Law & Order (1990) s05e03 Episode Script
Blue Bamboo
NARRATOR: In the criminal justice system the people are represented by two separate yet equally important groups, the police who investigate crime and the district attorneys who prosecute the offenders.
These are their stories.
RON: But I have a guaranteed reservation for a suite.
I'm sorry, sir, but as of midnight the computers moved your suite into the pool of assignable rooms.
Ron I called from the plane.
I talked to someone.
IRENE: Ron, please, this isn't helping anything.
Look, what do we need, a note from the pilot saying why we didn't make it? IRENE: This isn't helping anything.
RON: Don't you start on me, too.
Just let me deal with this gentleman.
Excuse me, sir, can I help you? (IRENE GASPING) I thought he was drunk.
We get all kinds wandering in here at this hour of the morning.
Maybe this one wandered in from your bar.
No, the bar is over there.
He was coming from upstairs.
Detective, how much longer is this going to take? Our guests are quite sensitive to this kind of thing.
Yeah, especially this guest.
In his pocket.
No ID, no wallet.
Any way to find out what room this belongs to.
No, they're untraceable.
A security precaution.
I'm sure he appreciated it.
Hey, next time there's a heart attack at 3:00 in the morning, why don't you call it into the 2-0? I didn't know what we got here.
Before he keeled over, did you notice if he was holding his left arm? No, he just looked drunk.
BRISCOE: Was he slurring his words? JENSEN: No, he was trying to speak.
Could be a stroke.
Yeah.
How about a stroke of lead? Look at that.
Jeez.
Blink once and you'd miss it.
Must be a small caliber.
There's no exit wound.
Could be a .
22.
That'll do it.
Ping-pongs off his vitals, all the bleeding's internal.
Great.
I liked him better when he had a heart attack.
(SPEAKING JAPANESE) Just making sure that everything's okay here.
Okay.
524's next.
You know, there's gotta be an easier way than this.
Go ahead, open it.
My, my, what a mess.
Okay, what do you got? Shiunro Hayashi.
Room's charged to a corporate credit card from a Ingoyo Leisure Company.
Tokyo address.
Phone cord's pulled out of the wall.
Look what's sitting right in front of me.
A wallet.
Okay.
Picture ID, and it's him.
Credit cards, receipt from a traveler's check, and there's no cash.
And we have a shell casing.
.
22.
Is this starting to remind you of something? Couple of weeks ago a German tourist got a surprise visit, right? That was one of the Barrington hotels.
Midtown and definitely mid-range.
The rumor about that is that it was an inside job.
We're going to need a list of all your employees.
And we're gonna want to talk to everybody who's staying on this floor.
I'm sure the Barrington wasn't put through this sort of inconvenience.
Nobody left the Barrington in a bag.
I've got calls from the Asahi Shimbun, the Nippon Weekly, the Japan Times, and that's not counting the Japanese consulate climbing all over us.
Yeah, great.
They can help us sort through the 85 sets of fingerprints.
Okay, there's no calls from his room after 5:00.
No one on the floor saw anything go in or out of his room and no one heard anything.
And no forced entry.
At the Barrington, didn't the robber talk his way in? Yeah, he identified himself as hotel maintenance.
German tourist lets him in, gets pistol-whipped.
Hayashi has no bruises, but he gets a slug through the armpit.
Maybe that's what it took.
Seems this guy was carrying a wad.
According to the travelers' check company, Hayashi cashed 10 grand yesterday at the front desk.
That's a lot of walking around money.
I bet someone at the front desk thought so, too.
TEAGLE: You'd be amazed how many guests come back an hour later claiming we shorted them.
This put an end to that.
Hayashi, 10:08.
$10,000 and your signature.
Anybody else who might know how much Hayashi was carrying? Anyone in tipping range.
He was unusually generous.
You've got other receipts here with someone else's signature.
Danny Zabel.
I was training him.
I had to make him forget everything he learned at the Barrington.
LOGAN: According to the manager, you were with him when he helped the victim cash some travelers' checks? He was Japanese.
Hayashi? I guess.
I don't really remember.
You were working at the Barrington, midtown, when a similar robbery happened, right? Look, at the Barrington the police talked to everybody, all right? I wasn't even in town when that happened.
So it's for no particular reason that you're not there anymore? I was laid off.
It happens.
They told us you quit a week after the robbery.
Let me tell you something, Danny.
Robberies happen all the time.
Now, maybe the detectives down at the Barrington let things slide, but we don't.
We want the shooter, big guy.
I don't know, I Good, we'll take you.
You're just as good for it.
Hold on.
All right, all right.
You were saying? The stupid idiot.
He wasn't supposed to kill anybody.
Who? Charlie Kett.
He's my brother-in-law.
He got out of prison six months ago.
He says I gotta help him or he takes it out on my sister.
Hey, hey, Mikey, heard you got one handed to you, huh? Yeah.
For once, we did something right.
It should be big news in Tokyo.
A slightly late Detective Logan.
Mr.
Nakahara from the Japanese consulate.
He's here for Mr.
Hayashi's remains.
How are you? Lieutenant Van Buren tells me you are making progress.
I have great respect for the New York police.
I am sure you will solve this terrible crime.
So are we.
In Japan, murders are so unusual, each one can receive the full attention of the police.
Mr.
Nakahara, we may be overworked and understaffed, but we sure do like to catch murderers, no matter who they kill.
Yes.
Let me know when we can take possession of the remains.
Of course.
Thank you.
Nice gull Probably thinks you have to be born eating sushi to get the job done.
Maybe a little brain food wouldn't hurt.
We located Charles Kett.
He's been in Rikers since yesterday afternoon.
Picked up on a DWI, with outstanding warrants.
So if Kett was locked up, that leaves us with Zabel.
I don't quite picture Mighty Mouse robbing Hayashi by himself.
We'll hold him as Kett's accomplice on the Barrington job.
Maybe the shooter's someone Hayashi brought back to the hotel.
Walk in his shoes.
See who turns up.
What's the deal, Mike? Your favorite uncle died at Pearl Harbor? It's their attitude.
They think they're better than everybody else.
Masters of the universe.
Doesn't that bother you? No, what bothers me is some kid heisting my car for a living because nobody taught him how to read.
Lighter than air.
Jacket alone must be worth two grand.
You believe this is what he wears to go hit some balls? Golf Land.
Indoor driving range.
West 34th.
that's the day he got shot.
Well, look around.
Someone of the Japanese persuasion would hardly stand out.
Well, what if I told you that Mr.
Hayashi is a very big tipper? Would that jog your memory? Yeah, I remember him now.
Actually, I remember his friend.
A woman? No, a black guy.
You don't often see a twosome like that.
He gave me his card.
I think I still have his number around here somewhere.
I booked some piano players for his clubs in Tokyo.
I don't know if it's because they saw Casablanca too many times, but a cat who can hum As Time Goes By can make a very decent living over there.
So you talked about lounge acts? He was also interested in singers, of the white female variety.
After golf what else was on the menu? He invited me along for some socializing.
The man has had a lot of energy.
I, on the other hand, have a wife.
My condolences.
Any idea where Hayashi was heading? Club in midtown.
The East-West.
Said I wouldn't be disappointed.
KENDRICK: The Japanese are about the last people in America who still eat steak.
Yeah, and about the only people who pay $75 for prime rib.
They pay twice that much in Tokyo.
Anyway, it's all on their expense account.
This is where they do business.
They relax, close a couple of deals, and the wives stay at home.
So was Hayashi closing any deals the other night? It was a social call.
I met him in Tokyo about three years ago.
That's where I got the idea.
I saw how he ran his club, and I figured with all the Japanese over here, they need a place where they feel at home.
At home? Look at this.
You got American songs, girls, food.
What's home about that? People think they want to bring America to its knees, uh-uh? They wanna be America.
They prefer their scotch mellow, and their women blonde.
How about Hayashi? Did he leave alone? Are you kidding? A guy like him? He was with one of the waitresses, Suzy.
I think they might've left together.
I saw her in the back.
She's cashing out.
Sure, I was with him.
That makes me guilty of bad taste, not murder.
The United Nations thing didn't work out? We understood each other perfectly.
He wanted to take, I didn't wanna give.
Some things I don't do on the first date.
Unless you're getting paid for it.
I just called up her yellows.
Felony larceny, solicitation, and a little incident of you discharging a weapon.
