The Practice (1997–2004): Season 7, Episode 21 - Baby Love - full transcript
When you say
you have feelings for her,
are you in love with her?
No.
Not at all.
But I might see her again,
and I didn't want you
to hear it
at the office.
I thought it should come
from me.
Have you two slept together?
(music playing)
(sighs)
Unbelievable.
DONNELL: Look, I don't think
it's a good idea
for us to talk about--
What are we talking about, then?
DONNELL: Lindsay,
whatever our future will be,
if we stop communicating--
Can I stop you for a second?
You and I have no future.
I appreciate you taking me
off the hook here.
But I was beginning
to feel like the bad guy,
but now I don't.
I can pursue what I want
with a much lighter heart,
and what I want...
is a divorce.
You might think
I'm acting out of hurt
or pride,
but this isn't that.
I'm not speaking
from wound,
but rather from a reflective
and reasoned clarity.
If you've never believed
anything I've told you,
please, believe this.
I do not wish to live
my life with you,
not now,
not a month from now,
not ever.
(music playing)
They're divorcing?
HATCHER: That's the word.
WASHINGTON:
Where'd you get this word?
From Bobby.
He called in
and said if the papers
got delivered,
I can accept.
BERLUTI: They just separated.
How--
It's probably that slut's idea.
Talking about me, Rebecca?
You? No!
I was talking about--
A different slut.
(chuckles)
DOLE: Jimmy,
I have some depositions
scheduled today
on a negligence claim
that, uh...
I'm not really up
to doing them.
If I get you up to speed,
could you cover for me?
Sure.
I'll get the file.
She is 9 months pregnant!
Her due date
isn't until June 5th.
This will be
a three-day trial.
And what happens if she goes
into labor the first day?
Is there a reason you don't
wanna wait a month, Mr. Young?
Of course there's a reason.
He wants the jury to see
a pregnant mother-to-be
instead of a murderer.
He's probably instructed her
to give birth
during the closings.
KITTLESON:
Yes, thank you for that.
Since I addressed
my question to Mr. Young,
maybe we could let him answer.
YOUNG: For the record,
I advised my client to postpone.
She doesn't want to.
She has a right
to a speedy trial,
and that's what she wants.
Mrs. Neilson, why?
I wanna put this trial
behind me, Your Honor.
When I have my baby,
I want everything else over.
What about the stress?
This is not traffic court.
You are being charged
with first-degree murder.
Your own doctor is saying,
"Let's wait."
Well, I'm of sound mind,
so any medical decision
would be mine.
And it's your choice
to go forward now?
Yes, Your Honor.
I want this ordeal over with.
Okay, then.
Let's bring in the jury.
Jimmy Berluti?
DOLE: Claire...
He isn't even in this firm.
Please don't start with me now.
CLAIRE: I'm just saying--
DOLE: You're upset
that I didn't
let you run with it.
I understand.
I'd like to know why.
You're too green, okay?
The case could turn
on these depositions,
and it could be malpractice
for me to vest it
with an attorney
just out of law school,
and if that hurts,
well, hurt happens.
Just give Jimmy whatever
backup he needs,
and if you need to reach me,
I'll be
at Nancy Decker's office.
Nancy Decker,
the divorce lawyer?
Yes.
Ms. Dole.
I'm sorry.
I can't talk now.
Don't we have a meeting?
I'll be handling it.
Hi, Virginia.
How are you today?
NAOMI: Don't we have
depositions?
Yes, I'll be doing them.
You? What happened to Lindsay?
Ms. Carter,
everything's in good hands.
You need not worry.
We also have Jimmy Berluti,
another attorney,
joining us for the deposition,
so we are in excellent shape.
McGUIRE: At the time I arrived,
the uniform officers
already had the defendant
in custody.
Could you tell the jury
your observations
of the scene, detective?
There was blood
spattered everywhere,
the ceiling,
the walls,
on the toaster.
KUPCHECK:
Did the spatter pattern
suggest anything to you?
The victim was shot
at point-blank range six times.
Several of those shots
were fired
after the victim
was on the ground,
helpless.
Did you have an opportunity
to speak with the defendant,
Carrie Neilson?
McGUIRE: Yes.
She confessed
to the shooting,
as she had on the 911 tape.
And what was her demeanor
as she confessed
this crime to you?
Calm, detached,
without remorse.
This was not
a woman in distress.
STRINGER: Did she say
why she shot her husband?
She said
he was physically abusive
and she was concerned
for the health
of her unborn child.
In fact, she said
she was afraid her husband
would kill the child.
Objection to the word "child"
at the time of the shooting,
this was a two-month fetus,
not a child--
STRINGER: I asked the witness
what the defendant said.
The word she used
was "child,"
was it not, detective?
Yes.
The objection is overruled.
STRINGER: The six shots,
they were fired
from an automatic
in rapid succession,
isn't that right?
They appear to have been, yes.
Within two to three seconds?
Probably.
STRINGER: And detective,
have you ever encountered
a situation
in which a person
under attack
keeps shooting even
after the attack is over?
Yes--
STRINGER: So it's possible
my client fired off
the first shot or two
in defense of her unborn child
and just kept
squeezing the trigger
while still in shock.
That's possible,
isn't it, detective?
Anything's possible, counsel.
If at any time
you get confused,
you just tell me, okay,
Virginia?
Okay.
And you understand
I represent White Oaks,
the apartment complex
where you live, right?
Yes.
SLOAN:
Did your lawyers tell you
I'd be against you?
Yeah.
SLOAN: Well,
I'll try not to be a big meanie.
Really, I just wanna
find out what happened.
Now, this happened
at a party, right?
Yes,
we were having
a birthday party.
Your birthday?
Yeah.
How old?
Ten.
Ten?
Wow.
That's a big one.
I bet you were really excited.
Yeah.
Know how old I am?
A hundred.
(chuckles)
Some of the guests
said you were jumping
on the balcony,
is that right?
Yes.
And were you also jumping
against the rail, Virginia?
It just broke.
You must have been so scared.
I was.
Do you remember where
your mom was when you fell?
I think in the kitchen.
First of all,
I'm not a divorce lawyer, Bobby.
That's a whole different
breed of bug.
And second, even if I were,
I'm a little too close.
DONNELL: It's not going
to be complicated
or even contested.
I just wanna get it done.
FRUTT: Speaking professionally,
I don't think
that's a sound approach,
and speaking personally,
I'm offended by it.
You have a son.
You both have a duty
to explore reconciliation.
How could you possibly
prioritize expediency over--
I'm not asking you
to interfere
with my life, Ellenor.
Since--
I am in your life, Bobby!
So is Rebecca!
So is everybody else
in this office!
Whether you want us in
is beside the point.
I don't.
FRUTT: Well, we are!
(music playing)
And as your friend,
as a parent myself,
I am telling you,
go get your hands dirty
in therapy before--
It's her, okay?
Lindsay's mind is made up.
She's immovable.
Given that,
the best way to spare my son
is to get it done.
Is there going to be
a custody issue?
No, she's taking him weekdays.
I get him weekends.
There's no rule this
has to be messy, you know.
There's gotta be a rule
against it being simple.
I can't believe
you have a murder trial.
STRINGER: Me neither.
Is there a reason
you're on this?
I know you're good,
but still,
a year out of law school?
I think Eugene
wanted a woman on board
since there are implied
Roe V. Wade issues
running through this.
