Original subtitles

And after a day and a half of deliberations, the jury has acquitted

James Bryant on all 27 counts of sexual assault.

Mr. Bryant, Mr. Bryant, would you care to... Mr. Bryant will have nothing to

say to the press at this time. He's been vindicated.

But you'll hear from him next in civil court.

Excuse me. Oh, Mr. Gold, Mr. Gold, the DA's been working on this case for three

years. How do you feel about the defeat?

We put on a good case. I'm sorry the jury didn't agree.

What happens next?

Mr. Bryant has had his day in court. He's a free man.

But he's been ruined financially. He's lost his preschool business.

And his attorney has already said he'll seek redress. Well, that's his right

under the law.

Does that make you nervous, Mr. Gold?

Our job is to serve justice, Miss Bird. It doesn't make me the least bit

nervous.

Never let him see you sweat, huh, Arthur?

Well, hopefully Bryant won't sue me personally.

Not that he'd get anything but a load of credit card debt.

I need to see him, now!

What's going on here? I need to see somebody in authority. Wait a minute.

Okay.

I'm Detective Cobb. This is Tess Kaufman. This is Arthur Gold.

You're the boss, right?

On a good day, yes.

Yeah, well, you can't let James Bryant go.

He's guilty.

Who are you?

What is this about?

My name is William Cleary.

I went to Harry Truman Elementary School.

James... Bryant was my third grade teacher.

He sexually molested me when I was eight years old.

Clary's 23 years old, Tess. Let me save you the math here. He's overshot the

statute of limitations by eight years.

That's true.

But people are starting to look at repressed sexual assault in a different

light. A landmark ruling in Massachusetts starts the clock at the

time of recollection. So we have to overturn the statute of limitations and

then try Bryant all over again?

What is that?

It's a zen garden. It's supposed to relieve stress.

Why do you want to bother with this, Tess?

You've already lost this once.

The Massachusetts case was incest between a father and daughter.

Cleary deserves the same attention. So do all kids.

Cleary is a disturbed individual.

And Brian's already been acquitted of the same crime.

The witnesses...

were children who couldn't stand up against the defense.

As an adult, Cleary would do better.

Says you.

Sorry, Tess.

I can't back you on this one.

But you won't stand in my way. No.

I learned a long time ago not to do that.

Miss Kaufman, now I know you're late for one of your five million meetings, but

this will only take a second.

Well, maybe two.

But what is it? The Dan Hill case.

I do not understand what the problem is in pleading it out.

Well, how about no alibi on the night of the fire?

A motive?

The fact that they found... Oh, for crying out loud, Miss Kaufman, my client

was guarding his mother's house while she was in the hospital.

He'd just been a dutiful son.

The fact that no one actually saw him does not mean that he was not, in fact,

temporarily domiciled in her home.

All right, okay.

You need a little time to think on that. But on a completely separate note, Ms.

Kaufman, I happen to know you're available.

I have a friend.

He's handsome.

If you would just consider one date, Ms. Kaufman, just one date. My friend would

be the happiest guy on the world. And you would be the female equivalent of

such.

Oh, hi, Miss Elliot.

Would you consider going on a date with a friend of mine?

He's a steady guy. Oh, listen, y'all, he's a veritable rocker Gibraltar.

Listen to him, Elliot.

Cliff Sizemore's an excellent judge of character.

And you need a good man to settle you down.

Miss Elliot, I know that a woman of your rights... I think she likes you.

Real bad.

That's all I need.

Me, me, me.

Do you have a current animal, or are you seeing any Miss Elliot?

Oh, miss, listen. And we are going to move forward with your case.

Does that mean you can arrest Brian today?

No,

it's not that simple.

This legal stuff takes forever, huh?

Well, we could...

Use a little more than your word against Bryant's.

Know anyone who can back up your charges?

It was just me and him, down in the book room.

So did you mention this to anyone?

Folks, teachers, friends?

It's not the kind of stuff you mention to your friends.

I don't remember telling anybody.

I think he scared me too much.

I guess that means I'm screwed, huh?

We'd like you to have a psychological evaluation.

Sure, if it'll help.

This is going to be very difficult, Mr. Cleary.

And I want you to know that in the end, it might not come to anything.

You're telling me to give up?

No, not at all.

Because I'm not going to.