.
22, surprise, surprise.
Some guy was starting with me.
I told him the next shot would have him singing with the Vienna Boys Choir.
Right.
Now you got Hayashi singing with a different choir.
I told you, all we did was kiss.
Then I asked for money up front.
He said he never had to pay for it.
Like just because they own Rockefeller Center I'm supposed to go to bed with him? And meanwhile, the better part of 10 grand is falling out of his wallet.
I'm calling my lawyer.
Good.
Tell him to meet you at the station house.
Don't worry.
They got nothing.
They got a lot of nothing.
Three hours of dancing around with her, and I got nothing.
You tell her she matched up on fingerprints? She doesn't deny being in the room.
Forensics just called.
Suzy left a little something behind with Hayashi.
Her big mistake was not taking his watch.
Female pubic hair caught in the band.
I thought they got caught on soda cans.
You said she was a brunette? Yeah.
Brunettes try to look like blondes, not vice versa.
You got the wrong girl.
Wait a minute, are you saying the hair's from a blonde? Yeah, natural blonde.
Sorry.
I'm surprised a guy this busy didn't die of a heart attack.
Must be all the fish they eat.
Last night I caught Mike in the parking lot smashing up a Toyota.
Our problem is who left their mark on Hayashi's watch.
After Suzy's out the door, where did Hayashi find a blonde on short notice? Well, he's not gonna call a hooker if he doesn't want to pay for it.
If I wanted a date on the double, I'd head straight for the hotel bar.
Well, it was pretty busy.
It was the last night of a dentists' convention.
Somebody should give them Novocain.
But is that a yes or a no on Mr.
Hayashi? Yeah, he was here around closing.
Alone, or was he with somebody? More like glued to.
A blonde.
They kind of stuck out in a room full of guys discussing drill bits.
So did you get a look at her? He ordered drinks before she got here, then they did a little dry hump on the couch, just enough to make me puke, and they're off to the elevators.
This blonde, you ever see her before? Maybe she was a guest here? No, I never seen her before or since.
But with her level of enthusiasm, something tells me she works off a beeper.
Half hour before she gets here, he tips me a 10 to get change for the pay phone.
Hey, 12, including the john.
It'll take a couple of days to pull IUDs from that many phones.
The booking agent said Hayashi was in town auditioning singers.
Of the female variety.
I put an ad in the trades, and the headshots came pouring in.
LOGAN: Look at this.
Blonde, blonde.
Blonde.
Hayashi had specific requirements.
I made the phone calls, set up all the auditions.
And then what? Hayashi met all the hopefuls? The auditions were held in his hotel room during regular business hours.
What about after business hours? I wouldn't know.
Hayashi was on his own.
Are these all the girls Hayashi saw? Mostly, yeah.
I kept a list.
All the future Madonnas in the five boroughs.
Enjoy.
Our turn to hold auditions.
He saw me personally.
It wasn't as much fun as having my tonsils out.
Really? We heard he was a real charmer.
Well, he was busy charming someone else.
Cell phone glued to his ear, I'm belting out Whitney Houston's greatest hits.
Turns out he's ordering lunch.
And that was it? My mother's just as happy.
She says I need Tokyo like I need another kid.
I wish I could help.
I never even spoke to him.
You are on the audition list.
You see here, it says Kristi Jakes.
I'm on a lot of lists.
I get plenty of work right here singing jingles.
Savmor Car Rentals? You're kidding.
"Savmor, drive more.
" That's you? Pay's good, I wear what I like, I don't have to worry about men like Hayashi.
Who you never met.
I said like him.
I know the type.
"You have a nice voice.
" "What else can you do?" Why did you audition for it, anyway? Well, I heard the pay's good over there.
Then I got on the list, and then I heard it was at his hotel.
No, thanks.
I didn't show.
I didn't even know he was dead until my agent called me this morning.
The other singers weren't so upset about it.
He wanted me in his clubs.
That means I'm good.
"Good" meaning you can sing? Right.
My bags were packed.
What, you think I want to do temp work the rest of my life? I can only type Can I get going? IUDs from the lobby phones came in.
Here, I got you a tuna on white.
They were all out of blowfish.
Arigato, baby.
Got the audition list? Mmm-hmm.
Okay, I got Tiffany Bouchet.
I don't see her.
Angel Monroe.
Heather Wayne.
Kristi Jakes.
Tori Bishop.
No, no, no.
How about Keli Konnors? K-E-I-I, Konnors with a What? Let me see that.
I dated a Keli Konnors with two "K's" once.
Her real name was Joan Kozlasky.
Listen to this.
Tara Harmony.
Lisa Larue.
Doesn't that sound bogus to you? Stage names.
I doubt that's what NYNEX puts on their phone bills.
Okay, what've we got? Shannon Gilbert's real name is Paulette McDougal.
What's wrong with that? Sounds like somebody your mother would make you take to the senior prom.
Next? Local 802 just faxed this in.
More lady singers.
You find anyone that can handle opera, let me know.
Dig this.
Toni with an "I" Curtis is Bernice Schwartz.
Cute.
I would've remembered that.
Kristi Jakes, Martha Bowen.
That's the "Savmor, drive more" lady.
Martha Bowen got a phone call from the hotel at 1:10 a.
m.
It doesn't mean the call was from Hayashi.
We checked the IUDs from her apartment.
Three calls to his hotel the day of the murder.
You're getting warmer.
What else? Warmer? How about broiled? A couple of months ago, Martha Bowen got a home use permit for a GAR .
22 automatic.
Which is probably at the bottom of the East River by now.
Look, put her in a line-up.
See what the waitress says.
If she can't make a positive ID, we've tainted her as a witness.
We have the pubic hair.
If it matches with Martha We'd have enough to arrest.
Okay, I'll see Judge Rivera about a search order.
All right, let's make this fast, Counselors.
I'm on a 10-minute recess here.
Invasion of privacy, Your Honor.
Plucking my client's pubic hair.
I've got it.
Miss Kincaid? Same standards apply as for the taking of any other evidence.
A suspect can be compelled to provide a blood sample.
If there's probable cause.
There's no evidence my client was anywhere near Mr.
Hayashi.
CLAIRE: She called his hotel.
A woman of her description was seen with the victim.
Your Honor, if they have an eyewitness, why aren't we talking about that instead of a hair sample? Good point.
I see sufficient cause for both.
And since it's your idea, Mr.
Hellman, it's your call.
Door number one or door number two? That's a loaded question, Your Honor.
You see, I haven't really I Not to worry, Counselor.
I've got your answer for you.
This is your lucky day.
You get to win both prizes.
I think number two.
She was turned away from me most of the time, but I'm pretty sure it's her.
Pretty sure is not good enough.
I'll take my client home now.
The forensics came in.
Not so fast, Mr.
Hellman.
The hairs match.
We've got her.
Okay, everybody who's innocent can leave the room.
Not you, sweetheart.
Martha Bowen, you're under arrest for the murder of Shiunro Hayashi.
You have the right to remain silent.
Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.
I read the indictment backwards and forwards.
I see "ifs" and "maybes" but no evidence my client did anything wrong, unless you count being groped in a bar as a felony.
There's still the matter of a missing .
22 caliber pistol.
Which my client says was stolen from her purse two months ago.
And only now it occurs to her to report the theft.
Look, she lied to the police about meeting Hayashi.
What do you expect a jury to conclude? Conclude beyond a reasonable doubt? You really want to find out, Jack? I wouldn't pass up the chance.
HELLMAN: Let's talk hypotheticals.
A young singer gets called for an audition JACK: And she brings her gun.
What's her audition piece, We live in dangerous times.
Can I go on? She makes nice with her future boss.
Soon as she's in his room, it's the casting couch gone bad.
He tries to rape her, she shoots in self-defense.
Then rips the phone out, and steals his money.
The phone's ripped out in the struggle.
And who's to say there was any money? Nice try.
Your client entices a man up to his room with the purpose of robbing him.
She pumps a bullet into him and leaves him for dead.
That's murder two.
Really? Is that the way it'll play to 12 red-blooded citizens, who can't tell sushi from sukiyaki? Anything to support their claim? If there'd been a struggle, you'd expect to see marks on Hayashi's body.
And at least there'd be Bowen's prints all over the room.
And the money? Hasn't been recovered.
She managed to post bail.
