Original subtitles

Hey, Richard.

Never mind.

What do you mean, never mind? I called your name. With a tone. All right, come

on.

I'll give you voluntary.

Make it involuntary you have a deal.

Can't.

Richard. I've got marching orders.

Remember, this thing was on tape. We've got a public outcry to deal with. Public

outcry? The public is with her.

Eleanor, I'm giving you manslaughter for a premeditated murder.

Why can't you ever take a gift and smile?

It is a good deal, Sally. The only possible defense we have is temporary

insanity. And because you don't want to say that you were insane... How was it?

Well, then I think that we should jump at manslaughter.

you would probably be sentenced to eight years.

And with any luck, you would only have to serve three or four.

Sally, you shot an unarmed man.

If somebody raped and murdered my daughter, I might have done the same

But the problem is, you planned it.

If we go for a not guilty on the elements, you could be going to prison

life.

Take the manslaughter.

Enough, Sally.

Enough.

Okay. So the trial will start tomorrow.

Guard.

Hey, we're going to see you at the courthouse.

How could she not take it? She doesn't want to serve three years. She'll be

serving life if she doesn't accept it. Bobby, I told her that. So did Jimmy.

wants to try to beat it. Did you tell her the odds? Yes, we did.

So what, are you arguing insanity?

Well, unfortunately, she doesn't want to do that either. Who's in charge here?

She is. She's the client, remember?

And you're her lawyer, which means you need to make her understand. Bobby,

lecture me. Judge Hiller is sitting. She won't let you argue nullification. You

know she won't.

Have we got a psychiatrist to say she was insane?

I got Dr. Tippett on standby.

I am telling you, she will not let us do it. Eleanor, this thing is all over the

news. Which means if Sally Bird goes down on murder one, we'll be played for

idiots, not her. Oh, so this is about our ego?

Partly, yes.

But it goes with her best interests.

You go back to her. Make her see if she doesn't plead insanity. We tried.

Try again.

If she refuses, file a motion to withdraw as counsel.

Bobby, this is just like our rabbi case.

Maybe we could argue moral duress again. No, Jimmy, because this time we have

Judge Hiller.

Go back to the client who either takes manslaughter, pleads insanity, or we

withdraw.

Hit him.

All right, listen.

As much as you're opposed to it on principle, we all agree that if we're

to go to trial, we have to. have to go with temporary insanity the only other

choice we have is jury nullification and that judge will shut us down in a

second but if we win on temporary you could avoid prison altogether you have a

chance but you have to let us do our job if we're to give you the best

representation what did you say she just called me a bitch look i don't need you

and i don't need this case you could get life i don't really care You...

What?

What's going on?

We're pleading temporary insanity.

Richard? Helen. To what do I owe this?

Uh, well, actually, I was just assigned second chair.

Excuse me? It's getting a lot of heat, so... They put you on to, what, backstop

me?

I asked to be put on it.

Why?

Well... Helen, what's going on?

What's going on is you're a little under review.

What do you mean I'm under review?

You've dropped some big trials, and in addition to losing these cases, you've

also lost your poise.

Especially against Eleanor Frutt.

Richard, it's an election year. There could be some changes.

You don't want this one getting away from you. Trust me.

So you asked to be put on because I could lose my job?

It hasn't come to that.

But we don't want it to.

There isn't a DA.

In this department, who goes in more prepared than I do? Every single trial.

know that.

But you've had some pretty high -profile defeats, and you've been somewhat of a

loose cannon.

Richard, let's just win this.

390 people?

It's not my fault. You invited 390 people to our wedding?

I didn't invite them. The idiot at the stationery shop made a mistake. There

were two lists. One was just a notice of our marriage. After the wedding, she

sent invitations to both lists. What's going on?

390 people got invited to our wedding. So what do we do now?

Uninvite them? Send out a notice? Hey, we never meant to include you.

It wasn't my fault. Lindsay, you were in charge of this. Only because you

couldn't be bothered.

I couldn't even get you to look at the invitation.

Well, this is my fault. Well, it isn't mine. You want to get married, but I

to do all of the planning. Hey, if it were up to me, we'd elope. You know

You plan it.

