Original subtitles

Previously on L .A. Law. Did you ever meet Gail's husband?

No. He was never in the office when you were there?

I don't know what he looks like.

Can you tell me where you were in the morning Gail was killed?

Yeah, it was in my room.

Can you think of anybody who might have seen you in your room?

No.

I want you to change the plea to insanity.

I won't do that. You hired me to be your son's attorney, and I'm going to do it

in his best interest.

Do you think it's in his best interest for him to be on the street? I think

in his best interest to be in a controlled therapeutic environment. That

mean locking him up.

Particularly when he's innocent of the crime with which he's been charged.

Counselor, I'd like to talk to you for a moment.

By all means.

Catch up.

Isn't it customary to have the proof before you make the charges?

I'll take it whenever order it comes.

In other words, you're turning up the heat in the hope that I might panic and

make a mistake?

Something like that. Why?

Won't it work?

What exactly is it that you think happened?

I think that you were involved with Pamela Rice and fell out of every

of remaining involved.

I think that your wife, had she known, would have been deeply wounded by your

infidelity. So much so that remaining married to you would have been out of

question. And you're suggesting that I chose murder rather than divorce?

Yes, I am.

Why would I do that?

Your wife was an heiress.

Maybe you wanted to get your hands on her money.

Maybe you didn't want to be mired in a long, melodramatic divorce.

Or maybe you felt as though you were a genius and that gave you the right to do

whatever you wanted.

And so?

Not only did I kill my wife, I manipulated events and circumstances so

implicate your client.

Yours is a prodigious talent, Mr. Berkey.

I have no doubt but that you're capable.

What if I told you you were right?

What if you did?

I would have confessed to you.

What would you do with that?

I would resign as trial counsel.

I would take the witness stand, and I would testify.

Naturally I have no intention of confessing.

I was just curious.

The Bentley Continental R. You ever seen one?

No, I haven't. Few people ever have.

Even fewer have contemplated owning one. And how long is this contemplation

going to go on for, Arnie? We've only been talking about it for, what, less

a month?

Given that I can't afford it and given that I do want it, do you see any reason

that I shouldn't buy it? If you're not bothered by the display of wealth and

enjoy arousing the feelings of envy in others, and if you have no better use to

put that kind of money, I think you should.

Have we concluded our biweekly discussion of Arnold's Bentley?

Yes, we have. In that case, Douglas, can we get started with the meeting?

Wilton versus Wilton.

That's mine. I'm representing the wife, the husband, and CEO of Western and

Telecom, and a very rich man.

I'm seeking to set aside a prenuptial agreement, and if I succeed, the wife

become a very rich woman. Where does it stand?

We're in depositions. People versus Sandy Morrison.

The trial's underway.

I think pretty much my only shot is to make the kid look as likable as possible

and to point the finger at someone else.

That someone else being the husband. Right. You think the husband actually

it, or are you just looking to stir the pot?

Yes to both.

Without the husband, there is no reasonable doubt, and I think he's

It may have been a mistake getting Tom Mulaney off this case.

Why? If there were questions to be asked of the husband or anyone else, I

suspect that Tom would be willing to ask them.

Are we done with that? I don't know.

Are we done? I'm done.

I just wanted to know if we were done, because if we are, I'd like to discuss

this renovation a little bit. I don't know when it's going to be finished. I

don't care when it's going to be finished. I care about why we're doing

the cheap.

As opposed to what? As opposed to doing it right.

From the drawings, this place is going to look like we specialize in hack

licenses and drunk driving arrests.

What are you saying? I'm saying it's low rent. It's not supposed to be that,

Douglas. It's not supposed to be low rent.

Daniel, I don't understand how you can tell this or anything else for that

matter just from looking at the drawings. I got my undergraduate degree

architecture. Ah, then I have a suggestion.

Why don't you deal with it?

You meet with Lauren Chase, you pick out fabric samples, you pick out furniture.

I have never wanted to be the one to be in charge of this. Believe me, I've been

ducking this woman for days. I'm not angling for the job, Douglas.

Excuse me, I don't know the procedure here, but there's a Lauren Chase who's

been waiting about 45 minutes. Tell her Mr.

Morales will be out to see her momentarily. In fact, take her directly

office. All right.

Thank you.

