Harry's Law (2011–2012): Season 2, Episode 16 - The Lying Game - full transcript

♪ Thanks for turning... ♪

- He's sings to you?
- It's meant to scare me.

- Does your dad frighten you?
- Sometimes.

It would probably be best
if he would just go away.

- That man is a client.
- Cruickshank?

I've been in a hotel room with him

two or three times... I'm sure of it.

- She dismissed me. Your little friend.
- Excuse me?

- She fired me.
- She was rubbing the customer's feet

in an inappropriate manner.

You have a nail in your head!



Take him to the hospital.

Everything... come out okay?

Splendid. I'm fine.

- What are you looking for?
- $3 million.

Good, then. We can close

the books on this nonsense.

- This isn't right.
- He's competent...

that's all that matters.

We cannot take advantage of a lawyer

who we know to be mentally infirm.

I got up this morning around 7:00,

- and saw this.
- Gee, Chloe,

you seem a bit beside yourself.

You come into my home again,
and I will shoot you.



It said trespassers would be shot.

But, Cassie,

I rigged it, but I didn't load it.

Well, if you didn't load it, then who did?

Look at this.

She mounted the gun on the stepladder,

ran the cord to the door, and rigged it

so that when the front door opened,

boom, problem solved.

Problem husband out of the way.

Can you imagine?

Twice she went for a restraining order,

afraid that he would hurt her,

and twice she was turned down.

He psychologically terrorized my client,

and did so to their daughter Shelby.

And finally, in a desperate last resort,

Chloe Higgins rigged
that shotgun in self-defense,

with a big, bold warning on the front door

telling him what
would happen if he entered.

And he charged in anyway,

while she slept, just like he had before...

while she slept.

The evidence will show that
this man was out of control.

(elevator bell dings)

Harry,

Harry, Harry! Got a second, my friend?

It's important. Good to see ya.

Chin-Chin, how's she hanging?

A second, please.

First, what's important...

how are you, my friend?

Good. You?

I'm doing fine.

Thanks. So nice of you to ask.

You're such a mensch.

Actually, I'm doing

quite a lot better, truth be told.

I'm even feeling like
I'm back to my old self.

Isn't that just great?

Well, thanks for the health update, Sam.

- Now, if you'll excuse me...
- You took advantage

of me, Harry.

What do you mean?

I accidentally fired a nail gun

into my head, Harry.

It compromised my faculties,

and you exploited that
to negotiate a settlement

while I was not of sound mind.

That's bad form, my friend.

Now, let's be fair, Sam...

I never considered you of sound mind.

Rim shot! Zang! Gee, you're good!

Whappo! Here's what
we're going to do, my friend.

We're going to vitiate that settlement,

you're going to return
the money, and in consideration,

I will hold off moving
for your immediate disbarment.

- That sound good, my friend?!
- Not really.

How about instead
of giving back the money,

I just put it in escrow somewhere in hell,

and you can go there to get it.

You've got a nice place here, don't you?

Picked yourself up off the ground,
rebuilt your miserable life,

little shoe store gig on the side...

it's just neato, super-duper.

I'll make it all go away
with one snap of my finger.

Get lost, Sam, before I drill
your head with a few more nails.

Got a little theme song,

Sam, as you strut out

with your saggy,

pathetic ass?

Or shall we just go with mine?

Oh, crap.

Harry's Law 2x16 - The Lying Game
Original air date April 8, 2012

ADAM: What are you gonna do?

I'm gonna defend myself; what can I do?

Harry, you do face some exposure here.

Yeah, yeah. I'm not giving the money back.

Hey, Tommy, how's your day looking?

What's going on?

Eh, I may need you to defend me.

Can you come to my office?

Chunhua...

listen,

I'm feeling a little bad

about the way you dismissed me

from the shoe store without cause.

I had cause.

You were being inappropriate.

Yeah, but I was thinking

you actually fired all the women,

and it started me wondering...
do you not like women?

Because I was under
the impression that you did.

In fact, I got the sense

that you liked... me.

I certainly like you.

(quietly): It's okay to like me, Chunhua.

Are you feeling bad about liking me?

KILDARE: We'd just come from chambers.