Good.

Then let's get to work.

Thank you.

William Cleary was my student in second grade, my second year of teaching.

Looks like you ran into some trouble in the third grade when James Bryant was

his teacher.

William's father passed away that fall.

His performance became progressively worse, and he was a discipline problem

until he left for junior high.

Anyone try talking to him?

I believe so, but he just became more and more withdrawn.

Did you know Bryant very well, Ms. Grant?

People wanted us to date.

Well, how come he left after just two years?

He, uh, wanted to work with younger children.

There weren't any problems or complaints, if that's what you're

asking.

He's a weird guy, don't you think?

He was a loner, very secretive man.

I guess now we know why.

So you do believe it's so sad one can't see these things when they're happening

Isn't it though

So long ago I

You don't remember anything from that period anything that might have upset

William

Guess that would qualify as upsetting.

Sorry.

Ancient history.

I mean, just like the stuff about Brian. Why can't he just let it go?

William? Yeah.

Then he did tell you about the incident?

You mean back then?

Yeah. No.

No, no, he started talking about it after that whole trial started.

Well, what'd you think about it then?

I thought it was ridiculous.

I mean, how can you not remember something like... like that?

I don't... You know, apparently people can repress memories of really traumatic

events. Yeah.

Well, wish I could repress a few.

That's what the, uh, experts say anyway.

Then you can't think of anything that would help.

I work to keep a roof over his head and put food in his belly.

That's the kind of help I understand.

What is it that you want me to say?

Excuse me.

Hold it, man.

One move and you're history.

All right, come on, pal.

Take it easy, man. Shut up!

Take it easy, man.

That's it, man.

I swear to you, that's all what I have. That's it, come on. I swear to you,

please, man. There ain't nothing.

Leave it, please.

No exit, son.

Hey! Drop it.

I'm free and clear.

The code officer involved shooting team ruled that a righteous shoot, maybe

they'll give me a medal.

Are you all right?

I'm great.

Don't get me wrong, Beth.

I don't lose you sleep over killing someone who's trying to kill me.

But when you're 16 years old, you tell me what the world's coming to. Good

afternoon. Hello, Cliff.

You get Peggy Elliott and your friend all squared away?

Well, I tell you, Detective Cobb, while Miss Elliott is quite pleasing to the

eye, my friend is inclined towards someone with a little more cultural

sophistication. Quite frankly, someone who carries less firearms concealed on

their person. Someone like you, Miss Kaufman. It's you that my friend wants

to go on a date with.

Why not, for heaven's sakes? Everybody knows you have absolutely no social life

at all.

I think Cliff Sizemore just got underneath your skin.

Okay, fine.

We won't talk about it.

But I think he's right, and you should do something about it.

It's not a question of whether I believe Cleary or not.

I don't know what to think about all this repressed memory stuff.

It happens.

I know.

People's motives aren't always what they seem.

Cop I know.

Arrests his teenage girl for burglary.

She comes on to him.

Gets her clothes off and everything.

He doesn't go for it.

And she says that he tried to rape her.

I don't know about those kids in Bryant's preschool.

I mean, if he did it, and he did molest them, then he should be shot.

But you know kids.

They can take little rumors and make them big and ugly real fast.

Cleary? Hell, Tess, that was 15 years ago.

Who can unravel what's real and what's not?

We have to try.

Tess, Ben.

What do you need, Arthur?

Before you go home for the night, I just thought I might pass along something

that might make your sleep more troubled.

James Bryant's lawyer filed a $50 million lawsuit today.

We're out of money.

Of course, he named the families who originally brought charges against him.

And he also named the district attorney's office.

But not you personally? No.

However... I am in receipt of phone calls from the district attorney, who

was named personally, and also my close personal friend, the mayor.

And I told him about James Bryant and William Cleary.

And he would like their whole nasty mess to go away.

William Cleary wanted it to go away, too.

Made his life a mess for 15 years, trying to bury it in the back of his

mind. It didn't work.

We don't need this test. We really...

Don't. I need to do my job.

And not just for Cleary. To protect all the children out there.

Surely Mayor Devan couldn't be against that.

He stops. He pops.

He throws a brick.

What are you doing, Cobb? Playing basketball with all your friends?

You know, Elliot, you have a way of starting conversation that ends

conversation. Are we feeling sensitive today?

