The Practice (1997–2004): Season 3, Episode 4 - The Defenders - full transcript
Anderson Pearson's murder trial finally begins, with Lindsay and Bobby at the helm. As the evidence mount against George Vogleman in the murder of Susan Robin, Eugene tries to find other possible suspects.
LINDSAY:
Previously on "The Practice"...
- This is an emergency.
I need to talk to someone.
- George?
- My bag, open it.
- [screams]
- What?
- There's a head in the bag.
- It's the woman I met
at the bar last night.
- What are you doing
with her head?
- I don't know.
Somebody put it in there.
MAN: George Vogelman,
you are under arrest
for the murder of Susan Robin.
- Anderson Pearson,
my stuffed shirt professor?
He just shot somebody dead.
- I'd like to go self-defense.
- The man was unarmed.
- And talking to your wife,
you two felt like
this man might end up
hurting you one day.
- But we weren't at that point
when your client shot him.
- I think that's a question
of fact left for the jury.
- The jury is not going
to get that question, Bobby.
- You can't limit our defense
to what you--
- You don't want to be
arguing self-defense.
- Do you think you were acting
in self-defense,
or do you think
you involuntarily
just started squeezing?
- I don't remember
pulling the trigger.
- Good.
- We need an expert
to take the stand
and basically testify
that between the light trigger
and the automatic recoil,
it is possible
for a man
to just sort of squeeze
and have
the entire magazine empty.
- What's the fee?
- The victim was being treated.
- Shrink?
- Dr. Walter Matthews
diagnosed him
as a schizophrenic.
This is good.
- We need to meet with him.
- Things I learn in therapy,
they're privileged.
- This case involves
a murder, Doctor.
LINDSAY: Too personal?
BOBBY: I don't think so.
- It certainly isn't
relevant to how--
- You'll get slack.
The last thing the DA wants
is to get up and object
to an opening statement,
but here
starting on page three,
you got to tone this down.
- That's sort of
our story, Bobby.
- The problem is,
if you tell it,
you steal the thunder
of Pearson's testimony.
That's where this thing
is won or lost,
with him on the stand.
Don't go near the dead cat.
- Really?
- They got to
hear that from him.
- Do you think he's guilty?
- I think under that
set of circumstances,
a lot of people would have
pulled the trigger.
- Yeah, out of revenge,
maybe,
but we can't go with revenge.
Our case is accident.
God.
- Our case is getting the jury
to want to let him go.
If we can do that,
they'll find accident.
- Then Judge Hiller
will give them
the instruction of a lifetime.
- 12 people on a jury.
All we need is one.
Are you okay?
- For all my problems
with him,
I mean,
He's like my father.
You know, in fact,
he believed in me
more than...
- Are you too close to this?
- No.
- Because that
opening statement--
- I'm fine.
I'm ready.
[upbeat funky music]
♪ ♪
- I just hope we haven't
pushed this too fast.
- The fresher your testimony,
the better.
I don't want you up there
with just a cold memory.
The more you still feel it,
the more they will.
- I will never
not feel that moment, Bobby.
- Lindsay will open.
They'll probably
put on the detective,
the coroner,
somebody from forensics,
and that could be it.
You could be taking the stand
by Thursday.
Whether we put you on
depends on how he does.
I want to rest on our best note.
You ready?
- Mm-hm.
- Are you?
- We're ready.
[dramatic music]
♪ ♪
- Helen.
How we doing?
- Well, nothing in his house
connecting him to the crime.
That's the good news.
- What's the bad?
- Well,
your buddy George
has a little home
video library, Ellenor.
None of them
directed by Ron Howard.
- Oh, God,
don't tell me.
- Some weird stuff.
- What, you saw it?
- Well, some of the detectives.
It doesn't really
mean anything that--
- Helen, you got to know
the guy was framed.
Come on.
If you're gonna kill somebody,
you don't then walk around
with the head.
- It's not my case.
- You know,
I didn't hear an undertone of,
"This will probably go away."
- Right now,
there are no other suspects.
They think they've got
the right guy.
- What the hell is going on?
I'm being railroaded.
- Look, let's just focus
on the good news.
They found nothing
at your house con--
- You said that
after they investigated,
I'd probably be set free.
You said that if they didn't
find anything else,
they would release me.
- I said may--
- Well, they didn't find
anything else,
and now you're here telling me
the district attorney's office
thinks I did it!
- Don't yell at me, George.
- I will yell, Ellenor.
What the hell is going on?
- You have to under--
- This is insane!
- All right, George.
Let me tell you
how this is gonna work.
You don't shout at me ever.
Aside from the fact
that I don't like it,
we don't need some guard here
taking the stand,
saying he heard you
banging tables and screaming
like a man who could
decapitate somebody.
Now, the police
aren't nuts to hold you.
They haven't found
one piece of evidence
connecting anybody else
to this crime.
You had the victim's head.
Now, add to that
your porno collection.
That makes you seem
a little strange.
And add to that the fact
you don't have an alibi.
- I was home!
- Yes.
And that's the only thing
I have to tell to a jury,
that while Susan Robin
was being murdered,
you were home alone
watching your own private
Discovery Channel.
Let's just get over the idea
that they're gonna free you
any second now.
It isn't gonna happen.
We're in this
for the long haul, George.
♪ ♪
- This just can't be
happening to me.
♪ ♪
- Let me begin by saying
thank you for your service.
Criminal cases aren't fun,
especially when they involve
the taking of human life.
And homicide trials
tend to be long.
You will be relieved to learn,
however,
that here,
it will be short.
It is uncontroverted,
which means that you can
accept it as fact,
right now.
The defendant
shot an unarmed man
at point-blank five times,
killing him.
Now, defense counsel,
I suspect,
might try to put the victim
on trial here,
tell you he was a bad guy.
Perhaps he was.
But he's not on trial.
He is.
The victim didn't have a gun.
He did.
The victim didn't kill anybody.
He did.
Now, it's possible
the defense
might endeavor to convince you
their client's a good man.
Perhaps he is,
though in my experience,
good men don't execute people.
All I will ask:
do not let yourselves be drawn
into good guy,
bad guy arguments.
This isn't about who he is
or what he is.
This is about what he did.
What he did
was to shoot a man
three times in the chest
and then twice in the head.
What he did
was commit a horrific murder.
- The evidence
will show the victim,
Raymond Breyer,
terrorized my client
and my client's family.
His wife, Meredith,
sitting there,
their two children,
who visited
almost every weekend.
The evidence will show
that after being stalked,
threatened with violence,
and vandalized,
Professor Pearson
purchased a gun
to protect his family.
The evidence will show
that Professor Pearson
picked up that gun, in fact,
to protect himself
when Mr. Breyer
showed up at his doorstep
in a paranoid,
schizophrenic state,
to protect himself
from a deranged person
with a past history of violence.
When you listen to all
of the evidence carefully,
you will see that Mr. Breyer
posed a life threat
to Mr. Pearson and his family.
Now, I'm not surprised
the prosecution
wants you to take the question
of who's the good guy
out of the equation,
because the evidence will show
Anderson Pearson to be...
I suppose I should admit a bias.
He was my law professor,
and I,
like many of my classmates,
walked out of law school
aspiring
to be him.
