Outlaw s01e02 Episode Script

We were both supposed to work this weekend.
I am working.
Actually, I'm with a potential client right now.
And who was at? That was the chairman of the board.
- Right.
- Look, Al, I gotta go.
I'm walking into a meeting.
Al, listen, I swear I'll be back to work tomorrow that Arizona's controversial immigration law resulted in tragedy.
A white police officer stopped James Reyes, a Hispanic man, in the city of Doyle Heights, believing he might be an illegal alien.
That stop turned into an altercation, and the man was shot multiple times.
We're now reporting Arizona has officially declined to charge that officer with a crime.
State officials believe he acted within the bounds of the law, a decision that has outraged thousands in this city.
Yes, sir, we're watching it now.
Okay, that is not a crowd.
That is a mob.
Seriously, imagine being that cop right now.
That cop shot an unarmed man, Lucinda.
That was Garza.
He wants us on the next flight to Tucson.
- Why? - Why? A man was just racially profiled and almost killed.
You didn't think Garza was just gonna let that happen.
I'm sorry, my mind can't process anything that earnest.
Seriously, I think I just blacked out.
Okay, Garza's flying in from Vegas.
We're meeting Al at the airport in an hour.
We should probably pull whatever we have on wrongful deaths.
I thought the victim lived.
He did, but it's the same sort of action, so we file suit on behalf of the family for excessive force.
If we're going after that cop, we gotta be ready.
I'll go see what I can find.
So a road trip, huh? - Yep.
- You must be excited.
I mean, you and Garza out of town, caught up in the case, working late.
I mean, who knows, it could lead to a little hotel action.
It's amazing.
You always know exactly what I'm thinking.
Voice mail.
Cyrus should be here by now.
His plane landed almost an hour ago.
I'll try him again.
Well, at least he's not freaking out.
Big case.
Al's got a lot of experience, but this is national news- he's excited.
He's nervous.
This whole city's wound pretty tight.
Okay, we're all checked in.
I got Garza the governor's suite, so we can just work from there.
- Uh, is that Garza's room key? - Yeah.
Why? It's just an idea, but you know, maybe this is your chance.
You keep a copy, and then maybe one night he comes back to his room, and - Lucinda That's why I'm here, Walter.
Let's just say I got a tip.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
Yeah, so when did the white house decide this? Officer's name is Daniel Hale.
The man he shot is James Reyes.
I made a call to the Reyes family.
We can meet with them tomorrow.
You're all checked in.
I have your room keys.
We're not going to our rooms.
We have a meeting with our client.
Uh, our client is still at the hospital.
I'm sure I could arrange a few guest passes Our client is here, Eddie.
I just spoke to him this morning.
Officer Hale.
Justice Garza, thank you for coming.
Um, give us a second.
In an effort to control the difficult problem of illegal immigration, Arizona has enacted a new law.
A mandate that requires that officers stop anyone they reasonably think could be illegal.
Bottom line, Hispanics will get stopped because they're Hispanic.
And that is not the America we've all come to know.
And that is why today the justice department is filing federal charges against officer Hale.
What kind of charges? These are criminal charges for violating James Reyes' civil rights under color of law for the use of excessive force.
The law ordered me to stop Mr.
Reyes.
Now they want to put me in jail for doing my job? But it was only your job if you thought he was illegal.
You had to reasonably have believed it.
- I did.
- Well, you were wrong, officer.
He's an American citizen.
You shot the man three times.
I shot him to save my own life.
Look, I was on patrol.
I'm two miles from the Mexican border.
I see Reyes.
It's almost 10:00 at night.
He's standing on the street just looking around like he's nervous.
- He was alone? Damn right.
I asked for his I.
D.
He gets mad.
He tells me, "screw off," he's a citizen.
You didn't believe him.
It's my job to not believe him.
Mr.
Garza, my husband is a good man.
People know you, respect you.
If you take this case, they'll know he's not a racist.
They'll know he's innocent.
Please.
Mr.
and Mrs.
Hale, will you give us a moment? Garza.
We cannot take this case.
What if he was following the law? At law gives white cops permission to racially profile Hispanics.