With help from a Sandra Krane, her agent.
Martha Bowen gets on the stand, says scout's honor.
And we hope the jury doesn't notice the victim is a foreign national with an overactive libido.
Talk to her agent.
Maybe this isn't the first time she's had problems with an audition.
See, last month Martha averaged three sessions a week at $600 per, plus royalties Well, darling, you do the math.
Very lucky I found her this niche.
Talent doesn't count? Talent? Talent doesn't count if you can't handle a crowd.
See, Martha had stage fright.
She was seeing a therapist.
So she auditions to sing in a night club in Tokyo? Well, maybe it's different if the room doesn't speak the same language.
Why didn't you ask her that before you set up the audition? Well, I didn't ask her because she made the appointment herself.
See, American faces go at a very high premium in Japan.
A singer like Martha can make about $5,000 a week.
If I'd known she wanted to go back there, I would've booked her through my own contacts.
She's been there before? The Japanese consulate issued a work visa to Martha Bowen two years ago to work in one of Hayashi's clubs.
At the time, she was using the stage name Nicolette Laine.
Hayashi co-signed her visa application.
What does her lawyer have to say about this? Well, he claims he didn't know.
Sure, he didn't know.
Well, maybe he's just an idiot.
Is there anybody who would know what she was doing in Japan? There's no boyfriend, no one she talked to about it.
I called her father in Duluth, he hasn't returned my calls.
Get back in touch with the Japanese consulate.
Maybe we can find another singer who worked with her in Tokyo.
DIANE: I spent a year there.
It was a hoot.
People were real generous.
I came back with two suitcases full of Chanel bags and Ferragamo shoes.
Most singers get flowers after a show.
Well, I told my mother I was singing.
Are you saying you became a prostitute? Look, in Japan things don't work out the same as here.
They've got customs.
You go with the flow.
And Martha didn't? One night, I heard she took a swing at somebody.
They had to call the cops.
Even the embassy got into it.
I was on the telephone to our Tokyo embassy until 4:00 this morning.
I hope we found what you wanted.
A year ago last April, Miss Bowen was arrested for assaulting a customer at a club where she was employed.
Apparently she'd been drinking.
Maybe she felt that being fondled wasn't included in the cover charge.
According to her written statement, her real beef was with her employer.
Shiunro Hayashi? She was interrogated by the Tokyo police in the presence of an embassy officer.
She claimed that Mr.
Hayashi owed her a few thousand dollars in back pay.
She also claimed that he was holding her passport to keep her from leaving the country.
Now, we sent a letter to Mr.
Hayashi explaining that the passport was the property of the U.
S.
government, and that it should be returned.
And like a good boy, he did? Apparently so.
The embassy never heard back from Miss Bowen.
The Tokyo police dropped the drunk and disorderly charges against her, apparently at Hayashi's insistence.
A couple of months later, she left Japan on a medical emergency.
So Bowen waits until Hayashi's on her home turf to settle up with him.
He probably thought she just wanted to kiss and make up.
CLERK: Miss Kincaid.
It's from Bowen's attorney.
He's moving to suppress the embassy report.
HELLMAN: Simply put, Your Honor, my client wasn't Mirandized when she was arrested in Tokyo.
Ergo, her statements and any report based on those statements are inadmissible.
As far as I know, Your Honor, Japan is still a sovereign nation.
Our constitutional protections don't apply there.
They do, if there's any governmental involvement.
An officer from the U.
S.
embassy was present during my client's interrogation.
She was under the impression that the officer was there as her legal counsel.
What she thought is beside the point.
She was under the authority of the Tokyo police.
If you play stickball in Canarsie, you better learn Brooklyn rules.
Point well taken, Mr.
McCoy.
HELLMAN: This is unbelievable, Your Honor.
Illegal aliens swarm into our country by the thousands and are immediately granted constitutional protection.
But the minute I set foot across the border, you're saying my own government won't protect my interests? Come on, Mr.
Hellman, you're arguing a motion here, not running for Congress, and that motion is denied.
The statements and the report are admissible.
What next, Jack? Drag a suspect across the nearest border, beat a confession out of him, then use it in court? Works for me.
"Right next to Rockefeller Center," "Pebble Beach and the Seattle Mariners," "add to the Japanese trophy case the U.
S.
Constitution.
" Yep, now they have us trampling on the rights of an American citizen to pacify the Japanese.
We should let the murderer go free so that a few bigots can stand a little taller at the Fourth of July picnic.
You don't have to be a bigot to see that we've been taken by our friends on the other side of the dateline.
Let's not confuse Martha Bowen with the auto industry.
(PHONE BUZZING) Yes.
Hellman's on his way up.
Martha Bowen's gonna get on the stand, and she's going to cry rape, or some other nonsense about the big, bad Japanese, and you're lucky if you get a hung jury.
(KNOCKING ON DOOR) Jack.
I think you know Mildred Kaskel.
She'll be taking over as chief counsel.
I filed a notice of substitution on the way over.
I know your work, Miss Kaskel.
So what's it gonna be, the feminist version of "the Devil made me do it?" The Devil here is your so-called victim.
He viciously abused my client while she was in Japan.
I plan to introduce evidence she was suffering from Battered Woman Syndrome when she shot him.
Come again? She shot him over a contract dispute.
MILDRED: No.
What happened to her in Japan had nothing to do with singing.
It was gonna be the biggest break I ever got.
Mr.
Hayashi said important people came to his club.
My first week, it was like a party every night.
All these men throwing money around.
$100 for a Scotch.
Mr.
Hayashi told me to just be nice to them.
No one cared I was a singer.
I wanted to go home.
Mr.
Hayashi said lowed him all this money.
I didn't know what to do.
He had my passport.
I was alone.
He said I could pay him back by being more friendly.
By sleeping with his customers.
I said no.
He got furious.
He beat me.
He said if I disappeared, no one would know.
No one would care.
I didn't want to die.
Every day she's been back, Martha's been living in fear for her life.
When she found out Mr.
Hayashi was in town, she believed he came here looking for her.
She killed him believing she was acting in self-defense.
Martha Bowen claims she killed Hayashi because she feared for her life.
It sounds irrational, unless you believe the Battered Woman Syndrome applies here.
It's bull.
It's revenge dressed up in smoke and mirrors.
Tall, blonde Miss Bowen killed a short, dark Japanese man who was running a white slavery operation.
This is not a Saturday morning cartoon.
Yeah.
Kaskel times her summation to fall on Pearl Harbor Day, so the jury can pin a medal on her client.
She saw his ad, she called him up, she seduced him, and she shot him behind closed doors.
She set him up.
Kaskel can use the Syndrome to justify every one of those acts.
This defense, like my grandmother's nightgown, covers everything.
Just keep the jury focused on the fact that this woman killed this man and walked off with the money.
The Battered Woman Syndrome almost exclusively applies to abused wives or girlfriends.
Almost.
Any woman in any abusive relationship can display characteristics of this syndrome.
It's never been applied in a case where the abuser was killed a year after the relationship and the abuse ended.
Let's ask some Vietnam vets about the expiration date on stress disorders.
This theory is not generally accepted by the scientific community.
Until it is, it's not a proper subject for expert testimony.
My client has the right to present evidence to explain her conduct.
She reasonably and honestly believed her life was in danger.
Mr.
McCoy doesn't want the jury to hear why.
No, I don't want them confusing Miss Bowen with the actual women this syndrome was meant to describe.
They can decide that for themselves.
Frankly, her actions seem so far beyond understanding that I'd like to hear her explanations myself.
Then I'd like our psychiatrist to hear them, too.
I want Miss Bowen to submit to an examination.
MILDRED: No problem.
But I would like the record to show we're not required to submit.
We're pleading justification.
My client's reasonable beliefs are at issue, not her state of mind.
So noted.
And I'll see you all in court.
MARTHA: He'd never hit me on the face.
He'd twist my arm.
He'd punch me in the side.
At first, it was because I wouldn't sleep with those men.
But then, even after If I didn't smile enough or if a customer complained.
The smallest thing I did wrong, I'd catch hell.
Have you had any problems since you've been back here? I can't sleep.
My doctor gave me pills.
It's stupid.
I'm afraid if I go to sleep, I'm gonna wake up back there.
Well, how do you deal with that fear? I bought a gun.
Men are always looking at me.
It's disgusting.
