Law & Order (1990–2010): Season 6, Episode 13 - Charm City - full transcript

NARRATOR:
In the criminal justice system

the people are represented by two
separate yet equally important groups,

the police
who investigate crime

and the district attorneys
who prosecute the offenders.

These are their stories.

HENRY: She wants a pool.
Now, who in Queens has a pool?

(GRAHAM CHUCKLES)

GRAHAM: My nephews
would love it.

Yeah.
Well, let them chip in then.

You know what one of
those things cost?

GRAHAM: Hey, Celia works.
Two incomes, it shouldn't be a problem.



Celia? Her money's hers.
My money's hers.

I got to cut back on bowling
to buy a T-bone for dinner.

Don't get married, man.

(MAN COUGHING)

Hey, man, you okay?

Subway. Fire.

Police. Coming through.
Police. Coming through.

(PEOPLE COUGHING)

(PEOPLE CLAMORING)

(FIRE ENGINE HORNS BLARING)

BRISCOE: Police.
Coming through, please.

(POLICE SIRENS WAILING)

(PEOPLE CLAMORING)

Good morning, America.



(OFFICER CHATTERING ON PA)

We were on the graveyard.
Just headed back to the precinct.

I never seen anything
like it before.

You didn't see anybody
running away?

Everybody was running,
except for Henry.

He went in the car.
I carried him back myself.

He's got a wife and kid,
you know.

Thanks. Who else
was on the train?

MAN: Here. Over here!
DONNER: Me. I was.

DAVIES: I work for
the city, too.

Paralegal in the Corporation
Counsel's office.

You ride the train every day?

When I stay over at my girlfriend's.
She's up in the Heights.

All right, just tell me
what you remember, Mr. Davies.

Well, I was at the other
end of the car, you know.

I thought I heard like
a pop or something,

and I didn't really pay attention,
figured it was just the brakes.

And when did
you realize it wasn't?

When I heard some screaming.

A kid, he called out "Mommy."
Then a lot of expletives.

Then, the other end of the
car was filled with smoke.

Thank God we were
near the next station.

I almost got crushed
in the stampede.

Okay. Thank you.

And it smelled funny.
Like old garlic.

Well, here, take my card.

You give me a call you remember
anything else, all right?

You notice anything
they all have in common?

Yeah.
They're all alive.

Hell of a mess.

What was it, a firebomb?

That's what I thought first,
but no damage to the train.

Just some charring,
some residue on the floor.

A smoke bomb wouldn't
have killed these people.

That depends on
what kind of smoke.

There was something definitely
toxic floating through that car.

We found this shattered glass.
Could be part of the bomb.

It's kind of thin.
You think it could do that much damage?

Twenty dead.
You tell me.

All right, you get the glass and
the residue down to the lab ASAP.

All right.

This is gonna be fun.

Whoa, fellas.

Detectives Curtis
and Briscoe, from the 27.

Damn, and I left
my autograph book at home.

Hey, we don't need this crap.

We don't need anybody screwing
with the integrity of the scene.

Fifteen years in Homicide, I think
I know what I'm doing, all right?

How many arsons you work?
That's what I thought.

Protocol is hands off
till we're done.

Twenty dead.
MTA gonna sure enough raise the fare.

You talk to all
the survivors in the car?

The ones that weren't loaded into an ambulance.
Nobody saw anything unusual.

The train was up near Columbia.

Maybe some budding chemist
dropped his homework.

You're kidding, right?

So call me
a cock-eyed optimist.

Let me ask you this.

Which way was
this train headed?

It was a number nine, downtown.

Downtown from Harlem?

Let's hope Lennie's right
about this chemistry student.

When you finish eating,
get over to Forensics.

Cacodyl.
Definitely cacodyl.

Sounds like some kind
of cough medicine.

If your allergist
is Dr. Mengele.

Simply replace the oxygen in butanol
with metallic arsenic and voila.

We found traces of it on the glass you found
on the train as well as on the floor.

And it's toxic?
Oh, it's a honey.

As soon as it's exposed to the air,
boom, it bursts into flames.

The flames are followed
by a dense white cloud.

And that's what kills you?

One, two, three.

This guy was definitely looking
to pile up a stack of corpses.

So, unless he was a kamikaze, there
had to be some kind of time delay.

Well, so to speak.

CSU also found traces of a brown
paper bag near the glass.

Easily breakable glass.

So he puts the bomb in a bag

and leaves it on the floor of a
rush-hour train just before he exits.

