The Practice (1997–2004): Season 3, Episode 21 - Infected - full transcript
Still devastated from losing the Armbrust murder trial, an enraged Helen seeks vengeance over Gary Armbrust who lied on the stand, by charging him with murder. But a passionate and erratic closing exposes the true nature of her rage. Bobby and Eugene represent a man whose wife died shortly after a cosmetic surgery, and Rebecca clashes with Judge Swackheim, when his capricious decisions during a trial make it impossible for her to defend her client.
- Previously
on "The Practice"...
- I was at the preliminary
hearing,
where you testified that
your father shot your mother.
- And that wasn't the truth.
- Why would you wait till now
to change your story?
- I just couldn't go through
with it.
What do you think I should do?
- Well, I would normally
advise you to tell the truth,
but if the truth is something
different than
what you said at the prelim,
telling the truth
would expose you
to perjury charges.
- He's my dad.
- If it wasn't true,
what really happened?
- I was angry.
My father pulled the gun on me,
then I basically attacked him.
Look, I'm sorry
about all of this,
but it really was an accident.
- We find the defendant,
Gordon Armbrust, not guilty.
- Gary Armbrust,
you're under arrest
for the murder
of Charlotte Armbrust.
- What?!
- What's going on here?
- By his own testimony,
as well as his father's,
the gun went off
when he attacked his father.
Accidental shooting or not,
felony murder rule applies.
- What is she talking about?
- You're looking at an automatic
life sentence, Gary.
That's what I'm talking about.
- Is this true?
Could I get life?
Tell me!
What the hell is going on?
- Basically, felony murder.
If, in the commission
of a felony, murder happens,
they can get you for murder,
even if it's accidental.
Intent doesn't matter.
- Well, what was my felony?
- Your attack on your father.
The D.A.'s
calling it aggravated,
which brings it up to felony.
Which means she can push through
with felony murder.
It's completely bogus, Gary.
She is punishing you
for refusing to testify
against your dad.
- Well, can this stick?
- I'm bringing a motion
to have it kicked,
and I hope the judge--
- Why didn't you tell me
they could do this?
- It's an outrageous charge.
She is angry.
- You told me that I was
facing perjury, Ellenor.
That's what you said.
And now I'm going up on murder.
Why didn't you tell me?
- I'm gonna take care of it.
She knows
you didn't commit the crime.
It is completely punitive.
I'm going to take care of it.
- Forget it.
- Come on, Helen,
you know this--
- Your kid made a choice,
Ellenor.
- My kid?
I took him at your request
to advise him against perjury.
You never threw out the
possibility of felony murder.
- 'Cause I hadn't thought
of it then.
- This is prosecutorial
misconduct, and you know it.
- Ellenor, bring your motion.
I'm not letting him go!
- Helen, listen to the sound
of your voice.
You've lost your way.
- Somebody was murdered.
Somebody's gonna pay for it.
That's my way.
[dramatic music]
♪ ♪
- You know she's crazy.
- She's not crazy.
She's just a little motivated.
- So, uh,
we're continuing
on with the kid?
- Well, I guess I'm still
his lawyer.
This is a nightmare.
- Anybody want
an attempted murder?
I got Sybil Boyle
from the PD's office.
They got a guy
who's fired six lawyers,
trial starts tomorrow.
They're looking to Lujack.
- Tell them thanks,
but no thanks.
- I'll do it.
Attempted murder
beats paperwork.
- You know, Rebecca,
when you were
office administrator,
you'd kick and scream
at all the pro bono stuff.
Now that you're a lawyer...
- Like you all say,
it's good experience.
- Well, I got her on hold here.
- Tell her I'll do it.
- Okay.
- She was convinced she looked
better with higher cheekbones.
I thought it ridiculous, but--
- But your wife wanted them.
- Yes.
So she went in to get implants.
They told us
it would be pretty routine.
- "They" being...
- Dr. Leach
and the others at the hospital.
She went
in on a Monday,
had the surgery on Tuesday,
and came home that day.
- And everything seemed okay.
- Well, she was swollen
and in some pain,
but they gave her medication.
Everything seemed okay
until Wednesday night.
- What happened then, sir?
- She complained
about having a fever,
and then,
suddenly, just blacks out.
I called 911,
and the paramedics came.
They, uh...
They said she had no pulse.
They brought out those...
shock paddle things
and started, uh, jolting her.
And then they stopped.
She was gone.
- Did Dr. Leach offer any
explanation?
- He said she got an infection.
- From the operation.
- He didn't know.
He said she could have
gotten it at the hospital,
or she could have gotten it
at home.
He said...
These things happen sometimes.
- But you believe Dr. Leach
did something wrong.
- Yes.
- Why, Mr. Minor?
- The way he told me, the way
he cut our conversations
short ever
since, the way
he wouldn't talk anymore.
He did something wrong.
- Mr. Little,
my name is Rebecca Washington.
I'm your new lawyer.
I understand
you've had some difficulty
with your six previous lawyers,
anything in particular
they got wrong,
I'd like to get a head start.
- I didn't like them.
- Okay, well, uh,
since your trial
starts tomorrow,
I need to get up to speed.
So according to the officers,
you fired a revolver at them.
Did that happen?
- No.
- Okay, two officers
are testifying it did.
Do we have anybody on your side
to say it didn't?
- No.
- Okay.
- This charge
is clearly punitive.
The district attorney
has no good faith belief
that the defendant
is guilty of felony murder.
- Defense counsel
has no foundation
to evaluate
my good faith from this.
- She was prosecuting the father
for murder.
- The defendant admitted
to attacking his father,
causing the gun to go off.
- But you don't believe that,
Helen.
- Oh, again,
you're a mind reader--
- No.
I have ears.
You stood in front of the jury,
and you said that Gary Armbrust
was making this whole thing
up to spare his father
a life sentence.
- Counsel,
these are questions of fact.
The boy stated under oath
he assaulted his father.
That's enough
for me to hold him.
- Even assuming that to be true,
felony murder
still doesn't apply.
That law
was designed
for robberies
or kidnappings, rapes,
felonies
for which it is foreseeable
that a murder could result.
- You charge a man
with a gun,
it's foreseeable
it could go off.
- I would also remind the court
of the Merger Doctrine.
The felony
act has to be independent
of the killing
for a felony murder to apply.
Here, it was the alleged felony
itself that caused the death--
- Massachusetts has never
recognized the Merger Doctrine.
- Can I finish?
- Actually, you have.
I'm denying the motion
to dismiss.
The charges stand.
The defendant will be
held without bail.
We can conference Wednesday
to set a trial date.
- This is a railroad.
- What, excuse me?
- This boy is being charged
with a crime
we all know he didn't commit.
- Well, next time he should
think better of confessing.
Next case.
- She had gone
into septic shock.
That led to full cardiac arrest.
Which ultimately was the cause
of death.
- And, Doctor,
do you have an opinion
as to what caused Mrs. Minor
to go into septic shock?
- The blood tests
show a massive infection caused
by streptococcus bacteria.
This would explain
why her fever spiked.
- And, Doctor,
do you have an opinion
as to how Mrs. Minor
became exposed to this bacteria?
- It had to happen
during her cheek bone
implant operation.
The likelihood is
there was some contamination
in the operating room.
- You can establish that,
for a fact?
- Well, we can't say it
to a medical certainty,
but since all other explanations
have been eliminated, I--
- No autopsy was done on
the patient, was there, Doctor?
- No,
and there should have been.
- Well, without an autopsy,
we can never really
know for sure
what killed Mrs. Minor, can we?
- When a postoperative patient
goes into septic shock
within 48 hours
of the operation--
- Move to strike,
nonresponsive--
- We know!
- Move to strike!
- Overruled.
- People should not die
from cosmetic surgery.
- Did you ever examine
Mrs. Minor, Dr. Reynolds?
- No.
- You ever meet her?
- No.
- Ever see her body
after the death?
- No, but that has--
- You answered the question,
sir.
- Are you being paid
for today's testimony?
- Objection!
- Overruled.
- Are you being paid, sir?
- Yes.
- How much?
- $7,500.
- How many court cases do you
testify in per year, do you--
- Objection;
this is completely irrelevant.
- I'll allow it.
- How many cases, sir?
- I have no idea.
- More than 50?
- Probably.
- In fact,
that's what you do, isn't it?