Do you mean all men, or just Japanese men? Well, the Japanese are the worst.
I mean, all they're interested in is themselves.
You're there only for them, and they have a way of looking at you.
Like, I could never get a read on them.
I just I felt dirty and cheap.
Do you have the same feelings in your personal relationships? What, you mean boyfriends? I don't have one.
I mean, I can't.
You don't want to? I can't have sex.
It's a medical thing.
It hurts too much.
I got an infection.
She's been diagnosed with chronic pelvic inflammatory disease.
She has permanent tubal lesions, and she's sterile.
I caught something from one of those men in Japan.
It's why Mr.
Hayashi let me leave MARTHA: 'cause I was no good to him anymore.
She still calls him Mr.
Hayashi.
She feels her life depended on her ability to placate him.
It's the heart of the syndrome.
It doesn't bother you that she never mentioned abuse, or the word "prostitute" to the United States embassy? You want the statistics on unreported spousal abuse? However Martha Bowen came about it, she walks and talks like a battered woman.
She's a textbook case.
A battered wife kills her husband.
I abhor it, but I can sympathize.
But from the moment that she set foot in this country, Martha Bowen was free and clear of Hayashi.
You have no idea what it's like to be victimized by a powerful man.
So you want to create a new category of self-defense just for women? You might as well say we're by nature incapable of controlling our emotions.
I doubt that's what Gloria Steinem had in mind.
That is not what I'm saying.
But, Jack, if you put me on the stand, I have to stick to my diagnosis.
Fine.
You're not testifying.
I wanted her mental condition, not your emotional reaction.
If you think vengeance belongs in the penal code, then you don't belong on my witness list.
What do you want to do? Maybe it is a textbook case.
Let's have the police take a look at Bowen's apartment.
See what she keeps on her bookshelf.
Enough Is Enough: Battered Women Fight Back.
Defending Her Life: A Battered Woman Tells Her Story.
Kill Or Be Killed: Self-Defense And The Battered Wife Syndrome.
All with highlighted passages.
You know, 15 years ago, a serial killer named Kenneth Bianchi almost convinced a team of doctors that he had multiple personalities.
You think Martha's a better actor? She's done the homework.
He kept one hand free for his drink, and the other hand was in her lap or on her chest.
And how was the defendant behaving? She had her arm around him and she was smiling.
Did she do anything to make you think she wasn't enjoying herself? No.
It looked to me like the current was running both ways, and when they left they were arm in arm.
Thank you.
You said you were working a full bar that night? So how could you possibly be aware of everything that transpired between Mr.
Hayashi and his companion? I didn't say I was.
And when you picked my client out of a lineup, you said you were pretty sure she was the woman at the bar? Yeah.
So now when you say there was current running both ways, are you dead certain or are you just pretty sure? I don't know.
I'm just telling you how it looked.
Thank you.
During the last 15 years, I've investigated 48 cases where a battered woman has killed her abuser.
Nine times out of 10, when we get to the scene, the woman's waiting for us.
And the other 10%? The woman runs to a family member, or we find her wandering in the neighborhood.
In any of these cases, did the women try to cover up their crime? No.
These women are not acting rationally.
They're in a state of shock.
So, no pulling out the phone cord, no effort to make it look like a robbery? No, nothing like that.
Thank you.
Detective, you said that these women were acting irrationally.
In other words, their behavior was unpredictable? In general, you know what to expect.
So you could have predicted that an abused woman named Lorena Bobbitt would be found driving down the highway with her husband's penis in her hand? No, I guess I missed that one.
Thank you.
The women I studied had to live with the fear that they might be killed or take drastic action to save themselves.
You spent a year at Tokyo University.
What was the nature of your work? I studied the exploitation of women in Japan.
It's a perfect model of a male-dominated society Objection.
This is all irrelevant.
My client was trapped in a culture where wives still walk behind their husbands.
Now that's relevant to understanding her feelings of helplessness.
This witness is qualified as an expert on the abuse of women, not on Japan bashing.
I'm going to allow some latitude here, Mr.
McCoy.
The witness may finish with her answer.
Japan is a perfect model of a male-dominated society that has a poor record of respecting the rights of women.
So how would you characterize the attitude of the typical Japanese male toward Western women? They're a status symbol for Japanese men.
How's that? In the past, they felt intimidated by Western women.
That these women now serve Japanese men is a sign to them of Japan's rise in the world.
Thank you.
Let's get back to your stated area of expertise.
Does every abused woman develop Battered Woman Syndrome? They all show signs of it.
Does that mean that every abused woman eventually kills her abuser? No, there is no hard and fast rule.
There's no cause and effect? First you look at the behavior, and then you see if it fits the pattern.
So first you have the crime, and then you look for the excuse? Objection.
Withdrawn.
Everything cuts both ways.
What we call premeditation, they call a syndrome.
I can't believe anybody on that jury's gonna buy it.
It's all gonna boil down to race.
Abuse is just something for the jury to hang their hat on.
You wanna do the cross on Bowen tomorrow? Because of my skills or my gender? Both.
Claire, I want to win.
So do you.
MARTHA: He was always on me.
He said my chest was too small.
He said I smelled.
All Americans smell bad.
I could never do anything right.
I started believing that all I was good for was being a whore.
And after you came home, what happened? Every day I was afraid he was going to show up.
It's why I changed my stage name.
I knew he had the money to find me.
But why would he, when he sent you home? Maybe deep down I thought it was crazy, but I felt trapped, like I couldn't run anymore.
I had to do something to stop him.
What did you do? I met with him, just to tell him how I felt.
In the bar, when he started touching me, I was afraid to say anything.
He wanted to go back to his room.
I don't know why I said yes.
We got there, and just the way he looked at me, like I was nothing I was afraid of what he was gonna do.
The gun was in my hand.
I don't know what I did next.
It's just a blur.
Thank you.
Miss Bowen, during your examination by Dr.
Olivet, you stated, quote, "The smallest thing I did wrong, I'd catch hell.
" Do you remember that statement? Yes.
Miss Bowen, do you recognize these books? Yes.
I'm referring to People's These books were found in your apartment.
This one's titled Defending Her Life: A Battered Woman Tells Her Story.
Please read this passage, the one with the orange highlight.
"I couldn't do anything right.
" "Every little thing I did wrong, he'd punch me.
" Now, please read this passage from Enough Is Enough: Battered Women Fight Back.
"I stood over him while he slept.
" "I wanted to make him feel the way I felt when he beat me.
" "The gun was in my hand.
" Please continue reading.
"I was nothing to him.
" "I had to do something to stop the pain.
" Miss Bowen? You don't understand.
Just look what he did to me.
Look.
What else was I gonna do? "The jury is instructed that it may consider this evidence" "only as it relates to consciousness of guilt.
" Are we agreed on the language? Fine with me.
No problem here.
Good.
Next point, "The jury may not consider the victim's background or origins" "in making its determination.
" That's not sufficient, Your Honor.
This case demands a much stronger statement.
It's funny how we completely disagree.
I want the jury to consider all the factors that effect my client's reasonable belief that her life was in danger.
You'd also like to pack the jury with the widows of World War ll veterans.
That's the sum total of her case, Your Honor.
If this victim were white, Miss Bowen would have taken a plea months ago.
Now, let's stay focused, Mr.
McCoy.
With all due respect, Your Honor, you know what people can feel about certain minorities in this city.
Racism poisons practically every trial we see here.
Mr.
McCoy is talking in generalities.
And the defense would like to turn the jury into a panel of racists.
The court must take a stand.
All right, let me see what you have.
And lastly, I will instruct you as follows.
You may not consider Mr.
Hayashi's race or country of origin or prior acts when making your decision.
I instruct you this as a matter of law.
Your duty is to pass judgment on Martha Bowen, not on the victim.
And your personal feelings about the Japanese people, their culture, or their government has no place in a jury room.
You swore an oath to put aside such considerations.
I instruct you now to live up to that oath, and I thank you.
Madam Foreman, has the jury reached a verdict? Yes, Your Honor, we have.
On the sole count of the indictment, murder in the Second Degree, how do you find? We find the defendant not guilty.
The jury is dismissed.
Court is adjourned.
Mr.
Nakahara, I'm sorry.
I was in the Midwest last year for the opening of an auto plant.
When I left, someone threw paint on my car.
It was disturbing, but expected.