Then some unsuspecting
commuter steps on a time bomb.

(CLICKS TONGUE)

So, where would you find
this metallic arsenic?

Check the Yellow Pages
under "chemical company."

Metallic arsenic.
That's right.

Well, what's the
difference what it's for?

Well, how much?

An ounce.

You're kidding.

No. I'll wait. I'll wait.

It's for my son's science
project, all right?

Forget about it.

Well, if I ever need to make a
semiconductor or do some electroplating,

now I know where to start.

Recently.

No, no. Never mind.
Forget it. Thanks.

It's a regulated carcinogen.

You need an OSHA ID number
to even buy it.

Any luck?
Better odds at jai alai.

Well, get over to the hospital.

Maybe the rest of the survivors
are ready to talk now.

(JOHNSON COUGHING)

BRISCOE: Are you all right?

I'm in a hospital, aren't I?

(CONTINUES COUCHING) I mean, should
I call for a doctor or something?

Hey, I'm recovering.

I've been coughing
my guts out all day.

If I could help you,
believe me, I would.

Okay.

WOMAN O VER PA:
Dr. Ruiz, call ER, stat.

Nothing. You?
Dr. Ruiz, call ER, stat.

I don't know how much more
of this I can take.

Excuse me, sir.
Sir, may I ask you a question, please?

Were you a passenger
on the subway?

Yes.
Can I have your name, please?

George Bell.
George.

I have a Susan Bell
and a Thomas.

I didn't really see anything.
I got off before the bomb exploded.

Mr. Bell, why'd you get off
the train before your wife?

I have a job, you know.

Look, my wife's in there,
fighting for her life.

My son's dead.
He's only 15 years old, and he's dead.

We think whoever did this may have
been carrying a brown paper bag.

My God.

CURTIS: What?
You saw someone?

He was sitting next to my son.
He had a bag on his lap, holding it tight.

I got off at 125th.
When I got up to the street, I saw him.

Only he didn't have
the bag anymore.

Of all the people in that car,
you remember him?

He was the only white guy.
He was sitting right in front of me.

CURTIS: You think you can
describe him to our artist?

GEORGE: Okay.
And a little balder.

How's that?
A little more on the left.

And he had,
you know, a stubble.

A little bit more.

I guess that's close.

What about clothes, Mr. Bell?
Do you remember what he was wearing?

He had an army jacket,
kind of worn, you know.

A red scarf and boots.
Those high boots that tie.

You got all that, Howard?
Yeah.

All right.
Every precinct gets it.

Put it on the NCIC.
Could be the guy wasn't local.

Oh, come on, John,
she was 78 years old,

and you were looking for
a new song on the radio.

That's not central to the issue, Frank.
Look around you.

It took four full days for Clint
Eastwood to get a verdict

against the National
Enquirer, for God's sakes.

The jury is the big toe
of democracy.

You stub it, eventually you
get a cramp in the calf.

Then you start limping.

Before you know it, the whole
damn body, everything,

we, as citizens of the good old red and
white and blue, start gimping around.

You know what happens then?

You get a prosthetic device.

You get anarchy.

Frank, see if this
jogs your memory.

Even your mother
couldn't love that face.

Read what he did.
Gasses a subway in New York City.

Probably improved the smell.

Metallic arsenic, 20 people
dead, all African American.

White male, mid-30s,
approximately six foot,

around 180 to 200 pounds,
wearing army jacket and boots.

You guys wanna share
with the class?

Yeah. About five years ago,
a church in Madison East End

was gassed using metallic arsenic.
Six dead.

Never closed?

Son of a bitch.

Lieutenant Van Buren, these are
Detectives Bayliss and Pembleton.

They're from Baltimore.

A hundred-and-eighty-five
miles,

you must have more than a passing
interest in our subway mishap.

Mishap?
I don't think so.

Five years ago,
a gas bomb went off

in a church in the Madison East
End district in Baltimore.

Six people died from toxic fumes.
Frank was the primary.

Let me guess.
Madison's not in the best part of town.

Do you have a name?
No.

A woman saw a Caucasian man,
5'10" or 11, 190 pounds,

maybe late-30s, running
away from the building.

He was wearing
an army jacket and boots.

Same as our guy.

Thank you, Detective.
I'll be in touch with your lieutenant.

Begging your pardon, but I
didn't spend three hours

drinking coffee on Amtrak for
a"We'll get back to you."

If he is from your fair city,
maybe he's already gone home.

TIM:
Well, what if he hasn't?

