Original subtitles

WOMAN: Previously on "The Practice"...

YOUNG: Dozens of kids have been abused

in this state alone,

and the church knew what's going on,

did nothing about it,

and let it continue.

And what do you propose we do, Eugene?

I propose you stop giving

the current institution the money.

I propose you be more angry.

DONNELL: Have you ever thought about

leaving the church over it?

Bobby, the church is not just the priests.

It's you and me.

We are the church.

I'm leaving the church, Father.

Oh, uh, what do you mean?

The sex-abuse scandal--

The offending clergy makes up

a microscopic portion of the priesthood.

But the church is concealing it.

It's enabling these priests

to destroy so many young lives.

You can't...

just leave.

Goodbye, Father.

STANLEY: We've been doing it in this very church

for 17 years, Ellenor.

The problem is it made the news.

And it's open season on aberrant religions.

Our faith is partly Roman Catholic.

It's not nearly as aberrant as you'd like to--

Sacrificing animals is out there, Stanley.

At least in the eyes of mainstream America.

Let's just be clear about that.

I was just saying that

we all have our rituals.

Look at Christianity and communion.

They drink the blood of Christ

and they eat his body.

That's symbolic.

You actually kill the animal.

I don't understand.

The exact same issue

the Supreme Court already ruled on,

and we won. The difference here

is the law is facially neutral.

It's not targeted at religion,

but only to stop cruelty.

Even so, we-- Look,

I think we should consider a plea.

Fine. I'll admit to the facts.

I did what they say I did.

But I will not stand up in a court of law

and acknowledge any form of guilt.

That's not gonna do it.

Public opinion is very against you here.

Well, if I say I'm guilty,

it's the equivalent of apologizing

for my religion.

Add to that,

they can shut our doors.

We need a victory here, Ellenor.

I can't promise it.

It's a goat, for God's sake.

They're gonna put me in jail for killing a goat.

That's what I'm telling you.

They will.

(music playing)

(phone ringing)

YOUNG: He's insisting on trial?

I tried to dissuade him, trust me.

STRINGER: Donnell and Dole...

Are you free in case, I need some research?

I'm free.

FRUTT: Free exercise clause.

DONNELL: Why do we seem to be getting

so many cases about religion?

Hey, if I could make this about religion, we'd win.

Unfortunately, the statute goes to cruelty,

and the language is neutral.

What about de facto of burden?

FRUTT: That's possible for appeal, but--

Bobby, Judge Swackheim's office.

You're wanted now.

What do you mean?

He wants you in chambers.

He says to bring a friend.

His lawyer fell out,

the case has already been continued six times,

and I'll be dead soon.

Why us?

Helen gamble is the D. A.,

and you've had experience against her.

Also, you're on the short list of lawyers

willing to defend scum.

Meet with your client,

and I'll see you in the courtroom tomorrow.

What's the case?

Statutory rape.

I don't want it.

I didn't ask.

10:00 tomorrow morning.

And the court thanks you both.

You were doing a news piece?

DANFORTH: Yes. We heard what was going on,

and we were able to sneak in a camera.

BRENNER: Mr. Danforth, could you tell the court

exactly what you observed?

We saw that man, the defendant,

kill a baby goat.

He basically slaughtered it.

BRENNER: Okay, I'm going to play a portion

of this news piece.

Objection.

Overruled.

BRENNER: And I'm going to ask you, sir,

if it fairly reflects what you saw that day.

Your Honor, I renew my objection.

Counsel-- FRUTT: We have stipulated

that my client causes animals

to be sacrificed as part of religious worship.

This tape is only being introduced

to inflame the jury.

BRENNER: The charge isn't simply killing.

It's cruelty. In order to make that finding--

FRUTT: Then let him describe what he saw.

We don't need to see his media-slanted version of it.

Miss Frutt, I think we can handle the footage.

If you think it doesn't accurately portray the events,

you can cross-examine.

