to reveal more about what happened.
To drop or at least reduce
the charges against Dani.
You're gonna do this, aren't you?
Unless you tell me not to.
24 hours ago,
the FBI arrested a young woman
for telling the truth,
that in the false name of anti-terrorism,
the United States government
has been illegally accessing
the confidential medical records
of millions of Americans
in order to identify and deport
undocumented immigrants.
The government tried
to keep this program a secret,
and now it's trying
to keep this arrest a secret,
but this is America.
My client's name is Dani Rios.
She's a hero. Not a criminal.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
- ♪ I don't know how to say no ♪
- [BOTH BREATHING HEAVILY]
♪ Don't hold me accountable ♪
[SIGHS] Damn.
Damn!
You broke my brain.
You literally broke my brain.
[CELLPHONE CHIMES]
♪
Gotta go. Find my clothes.
- Everything okay?
- [SIGHS]
Work stuff. I have to be in Brooklyn.
- Why?
- Because it's where I work, Brooklyn.
- Yeah, what's the case?
- Can't say.
I'm Southern District, you're Eastern.
- We're family.
- [CHUCKLING] That's messed up.
You broke my brain.
[SIGHS]
Bart McKenna.
The Bart McKenna?
$100 million Ponzi-scheme Bart McKenna?
Saw the story broke yesterday.
Yeah, we were scrambling to
make a case, and then he ran.
Slipped town last night on a cruise ship,
except his ship stalled in
the middle of the Hudson River.
And as soon as we can get it
towed to Brooklyn,
I'll be waiting there with the FBI.
Which is why I have to go to Brooklyn.
Congratulations. That's huge.
This is our secret.
Mm-hmm. Which part?
All of it.
[DOOR OPENS, CLOSES]
♪
Bart McKenna's on a boat.
Is this that game where
I add a sentence to yours
- and we make a story?
- The Ponzi guy...
He's stuck on a cruise ship
in the middle of the Hudson.
Eastern is trying to make that case.
Yes, but they haven't yet.
And he's incorporated in Manhattan.
Several of his victims are here,
so if I get that boat to dock
in Manhattan,
we can claim venue as much as they can.
You're trying to steal this case?
Trying to get off the bench,
get you a win, get myself a game ball.
I hate sports metaphors.
But I like what you're saying.
You want me to go after this?
- Yes.
- Great.
If you steal a case for the Southern,
that's good for me, and if you blow this,
then I can feel less guilty
about making you pay
for parading your mom through my office.
Win-win.
You wanted to see me.
You need to respond
to that press conference.
I thought we didn't want press.
We didn't want press,
but now there's press,
and it's not the press we want,
so you need to respond.
I think that's a mistake.
Didn't you think it was a
mistake not to go to the press?
Before she made a move, yes.
But now she's a made a move, a big one...
outside the lines.
When you go outside the lines,
there can be unintended consequences,
so let's see what they are
before we respond.
I didn't ask to see you.
I know. I just knew you'd want to.
This algorithm Barish wants
to use is so far from objective
I can't even find a word to describe it.
Subjective?
It's called EVALUATE?
I evaluated EVALUATE,
and Keenan is now twice as
likely to get a max sentence
just because he's black, from Mott Haven,
and dropped out of high school at 15.
I've heard of these programs.
They're intended to remove bias.
The data is biased.
A computer doesn't know
that Mott Haven is policed
at a significantly higher rate
than Riverdale.
Maybe it does know.
But it can't possibly know why.
This software has no historical context.
It can't account for slavery,
Jim Crow, Reaganomics,
the war on drugs,
a crumbling education system...
- 10 more seconds.
- What?
10 more seconds of preaching
to the choir,
and then you have to decide what to do.
You have to defend Keenan
as vigorously as you can, of course,
but you also have to consider
whether Judge Barish
is going to listen to you,
whether she's dug in,
whether your digging in is
gonna make it worse for Keenan.
You have to be realistic.
[TELEPHONE RINGS IN DISTANCE]
Keenan didn't finish high school
because his mom's MS went
into hyperdrive.
He ha to work so his brother
could keep playing travel football.
Keenan thinks his brother can
get a college scholarship,
and if he lived one block over,
he'd be in a better zip code,
according to that stupid machine.
Then you've decided.
Good.
Fight the machine.
♪
♪
[FOOTSTEPS APPROACH]
Has she called to make a deal?
She will.
Did you know Kate was
Secretary General of the U.N.?
Uh, in high school, model U.N.,
but still...
Uh... what happened at sentencing?
[TELEPHONE RINGS]
Yes.
Okay.
I'll be right there.
- Kate?
- No.
I saw you on the news.
They let us watch some TV.
I'm trying to put some pressure
on the government
to bring them to the table.
And...?
And I haven't heard from them yet.
Good.
I don't want a deal.
What are you talking about, Dani?
You called me a hero.
I wasn't trying to be.
I mean, it wasn't like
I wanted to get caught,
but I was.
And now I'm hearing from people...
people who need someone to listen, and...
I want to stand up for them
like you stood up for me.
Standing up for people is my job.
It's not your job.
It's who you are.
A job is what I was doing on the
14th floor of the Vetracom Building,
working for the NSA,
but it's not who I am.
It's crazy... I served in Iraq,
but this feels like the real test for me.
- It's time to be brave.
- You are brave,
but that doesn't mean staying in jail.
It does mean that if that's what
it takes to send a message.
If I take a deal and plead guilty,
what message does that send?
That I didn't believe in what I did?
That I was wrong?
Our government is targeting
people who are sick and hurt
and brought to emergency rooms
by relatives
who are terrified of
going to the hospital,
but they risk it because
they're even more terrified
of losing a loved one.
And now...
They'll lose them anyway.
All my life, I've been
around people like this,
who were afraid to stand up
because they felt like they couldn't.
But now I have a choice.
You showed me that.
I can sit at the table
and negotiate away my soul,
or I can stand up...
like you.
I don't want to take a deal.
You know what that means?
It means I can make a difference.
♪
- She doesn't want a deal.
- Because?
Because of me, my press conference.
- So try again.
- It's not gonna happen.
Dani doesn't want a deal
because there isn't a deal.
It's always easier to say "no"
to something in the abstract.
People say, "I don't want
to get married."
Then some handsome man stands
there, telling you he loves you,
and before you know it, you're married.
I don't want to get married.
I really wouldn't recommend it.
Talk to Kate, see what she's offering.
Looking at 15 years in prison
versus a deal in hand,
you'd be surprised
how quickly minds change.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
[TELEPHONE RINGS IN DISTANCE]
[GASPS] That's a Classic
Italian from Zeno's.
With extra peperoncinis.
The greatest sandwich in the world.
I'm gonna eat this until
you to tell me to stop.
Okay, what's up?
Judge Barish is using
a sentencing algorithm
that was basically built
to screw my client
and everyone who looks like him,
and I'm pretty sure
I need the help of an expert
to discredit it...
namely, a mathematician.
Okay.
Okay. So... you go.
Be nice.
Your brother will be flattered.
[CHUCKLES] You don't know Eddie.
Not as much as I'd like to.
I'm the odd one out in this family.
You know that.
They're all science and data
"great minds,"
and I'm an idealistic public defender.
It's squishy to them.
I might as well be in a mime troupe.
- [LAUGHS]
- They don't get me.
You probably don't get them.
Whose side are you on?
Oh, my God, this sandwich is so good.
I'm sorry. [CHUCKLES]
You have a client who needs you.
You share blood with
someone who can help.
Do what you have to do.
[SIGHS]
Give me that.
I'm saying, a ship that size
dead in the water,
we'd have to mobilize
a lot of tugboats to haul it in.
McKenna sees that, he might
freak out and take hostages.
We don't need to do this on the water.
If the captain makes
a routine announcement,
like "help is on the way,"
you can send in tugboats
without raising suspicion
and tow the ship to Manhattan,
which we can all agree
is closer to where the boat is
than Brooklyn.
It's not gonna happen.
What's not gonna happen?
A storm's coming in, a big one.
I'm not putting a bunch of little boats
- on the water in a storm.
- He's right.
Let the storm pass
and tow it somewhere then.
Manhattan. Has to be here.
