Law & Order (1990) s14e01 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.
This is the last time, Chris, I swear.
All right, "Pork chops and martinis.
" Veal chops.
And not just martinis apple martinis.
After seven years of marriage, Stella knows what I drink.
After we ate? Met game.
Seats by the first base dugout.
Good.
Mets 5-4 in 10.
How much did you win? Nice touch.
I don't know.
Say, a grand.
She's gonna want half.
Two hundred.
I owe you.
Hey, what'd you do, drink the Great Salt Lake? All right, so those pork chops, rare or what? Veal! I love when you blow.
I swear I'll move in with you when she throws me out.
Whoa, Chris This'll work fine if you stay cool.
You got your cell phone? Holy Moly.
! I make her late teens.
From rigor and blood pooling, dead a couple hours.
From what? Take your pick blunt force trauma to the head or strangulation.
Rape? Slash marks on the breasts.
Definite sexual activity but no obvious vaginal bruising.
Please don't tell me she laid back and enjoyed it.
Hey, Lennie, it looks like Dumb and Dumber over there were just making a pit stop on the way home.
Probably made the alley smell better.
Do we know who she is? No, but I got guys checking all the trash cans.
Between you and me, I got my fingers crossed they come up empty.
Sure.
Why should our lives be easy? Hey, life's one thing.
Telling the girl's parents is another.
Detectives.
I guess I should have crossed my toes.
How? She was only 17.
In an alley? We're sorry for your trouble.
No.
! No.
It can't be her.
Sally's going to go to college.
She wants to be a doctor.
Mr.
Galan, we found Sally on the Upper West Side.
Do you know why she was there? What do you mean? Was she on a date maybe? You see, it's not her.
She was with Katie.
Look, I-I'll call.
You'll see.
Sh Look at the damn picture.
It's her.
I'm sorry.
Who's Katie? Katherine Corwin.
Her friend from St.
Joe's.
Sally spent the weekend.
Her parents have a place in Amagansett.
Oh, you're kidding me.
Her mom called the cops? Well, not exactly.
She called my mom? No.
That pleasure was ours.
Look, I'm not getting in the middle of this.
You wanna know about the weekend, ask Sally.
The problem is we can't.
What's going on? Is Sally all right? - Well, actually - I told her.
I mean, what is she doing with a guy like that? A guy like what? He's a car mechanic.
Wait.
Why don't we back up a couple steps? Sally spent the weekend with this guy A boyfriend? More like something to do.
We made up the story about Amagansett as a cover.
His name's Kurt Lemond.
Did he hurt her? Yeah, I know the bitch.
You might want to rethink that answer, player.
Okay.
Bitch ho.
I'm guessing he doesn't have the complete works of Germaine Greer on his bookshelf.
I hate Nazis.
Hey, man, how old are you? And how big is Hey, look! Don't play with me! I ain't no high school girl! You can drop the attitude, or I'll shove this wrench down your throat.
What's his problem? Your girlfriend's dead.
Whoa.
She was alive when she walked out on me.
Yeah? When was that? Last night, around 10:00 at Bobo's.
Bobo who? It's a club on Yeah.
I know the place.
So you were there with Sally? A couple of tequila shooters, she starts bustin' my chops.
She went her way, I went mine.
A couple hours later, I went home.
You can ask anyone.
Good idea.
In the meantime I do not recognize her.
Well, maybe this'll help she's 17.
Still never seen her.
Well, she was here and now she's dead.
Look, I was back here all night.
I'd know if she was sitting at the bar.
Maybe one of the waitresses.
Julie! You seen this one? Sure.
She was here last night with, uh, that lug Kurt what's-his-name, with the tattoos.
He was knocking the tequila back like it's New Year's in Tijuana.
Sounds like fun.
Oh, yeah, a real whoop-de-do.
First she says he can go "F" himself.
Then he says she can go "F" herself.
He goes to the little boys', she goes for the door and then she tells me I can tell him he can go Yeah.
We get the picture.
What time was that? - Maybe 10:00.
- Did he go back to his table? Yep.
And he didn't miss a beat.
Ordered a double.
I kept 'em coming till around midnight.
- And before he turned into a pumpkin? - Left with some babe I've never seen before.
Real silicon city, but, uh, I doubt he remembers.
What did he do? Probably nothing.
Thanks.
Strangulation, knife wounds.
Subdural hematomas are severe enough to make me think that she was unconscious when he strangled her.
