The Practice (1997–2004): Season 2, Episode 26 - Axe Murderer - full transcript

It doesn't make sense
to challenge their case.

There's nothing
the prosecution is putting in it
we don't admit to.

Unless we say
somebody else did it.
Her prints...

on the weapon, blood all over--
I'm not saying we're gonna
win, but Lizzie Borden?

- Our mock jurors don't buy it.
- We don't need them to buy it.

We need them to say "What if,"
"Maybe," "I don't know."

-How's our star witness,
Dr. Peters?
-A little reluctant but with us.

- Are we really gonna do this?
- If you have anything better--

We could just go
straight blackout.

Problem is, if we end up putting
her on the stand, she does
remember swinging the hatchet.

It's not a total blackout.



We only have one choice.

[ Ally ]
Lizzie Borden took an ax,
gave her mother 40 whacks.

Born again in '61.
Killed her husband just for fun.

Sounds good to me.

[ Line Ringing ]

[ Cell Door Opens, Closes ]

[ Sirens Wailing ]

Is it working?
Can you see anything?

[ Helen ]
Try not to whip around.
Keep yourself steady.

Okay. That's good.

Okay, Beck.
She's going tomorrow?

Tuesday.
What if he examines me?
He'll feel it.

Well, he hasn't examined you
in seven visits,

and if he starts to, tell him
you have to go to the bathroom
and disconnect.



- And when do we get Mapp?
- We'll get him, Jimmy. Don't
worry. You'll get your turn.

Well, I'm ready.
I get anxious when I'm ready
for something.

[ Fred ]
Lizzie Borden?

Shh! You cannot say a word.
I won't.

The D.A. doesn't even know this
is coming. I could be disbarred
for telling you.

Don't you have
to plead insanity
in advance of trial?

Oh, they know we're going
insanity. They just don't know,
you know, Lizzie Borden.

So, you expect the jurors to
swallow this past life stuff?

There's a lot of
Western doctors who believe
in it, Mr. Chiropractor.

Yeah?
Do you believe in it?
Do I look nuts?

But you'll argue it
in court?

If a doctor will testify
to it and we have no other
defense? In a second.

And you sleep at night?
You bet.

Alone.

Sorry?

Uh, do you plan on sleeping
alone for the rest of your life?

Ellenor, we've been dating
for over two months now.

And unless you have some
sort of religious
or moral objection,

I just think it's a little
odd that we haven't spent
the night together.

Well, maybe I'm waiting
for marriage.

Some girls still do that,
you know.

Yeah?
You one of them?

You know, this really
isn't a great place
to talk about it, okay?

Sure.

Yeah. Lizzie Borden
was acquitted.

Most people don't know that.

She was acquitted,
but she was guilty.

I know.

Taking my clothes off
for the first time
is not easy for me.

Do you think
I'm not attracted to you?

It's not that. I--

Have I acted like
I'm not attracted to you?

No.

[ Train Passing ]

Leave it out?
That's our whole case.

We're leaving it out
of our opening.

Our whole case is Dr. Peters.

If-If the jury
hears Lizzie Borden,
he loses credibility...

before he even gets
on the stand.

In the opening, we'll just set
up insanity, then we'll build
the doctor's credibility...

during direct and work up
to the big bomb.

[ Ally ]
We're just afraid if
we come out of the blocks...

with Lizzie Borden
past life that we will lose
before we even begin.

Okay.

This is a long shot,
isn't it?

[ Door Opens ]

It does happen.
Just like our mothers
tell us.

Yeast?
[ Chuckles ]
No.

Love. It happens.
Are we ever gonna meet
this guy?

She's ashamed of us.
That's why.

- I am not!
- Well, then when do we get
to meet him?

Well, when are you gonna
paint the walls?

Next week.

Have you had relations?

Jimmy.
That's kind of a personal
question, don't you think?

[ Lindsay Laughs ]
Jimmy.

I was told to proceed to
76 Robin Street, where there'd
been a report of a prowler.

And when you got there?
I observed the defendant
wandering in the area.

Can you describe
the defendant's demeanor?

[ Officer ]
She looked disoriented,
even dazed.

- Did she say anything to you?
- She told me she was looking
for her cat.

She was covered in blood,
but she just kept talking
about her cat.

I asked her where she lived,
which was just two doors down,
so I escorted her back.

Did you enter her house?
Yes.

The front door
was wide open, so I
led her back inside.

