Original subtitles

Previously on The Practice.

What say you? We find the defendant, Anderson Pearson, guilty.

It is not evident on the record that Judge Hiller actually ruled in this

thereby prohibiting self -defense.

The conviction of Anderson Pearson, therefore, stands.

You're trying a kid for murder. A kid you know didn't commit murder. Stop

telling me what I know. At best, your boy saw a 15 -year -old girl getting

mauled and went for a walk.

At worst, he killed her. Either case, I have no problem putting him away.

We find the defendant, Kevin Pete, guilty as charged.

What now, Helen?

You got your conviction with the wrong guy.

Boyfriend bludgeoned a babysitter. We already did one lineup.

But we want to run it again.

Why? Because this is the witness.

He's four years old. Every defendant has a right to confront his own accuser.

Without that four -year -old, a killer walks.

I'm not going to allow it. I'm afraid you have no choice.

I'm his mother, and I'm going to protect him if no one else will.

This case is dismissed.

The defendant is free to go.

Oh.

As I told your dad, I'm convinced they got the wrong guy.

And if they do, that means that this thing was either a mission to frame

Volkerman or somebody was after your sister. She did spend a lot of time on

Internet talking about people she didn't know. Would you say that in court?

I guess.

Boyfriend lives alone, brother, big house. Why weren't they considered? They

were checked out. They're both choir boys.

Yeah, but still no official alibi if everyone's asleep.

Why not plan B them?

It might be worth a try. Give them a soft plan B. Plan B, soft for both.

Did you murder your sister in frame, George Volkin?

Objection! Did you follow her to the bar, then go to the motel?

Objection! That's sick!

You asked us to trust you.

You just stole my son's innocence.

He's got to apologize. If he says he's sorry... He said he's sorry. What a who?

Clinton? Pearson, sentencing is tomorrow.

Hiller goes for contrition. I'd actually rehearse him. A good show of remorse

can be the difference between 18 and life.

Actually, um... I'm thinking.

Thinking of what?

I'm going to ask her to reduce the charge to manslaughter.

What? That's what it really was. Whoa, whoa, whoa.

They convicted him of murder because manslaughter wasn't available, not

of... Of all the judges that won't fly with... Judge Hill is the last person on

earth. She's all I've got.

Lindsay. I've done the research.

We need to talk about this.

Wow.

Looks like clients are paying their bills.

Tommy. How you doing, Bobby?

Jimmy. Hey, Ellie. Hey, Tommy.

What's up?

Well, this is a little delicate. That's why I'm here in person.

Actually, I had kind of a long night of the soul before I, uh... I represent

Steve Robin and his dad.

We're suing you. What? I know. I'm not too thrilled.

But, uh... Oh, and I had to name you guys personally, too. In case you try to

dissolve the partnership or something.

Steve Robin?

Yeah, brother of the victim in your Vogelman trial.

Eugene accused him of being the killer.

That's defamation, intentional infliction. You can't sue for that. We

qualified immunity.

You're probably right, but my research says we might make a go of it. You got a

lot of nerve.

Thing is, you say something like that to a grieving brother, accuse him of

killing his own sister when you know he didn't. That's bad.

Personally, I don't think it's an excuse that you said it in court.

Oh, and look.

I have to go for liens on all your property. Got to protect the judgment.

know how it goes.

The hearing on that is tomorrow.

It's sex party, but I tell you anyway because we're all in the same

So, be seeing you.

There is qualified immunity for what is said in court. Eleanor, Jimmy, Rebecca,

I want you to all get on this research and draft a memo. Eleanor, you take the

hearing. Jimmy, notify your insurance.

This case is bogus. I am not taking chances.

We don't want Tommy Silva ever getting this to a jury.

Lindsay, my office.

You already went to appeals asking them to overrule Judge Hiller. And I almost

won it. You said so yourself. The point is she doesn't like it when lawyers go

running behind her back saying she screwed up. Oh, please. And springing

her at sentencing. I'm not springing it. I'm filing. You want Pearson hit with

life because that's what's going to happen. Not if I persuade. I know, Zoe

Hiller. Your best shot at a reduced sentence is Pearson taking

for the crime. If you go in there still battling a conviction. I think you're

wrong. Lindsay. Your strategy is the reason he's in jail, Bobby. Don't tell

I didn't mean that. Yes, you did. You keep saying it. You must mean it.

