Bull (2016) s03e15 Episode Script

- (BRAKES SQUEAL) - (HORN HONKS) SHERRI: Okay, ladies, this is the only cover-up you will ever need.
It is absolutely magical.
(CHUCKLES) And how much does this magic cost? Well, if you ask me, it's priceless, but for you, $29.
99.
Renewable every other month.
- (DOORBELL RINGS) - Ooh, can you hold this? Ma'am.
Marshals, is there is there something I can do for you? Your daughter home? No.
She's at school.
Why? We're gonna need to swing by and pick her up.
Can I get my purse? Just your purse.
We'll come back and close everything up.
- Sherri, is everything all right? - I don't know.
- But are you coming back? - I don't know.
Well, can I still buy this? (ENGINE STARTS) Is he here yet? Not yet.
I just I need to make you aware of something.
Unless it has to do with Walter Franklin, I don't want to hear about it.
Well, it sort of does.
Uh, Taylor needed to bring her son with her to work today.
The heat was out at her day care and Walter Franklin is coming.
I know Walter Franklin is coming.
It'll be fine.
Man's of a certain age, I'm sure he's met lots of children in his lifetime.
- TAYLOR: Little help? - Sorry.
(SIGHS) Wha? (CHUCKLES) - Did I miss him? - Uh, he's not here yet.
Does, um, anybody have a Sharpie? No.
We are not having him sign books.
But-but they're his.
He-he wrote them.
He is not here to entertain us.
He's a client.
And one of the great legal minds of the late 20th century.
And Bull's hero.
Mine, too.
Any idea what he wants? None.
Just that he wants to meet.
He has a case he wants me to consider.
(SIGHS) I'm jealous.
Mm.
I won't lie, it's a bit like having Babe Ruth - ask you to pitch to him.
- Mm.
They just called from the lobby.
He's on his way up.
(ELEVATOR BELL CHIMES) Dr.
Jason Bull, I presume? (LAUGHTER) Oh, my mistake.
The folks at my firm said you were younger than I and better looking.
I went with my gut.
Mr.
Franklin, it's an honor.
You remember the Arrowsure Corporation? The gigantic Ponzi scheme that they had that the feds took down a few years ago in Chicago? How could we not? 100,000 people lost their savings.
The Madoff of the Midwest.
You remember Anthony Gibson? The mid-level accountant that testified against the upper-level executives in the trial? Of course.
Didn't you represent him? I did.
And now I represent his wife.
As part of Anthony's plea deal, and in return for testifying against his bosses, he and his family were put into the Witness Protection Program.
Moved from Chicago, Illinois to Poughkeepsie, New York.
Got a job in the Highway Department.
Two weeks ago, he was shot and killed at 1:00 in the afternoon by a car driving through his toll booth on Highway 11.
Mrs.
Gibson intends to sue the U.
S.
government for wrongful death.
(SIGHS) The U.
S.
government.
Yeah, I've heard of them.
You sure you don't want to pick on someone your own size? Well, that's where you come in.
Mrs.
Gibson is a tough customer.
She's got enough anger for a dozen lawsuits, and rightly so.
She wants somebody to pay for what happened to her husband.
But you're worried jurors might not sympathize with Ruth Madoff.
Bingo.
Guilt by association.
And of course, the irony is, he was one of the good guys, a working stiff, one of 300 accountants, just a guy making a living.
But when the government came in and asked if anyone would step up and testify against these ghouls who were robbing the public blind, he was the one fellow who cleared his throat and said yes.
Felt it was his obligation.
Felt it was his civic duty.
I get it, but I'm not sure everyone will.
It's not gonna be an easy sell.
People hear you work for Arrowsure Corp I know.
I assume this is a contingency case? You really need the cash up front? Look at this place.
Looks like somebody went to Best Buy for dinner and threw up.
(LAUGHTER) Come on, get a look at this face.
Don't you want to go into business with this? Come on.
