Harry's Law (2011) s02e16 Episode Script
The Lying Game
- He's sings to you? - It's meant to scare me.
- Does your dad frighten you? - Sometimes.
It would probably be best if he would just go away.
- That man is a client.
- Cruickshank? I've been in a hotel room with him two or three times I'm sure of it.
- She dismissed me.
Your little friend.
- Excuse me? - She fired me.
- She was rubbing the customer's feet in an inappropriate manner.
You have a nail in your head! Take him to the hospital.
Everything come out okay? Splendid.
I'm fine.
- What are you looking for? - $3 million.
Good, then.
We can close the books on this nonsense.
- This isn't right.
- He's competent that's all that matters.
We cannot take advantage of a lawyer who we know to be mentally infirm.
I got up this morning around 7:00, - and saw this.
- Gee, Chloe, you seem a bit beside yourself.
You come into my home again, and I will shoot you.
It said trespassers would be shot.
But, Cassie, I rigged it, but I didn't load it.
Well, if you didn't load it, then who did? Look at this.
She mounted the gun on the stepladder, ran the cord to the door, and rigged it so that when the front door opened, boom, problem solved.
Problem husband out of the way.
Can you imagine? Twice she went for a restraining order, afraid that he would hurt her, and twice she was turned down.
He psychologically terrorized my client, and did so to their daughter Shelby.
And finally, in a desperate last resort, Chloe Higgins rigged that shotgun in self-defense, with a big, bold warning on the front door telling him what would happen if he entered.
And he charged in anyway, while she slept, just like he had before while she slept.
The evidence will show that this man was out of control.
Harry, Harry, Harry! Got a second, my friend? It's important.
Good to see ya.
Chin-Chin, how's she hanging? A second, please.
First, what's important how are you, my friend? Good.
You? I'm doing fine.
Thanks.
So nice of you to ask.
You're such a mensch.
Actually, I'm doing quite a lot better, truth be told.
I'm even feeling like I'm back to my old self.
Isn't that just great? Well, thanks for the health update, Sam.
- Now, if you'll excuse me - You took advantage of me, Harry.
What do you mean? I accidentally fired a nail gun into my head, Harry.
It compromised my faculties, and you exploited that to negotiate a settlement while I was not of sound mind.
That's bad form, my friend.
Now, let's be fair, Sam I never considered you of sound mind.
Rim shot! Zang! Gee, you're good! Whappo! Here's what we're going to do, my friend.
We're going to vitiate that settlement, you're going to return the money, and in consideration, I will hold off moving for your immediate disbarment.
- That sound good, my friend?! - Not really.
How about instead of giving back the money, I just put it in escrow somewhere in hell, and you can go there to get it.
You've got a nice place here, don't you? Picked yourself up off the ground, rebuilt your miserable life, little shoe store gig on the side it's just neato, super-duper.
I'll make it all go away with one snap of my finger.
Get lost, Sam, before I drill your head with a few more nails.
Got a little theme song, Sam, as you strut out with your saggy, pathetic ass? Or shall we just go with mine? Oh, crap.
Harry's Law 2x16 - The Lying Game Original air date April 8, 2012 What are you gonna do? I'm gonna defend myself; what can I do? Harry, you do face some exposure here.
Yeah, yeah.
I'm not giving the money back.
Hey, Tommy, how's your day looking? What's going on? Eh, I may need you to defend me.
Can you come to my office? Chunhua listen, I'm feeling a little bad about the way you dismissed me from the shoe store without cause.
I had cause.
You were being inappropriate.
Yeah, but I was thinking you actually fired all the women, and it started me wondering do you not like women? Because I was under the impression that you did.
In fact, I got the sense that you liked me.
I certainly like you.
It's okay to like me, Chunhua.
Are you feeling bad about liking me? We'd just come from chambers.
Ms.
Higgins had accused my client of entering her premises at night, using her lipstick to write a threatening message on her bathroom mirror.
Mr.
Higgins claims she wrote it herself to implicate him.
Do you think that's what happened, sir? The defendant wrote it? I have no reason to believe she did.
But I believed my client when he said he didn't.
And I'm informed after this meeting in chambers, there was a verbal altercation that ensued in the court corridor.
Yes.
Words were exchanged.
Do you remember, sir, if Ms.
Higgins directed threats at your client during that exchange? I remember that she did.
And what was said? If you remember.
Ms.
Higgins told James, and I quote: "If you come into my home again, I will shoot you.
" Okay.
Do you believe that my client's fear of yours - was genuine? - I have no reason to believe - it wasn't.
- Thank you.
And at the time she made her threat in the corridor, did she strike you as homicidal in any way? - Not really.
- In fact, you were never so concerned that you reported to the police.
- No.
- Thanks.
Was your client concerned? He did not appear to be.
Thank you.
Okay, Chloe, we've played this thing out as long as we could.
The D.
A.
is not budging.
I think it's time for us to come clean.
- What do you mean? - Means we have to make a plea.
We have no other real choice.
I will not allow Shelby to be put in a facility - That doesn't have to happen.
- Of course it will happen.
If it's revealed that she shot her father, - of course it will happen.
- First, she does need treatment.
Which she's getting.
She's seeing a therapist.
And second, have you considered what it'll do to her to watch her own mother go to prison for something that she did? 'Cause that's what we're looking at here.
I am not letting my daughter go to a facility.
I will not even risk it.
We just keep arguing self-defense.
Chloe, listen, here's our problem.
The only person who could establish self-defense is you we cannot put you on the stand.
- Why not? - Because a lawyer cannot knowingly put a client on the stand to lie it's a rule.
- Excuse me? - An attorney cannot knowingly call a witness to give false testimony.
The only reason you know it's a lie is because I told you.
It doesn't matter.
I'm being punished for confiding in my lawyer? We're not defending this rule.
We're just telling you what it is.
We cannot put you on the stand to lie.
Okay, here's the other hitch.
Should you fire us and engage another lawyer, as officers of the court, if we know a witness is about to take the stand to lie, whether he or she is our client or not we have a duty to report it.
You would report me? We would have to.
I think I need to speak to your boss.
I'm sorry? Harry Korn.
I need to talk to her.
So, the trial has already begun? Yes.
Basically, we were playing it as long as we could, trying for manslaughter.
We can't move the D.
A.
- Now - Let me see if I get this.
- The court's not questioning she shot him? - Right.
- But she didn't shoot him? - Right.
- Your daughter did? - I rigged it on the stepladder, but Shelby loaded it and set the trigger.
And where's Shelby now? She's with my parents in Chicago.
I didn't want her subjected to the publicity during trial.
The prosecution has one more witness, then it rests.
- Then will be a good time to call Chloe - Just call her and let her testify in the narrative.
Harry, you and I both know, if we go into chambers asking allowance for her to testify in the narrative, that's telling the judge she plans to lie.
So? So then he's biased, and every little ruling goes against us.
Plus, by the time we get to jury instructions, forget it, we wouldn't have a chance.
What does that mean, "in the narrative"? Instead of a lawyer asking you questions, you just tell your story in a narrative format.
Our other problem is that juries today are savvy.
They watch Law & Order.
They know that any witness testifying in the narrative is lying.
- What? - That's it.
- What's it? - What's it? Who's the judge? Kirkland.
Let's go see him.
Hey.
Hey.
Can I help you? Maybe.
Can you accept service? - I'm sorry? - Summons.
My client's suing your firm.