It is not unheard of for a judge to convert a sentence.

Cowboy judges, maybe.

But she isn't that.

She is by the book.

She will rebel against this, and your professor will end up doing more time

he otherwise would.

Trust me.

Excuse me. Miss Gamble? Yes.

I thought that was you. Edward Harrelson. Hello.

Have you been able to come up with any more evidence to make the arrest?

I'm sorry.

You are?

Edward Harrelson.

My daughter was killed by the parish boy.

The witness was four years old.

Oh.

Well, do you have any new evidence?

Not that I'm aware of, no.

Well, have you checked?

Well, I will check and get back to you.

You will check?

Today, I promise.

I don't mean to be a pest.

He killed my daughter.

I felt about two inches tall.

Nothing's changed, Helen. The four -year -old's all we've got, and he gets less

reliable the longer we wait.

Nothing physical? No partial prints? Higher prints? Trust me, we've tried.

I think we're going to have to be honest with the girl's parents, Helen.

The kid who killed their daughter is going to stay free.

There has to be something we can do.

It is risky.

The rest of your life is in her hands. If I get her angry... Well, can't you

bring the motion without getting her angry?

Yes. I mean, I'm certainly not going to antagonize her.

But she has little patience for anything unorthodox, and showing up at

sentencing, asking her to reduce the charge, that's unorthodox.

The upside?

You're looking at 20 minimum on murder two, probably 25.

Manslaughter?

Out in maybe four.

What if we get her angry?

I get life.

It's your call.

Uh -huh.

Let's go for manslaughter.

Tommy.

Hey, Dave. Hey, Jeremy. Can I steal you a second? Yeah, yeah. I'll see you

there.

Walk the record.

Sure.

Between you and me, I think what Eugene did to that kid was out of line.

But going after lawyers for what they do or say in court, you sure you want to

be doing this?

Like I said, it was a tough call. I mean, the father and the brother, they

in my office in tears.

My heart went out.

I've known you a long time.

You're a good guy.

Appreciate that.

This is kind of a small town. A lawyer who sues other lawyers.

You gotta look at the big picture here.

You know, Jimmy, I appreciate you taking the time to look out for me like this.

I hope to pay you back one day.

Ms. Gamble, can I come in?

Sure, sure.

Danny, you remember Ms. Gamble?

Can you say hi?

Hi.

I know the last thing you're going to want to hear is me asking again that

son testify at a probable cause hearing. But the killer is still out there, Miss

Walsh. What if he were to kill somebody else?

I have never denied being totally selfish about this.

No, you haven't been selfish. You've been Danny's mother.

And I still am.

The thing is, different public defenders are in the courts on different days

ready to take appointments.

Some are aggressive, some aren't. Some are lazy, some aren't. Some have little

boys of their own.

What are you trying to tell me? There's one woman, P .D. It would go against her

grain to be rough on a little boy. If we could arraign the parish kid on the

same day that she was in the court... And suppose the kid manages to hire his

own lawyer this time, or the case gets reassigned.

Miss Gamble, Danny still has nightmares.

Two weeks ago, they flashed that parish boy's face on the news, and he started

to cry and shake all over, going, that's him, that's him. I cannot let this. If

I could give you some assurance.

I am sorry.

Please.

All right.

I at least had to ask.

The idea that... What?

You said he was pointing at the TV going, him.

Yeah? And he was upset.

Almost.

Why?

Miss Walsh, would you be willing to testify?

Me? How can I? I didn't see anything.

If I could persuade the court to let you testify instead of Danny, would you?

I guess I owe you that much.

I'm meeting Lindsay at the courthouse. I should be back by lunch.

You guys set? Yep, we're ready. Jimmy got all the research on attorney

The case file looks good.

You know who's sitting?

Pap.

Can I help you?

I'm looking for him.

I just want you to know, I hoped to deliver the summons myself, but Mr.

Silver didn't think it smart.

Since you're represented by counsel, Mr. Ryman, I really shouldn't speak with

you. I came to make one request.

The doctors give me about six months. I would appreciate you not dragging it

with delays, like I know lawyers are capable of doing.