You're a hired gun who goes
from courthouse to courthouse.
You're on every plaintiff
attorney's list, aren't you?
- Objection!
- Objection!
- Sustained.
- You have no evidence
that my client did
anything negligent, do you, sir?
- When one
of his patients dies--
- Please answer the question.
I'm not asking
for any assumptions.
You cannot point
to any specific incidents
of negligence with respect
to Dr. Leach, can you?
- No.
I wasn't in the room.
- Thank you, Doctor.
- I was going to visit a friend.
- At 3:00 in the morning?
- Yeah.
- And then?
- I heard shots,
I ran, they grabbed me.
What, that's not in there?
Those other six lawyers
didn't take notes?
- The police said you had--
- I know what they said!
Didn't happen.
- Okay.
The friend you went to see,
never saw him.
- I had the wrong address.
- Okay, can you tell me
anything else?
- Nope.
- Okay.
I want you to think
about something.
That building was dark.
The police were shooting.
Self-defense is a possible line
of--
- I said I didn't do it!
Are you deaf?
Are you deaf?
- No, I'm not deaf.
Please don't scream at me.
Given your, uh,
felony record,
my plan is not
to have you testify.
If you take the stand,
all your priors
can come into evidence,
so for now, I don't plan
to put you in the witness chair.
- Thank you for seeing me.
I thought
if we all got in a room,
I think we can all agree
there's been
a certain level
of frustration at work here.
- Why are you frustrated,
Mr. Hunter?
You got an acquittal
for your client.
- Yes.
If you proceed to try Gary
for felony murder,
that would obviously
be pretty disturbing for Gordon,
and who knows, he might even
get up there
and testify that he shot
his wife of his own accord.
No provocation from Gary.
- In which case, I'd go after
after him for perjury.
- This really is not
about threats.
I came in here to make an offer.
Certainly, if Gordon
did give that testimony,
implicating himself in a crime
for which he's already
been acquitted, then,
double jeopardy would mean...
- Get out.
- Here is the offer.
Gordon will accept a year
on a perjury charge.
I'm sure
Ms. Frutt can convince Gary
to accept a one-year sentence
also on perjury.
That means
no one walks off free,
and the public and you can feel
some sense of vindication.
- How dare you come in here
and even suggest that?
- Helen...
- And you--
- Look, I didn't know
what he was gonna say.
He's the guy you want.
A year is better than nothing.
- Your guy's getting life,
Ellenor.
Life!
As for you,
I'll figure something out.
- You're not gonna figure
anything--
- Get out, Mr. Hunter!
- What?
I am making an offer
that's pretty--
- I said get out!
- Can I talk to you outside
of this case for a second?
- No.
- You could destroy yourself
with this.
Don't let that happen--
- Ellenor, please leave.
- There was some kind of panic.
- By panic, you mean...
- Dr. Leach came rushing in.
It was about 20 minutes
after the call
that Mrs. Minor was dead.
He huddled up with
Dr. Morganson, Chief of Staff.
- Did you hear
what was being said?
- Objection, hearsay.
- Excited utterance.
- I'll allow it.
- What did you hear,
Mrs. Henderson?
- Well, Dr. Morganson
was already upset
over another patient who died.
It's not like him to become
animated, but he was here.
He was demanding lists
of surgical teams,
and he wanted an M
and M conference
that very night.
- What's an M and M conference?
- It's a mortality
and morbidity conference.
Doctors convene secretly
to discuss the cause
of death of patients.
Often for unexplained deaths.
- Do you know the results
of this meeting?
- No, the contents are secret.
Nobody but the doctors
ever finds out
what goes on in there.
- Thank you.
- Gee, you make it sound
like a big conspiracy.
M and M conferences
are routinely held at hospitals,
aren't they, Nurse Henderson?
- Yes, but this was--
- Thank you.
And one of the reasons
that they have these meetings,
among others,
is so that doctors can freely
swap information to learn;
isn't that correct?
- Yes.
- They have these meetings
whether things go wrong or not.
- They seemed to have this one
in a hurry.
- Well, is it possible Dr. Leach
was upset about the death,
and he wanted
to find out quickly
if something went wrong?
Is that possible?
- Yes.
- And here you are,
presenting a doctor's concern
about his patients
as something incriminating?
- Doctors have two kinds
of expressions.
One is concern for the patients.
The other is concern
over liability.
This seemed to be the latter.
- So you've based today's
testimony
on your ability
to read an expression.
- I was there, Mr. Walton.
Something was wrong.
- But you weren't
in that operating room,
were you, Mrs. Henderson?
- No, I wasn't.
- Thank you.
- We had driven into the middle
of a gang shootout.
We pursued several suspects
on foot
into an apartment complex.
We entered into a lobby area,
and we became immediately
under fire.
- Did you see
who was firing at you?
- That man.
- Mr. Little, settle down!
- Judge, this man is lying!
- Your attorney will have
opportunity to cross-examine.
You will remain quiet.
- What happened next, Officer?
- We returned fire,
at which point
he dropped his gun and began
to run for the stairwell.
We entered the stairwell.
We encountered him coming down.
We told him to freeze.
He took off up the stairs.
We pursued him and caught him
and placed him under arrest.
- I never had a gun!
- Mr. Little--
- I never had a gun!
I wasn't even
on that balcony--
I was just going
down the stairs!
- Bailiff, take him out!
Now!
- Hold on.
- Take him out!
People like you need
to respect this room!
This isn't the street in here!
You don't get away with that!
Ms. Washington,
I'll see you in chambers.
Mr. Thompson, you too.
You've got yourself a problem,
young lady.
- Yes, Your Honor,
and for the record,
I don't think
you handled that too deftly.
- What should I have done?
Asked him about his childhood?
His mother?
Hm?
Hm?
Okay, here's your problem.
In addition
to his general scum-hood,
his yelling in court,
in my mind,
is the equivalent of testimony.
The D.A. is now free
to cross-examine him.
- Just hold on a second.
- He yelled
that he was not on the balcony,
and that the officer was lying.
That's testimony, mm-hm.
- But he wasn't under oath!
- The jury heard him!
- If you force him
to take the stand,
all his priors can be admitted.
- Well, isn't that tragic?
- Your Honor.
At this point,
I don't want
to cross-examine him.
Now, this case
is pretty straight for us.
The last thing
I want to do
is give them grounds for appeal.
And you forcing
him to take the stand?
- Well, that's your call.
But for the rest
of the trial,
his hands are cuffed
to the chair,
and his mouth is taped.
- Your Honor,
that would be so prejudicial!
- It's not up for debate!
- When I learned
that she had died,
I, of course, was devastated.
In addition to being my patient,
Mrs. Minor
was an extraordinary person.
We were all quite fond of her.
- Dr. Leach, what happened?
- I don't know.
We'd been through the procedure
over and over and over.
Everything went
according to plan.
Nothing indicated...
- You've heard the suggestion
that Mrs. Minor may have
picked up the infection
during this procedure.
- The room was sterile,
Mr. Walton.
Whatever happened to Mrs. Minor,
it didn't happen in that room.
- Well, could she have gotten
the infection elsewhere?
- I don't know what happened
after she left the hospital,
what happened at her home.
My dialogue with Mr. Minor
stopped at that point, so...
All I can tell you,
whatever caused her to die,
it didn't happen in that room.
Sometimes people die,
Mr. Minor.
And sometimes there's
no explanation as to why.
- People don't just die.
- Mr. Minor.
- They don't just die.
- Mr. Minor!
Doctor, please
don't address the plaintiff.
- This judge isn't gonna go
for any of that stuff.
You have to stay quiet.
We're lucky the D.A. didn't
take him up on his offer
and put you
in the chair to be crossed.
Can you at least look at me?
If your prior felonies
come out, you can forget it.
You got two assaults,
one with a deadly weapon.
That's all the jury
needs to hear.
Now...
I'd like to take a shot
with a plea.
If we can get eight years,
I think we should take it.
- You're still deaf.
- Byron, I'm not saying you did
it, but with the evidence--
- I didn't do it, bitch!
You stupid bitch!
You're just like the rest
of them!
But I bet you hear me now, huh?
I bet you hear me now!
Come here!
Come here!
Get off of me!
Get off of me!
Get off!
Get off of me!
[screaming]
- Hey.
- Don't start.
- I'm gonna start.
- Lindsay...