He's a very good man.
The thing about law school,
we all go in dreaming
of someday arguing the big case.
And the biggest cases,
it's usually a murder trial
where your client
is not only innocent,
but heroic, even,
and he's somebody
you care deeply about,
somebody you desperately
want to save,
not just from prison,
but from injustice.
This is my big case.
LUCY: Donnell, Young, and Frutt.
LINDSAY: And Dole.
- And Dole.
Hi, Lindsay.
- Eugene, they're not even
looking for anybody else.
- They usually don't,
Ellenor,
when they think they got a guy.
To them,
this case is solved,
which means
we got to investigate,
and we start
by making two lists.
One: who would want
to frame George Vogelman?
Two: who would want
Susan Robin dead?
It's possible George
just represented
somebody's chance
to get away with murder,
and this whole thing
is more about that.
- Just got a little
inside tip from Lindsay.
Helen told her.
George and the victim
did not leave the bar together.
- Did he make
any statement to the effect
that he thought
the victim was armed?
- No, he didn't.
- And detective,
was there any evidence
of a struggle?
- No, sir.
- Any evidence that suggested
that the victim
could have been
moving toward the defendant?
- No.
We concluded the victim
was standing flat-footed,
about 40 inches
away from the defendant
at the time of shooting.
- How could you tell that?
- The powder burns
on the victim,
footprints,
the defendant's statement.
He said so himself.
- In fact, Mr. Pearson
was very forthcoming, wasn't he?
- Yes.
- And it was Mr. Pearson's wife
that called the police.
- That's correct.
- Did the Pearsons ever
ask the police to do something,
to protect them from Mr. Breyer?
- They did.
- And how did you respond?
- We advised them
to seek a restraining order.
- And to your knowledge,
they got a restraining order,
didn't they?
- Yes, they did.
- And yet,
here was Mr. Breyer again,
coming to their house.
- That seems to be the case.
- And this Mr. Breyer,
he had a police record, correct?
- That's correct.
- Three assault convictions,
one battery with a tire iron.
Did you also have knowledge that
he was a paranoid schizophrenic?
- I have knowledge of it today,
yes, I do.
- If he were harassing you,
Detective,
and he rang your doorbell
one night,
would you answer the door
without your gun?
- Probably not.
- Thank you.
- Would you shoot him
five times?
- No, I wouldn't.
JUDGE HILLER: The witness
may step down.
Mr. Bullock?
- The Commonwealth rests,
Your Honor.
♪ ♪
- Maybe it's good.
- It's not good!
You don't just put up
one witness in a murder trial.
- So what are they up to?
- My bet is they're saving
their case for rebuttal,
hoping to get you in a lie.
- But he's admitted everything.
What's to impeach?
- Is there anything?
- No.
- Well, if you make a single
mistake of fact up there,
they'll put up
the coroner or whoever
to paint it as a lie.
That's what this is about.
Smart.
- Except if we don't put him on,
those experts
can't testify at all now.
- They satisfied their burden.
He has to go up.
Go over the autopsy reports
with him.
I got to get a hold
of Dr. Matthews
and our weapons guy.
They could be taking
the stand by tomorrow.
I'll see you after lunch.
- This isn't that perverted.
I mean,
at least it's film.
Some of the stuff
on videotape...
- That last scene had
some sadomasochism going on.
- You have to
suppress this, Ellenor.
- Well, you can get this
late at night on Showtime,
I mean, what's the--
oh, not that, you can't.
- If this gets
admitted into evidence,
George is gonna
look like a sicko--
- Let's mark up
a motion to suppress.
Jimmy, I could use
that research you did on Davis.
- All right,
I can pull it right up.
You know, I think two women
together can be sensual.
- Well great.
We'll call you up
as a character witness.
- He would call.
He would drive by the house.
He was terrifying us.
- You said he would call.
Did you talk to him?
- Well,
at first we answered,
but then we knew better
than to pick up,
so he began leaving messages.
- What kind of messages?
- Most of them
were along the lines of,
"You think you're better
than I am because you're rich,
but money can't buy
your health, you know."
He did say that all the time.
- And when you got
the restraining order?
- Well, it stopped
for a few weeks.
Then--well,
one morning I went out,
and I saw the garage
had been broken into,
my car had been scraped,
a window had been smashed.
- Mr. Breyer did it?
- Yeah, we can only assume.
A few days later,
we were watching television
at night.
I got up to go to the kitchen,
and there he was at the window.
- So what did you do?
- I called the police.
They said they'd arrest him.
- Did they?
- No.
On the next night,
I had just gotten home.
It was barely dark,
and suddenly Meredith yelled,
"He's back!"
I looked out,
and there he was
coming up the walkway.
BOBBY: So what did you do?
ANDERSON: I went and got my gun.
BOBBY: You keep a gun.
ANDERSON: Well, I bought it
because of this man.
- And when you went
to get your gun,
was if your intent to use it?
- My intent was
to let him know I was armed,
and I would use it
to protect myself or my family.
- So what happened?
- I opened the door, and he...
He held up my cat.
It was dead.
It looked as if
it had been strangled.
- And then what happened?
ANDERSON: He dropped it
at my feet,
said, "Something seems to be
wrong with your cat."
The next thing I remember,
I was raising my gun,
pointing it at him.
I threatened him.
I told him if he ever
tried to hurt us--
- And how did he respond?
- Well, he--he--he mocked me.
How could he hurt us?
He was just a mouse.
And then--then he said
"Maybe it was a mouse
that got your cat."
And--and I could see it
in his eyes.
BOBBY: See what?
- He was going to hurt us.
- Then what?
- The next thing I remember,
the gun was going off,
and he was falling backwards.
Meredith was screaming,
and he was lying there bleeding.
- You shot him.
- Yes.
- Professor Pearson,
did you willfully
shoot this man?
- I don't know.
- You don't know.
- But I felt myself
getting angry,
and I looked at the cat,
and my hand,
it just clenched,
and I was squeezing the gun,
and bullets were coming out.
It was not something
I decided to do.
It just--it just happened.
♪ ♪
- Give me one reason
I should speak to you.
- The reason is,
I don't think
George Vogelman
killed your daughter.
- You're being paid
to think that.
- I get paid to represent him.
What I think isn't up for sale.
- Well, the police
seem pretty sure.
- Look, given the circumstances,
it's pretty easy to be convinced
that Mr. Vogelman is involved.
I'm here making room
for the possibility
that the real killer
is still out there.
That's why I've come to talk.
The people I've spoken with,
they say that it's not
normal behavior
for Susan to go
to some bar alone.
- It isn't.
- Well, could she have been
upset about something?
Mr. Vogelman said that when he
first started speaking with her,
she seemed sad.
Is it possible
that she could have
gone to the bar
to drown out
some kind of sorrow?
- I don't know.
- What about her boyfriend?
Were things good between them?
- I think so.
I know she loved him,
which is another reason
she wouldn't be going
to some motel
with a guy she met in a bar.
- Well, could they have
had a fight?
I mean, was she
depressed about that?
Going to a bar
to see if she could--
- If she was depressed,
I doubt it was
about her boyfriend,
Mr. Young.
