The Practice (1997–2004): Season 7, Episode 8 - Bad to Worse - full transcript
CASSIE: This is me there.
I did all the stunts.
Some of the girls got picked
for their bodies,
which you can see, I had one,
and others for the gymnastics.
But actually, I could do
all the cheers.
Cassie,
these are wonderful photographs.
Thank you.
FRUTT: But you're going on trial
for murder tomorrow,
and I really think we need
to focus on the case.
You said it was important
that the jury feel
they know me a little.
Yes, but whether you did
your own backflips
in high school
isn't relevant.
We also need to meet
with your housekeeper--
Nanny.
Although she might as well be
a housekeeper
since foster care
yanked away my son.
This case could turn
on her testimony,
so--
You think I did it, don't you?
It's not our place
to pass judgment.
What about the New Jersey
incident?
As we explained,
since you weren't
convicted there,
the prosecution can't introduce
it into--
CASSIE: I mean,
do you think I did that one?
I wouldn't know.
I didn't!
It was probably his wife.
She did time in a rubber room,
you know?
And for someone who supposedly
loved her husband,
why wasn't she at the trial?
Loved ones of the victims
always go to trial
to see the murderer get theirs.
Well, perhaps, as you say,
she was the killer,
so she'd feel no need
to see you get yours.
YOUNG: We need to concentrate
on this trial.
Who ran over who seven years ago
in New Jersey isn't relevant.
They're real.
I'm sorry?
My breasts.
I can tell when women
are looking at them to see.
They're real.
So are mine.
Is there a point?
It's just that people think
I'm a fraud.
The police obviously do,
that's why I'm going on trial,
isn't it?
And the jury's gonna think,
"If she'd lie about her tits,
then she'd lie about anything."
Well, they're real.
The jury needs to know it.
(music playing)
WOMAN: This way, please.
(indistinct chatter)
Here you go.
Thank you.
Lindsay Dole.
Ralph Alt. It's a pleasure.
DOLE: Hi.
RALPH: Ed Limato.
How do you do?
DOLE: Nice to meet you.
RALPH: Brian Adams,
Stanley Wells,
and Roland Monroe,
our client.
Pleasure to meet you, Lindsay.
DOLE: Nice to meet you.
Please have a seat.
DOLE: Thank you.
RALPH: I know it was incredibly
short notice.
I appreciate your agreeing
to meet with us.
No problem.
(sighs)
Roland is CEO
of Seaboard Airlines,
a fairly new East Coast
commuter service.
I've heard of it.
RALPH: They're being sued today
in federal court.
The plaintiff,
a prospective passenger,
is seeking a restraining order
to enjoin one of Seaboard's
policies
and we'd like you
to join with us
and actually argue the motion.
We can fully brief you
in all the issues,
which are pretty
straightforward,
assuming you're interested.
Okay, what am I missing?
Excuse me?
This is a big law firm
with plenty of high-powered
civil litigators.
My practice has been almost
exclusively criminal.
Why do you want me?
We don't expect
to win the motion.
Our goal is to attract
attention.
Now, in addition to being a...
pretty gifted attorney,
you're attractive,
and at the moment,
extremely hot copy,
given your murder conviction
and recent release.
Basically,
we think you'll make the news.
I want this particular policy
to get some play.
What's the policy?
We don't fly Arabs.
You're kidding, right?
I'm not kidding.
We wanna be known as the most
security-conscious airline
in the new world.
RALPH: Obviously, the longer
this thing stays in play,
the more publicity it generates.
Ideally, we'd like to get Roland
on the stand
for an evidentiary hearing.
If you can accomplish that,
fantastic.
You don't fly Arabs?
She's a total loon, Eugene.
Let's just do our job.
What is our job?
The directive from the client
has been to authenticate
her breasts.
Well, did they at least
take away
her driver's license?
Excuse me?
When she ran over
her last lover?
She wasn't convicted
of that, Lucy.
(door opens)
FRUTT: Sophie?
I thought we were
gonna meet down
at the courthouse?
I know, but...
can I talk to the two of you
for a second?
I'm starting to panic a little.
I don't think I should testify.
Shouldn't testify?
You're the alibi.
I know,
but...
I have a little skeleton
in my closet,
and I am suddenly afraid
that if the D. A. finds out--
What skeleton?
Four years ago, I...
sort of changed my name,
and not exactly legally.
What do you mean you sort of
changed your name?
I embezzled...
a little
from a former employer.
It was nothing too serious.
But my lawyer said
that there was a possibility
that I could go to jail,
so I fled the state
and came to Massachusetts.
And with the help of some
less reputable lawyers,
I became Sophie Taylor.
DONNELL: She tells you this
an hour before trial?
BERLUTI: I'm not sure
you can call her.
Why?
Because you can't knowingly
put up a witness to lie.
She so much as says
the name "Sophie Taylor,"
it's a lie.
Look, the likelihood
is the prosecution will have
no idea about this.
She has no record
as Sophie Taylor.
That isn't relevant
to the legal ethics.
BERLUTI: What's her real name?
She won't tell us.
Jamie, maybe you and Lucy
could find that out.
DONNELL: Why don't you just
plead this thing?
We'd love to. Helen won't.
The best they'll offer
is murder two.
Then go with what you've got.
This man is an American citizen.
He's a college professor.
The intent is safety here,
not bias, and when--
KENDALL: Oh, come on, counsel.
The assumption itself is a bias.
To make an airline safe,
you have to exclude Arabs?
Your Honor, I will admit
the outrageousness
of this policy.
How generous of you.
Do you also acknowledge
something called
equal protection?
DOLE: The rich are already
doing this.
They're chartering
private Gulf Streams
to fly on Arab-free planes.
One could argue my client
is serving equality
by offering the same privilege
to the middle class.
One could argue it, I wouldn't.
With the court's permission,
I'd like to conduct
a short evidentiary hearing
so you can hear directly
from my client.
We don't need a hearing
to determine whether or not--
DOLE: I will submit the laws
in this area are complicated.
If you're going to shut us down,
I would at least request
the courtesy
of hearing what my client
has to say.
2:00.
GAMBLE: Revenge is said to be
the greatest of all motivators.
There is no psychological
force greater,
none than the will to get even.
You will hear evidence
how Cassie Ray
and Jason Scott were lovers.
They even had a child together.
Then, early last May,
Jason Scott broke it off
and Cassie Ray became enraged.
The evidence will reveal
the threats
the defendant made
against the victim.
The evidence will show
on May 23rd,
in the middle of the night,
Cassie Ray
drove to the victim's house,
picked up a baseball bat,
and attacked the victim
while he lay sleeping.
The coroner will tell you
Jason Scott was struck
on the head
over 50 times.
The expert psychiatrist
will tell you
that this inhuman brutality
can only come
from profound vengeance.
Most of all,
the evidence will reveal
that this brutal murder
was committed by Cassie Ray.
The evidence will indeed reveal
this was a brutal,
vicious murder,
but that's all the evidence
will tell you.
The evidence here is thin,
circumstantial,
no witnesses.
Cassie Ray has an alibi.
She was at home sleeping
on the evening of May 23rd,
and her nanny
will take the stand
and tell you my client
never left her house.
Prosecution has a burden
to prove guilt
beyond all reasonable doubt.
The evidence will reveal
they can't even come close.
What the jury
won't be allowed to hear
is that Cassie Ray
was arrested seven years ago
for mowing down another lover
with her SUV.
Since Ms. Ray was acquitted
of that murder,
the information
is inadmissible.
In other legal news,
Seaboard Airlines
was sued today in federal court
for its refusal
to allow passengers
of Arab or Islamic descent
on its aircraft.