Bye.

I'm Daniel Morales.

How do you do?

Other than the fact that I've been waiting for nearly an hour, I'm fine.

My apologies.

I need your approval on fabrics and window treatments.

Tell you what, I've got a client coming in ten minutes. Why don't you leave the

samples here, I'll look at them, and I'll get back to you. No.

What do you mean, no? I mean I've been chasing one member of your firm or

another around for three months trying to get answers, trying to get one of you

to focus on what it is you've hired me to do. I know that to be an attorney,

architect time can't be all that valuable.

Let me assure you that while my hourly rate may pale next to yours, my time is

indeed quite valuable to me.

Let's you and me go to the Pacific Design Center tomorrow afternoon.

I'll meet you at the entrance at two.

Two it is.

You've got a ten -minute grace period.

After that, I'm gone.

Mrs. Wilton, when you signed this agreement, did you understand it to say

in the event of a divorce, that your husband would relinquish to you your

in Hancock Park and pay you the sum of $20 ,000 a month for the next five

Yes. Did you further understand that anything either of you owned prior to

marriage, as well as all income subsequently derived from his holdings,

remain each individual's sole property should this marriage be dissolved?

Yes. And did you have your own lawyer representing you when you signed this

agreement?

Yes, I did.

Someone who frequently did work for my husband.

But you did have both the time and the opportunity, did you not, to make a

thorough investigation of your husband's record of assets before signing this

document? I would have signed anything you'd ask me to, Matthew.

I loved you and trusted you. I was your mentor at a point in your career when

you needed one.

You attached yourself to me like a remora to a shark. Can we try not to

this degenerate into a series of recriminations?

When you resigned from your husband's company, he provided your seed money for

you to start your own, didn't he? Yes, he did.

And six months ago, after I'd poured seven years of sweat and caring and

imagination into it, he sold the company out from under me. I owned 51 % of the

voting stock. I was well within my rights to act as I did.

You knew how much it meant to me. Look, I have a few more questions I'd like to

ask you. It was not a well -run business. I ran it the way I wanted to

thought that was my prerogative. Prerogatives have their limits.

especially when you're dependent on other people for your finances.

For our anniversary one year, I bought him a painting he'd admired, a

I thought he'd be thrilled. I'd like to get into the area of that. You know what

he did?

He returned it.

He said it was a bad investment. It was. It was a gift.

We have more money than we could ever spend.

What good is it if it doesn't bring pleasure to you or to other people? One

thing you have never been capable of, Jessica, is calculating the proper value

of things. You don't have a clue what's really valuable, Matthew.

And that's why I'm divorcing you.

Yeah, come.

Hello, Mr. Levinson. Mr. Mullaney.

To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?

I want to talk to you about the Morrison case.

It's not my case anymore.

I know that.

So why are you here?

Because Beverly Halloran's not going to listen to me. I was hoping you would.

I think you've got the wrong man.

In case you've forgotten, your client confessed.

My client is mentally ill.

He was browbeaten into confessing by an overzealous cop, and your office was

happy to take the path of least resistance. Are you kidding?

No, I'm not kidding.

I think your office is more interested in getting a conviction than they are in

convicting the right man.

I think it's safe to say that this conversation is over.

Want to hear who I think murdered Gail Berge? Not particularly, no. Well, I'm

going to tell you anyway. I think it was Jonah Berge. I think he murdered his

wife because he was cheating on her, because he wanted her money, because he

thought he could get away with it. And I think you're doing what any defense

lawyer who doesn't have two facts to rub together does.

You are flailing around and you're looking for somebody else to point the

at.

Leland McKenzie has a pretty high opinion of you, you know that? He thinks

don't care about office politics, about conviction rates or anything else if it

goes against what you think is right.

Nice try, Counselor.

Thanks for your time.

Detective Riley, would you describe the events of July 28, 1993 for us? I was on

duty in the homicide unit of the Los Angeles Police Department.

I got a call.

I went to the social services walk -in facility located on 6th near La Brea.

At that location, I found the body of Gail Berge. Would you describe the

condition of Gail Berge's body?

She had been stabbed numerous times and was lying face down, fully closed, on

the floor.

Did you recover a murder weapon at the scene?

Yes, I did.

