Original subtitles

God, I hope I brought it with me. I don't have time to go back to the

apartment. James, is it necessary that you rush even to your extracurricular

activity? Laura, this isn't folk dancing.

What the hell did I do with this? With what?

With the Laura View article I was working on.

Last night I left it on the kitchen table. Damn it!

Is that the one I spilled my coffee on this morning?

Only kidding.

Oh, great.

Terrific!

I have to be at the public defender's office in 15 minutes. It takes me 20

minutes to get there. And now I have to go back to the apartment? James, will

you calm down? I'll do it for you. I told Golden I'd get it to him by 3 o

'clock.

Thanks, Ward.

I hate to put you through this.

I gotta run.

You are a terrific person.

I know.

We got a whole heart.

Showing up late in Sadaka's courtroom is a grade one felony.

Hey, hey, I'm up this afternoon. I gotta talk to you. Yeah, I know, Karabatsis.

Hart here's working on it, right? I don't want some kid. He's not my lawyer.

I don't know. I am. Now sit down, huh? We'll take care of it. Look, I never

went in that store. Now these guys just ask me to drive them around. I drive.

They say park. I park.

I don't know what they're doing. What do you want me to do, Karabatsis? Get

robbery dropped to a meter violation?

Law school get you ready for this? Zimring, I want an answer. No. Oh, Alan.

Meet Mr. Harp. He's an intern with our office. Alan Marks for the prosecution.

Terrific. Kelly go for it? Well, if you recommend probation.

Absolutely not. Kelly's a repeater. He's going to due time. All right. Take it to

trial with that joke for a witness. Not a witness. Four witnesses.

Harry, hold on a second. Look, we'll work something out, all right?

Sedaka first. I'll see you in there.

Did I just hear my first plea bargain?

Yes, you did.

How many cases do you make deals on?

About 85%. Just read an article saying what a bad system plea bargaining is.

That's the media for you.

I mean, look, if every case went to trial, this place would be total chaos

in a week.

You see something you like, honey.

Cute, huh?

Murder. Oh, premeditated?

Oh, yeah, he's wanted to kill people for a long time.

There's a preliminary hearing.

in the matter of the people versus Ralph Collins.

People ready to proceed, your honor?

Defense is ready, your honor.

This is Mr. Hart, a law student who'll be working in the public defender's

office under my supervision.

Welcome, Mr. Hart.

I hope we live up to your expectations.

Mr. District Attorney, call your first witness.

In your own words, officer.

We observed that the defendant's vehicle had no brake lights, that smoky, noxious

fumes were being admitted from under the car.

We pulled the car over, ran the plates, and discovered the vehicle was stolen.

Did the defendant have any registration papers for the car? No, sir. Any

explanation? The usual one.

Which is?

That the car wasn't his.

That's true, anyway.

That someone had loaned him the car.

Did you believe that?

We arrested the defendant and impounded the vehicle.

No more questions.

Mr. Zimmering.

Not of this witness, but we do have witnesses.

Yes, sir.

Defense calls Enrique Velasquez.

Are you a friend of Ralph Collins, the defendant?

Yes, sir.

We are neighbors.

Um,

were you ever present at Collins' house when a car was discussed?

About four weeks ago, Collins' car had broken down, and he was trying to borrow

a car since he was looking for a job. I couldn't give him mine, but this fellow

who worked over at the furniture warehouse.

was at Collins' place, and he said that he could ride.

Who could ride?

Collins could ride over to the plant, take his car and use it all day, just so

long as he brought it back by quitting time.

Now, uh, did Collins ever ask who owned the car?

No. He figured it was this other guy's car.

Did you?

Sure. I was sitting right there.

Now, when this guy who you all thought owned the car left, did the defendant

take the car?

Yes, sir. He drove away.

No more questions.

Cross-examine?

No, sir.

Thank you, Mr. Velazquez.

Now, is there any evidence that the defendant stole the car other than that

he was driving it on this one particular day?

No.

Has there been an attempt to locate the man who let him use the car?

Yes, but I doubt that he really exists, Your Honor.

What about the registered owner of the car?

Is he present?