My guess, tomorrow the papers will call this a victory for women's rights.
Yeah.
And a giant leap for ignorance.
These are their stories.
RON: But I have a guaranteed reservation for a suite.
I'm sorry, sir, but as of midnight the computers moved your suite into the pool of assignable rooms.
Ron I called from the plane.
I talked to someone.
IRENE: Ron, please, this isn't helping anything.
Look, what do we need, a note from the pilot saying why we didn't make it? IRENE: This isn't helping anything.
RON: Don't you start on me, too.
Just let me deal with this gentleman.
Excuse me, sir, can I help you? (IRENE GASPING) I thought he was drunk.
We get all kinds wandering in here at this hour of the morning.
Maybe this one wandered in from your bar.
No, the bar is over there.
He was coming from upstairs.
Detective, how much longer is this going to take? Our guests are quite sensitive to this kind of thing.
Yeah, especially this guest.
In his pocket.
No ID, no wallet.
Any way to find out what room this belongs to.
No, they're untraceable.
A security precaution.
I'm sure he appreciated it.
Hey, next time there's a heart attack at 3:00 in the morning, why don't you call it into the 2-0? I didn't know what we got here.
Before he keeled over, did you notice if he was holding his left arm? No, he just looked drunk.
BRISCOE: Was he slurring his words? JENSEN: No, he was trying to speak.
Could be a stroke.
Yeah.
How about a stroke of lead? Look at that.
Jeez.
Blink once and you'd miss it.
Must be a small caliber.
There's no exit wound.
Could be a .
22.
That'll do it.
Ping-pongs off his vitals, all the bleeding's internal.
Great.
I liked him better when he had a heart attack.
(SPEAKING JAPANESE) Just making sure that everything's okay here.
Okay.
524's next.
You know, there's gotta be an easier way than this.
Go ahead, open it.
My, my, what a mess.
Okay, what do you got? Shiunro Hayashi.
Room's charged to a corporate credit card from a Ingoyo Leisure Company.
Tokyo address.
Phone cord's pulled out of the wall.
Look what's sitting right in front of me.
A wallet.
Okay.
Picture ID, and it's him.
Credit cards, receipt from a traveler's check, and there's no cash.
And we have a shell casing.
.
22.
Is this starting to remind you of something? Couple of weeks ago a German tourist got a surprise visit, right? That was one of the Barrington hotels.
Midtown and definitely mid-range.
The rumor about that is that it was an inside job.
We're going to need a list of all your employees.
And we're gonna want to talk to everybody who's staying on this floor.
I'm sure the Barrington wasn't put through this sort of inconvenience.
Nobody left the Barrington in a bag.
I've got calls from the Asahi Shimbun, the Nippon Weekly, the Japan Times, and that's not counting the Japanese consulate climbing all over us.
Yeah, great.
They can help us sort through the 85 sets of fingerprints.
Okay, there's no calls from his room after 5:00.
No one on the floor saw anything go in or out of his room and no one heard anything.
And no forced entry.
At the Barrington, didn't the robber talk his way in? Yeah, he identified himself as hotel maintenance.
German tourist lets him in, gets pistol-whipped.
Hayashi has no bruises, but he gets a slug through the armpit.
Maybe that's what it took.
Seems this guy was carrying a wad.
According to the travelers' check company, Hayashi cashed 10 grand yesterday at the front desk.
That's a lot of walking around money.
I bet someone at the front desk thought so, too.
TEAGLE: You'd be amazed how many guests come back an hour later claiming we shorted them.
This put an end to that.
Hayashi, 10:08.
$10,000 and your signature.
Anybody else who might know how much Hayashi was carrying? Anyone in tipping range.
He was unusually generous.
You've got other receipts here with someone else's signature.
Danny Zabel.
I was training him.
I had to make him forget everything he learned at the Barrington.
LOGAN: According to the manager, you were with him when he helped the victim cash some travelers' checks? He was Japanese.
Hayashi? I guess.
I don't really remember.
You were working at the Barrington, midtown, when a similar robbery happened, right? Look, at the Barrington the police talked to everybody, all right? I wasn't even in town when that happened.
So it's for no particular reason that you're not there anymore? I was laid off.
It happens.
They told us you quit a week after the robbery.
Let me tell you something, Danny.
Robberies happen all the time.
Now, maybe the detectives down at the Barrington let things slide, but we don't.
We want the shooter, big guy.
I don't know, I Good, we'll take you.
You're just as good for it.
Hold on.
All right, all right.
You were saying? The stupid idiot.
He wasn't supposed to kill anybody.
Who? Charlie Kett.
He's my brother-in-law.
He got out of prison six months ago.
He says I gotta help him or he takes it out on my sister.
Hey, hey, Mikey, heard you got one handed to you, huh? Yeah.
For once, we did something right.
It should be big news in Tokyo.
A slightly late Detective Logan.
Mr.
Nakahara from the Japanese consulate.
He's here for Mr.
Hayashi's remains.
How are you? Lieutenant Van Buren tells me you are making progress.
I have great respect for the New York police.
I am sure you will solve this terrible crime.
So are we.
In Japan, murders are so unusual, each one can receive the full attention of the police.
Mr.
Nakahara, we may be overworked and understaffed, but we sure do like to catch murderers, no matter who they kill.
Yes.
Let me know when we can take possession of the remains.
Of course.
Thank you.
Nice gull Probably thinks you have to be born eating sushi to get the job done.
Maybe a little brain food wouldn't hurt.
We located Charles Kett.
He's been in Rikers since yesterday afternoon.
Picked up on a DWI, with outstanding warrants.
So if Kett was locked up, that leaves us with Zabel.
I don't quite picture Mighty Mouse robbing Hayashi by himself.
We'll hold him as Kett's accomplice on the Barrington job.
Maybe the shooter's someone Hayashi brought back to the hotel.
Walk in his shoes.
See who turns up.
What's the deal, Mike? Your favorite uncle died at Pearl Harbor? It's their attitude.
They think they're better than everybody else.
Masters of the universe.
Doesn't that bother you? No, what bothers me is some kid heisting my car for a living because nobody taught him how to read.
Lighter than air.
Jacket alone must be worth two grand.
You believe this is what he wears to go hit some balls? Golf Land.
Indoor driving range.
West 34th.
that's the day he got shot.
Well, look around.
Someone of the Japanese persuasion would hardly stand out.
Well, what if I told you that Mr.
Hayashi is a very big tipper? Would that jog your memory? Yeah, I remember him now.
Actually, I remember his friend.
A woman? No, a black guy.
You don't often see a twosome like that.
He gave me his card.
I think I still have his number around here somewhere.
I booked some piano players for his clubs in Tokyo.
I don't know if it's because they saw Casablanca too many times, but a cat who can hum As Time Goes By can make a very decent living over there.
So you talked about lounge acts? He was also interested in singers, of the white female variety.
After golf what else was on the menu? He invited me along for some socializing.
The man has had a lot of energy.
I, on the other hand, have a wife.
My condolences.
Any idea where Hayashi was heading? Club in midtown.
The East-West.
Said I wouldn't be disappointed.
KENDRICK: The Japanese are about the last people in America who still eat steak.
Yeah, and about the only people who pay $75 for prime rib.
They pay twice that much in Tokyo.
Anyway, it's all on their expense account.
This is where they do business.
They relax, close a couple of deals, and the wives stay at home.
So was Hayashi closing any deals the other night? It was a social call.
I met him in Tokyo about three years ago.
That's where I got the idea.
I saw how he ran his club, and I figured with all the Japanese over here, they need a place where they feel at home.
At home? Look at this.
You got American songs, girls, food.
What's home about that? People think they want to bring America to its knees, uh-uh? They wanna be America.
They prefer their scotch mellow, and their women blonde.
How about Hayashi? Did he leave alone? Are you kidding? A guy like him? He was with one of the waitresses, Suzy.
I think they might've left together.
I saw her in the back.
She's cashing out.
Sure, I was with him.
That makes me guilty of bad taste, not murder.
The United Nations thing didn't work out? We understood each other perfectly.
He wanted to take, I didn't wanna give.
Some things I don't do on the first date.
Unless you're getting paid for it.
I just called up her yellows.
Felony larceny, solicitation, and a little incident of you discharging a weapon.
.
22, surprise, surprise.
Some guy was starting with me.
