Law & Order (1990) s07e17 Episode Script

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.
Shirley Jackson's 1993 employee evaluation said her motivation was above average.
Jackson? That's the one who says her boss snapped her bra? That's Malone.
Jackson had a boob pinched.
You might want to try keeping our clients straight.
What is it? "Mattawin Studios Executive Committee Meeting.
" Only in America is this something that we have to put up with.
You know, the Japanese, they have the right idea.
Their women serve tea in the office and they leave them alone.
Have you seen the list of plaintiffs? They all got hired in the first place because they had nice racks.
I have a hunch this got put in the discovery box by mistake.
How about Heidi? Is she testifying? I hope not.
She could hurt us.
What the hell is she gonna say? That she witnessed harassment.
Maybe that she was harassed herself.
Heidi harassed? That's a joke, right? She slept with one of her own male assistants.
We still have to deal with the eventuality.
I'll tell you how to deal with it.
If she's gonna turn on us, somebody should just kill the bitch.
Heidi Ellison? That's the one who Yeah.
The one that was killed.
Mr.
Gorton, it's 9:45.
Oh, I'm sorry, Your Honor, but we just need this table for our associates.
Can't they sit in the first row of the gallery? Oh, that's reserved for the press.
I allocated rows two and three for them.
That was before Mr.
Dunne and Ms.
Brenner presented letters from their publishers.
Also we need to keep a place for Dr.
Duval, Mr.
Newman's psychiatrist.
Are we going to be doing therapy in the courtroom? It is in everyone's interest that Mr.
Newman stay in a calm and alert mental state.
Also, Your Honor, have you had a chance to consider our request for a fax machine? The People do not believe that a fax machine is required in the courtroom.
By the way, we are ready to proceed.
So are we.
Here's Ms.
Joyner now.
Ms.
Joyner, good morning.
Good morning, Your Honor.
These are my associates, Mr.
Nakamura and Mr.
Levine.
You and me, Jamie.
They're from Dekom Flint Cummings.
Civil litigators.
Play it.
Our firm represents a group of women suing Mattawin Studios for sexual harassment.
$100 million.
This is a tape of a Mattawin executive committee meeting.
They were worried because Heidi Ellison was gonna testify for the plaintiffs.
We still have to deal with the eventuality.
I'll tell you how to deal with it.
If she's gonna turn on us, somebody should just kill the bitch.
That wouldn't, by any chance, be the person just put on trial for killing the woman, would it? It's not his voice.
Yeah.
I suppose it was too much to hope for.
All right.
Thank you very much for bringing this to our attention.
Look into it.
See if it means anything.
First thing in the morning.
Neal Gorton's playing games with our custody arrangement.
I gotta be home by 8:00.
Early, right? Right.
I don't know what meeting you're talking about.
We have the minutes you typed up, Mr.
Canter.
Except you left out the part about the customs of Japan and killing the bitch.
I suppose the plaintiffs are gonna use it anyway? And so unfair.
Who suggested killing Heidi Ellison? Look, it doesn't mean anything.
You've charged that crazy husband of hers.
Okay, Mr.
Canter.
I can ask you the same question on the witness stand.
Ben Hollings.
Her boss? He's being sued for $10 million personally.
He felt betrayed, but the whole thing turned out to be moot.
Why? Heidi decided not to testify.
We heard a couple of days before she was killed.
I already told the police everything I know about Eddie Newman.
I was just Heidi's assistant.
I didn't live with her.
Actually, something's come up about Ben Hollings.
Really? Well, he usually finds a way to bring the subject around to himself.
We understand he was concerned about some testimony Heidi might give in a sexual harassment lawsuit.
Yeah.
He ought to be.
Heidi started out as his assistant.
And nobody knows a boss like an assistant.
Well, especially a boss who pops into your office naked every once in a while.
Heidi was gonna testify about that? About that, about the late night summons to work sessions, stupid jokes, the unsolicited back rubs Was this still going on? Well, not to her, but it was to two assistants who were fired.
They asked for Heidi's help, and she knew it was a very big risk, but she was gonna do it anyway.
The studio said she changed her mind, that she wasn't going to testify.
And where did Mr.
Newman ask you to take him? To Islip on Long Island.