Roe V. Wade?
The fetus wasn't viable
at the time of the shooting.
We're arguing defense
of others, so--
CLAIRE: Is that
a problem for you?
I mean,
being a pro-choice woman?
Not really, plus--
Plus what?
I love working with Eugene.
He's so far and away
the best lawyer
in this firm.
I'm afraid of him.
I said, "Hi," once,
and he kind of,
hmm, grunted, yes.
(laughs)
Do you think it'd
be incredibly inappropriate
if I asked him out?
Yes! Hello?
Well, he's never
going to ask me out.
He's too principled,
which means if we were
to ever date,
I'd have to make the move.
Claire,
we're set?
I'm ready.
You prepped this woman, right?
Oh, she's prepped.
She's ready.
Let's go.
BARKER: It isn't really
true, though, is it?
What?
That it's Lindsay's doing.
You orchestrated it,
don't you think?
I didn't orchestrate her
falling out of love with me.
Fair enough.
Wives do that
with husbands all the time,
but they don't leave
when there are children involved
unless pushed.
And I pushed her?
You kissed me.
You slept with me.
One could argue
that you traded
on her self-respect
and manipulated things.
Are you my therapist now?
No, I'm the mistress
or maybe I'm just the device
that helps you end
your marriage.
All right, this is crazy.
Let's postpone.
No.
YOUNG: Carrie, you're in pain.
The baby could be in distress.
Is he?
I don't know, Carrie,
but why take the risk?
I don't wanna
give birth in custody!
They'll just
take him away from me.
I want the trial over.
I wanna have him
on the outside.
Carrie, we could lose,
in which case--
you'll probably
get more visitation in jail
than you could in prison.
These are just contractions,
like you said.
I wanna keep going.
I wanna have my baby
in a real hospital,
not in a jail.
NAOMI: My kitchen has a window,
so I could see her.
I understand,
but my question was,
do you think it was safe
for her to play
on the second-story balcony?
I assumed
the balcony was safe.
SLOAN: It never previously
struck you as unsafe,
did it?
No.
SLOAN: And you never called
the White Oaks
Management Company
about the railing
outside your apartment,
did you?
No.
SLOAN: How many times a day
would you say you
looked at that railing?
I don't have time
to sit around
and look at a railing.
SLOAN: I know,
but how many times a day,
on average,
do you think you see it?
A dozen?
Two dozen?
Maybe 10
if you count
the times I see it
from inside the kitchen.
SLOAN: And how long
did you live
in this apartment
before the accident?
About four years.
SLOAN: Okay,
three hundred
sixty-five times four
makes one thousand
four hundred sixty days.
If you looked ten times a day
for four years,
assuming my math is correct,
you looked at that
railing roughly
14,600 times
before the accident,
and not once
did you notice anything
was wrong with it.
Isn't that right?
(door opens)
What the hell
was all that about?
Four times
three sixty-five times ten.
What's that got to do
with anything?
Here's our problem,
the defendant
isn't really negligent
for not fixing the railing
if they had no way of knowing
it was broken.
What are you talking about?
They have an ongoing duty
to inspect and repair.
Yes, and the file is full
of maintenance reports
that say they did exactly that.
Not one report says
the railing was loose or broken,
and now they've
got your testimony
that you've never noticed
anything wrong either.
CLAIRE:
But the way Virginia fell--
that railing
had to be broken.
We have to be able
to prove that.
It's their building,
for God's sake!
Naomi, look,
this is going to be
a very tough case to win.
My suggestion would be,
let me see
if I can get something.
By "something"
you mean how much?
If we can get,
say, 50,000,
we should think about it.
My daughter
will be in a wheelchair
for the rest of her life.
For that, we're supposed
to accept $50,000?
The damages to your daughter
are obviously immeasurable.
Unfortunately,
I don't know
if we can prove
what we need to prove.
I don't believe this.
My daughter can't walk.
She can't walk.
They fought a lot,
but it escalated dramatically
after she got pregnant.
By "fought," you mean?
A lot of screaming,
but it got physical, too.
I could hear it right
through the walls.
YOUNG: And Mr. Gaul,
you live in the apartment
next to Mrs. Neilson
and the victim?
Correct.
And Mr. Gaul,
were you able to hear
the substance
of their arguments?
Typically, no,
because I really didn't care to.
I'd turn my television up.
But I did specifically
hear him screaming
that he didn't want her
to have it,
presumably the baby.
I also specifically heard her
on more than one occasion
screaming at him
that he was hurting her.
Did you ever do
anything yourself?
I intervened when I thought
he was hurting her.
When he wasn't around,
I tried another form
of intervention,
which was trying
to persuade her
to leave the man.
Did you ever call the police?
I called them the night
I heard the shots,
and I called them once before
when I thought
he was physically
attacking her.
According to your statement
to the police,
you either intervened
or called the police
every time you heard sounds
of physical abuse
or intense screaming.
Was that your statement?
Yes, it was.
And it's true?
Yes, it is.
Well, on the night
of Mr. Neilson's death,
you neither intervened
nor called the police
prior to the shooting,
is that correct?
Yes.
KUPCHECK: So one
could conclude, then,
that there were no sounds
of fighting
before the gun was fired.
I don't know.
Well, you didn't hear them.
I can't say that I did,
but I was in shock myself.
It's possible
I just don't remember.
DOLE: Ellenor,
Hi.
Hey.
Looks like somebody's leaving.
Lindsay, this is none
of my business.
I couldn't agree
with you more.
FRUTT: All right, look,
cards on the table?
I love you,
and I love Bobby,
and I suppose I have
an emotional investment
in this marriage.
I think you're being far,
far too draconian here.
You have a son,
and as angry
as you may be with Bobby,
and I don't blame you,
by the way.
You have to realize
that the hatred you feel
comes from betrayal
and that the foundation
of betrayal
is love.
There is no good reason
to rush this.
Let some time pass.
Give your emotions
some time to settle.
Lindsay,
you have a son.
Can you sit for a second?
Last week,
I sat in a church grieving
for a serial killer,
a sick man who kills
innocent people.
I mourned his loss, Ellenor.
But the thing that struck me
sitting in that church
was that I was mourning.
I was feeling.
It was something
I haven't done for a long,
long time.
And you said
let my emotions settle.
My problem is...
I've had no emotions.
I've been going dead
with Bobby.
With every day,
I grow a little more dead,
and that's where my son
is becoming most victimized.
His mother is becoming
emotionally deadened.
I wish I would feel hatred
or anger towards Bobby,
but I feel neither.
I don't love him.
I don't hate him.
I'm not sure
if I really even like him,
but what I am sure of
is that for me
to have any chance
of resuming
some emotional life,
I have to get away
from him.
And that's what I'm doing.
YOUNG: I'm not so convinced
we should call her.
STRINGER: Carrie?
How can we not?
Well, the neighbor's
testimony went so well,
Carrie could just throw
that all away.
But our whole case turns
on jury sympathy.
They have to get to know her.
Maybe so.
Eugene, can we talk
for a second about last week
when I took the stand?
What's there to talk about?
Look, I know you weren't
trying to do me any favors,
but why--
is there a reason
you feel a need to apologize
if somebody salutes
your compassion?
I don't think I do that.
Why do you grunt?
I beg your pardon?
Well, do you intimidate people
by design?
