Original subtitles

When you say you have feelings for her, are you

in love with her?

No.

Not at all.

But I might see her again.

And I didn't want you to hear it at the office.

I thought it should come from me.

Have you two slept together?

Look, I don't think it's a good idea for us to talk about.

What are we talking about, then?

Lindsay, whatever our future will be, if we stop communicating... Can I stop you

for a second?

You and I have no future.

I appreciate you taking me off the hook here.

I was beginning to feel like the bad guy, but now I don't. I can pursue what

want with a much lighter heart.

And what I want is a divorce.

You might think I'm acting out of hurt or pride.

But this isn't that.

I'm not speaking from wound, but rather from a reflective and reasoned clarity.

If you've never believed anything I've told you, please believe this.

I do not wish to live my life with you.

Not now.

Not a month from now.

Not ever.

They're divorcing?

That's the word. Where'd you get this word? From Bobby. He called in and said

the papers got delivered, I can accept.

They just separated.

How? It's probably that slut's idea.

Talking about me, Rebecca?

You? No.

I was talking about a different slut.

Jimmy.

I have some depositions scheduled today on a negligence claim, but I'm not

really up to doing them.

If I get you up to speed, could you cover for me?

Sure.

I'll get the file.

She is nine months pregnant. Her due date isn't until June 5th. This will be

three -day trial.

And what happens if she goes into labor the first day? Is there a reason you

don't want to wait a month, Mr. Young? Of course there's a reason. He wants the

jury to see a pregnant mother -to -be instead of a murderer. He's probably

instructed her to give birth during the closing. Yes, thank you for that. Since

I addressed my question to Mr. Young, maybe we could let him answer.

For the record, I advise my client to postpone. She doesn't want to. She has a

right to a speedy trial, and that's what she wants.

Mrs. Nielsen, why?

I want to put this trial behind me, Your Honor.

When I have my baby, I want everything else over.

What about the stress?

This is not traffic court. You are being charged with first -degree murder.

Your own doctor is saying, let's wait.

Well, I'm of sound mind, so any medical decision would be mine.

And it's your choice to go forward now?

Yes, Your Honor.

I want this ordeal over with.

Okay, then.

Let's bring in the jury.

Jimmy Berluti?

Claire. He isn't even in this firm. Please don't start with me now. I'm just

saying. You're upset that I didn't let you run with it. I understand.

I'd like to know why.

You're too green, okay?

The case could turn on these depositions, and it could be malpractice

vest it with an attorney just out of law school.

And if that hurts, well, hurt happens.

Just give Jimmy whatever backup he needs, and if you need to reach me, I'll

at Nancy Decker's office.

Nancy Decker, the divorce lawyer?

Yes.

Miss Dole. I'm sorry, I can't talk now.

Don't we have a meeting?

I'll be handling it.

Hi, Virginia. How are you today?

Don't we have deposition?

Yes, I'll be doing them.

You? What happened to Lindsay?

Miss Carter, everything's in good hands. You need not worry.

We also have Jimmy Berluti, another attorney, joining us for the deposition.

we are in excellent shape.

At the time I arrived, the uniformed officers already had the defendant in

custody. Could you tell the jury your observations of the scene, detective?

There was blood spattered everywhere.

The ceiling, the walls, on the toaster.

Did the spatter pattern suggest anything to you? The victim was shot at point

-blank range six times.

Several of those shots were fired after the victim was on the ground.

Helpless. Did you have an opportunity to speak with the defendant, Carrie

Nielsen? Yes.

She confessed to the shooting as she had on the 911 tape. And what was her

demeanor as she confessed this crime to you?

Calm, detached, without remorse.

This was not a woman in distress.

Did she say why she shot her husband?

She said he was physically abusive and she was concerned for the health of her

unborn child.

In fact, she said she was afraid her husband would kill.

The child.

Objection to the word child.

At the time of the shooting, this was a two -month fetus, not a child. I asked

the witness what the defendant said. The word she used was child.

Was it not, detective?

Yes. The objection is overruled. The six shots, they were fired from an

automatic and rapid succession. Isn't that right?

They appear to have been, yes.

Within two to three seconds?

Probably. And, Detective, have you ever encountered a situation in which a

person under attack keeps shooting even after the attack is over?

