Law & Order (1990–2010): Season 6, Episode 22 - Homesick - full transcript

Detectives Briscoe and Curtis investigate the death of a toddler who is found dead in his crib. The autopsy reveals that the child was poisoned with nicotine, a common ingredient in pesticide. The investigation quickly focuses on the child's 19 year-old British nanny. She clearly was not happy in her current job but the terms of her employment required her to stay for a full year or she would have to pay for her return home, something she could not do. ADA McCoy is convinced of her guilt but when they catch one of their own witnesses in a lie, he gives an opening to the defense lawyer to get a confession on the stand.

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.

Won't be a second, while I run in
and drop the bags and see the kid,

then you can run me downtown.

Take your time,
meter's running.

Mr. Karmel.
Welcome home.

Thanks, Lila. How's Evan.
He ask about me?

He hasn't learned
to talk since yesterday.



Well, maybe we ought to get him one
of those touch-and-speak computers.

I saw one at a store in Boston.

He's five months old.

Yeah, but the way he watches
the cat, we're talking genius.

He has another hour
to go on his nap.

So? He'll go back to sleep
after he sees his old man.

Hey, big guy.
It's Pop, home from the wars.

Lila, is he all right?

He was fine
when I put him down.

I can barely
feel him breathing.

Evan? Evan?

He feels cold.
I got a cab waiting.

Doctor, what's happening
with my baby?

I'm sorry, sir. We're still working on him.
It'll be just a few minutes.



Well, can't I be in there with him?
He knows me.

He's not conscious.
Just give me a minute.

Baby's dead.

You haven't told him?

I wanted to tell you first.

When the father carried him in,

he was unresponsive, poor
perfusion, bradycardic.

We intubated and found heavy
secretions in his mouth.

His pupils were pinpoint,
one millimeter.

Poison.
Yeah.

And it wasn't from getting
into the cleaning supplies?

He's too young to crawl.

He didn't go to the poison.
The poison came to him.

And now I get to tell that
man his child is dead.

And we get to ask him
who did it.

WOMAN ON PA: Dr. Kelly,
report to the doctors' lounge.

Evan just had
a check-up on Monday.

The pediatrician said
he was fine,

75th percentile
in height and weight.

I'm very sorry,
Mr. Karmel,

but we have to ask you
what your baby ate today.

(STAMMERING) I don't know.
I was in Boston.

What the hell did he eat, Lila?

Just what he eats every day.

BRISCOE: You're the
babysitter, Miss Crenshaw?

Au pair.
I live in, like...

WENDY: Warren?
WARREN: Wendy?

Warren, where is he?

What? Where is he?
I want to see him.

He died.
No.

No, I want to see him!

Rey.
WENDY: I want to see my baby.

Miss Crenshaw,
what did Evan eat today?

Mrs. Karmel gave him a bottle in the
morning and some strained fruit.

A bottle of what?
And what kind of fruit?

A formula, Matrilac.
Plums, Baby's Best.

He won't eat the other brands.

I gave him
another bottle later on

and the rest of the jar of
plums right before his nap.

The jar was
just sitting around?

In the refrigerator.

The cap was on tight and the
button popped in the morning.

I saw Mrs. Karmel open it.

How did Evan seem when you
placed him in the crib?

Fine.

And I had the monitor on.

Didn't hear anything unusual.

This is so awful.

It happened to another
au pair a month ago.

I can't believe
it would happen again.

What happened
to another au pair?

The baby died.
His name was Matthew.

Nobody said poison, but I don't
think they know what happened.

Cutting open babies
puts me in a bad mood.

How would we be able to tell?

That's why I make
the announcement.

In Evan Karmel's stomach,
I find strained plums.

And the preliminary tox screen
brings up nicotine.

The kid was a smoker?

The kid was poisoned.

A heavy dose will cause convulsions,
coma, paralysis, death.

And you're saying
it was in the plums?

Or ingested
around the same time.

What about the other dead baby
the au pair told us about?

I got the death certificate
and talked to the doctor.

Matthew Davis, healthy
until the day he died.

They ascribed death to a previously
asymptomatic metabolic disorder.

It happens.

Yeah.
How did he go?

Convulsions, coma, paralysis.

BRISCOE: The au pair
of our dead baby

knew the au pair of the other
dead baby from the park,

same neighborhood,
same kind of parents.

And what kind would that be?

Warren Karmel's
an investment consultant.

Wendy Karmel's
an investment banker.

They were apparently very doting parents,
when their schedules permitted.

He's 48. She's 27.

