All language subtitles for The Californians s02e19 Corpus Delicti.eng

- [Narrator] Law enforcement
in the early days

of California were
seriously handicapped

by the fact that judges were
sometimes only half educated

in the law.

In this case the judge's ruling,
not only set a killer free,

but established a
dangerous precedent

that led to more bloodshed.

- Ladies and gents to the jury.

I got my own ideas about
the defendant's guilt,

but as the counselor
pointed out.

The state didn't produce
a corpus delicti,

or that means the
body of the victim.

And without it, there ain't any,

isn't any conclusive proof

that a murder was committed.

So, as I see it, you gotta
find for the defendant,

based on the corpus delicti.

(serious dramatic music)

- [Narrator] The jury's verdict,
gave a prominent citizen,

the idea for a perfect crime.

And corpus delicti threatened

to become a licensed to murder.

* Californiay, Californiay,

There's gold in-

- [Narrator] The Californians.

* in Californiay

I've come to live
where life is best,

In the golden west,

I'm gonna strike it
rich in Californiay.

Californiay.

(dramatic music)

- And I'm very hungry,
maybe it's this fog.

- Bother no fog.

What's better than
being outdoors

with a pole and a good
friend with company.

(waves crashing)

- How many years have we been
in business together, Jim?

- Five.

- Made a lot of
money haven't we?

- Yeah, we've done very well.

- And not a scrap
of paper between us.

- What's better
than a handshake?

- That's what's going
to make it so easy

for me to take
over the business.

- (laughs)

What do you mean?

- You poor simple-minded man,

don't you know that
I hate your guts.

Always have.

And for all those years,

I've been in love
with your wife.

What's more, she's
in love with me,

has been for a long time.

- What are you saying?

- I never forgave you for
taking Katherine away from me.

And now, I'm going
to get her back.

- Mark?

Mark you can't get away with it.

- Can't get away with it?

But do you ever hear
of corpus delicti?

(gun shot fired)

(gun shot fired)

(dramatic serious music)

- [Witness] Hey, buddy,
we saw shoot that man.

- [Mark] Well, my
friend fall off the rock

and I fired those shots to-

- [Witness] Yeah, we also
heard what you're told him.

- [Witness] Come on, this
was a citizens arrest.

- These men are lying Marshall.

- Are they?

I don't think they are.

- Believing if they
were telling the truth.

What do you think you
could do about it?

Did you read about
the Collins case?

That's what he's counting on
to get out of it, Marshall.

He mentioned "corpus delicti",

before he shot Wheeler.

- We saw where Wheeler fell in,

let's recover the body?

- In the history of
San Francisco Bay,

they've never recovered
a body from that area.

Strong riptide there.

By now Wheeler's body
is halfway to China.

That's what you're counting
on, isn't it Brand?

Lock him up.

(dramatic music)

- Wilma, Jim Wheeler
was murdered.

- Jim. Oh no.

- By his partner.

- Oh, poor Katherine.

- That's right.

You know Mrs. Wheeler
pretty well, don't you?

- We've been friends for years.

- You know something,
before he killed him,

Brand told Wheeler
he was doing it,

so that he and Mrs.
Wheeler could be married.

- That's ridiculous.

- I'm not so sure.

- Well, I am. Katherine
loved her husband.

- Well, I've gotta go
break the news to her.

- Can I come along?

- That's a good idea.

- I'll get my things.

(sad dramatic music)

(knocking on door)

- Katherine.

- Wilma.

- Oh, this is Marshall Wayne.
- How do you do my Marshall?

Why don't you come in?

- So, good to see
you again, Katherine.

- Well, is wonderful
seeing you Wilma.

Such a pleasant surprise,
having you drop in like this.

May you sit down.

- Thank you.

- Sit down Marshall.

- Mrs. Wheeler I, I
don't know any way

of making this easy.

- Yes?

- Your husband is dead.

(dramatic serious music)

- Jim?

But when? How?

- Witnesses say
that he was murdered

by his partner, Mark Brand.

- Mark?

Oh, I can't believe it,

but why would Mark
wanna kill Jim?

They're very good friends.

You know that, Wilma?

Oh, tell me this isn't true?

- According to witnesses,

Brand brag that you
promised to marry him,

after he killed your husband.

- I don't believe
that Mark would do

or say anything like
that, it's a lie! ú

Just this morning, I saw Jim
leave with his best friend.

Now, you're say he's dead,

and I have to listen to
these horrible insinuations.

(crying)

- Matt, please go.

I'll look after her.

- (crying)

- Go ahead and cry Katherine.

- A prosecution will
have a awfully strong

case against you, Mr. Brand.