[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS]
Excuse me.
- You'd have done the same thing.
- Never.
And now you can send
all of these people home
because I'm gonna get my boss
to call your boss
and put a stop to this.
And when he asks how I knew
Bart McKenna was on that ship?
Meanwhile, I go to my boss,
who calls his boss,
and on up it goes until it's settled
by whichever guy owes
some other guy dinner,
and everyone up the chain
thinks we're idiots
for not figuring this out on our own.
There's one crucial part of this
you're not getting.
- This is my case.
- Was.
Now it's nobody's. I snaked you. I did.
So as an act of kindness,
I'm gonna leave this up to the weather.
- The weather?
- Storm.
Ship will blow one way or the other.
Whichever side it's closest to,
they get the case.
- That's stupid.
- It's fair.
- I don't trust you.
- I don't trust you.
Deal?
You're the worst.
I would have done the same thing.
But you're coming to my place
in Red Hook tonight
and making this up to me
in the filthiest way possible.
♪
[KNOCKS ON DOOR]
[DOOR CLOSES]
Sister.
Brother.
Anywhere you like.
- First time you've been to my office.
- It's nice.
I'm not in the basement anymore.
That's good.
How's work?
That's kind of why I'm here.
I need your help.
Have you heard of the sentencing
software EVALUATE?
It's amazing.
Amazing?
"Groundbreaking" and
"revolutionary" also apply.
- The algorithm is biased.
- An algorithm isn't biased.
That's definitively the point,
why it's a good thing.
It sentences blacks and Latinos
disproportionately to whites
- for the same crimes.
- So do judges, right?
This algorithm is an improvement.
It's a check on an already-flawed system.
My client's looking at
more time than he should
because of this software.
More time than you think he should.
You see? There. That's bias.
I didn't come here to debate
this with you.
Then why did you come here...
for the first time ever?
To ask a favor.
I need you to look at that software,
look at the coding, tell me how it works.
[CHUCKLES SOFTLY]
So you can discredit it?
So I can do what's right by my client.
Interesting tact when asking a favor,
to insult what I do?
But that's what you do,
whatever you want...
answer to no one,
and everyone is at your service,
- except I'm not Mom and Dad.
- I don't think you understand
my relationship with Mom and Dad.
I understand they let you live
in their gorgeous apartment.
I live in Washington Heights.
You said you wanted to be close to work.
They never asked if I wanted it.
They gave it to me out of pity
because they think that
I can't take care of myself.
[SCOFFS]
I'm not surprised you believe that.
I have to go.
You've never been to my office.
What?
Your snarky comment
about me not visiting you?
But you've never been
to my office either.
That's fair.
You want to know what
that algorithm can't do?
Feel.
Understand nuance.
Empathize.
No wonder you respect it so much.
♪
[FOOTSTEPS APPROACH]
Ms. Bell.
Please, call me Sandra.
Let's get started.
There are two counts against Ms. Rios
under the Espionage Act,
each of which carries
a maximum penalty of 15 years.
If Ms. Rios pleads to one count,
we will recommend 78 to 97 months,
taking into consideration
the severity of the leak
and prior criminal history.
She has no prior criminal history.
She has a juvenile adjudication
for disorderly conduct.
When she was a juvenile.
Juvenile adjudications can be
applied in sentencing, Ms. Bell.
Don't lecture me about sentencing,
and my name is Sandra.
If you call me Ms. Bell again,
I'm leaving.
The offer is 78 to 97 months.
- That's too high.
- This isn't a negotiation.
Then what is it?
63 months.
[CHUCKLES]
Why don't you tell me what
you have the authority to go to?
Oh.
Oh, I see. You don't have any authority.
You came here to see what you could get
and then try to sell it to your client.
- Is that it?
- 63 months is not good enough.
There is no offer of 63 months.
You're withdrawing your offer?
If you can't accept, I can't offer.
Why doesn't she want a deal?
Because she wants to take the stand
so she can tell the world
how evil the government is.
Dani loves her country.
Odd way of showing it.
I'm sorry, how long did you
serve in the military?
Same amount of time you did.
Why don't you be reasonable here?
Why don't I be reasonable?
Your client decides one day,
"You know what?
I'm gonna decide public policy
for the United States government...
me, by myself.
Forget the laws passed
by the elected representatives
of the people,
the deliberations of the professionals
charged with protecting
our national security
and enforcing our immigration laws.
I, Dani Rios, have decided
I know better than all that.
I'm gonna do what I want.
And my lawyer is gonna do what she wants
and enter a plea negotiation
in total bad faith
because we do what we want.
Because everything works out in the end,
as long as I'm reasonable."
Is this what you wanted to be...
when you were growing up, really?
I genuinely do not understand it.
You're a glorified hall monitor
walking around with your clipboard,
taking names, checking lockers,
wrapping knuckles.
Don't you care about what was
in those documents Dani leaked,
what they mean,
that our government is accessing
confidential medical information
to deport people?
Why are the rules more important
than the people
they are designed to protect?
I think we're done here...
Ms. Bell.
[DOOR OPENS, CLOSES]
♪
[SIGHS DEEPLY]
♪
♪
JILL: Come in, Sandra.
SECRETARY: You can go in, Ms. Littlejohn.
I understand if you're upset...
I'm not upset.
I'm disappointed.
I picked you for this case
because I thought
you would identify with Dani...
- identify with her, not be her.
- Dani isn't the problem.
You let this woman get inside your head,
and then you went into that meeting
without the tools you needed
to get the job done.
Dani is too young and naive
to understand what's at
stake here, but you're not.
Kate Littlejohn is unreasonable.
She's a prosecutor.
I think it's more than that.
Don't let it be more than that.
- I understand if you're upset.
- I'm very upset.
- We're going to trial.
- Oh, no, you're not.
- She rejected the deal.
- Well, try again.
Sandra Bell is unreasonable.
- She's a public defender.
- She's an unreasonable public defender.
Now you're just getting redundant.
This isn't about her. It's about
what's good for your client,
and your client is the United States,
and a trial is not good
for the United States.
I picked you for this case
because you are stone cold.
I do have feelings.
They're in the way.
NEWSCASTER: Jim, while
the residents of New York's
five boroughs still need
to prepare themselves
for the brunt of the storm,
we now see indications that
it might veer to the south.
No, no! Not south!
- North! Go north!
- Hey.
What's going on in here?
- Storm's getting bigger.
- That's not good.
Not if it blows that boat
to Brooklyn, it's not.
Plus the possible loss of life
and property, but okay.
You know why I became a prosecutor?
So you could steal cases
from other prosecutors?
- 'Cause we hold all the cards.
- Mm.
We choose when to charge, if to charge,
how much to charge, what evidence to use.
We're in control.
Today my whole job depends
on something as random as the weather.
Oh, yeah, but fortunately for you,
it's not 1875.
What?
For most of human existence,
we didn't imagine weather
could be predicted
or even should be
because that was God's area.
But with the rise of technology
in the late 19th...
As a teenager,
I was a bit of an amateur meteorologist.
You were into magic, too, I bet.
Nah.
I may have done a mentalist act.
Anyway, point is,
by the turn of the century,
the more information we had,
the less that chance played a role
in predicting the weather.
Sit, predict.
Well, first, you need to
understand the Coriolis effect.
No, I mean tell me where
my ship is gonna land.
♪
Oh, I don't know why I'm so upset.
- Jill's right.
- He's so wrong.
- I'm being emotional.
- How can he have no emotions?
But I've got this idealistic
girl in front of me.
He's like talking to a robot.
I do need to be the adult.
All he cares about are facts and data.
No one's interested in context.
Dani can't see what's right for her.
Soon we're all going to be
reduced to data points, numbers.
♪
Oh, my God.
Thank you.
[FOOTSTEPS DEPART]
[BUZZER BLARES]
[DOOR OPENS]
I literally had to wade through a crowd
of your supporters to get in here.
[DOOR CLOSES]
You did?
At least 300 people.
[SIGHS] This is all so strange.
Tomorrow, there will be more people,
even more when the trial starts.
The reading of the verdict will
be an absolute spectacle.
And if you're convicted,
your supporters will be outraged.
They'll march to stop the lying
and spying you exposed.
