Justice (2006) s01e09 Episode Script
Shotgun
a group of el monte citizens are being called heroes tonight for catching a possible killer.
it happened early this morning at a local trailer park.
neighbors heard gunfire coming from the trailer of maria and frankie duarte.
inside, maria duarte lay dead, the victim of a shotgun blast.
her husband frankie duarte ran from the trailer, but quick-thinking neighbors held him until sheriffs could arrive.
duarte admits he was home at the time when his wife was shot but denies killing her.
the shotgun that killed maria duarte was found in the trailer.
frankie? this video was made by one of the neighbors involved in the capture.
i didn't kill my wife.
i love my wife.
she's the mother of my son.
what happened, frankie? i was sleeping.
i hear a bang.
i go into the other room.
maria is there, shot.
and whose shotgun was it? do you know? it's mine.
why do you need a shotgun? i got to protect myself and maria after maria got raped.
frankie and the guy who did it, he's in a gang.
he lives in the park.
he raped her.
now he killed her.
oh, but they don't arrest him.
you know why? he's born here.
he's american.
where's your son now? in el salvador with maria's family.
he doesn't know his mom's dead.
we're gonna call just as soon as i get you out of here.
why are you here? 'cause you saw me on tv, that's why you came? you work for us.
now in my book, that makes you family.
why wouldn't i be here? what about the other lawyer? what other lawyer? the guy the sheriffs brought in here, the lawyer.
hey.
alden wow.
nice.
you going out? yes, tom.
there's more to life than law.
yeah, i've heard.
so where you going? on a date.
dinner in beverly hills, party in malibu.
wouldn't you rather go to a murder scene in el monte? it's at a trailer park.
have you ever heard of the last chance doctrine? hell, yes, it applies here.
the last chance doctrine says the last person who can save someone has a legal obligation to do it.
the last chance doctrine only applies to tort cases, accidents,not criminal cases, and it hasn't applied to them for a hundred years.
yeah, well, it should.
it's a good principle.
this is it here.
look, i hate to drag you out here,but i don't have a lot of time.
it's okay.
it just seems that your sense of injustice always kills my social life.
hey, sorry.
i can't help it.
i see a lynch mob, i root for the guy they're trying to lynch.
it's like ron says, "it's a weakness.
" somebody could have climbed in here.
yeah.
it doesn't look like the sheriffs dusted for fingerprints either.
some of the buckshot holes aren't even circled.
not exactly a great investigation.
whose case is this? I.
a.
sheriff's homicide.
they did a terrible job.
they told a tv reporter that frankie was in the room with her when she was shot.
look, there's two rooms.
frankie swears he was behind a door when maria was shot.
i don't think he killed her.
i think it's a little early to say that.
yeah, well, not for me.
this video was made by one of the neighbors involved in the capture.
her husband frankie duarte ran from the trailer ooh.
but quick-thinking neighbors- he needs us, luther.
lots of people need us, tom.
besides, he's already got a lawyer.
yeah, bill grant.
the guy's a hack.
the county pays him to plead cases out, not fight them.
he won't put up a defense.
prisons are filled with guys who didn't get a great defense.
it happens, it's life.
we can't fix that.
well, then let's just fix the ones that involve people we know.
but you don't know him.
you don't know anything about him.
i see him every day.
i talk to him.
he parks your car here.
he's a valet.
he's not your neighbor.
you're not in nebraska anymore.
yeah, i know, i know, but we haven't taken on a pro bono case in a long time.
look, frankie's got no criminal record.
he came into this country illegally.
that's a crime.
which is totally irrelevant as to whether he killed his wife.
it's relevant because jurors don't like illegal aliens.
which is why he needs good lawyers.
a case like this it's why i became a lawyer.
i'm doing it.
tom, this is a partnership.
we don't go around doing our own cases, and ron should be asked about this.
yeah, well, ron's not here.
ron's skiing in aspen with some c.
e.
o.
s, trying to land a big patent case.
and if he does, he's not gonna ask for my permission to do it.
but it's like you say, luther.
we are a partnership, right? next case - people vs.
frank duarte.
here for a combination arraignment and guilty plea.
deputy district attorney susan hale for the people.
bill grant for the defendant.
tom nicholson for tnt&g.
can we have a moment, your honor? duarte is about to get new counsel.
what are you doing, slumming? this is a nothing case.
not now it isn't.
our discovery request.
we expect you to honor it promptly.
now why does ron trott want this case? they making a movie about it? yeah, george clooney plays you.
just give us the damn file.
your honor we plead not guilty.
thank you.
thank you for helping me.
he didn't speak english to the sheriffs who arrested him.
maybe he's more comfortable speaking spanish.
or he's pretending to be a poor, confused immigrant, because it makes people like you feel sorry for him.
we got no fingerprints, but he told us it was his gun.
plus, we have gunshot residue on his hands.
we got a witness who heard them fighting before she was shot, who heard him say, "i'm gonna kill you.
" i don't know why you guys are doing this case, but if it's because you think he's innocent, you're wrong.
if that's true, then we'll take a deal.
but at least we will have tried to give him a defense first.
oh, no.
you break the plea, you own the trial.
he cut a deal.
he's backing out of it.
there are no more deals for him or you now.
do you know why? because if she beats us at trial, it makes her career.
she won't beat us.
she better not, because a plea may have been frankie's best move.
i know he wanted us to help him, but we may have just made things worse.
ep i land a huge patent case in aspen- we're going to sue china, all of china- but instead, you want to do a trailer park murder case.
yeah, ron, i do, for free.
frankie duarte has no money.
fine.
we'll get him a better plea deal than his first lawyer.
there are no deals.
this d.
a.
is ambitious.
winning a trial against us would be big for her.
great, we'll do both cases, if you can handle it.
the patent case is gonna take a lot of work.
fine, no problem.
good.
then go have fun storming the castle.
just make sure you do your fair share of the patent case.
this is how you run the store? you want tom to leave the firm, tell him not to do the case.
you know him.
he has a need to help people.
i know.
it's a sickness.
so you're okay with us doing it? sure, because it was your decision.
so now it's your responsibility.
get duarte a gourmet defense on a fast-food budget.
don't put him up at a hotel.
find a church that will let him stay.
don't pay for expensive demos, but whatever you do, watch tom.
don't let him cross the line.
what do you mean? tom's a crusader, dangerous.
when he thinks he's right, he starts to think the ends justify the means.
he can go too far, especially for underdogs.
i've seen it.
okay.
this is all the discovery? yep, just one file.
okay, let's talk fast.
i don't want to waste more billable hours on this than we have to.
all right, the d.
a.