Look, we have a case
to work on here, Jamie,
so is there a reason
for all these questions?
I'm just taking a personal
interest in you.
That's all.
Look,
I know you wouldn't go out
with me in a million years,
but I was wondering
after this trial,
could we may be set our clock
ahead a million years
and go have dinner?
(music playing)
I don't think that would be
a great idea.
Okay.
Can we debate the merit
of the idea over dinner?
Let's just get back to work.
Fine.
Fine.
I've scheduled
a settlement conference
for 9:00 tomorrow morning.
As I said,
I'd be thrilled to get 50
under this fact pattern.
Okay.
May I ask,
who was handling this case,
you or Lindsay?
Well, I was pushing it uphill.
Um, Lindsay was planning
to take the depos.
Why?
Can I be honest?
Sure.
I think a disservice
was done to these people,
revving the mother up,
making her think
there'd be some big score.
CLAIRE: Her daughter
is in a wheelchair.
We hardly needed
to rev her up.
She was obviously led
to believe
there's some pot of gold here.
There should be.
A girl is disabled--
BERLUTI: Yes,
the damages are there.
That doesn't mean
liability is.
Whose side are you on?
Claire, I know you don't
wanna hear this,
but public housing tenants
make lousy plaintiffs.
For whatever reason,
juries don't like them.
On top of that,
you've got a defendant
knee-deep in HUD loans
just trying to keep
the place habitable.
There's no pot of gold,
and you did a big disservice
to the client
to suggest otherwise.
I know you're young
and enthusiastic,
but I think you need to deal
with your zeal.
Sometimes it can cause harm.
The meeting's at 9:00.
CARRIE: We'd been married
just under four years.
Happily?
CARRIE: Till about
two years ago.
He was having problems
with his partners,
and he started drinking more.
He started hitting me.
STRINGER:
He started hitting you.
Over what period of time?
Over a period
of about six months.
Then I got pregnant,
and he promised
to stop drinking.
Did he?
For a while.
Things kept getting worse
at work.
I couldn't have been easy
to be around,
you know, the first trimester
of my first pregnancy.
Can you tell us
what happened that night?
He came home.
He'd been drinking.
And he said--
he said he didn't want me
and he didn't want the baby,
that he was suffocating,
that I'd ruined everything.
STRINGER: Did you argue?
CARRIE: Not really.
I began to respond
when he just shoved me,
and then he punched me.
What did you do?
I did what I always did.
I took it,
tried not to make him
any more angry.
STRINGER: How did he react
to that?
He said something about
getting it out of me,
and then he punched me,
and I fell to the ground.
STRINGER: Then what?
And I pulled...
the gun out of the cabinet
where we kept it,
and I told him to stand back,
that I wouldn't let him hurt
our baby,
and then he lunged at me!
Carrie, what did you do next?
I shot him.
It was as if my fingers,
they just convulsed
on the trigger
like it wasn't me shooting.
KUPCHECK: You say
your husband beat you
over a six-month period
and you never called the police
any of those times.
I'm seeing a therapist
about that now
and she says it's called
battered women syndrome.
KUPCHECK: I see.
Did you ever go to the hospital?
No.
So you were never
really injured.
CARRIE: Oh, I had bruises.
I was just too ashamed to--
You never went
to a shelter either?
No.
With all these places
you could go to for help--
Knowing something's there
and being able to do
something about it
are two different--
But you did do
something about it,
didn't you, Carrie?
You decided to put six bullets
into your husband rather--
Objection!
Sustained.
Does the name Robert Sheehan
mean anything to you?
He's a lawyer.
He's a divorce lawyer
you consulted
only one month
before you killed your husband.
CARRIE: I met with him once,
but I didn't follow
through on it.
Because he told you
that since most
of your husband's money
was held in trusts,
you would get a lot more
with him dead
than if you divorced him.
Objection!
Sustained.
Your husband have life
insurance?
Yes.
It's a $500,000 policy
with the money going to you.
You're aware of that,
aren't you?
I'm aware of it.
You decided to trade in
your alcoholic husband
for half a million dollars,
didn't you, Mrs. Neilson?
I decided to save the life
of my baby, Mr. Kupcheck.
Oh, you were saving your baby?
Yes.
Not your own life,
but your baby's.
Yes.
Mrs. Neilson,
have you ever had an abortion?
Objection!
Objection!
The defendant
is clearly saying
that a two-month fetus
is a person.
I'd like to cross-examine her
on that.
I'll allow it.
Have you ever had an abortion?
Once,
before I was married.
If you remember,
how old was the child?
Seventeen weeks.
YOUNG: We got hurt
in there today, Jamie.
STRINGER: Many people change
their positions
on abortion, Eugene,
especially after they
get married.
We need to draft a proposed set
of jury instructions.
Mr. Young,
you called for me.
I need for you to think,
Mr. Gaul.
Think back.
Are you sure you didn't hear
anything before the shots?
I'm not sure at all.
He put those words
into my mouth.
I may very well
have heard them fighting.
I may need to put you
back up there to say that.
Okay.
I'll let you know.
It is not a good idea.
We cannot rest our case
on that kind of uncertainty.
Well, I don't like resting
our case where we are right now.
Look, you wanna put
the neighbor up there
to say what he may have heard?
Jury instructions, Jamie.
I need them on my desk tonight.
Fine.
Fine.
MAN (over TV):
Where is everybody?
Come on, guys. We're gonna--
It just seems like
such a little amount.
It is, but--
NAOMI: I read in the papers,
these people
who choose to smoke
win millions of dollars
from the tobacco companies.
My daughter didn't choose
to lean against
a broken railing,
and now she can't walk.
CLAIRE: I think one thing
that they're betting on
is that you can't afford
to see this through trial.
If you beat them in court,
Ms. Carter,
it could take four
or five years
before you get anything,
that's just assuming you win,
which...
isn't even likely.
There's nothing else you can do?
I don't think so.
I mean, the truth is
you've got a sympathetic
defendant
providing housing
with loans from HUD.
Like Jimmy says,
they get these loans just to--
NAOMI: What?
What?
What do you mean redo them?
Redo them.
They're imprecise.
This whole case
would come down--
Where are they imprecise?
Three, four, five, six.
We need to spell it out.
It is.
Not enough, Jamie.
If that judge instructs
that a fetus is not a child,
we lose.
Do you get that?
Our whole theory
is defense of others.
If she instructs
that there is no child,
then there is no other.
Stop talking to me
like I'm three.
I'm talking to you
like you're a lawyer
and this work
is not acceptable.
Oh, you're full of crap!
You're upset because
I asked you to dinner
and you can't handle it.
Well, the offer is revoked.
You can go eat
a cheeseburger alone
like the big,
bald curmudgeon you are.
You don't talk to me like that.
These instructions are fine.
The work is acceptable.
So you can go off
into a corner and grunt.
Oh, now I get it.
Get what?
You asked me out for currency.
Now, when I come down on you
for your work,
you can claim I'm retaliating
for personal reasons.
Very clever!
STRINGER: Oh,
that is so cynical!
I don't think so.
STRINGER: I asked you out
because I like you
and you can't take it.
Well, I like you.
I like you.
(door opens)
Claire?
Claire?
Did you sleep here?
Oh, I guess I did.
What are you working on?
CLAIRE: The Carter case.
I have a 9:00
settlement conference.