A road near the airport.
Next to a field behind a school? Yes.
I think so.
The school where the murder weapon was found.
Thank you.
Mr.
Singh, how do you get from Manhattan to the Islip airport? You take the Long Island Expressway.
Where do you get off? In Islip.
At what exit? I don't really know because Mr.
Newman, he told me how to get there.
Well, how did you know it was Islip? Because he said that's where he wanted to go.
But he could have said that it was Islip and pointed the way to Oyster Bay and you wouldn't have known the difference.
I don't know where Oyster Bay is.
Now when you dropped him off, did you see the airport? No, no.
It was before the airport.
Then how'd you know that the airport was there? Because Mr.
McCoy found me because I went to a gas station and that gas station is near the airport.
The man remembered me.
Mr.
McCoy told me.
So that's how you know where you dropped off Mr.
Newman.
Because Mr.
McCoy told you? Yes.
That's correct.
But I think Jack McCoy definitely lost some points today.
Jerry, it's part of his job to prepare his witnesses.
I did it myself when I was a prosecutor.
And I did it when I was a defense attorney, but come on, Ben, it looked like McCoy spoon-fed that guy his answers.
Mr.
McCoy didn't do anything wrong or even unusual.
The defense just made it seem devious and sleazy.
Yeah.
Wasn't it great? Who needs a jury? We have commentators.
Next time, try the cartoon channel.
That was the cartoon channel.
What's happening with Ben Hollings? His corporate flunky said he has no motive since Heidi wasn't going to testify.
Her assistant says she was and the plaintiffs' lawyers do, too.
What does Hollings say? I'm about to find out in 15 minutes.
His helicopter's due.
I've heard about your behavior toward women, Mr.
Hollings, I'm prepared to adjust our case.
You know, if Newman's convicted, it's going to cost us millions.
Who's going to take their kids to see a children's movie directed by a guy who cuts off heads? So actually it's in your financial interest to confess.
We can write it off.
I didn't kill Heidi.
I was in London at a film opening.
If you want a list of 2,000 alibi witnesses, call my girl.
Mr.
Newman told us he was in Los Angeles the night of the murder, but later we determined he was in New York.
Did Mr.
Newman tell you anything about his ex-wife? Yes.
He said he suspected she was having a sexual relationship with her personal trainer.
Thank you.
Did Mr.
Newman seem upset about this supposed relationship? He seemed to shrug it off, but later we determined he was prone to fits of jealous violence while they were married.
And you learned that from whom? The detective who planted evidence against Mr.
Newman? Objection.
I'll rephrase.
From the detective who allegedly planted evidence against Mr.
Newman? It was corroborated by other officers.
Friends of the detective who allegedly planted evidence against Mr.
Newman? Objection.
Sustained.
Okay, Detective Curtis.
Let's talk about your friends.
When you first flew to California, you weren't after Mr.
Newman, were you? No.
At that time we had another suspect.
Evan Grant, Heidi Ellison's personal trainer? Yes.
But you changed your focus to Eddie Newman after you began a sexual relationship with a woman who hates Eddie Newman, isn't that right? I don't know what you're talking about.
You don't know Lisa Lundquist? Yes, she's an executive at Mattawin Studios.
Where Eddie Newman has consistently thwarted her desire for promotion.
I wouldn't know anything about that.
You don't know he refused to have his movies supervised by the woman you were sleeping with? Hey, I wasn't sleeping with Ms.
Lundquist.
Oh? She spent the night in your hotel room for a script conference? I wasn't even in the room that night.
Is that why she came to visit you in New York a week later? Because she liked sleeping in empty hotel rooms? Objection.
Sustained.
Was Lisa Lundquist sleeping with that other detective, too? Were you all framing Eddie Newman together? Objection.
Sustained.
That's enough, Ms.
Joyner.
I'm sorry, Your Honor.
I have nothing further for this witness.
I don't think Hollings killed Heidi Ellison, but remind me never to go to work for him.
Hey.
What the hell's the matter with you, McCoy? Why didn't you stop that sooner? I might have been able to if you'd told me about it.
There's nothing to tell.
What was that about? He's just a little upset his wife's about to find out he had an affair on the evening news.
I told you, you should have gone to bed with her.
