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Written by: David E. Kelley ------------------------------------------------- Lindsay: Previously on The Practice Eugene opens George Vogleman's medical bag, and screams. Ellenor: What? Eugene: There is a had in the bag. George: It's a woman I met a bar last night. Eugene: What are you doing with her head? George: Somebody put it there. *** Police officer: George Vogleman you are under arrest for the murder of Susan Robin. *** Ellenor: The guy who killed your girlfriend is not George Vogleman. Part of their case is the notion that Susan could never have gone off on some one nighter. Can you think of anything that could explain why she would? Jay: I had been a little...pause... unfaithful to Susan. *** Eugene: As I said to your dad I am convinced that they got the wrong guy. That means that this thing was either mission to frame George Vogleman or somebody was after your sister. Is it possible that your sister could have kept some part of her life secret? Steve (Susan's brother) She did spend a lot time on the internet. *** Helen: Your guy was last seen with her. He had her head. If George Vogelman didn't do it he certainly represents reasonable doubt for whoever did. Ellenor: What are you saying? Helen: They are not gonna reopen the investigation. **** Judge: I don't give orders to the police on how to investigate their cases. Ellenor: I am asking you to order them to investigate period! Judge: Well I can't order them to keep looking if they are convinced they have the killer. If they are thinking he is a suspect we have a device to deal with that, we call it the trial. **** Episode begins*** In some restaurant: Ellenor, Eugene and Jay are talking. Ellenor: Jay, I really appreciate your willingness to testify. Jay: I'm not gonna be that much help, Ms. Frutt. I can't say I think your client is innocent. Ellenor: I know, but you are the only one who can supply a possible reason why your girlfriend would have gone to a motel with George Vogelman. Swoosh to someone's home. Steve: I'm not crazy about helping the guy who killed my sister. Eugene: All we're asking is that you talk about the internet thing. Swoosh to a doctor's office... Dr Roberts: I can't. Ellenor: Dr. Roberts, you know George Vogelman better than anybody. Dr. Roberts: But I wouldn't be able to say that I truly know him. I see him at work, I... look, his being arrested for this crime... It's hurt the whole office. I don't want to step into a witness chair and associate our medical corporation-- Ellenor: He was an usher at your wedding. Dr Roberts: And I couldn't imagine him doing what they're accusing him of. But nor could I imagine his taste for pornography or his going home from bars with strangers. At best, all I could testify to is that I thought I knew him. Swoosh to office DYDF. Ellenor: Even his friends have pulled away. Bobby: What have you got? Ellenor: No history of violence. Reputation for honesty. Came forward on his own volition. Eugene: Loner. Lucy: Advertises in the personals. Rebecca: Likes porno. Jimmy: Keeps to himself. Ellenor: All right. Bobby: How many friends or associates you talk to? Eugene: A dozen, maybe more. Bobby: Anybody say they really knew the guy, I mean completely? Eugene: No. Bobby: Great. Rebecca: Ok, this is what I think. They go to the motel, then this woman rejected him at the wrong time. Maybe he felt sexually humiliated or whatever. This is the ultimate ridicule, and then he snapped. Lucy: Chopped off her head? Rebecca: Now, what's he gonna do? He's got no chance of getting away with it. He's got a better shot at making it look like he was framed. Bobby: So he sticks her head in his medical bag and the big show begins. Eugene: Loner. Lucy: Foot doctor. Rebecca: He did it. Eugene: Got mad. Lost his head. Ellenor: The loner. Is that it? Anything else? Lucy: There's no death penalty in Massachusetts, right? Opening Credits Ellenor: You keep your head up, George. Don't be shaking it "no, no, no." Just keep your head up. They're gonna tell their story, and then we're gonna get to tell ours. George: Ok. Ellenor: Bathroom? Anybody need to go? Eugene: All set. George: I went. Ellenor: Ok. Courtroom, DA, Mr. Tisbury presenting his opening arguments. DA: Last seen with her. Her severed head was in his possession. Her blood was in his car. As our case will show, there is not one piece-- not one piece of physical or testimonial evidence that points to anybody other than George Vogelman. That's because George Vogelman gruesomely, hideously murdered Susan Robin. It's not even a question. Ellenor: Sometimes how things look are not how they are. And there's a reason we bother with the trial. All we ask is that you be objective and you pay close attention to everything you hear. Judge West: Mr. Tisbury. DA: The Commonwealth calls Helen Gamble to the stand. Helen: His attorneys