My hero.

VAN BUREN: How about the parents
from the dead baby a month ago?

Davis. Henry and Suzanne.
We'll talk to them.

We found him in his
crib in the morning.

It was Sunday, and...

There's a doctor who lives
on the floor above us who...

He tried to revive Matthew.

He called the ambulance.

CURTIS: And your son had
never been sick before?

No.

No, they said it was just one of
those things, one in a million.

There were tests
that could have found it,

but we didn't have any
reason to do those tests.

He was a very happy baby.

Were there any tests
done after he died?

There was an autopsy
before he was cremated,

but it didn't find anything.

What about a toxicology
scan for poisons?

There was no reason.

CURTIS: Do you remember what
your son ate that last day?

Milk.

See, I was breast-feeding,

and he'd also just started on
some processed foods.

Do you remember the brand?

Well, yeah,
it was very highly rated.

Baby's Best.

PODESTA: Look,
we're detectives here, too.

We dream up anything that could
go wrong in the bottling process,

and we take steps to make
sure it doesn't happen.

Go on, hit me with something.

Wrist watch falls
into the peaches.

We've got magnets.

And if your watch is plastic,
we've got strainers.

Plus, nobody wears any jewelry,
no Kleenex, no nothing.

The uniform's got no
pockets to put things in.

Okay, suppose a guy shows up
with poison in his shorts?

First of all, he doesn't work here.
We know our people.

We test every batch for purity,

and each jar is vacuum-sealed
with a safety cap.

The top don't pop,
the kid don't eat.

You test every batch.
You don't test every jar.

Don't you guys
ever read the papers?

Product tampering, every time it's
happened, it's happened in stores.

We're looking
at two possible cases.

Possible? I hope I'm not going to
be seeing this on the evening news

unless you can prove something.

Both families lived in the
East 70s, near Madison.

East Side?

We're a big item at the
Food Boutique, East 72nd.

Davis, yes, and Karmel,
they both have accounts here.

But so do 600 other families.
We're very popular.

You mind if I take a look?

The Karmels buy
a lot of bottled water.

I don't think it's a secret.

They order their baby
food by the case?

Babies eat it by the case.

Emily, take care
of this, please.

So those plums that went to the Karmels
were never actually on your shelves?

I don't know, maybe, if they bought
the odd single jar now and again.

They bought a case
two days before Evan died.

The cases are
factory-sealed.

With glue.
Not too hard to open.

But why would anyone
tamper with baby food?

Who would do such a thing?

You tell us. Have you had any
problems with your employees?

Any complaints about tampering?

No, my employees are very happy to have jobs.
They like it here.

Eighty-one people work
at the Food Boutique,

not counting stockers
employed by their vendors.

Two hundred twelve at
the Baby's Best factory.

Could start sorting through them if we
knew what the hell we were looking for.

Priors?

No, we got two shopliftings

and an assault in a bar fight.
What does that tell you?

Gentlemen.

Here's the plan.

We're going to send out
293 psychological tests.

The Food Boutique,
it rang a bell.

A citizen complained
six weeks ago.

He opened a box of cereal and
found a hand-written note inside.

"Blacks must die."

CURTIS: Do we all speak
English here, Mrs. Wessel?

We asked you about tampering,
you said there wasn't any.

It wasn't a serious matter.

Hey, why don't you let us
decide what's serious,

and we won't tell you how much to
charge for strawberries, all right?

One person complained. Do you have any
idea how many people we deliver to?

Besides, it wasn't tampering with
the product, just the package.

It wasn't even illegal,
freedom of speech.

Did you find out
who this Patrick Henry was?

Yes, some punk delivery
boy, and we fired him.

It's over.

What's his name?

Are you going to arrest me
for having opinions?

Has the police department
been taken over by the blacks?

What about my rights?

Your rights don't include
tampering with food.

I slid my notes in the boxes.
I never touched any food.

I never opened an inner bag.

Even when the stuff
went to a black baby?

I'm all for birth control in the
ghetto, but I don't kill babies.

Anyway, have you been
to the Food Boutique?

The people who shop there are white.

BRISCOE: The Davises
are black.

And the best tippers I had.
I wouldn't want to piss them off.

How about the Karmels?
They tip big?

Karmel? The pretty wife
in the business suit.

Sure, I delivered to them.

CURTIS: Baby food?
Everything.

I didn't have
anything against them.

She'd tip all right, if she wasn't
too busy screaming at her husband.

They fought in front
of the delivery boy?

These people, we're
invisible, like the air.