They'll organize to stop
these deportations.
They'll get brave, just like you.
They'll stand up.
But you...
You won't get to be a part of it,
this community you helped to create,
because you will be here,
just another number
in the federal prison system.
45278-054.
That will be you.
♪
I want to make a difference.
Then let me get you out of here.
Let me go to the table.
Let me do the job I was meant to do
so you can do what you were meant to do.
Stand up and fight.
I know you like to eat
at 12:30 on the dot,
[SINGSONG VOICE]
so I brought you something.
[NORMAL VOICE]
Classic Italian from Zeno's.
You don't like peperoncinis, but you
prefer to pull them off yourself.
You introduced me to this place.
I've had this sandwich a thousand times,
and there's always exactly
24 peperoncinis inside.
You don't want to know the odds on that.
I don't.
I'm grateful for the sandwich,
but I'm not helping you.
I'm sorry about what I said before.
I'm sorry about how you feel
about Mom and Dad
and about me growing up.
It's just crazy because
I always looked up to you.
I was jealous that
you wanted to follow in their footsteps.
I was jealous of how much
they seemed to love it.
I felt like they didn't care as much
about the things I was into.
I felt like I never had a chance.
Huh?
Look, I'm the oldest.
They were into math and science,
so I wanted to be.
I didn't have anything to rebel against.
It was me and them.
You felt like they didn't understand you.
I felt like they let you be you.
Free.
They're controlling.
You never saw that.
You think living in that apartment
doesn't come with strings?
You don't think it gets thrown in my face
anytime I don't call for a week
or blow off dinner with them?
[SIGHS]
This kid, Keenan,
is about to get lost
in the federal prison system.
Every extra day he spends in there
is one less day he gets to spend
with the brother he adores.
It's 12:30.
You got to eat.
Two people can see the same
factual events differently.
You and I are an example of that.
It's why humans are imperfect machines.
That's why we need these algorithms.
You're trying to fight the algorithm.
You want to discredit the data...
That's the wrong approach.
Okay.
Use the data.
Play the human,
the judge.
Machines don't have ego.
People do.
♪
How are things with the AUSA
who shall not be named?
[CHUCKLES] Off to see her now.
Ugh. I'm sorry.
But that also means you convinced Dani
to let you negotiate a deal for her.
I know. Small victories.
Big victories. Congratulations.
Well, at the very least,
I'm not gonna fill up our office
with hundreds of boxes of discovery.
Hundreds of boxes of discovery?
The government would never
produce documents
in a case like this.
♪
[TELEPHONE RINGING]
- KATE: You're late.
- I'm not late.
I'm pretty good with time.
I'm not late because I'm not coming,
but I'll be in court in an hour.
You should be there, too.
[RECEIVER SLAMS]
[RECEIVER CLACKS]
As you're aware, the statute under which
Ms. Rios is being charged, 18 USC 793d,
requires that the government
prove Ms. Rios' leak
caused injury to the United States
or advantage to a foreign government.
As long as the government refuses
to even acknowledge the existence
of the surveillance program
Ms. Rios leaked,
it is impossible to determine
whether it could cause
injury or advantage.
What exactly are you saying?
I'm saying that,
in order to prepare our defense,
we need the government
to produce all the documents
related to this surveillance program.
Those are highly-classified
documents, Your Honor.
That are essential to our defense.
This is an unusual request.
We're in an unusual situation.
Your Honor, if you grant this request,
the government will be forced to choose
between revealing classified information
and continuing with this prosecution.
I understand
the government's predicament.
But the basis for this request is valid,
and I'll grant it.
As the production of these documents is
obviously problematic
for the government, I assume...
We'll produce the documents.
- What?
- Ms. Littlejohn...
We'll produce the documents.
Do you need to check with your
supervisor, Ms. Littlejohn?
- No.
- You sure?
Yes, however, the documents will need
to undergo a full
national-security review
and then be redacted prior to production.
Based on the volume and
sensitivity of this material,
I'd estimate a delay
of at least 18 months,
during which time, the government would
strongly advocate for
Ms. Rios' continued detention.
- Your Honor...
- I'd like to see the two of you
in my chambers now.
♪
Listen, I'm not gonna get
involved on one side of this,
but I know neither of you
wants this case to go to trial.
Figure this out.
♪
[DOOR OPENS, CLOSES]
[SIGHS]
His name was Richard Prince.
You asked me why I wanted to do this?
Richard Prince...
He sat behind me in
Ms. Diller's history class.
He talked a lot. He cheated.
At the end of the first semester,
he had the highest grade in
the class because he cheated.
I liked school.
Richard didn't like school.
Maybe he didn't need it.
I don't know, I don't care. I needed it.
I looked forward to Mondays, school.
The weekends, when I was at home...
[INHALES DEEPLY]
We had two field trips every
year in my middle school.
The big one in seventh grade
was across the state to the U.S. Capitol.
I had been looking forward
to the Capitol trip
since I was... 5 years old.
I'd memorized every Speaker of the House
since Frederick Muhlenberg.
I knew that the prize
for designing the Capitol building
was $500.
I knew that the Dome was made
of 8,999,200 pounds of cast iron.
I knew this,
and I wrote all these things
down in a little notebook,
and I pasted pictures into the notebook
so I could bring it with me
when we went our trip
and make sure I saw everything
I'd ever read about.
I was more excited about this trip
than I've ever been about
anything in my life.
We were 18 miles outside of Roanoke
when Richard Prince pulled out
his phone on the bus.
There was one strict rule on this trip...
no electronic devices, none.
But Richard Prince had brought his phone.
Ms. Diller told him to put it away.
He refused.
His friends started to defend him.
It got loud.
I sat in the back of the bus
with my hands over my ears,
looking through my notebook,
staring at pictures of the Dome,
the crypt, the Old Senate Chamber.
But it just got louder, louder,
more out of control,
and then I felt...
the wheels of the bus turn.
♪
I didn't look up, but I felt it.
We were going home.
I was looking forward
to that Capitol trip
for six years... six years...
and I did not get to go,
because Richard Prince decided
the rules didn't apply to him.
49 kids didn't get to go
because of 1 person.
Is this what I wanted to be
when I was growing up?
Yes. Injustice isn't only felt
by the loudest person
complaining about it.
♪
The government withdraws
the espionage charges
and Dani pleads guilty
to theft of government property.
Time served plus three years
of supervised release.
♪
♪
[BUTTONS CLICKING]
- Roger.
- Hey, sorry about that ship.
Why sorry?
Oh, I heard it didn't end up
in Brooklyn or Manhattan.
- New Jersey, ugh.
- That's a kick in the ass, huh?
Mm. Actually, because of some
weather-predicting calculations
I won't bore you with,
I knew where that ship was going.
So I arranged to thank some NYPD officers
that have been assisting me
by sending them
to a fine dinner at a great restaurant,
which happened to be near New Jersey's
Cape Liberty Cruise Ship port.
So they were in perfect position
to nab McKenna
when he stepped off that ship,
and before the sun came up,
he was safely back here,
in the arms of the
Southern District of New York.
- [BELL DINGS]
- Win-win. I'm off here.
♪
Your Honor, I understand the appeal
of using this sentencing
software, EVALUATE.
I do.
It appears to be efficient, precise,
immune to emotion and lapses in logic.
It seems fair and unbiased,
so shouldn't we attempt
to be fair and unbiased
in evaluating whether it actually works?
32, 19, 34.
Are you picking lotto numbers
for me, Ms. Adams?
32% is the federal recidivism rate.
19%?
19% is the recidivism rate
of defendants tried
and sentenced in your court,
Judge Barish.
It's one of the lowest
in the Southern District.
34%?
That's the recidivism rate of EVALUATE,
higher than the national average,
15 points behind you.
I'm sure you have a theory
as to why that is.
I think you know I do,
but you asked me to have faith in you,
in your experience, your
judgment, and I do.
And these numbers back that up.
You're not arbitrary or capricious.
[SIGHS]
When you were in elementary school,
IBM built a computer that it claimed
could beat a world champion in chess.
It couldn't. Lost to Garry Kasparov.
IBM made some tweaks,
and Deep Blue the rematch.