I feel like a workout.

I don't know how you feel.

I feel like getting a beer.

I wouldn't mind some company.

Give me a couple minutes in the shower.

It's interesting to see your lack of hand-eye coordination isn't just

confined to basketball.

You buy again.

Hey, Elliot.

What?

Shut up.

You okay?

Yeah.

I was just thinking this is the first time I've been in a cop bar since Kay

died.

Funny.

I used to live in the lineup.

Did you love her?

Oh, hell, I... Yeah, I guess I did.

Thing is, I didn't know her at the time.

I miss her.

I'm sorry. Must be tough to lose someone you were close to.

Never happened to you?

My family's still alive.

I never really had a boyfriend.

That's a joke, right?

No.

I don't know. I get bored by about the fourth date.

It doesn't really bother me.

You are too young to be cynical, Elliot.

Hey, Elliot.

Hey. Nice work the other night.

Thanks. We're working on another caper. It should come together by the end of

the week.

You available?

I'll be there.

Great.

Cowboys. They're fun.

Their kind of fun can get you killed.

Now, Tommy, you know they searched the school.

Men even dug up the playground. They didn't find a cave.

But you and your friends used to talk about this cave, didn't you?

And you used to blindfold each other, didn't you? And you used to tell scary

stories? Yes, but he still... Maybe you just made up this story about Mr.

Bryant and this cave. Making up stories was part of your creative play, wasn't

it? Yes, but he still took us there. He still did those things.

Maybe you told those stories so often they started to seem real.

Objection, Your Honor.

Badgering. Stop the tape.

Well, chalk another one up for the legal profession.

That's not lawyering, Tess.

That's like putting a cripple in the ring with Mike Tyson.

And don't tell me that Wilson is just doing his job. I won't.

But he is.

We have to do ours better.

This has got to be the most insane charge I have ever heard.

Are you running for office, Ms. Kaufman?

Mr. Cleary has filed a very serious charge. My job is to follow through.

You call this serious?

What do you call it? To call it fantasy would give it too much dignity.

Psychotic raving is more to the point.

Been talking to psychics again, Ms. Kaufman?

I have been talking to a man...

Who's in a great deal of pain. Pain?

Did you say pain?

This man is in a great deal of pain.

As is the mother of that boy that you killed.

Guess that wasn't enough blood for you, was it?

You know, you people have a reputation for going too far. And you are going to

regret this one for the rest of your days.

Come on.

Kind of unsettling, isn't it?

Lots of unsettling things in this world, Miss Jones.

Like James Bryant.

I'm investigating another allegation against him. Your son Sam dropped the

charges in the preschool case. I was wondering if there was something that it

might... You could use.

Isn't that what you people are all about?

Using people, situations, children.

Look, Mrs. Jones... Oh, we just have a couple of questions, Mrs. Jones.

Sam, where exactly did Mr. Bryant touch you?

Did it feel bad, Sam?

Did it feel good?

No, no. What did he really do, Sam? Didn't he try... Okay.

All right.

Half the time, Sam doesn't even think.

I'm his mother.

I'm... some demon who took over her body.

He doesn't think I can protect him from anything.

So how do you propose I restore his trust, Detective Cobb?

By turning him back over to the justice system?

No, thank you.

AMAC, adults molested as children, have a myriad of behavioral clusters.

We're not medical types, Dr. Spencer. Would you mind putting this in a

language that we can understand?

Well, there's Jane.

She feels inadequate, bad, afraid of intimacy, and she screws up every chance

for success she gets.

And then there's James. He pokes himself with forks just to let the pressure out.

Does Cleary fit the clinical picture of sexual assault?

You'd find Cleary's picture in a textbook.

No hidden agenda?

Guarding what?

Bryant? Police?

DA's office?

Now, as far as I can see it, Cleary's doing this only for his own peace of

mind.

Are his memories valid?

There's no way of determining that in any absolute sense.

But as for memories in general, the more traumatic the sexual assault... The more

infallible and explicit the recall.

Thank you.

I didn't exactly go out with her. She invited me for a beer.

And? And I think I come off a little dull when measured against her friends.

Aren't you supposed to be at work?

Yeah. Um, I need to talk to you.

Wilson called this morning.

He told me he's suing you guys.

He told me he's gonna sue me once I lose the case.