I could tell you stuff about
half the Upper East Side.

And the Karmels, in particular?

The husband was always mad about Mrs.
Karmel working 12 hours a day.

She said, " You wanted the damn baby,
you stay home and wipe his ass."

We called your home first.
We thought you might be there.

Why?

So I could stare at an empty
crib and go out of my mind?

Just assumed you had
some arrangements to make.

My husband's making them.

This is a $300 million takeover
that closes by noon tomorrow.

Well, I know that people deal
with grief in different ways...

Look,

I could let this deal go south,

but what good would
that do anybody?

It wouldn't make me
feel any better.

It wouldn't bring
my baby back to life.

You must have had this kind
of a situation right along.

I mean, the conflict between
work and child-raising.

I see, women should be
barefoot and in the kitchen.

I didn't hear me say that.

We hired Lila to help us
through the conflict.

Why are we talking about this?

Do you have any idea what happened to Evan?
Was it the food?

Or something in the food.
He might have been poisoned.

Who would poison an infant?
It's crazy.

What do you think?
Was anybody acting crazy around him?

Well, my husband's ex wasn't
exactly thrilled with the divorce,

the remarriage
or the new family.

I guess I can't blame her.

But she wouldn't.

Yes, I was thrown aside like a
sack of garbage after 24 years.

I was a little upset.

Maybe you were
still a little upset.

You called Mrs. Karmel
and told her you'd kill her.

I'm Mrs. Karmel.

BEN: Hey, Mom.

This is Ben,
my son, Warren's son.

These are policemen, dear.

How you doing? We were just talking
to your mother about your brother.

Half-brother.

Yeah, it's terrible.

Dad's real upset.

BRISCOE: You keep in touch
with your dad?

I see him once in a while.

It's a whole other story.

Warren's in Chapter 2.

He'd like Chapter 1
to disappear completely.

It doesn't work that way.

What do you want from him?
He works hard.

Well, he also has
responsibilities.

Mrs. Karmel, were you at your
ex-husband's house the day Evan died?

How would I get in?
They don't invite me over much.

BRISCOE: Ben, you go to visit, huh?
You got a key?

Yeah. Why?

You ever borrow that key,
Mrs. Karmel?

What are you saying?
Maybe my mom killed Evan?

Your mom seems pretty upset.

BEN: Yeah, well, she never
even went over there.

You ought to be
talking to Lila.

BRISCOE: The au pair girl?

Damn right. Didn't they tell you about
the other time she poisoned him?

It wasn't poison.
The baby was drunk.

Excuse me?

Brandy, I think it was.

Evan passed out.

Can we back up
a couple of steps here, Doc?

The baby was teething.

My mom used to use Scotch,
rubbed a little on my gums.

Only Lila gave him
a couple of teaspoons.

Yeah, but she forgot
about the rubbing part.

Was that the only emergency the
Karmels had with their baby?

Until he died, yes, it was.

Like the doctor told you,
it wasn't poison.

It was an accident.

He was crying so much from teething,
I just wanted to quiet him.

And if the brandy didn't
work, what next? Cigars?

My mother used to give my
baby brother a little brandy.

I didn't see the harm.
We do things differently in England.

Right, like poisoning babies,
that's very English.

Here, we just
smother them with pillows.

It was one time.

Wendy locked the liquor
cabinet after that.

I didn't kill Evan.
Why can't you believe me?

I'd like nothing better,
Miss Crenshaw.

But the poison didn't drop out
of the sky into those plums.

Was there anybody else
in the house that day?

No.

But I took Evan for a
walk-around at midday.

So you're saying somebody could
have come in while you were out?

Yes. Exactly.

Like who?
Mr. And Mrs. Karmel?

Well, no.
They were away.

CURTIS: All right, who else?

Olivia, the housekeeper.

She comes on Thursdays.
She has a key.

When you were feeding the baby,

why didn't you notice
the plums smelled funny?

I wouldn't notice things like that.
I think baby food's revolting.

How about when you put him to bed?
You didn't notice he was crying?

Yes, but he always cries.
He has colic.

If you let him fuss a
while, he goes to sleep.

And how long did you listen to
him "fuss" on the baby monitor?

LILA: I'm not sure.

Did you even have it on?

Yes, of course. There's a speaker
in the kitchen and in my room.

So you heard him vomit?

I thought he was spitting up.

How could you be so sure?
How could you not check on him?

I'm not his mother!

I came here to be an art student,
not a bloody wet nurse!

Look, I did the best I could.

I swear I did.