Less fuss, less muss.
Well, from the lack of ligature marks or defensive wounds, I'd guess the fun started once she was out cold.
How do guys get this sick? I think it has something to do with Mom.
Anyway, this guy had a way with a knife.
Wounds are limited to the victim's breasts, some kind of weird pattern.
You don't see that every day.
So I let my fingers do the walking.
Brooklyn, five years back.
Girl disappears without a trace on her way home from the library.
Her body's dumped, bludgeoned, raped, strangled And slashed.
Yeah.
The slash marks on Sally Galan's breasts and those on the Brooklyn girl are close.
- How close? - Close enough for a maybe.
The lab's running D.
N.
A.
On the semen samples.
I'll let you know.
Thanks.
Five year separation.
Not exactly Son of Sam or Zodiac.
Maybe he was out of town.
Or maybe wejust haven't found the bodies.
You know how many teenage girls go missing.
The guy the Galan girl spent the weekend with? Oh, a real sweetheart.
Yeah.
With a real alibi.
Well, I'll set you up with this Detective Goldstein who worked the Brooklyn girl.
Meanwhile, let's not press the public panic button just yet.
You ever have one that won't go away? More than one.
Sorry to hear that.
Holly Pinkston was mine.
Eighteen, pretty as a picture, straight A's.
She left the stacks with an armload of books about Napoleon.
Ran into a girlfriend, yak about this and that, head home, that's it.
So there was no ransom call? Nothing.
Not until a couple of alkies prowling an abandoned warehouse in Red Hook found her body.
Cut, beaten, raped and strangled.
Librarian said there was this guy in the stacks of the European history department around the same time.
Department artist made a sketch; none of the bookworms could ever place him.
- And you never found the guy? - I didn't even know if we were looking for a suspect or a witness.
Hey, we're gonna need a copy of that sketch.
Yeah, that's him.
Who? He sat right there Sunday night.
And Sally Galan and her tattooed friend were where? Right here.
Is he the one who Did he talk to Sally? Barely talked to me.
Just, "shot and a beer.
" You know, he was kind of creepy.
Creepy how? I don't know.
I work in a bar.
Guys flirt with me, especially guys by themselves.
This one just stared.
At Sally? Kind oflike at nothing.
I told him I'd run him a tab.
Most customers jump at that.
- But this guy wanted to pay as he went.
- That makes for a quick exit.
He pulled out a roll.
It must have been, like, three inches thick.
Looked like all ones and fives.
You know, when Kurt got back to the empty table, after your girl left 'cause of the fight, this guy was gone too.
Sure.
He wanted to give her his shoulder to cry on.
Did you show this to Sally Galan's parents? And they never saw him before.
Neither did her friends, people in the building or at school.
So we're back to random.
Looks like.
The only issue is how many.
Missing Persons put this together for us.
The blue pins are the known homicide victims Sally Galan, Holly Pinkston.
The red ones are missing girls who fit the M.
O.
Teens who've vanished in plain view, no prior history as runaways, no ransom demands, no credit card activity.
We're looking at five boroughs and Westchester County blondes, brunettes, Asians, blacks.
I'm not seeing a pattern here.
In all honesty, neither are we.
Well, someone's got to know this guy.
So start with the Manhattan pins.
Work your way to the bridges.
Why would I know him? Well, there is a chance that You think Dana's with him? Like I said, there's a chance, Mrs.
Quilty.
Well, she'll get tired of him.
I haven't touched her room, you know.
I want it to be just like she remembers it when she gets back.
You know, it has been almost a year.
That Elizabeth Smart girl out West, she came home.
I saw her on the news playing the harp.
My Dana plays the flute.
She was coming home from a lesson when sh I'm sorry.
I've never seen him before.
Could you do us a favor not for your daughter, but for the missing girls would you mind holding on to that sketch and showing it to some of Dana's friends? Those poor girls.
Sophie was really a good kid.
I know that sounds corny, but she was.
She was walking home from practice Music? Basketball.
She's a pretty good two-guard.
They actually recruited her to play at Marbury Prep.
I don't harbor any illusions.
I know Sophie's dead.
My mother and father know too.
They never could've left the city if they had any hope.
The hardest thing about it is imagining what some freak did to her.
Have you seen anyone who looks like this? I'm sorry.
You okay? Yeah.
I'm all right.
It just came back all of a sudden.
I'm sorry, man.
No.
I know you're trying to help.
