The Practice (1997–2004): Season 3, Episode 5 - The Battlefield - full transcript

- Previously on
the "The Practice"...

- [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.

- George Vogelman,

you are under arrest
for the murder of Susan Robin.

- Give me one reason
I should speak to you.

- The reason is,
I don't think

George Vogelman
killed your daughter.



- Your buddy George
has a little

home video library, Ellenor.

- This isn't that perverted.

- If this gets admitted
into evidence,

George is gonna
look like a sicko--

- Let's mark up a motion
to suppress.

- Some of the tapes
involve sexual scenes

which border on sadomasochism.

- This is a homicide case.

It is not a sex crime.

- 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.

- Anderson Pearson,
my Staffordshire professor,

he just shot somebody dead.

- 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?

- I didn't consciously pull it.

It just went off.

- You're trying to squeeze in
self defense, counsel.

- We're not.
- It's a nice try.

- You are shutting down
our whole defense.

- I want our objection
noted for the record.

- So noted.
Step back.

- On the charge of murder
in the second degree,

we find the defendant,
Anderson Pearson, guilty.

- No!

[indistinct conversation]

[gentle music]

♪ ♪

- Could we possibly spread
a few more papers?

In some places,
I can see the floor.

- It's only for a couple
of days, Helen.

It's not as if the floor
is clean underneath.

- Is this the Pearson appeal?
- Yep.

- You know, Lindsay,

I don't mean
to sound pessimistic--

- Then don't.

- Okay, could you at least
clean the floor a little?

This is a first date tonight.
- So?

- So I'm not gonna bring a guy
into my bedroom

on the first date.

If we're gonna go to town,
it's gonna happen

right here on this rug.

Kidding, a joke.

Come on, think back
to when you had a sense a humor.

When was the last time
you even laughed?

- Probably college.

I came home one night,
and there you were going to town

with some guy on the rug.

Kidding.

I thought you swore off
blind dates?

- I did,
but Lisa Nicole

promised I wouldn't
be disappointed.

[doorbell rings]

Here it goes.

- Helen?
- Absolutely.

Hi.
- Hi.

Ready?

- Absolutely.

- [laughs]

[upbeat funky music]

♪ ♪

- The biggest problem is,
the police aren't even

looking for anybody else.

They consider the case solved.

- And their theory as to why
I would carry around her head?

- You're sick.

- Look, George,
my office has already

spent about $20,000
on private investigators.

I can't,
in good conscience,

ask my partners
to spend any more.

Do you have access to any money?

- I've been in here
for two months, Ellenor,

with no income.

I guess I could sell my car.

I don't know what the value is.

- All right, look,
we have that motion

to suppress the videotapes
tomorrow, so...

- Not that they're offering,
but would you be at all

open to a plea?

- What kind of plea?

- Manslaughter...

Insanity?

- No.

I wouldn't be open to that.

- Complete transcripts
are expensive.

- I asked for complete, Lucy.

The hearing is scheduled
for this afternoon.

- Well, I can't listen
without ears,

which I won't have
if you bite my head off.

- What's going on?

- I asked for
all the trial transcripts.

She only got pretrial.

- It's' pretrial rulings
we're appealing.

- I asked for them all.
- Chomp, chomp.

Munch, munch.
- Lucy.

- Bobby, do you know
what Jimmy's case is about?

- His cousin,
wrongful termination?

- Yes, but do you
know the details?

- No.
- Yeah, he fired this worker--

- What's the problem, Rebecca?
- The problem--

- It's a two-day trial, tops.

- His cousin fired this woman
for being Iranian.

- He's being sued.

I got to defend him.

He's my cousin.

- What's your defense?
- My defense?

- Yes, on the charge
of wrongful termination,

what's your defense gonna be?

- She's Iranian.

It's a jury trial.

- If those tapes
come into evidence,

the jury's gonna be prejudiced,

and that's exactly
why he wants to use them.

- Sexual disorder
certainly may be relevant.

- He has an adult video
collection.

That doesn't suggest
a sexual disorder,

and that's exactly the kind of
leap he wants the jury to make.

- Your client allegedly cut off
a woman's head, Mr. Young.