Well, they made the news.
That's what they wanted, right?
Lucy, is it okay
if I transfer my calls?
I need to pick up
the little man at daycare.
Sure.
WASHINGTON: Maybe you should get
your own secretary.
I'm sorry?
You have your own practice now.
Maybe you should have
your own secretary.
Is there a problem?
Well, you know,
I'm just concerned
that people will call,
get Lucy,
and think you still work here.
And we'll be confused
with the kind of firm
that defends bigots.
Oh. I see.
You defend murderers,
but a bigot?
It is not the same thing,
and you know it.
All right.
WASHINGTON: We don't defend
a person's right to kill.
You are defending
this client's right
to engage in racial profiling.
And to the extent
that you're helping
to legitimize prejudice,
don't think you're not fueling
a murder or two
down the road, Lindsay.
I need to take cases, Rebecca.
You didn't need to take
that one.
DOLE: I'm trying to build
a civil practice here.
WASHINGTON: You didn't need
to take that one.
McGUIRE: That's pretty much
how he looked when we arrived.
GAMBLE: Detective,
who called the police
to the scene?
Ms. Ray's nanny,
she was dropping the child
off for a visit
when she discovered the body.
And, detective,
could you tell us
what physical evidence
you found?
The defendant's fingerprints
were all over the house.
We found hair genetically
matching the defendant's,
specifically one
of the defendant's hairs
was found on the murder weapon.
Her bloody shoe print,
tire tracks matching
the defendant's car.
We also found a bite mark
on the victim.
Dental imprints revealed
an exact match
with the defendant.
Fresh bite mark?
Within the last 24 hours, yes.
Possible he was bitten
the day before he was killed?
We can't rule it out, but--
YOUNG: Thank you.
And if my client
were in that house
the day before this murder,
it's possible she left
her prints,
tire tracks,
and hair behind then.
Isn't it, detective?
McGUIRE: Anything's possible,
counsel, but again, I--
My client also came
to the house once the body
was discovered,
didn't she?
She entered the premises.
She did. She was restrained.
YOUNG: She contaminated
the scene, didn't she?
Part of the scene.
Possible she left
her bloody footprint then,
isn't it?
McGUIRE: We don't believe
it was left then.
YOUNG: Can you rule it out?
McGUIRE: No, but--
YOUNG: You found
the baseball bat on the floor.
That's correct.
Well then it's possible
the hair you found on the bat
could have come off the carpet,
right?
I heard her screaming at him.
The defendant?
JESSEL: The very day
before the murder.
I was walking my cat
past Jason's house.
Oh, God rest his soul.
And I heard her yelling,
"You can't do this.
I won't let you do this."
And I even thought
I heard a scuffle.
Now, Ms. Jessel,
the night of the murder,
did you observe
anything unusual?
Yes.
About 1:00 A. M.,
I was walking my cat,
we're both fairly nocturnal,
and I saw her car parked
one street over from his house.
The defendant's car?
Parked a street away
like she didn't want anyone
to notice.
But I noticed.
You were walking your cat?
Yes, I was.
I suppose that makes me crazy?
You said you saw
my client's car.
What was the license plate?
It's a Mercedes, silver.
You didn't get the license?
No.
Do you believe in past lives,
Ms. Jessel?
Nor does that make me crazy,
if that's your implication.
Were you on earth
before this life?
Yes, I was.
FRUTT: As?
A cat.
(indistinct chatter)
ROLAND: It's discrimination.
I don't pretend otherwise.
But it's necessary.
DOLE: Why?
Look, we can screen baggage,
search passengers,
get most of the weapons,
but you know who we catch?
The unwitting people
who aren't really trying
to get past us.
And even some of them get by.
Anybody truly determined
to take a plane down.
(sighs) I just can't look
my customers in the eye
and say, "I guarantee
it won't happen."
But you can if you ban Arabs?
We improve our chances.
The terrorists we're most
at risk from
come from the Muslim world.
That's a fact.
Also a fact,
this is racial profiling.
Without a doubt.
But we're not the first
to do it.
Immigration fingerprints
and photographs any Islamic
coming into this country.
We don't do that
with the French.
But what you're doing
isn't tightening security.
You're barring them.
ROLAND: Look,
people do not feel comfortable
seeing an Arab person
on their plane.
They do not feel safe.
I'm in a customer-service
business here.
If my customer
does not feel safe,
I'm out of business.
That's what this is
really about,
isn't it, Mr. Monroe?
The bottom line?
It's about trying
to assure our customers
that the security--
FURST: "We don't fly Arabs."
Mr. Furst,
I'm a great believer
in equal justice.
But so were most of the people
on those planes September 11th.
That's as cheap
as it is offensive.
I don't think so.
We have all kinds of weapons
that can avoid detection.
Plus, these terrorists
are trained
in physical combat.
Even if you eliminate
the weapons--
FURST: What if your research
showed that blacks
were more likely to commit
mayhem on a plane?
I would never exclude blacks
because I would consider
that bias to be unreasonable.
This prejudice isn't.
There are 1.6 billion Muslims
in the world,
and you're discriminating
against all of them
because of the actions of 19.
That's reasonable?
Start your own company
and run it the way you'd like.
I should get the same courtesy.
FURST: We don't give people
the right
to be a bigot in this country.
How about the right to be safe?
What if somebody was convicted
of a crime?
Do you screen them out?
No.
What about, say, your attorney?
Would you fly her?
Objection!
SOPHIE: I've been
her son's nanny
for almost two years.
FRUTT: You're a live-in?
Yes, and my bedroom
is right over the garage.
Ma'am, I call your attention
to the night of May 23rd, 2002.
Where were you that night?
I was home at Cassie's house.
FRUTT: And was she there?
Yes, she was all night.
FRUTT: Can you tell us
what you remember specifically?
SOPHIE: Yes.
Cassie was having
sinus problems,
so she took some sleeping pills
to help her sleep,
and since they kind of
knock her out,
she asked me to listen
for Timothy
in case he should cry.
I left the door open
so I could hear.
Are you a deep sleeper?
I'm an extremely light sleeper.
Do you know whether my client
ever left the house that night?
She couldn't have.
If she so much as started
the car,
she would've woken me.
Thank you.
Ms. Taylor,
you're very devoted
to Cassie Ray, aren't you?
SOPHIE: Yes.
But I am telling the truth.
She never left the house
that night.
I see. Did you?
Did I?
No.
GAMBLE: After you discovered
Jason Scott's body,
and the police arrived,
do you remember
what you told them?
Not really.
I was in shock.
They had to calm me down.
You don't remember telling
the police
that you left the house
that night.
I didn't tell them that.
GAMBLE: Well, yes, you did.
You said you were home all night
with the exception
of when you called a cab
to go to the pharmacy.
You see that man, Sophie?
He's the cab driver
who drove you.
Now do you remember going
to the pharmacy?
SOPHIE: I forgot that I told
the police about that.
GAMBLE: Oh, you forgot you told
the police that.
Would you be up here lying
to save Cassie?
No.
I forgot about the pharmacy.
I was gone 30 minutes tops.
GAMBLE: Uh-huh.
By the way,
I have no record
of a Sophie Taylor existing
until three years ago.
Would that be your real name?
Am I dead?
It doesn't look good.
Listen,
I think we should plead
to murder two.
I know it's not much,
but it beats murder one.
I know you think I did it.
You don't wanna win this,
do you?
We are doing
our very best, Cassie.
But I have to say,
you were dumped
by two boyfriends,
both end up dead.
It's--
Ryan never dumped me!
Ryan would be New Jersey?
He loved me!
He had a wife and a family.
That's the only reason
he didn't wanna leave.