[ Attorney ]
And what was inside?

[ Officer ]
I saw blood... all over.

She said, "Did something
happen to my cat?"

Then I looked into the den.
There it was.

[ Attorney ]
It being?
[ Officer ] Not her cat.

It was so... bloody.
I couldn't even tell whether
it was a man or a woman.

[ Attorney ]
And what was the defendant
doing at this point?

Oh, she still seemed dazed,
almost vacant.

Then all of a sudden
she became hysterical.
Hysterical? How?

She started tearing
at her own clothes. I had
to restrain her physically.

Did she say anything else
to you at this time?

Yes.
After I restrained her,

she started to cry.

And she said that the body
was her husband.

Anything else?

She said
that she killed him.

- Are you on drugs?
- Maybe.

- Me, come work in your firm?
- You've been wanting us
to work together.

Here!
You're not
a career D.A.

- You've always known
at some point you'll jump--
- Yes.

To make money,
not to catch head lice.
Funny.

What are the odds of you
lasting at a big firm?

It's about as much fun
as quitting smoking, and I was
there when you did that.

No, forget it.
I'll take "no," but I won't
take "forget it."

We're gonna have lunch in a
couple of days. In the meantime,
think about this.

You'd be a partner.
Bobby knows you're here?

I'm not broaching it
unless you're interested,
and if you are, he'll say yes.

He'll have to.
Why's that?

Your reputation.
We need it.
We'll pay for it.

- Lindsay--
- If you say no, fine,

but don't be stupid
and not think
about it first.

She was dazed
when you first saw her?

That's right.
In fact,

according to your own report,
she didn't appear
to know where she was.

Did you remark that
she didn't seem to be aware
she was covered in blood?

Yes, I said that.

[ Billy ]
And when you described her
as "becoming hysterical,"

- you told fellow officers
she went nuts.
- Objection.

- Overruled.
- [ Billy ] Did you say
she went nuts?

- By that, I meant hysterical.
- Did she strike you as a sane
woman, Officer?

Objection.
[ Judge ]
Sustained.

Was there a cat?
Do you know?

- Not that I know.
- She didn't know
what she was doing, did she?

[ Attorney ]
Objection.
[ Judge ] Sustained.

Did you learn whether
the defendant even had a cat?

I'm told she did not.
Didn't have a cat.

Officer, in your opinion--
and I know you're not trained
in mental health, but--

- Objection!
- I'm asking for a layman's
opinion-- man on the street.

I'll allow it.

[ Billy ]
As you observed my client,

as you listened to her,

did she believe
she had a cat?

I think she did.
Yes.

[ Spectators Murmuring ]

You did great!
That set us up perfectly.
Now it's up to the doctor.

He says he's ready.
That would
bring me comfort...

if he had any idea
what he was in for.

You need to share with the jury
how nuts it all seems.
What do you mean?

You have to admit that this
whole theory seemed
just as crazy to you...

as it does to the jury now.
When they hear "Lizzie Borden,"
they'll think it's absurd.

- They'll think I'm absurd.
- Not if you take the curse
off it. Just say it.

Your immediate reaction
was the same as
everybody else's.

- Yes. You can't come off
as some past life zealot.
- Let's be honest.

When the D.A. gets done
with me, I'm not gonna have
any credibility left.

We have other experts
backing you up.

On past life experiences, maybe.
But I'm the only doctor...

who gets in that chair
and says "Lizzie Borden."

- We'll protect you
as best we can.
- Right.

Tomorrow at this time
I'm a quack, leading off
every newscast.

Doctor, I know you're worried
about your reputation.
I understand that.

But once you take
that witness chair,
you have to commit.

And what are the chances
this could work?

Not good.

I won't lie to you,
but without you...

she's going away for life.

You're her only chance.

Seventy?
Not so fast.

70,000?
Well, the check's
not signed.

They want to do
their own physical,
make sure the injury's real.

What's new?
They all require--

What's new is the doctor
they use-- he's tough to fool.

They all can be fooled.
I don't want to take
nothin' for granted.

Rebecca can act good,
but she better be prepped.

You tell Dr. Spivak
to be thorough.

He will be.
Don't worry.

At what point did you begin
treating her with hypnosis?

After about a year.

She was still suffering
the anxiety attacks,
the blackouts.

Okay, these blackouts--
Did you mean that she would
just lose consciousness?

No, it would be more like
sleepwalking.

