In Contempt (2018) s01e05 Episode Script

1 Previously on In Contempt: Ms.
Sullivan, you are in contempt.
She's disrespectful, undisciplined.
- Holy shit.
- Let's see, there, right there.
Remember, it's all about your client.
- He may look like a creep - He is a creep.
You need to drop the revulsion.
Touch on the shoulder, something to telegraph that you're not afraid.
Harder.
Never in my wildest dreams would I imagine that I'd feel good about getting a rubber off.
Drinks on me.
Except you never carry your wallet.
- I'm going to get my wallet.
- Thank you.
Step away from the vehicle.
Hands in the air, now! I didn't do nothing man.
I didn't do anything! Get off of me! Ah! [CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKING.]
Oh my God! DateMatcher is like the Wild West for black women.
You have no idea, like this guy.
He said he was looking for his own personal Tar Baby.
- Ugh! - That is so wrong, oh my God.
Yeah.
He said he likes his women nice and black.
[MUSIC PLAYING.]
Where's my damn phone call? Press down.
Get it nice and black.
- Oh, he's kind of cute.
- He has a good body too, and he says he's working on getting his black belt.
You don't know what that means do you? A black belt is when a white guy finally bangs a black chick.
No! Bend your knees and open up for Jesus.
You can't do a strip search! I'm a lawyer.
Yeah? Well, you mouthed off.
So you're my bitch now.
Okay, listen to this.
The darker the berry.
Right? Talented with their lips.
Kinky hair, kinky sex.
And this one is my personal favorite.
I want to make you my Nubian bitch.
Oh, I apologize on behalf of white people, oh my God! You guys, I'm really worried about Charlie, though.
I mean, I know he never likes to pay, but just ghosting us? Oh please, he probably ran into Sheila from Accounting.
He's buttering his biscuit as we speak.
My cell, my rules.
No pissing on the floor, no fighting, no complaining.
I don't know when you're going to see judge and I don't care.
Make some room.
[MUSIC PLAYING.]
Two months in jail for whooping my own child? The DA's office considers it child abuse.
But he stole my car and crashed it.
He's nine years old.
He could have killed somebody or got killed.
The problem is the video.
It doesn't look good and it went viral.
Alright, what about Jason? Child services already took him and gave him to my sister-in-law because my husband is stationed overseas.
She and I, we don't get along, so she's been arguing against me seeing him.
So, if I took the plea, would I get my son back when I got out? The prosecutor doesn't have any control over that.
It's possible you could lose custody of Jason for at least two years, if your husband can't come home, maybe three.
Okay, look.
You do have a defense.
- It's called justification.
- Gwen.
The law allows parents to use force to discipline their children or safeguard their welfare.
- Yes, that's what I was doing.
- Except the force you use has to be reasonable and you broke Jason's arm.
I didn't break his arm! He fell, while he was trying to get away from me.
Ms.
Lyons, you used a doubled up belt.
I was trying to help my son.
Do you know, last year, Jason's best friend Frankie, he was playing tee-ball.
Come to find out, some of the so-called volunteers, they were still gang banging and we didn't know this, but Frankie, he was being groomed and he was killed a week before his ninth birthday.
I'm just worried about taking this to a jury.
You know, family services already took my son like I'm some kind of criminal.
I am not pleading guilty.
I didn't do nothing wrong.
What was that? I asked you to help me convince her to plea.
You pretty much talked her out of it.
It didn't seem like pleading was the best move.
I pulled Blackburn as a judge and I'm up against Milltown.
She's playing that "I'm cool and liberal" act and meanwhile, she goes hard on child cases.
Girl, you got this.
You know, you need a black jury.
Black people don't trip about corporal punishment like white folks.
We get an Upper East Side, take a time out Mommy and Me panel, and we are dead before we even start.
Mmm.
Still want me to second chair? Let's just sing from the same hymnal.
Where is Bennett? Shadowing prosecutors this week.