Are you afraid
the jury will think less of him

because of his film library?

- The issue is
whether he cut off that head.

That film library
is not relevant to that issue.

It's only being introduced
to suggest some depravity.

- And it's that pattern
of depravity

that goes to the issue
of whether or not

this man has the capacity
to behead somebody.

- The tapes are inadmissible.

What else?
- Your Honor?

- They're not coming
in, counsel.

- They won't let you out
for the hearing.

- I heard.

- This is the supplemental
memorandum I'm filing.

Basically,
we're gonna argue

Judge Hiller was wrong not
to let us argue self-defense.

- Okay, look.

I had some of the lawyers
at my firm read the brief.

They thought it was well written

but ultimately,
unpersuasive.

- Tell your lawyers
to go to the hearing.

There's a reason
we have oral arguments.

- Oh, I didn't mean
to be critical.

I meant thank you

for fighting so hard

with so little to fight with.

- There's no reason
we have to give up.

- I had been promoted twice
within the last year,

and I was going to be promoted
to manager this January.

- So things
were going well at work?

- Very well.

- And what happened?

- Well, last March,

I was getting ready
to leave on vacation and,

almost in passing, a coworker
asked me where I was going.

I told him I was going home
to see my parents,

and he asked me where home was.

- Where is home?
- Iran.

I was born there.
- And then what?

- Suddenly, I seemed
to be facing

kind of a cold front
in the office.

About a month later,
Mr. Martini

came to me and said
things weren't working out,

and he let me go.

- Your relationship
with your coworkers,

you felt kind
of a cold front?

- Yes.

- In fact,
you went to my client

and complained about this,
right?

- Yes.

- People were being
insubordinate,

isn't that the word you used?

- I believe so.

- Affecting your ability
to be a productive manager?

- Yes.

- Why did you come to America,
Ms. Bader?

- I first came as an
exchange student in high school.

Then I stayed on for college.

Now I live here.

- As an American citizen?

- No, on a visa.

- Do you plan to become
an American citizen?

- Not really.

- You like Iran?
- Yes.

- How do you feel
about all the terrorism--

- Objection!
- Sustained.

Mr. Berluti, let's take care.

- Ms. Bader,
you're a proud Iranian?

- Yes.

- You honor this flag?

- Yes.

- Thank you.

That's all I have.

- I've told the police
everything I know.

- I understand,
and Jay,

we realize
how hard this must be.

- Please, don't insult
my intelligence.

You're the guy's lawyer, so--

- The guy who killed
your girlfriend

is not George Vogelman.

We think he was framed.

- By who?

- That we don't know.

- One question
that keeps coming up

is why would Susan
be alone in the bar drinking?

Why would she go to a motel
with George Vogelman?

By everybody's account,
this is out of her character.

- It is.

- Her father getting cancer,

do you think she could have
been depressed about that?

- Could be.

- Could it be something else?

- Jay, you seem like
an honest guy.

We've got an innocent man
looking at conviction.

Part of their case
is the notion

that Susan could never have
gone off on some one-nighter.

Can you think of anything

that could possibly
explain why she would?

- Police said this wouldn't
have to come out.

- What?

- I had been

a little unfaithful
to Susan.

That afternoon,
she caught me.

- Do you think maybe
to retaliate

she could've gone home
from the bar with some guy?

Is that possible?

- Ms. Frutt, I have spent
the last two months

desperately trying
to convince myself

that that isn't possible.

REBECCA:
You ought to go down there

and peak in that courtroom.

- Rebecca.
- It's obscene.

You want
the Anti-Defamation League

picketing our office?

- It's a trial.
Qualified immunity.

- Well, that can excuse it.

- This office is getting
way too hostile for me.

- Why don't you just go and--
- Come on, Bobby.

We're late.

- She was the manager,

and her leadership ability
was suffering.

- Because she was Iranian?

- I certainly don't agree
with the bigotry,

but I have
a dry cleaners to run,

and well,
it wasn't running so well.

- What about calling a meeting,

telling your employees
that bigotry won't be accepted?

- It wasn't so much
what people were doing

so much as
what they were feeling,

and I mean,
I was powerless to control that.