Come with me, we'll visit the lady and her daughter.
Do some good with your life.
Earn yourself some good karma.
SHERRI: My husband agreed to testify because they promised him that him and his family would be safe.
The government made their case on my husband's back and then they just basically left him for dead.
How the hell am I supposed to know that my daughter and I are safe when that could happen?! You know what? I just need compensation from the government to get me out of this country.
That's it.
Just get me out of this country, move someplace where everybody and his uncle doesn't have a gun, so that me and my daughter can start over.
That's it.
And that's what I'm here to try and help you do, but take my word for it, you go in there and demand anything from a jury, insult the country they call home, and they are gonna be only too happy to exact revenge on behalf of the friends and relatives who lost everything to the company your husband worked for.
But, you put away that anger, and you go in and present yourself as the victim you actually are the concerned mother, the grieving widow and you might just get what you want.
Walter, who is this guy? I I don't like him.
Give us a minute, will you.
(TRAIN PASSING NEARBY) Who's in there? Daughter.
Tiffany.
15.
Tiffany, my name's Dr.
Jason Bull.
I'm part of your mother's legal team, at least for the time being.
You think you and I could talk for a second? You're not getting in that way.
You have to climb through.
(BULL MUTTERS) What can I do for you, sir? You're not here to take us someplace else are you? WALTER: Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.
Sorry I dragged you out here.
Sorry I wasted your time.
You talked to the daughter? Said hello.
If you ask me, we're repping the wrong plaintiff.
That 15-year-old girl, she's your case.
Father turns state's evidence and suddenly she's yanked out of the middle of the eighth grade and her life in Chicago and dropped into a small town in New York where she knows no one? 14 months later, in a single conversation, she's told her father's been killed and she has to move again to a motel.
Cut off all contact with everyone she knows for the second time in her life? The government that promised her a safe, new home in return for her father's bravery has delivered only death, disruption and heartbreak.
And what about Sherri? What about the mother? My opinion? I wouldn't let her within 100 miles of the courthouse.
I need a lawyer.
Oh, all right.
Well, I charge by the quarter hour, starting now.
I'm doing some legal legwork for Bull and this case he's working on with Walter Franklin.
Yeah, I'm still jealous.
Yeah, and it turns out, the government claims there's no negligence.
They say it has no relationship to the case for which Anthony testified and they're not responsible if some random person shoots a witness in WITSEC, which is appears some fancy new acronym for Witness Protection.
Think about it, if someone shoots up a movie theater and a witness in WITSEC is in there, that's not their fault.
So-so we need to prove that the killing was in retribution for Anthony's testimony and not just some random shooting.
My bill is in the mail.
My man.
Guys, so I studied the case files last night, and whoever was trying to kill Anthony Gibson wasn't exactly a great shot.
What do you mean? He killed the man, didn't he? But the ballistics report says the bullet actually missed.
It hit the side of the tollbooth, then ricocheted.
That's when it pierced the victim's chest.
I think the net-net is still the same.
Anthony Gibson is no longer spending time with his family.
Yeah, well, I'm on my way to speak with the marshal who was in charge of Anthony's protection.
See what he has to say.
You should probably call the big guy at the courthouse.
Tell him the government doesn't think we have a case.
(PHONE VIBRATING) You don't want me in the courtroom? I want you to succeed.
I want you to prevail.
I'm telling you how to do it.
I told you I don't like this guy.
Well, I do.
He speaks the truth.
You're a great wife, you're a great mother, but I'm afraid that you're a lousy spokesperson for your own cause.
We're both prepared to walk away over this.
Honey, do you think you're capable of this? What-what do I have to do? Aside from sitting at the table, we'll need you to testify.
(KNOCKING ON DOOR) (PHONE VIBRATING) - Come in.
Do you mind? Chunk? What's so important? I got to go into court.
I'm not hearing anything like that on this end.