Like I said before, we'll let
you know when we catch him.

It's been nice.

CURTIS: Well, it's a good guess
our guy's from Baltimore.

Or he's from New York, and
he likes to take day-trips

to go eat crabs
and bomb churches.

Let's hope it's the former.
What, civic pride?

Put an APB out on anything with Maryland
plates, and say a prayer he drove.

So you're gonna call every
chemical company in Baltimore?

Every one that sells
metallic arsenic, yes.

And you didn't do this
five years ago?

Well, five years ago,
I didn't have a face.

Well, how do we know
it's the same guy?

It's the same guy!

I mean, how do we know the guy who planted
the bombs is the same guy who made them?

Hello? Yes.
Is this Mr. Spivack?

I see. But you do
work in personnel?

This is Detective Pembleton from the
Baltimore City Police Department.

We believe that someone in your
company witnessed a criminal act.

No. No, no, I don't know his name, but
I can fax you a likeness of his face.

Indeed, I have spoken
with your supervisor.

That would be about
one half hour.

Okay. Thank you.

Okay, that's the last
of the six biggies.

Now all we have to do is find
ourselves a fax machine.

Back to the precinct?

No, no, no!
Bad idea, Tim.

Wait a minute here.

This mean you're gonna keep
them out of the loop?

I saw an 8-year-old girl

as they loaded her daddy
onto the meat wagon.

So that means you
get to pull the switch?

Well, his first felony
was committed in our town.

First come, first served.
Come on. Let's go!

Well, it's started.
Eight different groups staking their claims.

Anything serious?

No, but I got Profaci,
Sweeney and Dworkin on it.

So far, 42 cars
with Maryland plates.

Good. I can use
the overtime.

Well, if we're lucky, we can
save the city some bucks.

One of the cars was parked illegally and towed.
I ran the plates.

A Mr. And Mrs. Maskowitz reported it
stolen in Baltimore three days ago.

You get to the docks.
I'll call for a warrant.

We picked it up three days ago.
Nobody's claimed it yet.

A Lincoln? You didn't
think that was odd?

You kidding? Once we had a
Ferrari here for six months.

Here you go.

It's locked.
Not to worry.

This isn't exactly kosher.

The warrant's on its way,
don't worry.

So how come
it got towed, anyway?

Out-of-towners, they don't believe in
alternate-side- of-the-street parking.

Four tickets.

Where was it parked?

21st, between 3rd and Lex.

Land of the
one-night stands.

Nothing, Lennie.

All right. There's a forensics team
on its way down to check it out.

What'd this guy do anyway?

Guy steals a Lincoln, then
checks into a dump like this?

Come on, you don't wanna
give up now, do you?

Besides, compared to the last
two places, this is the Ritz.

Hey, we don't know
he checked into a hotel.

Hey, if he did spend the night,
he'd want to stay anonymous, right?

Believe me, these people
here are anonymous.

(RINGING BELL) Come on.

Sorry. Angela was either gonna
sleep with Pablo or kill him.

I had to wait
for the commercial.

All right, I have Room 319.
I have 404.

That's a little extra.
Has a larger bed.

How many hours
you gentlemen gonna want?

We're detectives, Mr...

Belcher. And whatever goes on in those
rooms is really none of my business.

You ever see this face?

Whatever he did, I don't
know anything about it.

Yeah. I'm sure
you're a model citizen.

Now, did he sign in
or anything?

Everyone signs in.

Security reasons,
you understand.

Here we are. It's Room 515.

Looks like R. Reagan.

Real secure.

Paid for five days
in advance. In cash.

He's got two days left.

(KNOCK AT DOOR)

Housekeeping!

Looks like our friend
travels light.

Most of our guests do.

Nothing.

This is today's.

Let's hope he comes back
to finish the puzzle.

We're gonna wait here, Mr. Belcher.
You lock the door on your way out.

Okay. But if you guys break anything,
you pay like everybody else.

Remember. Nothing to nobody, or
you're liable to break, too.

Yeah. Yeah.

His name is Egan.
Brian Egan.

He works as a part-time truck
driver for Berkman Chemical.

Well, what difference
does it make?

He lives at... Hang on.

He lives at 8910 Boston Avenue.

Yeah. If he's there,
arrest him.

Then find out
when he's coming home.

We're gonna be down
at the Gramercy Hotel.

That's 212-555-7211.

No, I don't know
what's playing at the opera.

(MUMBLES)

Hey, there's a minimum, fella.