We're not gonna get in this.
We're not gonna get into this because we're not taking this case, Cyrus.
You are the highest-profile Latino jist in this country.
Do not defend what he did.
We're in.
Ok.
You're obviously upset.
Don't do this.
This isn't about me, Cyrus, it's about you.
We discussed this.
You can't take a case without consulting me.
I consulted you.
We consulted.
Why would you do this? Why would you defend a cop and a law that nobody here agrees with? Hey, speak for yourself.
Arizona has a right to protect its own borders.
I mean, come on, the feds haven't done anything.
Please don't tell me you actually support this cop.
What about you? Please tell me that you support the government.
I am not even certain I support the concept of government.
I spent my whole career defending States' rights.
You know my record on the bench.
- States' right? - Yes, yes! The fact that the feds could just walk into Arizona and dictate which laws are acceptable? You're gonna stand here and talk to me about States' rights? - Is that a problem? - There is a problem.
- Really? - Yes, really! An unarmed Hispanic man is shot three times by a white cop.
And if you have no emotional reaction to that, yes, there's a problem.
We took the case, Al, so we might as well give this man a fair trial.
In this city? Good luck.
That mob at the courthouse looked pretty intense.
Mereta, maybe you can take a look at the jury pool.
We need to know which neighborhoods are more likely to have jurors who are pro-cop.
Sure.
Great.
Lucinda, Eddie, you both head down to the hospital, see what you can find out about the medical evidence.
If Reyes was shot three times, I want to know why.
You got it.
Al, I was thinking you and I could go and talk to Karen Ruckeyser.
Ruckeyser the prosecutor? - Yeah.
She was talking tough to the press this morning.
I need to know how though she's been ordered to get.
We're with officer Hale's defense team.
We just need a little help.
Yeah, well, officer Hale needs a lot more help than I can give you.
I've been documenting Mr.
Reyes' injuries for the prosecution.
You got this? I'll be right back.
Yeah.
Okay, so Reyes was shot three times.
He was, but that's only half your problem.
The other half wasn't released to the press.
I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this, but you're looking at an entrance wound.
One of those shots hit Mr.
Reyes in the back.
- Excuse me, are you all right? - Thank you.
I know how you feel.
I'm here visiting a sick friend.
How 'bout you? My husband.
Oh, I am so sorry.
I hope he's okay.
You're sweet.
He will be.
Till the next time, when he will probably get himself killed.
Sounds like my ex.
He was always just looking for trouble.
bars, clubs.
If any other guy even looked at me James is the same way.
He was almost arrested for fighting last year, but he doesn't learn.
I'm really sorry.
You know what, I should probably go check on my friend.
- Thank you.
- Yeah.
That was James Reyes' wife.
My new best friend.
I recognized her from the news.
I just heard some interesting info.
So did I.
James Reyes was shot in the back.
The doctor thinks he was walking away from Hale when the first shot was fired.
I'll get to the point.
The white house despises this law.
We'll do whatever it takes to win this.
So this goes as far up as the white house? Wake up, Cyrus.
Read the polls.
Most Americans don't support racial profiling.
The president knows his approval rating could be affected by this.
Oh, I don't accept that the President of the United States decides who to prosecute based on polls.
And if he heard you say that, you'd be out of a job.
Yeah.
Well, with all due respect, I'm gonna pass on career advice from you.
You burned your bridges on the right when you left the court.
Now the left hates you for taking this case.
You really do want to be an outlaw.
Karen, what if he's innocent? He's a racist cop, Cyrus.
Don't take my word for it.
He'll tell you himself on tape.
Wait, you bugged him? We exercised our right to investigate a crime.
You'll get notice of our recording tomorrow.
See you then, gentlemen.
We need to get everyone together.
File a motion to suppress that tape.
What do you think Hale said? I don't know.
Whatever it is, it can't be good.
Well, one thing is clear.
The crowd here continues to grow outside the federal courthouse the first day in the proceedings in the trial of officer Daniel Hale.
You're saying they bugged me in my own car? First of all, it wasn't your car.
It was a patrol car.