It's 10 past 9:00.
What?
I'm so sorry.
Traffic.
We just started.
Mr. Sloan is offering us
the grand sum of $20,000.
Look,
our insurance company
is tightening up
on nuisance claims.
Nuisance?
Claire,
that girl is disabled for life.
This is hardly a nuisance claim.
Come on.
Post-accident tests
showed a minimal fissure.
The railing broke.
Because she jumped on to it.
She weighs 70 pounds.
SLOAN: Look,
there's no negligence,
and if we go to trial,
you're looking at three years
before the first witness
is even sworn in.
Now, I'm sure your client
could use that 20,000.
My suspicion is it would come in
very handy right now.
You have an obligation
to take the offer
to your client.
Could you take this
to your client?
SLOAN: What is it?
CLAIRE: An amendment
to our document
production request.
We want your HUD
financial records.
I already got
the loan application
under the Freedom
of Information Act.
Your client made representations
about upgrading and renovating
White Oaks Property.
They got $4,000,000 in fact,
which is interesting because
according to your own
interrogatory responses,
there have been no renovations
since you received
the HUD funding.
You stated that there
are currently
no plans for remodeling.
That might qualify your client
for fraud, Mr. Sloan.
I think you're reaching,
counsel.
CLAIRE: I don't think so.
You received money earmarked
for repairs.
Had you done those repairs,
the faulty railing
would have been discovered.
If you've not done them,
brings me back to fraud.
SLOAN: You don't know
what that money was spent on.
Now, I don't think--
This is my motion
for a court-enforced audit.
Then we'll know what the money
was spent on
or not spent on.
I certainly hope your client
didn't take a low road,
Mr. Sloan.
There's still an opportunity
to choose a high one.
I would encourage you
to encourage your client
to reconsider,
not to avoid an audit,
not to avoid liability
for fraud,
but to compensate
a 10-year-old girl
who will never be a cheerleader,
who will never get to dance
at her senior prom,
and who won't walk down
the aisle
at her own wedding.
She won't walk through many
of life's moments
because I suspect
your client got greedy.
I would encourage you
to talk to your client
because it's the right thing
to do.
This was murder.
A woman in a lousy marriage
fires six shots point-blank.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
That's not defense.
No evidence
of any shouting or fighting
preceding the shooting.
It just so happens
the defendant visited
a divorce attorney
one month before.
She explored getting out
of this marriage one way,
she chose another.
And as for this theory,
she was defending the life
of her unborn child.
This fetus was eight weeks old.
She previously aborted
a 17-week fetus.
So let's not pretend
that she considered it a person,
and even if she did,
the law doesn't.
A nonviable fetus
is not a person.
That's what the Supreme Court
has said.
Now, she wants to say, "Hey,
as far as she's concerned,
it's a human being."
Well, that is exactly
the rationale
employed by people
who shoot doctors
at abortion clinics.
They're just protecting
the lives of the unborn.
Well, we don't let
those murderers
get away with it,
and we can't let this one.
And finally...
even should you choose
to ignore the law,
defy the Supreme Court,
and find this fetus
to be a person,
thereby affording
Mrs. Neilson
her novel defense,
her use of force
has to be reasonable.
It cannot be excessive.
The victim here was unarmed.
One shot was arguably excessive.
She fired six,
five after he lay on the floor.
You see this man here?
He was very much a person.
This was a human being
shot six times,
point blank.
She fired the one shot
and impulsively kept squeezing.
In her own testimony,
she said her fingers convulsed
on the trigger.
That testimony was not refuted.
As for her consulting
with a divorce lawyer,
that didn't just so happen.
Of course,
she thought about divorce.
The man was beating her,
punching her in the stomach.
She was pregnant,
and talk to any pregnant woman.
They don't point to their
stomach and say "the thing"
or "the fetus."
They call it "the baby"
so don't tell me that
for any woman
who's been pregnant
that there isn't a life in play.
This country
spends millions of dollars
educating people
on the importance
of prenatal care
because we recognize that life,
because parenting starts
with pregnancy,
because the essence
of parenting
is protecting the child,
and that starts in the womb.
She didn't have to consult
with the Supreme Court
to know that she had a child
living inside her.
Carrie Neilson
was protecting her child
and in case you didn't know,
if the victim
had killed that child
with one of his punches,
the state legally could
and would have charged him
with murder.
See, we prosecute those
who kill nonviable fetuses
unless it's by a legal abortion.
So it's disingenuous
for the state
to be saying to you,
"Hey, there is no life."
There was a life
and my client did
what she had to,
to save it.
KITTLESON: Okay,
members of the jury,
I am now going to give you
a set of instructions
before I send you back
to deliberate.
The most important one,
I'm going to say first and last
because you really need
to heed it.
For the purpose of this trial,
you are to consider
the fetus a human being.
That means the defendant
is entitled
to use force to defend it.
That was good, right?
That's the exact
instruction we wanted.
YOUNG: But they still
have to find
the force was reasonable,
and six shots is six shots.
They also might not be convinced
on your motive.
Well, how long
before--ah!
You okay?
I was contracting
all through the closings.
I could be in labor.
Well, let's get you
to a hospital then.
Don't I have to be here?
No, not for the reading
of the verdict.
Carrie, why take the risk?
Okay.
YOUNG: Guard?
How much more?
We don't know.
Mr. Sloan says it's a package
we'll be happy with.
So it sounds encouraging.
So this is good news.
BERLUTI: It's very good news.
We gave them two days.
We'll let you know as soon
as the offer comes in.
Okay.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
I'm gonna go tell Virginia.
Okay.
Wow, huh?
I didn't appreciate you
springing that stuff
in the conference.
I didn't plan that.
I meant to tell you before,
but I overslept,
and then things looked like
they were going south.
You don't need to apologize.
Good work, Claire.
The idea of going to HUD,
the legwork,
getting ahold
of those documents
that was something.
It's called zeal.
You're a fine, young lawyer,
and, well, excellent job.
Thank you.
(door closes)
How long ago?
Jamie--
Thank you very much.
She's in full labor.
KITTLESON: Members of the jury,
have you reached a verdict?
We have, Your Honor.
KITTLESON: What say you?
FOREPERSON: On the matter
of the Commonwealth
versus Carrie Neilson
on the charge of murder
in the first-degree,
we find the defendant,
not guilty.
On the charge of murder
in the second-degree,
we find the defendant,
not guilty.
KITTLESON: This concludes
the jury's service.
You are dismissed
with the court's thanks.
We are adjourned.
(gavel bangs)
Congratulations.
You too.
Let's go tell Carrie.
Seven pounds, ten ounces.
Everybody's healthy?
NURSE: Mother and son
are doing fine.
The doctor will be out
in a second
and she said you could go in.
You told her she was acquitted?
NURSE: I did. She's ecstatic.
It'll just be a second.
Good day, I guess.
Yup.
WOMAN (over PA): Dr. Cullen,
to go to medicine.
I loved your closing,
by the way.
Thank you.
Listen,
if you still feel
like getting dinner
sometime later--
That'd be great.
Okay.
(door opens)
You can go in.
YOUNG: Thank you.
WOMAN (over PA):
Dr. Minder, call pediatric.
(music playing)
(giggles)
Now I see
why she wanted the trial
before she delivered.
(music playing)
It might not mean anything.
Nope.
Might not.