BRENNER: Thank you, Your Honor.

(goat bleats)

Okay, you can see he has a...

baby goat in his hands.

And it's alive.

Not for long it isn't.

Keep watching.

(people chanting)

And what's he doing now?

DANFORTH: He's letting the blood drain into a bowl.

It's pretty disgusting.

Objection.

Sustained.

BRENNER: That's all I have.

I saw your news piece.

You seem pretty outraged, Mr. Danforth.

DANFORTH: I was. I found what your client did

to be outrageous.

FRUTT: I see. Do you eat meat?

Do I eat meat?

Yes, ever have a hamburger?

Yes, I eat meat.

Do you know how cows are killed?

I believe they're slaughtered.

Would it surprise you to know

that their throats are slit,

much in the same way as this goat died?

DANFORTH: I'm not a fan of slaughterhouses,

but at least the animal was killed for sustenance.

We eat cows.

So it's not the manner in which the animal is killed,

but it's what it's killed for?

Look, I'm not going down this road.

I just filmed it.

It's up to you people to decide if it's illegal.

FRUTT: Fair enough.

By the way,

do you know what became of the goat

after the ceremony?

No, I do not.

They ate it.

Does that make a difference?

MITCHELL: I didn't force him.

I never forced him.

DONNELL: Mr. Orbis,

he's 13 years old.

Whether you forced him or not--

We were very close.

That's not a defense, either.

See, I was good to him,

uh, very good.

I'd help him with his homework

and, uh,

I gave him money.

In exchange for sex?

No,

he did work at my house.

He'd help clean.

And we became close.

I loved him.

And he loved me.

He still loves me.

I know.

BERLUTI: He's the lead prosecutorial witness.

He's only doing this now

because his mother is making him.

She told him he can't come over anymore.

She's making him do this.

I love him,

and I believe...

he loves me.

It's his mother.

Did your other lawyers ever discuss a plea bargain?

I can't do prison.

They kill child molesters in prison.

Prison is unacceptable.

I'm telling you,

it's the mother.

Contact the kid's school,

teachers, principal, guidance counselor.

I'll try to interview the social worker.

(sighs)

Who do you want,

the mother or the boy?

Sorry? DONNELL: This case

is pretty much two witnesses,

the mother and the victim. Which one do you want?

Personally, I think it's a mistake

for the client to go in with two lawyers.

Makes it seem-- Nice try,

but since this goes tomorrow, there's no time.

We gotta split this up.

Who do you want?

I'll take the mother.

Great.

Our pedophile has two priors.

Did you know that?

He's sick.

What's your point?

My point is,

how effective can we really be expected to be

on one day's notice?

I don't wanna hear that.

We do our best.

Fine.

There is a problem here.

We can win this.

He was starting to go down in school,

which I couldn't understand,

because he's always been a good student.

Well, did you talk to your son about this?

LANGER: Yes.

He said there was nothing wrong.

I said I thought he was spending too much time with him.

"Him"?

The defendant.

He hired Justin to do some yard work,

then they became friends.

He was over there all the time, it seemed.

GAMBLE: Did you suspect anything sinister

about this relationship?

LANGER: No. I had no idea

that he had this porno-film collection

or that previously, he--

Could you tell us what happened to your son?

LANGER: Well, with his grades getting worse,

I grounded him.

I told him he had to come home directly after school.

May I ask,

where was Justin's father?

We've split up, and he doesn't--

uh, he's an absent father,

which is another reason why I thought

he bonded with the defendant.

GAMBLE: Okay.

What happened after you grounded Justin?

Well, I didn't see any improvement at school,

so I started to give him other consequences,

like no baseball, no television.

I even took away his stereo.

Nothing seemed to work.

And then finally,

he told me what was going on.

Which was?

He told me

that he was having sex

with the defendant.

And that he was

feeling shame over it,

and that he was having trouble sleeping.

And what did you do?

I notified the police.

I called the police.