- Just listen first, okay?
Then I'll shut up.
You don't believe
that kid had anything
to do with the murder.
You're punishing him
because he screwed up
the prosecution of the father,
and in part,
you're punishing Ellenor
for not convincing him
to stick to the truth.
You're coming from anger.
- Don't tell me this.
- I will tell you.
Because I saw it.
I know what happened to you
when you lost that nun killer.
And I could see
what was happening
when this case
started to go south,
and I see you now.
And I know
how this thing will play out.
If you try him on felony murder,
he's gonna stand up
and tell the real truth,
which will be consistent
with his statement to the cops,
and his testimony at the prelim.
You will never
get past reasonable doubt,
and you'll be stuck
going after him
for perjury six months from now.
Drop the felony murder.
Let him cop to the perjury now.
Then go to the gym
and hit the heavy bag.
It's the only thing
you can really do.
Helen?
- I don't know
if I can do this anymore.
- Do what?
- This job.
- Helen...
This is just a couple
of fluke cases.
Are you okay?
- I'm fine.
I'm fine.
- Why did you schedule
an M and M conference
the very night Mrs. Minor died?
- Because, as I explained,
her death upset me.
I wanted to make sure
we didn't cause it.
- Did you?
- No.
- That was the conclusion
reached in the M
and M conference?
- Objection.
Those meetings are sealed.
Counsel is trying
to get the witness
to waive the privilege of a--
- If it's no, it's no.
- I object to the trick.
He knows
the meetings are secret.
He's trying
to exploit the secrecy
to make us look
like we're hiding something.
- What, are you a fortune
teller now?
- All right.
Sustained.
Mr. Donnell, continue.
- You wanted the meeting
that night
because you were urgent
to find out what happened.
- Yes.
- Did you recommend to Mr. Minor
that you do an autopsy?
- He didn't seem to want that.
- My question is,
did you recommend it?
- I don't think I did.
- In fact, didn't you say
to Mr. Minor and his daughter
"We can do an autopsy
if you want,
but it won't bring her back."
Weren't those your very words?
- I don't remember,
but it's possible I said that.
- Sounds almost like you were
discouraging an autopsy.
- The blood work
revealed she died
of a bacterial infection.
- But you didn't know
that at the time
you discouraged the autopsy.
- I didn't discourage it.
I just didn't push for it.
- You didn't push for it.
That doesn't go
with this urgency
to find out what happened.
Was the urgency
to conceal what happened?
- No, that isn't what happened.
- Why was Dr. Morganson
so upset?
Did he know Mrs. Minor?
- He was upset because
another patient had died.
And this news on top of that--
- He knew something went wrong,
didn't he?
- Objection!
- Patients don't just
die from cheek implants,
do they, Dr. Leach?
- Objection!
- Something went wrong.
- Mr. Donnell.
- You say you want
to know what happened,
but you don't urge an autopsy.
There's a late night
secret meeting--
- This is exactly
what I'm talking about!
- Mr. Donnell, that's enough.
- Is it your testimony
that you have no idea
how she got
this fatal infection?
- That's my testimony.
- He pleads to perjury.
We go right to sentencing today.
- I'd want to be heard.
- You can be heard, but--
- And why rush it?
We might as well--
- Well, do it now,
or there's no deal.
It's just,
I want this to be over.
And you should want it
to be over too.
Because the longer
I live with it, the angrier I...
There's an offer before you.
Take it or not.
- And what would I get?
For perjury?
- It's discretionary,
but I think
I can make a pretty
decent argument to the judge.
- And we have to decide today?
- There is really
no decision, Gary.
If we don't plead
to the perjury,
then the felony murder charge
doesn't get dropped,
and we can't risk that.
They've got you dead
to right on perjury anyway,
so there's no real reason
not to jump at this.
- And why do the sentencing
today?
- The D.A.
wants to put this behind her,
and so do you.
Now, there's a chance
we can get you out of here,
so let's just do it.
- Okay.
- I fired several shots,
at which point
he dropped the gun,
and ran into the stairway.
- The defendant.
- Yes.
We then entered the stairway
on the lobby floor,
met him coming down.
He started going back up,
but we caught him.
- You say he started shooting
at you as soon
as you entered the lobby.
- That's correct.
- And you immediately returned
fire.
- Yes.
- At which point, he dropped the
gun and ran into the stairwell.
- Yes.
- Any prints on the gun?
- None that were usable.
- The look you got
of him on the balcony,
that was three, four seconds?
- I suppose that's about right.
- With a gun barrel
pointed in your direction.
- Yes.
- And the stairway
was behind him;
is that not right?
- Yes.
- So he turned and ran
with his back toward you.
- I suppose.
- You suppose?
Did he backpedal,
or did he turn and run?
- He turned and ran.
- And how were the lights
up there on the balcony?
- We got a good look at him.
- It was dark, wasn't it?
- We saw his face.
- You say "we" like you're
speaking for Officer Gibson.
Did you two go
over your testimony?
- Objection.
- Sustained.
- You said
in your statement there
may have been others
on the balcony,
but it was too dark to tell.
Was that your statement?
- Yes.
But we got a good look at him.
[muffled yelling]
- If you don't settle down,
Mr. Little, I'll remove you.
Don't think I won't have
you hauled right out of here.
- Mr. Stanton.
I'm Bobby Donnell.
I called.
Our information shows
that your daughter
died on the same day.
There's been testimony
that the chief of staff
was very upset about it.
I'm not entitled
to see her medical records
without your permission.
- And what does Carol's death
have to do with your case?
- Well, maybe nothing,
but that's what I'd
like to find out.
- I'd like you to please leave,
sir.
- Mr. Stanton,
a woman died here, I just--
- A woman died?
That's why you're here,
you're concerned
about a woman's death?
My daughter died, Mr. Donnell.
We're finally at a point
where our lives have resumed,
and you happily come along
to dig it all up,
because of your deep concern
over some--
- Darrell--
- No, he's here about money.
You think twice about whether
we want this kind of visit?
Our daughter was 19.
- I'm just trying
to represent some people
with a claim
against the hospital.
- Darrell!
I'm so sorry.
Carol's death was devastating.
She was our only child, and...
The idea
of reliving her death...
He always...
It was just so...
- How did she die?
- She went in for minor surgery
and got some post-op infection.
- I want to find out
how many people
died in that hospital
a week before
and a week after.
Get the names--
Just listen, Lucy.
Get the names,
and have Jimmy, Lindsay,
and Eugene contact the families
and find out how they died.
And this has to be done now.
- Rebecca.
We may have a little bump here.
- What do you mean "bump?"
- There was an internal
police investigation
regarding the shooting.
I just found out about it,
I promise you.
Here's the report.
- The shooting
surrounding this arrest?
- Yes.
Officer Helms evidently once
claimed he wounded the suspect
on the balcony.
Now, he's since backed off it,
but blood was found
on the balcony.
The sample was lost.
- Excuse me, "lost"?
- I don't know what to say.
If you want to move
for a mistrial, I won't oppose.
- We're not having any mistrial.
- What?
- We're late into it, I don't--
- If the man
on the balcony was wounded,
then that clears Byron Little.
- The officer said he was wrong
about wounding him.
- Oh, come on.
- You expect me to throw out
an entire trial, because--
- First of all, the State
has a duty
to turn over
all exculpatory evidence.
I'm just getting
this report now.
- He just got it.
- Second, this is material.
This completely affects
how I would've
cross-examined Officer Helms.
- You can recall him.
- And they say
they lost the blood sample.
I need time to investigate.
- Look, Counsel,
they caught your man
running down the stairway.
- But he's been saying he wasn't
the man on the balcony,
and that blood may prove it.
- How?
The officer claims he did not
wound the suspect.
That means the blood
is irrelevant.
I'm not throwing out this trial.
- You can't be serious.
- Look, young lady.
You may be used
to having your clients
freed on stunts
and technicalities,
but not in my court.
- They withheld
material evidence.
- The trial goes on.
You can recall the officer
and recross him.
That's all.
- Did he lie under oath?
Yes.
Are there
mitigating circumstances?
Of course there are.
His mother was murdered.
He was turned into the star
witness against his father,
a father who he had
an estranged relationship with.
A father,
as you can see
by the psychiatric reports,
Gary lived for his approval
and rarely got it.