She'd find herself
at a store and not know
how she got there.

She would drive?
Sometimes, yes.

And you were able to make
no real progress?

That's why I tried
hypnotherapy.
Can you tell us...

what you discovered?
She started describing
her house.

Except it wasn't her house.
She was talking about...

stuff from the 1800s
with meticulous detail.

She started going on
about her house.

- Finally, I asked her her name.
- While she was under hypnosis?

Yes.
And what did she tell you?

I know it sounds crazy,
but she told me she was
Lizzie Borden.

- [ Spectators Murmuring ]
- [ Judge ] Quiet.

[ Gavel Raps ]
Quiet down.

- What was that?
- That was my response,
Your Honor.

In fact, I thought
she was putting me on.

But then I started asking her
questions. It was no joke.
[ Bobby ] Lizzie Borden?

The woman who killed
her parents with an ax?

Yes. And after that session,
I went to the library
and looked up...

some of the stuff
she was telling me--
all true.

She was telling me
about birthmarks...

and giving me information
on friends and relatives--

stuff from archives
that's barely published--
and it was all true.

It was stunning.
I had her sign her name.
She signed "Lizzie Borden."

I took it to a handwriting
expert to have it analyzed.
He said it was a match.

Did you form any conclusions
based on this?

Well, I didn't form
any conclusions, but--

Did you leave room for
the possibility that in a former
life she was Lizzie Borden?

I said it was possible.

[ Door Opens ]

Hey.
Hey. How you doing?

Good.
Well, this isn't so bad.

I never said it was bad.
Well, you didn't want me
to see it.

Lindsay, Fred Spivak.
Lindsay Dole.

- Nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you.
A pleasure.

- So, we're gonna go to lunch.
- Can I come?

- I'm just kidding.
- Be back in an hour.

Take your time.
Thank you.

[ Door Closes ]
[ Rebecca ]
They think you got enough?

Well, they want him taking
the money on camera, but,
uh, we're almost home.

So, it's my turn with Spivak.
Better hope he doesn't
examine me.

What'd you say?

I said I hope
he doesn't examine me.
If he does--

What's his name,
this doctor?
Spivak.

- Fred Spivak.
- Do you know him?

- He was just in here.
- What are you talking about?

The mystery guy
Ellenor's been dating?
Fred Spivak, doctor.

- How can that be?
- Oh, God.

Remember she said that
they bumped into each other
right in front of the building?

He was probably on his way
to meet you at the coffee shop.

- Either that, or--
- Or he's onto us, and he's
dating her to find out if--

How could he know
she wouldn't know his name?
It has to be for real.

Wait. Ellenor is dating
my crooked chiropractor?

Worse than that.
She's falling in love
with him.

Oh, man.

Doctor,
it's your medical
opinion...

that the defendant was
Lizzie Borden in a former life?

I only said possible.

Did she talk about her previous
crimes under hypnosis?

- As a matter of fact, she did.
- And in your medical opinion,

she was acting out
a past life experience?

I know how it sounds,
but the things she was
saying under hypnosis--

Yes, they all checked out
on microfilm.

Doctor, is it possible
for somebody to fake
being under hypnosis?

I think I would know
if somebody were faking.

Why did Mrs. Hanson
first come to you?

Anxiety.
Sleep deprivation.
Blackouts.

Trouble in her marriage?
She did have
some trouble, yes.

Ever express anger
toward her husband?

Actually, no.
It was guilt.
Guilt?

Yes. Any problems with
her marriage she regarded
as her failures.

She would experience sporadic
feelings of tremendous guilt.

These usually preceded
her blackout episodes.

- Ever explore that guilt?
- Yes. Through hypnosis.

That's when these repressed
Lizzie Borden memories came out.

[ Attorney ]
And that's the source
of the guilt?

A hundred years ago
she hacked up her parents?

It may sound ridiculous,
but--

Could her guilt have been
triggered by anything else,

like... infidelity?

What if she was secretly
seeing someone else?

I don't think
that was the case.
Why is that?

She would have told me.
I was her treating
psychiatrist.

Maybe she didn't feel
the need to tell you.

Is that possible?

- Doctor, are you having
an affair with the defendant?
- [ Bobby ] Objection.

[ Judge ]
Overruled.

Doctor, do you recognize
that woman sitting
in the last row?

Didn't she once work
as your assistant?

- Objection.
This is unfair surprise.
- Overruled.