He was supposed to be here. He hasn't shown up.

Doesn't seem to be much of a case against Mr. Collins.

Maybe we should let him go so that he can get on with finding a job.

Well, in that case, Your Honor, the people only reluctantly agree to a

dismissal.

Mr. Collins, you're free to go.

If you have to borrow a car, make sure it's not stolen.

You know how the courts can really work?

This time.

Mr. Hart, would you comment, please, on the evolution of the concept of timely

in contracts where no dates have been specified?

Um...

Timely is generally interpreted as referring to a date that will enable a

contracting party to complete its obligations.

Mr. Hart, my question sought a discussion of change, of evolution,

and not a mere definition.

Be that as it may, it is timely that we conclude for today.

Gentlemen and ladies, we meet again tomorrow.

May I remind you that since your research and preparation for this

seminar on American legal history are largely self-directed, you will be

reading and studying with greater rather than reduced dedication.

Mr. Hart, would you wait for a moment, please? We'll...

walk out together i have something i'd like to talk to you about you are aware

i'm sure that your performance and my seminar has been far performed below

your usual standard i know you're doing several new duties both worthy ones the

law review is very important to your future and your internship in the office

of the public defender will teach you certain realities about the law

However, your academic work remains of paramount importance.

So, don't neglect it. Yes, sir.

Well, good night.

Ah, sir, can I walk you to your car? It's gotten dark out here. That won't be

necessary. Thank you.

I'm so damn swamped. Hart, you can really help. Great.

They brought that guy in last night.

Burglary. Found two bags of loot at his place.

Read it, huh?

Talk to the guy, see what he has to say.

Who, was Kleberg in this one?

Mr. Hart, don't you think we should look into the facts of this case before we

decide that question?

All right, I'm sorry.

I'll do my best.

That the evidence that they found was in a bedroom in

your house?

That's right. I mean, that's where I keep my things.

But it ain't evidence. It's my own.

And where is this room?

Back of the house.

Were you there when the police arrived?

See, I was asleep on the living room couch. The cops come in.

Well, did they knock and identify themselves?

Just come busting right in.

You can't do that.

Well, in my neighborhood, that's usual.

Where did they arrest you?

Right there.

In the living room?

That's right.

They start roughing me up.

Why?

Because that's what happens to guys like me.

Now, Mr. Carter, um, you say that the stuff that the cops found in that back

bedroom was your own.

But, uh, the police say that, uh, those items, those objects were reported

stolen.

Says that he has witnesses who saw your car. Those witnesses are just trying to

mess me up.

They're just trying to suck up to the cops for their own intentions.

You know, I don't even think the arrest warrant's any good.

Parker says that the guys that gave the police the information may have held a

grudge.

Carter really got a raw deal.

So what are you gonna do for him?

Everything I can.

Like, uh, quit school and work on the case full-time? Plenty for it.

I've already been to his house where he was arrested.

What for?

Look around, see where they find the evidence.

Well, does that matter? Sure it does. The police may not have the right to

search the whole house.

But that's all in the records. Why go all the way out there?

I mean, what's this guy Carter to you?

He's a guy who's probably had the short end of the stick all his life.

God, you should have seen the way he lived.

And James T. Hart, for the defense, is going to save this poor individual from

being swallowed up by the system.

That's a first.

Kingsville's usually so prompt.

Forty's a minute late. Big deal.

Might as well use the time. Did you get anything on those Southern Pacific

cases?

Ladies

and

gentlemen, Professor Kingsfield will not be here today.

He was detained.

Professor Kingsfield was attacked and robbed last night.

Someone hit Professor Kingsfield over the head as he was getting into his car.

Oh, my God. I was with him. What?

Is he all right? Was he hurt badly?

He is recovering.

I was with him.

I was with him. I was with him just before it happened.

I don't know what I could have been thinking.

Are you somehow saying this was your fault? I should have walked him to his

car. I should have walked him to his car.

I'm trying to not let it affect me, but I can't help it.

It's made me jittery. Look, I find myself locking the door three times

before I can get to sleep. And if I'm walking the streets alone, I'm

constantly looking over my shoulder.