I don't believe this.
Spare me the indignation, Mr.
Hale, we don't have time.
What I need to know is what's on that tape.
- I don't know.
- If you made racial comments Hey, I don't say those things, okay? I don't think those things.
Mr.
Hale, the United States government is about to play a tape that they say proves you're a racist.
I don't need to tell you how damaging that could be.
So if you know what's on that tape, now's the time to tell me.
Mr.
Hale - I don't! We placed a recording device in officer Hale's squad car shortly after the shooting.
As a result, we recorded several discussions between him and his partner.
Your honor, the people would like to play one of those recordings for the court marked "a-3.
" Turn the volume up, counsel.
My hearing isn't what it used to be.
Can you believe this? They're calling me a racist! Come on, Dan, don't let it get to you.
They're saying I stopped Reyes because he's Hispanic.
You're damn right I did! He was two miles from the Mexican border.
- They don't get it.
- To hell with them.
I hate these people.
They should all get what they deserve.
Nothing further.
That was two weeks after the shooting.
That recording was made two weeks after the shooting, isn't that right? Yes.
By that point, it was in all of the local papers, wasn't it? - Objection.
Relevance? - The relevance, your honor, is that my client was reading one of those papers when this conversation was recorded.
- Objection.
- He was holding the paper when the statements were made.
I object to Mr.
Garza testifying.
And I object to this conversation and recording being played out of context.
Objection is sustained.
Mr.
Garza, ask your next question.
Here's my question.
When my client said, "they're calling me a racist," who was he talking about? He was talking about reporters, wasn't he? The ones who wrote the story calling him a racist.
I wouldn't know.
When my client said, "I hate these people," who was he talking about? Reporters.
People who write articles about racist cops without having all of the facts.
Let me ask you this, Agent Flynn, did you have a warrant to record my client? Objection! We didn't need a warrant.
We were bugging a government vehicle.
So? So your client had no reasonable expectation of privacy.
I thought the judge gets to decide that.
I mean, it's been a few months, but that's how it was when I was on the bench.
Screw you, Cyrus.
- We can talk about that later.
- In your dreams.
Holy crap, are you two finished, or am I gonna grow old and die in this chair? Chambers! I've had enough bickering.
I swear, you two are worse than my wife, and she's the bickering grand champion.
I'm sorry, your honor, but this tape is admissible.
I agree, assuming we no longer have a constitution.
The raw facts are against you, Mr.
Garza.
Bottom line, that car is a space provided by the government for conducting official duties.
The statements were made in the course of those duties.
- And that's all it takes? - I think so.
Great.
Then you won't mind me playing this for the press Or your wife? I've had enough bickering.
I swear, you two are worse than my wife, and she's the bickering grand champion.
I'm sorry, your honor, but this tape is admissible.
- I'm not amused, counsel.
- Why not? It's not like I needed a warrant.
We are standing in a space provided by the government for conducting official duties, and your statements were made in the course of those duties.
- Make your point.
- My point is, you expected what was said in your office to be private so did my client.
A cop's car is like his office.
And there's federal case law to support that.
Fair enough.
The tape is out.
Thank you, your honor.
I'm gonna need that back.
I still can't figure out why Reyes was in that neighborhood when he was shot.
What's he do for a living? He owns a small construction company.
But I checked I can't find any clients in the area.
But we do know he drove there.
The city towed his car the next day from the same block.
What else do we know? Any history of drugs? No record.
Guy's got a wife, three kids.
- Ever been arrested? - Not officially, but Ah, there's always a "but.
" Yeah.
Word is he has a violent temper.
He was almost arrested last year for assault.
Well, let's see if we can track down those facts.
I'll confront him on cross.
I thought we were working.
All and I are gonna have dinner.
Things have been a little tense between us lately.
Be good for us to get out for a while.
- Drinks, ladies.
Drinks? - Yes.
Yep.
Actually, it might be kind of perfect.
You know, for the plan? When Garza gets back, you could be waiting.
Since when do you care so much about my love life? Hey, what can I say? I'm a romantic.
Let it go, Lucinda.