called and asked me to come down to their offices. DA: Why did they call you, ms. Gamble? Helen: One of the attorneys there is my roommate, another one I've dated. DA: So they figured in you they'd get a sympathetic district attorney. Helen: I don't think they were expecting special treatment. They wanted to surrender a client and hoped I could help them do it quietly. DA: Did they tell you any details about the case? Helen: No. They simply asked me to come to the offices. They said is was serious. DA: So you went. Helen: Yes. DA: And what happened after you got there? Helen: They took me into a room and informed me that their client had a human head in his medical bag. DA: How did you respond? Helen: I thought they were joking. Then they pointed to the bag. DA: Is this the bag? Helen: Yes. DA: Mark and identify, your honor. Judge West: Marked, exhibit one. DA: And what happened next, Ms. Gamble? Helen: They asked me to look in the bag. DA: And did you? Helen: Yes. DA: And what did you see? Helen: A human head. DA: Now, ms. Gamble, if I could... (DA's assistant puts a cooler on his table) Helen: You gotta be kidding me. Ellenor: Objection! Judge West: Counsel... is what's in that cooler what I think it is? DA: Chain of custody, your honor. Ellenor: I object to that! Judge West: In chambers, counsel. Members of the jury,10 minutes. Let's go. DA takes the cooler and brings it with him into judge's chambers. Ellenor: Just bringing that thing in is grounds for a mistrial. DA: You want a mistrial on the first witness, Ellenor? Eugene: That's a stunt to inflame the jury. Judge West: Would it be all right if I talk? It better be good. DA: Your honor the fact that this is so grotesque, it's relevant. Ellenor: How? DA: He had it in his bag. Anybody who could carry something like that around, it's evidence of the kind of psychotic mind that goes with the very crime-- Eugene: First of all, he didn't know it was in his bag. DA: Even under your theory he didn't do it, he knowingly had it in his bag for more than 3 hours before he called-- Ellenor: because he panicked. DA: You make your arguments, I'll make mine. Your honor, they'll be saying he behaved like an innocent man. As soon as he saw it, he called the police. Well, that's not what he did. He carried it back to his car, drove to his lawyer's office, carried it up the elevator-- Judge West: You can introduce all that without bringing the head into court. Ellenor: He wants to horrify the jury, your honor. That's-- DA: And I maintain that's relevant. A reasonable person would be horrified. A reasonable person would repulse and not even approach the bag again, much less pack it up, go to the car-- Judge West: Counsel-- DA: It's legitimate for the jury to experience some of the horror so they can assess what's a reasonable reaction under the circumstances. Judge West: The head is inadmissible. Ellenor: I want him sanctioned in open court, your honor. The cooler alone-- Judge West: Why don't you just be satisfied with my ruling and leave it there? We hear ice settling and everyone looks at the cooler. DA: That's just ice settling. Back in the courtroom. Helen: He then gave me the address of the motel that he and the victim had gone to. DA: And did you go there? Helen: Yes. Along with detective McKrew and attorney Frutt. We went there and discovered the body. Eugene: Mr. Vogelman cooperated at all times, did he not? Helen: Yes, he did. Eugene: Yes, he did. In fact, the only reason you or the police know a crime had even been committed is because Mr. Vogelman came forward. Helen: That's true. Detective McKrew: And blood scrapings from the floor boards of his car. Doctor: Exact genetic match with the victim. A witness: They seemed friendly at the bar, but there was nothing sexual going on. DA: Did they leave your bar together, sir? Witness: No. He left, and then she left about 10 or 15minutes later. Susan's father: My daughter was nota promiscuous woman. Susan's friend: Well, even if she would go to a bar, which I guess she did, I couldn't ever see her going back to a motel with some guy she just met. Plus... DA: Plus what? Susan's friend: Sorry, but... he's kind of old and not very good-looking. Detective McKrew: The only samples in the room belonged to the victim or the defendant. DA: So if somebody else did go in there... Detective McKrew: It had to be immaculate. Ellenor: It's happened, murderers leaving behind no physical evidence whatsoever? It has happened? Detective McKrew: Yes, but the odds are-- Ellenor: It's happened? Yes or no, detective. Detective McKrew: Yes. Eugene: And, detective, you're familiar with a serial killer known as the poet? Detective McKrew: We don't believe that-- Eugene: The question is, are you familiar with a serial killer known as the poet? Detective McKrew: Yes. Ellenor: Again, yes or no-- this person decapitates his victims? Yes or no. Detective