Ms. Higgins had accused my client

of entering her premises at
night, using her lipstick

to write a threatening message
on her bathroom mirror.

Mr. Higgins claims she wrote it
herself to implicate him.

Do you think that's what happened, sir?

The defendant wrote it?

I have no reason to believe she did.

But I believed my client
when he said he didn't.

CRUICKSHANK: And I'm informed
after this meeting in chambers,

there was a verbal altercation

that ensued in the court corridor.

Yes.

Words were exchanged.

Do you remember, sir,
if Ms. Higgins directed threats

at your client during that exchange?

KILDARE: I remember that she did.

And what was said? If you remember.

Ms. Higgins told James, and I quote:

"If you come into my home
again, I will shoot you."

Okay. Do you believe
that my client's fear of yours

- was genuine?
- I have no reason to believe

- it wasn't.
- Thank you. And at the time

she made her threat
in the corridor, did she

strike you as homicidal in any way?

- Not really.
- In fact, you were

never so concerned that
you reported to the police.

- No.
- Thanks.

Was your client concerned?

He did not appear to be.

Thank you.

CASSIE: Okay, Chloe,

we've played this thing
out as long as we could.

The D.A. is not budging.

I think it's time for us to come clean.

- What do you mean?
- Means we have to make a plea.

We have no other real choice.

I will not allow Shelby
to be put in a facility...

- That doesn't have to happen.
- Of course it will happen.

If it's revealed that she shot her father,

- of course it will happen.
- First,

she does need treatment.

Which she's getting.

She's seeing a therapist. And second,

have you considered what it'll do

to her to watch her own mother go

to prison for something that she did?

'Cause that's what we're looking at here.

I am not letting my daughter
go to a facility.

I will not even risk it.

We just keep arguing self-defense.

Chloe, listen, here's our problem.

The only person who could
establish self-defense

is you... we cannot put you on the stand.

- Why not?
- Because a lawyer cannot knowingly

put a client on the stand
to lie... it's a rule.

- Excuse me?
- An attorney cannot knowingly call

a witness to give false testimony.

The only reason you know it's
a lie is because I told you.

It doesn't matter.

I'm being punished
for confiding in my lawyer?

OLIVER: We're not defending this rule.

We're just telling you what it is.

We cannot put you on the stand to lie.

(scoffs)

Okay, here's the other hitch.

Should you fire us

and engage another lawyer,

as officers of the court, if we know

a witness is about
to take the stand to lie,

whether he or she is our client or not...

we have a duty to report it.

You would report me?

We would have to.

I think I need to speak to your boss.

I'm sorry?

Harry Korn.

I need to talk to her.

So, the trial has already begun?

Yes. Basically, we were playing
it as long as we could,

trying for manslaughter.

We can't move the D.A.

- Now...
- Let me see if I get this.

- The court's not questioning she shot him?
- Right.

- But she didn't shoot him?
- Right.

- Your daughter did?
- I rigged it

on the stepladder, but Shelby loaded it

and set the trigger.

And where's Shelby now?

She's with my parents in Chicago.

I didn't want her subjected
to the publicity during trial.

OLIVER: The prosecution has

one more witness, then it rests.

- Then will be a good time to call Chloe...
- Just call her

and let her testify in the narrative.

Harry, you and I both know,
if we go into chambers

asking allowance for her
to testify in the narrative,

that's telling the judge she plans to lie.

So?

So then he's biased,

and every little ruling goes against us.

Plus, by the time we get
to jury instructions, forget it,

we wouldn't have a chance.

What does that mean, "in the narrative"?

Instead of a lawyer asking
you questions, you just

tell your story in a narrative format.

CASSIE: Our other problem

is that juries today are savvy.

They watch Law & Order. They know that

any witness testifying
in the narrative is lying.

- What?
- That's it.

- What's it?
- What's it?

Who's the judge?

Kirkland.

Let's go see him.

(bell dings)

Hey.

Hey. Can I help you?

Maybe. Can you accept service?

- I'm sorry?
- Summons.

My client's suing your firm.

Who's your...

Sam Berman?

Well, there are a few plaintiffs,
actually, but the lead guy is Sam.

Hey, Harry. Phoebe Blake.

I don't think we've formally met.