(music playing)
WOMAN: You stinker!
(music playing)
you have feelings for her,
are you in love with her?
No.
Not at all.
But I might see her again,
and I didn't want you
to hear it
at the office.
I thought it should come
from me.
Have you two slept together?
(music playing)
(sighs)
Unbelievable.
DONNELL: Look, I don't think
it's a good idea
for us to talk about--
What are we talking about, then?
DONNELL: Lindsay,
whatever our future will be,
if we stop communicating--
Can I stop you for a second?
You and I have no future.
I appreciate you taking me
off the hook here.
But I was beginning
to feel like the bad guy,
but now I don't.
I can pursue what I want
with a much lighter heart,
and what I want...
is a divorce.
You might think
I'm acting out of hurt
or pride,
but this isn't that.
I'm not speaking
from wound,
but rather from a reflective
and reasoned clarity.
If you've never believed
anything I've told you,
please, believe this.
I do not wish to live
my life with you,
not now,
not a month from now,
not ever.
(music playing)
They're divorcing?
HATCHER: That's the word.
WASHINGTON:
Where'd you get this word?
From Bobby.
He called in
and said if the papers
got delivered,
I can accept.
BERLUTI: They just separated.
How--
It's probably that slut's idea.
Talking about me, Rebecca?
You? No!
I was talking about--
A different slut.
(chuckles)
DOLE: Jimmy,
I have some depositions
scheduled today
on a negligence claim
that, uh...
I'm not really up
to doing them.
If I get you up to speed,
could you cover for me?
Sure.
I'll get the file.
She is 9 months pregnant!
Her due date
isn't until June 5th.
This will be
a three-day trial.
And what happens if she goes
into labor the first day?
Is there a reason you don't
wanna wait a month, Mr. Young?
Of course there's a reason.
He wants the jury to see
a pregnant mother-to-be
instead of a murderer.
He's probably instructed her
to give birth
during the closings.
KITTLESON:
Yes, thank you for that.
Since I addressed
my question to Mr. Young,
maybe we could let him answer.
YOUNG: For the record,
I advised my client to postpone.
She doesn't want to.
She has a right
to a speedy trial,
and that's what she wants.
Mrs. Neilson, why?
I wanna put this trial
behind me, Your Honor.
When I have my baby,
I want everything else over.
What about the stress?
This is not traffic court.
You are being charged
with first-degree murder.
Your own doctor is saying,
"Let's wait."
Well, I'm of sound mind,
so any medical decision
would be mine.
And it's your choice
to go forward now?
Yes, Your Honor.
I want this ordeal over with.
Okay, then.
Let's bring in the jury.
Jimmy Berluti?
DOLE: Claire...
He isn't even in this firm.
Please don't start with me now.
CLAIRE: I'm just saying--
DOLE: You're upset
that I didn't
let you run with it.
I understand.
I'd like to know why.
You're too green, okay?
The case could turn
on these depositions,
and it could be malpractice
for me to vest it
with an attorney
just out of law school,
and if that hurts,
well, hurt happens.
Just give Jimmy whatever
backup he needs,
and if you need to reach me,
I'll be
at Nancy Decker's office.
Nancy Decker,
the divorce lawyer?
Yes.
Ms. Dole.
I'm sorry.
I can't talk now.
Don't we have a meeting?
I'll be handling it.
Hi, Virginia.
How are you today?
NAOMI: Don't we have
depositions?
Yes, I'll be doing them.
You? What happened to Lindsay?
Ms. Carter,
everything's in good hands.
You need not worry.
We also have Jimmy Berluti,
another attorney,
joining us for the deposition,
so we are in excellent shape.
McGUIRE: At the time I arrived,
the uniform officers
already had the defendant
in custody.
Could you tell the jury
your observations
of the scene, detective?
There was blood
spattered everywhere,
the ceiling,
the walls,
on the toaster.
KUPCHECK:
Did the spatter pattern
suggest anything to you?
The victim was shot
at point-blank range six times.
Several of those shots
were fired
after the victim
was on the ground,
helpless.
Did you have an opportunity
to speak with the defendant,
Carrie Neilson?
McGUIRE: Yes.
She confessed
to the shooting,
as she had on the 911 tape.
And what was her demeanor
as she confessed
this crime to you?
Calm, detached,
without remorse.
This was not
a woman in distress.
STRINGER: Did she say
why she shot her husband?
She said
he was physically abusive
and she was concerned
for the health
of her unborn child.
In fact, she said
she was afraid her husband
would kill the child.
Objection to the word "child"
at the time of the shooting,
this was a two-month fetus,
not a child--
STRINGER: I asked the witness
what the defendant said.
The word she used
was "child,"
was it not, detective?
Yes.
The objection is overruled.
STRINGER: The six shots,
they were fired
from an automatic
in rapid succession,
isn't that right?
They appear to have been, yes.
Within two to three seconds?
Probably.
STRINGER: And detective,
have you ever encountered
a situation
in which a person
under attack
keeps shooting even
after the attack is over?
Yes--
STRINGER: So it's possible
my client fired off
the first shot or two
in defense of her unborn child
and just kept
squeezing the trigger
while still in shock.
That's possible,
isn't it, detective?
Anything's possible, counsel.
If at any time
you get confused,
you just tell me, okay,
Virginia?
Okay.
And you understand
I represent White Oaks,
the apartment complex
where you live, right?
Yes.
SLOAN:
Did your lawyers tell you
I'd be against you?
Yeah.
SLOAN: Well,
I'll try not to be a big meanie.
Really, I just wanna
find out what happened.
Now, this happened
at a party, right?
Yes,
we were having
a birthday party.
Your birthday?
Yeah.
How old?
Ten.
Ten?
Wow.
That's a big one.
I bet you were really excited.
Yeah.
Know how old I am?
A hundred.
(chuckles)
Some of the guests
said you were jumping
on the balcony,
is that right?
Yes.
And were you also jumping
against the rail, Virginia?
It just broke.
You must have been so scared.
I was.
Do you remember where
your mom was when you fell?
I think in the kitchen.
First of all,
I'm not a divorce lawyer, Bobby.
That's a whole different
breed of bug.
And second, even if I were,
I'm a little too close.
DONNELL: It's not going
to be complicated
or even contested.
I just wanna get it done.
FRUTT: Speaking professionally,
I don't think
that's a sound approach,
and speaking personally,
I'm offended by it.
You have a son.
You both have a duty
to explore reconciliation.
How could you possibly
prioritize expediency over--
I'm not asking you
to interfere
with my life, Ellenor.
Since--
I am in your life, Bobby!
So is Rebecca!
So is everybody else
in this office!
Whether you want us in
is beside the point.
I don't.
FRUTT: Well, we are!
(music playing)
And as your friend,
as a parent myself,
I am telling you,
go get your hands dirty
in therapy before--
It's her, okay?
Lindsay's mind is made up.
She's immovable.
Given that,
the best way to spare my son
is to get it done.
Is there going to be
a custody issue?
No, she's taking him weekdays.
I get him weekends.
There's no rule this
has to be messy, you know.
There's gotta be a rule
against it being simple.
I can't believe
you have a murder trial.
STRINGER: Me neither.
Is there a reason
you're on this?
I know you're good,
but still,
a year out of law school?
I think Eugene
wanted a woman on board
since there are implied
Roe V. Wade issues
running through this.