The two eye-witnesses
are solid citizens,

and reputable merchants.

- It was an accident, Mr. Pitt.

I love Jim.

I depended on him.

You don't know what
this loss means to me.

Now. They wanna hang me.

Would you defend me, Mr. Pitt?

- You defending Brand?

- That's right.

- Why?

- Because, I think, he's
innocent, that's why.

I have reason to
believe that those

two so-called
witnesses are lying.

- Are you basing your
defense on Judge Norris's,

corpus delicti ruling?

- Well, Judge Norris
set a precedent,

and it's my duty to
defend my client.

- Don't you think,

you have a duty to the public?

- Once I was an Assistant
Prosecuting in Illinois.

I convicted a man, against
whom the evidence of murder,

was twice as damning
of that against Brand.

A month after he was hanged,

another man confessed
to the crime.

That's one of the reasons
I came to California.

I couldn't stand
meeting that man's,

widow and children
in the street.

Expressions on their
faces, still haunt me.

That's why I'm going
to defend Mark Brand

with every resource
at my command.

(dramatic music)

- Well, I ain't much
of a lawyer, Matt,

but I have read as much
law as the next man.

And I'm sticking to
my interpretation

of corpus delicti, died, or you,

or somebody else can
convince me I'm wrong,

which aint, isn't very likely.

So, if I'm assigned
to the Brand case,

and I'm sure I will be,

I'll have to instruct the jury,

same as I did in
the Collins case.

- Judge? What if we don't
charge him with murder?

If I hold him, say as
a material witness?

I mean, if we don't
charge him with anything,

he can't ask for
a trail, can he?

- What are you heading for Matt?

- In that time, I might
be able to find the body.

- But you know that there's
never been a body recovered

from that spot, Matt?

- But, I've got
an expert on bay,

currents working on the case.

He says, "Give him time,

he's sure he can
produce corpus delicti."

- Hm-mm.

That's, that's a good thinking.

Tell you what I'll do?

Dan Reese is
Assistant Prosecutor

in charge of the case.

I'll have a talk with him, huh?

Ever think of trying
for the bench, son?

- (laughs)

Being a judge? I'm
not even a lawyer.

- Neither am I.

- You weren't
admitted to the bar?

- Admitted? I was the bar.

It's the hang around
old Judge Hammers court,

selling whiskey to him and
the jurors and lawyers,

during recesses.

Read all his law books.

When he died, all of a
sudden I got his job.

- (laughs)

But how?

- Well, just fixed it
with the right people,

got myself appointed.

That's all it was to it.

Simple aint- isn't it?

- Yes, aint it? (laughs)

(dramatic music)

(door slams)

- Hello Marshall.

And have you Wheelers body, yet?

- Not yet.

That's what you're
counted on, wasn't it?

- I certainly did,
in case I got caught,

but if I ever get in court,
I'll deny it of course.

- Why are you in
this confiding mood?

Why'd you tell Wheeler that

his wife planned
to marrying you?

- I hated him.

I wanna see him
suffer before he died.

- You really are a
skunk, aren't you?

- Yes, I really am.

And the beauty of it is,
I'm gonna get away with it,

thanks to good old
carpus delicti.

See you at the trial Marshall.

- There, isn't
gonna be any trail.

Not for awhile, anyway.

- What do you mean?

- You're being released,
but don't leave town,

might need you as
a material witness.

- I demand a trial,
Marshall, that's my right!

- Come on, out.

(dramatic music)

- Hello Matt.

That's a pretty sneaky trick.

- Not as sneaky as your client.

- Well, I think, he's innocent.

You know, even though,
you do find a body.

I think, it'll be
of a drowned man

and not a murdered one.

- We'll see about that.

- You know, meanwhile,

I resent your having Brand
followed every place he goes.

- My friend, I'm
only doing that,

so he won't leave town
without paying your fee.

(serious music)

(door opens)

- How dare you come here?

- Katherine, don't tell
me you believe those lies

about me?
- I talked to the two men,

who saw you kill my husband.

- Please listen to me.

- I hate you, I
hope they hang you.

(door slams)

(dramatic music)

- He's gone.

- (door closes)

Oh, Mark, Mark darling,
I love you so much.

(dramatic music)

- Hey, Marshall. I followed him-

- Jensen, what are
you doing here?

You're supposed to be
watching Mike Brand?

- Well, that's what I
come to tell you about.

I followed him, he went
to Mrs. Wheeler's place.

- She let him in?

- Yeah. They talked for a while

and then she slammed
the door in his face.

I thought that might mean
something to you, Marshall.

- She slammed the
door in his face.

