Original subtitles

Previously on The Practice.

You want to hire me to defend you in a sexual harassment case? Don't you think

that's a little strange?

Why? You're an excellent attorney.

Who you've had erotic dreams about.

Oh, please. If I had a dime for every erotic dream I'd ever had. Forget it. Is

it possible that you weren't that great a clerk? Well, I don't think she had the

opportunity to really know whether I was a good clerk or not. Why is that?

The only thing that transpired in her chambers was sex.

Probably made love two to three times a day, sometimes four.

Listen, maybe you want to get a glass of champagne later?

Toast our victory?

Sure.

Tell me, Jimmy, do you typically toast victory with all your clients? Or did

that sex talk make you curious?

Bobby come in yet? No, not yet.

What's wrong, Jimmy?

Nothing.

What can I do with him?

Now? Now.

What's wrong?

I was on the internet last night. You know, just killing time.

Privacy of my own home.

I don't know what I was thinking.

Jimmy. I clicked onto a web page. It was about hidden cameras. I figured, what

the heck?

What, you saw some girly pictures?

Videos. And not just any girly videos.

Lucy was in one of them.

Lucy?

Our Lucy?

Yeah.

You sure?

I downloaded it to show you.

It's kind of like psycho.

No, nobody gets hurt or nothing.

Think she knows about this?

That's not Lucy.

I mean, that's Lucy, but she wouldn't, um...

Turn it off.

There's more.

Jimmy... What should I do?

You gotta tell her.

Maybe you should tell her.

What? What?

Just bringing in the mail.

Oh, you can just put it on the desk. Yeah, right on the desk. The desk is

Okay.

What's wrong?

Nothing. Nothing.

The desk is fine.

I'll take the mail.

Okay.

I can't.

I already testified once.

That was at the tree limb. I explained this, Gary.

You can't just go with the other witnesses.

You're the only eyewitness.

Okay.

You want to go over it again?

No, I got it. I'm okay.

Gary, I know this is hard.

You know?

You ever see your mother get shot, Miss Campbell?

I'll try to keep it short.

My father has to be there.

Gary, he's the defendant.

So you didn't know about this.

I didn't think so.

Hey, what's going on?

Lindsay, could you excuse us for a sec?

Sure.

How could this happen?

You never made any videos?

No. And you don't have any roommates?

Okay.

Let's go check out your apartment.

When I arrived at the scene, I found the defendant, Gordon Armbrust, seated on

the living room sofa with his head in his hands.

What else did you see, Detective?

The victim, Charlotte Armbrust. She was lying on the floor.

Her condition?

She'd been shot once in the chest at close range, as was indicated by the

residue around the entry wound.

Was she alive at that time? The paramedics were unable to revive her,

was pronounced dead at the scene.

Detective, were you able to recover a weapon?

Yes. From the floor of the same room, several feet away from Mrs. Armbrust, I

recovered a .38 special revolver, registered to the defendant.

Gun residue tests revealed that he had fired the weapon. And in the course of

your investigation, did you determine if anyone had witnessed the shooting?

Yes. The victim's son, Gary Armbrust, had been present and gave a full account

of events.

What did you do at that time?

I placed the defendant under arrest for murder.

His shirt was splattered with blood, and that was sent to the crime lab for

testing and analysis along with the gun.

So you spoke to and had an opportunity to observe Gary Armbrust at the scene.

Yes. And according to your report, you observed his eyes to be bloodshot and

speech to be slightly slurred. He had just witnessed his mother's murder.

He had been crying and was extremely upset.

These symptoms are also consistent with someone under the influence of drugs,

correct? Sometimes, yes.

But he didn't appear to me to be under the influence of anything other than

grief. He was never drug tested?

No. And Gary Armbrust's account of these events played an instrumental role.

In your decision to arrest his father for murder?

Yes.

Here it is.

There's a VCR up here, too. Must be on some kind of timer.

We should just leave it as is and show the police.

Check out the rest of the apartment.

In the meantime, is there another place that you can stay?

Lucy?

What? Is there someplace else that you can stay?

Yeah, with my dad.

And you have no idea who could be doing this?

No.

Okay, look, I know you don't want anybody else to find out, but I'd like

bring in Eugene and Lindsay. No.

Lucy. I don't want them all to know, Bobby. It'll stay within the firm.