I'm just going to sit here for a while.
I'll call you if Marbury Prep's on the Upper East Side, right? Yeah.
Eighty-third and Second.
That's a long walk here, especially after hoops practice.
Now Bobo's Bar is across town from Galan's apartment.
The library's gotta be two miles from the Pinkston girl's place.
And the flute player disappeared, what, 50 blocks from home? So? So unless all these girls were training for the marathon A cabbie.
Would hit all the boroughs.
And a cabbie would have a large wad of small bills.
Damn.
Twenty-five thousand hacks in this town.
How come I can never get a cab? Complaints are third floor.
By the way, that number doesn't include livery and vans.
You sound like a "glass-half-empty" kinda guy.
I'm just giving you the stats.
The guy we're looking for is white, mid-40s, native-born.
Why didn't you say so? You eliminate the Africans and the English-as-a-second-language crew, the number goes down to 1,500.
What about guys who just got their hack license five years ago? I'd have to ask Mr.
Computer.
Then why don't you do that? Hey, past two years, I quit the life.
Yeah.
Paris Hilton begged me to stay at her place in the Hamptons.
How could I say no? Man, cut the crap.
It hurts, okay? 'Cause the idiot brother-in-law told me the future's in popcorn.
What's wrong with popcorn? Oh, nothing, at a movie.
He wants to start stores, like Starbucks.
Charge a lot, he says.
The morons will eat it up like it's Like popcorn? Exactly.
So I mortgage the house, quit the job.
We open up one store and never get out from under.
And after all this, the wife calls me a bum, takes everything I got left.
All right.
You want to tell me where you were Sunday night? Right here, minus a paycheck 'cause the commissar there gave me a vehicle that wouldn't start.
Is that right, chief? Nothing wrong with that vehicle.
He flooded the engine.
- Cossack! - If somebody doesn't give me a straight answer, I'm gonna lock everybody up.
He was here.
We're talking to all the cabbies, Mr.
Bruner.
Where were you Sunday night? I asked you a question, Mr.
Bruner.
Mr.
Bruner, you're going to have to tell us where you were on the night of the 23rd.
Twenty-third.
That was a Sunday.
Good.
Now that we've synchronized our calendars, where were you? Here.
Anybody visit you, Mr.
Bruner? - Here? - Yes here.
No.
Any phone calls? - No phone.
- No TV either.
So how'd you spend the evening? What do you mean? You read a book, you do a crossword puzzle? - No.
- So you just sat here by yourself in the dark? Why would I sit in the dark? Do you want some cheese? Put it down.
- The Gouda? - Drop it.
You know, I'd feel a whole lot more comfortable if we talked somewhere where there weren't any sharp objects.
I can get you a lawyer, Mark.
Why would I need one, Ed? If you had enough to charge me, you would have.
You didn't.
So why should we waste anyone's time? You sound like you've been through this before.
I got an "A" in citizenship.
And I'm very proud of you.
You know, I can't help but wonder and this may just be the cop in me but I'm a little curious.
I'd really like to know why you knocked this girl out before you raped her.
I mean, how much fun could that be? Wasn't me.
I mean, she's just layin' there in the cab, or wherever, almost like she's dead.
I mean, the only thing I can think of is that you didn't want her to see See what? Come on, man.
Both of us have been in locker rooms.
Some dudes got it, some don't.
And girls these days, they've been around, some of them.
They know the difference.
Yeah, I guess if a teenage girl were laughing at you, it would be a whole lot easier just to smack her first.
What? Oh, I like you.
The guy I saw, he must have shaved that day.
Sorry.
It's the best we can do.
- Number four, I guess.
- You sure? Pretty sure.
Look at him a little longer, Julie.
Four.
I'm positive.
That's the magic word.
Read Mr.
Bruner his rights.
Docket number 2308 People v.
Bruner, Mark P.
One count murder in the first degree.
Jessica Sheets, assigned 18-B counsel on behalf of Mr.
Bruner.
- How does Mr.
Bruner plead? - Not guilty.
In addition to the instant crime, the defendant is implicated in a homicide in Kings County.
That's very interesting, but it doesn't get you to murder one in this state, counselor.
We can make a case for torture, Your Honor.
And am I glad I'm not the one to hear the details.
Due to the heinous nature of the crime, the People request remand.
Ms.
Sheets? Defense takes no position on bail.
Remand it is, then.
Cart before the horse, Jessica.