I was just diagnosed
with liver cancer.
I don't have much time.
But I still don't think
she would deal with that
by going to a bar.
- That's wrong;
we did leave together.
- Well, they've got
witnesses saying you didn't.
- We didn't walk
out the door together.
I went first, because my car
was parked a ways off.
I went to get it.
I drove back to pick her up.
- Did anybody see her
get in the car with you?
- I don't know.
What, they think
I abducted her now?
- Why did you
go to a motel, George?
You've got your place;
she has hers.
Why a motel?
- What--it seemed more romantic.
I don't know.
My place was a mess.
- Too many videotapes
strewn about?
- You know what, Ellenor?
- I'm just asking
the questions they'll be asking.
- If you have any question
as to my innocence,
get up and walk away.
I'll find somebody else.
She had her head cut off,
for God's sakes.
- I have a motion scheduled
to suppress the videotapes.
We don't want them
coming into evidence.
I have no doubt the prosecution
will try to use them.
♪ ♪
Is there anything else you need?
Anybody I can call for you?
- No.
- You say that your hand
just squeezed,
and bullets started coming out?
- Yes.
- Did you squeeze just once,
or did you squeeze five times?
- I don't remember.
- You don't remember.
- I was probably in shock,
Mr. Bullock.
Enraged.
The man had killed my cat.
I was thinking probably
he'd kill me, maybe my wife.
- Did you think he was
about to kill you or your wife
when you pulled the trigger?
- Well no,
not at that second, but--
- So you do have some memory
of what you were thinking,
and you did pull the trigger?
- I didn't consciously pull it.
It just went off.
- Five times!
- Yes.
- See, this is
what I have a problem with.
The squeeze and release,
the squeeze and release,
the squeeze and release,
the squeeze
and release,
the squeeze and release.
Which, I am told,
is the only way
this weapon could possibly
have gone off five times.
Now, I have here the gun,
though it's not loaded.
Could you take this please?
- Objection!
- Objection!
- He's already
described what happened,
I'd like him to demonstrate.
- I'll allow it.
- Your Honor--
- Come on,
you got to be kidding me.
- I'll allow it!
Sit down, both of you.
- Could you stand up,
Mr. Pearson, and step out?
I would like you to show us
exactly how you were
holding this gun
when it went off five times.
Could you squeeze, please?
It's not loaded.
- Objection!
- Counsel, what else
are you looking for?
- I'd like him to make it
click five times, Your Honor,
see how this possibly
could have happened.
- Please show us, Mr. Pearson.
♪ ♪
- Thank you, Mr. Pearson.
I'll take the gun back, please.
- I'll say he possibly
could have become violent.
I won't go
any further than that.
- Doctor...
- That's as far as I go,
Mr. Donnell.
I am limited to the truth.
Am I not?
- Yes.
- I'll see you
at the courthouse.
- Doctor,
we don't want you
to do anything
but tell the truth,
but you don't know
Anderson Pearson.
There's no other way
to say this.
He needs you desperately.
Where are we on Schramm?
- Same.
He'll say the gun
could have possibly--
with the light trigger
and the slightest squeeze.
- He sunk himself.
- It's not over.
We still need only one juror.
All he had to do was
stick with, "I don't remember."
I guess we should have
coached him a little better.
- Bobby, we did everything
but suborn perjury as it was.
Look, everybody in that room
knows what really happened.
Our job is still the same.
We just need to find one juror
to pretend otherwise.
Like you say,
this isn't over.
- The videotapes would have
no relevance whatsoever,
except a comment
on my client's character,
which is totally inadmissible.
- We'd be offering the tapes
only to show a pattern,
Your Honor.
- A pattern?
- Some of the tapes
involve sexual scenes,
which border on sadomasochism.
We believe we can show
a statistical correlation
between the men
who commit sex crimes--
- This is so ridiculous!
- Can I finish?
- This is a homicide case.
It is not a sex crime.
- We don't know that, Counsel.
- There is no evidence
of rape or forced--
- Nor is there
any conclusive evidence
that the intercourse
didn't occur
after she was headless.
- Your Honor,
as an officer of this court,
I must go on record
with my disgust
with that comment.
- Take exception all you want,
but the fact remains--
- The police have never even
suggested such a scenario.
I doubt they even considered it.
- Maybe they should.
- Under the heading
that depravity, too,
can be in the eye
of the beholder,
I would ask that you
be recused from this case.
- Your Honor--
- I can tell you
George Vogelman
could not be capable
of having such a sick thought.
I would hate for him
to be in the hands
of a judge who could be.
- Look, we're getting
way off track now.
The issue today
is these videotapes.
- I want to see
the specific tapes
we are talking about before--
- You would.
- Ellenor.
- I will see
the tapes in question.
Then I'll make my ruling.
- Defense calls
Dr. Walter Matthews
to the stand.
- Sidebar, Your Honor.
We object to this witness
on grounds of relevance.
- What's your offer of proof?
- Dr. Matthews will testify
that Mr. Breyer
posed a risk of danger
to my client and his family.
- Which might be relevant
if you were
arguing self-defense,
but under the theory
that Mr. Pearson
involuntarily pulled
the trigger,
the victim's state of mind
has no meaning.
- I agree.
- Your Honor.
Panic, fear, anger.
It all factored into my client
clenching on to that gun
to the extent that the victim
posed a risk of bodily harm.
- You're trying to squeeze
in self-defense, Counsel.
- We're not.
- The only thing relevant
is your client's
state of mind.
This witness has
nothing to say to that.
This witness will speak
to the threat
posed by the victim,
which goes to Anderson Pearson's
state of mind.
- It's a nice try.
- You are shutting down
our whole defense.
- I'm shutting down this guy.
He's not relevant.
- I want our objection
noted for the record.
- So noted.
Step back.
- Dr. Matthews,
you're excused.
- Get out of my face, Eugene.
- I'm in your face, Ellenor,
and I will stay
in your face until--
- A guy says something
like that in open court,
I don't care
if he's a judge, or--
- The point is
to win a motion.
You taking on a judge
doesn't help us if--
- We already lost the motion.
- You don't know that!
- What happened?
- She went ballistic on a judge
in open court.
- I did not go ballistic.
- All right.
- He suggested that my client
had sex with a headless corpse.
I'm supposed to just--
- Maybe he did us a favor.
- What?
- Well, now we got an idea
of how people see things.
Ellenor, this was a beautiful
woman with a boyfriend.
You ever ask yourself
what the hell
she's doing with George?
Maybe you just assume
a pretty girl
would go to a motel
with a schlub like him,
but the jury won't.
You keep looking at this
and saying,
"Of course he's innocent,"
but you're the only
one doing that,
and if you don't get
some perspective real fast,
than at least be a good lawyer
and a good friend
and tell George to hire himself
a new attorney,
'cause he didn't have
a good one in court today.
- It's an extremely
light trigger.
This is a sophisticated
and sensitive firearm.
- Now, you heard
Mr. Pearson's testimony,
that his hand clenched
on the trigger,
and five shots fired.
Is that possible, Mr. Schramm?
- If he squeezed
the trigger one time,
it would not be possible
for the weapon
to discharge five times, no.