Located in close proximity to the decedent's body was a hunting knife.

The police lab report revealed that there were fragments of tissue and blood

belonging to the decedent on that knife. Is this the knife, detective?

Yes, it is. Ask that said knife be admitted into evidence as people's

one. So ordered. Ask that a prevention lab report be stipulated into evidence

people's exhibit two. So stipulated.

Detective, were there any fingerprints found on this knife?

Yes, the fingerprints of the defendant.

Sandy Morrison were found on it. And were you involved in the apprehension

arrest of Mr. Morrison?

Yes, I was. What statement, if any, did Mr. Morrison make following his

apprehension and arrest?

He admitted having committed the murder of Gail Berge.

I have here a copy of a confession signed by Mr. Morrison and ask that it

admitted into evidence that he was Exhibit 3.

So ordered.

I'm no for the question.

You're a pretty good interrogator, aren't you, Detective?

I'm good at my job, Counselor. And one of the primary aspects of your job... is

interrogating suspects and exacting confessions. Is that not the case?

Yes, it is. Did you ever have occasion to interview the husband of the deceased

detective? Yes, I did. Did he say anything that led you to suspect Sandy

Morrison of having committed this crime?

Yes, he did. So, at the point you brought the defendant into that room,

a murder weapon with his fingerprints on it, you knew he had a history of mental

illness, and you knew he had been to see the deceased on the day she was killed.

As far as you were concerned, was there even a possibility he didn't commit that

crime? No, there wasn't. So you didn't bother investigating anyone else, did

you? No, I didn't. Tell us, how long did you question the defendant before you

got him to sign that confession?

Approximately ten hours.

Did he ask to leave?

Yes, he did. How did you respond?

I said that he couldn't. What else did he ask for?

He asked if he could lie down and go to sleep.

How did you respond to that?

I said he couldn't do that either.

What was his response?

He started to cry.

And at that time, you informed him, did you not, that the only way he was going

to leave that room or lie down and go to sleep or get away from you was by

signing a confession?

I may have used words to that effect, yes.

It wasn't a casual conversation at that point. He was my prisoner. He was the

primary suspect in a murder investigation.

And he wasn't leaving that room till I was done with him.

I have no further questions.

There you are.

Were you looking for me? I was just thinking I never properly welcomed you

the firm. Never said how glad I was that you're going to be working here.

Thank you.

I was hoping that I could steal you to lend me a hand on this Wilton case.

Sure. Just, um, let me know what you need me to do.

Well, the first thing I want you to do is accept my apology for trying to

initiate a personal relationship before you were even hired.

Apology accepted.

Good. Now, given that you are hired and given that we are colleagues, what would

you say to a collegial dinner?

I would say, well, thank you.

You are a striking -looking woman, you know that?

What am I, your backup position?

No, I was just noticing you for the first time.

You're Eli's secretary, right?

Let me ask you something.

Don't. Don't what?

Don't embarrass yourself twice in one day, all right?

My net worth at the time of the prenuptial agreement was exactly what I

was. Would that have been inclusive or exclusive of the venture in Palo Alto?

That was a highly speculative venture, Mr. Becker. I doubt that it would have

impacted on my net worth one way or another.

What would you estimate your net worth is today, sir? I really don't know. The

market's still open.

How does 300 million sound with another 50 million coming your way in December

when you can exercise your Western and telecom stock options?

You're in the ballpark.

What's Western's connection with Raleigh Microsystems? We acquired Raleigh in

1986, shortly after I became president.

And who was responsible for the Raleigh acquisition, Mr. Wilton? I made the

decision to take over Raleigh. Who brought it to Western?

A great many people were involved.

I did.

All right, Jessica, you did.

At this point, I'd like to ask that we be provided with all corporate bank

records going back to the beginning of Mr. Wilton's tenure at the company.

You're not entitled to that. I think the fact that he was actively concealing

assets suggests that I am.

There's no reason for us to quibble about it. Tomorrow morning, I'll be in

court. I'll make my request to the judge.

You know what?

I'm not going to give you anything.

You're going to disrupt not only my life, but the operation of a business.

where do you get off thinking that you are entitled to do that? Talk to me, Mr.

Wilton. I'm the lawyer. I'm the one making the request.

Could we possibly take a little break?