's story is that husband kills wife after a domestic fight.
frankie had gun residue on his hands and a witness heard them fighting.
now our story is that someone else did it.
there's a gang banger named joe collins, and frankie says collins raped his wife a few months ago.
did the sheriffs question him? no, the sheriffs barely investigated this case at all.
oh, no, this is your show, tom.
you handle the assignments.
okay.
all right, let's face it.
frankie came into this country illegally, and jury might want to convict him because of that, so we start from behind.
alden, forensics.
see how the gunpowder could have gotten on frankie's hands and see if maria was sexually assaulted.
if collins did it once, have may have done it that night or tried to.
luther, you're ex-d.
a.
betsy harrison is ex-I.
a.
p.
d.
see if the two of you can prove that collins did this.
we'll also look into frankie.
we still don't really know him.
great.
ron no, no, no.
i'm first chair on the chinese patent case.
you're first chair on this.
good luck to you.
the d.
a.
's got a witness - teresa call.
now she says she heard you tell maria that you'd kill her.
did you? no.
where'd you keep your shotgun? under maria's bed.
she had her own bed? after she got raped, she didn't want to sleep with me.
that night, we fought about that.
did you try to have sex with her anyway? her pants were ripped, frankie.
after what collins did to her, you think i would hurt her like that? betsy, what's our defense investigation turned up so far? here's where collins lives.
it's not like we can just ask him if he killed her.
sure you can.
just not right away.
this is just step one.
watch this.
collins! this is for you.
who are you? what the hell is this? i'm a lawyer.
that's a restraining order.
you're a gang member.
that order means that you must remove yourself from this gang territory and remain 100 yards away from it.
you can't tell me to leave.
yes, i can.
in fact, i just did.
if you don't, that order gives the police the right to arrest you.
oh, yes, please.
start something now.
the tape is rolling.
now that was step one.
how are we doing on that autopsy? problem-to prove collins killed maria, we need evidence.
his d.
n.
a.
on her body would help, but they still haven't done her autopsy.
we need that autopsy now.
i tried a court order, but the judge blew me off.
now i'm thinking habeas.
don't.
why? we use habeas motions all the time to free a live person.
why not a dead one? because you are going to get hale angry, and she is going to retaliate.
i would if i were her.
yeah, i know, but i don't have a choice.
i need that evidence.
i'm gonna file the habeas.
first step went faster than expected.
collins didn't leave the trailer.
the cops just arrested him for violating the retraining order.
then it's time for step two.
we need ron.
nobody does step two like ron.
he loves it.
hell, yes, i know you.
you're that guy that got rick james off.
actually, that was mark werksman.
yeah, but you're famous.
i cannot believe you're gonna do my case.
i'm not.
i don't have time to handle all your work.
so far, our investigators can prove your welfare fraud, failure to pay child support, rapes.
we're giving your file to the police when we're done.
and why would you do something like that to me? um, crisis of conscience after defending guilty clients? i'm kidding.
we won't turn it over if you just tell us where you were the night maria duarte died.
or i walk out and tell some drug lawyers i know you're cooperating against the cali cartel.
what? they'll believe me, too.
they'll check the jail records and see i was here, and they'll wonder, "why would ron trott "see this lowlife scumbag unless he was connected with something big?" they're very cynical, these drug lawyers.
so again, where were you the night maria duarte died? ron threatened to hang a snitch jacket on collins.
he got collins to tell us where he was the night maria died.
he was with an underage girl.
damn it! and we can confirm it.
my whole defense was that collins did it! i got 20 hours of depos in this damn patent case and no other suspect in frankie's! i have found you another suspect from the trailer park.
this one has no alibi.
meet ed gorman.
he's the guy on the video the night maria died beating frankie, and he's a peeping tom.
women have complained he's videotaped them in the trailer park.
he's unemployed now, but when he works, he's an electrician.
they have wire-cutters,and wire-cutters cut the window of frankie's trailer.
this is great, luther.
thank you.
look, i know you're busy with other cases- it's okay.
that's what partners do.
go.
take alden.
talk to frankie.
it wasn't gorman! until that night when he hit me, gorman was my friend! collins killed maria.
he didn't.
collins will go to jail for lots of things, but not this.
they can prove collins wasn't even there that night.
ed gorman was.
frankie, look, this is good news, all right? we can tell the jury that gorman did this.
i thought collins did it.
i left my trailer to kill him.
wait a minute.
you told tom you went out to get maria help.
i picked up the shotgun to kill collins, but i couldn't, so i left it by the door.
why didn't you tell us about this before? because i'm not stupid! i know the jury won't like to hear it.
i picked up the shotgun.
it's bad.
now hold on.
it's not all bad.
it means we can explain how the gun residue got on your hands, but you're gonna have to testify to explain why you picked up the shotgun.
did you report the rape to anyone? we were afraid to tell the police because collins was in a gang.
was there anybody else she talked to about it? a doctor, a priest? no, she wouldn't talk to nobody, not even the priest.
i tried.
i tried to hold her when she was crying, make her feel safe.
she wouldn't let me touch her.
she was so, uh, depressed.
nothing worked.
she couldn't eat.
she couldn't sleep.
frankie, could she have killed herself? no! don't you say that.
maria was a catholic, very religious.
she would never do that.
- suicide? that's ridiculous.
the shotgun was 15 feet away from her.
frankie picked up the gun to kill collins and left it by the door.
tom, think.
maria's prints weren't on the gun.
frankie admits that he and maria fought that night.
do you believe this was suicide? it's a valid theory.
anyway, frankie doesn't even want to believe it.
in fact, he doesn't want usto bring it up again.
why not? to a catholic,suicide is a sin, and that's exactly why i think this was suicide.
look, if he killed her and was just looking for a defense, he'd say, "go for it.
" but if he loved her and he was innocent, he wouldn't.
who brought up suicide first, you or frankie? uh, i don't know, exactly.
frankie.
well, actually, tom, it was you.
you said "suicide" before he did.
if the client doesn't believe it's suicide,the jury won't either.
if frankie didn't kill her.
ed gorman did.
i don't believe this guy is a suspect.
i mean, gorman has no criminal record.
i checked.
we know he can be violent.
we have him on video beating frankie.
you don't want to go with the suicide story, because you don't believe frankie.
and because we can't prove suicide.
okay, if you want to pursue gorman, fine, but for now, i'm working on suicide.
i gotta go call frankie.
you don't really believe this was suicide, do you? no, but i think tom really does.
it's good to be loyal to the client.
letting tom go down the wrong path- not gonna help frankie.