- And the feeling
was anti-Iranian?

- Anti-Iranian.

Anti-Arab.

Basically Middle East.

- And you agree
that this feeling

was a form of prejudice?

- Oh, of course.
- But you tolerated it?

- Well--
- You fired her, Mr. Martini.

We could say
you ratified the bigotry.

- Well, you could,
but I had 18 workers

come up and threaten to quit.

My choice, basically,

was either discharging
your client

or facing Chapter 11.

- I see.

And if Ms. Bader were black

and your workers
threatened to quit

because they didn't want to work
with an African-American,

would you have fired her?

- Probably not.
- What's the difference?

- Possibly none,
but complaining

about the color
of a person's skin is--

that's racism,

which lies in hatred
and ignorance.

I mean, here--here,
I feel there was

some patriotism involved,

and I guess it wasn't
quite as repulsive to me.

- He willfully
withheld evidence.

- I did no such thing.
- You have a duty to turn over--

- Don't start with all of your--
- You just can't--

- I don't listen
when two people talk.

- They have an absolute duty

to turn over
all exculpatory evidence.

- Material evidence.
This--

- Let him finish, please.

- The boyfriend of the victim
provided the prosecution

with a reason that the victim
may have gone to a bar

and may have been predisposed
to a one night stand.

He did not turn
that information over to us.

- Why not?

- We didn't consider it

either material
or relevant.

- What's the information?

- She had caught him
that very day

with another woman.

- Mr. Tisbury,
the break you catch here

is that this came out
before trial.

- Your Honor, that statement--

- As of this second,
I don't trust you.

You're going into trial
with a judge

who doesn't trust you.

So if you're going
to make any more mistakes

from this point on,

I suggest you err
to their side.

- There was no willful attempt
to withhold evidence.

- Then how unfortunate
that I don't believe you.

- My position
is that Judge Hiller erred

when she denied our right
to assert self-defense.

- I see no such denial
in the record.

- If you read the transcript,
she threatened us

with a bad jury instruction

if we went the route
of self-defense.

- It wasn't a ruling.

- It was tantamount to a ruling.

It had the effect
of shutting us down.

- Are you now, suggesting
that it was self-defense,

'cause that gives me
a problem, counsel.

- Which is?

- At trial, you argued that
the gun went off involuntarily.

Your client testified to that,

but now you're
saying self-defense.

Did your client
commit perjury on the stand?

- First of all,
this hearing

is about Judge Hiller's ruling,
not my client's testimony.

- So, we should ignore
the truth--

- Secondly, defendants
can assert alternative defenses.

We could've argued A,
he shot him self-defense,

and B,
it went off involuntarily.

That's permissible.

What this hearing is about

is Judge Hiller denying us
one of those defenses.

- So basically you're saying

had Judge Hiller
not cut you off,

self-defense would've
been your theory.

- Exactly.

Are we all up to speed, now?

- Do you really mean to be
snide with us, Ms. Dole?

- Actually, yes.

You wouldn't be
asking these questions

if you'd read my brief.

I'm discouraged
to realize you haven't.

I hope you at least
reprimand your clerks.

- Let's just
address your issue then.

- She cut off self-defense

because the victim wasn't
posing an imminent threat.

That was wrong.

The threat to my client
was both real and ongoing.

Mr. Pearson
was in fear of his life

at the time
he pulled the trigger.

- The victim had no gun.

Uh, my clerk
did highlight that part.

- In defining "imminent,"
if you look at the cases,

the courts basically
come down to these questions.

Was there any alternative?

Could he have used less force?

Could he have escaped?

Could he have retreated?

Could he have just
held them at gunpoint

until the police arrived?

- In this situation,
the answer seems

to be yes
to all of those options.

- But the reality
for all of those options

is that man would be back.

- Perhaps,
but as Judge Hiller noted,

we weren't at that point when--

- And to require him to wait
till that point is unreasonable.

- Are you asking us
to rewrite the law?

- No, some states have
recognized a kidnap exception.

Basically,
if a man kidnaps somebody

and tells the victim
he's gonna kill them in a month,

that victim doesn't have
to wait a whole month

until he's allowed
to use deadly force.