You're actually the lead defendant.

Sorry. Hey.

HARRY: Sam Berman hired you
to represent him?

- Yeah.
- What are you,

- 17?
- Pretty much.

Which is the reason I came in person.

Can we talk a second?

Okay, honestly, I don't
know why he hired me.

I'm a solo practitioner... this
seems way above my pay grade,

and, well, I was hoping we could
settle this quietly and quickly,

before I get too destroyed.

Uh-huh.

And what are you looking for?

Well, I thought if I could get you

to return the money, I could get Sam

to drop the punitive damages count

and all the disbarment nonsense.

You're kidding.

- Uh... no.
- You think you're

just gonna waltz in here and
I'm gonna hand over $3 million?

(laughs): Well, I don't think
I waltzed, but... okay.

And, um, my client did have

a brain injury... I mean, you saw the nail

sticking out of his head. Big nail.

If you had any reason to know

- or suspect...
- I didn't.

That all you got, Gwyneth?

(wry laugh): Oh...

It's Phoebe.

Look...

I need to get something.

I can't just crawl away here.

What do you say, Tommy?

Should we throw her a bone?

What seems good to you?

Well...

I'm not a big fan

of dealing in round numbers,

but off the top of my head,
nothing seems good.

HARRY: That's what I was thinking.

How's nothing?

Does nothing work?

And when I complained to Harry about it,

she basically just blew me off.

- And is Lisa really bothering you?
- Well,

it's harassment.

She's given me little looks before,

but I've just dismissed them.

But now this.

It's making me very uncomfortable.

Okay, I'll get into it.

Oh. Me again.

- Are you Adam?
- Yes.

Phoebe Blake. I don't think

we officially...

Anyway, this here is actually for you.

(bell dings) What's this?

Depo notice. Oh.

- You're deposing me?
- Sorry.

I'm not making friends
around here, I can see that.

I'm really nice.

Harry, you're not serious.

I'm very serious.

You want to knowingly put a client

on the stand to give false testimony.

- Right on the button.
- Okay, so,

you're only talking about violating one

- one of the most sacred ethical rules...
- Yeah, yeah.

It's a pretentious, full-of-crap
rule, and you know it.

I mean, it punishes the client

for sharing privileged information

with her own lawyer.

- Well, that may be so, but...
- Look, Judge,

trials are rarely about truth.

The D.A. distorts,

the defense distorts.

Why shouldn't the client be
allowed to put in her version?

After all, it is her life on the line.

She can put in her version...
in the narrative.

In which case, the jury will
know that she's lying.

People know
what narrative statements means.

HARRY: Come on, Judge. This
rule effectively denies

my client her constitutional right

to get in that chair
and confront her accuser.

It does no such thing,

and by the way, I resent your implication

that the State doesn't pursue the truth.

Yeah, chill, Doogie.

So, what, you plan on walking her through

your carefully crafted Q & A? Come on.

This makes you complicit in the lie.

You don't think we're gonna coach her

when she testifies in the narrative?

And what's the nature of this lie?

That I don't need
to tell you, and I won't.

Judge, let's face it.
This is an archaic rule.

It effectively bans our
client from testifying

and pretty much guarantees us an appeal.

I give you my word,
I will not suborn perjury.

I'll just ask her what happened.

All right.

But if I feel that you suborn
perjury in any way...

- What? You cannot be serious?
HARRY: - He's serious.

What are you doing for dinner?

I beg your pardon?

You don't want her in that chair.

I don't want her in that chair.

Let's grab dinner, Mr. Truth-and-Justice.

See what we can work out.

Okay, have a seat.

I got you the right to testify
if that's your wish, Chloe,

but it's not your wish,

and here's why.

What's going on?

I'm telling you what's going on,

and you're going to listen.

I have a dinner with

the district attorney
in about an hour, and

my hope is to tell him
the truth, the whole truth.

- No. Absolutely not.
- Chloe,

at the risk
of sounding indelicate, shut up.

Now, let's suppose you testify,

and that we should even win this trial.

That's a preposterous long shot,
but whatever.

There is no way that the truth
doesn't eventually come out.

Trust me.

And at that time,

your daughter will go
to a juvenile facility,

and you will go to prison for perjury.