McKrew: Yes. Eugene goes back to his sit, DA gets up. DA: But you ruled him out. Detective McKrew: The poet severs the hands as well and leaves the head behind. He doesn't take it with him. Ellenor: It's gone as well as can be expected. George: This is going well? Even I'm beginning to think I'm guilty. Ellenor: Look, everything they put in, we were ready for. It's not like they put up some surprise witness that you've done some strange things to cats or something. George, you know what I mean. We've expected all of this testimony. It's not that it's not damaging, but there haven't been any surprises. George: So what now? Swoosh to offices DYDF. Conference room. Eugene: We might want to rest. Bobby (at the same time as Ellenor): Rest? Ellenor: What? Eugene: Well, think about it. All they've proven is 2 things: He was with her. He had her head. Rebecca: Pretty good proof, ask me. Eugene: No weapon. No eyewitness. They've tied him to a corpse, not a crime. Bobby: Still, Eugene... Lindsay: You can't rest on that. Eugene: Look, I'm not sayin' it's the thing to do, but let's face it--what do we have? Nice guy? Maybe we should just say to the jury, hey, we were ready to put on a defense, but since they didn't make their burden, we don't need to. Ellenor: That is such a risk. Eugene: We already sprinkled on the idea of the poet. Ellenor (at the same time) Internet. Maybe a stalker? Lindsay: You can't rest. Lucy: Pretty lame. Lindsay: Eugene, he looks completely guilty. You can't just get up and say they didn't make their burden. That's stupid. Eugene: Maybe we could say he involuntarily cut her head off 5 times. Lindsay: Oh, that's real funny. Eugene: Are you calling me stupid? Bobby: All right. Lindsay: I didn't call you stupid. I said it would be stupid to rest. Bobby: All right. Ellenor... what do you think? Ellenor: Well, I see Eugene's point, but I don't think a jury is gonna let him go on a burden of proof thing. I think our best defense is George. He's honest, and he plays honest. Jimmy: If George didn't do it, then who? Ellenor: It's not our job to answer that question. Jimmy: I realize this, but it's the question I keep asking, and the jury's gonna be asking it back in that room. [All talking at once] Hold on. Everybody's racing. Bobby (gets up): If I understand your thinking on this, Ellenor, the police basically stopped looking. That should be our defense. The only reason we don't know who else if not George is because the police never asked that question. That's what you have to key on. Jimmy: But the guy had her head in his bag. We're gonna put the police on trial for not asking who else could have done it? Bobby: We're not putting the police on trial. Jimmy: You guys are playing games. At the end of the day, he had her head. That's got nothing to do with any faulty investigation. He had her head. Lindsay: So tell us what to do, Einstein. Jimmy: You know something, Lindsay? You've been bitchy a lot lately-- Eugene: This isn't helping anything. (all talking at the same time) Rebecca: I agree with Jimmy. Lindsay: I'm a bitch? Rebecca: On his defense theory. You have to defend George. You can't be attacking the police. Eugene: We gotta do both. We gotta put George up, let him be as convincing as he can be, and we gotta open the door to other possibilities. Lindsay: Excuse me. Hello. Boyfriend lives alone. Brother, big house. Eugene: So? Lindsay: So, the murder took place between 1:00 and 3 A.M. Why weren't they considered? Ellenor: They were checked out. They're both choirboys. Lindsay: Yeah, but still, no official alibi if everyone's asleep. Why not plan "b" them? They're going to testify anyway. Lucy: What's plan "b"? Eugene: It might be worth a try. Lindsay: Give them a soft plan "B." Lucy: What's plan "b"? Rebecca: Talk about a risk... Eugene: Have you got any better ideas? Ellenor: All right. But first we have to be sure it won't backfire. Jimmy: Plan "B". Soft, for both. Bobby: Comb every report. Make sure it's really available. Ellenor: They both gave statements. Bobby: Dissect them. Eugene: You take the boyfriend. I got the brother. Lucy: What the hell is plan "b"? Swoosh to jail cell, Ellenor is meeting with George. Ellenor: Basically it means we point the finger at other people. It's very dangerous, because normally, when the defense starts hatching theories of their own, the jury can shift the burden back to us, which we definitely do not want. George: And when you say soft... Ellenor: Our soft plan "b" is we do it more gently. Instead of accusing, it's more like "what if-ing." It's less likely to alienate the jury... but it's a risky strategy. George: Well, then why do it? Ellenor: Because we don't have much else to go with. What? George: The things that I've been reading about myself in the papers. I'm not a big fan of accusing people falsely. Ellenor: George, this is a murder trial here. You're