- True, but Mr. Pearson
wasn't kidnapped.

- In effect, he was.

He was basically held captive.

He'd gone to the police.

They couldn't help.

He got a restraining order
from the court.

It didn't help.

The time was coming.

And we're saying
Anderson Pearson

should've waited
until the exact moment?

Suppose Raymond Breyer

came at night
while they were sleeping.

- There is no evidence
of any direct threat

to kill Mr. Pearson.

- It was certainly implied.

Yeah, I could argue
it was direct

with a cat-and-mouse exchange,

and whether
it was direct or not,

Anderson Pearson had
a reasonable belief that it was.

- Well, it still seems
like a reach to imply that--

- But we're entitled
to that reach

before a jury.

Judge Hiller shut it down.

It's error.

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

- "TIME" magazine on "Newsweek."

- They went easier
on Ricky Jewell.

Oh, listen to this.

"Hapless podiatrist
whose social life

"consisted of
pornography videos

and women he met
through the personals."

I was one of them.

- Except you kept your head
about it.

I've spoken to
every one of his friends.

- And?

- They all used three words
to describe him:

gentle, kind, loner.

- He's in trouble.

- The girl's father and brother
have agreed to see me tomorrow.

If they can't point us
some place,

yeah, he's in trouble.

HELEN: Did they rule?
LINDSAY: Tomorrow.

It went well; I seemed
to have their attention.

- Great, let's get some dinner.
- No.

I'm gonna go back to the office,
get on Westlaw.

You know, there's a new case
ruling like every ten minutes.

- Lindsay, take a break.

- I'll take a break
when it's over.

- Is it ever gonna be over?

- I'll see you at home.

- Hey.
- Hey.

- She's been up
till 3:00 in the morning

every night since the trial.

It's like some quest.

- Helen, she's close to him.

You know, she might win.

- Oh, come on,
overturn Hiller?

- You should've seen her.

- You went to Mr. Martini
and complained?

- I did.

- Threatened to quit, even,
if she worked there?

- Yes.

- Because you didn't want
to work side-by-side

with a person
of Iranian descent?

- I don't have a problem
with her as a person, but--

- But what?

- I'm not over
the hostage thing.

I admit it.

- Mr. Harper,
that was almost 20 years ago.

- I really don't care.

It all comes back.

I see burning American flags.

I see Khomeini.

I get all pent up with anger.

- But this woman
wasn't in government.

How--

- The Iranian people
cheered that government,

and they never apologized.

And our government,

we just forgave them
because they got oil.

Well, I can't forgive them.

- This woman was nine years old
during the hostage crisis.

- Well, she's old enough now
to make a judgment.

And when she looks me in the eye

and says, "I'm proud
to be an Iranian,"

I don't want to work
side-by-side with her.

- Did she ever engage
in any political

or religious discourse at work?

- No,
and I'm sure

she personally has never
blown up in embassy,

but imagine,
they're carrying signs

that say,
"Death to the U.S."

and here she is,
in our country, suing for a job.

Ask me, the turban must've
been wrapped too tight.

- That last remark
was unnecessary.

- You asked me to testify
and tell my feelings.

- Just the same,
you basically stood up

and declared yourself a bigot.

- I am prejudiced on this,

but I think this is
a bigotry I'm entitled to.

- You're not the person
I thought I knew, Ron.

- Sally,
I know I'm blaming you

for something that has
nothing to do with you.

That doesn't mean I'm above it.

- All right, you're represented
by counsel, Ms. Bader.

It's not appropriate
for us to have communication.

- Yes, we wouldn't want
to be inappropriate, would we?

- Excuse me one second.

Ms. Bader, listen.

I hope you don't
take it personal, things I say.

I have to put on a defense.

- You're saying I should be
ashamed of my descent,

Mr. Berluti.

It's difficult
not to take it personally.

- I'm the lawyer.

I got to--

- You're a little too good.

- Can I at least
make you a cup of coffee?

- No, no, really I'm fine.
- Really?

I feel like I should
at least--no?

- All lawyers work this hard?

- Hmm, big case.

Call me.

- I will.

- Bye.

- I'll see you.

- Morning.

- You slept with him
on a second date?