All right, Doctor,
let's speed things up here.

Are you having
a sexual relationship
with the defendant?

[ Judge ]
Answer the question, Doctor.

Are you involved
with that woman?

Yes.

[ Spectators Murmuring ]

Are you in love with her?

I could be.

[ Reporters Clamoring ]
[ Man ] Did her husband know
you were having an affair?

[ Clamoring Continues ]

What the hell was that?

- Hey, let's calm down.
- The hell with calming down!
Are you sleeping with her?

Everything I said is true.
Are you sleeping with her?

- Answer my question!
- Hey, shut the hell up!

- All right!
- It wasn't my idea
to get up there.

- Why didn't you tell us this?
- I didn't think anybody knew.
If it came out--

- Are you covering for her?
- I am not covering for her!

She kills him,
gets his money, gets
a doctor to help hatch--

Go to hell!
All right.

She was the rich one,
not the husband--
if you care about the facts.

Did the two of you
conspire to do this?

I didn't back her up or fill
her in with any lies!

Right. That would hurt
your reputation.

Eugene.
Look.

[ Sighs ]
It was exactly like I said.
She suffered the anxiety,

the blackouts,
the Lizzie Borden stuff.

- It's exactly like I said.
The other-- it's irrelevant.
- Except you love her.

- It gives you motive
to want to save her!
- I didn't want to testify!

You said if I didn't,
she'd be convicted.

I had no idea anybody knew.

Damn it!

So the affair started
after you began treating her?

Yes.

We still got our other experts.
But Peter is the only one to
make our insanity. We're done.

Is there any way he could have
hypnotized her into killing him
if he loved her?

I've already checked on that.
It's impossible.

You can't hypnotize someone
into doing something that you
find repulsive.

Plus which, she would have
a memory of it.

Well, she does remember
swinging the hatchet.

Well, maybe they did it
together, like you said.

She passed our
lie detector conclusively.

I think our job just got
tougher, but that doesn't
change our defense.

Our theory is still--
Lizzie.

Well, I keep hearing
how good you guys are.

You sure it's the same guy?
How many Fred Spivak
chiropractors can there be?

I still don't see how we can't
tell her. Is there any reason
not to tell her?

Well--

- What?
- [ Sighs ] She might be
in love with him.

I mean, how can we be sure
she won't tip him off?

- We can't. Still--
- How can we be sure the doctor
won't tip off Mapp?

- We could be
putting Jimmy in danger.
- [ Door Opens ]

Hey.

Who died?
What's going on?

Ellenor,
the guy you're seeing--
Is-Is this his card?

Yeah.
Where'd you get this?

He's the chiropractor
who's treating Rebecca
in the insurance scam.

Ha-ha. Very funny.

We think he was on his way
to meet with Jimmy when
you first ran into him.

The doctor
that's treating you
is Fred Spivak?

Yeah.

Men.
[ Scoffs ]

Another dirtbag.

No biggie.

Repressed past lives--
It's much more common
than first thought.

- Is it the same
as reincarnation?
- Basically.

- And when you say "common"--
- There are thousands of cases--

anecdotal evidence where
people, usually under hypnosis,
manifest past personalities.

Patients have suddenly started
speaking in foreign tongues.

I had a patient who kept
claiming his dentist killed him.

I finally looked up
the name of the person
he was claiming to be.

He'd died 40 years ago--
mysteriously--
in a dentist's chair.

[ Eugene ] You're
sitting there like jurors.
What do you think?

It's a bunch of crap.
Now, why do you say that?

Well, all this past life
hocus-pocus.

Lawyers today-- They'll pay
experts to say anything.

Maybe she thought
she was O.J. Simpson.
[ All Laughing ]

You heard a lot of experts
with very good credentials.

And Dr. Peters-- Aside from
the affair, didn't his
testimony seem truthful?

He's just saying
whatever to save her
'cause he loves her.

And once a doctor makes
a diagnosis, other doctors
don't want to contradict him.

They're worse than lawyers.
[ Scoffs ]

Murder two?

Mrs. Hanson, we can't win.
Our theory was pretty
stretched to begin with.

Add to that your affair
with the doctor--

- You think
I knowingly killed him?
- All our mock jurors do.

Do you, Ally?

Uh, I-I'm not sure.

I am not pleading guilty
to murder.

I had blacked out.

- Let me testify.
- I don't think that will help.

I'm not pleading guilty
to a murder I can't
even remember.