AliceYeah, I'm headed to dinner, but I was thinking maybe later I'd, uh Play some cards.
Oh, absolutely, Mr.
Garza.
We have several local casinos nearby.
And I would love to see them, but I was thinking about something maybe a little bit more underground.
Ah.
Let me see what I can find.
Okay.
Thanks.
When you said "dinner, " I didn't think you meant the last food truck this side of the border.
Well, I didn't think it'd hurt to remind you how the other half lives.
You really think I forgot, huh? I know where we are.
I know what it means to want a better life go anywhere, do anything to get it (Al):Then you got to know you're on the wrong side here, man.
No.
It may seem that way, but yeah, it really does.
Just hear me out.
Because I get it, Cyrus.
I do.
Everybody deserves a defense, even officer Hale.
All I'm saying is it didn't have to be you.
I love you, Al.
I'm just not sure you'd be a great judge.
You always lead with your emotion.
And I'm not sure you will make a great lawyer, Cyrus.
Too much head, man, not enough heart.
Anyway, I just I've been thinking about our partnership, you know.
Bottom line, we're just two different people.
Good evening, officer.
What do we have here? Whatever it is, it's none of your concern.
Al You two are drinking in public, which makes it my concern.
Wow, drinking in public.
You really got yourself a big case here, man.
I don't appreciate your tone, sir.
And I don't really appreciate you hassling me for no reason.
- Al - All right, let's see some I.
D.
Okay, here we go.
We're getting into it now.
Just give it to him and move on.
You really think he would ask for our I.
D.
If he were looking at two white faces? - "Cyrus Garza"? - Yes.
Mr.
Garza, I am so sorry, sir.
We appreciate you being here defending one of our own.
You two need anything? - No, we're fine.
You gentlemen have a good night.
Like I said, man, we are two different people.
That thing just bother you, Cyrus? Not worth getting arrested.
Yeah.
Look, man, we started this case together, so I'm gonna finish it with you.
When it's over, I'm done.
Al You realize we have to pick the jury in less than an hour? Yeah, Cyrus isn't in his room.
Maybe he went to go have coffee.
He hasn't even seen the research.
If we end up with the wrong panel, we're screwed.
Well, everybody else is ready, Mereta.
We'll meet you out front.
- Okay.
That would look great on you.
Special occasion? Maybe.
There's this guy I work with.
If you were to surprise someone, though, which one would you choose? I think that would be perfect.
You've got the body for it.
Ooh who am I kidding? Okay, we broke the counties down into cities, and the cities into the neighborhoods.
The goal is to pick jurors who tend to be pro-police.
Right.
And in the city at this moment.
That means that we're looking for white conservative males.
You think so? Here.
Mr.
Ramirez Sir, have you ever been arrested by the police? Not personally.
But some friends, family.
My neighborhood, it's something you see.
- Angry cops, aggressive cops? - Sometimes.
The job's not easy, but it's not always the job's fault.
Thank you, Mr.
Ramirez.
We have no objection to this juror, your honor.
Cyrus, what are you doing? You can't take him.
He's from Hastings county.
They have the largest number of complaints for police misconduct.
I like him.
He'll be fine.
Your honor, the people would like to use a peremptory challenge to strike this juror.
Object.
He's perfect.
High-income conservative from a town that donates a lot of money to police charities.
No objection, your honor.
Your honor, the defense would like to thank and excuse juror number four.
No objection, your honor.
Juror number four, you're excused.
Thank you.
Your honor, the defense would like to thank and excuse juror number 11.
No objection, your honor.
Juror number 11, you are excused.
Thank you.
Well, it seems we have our jury.
Mr.
Garza, would you step up, please? You do realize the idea is to pick jurors most likely to support your client, don't you? It'll be fine, your honor.
Maybe, but your co-counsel looks like he's ready to blow a gasket.
Maybe you two should take a moment.
You want to let me in on whatever kind of strategy you got going on here, Cyrus? Because in my world, you just lost this case.
No strategy.
More than half the jury is Hispanic! We agreed that the jurors should be white males.
No, you and Mereta agreed! We have a client accused of being anti-Hispanic.