I told him the next shot would have him singing with the Vienna Boys Choir.
Right.
Now you got Hayashi singing with a different choir.
I told you, all we did was kiss.
Then I asked for money up front.
He said he never had to pay for it.
Like just because they own Rockefeller Center I'm supposed to go to bed with him? And meanwhile, the better part of 10 grand is falling out of his wallet.
I'm calling my lawyer.
Good.
Tell him to meet you at the station house.
Don't worry.
They got nothing.
They got a lot of nothing.
Three hours of dancing around with her, and I got nothing.
You tell her she matched up on fingerprints? She doesn't deny being in the room.
Forensics just called.
Suzy left a little something behind with Hayashi.
Her big mistake was not taking his watch.
Female pubic hair caught in the band.
I thought they got caught on soda cans.
You said she was a brunette? Yeah.
Brunettes try to look like blondes, not vice versa.
You got the wrong girl.
Wait a minute, are you saying the hair's from a blonde? Yeah, natural blonde.
Sorry.
I'm surprised a guy this busy didn't die of a heart attack.
Must be all the fish they eat.
Last night I caught Mike in the parking lot smashing up a Toyota.
Our problem is who left their mark on Hayashi's watch.
After Suzy's out the door, where did Hayashi find a blonde on short notice? Well, he's not gonna call a hooker if he doesn't want to pay for it.
If I wanted a date on the double, I'd head straight for the hotel bar.
Well, it was pretty busy.
It was the last night of a dentists' convention.
Somebody should give them Novocain.
But is that a yes or a no on Mr.
Hayashi? Yeah, he was here around closing.
Alone, or was he with somebody? More like glued to.
A blonde.
They kind of stuck out in a room full of guys discussing drill bits.
So did you get a look at her? He ordered drinks before she got here, then they did a little dry hump on the couch, just enough to make me puke, and they're off to the elevators.
This blonde, you ever see her before? Maybe she was a guest here? No, I never seen her before or since.
But with her level of enthusiasm, something tells me she works off a beeper.
Half hour before she gets here, he tips me a 10 to get change for the pay phone.
Hey, 12, including the john.
It'll take a couple of days to pull IUDs from that many phones.
The booking agent said Hayashi was in town auditioning singers.
Of the female variety.
I put an ad in the trades, and the headshots came pouring in.
LOGAN: Look at this.
Blonde, blonde.
Blonde.
Hayashi had specific requirements.
I made the phone calls, set up all the auditions.
And then what? Hayashi met all the hopefuls? The auditions were held in his hotel room during regular business hours.
What about after business hours? I wouldn't know.
Hayashi was on his own.
Are these all the girls Hayashi saw? Mostly, yeah.
I kept a list.
All the future Madonnas in the five boroughs.
Enjoy.
Our turn to hold auditions.
He saw me personally.
It wasn't as much fun as having my tonsils out.
Really? We heard he was a real charmer.
Well, he was busy charming someone else.
Cell phone glued to his ear, I'm belting out Whitney Houston's greatest hits.
Turns out he's ordering lunch.
And that was it? My mother's just as happy.
She says I need Tokyo like I need another kid.
I wish I could help.
I never even spoke to him.
You are on the audition list.
You see here, it says Kristi Jakes.
I'm on a lot of lists.
I get plenty of work right here singing jingles.
Savmor Car Rentals? You're kidding.
"Savmor, drive more.
" That's you? Pay's good, I wear what I like, I don't have to worry about men like Hayashi.
Who you never met.
I said like him.
I know the type.
"You have a nice voice.
" "What else can you do?" Why did you audition for it, anyway? Well, I heard the pay's good over there.
Then I got on the list, and then I heard it was at his hotel.
No, thanks.
I didn't show.
I didn't even know he was dead until my agent called me this morning.
The other singers weren't so upset about it.
He wanted me in his clubs.
That means I'm good.
"Good" meaning you can sing? Right.
My bags were packed.
What, you think I want to do temp work the rest of my life? I can only type Can I get going? IUDs from the lobby phones came in.
Here, I got you a tuna on white.
They were all out of blowfish.
Arigato, baby.
Got the audition list? Mmm-hmm.
Okay, I got Tiffany Bouchet.
I don't see her.
Angel Monroe.
Heather Wayne.
Kristi Jakes.
Tori Bishop.
No, no, no.
How about Keli Konnors? K-E-I-I, Konnors with a What? Let me see that.
I dated a Keli Konnors with two "K's" once.
Her real name was Joan Kozlasky.
Listen to this.
Tara Harmony.
Lisa Larue.
Doesn't that sound bogus to you? Stage names.
I doubt that's what NYNEX puts on their phone bills.
Okay, what've we got? Shannon Gilbert's real name is Paulette McDougal.
What's wrong with that? Sounds like somebody your mother would make you take to the senior prom.
Next? Local 802 just faxed this in.
More lady singers.
You find anyone that can handle opera, let me know.
Dig this.
Toni with an "I" Curtis is Bernice Schwartz.
Cute.
I would've remembered that.
Kristi Jakes, Martha Bowen.
That's the "Savmor, drive more" lady.
Martha Bowen got a phone call from the hotel at 1:10 a.
m.
It doesn't mean the call was from Hayashi.
We checked the IUDs from her apartment.
Three calls to his hotel the day of the murder.
You're getting warmer.
What else? Warmer? How about broiled? A couple of months ago, Martha Bowen got a home use permit for a GAR .
22 automatic.
Which is probably at the bottom of the East River by now.
Look, put her in a line-up.
See what the waitress says.
If she can't make a positive ID, we've tainted her as a witness.
We have the pubic hair.
If it matches with Martha We'd have enough to arrest.
Okay, I'll see Judge Rivera about a search order.
All right, let's make this fast, Counselors.
I'm on a 10-minute recess here.
Invasion of privacy, Your Honor.
Plucking my client's pubic hair.
I've got it.
Miss Kincaid? Same standards apply as for the taking of any other evidence.
A suspect can be compelled to provide a blood sample.
If there's probable cause.
There's no evidence my client was anywhere near Mr.
Hayashi.
CLAIRE: She called his hotel.
A woman of her description was seen with the victim.
Your Honor, if they have an eyewitness, why aren't we talking about that instead of a hair sample? Good point.
I see sufficient cause for both.
And since it's your idea, Mr.
Hellman, it's your call.
Door number one or door number two? That's a loaded question, Your Honor.
You see, I haven't really I Not to worry, Counselor.
I've got your answer for you.
This is your lucky day.
You get to win both prizes.
I think number two.
She was turned away from me most of the time, but I'm pretty sure it's her.
Pretty sure is not good enough.
I'll take my client home now.
The forensics came in.
Not so fast, Mr.
Hellman.
The hairs match.
We've got her.
Okay, everybody who's innocent can leave the room.
Not you, sweetheart.
Martha Bowen, you're under arrest for the murder of Shiunro Hayashi.
You have the right to remain silent.
Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.
I read the indictment backwards and forwards.
I see "ifs" and "maybes" but no evidence my client did anything wrong, unless you count being groped in a bar as a felony.
There's still the matter of a missing .
22 caliber pistol.
Which my client says was stolen from her purse two months ago.
And only now it occurs to her to report the theft.
Look, she lied to the police about meeting Hayashi.
What do you expect a jury to conclude? Conclude beyond a reasonable doubt? You really want to find out, Jack? I wouldn't pass up the chance.
HELLMAN: Let's talk hypotheticals.
A young singer gets called for an audition JACK: And she brings her gun.
What's her audition piece, We live in dangerous times.
Can I go on? She makes nice with her future boss.
Soon as she's in his room, it's the casting couch gone bad.
He tries to rape her, she shoots in self-defense.
Then rips the phone out, and steals his money.
The phone's ripped out in the struggle.
And who's to say there was any money? Nice try.
Your client entices a man up to his room with the purpose of robbing him.
She pumps a bullet into him and leaves him for dead.
That's murder two.
Really? Is that the way it'll play to 12 red-blooded citizens, who can't tell sushi from sukiyaki? Anything to support their claim? If there'd been a struggle, you'd expect to see marks on Hayashi's body.
And at least there'd be Bowen's prints all over the room.
And the money? Hasn't been recovered.
She managed to post bail.
With help from a Sandra Krane, her agent.
Martha Bowen gets on the stand, says scout's honor.