When I lose, I'd like to play this out before I go.

You seated?

I'll hear from the defense.

Your Honor, I have a motion together with a memorandum of law asking you to

commute Mr. Pearson's conviction of murder in the second degree to one of

manslaughter.

It wasn't my intent to surprise the court. I just made this decision.

I'm certainly willing to give the Commonwealth time to respond.

Your Honor, I take strong exception.

If she had time to draft a memorandum, she had time to make a phone call. To

court as well.

I'm agreeing to time now.

The motion is denied.

I would like to be heard before... If you felt your client should have been

charged with manslaughter, you should have raised it before trial. We have no

right or authority to tell the Commonwealth what to charge. So what are

doing now? You have the right as a judge in the interest of... Yes.

And if you ask me to consider it, maybe... You can act without a lawyer

to ask you. You're not fooling me, counsel. You kept this card in your

through with the trial, and if we lose, argue prosecutorial misconduct not to

charge manslaughter. That's not what I'm doing. It is. You're looking for a free

fight. I am not looking for you to take... The answer is no.

Hey! Can you at least read it?

If you want to hold me in contempt, fine, but you have been strong -arming

case from the start.

I'm glad you didn't set out to antagonize her.

That's the first time I've really lost it since I was six.

I'm playing my brother at Candyland. I sent the board flying.

Lindsay, you lost it with me a few weeks ago over this case.

Now, I'm going to go see Judge Hiller and try to talk you out of jail.

Then... I think I should take over.

You're not ready on this. There's a lot of research involved. I can take over on

straight sentencing.

I think we should just drop this Hail Mary for manslaughter.

Pearson wants to go for it. You talked him into going for it. Even if there was

a shot, which I don't think there ever was. This is my case. It isn't your

It's our case.

Pearson came in looking to hire me.

Remember?

You co -opted this case. I let you. But I'm taking over now.

I just hope it's not too late.

22664. Commonwealth versus James Parrish.

Murder in the first degree.

Michael Forbes for the defendant, Your Honor.

We'll waive reading.

I'd also be asking that my client be released, O .R. pending.

The Commonwealth is opposed to any bail, Your Honor. This is the second time

they've arrested my client. They couldn't even satisfy a probable cause

first time.

This time they can.

It amounts to harassment.

The defendant committed murder, Your Honor. Under current law, it is not

considered harassment to arrest him.

I'm denying bail.

PC hearing tomorrow at 10 o 'clock. That's all.

He has his own lawyer.

You're pretty aggressive, though, actually. I've been up against him

All right. Danny won't be taking the stand. Only you.

The law is unequivocal. A lawyer enjoys immunity for conduct... Qualified

immunity, not absolute. Oh, come on, Tommy. This is a murder trial.

A case where the police failed to investigate.

We certainly have to be allowed to consider other suspects.

Of course you do, but that doesn't give you the right to make bold -faced lie

accusations. We didn't do that.

Your Honor, you have the transcripts. They called my client the killer.

Said he killed his own sister.

And our complaint alleges they didn't have a good faith belief in that

accusation. If you read the transcripts closely, you will see we raise the

possibility. There is a big... Here's the newspaper from the next day. Defense

accuses brother.

Oh, so we now rely on journalists to think the facts?

My point is, this kid had to walk around every day with people looking at him

funny. Did he kill her?

Always a little truth behind stuff like that.

They painted him as hapless.

desperate and homicidal all as part of a defense plan to get their client off

and it worked good for them mr vogelman walked but steve robin got left with his

reputation crippled they say they have immunity to behave this way i disagree

acts in court have to be conducted in good faith And there's warrant.

Who's kidding who? Look at what the prosecutors were doing. They withheld

evidence from us in this case. They pretty much didn't even investigate for

the true facts would screw things up. They had our backs up against a wall,

we did everything and anything we could to fight back.

And now he's suggesting that witnesses who get cross -examined a little too

tough should be allowed to sue us? That is laughable.

If someone calls you a murderer, I doubt you'd laugh.

Come on, Tommy.

You've made your arguments.

Now I'm going to think about it.

Knock, knock.

What a nice surprise.

I assume you're here to invite me to a movie?

It's her law, Professor.

She's emotionally caught up in the whole thing.

Ah, I see.