- I didn't really
sleep sleep with him.

We fell asleep watching TV,

which wouldn't have happened,
by the way,

if I didn't have
to bring him in there

to escape your command post.

What is all this?

Oral arguments are over.

- This is on sentencing,
should we lose the appeal.

- Mm, part of me
hopes you do lose.

I'm a little afraid
if you win, Lindsay.

A new trial--

can you survive going through
all of this again?

- The trial was easy.

Losing it was hard.

- I'm a little
concerned about you.

- I'm fine.

- Withdrawal?

- What that woman said to me,

I'm having
a hard time shaking it.

- You're about to start
closing arguments.

- I know.

I'm just not sure it's in me.

I don't want
to let my cousin down, but--

- Jimmy, if you came to me
with this case in the beginning,

I would have stopped you
from taking it.

It's offensive.

It puts a bad light on you
and the firm,

but there's no way
you can bail at closings.

I mean,
it's not even a question.

- Yeah, I guess.

- And Jimmy,

don't phone it in.

- The police discouraged us
from talking to you.

- As I told your dad,
I'm convinced

they got the wrong guy.

And if they do,

that means that this thing
was either

a mission
to frame George Vogelman,

or somebody
was after your sister.

- And as we told the police,
we don't know

of any such person
who would want to harm her.

- Her boyfriend, Jay,
did you ever

see any predisposition
with him and your sister?

- Jay?
- I'm grasping, Steve.

- Jay's sweet kid.

- Did he ever show a temper?

What if he had
followed your sister,

found her with George Vogelman--

- Jay couldn't have done this.

- Did your sister--

is it possible
that your sister

could have kept
some part of her life secret?

- Mr. Young, I feel I know
my daughter pretty good.

Truth is I can't believe
in a million years

that she'd go to some motel

with a guy she met in a bar,

which leads me to think

that your guy
had to have done it.

- But, Mr. Robin,

you couldn't believe she would
even go to a bar alone,

so, it's possible that--

Steve, help me out.

Is there some other side to her?

- If there was,
I never saw it.

The only--

- What?

The only what?

- She did spend
a lot of time on the Internet

talking at people
she didn't know.

- Would you say that in court?

- I don't know.

I guess.

- After careful review,

we agree with
Ms. Dole's position

that self-defense
should have been available

to the defendant at trial.

Whether the danger
posed to Mr. Pearson

was eminent enough
to justify

the use of excessive force,
it's a question of fact,

which should've been
offered to the jury.

We, therefore, rule
that Judge Hiller's position

was an error.

However, it is not evident
on the record

that Judge Hiller
actually ruled in this matter,

thereby prohibiting
self-defense,

and if defense counsel's
assertion is true

that her warning was,
in effect, a ruling,

then the proper procedure
was interlocutory appeal,

which was waived
by preceding the trial.

The conviction
of Anderson Pearson,

therefore, stands.

We're adjourned.

- It's easy to hate Iranians,
isn't it?

And Arabs?

They blow up
airplanes, buildings.

When that bomb went off
in Oklahoma City,

we all had the same
in knee-jerk reaction,

probably some
Middle East terrorist.

Let's admit it;
we don't like these people.

And I understand the sentiment.

Many of us share
Mr. Harper's frustration

with the hostage crisis.

That's an old but deep wound.

But I take exception
to his message

that it's good old
American patriotism

to discriminate against anyone
from the Middle East.

That's not the country I know.

America stands for tolerance.

The United States
rebelled against oppression,

against prejudice.

Or do we?

Mr. Harper's statement,

"Hey, she makes me angry
'cause of Khomeini,"

that's like saying,

"Hey, the Japanese stir up
these Pearl Harbor memories.

Let's get rid of them."

We did that here once,
remember?

Rounded up
all the Japanese,

threw them in internment camps.

Didn't matter
they were U.S. citizens.

Didn't matter
they were innocent.

They were of Japanese descent.

And this country,

we're ashamed of that
little piece of history.

Well, here we go again,

because today's Cold War

is against terrorism,

and it's just so easy
to hate the towel heads,

isn't it?

- She may have hooked up
with some psycho

from the Internet.