He loved me!
And I didn't kill him.
I had an alibi.
That's why I didn't get
convicted.
I had an alibi.
FRUTT: Yes, you always seem
to find yourself an alibi.
But your car
ran over him.
It was stolen.
I reported it stolen.
Okay, so someone stole your car
and just happened
to run over your lover with it.
I had an alibi.
And he loved me.
He had a family, that's all.
Don't you go saying
Ryan didn't love me.
And Jason?
He loved you, too?
No.
Jason did dump me.
He deserved what he got.
But I didn't do it.
Ryan loved me.
It was only 'cause he had
a family.
(elevator dings)
Hello.
Hello.
CASSIE: Yes, I bit him.
I was mad at him.
I don't deny that.
But I still loved him.
Why were you so angry
with Jason Scott?
I was in love with him.
I took care of him.
I raised his son.
I made love to him.
I let him nuzzle himself
to sleep
every single night
on my breasts,
which are real, by the way.
I was practically a wife
and he dumped me.
Did you make threats?
Yes.
I screamed at him, I admit.
I even told people I hated him.
But underneath,
I still loved him.
I could never--
YOUNG: Cassie,
did you ever leave your house
the night of his death?
Never. I took a sleeping pill.
I was knocked out.
I was there the day of,
and we argued,
and I bit him,
but I never went there
that night.
GAMBLE: You bit him
because you were angry?
CASSIE: Yes,
and why shouldn't I be?
I have a son,
and right now
he's in foster care,
for God's sakes.
I shouldn't be angry?
Well, he's in foster care
because his father's dead,
and his mother's being charged
with the murder.
Exactly, for which I'm innocent.
How could I not be angry?
Cassie, you get angry a lot,
don't you?
CASSIE: I don't get violent,
if that's where you're headed.
Okay.
Cassie, I'm holding
in my hands your diary.
This is your diary, correct?
CASSIE: Yes.
GAMBLE: I would like you to read
the clipped page
dated March 11, 2002.
"He has his precious bat
he got at an auction
signed by Harmon Killebrew.
I feel like pounding
his head with it.
Maybe one day I will."
(laughs)
Sorry.
You laughed?
I couldn't help it.
What do you mean
you couldn't help it?
How do you laugh?
YOUNG: She bites him,
her prints and hairs
are all over the scene.
She threatens him.
Her alibi turns out to be
a big liar with no name.
I'm thinking, "What else
could possibly go wrong?"
(snaps finger)
Of course.
She puts an entry
in her diary
saying she wants to beat
on his head
with a bat.
Come on.
That doesn't mean you laugh.
Did you know
about this diary?
Of course we didn't know.
That would've taken
the fun out of it.
Eugene.
I can't wait to see
what happens next.
By the way,
Cassie knew the police
had her diary,
and she forgot to tell us.
She forgot to tell us.
DONNELL: What are you gonna do?
YOUNG: What else can I do?
It's plan "B" time.
Plan "B"?
Who?
The nanny.
What?
The nanny?
Unless somebody's got
a better idea.
Eugene.
Bobby,
don't tell me
how ridiculous it is.
This case went to ridiculous
a long time ago.
You're going to accuse
the nanny?
What would be the motive?
Don't need a motive.
Hell, I don't even know
her real name.
It's all a big mystery.
Mystery is doubt,
reasonable doubt.
Maybe they were lovers.
Anybody think about that?
Sophie and Cassie are lovers.
This Jason was getting
in the way,
so out comes
Harmon Killebrew.
Let's go with that.
Eugene, let's think
about this.
EUGENE: Bobby,
what's to think about?
Sophie is as dumb as Cassie.
Who knows?
This might even work.
FURST: These are very
good times
for intolerance.
I mean, come on,
who among us,
if we see a Muslim
on our flight,
doesn't check the bastard
out head to toe?
They blew up
the World Trade Center,
for God's sakes.
And every single one of us,
over a year later,
still feels violated.
But what's being violated
today so openly,
even proudly,
is our civil rights,
our freedom,
the thing that America
is supposed to be about.
There's nothing proud
about this day, Your Honor.
I'm sorry,
I didn't see that coming.
I apologize.
I have this ritual
with my nine-year-old daughter
over breakfast.
I tell her about the case
that I'm arguing,
and she tells me
about school.
And this week,
she's learning
about Rosa Parks.
She said,
"Imagine, daddy.
They used to make blacks sit
in the back of the bus."
Sure,
it's a different world
since 9/11,
but the times
of our nation
have always been defined most
by who we are
as a people.
Well, who are we?
Do we really stand
for liberty?
I mean, are we truly
the champions of equal rights?
Are Martin Luther King's words
about judging a person
by the content
of their character,
not by the color
of their skin?
Do we live
by these words?
Or are they just credos
that we trumpet
when we're not running scared?
"We the people."
That's how
our constitution begins.
Since 9/11,
the people want justice.
People want revenge.
But mostly,
people want security.
Our government
tells us every day,
"The next attack is coming.
Be on the lookout."
It's not a question of if,
but when.
It's not about
screening weapons.
The airplane itself
is the weapon.
It's a big,
flying bomb.
It has to be about stopping
certain people
from getting on board,
and, yes,
by certain people,
I mean Arabs.
Racial profiling
is a terrible thing,
but the reality is,
it has become necessary.
These terrorists
are unlike
any enemy
that we have ever faced.
They're not just evil.
They're educated,
trained,
and willing
to die themselves.
They live among us
as neighbors.
They are among us.
It's not possible
to behaviorally
pick them out.
That's why,
to be safe,
an airline has
to screen them all.
Or at least an airline
should be allowed to.
When I was growing up,
America was always a land
whose borders were open,
a place where anybody
from any nation
could come to our shores,
work hard,
and fulfill his dreams.
I've always loved
being an American.
I have a young son,
and...
once my dream for him
was to grow up
in this America.
But that's no longer
a possibility
and I cry about that.
I cry for my son.
But as his mother,
I want him to be safe.
I want for him to be able
to get on a plane
that won't be used
as a bomb.
And I don't think
you can dismiss that
as paranoia,
Your Honor,
when our own leaders
are telling us
to be afraid.
I'll remind you, Ms. Taylor,
that you're under oath.
We had a lot of surprises
earlier, didn't we?
Turns out you were gone
from the house.
Sophie Taylor
isn't your real name.
Kind of begs the question,
doesn't it?
You killed Jason Scott,
didn't you?
What?
It was you.
What are you doing?
What's going on?
PATRICK: Mr. Young...
YOUNG: Your Honor,
I have reason
to suspect this woman
of the murder.
This woman is a felon.
What state did you flee
after you were caught
embezzling?
Hey.
What's your name, ma'am?
I told you that in private.
You're not my client, ma'am.
What's your name?
You can't do this.
Tell us who you are.
Your Honor, I plead
the Second Amendment.
Let's try the Fifth.
Did you kill Jason Scott?
No!
You had keys
to his house, her car.
You could've easily taken
one of Cassie's hairs
and stuck it to a bat.
Your Honor.
SOPHIE: What?
You're crazy.
YOUNG: Your Honor,
I demand you order this woman
to reveal her real name!
Maybe she's killed others.
Mr. Young, settle down.
Now.
You know what,
Ms. Taylor,
or whoever you are,
I am going to order you
to tell us your true identity.
Otherwise, I will hold you
in contempt.
Marge Fennell.
I'm from Connecticut.
And who did you embezzle
from, Ms. Fennell?
I didn't.
I just made it up
to make me sound
a little exotic.
I got a speeding ticket once.
(music playing)
Well, we had to at least try.
Now what?
Showtime, I guess.