390 people? I don't even know 390 people. I think you both are acting out.

out of it.

We had just taken Mr. Whittier into custody.

Where was that?

At his own house.

And as we were leaving the dwelling, I observed Miss Berg approaching from

across the street.

What happened next, officer?

My partner and I both instructed her not to approach, but she kept coming.

Then, suddenly, she's raising a gun, saying something about her daughter.

This woman right here?

Yes. We then reached for our own weapons, but it was too late.

Your Honor, at this time, we'd like to play the videotape. Go ahead, Mr. Bay.

This arrest, of course, has been anticipated since early this morning,

Um, this is Michael Whittier. He is in custody. You see him there in the

and he is apparently offering no resistance.

Michael Whittier, one... Okay.

At this time, I'd like to direct your attention to the right side of the

This happens pretty quickly.

Again, a suspect in the rape and murder of seven -year -old Jessica Bird.

Rumors of his arrest have been imminent.

He's been shot!

Michael Whittier has just... been shot someone has fired i know i heard at

two shots but he is down michael whittier has just been shot the police

shooter but i can't see he has been shot

officer finley do you see in the courtroom

the person who fired those shots it was the defendant

I don't mean to be nosy. You don't mean to be nosy? Since when?

Look, obviously you two are fighting. We're not fighting. Well, she's

but you're just not involved enough to realize it. Lucy, I think you should

stay out of things. Is that possible?

Foley Depot.

Thank you.

We go in for our marriage license today. You did manage to remember that?

Yes. Good.

What is your problem?

Problem? I don't have a problem. Look, Lindsay, you screwed up the invitation.

Maybe if I had a little help.

Here we go.

Don't here we go me.

I've had to do everything, Bobby.

You know, I had to make the list. First you complained that I was booking

everything. I meant the church and your dead mother's dress.

But when it comes to doing all of the work, you know, you just can't be

bothered. Well, I'm bothered now.

I don't think you even want to be married. Here we go.

Don't here we go me. If you here we go me one more time, I am going to scream,

okay? Do you hear me? Listen to yourself.

Oh, and I hate that when you listen to yourself. Here we go and listen to

yourself. If you ever say those things in our marriage, I will scream, okay?

It's good to know these things before we become husband and wife. You know, this

is very, very healthy.

Bugger off.

Well, it's nice to know you can make her scream.

As you can see, we were back far enough.

There she is getting out of her car.

She's got something in her coat.

She's moving across the street. The police are all on the street, so there's

one stopping her.

Okay, here it comes.

She pulls out the weapon.

Bang, bang.

She drops the weapon and puts her hands up.

And she's tackled by the officers.

That's pretty much it.

What do you mean you can't testify?

Look, I didn't think she was insane to begin with. I was prepared to say she

might have been. So what's changed?

That tape I just saw. I hadn't seen it before. And clearly she is calm,

composed. That doesn't mean she wasn't in a rage.

Maybe she was, but you're asking me to testify she couldn't distinguish right

from wrong.

I can't say that.

She put her hands up over her head very calmly after she fired those shots. That

tells me she expected to be arrested.

It tells me she knew what she was doing was wrong. Oh, come on!

This defense was a stretch to begin with, Eleanor. I can't stretch it that

You have before.

No, I haven't, Eugene.

And certainly not on television.

I have a professional reputation, too. You ever think about that? Think about

it? We're paying you for it. We gave you $10 ,000.

I'll refund the money.

You can't jump ship like this. I am not about to commit perjury. And if I

testified I thought your client was temporarily insane, I would be doing so.

If you don't testify, she could be facing life.

Your client committed murder, Eleanor.

You don't want to be introducing my opinion.

Now what?

We get Dr. Lanning.

Dr. Dope?

At least he'll say what we want.

This is just great.

I think I should take her cross.

Why? No offense, but I just think I'm able to come off more sympathetic than

you. You sympathetic?

Richard, it's a woman on trial. She lost her daughter. I just think it makes

more sense to have a woman cross her.

Yes, I think I can go softer than you. It's not your strength.