Well, there's one British nanny

that won't be signing,
"Chim chiminey."

Just because she's not interested
in other people's babies,

doesn't mean
she wants to kill them.

It might if you were cooped up with
a screaming five-month-old all day.

This isn't Iraq. She wouldn't
be flogged for trying to leave.

You know the terms of her employment?
I don't.

Let's find out. In the meantime,
I don't see how we can hold her.

We could lose her
in the system for a while.

I'm sure you're completely off
base about Lila Crenshaw.

She's a lovely girl
with the best references.

You checked them
out personally?

Personally, no,
but we have agents overseas.

If we had the slightest
doubts about Lila,

we never would have
paid her way over.

And you have an employment
contract with her?

Yes, she had to
guarantee us a year,

and we hold on to her
plane ticket till then.

And if she can't
wait that long?

Well, then she gets home
on her own nickel.

Of course, if there's
a dire circumstance,

we'll assume full
responsibility to get her home.

Would having a baby die while in her
care qualify as a dire circumstance?

Yes, but what you're
suggesting is grotesque.

Lila felt very
fortunate to be here.

She's devastated
by what happened.

You spoke with her?

She came here,
looking for her ticket home.

Look, if Lila was unhappy,

neither the Karmels or the Franklins
ever said anything about it.

The Franklins?
Who are the Franklins?

The first family
she was placed with.

She was with them
for three months,

then Mrs. Franklin quit her
job to care for her child.

That's why they let her go.

It became obvious no one could take
care of Gwen as well as I could.

Meaning Lila wasn't
taking good care of her?

(BABY CRYING) Now you're
putting words in my mouth.

Mrs. Franklin, we need you
to be straightforward with us.

Why did you get rid of Lila?

She didn't seem
to bond with Gwen.

When she was off-duty, she took
no interest in her at all.

Were you ever concerned that
she might hurt your daughter?

My husband was.
It was irrational.

He installed one of those
hidden TV cameras

to watch them
when we weren't around.

And?
Nothing.

I mean, Lila might have been a little
slow to respond when she cried.

She wouldn't
pick her up right away,

but there was no abuse
or anything like that.

But you were worried enough
to want to get rid of her?

Not really. I wanted to take
care of my baby myself.

And then we got tired of
paying Lila's medical bills.

And what was the problem?

MRS. FRANKLIN: First it was her
teeth, then she got rashes.

We thought it was from our cat or
the plants she kept in her room.

We paid for tests.

But it wasn't allergies.
The doctor said it was depression.

Depression?
Over what?

We didn't ask.
We just wanted her out.

And you didn't bother to report
any of this to the agency?

Lila asked us not to.
She was afraid they'd just send her home.

You see, she'd met this boy, Kevin.
He worked at the Hauser.

It was that accent.
It drove me wild.

She even moaned in British.

And they say romance is dead.

How long were
you hooked up with her?

I saw her a couple of times a week for a while.
I bailed a month ago.

She wanted to move in.

What, she didn't like living
with the Karmels?

Hated it, especially
being around the kid.

That's how I met her.
Every chance she got, she'd come here.

She'd sit in the garden,
she'd draw.

She could name me
every plant we had,

said the place reminded her of her
parents' rose garden back in England.

She ever talk about going home?

Only all the time.

I didn't get it.
I mean, besides the beer and the music,

what's the deal with England?

Well, she could've caught a plane out of JFK.
Why didn't she?

Tickets cost money.

They paid her a whole
100 bucks a week.

Anyway, she spent her money
on other things.

And since you broke up,
have you seen her?

I went out of my way not to.

She stopped by here a few times.
She called me at my home,

like all of a sudden

I was the big thing
in this chick's life.

Yeah, go figure.

I found poison only in
this bottle of plum purée.

Nicotine's
the definite culprit.

Well, in the old news
department, you're two-for-two.

I also isolated faint amounts of chlorine,
sulfur, triforine and ammonium sulfate.

Giving us what?
Pesticide.

Nicotine's
the active ingredient.

It's a specialty item, used
mostly against rose aphids.

And babies.

By someone with a green thumb.

Of course you can
search her room.

You can look anywhere you want.

It's unlocked.

BRISCOE: I've got a diary.

"Five months until I can go home.
I can hardly stand five more minutes.

"I just wish I could run away.

"The way they spoil this
mewling child, it's repulsive.

"Let them clean his dirty
nappies just once,

"then see how much they love
their precious little bundle."

The little bitch.

