Original subtitles

Murder, kill. That's a pretty good offer.

Helen, may I call you Helen?

No.

Dorothy, murder too.

Where's she going?

Look, Mr. Herrick, this may be fun for you. It isn't to me.

You murdered somebody.

I came in here to talk about a plea. If you reject the plea, we have nothing

left to discuss.

The plea's rejected.

Fine.

Oh, what about the piano?

I beg your pardon?

I would like to use a piano in my opening, and Bobby said it would be

with your consent.

You want to use a piano?

Yes. In your opening argument?

Yes. What I lack in lyric, I make up for in melody.

He wants to do what?

Well, he thinks he... You will not turn my courtroom into theater, Mr. Herrick.

No, Your Honor.

Listen, I know it sounds insane, which you probably all think I am anyway.

It's only a matter of time before lawyers use it in the courtroom.

I just want to be the first.

I'm willing to show you if it'll help demonstrate my intent.

Go ahead.

There's a dead guy.

Everybody thinks I killed him. There's a dead guy.

Like he was a pest.

Took a knife right in the chest.

Everybody says it's me, but it wasn't Kedges. He's a dead guy. He's a dead

Something like that. I still have to work on the ending.

There will be no piano.

You know how rough it'll be.

There's going to be a lot of people in that courtroom.

Everything is public record.

I want to do this, Eleanor.

I'm tired of pretending that it doesn't bother me.

I'm tired of just walking away.

You sure?

I'm sure.

Okay.

Ten o 'clock.

I'll be at the courthouse.

You've turned down 75.

I'm a little concerned you're not seeing straight on this one.

I beg your pardon?

The woman didn't suffer any damages.

75 is not enough. Eleanor, you're a little hypersensitive when it comes to

obesity. Let's face facts.

Our client was ridiculed in front of a lot of people. My hypersensitivity...

you make the client aware of the offer?

Of course I did. She rejected it.

Did you tell her to reject it?

I made my client aware of the offer she elected to go to trial.

I'm assigning Lindsay to second chair.

I don't need Lindsay to second chair this case.

I'm assigning Lindsay to second chair.

Wait, you have to pick me in the middle? I just need an objective eye. I don't

think Eleanor... I mean, you see the way she reacts to Joey Harrod? Joey Harrod

calls her hippo and dumbo. I don't think she overreacts at all. It was a dunk?

The clown booth, Lindsay.

All I ask is that you watch, Doc.

She'll take it out on me.

It's on me. She knows that.

Mr.

Herrick,

I will instruct you again.

If there is objection from the prosecution...

You will wait for my ruling on that objection before you proceed.

Are you clear, sir?

Yes, Your Honor.

Miss Gamble, are you ready to open?

Yes, Your Honor.

We'll hear from you.

I'm sorry. I suppose that all my preparation and my nervousness, I'm

to say that I've left something out.

What's that?

I have to pee.

The bailiff will take the defendant to the men's room.

We'll adjourn for five minutes.

This is how Marty Andelman looked when the police arrived.

This is Marty Andelman's last expression.

Dead.

When the police showed up, the defendant was there with his three lawyers.

The evidence will show that the defendant fatally stabbed Marty

The evidence will show that the defendant and the victim were lovers,

were on the verge of a breakup, and that that breakup could potentially cost the

defendant more than $2 million.

I won't keep you long, ladies and gentlemen. It's pretty simple.

That man committed murder.

The evidence will prove this quickly and undeniably.

Let's address the first question.

What man would want to defend himself in a trial where his life was on the line?

Ms. Gamble would say that the evidence proves undeniably that I committed

murder.

Only thing is, I didn't.

Did I stab him? Yes.

But it was in self -defense.

I'll tell you here now, though I don't think it has any probative value, my

three lawyers at the scene...

Even they thought I did it.

Objection. Sustained.

Don't tell us what other people thought, Mr. Herrick. I'm merely offering this

to answer the question, why in God's name would he represent himself?

I do so because, as far as I know, I'm the only one convinced of my innocence.

I'm not going to hire an attorney to argue something to a jury that he

believe himself.

Yes, the evidence will show.

my prints on that weapon.

They will also show Marty Endelman's because what really happened that night,

ladies and gentlemen, is that Marty Endelman tried to kill me.