Who's your Sam Berman? Well, there are a few plaintiffs, actually, but the lead guy is Sam.
Hey, Harry.
Phoebe Blake.
I don't think we've formally met.
You're actually the lead defendant.
Sorry.
Hey.
Sam Berman hired you to represent him? - Yeah.
- What are you, - 17? - Pretty much.
Which is the reason I came in person.
Can we talk a second? Okay, honestly, I don't know why he hired me.
I'm a solo practitioner this seems way above my pay grade, and, well, I was hoping we could settle this quietly and quickly, before I get too destroyed.
Uh-huh.
And what are you looking for? Well, I thought if I could get you to return the money, I could get Sam to drop the punitive damages count and all the disbarment nonsense.
You're kidding.
- Uh no.
- You think you're just gonna waltz in here and I'm gonna hand over $3 million? Well, I don't think I waltzed, but okay.
And, um, my client did have a brain injury I mean, you saw the nail sticking out of his head.
Big nail.
If you had any reason to know - or suspect - I didn't.
That all you got, Gwyneth? Oh It's Phoebe.
Look I need to get something.
I can't just crawl away here.
What do you say, Tommy? Should we throw her a bone? What seems good to you? Well I'm not a big fan of dealing in round numbers, but off the top of my head, nothing seems good.
That's what I was thinking.
How's nothing? Does nothing work? And when I complained to Harry about it, she basically just blew me off.
- And is Lisa really bothering you? - Well, it's harassment.
She's given me little looks before, but I've just dismissed them.
But now this.
It's making me very uncomfortable.
Okay, I'll get into it.
Oh.
Me again.
- Are you Adam? - Yes.
Phoebe Blake.
I don't think we officially Anyway, this here is actually for you.
What's this? Depo notice.
Oh.
- You're deposing me? - Sorry.
I'm not making friends around here, I can see that.
I'm really nice.
Harry, you're not serious.
I'm very serious.
You want to knowingly put a client on the stand to give false testimony.
- Right on the button.
- Okay, so, you're only talking about violating one - one of the most sacred ethical rules - Yeah, yeah.
It's a pretentious, full-of-crap rule, and you know it.
I mean, it punishes the client for sharing privileged information with her own lawyer.
- Well, that may be so, but - Look, Judge, trials are rarely about truth.
The D.
A.
distorts, the defense distorts.
Why shouldn't the client be allowed to put in her version? After all, it is her life on the line.
She can put in her version in the narrative.
In which case, the jury will know that she's lying.
People know what narrative statements means.
Come on, Judge.
This rule effectively denies my client her constitutional right to get in that chair and confront her accuser.
It does no such thing, and by the way, I resent your implication that the State doesn't pursue the truth.
Yeah, chill, Doogie.
So, what, you plan on walking her through your carefully crafted Q & A? Come on.
This makes you complicit in the lie.
You don't think we're gonna coach her when she testifies in the narrative? And what's the nature of this lie? That I don't need to tell you, and I won't.
Judge, let's face it.
This is an archaic rule.
It effectively bans our client from testifying and pretty much guarantees us an appeal.
I give you my word, I will not suborn perjury.
I'll just ask her what happened.
All right.
But if I feel that you suborn perjury in any way - What? You cannot be serious? - He's serious.
What are you doing for dinner? I beg your pardon? You don't want her in that chair.
I don't want her in that chair.
Let's grab dinner, Mr.
Truth-and-Justice.
See what we can work out.
Okay, have a seat.
I got you the right to testify if that's your wish, Chloe, but it's not your wish, and here's why.
What's going on? I'm telling you what's going on, and you're going to listen.
I have a dinner with the district attorney in about an hour, and my hope is to tell him the truth, the whole truth.
- No.
Absolutely not.
- Chloe, at the risk of sounding indelicate, shut up.
Now, let's suppose you testify, and that we should even win this trial.
That's a preposterous long shot, but whatever.
There is no way that the truth doesn't eventually come out.
Trust me.
And at that time, your daughter will go to a juvenile facility, and you will go to prison for perjury.
That's what's going to happen, Chloe, maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but one day.
And between now and that day, your daughter will probably go to a psych ward as a result of bearing this unconscionable burden.
Sit your ass back down in that chair.
I'm not done.
Asking your daughter to keep this secret, in my mind, is abusive.
It can't be doing her any good.
You people are supposed to be on my side.
We are on your side.
And we're telling you, this thing is a house of cards.
It will crush you, and it will crush your daughter.
Chloe, we have a little bit of leverage right now, but it's a very small window.
So, basically, what we need from you is to not be a complete idiot.
Can you do that for me, Chloe? If not for me, then for your daughter.
It's unacceptable, Lisa, and you need to stop it.
Okay.
That sounded a little qualified.
Adam, I did not come on to her.
You know very well, it is you I am after.
Well, look, she's Can't you see what's going on here? She's threatened by me, and this is her way of getting rid of me.
- Lisa, come on.
- Adam, she has tried to broom every woman working here.
She drove the girls downstairs to either quit or go on strike because you were flirting with them.
Don't be a dope.
Why else would she come to work for her old boyfriend, huh? Hello? Now she's saying I hit on her? Who's next? Harry? Here's the thing.
I got an unusual situation, and it's a bit delicate.
And it might take a little cooperation on your part.
I'm listening.
Okay.
- What happened that night? - Hold on.
- Do you plan to eat that? - Is that a problem? Might I say grace before we partake in God's bounty? It's a breadstick.
It's food, Harry, for which we are grateful to receive.
Ugh.
May we join hands for grace? Fine.
Dear Lord, let us give thanks for our daily sustenance which we are about to receive in thy blessed name.
Accept our humble gratitude, dear Lord, and forgive us our trespasses, and please accept Harry Korn into thy joyous heart.
Allow me to be made whole once again in thine eyes.
Let the pools of sin go fallow, so that I may never dip into them again with my lust.
Walk with me, my savior, as I turn my back on the evil ways of prostitution.
And women's clothing.
Let me find redemption in thy heart, despite the wanderings of my wayward procreational appendage.
Dear Lord in heaven above If the big guy can forgive all you got going on, I figure he'll cut me some slack with the breadstick.
I apologize.
I'm in treatment for a few issues, and I've been instructed to incorporate the 12 steps into my blessings and prayers.
Got it.
Can we talk about the case now? Sure.
Uh, what I'm about to tell you is part of a settlement discussion, so it would be sealed.
Of course.
Chloe Higgins rigged the shotgun on the stepladder, but she didn't load it.
She went to bed, and she figured she'd test it the next morning.
The daughter, Shelby, loaded it set the trigger, unbeknownst to Chloe.
You expect me to believe that? It's the truth, which an hour or so ago, you claimed to be a big fan of.
Chloe is covering for her daughter.
What I'd like to do is dismiss against Chloe, and get Shelby into a hospital where she can get the help she desperately needs.
That's not going to happen.
My client didn't load the gun.
She rigged it.
At a minimum, she would be guilty of negligent homicide.
No, she wouldn't.
What? It's foreseeable that the daughter would load it, set the trigger and kill her own father? Chloe Higgins set something into motion, Harry, and as a result, a man is dead.
I'll give the mother aggravated manslaughter if she agrees to testify against the child.
This presupposes she passes a lie-detector test, of course.
I'm not looking for a trial against the child.
I'd just want to get her treatment.
So everybody walks? A man is dead, nobody gets held accountable? If you want to make a lesser charge of assault against the mother, I'd be willing to entertain that.