What?
For using a phone?

My place. My rules.

Well, I got an apple truck
double-parked outside.

We gotta get back
to Hokeyville.

What? We got
a wiseass here?

(MAN CHUCKLES)

Where'd you get that badge?
Out of a Cracker Jack box?

Listen, two bucks,
or I call a real cop.

Now I remember why
I left this dump.

I don't know, Frank.
This is great.

It's pedestrian.

Well, what do I know?

I'm not a connoisseur.

Hotdogs, you go to Nathan's.

Deli, you go to the Carnegie.
Chinese, Shun Lee.

Northern Italian, Primavera.
Southern Italian, it's Luna.

There's a difference?

Olive oil.

Come on, come on,
come on, come on!

Munch is gonna call us
back at the Gramercy.

(KNOCK AT DOOR)

Yeah? Yeah, I'm looking
for Brian Egan.

Well, he's not here. Hey, man.
Who the hell are you?

Friend of the family, son.
Is your mom home?

No. She's not here, either.
Look, I think you should leave.

I know you.

You're the kid who shoves
Santa back up the chimney.

Who kicks the gift horse out of the barn.
Hangs up on Ed McMahon, right?

What the hell
are you talking about?

I'm talking about
a windfall, son.

Look, you know, whatever you're
selling, we don't want any, okay?

You already got it. You see, your dad
won a bet on the Caps-Flyers game.

My dad bet on a hockey game?

He's been in and out of work lately,
it's weird, him betting like that.

This thing actually flies?

KENDALL: Oh, yeah.
That's my uncle Alex right there.

He hasn't taken me up
in it yet, though.

When's your dad coming home?

He called about
a half hour ago.

He's on the next train
down from New York.

Look, if you want me to hold
that money for him, I will.

Hey, I give you the money,
you say you never got it.

Now, where does
that leave me, huh?

We don't even know how
accurate this sketch is.

I wish we had a name.

I wish I'd have bet Soda Pop
in the third at Aqueduct.

(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)

(KEYS JINGLING)

(DOOR LOCK RATTLING)

(GASPS)

(SHUSHING)

It's okay.

Okay, I'm gonna
take my hand away,

and you're not gonna scream
or say anything, right?

Right?

Okay, it's all right.

Okay.
What the hell?

Hey, I ain't gonna
steal nothing.

I swear.
We're homicide, ma'am.

Marcy.

Marcy, where's your friend?

Gwendolyn? She's riding the E train,
but she wouldn't kill nobody neither.

Look, Marcy, what made
you come to this room?

Oh, that nice man...
Did he kill somebody?

That's what we're
trying to figure out.

He stopped me on the street
and asked directions.

Then he plops this key in my hand,
and he says the room is paid for.

I thought he was Santa.

Where did he wanna go?
Penn Station.

Lennie.
What do you think?

Wardrobe looks right.

Okay.

Ronald Reagan.
That's cute.

You're not going
any place, Mr. President.

Whoever you are, you're
under arrest for murder.

You have the right
to remain silent.

Anything you say can and will be
used against you in a court of law.

Oh, look at this. Sorry, fellas.
Finders, keepers.

A guy moving interstate with no ID whatsoever.
It makes you wonder.

Somebody picked my pocket.
This is New York.

Oh, so you are from Baltimore.

No, Rey. He's from Harlem.
He's the kind of guy who blends right in.

I don't even know
where Harlem is.

It's the place where you left 20 dead
bodies sprawled out in a subway car.

This is going nowhere.

Give them time.

Your guys are running on empty.
BRISCOE: My partner here, he's young,

he still has great expectations.
And you've got a full tank?

He figures, if he closes
on this 20 homicides here,

he gets a little closer
to his gold shield.

Well, I'm rooting for him.

Twenty people on their way to
work, and they never got there.

Somebody did it.

You got the wrong somebody.

We got a witness who ID'd you.

Twenty bodies, scuzzball.
In case you haven't been reading the papers,

we got something called the
death penalty here in New York.

You think about it.

Give him 15 minutes.

He knows you
don't have anything.

So you think
we should let him go?

Well, why don't you give us a
stab on the Baltimore church.

You got even less than we do.

Well, you loosened the cap,
perhaps I can open the bottle.

Be my guest.

CURTIS: Wait a minute.
Wait a minute.

Hey, there!

What are you guys, the cavalry?

That's funny, Frank.

It sure is.

Your wife didn't tell us
you were that funny.

What are you
talking about?