We just received a motion to dismiss from the government.
They're claiming sovereign immunity.
Forget what I said.
Got to go.
What's sovereign immunity? It's a legal principle that states you can't sue the government without its consent.
That doesn't seem very fair.
Yeah.
Right.
I mean, i-it seems like people are suing the government all the time.
Well, there are loopholes.
We just have to find one that applies to our case.
That is, if we're going ahead with our case.
And furthermore, Your Honor, suing the government will cause the taxpayers an unnecessary financial burden.
WALTER: Your Honor, may I remind the court of an exception to sovereign immunity under the Bivens Act, which states that a private citizen may sue the government when their constitutional rights have been violated by the government's own conduct? In this case, they violated Anthony Gibson's constitutional right to live.
And they did this by not assigning more security to him or his family when he explicitly requested it.
CARMEN: No, no, no, no, no.
The Bivens exception requires intent, which means the government would have had to knowingly put Anthony Gibson in the line of fire.
The plaintiff is arguing negligence, which implies benign neglect as opposed to a willful dereliction of duty.
Therefore, Bivens does not apply in this case.
Mr.
Franklin, I do have to agree with Ms.
Murphy on this one.
(QUIETLY): Brace for impact.
I'm sensing this all might be over before it ever really begins.
WALTER: Your Honor, I take your point, and I-I understand Ms.
Murphy's as well.
Uh, but I need to call your attention to the fact that in addition to violating Anthony Gibson's constitutional rights, we are arguing breach of contract.
And therefore, I need to draw the court's attention to the Graves Act of 1812, which states very clearly that when the government enters into a contract with a private citizen the contract in this case would be the Witness Protection agreement and the government does not fulfill their end of the agreement, then that private citizen has the right to sue.
By not protecting Anthony Gibson, the government is in breach of its contract.
Yes.
The Graves Act of 1812.
I concur with your reasoning, Mr.
Franklin.
And in light of this, the motion to dismiss is denied.
We will reconvene this afternoon to select our jury.
I know you're too young to understand, but you just witnessed an amazing piece of lawyering.
Okay.
If you say so.
I got to ask, where'd you pull the Graves Act of 1812 from? I've never heard of that.
One of the perks of being the oldest guy in the room, - you've lived through more stuff.
- Uh-huh.
Hey, come on.
Anybody hungry? Want to get some lunch? I-I know a pizza place on Spring Street, knock your socks off.
Best pie in the city.
What do you think, Tiffany? I'm from Chicago.
I think my socks are staying right where they are.
(WALTER CHUCKLES) So I understand that you were the marshal supervising Anthony Gibson's relocation and acclimation here in Poughkeepsie.
Yeah.
So what is it that you need to know? Well, I'm gathering Anthony spent a lot of time in your office the last few months of his life.
I'd love to know what you guys talked about, the nature of his fears and concerns.
What he might have said about whoever was following him.
Look, the truth is, Anthony and I only met a few times since he got here.
Really? I was under the impression that he sat down with you a couple of times a month, pleading for more protection.
Again, I think I sat with him three times total.
And yes, he certainly did ask for more security.
But in the absence of a specific threat, the WITSEC protocol really discourages it.
- Why is that? - Because almost all the people placed in WITSEC get paranoid their first year in the program.
I mean, they just do.
And I know that sounds pretty weak given what happened to him.
But I honestly don't think it had anything to do with testifying against the Arrowsure Corporation.
You know, there are a lot of nuts out there.
And every so often, one of them wakes up and says to him or herself, "I just feel like shooting someone today.
" Okay, then.
All the more reason.
Why would you put the guy in a tollbooth? In a big glass box? Because it is our job to integrate witnesses into a new community.
To create new identities for them, not hide them.
We get them jobs at the mall, the movie theater, the family restaurant.
The idea is they're hiding in plain sight.
You talked to the FBI? No.
Should I? I don't know.