We were on the verge of a split up and he was emotionally upset and he tried to

kill me.

I'm not going to go into the facts now, but I will say the evidence will show

that he came at me with the very knife that I stabbed him with, that we

with that knife, that both of our hands were on it. And in the process of that

struggle, the knife went into him, not me.

Did I run?

No. Did I try to cover up evidence? No.

Did I know how it would look?

Of course.

That's why I called my lawyers.

Let's face it, gay lovers, one's dead. We all know how it looks.

But how it looks is not how it is.

And what this comes down to is prosecution's going to say, convict him.

to convict him.

He was the only one who was there.

And I will say, believe me.

You have to believe me.

Because I was the only one who went there.

That's the whole act.

The clown insults everybody who walks by to make them angry enough to want to

play the game.

It's put down $2 to get three baseballs and try to dunk this obnoxious bastard

into the water.

We've all seen this.

This kind of booth has been on the midways at state fairs and carnivals for

years.

Did the clown insult the plaintiff? Yes.

Did he do anything to her that he didn't do to anybody else?

No.

Did he or the carnival have any malicious intent toward this woman?

Of course not.

You call a person fat.

You abuse her.

You encourage a crowd of people to laugh at her physicality. And when she's

hurt, you say, no intent.

Didn't mean it.

The day he died?

The very day.

And what did Mr. Andelman say to you, Doctor?

Basically, that he was very afraid for his life.

And that he thought Mr. Herrick might try to kill him. Did he say why?

Well, he had been getting a lot of veiled threats over the last few weeks.

Veiled threats?

Yes, Mr. Herrick would say things like, how's your heart?

Feeling any chest pain? You might want to object to this.

And why specifically did he feel in danger on this day, Dr.

Toomey? Because he was about to break up with Mr. Herrick.

And he said that he was a violent man.

And moreover, he was not a man who would lose, who would let himself be bested.

Marty Andelman said that he was afraid of me?

Yes, he did.

Afraid I would kill him?

Yes.

Doctor, you were treating him for mental problems?

I am not comfortable discussing my patient's problems in open court.

You're not comfortable?

What are you doing sitting in that chair?

I'm sitting here because the prosecution sent me a summons.

Yes, ma 'am, you will answer this man's questions.

Patient privilege doesn't apply anymore.

He suffered from paranoid personality disorder.

You diagnosed it. A slight paranoid disorder, yes.

I'm no doctor, certainly, but according to the Diagnostic Manual for Mental

Disorders, a pervasive and unwarranted tendency to interpret the

actions of people as deliberately threatening.

Is that a fair diagnosis of the disorder?

Yes, but... And Mr. Andelman suffered from this disorder, slight?

Yes. He suffered from anything else?

Clinical depression?

Yes. He ever talk about suicide?

Oh, are you now suggesting that he committed suicide, Mr. Herrick? No,

I'm merely asking you, did he ever contemplate suicide?

Yes.

Since you asked for my suggestion, is it a terrible leap then to say that a

person who would consider suicide might consider homicide?

I don't think... Doctor, my question is, is it entirely inconsistent that a

person might be both suicidal and homicidal?

No. One last question, then I'll let you go. I know that you will loathe to talk

about your patients.

Did Marty Andelman manifest a tendency toward violence?

Yes.

Thank you.

That's all.

We were just walking through the fairgrounds and suddenly he started in

microphone. The clown?

Yes. Do you remember what he said?

Things like, I guess the Titanic didn't think after all.

He asked whether or not I had named the quintuplets or was I just waiting for

them to be born first.

And he called me a bunch of things.

Do you remember the things that he called you? Cow.

Pig.

Rhode Island.

And then what did you do?

I tried to smile and pretend I thought it was funny.

Everybody else was laughing, so...

I just kept walking, smiling.

You walked away?

Yes. And he said, when she turns a cheek, she really turns a cheek.

Marsha, were you alone?

No, I was with a man.

I was on a first date.

It was very embarrassing for him, too.

And then what happened?

Well, he told me it was nothing to get upset about, and I tried to pretend it

didn't bother me.

But after the date, I went home.

And I cried.

And your date?

I never saw him again.

Marsha, here's the question.

Why choose to relive this again in a courtroom?

I went to a state fair on a Sunday afternoon.

I was minding my own business.

And for the entertainment of others, a carnival employee started insulting my

physical appearance for profit.