Here he is,
a kid with a drug history,
emotionally unstable,
being asked
to put his dad
away for life.
He couldn't do it.
He couldn't do it.
The law insulates us from having
to testify against a spouse.
Well, a son's connection
with a father
can be just as powerful.
Gary Armbrust isn't a bad kid,
Your Honor.
We all know that.
He just couldn't go through
with sending his dad to prison.
- Yes.
The law does protect spouses
from giving testimony
against each other.
But there's no such immunity
when it comes to father and son,
and they don't get
to just make up a law
because in their minds the love
is just as powerful.
What's at stake here is
the integrity of this process.
He committed perjury.
He lied under oath,
and if we tolerate it,
we have to consider
the worst-case scenario.
The day may come
where witnesses lie to help
free premeditated murderers.
This case--
this case is the worst-case
scenario.
A murderer is walking free
because the defendant
committed perjury.
Your Honor, you and I--
you and I walk
into this courtroom
every day without clients.
In essence,
we work for the room.
What he did to this room,
and technicalities
and fourth amendments,
he killed her
and stuffed her in a closet.
He killed a nun, he--
- Helen?
- I'm sorry.
He...
He lied.
We work for the room,
Your Honor.
We work for the room.
- I did say once
that I thought I wounded him,
but I was wrong.
- And what suddenly
convinced you you were wrong?
- When we caught him,
he wasn't wounded,
so I obviously was wrong.
- Or maybe the man you shot at,
the man shooting at you,
was not the same man
you chased in the stairwell.
- No, it was him.
I saw his face.
- Hm. And what about the blood
that was found?
- That was old, dried blood.
- In this report--
- I first thought it was fresh,
'cause in my excitement,
I thought I wounded him,
but it was old dried blood
that had been there.
- And did you test this blood
to determine--
- Objection; relevance.
- Sustained.
- Your Honor, he testified there
were others in the balcony--
- The jury will disregard
any mention of blood--
It has no relevance whatsoever.
Counsel, step up!
- Those blood samples
could exonerate my client.
He can't know
it's old blood,
and the fact that those samples
were somehow lost--
- There will be no mention
of blood.
It's not relevant.
And if you mention the police
losing it,
you buy yourself a jail cell.
- I am just trying--
- This trial will not be
prevented
by sleazy defense lawyering.
I've had about enough
of you already, damn it.
- You need to take
some time off.
- Yeah.
I'm not losing my mind,
Lindsay, I...
- You just mixed up defendants.
You called the perjurer
a nun-killer, Helen.
I'm worried about you.
You've had this look
in your eye lately,
and your voice, and...
Will they give you
some time off?
- I think so.
It's just not fair anymore.
- What's not fair?
Tell me what's not fair.
- My sister has a radio.
- Your sister has a radio?
- She has a nice job
at an insurance company.
She gets to sit at a desk,
and she plays her radio.
She can hear music
during the day.
Just once, I'd like to turn up
the radio in that room.
And sing the bad days away.
Sing away.
- If I have to take you
on vacation myself, I will.
You definitely
need some time off.
- Four patients in three days?
All routine surgeries, all dead
from streptococcus sepsis.
Your hospital had a bacteria.
- Four cases
does not constitute an outbreak.
- All the same strain?
In three days,
and you don't tell him?
He asked what happened,
you just leave that out?
- The other patients
have privacy rights.
I just can't reveal
their case history.
- Is that what you're gonna say
when I recall you?
$7 million today,
or I notify the health marshal.
- That kind of threat could get
you a trip to the overseers.
- I'll risk it!
I'm tempted
to call the district attorney.
This borders
on corporate murder.
You had a lethal strain
of bacteria killing patients,
and you sat on it?
The health marshal might close
your doors to investigate.
At 300,000 a day, that'll run
you 2 to 3 million,
and that's just in actuals.
The long-term
damage could be worse.
That's probably why you
concealed
the outbreak
in the first place.
You were afraid the health
marshal would move in.
You'll pay the seven today,
and be grateful,
and I don't care
how you split your policies.
- You still
haven't established negligence
as to her cause
of death, and I--
- I can establish a cover-up,
and that's all I'll need,
and we all know it.
- I ask you what happened,
and you look me in the eye
and say, "I don't know"?
You look me right in the eye.
- Because of him, Arnold.
We get sued for everything
because of lawyers like him.
Every patient
that comes through the door,
we have to look at
as a potential plaintiff.
There was nothing I could say
after that could bring her back.
- So why even volunteer
the truth?
- Yeah, sometimes we lie,
Mr. Donnell.
- Milton--
- I'm talking in general.
Lawsuits have driven the truth
underground, Mr. Donnell.
- Well, this one dug it up.
Didn't it?
- I'll have to discuss
all of this with the board
before I get back to you.
- You're authorized to settle.
- Not at that amount.
- Well, then go talk to them.
- I thought he was a good man.
- He probably is.
That's what's so sad about it.
- How did it happen
that we can't trust the police?
I mean, this is an institution
that's supposed to protect us.
I don't doubt these officers
think Byron Little is the guy.
They tackled him
in the stairwell
after they saw the man
on the balcony run
into the stairwell.
It's completely reasonable
to believe it must be
the same guy.
Hey, I did.
I mean, one look at him.
He looks like your typical
urban criminal.
He acts violent,
and we all know
our honorable Your Honor
thinks he's the guy too.
But mistakes and cover-ups,
those are
two very different things.
One
of the officers
said he wounded the suspect.
Blood was even found
on the balcony,
though it's been
deemed irrelevant
for the sake of this trial,
but when they examined
Mr. Little back
at the police station,
they found no wound.
And suddenly,
the officer amends his account
and says he must have missed.
And they march into this court
and positively identify him
as the shooter.
They see him 30 feet above,
on a darkened balcony,
for three seconds tops,
all the while being shot at,
and yet, they're positive.
Not "It looked like him," not
"It was probably him."
"Definitely him."
How can that be?
And why start hiding
internal reports
from the defense lawyers?
Why forget to mention the blood?
Why come in
with all this absolute,
positive eyewitness accounts?
Why forget to tell us,
"Oh, yeah,
"one of our officers
who was so positive,
wasn't so positive
before he changed his mind"?
Why not just be upfront
with what you got?
Why?
Because without all
that absolute positive stuff,
they lose him.
They lose the guy
they think did it.
And let's be fair.
They lose so many.
And I know it turns stomachs.
It's turned our honorable
Your Honor's stomach so,
he thinks nothing now of taping
criminal defendant mouths
shut, handcuffing them,
making them look guilty.
Hey, it's his court.
He's old;
he's probably had enough,
and he doesn't care.
But the thing about juries,
it tends to be their one
and only time
serving this process,
so they tend
to take it seriously.
And not just rush through it
with a bunch of assumptions.
And therein lies
Byron Little's only hope.
It's not with the police.
It's not with our honorable
Your Honor.
It's with you.
You have two choices here.
You can hold up
the oath
you took at the beginning
of all this...
or not.
Maybe guys like this...
We're not supposed to care.
- Two eyewitnesses
saw him shoot the gun.
Saw him run into the stairwell.
They pursued him
into the stairwell
and caught him.
Sometimes we just want things
to be all juicy
and complicated
when they're not.
- I am mindful
of how difficult it must be
to be faced with testifying
against one's own father.
Especially
when that testimony
could result
in life imprisonment.
But I am also mindful
of the Court's need
to assure the integrity of
this criminal justice process.
Perjury is to be taken very,
very seriously.
I know you know this.
I know you were apprised
of the risks.
Nevertheless,
you chose to assume those risks.
In fact, given these warnings,
your commission of perjury
was particularly knowing.
I sentence you to 20 years
at Cedar Junction,
a sentence to begin immediately.
Bailiff, we're adjourned.
- We'll appeal.
- Ellenor...
- Gary,
I want you to hang in there.
We're going to appeal.
We're going to appeal.
- How'd it go?
- Not good.
- Tell me.
- He's just a kid.
He got afraid
at the last second, and he--
He didn't want to hurt his dad.
- What'd he get?
- Maximum.
20 years.
God, Eugene, what have I done?
- Hey.
This isn't on you, Ellenor.
- If I would have come down
on him harder,
if I would have just
anticipated a felony murder--
- This isn't
on you.
- He's going away for 20 years.
- Will the defendant
please rise.
Has the jury
reached a unanimous verdict?