You're getting the grief, you should've had the gravy.
My specialties are victimology and forensic psychology.
I'm a member of the American Psychological Association and the American Academy of Forensic Sciences Your Honor, approach? Over here.
We can see no possible relevance in this witness's testimony.
She's never even met the defendant.
She's published three articles on the relationship between drug abuse and violent behavior.
There's no proof Mr.
Newman ever took drugs.
Just the 2,000 pills found in his apartment.
If they were still in his apartment, he obviously hadn't taken them.
Is that a joke? Let's take it into chambers.
Eddie Newman had more flavors of benzodiazepines in his medicine cabinet than Baskin Robbins.
He also had methamphetamines, which taken in high doses can cause episodes of violent paranoia.
If taken in high doses.
Dr.
Duval here is prepared to testify what doses of which drugs he prescribed and why.
Those would be the drugs there's no proof that he took? The drugs taken in appropriate amounts under Dr.
Duval's medical supervision Excuse me, but Dr.
Duval apparently prescribed two methamphetamines Now, wait a minute and six benzodiazepines.
That could only be appropriate if Eddie Newman weighed 1,200 pounds.
Your Honor, these prescriptions are old.
You can see that for yourself.
I adjusted the medications to suit Eddie Newman's changing Right, when he was high, he needed to come down, and when he was down, he wanted to get high.
Dr.
Olivet, where on earth is all of this hostility coming from? From seeing a psychotherapist turn into a two-legged pacifier for spoiled, rich Eddie Newman had insomnia.
He had trouble controlling his diet.
He had a history of chronic pain and a well-documented anxiety disorder.
You know as well as I do that every one of those drugs has a therapeutic use.
All right.
Mr.
McCoy, Ms.
Joyner, Mr.
Gorton, you can put on your witness after Mr.
McCoy puts on his.
We'll hear Dr.
Olivet's testimony tomorrow.
Score one for the good guys.
Trembling in my boots, Jamie.
I don't know which I'm going to enjoy more, seeing Newman go free or seeing you lose.
Two vodka martinis.
Is it all about me? You know I'm over that.
Of course.
I've seen your new associate.
Harvard Law Review.
And a round butt.
Just the way you like them.
What would you consider a sufficiently satisfying defeat of me? Acquittal.
The guy cut his wife's head off.
You'd look damn good getting man one.
Minimum sentence, three to six, I could still look down on you.
We'd never go for it.
We are speaking hypothetically, aren't we? Just between us.
" Other members of the defense team reacted with anger and confusion "to reports that Gorton had discussed a plea bargain.
"Gorton issued a heated denial, "but Hogan Place sources insisted the discussion had taken place.
" Now this news I like.
Shake her hand, Adam, I'm just an old-fashioned prosecutor.
I try cases.
It makes them look weak.
How things look to some general audience is not relevant in a courtroom.
Oh, will you wake him up, Ms.
Ross? We're approaching the 21st century.
It matters, Jack.
When are you gonna buy a new tie? You can't just turn off all the cameras and the microphones.
What's next? Timeouts for commercials? We go into court with soft drink logos on our backs? The public'll get entertainment, they won't get justice Mr.
McCoy, do you expect another plea offer from the defense? That's up to them.
Is it true Ms.
Joyner and Mr.
Gorton aren't speaking to each other? Yeah.
Is that true? This is a trial, not a soap opera.
I wish you people would remember that.
Ms.
Ross? I'm sorry.
I have no comment.
That doesn't work, lady.
Ms.
Ross.
You can't go in there.
Ms.
Ross? Jamie.
Allow me to introduce Mr.
Chao.
He's heading our blood evidence team.
You son of a bitch.
I take it you got my notice.
Yeah.
Here it is.
Not a legally persuasive argument, Counselor.
We have a custody arrangement, you're in breach.
How? By working late once in a while? Every night for the last two months.
Katie thinks Isabel is her mother.
She'd be better off with me.
She's my child.
Well, I'm sure we can work out plenty of times for you to visit.
Coats everybody, it's time to leave.
Can't Daddy come home? Not tonight, baby.
Come on.
So you don't believe me? I do believe you, Rey.
That's the problem.
I've believed everything you said for nine years.