Showtime?
I thought we already
had Showtime.
What are you gonna do now?
I'm going to close.
FRUTT: With what?
United States of America.
MAN: be seated.
I find it almost
unimaginable
that we are in court
to decide
whether it is permissible
for an airline
to discriminate
against a group
based on its ethnicity.
It is a flat-out violation
of the Civil Rights
Act of 1964,
The Commerce Clause,
and the idea repulses me.
It is unimaginable.
But I'm reminded
of a column I read
in the New York Times
by Thomas Friedman.
He said what happened
on September the 11th was...
beyond unimaginable.
It wasn't so much
our intelligence agencies
as it was our imaginations
that failed.
We simply couldn't conceive
that educated people,
from privileged homes no less,
would turn a plane
into a missile,
killing themselves
and so many innocent people.
Mr. Furst, you are asking me
to weigh the principles of law,
of reason,
perhaps morality,
against a phenomenon
of terrorism
that knows
no such boundaries.
That's why the government
has so much as admitted
they don't know
what steps to take
against the ones
waiting to strike next.
They are beyond
our imagination.
Ms. Dole,
you mentioned
that you loved
being an American.
So do I.
I became a judge
first and foremost
to protect those liberties
so afforded us
by the constitution,
those freedoms
that we all hold so precious,
and, until recently,
so fundamental.
But the reality
is we make exceptions
to our constitutional rights
all the time,
be it freedom
of speech,
religion,
none of them is absolute.
The legal test
for doing something
so patently
unconstitutional is,
basically, you better
have a damn good reason.
There has been one other
long-standing reality
in this country.
If not safe,
one can never be free.
With great personal disgust,
I am denying
the plaintiff's motion
for a TRO.
We can all take
consolation in knowing
that this ruling probably
won't stick on appeal,
but let's not kid ourselves.
The day is soon
coming when it will.
Plaintiff's motion denied.
We're adjourned.
(music playing)
Counselor.
Thank you, Lindsay.
Fantastic.
Thanks.
Something tells me you're gonna
have a pretty decent
civil practice
for yourself.
You okay?
(music playing)
She threatened him.
They were heard fighting
the day before.
Her car was seen parked
a block away
the night of the murder.
Her prints, hairs, fibers,
all over the scene
of the crime.
There was even one hair
on the murder weapon.
She left a bloody shoe print.
She puts an alibi
witness up here
who lied,
who admitted she couldn't
totally account
for the defendant's
whereabouts.
She even lied
about her own name.
Who knows what else
she made up?
The psychiatric expert
told you,
there's only one motive
for this kind of killing.
When a man gets hit
on the head
over 50 times,
it's rage,
revenge.
This woman...
wrote in her own diary
"Maybe I'll beat him
on his head
with a baseball bat."
Gee, I wonder what happened.
I don't know about you,
but I'm getting damn sick
and tired of waking up,
reading in the paper
of yet another innocent man
on death row
being cleared by DNA.
How the hell do we put
so many people on death row
for crimes they didn't commit?
I figure it's gotta
be the juries
not doing their jobs.
I'm sure all these suspects
looked guilty.
If they didn't look guilty,
they wouldn't be on trial.
Everybody who gets
arrested looks guilty.
The police are even sure of it,
but it's up to the jury
to make sure they prove it
beyond all reasonable doubt
because this is the United
States of America,
and in the United States
of America,
we don't lock people up,
especially for murder,
unless the government
satisfies that burden.
Now, once we say, "Okay,
you don't have to prove it
beyond all reasonable doubt,"
then the innocent,
including you
and me,
could get locked up.
That's not acceptable
in the United States
of America,
is it?
Is it?
Now, look what we have here.
My client looks guilty,
like Ms. Gamble said.
They got prints,
they got fibers,
hair on the bat,
a diary.
A witness sees the car.
She looks damn guilty,
but when you stop,
she was there the day before.
Of course her prints
and fibers are all over.
A bloody bat falls on the
carpet,
stuff's gonna stick to it,
including hair,
and as for the car
being seen that night,
yeah, by some nut who thinks
she'll come back as a cat.
These aren't the kind
of building blocks we use
to deny a person her freedom
for the rest
of her natural life,
not in the United States
of America.
Now, as for the diary,
you think
she's the first woman
to ever think
about killing her lover?
Come on.
Women think about it three,
four times a day.
She gets punished
for what she thinks
because she writes it down
in a book?
That's not what we do
in this country.
We demand proof,
and it isn't there.
My client took
a sleeping pill.
That was never contradicted.
She was never seen
leaving her house.
It's possible
that somebody else came
into that house.
Detective McGuire
couldn't rule it out.
Did you hear him
rule it out?
No. That somebody could
have been Sophie Taylor
or Marge Fennell
or whatever the hell
her name is.
She's a liar.
She had keys to the car,
keys to the victim's house,
struck me as a wacko.
Who among us doesn't
have doubts about her?
Now, you can think
my client is guilty.
That's reasonable.
The point is,
you can't know it.
You can't be convinced
beyond all reasonable doubt.
And failing that high
standard of proof,
Ms. Ray must be
presumed innocent.
Because, after all,
this is the United States
of America.
(phone rings)
Donnell,
Dole, whatever.
Hey, Ellenor.
Oops.
Now?
All ready?
Okay.
Jury's back.
They were out 16 minutes.
What the hell?
What's wrong?
Call Eugene.
HATCHER: I can't.
They're in court.
Cellphones are off.
(door slams)
(music playing)
Madame Foreperson,
has the jury
reached a verdict?
We have, Your Honor.
Will the defendant
please rise?
What say you?
In the matter of the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts
versus Cassie Ray,
on the charge of murder
in the first degree,
we find the defendant,
Cassie Ray, guilty.
PATRICK: Members of the jury
are dismissed
with the thanks
of the court.
We're adjourned.
(gavel bangs)
So I go to prison?
FRUTT: You're gonna
go back into custody,
and they're gonna hold you there
till sentencing.
We're gonna go over any
grounds for appeals,
and we're gonna talk
to you tomorrow.
Just hang in there, Cassie.
We're gonna talk
to you tomorrow.
I never thought
that I'd feel sorry
for somebody
who bashed a man
to death with
a baseball bat.
What happened?
We lost.
STRINGER: I found out
who she is.
Who?
STRINGER: Sophie Taylor.
Fennell is her maiden name.
I found out who she is.
(sighs)
(door closes)
Now what?
Ryan Hunter was run over
seven years ago
in New Jersey.
Cassie was prosecuted
and acquitted.
Mrs. Hunter had a breakdown
and was institutionalized.
She was released
three years ago
and changed her name
to Sophie Taylor.
You became a nanny
for your husband's mistress.
Small world.
Did she kill
your husband or did you,
framing her?
Seven years
is a long time
to remember.
I assume Cassie doesn't know
who you really are.
Can I be there
when you tell her?
I would really love
to see her face.
YOUNG: You killed Jason Scott,
set yourself up
as a defense witness
knowing they'd blow
you apart on the stand.
Oh, now, come on.
That's a bit risky.
Why would I take
such a chance?
Because you're insane.
And just like
Helen Gamble said,
revenge is a great motivator.
(door opens)
We'll never get her out,
you know?
The evidence,
a conviction.
We'll never get her out.
(music playing)
(door closes)
Counsel?
Know what'll happen next?
An Islamic is going to say
something anti-American.
He'll be shot dead,
and we're going to see
a new insanity defense.
It'll be called "9/11 rage."
I promise you,
it's coming.
9/11 rage
as diminished capacity,
and the real perversity,
it's a winner,
a sure winner.