- Is it your testimony
that it's impossible,
Mr. Schramm?
- The way he described it.
I think what happened was this:
his hand seized up a little,
and it trembled,
causing the fingers to shake,
maybe even twitch a little bit.
If that happened,
it's not only possible
for the gun to go off
again and again.
I would consider it likely.
- Likely.
- Yeah,
you have to understand
this gun has
an automatic recoil.
If his hand is trembling,
pulling at the trigger--
but not pulling too hard--
it will recoil automatically
and fire automatically.
It's extremely plausible.
- Thank you.
- Not only do I reject
that likelihood,
I'm offended
by Mr. Schramm's testimony.
- Why is that, sir?
- Well, as manufacturer
of this particular firearm,
I take exception to the notion
that these weapons just go off
with the tremble of a finger.
It's preposterous.
You have to pull,
semiautomatic or not.
- Of course,
if these guns could go off
with a trembling squeeze,
you might be exposed
to a massive
product liability action.
- Which is one of the reasons
we wouldn't let the gun
be so temperamental.
- And also a reason you'd be
be sitting in court
spouting that it could
never happen.
- I can't say
the morning went well,
but Schramm was much better
than I ever thought.
The trembling fingers.
He could have bought us
reasonable doubt.
- So where are we?
- I would love to be able
to put on a witness
who saw your hand
start to shake.
- If we had that to back up
Schram's testimony--
plus we could end
on an emotional high point.
Otherwise...
I think we're still behind.
- I saw his hand shake.
- Are you sure?
- I'm positive.
- Good.
Then you're up next.
MEREDITH: He was
pointing the gun,
and I could just see
his face going red.
- Did you say anything
to your husband?
- No.
- He's pointing a gun at a man,
his face is going red,
and you didn't say anything?
- Like, "Put the gun down"?
No.
I thank God he had that gun,
otherwise I didn't know
what that man would do to us.
- Mrs. Pearson,
tell us what you saw next.
- Everything seemed
to go in slow motion,
and then Anderson's hand
started to shake.
Not a lot,
but he was trembling.
He was standing there
like a statue,
and then suddenly,
bullets just started coming out.
- Mrs. Pearson,
your husband
is on trial here
for executing a man.
- And I'm telling you
that's not how it happened.
He is the most
gentle man on earth.
His hand...
I would ask you to put yourself
in his position,
but it would be impossible
for you to do so.
- Thank you.
- You love your husband
very much.
- Yes.
- And you don't want to see him
go to prison, do you?
- Of course not.
- When the police asked you
that night what happened,
you didn't tell them anything
about any shaking hand, did you?
- I was in shock that night.
- Ah.
Nothing further.
[dramatic music]
♪ ♪
- George, I want to apologize
for what happened this morning.
I just lost it in there.
When the judge said--
- I know.
Thank you for losing it.
- Okay, George.
It's brutal truth time.
Me first.
The idea that you could do
what happened to that girl,
not only can I not believe it,
but it might be impossible
for me to believe it.
You and I talked on the phone
every night for a month.
We shared some of
our most intimate secrets,
and the idea
that I could have not seen--
- What are you saying?
- I'm admitting that maybe
I had some denial myself.
Obviously,
I don't want to admit
that I could
misjudge somebody so--
it's just possible
that some of my own denial
is what caused me--
- You're not sure
about my innocence.
- I believe
that you're innocent.
I'm just not necessarily sure
that I can trust myself to...
Forget about what I believe.
Forget about what you want me
to believe.
You are in trouble,
and you could go away for it,
and your very best chance
at not going away
is by telling me the truth.
Did you kill the girl?
- No, Ellenor.
But it doesn't really matter,
does it?
If I can't convince you,
What chance do I have
with 12 strangers?
♪ ♪
- We all know
what really happened.
When Mr. Breyer killed that cat,
it was last straw.
Can we understand
why Anderson Pearson
pulled that trigger?
of course.
Who amongst us
wouldn't be tempted?
He'd had enough.
I don't think
the defense counsel
really expects you to believe
that he involuntarily
pulled the trigger.
This all comes down
to a simple bet.
The defense is wagering
that you will say,
"To hell with the law,"
and endorse a vigilante.
We bet,
we hope...
You won't.
- How dare anybody say,
"We all know"?
None of us
can pretend to know
what that moment
must've been like.
When a man who has
stalked you,
a man who has
vandalized your property,
a man who was a diagnosed
violent schizophrenic
shows up at your front door,
says he won't hurt you
because he's just a mouse,
the mouse that just
strangled your cat.
We all know?
Like normal thought patterns
go through your head
at a moment like this?
You heard Meredith Pearson
tell you an hour ago
it would be impossible
to put yourself
into my client's position.
His hands
started to tremble.
His fingers slightly seized.
The gun went off.
You heard Anderson Pearson
tell you that.
Meredith Pearson saw it.
John Schramm,
an expert on this weapon,
showed you
how this kind of tremble,
with the light trigger
and the auto recoil,
could cause this exact result.
We all know.
Like my associate
predicted at the very start,
the prosecution
stayed far away from asking,
"Who's the good good guy here?"
Because that we do know.
Anderson Pearson is no criminal.
That we do know.
The question here is,
are you going to hand him
a life sentence
because we all know?
It's just so easy,
isn't it?
♪ ♪
I think we got a chance
at a reasonable doubt,
but what Bullock said,
it rang pretty true in there.
I'd like to offer manslaughter
right now.
Parole, you'd be out
in three years.
It's crazy for us
to roll with the alternative.
- Prison?
- Three years is better
than 18 to life, Meredith.
Professor.
Professor?
Clock's ticking.
We could come back.
- I'm tempted.
- We both win
with manslaughter, Gavin.
Three years.
He shouldn't do more;
he shouldn't do less.
- I think he should
do more, Bobby.
- Four?
4 1/2?
- I'm gonna reject the offer.
- You really think
they want to put him away?
- Do they want to?
No.
But will they?
I'm staying with murder two.
- You should have
seen his face, Eugene,
when I doubted him.
He just fell
from the inside out.
I might as well have
pronounced him dead.
- You believe he's innocent.
- I know it, Eugene.
I know it.
- Then we fight for him,
Ellenor.
Somebody else did it,
we go to work
on finding out who.
We fight.
- Will you first chair?
I think I'm too close.
- I'll first chair,
and we'll win.
- I'll hear it
the same time you do.
We'll all know in a second.
- Mr. Donnell, are you feeling
confident about an acquittal?
- We have nothing to say.
Please excuse us.
- Are you surprised the jury
came back so quickly?
- They're televising it?
- She let cameras in
for the verdict.
- How long were they out?
- Less than two hours.
What does that mean?
- Acquittal.
- Guilty.
- Bring them in.
Will the defendant please rise?
Madam Foreperson,
the jury has reached
its verdict?
- We have, Your Honor.
- What say you?
- Commonwealth
versus Anderson Pearson,
on the charge of
murder in the second degree.
We find the defendant
Anderson Pearson guilty.
MEREDITH: No!
JUDGE HILLER: The bailiff will
take the defendant into custody.
- Andy...
JUDGE HILLER:
Members of the jury,
we thank you for your service.
- It'll be all right.