Actually, you waited two days

to call the police, didn't you, ma'am?

Yes. BERLUTI: Your son tells you

he's raped,

you don't call for two days?

LANGER: At first, I just-- I couldn't believe it.

I thought maybe he was trying to...

escape punishment, or--

You thought he was making it up.

I was just so stunned at first.

I couldn't believe it.

I guess I was--

I was desperate not to believe it.

But once it sank in that it was true,

I called the police.

You mentioned your son wanting to escape punishment.

You mean being grounded,

missing baseball, that sort of thing?

Yes. How about you hitting him?

You ever hit your son, Mrs. Langer?

Objection. Where is this going?

BERLUTI: Your Honor, sometimes kids will say anything

to make the beatings stop. I did not beat him!

GAMBLE: Objection. Move to strike.

Short leash. Speed it up.

Did you ever hit your son, Mrs. Langer?

I spanked him sometimes.

I did not beat him.

BERLUTI: Did you spank him on account

of his grades going down?

I spanked him once or twice.

They were not beatings,

and I certainly never hurt him.

BERLUTI: Did you ever hit your son for using drugs?

He once used marijuana

that your client gave him,

and, yes, I spanked him.

BERLUTI: Do you work, Mrs. Langer?

Yes. What do you do for work?

I'm a waitress in a restaurant.

Could you tell me your hours?

3:00 to 11:00.

3:00 in the afternoon till 11:00 at night?

Yes.

BERLUTI: Weekdays? LANGER: Yes.

When does your son get home from school?

Between 2:00 and 3:00.

Wow. So, you barely see him during the week.

Possible, he could've made this story up

to get your attention?

No.

That is not possible.

Ever know your son to tell you things

that maybe weren't true? No.

Your son always speaks the truth?

Yes. He is a truthful person.

Yes, he is.

BERLUTI: And yet, when he tells you he was raped,

you don't call the police for two days?

(music playing)

(indistinct chatter)

(elevator doors close)

Good job.

Bobby, what are we doing here?

It's basically a traditional African religion

with elements of Roman Catholicism.

But the reason we're all here

is because of one particular ritual.

Yes. FRUTT: Can you tell the jury

why sacrifice animals?

It's a way of honoring The Orisha,

which literally means "head guardian."

In simplest terms,

the animal's blood is offered.

The sacrifice

is said to please the saints

and bring purification

and forgiveness of sins.

You have to acknowledge, Mr. Joley,

this does seem a little barbaric.

We know that American culture rejects it,

and we therefore try to be

as discrete as possible, even secretive.

We've never tried to impose our rituals

or beliefs upon the public.

And, in fact, the only reason we're here today

is because the media invaded us.

Does the animal suffer?

The sacrifice is almost always quick,

and as humane as possible.

BRENNER: So, it's your testimony that

what we all saw on the television screen,

in your eyes,

there was no animal cruelty.

We try to be as humane as possible.

BRENNER: And you do that with lambs,

goats, turtles,

guinea pigs, sheep,

all those animals.

You slit their throats

and offer the blood to your saints?

Yes.

He did well, considering.

But? FRUTT: But...

he couldn't undo that videotape, Eugene.

How could he? That footage?

That's what the jury's gonna take back to that room,

that squealing goat.

Well, Ellenor, if it's a tale of the tape,

then get yourself some tape.

What do you mean? YOUNG: I mean,

this is America.

You think Santerians are the only ones to kill animals?

(knock on door, door opens)

Don't even waste your breath.

Your Honor-- You're not getting off, Bobby.

Anything else?

Look, it doesn't matter who they are or what they are.

They're all entitled to a defense.

I didn't make up the rule.

What constitutes "adequate"? What?

They're not entitled to the best defense,

only "adequate."

So I'm asking, how much is "adequate"?

Sit.

You think I want that piece of crap walking?

Tell me the ideology of the criminal lawyer,

if you remember.

"To check the state's power

to incarcerate people at will."