(sighs)
(music playing)
(music playing)
WOMAN: You stinker.
(music playing)
I did all the stunts.
Some of the girls got picked
for their bodies,
which you can see, I had one,
and others for the gymnastics.
But actually, I could do
all the cheers.
Cassie,
these are wonderful photographs.
Thank you.
FRUTT: But you're going on trial
for murder tomorrow,
and I really think we need
to focus on the case.
You said it was important
that the jury feel
they know me a little.
Yes, but whether you did
your own backflips
in high school
isn't relevant.
We also need to meet
with your housekeeper--
Nanny.
Although she might as well be
a housekeeper
since foster care
yanked away my son.
This case could turn
on her testimony,
so--
You think I did it, don't you?
It's not our place
to pass judgment.
What about the New Jersey
incident?
As we explained,
since you weren't
convicted there,
the prosecution can't introduce
it into--
CASSIE: I mean,
do you think I did that one?
I wouldn't know.
I didn't!
It was probably his wife.
She did time in a rubber room,
you know?
And for someone who supposedly
loved her husband,
why wasn't she at the trial?
Loved ones of the victims
always go to trial
to see the murderer get theirs.
Well, perhaps, as you say,
she was the killer,
so she'd feel no need
to see you get yours.
YOUNG: We need to concentrate
on this trial.
Who ran over who seven years ago
in New Jersey isn't relevant.
They're real.
I'm sorry?
My breasts.
I can tell when women
are looking at them to see.
They're real.
So are mine.
Is there a point?
It's just that people think
I'm a fraud.
The police obviously do,
that's why I'm going on trial,
isn't it?
And the jury's gonna think,
"If she'd lie about her tits,
then she'd lie about anything."
Well, they're real.
The jury needs to know it.
(music playing)
WOMAN: This way, please.
(indistinct chatter)
Here you go.
Thank you.
Lindsay Dole.
Ralph Alt. It's a pleasure.
DOLE: Hi.
RALPH: Ed Limato.
How do you do?
DOLE: Nice to meet you.
RALPH: Brian Adams,
Stanley Wells,
and Roland Monroe,
our client.
Pleasure to meet you, Lindsay.
DOLE: Nice to meet you.
Please have a seat.
DOLE: Thank you.
RALPH: I know it was incredibly
short notice.
I appreciate your agreeing
to meet with us.
No problem.
(sighs)
Roland is CEO
of Seaboard Airlines,
a fairly new East Coast
commuter service.
I've heard of it.
RALPH: They're being sued today
in federal court.
The plaintiff,
a prospective passenger,
is seeking a restraining order
to enjoin one of Seaboard's
policies
and we'd like you
to join with us
and actually argue the motion.
We can fully brief you
in all the issues,
which are pretty
straightforward,
assuming you're interested.
Okay, what am I missing?
Excuse me?
This is a big law firm
with plenty of high-powered
civil litigators.
My practice has been almost
exclusively criminal.
Why do you want me?
We don't expect
to win the motion.
Our goal is to attract
attention.
Now, in addition to being a...
pretty gifted attorney,
you're attractive,
and at the moment,
extremely hot copy,
given your murder conviction
and recent release.
Basically,
we think you'll make the news.
I want this particular policy
to get some play.
What's the policy?
We don't fly Arabs.
You're kidding, right?
I'm not kidding.
We wanna be known as the most
security-conscious airline
in the new world.
RALPH: Obviously, the longer
this thing stays in play,
the more publicity it generates.
Ideally, we'd like to get Roland
on the stand
for an evidentiary hearing.
If you can accomplish that,
fantastic.
You don't fly Arabs?
She's a total loon, Eugene.
Let's just do our job.
What is our job?
The directive from the client
has been to authenticate
her breasts.
Well, did they at least
take away
her driver's license?
Excuse me?
When she ran over
her last lover?
She wasn't convicted
of that, Lucy.
(door opens)
FRUTT: Sophie?
I thought we were
gonna meet down
at the courthouse?
I know, but...
can I talk to the two of you
for a second?
I'm starting to panic a little.
I don't think I should testify.
Shouldn't testify?
You're the alibi.
I know,
but...
I have a little skeleton
in my closet,
and I am suddenly afraid
that if the D. A. finds out--
What skeleton?
Four years ago, I...
sort of changed my name,
and not exactly legally.
What do you mean you sort of
changed your name?
I embezzled...
a little
from a former employer.
It was nothing too serious.
But my lawyer said
that there was a possibility
that I could go to jail,
so I fled the state
and came to Massachusetts.
And with the help of some
less reputable lawyers,
I became Sophie Taylor.
DONNELL: She tells you this
an hour before trial?
BERLUTI: I'm not sure
you can call her.
Why?
Because you can't knowingly
put up a witness to lie.
She so much as says
the name "Sophie Taylor,"
it's a lie.
Look, the likelihood
is the prosecution will have
no idea about this.
She has no record
as Sophie Taylor.
That isn't relevant
to the legal ethics.
BERLUTI: What's her real name?
She won't tell us.
Jamie, maybe you and Lucy
could find that out.
DONNELL: Why don't you just
plead this thing?
We'd love to. Helen won't.
The best they'll offer
is murder two.
Then go with what you've got.
This man is an American citizen.
He's a college professor.
The intent is safety here,
not bias, and when--
KENDALL: Oh, come on, counsel.
The assumption itself is a bias.
To make an airline safe,
you have to exclude Arabs?
Your Honor, I will admit
the outrageousness
of this policy.
How generous of you.
Do you also acknowledge
something called
equal protection?
DOLE: The rich are already
doing this.
They're chartering
private Gulf Streams
to fly on Arab-free planes.
One could argue my client
is serving equality
by offering the same privilege
to the middle class.
One could argue it, I wouldn't.
With the court's permission,
I'd like to conduct
a short evidentiary hearing
so you can hear directly
from my client.
We don't need a hearing
to determine whether or not--
DOLE: I will submit the laws
in this area are complicated.
If you're going to shut us down,
I would at least request
the courtesy
of hearing what my client
has to say.
2:00.
GAMBLE: Revenge is said to be
the greatest of all motivators.
There is no psychological
force greater,
none than the will to get even.
You will hear evidence
how Cassie Ray
and Jason Scott were lovers.
They even had a child together.
Then, early last May,
Jason Scott broke it off
and Cassie Ray became enraged.
The evidence will reveal
the threats
the defendant made
against the victim.
The evidence will show
on May 23rd,
in the middle of the night,
Cassie Ray
drove to the victim's house,
picked up a baseball bat,
and attacked the victim
while he lay sleeping.
The coroner will tell you
Jason Scott was struck
on the head
over 50 times.
The expert psychiatrist
will tell you
that this inhuman brutality
can only come
from profound vengeance.
Most of all,
the evidence will reveal
that this brutal murder
was committed by Cassie Ray.
The evidence will indeed reveal
this was a brutal,
vicious murder,
but that's all the evidence
will tell you.
The evidence here is thin,
circumstantial,
no witnesses.
Cassie Ray has an alibi.
She was at home sleeping
on the evening of May 23rd,
and her nanny
will take the stand
and tell you my client
never left her house.
Prosecution has a burden
to prove guilt
beyond all reasonable doubt.
The evidence will reveal
they can't even come close.
What the jury
won't be allowed to hear
is that Cassie Ray
was arrested seven years ago
for mowing down another lover
with her SUV.
Since Ms. Ray was acquitted
of that murder,
the information
is inadmissible.
In other legal news,
Seaboard Airlines
was sued today in federal court
for its refusal
to allow passengers
of Arab or Islamic descent
on its aircraft.
Well, they made the news.
That's what they wanted, right?