Just because I fell in love
with my therapist--

- And chopped up your husband.
- I don't remember it!

If they believe
I blacked out,

they'll have
to find me insane.

I think she's using him.
What?

Does she seem
like she'd fall in love
with Dr. Peters?

If she were using him
to set up a defense,

she wouldn't have to pretend
to be in love with him.

If anything, it makes him
less useful as a witness.
Yeah, except--

Except what?
This doctor cares so much
about his reputation.

To put himself on the line
in open court? It--

Maybe she needs
some kind of insurance that
he'd go to the wall for her.

If you tell him, you could be
putting Jimmy at risk.
Well, you know what?

Maybe you should have thought
about that before unloading
the truth onto me.

Ellenor, we had to.
What if he showed up here again?
What if he saw Jimmy or me?

I'm sorry.

He's not a bad person,
Rebecca.

I slept with him last night.

What are you gonna do?

I don't know.

I don't know.

I remember
looking for a cat.

- But do you have a cat?
- No.

And do you remember
what happened before that?

Going to bed.

I had been having
bad anxiety attacks all day.

I had gone to see Dr. Peters,
and we had tried
the hypnotherapy again.

And he had given me
some medication.
But the attacks kept coming.

- When you say attacks--
- I would just...

shake and tremble.

So I called my husband--
he was still at work--

and told him
I was going to bed.

And when I woke up,

I was outside looking
for a cat that I don't have.

[ Bobby ]
Mrs. Hanson, we were all
a little surprised to learn...

that you were having an affair
with your doctor.

It has nothing
to do with this.

Well, can you give the jury
any explanation?

I suppose I-I fell in love
with him.

These horrible things
were happening to me,

and he was the only one
who really seemed to
understand or sympathize.

Mrs. Hanson,

did you knowingly
kill your husband?

No.

I did not.

I thought she sounded good.
How about the mock jury?

They thought she came off
sympathetic,

but hacking up your husband
isn't something you'd forget.

I just took a call
from Barbara Landers.

She works at the Lizzie Borden
Historical Society
in Fall River.

She's been
following the case.
Lizzie Borden had a cat.

She killed it
by chopping off its head.

It's too late for that.
[ Jimmy ]
Yeah, probably.

It's time for the audible.

What's the audible?

We got to put
the doctor back up there
and rehabilitate him.

Which is
what I've been saying.
He's sympathetic.

I think the jury
still wants to like him.

Yeah, but if he's
a hostile witness, Ally,
it isn't worth it.

Forget it. If I get up there
again, I'll just--

- Do you want
to help her or not?
- If I thought I could.

You might. There's nothing
to lose. Maybe there was
a couple of days ago, but now--

Meaning what?
People are laughing at me?
I'm a joke?

If I thought that, would I be
calling you to the stand again?
You're calling me...

'cause things are desperate.
[ Sighs ]

My kids watch the news.

I don't think I need
to go through round two.

Noah, the other experts did
a pretty good job of documenting
this past life phenomena.

I think the possibility
is still alive.

But only you
can say that that's
what happened to Marie.

[ Horn Honks ]

Been kind of quiet tonight.

Yeah, well, um,
once I sleep with a man, I--
I don't talk to him anymore.

Really?
Mm-hmm.

Everything okay?

Yeah.
It's, uh-- It's just a case.

Everything's fine.

You sure?

Positive.

Well, guess I'm going
home tonight.

I'm just beat.
Otherwise--

I understand.
It's all right.

I'll call you tomorrow.

Tomorrow.

- [ Knocking ] All set?
- Ready. They here?

No, they're late again.
Let them catch up.

How do you feel?
I'm ready.

- I'll do it if--
- I'm ready. I'll do it.

- You got to pounce.
- Bobby! I'm ready.

- So I'll be able
to watch on this?
- I'd like you to.

If he's at all ambiguous
with Rebecca, we'll need you
to pin him down.

He doesn't try
to disguise anything.
He just flat out says it.

If he wants to do any kind
of full examination--

- I'll be going to the bathroom.
- All right. Good luck.

Thanks.
Thanks.

Given any more thought?

If I were gonna hang
a shingle, I'd just
do it with you.

Gamble & Dole.
We don't need them.

- Late.
- Twenty to. We're fine.

You talk with Peters?

He's set.
Am I gonna take him?

Eugene will do it.
Okay. Let's go. We're off.

Hi.