I am not ashamed of taking that seriously.

When I walk down a street and people yell things at me,

the shame should not be mine.

It should be theirs.

From the entry, the knife was plunged in.

It had to have had a certain amount of velocity to it. There was no mashing of

the skin.

By velocity, you mean... Like this.

It couldn't have happened in a struggle the way he says.

Are you sure?

He describes a situation in which both had their hands on it and were pushing.

I'm sorry, but you don't just push a knife through a sternum.

This was a massive blow.

It was no struggle.

Do you have an opinion as to how Mr. Andelman was stabbed?

I do, based on the trajectory of the wound.

May I show you? Of course.

The victim was sitting.

The killer came up from behind him and over the top.

He drove the knife in, like this.

We're talking about a lot of force here.

Well, the reason I have a problem, Doctor, is that you're completely wrong.

And it leads me to ask, how many other people have been falsely convicted by

your ridiculous theories?

Objection. Sustained.

Okay, look, I'm not going to debate you on forensics, trajectory, velocity

equations. The truth is, I know nothing about any of it.

But I certainly do know that Marty Edelman didn't die the way you say he

Objection. Sustained.

You're not allowed to give arguments at this point, Mr. Herrick.

Just ask questions.

Sir, in 1987, did you testify against a man named Alex Beauregard?

Yes. Your testimony went to trajectory, angle of wound. It was another stabbing

death, right?

Yes, I believe that's correct.

Mr. Beauregard was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. Yes.

Two years later, somebody else confessed to the crime.

The conviction was overturned and Mr. Beauregard was released. Did you know

that? Yes.

And your analysis of wound trajectory turned out to be wrong in that case,

didn't it?

Yes. A crime you essentially convicted him of with your testimony. So mistakes

do happen.

I'm not mistaken here, Mr. Herrick.

Mistakes do happen.

Yes or no?

Thank you.

Oh, one last question.

Did you ever apologize to Mr. Beauregard?

No.

Gee.

$100 ,000. That's as high as... Nope.

Bring it up to two. I'll try to sell it.

200 ,000. You saw the faces on the jury. Well, the jury hasn't heard our side.

Fine, we'll tell them your side, but 100's not enough. I'll give you the

answer. I gave him the answer.

We have to take the offer to the client.

We'll get right back to you.

Thanks.

Don't you undermine me, Lindsay. You can't reject an offer without making the

client aware of it, Eleanor.

We'll offer manslaughter, eight years.

What?

Manslaughter. It's a moral victory.

But it's not a victory.

Well, it's as good as it's gonna get.

It's as good as you'll offer.

I'll get better.

Manslaughter, yes or no?

Gee, decisions, decisions.

No. Joey!

I said no!

Are you crazy?

They're offering eight years. That's because they know they've lost.

They've still got a great case.

Yeah, and if you weren't in favor of me going off to prison, I might actually

attach some credibility to your insipid little opinions. You can do what you

want to do, but you committed cold -blooded murder and you get an offer of

manslaughter? As sick as you are, you can't be that stupid.

Stupid?

Stupid would be listening to you. Touch me again and I will hurt you.

You think I can't or I won't?

Then, yeah, you are stupid.

I don't want her on the case. Hold on. No, I don't want her. Fine, my

malpractice premium is high enough already. Look, Lindsay, part of

good settlement is playing hardball. Don't bully me, Eleanor. I don't need a

secretary. You know what?

You don't get it.

That fat people face the discrimination. You just don't get it. And that is

exactly why Marcia is bringing this case so people like you will get it. I'm a

fat bigot now? I didn't say that. But while we're launching accusations of

hypersensitivity... Come on. We're all on the same side here. You're in the

middle of a trial.

Work it out.

Both of you.

Eugene, I need you with me this morning, too. Can you come? It's just for the

day.

Sure.

According to Mr. Andelman's life insurance policy, who would stand to

the event of his death?

The defendant, Joey Herrick.

And how much would he stand to inherit, sir?

$2 .3 million.

Thank you.

Mr. Herrick?

No questions, Your Honor.

You may step down.

Ms. Gamble?

Your Honor, the Commonwealth calls Joey Herrick.

Could she do that?

Your Honor, could we adjourn to chambers?

I have a Fifth Amendment right not to testify. She can't call me as a witness.