Lucy, is it okay
if I transfer my calls?
I need to pick up
the little man at daycare.
Sure.
WASHINGTON: Maybe you should get
your own secretary.
I'm sorry?
You have your own practice now.
Maybe you should have
your own secretary.
Is there a problem?
Well, you know,
I'm just concerned
that people will call,
get Lucy,
and think you still work here.
And we'll be confused
with the kind of firm
that defends bigots.
Oh. I see.
You defend murderers,
but a bigot?
It is not the same thing,
and you know it.
All right.
WASHINGTON: We don't defend
a person's right to kill.
You are defending
this client's right
to engage in racial profiling.
And to the extent
that you're helping
to legitimize prejudice,
don't think you're not fueling
a murder or two
down the road, Lindsay.
I need to take cases, Rebecca.
You didn't need to take
that one.
DOLE: I'm trying to build
a civil practice here.
WASHINGTON: You didn't need
to take that one.
McGUIRE: That's pretty much
how he looked when we arrived.
GAMBLE: Detective,
who called the police
to the scene?
Ms. Ray's nanny,
she was dropping the child
off for a visit
when she discovered the body.
And, detective,
could you tell us
what physical evidence
you found?
The defendant's fingerprints
were all over the house.
We found hair genetically
matching the defendant's,
specifically one
of the defendant's hairs
was found on the murder weapon.
Her bloody shoe print,
tire tracks matching
the defendant's car.
We also found a bite mark
on the victim.
Dental imprints revealed
an exact match
with the defendant.
Fresh bite mark?
Within the last 24 hours, yes.
Possible he was bitten
the day before he was killed?
We can't rule it out, but--
YOUNG: Thank you.
And if my client
were in that house
the day before this murder,
it's possible she left
her prints,
tire tracks,
and hair behind then.
Isn't it, detective?
McGUIRE: Anything's possible,
counsel, but again, I--
My client also came
to the house once the body
was discovered,
didn't she?
She entered the premises.
She did. She was restrained.
YOUNG: She contaminated
the scene, didn't she?
Part of the scene.
Possible she left
her bloody footprint then,
isn't it?
McGUIRE: We don't believe
it was left then.
YOUNG: Can you rule it out?
McGUIRE: No, but--
YOUNG: You found
the baseball bat on the floor.
That's correct.
Well then it's possible
the hair you found on the bat
could have come off the carpet,
right?
I heard her screaming at him.
The defendant?
JESSEL: The very day
before the murder.
I was walking my cat
past Jason's house.
Oh, God rest his soul.
And I heard her yelling,
"You can't do this.
I won't let you do this."
And I even thought
I heard a scuffle.
Now, Ms. Jessel,
the night of the murder,
did you observe
anything unusual?
Yes.
About 1:00 A. M.,
I was walking my cat,
we're both fairly nocturnal,
and I saw her car parked
one street over from his house.
The defendant's car?
Parked a street away
like she didn't want anyone
to notice.
But I noticed.
You were walking your cat?
Yes, I was.
I suppose that makes me crazy?
You said you saw
my client's car.
What was the license plate?
It's a Mercedes, silver.
You didn't get the license?
No.
Do you believe in past lives,
Ms. Jessel?
Nor does that make me crazy,
if that's your implication.
Were you on earth
before this life?
Yes, I was.
FRUTT: As?
A cat.
(indistinct chatter)
ROLAND: It's discrimination.
I don't pretend otherwise.
But it's necessary.
DOLE: Why?
Look, we can screen baggage,
search passengers,
get most of the weapons,
but you know who we catch?
The unwitting people
who aren't really trying
to get past us.
And even some of them get by.
Anybody truly determined
to take a plane down.
(sighs) I just can't look
my customers in the eye
and say, "I guarantee
it won't happen."
But you can if you ban Arabs?
We improve our chances.
The terrorists we're most
at risk from
come from the Muslim world.
That's a fact.
Also a fact,
this is racial profiling.
Without a doubt.
But we're not the first
to do it.
Immigration fingerprints
and photographs any Islamic
coming into this country.
We don't do that
with the French.
But what you're doing
isn't tightening security.
You're barring them.
ROLAND: Look,
people do not feel comfortable
seeing an Arab person
on their plane.
They do not feel safe.
I'm in a customer-service
business here.
If my customer
does not feel safe,
I'm out of business.
That's what this is
really about,
isn't it, Mr. Monroe?
The bottom line?
It's about trying
to assure our customers
that the security--
FURST: "We don't fly Arabs."
Mr. Furst,
I'm a great believer
in equal justice.
But so were most of the people
on those planes September 11th.
That's as cheap
as it is offensive.
I don't think so.
We have all kinds of weapons
that can avoid detection.
Plus, these terrorists
are trained
in physical combat.
Even if you eliminate
the weapons--
FURST: What if your research
showed that blacks
were more likely to commit
mayhem on a plane?
I would never exclude blacks
because I would consider
that bias to be unreasonable.
This prejudice isn't.
There are 1.6 billion Muslims
in the world,
and you're discriminating
against all of them
because of the actions of 19.
That's reasonable?
Start your own company
and run it the way you'd like.
I should get the same courtesy.
FURST: We don't give people
the right
to be a bigot in this country.
How about the right to be safe?
What if somebody was convicted
of a crime?
Do you screen them out?
No.
What about, say, your attorney?
Would you fly her?
Objection!
SOPHIE: I've been
her son's nanny
for almost two years.
FRUTT: You're a live-in?
Yes, and my bedroom
is right over the garage.
Ma'am, I call your attention
to the night of May 23rd, 2002.
Where were you that night?
I was home at Cassie's house.
FRUTT: And was she there?
Yes, she was all night.
FRUTT: Can you tell us
what you remember specifically?
SOPHIE: Yes.
Cassie was having
sinus problems,
so she took some sleeping pills
to help her sleep,
and since they kind of
knock her out,
she asked me to listen
for Timothy
in case he should cry.
I left the door open
so I could hear.
Are you a deep sleeper?
I'm an extremely light sleeper.
Do you know whether my client
ever left the house that night?
She couldn't have.
If she so much as started
the car,
she would've woken me.
Thank you.
Ms. Taylor,
you're very devoted
to Cassie Ray, aren't you?
SOPHIE: Yes.
But I am telling the truth.
She never left the house
that night.
I see. Did you?
Did I?
No.
GAMBLE: After you discovered
Jason Scott's body,
and the police arrived,
do you remember
what you told them?
Not really.
I was in shock.
They had to calm me down.
You don't remember telling
the police
that you left the house
that night.
I didn't tell them that.
GAMBLE: Well, yes, you did.
You said you were home all night
with the exception
of when you called a cab
to go to the pharmacy.
You see that man, Sophie?
He's the cab driver
who drove you.
Now do you remember going
to the pharmacy?
SOPHIE: I forgot that I told
the police about that.
GAMBLE: Oh, you forgot you told
the police that.
Would you be up here lying
to save Cassie?
No.
I forgot about the pharmacy.
I was gone 30 minutes tops.
GAMBLE: Uh-huh.
By the way,
I have no record
of a Sophie Taylor existing
until three years ago.
Would that be your real name?
Am I dead?
It doesn't look good.
Listen,
I think we should plead
to murder two.
I know it's not much,
but it beats murder one.
I know you think I did it.
You don't wanna win this,
do you?
We are doing
our very best, Cassie.
But I have to say,
you were dumped
by two boyfriends,
both end up dead.
It's--
Ryan never dumped me!
Ryan would be New Jersey?
He loved me!
He had a wife and a family.
That's the only reason
he didn't wanna leave.
He loved me!
And I didn't kill him.