Ah! Traitor, screw him.
Moving on.
Hey, listen up! Everyone listen up! I need everyone in AR2 now.
Docket ending 875, the People versus Charles Riggs.
Step up.
What the hell happened? Judge, Mr.
Riggs was admiring a classic car last night, when he was mistaken for a carjacking suspect - and arrested.
- Is that right? And what dumbass did that? Your honor, the DA's office moves to dismiss.
I should hope so.
Case dismissed, Mr.
Riggs, with apologies from the court.
I want you to take a few days off.
Alright? Regroup.
[SOFT MUSIC PLAYING.]
Juror No.
3, how do you feel about corporal punishment? I don't think it's necessary.
I use time outs.
Juror No.
21, were you spanked as a child? Yeah.
Kept me in line.
Juror No.
3, did you spank your children? I was spanked, but no, I don't spank mine.
Juror No.
52, you said you were not spanked as a child.
Would you spank your own children? Yes, I would.
The People challenge No.
52 and No.
21.
Defense challenges No.
3.
Juror No.
36.
Have you seen the video of the defendant flogging her child? - Your Honor, flogging, really? - Overruled.
Yes, I've seen the video.
It's horrifying.
Use your words.
Juror No.
4, did you spank your kids? No, I did not.
I can't see putting someone in jail - for disciplining their kid.
- Thank you, juror No.
10.
The defense moves to excuse juror No.
36.
Juror No.
36, if I instructed you to be fair and to consider all of the evidence, - could you do that? - Of course.
I will not excuse her for cause.
The People move to excuse juror No.
10 for cause.
Granted.
Juror No.
10 is thanked and excused.
- Blackburn's screwing us.
- Yeah.
Ladies and gentlemen, you are the empanelled jury on this case.
- Is this a bad jury? - To be honest, I don't know.
[SOFT MUSIC PLAYING.]
- Okay, I got it.
- What, diabetes? Blackburn.
I found some forum posts that she's written.
You think we could recuse her? How do we know this is her? Who else would use the username JudgeyMommy? Those posts are really anti-corporal punishment.
Oh, damn, look who funds the site? Plentiful Hope Children's Foundation, - her donation jar.
- Mm-hmm.
No, no, she'll never recuse herself.
Then all we've done is piss her off.
JudgeyMommy is already pissed off.
That's the problem.
Yeah, but at least it's Blackburn, her bias is obvious on the record.
We recuse her, we could get some stealth judge who protects herself and then we got nothing on appeal.
Recuse who? Well, Tom, it is nice to know that you are not circumcised.
Blackburn, she's got a lot of anti-corporal punishment posts.
And negative, she holds grudges.
It'll have a domino effect.
She'll have it in for everyone from our office.
- But, Tom - Absolutely, no recusal.
Damn.
It's fine, I didn't think it was a good idea anyway.
"Tears Away" By Mehcad Brooks I've been in here for two days and if I'm here any longer, my job's going to fire me.
It's just a summons, you'll be out of here shortly.
Docket ending 934, the People v.
Fabian Reyes.
- Step up.
- Okay.
- What do we got? - Return on a warrant, Judge.
Desk appearance ticket, unlicensed dog, no vaccination certificate.
The defendant never showed up for court.
The People offer three days' community service.
Your Honor, he's already been in here almost two days.
Well, when you don't come back the first time, you get the slow justice.
His friend said that he would take care of the ticket.
Don't waste my time with sob stories, counselor.
Just tell me he doesn't want to take the plea.
Bail set at 500.
I don't have that kind of money.
Your Honor, the dog wasn't even his.
He was walking it for a friend.
Post bail or plead guilty.
I got cases to move here.
Why should I plead guilty to something I didn't even do? Sounds like you're going to post bail.
Next case.
No wait, I'll lose my job! [BABY CRYING.]
All children should be removed from the courtroom.
If you have an upcoming case, please come back after No, no, no, Jim, it's okay.