Today, every one of us can download
free chess software on our phones
that would demolish Kasparov.
Technology isn't perfect,
but it's always improving.
I may have been premature
in relying on EVALUATE,
but this is the future, Ms. Adams.
I appreciate your arguments here today.
♪
[INDISTINCT CHATTER,
CAMERA SHUTTERS CLICKING]
[SIGHS] This is it.
Own it.
[HORN HONKING IN DISTANCE]
My name is Dani Rios.
I stand here today
as a veteran, a patriot,
and the proud daughter of immigrants.
Well, how does it feel to be free?
WOMAN: What is it like to be a folk hero?
I am not a hero.
I am just a regular American citizen
who wanted to shine light on injustice.
[INDISTINCT SHOUTING]
♪
Thank you. That's all for now.
Thank you.
I like it.
How long you been working on that?
Long time.
Ever been?
No.
[MOLLY KATE KESTNER'S "COMPROMISE" PLAYS]
♪ People tell me, sell me potions ♪
♪ Notions, all success and fortune ♪
♪ Who are they to tell me? ♪
[SINGSONG VOICE] Come home with me.
Barish only gave Keenan six months.
The government wanted two years.
We're celebrating.
I know you prefer wine out of the box,
but this is amazing.
I've got work to do.
If you don't come home with me,
I'll drink this entire bottle.
You know what happens when I
drink an entire bottle of wine.
You do all the Schuyler sister
parts from "Hamilton"
and our neighbor calls the cops.
Don't do that to me.
Please.
- ♪ I won't ♪
- ♪ I won't say goodbye ♪
[KNOCKS ON DOOR]
Hey, you got to come out for drinks.
No date tonight?
She might need a little cooling-off time.
Well, I can't, thanks. I have to work.
I don't care. I told Seth I
owe him a drink sometime
for his help with the cruise ship.
He said tonight's good.
I'm not drinking alone with him.
Don't make me do that.
♪ Try to shut me, cut me down to size ♪
♪ But trust me, they don't even know me ♪
♪ They don't even know me ♪
♪ I don't need to justify
the way I live my life, ♪
♪ It's mine, so who are you to tell me?
♪ - [KNOCK ON DOOR]
Guest of honor.
♪ Who are you to tell me? ♪
♪ I owe you the part of me, heart of me ♪
♪ Just enough to start something ♪
Reach in my pocket.
Don't.
No way my card's in there.
[SIGHS]
Dude... That's incredible.
Would've been cooler if it was a rabbit.
- [CELLPHONE CHIMES]
- ♪ I won't say goodbye
- ♪ Dreams I had since I was five ♪
- _
- ♪ You can never break me ♪
- _
- Can you feel that?
- One more.
Nice.
♪ Won't apologize ♪
♪ I don't care if you're satisfied ♪
[CHUCKLES] Hi.
- Long time.
- Too long.
♪ Never gonna change me ♪
♪ Never gonna change me ♪
♪ No, no, no, no, no ♪
♪ Oh, you're never gonna change me ♪
♪ Never gonna change me ♪
♪ I won't compromise ♪
♪ I won't ♪
♪ Won't apologize ♪
♪ I don't care if you're satisfied ♪
♪ Never gonna change me ♪
♪ Never gonna change me ♪
♪ Never gonna change me ♪
♪ Never gonna change me ♪
♪ I won't compromise, no ♪
This is your home. Your kitchen.
- Food.
- Not that, that Zack's.
[POUNDING ON DOOR] Your listing said
"One-bedroom apartment,"
nothing about sharing.
[AIR BLASTING]
My mother came by for lunch
and wanted to say hi.
I hope my son is doing
an adequate job for you,
but if he's not,
promise you'll never show him
any special favor just because of me.
Deal. If anything, I'll make it
even harder on him. How about that?
Prison isn't the answer for everything.
Have some compassion.
I have compassion for people
who follow the rules.
Did you ever break a rule?
For which you didn't pay
the appropriate price?
Has that ever happened?
You could be a good lawyer.
What did I get? You
said, on the first day,
"Get something."
You got beat.
And now you got to get up.
[ALEX GOOSE & HEMLOCK ERNST'S
"NO LABEL" PLAYS]
♪
♪ Wanna be respected as a man,
not a label ♪
♪ Wanna be a legend, not a fable ♪
♪ Just trying to put food
on my family's table ♪
♪ And I'm ready, willing, and able ♪
♪ To lay all the cash on this blacktop ♪
♪ The bar slinger, Harriet
with the hair trigger finger ♪
♪ Signed, sealed, delivered,
heavy ball swinger ♪
♪ Cash and card clinger ♪
♪ Remember the kiss behind the gym? ♪
♪ She stepped up at grade six ♪
- ♪ Now it's caked fish in the lobby ♪
- [ELEVATOR BELL DINGS]
♪ A diamond hobby, Lexington Grand ♪
♪ Handle hard and stick to the plan ♪
♪ Handle hard
and then we're in it for life ♪
♪ No passion out the dog in this fight ♪
♪ Just too bright in this limelight ♪
♪ Dimes pop up in low places,
give me your name ♪
♪ She likes the way I move platelets ♪
♪ Heaven and earth in one millisecond ♪
♪ Cursed to move heaven
from birth in one vivisection ♪
♪ And I'm up for it ♪
♪ Crowd's applause
all worth the problems ♪
♪ Seeming a gladiator in the coliseum ♪
♪ Problems find me
when I'm hardly breathing ♪
♪ Head heavy with my lady screaming ♪
♪ She love and hate me,
and she love to hate me ♪
♪ Wanna be respected as a man,
not a label ♪
♪ Wanna be a legend, not a fable ♪
♪ Just trying to put food
on my family's table ♪
♪ And I'm ready, willing, and able ♪
♪ To lay all the cash on this blacktop ♪
♪ Wanna be respected as a man,
not a label ♪
♪ Wanna be a legend, not a fable ♪
♪ Just trying to put food
on my family's table ♪
♪ And I'm ready, willing, and able ♪
♪ To lay all the cash on this blacktop ♪
Dani Rios.
Dani Rios.
26, ex-military,
now a government contractor
working for the NSA
in intelligence analysis.
You see where this is going?
- She's a whistle-blower...
- She's a thief...
...who allegedly leaked
documents revealing
that the NSA has been illegally accessing
confidential medical databases
in order to identify
undocumented Americans.
...who stole highly-classified
government files
jeopardizing an important
national security initiative.
She sent the documents
to a fringe left-wing website.
The mainstream media.
- The documents haven't been published.
- ...yet.
But there are rumors
of the programs existence.
If I were to guess... I am certain...
- ...Dani is an idealist...
- ...a punk...
- ...well-intentioned...
- ...sanctimonious...
- ...misguided...
- ...entitled...
- ...in over her...
- ...swollen head.
I'm giving this case to you, Sandra,
because I think you can
connect with her...
I'm giving this case to you, Littlejohn,
because I know you'll want
to crush her...
...because you understand
the rule breakers.
...because you believe
in the rule of law.
- Do your best.
- Win.
Taj Mahal?
No.
Do you know how long it took me
to get here on the train?
[CHUCKLES] You took the train?
45 minutes.
It takes 45 minutes.
You're nervous, aren't you?
It's my first sentencing.
Oh, well, you're gonna do great.
- Is this your new case?
- Mm-hmm.
Okay, now I'm nervous.
I've read your sentencing brief.
It's superb.
Y-You always do this.
Not that. This.
You're up against Kate Littlejohn.
- So what?
- Not so what.
Talk to Jay. Definitely not "so what."
Hey.
- I'm busy.
- I thought you'd like to know
that things are getting better
with me and Ezra.
My Airbnb roommate.
We worked out this, uh...
shower schedule.
As long as I'm in by 5:00, I can
stay in there as long as I want...
literally as long as I want.
I negotiated that.
So... that's pretty cool.
Do you need something?
Just wanted to say "hi," good morning.
I'm glad you showered.
I just have this new case,
and it's a lot.
This partner in my old law firm
once told me
the first thing you do
when you get a case
is find out who opposing counsel is.
Most of the time, it's some deadbeat,
and then you feel better about yourself.
Opposing counsel is Sandra Bell.