Lindsay's pretty up to speed on computers, and I'll need Eugene to knock

doors.

Let us help you.

Charlotte was my closest friend.

I knew he was going to do something like this.

Why do you say that, Mrs. Raunish? Their marriage was falling apart.

She was planning to leave Gordon, and his ego couldn't take it.

Objection. Sustained.

Did you ever hear the defendant threaten her?

Yes.

About a week before her death, I stopped by their house to pick Charlotte up for

a yoga class.

She hated that class because she didn't think it was really exercise.

I know this is difficult, Mrs. Thronish, but we need to know about the threat.

I'm sorry.

Yes, well, when I got there, no one answered the door.

So I opened it a little to call for Charlotte because I knew she was

me. What did she see at that time?

Gordon was holding Charlotte's arm.

She was trying to pull away.

And he said that if she left him, she wouldn't even live long enough to regret

it.

More accurately, Gordon said that he didn't want her to leave him and their

whom he believed had a drug problem and needed both parents.

Yes, that's true, but it was still a threat.

And you were so concerned the threat you overheard might be real that you

immediately contacted the police.

No.

That was my mistake.

Miss Gamble.

Hi, Gary. How you doing?

I guess I'm okay.

I need to talk to you about my testimony.

You want to come back to my office and we can run through the questions again?

No. No, that's all right.

It's just that... What is it?

Look, I don't really know how to say this, but... Part of what I told you

true.

Which part?

The part about my father murdering my mother.

I lied.

It was an accident.

Then why did you tell the police it was murder?

I don't know. I was angry.

You need to do better than that.

My father and I were in this fight.

He was so paranoid, thinking I was using drugs.

I finally got fed up.

Your father's fingerprints are on that gun, not yours.

I had flipped out. I guess he thought I was going to attack him or something

because he went and grabbed the gun he kept in the end table.

Your own father pulled a gun on you? Yeah.

And then I charged him, and that's when the gun went off.

If that's the truth, why would you have even accused him in the first place?

I guess I was kind of in shock.

And I thought that if he went away for this, then maybe he'd finally be out of

my life.

You really expect me to believe this? I know it sounds crazy, but that's what

was going through my head.

Yes, and why would you wait till now to change your story? I just couldn't go

through with it.

And this is not a story.

This is the truth.

I was there. You weren't. But I was at the preliminary hearing where you

testified that your father shot your mother. And that wasn't the truth.

Have you talked to your dad recently?

No. Look, I understand you might not want to send your dad to prison. But he

didn't do it.

I did.

You don't have to watch it, Lindsay.

I'm just trying to find out how many websites it's been uploaded onto.

You mean that there's more? I'm afraid you're pretty popular.

How many times did you watch it, Jimmy?

Not too many.

Helen, are we on for lunch?

No, I actually came to sort out.

Hire a lawyer.

Eleanor.

Basically, he's recanting now to save his dad, which, since he could now face

perjury, makes me think he needs his own lawyer.

And the reason you want it to be me?

I want you to scare him. Make him realize how serious perjury is.

Well, Helen, if I represent this kid, I'd be working for him, not you. I

that. I just want him to hear the legal consequences of recanting from a defense

attorney.

His best interests are also mine.

And you don't think he's telling the truth now?

No way. His story has been completely consistent up until now. His statements

the police and the preliminary testimony corroborate the physical evidence. This

case is tight.

We at least talk to him.

Boxes have not been tampered with. No sign of break -ins with the windows.

about from above the shower where the VCR was? A secured crawl space.

This was done by somebody with access.

You had any parties, Lucy?

Friends over?

I have friends over sometimes, but I'm... What about that Boston Celtic

Basketball players?

What's his name? Hot Rod?

Rodman? What about friends?

None of my friends would have planted a camera.

New case.

No money.

It's a favor.

Commonwealth thanks you.

Oh, my God.

Now what?

It isn't you.

It's Jimmy. What? I just tapped into the Boston Buff website just to see if we

were listed. Damn, I lost it.

What's Boston Buff?

Corp Buff. They're basically retired people who follow trials, and they rank

lawyers. Here it is.

Seems like they're into gossip now.

Attorney James Berluti has been making a little chamber music with Judge Roberta

Kittleson. That's ridiculous.