You get a gold star.

Now look at me.

Look at what's going on out there.

The state regularly jails people without due process,

then calls them material witnesses,

and locks them up without even filing charges,

much less giving them a hearing.

You're talking about terrorist suspects, this--

Who says it has to stop there?

You don't think there are people out there

who want to extend that policy

to suspected child molesters?

I understand the system, judge,

and I appreciate my role in it.

Then why are you here?

I have to get up tomorrow

and attack a 13-year-old rape victim.

And I don't wanna do it.

Well, you will.

And if I tank it?

Please.

You don't think I just pulled your name out of a hat.

You okay?

Yeah.

It's just--

this isn't exactly what I went to law school for, Eugene.

Fighting for serial goat killers.

Are you serious?

Ellenor,

why did you go to law school?

Clarence Darrow.

I read his closing on Leopold and Loeb

over and over and over.

For me,

it was the constitution.

I was 12, and I couldn't understand half of it,

but I knew...

this was something.

And you know the part that especially got me?

Freedom of religion.

I know that probably sounds funny,

uh, considering how I've been acting towards religion lately,

but that amendment,

it said to me that at least in principle,

this country stands for tolerance.

And, Ellenor, of all the constitutional liberties

that need protecting today,

freedom of religion.

I understand that.

I really do, but...

But what?

I like goats.

Trust me, Ellenor,

this case...

is exactly why you went to law school.

Ms. Elder, as a member of the American Humane Society,

you've had occasion to document

the footage we're about to see.

All the footage is accurate and has been verified.

Can you narrate, Ms. Elder?

ELDER: That is a cow being killed

at a slaughterhouse in Texas.

A pig.

Chicken.

Examples of trapping.

Laboratory testing.

Baby seals.

This is Canada, not the U. S.

The question becomes, Ms. Elder,

are these isolated events?

Isolated? Certainly not.

It goes on every day.

BRENNER: Ms. Elder, I'm curious.

Did you get a chance

to see the tape showing what goes on

in the defendant's church?

I did.

BRENNER: In your opinion,

did you find the defendant's actions

to constitute animal cruelty?

Objection.

She can give a lay opinion, not legal.

He slit a goat's neck and let the blood drain out.

It was repulsive.

Justin, if you wanna stop,

or you feel you need to take a break,

you tell me. Okay.

GAMBLE: You said the two of you started to become friends.

JUSTIN: Yes, after I'd finish my work,

we'd play cards and games.

And then we started to watch videos and stuff.

GAMBLE: What kinds of videos?

JUSTIN: Well, at first, just comedies and stuff,

like "The Nutty Professor"

and "Austin Powers."

And then after a while,

sex videos.

GAMBLE: And these videos,

men and women were having sex?

Some men and women.

But mostly just men and men,

or men and boys.

GAMBLE: What did you think when you saw this?

I don't know.

I guess it kind of grossed me out.

But, you know, Mitchell,

he said it was very common

for men to have sex with each other.

GAMBLE: What did you think of that?

I don't know.

Justin,

at some point,

did you and Mr. Orbis have sex?

Yes.

Could you tell us about it?

(music playing)

GAMBLE: Justin,

look, I know this is very difficult for you,

but you are completely safe here,

I promise.

We need for you to tell us what happened.

JUSTIN: He, um,

he would touch my privates.

GAMBLE: By touch,

how would he touch you?

With his hand, with his mouth.

GAMBLE: His mouth?

JUSTIN: Yeah. He would put his mouth on my privates.

By privates, you mean...

My penis.

And he would ask me

to put my mouth on his penis.

GAMBLE: Did you?

Yes.

GAMBLE: Justin, I promise you,

I'm almost done.

How many times did this happen?

A lot.

A lot.

More than 10 times?

Yes.

More than 20?

(sobs)

Your Honor, I think we should take a small break.

He never cried...

because he liked it.

And I think that his mother

told him to cry.