- i got 240 active cases in my file.
duarte should have pled out.
the fact it didn't already screwed up my workload.
you can't file a habeas petition to get an autopsy.
habeas corpus petition.
use the right term.
it means you have the body.
let it go.
i know what it means.
it doesn't apply to dead people.
well, i can still file it.
see, the thing about a habeas is that if the defendant files it, the d.
a.
has to respond to it.
it's like a bad chain letter.
do you like the law library? 'cause i can keep you in there for years writing responses to this.
but i prefer that you just get the autopsy moved up.
tom's going with a suicide defense? wow, that's gutsy.
or crazy.
tom gets that way sometimes when he thinks a poor guy's getting railroaded.
without an autopsy, proving suicide's gonna be tough.
i've done some work that might help.
based on the spray pattern and the gauge of the shotgun, i'd say the gun was 7 feet away from that wall when it went off.
now the trailer has two walls.
there's the wood paneling that you see and then the metal skin of the trailer itself.
the buckshot passed through both walls but at different heights.
so my calculations show that the muzzle of the gun was pointing up at a 30-degree angle when fired, just 19 inches off the floor.
where does that put maria? she must have been seated on the bed.
well, how do you know she was here? check out these photos.
see those stippling marks and the size of the entry wound? which suggests the gun was pressed up against her.
it also explains why her pants were open.
see, the blast from the shotgun forced superheated air and gas into her body, causing a violent distention of the abdomen.
that's why her jeans ripped.
now this was the angle.
so she just sat here while frankie crouched in front of her and pulled the trigger? i don't buy it.
no, me neither, but i still can't prove she killed herself.
is it even possible? my arms can't reach the trigger, and i'm taller than maria.
uh-huh.
and her prints weren't on the trigger.
oh, damn.
hey, hey! what are you doing? arresting your client.
he violated the conditions of bail.
he used a false driver's license to get a job when he first came to the u.
s.
five years ago, and it's got nothing to do with this case.
he's legal now.
use of a false i.
d.
is an automatic reason to revoke his bail.
it means he's a flight risk.
we just didn't have the records of it until now.
so how'd you get them? that would have taken hours of checking and federal help.
after what tom did to me, filing the habeas, it was worth it.
you want a war, tom, i'll give you a war.
hey, you're about to violate the sanctity of a church.
my client's a parishioner.
show some respect.
you show some first to me and to the memory of maria duarte.
you're saying this was suicide? that's what you asked maria's family in el salvador? we called them, too.
they say it's a lie.
they think he killed her.
this guy is playing you.
you see some poor, ignorant immigrant.
you know he had two years of college? engineering school in san salvador.
we knew that.
so what? how's that relevant? he's smart.
you don't see who he is or what he did.
his bail is getting revoked.
he's going to jail.
mr.
nicholson, what's going on here? why are they doing this to me? frankie, don't say anything,all right? i'll be there as soon as i can.
you don't go into a church unless you know you're pulling out someone guilty.
she found something, something bad for us.
- i got your call.
what can i do for you? the autopsy report and my request for a reverse discovery is also there.
i want any evidence you have and intend to use for trial.
good for you.
most d.
a.
s don't even know they're entitled to that.
where's the rest of it? the rest of what? the discovery that you owe us.
you gave us one thin file, but you have been working since then.
you wouldn't have arrested him at the church if you didn't have something new.
we found maria's fingerprint on the muzzle of the gun.
we missed it at first.
he came at her with the shotgun, and she had time to try to knock it away.
oh, one more thing.
maria had an insurance policy.
he got $25,000.
some husbands kill their wives for nothing.
frankie says he didn't know anything about the insurance.
frankie says a lot of things we can't prove.
he says maria was raped.
he says she was depressed.
what do you want me to do, blame gorman? we have no case against gorman.
it won't work.
jury will see right through it.
suicide won't work.
it depends upon them believing frankie.
they won't.
because you don't believe him! what do you think i believe? girls, girls why do you two always have to get so emotionally involved in these things? we have two valid theories.
it was suicide, or gorman the electrician did it.
i am not going to trial on two theories.
it looks desperate.
we have to pick one.
suicide is it.
tom look, i'm sorry.
i appreciate all the work.
i do.
but i'm the one trying the case.
i've got to make the call.
talk to him.
what's up? can we talk about suicide? mine? i don't understand why i keep taking these cases.
they don't exactly bring out the best in me.
i mean, i'm fighting with luther.
luther is covering for me on the patent case, and he's helping me with frankie's.
you just need some sleep and get laid more often.
what did you say? seriously.
find some balance in your life.
is that why you came out here, to tell me to date more? no, i went with you on the suicide theory.
look,i always back your play because you're usually right,but this time, i don't know.
luther and i both think the electrician is a better suspect.
i know.
but i have to go with suicide.
it's what i have to go with because it's what i think happened.
well, thanks for the advice, alden.
the trial for frank duarte begins, and what seemed like a simple case of murder is now a high-profile mystery.
did duarte murder his wife? and why has powerhouse law firm tnt&g even taken on this case? this case is all over the press, so now i have to be here.
no good deed goes unpunished.
how you doing? well, i wish i could tell you we drew a better voir dire panel.
we didn't.
it's about the worst we've ever had.
i only have one strike left.
okay, based on our background checks and questionnaires, here are your choices- juror #3, ex-I.
a.
p.
d.
officer.
pro-prosecution all the way.
juror #5 believes in alien abduction and ghost whispering and has ten cats, all of which were named in her questionnaire.
juror #9 was robbed and beaten by a guy who turned out to be an illegal from mexico.
she definitely may have issues with frankie.
juror #11 is an aryan youth member.
i love I.
a.
the last juror that smiled at me, i kept, and we lost.
your honor the defense asks the court to thank and excuse juror number 11.
i would have struck the ex-cop.
if you don't want my advice, don't ask for it.
what's ed gorman doing here? tom, i'm sorry.
i've been trying to prove he was a suspect, but then he surprised me.
how? we dug into his background.
we even let him know that we were looking into whether he killed maria.
then he called, and he volunteered to help us.
you beat up frankie duarte pretty good.
you enjoy that? hey, i'm here to help.
just tell tom what you told me.
the gal who said she heard them fighting, teresa call? yeah, she's a bitch.
oh, great, thanks.
i'll bring that up.
i was out there that night.
i didn't hear them fighting.