Yes. So it's possible my client fired off the first shot or two in defense of

her unborn child and just kept squeezing the trigger while still in shock.

That's possible, isn't it, Detective?

Anything's possible, Counsel.

If at any time you get confused, you just tell me, okay, Virginia?

Okay. You understand I represent White Oaks, the apartment complex where you

live, right?

Yes. Did your lawyers tell you I'd be against you?

Yeah. Well, I'll try not to be a big meanie.

Really, I just want to find out what happened.

Now, this happened at a party, right?

Yeah. We were having a birthday party.

Your birthday?

Yeah. How old?

Ten. Ten?

Wow. That's a big one. I bet you were really excited.

Yeah. Know how old I am?

A hundred.

Some of the guests said you were jumping on the balcony.

Is that right?

Yes. And were you also jumping against the rail, Virginia?

It just broke.

You must have been so scared.

I was.

Do you remember where your mom was when you fell?

I think in the kitchen.

First of all, I'm not a divorce lawyer, Bobby. That's a whole different breed of

bug. And second, even if I were, I'm a little too close. It's not going to be

complicated or even contested. I just want to get it done.

Speaking professionally, I don't think that's a sound approach.

And speaking personally, I'm offended by it.

You have a son.

You both have a duty to explore reconciliation. How could you possibly

prioritize expediency over... I'm not asking you to interfere with my life,

Eleanor. I am in your life, Bobby. So is Rebecca, so is everybody else in this

office. Whether you want us in is beside the point. I don't. Well, we are.

And as your friend, as a parent myself, I am telling you...

Go get your hands dirty in therapy before... It's her, okay?

Lindsay's mind is made up. She's immovable.

Given that, the best way to spare my son is to get it done.

Is there going to be a custody issue?

No. She's taking him weekdays, I get him weekends.

There's no rule that has to be messy, you know.

There's got to be a rule against it being simple.

I can't believe you have a murder trial.

Me neither.

Is there a reason you're on this?

I know you're good, but still, a year out of law school? I think Eugene wanted

woman on board since there are implied Roe v. Wade issues running through this.

Roe v. Wade? The fetus wasn't viable at the time of the shooting.

We're arguing defense of others, so... Is that a problem for you? I mean, being

a pro -choice woman?

Not really. Plus... Plus what?

I love working with Eugene.

He's so far and away the best lawyer in this firm. I'm afraid of him. I said hi

once and he kind of grunted.

Do you think it'd be incredibly inappropriate if I asked him out?

Yes. Hello? Well, he's never going to ask me out. He's too principled.

Which means, if we were to ever date, I'd have to make the move.

Claire.

We're set?

I'm ready.

You prepped this woman, right?

She's prepped. She's ready.

Let's go.

It isn't really true, though, is it?

What? That it's Lindsay's doing.

You orchestrated it, don't you think?

I didn't orchestrate her falling out of love with me. Fair enough.

Wives do that with husbands all the time.

But they don't leave when there are children involved.

Unless pushed.

And I pushed her.

You kissed me, you slept with me.

One could argue that you traded on her self -respect and manipulated things.

you my therapist now?

No, I'm the mistress.

Or maybe I'm just the device that helps you end your marriage.

All right, this is crazy. Let's postpone.

No. Carrie, you're in pain. The baby could be in distress.

Is he?

I don't know, Carrie, but why take the risk?

I don't want to give birth in custody.

They'll just take him away from me.

I want the trial over.

I want to have him on the outside.

Carrie, we could lose. In which case, you'll probably get more vegetation in

jail than you could in prison.

These are just contractions, like you said.

I want to keep going.

I want to have my baby in a real hospital, not in a jail.

My kitchen has a window so I could see her. I understand, but my question was,

do you think it was safe for her to play on the second -story balcony?

I assume the balcony was safe.

It never previously struck you as unsafe, did it?

No. And you never called the White Oaks management company about the railing

outside your apartment, did you?

No. How many times a day would you say you looked at that railing?

I don't have time to sit around and look at a railing. I know, but how many

times a day, on average, do you think you see it?

A dozen?

Two dozen?

Maybe ten.

If you count the times, I see it from inside the kitchen.

Okay, so you looked at this railing approximately ten times a day. Would

fair?

Yeah. And how long did you live in this apartment before the accident?

About four years.