Truth be told, sometimes it's nice to have some kids in the courtroom.
Forget what Tom said, we've got to recuse her.
Wait, Gwen, no, wait! Your Honor, before you bring in the jury, the defense respectfully moves that you recuse yourself.
On what grounds? You've made some remarks regarding corporal punishment that gives the defense cause to believe you're biased.
"Spanking as a disciplinary tactic" is barbaric and completely ineffective.
Any individual who engages in corporal punishment should be prosecuted to the full extent "of the law where appropriate.
" I'm not recusing myself because you stumbled onto some posts you suspect I wrote.
We're prepared to subpoena the ISP.
Alright, approach.
This is off the record.
That you had the temerity to investigate my out of court opinions is one thing, but that you would seek to undermine and embarrass me, - is another.
- Your Honor Ms.
Campbell, I would think long and hard before asking me to recuse myself.
Yeah, thought about it.
We still want you to step down.
You want another judge? Be my guest.
But, as I tell my grandkids, actions have their consequences.
Back on the record.
Defense motion is granted.
Wow.
That is a lot of political capital to spend on a roll of the dice you'll probably lose.
What part of "I don't think that's a good idea" made you think I was down with what you just did? Shit, Tracy, I'm sorry, but it worked, right? That is not the point, Gwen.
You know you can get the case recalled.
I can? AB.
What? Yeah, get over here.
What is it? Your Honor.
I was wondering if you would be willing to recall Mr.
Reyes' case.
The absconder with the pit bull? No, we run a tight ship here, kiddo.
You're going to have to learn to toughen up.
You're going to give me those puppy dog eyes all day, aren't you? Yeah, well, I can't see you.
You're invisible.
The sincerity is killing me.
Okay, fine.
Bring out the dog man.
You understand the charge against you? - How do you plead? - Actually, your Honor, I was hoping we could revisit the issue with bail.
No one's doing a trial over dog walking tickets, counselor.
He pleads guilty to a violation, that's not a crime and he pays a fine and then he can go home.
- But, he didn't do it.
- I don't care.
You want to waste the court's time with this stuff, he can just post the bail.
The point is, he can't pay the bail.
Look, I'm done with this nonsense, forget about it.
Next case.
Hey.
It's the last time I do something nice for you, kiddo.
[PHONE BUZZING.]
All rise.
The Honorable Judge Martha Radcliff presiding.
You were saying something about rolling the dice? You got lucky.
Let's bring in the jury.
Oh my God, baby! Are you okay? Huh? Okay, are you bleeding? You got broken bones? What the hell were you thinking? Why would you take my car? You could have killed somebody or your goddamn self! What the hell do I gotta do to get this through to you? What the hell is wrong with you, boy? Huh? You mind your goddamn business.
Get up! Get yo ass up! Get up! Dr.
Montgomery, as Jason Lyon's caseworker, you examined him after he was hit with a belt.
I'm handing you what's been marked as People's Exhibits 2 through 4, an x-ray of Jason's broken arm and photos of his injuries.
What was Jason's condition after the incident? You can see the red marks and welts here, and of course, the broken arm.
This incident was painful, extremely humiliating and traumatizing.
- Aren't you going to object? - No.
It wasn't at all reasonable.
Objection, speculation and move to strike the last statement, improper opinion and ultimate question.
- Overruled.
- Your Honor! Overruled.
Counselor.
- Nothing further.
- We'll resume after lunch.
- What's wrong? - Honestly, I'm not sure.
Why didn't you object to Montgomery's testimony unreasonableness? Because I thought we'd look like idiots.
She's an expert rendering an opinion.
Getting overruled just gave her testimony more credibility.
But he was rendering a legal conclusion I don't have to agree with you, Gwen.
Why do you have such a problem with that? - I don't, I - You seem to.