So that partner's advice
was pretty bad all around.
♪
♪
♪
You're gonna tell the judge
my uncle gave me that gun
after our apartment
got broken into twice?
Yes. Everything is in our papers.
And those kids who stopped me and
little brother that day are in a gang.
I bought the gun just
to get them to back off.
I would never hurt anyone,
but I got to protect Donovan.
We've only got each other.
I know, Keenan. I know.
But you did plead guilty
to possession of a firearm.
We have to be prepared
for some jail time.
If I go away for too long,
I don't know what'll happen
to my mom and Donovan.
- I take care of them.
- Judge Barish will factor all of this
into her sentencing determination.
She's reasonable.
[ELEVATOR BELL DINGS IN DISTANCE]
I've reviewed the pre-sentence report,
and I have both of your briefs.
I'm prepared to impose my sentence.
I do want to inform you
that I'll be utilizing
the Greene-Haot risk-assessment
software, EVALUATE,
to assist in determining
the appropriate sentence.
Software?
An algorithm that makes a determination
about the defendant's
potential recidivism.
Many courts across the country
are already utilizing this tool.
I'm sorry, Your Honor.
Can the court educate counsel
on what factors go into this algorithm?
There are a lot of factors,
but the exact formula is proprietary.
What we do know is that
this technology promises
to bring uniformity and fairness
and scientific discipline
to an area of law that has always been
arbitrary and capricious.
This is a good thing, Ms. Adams.
You're asking my client
to simply have faith
that this program is fair?
I am not asking you
or your client anything.
I am telling you how I plan
on determining this sentence.
If you need faith in something,
have faith that I've been
a federal judge for 17 years
and I know what I'm doing.
Respectfully, Your Honor,
I'd like the opportunity
to address the court
on the software before sentencing.
I'll give you one week
to prepare an argument.
We're in recess.
♪
[KNOCKS ON DOOR]
You went up against
Kate Littlejohn, right?
Why would you say that name
in this office?
This is a safe space.
What's the problem with her?
You ever go to a movie
and there are, like,
two people talking right behind you
and they're ruining your movie
and you're like,
"Mm! I really want to say something,
but I'm scared
they're gonna dog-pile me"?
And then some other person
just says, "Hey, shut up!"
And the people talking shut up,
and you're really grateful
for that person
and wondering why you were so wimpy,
but then you start worrying
that person who told them to shut up
is now gonna yell at you about something,
and you realize that person
is the person that really scares you?
That's Kate Littlejohn.
She's intense and uncompromising,
and she instills in you
an incalculable fear...
and dread.
I think you might not have
the same issues I did, though.
♪
You went up against Sandra Bell, right?
And won. Why?
She's opposing counsel on my next case.
Did you get the leaker case? Don't
tell me you got the leaker case.
O... kay.
Did you get the leaker case?
Yes.
If it was anybody but you,
I'd be annoyed.
- You're annoyed.
- Super-annoyed.
Roger's punishing me
for bringing my mom here.
Tell me about Sandra.
She's self-righteous,
passionate, in your face.
I don't like her. I don't
like what she represents.
I don't like who she represents,
and if I ever got arrested,
she'd probably be
the first person I'd call.
I can cancel my date tonight
and work on this with you.
I don't want you to cancel your date.
You sure?
- Yes.
- Oh.
I'll be thinking about you
the whole time.
High-profile case, Kate Littlejohn.
The press is gonna have
a field day with this.
It's important. It's not high profile.
[BUZZER BLARES]
You know what they're doing, right?
They're accessing hospital databases
without patients' permission.
They say it is an anti-terror program,
a-a way to find people
who are off the grid,
but they're not using it
to find terrorists.
They're using it to deport people,
regular people,
people who were brave enough
and hopeful enough
to leave everything they knew
and come here.
I was trying to do the right thing.
I know you were.
But it may have been the
right thing at the wrong time.
The government is aggressively
prosecuting leakers right now.
They're gonna try to punish you.
I believe our best chance
is gonna be to try
to negotiate with the government
for a deal.
You face decades in prison
if you get convicted at trial.
A deal, I might be able
to get it down to five years.
I never thought I'd end up in here.
In jail? Me?
Two tours in Iraq,
and now I'm an enemy of the state,
all over the news.
You're not all over the news.
♪
KATE: We never sent out a press release.
'Cause we didn't want any press.
Isn't the point of prosecuting
a leaker to send a message?
No, the point of prosecuting a leaker
is to stop the leaking
of classified information.
The more we talk about it, the greater
the risk that information gets out.
Well, I think it was a mistake.
Burying this makes it look like
we're hiding something.
We are.
[CHUCKLING] Well,
if I was on the other side,
I'd do something with that.
They never issued a press release.
Because they didn't want any press.
- Why?
- My guess?
Dani's a highly sympathetic defendant.
If her story gets out,
people will be mad,
and then they'll be more interested
in the very thing the government
was trying to protect.
That puts pressure on the government
to reveal more about what happened.
To drop or at least reduce
the charges against Dani.
You're gonna do this, aren't you?
Unless you tell me not to.
24 hours ago,
the FBI arrested a young woman
for telling the truth,
that in the false name of anti-terrorism,
the United States government
has been illegally accessing
the confidential medical records
of millions of Americans
in order to identify and deport
undocumented immigrants.
The government tried
to keep this program a secret,
and now it's trying
to keep this arrest a secret,
but this is America.
My client's name is Dani Rios.
She's a hero. Not a criminal.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
- ♪ I don't know how to say no ♪
- [BOTH BREATHING HEAVILY]
♪ Don't hold me accountable ♪
[SIGHS] Damn.
Damn!
You broke my brain.
You literally broke my brain.
[CELLPHONE CHIMES]
♪
Gotta go. Find my clothes.
- Everything okay?
- [SIGHS]
Work stuff. I have to be in Brooklyn.
- Why?
- Because it's where I work, Brooklyn.
- Yeah, what's the case?
- Can't say.
I'm Southern District, you're Eastern.
- We're family.
- [CHUCKLING] That's messed up.
You broke my brain.
[SIGHS]
Bart McKenna.
The Bart McKenna?
$100 million Ponzi-scheme Bart McKenna?
Saw the story broke yesterday.
Yeah, we were scrambling to
make a case, and then he ran.
Slipped town last night on a cruise ship,
except his ship stalled in
the middle of the Hudson River.
And as soon as we can get it
towed to Brooklyn,
I'll be waiting there with the FBI.
Which is why I have to go to Brooklyn.
Congratulations. That's huge.
This is our secret.
Mm-hmm. Which part?
All of it.
[DOOR OPENS, CLOSES]
♪
Bart McKenna's on a boat.
Is this that game where
I add a sentence to yours
- and we make a story?
- The Ponzi guy...
He's stuck on a cruise ship
in the middle of the Hudson.
Eastern is trying to make that case.
Yes, but they haven't yet.
And he's incorporated in Manhattan.
Several of his victims are here,
so if I get that boat to dock
in Manhattan,
we can claim venue as much as they can.
You're trying to steal this case?
Trying to get off the bench,
get you a win, get myself a game ball.
I hate sports metaphors.
But I like what you're saying.
You want me to go after this?
- Yes.
- Great.
If you steal a case for the Southern,
that's good for me, and if you blow this,
then I can feel less guilty
about making you pay
for parading your mom through my office.
Win-win.
You wanted to see me.
You need to respond
to that press conference.
I thought we didn't want press.
We didn't want press,
but now there's press,
and it's not the press we want,
so you need to respond.
I think that's a mistake.
Didn't you think it was a
mistake not to go to the press?
Before she made a move, yes.
But now she's a made a move, a big one...
outside the lines.
When you go outside the lines,
there can be unintended consequences,
so let's see what they are
before we respond.
I didn't ask to see you.
I know. I just knew you'd want to.
This algorithm Barish wants
to use is so far from objective
I can't even find a word to describe it.
Subjective?
It's called EVALUATE?
I evaluated EVALUATE,
and Keenan is now twice as
likely to get a max sentence
just because he's black, from Mott Haven,
and dropped out of high school at 15.
I've heard of these programs.
They're intended to remove bias.
The data is biased.