Don't worry about me.
- No, no!
This matter is adjourned.
♪ ♪
- We'll appeal.
We'll explore
whatever options...
♪ ♪
Previously on "The Practice"...
- This is an emergency.
I need to talk to someone.
- George?
- My bag, open it.
- [screams]
- What?
- There's a head in the bag.
- It's the woman I met
at the bar last night.
- What are you doing
with her head?
- I don't know.
Somebody put it in there.
MAN: George Vogelman,
you are under arrest
for the murder of Susan Robin.
- Anderson Pearson,
my stuffed shirt professor?
He just shot somebody dead.
- I'd like to go self-defense.
- The man was unarmed.
- And talking to your wife,
you two felt like
this man might end up
hurting you one day.
- But we weren't at that point
when your client shot him.
- I think that's a question
of fact left for the jury.
- The jury is not going
to get that question, Bobby.
- You can't limit our defense
to what you--
- You don't want to be
arguing self-defense.
- Do you think you were acting
in self-defense,
or do you think
you involuntarily
just started squeezing?
- I don't remember
pulling the trigger.
- Good.
- We need an expert
to take the stand
and basically testify
that between the light trigger
and the automatic recoil,
it is possible
for a man
to just sort of squeeze
and have
the entire magazine empty.
- What's the fee?
- The victim was being treated.
- Shrink?
- Dr. Walter Matthews
diagnosed him
as a schizophrenic.
This is good.
- We need to meet with him.
- Things I learn in therapy,
they're privileged.
- This case involves
a murder, Doctor.
LINDSAY: Too personal?
BOBBY: I don't think so.
- It certainly isn't
relevant to how--
- You'll get slack.
The last thing the DA wants
is to get up and object
to an opening statement,
but here
starting on page three,
you got to tone this down.
- That's sort of
our story, Bobby.
- The problem is,
if you tell it,
you steal the thunder
of Pearson's testimony.
That's where this thing
is won or lost,
with him on the stand.
Don't go near the dead cat.
- Really?
- They got to
hear that from him.
- Do you think he's guilty?
- I think under that
set of circumstances,
a lot of people would have
pulled the trigger.
- Yeah, out of revenge,
maybe,
but we can't go with revenge.
Our case is accident.
God.
- Our case is getting the jury
to want to let him go.
If we can do that,
they'll find accident.
- Then Judge Hiller
will give them
the instruction of a lifetime.
- 12 people on a jury.
All we need is one.
Are you okay?
- For all my problems
with him,
I mean,
He's like my father.
You know, in fact,
he believed in me
more than...
- Are you too close to this?
- No.
- Because that
opening statement--
- I'm fine.
I'm ready.
[upbeat funky music]
♪ ♪
- I just hope we haven't
pushed this too fast.
- The fresher your testimony,
the better.
I don't want you up there
with just a cold memory.
The more you still feel it,
the more they will.
- I will never
not feel that moment, Bobby.
- Lindsay will open.
They'll probably
put on the detective,
the coroner,
somebody from forensics,
and that could be it.
You could be taking the stand
by Thursday.
Whether we put you on
depends on how he does.
I want to rest on our best note.
You ready?
- Mm-hm.
- Are you?
- We're ready.
[dramatic music]
♪ ♪
- Helen.
How we doing?
- Well, nothing in his house
connecting him to the crime.
That's the good news.
- What's the bad?
- Well,
your buddy George
has a little home
video library, Ellenor.
None of them
directed by Ron Howard.
- Oh, God,
don't tell me.
- Some weird stuff.
- What, you saw it?
- Well, some of the detectives.
It doesn't really
mean anything that--
- Helen, you got to know
the guy was framed.
Come on.
If you're gonna kill somebody,
you don't then walk around
with the head.
- It's not my case.
- You know,
I didn't hear an undertone of,
"This will probably go away."
- Right now,
there are no other suspects.
They think they've got
the right guy.
- What the hell is going on?
I'm being railroaded.
- Look, let's just focus
on the good news.
They found nothing
at your house con--
- You said that
after they investigated,
I'd probably be set free.
You said that if they didn't
find anything else,
they would release me.
- I said may--
- Well, they didn't find
anything else,
and now you're here telling me
the district attorney's office
thinks I did it!
- Don't yell at me, George.
- I will yell, Ellenor.
What the hell is going on?
- You have to under--
- This is insane!
- All right, George.
Let me tell you
how this is gonna work.
You don't shout at me ever.
Aside from the fact
that I don't like it,
we don't need some guard here
taking the stand,
saying he heard you
banging tables and screaming
like a man who could
decapitate somebody.
Now, the police
aren't nuts to hold you.
They haven't found
one piece of evidence
connecting anybody else
to this crime.
You had the victim's head.
Now, add to that
your porno collection.
That makes you seem
a little strange.
And add to that the fact
you don't have an alibi.
- I was home!
- Yes.
And that's the only thing
I have to tell to a jury,
that while Susan Robin
was being murdered,
you were home alone
watching your own private
Discovery Channel.
Let's just get over the idea
that they're gonna free you
any second now.
It isn't gonna happen.
We're in this
for the long haul, George.
♪ ♪
- This just can't be
happening to me.
♪ ♪
- Let me begin by saying
thank you for your service.
Criminal cases aren't fun,
especially when they involve
the taking of human life.
And homicide trials
tend to be long.
You will be relieved to learn,
however,
that here,
it will be short.
It is uncontroverted,
which means that you can
accept it as fact,
right now.
The defendant
shot an unarmed man
at point-blank five times,
killing him.
Now, defense counsel,
I suspect,
might try to put the victim
on trial here,
tell you he was a bad guy.
Perhaps he was.
But he's not on trial.
He is.
The victim didn't have a gun.
He did.
The victim didn't kill anybody.
He did.
Now, it's possible
the defense
might endeavor to convince you
their client's a good man.
Perhaps he is,
though in my experience,
good men don't execute people.
All I will ask:
do not let yourselves be drawn
into good guy,
bad guy arguments.
This isn't about who he is
or what he is.
This is about what he did.
What he did
was to shoot a man
three times in the chest
and then twice in the head.
What he did
was commit a horrific murder.
- The evidence
will show the victim,
Raymond Breyer,
terrorized my client
and my client's family.
His wife, Meredith,
sitting there,
their two children,
who visited
almost every weekend.
The evidence will show
that after being stalked,
threatened with violence,
and vandalized,
Professor Pearson
purchased a gun
to protect his family.
The evidence will show
that Professor Pearson
picked up that gun, in fact,
to protect himself
when Mr. Breyer
showed up at his doorstep
in a paranoid,
schizophrenic state,
to protect himself
from a deranged person
with a past history of violence.
When you listen to all
of the evidence carefully,
you will see that Mr. Breyer
posed a life threat
to Mr. Pearson and his family.
Now, I'm not surprised
the prosecution
wants you to take the question
of who's the good guy
out of the equation,
because the evidence will show
Anderson Pearson to be...
I suppose I should admit a bias.
He was my law professor,
and I,
like many of my classmates,
walked out of law school
aspiring
to be him.
He's a very good man.
The thing about law school,
we all go in dreaming
of someday arguing the big case.