How does it look if his lawyers are anti-Hispanic? How the hell did we get here, Cyrus? How did I become the one promoting the use of racial profiling? Because you're a great lawyer, and you're just looking out for your client.
I can make them be fair, Al.
This jury will not convict if they think he's innocent.
Ready when you are, your honor.
Excellent.
I think we've had more than enough excitement for one day.
We'll pick up in the morning with the people's first witness.
Actually, your honor, the people have a motion.
James Reyes, the victim, is our first witness.
Unfortunately, Mr.
Reyes is still in the hospital.
His doctors won't let him appear.
And what's your motion? We'd ask that Mr.
Reyes be allowed to testify from his hospital room.
Okay, here we go.
Is that an objection, counsel? It's a ploy, your honor.
She's looking for sympathy.
No jury can be objective when the victim is in a hospital bed.
- We have no choice.
- Of course there's a choice.
Get a video camera.
You'd love that, wouldn't you? Deprive the jury of the chance to see the victim firsthand.
Nice try, counsel, but I think closed circuit is a little bit impersonal for a multiple-shooting victim.
I'm granting the motion, and I'll instruct the jury to disregard the surroundings.
We are adjourned.
I know you Mrs.
Reyes.
From the hospital.
What are you doing here? We need to talk.
Car's gonna be outside.
You're with the defense? - Mrs.
Reyes - What? What could you possibly say to me right now? Everybody in? Get in.
Get us out of here.
I was just standing on the street.
James, tell us what you were doing in the neighborhood that night.
I own a construction company.
I went to look at an empty warehouse on fourth and brewer.
Why? Business was good, and we were looking into acquiring more space.
So you were meeting a realtor to show you the property? Yeah.
She was late.
That's why I was looking around, making sure I was in the right place.
I didn't know that being Hispanic and standing on the street would get you shot in the city.
- Objection.
- Sustained.
Stick to what happened, Mr.
Reyes.
Then he came over and demanded to see my I.
D.
I asked him why.
I wasn't even doing anything.
I'm an American citizen.
I told him that.
But he didn't believe me.
I tried to walk away.
That's my right.
What did officer Hale do? He lost it.
He started beating me up with his Baton.
I didn't know what to do.
I was trying to defend myself.
Then he went after his gun.
Were you afraid? I knew he was gonna kill me.
I knew that, and so I grabbed for the gun, and he shot me for nothing.
No further questions.
So officer Hale "lost it"? That's your testimony? He's been a trained officer for about ten years, but when you walked away, he just got violent for no reason? I'm Latino that's the only reason he needed.
The truth is you were the one who lost it, weren't you? You turned this routine stop into a fight.
- No, I did not.
- You were angry.
You said yourself you're an American.
How dare some racist cop harass you.
- Damn right I said that.
- So you resisted.
By law, he was required to check your I.
D.
But you walked away.
And when he asked you to stop when he ordered you to stop, you hit him.
No, I did not! Officer Hale is the one who feared for his life.
- That's not what happened.
- He reached for his weapon because you we unstable.
- I'm not like that! - I think you are.
You were questioned by the police a year ago for an assault, weren't you? - Objection.
You were in a bar fight.
There were witnesses who say that you threw the first punch.
Objection overruled.
He opened the door to these questions, miss Ruckeyser.
You have a temper, don't you, Mr.
Reyes? You'd hit me right now if you could, wouldn't you? In my opinion, the first shot hit him from behind, the force of which spun him around, whereupon he was shot twice more in the chest.
Thank you, doctor.
Your witness.
A moment, your honor.
You're sure about this? Absolutely.
Dr.
Engler, you're not trained in forensic medicine, are you? I run an intensive care unit, counsel.
I've seen enough gunshot wounds to know what I'm looking at.
And it is your testimony that the first bullet entered James Reyes from behind? - It is.
And you know that because of the wound it created when it entered his skin.
Correct? - Yes.
The entrance wound in Mr.
Reyes' back is circular in nature.
It's called an abrasion ring.
It's very common.
You mean very common if the victim is shot standing up.
Tell me, doctor, have you ever heard of a "shored" exit wound? I think so.