- I'll stick with murder.
- She didn't commit murder.
According to you, her attorney.
Mr.
Cruickshank, if we proceed to trial on this, you could very well end up with nothing.
You think this is a slam dunk for you? So we go back into court? Yes, and you'll testify.
- And say? - The truth, Chloe.
I can sell the truth.
I might even be able to get you a not guilty.
It's a risk, but lying is a bigger one.
And what would happen to Shelby? She would have to go to some facility.
Which she should.
- She needs treatment.
- Not to mention, she might very well - pose a risk to society.
- No.
- She was only protecting me.
- Chloe, please.
This is not going to end well.
You just say what happened.
I'll walk you through it.
Cassie's been over it with me.
You need to trust me here, Chloe.
The truth is our best chance.
Howdy, howdy, howdy.
How we all doing in toon-town today? Oh, great.
Uh, get her ready, would you? We should leave in about 15 minutes.
Okay.
Harry, Harry, Harry, my friend, how we doing, love? Hey, I saw a guy in a wheelchair out front.
Want to go let the air out of his tires? I know how you like to exploit the disabled and whatnot.
- What are you doing here? - I'm here for the deposition, my friend.
We're deposing your good man, Adam.
- I never waived notice.
- Oh, come on.
What, "Oh, come on?" - I never waived notice.
- Harry.
A second? You can see my client's a little off his game here.
I'd like to just plough through discovery and dispose of this.
Wouldn't you? No.
Nice try getting me to concede he's off his game.
In my opinion, he's never been sharper.
I'm in court this morning.
You will not be deposing him in my absence.
Or mine.
What's the matter, Harry? Running a bit scared, are we? It's to be expected, I suppose.
It's what crooks do when they're about to get caught.
And that's what you are, my friend, aren't you? A crook, a cheat, a scam.
Have you given one thought as to what will happen to your career if you make this public that you blew it, that you cost your client $3 million your biggest client? I don't care you took advantage of me, and that's not okay with me, and now it's time to get even, Harry, and that's what I intend to do.
Harry, we should really be going.
I'll cover this.
Go ahead.
No deposition without me in the room.
Got it.
Later? Were you afraid of this man? Very much, which is why we went into court seeking the restraining order.
This only seemed to make things worse.
He charged into my lawyer's office Cassie Reynolds and threatened her.
He actually asked for her home address.
I became convinced that he would hurt either me or my daughter Shelby.
So what did you do? Well, eventually, I resorted to self-help.
I pulled out the shotgun, mounted it on the stepladder, ran the cord to the door, put a sign on the door, warning him.
The police maintained that there was no sign on the door.
It was found in the bushes.
He must have pulled it off, but I put it there, warning him not to enter.
And then what? And then what, Chloe? I, uh I loaded the gun, set the trigger, and went to bed.
You loaded the gun? Yes.
Then what? I went to bed.
A few hours later, I heard it go off.
About what time did you load it? I don't know, 11:00, maybe.
you went through all this with Shelby? Um, she was in on it, too? Absolutely not she had nothing to do with it.
Oh, well, come on, I mean, if she knew about it, we have to assume She didn't know about it.
She knew nothing about it? No.
In fact, I rigged it after she went to bed.
She knew nothing about it.
So you rigged a loaded shotgun, you strung the cord, then you just went to bed? What would have happened if Shelby had gotten up in the middle of the night and tripped over the cord? Or suppose your husband rang the bell instead of just entering, and Shelby went to the door and opened it to let him in? Boom no more Shelby? I-I didn't think about that.
You didn't think about that? Your Honor, I'd like to stop, please.
You know, it's funny, you'd think you'd be ready for these questions, I mean, that they had been asked already, but you didn't talk to the police they never got a chance to ask and your lawyer Cassie Reynolds never asked because she knew what really happened that night.
Your Honor, I'd like to stop.
You told her, just as you told me subsequently, - that it was Shelby.
- No.
- No? - What are you doing? I know what you're doing; you're trying to protect your daughter.
Your Honor, I want to stop.
Request to treat the witness as hostile, Your Honor.
Your own client? Request to treat the witness as hostile.
What are you doing? I'm trying to save your life, Chloe.
You just told a lie under oath.
You have one chance to correct that.
Otherwise, you're looking at perjury.
- Your Honor - You have one chance now, Chloe, one chance to tell the jury what really happened that night.
Just tell us.
I rigged the gun ran the cord.
Of course I knew it was dangerous with a nine-year-old in the house.
Which is why I didn't load it.
Whether I would have loaded it the next day or the day after that, I can't tell you.
Perhaps I would have.
But I didn't load it that night.
We're recessed till after lunch.
What I did was give you your best chance to win, and if you lose, I handed you another grounds for appeal: Your own lawyer turned against you.
You understand you're under oath and all that you need to tell the truth? Yeah, I got that, thanks.
And all objections except to as the form of the question will be reserved for trial.
- We good with that? - We are.
This wasn't supposed to start until I got here.
Oh, we're just getting through all the preliminary nonsense.
You're good.
Hey, Harry, no hard feelings, right? How about a good firm handshake to start things off? Let's just be good lawyers, slit each other's throats, and check the personal animosity at the door.
You know, Sam, the little crazy act isn't playing, okay? - I'm not buying it.
- All right, guys, let's save it for recess.
We ready, Adam? All set.
Chunhua, hey.
Hey.
Chunhua, I'm sorry.
I never meant to make you uncomfortable, and if I did so, I truly apologize.
- Okay.
- Sometimes I do get insecure and I behave oddly around people.
You know, you're an incredibly beautiful woman.
I suppose if I did like women, you'd be my girl, but trust me, I'm into men.
So, yeah.
Peace? Excuse me? Oh, sorry, I'm part Inuit, and it's traditional when two people settle a dispute or resolve a difference to, um Well, here, I'll show you.
Peace.
Mmm.
So, when he came into the office for the meeting, he had a four-inch nail protruding out of his head? That's right.
He hadn't been to the hospital? No, he came here first to have the meeting.
- Did that strike you as odd? - Odd? It struck me as nuts.
The guy was eccentric, so we thought, well, that's Sam Berman.
So you took him to the hospital where he underwent surgery to remove the nail - from his brain? - Correct.
And the next day he returned? Yes.
- Did he seem different? - Yes, he seemed much more congenial and happy.
And you discussed settling the case.
- Correct.
- And before the accident, he was offering roughly a hundred and a quarter.
After, he was willing to give $3 million.
Correct.
So, 125, nail goes in the brain, $3 million.
- Correct.
- Did it occur to you that Mr.
Berman might be suffering the results of a brain injury? I'm not a doctor.
Did it occur to you that Mr.
Berman might be mentally compromised as a result of a nail shooting into his brain? Yes, that occurred to me.
Did it occur to Harry Korn? Objection work product.
Don't answer.
Without revealing specific communications, did you and Ms.
Korn discuss Mr.
Berman's mental health? Work product.
Don't answer.
Lay opinion, realizing you're not a doctor, do you believe Mr.
Berman was of sound mind when he executed this settlement agreement? No, I do not.
I'm sorry.
Harry, I was under oath.
It was either tell the truth or I couldn't commit perjury.
I'm sorry.
No, not your fault.
We probably should never have let that deposition happen.
So what happens now? Well, I suppose they'll vitiate the settlement agreement.
No meeting of the minds.
The only ethical thing to do is to call the client, have him put the money in an offshore account I'd say the Caymans where they can't get at it.