Okay.

365 times four makes... 1 ,460 days. If you look 10 times a

day for four years, assuming my math is correct, you looked at that railing

roughly 14 ,600 times before the accident.

And not once did you notice anything was wrong with it. Isn't that right?

What the hell was all that about?

Four times 365 times 10, what's that got to do with anything?

Here's our problem.

The defendant isn't really negligent for not fixing the railing if they had no

way of knowing it was broken.

What are you talking about? They have an ongoing duty to inspect and repair.

Yes, and the file is full of maintenance reports that say they did exactly that.

Not one report says the railing was loose or broken. And now they've got

testimony that you've never noticed anything wrong either.

But the way Virginia fell, the railing had to be broken.

We have to be able to prove that.

It's their building, for God's sake.

Naomi, look, this is going to be a very tough case to win.

My suggestion would be, let me see if I can get something.

By something, you mean how much?

If we can get, say, 50 ,000, we should think about it.

My daughter will be in a wheelchair for the rest of her life.

For that, we're supposed to accept $50 ,000?

The damages to your daughter are obviously immeasurable.

Unfortunately, I don't know if we can prove what we need to prove.

I don't believe this.

My daughter can't walk.

They fought a lot, but it escalated dramatically after she got pregnant.

By fought, you mean? A lot of screaming.

But it got physical, too. I could hear it right through the walls.

And, Mr. Gore, you live in the apartment next to Mrs. Nielsen and the victim?

Correct. And, Mr. Gore, were you able to hear the substance of their arguments?

Typically, no, because I really didn't care to.

I turned my television up.

But I did specifically hear him screaming that he didn't want her to

Presumably, the baby.

I also specifically heard her on more than one occasion screaming at him that

was hurting her.

Did you ever do anything yourself?

I intervened when I thought he was hurting her.

When he wasn't around, I tried another form of intervention, which was trying

persuade her to leave the man.

Did you ever call the police?

I called them the night I heard the shots.

And I called them once before when I thought he was physically attacking her.

According to your statement to the police, you either intervened or called

police every time you heard sounds of physical abuse or intense screaming.

Was that your statement?

Yes, it was.

And it's true?

Yes, it is. Well, on the night of Mr. Nielsen's death, you neither intervened

nor called the police prior to the shooting. Is that correct?

Yes. So one could conclude then that there were no sounds of fighting before

gun was fired.

I don't know.

Well, you didn't hear them.

I can't say that I did, but I was in shock myself. It's possible I just don't

remember.

Eleanor. Hi.

Hey.

Looks like somebody's leaving.

Lindsay, this is none of my business.

I couldn't agree with you more.

All right, look.

Cards on the table?

I love you.

And I love Bobby.

And I suppose I have an emotional investment in this marriage.

I think you're being far, far too draconian here.

You have a son.

And as angry as you may be with Bobby, and I don't blame you, by the way.

You have to realize that the hatred you feel comes from betrayal and that the

foundation of betrayal is love.

There is no good reason to rush this.

Let some time pass.

Give your emotions some time to settle.

Lindsay, you have a son.

Can you sit for a second?

Last week I sat in a church grieving for a serial killer.

A sick man who killed innocent people.

I mourned his loss, Eleanor.

But the thing that struck me sitting in that church was that I was mourning.

I was feeling.

It's something I haven't done for a long, long time.

You said, let my emotions settle.

My problem is, I've had no emotions.

I've been going dead with Bobby.

With every day, I grow a little more dead.

And that's where my son is becoming most victimized.

His mother is becoming emotionally deadened.

I wish I would feel hatred.

or anger towards Bobby.

But I feel neither.

I don't love him.

I don't hate him.

I'm not sure if I really even like him.

But what I am sure of is that for me to have any chance of resuming some

emotional life, I have to get away from him.

And that's what I'm doing.

I'm not so convinced we should call her.

Carrie? How can we not?

Well, the neighbor's testimony went so well, Carrie could just throw that all

away. But our whole case turns on jury sympathy.

They have to get to know her.

Maybe so.

Eugene, can we talk for a second about last week when I took the stand?

What's there to talk about?

Look, I know you weren't trying to do me any favors, but why...

Is there a reason you feel a need to apologize if

somebody salutes your compassion?

I don't think I do that.

Why do you grunt?