Look, forget it, just it's done, okay? What we got to do now is we need to show that Donielle is a good mother and not a monster and we need to emphasize the part of the statute that says corporal punishment is okay if you reasonably believe it's necessary to maintain discipline.
And so, the more misbehaving your child is, the more reasonable the spanking is.
That is some misbehaving.
Look at the carnage he caused.
So, we have the photos to show the punishment fit the crime and that he needed to be disciplined.
But, pictures are so boring.
So, so, devious.
[RAP SONG.]
- Watch that.
- Right there.
- What's happening in life dawg? - Life's happening, man.
- Life? - Yeah.
Whooo! What was that? Nothing, let's go, let's go! Where you've been, home boy? You're too good for us and now you're working for the man? - What if that? - I got it, baby! - What? - Good thing.
Check it out, let's go.
Let's go, come on.
You think you got skills.
Boy? Oh, you're my bitch now.
- What the hell was that, fool? - I ain't nobody's bitch.
I don't work for the man and I don't work for the money.
Do my job because don't nobody give a damn about black people! Yo, we hear you, fam.
You taking it to another level, man, it's just jokes, baby.
It ain't funny.
Ain't nothing funny about being a black man in America.
Don't call me a bitch again.
Uh, Judge Lasker is a wonderful man, but perhaps he was a bit in tempered.
- Fear not, we'll make it right.
- Thank you so much, your Honor.
I'm sorry, Judge, we looked.
Guy's not in the back.
What? He was just arraigned at the end of the last session.
I'm sorry, Counselor.
I can't release him if he's not physically before me.
Isn't there some other way? Can't you order Corrections to let him go? I can issue a cut and release, but that could take day or two.
It wasn't even his dog, please.
If you can find him, bring him to me and I'll let him out.
Let's go.
I will not live in a Kafka story another minute.
Dr.
Montgomery, teachers are mandatory reporters of abuse, aren't they? Correct.
Yet, in the five years Jason has attended school, none of his teachers ever reported signs of abuse, did they? - That's correct.
- In fact, Jason's teachers wrote very positive things about Jason's mother, - Ms.
Lyons, didn't they? - They did.
So, Ms.
Lyons would appear to be a good parent, right? And if a good parent reasonably believed her child's welfare was at risk or she needed to correct a seriously misbehaving child, she would act accordingly, wouldn't she? Hitting can't be for a child's welfare.
Really? Objection.
What's all this? Best evidence rule, your Honor.
Why look at photos of the damage Jason caused when you can have the real thing? I'll allow it.
Dr.
Montgomery, this was once a part of a sidewalk mailbox.
And this was a side mirror on a car.
Jason hit both of these in turn, here and here.
And here, he ran over a child's tricycle.
What if a child had been riding this? Corporal punishment in this context could be used for the purpose of maintaining discipline, couldn't it? Or for promoting the welfare of a child for driving home the point that what he did was incredibly serious and dangerous.
She didn't spank her son, she beat him.
Not my question.
My question is whether given the seriousness of what her son did, she could've reasonably believed that the force she used was for the purpose of maintaining discipline or promoting his welfare.
I suppose that's what she could have thought she was doing.
Nothing further.
If your child ran into a mailbox with your car, - would you hit him? - No.
If he sideswiped a car, ran over a tricycle smashing it flat, - would you hit him then? - I wouldn't.
There would be consequences.
I would talk to him.
You would talk to him.
And why would you talk instead of hit? Well, for one, studies show corporal punishment results in a decrease in gray matter in the brain, which inhibits mental development.
It also leads to an increase in aggression, delinquency, - mental illness and drug abuse.
- Objection.
Your Honor, corporal punishment is not on trial here.
- The law actually allows it.
- Sustained.
Is there anything that could reasonably justify the type of corporal punishment Ms.
Lyons used? - No.
- Thank you, Doctor.
I can't read this jury right now.
I can.
They're not with us.
People cannot just disappear into the system.
We don't have him, the courts have him.
I just tried the courts.
They said you had him.