A computer doesn't know
that Mott Haven is policed
at a significantly higher rate
than Riverdale.
Maybe it does know.
But it can't possibly know why.
This software has no historical context.
It can't account for slavery,
Jim Crow, Reaganomics,
the war on drugs,
a crumbling education system...
- 10 more seconds.
- What?
10 more seconds of preaching
to the choir,
and then you have to decide what to do.
You have to defend Keenan
as vigorously as you can, of course,
but you also have to consider
whether Judge Barish
is going to listen to you,
whether she's dug in,
whether your digging in is
gonna make it worse for Keenan.
You have to be realistic.
[TELEPHONE RINGS IN DISTANCE]
Keenan didn't finish high school
because his mom's MS went
into hyperdrive.
He ha to work so his brother
could keep playing travel football.
Keenan thinks his brother can
get a college scholarship,
and if he lived one block over,
he'd be in a better zip code,
according to that stupid machine.
Then you've decided.
Good.
Fight the machine.
♪
♪
[FOOTSTEPS APPROACH]
Has she called to make a deal?
She will.
Did you know Kate was
Secretary General of the U.N.?
Uh, in high school, model U.N.,
but still...
Uh... what happened at sentencing?
[TELEPHONE RINGS]
Yes.
Okay.
I'll be right there.
- Kate?
- No.
I saw you on the news.
They let us watch some TV.
I'm trying to put some pressure
on the government
to bring them to the table.
And...?
And I haven't heard from them yet.
Good.
I don't want a deal.
What are you talking about, Dani?
You called me a hero.
I wasn't trying to be.
I mean, it wasn't like
I wanted to get caught,
but I was.
And now I'm hearing from people...
people who need someone to listen, and...
I want to stand up for them
like you stood up for me.
Standing up for people is my job.
It's not your job.
It's who you are.
A job is what I was doing on the
14th floor of the Vetracom Building,
working for the NSA,
but it's not who I am.
It's crazy... I served in Iraq,
but this feels like the real test for me.
- It's time to be brave.
- You are brave,
but that doesn't mean staying in jail.
It does mean that if that's what
it takes to send a message.
If I take a deal and plead guilty,
what message does that send?
That I didn't believe in what I did?
That I was wrong?
Our government is targeting
people who are sick and hurt
and brought to emergency rooms
by relatives
who are terrified of
going to the hospital,
but they risk it because
they're even more terrified
of losing a loved one.
And now...
They'll lose them anyway.
All my life, I've been
around people like this,
who were afraid to stand up
because they felt like they couldn't.
But now I have a choice.
You showed me that.
I can sit at the table
and negotiate away my soul,
or I can stand up...
like you.
I don't want to take a deal.
You know what that means?
It means I can make a difference.
♪
- She doesn't want a deal.
- Because?
Because of me, my press conference.
- So try again.
- It's not gonna happen.
Dani doesn't want a deal
because there isn't a deal.
It's always easier to say "no"
to something in the abstract.
People say, "I don't want
to get married."
Then some handsome man stands
there, telling you he loves you,
and before you know it, you're married.
I don't want to get married.
I really wouldn't recommend it.
Talk to Kate, see what she's offering.
Looking at 15 years in prison
versus a deal in hand,
you'd be surprised
how quickly minds change.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
[TELEPHONE RINGS IN DISTANCE]
[GASPS] That's a Classic
Italian from Zeno's.
With extra peperoncinis.
The greatest sandwich in the world.
I'm gonna eat this until
you to tell me to stop.
Okay, what's up?
Judge Barish is using
a sentencing algorithm
that was basically built
to screw my client
and everyone who looks like him,
and I'm pretty sure
I need the help of an expert
to discredit it...
namely, a mathematician.
Okay.
Okay. So... you go.
Be nice.
Your brother will be flattered.
[CHUCKLES] You don't know Eddie.
Not as much as I'd like to.
I'm the odd one out in this family.
You know that.
They're all science and data
"great minds,"
and I'm an idealistic public defender.
It's squishy to them.
I might as well be in a mime troupe.
- [LAUGHS]
- They don't get me.
You probably don't get them.
Whose side are you on?
Oh, my God, this sandwich is so good.
I'm sorry. [CHUCKLES]
You have a client who needs you.
You share blood with
someone who can help.
Do what you have to do.
[SIGHS]
Give me that.
I'm saying, a ship that size
dead in the water,
we'd have to mobilize
a lot of tugboats to haul it in.
McKenna sees that, he might
freak out and take hostages.
We don't need to do this on the water.
If the captain makes
a routine announcement,
like "help is on the way,"
you can send in tugboats
without raising suspicion
and tow the ship to Manhattan,
which we can all agree
is closer to where the boat is
than Brooklyn.
It's not gonna happen.
What's not gonna happen?
A storm's coming in, a big one.
I'm not putting a bunch of little boats
- on the water in a storm.
- He's right.
Let the storm pass
and tow it somewhere then.
Manhattan. Has to be here.
[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS]
Excuse me.
- You'd have done the same thing.
- Never.
And now you can send
all of these people home
because I'm gonna get my boss
to call your boss
and put a stop to this.
And when he asks how I knew
Bart McKenna was on that ship?
Meanwhile, I go to my boss,
who calls his boss,
and on up it goes until it's settled
by whichever guy owes
some other guy dinner,
and everyone up the chain
thinks we're idiots
for not figuring this out on our own.
There's one crucial part of this
you're not getting.
- This is my case.
- Was.
Now it's nobody's. I snaked you. I did.
So as an act of kindness,
I'm gonna leave this up to the weather.
- The weather?
- Storm.
Ship will blow one way or the other.
Whichever side it's closest to,
they get the case.
- That's stupid.
- It's fair.
- I don't trust you.
- I don't trust you.
Deal?
You're the worst.
I would have done the same thing.
But you're coming to my place
in Red Hook tonight
and making this up to me
in the filthiest way possible.
♪
[KNOCKS ON DOOR]
[DOOR CLOSES]
Sister.
Brother.
Anywhere you like.
- First time you've been to my office.
- It's nice.
I'm not in the basement anymore.
That's good.
How's work?
That's kind of why I'm here.
I need your help.
Have you heard of the sentencing
software EVALUATE?
It's amazing.
Amazing?
"Groundbreaking" and
"revolutionary" also apply.
- The algorithm is biased.
- An algorithm isn't biased.
That's definitively the point,
why it's a good thing.
It sentences blacks and Latinos
disproportionately to whites
- for the same crimes.
- So do judges, right?
This algorithm is an improvement.
It's a check on an already-flawed system.
My client's looking at
more time than he should
because of this software.
More time than you think he should.
You see? There. That's bias.
I didn't come here to debate
this with you.
Then why did you come here...
for the first time ever?
To ask a favor.
I need you to look at that software,
look at the coding, tell me how it works.
[CHUCKLES SOFTLY]
So you can discredit it?
So I can do what's right by my client.
Interesting tact when asking a favor,
to insult what I do?
But that's what you do,
whatever you want...
answer to no one,
and everyone is at your service,
- except I'm not Mom and Dad.
- I don't think you understand
my relationship with Mom and Dad.
I understand they let you live
in their gorgeous apartment.
I live in Washington Heights.
You said you wanted to be close to work.
They never asked if I wanted it.
They gave it to me out of pity
because they think that
I can't take care of myself.
[SCOFFS]
I'm not surprised you believe that.
I have to go.
You've never been to my office.
What?
Your snarky comment
about me not visiting you?
But you've never been
to my office either.
That's fair.
You want to know what
that algorithm can't do?
Feel.
Understand nuance.
Empathize.
No wonder you respect it so much.
♪
[FOOTSTEPS APPROACH]
Ms. Bell.
Please, call me Sandra.
Let's get started.
There are two counts against Ms. Rios
under the Espionage Act,
each of which carries
a maximum penalty of 15 years.
If Ms. Rios pleads to one count,
we will recommend 78 to 97 months,
taking into consideration
the severity of the leak
and prior criminal history.
She has no prior criminal history.
She has a juvenile adjudication
for disorderly conduct.
When she was a juvenile.
Juvenile adjudications can be
applied in sentencing, Ms. Bell.
Don't lecture me about sentencing,
and my name is Sandra.