Roe V. Wade?
The fetus wasn't viable
at the time of the shooting.
We're arguing defense
of others, so--
CLAIRE: Is that
a problem for you?
I mean,
being a pro-choice woman?
Not really, plus--
Plus what?
I love working with Eugene.
He's so far and away
the best lawyer
in this firm.
I'm afraid of him.
I said, "Hi," once,
and he kind of,
hmm, grunted, yes.
(laughs)
Do you think it'd
be incredibly inappropriate
if I asked him out?
Yes! Hello?
Well, he's never
going to ask me out.
He's too principled,
which means if we were
to ever date,
I'd have to make the move.
Claire,
we're set?
I'm ready.
You prepped this woman, right?
Oh, she's prepped.
She's ready.
Let's go.
BARKER: It isn't really
true, though, is it?
What?
That it's Lindsay's doing.
You orchestrated it,
don't you think?
I didn't orchestrate her
falling out of love with me.
Fair enough.
Wives do that
with husbands all the time,
but they don't leave
when there are children involved
unless pushed.
And I pushed her?
You kissed me.
You slept with me.
One could argue
that you traded
on her self-respect
and manipulated things.
Are you my therapist now?
No, I'm the mistress
or maybe I'm just the device
that helps you end
your marriage.
All right, this is crazy.
Let's postpone.
No.
YOUNG: Carrie, you're in pain.
The baby could be in distress.
Is he?
I don't know, Carrie,
but why take the risk?
I don't wanna
give birth in custody!
They'll just
take him away from me.
I want the trial over.
I wanna have him
on the outside.
Carrie, we could lose,
in which case--
you'll probably
get more visitation in jail
than you could in prison.
These are just contractions,
like you said.
I wanna keep going.
I wanna have my baby
in a real hospital,
not in a jail.
NAOMI: My kitchen has a window,
so I could see her.
I understand,
but my question was,
do you think it was safe
for her to play
on the second-story balcony?
I assumed
the balcony was safe.
SLOAN: It never previously
struck you as unsafe,
did it?
No.
SLOAN: And you never called
the White Oaks
Management Company
about the railing
outside your apartment,
did you?
No.
SLOAN: How many times a day
would you say you
looked at that railing?
I don't have time
to sit around
and look at a railing.
SLOAN: I know,
but how many times a day,
on average,
do you think you see it?
A dozen?
Two dozen?
Maybe 10
if you count
the times I see it
from inside the kitchen.
SLOAN: And how long
did you live
in this apartment
before the accident?
About four years.
SLOAN: Okay,
three hundred
sixty-five times four
makes one thousand
four hundred sixty days.
If you looked ten times a day
for four years,
assuming my math is correct,
you looked at that
railing roughly
14,600 times
before the accident,
and not once
did you notice anything
was wrong with it.
Isn't that right?
(door opens)
What the hell
was all that about?
Four times
three sixty-five times ten.
What's that got to do
with anything?
Here's our problem,
the defendant
isn't really negligent
for not fixing the railing
if they had no way of knowing
it was broken.
What are you talking about?
They have an ongoing duty
to inspect and repair.
Yes, and the file is full
of maintenance reports
that say they did exactly that.
Not one report says
the railing was loose or broken,
and now they've
got your testimony
that you've never noticed
anything wrong either.
CLAIRE:
But the way Virginia fell--
that railing
had to be broken.
We have to be able
to prove that.
It's their building,
for God's sake!
Naomi, look,
this is going to be
a very tough case to win.
My suggestion would be,
let me see
if I can get something.
By "something"
you mean how much?
If we can get,
say, 50,000,
we should think about it.
My daughter
will be in a wheelchair
for the rest of her life.
For that, we're supposed
to accept $50,000?
The damages to your daughter
are obviously immeasurable.
Unfortunately,
I don't know
if we can prove
what we need to prove.
I don't believe this.
My daughter can't walk.
She can't walk.
They fought a lot,
but it escalated dramatically
after she got pregnant.
By "fought," you mean?
A lot of screaming,
but it got physical, too.
I could hear it right
through the walls.
YOUNG: And Mr. Gaul,
you live in the apartment
next to Mrs. Neilson
and the victim?
Correct.
And Mr. Gaul,
were you able to hear
the substance
of their arguments?
Typically, no,
because I really didn't care to.
I'd turn my television up.
But I did specifically
hear him screaming
that he didn't want her
to have it,
presumably the baby.
I also specifically heard her
on more than one occasion
screaming at him
that he was hurting her.
Did you ever do
anything yourself?
I intervened when I thought
he was hurting her.
When he wasn't around,
I tried another form
of intervention,
which was trying
to persuade her
to leave the man.
Did you ever call the police?
I called them the night
I heard the shots,
and I called them once before
when I thought
he was physically
attacking her.
According to your statement
to the police,
you either intervened
or called the police
every time you heard sounds
of physical abuse
or intense screaming.
Was that your statement?
Yes, it was.
And it's true?
Yes, it is.
Well, on the night
of Mr. Neilson's death,
you neither intervened
nor called the police
prior to the shooting,
is that correct?
Yes.
KUPCHECK: So one
could conclude, then,
that there were no sounds
of fighting
before the gun was fired.
I don't know.
Well, you didn't hear them.
I can't say that I did,
but I was in shock myself.
It's possible
I just don't remember.
DOLE: Ellenor,
Hi.
Hey.
Looks like somebody's leaving.
Lindsay, this is none
of my business.
I couldn't agree
with you more.
FRUTT: All right, look,
cards on the table?
I love you,
and I love Bobby,
and I suppose I have
an emotional investment
in this marriage.
I think you're being far,
far too draconian here.
You have a son,
and as angry
as you may be with Bobby,
and I don't blame you,
by the way.
You have to realize
that the hatred you feel
comes from betrayal
and that the foundation
of betrayal
is love.
There is no good reason
to rush this.
Let some time pass.
Give your emotions
some time to settle.
Lindsay,
you have a son.
Can you sit for a second?
Last week,
I sat in a church grieving
for a serial killer,
a sick man who kills
innocent people.
I mourned his loss, Ellenor.
But the thing that struck me
sitting in that church
was that I was mourning.
I was feeling.
It was something
I haven't done for a long,
long time.
And you said
let my emotions settle.
My problem is...
I've had no emotions.
I've been going dead
with Bobby.
With every day,
I grow a little more dead,
and that's where my son
is becoming most victimized.
His mother is becoming
emotionally deadened.
I wish I would feel hatred
or anger towards Bobby,
but I feel neither.
I don't love him.
I don't hate him.
I'm not sure
if I really even like him,
but what I am sure of
is that for me
to have any chance
of resuming
some emotional life,
I have to get away
from him.
And that's what I'm doing.
YOUNG: I'm not so convinced
we should call her.
STRINGER: Carrie?
How can we not?
Well, the neighbor's
testimony went so well,
Carrie could just throw
that all away.
But our whole case turns
on jury sympathy.
They have to get to know her.
Maybe so.
Eugene, can we talk
for a second about last week
when I took the stand?
What's there to talk about?
Look, I know you weren't
trying to do me any favors,
but why--
is there a reason
you feel a need to apologize
if somebody salutes
your compassion?
I don't think I do that.
Why do you grunt?
I beg your pardon?
Well, do you intimidate people
by design?
Look, we have a case
to work on here, Jamie,
so is there a reason
for all these questions?