she's been bragging about how she's getting frankie out, so she can move her sister into his spot in the trailer park.
i'll testify for you.
frankie's my friend.
i'll say anything you want.
will you say that maria duarte seemed sad, suicidal? hold on! nobody is asking you to lie or to say anything but the truth.
tom you think the d.
a.
doesn't do stuff like this? this guy can help us.
you know as well as i do, when they offer to say anything we want, we no longer believe they will tell the truth.
let the record reflect that the distance from your trailer door to the duarte's trailer window is less than 15 yards.
was your window open that night, ms.
call? it was hot.
my door was open even.
he said he's going to kill her.
nothing further.
did maria duarte seem happy or sad to you most of the time? objection.
relevance? it goes to prove the heart of our case, that maria duarte was suicidal and killed herself.
objection! you don't have to be a doctor or an expert to testify about whether a person looks sad or depressed or hopeless.
a lay witness can talk about apparent mental state.
objection overruled.
so did maria duarte look sad to you? did she seem down or upset? she seemed sad sometimes, i guess.
i saw her crying outside her trailer once.
hale just walked into that one.
she let tom make his case through her witness and to make it worse,she objected.
i love it.
sad? like she wanted to kill herself sad, that kind of sad? you're kicking me out of court? you're killing our boy.
how can i be hurting the case? i haven't said a word.
you don't have to.
i'm watching the jury.
the jury isn't watching tom.
they're watching you.
you're not helping our case.
ron, you're a celebrity.
you do big cases.
the jury's trying to figure out why you're here.
the client is being hurt.
i just want to say how proud i am to be helping a poor, innocent immigrant.
tnt&g has done well.
now we're doing good.
thank you.
thank you very much.
that was great, ron.
yeah, great.
by the time i get to the office, there will be a hundred guys wanting us to handle their case for free.
this is why i don't help people.
hey.
i'm worried about you.
get some sleep, please.
you're not helping yourself or frankie.
duty of rescue doctrine.
you know it? again, it's a doctrine that only applies to torts, accidents, not criminal cases.
well, it applies here.
it says that if you start to rescue somebody, you are legally obligated to complete the rescue, right? it was suicide.
i think maria may have pushed the trigger down with her toe.
frankie, that's how she killed herself! no! somebody else must have killed her.
we can't prove anyone else did this.
collins wasn't there.
gorman helped us destroy their witness.
he didn't do this.
maria did this to herself.
i don't want our son to hear that.
okay, look.
if i had a son- no, just listen.
if i had a son, i'd rather be out earning a living, raising him than being in prison protecting a memory.
i'd rather have him think his mom killed herself than have him think his dad killed her.
do you know how your wife was shot? no.
when i got to the room, she was already shot, dead.
how'd you feel when you saw her? did you feel responsible? i felt bad.
she was unhappy for so long.
we had no one to watch our son while we went to work,so he had he had to stay in el salvador.
after she was raped, she got sadder and i couldn't help her.
did she kill herself? i - i don't know.
is it possible? i don't know.
maybe.
nothing further.
we found your wife's fingerprint here.
did she try to knock the gun away before you killed her? i didn't kill my wife.
your wife never reported a rape.
she was afraid of collins.
she didn't tell anyone else either, not even her family in el salvador.
she didn't tell anybody.
she was ashamed of what had happened.
she was? or you were? where the hell is she going? was she raped? or was it consensual sex? what? objection.
no good faith basis for the question.
it's inflammatory.
they say it was rape.
we have the right to ask if it was consensual sex.
overruled.
please answer.
answer what? that my wife - objection! my wife was raped! or you found out she was having an affair with collins, and you killed her! no! what? i would never you bitch! nice.
i guess you have issues with all women, not just your wife.
nothing further.
- guys, guys, come on.
it's not that bad.
not that bad? the shadow jury was ready to convict before our client called the d.
a.
a bitch.
ron, he lost his temper.
the d.
a.
crossed the line.
the shadow jury loves the d.
a.
have you seen these numbers? they're oprah numbers! this is not about shadow juries.
they're a great tool, but they're not the real jury.
watch the real jury.
they are just 12 people until they take that oath.
now when they take that oath, when they swear to god that they will do justice, they stand a little taller.
they become something else.
you can see it in their eyes.
being on that jury is maybe the best thing they've ever done or will do.
how would you close? go right at them.
challenge them.
dare them to be brave enough to do the right thing.
simple story angry husband kills wife.
he was there when it happened.
it was his shotgun.
they fought, and he got money from her death.
we proved it.
what more do you need? keep it simple.
don't go into too much detail.
should i talk about the trigger and how she did it,with her toe? the toe on the trigger sounds made up.
you lose credibility.
if the jury buys suicide, they won't even care.
this is the evidence.
look at it, hard.
nothing else matters.
no, sir, not at my client.
look at the evidence.
start now, please.
thank you.
if you look at the evidence, and you're sure beyond a reasonable doubt that he did it, convict him.
but if you think that she might have killed herself, then you must find him not guilty.
now set everything else you thought before aside, please, and just do your job.
you swore to bring back a verdict without fear, sympathy and prejudice.
god help my client if you don't, and god help you.
based on what i just heard, i just have one question.
if this was suicide, how did she reach the trigger? those have killed more trial lawyers than angry clients.
i only smoke when i'm waiting for a verdict.
you and tom should wait together then.
he only gets engaged when he's waiting for a verdict.
tell me the truth.
isn't a little bit of you rooting for your old team in these cases? rooting? is this a game? you're a great trial lawyer, but you want to win too much.
it leads you to make mistakes.
did i make a mistake here? the jury's back.
they'll say she couldn't reach the trigger.
i mean, her arms were too short.
i should have explained about the toe.
you didn't have to.
hale brought it up, which told the jury that she was worried they'd buy into our story.
the whole trial, she stayed on a message.
then at the last moment, she blew it.
if i was trying the case, i wouldn't have mentioned it.
well, if the jury thinks about it and looks at the shotgun, they might be able to figure it out.
did they ask to see the shotgun? the clerk said they asked to see all of the evidence, but what they did with it inside the jury room, who knows? you're not supposed to be here.
if we win, i want to celebrate.
if we lose, i'm taking tom to vegas.
we the jury find the defendant frank duarte not guilty.
good for you, tom.
you saved an innocent man, maybe.
maybe? are you kidding me? could we start focusing on the patent case now? what, you still think it was the electrician ed gorman? well, we stopped looking at him as a suspect when he came forward to help us.