I don't know what to tell you, Counselor.
He'll probably turn up, they always do.
Unacceptable.
Hey, you can't go back there.
Mr.
Reyes? Fabian Reyes.
Fabian! I lost my job.
I kept asking to call them, but the cops wouldn't let me use the phone until they already fired me.
I'll call your boss and explain the situation, okay? Here's my card if you need me to follow up with you.
You know those guys in the cell, they said you'd never come for me.
The more questions I asked, the longer I'd be in there for, they said the cops would just disappear me.
So, thank you for finding me.
Donielle should have plead.
The jury hates her.
- A white jury maybe.
- I don't know.
Montgomery made a pretty strong case that it's never okay to beat your kids, - black or white.
- She didn't beat her kid.
- She disciplined him.
- Let's just be real, Gwen.
She didn't just give him a slap, she beat him hard enough with a belt that he tried to get away and broke his arm.
I don't care what the law says, you don't beat your kids.
- Period.
- Okay, wake up, Trace.
Donielle's husband is overseas.
She's basically a single mom raising a black boy in the 'hood.
She spanked him to keep him alive, because if she didn't whip some sense into him, he'd end up in jail or in a body bag and that is being real.
I get that.
I do, but hitting your kids, it teaches fear, not obedience.
It is worse in the long run.
Well white people have the luxury of thinking - about the long run.
- Don't throw white privilege at me.
- I get it.
I just disagree.
- Well you disagree because you never lived in the 'hood and don't know what it means You have no idea what I know or don't know, Gwen.
Tracy, what is going on with you? Hey! - Are you okay? - I'm fine.
I'm just frustrated.
- With me? - With the case.
Okay, well look, all I'm saying is that the black jurors are an asset.
We just have to remind them of the psychology of raising black boys and Donielle's state of mind and then they can teach the white jurors.
- It's really our only move.
- Well, you're right about that.
So, you should do Donielle's direct.
Black defendant, black lawyer, talking to black jurors.
- Okay.
- Okay.
My bad about earlier, man, I was bugging.
Nah, the cops got into your head.
You got me jacked up for a minute, though.
You still got that same temper you had back when we were shorties.
- Hell, yes.
- Hell.
They ain't putting no respect on a black president's name.
- I don't know how I got a shot.
- Yeah.
Same shit, different brother, we all been there.
Kissing pavement, handcuff, pig car, the whole nine.
Just cause what, we brown and they got power? I don't know, man.
Sometimes, shit just gets exhausting.
- Yo, you know what I need? - A slice.
Dang, Nico's is about to close.
We got about eight minutes.
Last one in the door pays! Oh, yeah, you're buying.
Ms.
Lyons, why didn't you use other disciplinary methods with Jason? Warn him.
Do timeouts.
Because that don't work.
Not in my situation.
Can you tell the court what you mean by "my situation"? I mean the high school that my son is going to in a few years, there's about 100 security cameras, police officers in the hallways.
You don't get detention, you get arrested.
- But Jason's only 9 years old.
- My son, he is a good kid.
He gets good grades, but he wants to be cool.
His dad is stationed overseas.
He can't be here to role model, so Jason sees the other kids on the corner.
He wants to be just like them, a thug.
- Where is your neighborhood? - 187th and Overlook.
Would it surprise you to hear that just since 2003, there have been 97 murders and 14,654 major felony offenses in that area? No.
You know, some kids go to birthday parties and sleepovers.
Our neighborhood, we go to kids' funerals.
And my son is a black boy in America born with two strikes against him.
He can't make the same mistakes as white boys make.
Your Honor, may we approach? The Defense is trying to argue some kind of cultural defense.
They're saying that the danger to boys in certain black communities is higher than in white communities.
Because it is.
And therefore, black parents are somehow entitled to use greater force against their children than white parents? I don't think so.
There can't be separate rules for black people and white people.
Your Honor, we're not arguing for a racial exemption here.
But, you're implying one.