That's what's going to happen, Chloe,

maybe not today, maybe not
tomorrow, but one day.

And between now and that day,

your daughter will probably go
to a psych ward as a result

of bearing this unconscionable burden.

Sit your ass back down in that chair.

I'm not done.

Asking your daughter

to keep this secret,
in my mind, is abusive.

It can't be doing her any good.

You people are supposed to be on my side.

We are on your side.

HARRY: And we're telling you,
this thing is a house of cards.

It will crush you,
and it will crush your daughter.

Chloe, we have a little bit
of leverage right now,

but it's a very small window.

HARRY: So, basically,
what we need from you

is to not be a complete idiot.

Can you do that for me, Chloe?

If not for me, then for your daughter.

It's unacceptable, Lisa,
and you need to stop it.

Okay.

That sounded a little qualified.

Adam, I did not come on to her.

You know very well, it is you I am after.

Well, look, she's...

Can't you see what's going on here?

She's threatened by me,

and this is her way of getting rid of me.

- Lisa, come on.
- Adam, she has tried

to broom every woman working here.

She drove the girls downstairs

to either quit or go on strike because you

were flirting with them. Don't be a dope.

Why else would she come to work
for her old boyfriend, huh?

(knocking) Hello? Now she's saying

I hit on her? (Laughs)

Who's next? Harry?

(piano music playing)

Here's the thing.

I got an unusual situation,
and it's a bit delicate.

And it might take a little
cooperation on your part.

I'm listening.

Okay.

- What happened that night...?
- Hold on.

- Do you plan to eat that?
- Is that a problem?

Might I say grace before
we partake in God's bounty?

It's a breadstick.

It's food, Harry, for which

we are grateful to receive.

Ugh.

May we join hands for grace?

(sighs)

Fine.

Dear Lord, let us give thanks
for our daily sustenance

which we are about to receive
in thy blessed name.

Accept our humble gratitude,
dear Lord, and forgive us

our trespasses, and
please accept Harry Korn

into thy joyous heart.

Allow me to be made whole
once again in thine eyes.

Let the pools of sin go fallow,

so that I may never dip
into them again with my lust.

Walk with me, my savior, as I turn my back

on the evil ways of prostitution.

And women's clothing.

Let me find redemption in thy heart,

despite the wanderings

of my wayward procreational appendage.

Dear Lord in heaven above...

(Harry crunching loudly)

If the big guy can forgive
all you got going on,

I figure he'll cut me some slack
with the breadstick.

I apologize.

I'm in treatment for a few issues,

and I've been instructed
to incorporate the 12 steps

into my blessings and prayers.

Got it. Can we talk about the case now?

Sure.

Uh, what I'm about to tell you is part

of a settlement discussion,

so it would be sealed.

Of course.

Chloe Higgins rigged
the shotgun on the stepladder,

but she didn't load it.

She went to bed, and she figured

she'd test it the next morning.

The daughter, Shelby, loaded it

set the trigger, unbeknownst to Chloe.

You expect me to believe that?

It's the truth, which an hour or so ago,

you claimed to be a big fan of.

Chloe is covering for her daughter.

What I'd like to do
is dismiss against Chloe,

and get Shelby into a hospital

where she can get the help
she desperately needs.

That's not going to happen.

My client didn't load the gun.

She rigged it.

At a minimum, she would be
guilty of negligent homicide.

No, she wouldn't. What?

It's foreseeable that the daughter

would load it, set the trigger
and kill her own father?

Chloe Higgins set something
into motion, Harry,

and as a result, a man is dead.

I'll give the mother
aggravated manslaughter

if she agrees to testify
against the child.

This presupposes she passes a
lie-detector test, of course.

I'm not looking
for a trial against the child.

I'd just want to get her treatment.

So everybody walks? A man is dead,

nobody gets held accountable?

If you want to make a lesser charge

of assault against the mother,

I'd be willing to entertain that.

- I'll stick with murder.
- She didn't commit murder.

According to you, her attorney.

Mr. Cruickshank,
if we proceed to trial on this,

you could very well end up with nothing.

You think this is a slam dunk for you?

So we go back into court?

Yes, and you'll testify.

- And say...?
- The truth, Chloe.