but don't ask me what happened.
i don't know.
i'm just a trial lawyer.
it happened early this morning at a local trailer park.
neighbors heard gunfire coming from the trailer of maria and frankie duarte.
inside, maria duarte lay dead, the victim of a shotgun blast.
her husband frankie duarte ran from the trailer, but quick-thinking neighbors held him until sheriffs could arrive.
duarte admits he was home at the time when his wife was shot but denies killing her.
the shotgun that killed maria duarte was found in the trailer.
frankie? this video was made by one of the neighbors involved in the capture.
i didn't kill my wife.
i love my wife.
she's the mother of my son.
what happened, frankie? i was sleeping.
i hear a bang.
i go into the other room.
maria is there, shot.
and whose shotgun was it? do you know? it's mine.
why do you need a shotgun? i got to protect myself and maria after maria got raped.
frankie and the guy who did it, he's in a gang.
he lives in the park.
he raped her.
now he killed her.
oh, but they don't arrest him.
you know why? he's born here.
he's american.
where's your son now? in el salvador with maria's family.
he doesn't know his mom's dead.
we're gonna call just as soon as i get you out of here.
why are you here? 'cause you saw me on tv, that's why you came? you work for us.
now in my book, that makes you family.
why wouldn't i be here? what about the other lawyer? what other lawyer? the guy the sheriffs brought in here, the lawyer.
hey.
alden wow.
nice.
you going out? yes, tom.
there's more to life than law.
yeah, i've heard.
so where you going? on a date.
dinner in beverly hills, party in malibu.
wouldn't you rather go to a murder scene in el monte? it's at a trailer park.
have you ever heard of the last chance doctrine? hell, yes, it applies here.
the last chance doctrine says the last person who can save someone has a legal obligation to do it.
the last chance doctrine only applies to tort cases, accidents,not criminal cases, and it hasn't applied to them for a hundred years.
yeah, well, it should.
it's a good principle.
this is it here.
look, i hate to drag you out here,but i don't have a lot of time.
it's okay.
it just seems that your sense of injustice always kills my social life.
hey, sorry.
i can't help it.
i see a lynch mob, i root for the guy they're trying to lynch.
it's like ron says, "it's a weakness.
" somebody could have climbed in here.
yeah.
it doesn't look like the sheriffs dusted for fingerprints either.
some of the buckshot holes aren't even circled.
not exactly a great investigation.
whose case is this? I.
a.
sheriff's homicide.
they did a terrible job.
they told a tv reporter that frankie was in the room with her when she was shot.
look, there's two rooms.
frankie swears he was behind a door when maria was shot.
i don't think he killed her.
i think it's a little early to say that.
yeah, well, not for me.
this video was made by one of the neighbors involved in the capture.
her husband frankie duarte ran from the trailer ooh.
but quick-thinking neighbors- he needs us, luther.
lots of people need us, tom.
besides, he's already got a lawyer.
yeah, bill grant.
the guy's a hack.
the county pays him to plead cases out, not fight them.
he won't put up a defense.
prisons are filled with guys who didn't get a great defense.
it happens, it's life.
we can't fix that.
well, then let's just fix the ones that involve people we know.
but you don't know him.
you don't know anything about him.
i see him every day.
i talk to him.
he parks your car here.
he's a valet.
he's not your neighbor.
you're not in nebraska anymore.
yeah, i know, i know, but we haven't taken on a pro bono case in a long time.
look, frankie's got no criminal record.
he came into this country illegally.
that's a crime.
which is totally irrelevant as to whether he killed his wife.
it's relevant because jurors don't like illegal aliens.
which is why he needs good lawyers.
a case like this it's why i became a lawyer.
i'm doing it.
tom, this is a partnership.
we don't go around doing our own cases, and ron should be asked about this.
yeah, well, ron's not here.
ron's skiing in aspen with some c.
e.
o.
s, trying to land a big patent case.
and if he does, he's not gonna ask for my permission to do it.
but it's like you say, luther.
we are a partnership, right? next case - people vs.
frank duarte.
here for a combination arraignment and guilty plea.
deputy district attorney susan hale for the people.
bill grant for the defendant.
tom nicholson for tnt&g.
can we have a moment, your honor? duarte is about to get new counsel.
what are you doing, slumming? this is a nothing case.
not now it isn't.
our discovery request.
we expect you to honor it promptly.
now why does ron trott want this case? they making a movie about it? yeah, george clooney plays you.
just give us the damn file.
your honor we plead not guilty.
thank you.
thank you for helping me.
he didn't speak english to the sheriffs who arrested him.
maybe he's more comfortable speaking spanish.
or he's pretending to be a poor, confused immigrant, because it makes people like you feel sorry for him.
we got no fingerprints, but he told us it was his gun.
plus, we have gunshot residue on his hands.
we got a witness who heard them fighting before she was shot, who heard him say, "i'm gonna kill you.
" i don't know why you guys are doing this case, but if it's because you think he's innocent, you're wrong.
if that's true, then we'll take a deal.
but at least we will have tried to give him a defense first.
oh, no.
you break the plea, you own the trial.
he cut a deal.
he's backing out of it.
there are no more deals for him or you now.
do you know why? because if she beats us at trial, it makes her career.
she won't beat us.
she better not, because a plea may have been frankie's best move.
i know he wanted us to help him, but we may have just made things worse.
ep i land a huge patent case in aspen- we're going to sue china, all of china- but instead, you want to do a trailer park murder case.
yeah, ron, i do, for free.
frankie duarte has no money.
fine.
we'll get him a better plea deal than his first lawyer.
there are no deals.
this d.
a.
is ambitious.
winning a trial against us would be big for her.
great, we'll do both cases, if you can handle it.
the patent case is gonna take a lot of work.
fine, no problem.
good.
then go have fun storming the castle.
just make sure you do your fair share of the patent case.
this is how you run the store? you want tom to leave the firm, tell him not to do the case.
you know him.
he has a need to help people.
i know.
it's a sickness.
so you're okay with us doing it? sure, because it was your decision.
so now it's your responsibility.
get duarte a gourmet defense on a fast-food budget.
don't put him up at a hotel.
find a church that will let him stay.
don't pay for expensive demos, but whatever you do, watch tom.
don't let him cross the line.
what do you mean? tom's a crusader, dangerous.
when he thinks he's right, he starts to think the ends justify the means.
he can go too far, especially for underdogs.
i've seen it.
okay.
this is all the discovery? yep, just one file.
okay, let's talk fast.
i don't want to waste more billable hours on this than we have to.
all right, the d.
a.