Then why don't you believe me now? I don't like feeling like this.
Everything is open to question.
Not you and me.
Not the girls.
That's real.
You know that's real.
Daddy, pick me up.
Yeah, baby.
You wanna see? Can you get that? Hello? Yes, he's here.
Who is it? It's your girlfriend.
Hi.
Hi.
I usually have a better sense of timing.
You want me to tell her what a loyal husband you were? Guess not.
I'm gonna do whatever it takes.
I gotta get back with her and the kids.
So, that's a "no" on the job offer and on me.
You know what's going on.
Well, at least you didn't turn out to be gay.
I called Jack McCoy and told him that I want to testify.
About what, all the times we almost had sex? No.
About what the defense said.
How I influenced you because I don't like Newman.
You didn't influence me.
I don't like Newman.
He messed with my career.
He was mad at Heidi for messing with his.
You think he wanted to be directing A Tale of Two Yogis? He sure looked like he did.
He spent five years developing an American Madame Bovary.
Heidi put it in turnaround.
He was furious.
Why didn't you tell us before? I couldn't prove it without accessing confidential files, which means I'd be looking for a new job.
Here.
Everything Mattawin Studios knows about Eddie Newman.
Why? I'm in a funny business, Rey.
Everybody talks like hippies and acts like they're in the Sicilian mob.
I'm tired of it.
These memos are good.
Heidi Ellison definitely put the kibosh on Newman.
So it was all worthwhile.
I'll tell my kids in 20 years.
Jack, Eddie Newman's company credit card bill.
Dinner at Le Lapin, $245, the night of the murder.
He put his whole life on the company card.
It's a wonder he didn't expense the murder weapon.
$245 is pretty steep for one.
Even at Le Lapin.
His expense report.
December 5, dinner with consultant on Wilhelm Reich project, Dr.
Dan Duval.
He was with his shrink an hour before he killed his wife? Yes, I had dinner with Eddie Newman that night and then I took a cab to Newark Airport.
And you didn't mention this dinner to the police? Well, Eddie had told the police that he wasn't in New York.
I didn't think it was any of my business to cast undue suspicion on a patient of mine.
Undue? He lied about his alibi.
Yes, but he didn't kill Heidi Ellison.
I was still counseling both of them.
In fact, I spoke to Heidi on the phone that morning.
You see, my dinner with Eddie Newman that night was part of the therapy.
How do you know he didn't kill her, Dr.
Duval? From conversations I had with him, which I can't repeat.
Oh.
Well, that's convenient, isn't it? Your Honor, Mr.
McCoy is aware of the doctor-patient privilege.
That doesn't apply to social conversations.
Dr.
Duval, what did Eddie Newman say to you that night in his capacity as your friend? It's impossible for me to separate Eddie Newman, patient, from Eddie Newman, friend.
Everything he says to me is an indicator of his mental state.
All right, Doctor.
You said you talked to Heidi Ellison that day, what did she say to you about Eddie Newman? Approach, Your Honor? Ms.
Ellison's conversations with her therapist are just as privileged as Mr.
Newman's.
Her privilege is not Mr.
Gorton's to assert.
It belongs to Heidi Ellison.
As far as I'm aware, she hasn't waived it.
Her parents are in the gallery, let me talk to them.
They can waive her privilege.
It's a wasted exercise.
Anything Dr.
Duval says she said is hearsay.
Why don't we fight about one thing at a time? Take the rest of the day and get your waiver, Mr.
McCoy.
We're in recess.
For a two-legged pacifier, Duval kept pretty good notes on his patients.
Ellison hated Eddie Newman and she was afraid of him.
Heidi Ellison's sexual history.
Fifteen years in Hollywood, I can only imagine.
She slept with one of her assistants.
We've heard that before.
The Mattawin Studios executive committee tape.
"Ben Hollings.
'Heidi harassed? "'T hat's a joke.
She slept with one of her own male assistants.
'" You think she told Hollings? No, I don't.
Then who did? Duval's notes on a therapy session two days before Heidi died.
They discussed whether she should testify in the sexual harassment suit.
She decided not to.
Not even the plaintiffs' lawyers knew that.
Only Heidi Ellison and Dr.
Duval.