And the biggest cases,
it's usually a murder trial
where your client
is not only innocent,
but heroic, even,
and he's somebody
you care deeply about,
somebody you desperately
want to save,
not just from prison,
but from injustice.
This is my big case.
LUCY: Donnell, Young, and Frutt.
LINDSAY: And Dole.
- And Dole.
Hi, Lindsay.
- Eugene, they're not even
looking for anybody else.
- They usually don't,
Ellenor,
when they think they got a guy.
To them,
this case is solved,
which means
we got to investigate,
and we start
by making two lists.
One: who would want
to frame George Vogelman?
Two: who would want
Susan Robin dead?
It's possible George
just represented
somebody's chance
to get away with murder,
and this whole thing
is more about that.
- Just got a little
inside tip from Lindsay.
Helen told her.
George and the victim
did not leave the bar together.
- Did he make
any statement to the effect
that he thought
the victim was armed?
- No, he didn't.
- And detective,
was there any evidence
of a struggle?
- No, sir.
- Any evidence that suggested
that the victim
could have been
moving toward the defendant?
- No.
We concluded the victim
was standing flat-footed,
about 40 inches
away from the defendant
at the time of shooting.
- How could you tell that?
- The powder burns
on the victim,
footprints,
the defendant's statement.
He said so himself.
- In fact, Mr. Pearson
was very forthcoming, wasn't he?
- Yes.
- And it was Mr. Pearson's wife
that called the police.
- That's correct.
- Did the Pearsons ever
ask the police to do something,
to protect them from Mr. Breyer?
- They did.
- And how did you respond?
- We advised them
to seek a restraining order.
- And to your knowledge,
they got a restraining order,
didn't they?
- Yes, they did.
- And yet,
here was Mr. Breyer again,
coming to their house.
- That seems to be the case.
- And this Mr. Breyer,
he had a police record, correct?
- That's correct.
- Three assault convictions,
one battery with a tire iron.
Did you also have knowledge that
he was a paranoid schizophrenic?
- I have knowledge of it today,
yes, I do.
- If he were harassing you,
Detective,
and he rang your doorbell
one night,
would you answer the door
without your gun?
- Probably not.
- Thank you.
- Would you shoot him
five times?
- No, I wouldn't.
JUDGE HILLER: The witness
may step down.
Mr. Bullock?
- The Commonwealth rests,
Your Honor.
♪ ♪
- Maybe it's good.
- It's not good!
You don't just put up
one witness in a murder trial.
- So what are they up to?
- My bet is they're saving
their case for rebuttal,
hoping to get you in a lie.
- But he's admitted everything.
What's to impeach?
- Is there anything?
- No.
- Well, if you make a single
mistake of fact up there,
they'll put up
the coroner or whoever
to paint it as a lie.
That's what this is about.
Smart.
- Except if we don't put him on,
those experts
can't testify at all now.
- They satisfied their burden.
He has to go up.
Go over the autopsy reports
with him.
I got to get a hold
of Dr. Matthews
and our weapons guy.
They could be taking
the stand by tomorrow.
I'll see you after lunch.
- This isn't that perverted.
I mean,
at least it's film.
Some of the stuff
on videotape...
- That last scene had
some sadomasochism going on.
- You have to
suppress this, Ellenor.
- Well, you can get this
late at night on Showtime,
I mean, what's the--
oh, not that, you can't.
- If this gets
admitted into evidence,
George is gonna
look like a sicko--
- Let's mark up
a motion to suppress.
Jimmy, I could use
that research you did on Davis.
- All right,
I can pull it right up.
You know, I think two women
together can be sensual.
- Well great.
We'll call you up
as a character witness.
- He would call.
He would drive by the house.
He was terrifying us.
- You said he would call.
Did you talk to him?
- Well,
at first we answered,
but then we knew better
than to pick up,
so he began leaving messages.
- What kind of messages?
- Most of them
were along the lines of,
"You think you're better
than I am because you're rich,
but money can't buy
your health, you know."
He did say that all the time.
- And when you got
the restraining order?
- Well, it stopped
for a few weeks.
Then--well,
one morning I went out,
and I saw the garage
had been broken into,
my car had been scraped,
a window had been smashed.
- Mr. Breyer did it?
- Yeah, we can only assume.
A few days later,
we were watching television
at night.
I got up to go to the kitchen,
and there he was at the window.
- So what did you do?
- I called the police.
They said they'd arrest him.
- Did they?
- No.
On the next night,
I had just gotten home.
It was barely dark,
and suddenly Meredith yelled,
"He's back!"
I looked out,
and there he was
coming up the walkway.
BOBBY: So what did you do?
ANDERSON: I went and got my gun.
BOBBY: You keep a gun.
ANDERSON: Well, I bought it
because of this man.
- And when you went
to get your gun,
was if your intent to use it?
- My intent was
to let him know I was armed,
and I would use it
to protect myself or my family.
- So what happened?
- I opened the door, and he...
He held up my cat.
It was dead.
It looked as if
it had been strangled.
- And then what happened?
ANDERSON: He dropped it
at my feet,
said, "Something seems to be
wrong with your cat."
The next thing I remember,
I was raising my gun,
pointing it at him.
I threatened him.
I told him if he ever
tried to hurt us--
- And how did he respond?
- Well, he--he--he mocked me.
How could he hurt us?
He was just a mouse.
And then--then he said
"Maybe it was a mouse
that got your cat."
And--and I could see it
in his eyes.
BOBBY: See what?
- He was going to hurt us.
- Then what?
- The next thing I remember,
the gun was going off,
and he was falling backwards.
Meredith was screaming,
and he was lying there bleeding.
- You shot him.
- Yes.
- Professor Pearson,
did you willfully
shoot this man?
- I don't know.
- You don't know.
- But I felt myself
getting angry,
and I looked at the cat,
and my hand,
it just clenched,
and I was squeezing the gun,
and bullets were coming out.
It was not something
I decided to do.
It just--it just happened.
♪ ♪
- Give me one reason
I should speak to you.
- The reason is,
I don't think
George Vogelman
killed your daughter.
- You're being paid
to think that.
- I get paid to represent him.
What I think isn't up for sale.
- Well, the police
seem pretty sure.
- Look, given the circumstances,
it's pretty easy to be convinced
that Mr. Vogelman is involved.
I'm here making room
for the possibility
that the real killer
is still out there.
That's why I've come to talk.
The people I've spoken with,
they say that it's not
normal behavior
for Susan to go
to some bar alone.
- It isn't.
- Well, could she have been
upset about something?
Mr. Vogelman said that when he
first started speaking with her,
she seemed sad.
Is it possible
that she could have
gone to the bar
to drown out
some kind of sorrow?
- I don't know.
- What about her boyfriend?
Were things good between them?
- I think so.
I know she loved him,
which is another reason
she wouldn't be going
to some motel
with a guy she met in a bar.
- Well, could they have
had a fight?
I mean, was she
depressed about that?
Going to a bar
to see if she could--
- If she was depressed,
I doubt it was
about her boyfriend,
Mr. Young.
I was just diagnosed
with liver cancer.
I don't have much time.
But I still don't think
she would deal with that
by going to a bar.
- That's wrong;
we did leave together.