's story is that husband kills wife after a domestic fight.
frankie had gun residue on his hands and a witness heard them fighting.
now our story is that someone else did it.
there's a gang banger named joe collins, and frankie says collins raped his wife a few months ago.
did the sheriffs question him? no, the sheriffs barely investigated this case at all.
oh, no, this is your show, tom.
you handle the assignments.
okay.
all right, let's face it.
frankie came into this country illegally, and jury might want to convict him because of that, so we start from behind.
alden, forensics.
see how the gunpowder could have gotten on frankie's hands and see if maria was sexually assaulted.
if collins did it once, have may have done it that night or tried to.
luther, you're ex-d.
a.
betsy harrison is ex-I.
a.
p.
d.
see if the two of you can prove that collins did this.
we'll also look into frankie.
we still don't really know him.
great.
ron no, no, no.
i'm first chair on the chinese patent case.
you're first chair on this.
good luck to you.
the d.
a.
's got a witness - teresa call.
now she says she heard you tell maria that you'd kill her.
did you? no.
where'd you keep your shotgun? under maria's bed.
she had her own bed? after she got raped, she didn't want to sleep with me.
that night, we fought about that.
did you try to have sex with her anyway? her pants were ripped, frankie.
after what collins did to her, you think i would hurt her like that? betsy, what's our defense investigation turned up so far? here's where collins lives.
it's not like we can just ask him if he killed her.
sure you can.
just not right away.
this is just step one.
watch this.
collins! this is for you.
who are you? what the hell is this? i'm a lawyer.
that's a restraining order.
you're a gang member.
that order means that you must remove yourself from this gang territory and remain 100 yards away from it.
you can't tell me to leave.
yes, i can.
in fact, i just did.
if you don't, that order gives the police the right to arrest you.
oh, yes, please.
start something now.
the tape is rolling.
now that was step one.
how are we doing on that autopsy? problem-to prove collins killed maria, we need evidence.
his d.
n.
a.
on her body would help, but they still haven't done her autopsy.
we need that autopsy now.
i tried a court order, but the judge blew me off.
now i'm thinking habeas.
don't.
why? we use habeas motions all the time to free a live person.
why not a dead one? because you are going to get hale angry, and she is going to retaliate.
i would if i were her.
yeah, i know, but i don't have a choice.
i need that evidence.
i'm gonna file the habeas.
first step went faster than expected.
collins didn't leave the trailer.
the cops just arrested him for violating the retraining order.
then it's time for step two.
we need ron.
nobody does step two like ron.
he loves it.
hell, yes, i know you.
you're that guy that got rick james off.
actually, that was mark werksman.
yeah, but you're famous.
i cannot believe you're gonna do my case.
i'm not.
i don't have time to handle all your work.
so far, our investigators can prove your welfare fraud, failure to pay child support, rapes.
we're giving your file to the police when we're done.
and why would you do something like that to me? um, crisis of conscience after defending guilty clients? i'm kidding.
we won't turn it over if you just tell us where you were the night maria duarte died.
or i walk out and tell some drug lawyers i know you're cooperating against the cali cartel.
what? they'll believe me, too.
they'll check the jail records and see i was here, and they'll wonder, "why would ron trott "see this lowlife scumbag unless he was connected with something big?" they're very cynical, these drug lawyers.
so again, where were you the night maria duarte died? ron threatened to hang a snitch jacket on collins.
he got collins to tell us where he was the night maria died.
he was with an underage girl.
damn it! and we can confirm it.
my whole defense was that collins did it! i got 20 hours of depos in this damn patent case and no other suspect in frankie's! i have found you another suspect from the trailer park.
this one has no alibi.
meet ed gorman.
he's the guy on the video the night maria died beating frankie, and he's a peeping tom.
women have complained he's videotaped them in the trailer park.
he's unemployed now, but when he works, he's an electrician.
they have wire-cutters,and wire-cutters cut the window of frankie's trailer.
this is great, luther.
thank you.
look, i know you're busy with other cases- it's okay.
that's what partners do.
go.
take alden.
talk to frankie.
it wasn't gorman! until that night when he hit me, gorman was my friend! collins killed maria.
he didn't.
collins will go to jail for lots of things, but not this.
they can prove collins wasn't even there that night.
ed gorman was.
frankie, look, this is good news, all right? we can tell the jury that gorman did this.
i thought collins did it.
i left my trailer to kill him.
wait a minute.
you told tom you went out to get maria help.
i picked up the shotgun to kill collins, but i couldn't, so i left it by the door.
why didn't you tell us about this before? because i'm not stupid! i know the jury won't like to hear it.
i picked up the shotgun.
it's bad.
now hold on.
it's not all bad.
it means we can explain how the gun residue got on your hands, but you're gonna have to testify to explain why you picked up the shotgun.
did you report the rape to anyone? we were afraid to tell the police because collins was in a gang.
was there anybody else she talked to about it? a doctor, a priest? no, she wouldn't talk to nobody, not even the priest.
i tried.
i tried to hold her when she was crying, make her feel safe.
she wouldn't let me touch her.
she was so, uh, depressed.
nothing worked.
she couldn't eat.
she couldn't sleep.
frankie, could she have killed herself? no! don't you say that.
maria was a catholic, very religious.
she would never do that.
- suicide? that's ridiculous.
the shotgun was 15 feet away from her.
frankie picked up the gun to kill collins and left it by the door.
tom, think.
maria's prints weren't on the gun.
frankie admits that he and maria fought that night.
do you believe this was suicide? it's a valid theory.
anyway, frankie doesn't even want to believe it.
in fact, he doesn't want usto bring it up again.
why not? to a catholic,suicide is a sin, and that's exactly why i think this was suicide.
look, if he killed her and was just looking for a defense, he'd say, "go for it.
" but if he loved her and he was innocent, he wouldn't.
who brought up suicide first, you or frankie? uh, i don't know, exactly.
frankie.
well, actually, tom, it was you.
you said "suicide" before he did.
if the client doesn't believe it's suicide,the jury won't either.
if frankie didn't kill her.
ed gorman did.
i don't believe this guy is a suspect.
i mean, gorman has no criminal record.
i checked.
we know he can be violent.
we have him on video beating frankie.
you don't want to go with the suicide story, because you don't believe frankie.
and because we can't prove suicide.
okay, if you want to pursue gorman, fine, but for now, i'm working on suicide.
i gotta go call frankie.
you don't really believe this was suicide, do you? no, but i think tom really does.
it's good to be loyal to the client.
letting tom go down the wrong path- not gonna help frankie.