As far as I'm concerned, we're done.

We'll be objecting to that request.

Did you ever talk to your wife about Sandy Morrison, Mr. Berge?

Yes, I did.

Why was that?

Because after her sessions with him, she came home a complete wreck.

Objection. Overruled.

And what, if anything, did you suggest she do?

I suggested that she stop seeing him. How did she respond?

You have to understand something about Gail. She felt that no one was beyond

redemption, and she took the responsibility of redeeming them

first, she insisted that she could get through to Sandy.

His condition continued to deteriorate, and she finally agreed that he needed to

be in some sort of controlled environment.

The day that she was killed was the day that she told him that.

Objection. Hearsay.

Sustained. The day that she was killed was the day she told me that she planned

to tell him.

Objection. Hearsay.

Sustained. The jury will disregard.

Would you describe your wife's condition when she left for work that day? She

was utterly terrified.

I have no further questions.

What do you do for a living, Mr. Berge?

It's a little difficult to encapsulate in a few words.

Use as many words as you like.

I do a variety of things. I design what I call epigrammatic signage. What is

that? Words and phrases.

Painted, projected, or digitally superimposed.

Designed to alter people's view of art and of the world.

I also compose electronic greeting cards, interactive computer games,

holograms.

Trained in a number of different disciplines, and I draw on all of them.

much did you make last year, drawing on all of them?

Objection. Overruled. I made about $30 ,000.

Are you familiar with an individual by the name of Pamela Reisenfeld?

Yes, I am. Would you characterize for us the kind of relationship you have with

Ms. Reisenfeld?

Counselor. Although I know that you're barely able to control yourself from

springing forth with some damning piece of evidence, let me move us beyond that

point. The kind of relationship that Ms. Reisenfeld and I had was that we were

lovers.

Was your wife aware of that fact, Mr. Berge? To the best of my knowledge, she

was not. You testify that your wife discussed Sandy Morrison with you. Is

right? Yes, I did. Did you ever have occasion to read your wife's journals

regarding Sandy Morrison?

No, I never have.

Asked to receive into evidence said journals of Defense Exhibit 1?

So ordered.

Would it surprise you to learn, sir, that nowhere in your wife's journal is a

single entry that indicates that she was afraid of Sandy Morrison?

Oh, it wouldn't surprise me at all. She was ashamed to admit it.

Are you aware of the fact that what is recorded in her journal are numerous

entries expressing her affection for Sandy, and one which states that he had

turned his knife over to her for safekeeping?

No. I was not aware of any of that.

If, for the sake of argument, you had been aware of the fact that Sandy's

was in her office, it would have been possible, would it not, for you to have

gained entry to your wife's office, put on gloves, and used that weapon to stab

your wife to death.

Objection, Mr. Levinson. You would have waited until Sandy left the office. You

would have known that his fingerprints were on the murder weapon. Objection,

Levinson. You knew that it was his knife. Mr. Levinson, in the state of

California, when an objection is made, the attorney asking the question stops.

until a ruling is made.

Do you understand?

Yes, Your Honor.

The objection is sustained.

Move on.

The house you live in is valued at $4 .5 million.

Who paid for it? It was purchased with money that my wife inherited from her

grandmother. Are you aware of the fact that an inheritance is not considered

community property in the state of California?

No, I wasn't aware of that.

So you weren't aware of the fact that had you and your wife divorced, you

wouldn't have received any of the money that she'd inherited.

Neither my wife nor myself ever considered getting divorced.

How much did you inherit when your wife was killed, Mr. Berge? Objection

irrelevant.

Overruled.

I inherited about $11 million.

I have no further questions.

So you like this couch, right?

It's a cabotier. What's not to like?

Right.

It's a lot more money than I was told to spend.

You shouldn't be dictated to by the timid. You were hired to design a new

office. You should design a new office. And I don't have to get approval from

anyone else. They turned this over to me, and I want offices that have a

sophistication, a little refinement, you know.

From my experience, attorneys are not usually inclined to spend money for

like that.

You've obviously been dealing with a more vulgar class of attorney.

I take it then that you have an appreciation for architecture and

Yes, I do.

Do you come by that naturally?

To some extent. My father was an engineer, and I studied architecture

in college.

What stopped you?

Challenge, the lack thereof.