Harry, we should get back to court.
Yeah, okay.
Adam, I'm just going to say this.
You can reject it like you tend to reject me, but I'll say it just the same.
In this business, the truth is not always your friend.
In fact, often it's the enemy, and to be a good lawyer, you need to be able to pick up a dagger and stab the enemy in the heart.
You need to gut the truth sometimes, mangle it so badly that even its carcass becomes unrecognizable to the trier of fact.
Adam? I did what? That's what she said.
Wait a second, I sucked on her finger? And what else? Did I do the toesies, too? What exactly did happen? I apologized, I said I was sorry if I made her feel uncomfortable.
I I cannot believe this.
I sucked on her finger? This woman is out of her mind, Adam, oh, my God.
I'm delighted, Ms.
Higgins, that you decided to clear things up, and I know it must have been difficult because by telling us this new information if it's to be believed that would mean you Well, actually, come to think of it, it might mean you having to go free.
Gee.
- Objection.
- Yeah, move it along, Mr.
Cruickshank.
Just to clarify, you've been saying ever since this tragic murder occurred that you were the one who carried out this brutal execution.
Said it the night of, said it to the police in every single interview, I gather to your own lawyers since you pleaded self-defense, but now you say all those declarations of yours they were all lies.
Well, I guess so.
You guess so? That's a lot of lying, isn't it? - Objection.
- Overruled.
Let me ask you something, Ms.
Higgins.
Shelby has she been a problem child? Trouble in school? Any signs of any social issues? Shown a pattern of violence or deviance? - No.
- Well, I'll be darned.
She just jumped right into the crime pool with murder.
- Objection.
- Sustained.
And she was crafty about it, too.
I mean, her fingerprints were not to be found on the gun.
That's because once I realized, I wiped the gun clean so her prints wouldn't be found.
Did you, now? Wow.
That's quite a presence of mind on your part, as you stood over your husband's dead body, still warm, you wiped the gun clean.
- Objection.
- Overruled.
Tell me something, Ms.
Higgins, did you place that warning sign in the bushes? - What? - Makes sense, doesn't it? That way, your husband wouldn't see it.
He'd come rushing in, be shot dead, and you could say to the police, "Hey, I wrote a note.
" That's not what happened.
- I put the sign on the door.
- Figured he'd see the gun through the window and be scared off? - Yes.
- Let's say that happened.
Let's say he saw through the window, saw the gun trained right on the door would your husband really be that stupid as to go through a door that he saw the gun trained on? - Why not go through the window? - I don't know.
I wasn't in my husband's head at the time.
- But you know how he thinks.
- Mr.
Cruickshank, He was a complete stranger to me.
A complete stranger, you say? And yet, when you sought your restraining order against him, you told the judge, and I quote: "Your Honor, I know this man.
" "I know this man.
" So that was a lie, too, then, wasn't it? Gee.
She told you what happened.
And I suspect you believe her, because finally, finally, she was able to come clean with the truth.
I don't know about the 12 of you, but I, I detected relief, profound relief in Chloe when she was able to stop hiding what must have been an oppressive secret.
Now, does she bear some responsibility for the death of her estranged husband? Of course she does.
She mounted the gun, she rigged the device, but she didn't load it.
Mr.
Cruickshank, no doubt, will argue that she set this whole thing in motion.
But she never, ever imagined, nor could she, that Shelby, the victim's own daughter, got up, loaded the shells into that weapon, and armed the trigger, and even if you want to say she should have known, that's negligence, not first-degree murder.
This is a visceral piece of evidence, I grant you, but Chloe Higgins pointed an empty barrel at the door that night, an empty gun.
That's a bluff.
It isn't murder.
The best of criminal defense attorneys, like Ms.
Korn I regard her as one of the best they're a bit like Houdini, capable of manufacturing these miraculous last-minute escapes.
This one ranks right up there.
You got all this physical evidence that suggests she did it.
You've got her confession.
By golly, she's found standing over the dead body.
She had previously threatened to shoot him.
Right in the court corridor told the victim, "If you come into my home again," "I will shoot you.
" She did.
You got the sophistication of this thing.
Obviously no child did that.
How in the heck does she wriggle out of this? Enter Houdini.
Ta-dah! She didn't load the shells.
They can't prove that she actually loaded the shells, so we'll go with that.
Sure, Shelby did it, though her prints aren't on the gun.
Sure, the victim saw that big note, perhaps even saw the gun itself, and still chose to go through that door anyway.
It all makes sense, doesn't it? No, it doesn't.
It really doesn't.
All the evidence every last bit of it points to this woman's guilt.
All she has for a defense is her word when she's done nothing all along but lie.
"I was lying before.
" "Believe me now.
" Your choice.
Go with the evidence or "Ta-dah!" So, Pheeb, have a seat.
- Be.
- Sorry? Phoe-be.
Actually, of the two syllables, I prefer the "be," so Phoebe.
Covered.
Did a nice job with Adam.
Oh, he was easy.
Harry won't be, Harry's a rock, I'll never budge Harry.
That where you're headed? Okay, look, you may have an argument, but we have the money and we're not giving it to you.
Your means of recovery would be going to court and shocking a jury with our unscrupulous conduct.
This with a client who represents Big Tobacco.
You'll never do it.
However bad you make us out to be, we don't kill people, we don't kill kids.
Sam Berman is clearly a smart guy.
He went out and hired the most likable, adorable little thing he could to represent him.
No doubt members of the jury will want to eat you.
Up eat you up.
But it will not work.
Bottom line we were bad, your guy's worse.
We'll give you $350,000 back, take it or leave it.
- Take it.
- Really? But I'll relay it to Sam.
Wait, wait, wait.
Do you have a counter? No.
Bitch.
That was fast.
Tell me about it.
Some of the jurors are looking this way.
Sometimes that's a good sign.
Hmm, but only sometimes.
Mr.
Foreman, this is unanimous? Uh-oh.
Yes, Your Honor.
Very well.
The defendant will please rise.
Mr.
Foreman, what say you? In the matter of The State of Ohio v.
Chloe Higgins, on the charge of murder in the first degree, we the jury find the defendant Chloe Higgins not guilty.
On the charge of murder in the second degree, we find the defendant Chloe Higgins not guilty.
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, the state thanks you for your time and service.
Well, as ta-dahs go, that's one of the better ones.
What happens to Shelby? Well, she'll have to be surrendered.
But, Chloe, it's the best result, not only for you but for her.
Cheer up.
Listen, it's what happened.
Now can we work together on what's best for this little girl? Upton, it's what happened.
You the big goat today? Thanks to you.
I'm sorry.
Can I make it up, buy you a beer? Absolutely not I don't trust you.
We don't need to talk about the case.
Yeah, just forget it.
You're up to something.
Just, just go away.
What makes you think I'm up to something? 'Cause girls who look like you don't sit on barstools next to me.
Go away.
Okay, maybe I am up to a little something.
Come work for me.
With me.
Excuse me? Word is, you're frustrated.
Harry and Cassie get to do the big murder trials.
Ollie gets to do well, Cassie.
Tommy's got his cases.
You settle interoffice disputes.
You're way too good for that.
How do you know what I've been doing? I observe.
I'm getting more cases than I can handle.
I know you're good.
Think about it.
Forget it.
He'll have another beer.
You'd have a lot of fun.
I've got some really great cases, or maybe you prefer the really big stuff like secretaries sucking on each other's fingers.
I'm not leaving.