He said I'm gonna be making payments to Bryant into the afterlife.

Can he do that?

He can. He has.

I can't handle this.

You knew from the beginning this was going to be difficult.

There is no law in this area. We are trying to establish it.

And if I lose?

I can't guarantee you won't.

So Brian gets to screw me all over again, huh?

Look, why don't we put a little effort into winning?

I want you to go over to the school with Detective Cobb.

Can you handle that?

Excuse me, Officer Cobb?

Yes, ma'am.

I'm Vivian Morgan.

You killed my boy.

Don't worry.

I'm not some crazy with a gun.

I just wanted to see you.

You don't look like a man who would shoot a boy.

He had a gun on me, ma'am.

I can't believe he would do that.

He would have killed me, I swear to God, he would have.

Why couldn't he have been wounded or something?

Shot in the hand like they do on TV.

That's all I had, Mr. Cobb.

His dad run off when he was born.

I got no skills.

Had to work two jobs for rent and food.

What chance did he have?

What the hell kind of chance did he have?

I'm sorry.

You got no idea how bad it hurts to lose a child.

Oh, yes, I do.

That sounds like you got problems of your own, Kyle.

You sure you want to do this?

It's my job, Cleary.

That's all it is to you, huh?

Basically, you think I'm bogus.

No. No, I don't. Not really.

I know the mind's a complicated thing.

I just don't get how you could forget something for 15 years, then it's there,

then you believe it.

I can't imagine that happening to me.

I hope it never does.

Look, I'm sorry to cause you people trouble.

All right?

I spent most of my life thinking I was scum and now I know why.

I just want to make it better, man.

I want my future back.

Could have been you, Cobb.

Yeah, could have been you.

Looks the same.

Even smells the same.

Yeah, well, schools are like that.

Memories, too.

The light was off.

The blinds were open a little more.

It made these sort of slash marks across the desk.

I can see them across Brian's face.

I guess I couldn't stand to believe it was real.

That this man, my teacher, would sell me out like that.

You're sure it happened here?

Absolutely sure.

He did it leaning against the desk.

Look, we don't have to go through this.

Oh, man.

I just wanted his help.

Just his help.

The statute of limitations is run. The court has no choice but to grant my

motion for summary judgment.

Your Honor, an evidentiary hearing is necessary in a case involving repressed

memory. Otherwise, the statute is an unfair barrier to justice being served.

Your Honor, such a decision would set a dangerous precedent.

One which has already been set in incest cases.

Your Honor, how much must my client endure?

The district attorney's office is on a fishing expedition.

Dismiss this case.

Mr. Wilson, while I am sympathetic to your client's plight, I must also

consider Mr. Cleary's situation.

It seems unfair that a trick of memory might serve to deny him justice.

Motion for summary judgment denied.

Ms. Kaufman, you have your evidentiary hearing.

And this memory you've described so vividly, has it changed at all since

coming back into your consciousness?

It's filled in.

It hasn't really changed.

What do you mean, filled in?

More details.

What we were wearing that day.

What books were on the table.

What I had for lunch.

But the memory of what Mr. Bryant actually did to you has remained the

same?

Absolutely.

You witness.

You claim this memory started while you were watching TV, right?

Yeah.

You've had several periods of unemployment since you dropped out of

high school.

Probably watched a lot of TV during those times, right?

I did other things, too.

Do you have a lot of daydreams and fantasies while you're watching TV or

while you're unemployed?

Objection. Mr. Cleary's television habits are of no relevance here.

Your Honor, since the quote-unquote evidence in this case is in Mr. Cleary's

mind, we have to find out what else was in there.

I'll allow it, but get to the point, Mr. Wilson.

Mr. Cleary, isn't it a fact that you were unemployed at the time this memory

came back to you?

Yes. Watching a lot of TV then?

I didn't have money for much else.

Probably had some fantasies, too. Better job?

Who wouldn't? Making that winning touchdown?

Dating a beautiful woman?

Oh.

Background says you have a little trouble in that area.

Objection. Badgering.

Get to the point, Mr. Wilson.

Your Honor, I believe the point's been made.

This man's head is a treasure chest of dreams and fantasies to make up for a

botched life.

I respectfully submit that his memory about Mr. Bryant is nothing more than a

desperate search for a scapegoat.