I had an alibi.
That's why I didn't get
convicted.
I had an alibi.
FRUTT: Yes, you always seem
to find yourself an alibi.
But your car
ran over him.
It was stolen.
I reported it stolen.
Okay, so someone stole your car
and just happened
to run over your lover with it.
I had an alibi.
And he loved me.
He had a family, that's all.
Don't you go saying
Ryan didn't love me.
And Jason?
He loved you, too?
No.
Jason did dump me.
He deserved what he got.
But I didn't do it.
Ryan loved me.
It was only 'cause he had
a family.
(elevator dings)
Hello.
Hello.
CASSIE: Yes, I bit him.
I was mad at him.
I don't deny that.
But I still loved him.
Why were you so angry
with Jason Scott?
I was in love with him.
I took care of him.
I raised his son.
I made love to him.
I let him nuzzle himself
to sleep
every single night
on my breasts,
which are real, by the way.
I was practically a wife
and he dumped me.
Did you make threats?
Yes.
I screamed at him, I admit.
I even told people I hated him.
But underneath,
I still loved him.
I could never--
YOUNG: Cassie,
did you ever leave your house
the night of his death?
Never. I took a sleeping pill.
I was knocked out.
I was there the day of,
and we argued,
and I bit him,
but I never went there
that night.
GAMBLE: You bit him
because you were angry?
CASSIE: Yes,
and why shouldn't I be?
I have a son,
and right now
he's in foster care,
for God's sakes.
I shouldn't be angry?
Well, he's in foster care
because his father's dead,
and his mother's being charged
with the murder.
Exactly, for which I'm innocent.
How could I not be angry?
Cassie, you get angry a lot,
don't you?
CASSIE: I don't get violent,
if that's where you're headed.
Okay.
Cassie, I'm holding
in my hands your diary.
This is your diary, correct?
CASSIE: Yes.
GAMBLE: I would like you to read
the clipped page
dated March 11, 2002.
"He has his precious bat
he got at an auction
signed by Harmon Killebrew.
I feel like pounding
his head with it.
Maybe one day I will."
(laughs)
Sorry.
You laughed?
I couldn't help it.
What do you mean
you couldn't help it?
How do you laugh?
YOUNG: She bites him,
her prints and hairs
are all over the scene.
She threatens him.
Her alibi turns out to be
a big liar with no name.
I'm thinking, "What else
could possibly go wrong?"
(snaps finger)
Of course.
She puts an entry
in her diary
saying she wants to beat
on his head
with a bat.
Come on.
That doesn't mean you laugh.
Did you know
about this diary?
Of course we didn't know.
That would've taken
the fun out of it.
Eugene.
I can't wait to see
what happens next.
By the way,
Cassie knew the police
had her diary,
and she forgot to tell us.
She forgot to tell us.
DONNELL: What are you gonna do?
YOUNG: What else can I do?
It's plan "B" time.
Plan "B"?
Who?
The nanny.
What?
The nanny?
Unless somebody's got
a better idea.
Eugene.
Bobby,
don't tell me
how ridiculous it is.
This case went to ridiculous
a long time ago.
You're going to accuse
the nanny?
What would be the motive?
Don't need a motive.
Hell, I don't even know
her real name.
It's all a big mystery.
Mystery is doubt,
reasonable doubt.
Maybe they were lovers.
Anybody think about that?
Sophie and Cassie are lovers.
This Jason was getting
in the way,
so out comes
Harmon Killebrew.
Let's go with that.
Eugene, let's think
about this.
EUGENE: Bobby,
what's to think about?
Sophie is as dumb as Cassie.
Who knows?
This might even work.
FURST: These are very
good times
for intolerance.
I mean, come on,
who among us,
if we see a Muslim
on our flight,
doesn't check the bastard
out head to toe?
They blew up
the World Trade Center,
for God's sakes.
And every single one of us,
over a year later,
still feels violated.
But what's being violated
today so openly,
even proudly,
is our civil rights,
our freedom,
the thing that America
is supposed to be about.
There's nothing proud
about this day, Your Honor.
I'm sorry,
I didn't see that coming.
I apologize.
I have this ritual
with my nine-year-old daughter
over breakfast.
I tell her about the case
that I'm arguing,
and she tells me
about school.
And this week,
she's learning
about Rosa Parks.
She said,
"Imagine, daddy.
They used to make blacks sit
in the back of the bus."
Sure,
it's a different world
since 9/11,
but the times
of our nation
have always been defined most
by who we are
as a people.
Well, who are we?
Do we really stand
for liberty?
I mean, are we truly
the champions of equal rights?
Are Martin Luther King's words
about judging a person
by the content
of their character,
not by the color
of their skin?
Do we live
by these words?
Or are they just credos
that we trumpet
when we're not running scared?
"We the people."
That's how
our constitution begins.
Since 9/11,
the people want justice.
People want revenge.
But mostly,
people want security.
Our government
tells us every day,
"The next attack is coming.
Be on the lookout."
It's not a question of if,
but when.
It's not about
screening weapons.
The airplane itself
is the weapon.
It's a big,
flying bomb.
It has to be about stopping
certain people
from getting on board,
and, yes,
by certain people,
I mean Arabs.
Racial profiling
is a terrible thing,
but the reality is,
it has become necessary.
These terrorists
are unlike
any enemy
that we have ever faced.
They're not just evil.
They're educated,
trained,
and willing
to die themselves.
They live among us
as neighbors.
They are among us.
It's not possible
to behaviorally
pick them out.
That's why,
to be safe,
an airline has
to screen them all.
Or at least an airline
should be allowed to.
When I was growing up,
America was always a land
whose borders were open,
a place where anybody
from any nation
could come to our shores,
work hard,
and fulfill his dreams.
I've always loved
being an American.
I have a young son,
and...
once my dream for him
was to grow up
in this America.
But that's no longer
a possibility
and I cry about that.
I cry for my son.
But as his mother,
I want him to be safe.
I want for him to be able
to get on a plane
that won't be used
as a bomb.
And I don't think
you can dismiss that
as paranoia,
Your Honor,
when our own leaders
are telling us
to be afraid.
I'll remind you, Ms. Taylor,
that you're under oath.
We had a lot of surprises
earlier, didn't we?
Turns out you were gone
from the house.
Sophie Taylor
isn't your real name.
Kind of begs the question,
doesn't it?
You killed Jason Scott,
didn't you?
What?
It was you.
What are you doing?
What's going on?
PATRICK: Mr. Young...
YOUNG: Your Honor,
I have reason
to suspect this woman
of the murder.
This woman is a felon.
What state did you flee
after you were caught
embezzling?
Hey.
What's your name, ma'am?
I told you that in private.
You're not my client, ma'am.
What's your name?
You can't do this.
Tell us who you are.
Your Honor, I plead
the Second Amendment.
Let's try the Fifth.
Did you kill Jason Scott?
No!
You had keys
to his house, her car.
You could've easily taken
one of Cassie's hairs
and stuck it to a bat.
Your Honor.
SOPHIE: What?
You're crazy.
YOUNG: Your Honor,
I demand you order this woman
to reveal her real name!
Maybe she's killed others.
Mr. Young, settle down.
Now.
You know what,
Ms. Taylor,
or whoever you are,
I am going to order you
to tell us your true identity.
Otherwise, I will hold you
in contempt.
Marge Fennell.
I'm from Connecticut.
And who did you embezzle
from, Ms. Fennell?
I didn't.
I just made it up
to make me sound
a little exotic.
I got a speeding ticket once.
(music playing)
Well, we had to at least try.
Now what?
Showtime, I guess.
Showtime?
I thought we already
had Showtime.