I can sell the truth.

I might even be able
to get you a not guilty.

It's a risk, but lying is a bigger one.

And what would happen to Shelby?

She would have to go to some facility.

Which she should.

- She needs treatment.
HARRY: - Not to mention,

she might very well

- pose a risk to society.
- No.

- She was only protecting me.
- Chloe, please.

This is not going to end well.

HARRY: You just say what happened.

I'll walk you through it.

Cassie's been over it with me.

You need to trust me here, Chloe.

The truth is our best chance.

(elevator bell dings, doors open)

Howdy, howdy, howdy.

How we all doing

in toon-town today?

Oh, great.

Uh, get her ready,

would you?

We should leave in about 15 minutes.

Okay.

Harry, Harry, Harry, my
friend, how we doing, love?

Hey, I saw a guy in a wheelchair

out front. Want to go let
the air out of his tires?

I know how you like to exploit
the disabled and whatnot.

- What are you doing here?
- I'm here for the deposition, my friend.

We're deposing your good man, Adam.

- I never waived notice.
- Oh, come on.

What, "Oh, come on?"

- I never waived notice.
- Harry.

A second?

You can see my client's a
little off his game here.

I'd like to just plough through

discovery and dispose of this.
Wouldn't you?

No. Nice try getting me

to concede he's off his game.
In my opinion,

he's never been sharper.

I'm in court this morning.

You will not be deposing him
in my absence.

Or mine.

BERMAN: What's the matter, Harry?

Running a bit scared, are we?

It's to be expected, I suppose.

It's what crooks do when
they're about to get caught.

And that's what you are,

my friend, aren't you?

A crook, a cheat, a scam.

Have you given one thought

as to what will happen to your career

if you make this public...

that you blew it,
that you cost your client

$3 million... your biggest client?

I don't care... you took advantage of me,

and that's not okay with me,

and now it's time to get even, Harry,

and that's what I intend to do.

Harry, we should really be going.

I'll cover this. Go ahead.

No deposition without me in the room.

Got it.

Later?

♪ Thanks for takin' me ♪

♪ On a one-way trip to the sun ♪

♪ Thanks for turnin' me... ♪

Were you afraid of this man?

Very much,

which is why we went into court

seeking the restraining order.

This only seemed to make things worse.

He charged into my lawyer's office...

Cassie Reynolds... and threatened her.

He actually asked for her home address.

I became convinced that he would hurt

either me or my daughter Shelby.

So what did you do?

Well, eventually, I resorted

to self-help.

I pulled out the shotgun,

mounted it on the stepladder,

ran the cord to the door,

put a sign on the door, warning him.

The police maintained that
there was no sign on the door.

It was found in the bushes.

He must have pulled it off,

but I put it there,
warning him not to enter.

And then what?

And then what, Chloe?

I, uh...

(swallows)

I loaded the gun, set
the trigger, and went to bed.

You loaded the gun?

Yes.

Then what?

I went to bed.

A few hours later, I heard it go off.

About what time did you load it?

I don't know, 11:00, maybe.

HARRY: 11:00, and, uh,

you went through all this with Shelby?

Um, she was in on it, too?

Absolutely not... she had
nothing to do with it.

Oh, well, come on, I mean,
if she knew about it,

we have to assume...

She didn't know about it.

She knew nothing about it?

No.

In fact, I rigged it
after she went to bed.

She knew nothing about it.

So you rigged a loaded shotgun,

you strung the cord,
then you just went to bed?

What would have happened

if Shelby had gotten up
in the middle of the night

and tripped over the cord?

Or suppose your husband rang the bell

instead of just entering,

and Shelby went to the door
and opened it to let him in?

Boom... no more Shelby?

I-I didn't think about that.

You didn't think about that?

Your Honor, I'd like to stop, please.

You know, it's funny,
you'd think you'd be ready

for these questions, I mean,

that they had been asked already,

but you didn't talk to the
police... they never got

a chance to ask... and your lawyer

Cassie Reynolds never asked because

she knew what really happened that night.

Your Honor, I'd like to stop.

You told her, just as you

told me subsequently,

- that it was Shelby.
- No.

- No?
- What are you doing?

I know what you're doing; you're
trying to protect your daughter.