the defendant. Commercial In the courtroom. Ellenor: First, I want to thank you for testifying, Jay. And second, I want to convey my sympathy. You were Susan Robin's boyfriend? Jay: Yes. Ellenor: And you loved her? Jay: I did. Ellenor: Jay, we've heard a lot of testimony to the effect that it was uncharacteristic for Susan to have gone to a bar alone and especially to a motel with a man she had just met. Would you agree with that testimony? Jay: Yes. Ellenor: I know this is a difficult question, and I thank you in advance for your honesty. But you do know of a reason why she may have behaved uncharacteristically that night, don't you? Jay: A possible reason. Ellenor: Could you share that with us? Jay: Susan had discovered me with another woman the day of her death. Ellenor: So it could have been she went to a bar and then to a motel with another man out of hurt? As a way of lashing back? Jay: I don't think she would do that. I really don't. But I can't exclude the possibility? (Jimmy walks into the courtroom) No. Ellenor: Jay, do you have any information on Susan's death? (Jimmy is now saying something to Eugene) Jay: No. Ellenor: You were home when this happened, asleep? Eugene: Excuse me, your honor. Could I confer with counsel one second? Judge West: Make it fast. Eugene: Jimmy interviewed one of the cops. This guy supposedly was on the phone with the other woman till 2:00in the morning. Ellenor: Why wasn't that in the report? Eugene: I don't know, but you can't plan "b" him. We'll get clipped. Ellenor: What about the brother? Eugene: Still a shot there. I hope. Ellenor: Ok, Jay. That's all I have. Nothing further your honor. In a jail cell, meeting with George again. George: What happened? Ellenor: He had an alibi. Look, it still went ok. Any idea that you maybe abducted her, we put a dent in that. George: These are very small victories, it seems. Ellenor: Anything new on the brother, at all? Eugene: No. Ellenor: I'd go hard. Eugene: What, and look like a monster I will soften it on close. Go for him. In the courtroom Steve: Something about somebody on a chat line. That's all she said. Eugene: Somebody she was having a relationship with on the internet? Steve: She didn't really give details. My sister and I weren't too close lately. Eugene: Why was that? Steve: Well, since my father had become ill, there was a lot of tension. I had a business that failed and had moved back home. She didn't think that was helping my dad's stress level. It was just family stuff. The point is, we didn't share a lot of intimate secrets. Eugene: Steve, do you think this stuff-- your dad's illness, your business problems-- could they have added to your sister's stress level? Steve: I'm sure they did. Eugene: Maybe caused her to go to a bar just to have a drink, talk to somebody? Steve: That I don't know. Eugene: You didn't know she'd gone to a bar? Steve: Me? No. Eugene: Or to a motel with Mr. Vogelman? Steve: No. How would I have known that? Eugene: Well, you'd know if you'd followed her. Steve: What? Eugene: Did you follow your sister that night? Steve: Excuse me? DA Tisbury: Objection. Eugene: Permission to treat this witness as hostile, your honor. DA: Your honor-- Eugene: This witness is the brother of the victim. Permission to treat him as hostile. Judge: (silence) Go ahead. Eugene: This business failure yours-- did you incur any debt DA: (Steve at the same time: What's going on?) Is there offer of proof. Judge: Sit down down, Mr. Tisbury. Eugene: How much money did you lose, Steve? Steve: About $300,000. Eugene: You owed this amount to people? Steve: I had investors, yes. Eugene: Your father, he has liver cancer, isn't that right? Steve: Yes. Eugene: He was diagnosed with about 8 months to live? Steve: Yes. Eugene: According to his will, if you know, who inherits his estate? Steve: I guess me. Eugene: You guess you. You're the sole beneficiary. Steve: Yes. Eugene: But if your sister were still alive, there'd be 2 beneficiaries, wouldn't there? Steve: What are you saying? Eugene; I'm saying that it works out well for you having your sister die before your dad. DA Tisbury: Objection! Steve: What?! Eugene: If she'd outlived him, the estate goes sideways, maybe splits. DA: Objection! Judge West: All right. Mr. Young? Eugene: This witness has testified as to his estrangement with his sister. He has testified to his debt. He is also the only one to serve up the internet red herring, perhaps to use as a safety net in case suspicion ever fell to him. DA: Move to strike all of that. Eugene: I am entitled to question this witness. Judge West: (silence) Go ahead. Eugene: Anybody with you the night of your sister's murder, Steve? Steve: I was home. My father was home. Eugene: Were you home before you father went to bed? Steve: No. Eugene: When did you get home? Steve: Probably around midnight. Eugene: Did he see you come in? Steve: He goes to bed at 10:00. Eugene: Ever take any medication for depression, Steve? DA: Objection. Judge West: Overruled. Eugene: You ever take any medication for a mental condition, Steve? Steve: I take lithium. Eugene: For depression. Steve: Yes. Eugene: Did you murder your sister and frame George Vogelman? DA: Objection! Steve: What?! Eugene: Did you follow her to the bar, then go to the motel? Steve: Are you crazy? DA: Objection! Judge West: Overruled. Eugene: It was a perfect opportunity, wasn't it? You could get George Vogelman's address by running down his plates. After he leaves the motel, you go inside and make yourself the sole beneficiary and then go to plant the head in George's car. You see the bag and think, "ah, even better." Wipe out a debt and sibling rivalry all in a night's work. Steve: That's sick! Eugene: Did the police ever question you in connection with your sister's death? Steve: Of course they didn't. Eugene: They never even brought you down for questioning? Steve: No, they did not. Eugene: Maybe you pulled off the perfect crime, Steve. DA: Objection! Judge: Sustained! Eugene: Maybe you're that good. DA: Objection! Judge: Mr. Young! Eugene: Withdrawn. It's a shame they never checked you out. Outside the courtroom Eugene and Ellenor are faced with a large number of reporters. All shouting at once. Reporters: Can you give any more information about the case? They get into one of the courtroom side rooms. Eugene: Well, the jury either really hates us-- Ellenor: Or we created some doubt. I think you did great. Eugene: Ellenor, the kid lost his sister. I just accused him of killing her. Meanwhile, his dad is dying. Do not try to make me feel good. Police brings George into the room George: Is it possible he could have done it? Ellenor: That's not important. What is, is you're up next. George: Ok. Ellenor: George, you've got to just speak the truth, from your heart. If the jury can see you for who you really are, they will have to question whether you could have done this. And remember... remember, remember, you cannot say anything that goes to your character. We cannot open that door. We cannot give them any chance to introduce those porno videos. George: Ok. Ellenor: And don't be afraid to look at the jury. You've got nothing to hide. George: Right. Ellenor: Ok. [Ellenor knocks on door where the policeman is waiting for George] See you after lunch. [George walks out. Door closes] They walk towards another door and and are now walking down the courtroom halls. Eugene: It's in his hands now. Ellenor: He'll be fine. As they are walking they are being approached by Susan's father walking with the help of a walking stick. Susan's father: You asked us to trust you. My boy got up because you convinced him to honor the truth. Eugene: Mr. Robin... I got an innocent man about to go down for a crime he didn't commit. Susan's father looks very upset, annoyed, angry. He turns around and it looks like he is about to walk away, he then turns back around and swings his walking stick right into Eugene's forehead so hard that Eugene falls down on the ground Eugene: Aah!Uhh! Uhh! Ellenor: Eugene? Eugene (holding his forehead): Uhh! Uhh! Ellenor: Eugene? Eugene: Ohh! Susan's father: (two policeman walks up to him) You just stole my son's innocence. You're garbage. (They take Susan's dad away) Ellenor: Eugene. Eugene: (it looks like he's a lot of pain, he's holding his forehead) Ohh... uhh! Ow. --Commercial-- In the hospital Eugene is getting stitches on his right side of the forehead. Eugene: Ow! Nurse: Last one. I can freeze it some more. Eugene: It's ok. Nurse: (noticing that someone's walked in but is still concentrated on stitching Eugene's forehead) Excuse me. Lucy: I'm Lucy Hatcher. I have new clothes for him. He's due back in court. Nurse: Well, can you wait outside? Lucy: Sure. (as she's about to walk out she looks at Eugene) Wow. He just bashed your head in for calling his son the killer? Eugene: Something like that. Lucy: Make sure you tell him to rub vitamin e on. It'll help with the scar. Nurse: Thank you. You know, you really could wait outside. Lucy: Sure. Ellenor says it's a half hour till George. She walks out. George: And when I opened my bag, there it was. Ellenor: Her head? George: Yes. Ellenor: And what did you do next? George: First I went into a little shock. I came to you, my lawyer.. and together we went to the police. Ellenor: Do you know of anybody who would want to incriminate you like this? George: No. Ellenor: George... you have to know how this looks. Can't you tell us anything? George: All I can tell you is, I didn't kill this woman. We made love. I left. And she was alive. DA: Why didn't you go back to your place? Why a motel? George: My place wasn't very impressive or neat. DA: You leave a bar after midnight with a woman you just met. You're worried about neatness? George: Yes. DA: So you said, let's go to a motel, and she said yes. A 23-year-oldbeautiful woman, she said, "sure." George: That's what happened. Ellenor: And after you made love, why'd you leave? Why not spend the night? George: I had a very early morning at work. DA: Anybody see you leave the motel? George: Not that I know of. DA: Anybody you know of who could testify that it's against your character to kill a person? Both Eugene and Ellenor: Objection. Judge: Sustained. DA: Mr. Vogelman, basically, all you have to suggest your innocence is your word. Do you have any evidence or witnesses to corroborate your word is worth anything. Ellenor: Objection. Sidebar. Judge: Step Up Ellenor: He's trying to force us into character testimony so he can back door the videos on impeachment. DA: Any witness who takes the stand puts his truthfulness in issue. I'm entitled to cross. Judge: Attack him on truthfulness if you want, but don't be asking what witnesses or evidence he has. Step back. DA: Mr. Vogelman, are you married? George: No. DA: Girlfriend? George: No. DA: Have you ever had a girlfriend? George: No. DA: Ever been in any relationship? George: I've dated. DA: You've dated? How old are you, sir? George: 43. DA: 43 years old, and you've never had a relationship. Ellenor: Asked and answered. Judge West: Sustained. DA: What about high school even. Did you go to your high school pram? Ellenor: Objection. Judge: Sustained. Let's keep things current counsel. DA: Do you meet women through the personals? George: Sometimes I do. DA: You sometimes go to bars, meet women there? George: Yes. DA: Ever meet a woman on the internet? Silence DA: Ever meet a woman on the internet, Mr. Vogelman? George: Yes. DA: Are you the man Susan Robin met on the internet? George: No. DA: Did she go to that bar to meet you, the man on the internet? George: No. I met her at the bar. I never communicated with her on the internet. DA: Just one last hypothetical, Mr. Vogelman, and then I'll be done. Say this woman meets a man on the internet. He maybe oversells himself just a little. She agrees to meet him. She's disappointed. Rejects him. And this man, who's been rejected so many times, has finally had enough. Eugene: Objection. This is an argument, not a question. DA: Enough is enough, right, George? Eugene: Objection! Judge: Sustained. (silence) Do you have any more questions, Mr. Tisbury? DA: No, your honor, I don't believe. Judge: Counsel? Ms. Frutt? Ellenor: Nothing, you honor. Judge: The witness may step down. Eugene: Any ideas? I hate to rest on that Ellenor: Shall we redirect? Eugene: I don't think so. It could get worse. Ellenor: Maybe we-- (she spots Helen in the back, Eugene turns around and sees her too) Eugene: What? Ellenor: I have an idea. The defense recalls Helen Gamble. She's right back there. Helen looks shocked Judge: Ms. Gamble, step up, please. Helen (walks up, stops in front of Ellenor): What are you doing? Judge: Ms. Gamble, please take the stand. Helen walks up to the witness chair and sits down. Judge: I remind you, you are still under oath. Eugene (to Ellenor): What's going on. --Commercial-- Ellenor: You testified the reason we called you that day is because of your relationship with our office. Helen: I assumed that was the reason you called me. Ellenor: Well, does our office enjoy a certain trust with you? Helen: I would think so. Ellenor: And a candor? Helen: Yes. Ellenor: And in the spirit of that candor, did you and I have a conversation about this case last week? DA: Objection. Judge: Overruled. Ellenor: Did we talk about this case? Ms. Gamble, did you and I discuss this case? Helen: Briefly... and generally. Ellenor: And did you tell me that the police and the D.A.'S office both just wanted to check "solved" in the little box-- DA: Objection! Judge: Overruled. Ellenor: Let me speed things up. Did you basically tell me that given the publicity, a conviction is desperately needed here, that if anybody else were charged with this crime, your office would never get that conviction, since George Vogelman, having the head in his medical bag, would guarantee reasonable doubt to whoever else was charged? And because of that, the police and the D.A.'S office, on at least an unconscious level, might want to believe that George Vogelman is the killer and therefore not bother to look for anybody else? Did you share all that with me? Helen: First, I have no direct information on this case. Second Ellenor: Please just respond... Helen: I am responding. It was a long question, counsel. Ellenor: Your honor? Judge West: She can answer. Helen: I never suggested or even hinted that somebody else besides George Vogelman committed this crime. Ellenor: I didn't ask what you thought. Helen: And I never suggested that the D.A.'S office wasn't convinced of your client's guilt. Ellenor: Did you say they might not want to look further, that it's