I won't talk plea until we know the extent of your client's crimes.
Bruner's D.
N.
A.
Matched semen found both on Sally Galan and the girl in Brooklyn.
And two's not good enough for you? Not if one of them isn't in my jurisdiction.
We're still waiting to talk to the Brooklyn D.
A.
About consolidation.
You know, I don't get you people.
I'm serving up a murderer on a platter.
Take the death penalty off the table.
How many murderers have you defended, Jessica? I don't have that many fingers.
Then it must've crossed your mind that Bruner's M.
O.
Suggests he might be a serial offender.
Evidence, Jack.
You need facts, not suggestions.
There was a five-year gap between Sally Galan and Holly Pinkston.
Bruner was on the street all of that time.
You've got to suspect Add your suspicions to his suggestions, it makes for a great gothic tale, not a case.
If he tells us about any other murders, I'll reexamine the death penalty.
You didn't ask for bail, Jessica.
- You must know - I know a lot of things.
I know I defended a father who raped and murdered his 11-year-old daughter.
I've defended a guy who for no apparent reason walked into a grocery store, shot 12 innocent people with an Uzi.
Right now, I've got a kid who decapitated his mom, hung her head on a stick outside of his church.
All the scum of the Earth, they send 'em my way.
I do my best for them.
But this guy So you're turning down my offer? You know I have no choice.
Damn it.
- All you have to do is - I can't! Mark Bruner scares the socks off of me, Jack.
How am I supposed to represent someone that I'm scared to death to be in the same room with? Did he threaten you? My motion to be relieved.
I know you have to oppose it, but do you really have to win? Appointment to the 18-B assigned counsel pool comes with its disadvantages, Ms.
Sheets.
I'm aware of my responsibilities You bought a ticket; now you've got to see the show.
The People do not oppose the motion, Your Honor.
Of course you don't oppose it.
If she walks, the only one who gets hurt is the defendant.
I assure you that did not influence my decision.
Oh, a prosecutor with a heart.
Mm-mm.
Ain't that sweet.
If I grant her motion, all you've gotta do is tell the jury that Mr.
Bruner's first attorney resigned.
The big inference they'll draw from that is that he's guilty and she knew it.
Ms.
Sheets's prior involvement in the case wouldn't be relevant at trial.
So you say now.
Okay, tell me why? I cannot represent Mr.
Bruner with the zealousness required by the Canons of Ethics.
Tell me why.
Counsel assured me that defending Mr.
Bruner would in and of itself be a violation of the Canons.
- I asked her.
- For obvious reasons, I can't be specific.
And what does your client think of this? I doubt he'll oppose.
Put it in writing.
We'll let Legal Aid sort out this mess.
They don't earn enough to worry about ethics.
Oh, next time, try the avgolemono.
It's the best in the city.
Tim Schwimmer, Legal Aid Society, representing Mark Bruner.
What can I do for you, counselor? It's what I'm gonna do for you.
I'm impressed.
Married to a Greek girl for a minute, a thousand years ago.
I'm sure Ms.
Sheets told you we're not talking deal.
Oh, why would I deal? He's gonna get the best defense money can't buy.
There's a unique approach Legal Aid crying poverty.
The few, proud, the underpaid.
The always popular motion to suppress.
I apologize in advance for the smudges.
It was either a laser printer or a microwave.
The office vote was unanimous.
The cops screwed up, Jack.
The I.
D.
Never sees the light of day.
Sure, the witness picked my client out of a lineup.
That was only after she'djust seen his picture.
A photo array, I presume? Well, you'd think, wouldn't you? One picture does not an array make.
It was a sketch made by a police artist.
A damn good one, computer enhanced.
It was not a photographic likeness, Your Honor.
It was good enough to suggest to the witness.
United States v.
Crews, the Supreme Court ruled that court I.
D.
S are permissible even where the witness's recollection may have been tainted by viewing a photo beforehand.
The Crews court found another basis for that I.
D.
That In this case, the witness observed the defendant at her place of work for several hours.
The lineup I.
D.
Is based on that observation.
Prompted by an accurate computer likeness ofhis face.
I fail to see the difference between that and a photograph.
Neither do I.
The I.
D.
Is out.
- In that case, the D.
N.
A.
, being fruit of the illegal identification, should also - Don't.
Don't press it, Mr.
Schwimmer.
I know you.
That's my problem.
Oh, come on.