The architects I admired were geniuses, and the best I could hope to be was

ordinary.

Who were the architects you admired?

Neutra, Alto, Tharnan, Louis Kahn.

You're right. Those guys are genius leaders.

So you're a little impressed now, right?

When's the last time you talked to a lawyer who knew about Neutra?

I am a little impressed.

Good.

I like to think I got something out of four years of calling.

So what do we think of this building we were just in?

I think it's great.

Cesar Pelli, right?

Right. You're impressed, right?

I am impressed.

All right, now I can stop.

Up until he was 14, Sandy was a normal kid.

In what way at the age of 14 did he cease to be a normal kid?

He stopped having a normal life.

He stopped going out with his friends.

He stopped going to school.

He'd leave our apartment in the morning and just go drifting around New York,

riding the subway, walking, drinking coffee at McDonald's.

He'd be expelled from one school and we'd enroll him into another.

What kind of schools did he go to? Every kind, public schools, private schools.

We tried every approach from Trinity to Montessori.

Thandie just didn't want to be in school.

What kind of behavior did your son manifest when he was around the

He stayed in his room.

There were periods he wouldn't sleep, and there were periods he'd sleep all

time. I'd wake him up in the morning and make a point of having bowls of cereal

and eggs, toast, coffee, orange juice all laid out.

I'd prod him to have a good breakfast, get his day started right.

His mother would, too. We both would. He'd sit there and pick at the food and

sooner or later make it back to his room.

Did you see professional help for your son?

Sandy saw one psychiatrist or another.

since he was 15.

He also was treated at Austin Riggs on and off for about four years.

And what mental condition was your son diagnosed to be suffering with?

Chronic recurrent dysthymia.

Depression.

My son is a young man who finds a great deal of difficulty coping with the world

around him.

His response to it is retreat.

Objection. The witness is not qualified to render a psychiatric opinion.

Sustained. My son was never violent.

He was never cruel, and I would stake my life on the fact that my son never

killed anyone.

I have no further questions.

I don't have very many questions for you, sir.

I would like to know how long prior to the arrest of your son for the murder of

Gail Berge had it been since you'd seen him?

Six years.

So if, in fact, during that six -year period, your son had become violent, you

wouldn't know, would you? I didn't stop knowing my son.

No matter how long it had been, I never stopped knowing him. Would you, sir?

Do you know what a sweet, happy little boy he was?

Do you know how hard it was to watch him change?

Mr. Morrison. To see him desperately try to stay sweet and happy and not to be

able to? Mr. Morrison. Not to be able to get out of the way of this dense, black

cloud that he carried around inside of his skull? Mr. Morrison, I have to

admonish you to stop this outburst.

I'll ask you once again, sir. Would you have known it if in the last six years

your son had become violent?

No.

I have no further questions.

Your Honor, the attorney who advised my client to sign this prenuptial was an

associate of her then soon -to -be husband.

Be that as it may, Your Honor, there's absolutely no evidence of collusion

Do you have any evidence of undisclosed assets, Mr. Beckman? We know that Mr.

Wilton had proprietary interest in at least one computer venture that was

disclosed. How do we know that?

As an addendum to our motion is a copy of a letter memorializing said interest.

When the prenuptial was signed, his interest in that venture was worth

It's not worth nothing now.

Moreover, I can't determine the full extent of nondisclosure or negligent

representation without access to Mr. Wilton's corporate records. Your Honor,

Mrs. Wilton blames her husband for her bad choices and professional failure.

She's pursuing this simply because she knows what kind of a burden fulfilling

this motion will create for him right now, a scant two days before his

shareholder's meeting.

I really don't care about your client's meeting, Mr. Fine.

We're talking about a great deal of money here.

Mr. Becker and Mrs. Wilton have a right to take a look at these documents.

I'm going to uphold Mr. Becker's request.

It's an invasion of privacy, Your Honor.

It's done, Mr. Fine.

Jessica, I'm really very tired of dealing with this whole business.

Now, whatever vendetta you're trying to satisfy by upsetting my life with this

scavenger hunt, will it be satisfied with $2 million in cash?

Barney? Could you excuse us? Don't let this guy push you around, Jesse.

I think I ought to take it. No.

Matthew brought a lot of that money to the marriage.