I beg your pardon?

Well, do you intimidate people by design?

Look, we have a case to work on here, Jamie. So is there a reason for all

questions? I'm just taking a personal interest in you, that's all.

Look, I know you wouldn't go out with me in a million years, but I was

wondering, after this trial, could we maybe set our clock

ahead a million years and go have dinner?

I don't think that would be a great idea.

Okay.

Can we debate the merit of the idea over dinner?

Let's just get back to work.

I've scheduled a settlement conference for 9 o 'clock tomorrow morning.

As I said, I'd be thrilled to get 50 under this fact pattern.

Okay.

May I ask, who was handling this case? You or Lindsay?

Well, I was pushing it uphill.

Lindsay was planning to take the depots.

Why?

Can I be honest?

Sure.

I think a disservice was done to these people.

Revving the mother up, making her think there'd be some big score. Her daughter

is in a wheelchair.

We hardly needed to rev her up. She was obviously led to believe there's some

pot of gold here.

There should be.

A girl is disabled. Yes, the damages are there.

That doesn't mean liability is.

Whose side are you on?

Claire, I know you don't want to hear this.

But public housing tenants make lousy plaintiffs.

For whatever reason, juries don't like them.

On top of that, you've got a defendant knee -deep in HUD loans just trying to

keep the place habitable.

There's no pot of gold, and you did a big disservice to the client to suggest

otherwise.

I know you're young and enthusiastic, but I think you need to deal with your

zeal.

Sometimes it can cause harm.

The meeting's at nine o 'clock.

We'd been married just under four years.

Happily, till about two years ago.

He was having problems with his partners.

And he started drinking more.

He started hitting me.

He started hitting you.

Over what period of time?

Over a period of about six months.

Then I got pregnant, and he promised to stop drinking.

Did he?

For a while.

Things kept getting worse at work.

I couldn't have been easy to be around in the first trimester of my first

pregnancy. Can you tell us what happened that night?

He came home.

He'd been drinking.

And he said... He said he didn't want me.

And he didn't want the baby.

That he was suffocating. That I'd ruined everything.

Did you argue?

Not really.

I began to respond when he just shoved me and then he punched me.

What did you do?

I did what I always did.

I took it.

Tried not to make him any more angry.

How did he react to that?

He said something about getting it out of me.

And then he punched me and I fell to the ground.

Then what?

I pulled the gun out of the cabinet where we kept it.

And I told him to stand back, that I wouldn't let him hurt our baby.

And then he lunged at me.

Carrie, what did you do next?

I shot him.

It was as if my fingers, they just convulsed on the trigger like it wasn't

shooting.

You say your husband beat you over a six -month period.

You never called the police any of those times.

I'm seeing a therapist about that now. She says it's called battered women's

syndrome. I see. Did you ever go to the hospital?

No. So you were never really injured?

Oh, I had bruises.

I was just too ashamed to... You never went to a shelter either?

No. With all these places you could go to for help... Knowing something's there

and being able to do something about it are two different... But you did do

something about it, didn't you, Carrie?

You decided to put six bullets into your husband rather than... Objection!

Sustained! Does the name Robert Sheehan mean anything to you?

He's a lawyer.

He's a divorce lawyer. You consulted only one month before you killed your

husband.

I met with him once, but I didn't follow through on it. Because he told you that

since most of your husband's money was held in trusts, you would get a lot more

with him dead than if you divorced him.

Objection! Sustained.

Your husband have life insurance?

Yes. It's a $500 ,000 policy with the money going to you. You're aware of

aren't you?

I'm aware of it.

You decided to trade in your alcoholic husband for half a million dollars,

didn't you, Mrs. Nielsen? I decided to save the life of my baby, Mr. Kupchak.

Oh, you were saving your baby?

Yes. Not your own life, but your baby's?

Yes.

Mrs. Nielsen, have you ever had an abortion?

Objection! The defendant is clearly saying that a two -month fetus is a

I'd like to cross -examine her on that. I'll allow it.

Have you ever had an abortion?

Once. Before I was married.

If you remember, how old was the child?

Seventeen weeks.

We get hurt in there today, Jamie. Many people change their positions on

abortion, Eugene, and especially after they get married. We need to draft a

proposed set of jury instructions.

Mr. Young, you call for me.