easier to believe that you've got the right guy when there's pressure to get a conviction? Helen: I said sometimes it's been known to happen. I didn't say it happened here. Ellenor: Yes, but you said it's been know to happen in a conversation about this case, didn't you? Helen: Again, I have no reason to believe that this particular investigation has been anything but proper and thorough. Ellenor: Thank you. That was a good answer for the team. Walking outside the courtroom. Reporters: Are you suggesting the investigation's tainted? Do you think there was collusion between the police and the D.A.'S office? Ellenor: I've got nothing to say right now. I'm sorry. [Reporters continue to ask questions] Reporter: Any suspects? Ellenor and Eugene walk into a lift. They are followed by Helen whose right behind them. Helen (to reporters): Get out! Helen (to Ellenor): What the hell was that, Ellenor? Ellenor: Helen, I'm sorry. Helen (yelling): You just cut my legs out! Sorry? I tell you something in confidence and you ambush me in open court? Ellenor: I had to make a choice. I had a duty to my client-- Helen: No good! You screwed me in this office for the last time! Ellenor: I was backed into a-- (lift door opens) Helen: That's crap! (she walks out, Eugene and Ellenor exchange looks) Swoosh the office Lindsay (her arm are crossed on her chess): She's right. Ellenor: What was I gonna do, tell George, "hey, I could've saved you, but..." Lindsay: George isn't the only client in this firm. Ellenor: No. Pearson is. Bobby: She's right, Ellenor. We need our credibility with every case, not just this one. Ellenor: It's not something I planned to do. Bobby (yells) But you did it! (silence) We have to rely on relationships with D.A's a lot. Sometimes those off-the-cuff conversations make the difference. Do you think any D.A. Down there is gonna want to talk to us again? Ellenor: So I should let George go down so we can preserve our invites to the Christmas parties? Bobby: Yes! (yells again) Our dialogue with that office is more important than any one case. Lindsay: I gotta deal with them on sentencing next week. I'm sure they'll be in great moods to-- Ellenor: Oh, get over your professor, Lindsay. What did you do, sleep with the guy? Lindsay gets really angry, grabs a book from the table next to her and throws it at Ellenor. She misses as Ellenor moves, the book hits a certificate that's hanging on the wall behind Ellenor. Everyone looks shocked. Ellenor is at first surprised then hits the table and heads towards Lindsay. Eugene: Ellenor! Bobby: Hey, hey. (Bobby is holding Ellenor to prevent her from getting to Lindsay) Lucy: I love it when girls fight. It's better than hockey. Bobby: Quiet, Lucy! Back up, Ellenor. (yells) Back up! (turns to Lindsay, in a somewhat softer voice) You too. (To Ellenor, yells again) I don't care what the stakes are. If the D.A. has an off-the-record conversation with any of us, it stays off the record. Otherwise, it's like Lindsay says. We lose our credibility in every case. Ellenor: Well, tell that to the drowning man, that you're more concerned about the boat. Bobby: I am not talking to a drowning man, Ellenor. I am talking to you. Jimmy: Let's everybody settle down a little. There's a lot of stakes for a lot of people. Tearing each other new armpits isn't going to help anybody. Lindsay and Ellenor exchange not so happy looks. We see night time Boston, follwed by Boston streets in the morning. Courtroom. Closing arguments. Ellenor: Of course they had to arrest George Vogelman. The victim's head was in his possession. I don't blame the police for thinking he did it. How could they not? How could you not? But there's a reason nobody saw him commit the crime. There's a reason there was no weapon connected to him. He didn't do it. Who did? I don't know. You heard my co-counsel grill Susan Robin's brother as a possible suspect. Well, let me admit a truth. We don't have any direct evidence to conclude the brother did it. If so, we certainly would have offered it. But he did have a motive. He was estranged from her. His debt. The will. His whereabouts at the time can't really be accounted for. He could have done it. The reason we can't know is because the police never really bothered to check that out. Steve Robin said himself that they never even questioned him. Imagine. He has motive, opportunity, no alibi, and they didn't even investigate him as a possibility. Why? Because the head was found in George Vogelman's medical bag. And Jay Hickman, Susan's boyfriend? I have no reason to believe that he killed her, but his whereabouts can't be accounted for either. Motive? Well, she was with another man in a motel. There are a lot of questions left unanswered here because the police never really looked. You heard district attorney Helen Gamble admit it's possible they didn't want to find anybody else because they