Then I should have anticipated having a brief hurled at my head.

She's sorry.

Is it me, or...

I seem to be hearing that a lot in court lately. I'm sorry.

Did I miss something?

Did I'm sorry suddenly become an affirmative defense?

Well, truth be told, Your Honor, you stepped a little bit over the line

yourself, not bothering to even read the brief.

I don't need to read the brief.

All I had to do was look at the letterhead and see your firm's name

it.

What's that supposed to mean?

It means all you people do is stunt.

You argue jury nullification every chance you get or moral duress. We

this one, you came in claiming self -defense, then you switched to

action. It's called a zealous defense, which every client is entitled to. Was

a zealous defense last week when Eugene Young stood up in court and accused the

victim's own brother of killing her? That case has nothing to do with this.

has everything to do with who and what your firm is.

You even blindsided Helen Gamble, calling her to the stand.

You don't play straight, Bobby.

And I am so sick of it.

So when you walk in here after a verdict with yet another of your little tricks,

don't expect me to give you the benefit of the doubt.

I expect you to read the brief.

I expect you not to punish a criminal defendant just because you don't like

lawyers. I expect you to rule without letting your own personal feelings get

the way. You should have thought of that. Let me finish.

I don't have to let you finish. I am the judge. Then act like one.

You're angry at Lindsay Dole because she got the appeals court to say you were

wrong. It isn't about that.

Not to mention stubborn to admit.

Get out of this room. You used to be about fairness. Now you're all about

You're not the judge I used to respect. What I don't know is what happened to

make you so embittered. As an officer of the court, I hold you in contempt.

What time did you get out? Ten o 'clock.

I thought this was a judge you were on good terms with. So did I.

Where are we on Robbins?

Arguments went okay. I'm drafting up a 12 v. 6, but we may have a much bigger

problem. Our malpractice carrier says we're covered on negligence claims, but

intentional infliction...

We're on our own. What? Excuse me? They're calling it a supervening act.

They can't do that. It happened in court. We're getting sued for what

in court? All I'm telling you is what they're telling me.

So if we lose, it's $30 million out of your own pockets? I thought this thing

would be kicked. That's what you guys have been saying. The judge should rule

today. The sooner the better. We don't need this kind of publicity.

What's happening with Peterson?

Back in again today on sentencing.

I'd like to stay on it. Well, she's probably more angry at me now anyway.

Can you keep it under control?

I promise. And on sentencing, don't be going for manslaughter.

I'd still like to try.

Lindsay, she denied the motion. I can renew it. I would just like her to hear

it. No.

The man is 57.

25 years is like a life sentence anyway.

Why don't you let Pearson decide?

His face came on the television screen.

It was on the news or something.

The face of James Parrish? Yes.

And what happened, ma 'am? Danny became very distraught and just started crying

and pointing to the television, saying, there he is.

That's the man who killed Cindy.

Miss Walsh, the night after Cindy Harrelson was killed, did you accompany

son Danny to the police lineup?

Yes, I did. And was he able to identify the person who killed Cindy Harrelson?

Yes. He pointed to that man right there.

Thank you.

That's all I have.

You may step down, Ms. Walsh.

Your Honor, I would move that Mrs. Walsh's entire testimony be stricken.

all hearsay.

Testimony regarding the police lineup is arguably hearsay, I admit. But as for

what the boy saw on television, what he then said...

That's admissible.

Oh, come on.

Excited utterances. Miss Walsh testified that her son was crying and became very

distraught upon seeing Mr.

Parrish's face on television. While in that excited state, he identified

as the killer. This is legal gamesmanship.

Rules of evidence aren't gamesmanship.

The court now has before it admissible testimony identifying James Parrish as

the person who killed Cindy Harrelson. She is backdooring hearsay, trying to

prevent the boy from taking the stand, which denies my client the right to

confront his accuser. Your Honor, the accuser for the purpose of this hearing

Janet Walsh. Oh, yeah, right.

I'm finding probable cause.

This matter is bound over for trial. The defendant will continue to be held

without bail.

I'll never make this stick, Helen. Something tells me I will.

Thank you.

This is just probable cause. We still have a long way to go.

I know.

As it stands now, I'm still not confident you have to know that.

My

feeling

is that we've already alienated her.