Hey, Lennie, we've got
chlorine, sulfur,

triforine, ammonium
sulfate and nicotine.

And I guess the skull
and crossbones means

it's not quite fit
for human consumption.

CURTIS: Looks like a receipt.

Cash purchase,
day before the baby died.

Call the station.
Tell them they've got to keep her.

It's about time. They kept telling
me they misplaced my paperwork.

We've got it straight now,
Miss Crenshaw.

Turn around, please.

What's going on?

Lila Crenshaw, you're under arrest
for the murder of Evan Karmel.

You have the right
to remain silent.

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

One question, Jack. Why?

(SCOFFS) Why not?

Hell, that should
really play with the jury.

Look at the evidence, Ruthie.
The poison in her room...

It wasn't poison.
It was some kind of plant fixer-upper.

Well, that's an interesting
way to look at it.

Hey, I grew up
on West 67th Street.

What do I know from plants?

Whatever you want to call it, Forensics
says it's what killed the baby.

"A" to "Z" is a very long road.

CLAIRE: And Lila's diary
sure eases the trip.

What, because the kid
got on her nerves?

It's obvious you haven't
had the pleasure, Claire.

And I'm not likely to in the
near future, thank you.

You should have heard
what came out of my mouth

when Andrew decided he was hungry or
bored or lonely at 3:00 in the morning.

Every morning.

Lucky for Andrew,
you had restraint.

And you can't prove
this girl didn't.

Not that I don't enjoy
the visit, Ruthie,

but I have to get back to
your original question. Why?

Old time's sake.

And just so I can
bill the time,

a motion to exclude
your so-called evidence.

Always a pleasure.

I read the arrest report and the affidavits
opposing my motion, and guess what?

I didn't see the word
"warrant" mentioned once.

But the word "consented" must have
been in there five or six times.

Consent by whom?
Nobody talked to my client.

Your client was living
in the Karmels' house.

Surely Mr. Karmel
has the right

to open a bedroom door
on his own property.

Property set aside
by the Karmels

for Miss Crenshaw's sole
and exclusive use.

She was a de facto tenant.

I have cases
up to here that say

a landlord cannot consent to a
search of a tenant's quarters.

Was there a lease?
Of course not.

The defendant is
the Karmels' employee.

And I've got a pile
of cases just as high

holding that an employer's consent
is binding on an employee.

But only for a search of
the employee's work area

and only for items
related to the job.

Lila made it clear this bedroom
was her personal space,

her little bit of England,
if you will.

Why do you think
she had the door closed?

Closed, but not locked.

I assume that neither of those piles
has anything squarely on point.

(KREIGER EXCLAIMS)

I love making new law.

I am going to exclude the evidence
found in the girl's room.

Your Honor...

Mr. McCoy,

do you have the expectation
of privacy in your bedroom?

Judge Beth Kreiger.

She always wanted to be
Learned Hand.

Well, she just ruled us
out of a conviction.

Not necessarily.

Come on, Jack,
we don't have the poison.

We don't have the diary.

Lila Crenshaw fed the baby.

She's the only one
who had opportunity.

ADAM: Just like that Swiss
nanny up in Westchester.

Right now, she's drinking cocoa
and skiing down the Alps.

Because the Westchester D.A.
Couldn't provide motive.

And we can?

DR. OLIVET: You're doing it
to me again, Jack.

She's guilty, Liz.

And how are you so sure?

Both parents were out of town,

the ex-wife worked 9:00 to
6:00, her son was in school,

the au pair was the only
one with opportunity.

She admitted
she fed him the plums.

I just want you
to shed some light.

And then you'll bitch and moan if
you don't get the results you want.

It doesn't work that way, Jack.

I can't analyze
someone I haven't met.

I'm not asking you to.

She's 5,000 miles
from her family.

She's alone.
She's homesick.

A doctor already said
she was depressed.

So she killed the baby?

It was going to get her the back
half of a round-trip ticket.

It's a great theory.
Why don't you get on the stand

and let Ruthie Miller
make a fool out of you?

Because I'm not an expert.

On lonely nannies?
I'm not either.

But you are on
the psychology of murder.

Why, Jack, that's the sweetest
thing you've ever said to me.

She killed the baby, Liz.

A jury's going to
want to hear motive.

I can only reference
case histories.

That's all I want.

All right.

JACK: For the record, Dr.
Olivet, have you examined the defendant?

No, I haven't. But I read the file,
including the witness statements.

And what did you infer
from what you read?

The defendant was never trained for
the care she was expected to provide.

Often that creates a lack of self-worth and
feelings of isolation and helplessness.