He has testified, Your Honor. He therefore waived his right.

What are you talking about?

Mr. Herrick put facts into evidence in his opening. He told his side of the

story. I'm entitled, therefore, to cross -examine his version of the event.

Opening argument is not evidence. I know that. I'm not even a lawyer. But he

used it to get in evidence.

He testified in the narrative.

Even so, I'm not inclined to punish him for a mistake.

Not when it comes to his self -incrimination.

A mistake.

Do we really think he didn't know exactly what he was doing? He told his

the story. And by not taking the stand, he figured to shield himself from cross

-examination. That's the whole reason he chose to represent himself.

So he could testify and not be subject to cross -examination.

You give me way too much credit. Your Honor, he said in his opening that the

evidence will show it was self -defense. The evidence will show that Marty

Anelman came at him.

Where's that evidence going to come from?

Mr. Herrick, do you plan to call witnesses to put those facts in?

How can I call witnesses? I was the only one there.

Exactly, making you the only witness.

I think I agree with the district attorney.

You've put testimony into this trial.

She can cross -examine.

Your Honor. That's what you get, Mr. Herrick, when you choose to defend

yourself. You put yourself in a hole.

You'll have to dig yourself out.

Fine.

Helen.

You come right at me.

I won't deny the clown is mean -spirited.

The truth is, that's why that booth draws the crowds.

Because the clown is so outrageous.

Does the carnival impose any limitations?

Certainly. No obscene language, no picking on people with disabilities, no

picking on kids.

Obviously, no racial or religious remarks.

But as to general physicality?

Yes, it's really all about that.

The big nose, the bald head, the bad figure, the bad clothing. His job is to

antagonize the people so that they become angry enough that they want to

him.

So you do draw limitations on what your clowns can say?

Yes. And if my colleague were to pass by, your clown wouldn't remark on his

race? No. He would probably go right for that big bald head.

Come on. I've been to a few comedy clubs.

I've heard some pretty hard -biting racist humor getting big laughs.

I mean, if it's funny. We wouldn't allow that.

Well, why?

Everybody knows it's just a clown act. What's the big deal?

I see nothing funny in racism.

And I don't tolerate it in any form at any one of my carnivals.

So you do see something funny in fat people?

You'll tolerate making fun of fat people, yes?

Yes. And, Mr. Johnson, your tolerance of this kind of abuse, is it that you're

unaware of the hurt you cause to people like my client, or is it that you just

disregard that kind of pain?

We never meant to hurt your client, Ms. Frutz.

Are you aware that you did hurt her?

Obviously, we're aware now. And since you became aware of it, that these words

hurt, have you instructed your clown?

stop ridiculing fat people?

No.

Her whole plan will be to get to that other murder.

The judge suppressed that.

But if she somehow gets you to open the door on it, she can get it admitted.

What do you mean, open the door?

Well, she'll ask, what do you mean Marty had a temper?

She wants you to answer that he threatened to kill Peter Feynman.

If you give any inkling of anything to do with that other case,

It'll get in.

The jury will learn that you killed somebody else, and if that happens, you

kiss your ass goodbye, Joey.

Okay.

Joey, she is very good.

Any evidence that Mr. Andelman could be homicidal?

You heard his own psychiatrist say so.

Yes. Well, any other evidence?

Did you ever see such homicidal tendencies?

Yes. When?

The night he tried to kill me.

The night you killed him?

In self -defense.

Did he ever threaten to kill you before?

No. Did he ever threaten to kill anybody else?

I believe for the purpose of this trial, the judge has instructed us not to talk

about any other occasion where he may have or may have not threatened to kill

anybody else.

That's right.

You say he came at you with the knife.

Yes. And you thought he would kill you?

Yes. So you decided to kill him instead?

Well... You didn't first try to get the knife away?

Yes, of course I did, but I couldn't. And you struggled? Yes.

Tell me, at what point during the struggle did you say to yourself, I'm

kill him?

I never...

decided to kill him, Ms. Gamble. My intent was for him not to kill me. Yes,

to accomplish that, you decided you would kill him. That isn't so. Mr.

you said yourself you intended to kill him. You grabbed the knife.

I said I killed him in self -defense.

Yes, and that is a deliberate act. You deliberately killed him. It was a

struggle. Are you listening?