To do so further, you could be at a life sentence.

But the odds are we're looking at 30 right now, which could be the equivalent

life. I still think a strong showing of contrition is our best... Have you read

the brief? Has anybody read the brief? What's going on here?

We basically put all our trust in you, and you're in here bickering like...

Pearson. Should we be getting new lawyers?

Meredith. You're facing life imprisonment. I don't think they know

doing. My God.

They've been thrown in jail cells themselves. They go from insanity to

-defense to involuntary. Now they can't agree. They don't know what they're

doing.

I think... I think I agree with Bobby.

We've got to know when to quit.

Let me make a statement. I've got a lot of character witnesses.

My people at my firm still think I have a shot at 20.

So, we'll play it like that.

I know you don't want to give up, but it's time.

This is a big, fat can of worms.

Allowing lawyers to be sued over strategies they utilize in court.

Personally, Mr. Silva, you strike me as every bit the vulture you describe them

to be in your complaint.

But certainly lawyers do have to be guided by good faith.

And, Miss Frutt, accusing the victim's brother, I hope you showered after.

That being said, I'm denying the plaintiff's motion to attach property.

As for the complaint itself, I reluctantly admit that it should

decided by a jury.

Defendant's motion to dismiss denied.

Adjourned.

What's the big mystery?

I thought you'd never be talking to us again after what Eleanor... I'm not

talking. This conversation never took place.

I got a killer by the name James Parrish in custody. My whole case is basically

a four -year -old eyewitness.

I don't want to put a little boy through a trial. Even if I did, I'd probably

have a rough time.

Jailhouse confession, I'd do better.

He's a cocky kid. I bet he'll talk.

What's all this have to do with me?

This is the part of the conversation we never had.

Your client, Kevin Pete, currently serving time for first degree.

Currently awaiting appeal.

Which she won't win.

Look, the parish kid is going to be put into a cell next to Kevin. I want Kevin

to try to get an incriminating statement.

Both killed young women should be able to bond. Kevin didn't kill her, and you

know it. As far as the law goes, he did, and he's looking at life.

Get me an admission from the parish kid. I'll bring a motion to reduce your

client's conviction to second degree.

I'll agree to 25 years. It's half his life back.

If Kevin Pete acts as a police agent... He's not going in as a police agent. You

and I never had this conversation.

So, basically, you're asking me to help you get an unconstitutional confession?

You want to shave off a life sentence for your client? I'm giving you an

opportunity. I'm not going to lie to cover you. I'm not asking you to lie.

extending an offer to your client.

When the verdict was read, you came over to me and said, what now, Helen?

What now?

Here I am.

What now?

Okay. Round two, I'll hear from the defense.

Your Honor, I'd like to make a brief statement, then I'd like you to hear

Anderson Pearson himself, followed by three character witnesses.

First, let me begin.

Ms.

Dole?

I apologize, Your Honor.

My client has instructed me to address you on sentencing only. But as an

of the court, I feel duty bound to protect the integrity of this process.

And insofar as I feel the prosecution's refusal to offer manslaughter in the

alternative. Your Honor. Miss Jo.

And I also know Your Honor's unwillingness to reopen this discussion.

all due respect, I would like to raise this issue here to preserve. You did

raise it.

I denied it. The record. I'd like to renew it and ask for 10 minutes.

That's all. 10 minutes.

If you conclude that I have wasted the court's time, I will go right to myself.

You are pushing this court.

I understand that.

Ten o 'clock tomorrow morning.

Bring your toothbrush.

That was com...

Stop yelling at me. No, I won't stop. You are playing games with your client's

life. I don't think I risked alienating her anymore. What are you doing,

Lindsay? What are you doing? We lost it, Bobby. We lost that man's case. We

didn't lose it. The professor didn't shoot him five times. He shot him five

times. It's one last chance. What if she gives him life?

I kept it under control.

I will keep it under control tomorrow.

I know what Meredith Pearson said today hurt.

But that... was an emotional wife.

Lindsay, we've done everything we can do for this man.

He is a good man. It's unthinkable for him to live his life out in prison.

But he did pull that trigger.

That's why he's in jail.

Not because of you or me.

So am I going to wear a wire or something?

No.