FRANK: Stephanie.

She told us
all about you.

BRIAN: Yeah, right.

Lucky guess?
That son of a bitch.

Now your boy, Kenny,

he thinks
you're a real crack-up.

How'd you talk to my kid?

We know all about you,
Mr. Egan.

Oh, he's a good guy, Frank.

I think that
he'll let us call him Brian.

Can you believe these bastards?

FRANK: We've been
to your house, Brian.

It really could use
a paint job, you know.

Yeah, Presto Paint on Lombard, I think
that'd be the one for you, Bri.

Who the hell are you guys?

FRANK: Do you miss Charm City, Bri?
I sure as hell do.

I got lots of
good memories there.

Like, you know what I remember?

I remember a gas bomb going off
about five years ago in a church.

Six people died.
You remember that, Bri?

Of course he does, Frank.
You don't forget something like that.

Why don't you tell us
what you remember?

You want your kid
to know what you did?

'Cause we're gonna
have to tell Kenny.

Twenty-six dead bodies,
women, children.

Hell, you're up there
in Ted Bundy territory.

That should make him
real proud.

I can't talk about it.

You don't want to talk about it, or
you're not able to talk about it?

'Cause if you're not able to
talk about it, that's one thing,

but if you don't want
to talk about it,

well, that's
a whole another ball game.

Which is it, Brian?

Okay, okay.
Have it your way.

All I'm saying is, it would be a lot easier
on your wife and kid if you talked now.

'Cause you gotta know, our
next stop is home sweet home.

What the hell's he doing?

That thing in Baltimore,

I didn't know that there
were kids in that church.

You mind?

You'll excuse us, Mr. Egan.

What's the matter with you?
He told you he didn't want to talk to you!

Oh, I didn't hear that.
Tim, did you hear that?

You know what it is, Detective,

judges up here, they tend to pay
attention to the Constitution.

The guy says he doesn't wanna talk,
we gotta stop talking to him.

In Baltimore, we don't...
You're not in Baltimore, Detective.

I thought we were
on the same side here.

Well, like I said,
you loosened the cap.

If you kept us up to date, we
could've closed it ourselves.

Yeah. Whatever. Now if you'll
prepare the prisoner for departure.

You guys can start packing,
but he's not going anyplace.

Hey, he as much as
confessed to our bombing.

First, the statement is garbage,
second, we've got an eyewitness here.

And third, the SOB's in our cage.
Get him arraigned.

That's a long way for a client
like that, Mr. Le Clair.

Well, we're both
from Baltimore.

We speak the same language.

Now, you wouldn't consider...

JACK: Twenty dead bodies.

I plan on going the full nine yards.
Murder one. Death penalty.

I guess it doesn't matter
that he says he's innocent.

We'll see you in court.

Yes.

But, now, the issue
becomes which court.

My motion for
a change of venue.

The crime was committed

solely within the boundaries of
New York County, Your Honor.

Which is exactly why the
venue should be changed.

Manhattan subway was bombed,
killing Manhattan commuters.

How could we possibly
find an unbiased jury?

That's what voire dire is for.

For the record, which court
do you propose gets the case?

Well, now, I'm not
familiar with the city,

but Staten Island sounds
like a lovely place.

Why don't we just
move it to Simi Valley?

(CHUCKLES) Like I said,
I'm from Baltimore.

I'm not familiar with the city.

Up here, Counselor,
we call a motion like this

chutzpah in the first degree.

Look at the statistics, Judge.
In an urban environment, like the Bronx,

when the jury is 80% black,

there is almost a 50% acquittal
rate of black defendants.

First of all,
this is not the Bronx.

LE CLAIR: Well, look at
the jury pool here,

you can't tell me it's not
primarily made up of minorities.

Are you forgetting that
your defendant is white?

What's good for the goose, Your Honor.
The victims were all black.

A largely minority jury may tend to
overlook the State's lack of evidence.

My client's life
is at stake here.

You want me to go
federal with this, I will.

(SIGHS)

How about we meet half-way.

I'd agree to
Westchester County.

Sounds fine to me.

Westchester.
You gotta be kidding.

I was just playing
the percentages.

Well, you lost.

Le Clair obviously wanted a white jury.
Now he's got one.

Look, the last thing
Scarletti wanted

was a federal judge examining
our jury selection process.

There's no question he was gonna
transfer the case somewhere.

We're better off
in Westchester.

Oh, I see. Twelve Jewish golfers don't
have a biased bone in their bodies,

but Irish and Italian
working class,

they'll lynch you
as soon as they look at you.