Mr. Herrick. Eric, you can't have it both ways.

Were you trying to wrestle the knife away or were you trying to kill him? I

trying to wrestle the knife away when it went into him. You thrust it into him.

It went into him during the struggle. It went in by accident? Yes.

I never intended to kill him. How many ways can I say it?

You said it perfectly.

Have you ever stabbed and killed anybody else, Mr. Herrick?

Did you not hear my question, Mr. Herrick?

Your Honor?

Your Honor, you ruled if he argued accident, the other case would be

Well, he just argued accident.

Objection. I'll allow it. Now, wait a second. Mr. Donald, sit down.

Have you ever killed anybody else by stabbing Mr.

Herrick? That's suppressed.

Your Honor, that's suppressed.

Not anymore.

Did you kill a former lover by stabbing him in the chest with a knife? Yes or

no, sir?

All right, well, I'll just keep asking until I get an answer. Did you kill a

former lover by stabbing him to his death with a kitchen knife?

Did you kill a former lover by... I plead Fifth Amendment.

You can't do that, sir. See, you were already granted immunity on that. So the

Fifth Amendment isn't available to you now.

Let me ask again. Did you kill City Councilman Peter Feynman by stabbing him

his death with a kitchen knife?

Yes or no? Did you kill... I don't remember.

You don't remember?

Did you testify under oath that you killed him?

Your Honor, I have no more questions.

Mr. Herrick, you may step down.

Mr. Herrick, you may step down.

I think I should tell now.

Could we adjourn, please? I want to tell!

Your Honor.

Mr. Herrick?

Do you know where you are?

I'm in deep trouble.

I want to tell.

I did kill Peter Feynman.

But I didn't kill Marty.

He killed himself.

I beg your pardon?

He framed me.

That would be going to some length to get somebody in trouble, don't you

We were breaking up, but I was leaving him.

He picked up the kitchen knife and he started laughing.

They're all going to think you did it, Joey.

You killed Peter this way, and when they find me in your apartment with a knife

in my chest, they'll all blame you.

And he laughed some more.

You'll never get the insurance money.

Because they'll all think you did it and you'll be in jail.

And even if they learn the truth, my insurance doesn't cover suicide. And he

smiled at me.

And he said, I finally got you, Joey.

I bested you. I win. You lose.

And with that, he thrust the knife into his chest.

Then why did you claim it was self -defense?

Nobody beats me.

I wasn't going to let him win.

Self -defense, I still get the money.

But even if I... didn't, I wasn't gonna let you win.

Your Honor, we need to call one more witness.

I couldn't let him win.

When you form a conclusion about people based on appearance, it's

bigotry.

It's prejudice.

And as politically correct as this country has become, the prejudice

people, well, that one's not so bad, is it?

I mean, we're to blame.

It's our own fault. We must eat too much. We're lazy. We're not disciplined.

We're sloppy.

You know, I was at a movie theater once.

And they showed a fat person at the beach in a bathing suit.

And the audience openly cringed and groaned. And nobody, nobody was ashamed

do so.

You see, every billboard, every fashion magazine tells us to be ashamed of our

bodies. Be thin. Be thin.

Would my client like to be thinner? I don't know.

I can tell you I certainly would.

Does she struggle with her weight?

I don't know. I can tell you I do.

But does that mean we should be ashamed of our bodies?

Absolutely not.

I don't expect the bigotry to end with the wave of a wand.

It has been going on for so long, it's going to take a long time to stop it.

But if we are to stop it, we need a beginning for somebody, one jury,

to say that it is prejudice and that it is not okay.

This is a very, very brave woman.

I so admire her.

And I promise you, it was not easy for her to come into this courtroom.

Please help her to give the courage to other fat people to stand up and say,

enough.

Well, we seem to threw over everything these days, don't we?

Wrongful termination, sexual harassment.

Now it's just insults.

What about the Little League game where the third baseman taunts the batter?

What about the movie that shows the fat woman on the beach?

What about the movies and the TV shows that ridicule someone's appearance? What

are we going to do?

Shut them down?

The cattleman sued Oprah for criticizing a hamburger.

Where and when is this going to stop?

I don't like the clown bit.

I thought it was insensitive.

But this guy was dressed up as a clown.

He's running off to court every time your feelings are hurt. Come on.