- i got 240 active cases in my file.
duarte should have pled out.
the fact it didn't already screwed up my workload.
you can't file a habeas petition to get an autopsy.
habeas corpus petition.
use the right term.
it means you have the body.
let it go.
i know what it means.
it doesn't apply to dead people.
well, i can still file it.
see, the thing about a habeas is that if the defendant files it, the d.
a.
has to respond to it.
it's like a bad chain letter.
do you like the law library? 'cause i can keep you in there for years writing responses to this.
but i prefer that you just get the autopsy moved up.
tom's going with a suicide defense? wow, that's gutsy.
or crazy.
tom gets that way sometimes when he thinks a poor guy's getting railroaded.
without an autopsy, proving suicide's gonna be tough.
i've done some work that might help.
based on the spray pattern and the gauge of the shotgun, i'd say the gun was 7 feet away from that wall when it went off.
now the trailer has two walls.
there's the wood paneling that you see and then the metal skin of the trailer itself.
the buckshot passed through both walls but at different heights.
so my calculations show that the muzzle of the gun was pointing up at a 30-degree angle when fired, just 19 inches off the floor.
where does that put maria? she must have been seated on the bed.
well, how do you know she was here? check out these photos.
see those stippling marks and the size of the entry wound? which suggests the gun was pressed up against her.
it also explains why her pants were open.
see, the blast from the shotgun forced superheated air and gas into her body, causing a violent distention of the abdomen.
that's why her jeans ripped.
now this was the angle.
so she just sat here while frankie crouched in front of her and pulled the trigger? i don't buy it.
no, me neither, but i still can't prove she killed herself.
is it even possible? my arms can't reach the trigger, and i'm taller than maria.
uh-huh.
and her prints weren't on the trigger.
oh, damn.
hey, hey! what are you doing? arresting your client.
he violated the conditions of bail.
he used a false driver's license to get a job when he first came to the u.
s.
five years ago, and it's got nothing to do with this case.
he's legal now.
use of a false i.
d.
is an automatic reason to revoke his bail.
it means he's a flight risk.
we just didn't have the records of it until now.
so how'd you get them? that would have taken hours of checking and federal help.
after what tom did to me, filing the habeas, it was worth it.
you want a war, tom, i'll give you a war.
hey, you're about to violate the sanctity of a church.
my client's a parishioner.
show some respect.
you show some first to me and to the memory of maria duarte.
you're saying this was suicide? that's what you asked maria's family in el salvador? we called them, too.
they say it's a lie.
they think he killed her.
this guy is playing you.
you see some poor, ignorant immigrant.
you know he had two years of college? engineering school in san salvador.
we knew that.
so what? how's that relevant? he's smart.
you don't see who he is or what he did.
his bail is getting revoked.
he's going to jail.
mr.
nicholson, what's going on here? why are they doing this to me? frankie, don't say anything,all right? i'll be there as soon as i can.
you don't go into a church unless you know you're pulling out someone guilty.
she found something, something bad for us.
- i got your call.
what can i do for you? the autopsy report and my request for a reverse discovery is also there.
i want any evidence you have and intend to use for trial.
good for you.
most d.
a.
s don't even know they're entitled to that.
where's the rest of it? the rest of what? the discovery that you owe us.
you gave us one thin file, but you have been working since then.
you wouldn't have arrested him at the church if you didn't have something new.
we found maria's fingerprint on the muzzle of the gun.
we missed it at first.
he came at her with the shotgun, and she had time to try to knock it away.
oh, one more thing.
maria had an insurance policy.
he got $25,000.
some husbands kill their wives for nothing.
frankie says he didn't know anything about the insurance.
frankie says a lot of things we can't prove.
he says maria was raped.
he says she was depressed.
what do you want me to do, blame gorman? we have no case against gorman.
it won't work.
jury will see right through it.
suicide won't work.
it depends upon them believing frankie.
they won't.
because you don't believe him! what do you think i believe? girls, girls why do you two always have to get so emotionally involved in these things? we have two valid theories.
it was suicide, or gorman the electrician did it.
i am not going to trial on two theories.
it looks desperate.
we have to pick one.
suicide is it.
tom look, i'm sorry.
i appreciate all the work.
i do.
but i'm the one trying the case.
i've got to make the call.
talk to him.
what's up? can we talk about suicide? mine? i don't understand why i keep taking these cases.
they don't exactly bring out the best in me.
i mean, i'm fighting with luther.
luther is covering for me on the patent case, and he's helping me with frankie's.
you just need some sleep and get laid more often.
what did you say? seriously.
find some balance in your life.
is that why you came out here, to tell me to date more? no, i went with you on the suicide theory.
look,i always back your play because you're usually right,but this time, i don't know.
luther and i both think the electrician is a better suspect.
i know.
but i have to go with suicide.
it's what i have to go with because it's what i think happened.
well, thanks for the advice, alden.
the trial for frank duarte begins, and what seemed like a simple case of murder is now a high-profile mystery.
did duarte murder his wife? and why has powerhouse law firm tnt&g even taken on this case? this case is all over the press, so now i have to be here.
no good deed goes unpunished.
how you doing? well, i wish i could tell you we drew a better voir dire panel.
we didn't.
it's about the worst we've ever had.
i only have one strike left.
okay, based on our background checks and questionnaires, here are your choices- juror #3, ex-I.
a.
p.
d.
officer.
pro-prosecution all the way.
juror #5 believes in alien abduction and ghost whispering and has ten cats, all of which were named in her questionnaire.
juror #9 was robbed and beaten by a guy who turned out to be an illegal from mexico.
she definitely may have issues with frankie.
juror #11 is an aryan youth member.
i love I.
a.
the last juror that smiled at me, i kept, and we lost.
your honor the defense asks the court to thank and excuse juror number 11.
i would have struck the ex-cop.
if you don't want my advice, don't ask for it.
what's ed gorman doing here? tom, i'm sorry.
i've been trying to prove he was a suspect, but then he surprised me.
how? we dug into his background.
we even let him know that we were looking into whether he killed maria.
then he called, and he volunteered to help us.
you beat up frankie duarte pretty good.
you enjoy that? hey, i'm here to help.
just tell tom what you told me.
the gal who said she heard them fighting, teresa call? yeah, she's a bitch.
oh, great, thanks.
i'll bring that up.
i was out there that night.
i didn't hear them fighting.
she's been bragging about how she's getting frankie out, so she can move her sister into his spot in the trailer park.