The last time I told him I couldn't put more manpower on his account, he told me he was gonna talk to the FBI.
Just a thought.
WALTER: He was a hero.
You know? Your dad? He didn't have to do what he did.
He got nothing for it.
In fact, he lost a lot.
He just felt it was the right thing to do.
Should I change the subject? No, I just I'll be right back.
You want to talk shop? Good pie, huh? This is gonna be a tricky voir dire.
You're the jury whisperer.
So, while you are asking the questions, my team will be back in the office.
They'll be giving me information in my ear as to whether or not we want that juror.
Now, before you accept or dismiss anybody, I want you to look at me and I will give you the signal whether we keep or cut the juror, and I will nod yes or shake my head no.
- Mm-hmm? - "Yes, no.
" Got it.
So, let me ask you something.
Do you trust the government? MARISSA: Is that really the question you gave him? Seems a bit on the nose.
No.
He's freestyling.
But he's Walter freakin' Franklin.
I got to believe he knows what he's doing.
I don't know.
Does anyone trust the government? Well, it may have been on the nose, but it got us the answer we needed.
How's it looking on your end? All systems go on my end.
The plaintiff would like to dismiss this juror, Your Honor.
I-I thought we wanted that juror.
We did.
(CLEARS THROAT) (WHISPERS INDISTINCTLY) I'm confused.
Why did we let that juror go? She clearly doesn't trust the government.
She was exactly what we're looking for.
Oh, I didn't like her.
Relax.
There's plenty more where she came from.
Gentlemen, it's gonna be a long day.
Good afternoon, sir.
Good afternoon.
So you've been going to this one restaurant for a long time years and one day, you go in there, you have a delicious meal, and, uh, shortly thereafter, you get food poisoning.
Are you gonna go back to this restaurant? No.
I don't think so.
MARISSA: This juror owns a security service and donates to police unions.
He's the opposite of the juror we want.
WALTER: Your Honor, this juror is acceptable to the plaintiff.
What is he doing? Walter, may I speak with you privately for a moment? Of course.
Yeah.
Tiffany So what the hell happened in there? Why didn't you look at me like we talked about? What do you mean? What did we talk about? The signals.
You ignored them.
You picked precisely the wrong jury.
Precisely the wrong jury? Seriously, Jason? Come on.
Aren't we being a little bit dramatic? I've been doing this almost half a century.
- I think I know how to pick a jury.
- (SIGHS) You hungry? Come on.
I know this pizza place over on Spring Street, knock your socks off.
Walter, we just had pizza a few hours ago.
Okay, then, you pick a place.
You know, I got to talk to someone back at the office about something.
Why don't you take Tiffany and grab dinner without me? Tiffany.
Sounds like a plan.
Before you make that call Look at me.
I'm looking.
Do I look like a fool? What are we talking about? You know what we're talking about.
There is no Graves Act of 1812.
You and Franklin made it up.
- We did? - You did.
I'm informing the judge tomorrow morning, and I expect that the case will be thrown out shortly thereafter.
Have a nice evening, Dr.
Bull.
OLLIS: Good day today, I thought.
Oh BULL: It was as if someone had lowered a window shade in front of his eyes and he couldn't see clearly anymore.
He didn't remember me explaining how voir dire would work, didn't remember taking me to that pizza place.
All of which is sad.
A great mind like that, but inventing the Graves Act of 1812? I mean, what are you gonna do? I don't know.
Which do I worry about first? The man? The case? I don't even know who to reach out to.
His family? Does he even have a family? I'll get Danny working on that.
But in the meantime, how do you want to proceed with the case? As soon as that judge realizes she's been conned, she's gonna be all over you tomorrow.
I need a favor.
I need you to assume the role of standby counsel and prepare for this trial as if it were your own.
You need to be ready to take over and cover for Walter at a moment's notice.
(KNOCKING) I may have found something that can help us.
A time machine? (CHUCKLES) Kind of.