Helen Gamble, Ally McBeal.

Hi. Uh, I've been looking
for a skirt that short.
I haven't been able to find one.

Oh, well,
they're not really in yet,
but they'll be coming back.

- Really? How can you be sure?
- I'm wearing one.

We don't like her.

Doctor, you admitted
that she could have
faked all this.

I said it's possible,
but I certainly don't
think she was.

But let's be fair.
All the stuff she uttered
about Lizzie Borden--

She could have
looked that up at a library.

If a patient
were faking hypnosis,
I would see it.

Now, sometimes things can be
suggested to a patient
under hypnosis, right?

Certainly.
For example,

if under hypnosis
you suggested to her...

- all that Lizzie Borden stuff,
then we would--
- I didn't do that.

[ Eugene ]
I'm speaking
rhetorically, Doctor.

Now suppose you went to the
library. Suppose you looked up
all that Lizzie Borden stuff.

Suppose while under hypnosis
you told her that she was
Lizzie Borden in a prior life.

- Why--
- Suppose you plant it
in her unconscious.

When you brought her out,
she might believe it all
as the truth.

My question, Doctor--
I certainly didn't--

Is that possible
using hypnotherapy?

Are you suggesting
I hypnotized her
into killing her husband?

Is that possible?
That's what--
No, counsel, it isn't.

You can't use hypnosis
to get somebody
to commit a murder.

[ Laughing ]
That's ridiculous.

Any doctor
would tell you so.

Doctor, where were you the
night Mark Hanson was murdered?

Objection.
I'm entitled to ask
this witness questions.

[ Judge ]
The objection is overruled.

[ Eugene ] Where were you
when he was killed?
[ Attorney ] Objection.

Overruled.
[ Eugene ]
My client came to you that day.

You prescribed medication.
You told her to take a full
milligram of Xanax, didn't you?

She was suffering
severe anxiety.

A full milligram of Xanax
would knock her out cold...

- for two hours, maybe three.
- [ Dr. Peters ]
What are you saying?

[ Eugene ]
I'm saying that you loved her.
That you planted...

all that past life bunk
in her head.

That you went to her house
while she was out,
killed her husband,

knowing that when she came to,
with all that Lizzie Borden
stuff swirling in her mind,

that she might think
she must have done it.

- That's what I'm suggesting.
- I think you watch a little
too much television, counsel.

Do I?

Like you say,

a person couldn't
do something under hypnosis...

or while under a blackout
that she couldn't do
while conscious.

Like you say,
it's not in this
woman's character...

to commit
that kind of violence.

Add up all the things that
you've said, Doctor. Somebody
else must have done it. Who?

I don't know.

She had no motive.

If she wanted
to divorce her husband,
she could have done that.

She was the one
with the money.

- The only one here
with a motive is you, Doctor.
- Is he allowed to do this?

- You went there
with that hatchet--
- All right. That is enough!

- You killed him, didn't you?
- Counsel!

-I'm not even
gonna dignify that.
-I'll ask you the same question.

- Where were you
when it happened?
- Home.

Anybody who could
verify that?

No.

- Even on T.V.
they have a better alibi.
- Objection!

[ Eugene ]
How's your practice doing,
Doctor? Drying up, isn't it?

- What is the relevance?
- The relevance is this man
is failing as a doctor.

- That isn't true!
- He's a hack,
faced with closing shop.

- He needed money. She had it.
- Objection!

- He was desperate!
There's your killer!
- Objection!

Sustained.

[ Woman ]
Mr. Donnell-- Mr. Donnell--
[ Reporters Clamoring ]

No comment.
That was a cheap stunt.
You guys'll try anything.

It's all a big game to you.
Turned it into a circus.
No comment. Come on, guys.

I'm gonna take a pulse
on the mock jurors.

You wanna take a stab
with Dawson? Maybe we shook him.
Manslaughter?

Who knows?
Could I talk to you
for a second in private?

[ Reporters Clamoring ]

[ Sighs ]

Do you believe
he committed the murder?

- We don't know
for a fact he didn't.
- That's not what I asked.

- Do you think he did it?
- It's not up to me to decide--

That's twice that you've
ducked the question,
which you can continue to do,

but I'm gonna ask you one
more time just for fun.

Do you think he did it?

No.

Huh.

And yet you can attack him
in open court, accusing him
of being a murderer.

We're trying
to defend a client, Ally.

Why didn't you
tell me the plan?