- We have.
- What say you?
- On the matter
of the Commonwealth versus
Byron Little,
on the charge
of attempted murder,
we find the defendant
not guilty.
- Unlock him.
Let him go.
Jury's free.
We're adjourned.
- You're welcome.
on "The Practice"...
- I was at the preliminary
hearing,
where you testified that
your father shot your mother.
- And that wasn't the truth.
- Why would you wait till now
to change your story?
- I just couldn't go through
with it.
What do you think I should do?
- Well, I would normally
advise you to tell the truth,
but if the truth is something
different than
what you said at the prelim,
telling the truth
would expose you
to perjury charges.
- He's my dad.
- If it wasn't true,
what really happened?
- I was angry.
My father pulled the gun on me,
then I basically attacked him.
Look, I'm sorry
about all of this,
but it really was an accident.
- We find the defendant,
Gordon Armbrust, not guilty.
- Gary Armbrust,
you're under arrest
for the murder
of Charlotte Armbrust.
- What?!
- What's going on here?
- By his own testimony,
as well as his father's,
the gun went off
when he attacked his father.
Accidental shooting or not,
felony murder rule applies.
- What is she talking about?
- You're looking at an automatic
life sentence, Gary.
That's what I'm talking about.
- Is this true?
Could I get life?
Tell me!
What the hell is going on?
- Basically, felony murder.
If, in the commission
of a felony, murder happens,
they can get you for murder,
even if it's accidental.
Intent doesn't matter.
- Well, what was my felony?
- Your attack on your father.
The D.A.'s
calling it aggravated,
which brings it up to felony.
Which means she can push through
with felony murder.
It's completely bogus, Gary.
She is punishing you
for refusing to testify
against your dad.
- Well, can this stick?
- I'm bringing a motion
to have it kicked,
and I hope the judge--
- Why didn't you tell me
they could do this?
- It's an outrageous charge.
She is angry.
- You told me that I was
facing perjury, Ellenor.
That's what you said.
And now I'm going up on murder.
Why didn't you tell me?
- I'm gonna take care of it.
She knows
you didn't commit the crime.
It is completely punitive.
I'm going to take care of it.
- Forget it.
- Come on, Helen,
you know this--
- Your kid made a choice,
Ellenor.
- My kid?
I took him at your request
to advise him against perjury.
You never threw out the
possibility of felony murder.
- 'Cause I hadn't thought
of it then.
- This is prosecutorial
misconduct, and you know it.
- Ellenor, bring your motion.
I'm not letting him go!
- Helen, listen to the sound
of your voice.
You've lost your way.
- Somebody was murdered.
Somebody's gonna pay for it.
That's my way.
[dramatic music]
♪ ♪
- You know she's crazy.
- She's not crazy.
She's just a little motivated.
- So, uh,
we're continuing
on with the kid?
- Well, I guess I'm still
his lawyer.
This is a nightmare.
- Anybody want
an attempted murder?
I got Sybil Boyle
from the PD's office.
They got a guy
who's fired six lawyers,
trial starts tomorrow.
They're looking to Lujack.
- Tell them thanks,
but no thanks.
- I'll do it.
Attempted murder
beats paperwork.
- You know, Rebecca,
when you were
office administrator,
you'd kick and scream
at all the pro bono stuff.
Now that you're a lawyer...
- Like you all say,
it's good experience.
- Well, I got her on hold here.
- Tell her I'll do it.
- Okay.
- She was convinced she looked
better with higher cheekbones.
I thought it ridiculous, but--
- But your wife wanted them.
- Yes.
So she went in to get implants.
They told us
it would be pretty routine.
- "They" being...
- Dr. Leach
and the others at the hospital.
She went
in on a Monday,
had the surgery on Tuesday,
and came home that day.
- And everything seemed okay.
- Well, she was swollen
and in some pain,
but they gave her medication.
Everything seemed okay
until Wednesday night.
- What happened then, sir?
- She complained
about having a fever,
and then,
suddenly, just blacks out.
I called 911,
and the paramedics came.
They, uh...
They said she had no pulse.
They brought out those...
shock paddle things
and started, uh, jolting her.
And then they stopped.
She was gone.
- Did Dr. Leach offer any
explanation?
- He said she got an infection.
- From the operation.
- He didn't know.
He said she could have
gotten it at the hospital,
or she could have gotten it
at home.
He said...
These things happen sometimes.
- But you believe Dr. Leach
did something wrong.
- Yes.
- Why, Mr. Minor?
- The way he told me, the way
he cut our conversations
short ever
since, the way
he wouldn't talk anymore.
He did something wrong.
- Mr. Little,
my name is Rebecca Washington.
I'm your new lawyer.
I understand
you've had some difficulty
with your six previous lawyers,
anything in particular
they got wrong,
I'd like to get a head start.
- I didn't like them.
- Okay, well, uh,
since your trial
starts tomorrow,
I need to get up to speed.
So according to the officers,
you fired a revolver at them.
Did that happen?
- No.
- Okay, two officers
are testifying it did.
Do we have anybody on your side
to say it didn't?
- No.
- Okay.
- This charge
is clearly punitive.
The district attorney
has no good faith belief
that the defendant
is guilty of felony murder.
- Defense counsel
has no foundation
to evaluate
my good faith from this.
- She was prosecuting the father
for murder.
- The defendant admitted
to attacking his father,
causing the gun to go off.
- But you don't believe that,
Helen.
- Oh, again,
you're a mind reader--
- No.
I have ears.
You stood in front of the jury,
and you said that Gary Armbrust
was making this whole thing
up to spare his father
a life sentence.
- Counsel,
these are questions of fact.
The boy stated under oath
he assaulted his father.
That's enough
for me to hold him.
- Even assuming that to be true,
felony murder
still doesn't apply.
That law
was designed
for robberies
or kidnappings, rapes,
felonies
for which it is foreseeable
that a murder could result.
- You charge a man
with a gun,
it's foreseeable
it could go off.
- I would also remind the court
of the Merger Doctrine.
The felony
act has to be independent
of the killing
for a felony murder to apply.
Here, it was the alleged felony
itself that caused the death--
- Massachusetts has never
recognized the Merger Doctrine.
- Can I finish?
- Actually, you have.
I'm denying the motion
to dismiss.
The charges stand.
The defendant will be
held without bail.
We can conference Wednesday
to set a trial date.
- This is a railroad.
- What, excuse me?
- This boy is being charged
with a crime
we all know he didn't commit.
- Well, next time he should
think better of confessing.
Next case.
- She had gone
into septic shock.
That led to full cardiac arrest.
Which ultimately was the cause
of death.
- And, Doctor,
do you have an opinion
as to what caused Mrs. Minor
to go into septic shock?
- The blood tests
show a massive infection caused
by streptococcus bacteria.
This would explain
why her fever spiked.
- And, Doctor,
do you have an opinion
as to how Mrs. Minor
became exposed to this bacteria?
- It had to happen
during her cheek bone
implant operation.
The likelihood is
there was some contamination
in the operating room.
- You can establish that,
for a fact?
- Well, we can't say it
to a medical certainty,
but since all other explanations
have been eliminated, I--
- No autopsy was done on
the patient, was there, Doctor?
- No,
and there should have been.
- Well, without an autopsy,
we can never really
know for sure
what killed Mrs. Minor, can we?
- When a postoperative patient
goes into septic shock
within 48 hours
of the operation--
- Move to strike,
nonresponsive--
- We know!
- Move to strike!
- Overruled.
- People should not die
from cosmetic surgery.
- Did you ever examine
Mrs. Minor, Dr. Reynolds?
- No.
- You ever meet her?
- No.
- Ever see her body
after the death?
- No, but that has--
- You answered the question,
sir.
- Are you being paid
for today's testimony?
- Objection!
- Overruled.
- Are you being paid, sir?
- Yes.
- How much?
- $7,500.
- How many court cases do you
testify in per year, do you--
- Objection;
this is completely irrelevant.
- I'll allow it.
- How many cases, sir?
- I have no idea.
- More than 50?
- Probably.
- In fact,
that's what you do, isn't it?
You're a hired gun who goes
from courthouse to courthouse.
You're on every plaintiff
attorney's list, aren't you?
- Objection!
- Objection!
- Sustained.
- You have no evidence
that my client did
anything negligent, do you, sir?
- When one
of his patients dies--
- Please answer the question.