You're going to hold my brilliant legal mind against me? It wasn't so much your brilliance as Judge Karan's idiocy.
Look, I respect what you do, Mr.
Schwimmer.
It doesn't mean I have to like you.
Let me tell you about me.
I grew up in Lakeview.
Look at a map sometime.
I'll be damned if I can find a lake anywhere in Queens, but that's beside the point.
City College, then on to teaching algebra to kids whose only interest in math was counting the notches on their guns.
Well, now you get to represent those kids all grown up.
Do you think Legal Aid was my first choice? The problem is, after Fordham Law at night, Wall Street didn't exactly open its arms.
Looked to me like you were having a grand old time.
Hey, I don't have to second seat anyone.
You should think about it.
I prefer my killers behind bars, thank you.
I never thought I'd win that motion.
Well, then why did you make it? Practice.
I wish you'd saved it for a more deserving client.
Are you kidding? What could be a better career boost than a serial killer? F.
Lee Bailey had the Boston Strangler.
I've got Mark Bruner.
Excuse me.
He's obnoxious is what he is.
He only wants to make a name for himself so he can move on to seven-figure criminals.
The job of a congressman is to become a senator.
The job of a senator is to become president.
Everyone does what they do for the wrong reasons, but somehow the whole system works.
That's politics, not law.
Same difference.
Oh, really? What's your secret ambition? It wouldn't be a secret then, would it? Jack McCoy's office.
Yes, Mr.
Schwimmer, it's me.
Because I was closer to the phone, that's why.
Fine.
Schwimmer wants to talk tomorrow morning with Bruner.
Here comes the plea.
F.
Lee Bailey didn't make a career for himself cutting deals.
Every once in a while even a congressman has to listen to his constituents.
Nothing has changed.
Twenty-five to life, two counts, running consecutively.
And that's only if you describe your life in detail for the past five years.
- That's absurd.
What's in it for him? - At least you didn't say you.
She doesn't like me.
What's in it for your client is that he doesn't die.
- Everybody dies.
- Most people don't have a judge decide when.
Oh.
I'm bored.
So add a little excitement.
Tell me if there were any other girls.
Yeah.
Sure.
Why not? I'm sorry.
You'll have to be more specific.
Fifteen, sixteen.
Who counts? Okay, death penalty's gone? - Not yet.
- The best was this little blonde.
I don't think she was 15.
What's a mother doing letting a kid that age out at night alone? I want a name, a location.
He doesn't believe me.
If you want to live, I'll need specifics.
Where is the body you just told us about? Right with all the others.
And where is that? That wasn't part of the deal.
Besides, spilling all the beans, what fun would that be? I'll need some kind of confirmation.
Confirmation? Hell, just ask my lawyer.
Shut up, Mark.
He doubts my credibility.
That's what you lawyers say, isn't it? Go ahead.
Ask him.
- And why would I believe him? - Don't say Because he saw them, that's why.
You sure he isn't lying? I saw his lawyer's face.
Yeah.
Who is that stupid S.
O.
B.
Anyway? Tim Schwimmer, Legal Aid.
And he isn't exactly stupid.
- He listened when his client told him about 15 other murders? - Yes.
He confirmed that his client was telling the truth by taking a peek at the bodies? Yes.
Okay, then what's dumber than stupid? Now can I assume that you told Mr.
Schwimmer this wasn't the time for heroics? Of course.
But he takes the attorney-client privilege seriously.
Yeah, and I'm betting he doesn't have any kids.
If all Schwimmer wants to do is make a name for himself, he's lucky that the parents of those missing girls don't know what he's up to.
You know what? His luck just ran out.
What the hell is this? - I always was partial to alliteration.
- And I'm partial to staying alive.
Negotiations between defense counsel and the prosecutor's office are supposed to be confidential.
A story like that was bound to leak to the press.
And I assume you did your best to prevent that? Assume what you want.
You know how many death threats I've gotten? There are parents outside my office holding signs.
They are throwing eggs, rocks, God knows what.
I'll prosecute them, Mr.
Schwimmer, and then you can represent them.
How does it go? What goes around I'm in the right here.
What's right is to let the parents of hundreds of missing girls know if their children are dead or alive.
Look, what I did was stupid.
I know that.
But my hands are tied here.
You know that.
This morning was the News.
I wouldn't be shocked if this afternoon was the Post.
Tomorrow, the Times.
Have a nice day.
H- Hold on.
Look, I tried to get Bruner to waive the privilege.