How close am I to losing my job, Helen?

I didn't say you were about to lose your job.

Just that I'm under review.

Let's just forget about ego.

Let's just concentrate on getting this conviction.

And your social security?

062360749.

Okay. First marriage for both?

Yes. Fine.

And do we have copies of our blood test?

Oh, excellent. Okay.

This is an AIDS education pamphlet, which I'm acquired under Massachusetts

to give you. Fine.

All right, I just need $25 in cash.

What? Okay, here you go.

Have a wonderful marriage.

She had been missing for two days when I got the call from the police.

The call?

They said they thought they had found my daughter.

And they asked if I would go to the coroner's office.

To identify her. And did you go?

Yes.

They took me into a room and showed me her body.

And she was dead?

Yes.

Did you make the identification?

Do you have any other children, Sally?

No. And Jessica's father?

He died three years ago.

At some point, you became aware that Mr. Whittier was a suspect in Jessica's

death. Yes.

I thought on the morning news that his psychiatrist had turned him in and

the police were planning to arrest him.

Had you ever met Mr. Whittier before?

Yes. He was Jessica's soccer coach.

I would like for you to tell the court what happened on that morning.

I took my gun.

I drove to his house.

I saw that the police were already there.

I parked my car two houses away.

And I waited.

Waited for what?

For him to come out.

Why?

So I could kill him.

Can you tell the court what you were thinking when you approached him?

I was thinking about...

About Jessica?

Her last minute.

How she probably couldn't understand why this was happening to her.

What was going through her mind when his hands were

around her throat?

When he was inside of her.

She was only seven.

She was only seven.

Of course I want to marry her.

Then act like it.

What have I done?

You've done nothing, Bobby. That's the problem.

She shows you her dress. You hardly glanced at it. The invitations, you

be bothered. You've completely disengaged. I don't blame her.

All that stuff is so trivial.

It's a big deal to her.

Bobby, this is the biggest day of her life.

That should mean something to you, does it?

Of course it does.

Then show her that.

We're in May. You got a June wedding. You haven't even picked out your best

yet. Look at me.

You are always on the hustle.

Don't let your wedding day suddenly sneak up on you. You're always dashing

to court trying to get this guy free, trying to get that guy bailed, trying to

overturn what happened to the other guy.

Lindsay's your life.

I know that.

Show her that, too.

How many days after your daughter's death did you see on the news that the

police were about to make an arrest?

Three. And after hearing this news, you then retrieved your gun?

Yes. You then called your real estate broker and canceled your appointment?

Yes. Then you drove to the suspect's house?

Yes. And you decided to park at a neighbor's house?

So you wouldn't be detected by the police?

Yes. Where do you keep your gun at home, Miss Berg?

In a safe.

Combination safe?

Yes. Do you keep it loaded?

No.

I have to load it.

Thank you.

Miss Berg, I'm deeply sorry for your loss.

You're here to put me in prison, Miss Gamble.

Don't tell me how sorry you are.

Unless you've had a child taken from you, you can't begin to understand my

Miss Pratt, the witness may step down.

Please call your next witness.

The defense rests.

Explain that to me.

I will. We don't even call an expert? Sally was our strongest witness. Better

rest on her than Dr. Dope, who Helen would have cleaned and boned like a

We need somebody to say she was insane.

No, we don't. Yes, we do. We have an affirmative defense, Eugene. We have a

legal burden to prove it. Eleanor.

Our case won't depend on proving Sally Berg was insane.

Everybody in the room knows she wasn't. We know it. The prosecution knows it. So

does the jury.

Our case is getting those 12 people to want to send her home. And Sally's

testimony is what we need to ring in their ears.

Not Dr. Lanning who goes from courthouse to courthouse collecting cashier's

checks. Our defense is a motion.

We rest on the highest note.

I agree.

You're forgetting Judge Hiller. She is going to instruct. If our case came down

to Dr. Lanning, we'd be dead. He's right, Eleanor.

Temp and sanity, we're just arguing that with a wink.

The jury knows it. If we try to fool them, we just lose credibility.

Eugene's right.

It's a big risk.