Well, then, you know how rare it is.
You know that when a victim is shot standing up, the bullet is free to pass in and out of the body.
But when the victim's back is to the floor, well, that changes everything/ Correct? -Yes.
It leaves a circular exit wound.
An abrasion ring, I think you called it.
Yes, but there was no indication the victim was shot on the ground.
No indication from who? From James Reyes? Sir, you're a doctor.
My client is on trial for his life.
And here you sit taking solely the victim's word for what happened.
- No.
- They were struggling.
Is it possible they hit the floor, and then that first shot was fired? Objection! Speculation! I'll allow it.
It's possible, isn't it? Yes.
That was mereta.
She's not feeling great, so she's hanging back in her room.
Where's Al? - Why don't you ask our boss here? - Me? Yeah, we're not blind.
You know, it's a classic story two parents in a loveless marriage keep their fighting from the kids.
We will be fine.
But if we do get a divorce, I'm giving Al custody of you both.
- You cutting out? - Yep.
Big day tomorrow.
I'm gonna go, uh, get some rest.
See you kids in the morning.
Play nice.
You don't have to stay, you know.
I mean, if you want to lay some cool young lawyer vibe on one of the local ladies You know me so well.
I'm just saying we both know you're not getting lucky at this table, so don't let me stop you.
In fact, I will help you.
You really don't understand the word "awkward," do you? I'm serious.
I'm serious.
Trust me, it could be very helpful to have a girl as your wing man.
So come on, which one of these hotties is your type? Okay, you know what, no.
I pass.
I'm not playing this game.
You have a couple of blondes over there.
- Why do you do this? - A redhead We're sitting here- - she's had a few.
You might have a shot.
You might have a real shot.
Okay, okay.
All right.
Fine.
Fine.
Her, I guess.
What a shock.
Oh, just a perfect princess for our Harvard robot.
Whatever.
You know, there's nothing wrong with liking a woman who wears a dress every now and then.
Ooh.
Hello? Mr.
Garza, it's Allison, from the concierge desk.
Hi, Allison.
I found a few of those clubs we spoke about, and I slipped the list under your door.
Oh, okay.
Hold on for a second.
Is this right? There's a card club on fifth and brewer? - Yes, sir.
It's brand-new.
- That's great, Allison.
That's really great.
Thanks.
Justice Garza.
It seems you have friends in the gambling world.
- You got my message.
- They vouched for you.
And I'm very happy we can do business, yes? I didn't come to play.
I'm here on a different kind of business.
Mm-hmm.
There was a shooting about a block away from here, across the street.
A police officer was involved.
No club owner with a place as nice as this sets up shop without having the eyes to see them coming.
Just a little insurance.
I know there are cameras up and down the street here.
I need to have the footage from that night.
No.
I have a business here.
I can't give this video to you without showing the police we are here.
We're finished.
Okay, wait.
You know it's only a matter of time before the cops or the feds catch up with you here.
I'm offering to represent you in the future.
Talk about insurance, imagine having a former supreme court justice on your speed dial.
We have a deal.
Now, let me see what we can find.
It's a yes or no question, Karen.
Yes, I watched it, Cyrus.
You want to tell me where you got it? Or am I just supposed to accept that a video of this shooting dropped in your lap mid-trial? What, exactly, are you implying? I'm not implying anything.
I'm accusing you of sabotaging my case.
- I can't give you the source.
- It doesn't matter.
I sent the video to the crime lab.
They confirm it's authentic.
- Amazing.
- What? You're a prosecutor, Karen.
You shouldn't be so disappointed by the truth.
It doesn't change my case, Cyrus.
He racially profiled and shot an American citizen.
That's a civil rights violation.
Your client is still going down.
I saw him from a block away.
I was on patrol that night, approximately two miles from the Mexican border.
And what Drew your attention to Mr.
Reyes? He was alone on the street at night.
There aren't too many people out in that area.
And he appeared to be lost or nervous.
So in other words, you thought that he might be in the country illegally.
Well, I didn't know.
But under the new law, I knew that I had to check it out.