What are you gonna do now?
I'm going to close.
FRUTT: With what?
United States of America.
MAN: be seated.
I find it almost
unimaginable
that we are in court
to decide
whether it is permissible
for an airline
to discriminate
against a group
based on its ethnicity.
It is a flat-out violation
of the Civil Rights
Act of 1964,
The Commerce Clause,
and the idea repulses me.
It is unimaginable.
But I'm reminded
of a column I read
in the New York Times
by Thomas Friedman.
He said what happened
on September the 11th was...
beyond unimaginable.
It wasn't so much
our intelligence agencies
as it was our imaginations
that failed.
We simply couldn't conceive
that educated people,
from privileged homes no less,
would turn a plane
into a missile,
killing themselves
and so many innocent people.
Mr. Furst, you are asking me
to weigh the principles of law,
of reason,
perhaps morality,
against a phenomenon
of terrorism
that knows
no such boundaries.
That's why the government
has so much as admitted
they don't know
what steps to take
against the ones
waiting to strike next.
They are beyond
our imagination.
Ms. Dole,
you mentioned
that you loved
being an American.
So do I.
I became a judge
first and foremost
to protect those liberties
so afforded us
by the constitution,
those freedoms
that we all hold so precious,
and, until recently,
so fundamental.
But the reality
is we make exceptions
to our constitutional rights
all the time,
be it freedom
of speech,
religion,
none of them is absolute.
The legal test
for doing something
so patently
unconstitutional is,
basically, you better
have a damn good reason.
There has been one other
long-standing reality
in this country.
If not safe,
one can never be free.
With great personal disgust,
I am denying
the plaintiff's motion
for a TRO.
We can all take
consolation in knowing
that this ruling probably
won't stick on appeal,
but let's not kid ourselves.
The day is soon
coming when it will.
Plaintiff's motion denied.
We're adjourned.
(music playing)
Counselor.
Thank you, Lindsay.
Fantastic.
Thanks.
Something tells me you're gonna
have a pretty decent
civil practice
for yourself.
You okay?
(music playing)
She threatened him.
They were heard fighting
the day before.
Her car was seen parked
a block away
the night of the murder.
Her prints, hairs, fibers,
all over the scene
of the crime.
There was even one hair
on the murder weapon.
She left a bloody shoe print.
She puts an alibi
witness up here
who lied,
who admitted she couldn't
totally account
for the defendant's
whereabouts.
She even lied
about her own name.
Who knows what else
she made up?
The psychiatric expert
told you,
there's only one motive
for this kind of killing.
When a man gets hit
on the head
over 50 times,
it's rage,
revenge.
This woman...
wrote in her own diary
"Maybe I'll beat him
on his head
with a baseball bat."
Gee, I wonder what happened.
I don't know about you,
but I'm getting damn sick
and tired of waking up,
reading in the paper
of yet another innocent man
on death row
being cleared by DNA.
How the hell do we put
so many people on death row
for crimes they didn't commit?
I figure it's gotta
be the juries
not doing their jobs.
I'm sure all these suspects
looked guilty.
If they didn't look guilty,
they wouldn't be on trial.
Everybody who gets
arrested looks guilty.
The police are even sure of it,
but it's up to the jury
to make sure they prove it
beyond all reasonable doubt
because this is the United
States of America,
and in the United States
of America,
we don't lock people up,
especially for murder,
unless the government
satisfies that burden.
Now, once we say, "Okay,
you don't have to prove it
beyond all reasonable doubt,"
then the innocent,
including you
and me,
could get locked up.
That's not acceptable
in the United States
of America,
is it?
Is it?
Now, look what we have here.
My client looks guilty,
like Ms. Gamble said.
They got prints,
they got fibers,
hair on the bat,
a diary.
A witness sees the car.
She looks damn guilty,
but when you stop,
she was there the day before.
Of course her prints
and fibers are all over.
A bloody bat falls on the
carpet,
stuff's gonna stick to it,
including hair,
and as for the car
being seen that night,
yeah, by some nut who thinks
she'll come back as a cat.
These aren't the kind
of building blocks we use
to deny a person her freedom
for the rest
of her natural life,
not in the United States
of America.
Now, as for the diary,
you think
she's the first woman
to ever think
about killing her lover?
Come on.
Women think about it three,
four times a day.
She gets punished
for what she thinks
because she writes it down
in a book?
That's not what we do
in this country.
We demand proof,
and it isn't there.
My client took
a sleeping pill.
That was never contradicted.
She was never seen
leaving her house.
It's possible
that somebody else came
into that house.
Detective McGuire
couldn't rule it out.
Did you hear him
rule it out?
No. That somebody could
have been Sophie Taylor
or Marge Fennell
or whatever the hell
her name is.
She's a liar.
She had keys to the car,
keys to the victim's house,
struck me as a wacko.
Who among us doesn't
have doubts about her?
Now, you can think
my client is guilty.
That's reasonable.
The point is,
you can't know it.
You can't be convinced
beyond all reasonable doubt.
And failing that high
standard of proof,
Ms. Ray must be
presumed innocent.
Because, after all,
this is the United States
of America.
(phone rings)
Donnell,
Dole, whatever.
Hey, Ellenor.
Oops.
Now?
All ready?
Okay.
Jury's back.
They were out 16 minutes.
What the hell?
What's wrong?
Call Eugene.
HATCHER: I can't.
They're in court.
Cellphones are off.
(door slams)
(music playing)
Madame Foreperson,
has the jury
reached a verdict?
We have, Your Honor.
Will the defendant
please rise?
What say you?
In the matter of the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts
versus Cassie Ray,
on the charge of murder
in the first degree,
we find the defendant,
Cassie Ray, guilty.
PATRICK: Members of the jury
are dismissed
with the thanks
of the court.
We're adjourned.
(gavel bangs)
So I go to prison?
FRUTT: You're gonna
go back into custody,
and they're gonna hold you there
till sentencing.
We're gonna go over any
grounds for appeals,
and we're gonna talk
to you tomorrow.
Just hang in there, Cassie.
We're gonna talk
to you tomorrow.
I never thought
that I'd feel sorry
for somebody
who bashed a man
to death with
a baseball bat.
What happened?
We lost.
STRINGER: I found out
who she is.
Who?
STRINGER: Sophie Taylor.
Fennell is her maiden name.
I found out who she is.
(sighs)
(door closes)
Now what?
Ryan Hunter was run over
seven years ago
in New Jersey.
Cassie was prosecuted
and acquitted.
Mrs. Hunter had a breakdown
and was institutionalized.
She was released
three years ago
and changed her name
to Sophie Taylor.
You became a nanny
for your husband's mistress.
Small world.
Did she kill
your husband or did you,
framing her?
Seven years
is a long time
to remember.
I assume Cassie doesn't know
who you really are.
Can I be there
when you tell her?
I would really love
to see her face.
YOUNG: You killed Jason Scott,
set yourself up
as a defense witness
knowing they'd blow
you apart on the stand.
Oh, now, come on.
That's a bit risky.
Why would I take
such a chance?
Because you're insane.
And just like
Helen Gamble said,
revenge is a great motivator.
(door opens)
We'll never get her out,
you know?
The evidence,
a conviction.
We'll never get her out.
(music playing)
(door closes)
Counsel?
Know what'll happen next?
An Islamic is going to say
something anti-American.
He'll be shot dead,
and we're going to see
a new insanity defense.
It'll be called "9/11 rage."
I promise you,
it's coming.
9/11 rage
as diminished capacity,
and the real perversity,
it's a winner,
a sure winner.
(sighs)
(music playing)
(music playing)
WOMAN: You stinker.
(music playing)