Strict photography.

To me and my office.

Our own witness is now backing my client's story. Miss Gamble's the only

saying that he's guilty. He's changing his story out of some warped sense of

loyalty to his father.

Helen, he was your whole case, and now you've lost him.

Do you have any additional witnesses?

I don't need any. Gary Armbrust's testimony is coming in just like it did

prelim. Wait, what am I missing here? If he takes the stand and changes his

story, I will charge him with perjury. That is extortion. No, it's called

leverage to protect against witness manipulation. The only one manipulating

is you. Look, you can cross the kid however you want, but she can certainly

it.

What if I just plead the fifth?

Well, you can do that, but it really won't help your dad.

If you plead the Fifth Amendment, it basically means your testimony is

unavailable, which means the DA can then introduce your testimony from the

prelim. And you're saying that if I change my story, she can put me in jail?

It's a very real possibility, yes.

What do you think I should do?

Well, I would normally advise you to tell the truth.

But if the truth is something different than what you said at the prelim,

telling the truth would expose you to perjury charges.

He's my dad.

He just got angry, you know?

Gary, if he's a murderer, me, I'd ditch the sentiment and save myself.

He's my dad.

You're sleeping with her. It's my own private life. Not anymore. It's on the

Internet. Jimmy, she's a client. Was a client. It started after her case. She's

also a wacko. Did you know that? She's not a wacko. Jimmy, she is. She's a

judge. One affair with a clerk doesn't make her. She pulled me into chambers

told me she was having erotic dreams about me.

What? Yes.

While I was in trial with her, she calls me into chambers and tells me she's

having sexual fantasies about me. Then she hit on me.

Jimmy, she has OCD.

Oral compulsive disorder?

Look, I don't know what happened with you, but me and her, we're consenting

adults. We can... We're consenting adults.

More? She's been through half the Massachusetts bar.

Hey.

Isn't she a little... What's the word? Old?

Yeah, old. Isn't she a little old for you?

If called, he will testify that it was an accident.

He understands I've been having him arrested for perjury. Fin, fans.

Timely recantation. It's possible he can beat perjury.

You tell him that?

Helen, he's my client.

I'm sorry.

Eleanor, you tell him he's afraid of the wrong person. He's afraid of his

father. He should be afraid of me because he'll do time.

Helen. I won't let him do this. Easy.

I'm calling him, Eleanor. I'm putting him up there.

Any new developments?

I'll give you voluntary manslaughter.

It should be dismissing. I've got threats, fingerprints, residue, trace

Yeah, but if the boy's saying accident... How do you know what he'll

you been tampering with the witness, Arnold?

Well, I'm assuming he's not going to say self -inflicted, Helen.

What else does that leave?

Voluntary manslaughter. Take it or leave it.

Leave it?

Don't you dare just barge in on me like this.

Just tell me, yes or no. To which question?

Did I have a dream about Bobby? Yes. So what?

What about the other... How many lawyers have you been with?

That is certainly none of your business. You want to tell me how many women

you've been with?

You heard of the Boston court buffs?

Of course I've heard of them. They fill half the room sometimes.

Well, they got a website with a program.

It talks about you and me. It's got a picture of you and me on the elevator.

also has headshots of other lawyers you've been with. They say sexually.

What do you mean it's got a picture?

There must be some security camera on the elevator. How they got access, who

knows? There's a picture of you and me?

Kissing. And there's pictures of other lawyers, just headshots, but it says

you've been with them.

This is on the Internet?

Yeah.

What else does it say?

I don't know.

I didn't really want to look. I came right over here.

Got a picture of you and me kissing.

From the elevator.

How do I find this website?

I don't know. Lindsay found it.

What's her number?

She's probably home by now.

What's her number?

I'm not online here, Jimmy. Can I tell her tomorrow?

I don't know. I had to find it. Look, I'll give it to her first thing, okay?

He told Judge Kittleson. Big mistake.

Meanwhile, in the Armbrust murder trial, rumors that the chief prosecutorial

witness is changing his story.

If true, the prosecution may be in trouble.

Great. Just great. You recall Gary Armbrust was the one who identified his

father as the killer.

Now it seems he's prepared to testify it was an accident. Oh, God, look at what

they've done. How could they do that to me? All right, relax.