And depression?
RUTHIE: Objection.

I'm asking
a hypothetical question.

Overruled, answer the question.

Oftentimes, yes.

Have you examined a baby-care provider
accused of killing one of her charges?

No, I haven't, but Dr.
Karl Jaspers studied several such cases.

JACK: And what did
Dr. Jaspers find?

Extreme homesickness, isolation
and depression in nursemaids

resulted in violence
toward the babies.

In other words, they viewed the
babies as the cause of their misery?

Yes.

JACK: Thank you.

I was homesick at sleep-away camp.
I didn't kill my counselor.

Objection.
Sustained.

Dr. Jaspers' study to which you refer,
was that Homesickness and Crime?

Yes.

And geographically speaking,

where was this study conducted?

In Germany.

And exactly when
was it conducted?

1907.

Hell, Germany in 1907,
I'd be depressed, too.

Objection.
RUTHIE: Withdrawn.

Tell me, Doctor, did any of Dr.
Jaspers' nursemaids live in a townhouse

with central air, heat,
a 20" color TV with VCR,

unlimited long-distance
telephone calls home?

Objection.
Sustained.

Enough, Miss Miller.

Never you mind, Doctor.

BEN: Well, a week
before Evan died,

I was at my dad's house
to use his computer.

Please tell the jury
what you witnessed that day.

Approach, Your Honor?

He's trying to impugn my client's
character with irrelevant testimony.

I'm going for motive,
Your Honor.

Please, you're trying
to introduce prior bad acts.

You wouldn't be trying to pull a
fast one, would you, Counselor?

Good, because I am leading the
league in contempt citations.

Keep that in mind.

You may answer the question.

BEN: Lila heated up a bottle
of formula to give to Evan,

but she didn't check the temperature
before feeding it to him.

He screamed.

And what did Lila do?

She screamed louder,
like it was Evan's fault.

JACK: What exactly
did she say?

"Shut up.

"I hate you."
Stuff like that.

It was the last time I saw him.

What did your dad say when you
told him about the incident?

I didn't tell him.

RUTHIE: Well, what about
your stepmother?

I didn't tell her, either.

Thanks.

WENDY: I left for Chicago
on the 7:00 flight.

I had a closing for YHF.

Did you see Evan
before you left?

Yes.

I always kiss him goodbye.

I fed him his favorite.

Plums.

What did you do with the
bottle after you were done?

I put it in the refrigerator.

Did you notice anything wrong
with Evan after you fed him?

No, and he was fine
later on that afternoon.

How do you know that,
Mrs. Karmel?

I called home
during one of my breaks.

Lila answered.

She was holding him.

He was giggling.

Mrs. Karmel,

were you aware
when you hired Lila

that she had just been
dismissed by another family?

Of course not.
I relied on the agency to...

I see.

And how much research
did you do on this agency?

Excuse me,
I didn't quite hear you.

My secretary's
sister used them.

RUTHIE: I see.

And what was her name?

My secretary?

No, her sister.

The court reporter has to
take this down, Mrs. Karmel.

I don't know.

Yeah, but I'll bet she
was trustworthy, right?

Objection.

You made your point.
Counselor, move on.

Does your husband work,
Mrs. Karmel?

Yes.

He's an investment consultant, a
partner at Moore and Chapman.

Good for you.

I bet he brings home
a pretty buck.

What if he does?

I see where you're going with this,
and I think it's disgusting.

Let's move along, Counselor.

How often does your job require you
to be out of town, Mrs. Karmel?

It's hard to say.

More than once a week?

Yes.

Two days a week?

Yes.
Three days?

I work very hard.

And, yes, I travel, but
that doesn't mean that I...

Yes, I know, you have a
very responsible position.

Tell me,

how many naps did Evan
take during the day?

I don't know.

What's his favorite toy?

I loved my baby.

Sure you did. You just didn't
have any time to spend with him.

Objection!

RUTHIE: You didn't know anything about
him because you were never home.

Objection, Your Honor.

You didn't know what the hell was
going on in your house during the day

because you had
a responsible position.

Enough, Counselor.

I'm making my case for
reasonable doubt, Your Honor.

Because Mrs. Karmel was
constantly and unnecessarily

and selfishly
flitting around the country,

she wouldn't even know if O.J.
Was taking tea in her kitchen.

I said enough.

After this session, you will
write a check, Counselor, $500.

Fine.

One more question,
Mrs. Karmel.

What was the reason for your
phone call home from Chicago

the day your baby died?