I'm just taking a personal
interest in you.
That's all.
Look,
I know you wouldn't go out
with me in a million years,
but I was wondering
after this trial,
could we may be set our clock
ahead a million years
and go have dinner?
(music playing)
I don't think that would be
a great idea.
Okay.
Can we debate the merit
of the idea over dinner?
Let's just get back to work.
Fine.
Fine.
I've scheduled
a settlement conference
for 9:00 tomorrow morning.
As I said,
I'd be thrilled to get 50
under this fact pattern.
Okay.
May I ask,
who was handling this case,
you or Lindsay?
Well, I was pushing it uphill.
Um, Lindsay was planning
to take the depos.
Why?
Can I be honest?
Sure.
I think a disservice
was done to these people,
revving the mother up,
making her think
there'd be some big score.
CLAIRE: Her daughter
is in a wheelchair.
We hardly needed
to rev her up.
She was obviously led
to believe
there's some pot of gold here.
There should be.
A girl is disabled--
BERLUTI: Yes,
the damages are there.
That doesn't mean
liability is.
Whose side are you on?
Claire, I know you don't
wanna hear this,
but public housing tenants
make lousy plaintiffs.
For whatever reason,
juries don't like them.
On top of that,
you've got a defendant
knee-deep in HUD loans
just trying to keep
the place habitable.
There's no pot of gold,
and you did a big disservice
to the client
to suggest otherwise.
I know you're young
and enthusiastic,
but I think you need to deal
with your zeal.
Sometimes it can cause harm.
The meeting's at 9:00.
CARRIE: We'd been married
just under four years.
Happily?
CARRIE: Till about
two years ago.
He was having problems
with his partners,
and he started drinking more.
He started hitting me.
STRINGER:
He started hitting you.
Over what period of time?
Over a period
of about six months.
Then I got pregnant,
and he promised
to stop drinking.
Did he?
For a while.
Things kept getting worse
at work.
I couldn't have been easy
to be around,
you know, the first trimester
of my first pregnancy.
Can you tell us
what happened that night?
He came home.
He'd been drinking.
And he said--
he said he didn't want me
and he didn't want the baby,
that he was suffocating,
that I'd ruined everything.
STRINGER: Did you argue?
CARRIE: Not really.
I began to respond
when he just shoved me,
and then he punched me.
What did you do?
I did what I always did.
I took it,
tried not to make him
any more angry.
STRINGER: How did he react
to that?
He said something about
getting it out of me,
and then he punched me,
and I fell to the ground.
STRINGER: Then what?
And I pulled...
the gun out of the cabinet
where we kept it,
and I told him to stand back,
that I wouldn't let him hurt
our baby,
and then he lunged at me!
Carrie, what did you do next?
I shot him.
It was as if my fingers,
they just convulsed
on the trigger
like it wasn't me shooting.
KUPCHECK: You say
your husband beat you
over a six-month period
and you never called the police
any of those times.
I'm seeing a therapist
about that now
and she says it's called
battered women syndrome.
KUPCHECK: I see.
Did you ever go to the hospital?
No.
So you were never
really injured.
CARRIE: Oh, I had bruises.
I was just too ashamed to--
You never went
to a shelter either?
No.
With all these places
you could go to for help--
Knowing something's there
and being able to do
something about it
are two different--
But you did do
something about it,
didn't you, Carrie?
You decided to put six bullets
into your husband rather--
Objection!
Sustained.
Does the name Robert Sheehan
mean anything to you?
He's a lawyer.
He's a divorce lawyer
you consulted
only one month
before you killed your husband.
CARRIE: I met with him once,
but I didn't follow
through on it.
Because he told you
that since most
of your husband's money
was held in trusts,
you would get a lot more
with him dead
than if you divorced him.
Objection!
Sustained.
Your husband have life
insurance?
Yes.
It's a $500,000 policy
with the money going to you.
You're aware of that,
aren't you?
I'm aware of it.
You decided to trade in
your alcoholic husband
for half a million dollars,
didn't you, Mrs. Neilson?
I decided to save the life
of my baby, Mr. Kupcheck.
Oh, you were saving your baby?
Yes.
Not your own life,
but your baby's.
Yes.
Mrs. Neilson,
have you ever had an abortion?
Objection!
Objection!
The defendant
is clearly saying
that a two-month fetus
is a person.
I'd like to cross-examine her
on that.
I'll allow it.
Have you ever had an abortion?
Once,
before I was married.
If you remember,
how old was the child?
Seventeen weeks.
YOUNG: We got hurt
in there today, Jamie.
STRINGER: Many people change
their positions
on abortion, Eugene,
especially after they
get married.
We need to draft a proposed set
of jury instructions.
Mr. Young,
you called for me.
I need for you to think,
Mr. Gaul.
Think back.
Are you sure you didn't hear
anything before the shots?
I'm not sure at all.
He put those words
into my mouth.
I may very well
have heard them fighting.
I may need to put you
back up there to say that.
Okay.
I'll let you know.
It is not a good idea.
We cannot rest our case
on that kind of uncertainty.
Well, I don't like resting
our case where we are right now.
Look, you wanna put
the neighbor up there
to say what he may have heard?
Jury instructions, Jamie.
I need them on my desk tonight.
Fine.
Fine.
MAN (over TV):
Where is everybody?
Come on, guys. We're gonna--
It just seems like
such a little amount.
It is, but--
NAOMI: I read in the papers,
these people
who choose to smoke
win millions of dollars
from the tobacco companies.
My daughter didn't choose
to lean against
a broken railing,
and now she can't walk.
CLAIRE: I think one thing
that they're betting on
is that you can't afford
to see this through trial.
If you beat them in court,
Ms. Carter,
it could take four
or five years
before you get anything,
that's just assuming you win,
which...
isn't even likely.
There's nothing else you can do?
I don't think so.
I mean, the truth is
you've got a sympathetic
defendant
providing housing
with loans from HUD.
Like Jimmy says,
they get these loans just to--
NAOMI: What?
What?
What do you mean redo them?
Redo them.
They're imprecise.
This whole case
would come down--
Where are they imprecise?
Three, four, five, six.
We need to spell it out.
It is.
Not enough, Jamie.
If that judge instructs
that a fetus is not a child,
we lose.
Do you get that?
Our whole theory
is defense of others.
If she instructs
that there is no child,
then there is no other.
Stop talking to me
like I'm three.
I'm talking to you
like you're a lawyer
and this work
is not acceptable.
Oh, you're full of crap!
You're upset because
I asked you to dinner
and you can't handle it.
Well, the offer is revoked.
You can go eat
a cheeseburger alone
like the big,
bald curmudgeon you are.
You don't talk to me like that.
These instructions are fine.
The work is acceptable.
So you can go off
into a corner and grunt.
Oh, now I get it.
Get what?
You asked me out for currency.
Now, when I come down on you
for your work,
you can claim I'm retaliating
for personal reasons.
Very clever!
STRINGER: Oh,
that is so cynical!
I don't think so.
STRINGER: I asked you out
because I like you
and you can't take it.
Well, I like you.
I like you.
(door opens)
Claire?
Claire?
Did you sleep here?
Oh, I guess I did.
What are you working on?
CLAIRE: The Carter case.
I have a 9:00
settlement conference.
It's 10 past 9:00.
What?