And the top executives at Mattawin Studios.
I've been fired, you know.
I think my secretary put that tape in the discovery box to screw me.
I'm sorry.
You told me you knew Heidi Ellison had decided not to testify.
Right.
And you thought I was lying, didn't you? Yes.
Now I know you weren't.
Who told you? Ben Hollings.
He almost bragged about it.
He said Heidi had been "handled.
" I have no idea what he meant.
Say it again, slowly.
Ben Hollings was afraid Heidi Ellison would testify against him.
She talked about it with Dan Duval and decided not to.
And Hollings found out immediately.
And bragged that he had her "handled.
" And he had personal information on her from her psychiatric file.
I assume that psychiatrist and Mr.
Hollings were acquainted.
He's on the Mattawin Studios payroll as a consultant.
$3,000 a week.
You think that Heidi Ellison knew what was going on? I don't know.
Well, if she did, got a new murder suspect now? Duval is not a suspect.
He was on a plane to LA while Eddie Newman was dumping a barong in Islip.
I'm sure the defense will be happy to tell you how Duval tossed it out his airplane window.
Why give them that chance? This whole thing's just a dead end.
None of it has to go to the defense.
It is one of the basic principles of our system that the prosecution must provide the defense with any evidence it possesses pointing to the innocence of the accused.
That the District Attorney has such evidence but has failed to turn it over How do you know that, Mr.
Gorton? That doesn't matter.
What matters is what we don't know because of the duplicity of the prosecutors.
Mr.
McCoy, what about this evidence? Are you gonna turn it over? We're going to do everything that the law requires.
What about this evidence, Mr.
McCoy? It doesn't come close to meeting the standard of Brady v.
Maryland, Your Honor, since it is not material to the guilt of the defendant.
Someone other than the defendant threatens to murder Ms.
Ellison? Someone else has a compelling motive to kill her? I'd say that's damn material.
I assume Mr.
Gorton is referring to Mr.
Hollings and Dr.
Duval, neither of whom could have possibly committed this crime.
Thank you, Ms.
Ross, but I prefer to do my own analysis.
At the very least, materials should be submitted to you for an in camera inspection.
That would be the Mattawin Studios tape recording and Dr.
Duval's records of his sessions with Heidi Ellison? It's a waste of time.
I'm not busy tonight.
Have the materials to me by 5:00.
I'll hear additional arguments tomorrow morning.
Here are the rest of the cases, Mr.
McCoy.
Thanks Good luck.
For nothing.
Every decision with the word "Brady" in it since 1963.
She could have narrowed the search.
Apparently she couldn't.
We can forget about Novoa and Gonzalez , they're broad and pro defense.
What about Simmons? It specifically mentions exculpatory evidence.
There's no reason to believe this evidence is exculpatory.
Neal will come back with Gonzalez.
He always comes back with Gonzalez.
"The District Attorney must turn over any evidence that might be exculpatory "even if he believes it is not.
" Then I go to McMullen.
I only have to turn over " that which is likely to affect the judgment of the jury.
" Be careful how far you go with that, or he'll slap you in the face with Jones.
God, look at the time.
I've gotta go.
We're not quite done here.
I shouldn't have been away from Katie this long.
I'm due in family court in three days.
We have to go back to Judge Callahan in 12 hours.
I'm sorry.
Where are your priorities? If Gorton gets a hold of this stuff, he'll come up with some cockamamie alternate theory of the crime.
A murderer could walk free.
And I could lose my daughter.
You know what, Jack? That's an easy decision.
Not for an assistant district attorney! Fine, I quit.
People v.
McMullen says we only have to turn over that which is likely to affect the judgment of the jury.
I'm still at a loss to imagine how this material would accomplish that.
People v.
Jones addresses the issue of Mr.
McCoy's imagination.
"It is not for the District Attorney to speculate unilaterally "as to what evidence would be helpful to the defendant.
" All right, Mr.
Gorton, let's speculate with him.
How is this material likely to affect the judgment of the jury? Very simply.
It provides a basis for an alternate theory of the crime.
That Heidi Ellison was murdered by Dr.
Dan Duval.
Her therapist? I demand an offer of proof.
She found out he'd betrayed her confidences.