Maybe he was right about my company.

I'm not a gold digger, Ernie. Listen to me.

You made a significant contribution to his wealth with your work at Western

Intellicum. You spent ten years trying to make a marriage work with him.

The law says you're entitled to share in the marital assets as an equal partner.

Giving that two million dollars is nothing.

Okay. The suit looks good on you.

Yes, it does.

It's big on me.

Eli thought it should be a little big.

Your clothes are too big. You generally look a little smaller.

A little less threatening to the jury. Well, not that you look all that

threatening to begin with.

It's just something lawyers do.

But it's a trick.

Right. That's why we need a lawyer, Sandy.

They know these things.

I'm going to need to put you on the stand today, Sandy.

You said maybe you wouldn't have to.

I think we need to let the jury hear you speak for yourself.

Why? I think we should help ourselves where we can.

I think this will help us.

Will you think I could be alone in this room for a minute by myself?

Sure.

Excuse me.

Yeah? Are you going to be in court when I testify?

I'll be there if you want me there.

Well, every day I go to court, I look to see if you're going to be there.

I mean, it's like I don't even know you, but every day I look to see if you're

there.

It's a nice thing to say.

Well, I wish it didn't have to be in court.

I know.

I wish I could be getting a hamburger in a coffee shop or going for a drive,

taking a walk, something good.

Sandy, listen to me. You can get through this.

Yeah, I would. You don't know that because I can't do a lot of the things

everybody else can do.

Well, I think you can do this.

Really, I do.

Well, you're going to be there, right?

Yeah, I'll be there.

Bye.

Sandy, could you tell the court how you met Gail Berge?

She came up to me in the park and she offered me a sandwich.

She said it was part of the outreach program, she called it.

And I started talking to her and she seemed all right.

What happened next?

She told me she was a psychiatric social worker.

She gave me a card.

She said if I ever wanted to come see her, then I could.

Did you?

Yeah, eventually I did.

How often would you go?

Well, sometimes it was like once a week, and sometimes it was every day.

What, if anything, changed as a result of your seeing Gail?

I got a place to live, and I got in touch with my mom.

And Gail helped me work out a way so my mom could send me enough money so I

could get a place.

She got me to...

and she got me to change my clothes a little more often than I have been. How

did your knife come to be found in Gail's office, Sandy?

She asked me to give it to her, so I gave it to her. She said, since I wasn't

staying in the park anymore, that I didn't need it.

Did you kill Gail, Sandy?

No.

I have no further questions.

That is your signature on the confession, isn't it, Sandy?

Yeah. Yes. And yet you're in here claiming to be innocent.

I guess my question is, why would you confess to a crime you didn't commit?

I was tired.

You were tired?

Yeah, sometimes I get tired.

Are you telling us that you confessed to murder because you were tired?

I couldn't keep my head up anymore.

I couldn't keep hearing the detective ask me the questions.

I couldn't keep listening to him talk.

He kept saying he knew what happened, so I thought maybe he did.

If I were as good at asking questions as the detective, would you confess to me?

Objection. Sustained.

i don't know how to answer that question do you understand the concept of truth

mr morrison yeah your father sat up here yesterday and testified that in all the

time he was around you you had never gotten violent was he telling the truth

sandy your father knew he wasn't telling the truth didn't he sandy your father

knew he wasn't telling the truth because you had in fact become violent in his

presence Wasn't what happened, Sandy, that you attacked your father with a

screwdriver? He had all these ideas. He kept wanting to make lists and he kept

wanting to make plans, you know? Kept wanting me to be happy. Isn't the reason

you left New York that your parents were ready to put you in an institution and

it wouldn't have been Austin Riggs and you wouldn't have been able to check

yourself out? It would have been a secured mental hospital and you would

been locked up. I'm different now than I was then, all right? Are you, Sandy?

Yep.

I have no further questions.

The background noise level is rather high. I think there are things we can do

reduce it. Not surprisingly, they cost money.

What kind of things and how much money will they cost?

We can use a better grade of ceiling tile, we can use fabric on the walls,

we can consider an electronic masking kit.

How important is all that?

I don't know. How important is it that the secretaries out here be comfortable?

Not very.

But think about this, Douglas.

There are eight secretaries and four paralegals working out here.