I'm taking it back to the 19th century, though.
Uh, the Tucker Act of 1887.
It has similar principles to those that were asserted in court today.
It's not an exact match, but it's close.
You just get Mr.
Franklin to tell the judge that, you know, he had the right century but the wrong act.
I assure you, Your Honor, I did not intend to mislead the court, I simply misspoke.
And if you will look at the Tucker Act of 1887, you will see that virtually the same principles apply.
For you, Walter, I'm gonna let this slide.
But just know I'll have my eye on you for the rest of the trial.
We live to fight another day.
With one hand tied behind our back.
See, I told you we had nothing to worry about.
What, me worry? Yeah, say what you will.
You don't have as good a poker face as you think you do.
STOKES: You ever miss it? Being part of something bigger than yourself? The meager salary, getting abused daily on Twitter.
Twitter stuff didn't happen when I was here.
Oh.
Well, you left before it got fun.
(CHUCKLES) Story of my life.
(LAUGHS) So, listen, Agent Stokes, I, uh, I hear you met with Anthony Gibson about a month before he died.
Can you tell me what that was about? What? Well, it's just, you know, I would like to tell you about it, but, uh, the Bureau's got its rules.
- You know? - Hmm.
Well, listen, agent to agent, I know I'm putting you in a tough position.
I just I need something to go on.
I need to use the john.
Feel free to show yourself out.
My father absolutely followed protocol.
He called the marshals every time he felt threatened.
You know, I-I watched.
I heard him.
And how often would this happen? In the last couple months of his life? Uh all the time.
And how would you describe your relationship with your father? Objection.
Relevance.
WALTER: Your Honor, part of the reason we're here is to assess the impact and to put a value on the life of a man who's no longer with us because of what we believe to be gross dereliction of responsibility by the United States government.
What could be more relevant, more valuable to this jury than to hear the man's daughter talk about what her father meant to her? This guy's really good.
Maybe I overreacted.
Objection overruled.
You may answer the question.
How do I explain this to you? My father was like the sun.
Yeah.
You know, every day, you got up, and every day, he was there.
Like, some days were-were cloudy because he had something on, on his mind, like a a work thing, or a family thing, but every day he was there.
You know, just peeking through so you could feel him.
You know, letting you know that you-you could depend on him.
You know, and if you if you needed something, it didn't, it didn't matter what else was going on.
He He would, he would find a way to get to you.
To-to-to me.
You know, and now it's like, I-I wake up, and there is no sun.
(CRYING) No further questions, Your Honor.
MARISSA: What is that rustling sound? Is that the sound of you trying to reach over your own shoulder to pat yourself on the back for deciding to make this case about the daughter? Busted.
Ms.
Gibson, you keep insisting that your father followed protocol.
- Well, he did.
- So, you're saying he called the Marshals office whenever he was supposed to? Whenever he was worried? Whenever he was contemplating doing something that might jeopardize his new identity, his family's new identity? Yes, of course.
So, did he call the marshals when he went back to your hometown of Chicago 11 weeks ago? Objection, Your Honor.
On what grounds? Overruled.
Continue, Counselor.
I want to hear this.
I-I was the one who went to Chicago.
(GALLERY MURMURING) I missed my boyfriend.
I-I-I missed everything.
(SNIFFLES) I took a train.
And when my dad found out, he got in his car to try and beat me there and bring me back, because he knew that I made a mistake.
Like he knew that I might be in danger.
He wasn't He He was trying to protect me.
He wasn't trying to hide anything from the marshals.
I mean (SIGHS) He was, but it wasn't about him.
It was about-about me.
He-he didn't want me to get in trouble with the government.
So, your father did drive to Chicago? Yes.
(GALLERY MURMURING) So if we're talking breach of contract here, is there any bigger breach of contract than someone in WITSEC going back to their former life? Objection, Your Honor.
Counsel is testifying.
Sustained.