I was expecting
some documents from Paris.

(SNIFFLING)

I wanted to know
if they had arrived.

Hey.

Nice show today.

I love that part of the canons
that requires zealousness.

Tea to go.

Come on. I mean, the woman
just lost her baby.

You made her look
like Lizzie Borden.

It's funny, Lizzie Borden
whacks her family

and becomes
a feminist cause célèbre.

And Wendy Karmel didn't, and you used
her to set feminism back 50 years.

Because I showed
how negligent she was?

Because you're playing on the
misconceptions held by half of that jury.

I see. You think work and family
are both entitlements of women.

It's a personal choice.

You work, you have a kid.

Do you think I'd be doing this if
Martin didn't run off with his dentist?

Wild horses couldn't drag
you out of a courtroom.

I don't think your
5-year-old stands a chance.

Believe it or not, Claire, I do
worry about what Andrew's missing

and what I'm missing.

Who knows? Maybe my priorities
are a little screwy.

I never thought I'd hear
that coming from your mouth.

(SCOFFS)

Walk a mile in my shoes,
then talk to me.

Tick-tock, girl.

KREIGER: Madam Foreperson, you
have had three additional days

to deliberate upon this charge.

Has anything changed
since we last spoke?

No, Your Honor.

So in your opinion, additional
time would be fruitless?

Unfortunately, yes.

Then I find this jury

hopelessly deadlocked and
incapable of rendering a verdict.

I declare a mistrial.

The attorneys will appear two weeks
hence to discuss a new trial date.

The defendant's bail
will be continued.

Seven-to-five against conviction.
It's unbelievable.

Five more than they got
in Westchester.

Well, that's
certainly gratifying.

On retrial, we'll pick
a more enlightened jury.

ADAM: Yeah.

Find me 12 citizens
who think a woman's place

is closing billion-dollar
deals in Chicago.

Lila Crenshaw killed
a baby, Adam.

We're not just
going to let her walk.

Who knows? Maybe Ruthie won't
be representing her on retrial.

Ruthie Miller,
who's paying her bills?

CLAIRE: The British Consulate.

Go to tea.
Offer her a crumpet.

You schlep all the way
uptown, I'm flattered.

I assume it's not
to offer congrats.

Man one with
a sentencing recommendation.

What does that mean?

It means they're rolling
over and playing dead,

only they think
we won't notice.

I didn't kill Evan.

Five people on that
jury thought you did.

RUTHIE: And seven
thought she didn't.

Go ahead, retry the damn thing.

You keep going long enough, the
parents will end up in Attica.

I hate to say it,
but she might be right.

You can't attack the victim,
go after the parents.

The only way to prove
Lila spiked the baby food

is to put Wendy Karmel
on the stand.

As soon as we do that,
Ruthie rips her a new one.

I never did like
chasing my tail.

But it's a lot of fun
when you catch it.

We've been circling in
the wrong direction, Claire.

Depraved indifference?
You're kidding me.

I'm very serious.
I get it, I get it.

My client, the sadist,
over-sprayed her petunias.

It leaked into the jar of plums
in the closed refrigerator.

Hell of a theory, Jack.

On the contrary, our theory now

is that Lila had nothing to do
with poisoning the food.

And she is guilty because...

Because she heard the baby crying
and vomiting after she fed him,

and she chose to ignore it.
She admitted as much to the police.

Excuse me, people, actus reus,
did anybody ever hear of it?

You have to actually do something
to be held criminally liable.

Unless you have a duty to act
and knowingly disregard it.

Miss Crenshaw was the employee
entrusted with the baby's care.

In fact, as counsel proved so
adequately in the first trial,

she was the only one
so entrusted.

Don't you see
what they're doing?

Let me see, changing theories,

that makes the parents'
testimony irrelevant.

Ergo, you cannot libel them
around the courtroom.

How am I doing, Counselor?

JACK: Very well, Your Honor,
only there's more.

Under this theory of the case,
motive becomes irrelevant as well.

I'm impressed.

Defense motion
to dismiss is denied.

Thanks for schlepping
downtown, Ruthie.

Cute.

So is that deal
still on the table?

I told you, we don't just
roll over and play dead.

How many times has Mom told me,
" Ruthie, you got a big mouth?"

What happened to
your client's innocence?

Went out with the bath water.

I guess that isn't funny.
We'll talk.

Do me a favor, Claire.
Re-prep all our witnesses.

BEN: Wait a minute, now.

That lawyer of hers is not going to
start ripping me apart this time.