You're being used as a police agent, which means when you talk to him, it

be an interrogation outside of council.

They don't want any record of it.

So what happens?

They'll put him in a cell next to you with the hopes you two talk.

And if you come up with something they can use against him, if you do, there's

chance you could get out of jail one day. A chance.

All Helen Gamble can do is make a recommendation.

Nothing's guaranteed.

Okay, when are they moving him in?

I'm told he'll be there when you get back.

But since you're scheduled for transfer by the end of the week, you gotta make

fast work of it.

Yeah, okay.

And Kevin, you can't tell anybody about this conversation, not even your folks.

Because if it comes out, your testimony is inadmissible, then the deal is off.

Okay. We'll talk tomorrow. Yeah, okay.

I couldn't really get him to say much.

What did he say?

Mainly that they'd never nail him. You know, his other lawyer told him all they

had was a four -year -old witness.

Did he ever admit to killing the girl?

Not exactly.

Not exactly?

I said to him, you did it, didn't you? You killed her. And he sort of smiled a

little bit and said nothing.

And that's when I said, aren't you scared? I told him how there was this

pressure to get me. Aren't you scared they'll get you?

And that's when he said it.

They'll never get me, not with a four -year -old witness.

I need more than that. Maybe not. You got an implied admission.

Kevin said you did it. The Parrish kid said nothing.

Yeah, but how... Silence in the face of an adverse accusation.

That's an implied admission of guilt.

Admissible. I need something stronger.

Here's your problem.

Kevin Peete is scheduled for transfer tomorrow.

If suddenly he isn't transferred and then comes up with a confession for

Parrish, it's going to look suspicious.

If you then go moving to reduce Kevin Peay's charge from first degree to

two, they'll figure this out. It's dicey enough as it is.

I say go with what you got now.

The fact that it's not an outright confession draws less attention.

Make your play now.

When Anderson Pearson pulled that trigger, it wasn't self -defense.

He shot an unarmed man five times.

And when we said we wanted to argue self -defense, you quickly said no.

Because as a guardian of the court, you were not about to allow tricky lawyering

to distort what you knew to be the truth.

And standing before you, I'll admit, we were guilty of exactly what you accused

us of, Your Honor. We were figuring Anderson Pearson's a good man, the

defendant's a bad guy. All we have to do is present self -defense, and at least

one juror would bite.

You were right.

But the prosecution had its own strategy.

They didn't want to charge manslaughter because they were figuring that same

sympathetic jury would choose that to avoid sending a good man away forever.

So they boxed them in with murder one or murder two. These games are played

every single day by defense attorneys and prosecutors in courtrooms all across

the country. Yes, it's awful, isn't it?

Except when you win. The problem is, you let them play their hand, but with

us... Because murder one and murder two were tenable. Self -defense wasn't.

That's a finding of fact, not... No, it's a conclusion of law based on the

facts. Your Honor, you wouldn't let us distort the truth. You shouldn't either.

Your ruling was a finding of fact.

Should I put on my helmet? Are you about to throw your brief? You shut down self

-defense because it wasn't that.

But this wasn't murder to either. It was an act in the heat of passion.

The man showed up at his door with a dead cat.

After a month of stalking, he arrives at the doorway, throws down the family pet

which he had just strangled, and Anderson Pearson snapped.

It was manslaughter.

So why didn't you ask for an order that manslaughter be charged as a lesser

included offense?

I'll tell you.

You feared, just like the prosecutors, that if it was available, the jury would

opt for it. And just like the prosecution, you wanted to play all or

Ask yourself what really happened.

Why should I? Because that's what you did when we wanted to go self -defense.

You said to yourself, what really happened, and you took over. Fine.

Do it again.

Counsel. Forget about poker and games and lawyers. Just look at the case and

call it as you see it. You did it in the beginning. You owe it to Anderson

Pearson. I don't owe anybody. You know what happened. You know what happened.

You know what happened. Sit down. You know what happened.

Biz, go.

You know what happened.

Two million.

We walk away clean.

Up front, nothing structured.

We're not going to cut you a check, Tommy. Is that why you're here?

Yeah, Eleanor, that's why I'm here. And here's why you're going to consider it.

I'm willing to drop the defamation, plus the intentional count, settle

everything under negligent claims, which means you'll be covered by your policy.