Vivian, I understand how you feel.

But it's a lousy way to live.

I don't want to end up with bars on my windows and mace in my pocket. This is

not a philosophical discussion.

It's just a matter of being smart.

Like, when we leave here, we should ask forward and hard to walk us back to the

dorm. Oh, no, Vivian, that's embarrassing.

I'll walk you home.

No offense, but I think I'd feel a little safer with a guy.

I have worked too hard in establishing myself as an independent woman to be

heard at home by some guy.

Not me.

They just got here.

No, they haven't. They've been here as long as we have.

At least let them have one more round.

They're our friends, Laura. They'll be more than happy. Okay, okay, just don't

make us sound helpless, okay?

I'll try.

Uh, Hart.

Hi, Vivian. Hi.

Laura.

Are you guys leaving soon?

What?

Something we said.

No, it's just that when you go back to your apartment, do you think you might

be going by the dorm?

Well, we live on the other side of campus.

Do you think you could make a detour? We don't want to walk alone.

Hey, we don't blame anyone for that, Vivian.

Everyone's upset by Kingsfield's mugging. You know, you read about

violence every day in the newspaper when it happens to someone you know. You

know, Kingsfield is such a looming figure, it just turns my stomach to

think that someone would turn him into a victim.

Look, he's brilliant, he's formidable, but he's also an 80-year-old man. He's

an easy mark for some bastard.

Well, you have to admit he's a tough old bird.

You know, Kingsfield would never let his armor down in front of us.

No matter what he went through.

Well, we hope they find the animal that did this.

Certain tendencies in American law during the 19th century.

Sir.

We're all very concerned about what happened to you.

Professor Kingsfield, how are you, sir? I'm very well. How are you?

Well, Professor... Mr. Hart, I see that you have Kravitch's American legal

history with you. Would you summarize his chapter on the role of the railroads

in the development of property law, please?

Um... Uh... Mr. Hart, perhaps you should be more concerned

with the state of your head than of mine... now.

May we proceed?

Well, what do you want?

Evidence for Joe Bob Carter.

DA already looked at it an hour ago.

I know. I'm from the public defender's office.

When did they start hiring college kids?

It's a sign.

Yes?

To Professor Kingsfield with affection and respect from the class of 1960.

Listen, you're not going to believe what just happened. You know what I just

found? I was just on that evidence. I was going through Carter's stuff. You

know what I found? Tell me something. Did you ever change one of these little

white ribbons before?

Included with the evidence they picked up when they arrested Carter was

Professor Kingsfield's watch.

Uh-huh.

Carter is the guy who mugged Kingsfield. Yeah, I know.

DA called half an hour ago.

Witnesses on the robbery are no good, so Kingsfield's mugging is what they're

charging Carter with. I can't... So,

does it look like a legal search?

Pete Simmering, no!

Hey, I know the way the system works around here.

And there is no way that the guy who attacked Kingsfield is going to get off

on a technicality.

Now, look.

Was it a legal search, Hart? They had a warrant.

Search or arrest?

Arrest.

Now, where did they find the stuff?

Back bedroom.

That's borderline.

Cops can do things now we couldn't ten years ago.

We? Yeah, we.

While I was working my way through law school, I was still a cop. Now I'm a

lawyer. You know, you were damned exuberant the other day in court when we

won a case.

Yeah, but that guy was innocent.

All right, come on, Hart.

DA's office is right down the hall.

They've got an intern program. Oh, wait a minute. We're talking about the guy

who mugged Kingsfield.

Hart, it's... It's the same Constitution.

The same search rules.

Look, you're a hired gun.

Some guys can take it, some can't. They go into estate planning. You've thought

of that?

Spend your time talking to bank trust departments?

No, I don't want to go into estate planning.

All right.

Now, if the area was within the suspect's immediate control, then the

cops have a right to search.

Of course, providing they're there legally.

Like for an arrest.

Now, was the loot out in the open, or did the cops have to open up a box? I

don't know. Well, find out.

Okay. And read cases.

There's dozens of them around, huh?

Look at this. I got enough stuff here to open up a firm.

You're gonna have to do the legwork on this one.