I'm sorry. I must have
missed the day

they taught ethnic
stereotypes at law school.

We didn't make the system.
We just try to survive within it.

I spoke to Dillon in Westchester,
he's all for you trying the case.

Just came by hand
for you, Jack.

Le Clair's been
staying up nights.

A motion to exclude Egan's statement
about the Baltimore gassing.

You lose that,
you lose motive evidence.

I questioned him as I
would any other witness.

JACK: He says he invoked
his Fifth Amendment rights.

I did not hear words
to that effect.

How long have you been
on the job, Detective?

Long enough to know when
to stop an interrogation.

Long enough to get a confession

when your cops walked out of that room
with nothing but their good looks.

Did the suspect ever invoke
his right to remain silent?

Not to my mind.

Well, Frank has a way.

He gets inside the suspect's head and
bangs around till something comes out.

Even if his way violates
constitutional guarantees?

Well, the envelope sometimes gets
pushed, but no lines are crossed.

Did Egan invoke
his right to remain silent?

(SIGHS) Well,

I didn't hear him.

So this affidavit's a lie.

That's right.
He said he couldn't talk about it.

Then I asked if that meant

that he wasn't able to talk about it,
or he didn't want to talk about it.

And what did he say?

He just stared at us.

(KNOCK AT DOOR)

You wanted to see us?
Yeah. Have a seat.

CLAIRE: And then what
happened, Detective Bayliss?

Tim.

Frank repeated the question.

And then what?
He shrugged.

He shrugged.

He shrugged.
And then what?

Frank said it'd be better
for everybody

if he spoke up now.
Oh, damn.

I alluded to the well-being of his
family, and he made a statement.

I've done it a million times.

You did it once too often.

Frank asked him if he wanted to keep
quiet, and he shrugged. So what?

So that's not an explicit
waiver of his rights.

It's the law.
Not in Maryland, it's not.

Too bad you're in New York.

It's gonna be excluded.

We're out of here.

A little testy today, huh?

Shove it, okay.

Shove it where?

Hey, you know what?
I don't like you, Pembleton.

Well, that brings
tears to my eyes.

You're a self-congratulatory ass and
you screw up and blame everybody else.

So you don't oppose any of the factual
allegations in the affidavit?

JACK: No, Your Honor.

Then I don't see
what the problem is.

A shrug can be interpreted
in many ways, Your Honor.

The interrogator took it
as an explicit waiver

of the defendant's
right to remain silent.

LE CLAIR: If it can be interpreted in
many ways, how explicit can it be?

Your Honor, the State's asking
for the death penalty here.

It's well settled that when
dealing with a capital crime,

any potential abuse of a constitutional
safeguard must be strictly scrutinized.

JACK: When the abuse
is by a police officer.

Frank Pembleton had no
authority in New York State.

He's a member of
the Baltimore City Police.

At a minimum, he was an
agent of the New York cops.

Do they really let you get away with
this crap in Manhattan, Mr. McCoy?

The confession is excluded.

This job would be easier
if it weren't for the cops.

I didn't know the law was
different down here. I'm sorry.

Why don't I take Egan
back to Baltimore?

And be laughed
out of the courtroom?

Let me give you the short course on
full faith and credit, Detective.

A court of competent
jurisdiction

has just ruled that you violated a
defendant's constitutional rights.

That means every court, including
every court in your hometown,

has to abide by the ruling.

Look, Bayliss...
No, call me Tim.

You said you could
help us with this trial.

Are we talking
smokescreen here?

Me?

Yeah, you.

I should be getting
back to the office.

What if I handed you
a woman who saw a white man

running from the all-black church
right before the bomb went off?

Can she ID him?
No.

But it is the same MO.
It could help with motive.

Only she'd be
destroyed on cross.

It's a circumstantial case,
it can't hurt.

Good, good.

Because I begged my
lieutenant for the petty cash

to get Mrs. Chapman up here, and
she'll be on tomorrow's train.

This isn't gonna make up for
that stupid interrogation.

I never said it would.

So, Counselor,

you seeing anyone or what?

It's gonna take a lot more
than a half-assed witness.

Well, I'm just
getting started here.

It was 7:30 or so.

And I was on my way to work
with my wife and son.

At which stop did you get
off the train, Mr. Bell?

At 125th.

Is there anyone in the courtroom
who you recognize from the train?

Yes. The defendant.
He was sitting next to my son.