You want to try your hand at it, be my guest.
Now this is what I call fun.
It's not meant to be.
Well, it is.
You coming to me begging.
Oh, how I wish you hailed my cab.
Sure.
You'll hide behind that mask of virtue.
Serena.
Serena.
Serena.
No.
Don't get him upset, not until we get what we want.
I know something you don't know.
I'll promise right now in front of your attorney to remove the death penalty from consideration.
Now where have I heard this before? And no matter how many counts of murder you're convicted of, the sentences will run concurrently.
That's 25 years, Mark.
At least, after that you'd be up for parole That's a joke.
Then just give us the names.
- The parents of a lot of missing girls want to know if - No.
Let them suffer.
I'm gonna sit in a cell the rest of my life anyway.
Not if you don't tell us, you won't.
Tough guy.
Go ahead, McCoy.
You charge me with whatever you got.
Life without death You see, really, I don't care.
I'll tell you what I'll do.
I'll confess right now.
Let's go straight to sentencing.
Any jury in their right mind would vote to stick a needle in my arm.
And you know what I'll do then? I'm gonna take every appeal required by law and then some.
And then, in 12 years time, when you're playing shuffleboard in Miami Beach, then maybe I'll think about telling whoever's sitting in that seat where they can find the bodies.
You would so enjoy seeing them too.
Just ask him.
Hmm? All piled up, nice and neat, hidden behind lock and key.
They don't smell so sweet, but they are a beautiful sight.
Aren't they? Let's go.
Feel free to come back anytime.
There isn't any point.
Sure there is.
You can't take your eyes off me.
Truth is, without me, you wouldn't exist.
I'm the un-you.
He makes you glad Pataki reinstated the death penalty.
Bruner's the poster child for eliminating mandatory appeals.
What do you always say to me? "Don't let the defendant " Call Van Buren.
Have Schwimmer arrested.
Excuse me? Bruner said the bodies were under lock and key.
That means when Schwimmer went to look at them, he unlocked the door.
And when he left, he locked it back up.
In other words, he helped cover up multiple felonies.
Charge him as an accomplice to murder.
We want Schwimmer.
! We want Schwimmer! We want Schwimmer! You know, they're not entirely wrong.
Timothy Schwimmer, you're under arrest for aiding and abetting multiple murders.
You have the right to remain silent.
You're sick.
! How can you protect that bastard? Anything you say can be used against you in a court oflaw.
You have the right to an attorney.
I think he knows that part, Ed.
Let's go out this way.
If you cannot afford one, one will be Fifteen years I've been at Legal Aid.
I gotta tell ya This is the most egregious abuse of the prosecutor's office I've ever seen.
Your client covered up a crime.
He tampered with evidence.
And let me guess Said enumerated felonies will all disappear if he violates his obligation to his client.
These are the Canons, Ms.
Weiss.
Show me the section where it says that counsel has to tiptoe through the fruits of his client's labors.
He was curious.
Rap his knuckles.
But the bottom line is one law can't force him to do what another one says he can't.
What your client did was a clear violation of the law.
He's one of the good guys.
Now you're going to ruin his life? You want to talk about ruined lives? Let's talk about the hundreds of people gathered outside your office as we speak.
Mr.
McCoy Forget it, Wendy.
I'm sorry, Mr.
McCoy.
I just can't do it.
I thought all true believers went the way of vinyl records.
Schwimmer's just putting on a show for his bosses.
He'll put his career into perspective soon enough.
What career? He works for Legal Aid, for crying out loud.
A couple of crying parents on the stand, Schwimmer will fold before our eyes.
And ethics be damned.
Exactly.
I can't imagine anyone in their right mind going to prison to protect Bruner.
You're awfully quiet? I guess I'm closer to the ivory tower than you.
We represent the People of the State of New York, Serena.
They want to know which 15 girls have been tortured, raped and murdered by Bruner.
And the point I'm trying to make is if you walk into that courtroom, you're not trying Tim Schwimmer.
You're trying the system.
Well, maybe it's time.
Besides, this will never go to verdict.
How do you suppose the story got to the papers anyhow? Stop.
I don't want to hear about it.
It's going on five years.
Michelle was working at the Metropolitan Museum after school.
She was already accepted at Brown.
She was going to major in Art History.
What time did Michelle usually get off work? 7:00.
She was home by 7:30, quarter to 8:00 at the latest depending on how difficult it was to get a cab.