You're thinking about it.
No, I'm not.
Fine.
- Does your dad frighten you? - Sometimes.
It would probably be best if he would just go away.
- That man is a client.
- Cruickshank? I've been in a hotel room with him two or three times I'm sure of it.
- She dismissed me.
Your little friend.
- Excuse me? - She fired me.
- She was rubbing the customer's feet in an inappropriate manner.
You have a nail in your head! Take him to the hospital.
Everything come out okay? Splendid.
I'm fine.
- What are you looking for? - $3 million.
Good, then.
We can close the books on this nonsense.
- This isn't right.
- He's competent that's all that matters.
We cannot take advantage of a lawyer who we know to be mentally infirm.
I got up this morning around 7:00, - and saw this.
- Gee, Chloe, you seem a bit beside yourself.
You come into my home again, and I will shoot you.
It said trespassers would be shot.
But, Cassie, I rigged it, but I didn't load it.
Well, if you didn't load it, then who did? Look at this.
She mounted the gun on the stepladder, ran the cord to the door, and rigged it so that when the front door opened, boom, problem solved.
Problem husband out of the way.
Can you imagine? Twice she went for a restraining order, afraid that he would hurt her, and twice she was turned down.
He psychologically terrorized my client, and did so to their daughter Shelby.
And finally, in a desperate last resort, Chloe Higgins rigged that shotgun in self-defense, with a big, bold warning on the front door telling him what would happen if he entered.
And he charged in anyway, while she slept, just like he had before while she slept.
The evidence will show that this man was out of control.
Harry, Harry, Harry! Got a second, my friend? It's important.
Good to see ya.
Chin-Chin, how's she hanging? A second, please.
First, what's important how are you, my friend? Good.
You? I'm doing fine.
Thanks.
So nice of you to ask.
You're such a mensch.
Actually, I'm doing quite a lot better, truth be told.
I'm even feeling like I'm back to my old self.
Isn't that just great? Well, thanks for the health update, Sam.
- Now, if you'll excuse me - You took advantage of me, Harry.
What do you mean? I accidentally fired a nail gun into my head, Harry.
It compromised my faculties, and you exploited that to negotiate a settlement while I was not of sound mind.
That's bad form, my friend.
Now, let's be fair, Sam I never considered you of sound mind.
Rim shot! Zang! Gee, you're good! Whappo! Here's what we're going to do, my friend.
We're going to vitiate that settlement, you're going to return the money, and in consideration, I will hold off moving for your immediate disbarment.
- That sound good, my friend?! - Not really.
How about instead of giving back the money, I just put it in escrow somewhere in hell, and you can go there to get it.
You've got a nice place here, don't you? Picked yourself up off the ground, rebuilt your miserable life, little shoe store gig on the side it's just neato, super-duper.
I'll make it all go away with one snap of my finger.
Get lost, Sam, before I drill your head with a few more nails.
Got a little theme song, Sam, as you strut out with your saggy, pathetic ass? Or shall we just go with mine? Oh, crap.
Harry's Law 2x16 - The Lying Game Original air date April 8, 2012 What are you gonna do? I'm gonna defend myself; what can I do? Harry, you do face some exposure here.
Yeah, yeah.
I'm not giving the money back.
Hey, Tommy, how's your day looking? What's going on? Eh, I may need you to defend me.
Can you come to my office? Chunhua listen, I'm feeling a little bad about the way you dismissed me from the shoe store without cause.
I had cause.
You were being inappropriate.
Yeah, but I was thinking you actually fired all the women, and it started me wondering do you not like women? Because I was under the impression that you did.
In fact, I got the sense that you liked me.
I certainly like you.
It's okay to like me, Chunhua.
Are you feeling bad about liking me? We'd just come from chambers.
Ms.
Higgins had accused my client of entering her premises at night, using her lipstick to write a threatening message on her bathroom mirror.
Mr.
Higgins claims she wrote it herself to implicate him.
Do you think that's what happened, sir? The defendant wrote it? I have no reason to believe she did.
But I believed my client when he said he didn't.
And I'm informed after this meeting in chambers, there was a verbal altercation that ensued in the court corridor.
Yes.
Words were exchanged.
Do you remember, sir, if Ms.
Higgins directed threats at your client during that exchange? I remember that she did.
And what was said? If you remember.
Ms.
Higgins told James, and I quote: "If you come into my home again, I will shoot you.
" Okay.
Do you believe that my client's fear of yours - was genuine? - I have no reason to believe - it wasn't.
- Thank you.
And at the time she made her threat in the corridor, did she strike you as homicidal in any way? - Not really.
- In fact, you were never so concerned that you reported to the police.
- No.
- Thanks.
Was your client concerned? He did not appear to be.
Thank you.
Okay, Chloe, we've played this thing out as long as we could.
The D.
A.
is not budging.
I think it's time for us to come clean.
- What do you mean? - Means we have to make a plea.
We have no other real choice.
I will not allow Shelby to be put in a facility - That doesn't have to happen.
- Of course it will happen.
If it's revealed that she shot her father, - of course it will happen.
- First, she does need treatment.
Which she's getting.
She's seeing a therapist.
And second, have you considered what it'll do to her to watch her own mother go to prison for something that she did? 'Cause that's what we're looking at here.
I am not letting my daughter go to a facility.
I will not even risk it.
We just keep arguing self-defense.
Chloe, listen, here's our problem.
The only person who could establish self-defense is you we cannot put you on the stand.
- Why not? - Because a lawyer cannot knowingly put a client on the stand to lie it's a rule.
- Excuse me? - An attorney cannot knowingly call a witness to give false testimony.
The only reason you know it's a lie is because I told you.
It doesn't matter.
I'm being punished for confiding in my lawyer? We're not defending this rule.
We're just telling you what it is.
We cannot put you on the stand to lie.
Okay, here's the other hitch.
Should you fire us and engage another lawyer, as officers of the court, if we know a witness is about to take the stand to lie, whether he or she is our client or not we have a duty to report it.
You would report me? We would have to.
I think I need to speak to your boss.
I'm sorry? Harry Korn.
I need to talk to her.
So, the trial has already begun? Yes.
Basically, we were playing it as long as we could, trying for manslaughter.
We can't move the D.
A.
- Now - Let me see if I get this.
- The court's not questioning she shot him? - Right.
- But she didn't shoot him? - Right.
- Your daughter did? - I rigged it on the stepladder, but Shelby loaded it and set the trigger.
And where's Shelby now? She's with my parents in Chicago.
I didn't want her subjected to the publicity during trial.
The prosecution has one more witness, then it rests.
- Then will be a good time to call Chloe - Just call her and let her testify in the narrative.
Harry, you and I both know, if we go into chambers asking allowance for her to testify in the narrative, that's telling the judge she plans to lie.
So? So then he's biased, and every little ruling goes against us.
Plus, by the time we get to jury instructions, forget it, we wouldn't have a chance.
What does that mean, "in the narrative"? Instead of a lawyer asking you questions, you just tell your story in a narrative format.
Our other problem is that juries today are savvy.
They watch Law & Order.
They know that any witness testifying in the narrative is lying.
- What? - That's it.
- What's it? - What's it? Who's the judge? Kirkland.
Let's go see him.
Hey.
Hey.
Can I help you? Maybe.
Can you accept service? - I'm sorry? - Summons.
My client's suing your firm.
Who's your Sam Berman? Well, there are a few plaintiffs, actually, but the lead guy is Sam.