She threatened to expose him and destroy his standing in the Hollywood community.
He killed her.
Order.
Order.
Order.
Order.
Mr.
Gorton, this theory of yours is based on The evidence you received last night.
Supported by the testimony of, among others, Eddie Newman.
Who has every reason to lie.
A man is on trial for his life.
I can't think of more likely grounds for overturning a guilty verdict than denying him the defense of his choice.
I'll take that chance.
A reversal wouldn't blemish your record, Mr.
McCoy.
If you don't like his theory, rebut it.
I order disclosure of all evidence and all materials sought by the defense.
They're in my chambers, Mr.
Gorton.
Come by anytime.
Your Honor, my client and his ex-wife worked out a detailed custody arrangement.
I've never seen one that specified which television programs the child can watch.
Mr.
Gorton is very concerned about Katie's well-being.
He never contested primary custody during the divorce proceedings Because Ms.
Ross assured him she would spend the requisite number of hours with the client.
And he never sought it, until Ms.
Ross began prosecuting one of his clients.
Counselors, be quiet.
Ms.
Ross, Mr.
Gorton.
So, you're both working? I'm in private practice with five partners and 16 associates.
My schedule is flexible.
I've quit my job.
I'll be looking for one with shorter hours.
An empty promise.
She's made it before.
Katie has lived with me her entire life.
Mr.
Gorton is a weekend father.
I am her mother.
Mothers no longer get automatic preference.
I get a whiff here of something other than concern for the child.
You two try to work this out.
If you don't, I can't guarantee that what I come up with will make either one of you happy.
We're adjourned.
I'm sure going to miss seeing you in court.
How would I know what Heidi Ellison might have said? Well, how did she react to that tabloid newspaper story about her affair with the actor Derek Morrow? She was furious, and rightly so.
The article implied that the affair affected her business judgment.
Wouldn't she have been even more furious at the discovery that her psychiatrist was peddling her confidences on Hollywood Boulevard? Objection.
There's no evidence Ms.
Ellison was aware of any such alleged impropriety.
Sustained.
Move on, Mr.
Gorton.
So, Ms.
Heiss, as far as you know, Heidi Ellison was not aware that Ben Hollings had hired Dr.
Duval to spy on her.
That's right.
And you were a very loyal employee to Ms.
Ellison.
I hope I was.
Whose loyal employee are you now? I still work for Mattawin Studios.
For Ben Hollings? Indirectly.
That's nice.
In the four years that you worked with Heidi Ellison, did you ever hear her say a bad word about Dr.
Duval? No.
Up to and including the day she was killed? No.
Thank you.
Redirect, Your Honor.
Ms.
Heiss, what other spies in her employ was Heidi Ellison unaware of? I don't think anybody was spying on Heidi.
What about you? Me.
You.
What's this? Is it a check made out to you in the amount of $10,000 from the National Tattler, dated one week after their Derek Morrow story appeared? Objection.
What possible relevance does this have? One spy on Heidi Ellison might cover up the discovery of another.
The objection is overruled.
Answer his question, Ms.
Heiss.
You don't understand.
I needed the money.
Ms.
Heiss.
You never told Ms.
Ellison what you had done, did you? No.
Because she would have destroyed your career, wouldn't she? Yes.
Just as she would have ruined Dr.
Duval if she'd known what he had done.
You're making me dizzy.
We're getting creamed.
It's nice that you and the media finally agree on something.
The media.
There are reporters working full time digging up dirt on Hollings and Duval, making Gorton's case for him.
You're scared of some tabloid hacks? Or is it Gorton? He has an army of associates, racking up billable hours in two time zones.
It'll take Jamie's replacement at least a week just to get up to speed.
Gorton whispers the word "appeal," and the judge chokes on his gavel.
Murder two, I'm not ready to concede victory to Eddie Newman's wallet.
But I need some help.
Call Ms.
Ross.
Maybe you could share the babysitting.
Katie, honey, you go upstairs and start your video, and I'll be up in a second, okay? Okay.
Bye.
Have a seat.
I don't have a lot of time, Jamie.
We've been over this.
You know Gorton better than anyone.
Jack.
He's doing everything you loathe to win, and he's getting away with it because he scammed you.
I am afraid if I look away for one minute, he'll take her.