I'm not asking
for any assumptions.
You cannot point
to any specific incidents
of negligence with respect
to Dr. Leach, can you?
- No.
I wasn't in the room.
- Thank you, Doctor.
- I was going to visit a friend.
- At 3:00 in the morning?
- Yeah.
- And then?
- I heard shots,
I ran, they grabbed me.
What, that's not in there?
Those other six lawyers
didn't take notes?
- The police said you had--
- I know what they said!
Didn't happen.
- Okay.
The friend you went to see,
never saw him.
- I had the wrong address.
- Okay, can you tell me
anything else?
- Nope.
- Okay.
I want you to think
about something.
That building was dark.
The police were shooting.
Self-defense is a possible line
of--
- I said I didn't do it!
Are you deaf?
Are you deaf?
- No, I'm not deaf.
Please don't scream at me.
Given your, uh,
felony record,
my plan is not
to have you testify.
If you take the stand,
all your priors
can come into evidence,
so for now, I don't plan
to put you in the witness chair.
- Thank you for seeing me.
I thought
if we all got in a room,
I think we can all agree
there's been
a certain level
of frustration at work here.
- Why are you frustrated,
Mr. Hunter?
You got an acquittal
for your client.
- Yes.
If you proceed to try Gary
for felony murder,
that would obviously
be pretty disturbing for Gordon,
and who knows, he might even
get up there
and testify that he shot
his wife of his own accord.
No provocation from Gary.
- In which case, I'd go after
after him for perjury.
- This really is not
about threats.
I came in here to make an offer.
Certainly, if Gordon
did give that testimony,
implicating himself in a crime
for which he's already
been acquitted, then,
double jeopardy would mean...
- Get out.
- Here is the offer.
Gordon will accept a year
on a perjury charge.
I'm sure
Ms. Frutt can convince Gary
to accept a one-year sentence
also on perjury.
That means
no one walks off free,
and the public and you can feel
some sense of vindication.
- How dare you come in here
and even suggest that?
- Helen...
- And you--
- Look, I didn't know
what he was gonna say.
He's the guy you want.
A year is better than nothing.
- Your guy's getting life,
Ellenor.
Life!
As for you,
I'll figure something out.
- You're not gonna figure
anything--
- Get out, Mr. Hunter!
- What?
I am making an offer
that's pretty--
- I said get out!
- Can I talk to you outside
of this case for a second?
- No.
- You could destroy yourself
with this.
Don't let that happen--
- Ellenor, please leave.
- There was some kind of panic.
- By panic, you mean...
- Dr. Leach came rushing in.
It was about 20 minutes
after the call
that Mrs. Minor was dead.
He huddled up with
Dr. Morganson, Chief of Staff.
- Did you hear
what was being said?
- Objection, hearsay.
- Excited utterance.
- I'll allow it.
- What did you hear,
Mrs. Henderson?
- Well, Dr. Morganson
was already upset
over another patient who died.
It's not like him to become
animated, but he was here.
He was demanding lists
of surgical teams,
and he wanted an M
and M conference
that very night.
- What's an M and M conference?
- It's a mortality
and morbidity conference.
Doctors convene secretly
to discuss the cause
of death of patients.
Often for unexplained deaths.
- Do you know the results
of this meeting?
- No, the contents are secret.
Nobody but the doctors
ever finds out
what goes on in there.
- Thank you.
- Gee, you make it sound
like a big conspiracy.
M and M conferences
are routinely held at hospitals,
aren't they, Nurse Henderson?
- Yes, but this was--
- Thank you.
And one of the reasons
that they have these meetings,
among others,
is so that doctors can freely
swap information to learn;
isn't that correct?
- Yes.
- They have these meetings
whether things go wrong or not.
- They seemed to have this one
in a hurry.
- Well, is it possible Dr. Leach
was upset about the death,
and he wanted
to find out quickly
if something went wrong?
Is that possible?
- Yes.
- And here you are,
presenting a doctor's concern
about his patients
as something incriminating?
- Doctors have two kinds
of expressions.
One is concern for the patients.
The other is concern
over liability.
This seemed to be the latter.
- So you've based today's
testimony
on your ability
to read an expression.
- I was there, Mr. Walton.
Something was wrong.
- But you weren't
in that operating room,
were you, Mrs. Henderson?
- No, I wasn't.
- Thank you.
- We had driven into the middle
of a gang shootout.
We pursued several suspects
on foot
into an apartment complex.
We entered into a lobby area,
and we became immediately
under fire.
- Did you see
who was firing at you?
- That man.
- Mr. Little, settle down!
- Judge, this man is lying!
- Your attorney will have
opportunity to cross-examine.
You will remain quiet.
- What happened next, Officer?
- We returned fire,
at which point
he dropped his gun and began
to run for the stairwell.
We entered the stairwell.
We encountered him coming down.
We told him to freeze.
He took off up the stairs.
We pursued him and caught him
and placed him under arrest.
- I never had a gun!
- Mr. Little--
- I never had a gun!
I wasn't even
on that balcony--
I was just going
down the stairs!
- Bailiff, take him out!
Now!
- Hold on.
- Take him out!
People like you need
to respect this room!
This isn't the street in here!
You don't get away with that!
Ms. Washington,
I'll see you in chambers.
Mr. Thompson, you too.
You've got yourself a problem,
young lady.
- Yes, Your Honor,
and for the record,
I don't think
you handled that too deftly.
- What should I have done?
Asked him about his childhood?
His mother?
Hm?
Hm?
Okay, here's your problem.
In addition
to his general scum-hood,
his yelling in court,
in my mind,
is the equivalent of testimony.
The D.A. is now free
to cross-examine him.
- Just hold on a second.
- He yelled
that he was not on the balcony,
and that the officer was lying.
That's testimony, mm-hm.
- But he wasn't under oath!
- The jury heard him!
- If you force him
to take the stand,
all his priors can be admitted.
- Well, isn't that tragic?
- Your Honor.
At this point,
I don't want
to cross-examine him.
Now, this case
is pretty straight for us.
The last thing
I want to do
is give them grounds for appeal.
And you forcing
him to take the stand?
- Well, that's your call.
But for the rest
of the trial,
his hands are cuffed
to the chair,
and his mouth is taped.
- Your Honor,
that would be so prejudicial!
- It's not up for debate!
- When I learned
that she had died,
I, of course, was devastated.
In addition to being my patient,
Mrs. Minor
was an extraordinary person.
We were all quite fond of her.
- Dr. Leach, what happened?
- I don't know.
We'd been through the procedure
over and over and over.
Everything went
according to plan.
Nothing indicated...
- You've heard the suggestion
that Mrs. Minor may have
picked up the infection
during this procedure.
- The room was sterile,
Mr. Walton.
Whatever happened to Mrs. Minor,
it didn't happen in that room.
- Well, could she have gotten
the infection elsewhere?
- I don't know what happened
after she left the hospital,
what happened at her home.
My dialogue with Mr. Minor
stopped at that point, so...
All I can tell you,
whatever caused her to die,
it didn't happen in that room.
Sometimes people die,
Mr. Minor.
And sometimes there's
no explanation as to why.
- People don't just die.
- Mr. Minor.
- They don't just die.
- Mr. Minor!
Doctor, please
don't address the plaintiff.
- This judge isn't gonna go
for any of that stuff.
You have to stay quiet.
We're lucky the D.A. didn't
take him up on his offer
and put you
in the chair to be crossed.
Can you at least look at me?
If your prior felonies
come out, you can forget it.
You got two assaults,
one with a deadly weapon.
That's all the jury
needs to hear.
Now...
I'd like to take a shot
with a plea.
If we can get eight years,
I think we should take it.
- You're still deaf.
- Byron, I'm not saying you did
it, but with the evidence--
- I didn't do it, bitch!
You stupid bitch!
You're just like the rest
of them!
But I bet you hear me now, huh?
I bet you hear me now!
Come here!
Come here!
Get off of me!
Get off of me!
Get off!
Get off of me!
[screaming]
- Hey.
- Don't start.
- I'm gonna start.
- Lindsay...
- Just listen first, okay?
Then I'll shut up.
You don't believe
that kid had anything
to do with the murder.
You're punishing him
because he screwed up
the prosecution of the father,
and in part,
you're punishing Ellenor
for not convincing him
to stick to the truth.