If you call me Ms. Bell again,
I'm leaving.
The offer is 78 to 97 months.
- That's too high.
- This isn't a negotiation.
Then what is it?
63 months.
[CHUCKLES]
Why don't you tell me what
you have the authority to go to?
Oh.
Oh, I see. You don't have any authority.
You came here to see what you could get
and then try to sell it to your client.
- Is that it?
- 63 months is not good enough.
There is no offer of 63 months.
You're withdrawing your offer?
If you can't accept, I can't offer.
Why doesn't she want a deal?
Because she wants to take the stand
so she can tell the world
how evil the government is.
Dani loves her country.
Odd way of showing it.
I'm sorry, how long did you
serve in the military?
Same amount of time you did.
Why don't you be reasonable here?
Why don't I be reasonable?
Your client decides one day,
"You know what?
I'm gonna decide public policy
for the United States government...
me, by myself.
Forget the laws passed
by the elected representatives
of the people,
the deliberations of the professionals
charged with protecting
our national security
and enforcing our immigration laws.
I, Dani Rios, have decided
I know better than all that.
I'm gonna do what I want.
And my lawyer is gonna do what she wants
and enter a plea negotiation
in total bad faith
because we do what we want.
Because everything works out in the end,
as long as I'm reasonable."
Is this what you wanted to be...
when you were growing up, really?
I genuinely do not understand it.
You're a glorified hall monitor
walking around with your clipboard,
taking names, checking lockers,
wrapping knuckles.
Don't you care about what was
in those documents Dani leaked,
what they mean,
that our government is accessing
confidential medical information
to deport people?
Why are the rules more important
than the people
they are designed to protect?
I think we're done here...
Ms. Bell.
[DOOR OPENS, CLOSES]
♪
[SIGHS DEEPLY]
♪
♪
JILL: Come in, Sandra.
SECRETARY: You can go in, Ms. Littlejohn.
I understand if you're upset...
I'm not upset.
I'm disappointed.
I picked you for this case
because I thought
you would identify with Dani...
- identify with her, not be her.
- Dani isn't the problem.
You let this woman get inside your head,
and then you went into that meeting
without the tools you needed
to get the job done.
Dani is too young and naive
to understand what's at
stake here, but you're not.
Kate Littlejohn is unreasonable.
She's a prosecutor.
I think it's more than that.
Don't let it be more than that.
- I understand if you're upset.
- I'm very upset.
- We're going to trial.
- Oh, no, you're not.
- She rejected the deal.
- Well, try again.
Sandra Bell is unreasonable.
- She's a public defender.
- She's an unreasonable public defender.
Now you're just getting redundant.
This isn't about her. It's about
what's good for your client,
and your client is the United States,
and a trial is not good
for the United States.
I picked you for this case
because you are stone cold.
I do have feelings.
They're in the way.
NEWSCASTER: Jim, while
the residents of New York's
five boroughs still need
to prepare themselves
for the brunt of the storm,
we now see indications that
it might veer to the south.
No, no! Not south!
- North! Go north!
- Hey.
What's going on in here?
- Storm's getting bigger.
- That's not good.
Not if it blows that boat
to Brooklyn, it's not.
Plus the possible loss of life
and property, but okay.
You know why I became a prosecutor?
So you could steal cases
from other prosecutors?
- 'Cause we hold all the cards.
- Mm.
We choose when to charge, if to charge,
how much to charge, what evidence to use.
We're in control.
Today my whole job depends
on something as random as the weather.
Oh, yeah, but fortunately for you,
it's not 1875.
What?
For most of human existence,
we didn't imagine weather
could be predicted
or even should be
because that was God's area.
But with the rise of technology
in the late 19th...
As a teenager,
I was a bit of an amateur meteorologist.
You were into magic, too, I bet.
Nah.
I may have done a mentalist act.
Anyway, point is,
by the turn of the century,
the more information we had,
the less that chance played a role
in predicting the weather.
Sit, predict.
Well, first, you need to
understand the Coriolis effect.
No, I mean tell me where
my ship is gonna land.
♪
Oh, I don't know why I'm so upset.
- Jill's right.
- He's so wrong.
- I'm being emotional.
- How can he have no emotions?
But I've got this idealistic
girl in front of me.
He's like talking to a robot.
I do need to be the adult.
All he cares about are facts and data.
No one's interested in context.
Dani can't see what's right for her.
Soon we're all going to be
reduced to data points, numbers.
♪
Oh, my God.
Thank you.
[FOOTSTEPS DEPART]
[BUZZER BLARES]
[DOOR OPENS]
I literally had to wade through a crowd
of your supporters to get in here.
[DOOR CLOSES]
You did?
At least 300 people.
[SIGHS] This is all so strange.
Tomorrow, there will be more people,
even more when the trial starts.
The reading of the verdict will
be an absolute spectacle.
And if you're convicted,
your supporters will be outraged.
They'll march to stop the lying
and spying you exposed.
They'll organize to stop
these deportations.
They'll get brave, just like you.
They'll stand up.
But you...
You won't get to be a part of it,
this community you helped to create,
because you will be here,
just another number
in the federal prison system.
45278-054.
That will be you.
♪
I want to make a difference.
Then let me get you out of here.
Let me go to the table.
Let me do the job I was meant to do
so you can do what you were meant to do.
Stand up and fight.
I know you like to eat
at 12:30 on the dot,
[SINGSONG VOICE]
so I brought you something.
[NORMAL VOICE]
Classic Italian from Zeno's.
You don't like peperoncinis, but you
prefer to pull them off yourself.
You introduced me to this place.
I've had this sandwich a thousand times,
and there's always exactly
24 peperoncinis inside.
You don't want to know the odds on that.
I don't.
I'm grateful for the sandwich,
but I'm not helping you.
I'm sorry about what I said before.
I'm sorry about how you feel
about Mom and Dad
and about me growing up.
It's just crazy because
I always looked up to you.
I was jealous that
you wanted to follow in their footsteps.
I was jealous of how much
they seemed to love it.
I felt like they didn't care as much
about the things I was into.
I felt like I never had a chance.
Huh?
Look, I'm the oldest.
They were into math and science,
so I wanted to be.
I didn't have anything to rebel against.
It was me and them.
You felt like they didn't understand you.
I felt like they let you be you.
Free.
They're controlling.
You never saw that.
You think living in that apartment
doesn't come with strings?
You don't think it gets thrown in my face
anytime I don't call for a week
or blow off dinner with them?
[SIGHS]
This kid, Keenan,
is about to get lost
in the federal prison system.
Every extra day he spends in there
is one less day he gets to spend
with the brother he adores.
It's 12:30.
You got to eat.
Two people can see the same
factual events differently.
You and I are an example of that.
It's why humans are imperfect machines.
That's why we need these algorithms.
You're trying to fight the algorithm.
You want to discredit the data...
That's the wrong approach.
Okay.
Use the data.
Play the human,
the judge.
Machines don't have ego.
People do.
♪
How are things with the AUSA
who shall not be named?
[CHUCKLES] Off to see her now.
Ugh. I'm sorry.
But that also means you convinced Dani
to let you negotiate a deal for her.
I know. Small victories.
Big victories. Congratulations.
Well, at the very least,
I'm not gonna fill up our office
with hundreds of boxes of discovery.
Hundreds of boxes of discovery?
The government would never
produce documents
in a case like this.
♪
[TELEPHONE RINGING]
- KATE: You're late.
- I'm not late.
I'm pretty good with time.
I'm not late because I'm not coming,
but I'll be in court in an hour.
You should be there, too.
[RECEIVER SLAMS]
[RECEIVER CLACKS]
As you're aware, the statute under which
Ms. Rios is being charged, 18 USC 793d,
requires that the government
prove Ms. Rios' leak
caused injury to the United States
or advantage to a foreign government.
As long as the government refuses
to even acknowledge the existence
of the surveillance program
Ms. Rios leaked,
it is impossible to determine
whether it could cause
injury or advantage.
What exactly are you saying?
I'm saying that,
in order to prepare our defense,
we need the government
to produce all the documents
related to this surveillance program.
Those are highly-classified
documents, Your Honor.
That are essential to our defense.