I promise, he never cried.

BRENNER: This isn't a case about religion.

It is about cruelty to animals.

You saw the tape.

This man dangled a baby goat

as people danced behind him,

and he slit its throat.

He does it with pigs, sheep,

turtles, chickens, doves.

Pulls out his knife or box cutters--

FRUTT: Objection!

There has never been a suggestion of box cutters.

I only meant cutting instruments.

We all know what you meant,

and I object to the blatant innuendo.

MANTLE: All right.

Careful, Mr. Brenner.

We're not here today to pass judgment

on the Santerian faith.

All of us, every one of us,

is free to choose our form of worship,

of course we are.

But the exercise, the practice of religion,

has never been absolute.

Whether it's public health or safety,

or yes, even morals,

the state can step in and say,

"Whoa, can't do that."

Here, they torture

and mutilate animals

in an open and notorious manner.

We as a society don't tolerate that.

How could we?

We don't tolerate it?

What society is he talking about?

We live in a society that slaughters animals for food,

we kill them for fur coats,

we poison them to test new drugs.

We torture animals all the time.

We even murder them for sport.

We hunt, we fish,

we walk up to deer with our shotguns

and we blow off their heads.

We yank fish out of the water,

and we let them suffocate

at the bottom of our boats.

If you wanna convict my client

for being cruel, fine,

but don't you dare do so

under some cloak of humanity

that we as a society don't torture animals.

And I would submit

that if we say it's okay to hunt them down

and to maim them for recreation,

for vanity,

or even for Thanksgiving,

how do we say no for worship,

a traditional worship

that dates back over a thousand years?

Personally, I don't like what they do,

but you simply cannot condemn this man

under some theory that killing animals

isn't tolerated by the United States of America,

because it is.

Every time you eat a hamburger,

you not only tolerate it,

you proliferate it.

DONNELL: It's a pretty serious thing to accuse someone

of statutory rape, Justin.

How long had this been going on for?

Three months or so.

And you never told anybody?

I was too embarrassed.

DONNELL: You started getting in trouble at school, didn't you?

I saw detentions for fighting, swearing at a teacher.

You get suspended for swearing at a teacher?

No. DONNELL: No?

Oh, that's right, the principal thought

this behavior was a cry for attention.

Do you remember him saying that?

Yes.

Ever accuse another kid at school

of doing anything to you?

Russell LaFevre?

Did you once accuse Russell LaFevre

of punching you from behind?

Yes. Did Russell LaFevre punch you?

No.

You made it up?

I'm not making this up.

DONNELL: You made it up against Russell.

I can explain that.

DONNELL: You don't have to explain it.

Just tell us, yes or no,

did you make up false accusations

against Russell LaFevre?

Yes.

DONNELL: Ever get caught cheating on a test, Justin?

Once.

That's cheating and lying.

Objection! Withdrawn.

Do you take drugs, Justin?

All right. This is the accusing witness.

Go ahead.

Ever smoke marijuana, Justin? Yes.

DONNELL: You got caught smoking it at school,

didn't you? Yes.

You told the principal that you got it

from one of the high school kids,

told your mother you got it from Mr. Orbis.

Who were you lying to, the school principal

or your mother, Justin?

I got it from Mitchell.

DONNELL: So you lied yet again

to the principal?

Yes, but I didn't want any--

DONNELL: Thank you.

After you were caught with drugs, Justin,

you got suspended then, didn't you?

Yes. And this is when--

after you were suspended for drugs,

how did your mother react?

She was angry.

DONNELL: Angry? Did she hit you?

JUSTIN: She spanked me.

DONNELL: And this is when you suddenly declared

that Mr. Orbis had molested you.

Did you say that for sympathy, Justin?

No! It's the truth.

I see. So your mother, two days later,

finally decided to believe you,

and she called the police.

And when you talked to the police,

you had to give them a lot of different statements,

didn't you? Yes.