You're coming from anger.
- Don't tell me this.
- I will tell you.
Because I saw it.
I know what happened to you
when you lost that nun killer.
And I could see
what was happening
when this case
started to go south,
and I see you now.
And I know
how this thing will play out.
If you try him on felony murder,
he's gonna stand up
and tell the real truth,
which will be consistent
with his statement to the cops,
and his testimony at the prelim.
You will never
get past reasonable doubt,
and you'll be stuck
going after him
for perjury six months from now.
Drop the felony murder.
Let him cop to the perjury now.
Then go to the gym
and hit the heavy bag.
It's the only thing
you can really do.
Helen?
- I don't know
if I can do this anymore.
- Do what?
- This job.
- Helen...
This is just a couple
of fluke cases.
Are you okay?
- I'm fine.
I'm fine.
- Why did you schedule
an M and M conference
the very night Mrs. Minor died?
- Because, as I explained,
her death upset me.
I wanted to make sure
we didn't cause it.
- Did you?
- No.
- That was the conclusion
reached in the M
and M conference?
- Objection.
Those meetings are sealed.
Counsel is trying
to get the witness
to waive the privilege of a--
- If it's no, it's no.
- I object to the trick.
He knows
the meetings are secret.
He's trying
to exploit the secrecy
to make us look
like we're hiding something.
- What, are you a fortune
teller now?
- All right.
Sustained.
Mr. Donnell, continue.
- You wanted the meeting
that night
because you were urgent
to find out what happened.
- Yes.
- Did you recommend to Mr. Minor
that you do an autopsy?
- He didn't seem to want that.
- My question is,
did you recommend it?
- I don't think I did.
- In fact, didn't you say
to Mr. Minor and his daughter
"We can do an autopsy
if you want,
but it won't bring her back."
Weren't those your very words?
- I don't remember,
but it's possible I said that.
- Sounds almost like you were
discouraging an autopsy.
- The blood work
revealed she died
of a bacterial infection.
- But you didn't know
that at the time
you discouraged the autopsy.
- I didn't discourage it.
I just didn't push for it.
- You didn't push for it.
That doesn't go
with this urgency
to find out what happened.
Was the urgency
to conceal what happened?
- No, that isn't what happened.
- Why was Dr. Morganson
so upset?
Did he know Mrs. Minor?
- He was upset because
another patient had died.
And this news on top of that--
- He knew something went wrong,
didn't he?
- Objection!
- Patients don't just
die from cheek implants,
do they, Dr. Leach?
- Objection!
- Something went wrong.
- Mr. Donnell.
- You say you want
to know what happened,
but you don't urge an autopsy.
There's a late night
secret meeting--
- This is exactly
what I'm talking about!
- Mr. Donnell, that's enough.
- Is it your testimony
that you have no idea
how she got
this fatal infection?
- That's my testimony.
- He pleads to perjury.
We go right to sentencing today.
- I'd want to be heard.
- You can be heard, but--
- And why rush it?
We might as well--
- Well, do it now,
or there's no deal.
It's just,
I want this to be over.
And you should want it
to be over too.
Because the longer
I live with it, the angrier I...
There's an offer before you.
Take it or not.
- And what would I get?
For perjury?
- It's discretionary,
but I think
I can make a pretty
decent argument to the judge.
- And we have to decide today?
- There is really
no decision, Gary.
If we don't plead
to the perjury,
then the felony murder charge
doesn't get dropped,
and we can't risk that.
They've got you dead
to right on perjury anyway,
so there's no real reason
not to jump at this.
- And why do the sentencing
today?
- The D.A.
wants to put this behind her,
and so do you.
Now, there's a chance
we can get you out of here,
so let's just do it.
- Okay.
- I fired several shots,
at which point
he dropped the gun,
and ran into the stairway.
- The defendant.
- Yes.
We then entered the stairway
on the lobby floor,
met him coming down.
He started going back up,
but we caught him.
- You say he started shooting
at you as soon
as you entered the lobby.
- That's correct.
- And you immediately returned
fire.
- Yes.
- At which point, he dropped the
gun and ran into the stairwell.
- Yes.
- Any prints on the gun?
- None that were usable.
- The look you got
of him on the balcony,
that was three, four seconds?
- I suppose that's about right.
- With a gun barrel
pointed in your direction.
- Yes.
- And the stairway
was behind him;
is that not right?
- Yes.
- So he turned and ran
with his back toward you.
- I suppose.
- You suppose?
Did he backpedal,
or did he turn and run?
- He turned and ran.
- And how were the lights
up there on the balcony?
- We got a good look at him.
- It was dark, wasn't it?
- We saw his face.
- You say "we" like you're
speaking for Officer Gibson.
Did you two go
over your testimony?
- Objection.
- Sustained.
- You said
in your statement there
may have been others
on the balcony,
but it was too dark to tell.
Was that your statement?
- Yes.
But we got a good look at him.
[muffled yelling]
- If you don't settle down,
Mr. Little, I'll remove you.
Don't think I won't have
you hauled right out of here.
- Mr. Stanton.
I'm Bobby Donnell.
I called.
Our information shows
that your daughter
died on the same day.
There's been testimony
that the chief of staff
was very upset about it.
I'm not entitled
to see her medical records
without your permission.
- And what does Carol's death
have to do with your case?
- Well, maybe nothing,
but that's what I'd
like to find out.
- I'd like you to please leave,
sir.
- Mr. Stanton,
a woman died here, I just--
- A woman died?
That's why you're here,
you're concerned
about a woman's death?
My daughter died, Mr. Donnell.
We're finally at a point
where our lives have resumed,
and you happily come along
to dig it all up,
because of your deep concern
over some--
- Darrell--
- No, he's here about money.
You think twice about whether
we want this kind of visit?
Our daughter was 19.
- I'm just trying
to represent some people
with a claim
against the hospital.
- Darrell!
I'm so sorry.
Carol's death was devastating.
She was our only child, and...
The idea
of reliving her death...
He always...
It was just so...
- How did she die?
- She went in for minor surgery
and got some post-op infection.
- I want to find out
how many people
died in that hospital
a week before
and a week after.
Get the names--
Just listen, Lucy.
Get the names,
and have Jimmy, Lindsay,
and Eugene contact the families
and find out how they died.
And this has to be done now.
- Rebecca.
We may have a little bump here.
- What do you mean "bump?"
- There was an internal
police investigation
regarding the shooting.
I just found out about it,
I promise you.
Here's the report.
- The shooting
surrounding this arrest?
- Yes.
Officer Helms evidently once
claimed he wounded the suspect
on the balcony.
Now, he's since backed off it,
but blood was found
on the balcony.
The sample was lost.
- Excuse me, "lost"?
- I don't know what to say.
If you want to move
for a mistrial, I won't oppose.
- We're not having any mistrial.
- What?
- We're late into it, I don't--
- If the man
on the balcony was wounded,
then that clears Byron Little.
- The officer said he was wrong
about wounding him.
- Oh, come on.
- You expect me to throw out
an entire trial, because--
- First of all, the State
has a duty
to turn over
all exculpatory evidence.
I'm just getting
this report now.
- He just got it.
- Second, this is material.
This completely affects
how I would've
cross-examined Officer Helms.
- You can recall him.
- And they say
they lost the blood sample.
I need time to investigate.
- Look, Counsel,
they caught your man
running down the stairway.
- But he's been saying he wasn't
the man on the balcony,
and that blood may prove it.
- How?
The officer claims he did not
wound the suspect.
That means the blood
is irrelevant.
I'm not throwing out this trial.
- You can't be serious.
- Look, young lady.
You may be used
to having your clients
freed on stunts
and technicalities,
but not in my court.
- They withheld
material evidence.
- The trial goes on.
You can recall the officer
and recross him.
That's all.
- Did he lie under oath?
Yes.
Are there
mitigating circumstances?
Of course there are.
His mother was murdered.
He was turned into the star
witness against his father,
a father who he had
an estranged relationship with.
A father,
as you can see
by the psychiatric reports,
Gary lived for his approval
and rarely got it.
Here he is,
a kid with a drug history,
emotionally unstable,
being asked
to put his dad
away for life.
He couldn't do it.
He couldn't do it.
The law insulates us from having
to testify against a spouse.
Well, a son's connection
with a father
can be just as powerful.
Gary Armbrust isn't a bad kid,
Your Honor.