needed to get a conviction on this. And the head being in George Vogelman's bag, he was the only one they could possibly convict. Easier to stay with him and not complicate it. Any evidence offered as to George Vogelman's motive? No. And why, if he is supposedly trying to get away with a crime, does he put the victim's head in a bag and go to the police with it? Does that make sense? And let's not forget about the poet. A known serial killer out there, in the Boston area, that has an M.O. For decapitating victims. Has anybody accounted for him? There are a lot of questions that need answering. Questions that were never asked or explored because this just seemed so simple. The head was in his bag. He must have done it. Well, he didn't. I have no doubt the prosecution needs that conviction. They surely do. But they are prosecuting the wrong man. DA: No evidence, not even microscopic, of anybody else being in that room... except George Vogelman. Defense counsel gave us quite a show, didn't they? The brother did it. No, maybe it was the boyfriend. How about that serial killer? Forensics combed that room. There were saliva samples. Fibers from clothing. Semen. Hair strands. Fingerprints. They didn't go to a serial killer or Susan Robin's brother or her boyfriend. They all belonged to George Vogelman. The man who says he went home alone. The man who sits therewith no alibi. Yes, it was easy to conclude he did it. And on top of all the insurmountable evidence at the scene, he had the victim's head. My god, he decapitated a woman, and his lawyers have offered you nothing but spin as a defense. Did they put in one piece of physical or testimonial evidence, anything at all exculpatory? No. Just spin. He did it. No, he did it. Look there. Over here. Don't forget that police conspiracy, collusion with the D.A. And they expect you to let him go? They're not insulting your intelligence, ladies and gentlemen. They're assuming you just don't have any. Once again in of the courtroom client rooms... George: Got any predictions? Ellenor: Innocent, guilty, or hung. George: How long before-- Ellenor: There's no telling. George: Eugene. Could you excuse us a second? Eugene: Sure. [Eugene leaves. Door closes] George: All the evidence is closed, right? Ellenor: Yeah. George: Then I'm going to tell you something. We both know I've always had some motive to tell you I'm innocent. It allowed you to let me testify. It allowed you to... I don't know, try harder. But now, the evidence being closed, it doesn't matter what I tell you. I didn't do it. (Ellenor's eyes are getting full of tears) When you looked at me a few months ago, you said you believed in me, but you couldn't fully trust yourself to believe in what you believe. You can trust yourself, Ellenor. You've been right all along. I didn't do it. A tear falls down Ellenor's face. --Commercial--
Lucy: [Closes file door] You know, in the future, if you're going to hurl a book at someone, it should be at somebody your own size. She was about to flatten you. Lindsay: I'll try to remember that. Lucy: And also, I'm a pretty good judge of character. Ellenor...(Ellenor is walking towards them behind Lucy, Lindsay sees her, but Lucy doesn't) I think normally she's peaceful. But when riled, she looks dangerous. Lindsay: Well, maybe you should tell her that. Lucy: You think I'm crazy? (she turns around and sees Ellenor and screams, Ellenor give her one of her looks) Aah! I knew you were there. Ellenor: I'm sorry what I said about Pearson. Lindsay: I know. I'm sorry...about the book. Phone rings in the background Lucy: Donnell, Young, Dole & Frutt. Ellenor: And I'm sorry about my intent to flatten. I know saying sorry isn't gonna cut it for Helen. Lindsay: I'll work on her. Lucy: You guys... a verdict. Swoosh to the courtroom Silence as the judge looks at the verdict. Judge: Will the defendant please rise. (dramatic music, Ellenor and George hold hands) Mr. Foreman, the jury has reached a unanimous verdict? Foreperson: We have. Judge: What say you? Foreperson: Commonwealth vs. George Vogelman, on the count of murder in the first degree, we find the defendant George Vogelman... not guilty. [Courtroom erupts] George: I thought I'd never hear that. Judge: The defendant is free to go. [Bangs gavel] Outside in the courtroom halls Reporter: Dr. Vogelman, can you give us a statement? Are you surprised by the verdict? What do you think changed the jury for you? What are your plans after this? [Reporters all shouting questions at once] They are again in one of those client courtrooms... George: Is it really over? Ellenor: Yeah. George: (to Ellenor) Thank you . (Turns to Eugene) Thank you . I don't know, really, what to say. (crying) For so long... [George Crying, Ellenor hugs him, her eyes filled with tears. Eugene looks away, camera fades away] The End
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