And we hope the jury doesn't notice the victim is a foreign national with an overactive libido.
Talk to her agent.
Maybe this isn't the first time she's had problems with an audition.
See, last month Martha averaged three sessions a week at $600 per, plus royalties Well, darling, you do the math.
Very lucky I found her this niche.
Talent doesn't count? Talent? Talent doesn't count if you can't handle a crowd.
See, Martha had stage fright.
She was seeing a therapist.
So she auditions to sing in a night club in Tokyo? Well, maybe it's different if the room doesn't speak the same language.
Why didn't you ask her that before you set up the audition? Well, I didn't ask her because she made the appointment herself.
See, American faces go at a very high premium in Japan.
A singer like Martha can make about $5,000 a week.
If I'd known she wanted to go back there, I would've booked her through my own contacts.
She's been there before? The Japanese consulate issued a work visa to Martha Bowen two years ago to work in one of Hayashi's clubs.
At the time, she was using the stage name Nicolette Laine.
Hayashi co-signed her visa application.
What does her lawyer have to say about this? Well, he claims he didn't know.
Sure, he didn't know.
Well, maybe he's just an idiot.
Is there anybody who would know what she was doing in Japan? There's no boyfriend, no one she talked to about it.
I called her father in Duluth, he hasn't returned my calls.
Get back in touch with the Japanese consulate.
Maybe we can find another singer who worked with her in Tokyo.
DIANE: I spent a year there.
It was a hoot.
People were real generous.
I came back with two suitcases full of Chanel bags and Ferragamo shoes.
Most singers get flowers after a show.
Well, I told my mother I was singing.
Are you saying you became a prostitute? Look, in Japan things don't work out the same as here.
They've got customs.
You go with the flow.
And Martha didn't? One night, I heard she took a swing at somebody.
They had to call the cops.
Even the embassy got into it.
I was on the telephone to our Tokyo embassy until 4:00 this morning.
I hope we found what you wanted.
A year ago last April, Miss Bowen was arrested for assaulting a customer at a club where she was employed.
Apparently she'd been drinking.
Maybe she felt that being fondled wasn't included in the cover charge.
According to her written statement, her real beef was with her employer.
Shiunro Hayashi? She was interrogated by the Tokyo police in the presence of an embassy officer.
She claimed that Mr.
Hayashi owed her a few thousand dollars in back pay.
She also claimed that he was holding her passport to keep her from leaving the country.
Now, we sent a letter to Mr.
Hayashi explaining that the passport was the property of the U.
S.
government, and that it should be returned.
And like a good boy, he did? Apparently so.
The embassy never heard back from Miss Bowen.
The Tokyo police dropped the drunk and disorderly charges against her, apparently at Hayashi's insistence.
A couple of months later, she left Japan on a medical emergency.
So Bowen waits until Hayashi's on her home turf to settle up with him.
He probably thought she just wanted to kiss and make up.
CLERK: Miss Kincaid.
It's from Bowen's attorney.
He's moving to suppress the embassy report.
HELLMAN: Simply put, Your Honor, my client wasn't Mirandized when she was arrested in Tokyo.
Ergo, her statements and any report based on those statements are inadmissible.
As far as I know, Your Honor, Japan is still a sovereign nation.
Our constitutional protections don't apply there.
They do, if there's any governmental involvement.
An officer from the U.
S.
embassy was present during my client's interrogation.
She was under the impression that the officer was there as her legal counsel.
What she thought is beside the point.
She was under the authority of the Tokyo police.
If you play stickball in Canarsie, you better learn Brooklyn rules.
Point well taken, Mr.
McCoy.
HELLMAN: This is unbelievable, Your Honor.
Illegal aliens swarm into our country by the thousands and are immediately granted constitutional protection.
But the minute I set foot across the border, you're saying my own government won't protect my interests? Come on, Mr.
Hellman, you're arguing a motion here, not running for Congress, and that motion is denied.
The statements and the report are admissible.
What next, Jack? Drag a suspect across the nearest border, beat a confession out of him, then use it in court? Works for me.
"Right next to Rockefeller Center," "Pebble Beach and the Seattle Mariners," "add to the Japanese trophy case the U.
S.
Constitution.
" Yep, now they have us trampling on the rights of an American citizen to pacify the Japanese.
We should let the murderer go free so that a few bigots can stand a little taller at the Fourth of July picnic.
You don't have to be a bigot to see that we've been taken by our friends on the other side of the dateline.
Let's not confuse Martha Bowen with the auto industry.
(PHONE BUZZING) Yes.
Hellman's on his way up.
Martha Bowen's gonna get on the stand, and she's going to cry rape, or some other nonsense about the big, bad Japanese, and you're lucky if you get a hung jury.
(KNOCKING ON DOOR) Jack.
I think you know Mildred Kaskel.
She'll be taking over as chief counsel.
I filed a notice of substitution on the way over.
I know your work, Miss Kaskel.
So what's it gonna be, the feminist version of "the Devil made me do it?" The Devil here is your so-called victim.
He viciously abused my client while she was in Japan.
I plan to introduce evidence she was suffering from Battered Woman Syndrome when she shot him.
Come again? She shot him over a contract dispute.
MILDRED: No.
What happened to her in Japan had nothing to do with singing.
It was gonna be the biggest break I ever got.
Mr.
Hayashi said important people came to his club.
My first week, it was like a party every night.
All these men throwing money around.
$100 for a Scotch.
Mr.
Hayashi told me to just be nice to them.
No one cared I was a singer.
I wanted to go home.
Mr.
Hayashi said lowed him all this money.
I didn't know what to do.
He had my passport.
I was alone.
He said I could pay him back by being more friendly.
By sleeping with his customers.
I said no.
He got furious.
He beat me.
He said if I disappeared, no one would know.
No one would care.
I didn't want to die.
Every day she's been back, Martha's been living in fear for her life.
When she found out Mr.
Hayashi was in town, she believed he came here looking for her.
She killed him believing she was acting in self-defense.
Martha Bowen claims she killed Hayashi because she feared for her life.
It sounds irrational, unless you believe the Battered Woman Syndrome applies here.
It's bull.
It's revenge dressed up in smoke and mirrors.
Tall, blonde Miss Bowen killed a short, dark Japanese man who was running a white slavery operation.
This is not a Saturday morning cartoon.
Yeah.
Kaskel times her summation to fall on Pearl Harbor Day, so the jury can pin a medal on her client.
She saw his ad, she called him up, she seduced him, and she shot him behind closed doors.
She set him up.
Kaskel can use the Syndrome to justify every one of those acts.
This defense, like my grandmother's nightgown, covers everything.
Just keep the jury focused on the fact that this woman killed this man and walked off with the money.
The Battered Woman Syndrome almost exclusively applies to abused wives or girlfriends.
Almost.
Any woman in any abusive relationship can display characteristics of this syndrome.
It's never been applied in a case where the abuser was killed a year after the relationship and the abuse ended.
Let's ask some Vietnam vets about the expiration date on stress disorders.
This theory is not generally accepted by the scientific community.
Until it is, it's not a proper subject for expert testimony.
My client has the right to present evidence to explain her conduct.
She reasonably and honestly believed her life was in danger.
Mr.
McCoy doesn't want the jury to hear why.
No, I don't want them confusing Miss Bowen with the actual women this syndrome was meant to describe.
They can decide that for themselves.
Frankly, her actions seem so far beyond understanding that I'd like to hear her explanations myself.
Then I'd like our psychiatrist to hear them, too.
I want Miss Bowen to submit to an examination.
MILDRED: No problem.
But I would like the record to show we're not required to submit.
We're pleading justification.
My client's reasonable beliefs are at issue, not her state of mind.
So noted.
And I'll see you all in court.
MARTHA: He'd never hit me on the face.
He'd twist my arm.
He'd punch me in the side.
At first, it was because I wouldn't sleep with those men.
But then, even after If I didn't smile enough or if a customer complained.
The smallest thing I did wrong, I'd catch hell.
Have you had any problems since you've been back here? I can't sleep.
My doctor gave me pills.
It's stupid.
I'm afraid if I go to sleep, I'm gonna wake up back there.
Well, how do you deal with that fear? I bought a gun.
Men are always looking at me.
It's disgusting.
Do you mean all men, or just Japanese men? Well, the Japanese are the worst.
I mean, all they're interested in is themselves.