DONNELL: The first two times you met with the police,

you said nothing about Mr. Orbis

putting his mouth on your penis,

or yours on his.

You never said that, did you, Justin?

I was too embarrassed.

DONNELL: Too embarrassed?

When did you come up with the idea

to add that part?

Objection!

Overruled.

You made that up, didn't you, Justin?

No! DONNELL: Well, Justin,

do you understand that you have an obligation

to tell the truth here?

We're not in the principal's office now, we're in court.

Your lies are hurting people.

I am telling the truth.

So, this isn't another false accusation?

This time, you're sticking with it?

Objection!

Withdrawn. Nothing further.

Commonwealth rests, Your Honor.

SWACKHEIM: Mr. Donnell, you could call

your first witness tonight,

or we can wait and start tomorrow.

Counsel? Did you hear me?

The defense rests, Your Honor.

(sighs)

I can't talk now.

PATRICK: Can't talk?

How about just looking me in the eye, then, Bobby?

Can you do that?

You hypocrite!

You leave the church, accusing us of enabling sex--

There's a difference between--

There's a difference?! Yes!

Between representing somebody who's committed a crime,

and protecting his secret

so he can go on committing it.

There's a big difference.

That's crap.

I gotta leave.

Then you're gonna have to knock me over,

because I'm not moving, you son of a bitch,

until you listen to what I have to say!

You're helping him secure his freedom!

How is that not enabling more rapes?!

I was ordered by the court!

Then quit your profession.

You're a man that's quite capable

of walking out of a door, Bobby.

We both know that.

Walk out on the legal profession,

like you walked out on the church.

How dare you judge me or the Catholic people?

Too bad you can't save some of your rage

for your fellow priests.

I have plenty of rage for them, believe me,

and I'm standing here right now condemning you,

mostly for your hypocrisy!

Step away from the door, Father.

I'm going.

Allow me, Bobby, to walk out on you.

(door slammed closed)

I'll bet Helen chased him down and set him in motion.

Helen? DONNELL: To distract me.

How the hell would he even know

what case I'm doing?

Bobby, it's been in the papers.

It would be just like her.

Okay, you need to take a breath, and--

Lindsay, this is no time.

DOLE: Helen Gamble did not go

running to a church to rattle you,

and if you think that,

you're rattled already.

Maybe you should let Jimmy close.

I can close. Bobby--

I can close, damn it!

What does it mean when they make up

their minds so fast?

They're decisive.

Hang in there.

I prayed all night.

Used up six cats.

That was a joke.

MANTLE: Madam Foreperson, the jury has reached a verdict?

We have, Your Honor.

Will the defendant please rise?

What say you?

"The Commonwealth versus Stanley Joley."

On the charge of cruelty to animals,

"We find the defendant, Stanley Joley,

not guilty."

(exhales deeply)

MANTLE: The jury is dismissed with the thanks of the court.

We're adjourned.

(gavel bangs)

Congratulations.

Thank you.

Ellenor, I know this ritual you found

to be personally repugnant,

which makes your defense of it

and my rights all the more heroic.

Thank you.

GAMBLE: Heroes are not easily found.

Takes an enormous amount of courage

for a victim of child molestation to come forward.

Most don't.

Most think it's somehow their own fault,

and the shame is too much to bear.

And for those who can overcome the embarrassment,

there's the prospect of having to sit in a courtroom,

day after day with the man who raped you.

We live in a country where the suspect

has a constitutional right to confront his accuser,

and somewhere along the way,

confront became attack.

You saw it here

with Justin Langer being assaulted in that chair

by defense counsel.

One almost had to wonder,

was it worth it?

Well, when the alternative is a rapist

going on to possibly rape other children,

yeah, it's worth it.

That's why I consider this young man to be a hero.

He came into this room

to face down the man who raped him.

And his testimony

is uncontroverted.

He told you...

how the defendant would repeatedly engage him

in acts of oral copulation,

how this man with a library of pornographic videos

would use those videos

to seduce this child.