The first week we worked together, you told me you believed in monsters and things that go bump in the night.
You said they should rot in hell, along with their lawyers.
Eddie Newman is a monster.
I can't send him to hell without you.
Heidi harassed? That's a joke, right? She slept with one of her own male assistants.
We still have to deal with the eventuality.
I'll tell you Mr.
Hollings, how did you know Heidi Ellison slept with her assistant? Dr.
Duval told me.
He breached the confidentiality of the patient-doctor relationship to tell you her intimate secrets? I don't know what he breached.
His ethics weren't my concern.
Nor his, apparently.
Did he quote handle unquote Ms.
Ellison for you by convincing her not to testify against you? Yes.
Why did he do this? For money.
His consulting fee, plus I optioned a screenplay he wrote for $100,000.
Why so much? He said he was taking a chance.
If somebody found out what he was doing, he'd be ruined.
Mr.
Hollings, Dr.
Duval handled Heidi Ellison without her being aware of what was going on, isn't that right? That was the idea.
Because if she knew what he was doing, the plan wouldn't work.
I wouldn't think so.
But the plan did work, didn't it? Yes.
She decided not to testify.
Thank you.
Jamie found the flaw in their theory, and drew a big red circle around it.
Yeah.
It's a good start.
I wish it were enough.
Look what Gorton's done.
The jury sees Ms.
Ellison surrounded by backstabbers and megalomaniacs.
The usual Hollywood crowd.
Any of whom the jury could reasonably believe killed her.
Only Eddie Newman's capable of it.
When he takes the stand, I'll try to get the jury to see that, too.
It won't be that easy.
I know the drill.
Gorton's put Newman through boot camp.
Mock juries, rehearsed cross examinations by former prosecutors on videotape, keeping eye contact with the jury, what tie to wear.
If she's right, you better bring something besides your boyish charm.
I had a couple of drinks at the restaurant.
I was feeling pretty buzzed, and I wanted to go to see Heidi.
Dan, Dr.
Duval, said he'd come along.
And what happened when you and he got to your ex-wife's apartment? I had a new draft of the Madame Bovary script.
I thought Heidi might change her mind, but she didn't even hear what I was saying.
She just laced into Dr.
Duval.
About what? I didn't really quite follow it.
Something about calling his patients, something about suing him.
I wasn't feeling too good.
I had a glass of scotch from Heidi's bar, Dr.
Duval gave me a couple of tranquilizers.
What happened next? Heidi was yelling, and he was yelling, and I felt very tired.
The next thing I knew I woke up on the bed.
Was Dr.
Duval still there? Yeah.
And so was Heidi.
And she was lying next to me with a big gash in her head.
She wasn't moving, and Dr.
Duval told me that I had done it.
And you believed him? Yes.
I have blackouts sometimes.
What did you do next? I panicked.
I didn't wanna get caught.
And Dr.
Duval told me that if I cut her up, if I got rid of the body, everybody would think it was some kind of lunatic, that I'd be safe.
He told me exactly what to do.
He told you where to dispose of her body parts? Yes.
And her clothes and her rings.
On the plane, when I was looking at Heidi's ring, I The one I gave her.
I couldn't believe what I had done.
I still loved her.
Your witness.
Your grief might be a little more convincing, sir, if you hadn't just admitted you cut off your wife's head.
Objection.
Withdrawn.
Mr.
Newman.
Mr.
Newman? How long did it take you to cut her up? I don't remember.
I was in a daze.
Please show us how you held the barong.
I told you, I don't remember.
I I was high on drugs, I was out of my mind with fear and grief.
I'd just been told I killed someone I loved.
Did Mr.
Gorton warn you I'd put the murder weapon in your hand? It's an old prosecutor's trick.
Objection.
Relevance? I'll allow it.
Yes.
During one of your prep sessions for today's testimony? Maybe while you were watching a videotape of yourself practicing your story? No, I Yes.
Was that when you rehearsed maintaining eye contact with the jury? Mr.
Gorton told you to do that, didn't he? Yes.
Did he also tell you to suddenly remember this alleged argument between your former wife and Dr.
Duval? No.
I always remembered that.
You just never thought it was important? Well, I didn't know everything then.