I was standing in front of him.
He was holding a brown paper bag.

Did you see him
get off the train?

Yes. He got off
at my stop.

Only he didn't have
the bag with him anymore.

The train was crowded,
was it not, Mr. Bell?

GEORGE:
It was rush hour, yes.

Was there anyone else on your
subway car carrying a bag?

I don't know.

Well, that's because it was rush
hour, and the subway was packed.

Now tell me, see any other
white man on your train?

Not that I could see.

So, in actuality, you only noticed Mr.
Egan because he was white,

and not because he was carrying
a bag, isn't that right?

Look, my son is dead.

The SOB's color doesn't
make a difference to me.

Well, we're just trying to see
if we've got the right SOB, sir.

No more questions.

CURTIS: Mr. Bell described the man he saw
on the train to a police sketch artist.

It resembled Mr. Egan.

CSU then found a partial
thumbprint match

on the arm rest next to where Mr.
Bell said he was sitting.

There were also burn marks on
the floor next to that seat.

Is this the picture
you're referring to?

Yes, it is.

Offered as People's six.
Fine.

Thank you.

LE CLAIR: Who is
Roy Blanchard, Detective?

He was a passenger
on the subway that day.

And did he survive?

Yes, he did.

Are you aware that Mr.
Blanchard spent two years

in Sing Sing for
aggravated assault?

No, I wasn't.
What about Darnell Hurst?

He was a passenger on the train that
morning, too, isn't that correct?

Yes.

Would it surprise you to learn that he
was incarcerated for arson 10 years ago?

I didn't think about it.
So your answer is yes?

That's right.
What about Jaime Batista,

he was a passenger
on that train, too, right?

Yes. Four years in Attica for Mr.
Batista.

Now tell me, Detective,

why didn't you consider Mr. Blanchard, Mr.
Hurst or Mr. Batista suspects?

We assumed the perpetrator got off the train.
We didn't look at the survivors.

So it had nothing to do with the
fact that they were all black?

No.

Reynaldo Curtis?

What is that, Detective,
Puerto Rican?

Objection.
Sustained.

It was five years ago.

I went to get my daughter
from play school at the church

on South Broadway in Baltimore.

I renew my objection,
Your Honor.

As I already ruled, Counselor, the testimony
is relevant in that it establishes motive.

Continue, Mr. McCoy.

And did you see anything
out of the ordinary?

I saw a man running
from the church.

And then thick white smoke
pouring out of the windows.

A lot of people
in the church were injured.

Six were killed.

Were you able to describe
the man to the police?

It was dark,

but I could see he was wearing
an army jacket and boots.

He was white, 5'10" or 11,
about 190 pounds.

No further questions.

The man running
from your church,

you never saw his face,
did you, Mrs. Chapman?

No.

Is that because you only saw him
from behind as he was running away?

It was dark.
He was running in the other direction.

So you cannot say that it was Mr.
Egan you saw running from your church?

No. But you can say
that the man was white?

Yes.
I see.

Tell me, are you still a
member of that congregation?

No, I now worship
at Jafaria Salaam.

LE CLAIR: Exactly what
denomination is that?

We are Muslims.

That have anything to do
with the Reverend Farrakhan?

Objection!
In my chambers.

It's irrelevant,
not to mention insulting.

I'm just raising the possibility
of other potential suspects.

Louis Farrakhan? Please.

The Reverend Farrakhan publicly blames
the white man for his people's problems.

I'm just suggesting that, perhaps,
the witness is following suit.

You're playing on the fears
and prejudices of the jury.

You raise the specter
of a black separatist

and an anti-Semite
with this particular jury.

You picked the venue McCoy,

and you called in the crying
parents of the victims

killed on the train
and in the church.

Is that playing any less
on the jury's prejudices?

I'll let you proceed,
Mr. Le Clair,

but try and limit your questioning
to the colorably relevant.

FRANK: Because metallic
arsenic is regulated by OSHA,

you can't just walk in off
the street and purchase it.

So we assumed that whoever made the bomb had
some sort of professional access to it.

We then sent a police sketch to several
chemical companies in Baltimore.

What did you find?

His name was Brian Egan, and he was a
part-time truck driver for Berkman Chemical.

Is Berkman Chemical a
supplier of metallic arsenic?

Yes, it is.

Thank you.

(SCOFFS)

What is it, Detective?

Not enough crime down
in Baltimore for you?

You gotta come up here and solve
New York's crimes as well?

I was the primary on
the bombing in the church.