But we have to take it.

You ready to close?

Well, I guess I have to be.

That was very moving for me, getting the marriage license.

How was it for you?

Why are we fighting?

We always seem to fight when we talk about getting married.

Why? I don't know.

Do you want to get married, Bobby?

Lindsay, I would marry you tonight.

I just... I just hate weddings.

And I'd be lying if I said I was getting all excited about this ceremony.

How can a person hate weddings? Because it's all about the catering and dresses

and... flowers and who's invited and who's sitting at whose table it should

the most intimate moment of a couple's life and they spend the day hoping that

the guests are taken care of there's so much pressure that everything goes

smoothly i hate weddings

Would you really rather elope?

Truthfully, yes.

It would be me and you without all the distractions, but I know you want the

wedding day, and if that's your dream... I wish it were your dream.

Lindsay, I've only had two dreams my whole life. One was to pitch for the Red

Sox. The other was to meet and marry the greatest woman in the whole world.

One for two isn't bad.

Now, if I could just get you to take a little medication for your mood swings.

Is that so?

Oh, oh, oh, okay, okay, okay, uncle.

I suppose we could pass a law.

If you kill my child, I get to kill you.

If you rape my child, I get to kill you.

On a pure emotional level, that doesn't really offend me, truth be told.

On an emotional level, I admit to taking some satisfaction in Michael Whittier's

death, if he did what he was accused of.

I say if because I'm not sure yet.

Michael Whittier never got his day in court.

He was executed before proven guilty.

None of us can take any satisfaction in that, emotionally or intellectually.

One of the reasons we have laws is to prevent people from going around with

being ruled by their emotions.

I sympathize with Sally Berg, as I know you do.

But she wasn't acting out of insanity on that day.

She made a series of conscious choices.

She had the steadiness of hand to open a combination lock.

to load a revolver, to drive a car through traffic without incident.

She had the presence of mind to park where she could avoid police detection.

She had an understanding that what she did was illegal, as indicated by her

raising her hands in surrender immediately after firing the shots.

She willfully, deliberately, with malice aforethought,

committed a premeditated murder.

I don't think there's any doubt about that.

The only real question here is whether you'll embrace her vigilantism by

becoming vigilantes yourselves, or you'll instead uphold the law

you swore to uphold.

This is your trial now, ladies and gentlemen.

This is your society.

I am not a psychiatrist, and neither is Mr. Bay.

But I know of no medical opinions or studies that say rage

automatically makes you act wildly.

Sometimes if the rage is profound enough, I would imagine it could take

over to a point where you are even capable of cold, methodical vengeance.

This is the kind of profound rage.

and grief that took over Sally Berg.

I won't pretend to know what was going on inside her head. I have never had a

child raped and murdered.

And I would guess none of us here would presume to know such horror.

This is Jessica Berg.

She loved to collect and trade Pokemon cards.

She liked her stuffed animals more than her dolls.

She loved to play soccer.

I would like to take a moment.

And I would ask you to try.

And imagine the last few minutes of her life.

Imagine being her mother.

You're going to elope? Shh.

He'll hear you.

Well, isn't he going to be a part of it?

I'm going to surprise him.

You're going to throw a surprise elopement? This is the best way to

390 invitations. We elope and tell people that we're already married, and

we can have a small ceremony later and invite the people that we really want.

Tonight?

Tonight. Like in three hours from right now?

Yes.

Oh, my God.

Yeah.

If I lose this trial because you cried... They didn't see me cry.

So you cover your face. I doubt they thought you were trying to hide a

The problem isn't me crying. The problem is there were tears in the juror's

eyes.

Look.

Eleanor said she'd still be willing to take involuntary.

I think we should give it to them.

I thought they said no to that upstairs. If she walks, they'll hate that word.

I'll talk to Scott. No.

Helen, if we plead out on involuntary, the perception upstairs will be I lost.

I need a guilty here.

This can't be about job security.

Maybe for you.

You're not under review.

Richard.

She committed a first -degree murder, Helen.

I don't want to give her involuntary.

And I don't want to lose my job.

The judge is going to keep them until 9 since it's Friday.