Counselor, you can't argue a cultural defense here.
You are to stick to justification.
But there's a cultural angle to justification.
We can't argue one without the other in this case.
It's dangerous to argue that black boys require more severe discipline to be kept in line.
- That's not what we're saying.
- We're saying black boys have particular perils facing them that justify their parents using particular force with them.
Well, that's not what white folks hear.
They hear that black boys need to be beaten.
- I don't think that's - I think that the jury is capable of making the distinction, your Honor.
Well, I don't.
So, if I catch even a whiff of a cultural defense, I'm declaring a mistrial and you can be damn sure that the retrial will be in front of Judge Blackburn.
Now, step back.
I guess the black judge isn't turning out to be quite the soul sister you thought she'd be.
Have several seats, Milltown.
It's like I wasn't even standing there.
- What are you talking about? - You interrupted me.
- You talked over me.
- What is wrong with you? - This is my case.
- It's our case.
- No, I asked you for help.
- Oh, so now I'm the help.
Don't twist my words.
See, this is what you do, you take over.
You did that with the plea, you did it with the recusal, you did it with the expert and now you're doing it with the judge.
God, you think you know better than anyone else.
Girl, I take over, that's what I do.
Since when does it make you so mad? You think you got it all together, Gwen, but you're just a hot mess.
I've been bailing your ass out for a long time.
This is the third month in a row I've had to pay - your share of electric bill.
- Trace, I will pay the electric bill.
It's not about the electric bill, Gwen.
I have never seen your fuse this short.
Do you want to tell me what the hell is going on with you? No, not really, no.
Ah! Let's just say this case is bringing a lot of stuff up for me, okay? My dad, he used to beat our collective asses and I do mean beat.
I still got the scars to prove it and when I look at Donielle, I just see my own childhood.
- Sorry.
- Oh, my God.
Why didn't you tell me? No wonder you're such a mess.
Ah.
So crazy because I look at Donielle and I think maybe if my father had whooped David more, he wouldn't be in prison.
Your daddy never whooped you guys? Never once.
Remember that mom out in Baltimore who found her son in the riots and whooped his ass? - Yeah.
- When I saw that, I thought, man, that kid is lucky to have a mom who gives a shit.
God.
It made me cringe and not just because it gave me flashbacks, it was the way some white people just seem to love her just smacking her kid upside the head.
- Really? - Yeah.
I mean, you should have seen my Facebook page.
There was like this this glee.
Wait.
What if we use white people's racism against them? Oh, we're back on the case? I thought we were having a girlfriend moment.
No, seriously, seriously.
Radcliff thinks we're leaning into white people's perception of black boys as being like - A threat? - Yeah, the frightening shadow in the dark.
So, we play the race card, but we play the white race card.
Oh, that's good.
That's good.
- So, are we good? - Yeah.
You get on my freaking nerves sometimes, girl, - but oh my lord.
I love you.
- I love you too, Trace.
Donielle Lyons knows her son Jason better than anyone.
She knows when he's advanced his reading level, even before his teacher.
She knows that he needs twice as much physical activity as most kids and what she needs to do to make sure he learns good behavior.
Back when I was a little girl in North Carolina, the mamas used to hang over the fences and gossip about each other.
Who made peanut butter sandwiches and who just slathered bread with pork fat? Who kept their kids in line and who let their kids run wild? They would even predict the future success of your child based on your skills as a mother.
Today, we do the same thing, only now it's over Twitter.
If Jason grew up to steal cars, you would say Donielle should've been a better mother.
She didn't discipline enough.
Well, I say you can't have it both ways.
Would you rather have Donielle whoop her son like I know half of you have done to your kids or would you rather have him become a thug? Because you can't prosecute her and then complain when he steals your car.
Let's be clear.
A swat on the butt with a hand, that's a spanking, but what Donielle Lyons did was beat his backside repeatedly with a leather belt.
He cried for her to stop.