We all know that.
He just couldn't go through
with sending his dad to prison.
- Yes.
The law does protect spouses
from giving testimony
against each other.
But there's no such immunity
when it comes to father and son,
and they don't get
to just make up a law
because in their minds the love
is just as powerful.
What's at stake here is
the integrity of this process.
He committed perjury.
He lied under oath,
and if we tolerate it,
we have to consider
the worst-case scenario.
The day may come
where witnesses lie to help
free premeditated murderers.
This case--
this case is the worst-case
scenario.
A murderer is walking free
because the defendant
committed perjury.
Your Honor, you and I--
you and I walk
into this courtroom
every day without clients.
In essence,
we work for the room.
What he did to this room,
and technicalities
and fourth amendments,
he killed her
and stuffed her in a closet.
He killed a nun, he--
- Helen?
- I'm sorry.
He...
He lied.
We work for the room,
Your Honor.
We work for the room.
- I did say once
that I thought I wounded him,
but I was wrong.
- And what suddenly
convinced you you were wrong?
- When we caught him,
he wasn't wounded,
so I obviously was wrong.
- Or maybe the man you shot at,
the man shooting at you,
was not the same man
you chased in the stairwell.
- No, it was him.
I saw his face.
- Hm. And what about the blood
that was found?
- That was old, dried blood.
- In this report--
- I first thought it was fresh,
'cause in my excitement,
I thought I wounded him,
but it was old dried blood
that had been there.
- And did you test this blood
to determine--
- Objection; relevance.
- Sustained.
- Your Honor, he testified there
were others in the balcony--
- The jury will disregard
any mention of blood--
It has no relevance whatsoever.
Counsel, step up!
- Those blood samples
could exonerate my client.
He can't know
it's old blood,
and the fact that those samples
were somehow lost--
- There will be no mention
of blood.
It's not relevant.
And if you mention the police
losing it,
you buy yourself a jail cell.
- I am just trying--
- This trial will not be
prevented
by sleazy defense lawyering.
I've had about enough
of you already, damn it.
- You need to take
some time off.
- Yeah.
I'm not losing my mind,
Lindsay, I...
- You just mixed up defendants.
You called the perjurer
a nun-killer, Helen.
I'm worried about you.
You've had this look
in your eye lately,
and your voice, and...
Will they give you
some time off?
- I think so.
It's just not fair anymore.
- What's not fair?
Tell me what's not fair.
- My sister has a radio.
- Your sister has a radio?
- She has a nice job
at an insurance company.
She gets to sit at a desk,
and she plays her radio.
She can hear music
during the day.
Just once, I'd like to turn up
the radio in that room.
And sing the bad days away.
Sing away.
- If I have to take you
on vacation myself, I will.
You definitely
need some time off.
- Four patients in three days?
All routine surgeries, all dead
from streptococcus sepsis.
Your hospital had a bacteria.
- Four cases
does not constitute an outbreak.
- All the same strain?
In three days,
and you don't tell him?
He asked what happened,
you just leave that out?
- The other patients
have privacy rights.
I just can't reveal
their case history.
- Is that what you're gonna say
when I recall you?
$7 million today,
or I notify the health marshal.
- That kind of threat could get
you a trip to the overseers.
- I'll risk it!
I'm tempted
to call the district attorney.
This borders
on corporate murder.
You had a lethal strain
of bacteria killing patients,
and you sat on it?
The health marshal might close
your doors to investigate.
At 300,000 a day, that'll run
you 2 to 3 million,
and that's just in actuals.
The long-term
damage could be worse.
That's probably why you
concealed
the outbreak
in the first place.
You were afraid the health
marshal would move in.
You'll pay the seven today,
and be grateful,
and I don't care
how you split your policies.
- You still
haven't established negligence
as to her cause
of death, and I--
- I can establish a cover-up,
and that's all I'll need,
and we all know it.
- I ask you what happened,
and you look me in the eye
and say, "I don't know"?
You look me right in the eye.
- Because of him, Arnold.
We get sued for everything
because of lawyers like him.
Every patient
that comes through the door,
we have to look at
as a potential plaintiff.
There was nothing I could say
after that could bring her back.
- So why even volunteer
the truth?
- Yeah, sometimes we lie,
Mr. Donnell.
- Milton--
- I'm talking in general.
Lawsuits have driven the truth
underground, Mr. Donnell.
- Well, this one dug it up.
Didn't it?
- I'll have to discuss
all of this with the board
before I get back to you.
- You're authorized to settle.
- Not at that amount.
- Well, then go talk to them.
- I thought he was a good man.
- He probably is.
That's what's so sad about it.
- How did it happen
that we can't trust the police?
I mean, this is an institution
that's supposed to protect us.
I don't doubt these officers
think Byron Little is the guy.
They tackled him
in the stairwell
after they saw the man
on the balcony run
into the stairwell.
It's completely reasonable
to believe it must be
the same guy.
Hey, I did.
I mean, one look at him.
He looks like your typical
urban criminal.
He acts violent,
and we all know
our honorable Your Honor
thinks he's the guy too.
But mistakes and cover-ups,
those are
two very different things.
One
of the officers
said he wounded the suspect.
Blood was even found
on the balcony,
though it's been
deemed irrelevant
for the sake of this trial,
but when they examined
Mr. Little back
at the police station,
they found no wound.
And suddenly,
the officer amends his account
and says he must have missed.
And they march into this court
and positively identify him
as the shooter.
They see him 30 feet above,
on a darkened balcony,
for three seconds tops,
all the while being shot at,
and yet, they're positive.
Not "It looked like him," not
"It was probably him."
"Definitely him."
How can that be?
And why start hiding
internal reports
from the defense lawyers?
Why forget to mention the blood?
Why come in
with all this absolute,
positive eyewitness accounts?
Why forget to tell us,
"Oh, yeah,
"one of our officers
who was so positive,
wasn't so positive
before he changed his mind"?
Why not just be upfront
with what you got?
Why?
Because without all
that absolute positive stuff,
they lose him.
They lose the guy
they think did it.
And let's be fair.
They lose so many.
And I know it turns stomachs.
It's turned our honorable
Your Honor's stomach so,
he thinks nothing now of taping
criminal defendant mouths
shut, handcuffing them,
making them look guilty.
Hey, it's his court.
He's old;
he's probably had enough,
and he doesn't care.
But the thing about juries,
it tends to be their one
and only time
serving this process,
so they tend
to take it seriously.
And not just rush through it
with a bunch of assumptions.
And therein lies
Byron Little's only hope.
It's not with the police.
It's not with our honorable
Your Honor.
It's with you.
You have two choices here.
You can hold up
the oath
you took at the beginning
of all this...
or not.
Maybe guys like this...
We're not supposed to care.
- Two eyewitnesses
saw him shoot the gun.
Saw him run into the stairwell.
They pursued him
into the stairwell
and caught him.
Sometimes we just want things
to be all juicy
and complicated
when they're not.
- I am mindful
of how difficult it must be
to be faced with testifying
against one's own father.
Especially
when that testimony
could result
in life imprisonment.
But I am also mindful
of the Court's need
to assure the integrity of
this criminal justice process.
Perjury is to be taken very,
very seriously.
I know you know this.
I know you were apprised
of the risks.
Nevertheless,
you chose to assume those risks.
In fact, given these warnings,
your commission of perjury
was particularly knowing.
I sentence you to 20 years
at Cedar Junction,
a sentence to begin immediately.
Bailiff, we're adjourned.
- We'll appeal.
- Ellenor...
- Gary,
I want you to hang in there.
We're going to appeal.
We're going to appeal.
- How'd it go?
- Not good.
- Tell me.
- He's just a kid.
He got afraid
at the last second, and he--
He didn't want to hurt his dad.
- What'd he get?
- Maximum.
20 years.
God, Eugene, what have I done?
- Hey.
This isn't on you, Ellenor.
- If I would have come down
on him harder,
if I would have just
anticipated a felony murder--
- This isn't
on you.
- He's going away for 20 years.
- Will the defendant
please rise.
Has the jury
reached a unanimous verdict?
- We have.
- What say you?
- On the matter
of the Commonwealth versus
Byron Little,
on the charge
of attempted murder,
we find the defendant
not guilty.
- Unlock him.
Let him go.
Jury's free.
We're adjourned.
- You're welcome.