Yeah, it certainly
means something to me.

Now, Jensen. I want
you to go back there

and pick up his trail,
and don't leave it,

until I send somebody
to replace you?

- All right, Marshall.

- The thing that
bothers me most,

is that those men
heard you telling Jim,

we were in love.

- If they ever put me
on trial, I'll deny it.

- But Mark?

When we do get married,
people will talk.

We'll have to leave
San Francisco.

- What makes you think
I'm going to marry you?

(dramatic music)

- What makes me think, what?

- Do you suppose
I'd marry the kind

of woman who helped plan
her own husband's murder.

(dramatic music)

- Sometimes a woman
will do terrible things

for love of a man.

Even go along with murder.

The only thing that keeps
it from being unbearable,

is the thought that you love me.

Ah, I beg you?

Please, don't take
that away from me.

Say you do love me?

- I hate you, as much I
hated Jim, him for taking

you away from me,
you for letting him?

(dramatic serious music)

- So, that's what it was?

You can still be
charged with murder.

- Not unless they find Jim's
body, which they won't.

- Suppose, I decide,
to tell the truth.

- I wouldn't be convicted
without a corpus delicti,

but you'll keep
your mouth closed,

unless you don't wanna
live in the streets.

You see everything Jim
had, is in my name.

(dramatic music)

- You really did a thorough job.

- Now, you behave and
keep away from me,

and I'll let you
keep this place.

Give you the money
to support it.

You'll depend on
me for your bread.

(dramatic music)

(door opens and closes)

- Oh.

- Oh, Matt.

Oh, excuse me, please?

Oh, that expert was right.

He figured out
where the current,

might take a body.

And that's where we found it,

under his point.

- Are you sure it's
Wheeler's body?

- Well, I'd swear, it's the man.

I saw Mark Brand shoot that day.

- I bet, I have Mrs.
Weeler identify.

Excuse me, Wilma?

Anytime, when you go down

to the district
attorney's office

and tell Dan Reese about this?

- Sure thing.

(dramatic music)

(knock on door)

- Come in, the door is open!

- Sorry to disturb
you Mrs. Wheeler.

- That's quite all
right, Marshall.

Won't you sit down?

- I'm afraid I'm
here on business.

They find your husband's body.

Would you like to come along
with me and identify it?

- No.

- No?

What did Brand say to you

that made you slam
the door in his face?

- Does it matter?

- Murderers don't
usually visit the widows

of the men they
killed Mrs. Wheeler.

It must've been something
between you two.

What was it?

- We planned my husband's
murder together.

- You?

Why are you telling me this?

Would you testify to him?

- Yes, I will.

- I'm going down and get a man

from the district
attorney's office,

but I'd would like
to have a deposition.

You sure you won't
change your mind?

You'll be incriminating
yourself, you know?

- I don't care
what happens to me.

I wanna see him hanged.

(dramatic music)

(door closes)

(birds sounds)

(knocking on door)

(door closes)

- I told you enough
not bother me.

- They found Jim's body.

- Impossible!

- Once more, I
told Marshall Wayne

about my part in the murder.

- You what?

- Of course, Mark.

They can't force his wife

to testify against her husband.

(dramatic music)

- When do we get married, dear?

(dramatic music)

- This man was
dressed like Wheeler.

He looked like Wheeler,
but it wasn't him.

It's a man named John Lang.

And yet, his widow and
two brothers made separate

and positive identifications.

- Well, the facts
in the fire, Matt.

I've already charged
Brand with murder

and corpse or no corpse,

Will have to go
ahead with the trial.

It will be before Judge Norris,

and he sticks to his

accused jury
interpretation of the law,

corpus delicti, will lose.

- Oh fine,

and anybody who has a grudge,

or a place to bury a body
also has a permit to kill.

- Hm-mm.

- What about Mrs.
Wheeler's testimony

that she was an
accessory to the murder?

Doesn't that help our case?

- I hope so.

- You ready?

(dramatic music)

(door opens and closes)

- What are you doing here?

- You told me to
stick close to Brand?

He's in there.

- Well, you shouldn't have let
him go in. He might kill her.

- He does, he'll sure got
his honeymoon to show it.

They'll married an
half an hour ago.

- What are you talking about?

- The preacher told
me, he just left.

- Brand married her to keep her

from testifying against him.

- You're should've talked
to that preacher about it,

before he went in.

- You just told me
to follow Brand?

You didn't say nothing about
button into his romance?

- Dan, stay at here and
keep your eye on things.

Let's go Jensen.

(doors open and closes)

You're under arrest Brand.

- What's the charge, this
time? Fishing on Sunday?