Jury will disregard.
MARISSA: Oh, Bull.
Things are starting to go the other way.
Let's be honest.
The marshals didn't put your father's life in danger, did they? - You did.
- Objection! Your Honor.
OLLIS: Sustained.
Jury will disregard.
No, they won't.
Withdrawn.
No further questions, Your Honor.
(CRYING) How could she have not told us about that trip to Chicago? I know she's a kid, but still.
She never even told her mother.
She's ashamed.
It's written all over her face.
She made a horrible mistake.
Now she's convinced herself that's the reason, she's the reason her father's dead.
(SIGHS) I know it didn't go exactly the way we wanted today, but still, you were mighty impressive in court.
Hear, hear.
Yeah.
That and a bus token will get us on a bus.
Important thing is that we prevail.
Hey, I'm hungry.
You guys want to get some pizza? Huh? I know this pizza place over on Spring Street, knock your socks off.
Best pie in the city.
We have to find a way to prove that Anthony's killing had nothing to do with that trip to Chicago.
We have to find a way to lay this back at the marshals' feet.
Danny, that's your cue.
So, remember I told you how when I interviewed the FBI agent that Anthony was talking to, he practically handed me his file on a guy named "Ted Morris"? TAYLOR: Turns out Ted Morris was the pension fund administrator for the Contractors Union.
And as it happened, he invested the entire pension fund in the Arrowsure Corporation.
For which he apparently received some very sizable kickbacks.
Okay.
How did Anthony figure into all this? Well, as an accountant at Arrowsure Corporation, the Contractors Union pension account fell under his purview.
Wait.
You mean Anthony Gibson was in charge of these accounts? Mm-hmm, and it turns out that the FBI was in the process of building a case against Ted Morris, and I'm guessing they wanted Anthony to testify.
Jackpot.
So if you're Ted Morris, and you know the government has access to the only guy who can prove you weren't acting in your union's best interest when you invested their funds, you'd be only too happy to see that man meet an untimely end.
Now we're getting somewhere.
What do you think, Walter? (SNORING) Should we wake him? No.
No, you guys can head out as soon as you're done.
I'll I'll get him home.
(SNORING) How long was I asleep? I don't know.
Hour and a half, two hours.
I'm starting to make you nervous, aren't I? (CHUCKLES) I know you're upset with me about jury selection, and I know you're starting to wonder if I can pull my weight when it comes time to call witnesses, elicit testimony, cross-examine, all that sort of thing.
But I assure you, there is nobody better on their feet than me.
Nobody.
Walter you are my hero.
But the simple truth is, we already started calling witnesses, eliciting testimony.
All of it.
And you did it.
You were masterful.
But the fact that you don't remember doing it Oh, I remember it.
I remember! I do now.
Walter.
I need Benny to take the lead tomorrow in court.
I'm sorry, but that little girl's future, that family's future it depends on us getting this right.
You okay? I'm fine.
You got a cigarette? No, I don't smoke.
Do you? I don't know.
It depends on what year this is.
Damn! I hate getting old! (SIGHS) (SNIFFLES, SIGHS) This is you.
I know.
I'm sorry.
You have nothing to be sorry for.
See you in the morning.
I'll see you in the morning.
(DOOR CLOSES) Don't go yet.
I want to make sure he gets inside.
(SIGHS) Okay.
Dr.
Bull? Hey.
- (EXHALES) - Glad I caught you.
What's so urgent? The ballistics results just came back on the bullet that killed Anthony Gibson.
- And? - And it matches bullets used in a gang shooting in Chicago just over a year ago.
I don't understand.
Well, that gun was never recovered.
And it appears to have been used in this killing.
And the defense is gonna use that to tie Anthony's trip to Chicago to his death.
Anthony drove to Chicago, somebody saw him in Chicago, the gun came from Chicago.
If Anthony had played by the rules, he'd still be alive today.
Everybody's off the hook.