But now Mr.
Gorton has filled you in? He told me to tell the truth.
Then let's try this again.
Please show us how you butchered your wife.
Take it.
One hand or two hands, Mr.
Newman? Two hands.
Show us.
How many times did you strike Heidi's neck? I'm not sure.
The Medical Examiner testified there were two blows to the neck.
Did you do that? Yes, that's possible.
You were very angry, weren't you? No, what do you mean? The Medical Examiner testified you struck her with such force, you took her head clean off.
I don't know.
The same with her hands and her feet.
You were in a rage.
No.
And you had plenty to be angry at her for, didn't you? She was keeping you from making a movie.
It was just a movie.
Just a movie that you had been trying to get made for five years? It wasn't that important.
Eight years ago, you won an honorable mention from the New York Film Festival, isn't that right? Yes, for my film Crooked Street.
The critics said your " daring foray into a new American Neorealism "marked you as one of the most promising artists of the American cinema.
" That's right.
What's your current movie about, Mr.
Newman? Talking bears? Yes.
A daring Neorealist foray into Jellystone Park? Does that fulfill your promise as an artist? No.
Heidi Ellison was keeping you from fulfilling that promise, wasn't she? Not just her.
Do you know what kind of crap they wanted me to make? But especially her.
She could have let you make Madame Bovary, couldn't she? Yes.
But she didn't, did she? She gave me a choice.
The bears or a picture about a dog who's granted three wishes.
I couldn't believe it.
You couldn't believe what, Mr.
Newman? I had an actress, a bankable actress, who was attached to Bovary, but Heidi gives her $12 million to do an asteroid movie instead, because our marriage didn't work out.
That vindictive bitch.
I could've made something Dr.
Dan Duval had a motive.
He had opportunity.
And he had a confused, dependent patient to manipulate, just as he manipulated Heidi Ellison.
Now, maybe some of you aren't convinced.
It doesn't say anywhere that you have to be convinced.
All you have to have is a reasonable doubt.
Somebody else might have committed the crime.
Reasonable doubt, ladies and gentlemen.
If you have it, you must acquit.
Everyone likes a good story.
Eddie Newman has made a career of putting stories on film.
And the defense in this case has told you a very good story about a sleazy psychiatrist and a man who believed he'd committed a murder, but recently realized that he didn't.
What actually happened here is less complicated and far more sordid.
A bitter, angry man viciously killed his ex-wife, dismembered her while she was still alive, and then lied about it.
There's no clever twist to the plot.
It's just the messy, ugly truth.
Mr.
Gorton has appealed to what he calls reasonable doubt.
But reasonable doubt is not any doubt.
God has given you all the gift of common sense.
Use it.
Eddie Newman used this weapon to hack to death, not the woman he claimed he loved, but the woman he calls a vindictive bitch.
Find him guilty of murder.
Madam Forewoman, has the jury reached a verdict? Yes, Your Honor, we have.
Will the defendant please rise? On the sole count of the indictment, murder in the first degree, how does the jury find? We, the jury, find the defendant Edward Newman guilty.
You beat me.
Not where it counts.
Family court? I'm ready to cry uncle there, too.
A letter to Judge Barone, withdrawing my custody motion.
It's not signed.
I'll sign it as soon as McCoy announces he won't seek the death penalty for Eddie Newman.
You're a bastard.
I'm a zealous advocate for my client.
I'm trying to save his life.
The People of the State of New York will decide what's right for your client.
Neal, all these years, and you still don't know anything about me.
Jamie.
Yeah, the property clerk's been dying to get this back.
I think he makes his sandwiches with it.
Guilty and the death penalty.
You know, I thought he was gonna walk.
Anybody wanna go out for a drink? Not me.
I'm gonna have supper with my wife.
Yeah.
And I've got a date.
She's no Lisa Lundquist, but she's all right.
I know.
Dinner with Katie.
Whenever possible.
Tonight it's possible.
Started with a killing, ending with an execution.
You got what you wanted.
Take the rest of the week off.
It's Friday, Adam.
So it is.
See you Monday.
Justice Week in Review with Ben Tanner and Jerry Vance.
The big story this week has to be the death sentence handed down by the jury in the Heidi Ellison case.