- Well, they've got
witnesses saying you didn't.
- We didn't walk
out the door together.
I went first, because my car
was parked a ways off.
I went to get it.
I drove back to pick her up.
- Did anybody see her
get in the car with you?
- I don't know.
What, they think
I abducted her now?
- Why did you
go to a motel, George?
You've got your place;
she has hers.
Why a motel?
- What--it seemed more romantic.
I don't know.
My place was a mess.
- Too many videotapes
strewn about?
- You know what, Ellenor?
- I'm just asking
the questions they'll be asking.
- If you have any question
as to my innocence,
get up and walk away.
I'll find somebody else.
She had her head cut off,
for God's sakes.
- I have a motion scheduled
to suppress the videotapes.
We don't want them
coming into evidence.
I have no doubt the prosecution
will try to use them.
♪ ♪
Is there anything else you need?
Anybody I can call for you?
- No.
- You say that your hand
just squeezed,
and bullets started coming out?
- Yes.
- Did you squeeze just once,
or did you squeeze five times?
- I don't remember.
- You don't remember.
- I was probably in shock,
Mr. Bullock.
Enraged.
The man had killed my cat.
I was thinking probably
he'd kill me, maybe my wife.
- Did you think he was
about to kill you or your wife
when you pulled the trigger?
- Well no,
not at that second, but--
- So you do have some memory
of what you were thinking,
and you did pull the trigger?
- I didn't consciously pull it.
It just went off.
- Five times!
- Yes.
- See, this is
what I have a problem with.
The squeeze and release,
the squeeze and release,
the squeeze and release,
the squeeze
and release,
the squeeze and release.
Which, I am told,
is the only way
this weapon could possibly
have gone off five times.
Now, I have here the gun,
though it's not loaded.
Could you take this please?
- Objection!
- Objection!
- He's already
described what happened,
I'd like him to demonstrate.
- I'll allow it.
- Your Honor--
- Come on,
you got to be kidding me.
- I'll allow it!
Sit down, both of you.
- Could you stand up,
Mr. Pearson, and step out?
I would like you to show us
exactly how you were
holding this gun
when it went off five times.
Could you squeeze, please?
It's not loaded.
- Objection!
- Counsel, what else
are you looking for?
- I'd like him to make it
click five times, Your Honor,
see how this possibly
could have happened.
- Please show us, Mr. Pearson.
♪ ♪
- Thank you, Mr. Pearson.
I'll take the gun back, please.
- I'll say he possibly
could have become violent.
I won't go
any further than that.
- Doctor...
- That's as far as I go,
Mr. Donnell.
I am limited to the truth.
Am I not?
- Yes.
- I'll see you
at the courthouse.
- Doctor,
we don't want you
to do anything
but tell the truth,
but you don't know
Anderson Pearson.
There's no other way
to say this.
He needs you desperately.
Where are we on Schramm?
- Same.
He'll say the gun
could have possibly--
with the light trigger
and the slightest squeeze.
- He sunk himself.
- It's not over.
We still need only one juror.
All he had to do was
stick with, "I don't remember."
I guess we should have
coached him a little better.
- Bobby, we did everything
but suborn perjury as it was.
Look, everybody in that room
knows what really happened.
Our job is still the same.
We just need to find one juror
to pretend otherwise.
Like you say,
this isn't over.
- The videotapes would have
no relevance whatsoever,
except a comment
on my client's character,
which is totally inadmissible.
- We'd be offering the tapes
only to show a pattern,
Your Honor.
- A pattern?
- Some of the tapes
involve sexual scenes,
which border on sadomasochism.
We believe we can show
a statistical correlation
between the men
who commit sex crimes--
- This is so ridiculous!
- Can I finish?
- This is a homicide case.
It is not a sex crime.
- We don't know that, Counsel.
- There is no evidence
of rape or forced--
- Nor is there
any conclusive evidence
that the intercourse
didn't occur
after she was headless.
- Your Honor,
as an officer of this court,
I must go on record
with my disgust
with that comment.
- Take exception all you want,
but the fact remains--
- The police have never even
suggested such a scenario.
I doubt they even considered it.
- Maybe they should.
- Under the heading
that depravity, too,
can be in the eye
of the beholder,
I would ask that you
be recused from this case.
- Your Honor--
- I can tell you
George Vogelman
could not be capable
of having such a sick thought.
I would hate for him
to be in the hands
of a judge who could be.
- Look, we're getting
way off track now.
The issue today
is these videotapes.
- I want to see
the specific tapes
we are talking about before--
- You would.
- Ellenor.
- I will see
the tapes in question.
Then I'll make my ruling.
- Defense calls
Dr. Walter Matthews
to the stand.
- Sidebar, Your Honor.
We object to this witness
on grounds of relevance.
- What's your offer of proof?
- Dr. Matthews will testify
that Mr. Breyer
posed a risk of danger
to my client and his family.
- Which might be relevant
if you were
arguing self-defense,
but under the theory
that Mr. Pearson
involuntarily pulled
the trigger,
the victim's state of mind
has no meaning.
- I agree.
- Your Honor.
Panic, fear, anger.
It all factored into my client
clenching on to that gun
to the extent that the victim
posed a risk of bodily harm.
- You're trying to squeeze
in self-defense, Counsel.
- We're not.
- The only thing relevant
is your client's
state of mind.
This witness has
nothing to say to that.
This witness will speak
to the threat
posed by the victim,
which goes to Anderson Pearson's
state of mind.
- It's a nice try.
- You are shutting down
our whole defense.
- I'm shutting down this guy.
He's not relevant.
- I want our objection
noted for the record.
- So noted.
Step back.
- Dr. Matthews,
you're excused.
- Get out of my face, Eugene.
- I'm in your face, Ellenor,
and I will stay
in your face until--
- A guy says something
like that in open court,
I don't care
if he's a judge, or--
- The point is
to win a motion.
You taking on a judge
doesn't help us if--
- We already lost the motion.
- You don't know that!
- What happened?
- She went ballistic on a judge
in open court.
- I did not go ballistic.
- All right.
- He suggested that my client
had sex with a headless corpse.
I'm supposed to just--
- Maybe he did us a favor.
- What?
- Well, now we got an idea
of how people see things.
Ellenor, this was a beautiful
woman with a boyfriend.
You ever ask yourself
what the hell
she's doing with George?
Maybe you just assume
a pretty girl
would go to a motel
with a schlub like him,
but the jury won't.
You keep looking at this
and saying,
"Of course he's innocent,"
but you're the only
one doing that,
and if you don't get
some perspective real fast,
than at least be a good lawyer
and a good friend
and tell George to hire himself
a new attorney,
'cause he didn't have
a good one in court today.
- It's an extremely
light trigger.
This is a sophisticated
and sensitive firearm.
- Now, you heard
Mr. Pearson's testimony,
that his hand clenched
on the trigger,
and five shots fired.
Is that possible, Mr. Schramm?
- If he squeezed
the trigger one time,
it would not be possible
for the weapon
to discharge five times, no.
- Is it your testimony
that it's impossible,
Mr. Schramm?
- The way he described it.
I think what happened was this:
his hand seized up a little,
and it trembled,
causing the fingers to shake,
maybe even twitch a little bit.