Hey, Harry.
Phoebe Blake.
I don't think we've formally met.
You're actually the lead defendant.
Sorry.
Hey.
Sam Berman hired you to represent him? - Yeah.
- What are you, - 17? - Pretty much.
Which is the reason I came in person.
Can we talk a second? Okay, honestly, I don't know why he hired me.
I'm a solo practitioner this seems way above my pay grade, and, well, I was hoping we could settle this quietly and quickly, before I get too destroyed.
Uh-huh.
And what are you looking for? Well, I thought if I could get you to return the money, I could get Sam to drop the punitive damages count and all the disbarment nonsense.
You're kidding.
- Uh no.
- You think you're just gonna waltz in here and I'm gonna hand over $3 million? Well, I don't think I waltzed, but okay.
And, um, my client did have a brain injury I mean, you saw the nail sticking out of his head.
Big nail.
If you had any reason to know - or suspect - I didn't.
That all you got, Gwyneth? Oh It's Phoebe.
Look I need to get something.
I can't just crawl away here.
What do you say, Tommy? Should we throw her a bone? What seems good to you? Well I'm not a big fan of dealing in round numbers, but off the top of my head, nothing seems good.
That's what I was thinking.
How's nothing? Does nothing work? And when I complained to Harry about it, she basically just blew me off.
- And is Lisa really bothering you? - Well, it's harassment.
She's given me little looks before, but I've just dismissed them.
But now this.
It's making me very uncomfortable.
Okay, I'll get into it.
Oh.
Me again.
- Are you Adam? - Yes.
Phoebe Blake.
I don't think we officially Anyway, this here is actually for you.
What's this? Depo notice.
Oh.
- You're deposing me? - Sorry.
I'm not making friends around here, I can see that.
I'm really nice.
Harry, you're not serious.
I'm very serious.
You want to knowingly put a client on the stand to give false testimony.
- Right on the button.
- Okay, so, you're only talking about violating one - one of the most sacred ethical rules - Yeah, yeah.
It's a pretentious, full-of-crap rule, and you know it.
I mean, it punishes the client for sharing privileged information with her own lawyer.
- Well, that may be so, but - Look, Judge, trials are rarely about truth.
The D.
A.
distorts, the defense distorts.
Why shouldn't the client be allowed to put in her version? After all, it is her life on the line.
She can put in her version in the narrative.
In which case, the jury will know that she's lying.
People know what narrative statements means.
Come on, Judge.
This rule effectively denies my client her constitutional right to get in that chair and confront her accuser.
It does no such thing, and by the way, I resent your implication that the State doesn't pursue the truth.
Yeah, chill, Doogie.
So, what, you plan on walking her through your carefully crafted Q & A? Come on.
This makes you complicit in the lie.
You don't think we're gonna coach her when she testifies in the narrative? And what's the nature of this lie? That I don't need to tell you, and I won't.
Judge, let's face it.
This is an archaic rule.
It effectively bans our client from testifying and pretty much guarantees us an appeal.
I give you my word, I will not suborn perjury.
I'll just ask her what happened.
All right.
But if I feel that you suborn perjury in any way - What? You cannot be serious? - He's serious.
What are you doing for dinner? I beg your pardon? You don't want her in that chair.
I don't want her in that chair.
Let's grab dinner, Mr.
Truth-and-Justice.
See what we can work out.
Okay, have a seat.
I got you the right to testify if that's your wish, Chloe, but it's not your wish, and here's why.
What's going on? I'm telling you what's going on, and you're going to listen.
I have a dinner with the district attorney in about an hour, and my hope is to tell him the truth, the whole truth.
- No.
Absolutely not.
- Chloe, at the risk of sounding indelicate, shut up.
Now, let's suppose you testify, and that we should even win this trial.
That's a preposterous long shot, but whatever.
There is no way that the truth doesn't eventually come out.
Trust me.
And at that time, your daughter will go to a juvenile facility, and you will go to prison for perjury.
That's what's going to happen, Chloe, maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but one day.
And between now and that day, your daughter will probably go to a psych ward as a result of bearing this unconscionable burden.
Sit your ass back down in that chair.
I'm not done.
Asking your daughter to keep this secret, in my mind, is abusive.
It can't be doing her any good.
You people are supposed to be on my side.
We are on your side.
And we're telling you, this thing is a house of cards.
It will crush you, and it will crush your daughter.
Chloe, we have a little bit of leverage right now, but it's a very small window.
So, basically, what we need from you is to not be a complete idiot.
Can you do that for me, Chloe? If not for me, then for your daughter.
It's unacceptable, Lisa, and you need to stop it.
Okay.
That sounded a little qualified.
Adam, I did not come on to her.
You know very well, it is you I am after.
Well, look, she's Can't you see what's going on here? She's threatened by me, and this is her way of getting rid of me.
- Lisa, come on.
- Adam, she has tried to broom every woman working here.
She drove the girls downstairs to either quit or go on strike because you were flirting with them.
Don't be a dope.
Why else would she come to work for her old boyfriend, huh? Hello? Now she's saying I hit on her? Who's next? Harry? Here's the thing.
I got an unusual situation, and it's a bit delicate.
And it might take a little cooperation on your part.
I'm listening.
Okay.
- What happened that night? - Hold on.
- Do you plan to eat that? - Is that a problem? Might I say grace before we partake in God's bounty? It's a breadstick.
It's food, Harry, for which we are grateful to receive.
Ugh.
May we join hands for grace? Fine.
Dear Lord, let us give thanks for our daily sustenance which we are about to receive in thy blessed name.
Accept our humble gratitude, dear Lord, and forgive us our trespasses, and please accept Harry Korn into thy joyous heart.
Allow me to be made whole once again in thine eyes.
Let the pools of sin go fallow, so that I may never dip into them again with my lust.
Walk with me, my savior, as I turn my back on the evil ways of prostitution.
And women's clothing.
Let me find redemption in thy heart, despite the wanderings of my wayward procreational appendage.
Dear Lord in heaven above If the big guy can forgive all you got going on, I figure he'll cut me some slack with the breadstick.
I apologize.
I'm in treatment for a few issues, and I've been instructed to incorporate the 12 steps into my blessings and prayers.
Got it.
Can we talk about the case now? Sure.
Uh, what I'm about to tell you is part of a settlement discussion, so it would be sealed.
Of course.
Chloe Higgins rigged the shotgun on the stepladder, but she didn't load it.
She went to bed, and she figured she'd test it the next morning.
The daughter, Shelby, loaded it set the trigger, unbeknownst to Chloe.
You expect me to believe that? It's the truth, which an hour or so ago, you claimed to be a big fan of.
Chloe is covering for her daughter.
What I'd like to do is dismiss against Chloe, and get Shelby into a hospital where she can get the help she desperately needs.
That's not going to happen.
My client didn't load the gun.
She rigged it.
At a minimum, she would be guilty of negligent homicide.
No, she wouldn't.
What? It's foreseeable that the daughter would load it, set the trigger and kill her own father? Chloe Higgins set something into motion, Harry, and as a result, a man is dead.
I'll give the mother aggravated manslaughter if she agrees to testify against the child.
This presupposes she passes a lie-detector test, of course.
I'm not looking for a trial against the child.
I'd just want to get her treatment.
So everybody walks? A man is dead, nobody gets held accountable? If you want to make a lesser charge of assault against the mother, I'd be willing to entertain that.
- I'll stick with murder.
- She didn't commit murder.