And the last time you saw her? The morning of May 16.
I had the flu.
When she left for school, she stuck her head in my bedroom and asked if she could pick up dinner.
But she never got home that night? No.
- And she never called? - No.
Wrote a letter? No.
At first we thought she went off with friends to Atlantic City or someplace we wouldn't allow her to go.
And then? After a day, we called the police Missing Persons and they told us a lot of times teenage girls leave home for no apparent reason.
They're mad at their parents, their parents don't even realize it.
Why did you come to my office, Mrs.
Goddard? I read in the papers that Mr.
Schwimmer might know where Michelle is.
You bastard! Objection.
Michelle might be dead.
He knows.
- That's enough, Mrs.
Goddard.
The law shouldn't protect him.
The law should protect Michelle.
- Approach, Your Honor.
- I just want to bury my baby.
That's Mr.
McCoy's fifth witness, and we still don't have one stitch of incriminating evidence.
The jury should see the effect of Mr.
Schwimmer's criminal activity.
Which is impossible unless we know for sure the witnesses' daughters are, in fact, Mr.
Bruner's victims.
Which is impossible as long as the defendant chooses to keep his mouth shut.
Sorry, Mr.
McCoy.
You've rung the emotion bell long enough.
Now try ringing the evidentiary one.
We don't get to choose our cases.
A call comes in from the court, your name is up, it's your case.
So you've handled murder cases before? No.
This was my first.
Before that I was in the property damage pool.
Graffiti? That must have prepared you for a multiple homicide defense.
I thought it did.
I thought the law is the law; a trial's a trial.
But it's not? Dealing with life and death, no, it's not.
So when you were doing property damage cases, did you go out to the scene of a crime? No.
The photos were typically sufficient to mount a defense.
Then what in the world comp I wish I knew.
I've been beating myself up ever since.
When Bruner first told me about the bodies, I couldn't believe one man could I thought in order to be able to negotiate an equitable deal I should confirm his story.
Did you knowingly violate any statute of the State of New York? Of course not.
More than anything, I'd love to be able to tell the prosecutors, the parents, what I know.
But if I did, I would be violating my obligations as an attorney.
And you take those obligations seriously, do you? Of course.
And that's why you never mentioned the 15 or 16 other bodies until after Mr.
Bruner told us about them? I was bound not to.
But, the fact is, he told us about them.
That's right.
He told you they existed, not where or who they are.
If I disclosed that, I would be in violation of my The Canons of Ethics, I know, I know.
You are aware that Mr.
Bruner has already confessed to two murders, aren't you? Of course.
And he has already been sentenced to die by lethal injection, isn't that correct? Yes.
So who's it going to hurt? Certainly not Mr.
Bruner.
Not the families of the missing girls.
Not me.
Not thejudge or thejury.
That leaves only one person, Mr.
Schwimmer.
You.
You're wrong! Look, under the circumstances it might sound ridiculous, but if I disclose what I know, we all get hurt.
This whole thing, this entire legal system, only works as well as it does because I'm doing what I'm doing.
This is exactly why the People of New York pay my salary.
Now they'd like to put me in prison for it.
Somehow, Mr.
Schwimmer, I think the People would overlook your legal indiscretions if you told them what they wanted to know.
The clerk said the jury will be back in 10 minutes.
They've got to finish lunch, don't they? - Is this really what you want? - Mr.
Schwimmer.
Nothing to talk about, Mr.
McCoy.
It's okay.
Give us a minute.
I can't talk to you without your attorney present.
I'll tell you what.
I'll waive that obligation.
You have to know you lost as soon as the first crying mother took the stand.
I only went to law school nights, but I did learn the basics.
If you could just give us something, anything And if pigs could fly Back in Lakeview, I loved to go to the movies.
I'd sit there all afternoon with this enormous box ofJujyfruits.
First I'd pick out the red ones, then the yellow, green.
The blacks I'd give to my buddy Mel.
Unfortunately, I don't have that luxury now.
I can't pick and choose the rules I want to follow and when to follow them.
If you helped us, I doubt that any bar association in the country would even consider disbarring you.
Shame on them.
Have you reached a verdict? We have, Your Honor.
We find the defendant, Timothy Schwimmer, guilty on all counts.
I guess I misread him from the beginning.
I'm gonna go home and get out my vinyl records.
A week in Attica, he'll talk.
I doubt it.
We put the system on trial.
We lost.
Knock on wood.