All right.

If you were Carter's lawyer, you might have to disqualify yourself.

Conflict of interest can be a problem.

But you're working on this case under my supervision.

Now, if you can handle this with a clear conscience, you can stay on the case.

What do you say?

I have to think about it.

Yeah.

Well, think fast.

And while you're thinking, haul ass, huh?

Good!

Excellent, excellent.

All right.

You can't be afraid of hurting the guy. Matter of fact, that's the purpose.

You have to hurt the guy so you can free yourself so you're able to run.

Where'd you learn this stuff, Bill?

Eh, where I grew up, they used to teach you that at the Y.

Doesn't say much for our society.

Okay.

It's a good idea to hold your keys like this.

That way you encounter a problem, you go right for the eyes.

Oh, Bill, that's terrible. You could blind somebody.

Hey, let's face it. You could be fighting for your life. Hey, do you want

to hear something unbelievable?

James Hart is on the defense for the guy that mugged Kingsfield.

He's tearing me up for it. This case is really tearing me up.

James, aren't you being a little naive?

Look, you got into this public defender thing with both eyes open. What did you

expect? To stop decent people from being lynched?

No. To make sure that the scum of the earth gets a fair trial.

I just wonder if this is what it's going to feel like when I become a lawyer.

Depends on what kind of lawyer.

The only court my father's been in for the past 18 years is one where they play

squash.

He's one of the biggest lawyers on Wall Street.

Now, the trick is to avoid criminal work.

Oh, do you think corporate law is clean for it?

I mean, Johns Manville files for bankruptcy because of financial charges

for asbestos deaths. I mean, who organized that? Lawyers.

Large companies cheat the government out of millions of dollars every year in the

space program. And who goes running to Congress with excuses from the Pentagon?

Lawyers. If I'd rather be in open court... No objections, James.

Just don't come complaining about the quality of your clients.

You, Lieutenant.

I don't recognize anybody.

No. Be sure. Take your time.

Look closely. Try to recall.

Nothing.

I'm sorry.

I just can't identify any of them.

I would very much like to be more helpful to you.

Oh, we always hope that with a witness as credible as yourself, we can make an

ID that usually makes our case.

See, I didn't really get a clear look at him.

May I ask if my alleged assailant is among the photographs I've just looked

at? Yes. Would you like to look through this again?

Careful, Lieutenant.

Sorry. Thank you, Professor.

Tell me, do you have any other evidence?

Yes, the watch.

We have a pretty good case here.

Just that I can use a little insurance once in a while. Thank you, Lieutenant.

Thank you, Professor.

How you coming, Hart?

Limiting police power is the exclusionary rule and anachronism?

Search and seizure cases, 1981.

Hart, you're supposed to be putting together an abstract on maritime law.

And you're boning up on Fourth Amendment cases. What are you going to do, focus

on flounder's rights? Give me a break, Golden.

I don't know where I stand.

The cops' search of Carter's place was legal.

Then we do what we can. The guy does some jail time and I can sleep nights.

Hart, you know what I think?

You shouldn't be working on this case.

Damn it, I'm not his lawyer. I'm just researching relevant cases.

Do what you want.

Just remember that none of us goes to bed until this issue is done.

Hey, Golden, look at this.

Only if it pertains to maritime law.

Look, this is a recent case. The people versus Norris.

Look at this.

Evidence found on the premises was presumed to be in the suspect's control.

Holden, the drugs were on the second floor of the house.

That means that the cop's search of Carter's back bedroom is legal.

People versus Norris was overturned.

Norris is a free man.

The search was found to be illegal.

Finito.

It is 2 a.m., part... Right.

Nottingham! I haven't taken sugar in my tea since the Warren Court.

Nottingham's been afflicted with a seizure of solicitude lately.

We've all been concerned about you.

Why? The incident?

It's over.

I'm back among you largely undamaged.

Can't be that easy.

It isn't, I know.

Perhaps you'd like to talk about it.

My Lord, I've gone over this so often now with the police, campus police,

detectives.

I feel like the ancient mariner telling my tale of woe to anyone who'll listen.