According to you, her attorney.
Mr.
Cruickshank, if we proceed to trial on this, you could very well end up with nothing.
You think this is a slam dunk for you? So we go back into court? Yes, and you'll testify.
- And say? - The truth, Chloe.
I can sell the truth.
I might even be able to get you a not guilty.
It's a risk, but lying is a bigger one.
And what would happen to Shelby? She would have to go to some facility.
Which she should.
- She needs treatment.
- Not to mention, she might very well - pose a risk to society.
- No.
- She was only protecting me.
- Chloe, please.
This is not going to end well.
You just say what happened.
I'll walk you through it.
Cassie's been over it with me.
You need to trust me here, Chloe.
The truth is our best chance.
Howdy, howdy, howdy.
How we all doing in toon-town today? Oh, great.
Uh, get her ready, would you? We should leave in about 15 minutes.
Okay.
Harry, Harry, Harry, my friend, how we doing, love? Hey, I saw a guy in a wheelchair out front.
Want to go let the air out of his tires? I know how you like to exploit the disabled and whatnot.
- What are you doing here? - I'm here for the deposition, my friend.
We're deposing your good man, Adam.
- I never waived notice.
- Oh, come on.
What, "Oh, come on?" - I never waived notice.
- Harry.
A second? You can see my client's a little off his game here.
I'd like to just plough through discovery and dispose of this.
Wouldn't you? No.
Nice try getting me to concede he's off his game.
In my opinion, he's never been sharper.
I'm in court this morning.
You will not be deposing him in my absence.
Or mine.
What's the matter, Harry? Running a bit scared, are we? It's to be expected, I suppose.
It's what crooks do when they're about to get caught.
And that's what you are, my friend, aren't you? A crook, a cheat, a scam.
Have you given one thought as to what will happen to your career if you make this public that you blew it, that you cost your client $3 million your biggest client? I don't care you took advantage of me, and that's not okay with me, and now it's time to get even, Harry, and that's what I intend to do.
Harry, we should really be going.
I'll cover this.
Go ahead.
No deposition without me in the room.
Got it.
Later? Were you afraid of this man? Very much, which is why we went into court seeking the restraining order.
This only seemed to make things worse.
He charged into my lawyer's office Cassie Reynolds and threatened her.
He actually asked for her home address.
I became convinced that he would hurt either me or my daughter Shelby.
So what did you do? Well, eventually, I resorted to self-help.
I pulled out the shotgun, mounted it on the stepladder, ran the cord to the door, put a sign on the door, warning him.
The police maintained that there was no sign on the door.
It was found in the bushes.
He must have pulled it off, but I put it there, warning him not to enter.
And then what? And then what, Chloe? I, uh I loaded the gun, set the trigger, and went to bed.
You loaded the gun? Yes.
Then what? I went to bed.
A few hours later, I heard it go off.
About what time did you load it? I don't know, 11:00, maybe.
you went through all this with Shelby? Um, she was in on it, too? Absolutely not she had nothing to do with it.
Oh, well, come on, I mean, if she knew about it, we have to assume She didn't know about it.
She knew nothing about it? No.
In fact, I rigged it after she went to bed.
She knew nothing about it.
So you rigged a loaded shotgun, you strung the cord, then you just went to bed? What would have happened if Shelby had gotten up in the middle of the night and tripped over the cord? Or suppose your husband rang the bell instead of just entering, and Shelby went to the door and opened it to let him in? Boom no more Shelby? I-I didn't think about that.
You didn't think about that? Your Honor, I'd like to stop, please.
You know, it's funny, you'd think you'd be ready for these questions, I mean, that they had been asked already, but you didn't talk to the police they never got a chance to ask and your lawyer Cassie Reynolds never asked because she knew what really happened that night.
Your Honor, I'd like to stop.
You told her, just as you told me subsequently, - that it was Shelby.
- No.
- No? - What are you doing? I know what you're doing; you're trying to protect your daughter.
Your Honor, I want to stop.
Request to treat the witness as hostile, Your Honor.
Your own client? Request to treat the witness as hostile.
What are you doing? I'm trying to save your life, Chloe.
You just told a lie under oath.
You have one chance to correct that.
Otherwise, you're looking at perjury.
- Your Honor - You have one chance now, Chloe, one chance to tell the jury what really happened that night.
Just tell us.
I rigged the gun ran the cord.
Of course I knew it was dangerous with a nine-year-old in the house.
Which is why I didn't load it.
Whether I would have loaded it the next day or the day after that, I can't tell you.
Perhaps I would have.
But I didn't load it that night.
We're recessed till after lunch.
What I did was give you your best chance to win, and if you lose, I handed you another grounds for appeal: Your own lawyer turned against you.
You understand you're under oath and all that you need to tell the truth? Yeah, I got that, thanks.
And all objections except to as the form of the question will be reserved for trial.
- We good with that? - We are.
This wasn't supposed to start until I got here.
Oh, we're just getting through all the preliminary nonsense.
You're good.
Hey, Harry, no hard feelings, right? How about a good firm handshake to start things off? Let's just be good lawyers, slit each other's throats, and check the personal animosity at the door.
You know, Sam, the little crazy act isn't playing, okay? - I'm not buying it.
- All right, guys, let's save it for recess.
We ready, Adam? All set.
Chunhua, hey.
Hey.
Chunhua, I'm sorry.
I never meant to make you uncomfortable, and if I did so, I truly apologize.
- Okay.
- Sometimes I do get insecure and I behave oddly around people.
You know, you're an incredibly beautiful woman.
I suppose if I did like women, you'd be my girl, but trust me, I'm into men.
So, yeah.
Peace? Excuse me? Oh, sorry, I'm part Inuit, and it's traditional when two people settle a dispute or resolve a difference to, um Well, here, I'll show you.
Peace.
Mmm.
So, when he came into the office for the meeting, he had a four-inch nail protruding out of his head? That's right.
He hadn't been to the hospital? No, he came here first to have the meeting.
- Did that strike you as odd? - Odd? It struck me as nuts.
The guy was eccentric, so we thought, well, that's Sam Berman.
So you took him to the hospital where he underwent surgery to remove the nail - from his brain? - Correct.
And the next day he returned? Yes.
- Did he seem different? - Yes, he seemed much more congenial and happy.
And you discussed settling the case.
- Correct.
- And before the accident, he was offering roughly a hundred and a quarter.
After, he was willing to give $3 million.
Correct.
So, 125, nail goes in the brain, $3 million.
- Correct.
- Did it occur to you that Mr.
Berman might be suffering the results of a brain injury? I'm not a doctor.
Did it occur to you that Mr.
Berman might be mentally compromised as a result of a nail shooting into his brain? Yes, that occurred to me.
Did it occur to Harry Korn? Objection work product.
Don't answer.
Without revealing specific communications, did you and Ms.
Korn discuss Mr.
Berman's mental health? Work product.
Don't answer.
Lay opinion, realizing you're not a doctor, do you believe Mr.
Berman was of sound mind when he executed this settlement agreement? No, I do not.
I'm sorry.
Harry, I was under oath.
It was either tell the truth or I couldn't commit perjury.
I'm sorry.
No, not your fault.
We probably should never have let that deposition happen.
So what happens now? Well, I suppose they'll vitiate the settlement agreement.
No meeting of the minds.
The only ethical thing to do is to call the client, have him put the money in an offshore account I'd say the Caymans where they can't get at it.
Harry, we should get back to court.