To date, those cases
are still open.

What makes you think the two
incidents were related?

Two gas bombs made the same
way, from the same materials.

And that was all?

The victims in both
were African American.

So, obviously, you think that racial
animus was involved in both these cases?

FRANK:
It wasn't my concern.

Tell me, Detective,

how many of your cases from
five years ago are still open?

Three.

Dominick D'A lleva,
Tomasso Bucci

and Fred O'Meara,
isn't that right?

That's right.

You still flitting around the country
trying to close these cases?

There's no reason to...
Yes or no?

No.

I didn't think so.

I'll tell you what, Detective,

I think racial animus is of
bigger concern than you let on.

Objection.
No more questions.

The People rest.

The Defense rests, too,
Your Honor.

I can't believe
he didn't put on a case.

I guess he didn't
think you made yours.

A witness ID'd Egan, he had
access to the arsenic.

We found his prints on the train.
It should be enough.

The cops who beat up
Rodney King were acquitted.

They had film of Marion Barry smoking
crack, he was re-elected mayor.

Juries have rendered verdicts to advance
political agendas for 200 years.

We've certainly
come a long way.

Reasonable doubt equals racial division.
What are you gonna do?

I'm gonna lead them to the
right political statement.

Some people just
need to point the finger.

Things don't go as they like, it's because
their forefathers were dragged here in chains.

Yes, slavery was an obscenity,
but it ended 100 years ago.

Still, they're stuck in the
ghetto, they blame us.

Cut off the welfare checks,
we're damn racists.

Their kids are hooked
on crack, our fault.

A train is gassed in Harlem,

guess where they're
gonna point the finger?

Now, you've heard
the witnesses in this case.

The only thing they've got against
my client is the color of his skin.

I say, enough.
It's time to send a message.

You can't blame whitey
for everything.

Not anymore.

We don't need those anymore.

Over the past two weeks,
I put on a near-perfect case.

I proved the defendant had access to
the materials used to make the bomb.

I proved he was on the subway
the day the bomb exploded.

You heard testimony

that someone fitting his description
committed a similar crime,

using the identical toxic gas,

five years ago in Baltimore, which
just happens to be his hometown.

A near-perfect case,

and still, there's a chance
I could lose.

That's why I tossed
those law books,

and that's why Mr.
Le Clair is absolutely right when he says

that black fingers
are pointing at us.

Where else
are they going to point?

No, none of us ever dragged
anyone here in chains.

We never hanged anybody's
grandfather from a tree

for looking too long
at the master's daughter.

We're a lot smarter
than that and subtler.

Instead of chains,
we use reasonable doubt.

Instead of restricted bathrooms,
we use unanimous verdicts.

Yes, we can send a message.

We can say the racial divide in this
country has grown and is growing,

and here's another example
of just how unfair it gets.

Or we can say, "Enough."

Equal protection under the law
means exactly what it says.

JUDGE NAUGHTON:
Have you reached a verdict?

We have.

On the first count
of the indictment,

murder in the first degree of
Thomas Bell, how do you find?

We find the defendant guilty.

JUDGE NAUGHTON: On the second
count of the indictment,

murder in the first degree of
Harvey Brand, how do you find?

MAN: We find the
defendant guilty.

JUDGE NAUGHTON: On the third count of the
indictment, murder in the first degree

of Kareem Alexander,
how do you find?

We find the defendant guilty.

MAN: What'll you have?
Whatever's on tap.

All right.
You should quit.

I should do a lot of things.

(SIGHS)

So, all's well, right?

Detective Curtis,

do I detect a note of the
self-congratulatory in your voice?

Why not?

You know, I've been thinking,

how bad do you suppose
Egan wants to die?

I mean, it's pretty obvious,
a part-time truck driver

cooking up a complex bomb like that,

not to mention a $50,000
retainer to his lawyer.

You won on 20 counts, McCoy.
Why the sit down?

I thought maybe Mr. Egan
was ready to negotiate.

Oh, you'll knock it
down to 10 counts.

Now is not the best time
for wiseass, Mr. Egan.

We know you weren't
in this alone.

Give us your conspirators, I'll drop
the request for the death penalty.

I don't see the joke,
Mr. Egan.

You don't see anything, you have
no idea what's really going on.

JACK: Why don't
you tell me?

I'm just the tip
of the iceberg.

You're a racist and a murderer,

and you just found out your
country won't tolerate it.

You mean your country won't.

Mine is growing.

You think you can stop it?

You can't stop anything.