You're there only for them, and they have a way of looking at you.
Like, I could never get a read on them.
I just I felt dirty and cheap.
Do you have the same feelings in your personal relationships? What, you mean boyfriends? I don't have one.
I mean, I can't.
You don't want to? I can't have sex.
It's a medical thing.
It hurts too much.
I got an infection.
She's been diagnosed with chronic pelvic inflammatory disease.
She has permanent tubal lesions, and she's sterile.
I caught something from one of those men in Japan.
It's why Mr.
Hayashi let me leave MARTHA: 'cause I was no good to him anymore.
She still calls him Mr.
Hayashi.
She feels her life depended on her ability to placate him.
It's the heart of the syndrome.
It doesn't bother you that she never mentioned abuse, or the word "prostitute" to the United States embassy? You want the statistics on unreported spousal abuse? However Martha Bowen came about it, she walks and talks like a battered woman.
She's a textbook case.
A battered wife kills her husband.
I abhor it, but I can sympathize.
But from the moment that she set foot in this country, Martha Bowen was free and clear of Hayashi.
You have no idea what it's like to be victimized by a powerful man.
So you want to create a new category of self-defense just for women? You might as well say we're by nature incapable of controlling our emotions.
I doubt that's what Gloria Steinem had in mind.
That is not what I'm saying.
But, Jack, if you put me on the stand, I have to stick to my diagnosis.
Fine.
You're not testifying.
I wanted her mental condition, not your emotional reaction.
If you think vengeance belongs in the penal code, then you don't belong on my witness list.
What do you want to do? Maybe it is a textbook case.
Let's have the police take a look at Bowen's apartment.
See what she keeps on her bookshelf.
Enough Is Enough: Battered Women Fight Back.
Defending Her Life: A Battered Woman Tells Her Story.
Kill Or Be Killed: Self-Defense And The Battered Wife Syndrome.
All with highlighted passages.
You know, 15 years ago, a serial killer named Kenneth Bianchi almost convinced a team of doctors that he had multiple personalities.
You think Martha's a better actor? She's done the homework.
He kept one hand free for his drink, and the other hand was in her lap or on her chest.
And how was the defendant behaving? She had her arm around him and she was smiling.
Did she do anything to make you think she wasn't enjoying herself? No.
It looked to me like the current was running both ways, and when they left they were arm in arm.
Thank you.
You said you were working a full bar that night? So how could you possibly be aware of everything that transpired between Mr.
Hayashi and his companion? I didn't say I was.
And when you picked my client out of a lineup, you said you were pretty sure she was the woman at the bar? Yeah.
So now when you say there was current running both ways, are you dead certain or are you just pretty sure? I don't know.
I'm just telling you how it looked.
Thank you.
During the last 15 years, I've investigated 48 cases where a battered woman has killed her abuser.
Nine times out of 10, when we get to the scene, the woman's waiting for us.
And the other 10%? The woman runs to a family member, or we find her wandering in the neighborhood.
In any of these cases, did the women try to cover up their crime? No.
These women are not acting rationally.
They're in a state of shock.
So, no pulling out the phone cord, no effort to make it look like a robbery? No, nothing like that.
Thank you.
Detective, you said that these women were acting irrationally.
In other words, their behavior was unpredictable? In general, you know what to expect.
So you could have predicted that an abused woman named Lorena Bobbitt would be found driving down the highway with her husband's penis in her hand? No, I guess I missed that one.
Thank you.
The women I studied had to live with the fear that they might be killed or take drastic action to save themselves.
You spent a year at Tokyo University.
What was the nature of your work? I studied the exploitation of women in Japan.
It's a perfect model of a male-dominated society Objection.
This is all irrelevant.
My client was trapped in a culture where wives still walk behind their husbands.
Now that's relevant to understanding her feelings of helplessness.
This witness is qualified as an expert on the abuse of women, not on Japan bashing.
I'm going to allow some latitude here, Mr.
McCoy.
The witness may finish with her answer.
Japan is a perfect model of a male-dominated society that has a poor record of respecting the rights of women.
So how would you characterize the attitude of the typical Japanese male toward Western women? They're a status symbol for Japanese men.
How's that? In the past, they felt intimidated by Western women.
That these women now serve Japanese men is a sign to them of Japan's rise in the world.
Thank you.
Let's get back to your stated area of expertise.
Does every abused woman develop Battered Woman Syndrome? They all show signs of it.
Does that mean that every abused woman eventually kills her abuser? No, there is no hard and fast rule.
There's no cause and effect? First you look at the behavior, and then you see if it fits the pattern.
So first you have the crime, and then you look for the excuse? Objection.
Withdrawn.
Everything cuts both ways.
What we call premeditation, they call a syndrome.
I can't believe anybody on that jury's gonna buy it.
It's all gonna boil down to race.
Abuse is just something for the jury to hang their hat on.
You wanna do the cross on Bowen tomorrow? Because of my skills or my gender? Both.
Claire, I want to win.
So do you.
MARTHA: He was always on me.
He said my chest was too small.
He said I smelled.
All Americans smell bad.
I could never do anything right.
I started believing that all I was good for was being a whore.
And after you came home, what happened? Every day I was afraid he was going to show up.
It's why I changed my stage name.
I knew he had the money to find me.
But why would he, when he sent you home? Maybe deep down I thought it was crazy, but I felt trapped, like I couldn't run anymore.
I had to do something to stop him.
What did you do? I met with him, just to tell him how I felt.
In the bar, when he started touching me, I was afraid to say anything.
He wanted to go back to his room.
I don't know why I said yes.
We got there, and just the way he looked at me, like I was nothing I was afraid of what he was gonna do.
The gun was in my hand.
I don't know what I did next.
It's just a blur.
Thank you.
Miss Bowen, during your examination by Dr.
Olivet, you stated, quote, "The smallest thing I did wrong, I'd catch hell.
" Do you remember that statement? Yes.
Miss Bowen, do you recognize these books? Yes.
I'm referring to People's These books were found in your apartment.
This one's titled Defending Her Life: A Battered Woman Tells Her Story.
Please read this passage, the one with the orange highlight.
"I couldn't do anything right.
" "Every little thing I did wrong, he'd punch me.
" Now, please read this passage from Enough Is Enough: Battered Women Fight Back.
"I stood over him while he slept.
" "I wanted to make him feel the way I felt when he beat me.
" "The gun was in my hand.
" Please continue reading.
"I was nothing to him.
" "I had to do something to stop the pain.
" Miss Bowen? You don't understand.
Just look what he did to me.
Look.
What else was I gonna do? "The jury is instructed that it may consider this evidence" "only as it relates to consciousness of guilt.
" Are we agreed on the language? Fine with me.
No problem here.
Good.
Next point, "The jury may not consider the victim's background or origins" "in making its determination.
" That's not sufficient, Your Honor.
This case demands a much stronger statement.
It's funny how we completely disagree.
I want the jury to consider all the factors that effect my client's reasonable belief that her life was in danger.
You'd also like to pack the jury with the widows of World War ll veterans.
That's the sum total of her case, Your Honor.
If this victim were white, Miss Bowen would have taken a plea months ago.
Now, let's stay focused, Mr.
McCoy.
With all due respect, Your Honor, you know what people can feel about certain minorities in this city.
Racism poisons practically every trial we see here.
Mr.
McCoy is talking in generalities.
And the defense would like to turn the jury into a panel of racists.
The court must take a stand.
All right, let me see what you have.
And lastly, I will instruct you as follows.
You may not consider Mr.
Hayashi's race or country of origin or prior acts when making your decision.
I instruct you this as a matter of law.
Your duty is to pass judgment on Martha Bowen, not on the victim.
And your personal feelings about the Japanese people, their culture, or their government has no place in a jury room.
You swore an oath to put aside such considerations.
I instruct you now to live up to that oath, and I thank you.
Madam Foreman, has the jury reached a verdict? Yes, Your Honor, we have.
On the sole count of the indictment, murder in the Second Degree, how do you find? We find the defendant not guilty.
The jury is dismissed.
Court is adjourned.
Mr.
Nakahara, I'm sorry.
I was in the Midwest last year for the opening of an auto plant.
When I left, someone threw paint on my car.
It was disturbing, but expected.
My guess, tomorrow the papers will call this a victory for women's rights.
Yeah.
And a giant leap for ignorance.