Yeah, okay.
Adam, I'm just going to say this.
You can reject it like you tend to reject me, but I'll say it just the same.
In this business, the truth is not always your friend.
In fact, often it's the enemy, and to be a good lawyer, you need to be able to pick up a dagger and stab the enemy in the heart.
You need to gut the truth sometimes, mangle it so badly that even its carcass becomes unrecognizable to the trier of fact.
Adam? I did what? That's what she said.
Wait a second, I sucked on her finger? And what else? Did I do the toesies, too? What exactly did happen? I apologized, I said I was sorry if I made her feel uncomfortable.
I I cannot believe this.
I sucked on her finger? This woman is out of her mind, Adam, oh, my God.
I'm delighted, Ms.
Higgins, that you decided to clear things up, and I know it must have been difficult because by telling us this new information if it's to be believed that would mean you Well, actually, come to think of it, it might mean you having to go free.
Gee.
- Objection.
- Yeah, move it along, Mr.
Cruickshank.
Just to clarify, you've been saying ever since this tragic murder occurred that you were the one who carried out this brutal execution.
Said it the night of, said it to the police in every single interview, I gather to your own lawyers since you pleaded self-defense, but now you say all those declarations of yours they were all lies.
Well, I guess so.
You guess so? That's a lot of lying, isn't it? - Objection.
- Overruled.
Let me ask you something, Ms.
Higgins.
Shelby has she been a problem child? Trouble in school? Any signs of any social issues? Shown a pattern of violence or deviance? - No.
- Well, I'll be darned.
She just jumped right into the crime pool with murder.
- Objection.
- Sustained.
And she was crafty about it, too.
I mean, her fingerprints were not to be found on the gun.
That's because once I realized, I wiped the gun clean so her prints wouldn't be found.
Did you, now? Wow.
That's quite a presence of mind on your part, as you stood over your husband's dead body, still warm, you wiped the gun clean.
- Objection.
- Overruled.
Tell me something, Ms.
Higgins, did you place that warning sign in the bushes? - What? - Makes sense, doesn't it? That way, your husband wouldn't see it.
He'd come rushing in, be shot dead, and you could say to the police, "Hey, I wrote a note.
" That's not what happened.
- I put the sign on the door.
- Figured he'd see the gun through the window and be scared off? - Yes.
- Let's say that happened.
Let's say he saw through the window, saw the gun trained right on the door would your husband really be that stupid as to go through a door that he saw the gun trained on? - Why not go through the window? - I don't know.
I wasn't in my husband's head at the time.
- But you know how he thinks.
- Mr.
Cruickshank, He was a complete stranger to me.
A complete stranger, you say? And yet, when you sought your restraining order against him, you told the judge, and I quote: "Your Honor, I know this man.
" "I know this man.
" So that was a lie, too, then, wasn't it? Gee.
She told you what happened.
And I suspect you believe her, because finally, finally, she was able to come clean with the truth.
I don't know about the 12 of you, but I, I detected relief, profound relief in Chloe when she was able to stop hiding what must have been an oppressive secret.
Now, does she bear some responsibility for the death of her estranged husband? Of course she does.
She mounted the gun, she rigged the device, but she didn't load it.
Mr.
Cruickshank, no doubt, will argue that she set this whole thing in motion.
But she never, ever imagined, nor could she, that Shelby, the victim's own daughter, got up, loaded the shells into that weapon, and armed the trigger, and even if you want to say she should have known, that's negligence, not first-degree murder.
This is a visceral piece of evidence, I grant you, but Chloe Higgins pointed an empty barrel at the door that night, an empty gun.
That's a bluff.
It isn't murder.
The best of criminal defense attorneys, like Ms.
Korn I regard her as one of the best they're a bit like Houdini, capable of manufacturing these miraculous last-minute escapes.
This one ranks right up there.
You got all this physical evidence that suggests she did it.
You've got her confession.
By golly, she's found standing over the dead body.
She had previously threatened to shoot him.
Right in the court corridor told the victim, "If you come into my home again," "I will shoot you.
" She did.
You got the sophistication of this thing.
Obviously no child did that.
How in the heck does she wriggle out of this? Enter Houdini.
Ta-dah! She didn't load the shells.
They can't prove that she actually loaded the shells, so we'll go with that.
Sure, Shelby did it, though her prints aren't on the gun.
Sure, the victim saw that big note, perhaps even saw the gun itself, and still chose to go through that door anyway.
It all makes sense, doesn't it? No, it doesn't.
It really doesn't.
All the evidence every last bit of it points to this woman's guilt.
All she has for a defense is her word when she's done nothing all along but lie.
"I was lying before.
" "Believe me now.
" Your choice.
Go with the evidence or "Ta-dah!" So, Pheeb, have a seat.
- Be.
- Sorry? Phoe-be.
Actually, of the two syllables, I prefer the "be," so Phoebe.
Covered.
Did a nice job with Adam.
Oh, he was easy.
Harry won't be, Harry's a rock, I'll never budge Harry.
That where you're headed? Okay, look, you may have an argument, but we have the money and we're not giving it to you.
Your means of recovery would be going to court and shocking a jury with our unscrupulous conduct.
This with a client who represents Big Tobacco.
You'll never do it.
However bad you make us out to be, we don't kill people, we don't kill kids.
Sam Berman is clearly a smart guy.
He went out and hired the most likable, adorable little thing he could to represent him.
No doubt members of the jury will want to eat you.
Up eat you up.
But it will not work.
Bottom line we were bad, your guy's worse.
We'll give you $350,000 back, take it or leave it.
- Take it.
- Really? But I'll relay it to Sam.
Wait, wait, wait.
Do you have a counter? No.
Bitch.
That was fast.
Tell me about it.
Some of the jurors are looking this way.
Sometimes that's a good sign.
Hmm, but only sometimes.
Mr.
Foreman, this is unanimous? Uh-oh.
Yes, Your Honor.
Very well.
The defendant will please rise.
Mr.
Foreman, what say you? In the matter of The State of Ohio v.
Chloe Higgins, on the charge of murder in the first degree, we the jury find the defendant Chloe Higgins not guilty.
On the charge of murder in the second degree, we find the defendant Chloe Higgins not guilty.
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, the state thanks you for your time and service.
Well, as ta-dahs go, that's one of the better ones.
What happens to Shelby? Well, she'll have to be surrendered.
But, Chloe, it's the best result, not only for you but for her.
Cheer up.
Listen, it's what happened.
Now can we work together on what's best for this little girl? Upton, it's what happened.
You the big goat today? Thanks to you.
I'm sorry.
Can I make it up, buy you a beer? Absolutely not I don't trust you.
We don't need to talk about the case.
Yeah, just forget it.
You're up to something.
Just, just go away.
What makes you think I'm up to something? 'Cause girls who look like you don't sit on barstools next to me.
Go away.
Okay, maybe I am up to a little something.
Come work for me.
With me.
Excuse me? Word is, you're frustrated.
Harry and Cassie get to do the big murder trials.
Ollie gets to do well, Cassie.
Tommy's got his cases.
You settle interoffice disputes.
You're way too good for that.
How do you know what I've been doing? I observe.
I'm getting more cases than I can handle.
I know you're good.
Think about it.
Forget it.
He'll have another beer.
You'd have a lot of fun.
I've got some really great cases, or maybe you prefer the really big stuff like secretaries sucking on each other's fingers.
I'm not leaving.
You're thinking about it.
No, I'm not.
Fine.