Maybe he was stalking her?

- Even so.
- What, even so?

Can your guys
start running that down?

- Ellenor, again,
off the record.

- Sure.

- This case
is pretty hot copy.

The police want to mark
"Solved" on the file.

The DA's office
wants to mark "Conviction."

If anything turns up indicating

it could have been
somebody else,

forget about
getting a conviction.

Your guy was last seen with her.

He had her head.

If George Vogelman didn't do it,

he certainly represents
reasonable doubt

for whoever did.

- What are you saying?

They'd rather get a conviction

than catch the right guy?

- Not really,

but their need for a conviction

helps them to think
they have the right guy.

- Oh, that's great.

What's the punch line, Helen?

- They're not gonna
reopen the investigation.

- When this trial started,
I got to admit,

I was one of those people

who sometimes
have those thoughts.

See some terrorist attack
on the news,

I'd say,
"To hell with all of them."

A lot of people
in this country

think the best thing
about Iranians

is that they kill Iraqis.

But in Ms. Bader,

you saw a woman of dignity,
integrity,

and,
not that this is relevant,

but having somebody like her
as the mother of my children,

I should be so lucky.

But this isn't about her.

It's about the actions
of Peter Martini.

Was his firing
of her reasonable?

Under normal times, no,

but with what's
going on today, yes.

True, he could have said,
"Prejudice is prejudice,"

and not fired her,

in which case,
his staff might have quit,

and he'd be out of business.

And as for
the prejudice itself,

sorry, but it's not the same
as bigotry against blacks.

This is different.

There's a war going on here.

Like Ms. Wharton said,
and the president said,

terrorism is today's war.

Somebody who didn't
look like a killer

put a bomb
in the World Trade Center.

We can expect more such attacks
since we bombed Sudan.

And I don't mean to suggest
for one second

that Ms. Bader is connected
in any way to anything bad,

but it is people's right
to be afraid.

Our government is telling us
to be afraid.

This war,

the battlefields are subways,
buildings, airports,

who knows where.

And as the president said,
the Republicans too,

in our fight
against fanaticism,

innocent people will
unfortunately be victims.

I think the question you have
to ask yourselves is this:

if an Iranian or Arab
came to you looking for work,

would you hire them,

knowing it would
upset personnel?

If you can answer that question
with an easy, "Yes,"

fine for the plaintiff.

But if your answer is,
"Probably not,"

all I ask is
that you go back there

and be honest with yourselves.

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

- Go home.

- I would,
but it cramps Helen's love life.

- Lindsay.

Go home.

- And do what?

Put my feet up,
watch a movie

while he sits in jail just--

- You've done
everything you can.

I was in the back
of that appeals court.

I've never seen
a better performance

by any lawyer anywhere.

But it's over.

You have to
let go of it now.

- Doesn't it bother you?

That he's facing
life imprisonment

because of our screw-up,
because--

- He's facing prison

because he shot
and killed a man.

- No, Bobby,
it's because we blew it,

especially you.

You screwed up the most.

- Me?
- Yes, you.

That ridiculous
involuntary argument.

It was stupid,
and you know

why we went with it?

Because it was a brainstorm.

You got all high off the idea

like you always do
over stunts.

If it's novel,
you want to try it,

and because we did,
a good man has lost his life.

- Is that we you think?
- Yes.

And we screwed up
by not appealing

Judge Hiller's ruling.

That's what cost us that appeal.

It was malpractice.

You know, the only upside is,
it gives us new grounds.

What you see on this table

is research
on inadequate counsel.

All the drug dealers I have
put back out there, and him--

- Okay.

♪ ♪

- You gonna
wait here all day?

- They said they're close
to a verdict.

It's not like
I have a job to go to.

- Listen.

What I said
about your integrity and stuff,

I meant that.

- I know you did.

And that stuff about it
being reasonable to fear us,

you meant that too,
didn't you?

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

The most discouraging part

is that I can tell
you're a really nice man.

♪ ♪

- Part of me hopes I lose.

♪ ♪

- Me too.

♪ ♪

- You want me to what?
- Just what I said.

- This is the judicial part
of the process, counsel.

I don't give orders
to the police

on how to investigate
their cases.