In the aggregate, that comes to, what, almost half a million dollars in salary,

right? It comes to $640 ,000 a year in salary. Well, if noise accounts for them

being distracted 5 % of the time, we're losing over $30 ,000 a year.

Did you two work out this formula together?

Actually, this is the first I'm hearing of it. You're overseeing this job,

Daniel. If you feel the money is well spent, let's spend it. By all means, we

don't want to have bad acoustics and distracted secretaries.

That was pretty good.

Douglas?

What's all this?

Matthew Wilton's corporate records.

Thanks.

Douglas,

I'm going to need all hands on deck tonight.

Why? I've got to get through all these files before the Western and Telecom

stockholders meeting convenes on Friday.

I'll stay if you need me. Great. Jane said that you would stay, too. She's

to be working with you here at night, Arnold?

Yeah. Stuart, try to prevent this from resulting in a sexual harassment suit.

Beyond a reasonable doubt.

You've heard the phrase thousands of times.

But what exactly does it mean?

The court in U .S. v. Pfizer said, reasonable doubt is such as would cause

prudent men to hesitate before acting in matters of importance.

Let's consider why you might want to hesitate now.

Jonah Berge had access to his wife's office. He had access to his wife's

journals. He knew she had a knife belonging to the defendant in her desk.

He had the opportunity to kill her and the information necessary to implicate

the defendant.

He also had a motive.

He was involved with another woman, and he wanted out of his marriage.

The only problem was he had gotten used to living on his wife's money.

Of course, that problem could be overcome.

The terms of Gail's will left $11 million to him. All he had to do to get

was to kill her.

On the other hand, Sandy Morrison confessed.

You may well ask yourself, why would anybody do that if they weren't guilty?

That's a good question, and I'm going to try to answer it. The young man who

signed it is mentally ill.

He lives enshrouded in a depression so deep...

that the simplest human interactions are altogether unbearable. A skilled

interrogator locks them in a room for ten hours.

He grinds down whatever resistance Sandy is capable of, and by the end, unsure

himself of what he did or didn't do, Sandy confesses. What you now have to

ladies and gentlemen, is look beyond the four corners of that document.

You have to look.

Please look at the young man who signed it.

You've listened to his father. You have listened to him. I submit to you that

he's not a killer.

I submit to you that he mourns this woman's death more than anybody in this

room. And I ask that you find him not guilty.

Thank you.

What I am going to ask is that you distinguish between fact and fancy.

Now, my adversary has invented an elaborate scenario whereby Gail Berge's

husband is guilty and his client is innocent.

Now, the problem with this scenario is there are no facts to support it.

The problem is my adversary made the whole thing up.

Jonah was having an affair.

Gail was rich. Jonah must have killed his wife. Well, ladies and gentlemen,

Jonah didn't kill his wife.

The man who's charged with killing her did. The defendant has a long history of

mental problems.

And contrary to the sworn testimony of his father, he does have a history of

violence. He came to trust and depend on the young woman who was attempting to

treat him. And when she determined that she couldn't treat him anymore, when he

felt betrayed and abandoned by her, he reacted in the same way he had reacted

before, with violence, with rage.

And so he raised up his knife and he stabbed her to death. That, ladies and

gentlemen, is the only scenario supported by fact.

There's no reasonable doubt here. There's no doubt at all. I ask that you

the defendant guilty as charged.

Stuart?

Oh, Stuart, wake up. What time is it?

It's about 7 .30. I thought you left when I did.

Yeah, I... I had a few questions, so I came back.

Oh, Nick. Wow.

I can't believe you slept here all night.

Did you bring any donuts?

Just as well.

So... Well, your guy walks a very thin line, doesn't he?

He's definitely feathered his own nest using his Western and telecom

connections, and he had several ultimately profitable deals pending at

of the prenup that he didn't mention to anybody, but...

There's no slam dunk there.

Anything?

I don't know. Take a look at this.

Now... You see, there's a whole series of unexplained one - and two -night

to St. Louis.

Yeah, well, couple that with some small, but what I would call very odd, stock

purchases. What makes them odd?

Well, he's buying up World Electronics.

That's his company's main competition.

Hmm.

And they're located in? You got it. St. Louis.

Now, this could mean nothing.

I don't know.