The defense calls Gerald Montgomery to the stand.
Please, state your relationship to the Gibson family.
We, uh, lived down the block from them.
My, uh, son Brian and the Gibsons' daughter Tiffany dated for about five months.
And when was the last time your son and Tiffany saw each other? Apparently, 11 weeks ago.
What do you mean, "apparently"? Well, I was told that, uh, Tiffany snuck into our home, though truthfully, I-I never saw her.
Objection.
Hearsay.
Sustained.
Jury will disregard.
CARMEN: So when was it that you heard about Tiffany's visit? When I opened my front door and I saw her father, Anthony Gibson, standing there.
(GALLERY MURMURING) Mr.
Gibson was at your front door in suburban Chicago? He certainly was.
And were you surprised to see him? Stunned.
And I told him so, loudly.
What do you mean? What-what exactly did you say? I told him I thought he was a reprehensible human being.
I told him that I had personally lost almost all my money on Arrowsure and their Ponzi nonsense, and now I was gonna have to start all over from nothing, after working my entire life to get to where I was.
And how did he react? Well, he didn't, he-he just kept asking me if I knew where his daughter was.
And did you? At that point, no, but even if I had, I don't think I would have told him.
I was so angry.
I mean, to me, he got off light.
I He got to live his life, he got to go into the Witness Protection Program, and and meanwhile, like, a a quarter of his neighborhood was flat on its ass.
You know, no savings, no retirement.
No nothing.
The neighborhood where you were publicly having this loud conversation with Anthony Gibson? Yes.
On my stoop.
And I'm sure the whole damn block heard.
And couldn't any of these neighbors have followed Mr.
Gibson back to Poughkeepsie that night? Objection.
Your Honor, please.
This is pure speculation.
Sustained.
Jury will ignore the question.
We will reconvene this afternoon.
(GAVEL BANGS) MARISSA: The only problem is, our jurors just don't have anywhere to put their empathy for Tiffany.
Her father broke the rules.
And they believe that's the reason he's dead, not because of some failure on the marshals' part.
It really is as simple as that, isn't it? I'm afraid so.
(KNOCKING ON GLASS) So here's a weird one.
I just got back from FBI headquarters.
I wanted to look into the gang shooting where ballistics matched the bullet that killed Anthony, and guess who was the lead agent on that case? Remember the FBI agent I visited? Timothy Stokes.
The same Timothy Stokes who was meeting with Anthony? The one and only.
And according to the case file, the gun was recovered in the shooting, which makes me think that Stokes held onto it for a rainy day.
So you think Stokes was an inside man working for Ted Morris? I think he's shady all right, but if anything, Stokes has a reputation for being too aggressive in making his cases, not throwing them away.
He's got about a dozen complaints filed against him for bullying potential witnesses, trying to force them to testify, trying to get them to testify to things that they're not even completely comfortable with.
And we know Stokes was meeting with Anthony about the Contractors Union case, trying to get him to testify to what he knew about their accounts and kickbacks.
And a case that could single-handedly make this man's career.
Which is why this whole thing doesn't make any sense.
I mean, why would Stokes want to have his key witness shot? A dead witness can't testify.
CRAZY THOUGHT: you say that the ballistics report indicated that the bullet ricocheted in the tollbooth before it hit Anthony? Yeah.
What if he wasn't trying to kill him at all? What if he was just trying to scare him? BENNY: Your Honor, the plaintiff would like to call a rebuttal witness, we would like to call Agent Timothy Stokes.
Your Honor, this is the first the defense is hearing of this witness.
BENNY: My apologies, Your Honor, we just recently learned that Mr.
Stokes had relevant information.
Relevant information, huh? Well, I guess we'll all find out together.
You know this is your witness, don't you? I'm not sure that's such a good idea.
Well, your theory, your witness.
I'm not sacrificing my guy over some nonsense you pulled out of your backside at the last minute.