So ahem I approached him, and I asked to see his identification.
And how did Mr.
Reyes react? Well, you can see for yourself, from the beginning, he was very defensive.
It's true that he said that he was an American citizen.
I said that that didn't matter.
That I needed to see his I.
D.
So why did you follow him when he walked away? Why not just let him go? I'm a cop.
A suspect walks away from you You stop him.
Anyway, you can see what happens when I tried.
I didn't know what he was capable of.
I understand that Mr.
Reyes was afraid.
But I was afraid too.
So I reached for my gun.
And then to have people call you a racist Call you a murderer.
I'm a good cop.
I'm a good man.
No further questions.
Officer Hale, I have only one question.
And I remind you, sir, that you're under oath.
Would you have stopped James Reyes if he were white? No.
In America, we don't stop people because of the color of their skin.
In America, you can stand on brewer street at night and look around for someone, and be Hispanic without the fear that a cop will harass you or shoot you.
James Reyes wasn't committing any crime.
He had every right to walk away that night.
And when he exercised that right, he was beaten and shot.
The brutal truth is officer Hale racially profiled James Reyes.
He basically admitted it on the stand.
Officer Hale pursued Reyes.
He let the conflict escalate.
And rather than let an American citizen leave peacefully, he pulled his gun.
I can imagine what James Reyes felt that night.
I can imagine seeing a racist cop reach for his gun.
What I can't imagine Is that we would let it happen in America.
I get it.
This new law has the potential for abuse.
It is a green light for a racist cop.
And even good cops can go too far, stopping law-abiding Hispanic citizens when no crime has been committed.
The feds can't live with that.
They call it un-American.
And that's why they'll do whatever it takes to send that message to Arizona.
Maybe it is.
Maybe you agree.
But, members of the jury, there's something even more un-American at work here.
In America, we don't send innocent men, good men to prison to make a political point about a law.
And that's why I took this case.
To help make sure that nobody is sacrificed so that some politicians can send a message.
Officer Hale did what Arizona law required.
Now, if that's a bad law, let's fight it In the legislatures and courthouses and voting booths all across this country.
But we cannot punish him for following the law.
He is a patrol officer near the Mexican border.
He has this new duty now to help stop illegal immigration.
Is it really racist or un-American to even consider that James Reyes was Hispanic? It was one factor that led to this stop, and it wasn't racism.
It was common sense.
Now, people have said that I was crazy to accept this jury.
"Too many Hispanics.
" That's what they said.
It's too risky.
They can't possibly be fair.
What if they want revenge? I think they're wrong.
I think that when all is said and done, every member of this jury will do their duty.
Will look at the facts, and nothing else.
The feds want to crush this one man.
Maybe you can relate.
Maybe you know what it's like to be the underdog in your own life.
Send the government a message of your own.
No man is expendable for political gain.
Let officer Hale go home to his family.
Will the defendant please rise.
Members of the jury, I understand you've reached a unanimous verdict.
We have, your honor.
What say you? "On the charge that officer Daniel Hale "did willfully violate the civil rights of James Reyes "under color of law, "we the jury find the defendant, Daniel Hale, not guilty.
" Members of the jury, this completes your service.
You are dismissed with the thanks of the court.
Officer Hale, you are free to go.
Thank you, sir.
Thank you.
We gotta go.
Flight's in an hour.
Ready.
Okay So what ever happened with Garza? You never went for it, huh? Nah, just not my style.
Just came by to grab a few of my things.
Congrats again on the win.
"All head and no heart.
" That's what you said.
You know, I, uh, I spent my entire career on the bench looking at the bigger picture.
Policy and politics.
In a lot of those cases there was a person.
One guy who got screwed.
I have to live with that.
Yeah, I do live with that.
People that I hurt, that stays with me.
I carry it right here.
But I'm done I'm done seeing only the bigger picture.
Now I want to I want to represent that one guy.
Find a way to fit him in.
- I get that, Cyrus.
- Oh, that's that's me.
That's where I'm going.
And I know how it's no small thing to ask you to do what it takes to help me get there.
But if you can If you're here tomorrow I know we can do great things.