Has it ever happened to you, Lloyd?

No, Charles.

It's the violation.

Not so much of me personally as of... You know, I have walked those streets at

my father's side and again as a student. And for 70 years

now, that's all been violated.

Those 70 years, the very streets have forever changed because of this attack

by a faceless nocturnal marauder. You understand that?

I do.

As a lawyer, I'm disturbed by these persistent thoughts of retribution

against my attacker.

Why didn't he come after me when I was 32 years old and in physical shape?

When you were 32, Charles, people didn't assault each other with... such

abandon. I don't know how to put this thing to rest.

I feel...

I must in some way confront this man who attacked me.

I feel like I just lost a friend.

It couldn't be easy on Hart. Everybody knows how he idolizes King Sweeney. Mind

if I sit down?

I'm fine.

You look beat, Hart.

I'm exhausted.

It's a particularly heavy load with this internship.

I suppose you could just resign, Hart.

Why don't you just quit?

I have to see it through. It's an obligation.

Oh, I'm impressed with your sense of duty, Hart.

Oh, not now, Vivian.

I've got enough on my mind already.

I'll meet you back at the dorm room.

Vivian, you're being unfair. Sit down. Look, if you want to talk about it, I'll

walk you back to the dorm. I don't want you to do anything for me.

What is going on here?

You betrayed everybody, Hart, especially Kingsfield.

Every person who is accused of a crime has a right to counsel. That's the law.

Oh, right.

That is the law.

But where do you draw the line?

I mean, you've agreed to represent the guy that clubbed Kingsfield. He clubbed

Kingsfield, Hart.

How can you sit next to him, let alone represent him?

I mean, why didn't you just say to them, I'll have nothing to do with it?

What could be motivating you, Hart?

What is it?

Glory?

Controversy? Liberal hand-wringing?

What is it?

Come on, tell us.

Because whatever it is, I hope it's worth betraying Kingsfield and everybody

else that thought they knew you.

Why hasn't your lawyer boss got me out of this place?

Well, because the court wants you here until the preliminary.

If I had my own lawyer, I'd be out here headed for high ground.

Want me to go?

Anyone else in the house when the police arrived?

You already asked me. Yes or no? No.

Um, the police found your jewelry in the back bedroom.

Where was it?

In the little chest.

The police say it was loose.

That's a lie. I don't think so. Where was the stuff?

Well, who gives a shit? You were the district attorney. Why did you attack

that old man? Why?

Don't push me.

So where was the evidence?

Where was the evidence?

Where the cops sit.

Right in the open.

Bad place for it, huh?

Right, Garner.

Bad place.

What is so very urgent, Mr. Hart, that you arrive unexpected and unannounced?

Sir, I... I have a problem that's troubling me a great deal, sir.

Does it relate to your academic work here at the school?

No. Then I have no idea how I could be helpful to you.

However, since you are here, you may sit down.

I'm involved in the legal defense.

of the man who was accused of assaulting you.

I see.

This as part of your public defender's work?

Yes, sir.

Gideon established that every accused has the right to counsel.

What do you want from me?

Find out how you feel about me working on this defense.

I'm astonished, Mr. Hart.

Astonished and disappointed in you.

Oh, I had no choice. The case just happened to come in. Mr. Hart, it is

inappropriate for you to discuss this case with me.

Your doing so violates the concept of lawyer-client confidentiality.

Yes, sir. It's just that this is so difficult.

It's just so difficult for me to know what to do here.

So I thought maybe if I came here and, well, talked with you.

Mr. Hart.

Did you choose the law over medicine because you can't stand the sight of

blood I Want to be a lawyer and behave like a lawyer

Good

lord, are you still up?

I left you like this three hours ago.

I've gone over it a hundred times.

Come to any conclusions?

I'm going to do it.

I've decided... I'm gonna help defend Joe Bob Carter.

If you're comfortable, you can give him your best work.

Yeah.

I am.

Professor, here's the file you asked for.

Thank you.

I'm sure with time, Professor, the horror of what happened will be less...

Vivid in your mind.

Nottingham, I assume you've cleared my schedule for tomorrow afternoon?