I'm so sorry.
Traffic.
We just started.
Mr. Sloan is offering us
the grand sum of $20,000.
Look,
our insurance company
is tightening up
on nuisance claims.
Nuisance?
Claire,
that girl is disabled for life.
This is hardly a nuisance claim.
Come on.
Post-accident tests
showed a minimal fissure.
The railing broke.
Because she jumped on to it.
She weighs 70 pounds.
SLOAN: Look,
there's no negligence,
and if we go to trial,
you're looking at three years
before the first witness
is even sworn in.
Now, I'm sure your client
could use that 20,000.
My suspicion is it would come in
very handy right now.
You have an obligation
to take the offer
to your client.
Could you take this
to your client?
SLOAN: What is it?
CLAIRE: An amendment
to our document
production request.
We want your HUD
financial records.
I already got
the loan application
under the Freedom
of Information Act.
Your client made representations
about upgrading and renovating
White Oaks Property.
They got $4,000,000 in fact,
which is interesting because
according to your own
interrogatory responses,
there have been no renovations
since you received
the HUD funding.
You stated that there
are currently
no plans for remodeling.
That might qualify your client
for fraud, Mr. Sloan.
I think you're reaching,
counsel.
CLAIRE: I don't think so.
You received money earmarked
for repairs.
Had you done those repairs,
the faulty railing
would have been discovered.
If you've not done them,
brings me back to fraud.
SLOAN: You don't know
what that money was spent on.
Now, I don't think--
This is my motion
for a court-enforced audit.
Then we'll know what the money
was spent on
or not spent on.
I certainly hope your client
didn't take a low road,
Mr. Sloan.
There's still an opportunity
to choose a high one.
I would encourage you
to encourage your client
to reconsider,
not to avoid an audit,
not to avoid liability
for fraud,
but to compensate
a 10-year-old girl
who will never be a cheerleader,
who will never get to dance
at her senior prom,
and who won't walk down
the aisle
at her own wedding.
She won't walk through many
of life's moments
because I suspect
your client got greedy.
I would encourage you
to talk to your client
because it's the right thing
to do.
This was murder.
A woman in a lousy marriage
fires six shots point-blank.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
That's not defense.
No evidence
of any shouting or fighting
preceding the shooting.
It just so happens
the defendant visited
a divorce attorney
one month before.
She explored getting out
of this marriage one way,
she chose another.
And as for this theory,
she was defending the life
of her unborn child.
This fetus was eight weeks old.
She previously aborted
a 17-week fetus.
So let's not pretend
that she considered it a person,
and even if she did,
the law doesn't.
A nonviable fetus
is not a person.
That's what the Supreme Court
has said.
Now, she wants to say, "Hey,
as far as she's concerned,
it's a human being."
Well, that is exactly
the rationale
employed by people
who shoot doctors
at abortion clinics.
They're just protecting
the lives of the unborn.
Well, we don't let
those murderers
get away with it,
and we can't let this one.
And finally...
even should you choose
to ignore the law,
defy the Supreme Court,
and find this fetus
to be a person,
thereby affording
Mrs. Neilson
her novel defense,
her use of force
has to be reasonable.
It cannot be excessive.
The victim here was unarmed.
One shot was arguably excessive.
She fired six,
five after he lay on the floor.
You see this man here?
He was very much a person.
This was a human being
shot six times,
point blank.
She fired the one shot
and impulsively kept squeezing.
In her own testimony,
she said her fingers convulsed
on the trigger.
That testimony was not refuted.
As for her consulting
with a divorce lawyer,
that didn't just so happen.
Of course,
she thought about divorce.
The man was beating her,
punching her in the stomach.
She was pregnant,
and talk to any pregnant woman.
They don't point to their
stomach and say "the thing"
or "the fetus."
They call it "the baby"
so don't tell me that
for any woman
who's been pregnant
that there isn't a life in play.
This country
spends millions of dollars
educating people
on the importance
of prenatal care
because we recognize that life,
because parenting starts
with pregnancy,
because the essence
of parenting
is protecting the child,
and that starts in the womb.
She didn't have to consult
with the Supreme Court
to know that she had a child
living inside her.
Carrie Neilson
was protecting her child
and in case you didn't know,
if the victim
had killed that child
with one of his punches,
the state legally could
and would have charged him
with murder.
See, we prosecute those
who kill nonviable fetuses
unless it's by a legal abortion.
So it's disingenuous
for the state
to be saying to you,
"Hey, there is no life."
There was a life
and my client did
what she had to,
to save it.
KITTLESON: Okay,
members of the jury,
I am now going to give you
a set of instructions
before I send you back
to deliberate.
The most important one,
I'm going to say first and last
because you really need
to heed it.
For the purpose of this trial,
you are to consider
the fetus a human being.
That means the defendant
is entitled
to use force to defend it.
That was good, right?
That's the exact
instruction we wanted.
YOUNG: But they still
have to find
the force was reasonable,
and six shots is six shots.
They also might not be convinced
on your motive.
Well, how long
before--ah!
You okay?
I was contracting
all through the closings.
I could be in labor.
Well, let's get you
to a hospital then.
Don't I have to be here?
No, not for the reading
of the verdict.
Carrie, why take the risk?
Okay.
YOUNG: Guard?
How much more?
We don't know.
Mr. Sloan says it's a package
we'll be happy with.
So it sounds encouraging.
So this is good news.
BERLUTI: It's very good news.
We gave them two days.
We'll let you know as soon
as the offer comes in.
Okay.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
I'm gonna go tell Virginia.
Okay.
Wow, huh?
I didn't appreciate you
springing that stuff
in the conference.
I didn't plan that.
I meant to tell you before,
but I overslept,
and then things looked like
they were going south.
You don't need to apologize.
Good work, Claire.
The idea of going to HUD,
the legwork,
getting ahold
of those documents
that was something.
It's called zeal.
You're a fine, young lawyer,
and, well, excellent job.
Thank you.
(door closes)
How long ago?
Jamie--
Thank you very much.
She's in full labor.
KITTLESON: Members of the jury,
have you reached a verdict?
We have, Your Honor.
KITTLESON: What say you?
FOREPERSON: On the matter
of the Commonwealth
versus Carrie Neilson
on the charge of murder
in the first-degree,
we find the defendant,
not guilty.
On the charge of murder
in the second-degree,
we find the defendant,
not guilty.
KITTLESON: This concludes
the jury's service.
You are dismissed
with the court's thanks.
We are adjourned.
(gavel bangs)
Congratulations.
You too.
Let's go tell Carrie.
Seven pounds, ten ounces.
Everybody's healthy?
NURSE: Mother and son
are doing fine.
The doctor will be out
in a second
and she said you could go in.
You told her she was acquitted?
NURSE: I did. She's ecstatic.
It'll just be a second.
Good day, I guess.
Yup.
WOMAN (over PA): Dr. Cullen,
to go to medicine.
I loved your closing,
by the way.
Thank you.
Listen,
if you still feel
like getting dinner
sometime later--
That'd be great.
Okay.
(door opens)
You can go in.
YOUNG: Thank you.
WOMAN (over PA):
Dr. Minder, call pediatric.
(music playing)
(giggles)
Now I see
why she wanted the trial
before she delivered.
(music playing)
It might not mean anything.
Nope.
Might not.
(music playing)
WOMAN: You stinker!
(music playing)