CLAIRE: Well,
we'll do our best.

Now, Jack will want to ask you
about that milk incident.

Just say the same thing as last time.

Is there anything else
you remember,

anything at all that might
make Lila look irresponsible?

There was this one time.

I saw the stroller
all alone on the steps.

Evan was in there crying.

Okay. Where was Lila?

She said she was checking
the mail or something.

Did she say anything else?

She said I should stop snooping
around when Dad was out of town.

Is there something wrong, Ben?

I know if I say anything,

that lawyer's just going to make
it look like I'm responsible.

Okay, tell me. If we don't
have to bring it up, we won't.

(SIGHS)

I knew she had
that plant stuff.

I saw it in her room.

I had no idea what she
was going to do with it.

He actually saw the pesticide?

That's what he said.

If he said it before the first
trial, we might've had a shot.

He's a kid, Jack.
He didn't know.

Is he going to
hold up this time?

It's pretty cut-and-dried.

He saw Lila leave the baby
alone on the front steps.

And that boiling milk
incident, blah-blah-blah.

Let me see
the trial transcript.

Okay, the police report.

What?

At the trial, he said the last time he
saw Evan was a week before the murder,

that milk incident.

So?

So Lila bought the pesticide
the day before Evan died.

He's lying, Jack.

(KNOCK ON DOOR)

This wouldn't be good news.

Is it ever?

There's a chance
the Karmel boy's lying.

Is there a chance that the
English girl didn't do it?

There might be.

Trial's when, tomorrow?

Which means the jury's already been
sworn on the case against the girl.

Jeopardy's attached.

We drop it, we can't retry.

Ben Karmel made it
through one trial.

There's no reason to think he
won't make it through another.

Well,

just because he's a kid doesn't mean
he has to be handled with kid gloves.

You want me to beat up
on my own witness?

(SCOFFS) Ruthie Miller loves
to go for blood on cross.

Open the door for her.
See what happens.

Evan was in the stroller.

He was crying.

I renew my objection.

And I renew my prior decision.
Overruled.

Please continue.

Lila was in the house.

She told me she was
just checking the mail.

When, if ever, did you see Miss
Crenshaw use pesticide on her plants?

I never saw her actually use it,
but I did see it in her room.

JACK: Thank you.
No more questions.

You owe me.

You loved your brother,
didn't you?

Sure.

So it must have occurred to you

that telling a little lie might help
the prosecution convict Lila Crenshaw.

I'm not lying.

Okay, maybe
exaggerating a little.

Everything I said is
exactly what happened.

Good.

Now that we've got
that out of the way,

where were you
the day Evan died?

In school.

And if we check the school
records, that's what we'd find?

Yeah.

Good.

Because my assistant is on the
telephone with the school right now.

Okay, look, maybe
I ditched a few classes.

(EXHALES)

And do you have a key
to your dad's house?

What's going on?

Please answer the question.

BEN: Yeah.

And were you in the house
the day Evan died?

No!

I think we've got what philosophers
call a conundrum, Ben.

Let's review, okay?

We've already established
that you're telling the truth.

We've also established that the last
time you were in the house was...

A week before.
Yes.

That's right.

But here's the confusing part.

You saw the damn pesticide.

RUTHIE: What's the paper
I just handed you, Ben?

Looks like a receipt
for the pesticide.

And when is it dated?

March 31st.

The day before
your brother died.

Let's probe further, shall we?

When you ditched school,
where did you go?

Met game.

Hey, opening day.

I was there, too, with my son.
Who'd you go with?

Friends.

What are their names?

I don't know.

You guys must be tight.

Where did you sit?

I'm sorry.

(SOBBING) I'm sorry.

I'd like to see
counsel in chambers.

Before we go any further, son,

I just want you to know,

you are entitled
to speak with a lawyer.

What's a lawyer going to do?

You weren't at the game,
were you?

You went to your dad's house.

We were supposed
to go to the game.

We went every year.

You killed Evan
because your dad forgot?

Because he forgot everything.

I'm supposed to be
his son, too, you know.

I'll get the court officer.

Hey, what the hell's going on?
Where is he?

You son of a...

I'll break your neck.

Go ahead, Dad.

What can I say?
When I'm right, I'm right.

Come on, you were ready to send
her away for 10 on man one.

But thanks to
your massive egos...

You know,
we're all full of crap.

What's with him?

You won, Jack.
The bad guy is in jail.

It's guilt. Another round
will wash that all away.

Damn. Rain check, okay?

I should have been home
for the kid an hour ago.