Your Honor, I want to stop.

Request to treat the witness

as hostile, Your Honor.

Your own client?

Request to treat the witness as hostile.

What are you doing?

I'm trying to save your life, Chloe.

You just told a lie under oath.

You have one chance to correct that.

Otherwise, you're looking at perjury.

- Your Honor...
HARRY: - You have

one chance now, Chloe,

one chance to tell the jury

what really happened that night.

Just tell us.

(sighs)

I rigged the gun...

ran the cord.

Of course I knew it was dangerous

with a nine-year-old in the house.

Which is why I didn't load it.

(gallery murmuring)

Whether I would have
loaded it the next day

or the day after that, I can't tell you.

(sniffling) Perhaps I would have.

But I didn't load it that night.

We're recessed

till after lunch.

What I did was give you
your best chance to win,

and if you lose, I handed you
another grounds for appeal:

Your own lawyer turned against you.

You understand you're
under oath and all that...

you need to tell the truth?

Yeah, I got that, thanks.

And all objections except to
as the form of the question

will be reserved for trial.

- We good with that?
- We are.

This wasn't supposed

to start until I got here.

Oh, we're just getting through
all the preliminary nonsense.

You're good.

Hey, Harry, no hard feelings, right?

How about a good firm handshake
to start things off?

Let's just be good lawyers,

slit each other's throats,

and check the personal
animosity at the door.

You know, Sam, the little
crazy act isn't playing, okay?

- I'm not buying it.
- All right,

guys, let's save it

for recess.

We ready, Adam?

All set.

Chunhua, hey.

Hey.

Chunhua, I'm sorry.

I never meant to make you uncomfortable,

and if I did so, I truly apologize.

- Okay.
- Sometimes I do get insecure

and I behave oddly around people.

You know, you're an
incredibly beautiful woman.

I suppose if I did like
women, you'd be my girl,

but trust me,

I'm into men.

So, yeah.

Peace?

Excuse me?

Oh, sorry, I'm part Inuit,

and it's traditional when
two people settle a dispute

or resolve a difference to, um...

Well, here, I'll show you.

Peace.

Mmm.

So, when he came into the office
for the meeting,

he had a four-inch nail
protruding out of his head?

That's right.

He hadn't been to the hospital?

No, he came here first
to have the meeting.

- Did that strike you as odd?
- Odd?

(laughing):
It struck me as nuts. The guy...

was eccentric,

so we thought, well, that's Sam Berman.

So you took him to the
hospital where he underwent

surgery to remove the nail

- from his brain?
- Correct.

And the next day he returned?

Yes.

- Did he seem different?
- Yes, he seemed

much more congenial and happy.

And you discussed settling the case.

- Correct.
- And before the accident,

he was offering roughly

a hundred and a quarter.

After, he was willing to give $3 million.

Correct.

So, 125,

nail goes in the brain, $3 million.

- Correct.
- Did it occur to you that Mr. Berman

might be suffering
the results of a brain injury?

I'm not a doctor.

Did it occur

to you that Mr. Berman
might be mentally compromised

as a result of a nail
shooting into his brain?

Yes, that occurred to me.

Did it occur to Harry Korn?

TOMMY: Objection... work product.

Don't answer.

Without revealing

specific communications,
did you and Ms. Korn discuss

Mr. Berman's mental health?

Work product. Don't answer.

Lay opinion, realizing
you're not a doctor,

do you believe
Mr. Berman was of sound mind

when he executed
this settlement agreement?

No, I do not.

(sighs)

I'm sorry.

Harry, I was under oath.

It was either tell the truth or...

I couldn't commit perjury.

I'm sorry.

No, not your fault.

We probably should never have let

that deposition happen.

So what happens now?

Well, I suppose they'll vitiate
the settlement agreement.

No meeting of the minds.

The only ethical thing

to do is to call the client,

have him put the money
in an offshore account...

I'd say the Caymans...

where they can't get at it.

Harry, we should get back to court.

Yeah, okay.

Adam,

I'm just going to say this.

You can reject it

like you tend to reject me,

but I'll say it just the same.

In this business, the truth

is not always your friend.