Forgive me, Professor.

I thought it was not wise for you to... Not wise for you, Nottingham, to advise

me about my schedule.

I intend to be in court tomorrow, and I do not wish to hear your objections or

anyone else's.

Yes, sir.

So glad you're feeling better professor

What's the matter nothing

Amazing

Symphony

Is this just temporary insanity, or should I go for hell?

There must be millions of pages here, Ford.

Cases, abstracts, opinions.

A thousand years of legal history.

Right. It's a law library.

Try to imagine the thought.

The sheer work that went into making this law.

Okay, what's going on?

What good is it if it can be used to release Joe Bob Carter back to attack

society? Now, you tell me that.

Is Joe Bob Carter going to be acquitted?

That's what I'm working for.

And what's the district attorney working for?

To put him in jail.

Well, did it ever occur to you, James, that perhaps some of this law might be

as useful to find Carter guilty as it is to find him innocent?

And furthermore, most DAs have a conviction rate of at least 90%. So

before you go worrying about whether all these thousand years of law are going to

be perverted, perhaps you'd better read the last ten years of it to see if you

can make a case for your client.

What's your approach?

Well, the case hinges on whether the police, armed with an arrest warrant,

have a right to search.

They do.

Well, yes, but that right is limited to the area considered to be within the

suspect's control. Or if the police assume that there is an accomplice

hiding elsewhere. Or if the suspect tells them where to look. Or if the

evidence is in plain view.

Yeah, but that may not be relevant in this case. It's always relevant.

What's the history of the decisions?

Ambiguous. Confusing.

Fascinating.

There has been more articulate judicial soul-searching on Fourth Amendment

rights than just about anything else in the law.

Fifth Amendment, that simple.

No, it isn't. You don't have to incriminate yourself for it. It's that

simple. Fourth Amendment, unreasonable search and seizure.

That's the toughest.

Can you describe those events?

Officers Clark, Brickle, and I approached the defendant's house and

knocked on the door.

Did you have a warrant?

We had a warrant authorizing us to arrest Joe Bob Carter for the robbery of

a jewelry store two nights previous.

Just a moment.

Mr. Carter is not charged with that robbery. He's charged with assault and a

robbery related to that. Your Honor, the witnesses connecting the defendant to

the jewelry store incident have not been forthcoming.

Have they been subpoenaed? The people feel that the prosecution is likely to

be more successful in the assault robbery case, as we have a piece of

connecting evidence.

Proceed.

Officer McLaren, would you describe the events following your knocking on the

defendant's door?

A voice on the other side of the door acknowledged that he was, in fact, the

man named on the warrant.

We identified ourselves as police officers.

Did the defendant offer any resistance or objection to your entry?

None at all.

Did you assume that the defendant was alone?

We never assumed the person being arrested is alone.

We're real interested in our survival.

We handcuffed the suspect, read him his rights, then Officer Brickle and I

conducted a brief search of the premises.

The suspect objected to this? No, it was cooperative.

Oh, I forgot to ask you, what time did the arrest occur?

What?

P.F.

Daylight.

Let's proceed.

What did your look around the home reveal?

In the bedroom on the first floor, we discovered various items.

Candelabra, silver bowls, etc. that I was aware of as having been reported

stolen from a store in the vicinity.

How were you aware of that?

I had taken the initial report from the store owner the previous week.

Anything else?

A watch. What kind of watch?

A pocket watch.

What made you think you had the right to take that?

We were dealing with a guy who knocked off some jewelry stores.

The watch was inscribed. I figured that the watch was part of the loot.

Makes sense. Makes sense.

Your Honor, the pocket watch was one engraved with the name of Professor

Kingsfield, the man who was assaulted near the law school.

He reported that whoever assaulted him took the pocket watch under discussion.

No further questions.

Does the defense have questions of this witness?

Yes, we do, Your Honor.

Officer, where was this bedroom that you searched?

First floor.

That adjacent to the entryway where you arrested the cuffed Carter?

They're just behind it.

What do you mean, just behind it?

Towards the back of the house.

At this time, we move to suppress the evidence of the pocket watch on the

grounds that it's clearly the fruit of an obviously illegal search.