Because I figured you would
have a problem. I couldn't risk
you tipping off Peters.

So, if this man
isn't already humiliated,
he's certainly ruined now.

Do you realize
that he has two small children?

Did that even factor
into your thinking?

Our thinking was
we needed something to say
in our closing argument.

We needed to be able
to get up and say
maybe somebody else did it.

When we found out
Peters was home alone,
we thought, why not try?

Prosecution
can't disprove a negative.

All we need
is reasonable doubt
with one juror.

You're disgusting.

Which is exactly why
you came to me.

Murder cases are ugly, Ally.
You guys didn't want to get your
hands dirty, so you came to us.

We did the dirty work. If we get
the acquittal, I'm sure you'll
stick it on your résumé.

You make it sound so good.
If I closed my eyes, I could
almost see you as a hero.

Too bad my eyes are open.
Well, if they're open,
try to see the real world.

You basically offered a lie into
evidence. That is not lawyering
in the real world, Bobby.

That is what
lawyers like you claim
to rationalize what you are.

You know what I am?

Do you?

The key--
You can't say "dull ache."

Dull pain goes away.
Shooting pain is chronic.

It radiates. I got it.
Let that be his word,
not yours.

"Radiate" sounds
a little clinical.
If he hears anything--

He knows I'm being treated.
All the same. Just say
"shooting pain," all right?

Remember: Like arrows.
He's not gonna demand an M.R.I.
They won't agree to pay for it.

The thing is,
these insurance doctors, they're
not interested so much...

in rooting out your
medical problems as they are
in covering their own asses.

Nothing we're talking about
shows up on an X-ray.

The fact that your lawyer's
already got a number from them?
You're home.

This will settle quickly.

Do we know for sure?

Nobody saw it.
Now, maybe she did it
in some insane trance.

But maybe Dr. Peters came in
after she was unconscious.

It would be perfect,
wouldn't it?

A person suffers blackouts,
memory loss.

Suggest to her
she's a killer
from a past life...

so when she wakes up
and she finds her husband
dead, she thinks,

"My God! Maybe I did it"--
perfect!

We know he loved her.

He would stand to be rich.

He gave her the medication,
and he told her to take enough
to knock her out!

[ Judge ]
Doctor? Doctor?

Dr. Peters,
please sit down.

Dr. Peters, if you don't sit,
I'll have you removed
by the bailiff.

Take your seat now!

[ Spectators Screaming ]

[ Woman ]
Don't!

[ Woman #2 ] No!
[ Man ] Put it down!

- No!
- [ Gunshot ]

[ Screaming ]

[ Spectators Shouting ]

[ Police Radio Chatter ]

You guys okay?
Yeah.

Ally?
Fine.

Judge called a mistrial.

We get to do this
all over again.

Great.

[ Billy ]
Eugene?

You okay?

No.

Is it everything you thought
it would be, Billy?

You like playing
at this level?

Ally--

You know,

I am not going to apologize
for not being up for this.

Criminal law is-is--

I know.

It's not my world.

And I don't want it to be.

And I'm not gonna feel
less than just because I--

[ Mutters, Gasps ]

Right in front of everybody?

How did he get a gun
in a courtroom?

They think he must have
bypassed the detector.

He was in and out so much,
security maybe thought
he was a lawyer.

Oh, my God!
[ Jimmy ]
How's Bobby?

- Eugene says not so good.
- I'm going down.

I'll call and let you know,
okay? Whoa!
[ Ellenor ] What?

- Spivak. He's coming.
- Jimmy. Come. Jimmy!
Quick, quick, quick! Come on!

Come on!

- Hey, Fred.
- Hi. How are you?

[ Softly ]
'Scuse me.

[ Clears Throat ]
Hi. Hi.

Surprise.

They're beautiful.

I've been missing you.
I can't stop
thinking of you.

I've been thinking
a lot about you too.

And I've come
to take you to dinner.

No escape.

Sure.

[ Footsteps Approaching ]

Hey.

I'm sorry.
He did it.

I talked
to Detective Kale.

The police found traces
of her husband's blood
in his car.

[ Exhales ]
He left a note.

And her?

She didn't know
anything about it.

Your theory
turned out to be true.

[ Sighs ]
What do you know?

I-I'm, um, sorry for some
of the things that I said.

You haven't said anything
I haven't heard before.

Or I won't continue to hear
as long--

You all right?

[ Woman ]
You stinker!