I need for you to think, Mr. Gore. Think back.

Are you sure you didn't hear anything before the shots?

I'm not sure at all. He put those words into my mouth.

I may very well have heard them fighting.

I may need to put you back up there to say that.

Okay. I'll let you know.

It's not a good idea. We cannot rest our case on that kind of uncertainty. Well,

I don't like resting our case where we are right now. Look, do you want to put

the neighbor up there to say what he may have heard? Jury instructions, Jamie. I

need them on my desk tonight.

Fine. Fine.

It just seems like such a little amount. It is, but... I read in the paper,

these people who choose to smoke win millions of dollars from the tobacco

companies.

My daughter didn't choose to lean against a broken railing, and now she

walk. I think one thing that they're betting on is that you can't afford to

this through trial.

If you beat them in court, Miss Carter, it could take four or five years before

you get anything.

And that's just assuming you win, which isn't even likely.

There's nothing else you can do?

I don't think so.

I mean, the truth is, you've got a sympathetic defendant providing housing

loans from HUD. Like Jimmy says, they get these loans just to... What?

What? What do you mean, redo them? Redo them. They're imprecise. This whole case

will come down to... Where are they imprecise?

Three, four, five, six.

We need to spell it out. It is. Not enough, Jamie. If that judge instructs

a fetus is not a child, we lose.

Do you get that? Our whole theory is defense.

If she instructs that there is no child, then there is no other. Stop talking to

me like I'm three. I'm talking to you like you're a lawyer, and this work is

acceptable. Oh, you're full of crap.

You're upset because I asked you to dinner and you can't handle it. Well,

offer is revoked. You can go eat a cheeseburger alone like the big, bald

curmudgeon you are. You don't talk to me like that. These instructions are fine.

The work is acceptable, so you can go off in no corner and grunt. Oh, now I

it. Get what?

You asked me out for currency.

Now when I come down on you for your work, you could claim I'm retaliating

personal reasons.

Very clever. Oh, that is so cynical. I don't think so. I asked you out because

like you.

And you can't take it. Well, I like you.

I like you.

Claire? Claire?

Did you sleep here?

Uh, I guess I did.

What are you working on?

The Carter case. I have a 9 o 'clock settlement conference.

It's 10 past 9.

What?

I'm so sorry, traffic.

We just started.

Mr. Sloan is offering us the grand sum of $20 ,000.

Look, our insurance company is tightening up on nuisance claims.

Nuisance? Claire, that girl is disabled for life.

This is hardly a nuisance claim. Come on, post -accident test showed a minimal

fissure. The railing broke. Because she jumped onto it. She weighs 70 pounds.

Look, there's no negligence. And if we go to trial, you're looking at three

years before the first witness is even sworn in.

Now, I'm sure your client could use that $20 ,000. My suspicion is it would come

in very handy right now.

You have an obligation to take the offer to your client.

Could you take this to your client?

What is it? An amendment to our document production request.

We want your HUD financial records.

I already got the loan application under the Freedom of Information Act.

Your client made representations about upgrading and renovating White Oaks

property. They got $4 million, in fact, which is interesting because, according

to your own interrogatory responses, there have been no renovations since you

received the HUD funding.

You stated that there are currently no plans for remodeling.

That might qualify your client for fraud, Mr. Sloan.

I think you're reaching, counsel.

I don't think so.

You received money earmarked for repairs.

Had you done those repairs, the faulty railing would have been discovered.

If you've not done them, brings me back to fraud.

You don't know what that money was spent on. Now, I don't think... This is my

motion for a court -enforced audit.

Then we'll know what the money was spent on or not spent on.

I certainly hope your client didn't take a low road, Mr. Sloan.

There's still an opportunity to choose a high one.

I would encourage you... to encourage your client to reconsider.

Not to avoid an audit, not to avoid liability for fraud, but to compensate a

-year -old girl who will never be a cheerleader, who will never get to dance

her senior prom, and who won't walk down the aisle at her own wedding.

She won't walk through many of life's moments because I suspect your client

greedy.

I would encourage you to talk to your client because it's the right thing to

This was murder.

A woman in a lousy marriage fires six shots, point blank.

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang.

That's not defense.

No evidence of any shouting or fighting preceding the shooting.

It just so happens the defendant visited a divorce attorney one month before.