Relax? You relax. I'm about to lose a murderer, and now they've got me looking

like Leona Helmsley meets the Wicked Witch?

I'm not going to lose this.

I'm not losing this.

Oh, no.

Not again.

I'm screwed. If I call him, I'm dead. If I don't, I... What are you gonna do?

Do you know?

Miss Gamble, call your next witness.

Miss Gamble?

The Commonwealth calls Gary Armbrust.

Members of the jury, the witness will be accompanied by his own attorney for the

purposes of his testimony.

You are to consider only what the witness offers as evidence, and you are

draw no conclusions whatsoever on the fact that he has a lawyer with him.

You swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so

help you, God?

I do.

Be seated.

Could you please state your name for the record?

Gary Armbrust. Gary, the oath you just took, you understand the meaning of it,

do you not?

I do. You understand that you testify today under the pains and penalties of

perjury... Objection!

She's trying to intimidate this witness. I'm merely making sure the witness

understands his obligation to tell the truth.

Given that the witness has a lawyer sitting with him, I think we're safe,

Gamble.

Your own father is the defendant.

Is that correct?

Yes. And it was your mother who was shot and killed, also correct?

Yes. Were you present when your mother was shot?

Yes, I was.

And you observed your father shoot your mother as you were standing in the

doorway of the living room?

That's not how it happened.

Asked permission to treat the witnesses hostile?

Objection. Overruled.

Gary, do you recall testifying at the preliminary hearing for this case?

Yes, I do.

And you swore to tell the truth?

Yes. And at that time, do you recall being asked the following question and

giving the following answer? Page four.

Question.

What did you observe?

Answer. I heard my father screaming at my mother. I went to the living room

door, and that's when I saw him shoot her in the chest.

That's what I said, but it wasn't... You've answered the question. Thank you.

But it wasn't true. Move to strike non -responsive.

If it wasn't true, what really happened?

I was angry.

My father pulled the gun on me.

Then I basically attacked him.

You attacked him?

We didn't have the greatest relationship.

It was during the struggle with me that the gun went off.

Well, why did you testify at the preliminary hearing that your father

your mother?

Part of it was I was just covering my own ass for provoking my father to get

gun in the first place.

But if...

It was really an accident.

Why didn't you just tell the truth?

I was just so furious, Adam.

I wasn't thinking clearly.

Look, I'm sorry about all of this. I really am.

And if you want to put me in jail, I can't stop you.

But it really was an accident.

You have to believe me.

Only one with a master key is the super. A guy by the name of Larry Conley.

You know him?

Oh, my God.

What? Well, he always kind of looks at me funny, and a few weeks ago... A few

weeks ago what?

He said that there was a leak in the downstairs apartment, and he needed to

check my bathroom.

It's got to be him.

Lindsay, call the police, get a warrant, see if we can search this guy's...

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. A warrant for what?

Let's search this guy's place.

Bobby, it's not so easy. He hasn't necessarily committed a crime.

Wait, what do you mean he hasn't committed a crime?

There was no sound on the video.

So? The law prohibits intercepting audio communication, but silent videotaping

isn't a crime. Well, you've got to be kidding. What?

This guy planted a camera in my bathroom.

That's not a crime?

No. All right. What about trespass? The super with a master key, and you said he

asked permission to go into your bathroom.

This guy planted a camera in my home.

I'm just saying, it isn't as easy as it looks.

There's got to be some way to nail him.

So this is what people think of me.

It's just a stupid website.

This goes into people's homes.

Lawyers who appear before me.

They've probably all seen this.

I'm sure some have. Not all.

Look, nobody believes this stuff. You believed it.

That's why you came running down here so angrily. You believed it.

Well, is it all true?

Some of it is.

I have been with some of these men.

This is my private life.

Welcome to the information age, Judge.

This is evil.

It's evil.

I was fighting with her.

Your wife?

Yes. And I was in an enraged state, I don't deny that. Then Gary came charging

in, and he was enraged. In fact, he looked on something.

That's why I got the gun.

You pulled a gun on your own son?

No. I was afraid, and I grabbed the gun in case I needed one.

And then what happened?

He and I started yelling at each other.

Then he lunged at me, tried to wrestle me to the ground.

That's when the gun went off, and it hit Charlotte.

Gary attacked you?