She left raised welts on his skin.
He's nine.
Donielle inflicted bodily injury on a child.
She hit him so hard that when he tried to run away, he fell and broke his arm.
Now, the Defense would have you think that this is routine discipline to thwart future infractions.
I want you to see it for what it is: child abuse.
And you need to hold Donielle accountable for that.
[SOFT MUSIC PLAYING.]
Why the long face, Bambi? I heard you went all the way into the jail to find your lost client.
He was in jail for two days for a dog walking ticket, I mean, how does that even happen? Oh come on, your cherry must be popped by now.
Why don't you quit acting like a virgin in a whore house.
Why are you so mean? Go grab us a couple more martinis.
You know I don't work for you, right? Judge Sullivan.
Congratulations.
Well, thank you.
Have you, um Have you seen my Gwen? She's not coming, is she? You know she avoids me when she's angry at me or when she's behind in her bills.
So, how are you girls doing with your bills? Good, good.
Mm-hmm.
- You don't know who I am.
- Should I? I'm Audrey Dotson.
Oh.
Judge Dotson's wife.
Pleasure.
- You're not the first you know.
- Beg your pardon? I know you're sleeping with my husband.
- I'm sorry, I - Don't bother.
You're not the first and you won't be the last, so you go have your fun, but know this.
He always comes home.
And frankly, he's done better.
In the matter of the People v.
Donielle Lyons, on the charge of assault in the second degree, we the jury find the defendant guilty.
Donielle, we are so sorry.
Thank you.
Thank you.
I have my quarrels with hitting your kid, but 18 months up state and losing custody.
As if he's better off without his mother.
Jesus.
Let me see if I understand.
You recuse Blackburn, even though I explicitly told you not to and you lost? Take your vacation days, all of them.
But Tom, she was not going to give us Every part of me wants to suspend you right now, so don't push it.
I don't want to see your face until those days have zeroed out.
- Am I making myself clear? - Yes.
- I hate losing.
- Yeah, me too.
[MUSIC PLAYING.]
[SHOTS FIRED.]
So, what happened? L or W? We lost.
- Okay, so are we doing this? - Yeah.
[KNOCK.]
[SOFT MUSIC PLAYING.]
[KNOCKING ON DOOR.]
Finally.
I was worried about you.
Ah.
You and Tracy lose? Yeah, they hauled our client off in cuffs.
I'm glad you came over.
You alright? - Charles Theodore Riggs.
- I'm alright.
You are far from alright.
I hate 'em all.
Every last one of them cops is a piece of shit.
You should have seen the way they looked at me.
Like I was garbage.
Our clients get pulled up on all the time by the cops.
Stopped, frisked, searched on the way to work.
Kid sitting on the curb handcuffed because he was wearing a hoodie on the way to the bodega to get some milk for his mom.
We see it every day.
Which I don't know how I could possibly think that it wouldn't happen to me now.
You know, if I paid my taxes, if I got a law degree.
If I wore a suit.
Somehow, stupidly, I got comfortable.
Thought I was inoculated and boom, they got me.
No escaping it either.
If you're a black man, it's only a matter of time before the police emasculate you.
You know, I thought I was that I had broken free.
I thought when they looked at me, they could see m could see me.
Not just another nigga.
Charlie.
I see you.
"The Hole" By The Soul of John Black Next time, on "In Contempt" Still coming to the wedding shower, right? Of course.
I'm bringing Charlie.
- Charlie from the office? - Yeah, we're friends.
What's up with you not opening your mail? Monthly bills.
To maintain my self-esteem, I open ones I can't pay last.
Ah, live like a superstar on a reality star's budget.
I'm cheating on her with you.
Well, if you're so worried about it, stop cheating.
Just cause I'm new does not mean you can take advantage of me.
Don't mistake my generosity for weakness.
What's the one thing Bennett would save in a fire? - His manuscripts.
- Gwen got it.
You are the queen of bad choices.