She explored getting out of this marriage one way.

She chose another.

And as for this theory, she was defending the life of her unborn child.

This fetus was eight weeks old.

She previously aborted a 17 -week fetus, so let's not pretend that she

considered it a person. And even if she did, the law doesn't.

A non -viable fetus is not a person. That's what the Supreme Court has said.

Now, she wants to say, hey, as far as she's concerned, It's a human being.

that is exactly the rationale employed by people who shoot doctors at abortion

clinics. They're just protecting the lives of the unborn. Well, we don't let

those murderers get away with it, and we can't let this one.

And finally, even should you choose to ignore the law, defy the

Supreme Court, and find this fetus to be a person, thereby...

affording Mrs. Nielsen her novel defense, her use of force has to be

It cannot be excessive.

The victim here was unarmed.

One shot was arguably excessive. She fired six.

Five after he lay on the floor.

You see this man here?

He was very much a person.

This... was a human being.

Shot six times, point blank.

She fired the one shot and impulsively kept squeezing.

In her own testimony, she said her fingers convulsed on the trigger. That

testimony was not refuted.

As for her consulting with a divorce lawyer, that didn't just so happen.

Of course she thought about divorce.

The man was beating her.

Punching her in the stomach. She was pregnant. And talk to any pregnant

They don't point to their stomach and say the thing or the fetus.

They call it the baby.

So don't tell me that for any woman who's been pregnant that there isn't a

in play. This country spends millions of dollars educating people on the

importance of prenatal care because we recognize that life.

Because parenting... starts with pregnancy, because the essence of

protecting the child, and that starts in the womb.

She didn't have to consult with the Supreme Court to know that she had a

living inside her. Carrie Nielsen was protecting her child.

And in case you didn't know, if the victim had killed that child with one of

punches, the state legally could and would have charged him with murder.

See, we prosecute those who kill non -viable fetuses unless it's by illegal

abortion. So it's disingenuous for the state to be saying to you, hey, there is

no life.

There was a life.

And my client did what she had to to save it.

Okay, members of the jury, I am now going to give you a set of instructions

before I send you back to deliberate.

The most important one I'm going to say first and last because you really need

to heed it.

For the purpose of this trial, you are to consider the fetus a human

being. That means the defendant is entitled to use force to defend it.

That was good, right?

That's the exact instruction we wanted. But they still have to find the force

was reasonable. And thick shot is thick shot.

They also might not be convinced on your motive. Well, how long before... Are

you okay?

I was contracting all through the closing.

I could be in labor.

Well, let's get you to a hospital then.

Don't I have to be here?

No, not for the reading of the verdict.

Carrie, why take the risk?

Okay.

Guard?

How much more?

We don't know.

Mr. Sloan says it's a package we'll be happy with.

So it sounds encouraging.

So this is good news?

It's very good news.

We gave them two days.

We'll let you know as soon as the offer comes in.

Okay.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

I'm going to go tell Virginia.

Okay.

Huh? I didn't appreciate you springing that stuff in the conference.

I didn't plan that.

I meant to tell you before, but I overslept and then things looked like

were going south. You don't need to apologize.

Good work, Claire.

The idea of going to HUD, the legwork, getting a hold of those documents, that

was something.

It's called zeal.

You're a fine young lawyer.

And, well, excellent job.

Thank you.

How long ago?

Jamie.

Thank you very much.

She's in full labor.

Members of the jury, have you reached a verdict?

We have, Your Honor.

What say you?

On the matter of the Commonwealth v. Carrie Nielsen, on the charge of murder

the first degree, we find the defendant not guilty.

On the charge of murder in the second degree, we find the defendant not

This concludes the jury's service.

You are dismissed with the court's thanks.

We are adjourned.

Congratulations.

You too.

Let's go tell Carrie.

Seven pounds, ten ounces.

Everybody's healthy?

Mother and son are doing fine. The doctor will be out in a second, and she

you could go in. You told her she was acquitted? I did. She's ecstatic.

It'll just be a second.

Good day, I guess.

Yep.

I loved your closing, by the way.

Thank you.

Listen, if you still feel like getting dinner sometime later...

That'd be great.

You can go in Thank you

Now I see why she won the trial before she delivered.

That might not mean anything.

Nope.

Might not.