What are you going to do?

Improvise.

Morning, gentlemen.

We need to talk.

Not now, we don't.

I have to finish preparing to address tomorrow's stockholders meeting.

$35 made me a Western and Telecom stockholder.

Address me.

What's this about, Arnold?

I want him to give his wife what she's entitled to under California community

property laws.

That said,

we'll settle for $50 million.

Most people don't think I have a sense of humor, Mr. Becker.

You've obviously seen past that. Now, if you'll excuse us.

What do you suppose my fellow stockholders would think about their

leader dumping Western and Telecom and joining the competition?

Now, why would they think that? Because that's what I'm going to tell them at

tomorrow's stockholders meeting, unless you give your wife a fair settlement.

Are you threatening me, Mr. Becker? Just thinking out loud.

Wondering if the other stockholders will be as curious as I am about all those

trips you've been making to St. Louis. I mean, I guess you could just be trying

to get a closer look at the Arch, but I don't think so.

What do you think?

I think you're playing to jump ship as soon as you can cash in your stock

options. I think your relationship with World violates your fiduciary

relationship with Western. I think once news of that hits the street, you'll be

the named defendant and a great many lawsuits in your stellar career will go

into something of an eclipse.

I'm late, Mr. Becker.

And you're delusional.

Am I?

See you at the meeting.

speak to you for a moment, Counselor? Sure.

I've interviewed witnesses.

I've gone over police reports.

I've done everything I know how to do. And? And nothing. If Jonah Berge killed

his wife, he's done a good job of covering his tracks.

Okay. So, you know, I try very hard not to send innocent people to prison.

The prospect of doing that disturbs me at least as much as it does you.

Counselor, the jury's better.

Good luck.

Thank you.

Has the jury reached a verdict?

We have, Your Honor. What say you?

In the case of the state of California versus Sandy Morrison on the charge of

murder in the second degree, we find the defendant not guilty.

The jury is dismissed with the thanks of the court.

The defendant is free to go.

This court is adjourned.

How about if we go out for a celebration?

Would that be all right, Sandy?

Yeah, Mom.

Ling!

Did you talk to the receptionist? Yes. Mr. Wilton hasn't left a message there

either. Damn!

Arnie? Jessica.

What have you done?

Thanks.

Matthew called this afternoon.

He gave me a cashier's check of $15 million.

Yeah? How did you do it?

A magician never tells his trick.

I would have been here sooner, but I wanted to get you something.

I shouldn't have.

What's this?

No. I noticed the brochure is in your office.

I asked a couple of your partners. They said this is the car you want.

Oh, it is.

But I can't possibly accept this. It's way too much money.

Arnie, I don't ever want to hear another man tell me how to spend my money.

Jessica, it's not that I don't appreciate the gesture. I do.

It's outrageous.

I know.

it's too extravagant it's yours i

love this car

Walking after a meal is something people don't do in L .A. One of life's great

pleasures. Isn't it?

Sandy, your father and I were planning on heading back to New York.

All right.

I'd like you to come with us.

It wouldn't have to be permanent, son.

We thought it would be an opportunity for us to spend some time together so we

could figure out what your next step ought to be.

It would also give you a chance to decompress a little.

There's nothing like clean sheets and hot meals to help with this whole thing

behind you.

Yeah, well, I can't just do that.

Why not?

I can't keep up my end of the conversation.

You don't have to, Sandy.

Well, I can't pass you in the hall.

I can't be there when you get up in the morning and go to work and still be

there at night when you come home.

Maybe you'll start going out yourself.

Maybe you won't still be here. Look, I will, all right? I know I will.

Maybe you won't, Sandy.

I went nuts not too long ago.

I couldn't get out of my room. I was in a mental hospital.

I wasn't able to work.

I wasn't able to be with anyone else, talk to anyone else.

I finally trusted other people enough to let them help me.

And I got to where I could get out of my room.

I'm not like you.

I'm sorry.

I have to go.

Where will you go?

Sandy, we can't just let you go. We have to know where you're going, what you're

going to do.

I don't know those things, Steve. I can't tell you.

What I know is that I gotta walk away from you and from all of you.

Just be by myself.

Will you call?

Yeah. Will you call me, Sandy?

Dad.

Please, don't follow me.