He's 13 years old,

13, and he was raped.

Pedophiles repeat their crimes.

Please, don't give this one

the opportunity to do so.

Ms. Gamble talked about our system,

rights of defendants and victims.

You know that 90-something percent

of all defendants are guilty?

Think about it.

By the time they get to trial,

they've been judged guilty many times.

You got the accuser and the arresting officers,

the detectives, then a grand jury,

then probable cause,

we got all these mini-steps along the way,

each of them concluding the same thing,

the guy did it.

And since the facts, you see,

D.A.s, they just wanna give a good,

accurate presentation of the facts.

But defense lawyers...

our job is to skew them.

We stand up to distort, bend,

hide the truth if necessary,

and if you got a guilty guy, which we usually do--what,

we're gonna hope the jury gets the right idea?

My craft, smoke and mirrors, deceit.

Criminal defense attorneys aren't about

searching for the truth!

Are you kidding?!

Mr. Donnell! DONNELL: That's our system!

The D. A. has to prove guilt beyond all reasonable doubt,

and defense lawyer spews doubt,

whenever, wherever, with all the discipline

that that perverted bastard

probably spews semen on his walls.

Counsel!

I like to finish my closing argument.

This man, I think he's guilty.

I'm sure as hell not supposed to say that,

but I think he did it.

The problem is...

I can't be sure.

Neither can you,

because all we have is one witness.

Sympathetic?

Definitely.

Compelling? No doubt.

But credible?

His own mother waited two days to call the police,

because even she didn't believe him at first.

He has a history of leveling false accusations,

a history of lying and cheating,

a track record of crying out for attention,

a history of drug use.

The story itself changed

with different statements to the police.

On the possibility that Mitchell Orbis

really did commit these crimes,

I hope he goes away.

But in this country,

we don't take away a man's freedom

on the possibility of guilt, or likelihood,

even an overwhelmingly strong likelihood.

You have to find guilt

beyond all reasonable doubt,

and I'm sorry,

you can't get there with one lone witness,

especially one whose word lacks credibility.

My client may be scum,

but there is no real case against him

in this courtroom today,

which means the heroes here

have to be you.

You have to go back to that room,

uphold your oath to our system,

because if you don't...

God forbid the day comes when the only thing

standing between our freedom and a prison cell

is the accusing finger from a child who lies,

because that's all we have here today, ladies and gentlemen.

One accusing finger

from a child who's been known to lie.

Um, uh, could I have a second in private, please?

PATRICK: Bobby...

the reason I felt so violated by your decision

to leave the church,

you see, the church, to me,

isn't an institution.

It's not a cardinal or the pope.

It's first and foremost my parish,

the people.

So, by your leaving, it was, in some way...

I understand that you look to me for spiritual

and moral leadership,

and obviously, I failed to provide it.

But if I could retract yesterday's condemnation

and substitute it with some...

guidance now,

our criminal justice system,

obviously we need defense lawyers

to do what they do,

but, Bobby...

from a spiritual and moral standpoint...

is this any way for a man to live his life?

(door opens)

I'm sorry.

You're not gonna believe this.

Jury's coming back.

(music playing)

SWACKHEIM: Mr. Foreman...

has the jury reached a unanimous verdict?

We have, Your Honor.

Will the defendant please rise?

Mr. Foreman, what say you?

"In the matter of the Commonwealth

versus Mitchell Orbis,

on the count of statutory rape,

sex with a minor, we the jury,

finding a strong likelihood of guilt,

regrettably return a finding of not guilty."

(indistinct chatter)

SWACKHEIM: Members of the jury,

this concludes your service.

I caution you, you will be subjected

to inquiries from the press,

seeking to explore your decision.

None of you are required

to discuss this with the media.

We are adjourned.

The defendant is free to go.

(gavel bangs)

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Thank you.

(music playing)

(music playing)

WOMAN: You stinker.

(music playing)