How do I know this isn't another Graves Act of 1812? Your theory, your witness.
WALTER: Agent Stokes, thank you for rushing in here at the last minute.
Not a problem.
Now, you had a series of meetings with my client's father, Anthony Gibson, in the month before he died, didn't you? I did.
You, in fact, wanted him to testify against the Contractors Union in a case you were investigating.
- Is that correct? - That is correct.
You wanted him to be your key witness, in fact, didn't you? Well, I wanted him to be a witness.
But yes, I wanted his testimony.
Yes.
But he didn't want to testify, did he? He was weighing his options.
What do you think? I think he's Walter freakin' Franklin.
And if anybody deserves his day in court, it's him.
And you were helping him to weigh his options, weren't you? That's my job.
And how do you do that? Have a conversation.
Try to convince the other party that they have a civic duty to share what they know.
Having a conversation.
Sounds so civilized.
(CHUCKLES): Well, it is.
If you say so, Agent Stokes, because I'm looking at a copy of your personnel file, and according to this, you've been disciplined for bullying witnesses four times in the last ten years.
(GALLERY MURMURING) You spend a long enough time in law enforcement, you're gonna upset people.
If there had been any truth to those charges, I would've been dismissed from the Bureau a long time ago.
Okay, I hear that.
But what possible reason would people have for filing false complaints against you? You were the one who was following Anthony Gibson in the months leading up to his death, weren't you, Agent Stokes? You were trying to intimidate him.
CARMEN: Objection.
Badgering.
Sustained.
The jury will disregard Mr.
Franklin's last statement.
Tread lightly, Counselor.
Have no fear, Your Honor, my feet will never touch the ground.
Now, how often did you say you sought out Mr.
Gibson? I don't know if I ever put a number to it.
Maybe two or three times.
Two or three? I would like to enter into evidence these cell phone records derived from multiple Poughkeepsie cell phone towers.
And here you will find proof of exactly how often Agent Stokes, an agent who is based in New York City, some 70 miles away, was in Poughkeepsie, stalking his prey, his cell phone pinging away.
So entered.
17 days, by the way, 17 days, and, most interestingly, you'll find that Agent Stokes's phone pinged against the tower on five dates when Anthony Gibson called in complaints to the Marshals office about being followed October 5, October 6, October 10, October 15, - October 17 - That doesn't prove anything.
I have business all over this region.
- Just because I might have passed through Poughkeepsie Oh, well, did you pass through Poughkeepsie on the day Anthony Gibson died? Because your phone pinged in Poughkeepsie that day, too.
Right off the tower by the tollbooths.
(GALLERY MURMURING) Could it be because you had something to do with Anthony Gibson's death? (MURMURING GROWS LOUDER) No.
Of course not.
Why would I want to kill my own witness? A guy who I wanted to testify for me.
Of course.
Makes no sense.
Here it comes.
You're a trained FBI agent.
It's a three-foot-by-three-foot box.
You could have hit him directly between the eyes if you wanted to.
Exactly.
Too bad the bullet ricocheted and you accidentally killed him.
(GALLERY MURMURING) Nice.
Smooth.
Poor guy.
Doesn't even know what hit him.
I get the feeling this Walter fellow has done this before.
Walter, at the risk of sounding like a sycophant, it was an honor to watch you work.
- Tell me more.
- (CHUCKLES) BENNY: Well, this will be forever in my memory banks, Mr.
Franklin.
Well, in all seriousness, I've had my good moments and my bad moments.
I think we all know I think it's (SIGHS): time for me to hang it up.
But I want to thank you both for keeping me from embarrassing myself on the way out.
Thanks for letting us be a part of it.
It's pretty great.
And now let's go be professionals and congratulate our clients.
WALTER: Mrs.
Gibson.
Ms.
Gibson.
It's been a pleasure to represent you.
Hey, anybody hungry? I know a pizza place over on Spring Street, knock your socks off.