- Charge is, murder.

- Good, good. Just what I want.

- Take him to jail, Jensen?

- Too bad, the body they
found wasn't Wheelers,

isn't it Marshall?

Be gentle with my bride.

My hat?

(door closes)

- I know what you're
thinking, Marshall,

and I don't blame you.

Mark and I have sunk
deep in the mud,

even if he is acquitted,
we'll just sink deeper.

But we'll sink together,
as man and wife.

That's all that matters, now.

(dramatic music)

- I new myth, they making
bets on the verdict.

It's a five to
one, on a quid ell.

Hmm? Open for two.

- Well, you can bet your bottom
dollar it's a sure a thing.

Let's Judge Norris goes
against this precedent.

- Three.

Well, he likes you and
he listened to your once,

maybe you'll do it again.

- Sure. He might.

If I could convince him,

he's all worried about
his interpretation

of corpus delicti.

Then I'm no lawyer.

- Eyes are deceiving.

You can read can't you?

And Jeremy has an office
full of law books.

- Would you like to
go for a little walk?

- Sure.

(laughs)

(violin dramatic music)

- Help yourself, Matt.

You'll find all sorts
of opinions, rulings,

interpretations and precedents

on corpus delicti
in these 20 books.

- 20?

- And here are 10 more,

explaining what those 20 mean.

Good luck.

- Well, mind as well, get at it.

- All right.

(playful dramatic music)

- Jan Doe versus Richard Rowe.

Those two birds spent a
awful a lot of time in court.

- The one I hate is Richard,

usually wins and he's
so smug about it.

- Oh. Oh, the more I read,
the more confused I get.

- So do I.

- You know, there must be some
clear, simple explanation,

what corpus delicti
is all about.

- By the time we
find it, Mr. Brand

I'd be dead of old age.

- When you wanna find out
the meaning of a word,

where do you usually look Matt?

- Well, then,

couldn't be that simple?

(dramatic music)

- Oh, hello, Matt.

(door closes)

- Your Honor.

Would it be considered
contempt to court,

to call to your
attention, a point of law?

- I'd appreciate it.

Take a chair.

Like I told you, I don't
know much about the law

and as to judge.

(dramatic music)

- Now, I don't believe
I need to tell the jury

that the state's
made out of good,

strong case against
the defendant.

Two reliable witnesses
have testified

that Mark Brand committed
cold blooded murder.

And their testimony wasn't
shaken by cross examination.

But now, we come to a
counselor pitched defense.

Corpus delicti, which
he claims, means,

you got to acquit his client.

And that means that the
Lerner defense attorney

was talking through his
highly educated hat.

- Your honor, I object.

I was merely following the
precedent set by this court.

I was-

- Oh, sit down and shut-up Pitt.

Nobody's blaming you for
the ignorance of this court.

Thanks to Marshall Wayne.

I found out that I was in error,

when I instructed
a previous jury,

that you gotta have a body

before you could
convict a murderer.

(people talking)

But he found the real mean
in the corpus delicti,

and the "one book
guy" never thought

of reading on the subject.

And here's the gist of it.

Corpus delicti, does not
mean the body of the victim.

(dramatic music)

Means the body of
facts that prove

that a crime has been committed.

In other words,
you, you don't have

to produce a corpse to
prove there's been a murder.

Just the facts.

Now, that means just one thing.

If you jurors wanna
hang Mark Brand

on the evidence you
heard, it's jake with me.

I think, the son of
a guns guilty. (slam)

- [All People] Hear, hear.

(dramatic music)

- Don't take it so hard, Jeremy.

You live, there only
hanging your client.

- When I first took the case,
I thought, he was innocent.

Out of which one of my books

did you get that ruling
on corpus delicti,

I gave the judge?

- We found it in a
book by Noah Webster.

- You mean Daniel?

He was the lawyer.

No one wrote the dictionary.

- That's where we found it.

The dictionary.

Anytime you wanna
refresh your memory,

it's listed in the scene.

(dramatic music)

* Californiay,

Oh, I've traveled here,

I've traveled there,

I guess I've been
most ev'rywhere,

But I like where I am today,

And here is where I'll stay.

Now, one thing I
just can't endure

Is bein' broke and bein' poor,

So, I've come out
to take the cure,

And here is where I'll stay.

I've come to Californiay,

Californiay;

There's gold in them there
hills, in Californiay.

I've come to live
where life is best,

In the golden west,

I'm gonna strike it
rich in Californiay.

Californiay, Californiay;

There's gold in them there hills

in Californiay.

Repair and Synchronization by
Easy Subtitles Synchronizer 1.0.0.0