- I'm asking you to order them
to investigate period.

- We have.
- You haven't.

Head in a handbag,
that's enough?

You're afraid of investigating

for fear it'll come
between open and shut.

- I'm offended by that, Ellenor.

- What have you really done?
- Everything.

Forensics, DNA.
- What about The Poet?

Did you go down that path?

- The who?

- There is a serial killer
known as The Poet, Your Honor.

One of our former clients

was convicted
of trying to copy him.

He rapes and decapitates--
- Different MOs--

- Well, maybe he mixed things up
for spice this time.

- We considered The Poet.

Our investigation
points to George Vogelman,

and George Vogelman alone.

- We also have evidence
that the victim

had contacts with people
on the Internet.

- Look, counsel,

you're free to conduct
your own investigation.

You want time,
I'll give it to you.

- We don't have any money.

They have an unlimited budget.

My client is broke.

- Well, I can't
do anything about that,

and I can't order them
to keep looking

if they're convinced
they have the killer.

If their thinking is suspect,
we have the device

to deal with that.

We call it the trial.

- Every criminal defendant
has to rely

on the integrity of the process,

not just me, not just you,

but the police
and the DA too.

- And we have nothing
but your protests

to suggest they haven't
done their jobs.

A shoddy investigation
is a defense counsel's dream.

If you think you've got one,
take advantage.

- It's not that simple.

- Unfortunately, it is.

That's all.

- Your Honor--
- That's all.

- Basically,
I want to make a list

of every noble accomplishment,

every act of charity,
anybody you can think

who can stand up for you
at sentencing

and be effective.

- Okay.

- I'm still working on
the other appeal,

so, um,
in the meantime,

you know--
there's a big difference

between 18 years and life, so--

- What's your feeling?

- Hiller's tough.

She's more likely
to go maximum than minimum.

♪ ♪

Any awards
you've received,

you know, things like that,
I want to know.

- Okay.

♪ ♪

- I'm sorry.

We let you down.

- No you didn't, Lindsay.

♪ ♪

I let you down.

♪ ♪

- I'll be back on Friday
for the list.

♪ ♪

- You okay?

- Yeah.

- Foreperson,
you've reached your verdict?

- We have, Your Honor.

- What say you?

- Bader versus Martini,

on the count
of wrongful termination

we find in favor
of the defendant, Peter Martini.

- Yes!
[laughs]

Thank you, Jimmy.

- Sure.

- Quiet down, please.

As a matter of law,
I set aside the jury's verdict.

I order the defendant
to pay damages

in the amount of $220,000.

I'd hoped you'd reach
the right result.

It would've saved us
an appeal.

Since you didn't,

judgment is hereby entered
for the plaintiff,

not withstanding the verdict.

Let me note my disgust
for the defendant,

on the record,

for the defendant's attorney,

and finally,
for the jury.

Ms. Bader, please accept
the apology of this court.

Adjourned.

- Ms. Bader.

Ms. Bader.

That part about me
being a nice man,

I--well,
I am a nice man,

and I know this might seem--

well, once you get
on that elevator,

then I might never--

Do you think
you would like

to have a cup of coffee
with me sometime?

- You're asking me out?

- No, I'm--

well, a little.

- Under the circumstances,

that's--that's not something

I can see myself doing.

- Okay.

- But I'm flattered.

♪ ♪

- We're better off
than we were yesterday.

The videotapes are out

and this Internet thing
gives us at least a crack.

Mainly, though,
it's gonna fall on you, George.

You got to take the stand
and convince the jury

that you never
could have done this.

- Okay.

- Okay.

I'll be in touch.

You hang in there.

- Ellenor?

Give me the odds.

- We're gonna do
everything we can, George.

I'd be lying to you
if I told you

I think we were gonna win.

- Hey.

- Hey.

Bobby, I'm sorry.

I didn't mean--

- Forget about it.

- I've just been...

I hate myself for crying.

- I know.

Look, this whole office
is here for you.

Whatever you need.

- Thank you.

- I'm here for you.

You know that, right?

What?

- Nothing.

I was just thinking.

Sometimes I just--

[gentle piano music]

♪ ♪