i'll testify for you.
frankie's my friend.
i'll say anything you want.
will you say that maria duarte seemed sad, suicidal? hold on! nobody is asking you to lie or to say anything but the truth.
tom you think the d.
a.
doesn't do stuff like this? this guy can help us.
you know as well as i do, when they offer to say anything we want, we no longer believe they will tell the truth.
let the record reflect that the distance from your trailer door to the duarte's trailer window is less than 15 yards.
was your window open that night, ms.
call? it was hot.
my door was open even.
he said he's going to kill her.
nothing further.
did maria duarte seem happy or sad to you most of the time? objection.
relevance? it goes to prove the heart of our case, that maria duarte was suicidal and killed herself.
objection! you don't have to be a doctor or an expert to testify about whether a person looks sad or depressed or hopeless.
a lay witness can talk about apparent mental state.
objection overruled.
so did maria duarte look sad to you? did she seem down or upset? she seemed sad sometimes, i guess.
i saw her crying outside her trailer once.
hale just walked into that one.
she let tom make his case through her witness and to make it worse,she objected.
i love it.
sad? like she wanted to kill herself sad, that kind of sad? you're kicking me out of court? you're killing our boy.
how can i be hurting the case? i haven't said a word.
you don't have to.
i'm watching the jury.
the jury isn't watching tom.
they're watching you.
you're not helping our case.
ron, you're a celebrity.
you do big cases.
the jury's trying to figure out why you're here.
the client is being hurt.
i just want to say how proud i am to be helping a poor, innocent immigrant.
tnt&g has done well.
now we're doing good.
thank you.
thank you very much.
that was great, ron.
yeah, great.
by the time i get to the office, there will be a hundred guys wanting us to handle their case for free.
this is why i don't help people.
hey.
i'm worried about you.
get some sleep, please.
you're not helping yourself or frankie.
duty of rescue doctrine.
you know it? again, it's a doctrine that only applies to torts, accidents, not criminal cases.
well, it applies here.
it says that if you start to rescue somebody, you are legally obligated to complete the rescue, right? it was suicide.
i think maria may have pushed the trigger down with her toe.
frankie, that's how she killed herself! no! somebody else must have killed her.
we can't prove anyone else did this.
collins wasn't there.
gorman helped us destroy their witness.
he didn't do this.
maria did this to herself.
i don't want our son to hear that.
okay, look.
if i had a son- no, just listen.
if i had a son, i'd rather be out earning a living, raising him than being in prison protecting a memory.
i'd rather have him think his mom killed herself than have him think his dad killed her.
do you know how your wife was shot? no.
when i got to the room, she was already shot, dead.
how'd you feel when you saw her? did you feel responsible? i felt bad.
she was unhappy for so long.
we had no one to watch our son while we went to work,so he had he had to stay in el salvador.
after she was raped, she got sadder and i couldn't help her.
did she kill herself? i - i don't know.
is it possible? i don't know.
maybe.
nothing further.
we found your wife's fingerprint here.
did she try to knock the gun away before you killed her? i didn't kill my wife.
your wife never reported a rape.
she was afraid of collins.
she didn't tell anyone else either, not even her family in el salvador.
she didn't tell anybody.
she was ashamed of what had happened.
she was? or you were? where the hell is she going? was she raped? or was it consensual sex? what? objection.
no good faith basis for the question.
it's inflammatory.
they say it was rape.
we have the right to ask if it was consensual sex.
overruled.
please answer.
answer what? that my wife - objection! my wife was raped! or you found out she was having an affair with collins, and you killed her! no! what? i would never you bitch! nice.
i guess you have issues with all women, not just your wife.
nothing further.
- guys, guys, come on.
it's not that bad.
not that bad? the shadow jury was ready to convict before our client called the d.
a.
a bitch.
ron, he lost his temper.
the d.
a.
crossed the line.
the shadow jury loves the d.
a.
have you seen these numbers? they're oprah numbers! this is not about shadow juries.
they're a great tool, but they're not the real jury.
watch the real jury.
they are just 12 people until they take that oath.
now when they take that oath, when they swear to god that they will do justice, they stand a little taller.
they become something else.
you can see it in their eyes.
being on that jury is maybe the best thing they've ever done or will do.
how would you close? go right at them.
challenge them.
dare them to be brave enough to do the right thing.
simple story angry husband kills wife.
he was there when it happened.
it was his shotgun.
they fought, and he got money from her death.
we proved it.
what more do you need? keep it simple.
don't go into too much detail.
should i talk about the trigger and how she did it,with her toe? the toe on the trigger sounds made up.
you lose credibility.
if the jury buys suicide, they won't even care.
this is the evidence.
look at it, hard.
nothing else matters.
no, sir, not at my client.
look at the evidence.
start now, please.
thank you.
if you look at the evidence, and you're sure beyond a reasonable doubt that he did it, convict him.
but if you think that she might have killed herself, then you must find him not guilty.
now set everything else you thought before aside, please, and just do your job.
you swore to bring back a verdict without fear, sympathy and prejudice.
god help my client if you don't, and god help you.
based on what i just heard, i just have one question.
if this was suicide, how did she reach the trigger? those have killed more trial lawyers than angry clients.
i only smoke when i'm waiting for a verdict.
you and tom should wait together then.
he only gets engaged when he's waiting for a verdict.
tell me the truth.
isn't a little bit of you rooting for your old team in these cases? rooting? is this a game? you're a great trial lawyer, but you want to win too much.
it leads you to make mistakes.
did i make a mistake here? the jury's back.
they'll say she couldn't reach the trigger.
i mean, her arms were too short.
i should have explained about the toe.
you didn't have to.
hale brought it up, which told the jury that she was worried they'd buy into our story.
the whole trial, she stayed on a message.
then at the last moment, she blew it.
if i was trying the case, i wouldn't have mentioned it.
well, if the jury thinks about it and looks at the shotgun, they might be able to figure it out.
did they ask to see the shotgun? the clerk said they asked to see all of the evidence, but what they did with it inside the jury room, who knows? you're not supposed to be here.
if we win, i want to celebrate.
if we lose, i'm taking tom to vegas.
we the jury find the defendant frank duarte not guilty.
good for you, tom.
you saved an innocent man, maybe.
maybe? are you kidding me? could we start focusing on the patent case now? what, you still think it was the electrician ed gorman? well, we stopped looking at him as a suspect when he came forward to help us.
but don't ask me what happened.
i don't know.
i'm just a trial lawyer.