It's not your money, just your carriers.

Well, you don't think they'll see through that? I'm sure they will. But my

is they'll settle anyway.

Because the exposure here is too big.

I can paint a pretty disgusting picture of you guys in front of a jury.

Team plan B.

Well, in the spirit of a settlement discussion, which is, of course, off the

record, let me tell you something.

We gave it about half a thought tops before going after the Robin kid. You

why? We don't like to lose.

We're every bit as despicable and cutthroat as you say, which you better

about because we will fight you in the very same way.

I look forward to that.

Good.

Because a lawyer suing another lawyer?

In this town, you're going to look like the bad guy. And when we're finished

with you, Tommy, you will be the bad guy.

You forgot to ask what's going to happen to you.

These are your scare tactics?

Look at our record, Tommy.

We win.

And we've got no problem getting ugly.

Now get your ass out of this office and go tell your clients that truth is a

complete defense to defamation. You take us to court and I promise you we will

be screaming he is the killer all over again. And in the court of public

opinion, he will be the killer.

You still sitting here, Tommy?

Get out.

You're going to have to do a lot better than that. You really want to roll the

dice with first degree. First of all, what did you offer this Pete kid? Was he

plant? Nope. You sent him in to lint a trip. He heard what he heard. And he

happened to come forward. That's what snitches do, Michael. They come forward.

Look, I'm sure he'll be looking for something in return.

I'm sure you'll use that to impeach him. It doesn't change the fact your guy's

in trouble. We have an eyewitness. Who's for?

For sure of who he saw. Even when he saw him on TV, he recognized him. Your guy

was the victim's boyfriend.

He threatened her. They broke up. He has no alibi. Now we have the equivalent of

an admission.

Why are you fighting me?

I'm offering voluntary manslaughter. Eight years. He could get life.

How could you even think of turning this down? You wouldn't make the offer if

you were so sure. I'm offering it to spare a four -year -old kid from

testifying.

You should be jumping at this.

I'll talk to my client.

Well, talk quickly, because I'll tell you, if even a whiff of this gets out,

boss will be in my office to snuff it.

Letting your guy out in eight years isn't good politics.

Mr. Pearson, I spent the night reviewing the long list of your various

achievements.

Right up until you committed murder, you were a hell of a guy.

A noble lawyer, even, who conducted seminars on how to clean up the

I bet you'd have something to say about all the nonsense you've seen go on in

this room, however much of it's been on your behalf.

I realize I did incorporate my sense of the facts into some of my pretrial

orders and under the theory that a judge has an obligation to at least be

consistent.

In the interest of justice, I'm reducing the conviction to manslaughter.

The defendant is sentenced to two years medium security credit for time served.

We are adjourned.

Oh my God.

Thanks for coming in.

It doesn't measure up to justice, Mr. and Mrs. Harrelson, but the boy who

your daughter is going to prison for eight years. No possibility of parole.

They just accepted him. Oh, thank God.

Thank this woman here. Without her... We've been thanking her for the last 20

minutes.

But something tells me that I should thank you.

I wish we could have done better. I know your daughter deserved it.

Lindsay did it.

Heller cut it to manslaughter.

What? She did it.

Well, where is she now?

She was tired and she went home.

How'd things go with Silva?

I think he and Eleanor are going to date.

Chloe, can I have a word in private?

I promise I won't touch your hair.

What?

Eugene's depressed.

He's been in his office with the door closed.

I'd go in and reach out myself, but I just don't think I've established a

He got a notice to appear before the bar.

The others don't know.

Silva did this.

He reported you to the bar just so he could use it at trial.

I don't know.

Eugene, it was a group decision to go after that kid in court.

Not yours.

Yeah.

Team plan B.

Are you really putting this on yourself?

You know what I've been doing the last couple of days, Bobby?

Conspiring to get an illegal confession to...

Dirty business, I guess.

Maybe we're bred to fight a little dirty.

Lindsay got Pearson's case reduced to manslaughter.

She kept pounding and pounding and pounding. When everybody was telling her

stop, especially me, she wouldn't.

George Vogelman was innocent.

you wouldn't stop either.

I heard.

You cry?

I don't remember.

Good day.

Yeah.

How was yours?

It went okay, too.