This is an unusual request.
We're in an unusual situation.
Your Honor, if you grant this request,
the government will be forced to choose
between revealing classified information
and continuing with this prosecution.
I understand
the government's predicament.
But the basis for this request is valid,
and I'll grant it.
As the production of these documents is
obviously problematic
for the government, I assume...
We'll produce the documents.
- What?
- Ms. Littlejohn...
We'll produce the documents.
Do you need to check with your
supervisor, Ms. Littlejohn?
- No.
- You sure?
Yes, however, the documents will need
to undergo a full
national-security review
and then be redacted prior to production.
Based on the volume and
sensitivity of this material,
I'd estimate a delay
of at least 18 months,
during which time, the government would
strongly advocate for
Ms. Rios' continued detention.
- Your Honor...
- I'd like to see the two of you
in my chambers now.
♪
Listen, I'm not gonna get
involved on one side of this,
but I know neither of you
wants this case to go to trial.
Figure this out.
♪
[DOOR OPENS, CLOSES]
[SIGHS]
His name was Richard Prince.
You asked me why I wanted to do this?
Richard Prince...
He sat behind me in
Ms. Diller's history class.
He talked a lot. He cheated.
At the end of the first semester,
he had the highest grade in
the class because he cheated.
I liked school.
Richard didn't like school.
Maybe he didn't need it.
I don't know, I don't care. I needed it.
I looked forward to Mondays, school.
The weekends, when I was at home...
[INHALES DEEPLY]
We had two field trips every
year in my middle school.
The big one in seventh grade
was across the state to the U.S. Capitol.
I had been looking forward
to the Capitol trip
since I was... 5 years old.
I'd memorized every Speaker of the House
since Frederick Muhlenberg.
I knew that the prize
for designing the Capitol building
was $500.
I knew that the Dome was made
of 8,999,200 pounds of cast iron.
I knew this,
and I wrote all these things
down in a little notebook,
and I pasted pictures into the notebook
so I could bring it with me
when we went our trip
and make sure I saw everything
I'd ever read about.
I was more excited about this trip
than I've ever been about
anything in my life.
We were 18 miles outside of Roanoke
when Richard Prince pulled out
his phone on the bus.
There was one strict rule on this trip...
no electronic devices, none.
But Richard Prince had brought his phone.
Ms. Diller told him to put it away.
He refused.
His friends started to defend him.
It got loud.
I sat in the back of the bus
with my hands over my ears,
looking through my notebook,
staring at pictures of the Dome,
the crypt, the Old Senate Chamber.
But it just got louder, louder,
more out of control,
and then I felt...
the wheels of the bus turn.
♪
I didn't look up, but I felt it.
We were going home.
I was looking forward
to that Capitol trip
for six years... six years...
and I did not get to go,
because Richard Prince decided
the rules didn't apply to him.
49 kids didn't get to go
because of 1 person.
Is this what I wanted to be
when I was growing up?
Yes. Injustice isn't only felt
by the loudest person
complaining about it.
♪
The government withdraws
the espionage charges
and Dani pleads guilty
to theft of government property.
Time served plus three years
of supervised release.
♪
♪
[BUTTONS CLICKING]
- Roger.
- Hey, sorry about that ship.
Why sorry?
Oh, I heard it didn't end up
in Brooklyn or Manhattan.
- New Jersey, ugh.
- That's a kick in the ass, huh?
Mm. Actually, because of some
weather-predicting calculations
I won't bore you with,
I knew where that ship was going.
So I arranged to thank some NYPD officers
that have been assisting me
by sending them
to a fine dinner at a great restaurant,
which happened to be near New Jersey's
Cape Liberty Cruise Ship port.
So they were in perfect position
to nab McKenna
when he stepped off that ship,
and before the sun came up,
he was safely back here,
in the arms of the
Southern District of New York.
- [BELL DINGS]
- Win-win. I'm off here.
♪
Your Honor, I understand the appeal
of using this sentencing
software, EVALUATE.
I do.
It appears to be efficient, precise,
immune to emotion and lapses in logic.
It seems fair and unbiased,
so shouldn't we attempt
to be fair and unbiased
in evaluating whether it actually works?
32, 19, 34.
Are you picking lotto numbers
for me, Ms. Adams?
32% is the federal recidivism rate.
19%?
19% is the recidivism rate
of defendants tried
and sentenced in your court,
Judge Barish.
It's one of the lowest
in the Southern District.
34%?
That's the recidivism rate of EVALUATE,
higher than the national average,
15 points behind you.
I'm sure you have a theory
as to why that is.
I think you know I do,
but you asked me to have faith in you,
in your experience, your
judgment, and I do.
And these numbers back that up.
You're not arbitrary or capricious.
[SIGHS]
When you were in elementary school,
IBM built a computer that it claimed
could beat a world champion in chess.
It couldn't. Lost to Garry Kasparov.
IBM made some tweaks,
and Deep Blue the rematch.
Today, every one of us can download
free chess software on our phones
that would demolish Kasparov.
Technology isn't perfect,
but it's always improving.
I may have been premature
in relying on EVALUATE,
but this is the future, Ms. Adams.
I appreciate your arguments here today.
♪
[INDISTINCT CHATTER,
CAMERA SHUTTERS CLICKING]
[SIGHS] This is it.
Own it.
[HORN HONKING IN DISTANCE]
My name is Dani Rios.
I stand here today
as a veteran, a patriot,
and the proud daughter of immigrants.
Well, how does it feel to be free?
WOMAN: What is it like to be a folk hero?
I am not a hero.
I am just a regular American citizen
who wanted to shine light on injustice.
[INDISTINCT SHOUTING]
♪
Thank you. That's all for now.
Thank you.
I like it.
How long you been working on that?
Long time.
Ever been?
No.
[MOLLY KATE KESTNER'S "COMPROMISE" PLAYS]
♪ People tell me, sell me potions ♪
♪ Notions, all success and fortune ♪
♪ Who are they to tell me? ♪
[SINGSONG VOICE] Come home with me.
Barish only gave Keenan six months.
The government wanted two years.
We're celebrating.
I know you prefer wine out of the box,
but this is amazing.
I've got work to do.
If you don't come home with me,
I'll drink this entire bottle.
You know what happens when I
drink an entire bottle of wine.
You do all the Schuyler sister
parts from "Hamilton"
and our neighbor calls the cops.
Don't do that to me.
Please.
- ♪ I won't ♪
- ♪ I won't say goodbye ♪
[KNOCKS ON DOOR]
Hey, you got to come out for drinks.
No date tonight?
She might need a little cooling-off time.
Well, I can't, thanks. I have to work.
I don't care. I told Seth I
owe him a drink sometime
for his help with the cruise ship.
He said tonight's good.
I'm not drinking alone with him.
Don't make me do that.
♪ Try to shut me, cut me down to size ♪
♪ But trust me, they don't even know me ♪
♪ They don't even know me ♪
♪ I don't need to justify
the way I live my life, ♪
♪ It's mine, so who are you to tell me?
♪ - [KNOCK ON DOOR]
Guest of honor.
♪ Who are you to tell me? ♪
♪ I owe you the part of me, heart of me ♪
♪ Just enough to start something ♪
Reach in my pocket.
Don't.
No way my card's in there.
[SIGHS]
Dude... That's incredible.
Would've been cooler if it was a rabbit.
- [CELLPHONE CHIMES]
- ♪ I won't say goodbye
- ♪ Dreams I had since I was five ♪
- _
- ♪ You can never break me ♪
- _
- Can you feel that?
- One more.
Nice.
♪ Won't apologize ♪
♪ I don't care if you're satisfied ♪
[CHUCKLES] Hi.
- Long time.
- Too long.
♪ Never gonna change me ♪
♪ Never gonna change me ♪
♪ No, no, no, no, no ♪
♪ Oh, you're never gonna change me ♪
♪ Never gonna change me ♪
♪ I won't compromise ♪
♪ I won't ♪
♪ Won't apologize ♪
♪ I don't care if you're satisfied ♪
♪ Never gonna change me ♪
♪ Never gonna change me ♪
♪ Never gonna change me ♪
♪ Never gonna change me ♪
♪ I won't compromise, no ♪