In fact, often it's the enemy, and to be

a good lawyer, you need to be
able to pick up a dagger

and stab the enemy in the heart.

You need to gut the truth
sometimes, mangle it

so badly that even its carcass
becomes unrecognizable

to the trier of fact.

CHUNHUA: Adam?

I did what?

That's what she said.

Wait a second, I sucked on her finger?

And what else?

Did I do the toesies, too?

What exactly did happen?

I apologized, I said I was sorry

if I made her feel uncomfortable.

I... I cannot believe this.

I sucked on her finger?

This woman is out of her
mind, Adam, oh, my God.

CRUICKSHANK: I'm delighted, Ms. Higgins,

that you decided to clear things up,

and I know it must have been difficult

because by telling us

this new information...

if it's to be believed...
that would mean you...

Well, actually, come to think of it,

it might mean you having to go free.

Gee.

- Objection.
- Yeah, move it along, Mr. Cruickshank.

Just to clarify,
you've been saying ever since

this tragic murder occurred
that you were the one

who carried out this brutal execution.

Said it the night of,

said it to the police

in every single interview,

I gather to your own lawyers

since you pleaded self-defense,

but now you say all those declarations

of yours... they were all lies.

Well, I guess so.

You guess so?
That's a lot of lying, isn't it?

- Objection.
- Overruled.

Let me ask you something,
Ms. Higgins. Shelby...

has she been a problem child?

Trouble in school?
Any signs of any social issues?

Shown a pattern of violence or deviance?

- No.
- Well, I'll be darned.

She just... jumped right
into the crime pool with murder.

- Objection.
- Sustained.

And she was crafty about it, too.

I mean, her fingerprints were

not to be found on the gun.

That's because once I realized,
I wiped the gun clean

so her prints wouldn't be found.

Did you, now?

Wow. That's quite

a presence of mind on your part,

as you stood over your
husband's dead body,

still warm, you wiped the gun clean.

- Objection.
- Overruled.

Tell me something, Ms. Higgins, did you

place that warning sign in the bushes?

- What?
- Makes sense, doesn't it?

That way, your husband wouldn't see it.

He'd come rushing in, be shot dead,

and you could say to the police,

"Hey, I wrote a note."

That's not what happened.

- I put the sign on the door.
- Figured

he'd see the gun through
the window and be scared off?

- Yes.
- Let's say that happened.

Let's say he saw through the window,

saw the gun trained right on the door...

would your husband really be

that stupid as to go through a door

that he saw the gun trained on?

- Why not go through the window?
- I don't know.

I wasn't in my husband's head at the time.

- But you know how he thinks.
- Mr. Cruickshank,

He was a complete stranger to me.

A complete stranger, you say?

And yet, when you sought your
restraining order against him,

you told the judge, and I quote:

"Your Honor, I know this man."

"I... know this man."

So that was a lie, too, then, wasn't it?

Gee.

♪ ♪

She told you what happened.

And I suspect you believe her,

because finally, finally,

she was able to come clean with the truth.

I don't know about the 12 of
you, but I, I detected relief,

profound relief in Chloe when
she was able to stop hiding

what must have been an oppressive secret.

Now, does she bear some responsibility

for the death of her estranged husband?

Of course she does.

She mounted the gun,
she rigged the device,

but she didn't load it.

Mr. Cruickshank, no doubt, will argue

that she set this whole thing in motion.

But she never, ever imagined,
nor could she, that Shelby,

the victim's own daughter,

got up, loaded the shells
into that weapon,

and armed the trigger,

and even if you want to
say she should have known,

that's negligence, not
first-degree murder.

This is a visceral piece
of evidence, I grant you,

but Chloe Higgins pointed an empty barrel

at the door that night,

an empty gun.

That's a bluff.

It isn't murder.

CRUICKSHANK:
The best of criminal defense attorneys,

like Ms. Korn...

I regard her as one of the best...

they're a bit like Houdini,
capable of manufacturing

these miraculous last-minute escapes.

This one ranks right up there.

You got all this physical evidence

that suggests she did it.

You've got her confession.

By golly, she's found
standing over the dead body.

She had previously
threatened to shoot him.

Right in the court corridor
told the victim,

"If you come into my home again,"

"I will shoot you."

She did.