Like I said, I think he was on something.

Why was there only blood on you?

Gary was on the other side of me.

I was between him and his mother, and I'm larger than he is, so I guess I

blocked him. You're larger, yet you felt physically threatened by your son.

I thought he was under the influence of drugs, and I didn't know what he might

do. So it was self -defense?

No.

It was an accident.

Well, you say you pulled the gun because you were afraid.

Yes. I was afraid.

I was afraid that he might hurt me.

So I grabbed the gun.

Afraid he'd physically assault you? He did assault me.

That's when the struggle took place and the gun went off.

And it was an accident?

Asked and answered.

Did you tailor your story to fit your son's testimony?

No, I did not.

Your wife leave a will?

Yes. Who inherits?

I guess I do, as well as my son.

Wow, accident. You both make out. Would you both plan this little witness for

the prosecution stunt?

Objection. You both conspired a killer, setting him up as our witness?

Objection. Sustained.

I got it.

What?

You pay your own utilities, right?

Yeah. The theft of electricity.

He plugged his equipment into your outlet.

There's some case law. The theft of electricity.

That feels like a stretch.

It'll buy us a warrant. Get Eugene.

Mr. Lawrence Conley?

Yeah? You're under arrest.

For what?

The theft of electricity and trespass. What? We have a search warrant.

What the hell's going on here?

What are you looking for, stolen electricity?

Do

me

a favor, Mike. Will you have your boys search the

bedroom?

Bedroom? Now.

Now, can you look away?

Five seconds.

Don't hurt him.

He's a teenager and a friend of mine! Get back!

Okay, Bobby.

I said okay, Bobby!

They were security tapes!

We'll take it from here.

Basically, I've got two choices. I can argue, believe his testimony at the

prelim, but they've got reasonable doubt. Or I can argue some witness for

prosecution theory, which who knows?

It could be that.

Things have certainly worked out for them.

Witness for the prosecution?

We relied on the son, Mark. He changes his testimony at trial, instant

reasonable doubt. With the threat of perjury. He won't do much for that. We

know that. So does he. If the recanting is ruled timely, he could get off

altogether.

Which his lawyer told him.

I've lost another murderer.

I can't believe this.

First, I lose a guy who dices up a nun. Now... Can you recall forensics? Prove

it couldn't have happened the way they're saying? I can't prove it, not

reasonable doubt.

I can't believe this.

Well, I wouldn't go witness for the prosecution. It's too desperate, and I

it's too late.

Just give it your best shot.

There's got to be a way.

I'm going to find a way.

A hundred tapes.

He had other cameras planted in other places.

So he has videos of me doing everything?

I've arranged to have them destroyed.

But they could have already been uploaded on websites.

Will he go to jail?

He's being arraigned today. I told Jimmy to cover it. But, Lucy, the law,

stealing electricity, maybe trespass, he won't do any time.

Hey.

What if my father... You said he doesn't own a computer.

Yeah, but what if somebody makes a tape off the computer and... Look, you did

nothing wrong.

Well, can I sue him?

Well, we could, but he's pretty judgment -proof.

He did lose his job. I mean, that's something.

Okay.

Um, I should get back to work.

You want to take the day off?

And do what?

Go home?

No, I'm fine.

Yeah, I got a lot of work to do.

I'm totally fine.

Lucy, the reason you feel so violated is because you have been.

And this is no time to play tough.

Look at me.

Maybe this isn't the equivalent to rape, but that man took your privacy from

you.

bad idea to get some counseling.

Okay.

And it wouldn't be a bad idea to lean on people here a little.

Susan, I feel like...

Two different versions from the same witness.

How can you know which one is true?

The state will probably stand up here in a few minutes and try to convince you

that Gary Armbrust suddenly felt bad, didn't want to see his father convicted,

decided to change his story.

Now, you heard Miss Gamble toss out witness for the prosecution. They did it

together for the insurance.

Now, that theory came at the 11th hour, didn't it?

Why?

Desperation.

Because the only eyewitness told you it was an accident.

Told you he attacked the defendant, causing the gun to go off. Do I really

to be standing up here arguing reasonable doubt?

The state wants you to believe Gary Armbrust is truthful when he says one

but he has no credibility.

When he's saying another.

But you can't have it both ways.