If that happened,
it's not only possible
for the gun to go off
again and again.
I would consider it likely.
- Likely.
- Yeah,
you have to understand
this gun has
an automatic recoil.
If his hand is trembling,
pulling at the trigger--
but not pulling too hard--
it will recoil automatically
and fire automatically.
It's extremely plausible.
- Thank you.
- Not only do I reject
that likelihood,
I'm offended
by Mr. Schramm's testimony.
- Why is that, sir?
- Well, as manufacturer
of this particular firearm,
I take exception to the notion
that these weapons just go off
with the tremble of a finger.
It's preposterous.
You have to pull,
semiautomatic or not.
- Of course,
if these guns could go off
with a trembling squeeze,
you might be exposed
to a massive
product liability action.
- Which is one of the reasons
we wouldn't let the gun
be so temperamental.
- And also a reason you'd be
be sitting in court
spouting that it could
never happen.
- I can't say
the morning went well,
but Schramm was much better
than I ever thought.
The trembling fingers.
He could have bought us
reasonable doubt.
- So where are we?
- I would love to be able
to put on a witness
who saw your hand
start to shake.
- If we had that to back up
Schram's testimony--
plus we could end
on an emotional high point.
Otherwise...
I think we're still behind.
- I saw his hand shake.
- Are you sure?
- I'm positive.
- Good.
Then you're up next.
MEREDITH: He was
pointing the gun,
and I could just see
his face going red.
- Did you say anything
to your husband?
- No.
- He's pointing a gun at a man,
his face is going red,
and you didn't say anything?
- Like, "Put the gun down"?
No.
I thank God he had that gun,
otherwise I didn't know
what that man would do to us.
- Mrs. Pearson,
tell us what you saw next.
- Everything seemed
to go in slow motion,
and then Anderson's hand
started to shake.
Not a lot,
but he was trembling.
He was standing there
like a statue,
and then suddenly,
bullets just started coming out.
- Mrs. Pearson,
your husband
is on trial here
for executing a man.
- And I'm telling you
that's not how it happened.
He is the most
gentle man on earth.
His hand...
I would ask you to put yourself
in his position,
but it would be impossible
for you to do so.
- Thank you.
- You love your husband
very much.
- Yes.
- And you don't want to see him
go to prison, do you?
- Of course not.
- When the police asked you
that night what happened,
you didn't tell them anything
about any shaking hand, did you?
- I was in shock that night.
- Ah.
Nothing further.
[dramatic music]
♪ ♪
- George, I want to apologize
for what happened this morning.
I just lost it in there.
When the judge said--
- I know.
Thank you for losing it.
- Okay, George.
It's brutal truth time.
Me first.
The idea that you could do
what happened to that girl,
not only can I not believe it,
but it might be impossible
for me to believe it.
You and I talked on the phone
every night for a month.
We shared some of
our most intimate secrets,
and the idea
that I could have not seen--
- What are you saying?
- I'm admitting that maybe
I had some denial myself.
Obviously,
I don't want to admit
that I could
misjudge somebody so--
it's just possible
that some of my own denial
is what caused me--
- You're not sure
about my innocence.
- I believe
that you're innocent.
I'm just not necessarily sure
that I can trust myself to...
Forget about what I believe.
Forget about what you want me
to believe.
You are in trouble,
and you could go away for it,
and your very best chance
at not going away
is by telling me the truth.
Did you kill the girl?
- No, Ellenor.
But it doesn't really matter,
does it?
If I can't convince you,
What chance do I have
with 12 strangers?
♪ ♪
- We all know
what really happened.
When Mr. Breyer killed that cat,
it was last straw.
Can we understand
why Anderson Pearson
pulled that trigger?
of course.
Who amongst us
wouldn't be tempted?
He'd had enough.
I don't think
the defense counsel
really expects you to believe
that he involuntarily
pulled the trigger.
This all comes down
to a simple bet.
The defense is wagering
that you will say,
"To hell with the law,"
and endorse a vigilante.
We bet,
we hope...
You won't.
- How dare anybody say,
"We all know"?
None of us
can pretend to know
what that moment
must've been like.
When a man who has
stalked you,
a man who has
vandalized your property,
a man who was a diagnosed
violent schizophrenic
shows up at your front door,
says he won't hurt you
because he's just a mouse,
the mouse that just
strangled your cat.
We all know?
Like normal thought patterns
go through your head
at a moment like this?
You heard Meredith Pearson
tell you an hour ago
it would be impossible
to put yourself
into my client's position.
His hands
started to tremble.
His fingers slightly seized.
The gun went off.
You heard Anderson Pearson
tell you that.
Meredith Pearson saw it.
John Schramm,
an expert on this weapon,
showed you
how this kind of tremble,
with the light trigger
and the auto recoil,
could cause this exact result.
We all know.
Like my associate
predicted at the very start,
the prosecution
stayed far away from asking,
"Who's the good good guy here?"
Because that we do know.
Anderson Pearson is no criminal.
That we do know.
The question here is,
are you going to hand him
a life sentence
because we all know?
It's just so easy,
isn't it?
♪ ♪
I think we got a chance
at a reasonable doubt,
but what Bullock said,
it rang pretty true in there.
I'd like to offer manslaughter
right now.
Parole, you'd be out
in three years.
It's crazy for us
to roll with the alternative.
- Prison?
- Three years is better
than 18 to life, Meredith.
Professor.
Professor?
Clock's ticking.
We could come back.
- I'm tempted.
- We both win
with manslaughter, Gavin.
Three years.
He shouldn't do more;
he shouldn't do less.
- I think he should
do more, Bobby.
- Four?
4 1/2?
- I'm gonna reject the offer.
- You really think
they want to put him away?
- Do they want to?
No.
But will they?
I'm staying with murder two.
- You should have
seen his face, Eugene,
when I doubted him.
He just fell
from the inside out.
I might as well have
pronounced him dead.
- You believe he's innocent.
- I know it, Eugene.
I know it.
- Then we fight for him,
Ellenor.
Somebody else did it,
we go to work
on finding out who.
We fight.
- Will you first chair?
I think I'm too close.
- I'll first chair,
and we'll win.
- I'll hear it
the same time you do.
We'll all know in a second.
- Mr. Donnell, are you feeling
confident about an acquittal?
- We have nothing to say.
Please excuse us.
- Are you surprised the jury
came back so quickly?
- They're televising it?
- She let cameras in
for the verdict.
- How long were they out?
- Less than two hours.
What does that mean?
- Acquittal.
- Guilty.
- Bring them in.
Will the defendant please rise?
Madam Foreperson,
the jury has reached
its verdict?
- We have, Your Honor.
- What say you?
- Commonwealth
versus Anderson Pearson,
on the charge of
murder in the second degree.
We find the defendant
Anderson Pearson guilty.
MEREDITH: No!
JUDGE HILLER: The bailiff will
take the defendant into custody.
- Andy...
JUDGE HILLER:
Members of the jury,
we thank you for your service.
- It'll be all right.
Don't worry about me.
- No, no!
This matter is adjourned.
♪ ♪
- We'll appeal.
We'll explore
whatever options...
♪ ♪