We're becoming a nation of victims.

Who's next?

You have to trust me now, Joey.

I'm taking over, I call the shots, and you have to trust me.

Why do you even want to help me?

I'm not sure that I even do.

But I'm on this case, and I have to make the legal decisions that I think are

necessary. Now, Dr. Jordan, he won't agree to testify unless you wear hand

leg restraints.

Why? He doesn't think that you'll be able to tolerate some of his testimony.

How long did you treat Joey Herrick?

Almost six years. Is it possible that the man sitting there would rather face

murder charges?

Then admit he was outsmarted.

Not only is it possible, I would consider it almost probable.

What kind of narcissism are we talking about here?

The same kind of narcissism that prevented you raising insanity.

This man needs to believe he is mentally superior.

Look at him.

He sits there, half dead, not because he's looking at a conviction. He

doesn't even care about that.

He's neocatatonic because that woman tricked him. She outmaneuvered him.

On this witness stand, any punishment you give him won't be as bad as what

suffering right now.

This is a bit much for me.

I don't doubt that.

The man's willing to risk a life term in prison rather than just say, gee, my

lover one -upped me by trying to kill himself.

Trying to make sense of him is futile, Miss Gamble. He is an acute

Disorder. He needs to win.

And would that need to win apply to this trial, Doctor?

Excuse me?

Wouldn't Joey feel an overwhelming need to win this trial?

Yes, he would.

And he's a brilliant man, isn't he?

He's a genius.

Given his genius and his need to win, is it possible, after I caught him on the

stand, is it possible that he manufactured this wonderful story about

killing himself?

That is possible.

Does it have to make sense, this kind of narcissistic disorder?

It defies sense or logic.

As Dr. Jordan testified, a narcissist can't bear criticism of any kind.

Imagine when the man he loved looked him in the eye, smiled at him and said,

I've outsmarted you.

I schemed you out of your insurance money. I beat you.

This man doesn't.

Lose.

No, he doesn't.

And he wasn't going to lose this one, was he?

He orchestrated an immunity agreement after the first murder.

And here he is today.

Suddenly saying that the second victim took his own life.

Maybe his best mind game of all.

Well, how can anybody be sure?

You heard his story. It sounded real. And he was the only one there.

And a treating doctor said his story is not only possible, it is probable.

Probable. And the victim's doctor testified that Marty Anderman did show

suicidal tendencies.

You heard that.

Joey Herrick laughed after the first murder. He's laughing at me now. The

remaining question, does he get to laugh at you?

Please be seated.

The Honorable Adam Clark presiding.

Madam foreperson, we'll hear from you.

In the matter of Marcia Belson versus New England Carnival Company on the

of intentional infliction of emotional distress.

We find in favor of the plaintiff and order the defendant to pay damages in

amount of $330 ,000.

The jury is dismissed with the thanks of the court. We're adjourned.

If you tell anybody I cried, I'd break your head.

I understand.

Members of the jury, you have your verdict?

We do, Your Honor.

Will the defendant please rise?

What say you?

In the matter of the Commonwealth v. Joseph Herrick on the charge of murder

the first degree, we find the defendant, Joseph Herrick, not guilty.

The defendant is free to go.

Members of the jury, thank you for your service. We'll adjourn.

Several of the jurors' polls say they really do think he committed the murder,

but they just couldn't be positive.

The only thing we can be sure of, as of right now, Joey Herrick is once again a

free man.

Thank you, Robert.

Elsewhere today, a fiery midair collision took the life of a Lincoln.

I should keep some of this stuff.

Souvenirs. Research. Can't tell you I'll need it again.

Joey, get some help.

It was just so hard to find, Bobby.

Well, still here.

Thought you'd be out placing a personal by now.

Cute.

Failed at love twice.

Willing to take another stab.

Forever yours.

Lovesick. Kind of gets you right here, doesn't it?

I know you're a murderer.

Yes. But do you know I killed Marty?

I'll tell you this, Dorothy.

When you had me on the stand, you really had me.

I got sexually stimulated a little.

Yeah, I could have wanted to deny that Marty killed himself, but I couldn't

the idea of losing to him.

Oh, you're right.

I could have made it all up to avoid losing to you.

It's so damn confusing.

Or narcissism.

Touch a bugger.

You can't live with it, but you can day.