Yes. We have two versions now from one witness.

It's up to you to weigh the credibility and circumstances of each.

You're free to discredit the recantation and find that the truth lies in his

original accusation.

And I'll tell you why you should.

Gary told the officers at the scene that his father murdered his mother. He said

that they had a bitter argument, she threatened to leave him, and he shot her

point blank in the chest.

Now, Gary testified to the same facts under oath at the preliminary hearing.

Not one inconsistency in any of the details.

Every last bit of his account was consistent with every piece of physical

evidence.

Then suddenly, just as the trial begins, he has a change of heart.

And I guess we can understand.

He's already lost his mother.

He doesn't want to lose his father, does he?

And, well, maybe he's found a way to even forgive his dad.

But we can't.

A woman is dead.

Charlotte Armbrust deserves to have us stand up for the truth, even if her son

no longer can.

Charlotte doesn't have a voice anymore.

You do.

We all know what happened.

Prints only belonging to the defendant.

Blood spattered only on the defendant. We have the threat.

That man committed murder.

And his son?

Well, he suddenly decided he wants him to get away with it.

Do you?

3 -2 -6 -2 -3. Commonwealth versus Connolly.

Trespass. Theft of electricity.

Robert Olsen for the defendant.

Theft of electricity.

Are they prosecuting that these days? Your Honor, the defendant is a

superintendent at an apartment complex.

He installed cameras to tape one of the dwellers. Then he uploaded her naked

images on the Internet.

Theft of electricity... Hold on a second.

Well, well, well, Mr.

Connolly. Did you get the wrong judge?

We'll waive reading, Your Honor. Why don't you waive goodbye while you're at

Did you have fun?

Invading a young woman's privacy?

Excuse me, Your Honor. Counsel, you speak when I ask you to.

Uploading her naked images on the Internet?

Funny, I just discovered things about me on the Internet. Maybe they're stuff

about Oliver.

Who knows?

Take off your pants.

Your Honor!

Bailiff! Would you please take Mr. Olsen into custody? He is in contempt.

What? You want another chance?

Then shut your mouth.

Mr. Connolly, drop your pants right now, or I will add contempt to your charges,

and you will go straight to a jail cell.

I am going to count to three.

One, two...

No underwear.

Figures. And nothing much else, I might add.

Do you feel violated, Mr. Connolly?

Exposed?

How does it feel?

Would you turn around and face the gallery? Show them what you haven't got.

Honor, even I have to say this is a little bit irregular.

Turn around, Mr.

Connolly.

Take Mr. Connolly. Put him in jail. We can arraign him again

tomorrow. Would you call the next case, please? Leave your pants right there.

At your ankle.

Case number 32624, Commonwealth v. Waterman criminal violation, illegal

of toxic waste.

That was different.

Imagine his luck, getting me for a judge of all days. Are you okay?

I am so.

You know...

I am no prude. I would have no problems taking the bench naked, so long as it

were my choice.

But to be... Well, hopefully the laws on Internet stuff will start to change.

Maybe the test case will come before you.

It did bother you, reading all that stuff, didn't it, Jimmy?

Yeah, but, you know, it's my mother's influence. In the back of my mind, I

I was still hoping you were a virgin.

Thank you.

For what?

For being there.

It helped.

Well, whatever I could do.

Will the defendant please rise?

Mr. Foreman, has the jury reached a verdict?

We have, Your Honor.

What say you?

Commonwealth v.

Gordon Armbrust on the count of murder in the second degree.

We find the defendant, Gordon Armbrust, not guilty.

Defendant is free to go.

Jury is dismissed with the thanks of the court. We are adjourned.

Congratulations.

Gary Armbrust, you're under arrest for the murder of Charlotte Armbrust.

What? You have the right to remain silent. We know his life. What's going

here? Take him away.

Helen, by his own testimony as well as his father's, the gun went off when he

attacked his father.

Felony assault.

Accidental shooting or not, felony murder rule applies. What is she talking

about? You're looking at an automatic life sentence, Gary. That's what I'm

talking about. Helen, come on. I told you, Eleanor. I told you he should be

afraid of me than his father. This is an overreaction. Life sentence, Gary. Go

celebrate, Dad.

Is this true?

Can I get life?

Tell me.

Don't say anything to anybody. I'll be right back.

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