That's ridiculous. The search was incident to a legal arrest. The search

is completely within constitutional boundaries.

Are you trying to tell the court that a citizen's Fourth Amendment rights

terminate the moment he's arrested? No!

Gentlemen, I don't want this matter to consume the whole day.

I will hear arguments on the admissibility of the evidence.

The thrust of my arguments...

is twofold.

Firstly, people versus Murray clearly state that a search requires a

sufficiently specific description of the item sought. Well, in this case, not

only did the officers not have a specific description of the item, the

watch, they didn't have a search warrant at all. Hold it, hold it, hold it.

The watch was in plain view perfectly logical to assume it was contraband.

I mean, the arrest warrant in this case is for a jewelry store burglary, not...

film piracy.

At this point, I tend to agree with the prosecution.

Mr. Hart, you suggested that there were other aspects to your argument?

Um... What?

Uh,

yes, um... The cardinal rule is that law enforcement agents must...

must secure a warrant to search and that an arrest warrant is not a search

warrant.

The desirability of magistrates rather than police determining when a search is

permissible has never been doubted. Are there exceptions?

Yes. If the police fear that the evidence might disappear before a

warrant can be obtained.

But in this case, the officers had secured the premises.

And though time is said to fly, it's...

The chances of the watch leaping out the window and escaping are slim.

Um, Chimel versus California acknowledges that the police have the

right to search without a warrant to guarantee their own safety while

executing arrest.

But this piece of evidence, this watch,

was two rooms away from a compliant,

handcuffed suspect in broad daylight.

Your Honor, it has been established that the police can search an area under the

control of a suspect even if the suspect is being handcuffed.

It has also been established that the test in cases like these is not whether

it is reasonable to procure a search warrant, but whether the search is

reasonable, which in this case, of course, it proved to be because look how

fruitful it was.

I apologize for my opposition, but are we saying that an illegal act by the

police is justified by its ultimate results?

Perhaps Mr. Marks would authorize random shootings in high-crime neighborhoods

because of the high probability of bagging a felon. Gentlemen, we will

allow Mr. Hart to continue.

Your Honor, none of the exceptions to the nearly sacred immunity our citizens

enjoy has been met here.

The evidence was in no danger of being destroyed.

The area where the evidence was discovered was hardly within the

subject's control, nor was it impractical for a warrant to be

obtained. One of the officers could have remained while the other sought out a

magistrate. We move to suppress the evidence.

Mr. Hart, I'm sure you have a fine future as a lawyer.

But the law has changed in the past years.

The Judge Learned Hand's remarks are timely in this case.

After arresting a man in his house to rummage at will in search of whatever

will convict him is clearly illegal.

The pocket watch is ruled inadmissible as evidence.

Without the key evidence, which the court has excluded, the people feel that

they cannot continue the prosecution.

In that case, Mr. Carter, the assault charges are dismissed and you are free

to go.

Thank you, your honor.

Beautiful. Good job, Mark.

A little wordy. Damn good.

Hey,

thanks.

Parts.

That was slicker than shit off a shovel.

Carter, get out!

Congratulations. You were very successful.

Let me go.

Art?

Well, my watch seems undamaged by its journey through the...

Judicial process?

How did you fare, Mr. Hart?

It's an experience.

It's an education.

Since your primary function is still that of a student, it was time well

spent.

I can't help feeling... or wondering what you must think of me helping to

free the man who attacked you. Don't be vain, Mr. Hart.

You didn't free Joe Bob Carter.

The court did.

You skillfully pointed out why the court should act as it did.

You were doing no more nor less than a lawyer in that situation must do. I

still have trouble accepting that the law can be used to impede justice.

Mr. Hart, these questions you're asking, these doubts and suspicions,

painful as they are, do you credit?

They are precisely what might lift you one day.

above the multitude of other students being processed through law schools

throughout the country.

I have seen the law in different condition from what it is at present.

The law is still too imprecise in some areas and overly rigid in others.

Perhaps you will have a part in resetting its course, if needed.

What time is it, Mr. Hart?

Oh, 4-4-33.