You got the sophistication of this thing.

Obviously no child did that.

How in the heck does she wriggle
out of this?

Enter Houdini.

Ta-dah! She didn't load the shells.

They can't prove that she
actually loaded the shells,

so we'll go with that.

Sure,

Shelby did it,

though her prints aren't on the gun.

Sure, the victim saw that big note,

perhaps even saw the gun itself,

and still chose to go
through that door anyway.

It all makes sense, doesn't it?

No, it doesn't.

It really doesn't.

All the evidence... every last bit of it...

points to this woman's guilt.

All she has for a defense is her word

when she's done nothing all along but lie.

"I was lying before."

"Believe me now."

Your choice.

Go with the evidence or "Ta-dah!"

So, Pheeb,

have a seat.

- Be.
- Sorry?

Phoe-be.

Actually, of the two syllables,
I prefer the "be,"

so... Phoebe.

Covered.

Did a nice job with Adam.

Oh, he was easy.

Harry won't be, Harry's a
rock, I'll never budge Harry.

That where you're headed?

Okay, look, you may have an argument,

but we have the money and
we're not giving it to you.

Your means of recovery would
be going to court and shocking

a jury with our unscrupulous conduct.

This with a client who
represents Big Tobacco.

You'll never do it.

However bad you make us out to be,

we don't kill people, we don't kill kids.

Sam Berman is clearly a smart guy.

He went out and hired the most likable,

adorable little thing he
could to represent him.

No doubt members of the
jury will want to eat you.

Up... eat you up.

But...

it will not work.

Bottom line... we were
bad, your guy's worse.

We'll give you $350,000
back, take it or leave it.

- Take it.
- Really?

(grunts) But I'll relay it to Sam.

Wait, wait, wait.

Do you have a counter?

No.

Bitch.

That was fast.

Tell me about it.

CASSIE:
Some of the jurors are looking this way.

Sometimes that's a good sign.

Hmm, but only sometimes.

KIRKLAND: Mr. Foreman,

this is unanimous?

Uh-oh.

Yes, Your Honor.

Very well.

The defendant will please rise.

Mr. Foreman, what say you?

In the matter of The State
of Ohio v. Chloe Higgins,

on the charge of murder
in the first degree,

we the jury find
the defendant Chloe Higgins

not guilty.

(gallery murmuring)

(mutters)

On the charge of murder
in the second degree,

we find the defendant Chloe Higgins

not guilty.

KIRKLAND:
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury,

the state thanks you for
your time and service.

Well, as ta-dahs go,
that's one of the better ones.

What happens to Shelby?

Well, she'll have to be surrendered.

But, Chloe, it's the best result,

not only for you but for her.

Cheer up.

Listen, it's what happened.

Now can we work together

on what's best for this little girl?

Upton, it's what happened.

("The Sound" intro playing)

♪ Won't you come inside?
Won't you come inside? ♪

♪ I want to show you my life... ♪

(song trails off)

(patrons chattering, cutlery clattering)

PHOEBE: You the big goat today?

(wry chuckle)

Thanks to you.

(chuckling): I'm sorry.

Can I make it up,

buy you a beer?

Absolutely not... I don't trust you.

We don't need to talk about the case.

Yeah, just forget it.

You're up to something.

Just, just go away.

What makes you think I'm up to something?

'Cause girls who look like you don't sit

on barstools next to me.

Go away.

Okay, maybe I am up to a little something.

Come work for me.

With me.

Excuse me?

Word is, you're frustrated.

Harry and Cassie get to do
the big murder trials.

Ollie gets to do... well, Cassie.

Tommy's got his cases.

You settle interoffice disputes.

You're way too good for that.

How do you know what I've been doing?

I observe.

I'm getting more cases than I can handle.

I know you're good.

Think about it.

Forget it.

He'll have another beer.

You'd have a lot of fun.

I've got some really great cases,

or maybe you prefer the really big stuff

like secretaries sucking
on each other's fingers.

I'm not leaving.

You're thinking about it.

No, I'm not.

Fine.

♪ Is there anyone around? ♪

♪ Can you hear my sound? ♪

♪ I'm buried six feet down ♪

♪ In this underground ♪

♪ Can you hear me? ♪