And if they haven't decided by then, they're going to suspend until Monday.

Me too.

Richard said no to involuntary.

Why? Principal, I guess. You can overrule him, Helen. It's his call.

Eleanor, can I talk to you in private for a second?

I just talked to Lindsay. She and Bobby are getting married tonight.

What? She's surprising him with an elopement.

Oh, men just love to be surprised like that. Are you serious?

Yes. She says she wants us to be there. I said we could be here till nine. She's

going to try to hold the service, but the priest's got a plane to catch.

Is she pregnant?

No. She says it's what he really wants.

She wants to surprise him.

Helen. Eleanor.

Jerry's back.

The defendant will please rise.

Madam foreperson, the jury has reached a unanimous verdict. We have, Your Honor.

What say you?

Commonwealth versus Sally Berg on the count of murder in the first degree.

We find the defendant not guilty.

On the count of murder in the second degree.

We find the defendant guilty.

Members of the jury, this completes your service.

Security, take the defendant into custody.

We are adjourned.

We're going to appeal.

We will appeal it.

It's a life sentence.

But we're going to do everything that we can.

I promise.

All right, enough is enough.

What the hell's going on? Well, this is your bachelor party. Bachelor party?

Rebecca, guys are supposed to throw bachelor parties. Yeah, we just wanted

make sure you got one.

You know, sometimes weddings can just sneak up on you. And how sad would it be

if you didn't actually get to have a ba... Ow!

What happened?

Rebecca just hit me.

Where am I? All right, all right, all right. Turn around.

Should I get this out? No, no, no. What signal?

Okay, take your blindfold off.

Now, Lucy.

What?

I'm in Fenway Park.

Yes, you are.

But why? What am I doing here?

Well, you're doing what everybody does in Fenway Park. You're eloping.

Excuse me?

You're eloping.

Is this for real?

If you want it to be.

Hey, Bobby.

You can do this?

I got special permission from the bishop.

And this would be official?

Like Pearl Harbor. Quiet.

It would be official.

I figured we could have a more traditional ceremony a little later with

families and close friends.

But tonight, I thought you might like to pitch for the Red Sox.

I'll catch.

I don't mean to rush, but I've got a 10 o 'clock flight. You're not rushing. I

want you to do this right.

Sure.

Let's get married.

Hold on.

Did we miss it?

I think you're about to.

Oh, God, I'm going to cry.

In addition to the flight, I'm getting old.

Can we, uh, huh? Okay.

Ready. If you are. I do. I am.

Look, they're on the scoreboard.

Please.

Father. Okay.

Now, this obviously is not a cathedral known for its happy endings.

But Fenway Park certainly is a symbol of a deep, lifelong commitment

of joy and of pain.

Father.

Aye, Bobby.

Take thee, Lindsay.

Take thee, Lindsay.

To be my wedded wife.

To have and to hold.

To be my wedded wife.

To have and to hold. From this day forward, for better, for worse. From

forward, for better, for worse. For richer, for poorer, in sickness and

I've been memorizing this for a long time.

Love and to cherish.

Though death has to pardon.

I, Lindsay.

I, Lindsay.

You haven't memorized this, have you? I need a little help.

All right.

Take thee, Bobby, to be my wedded husband.

Take thee, Bobby, to be my wedded husband.

To have and to hold from this day forward.

To have and to hold from this day forward.

For better, for worse, for richer, for poorer.

For better, for worse, for richer, for poorer. In thickness and in health, to

love and to cherish.

insignificant health, to love and to cherish.

Till death do us part.

Till death do us part.

Do you have the rings?

Not yet.

Oh, all right.

Then by the powers vested in me, under the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, under

God, and I suppose under the Boston Red Sox, I now pronounce you man and wife.

Guess that means he's off the market now.

I

love

you.

I love you.

Do we all get to go on the honeymoon?

One toast.

Thank you all for being here.

Probably goes without saying, which is good because I never say it, but...

You people are my best friends.

You mean the world to me.

And, uh, this woman, she is my world.

People shouldn't cry at the baseball field. Let's go.

I love you.

I love you.