I still don't get this case, Tess.

Wilson made mincemeat out of Cleary.

I don't think so.

Face the facts, Tess. Any way you cut this case, it comes down to one man's

word against another.

There's no physical evidence, no witnesses, no motive, no nothing.

This Cleary's pain.

That lunatic who begs for change outside the courthouse is in pain, too.

What if he came in here and said it was because Bryant seduced him 20 years ago?

I ain't got a snowball's chance in hell, do I?

It's okay, Ellie.

Sit down, Cleary.

Sorry it got so rough in there today.

That's the law, huh, Mr. Gold?

Afraid so.

It's just a bunch of mumbo-jumbo.

That Wilson's good.

He's even got me thinking I made the whole thing up.

You can't think that way.

Everybody else does.

Well, I'm going to make this real easy for you folks. I'm just going to drop

this thing.

You can't do it. I appreciate everything you've done for me, Ms. Kaufman.

I'm sorry to put you to so much work for nothing.

But there's no justice in the world.

And I don't need this grief.

I've already got enough.

You've got the capability.

You mean drag my horse across the finish line before I shoot it? You know,

Cleary, you're not the only person that life's been unfair to.

I'm aware of that.

I did watch Brian's trial.

He'll win this one, too.

Well, maybe winning is not the issue here.

I wasn't aware that lawyers thought about anything else.

I do.

I think about your self-respect, and you should, too. I gave it up in a book room

15 years ago.

But then take it back.

If you don't, this thing will never leave you alone.

Brian's going to be free no matter what I do.

Well, maybe that's true.

Win or lose, you still open the doors, make it a whole lot tougher on the next

Brian and a lot easier on the next William Cleary to speak up and protect

himself.

Think about it, Cleary.

At least leave you a little dignity at the end of the day.

Your witness.

Ms. Kaufman?

No one's attacking Dr. Spencer personally, but he refused to publish my

findings because I intuited traumatic memory recollection from the recall of

non-traumatized subjects.

A memory is a reconstruction of fragmented composition.

This composition, colored with emotion and fantasy, does not compute as a coach

in some of its parts. In someone like William Cleary, the autobiographical

memory bank could contain a deposit of sexual assault, which is in fact

displaced guilt over... an imagined contribution to his father's death, the

result of unresolved Oedipal conflicts.

Cleary's right.

It's all mumbo-jumbo.

The question is, is our mumbo-jumbo better than their mumbo

-jumbo?

I make it sound like we're selling snake oil?

Gee, where would you ever get an idea like that?

Your Honor, as Dr. Belknap so clearly articulated, memories are

reconstructions. They aren't real.

William Cleary tried to make them real because he needed to. He needed to find

an explanation for a life gone awry because of his father's death.

If you acquiesce to the people's demands and overturn the statute of

limitations... Not only will you open the door to every neurotic and psychotic

who's not capable of resolving his own problems, but you will prolong the

unspeakable harassment and persecution of James Bryant, who's already given up

three years of his life, years that cannot be returned.

If William Cleary had gone awry, Your Honor, It was because of the trauma of

sexual assault.

William Cleary has been haunted his entire life by something undefinable,

terrifying, and incomprehensible. At work, playing ball with friends,

dating, he was unable to confide in anyone, trust anyone,

get comfort from anyone.

William Cleary has emotionally and visually...

relived this event while trying desperately to maintain gainful

employment, while trying to sleep, while trying to have a normal life.

If the court rules in Mr. Bryant's favor, it will reward him for picking

a young, vulnerable victim for whom repression of this truly vile act was

the only coping mechanism available.

And James Bryan should not be rewarded.

If anything, William Cleary should be rewarded for surviving and for having

the courage to face this terrible memory after having to hide from it for so many

years.

I have listened to the people's and the defense's arguments, and I have reviewed

the pertinent and relevant case law.

admittedly we are on new ground here yet the court finds it would not serve the

purposes of justice to continue the mental anguish that william cleary has

already suffered without a hearing before a jury of his peers statute of

limitations is hereby overturned and the people may proceed against james bryant

the court sets next wednesday at 10 a.m for motions

Proud of yourself, William?

As a matter of fact, I think I am. You'll fold.

Sooner or later, you're gonna throw in the towel on this.

The trial's gonna be a lot rougher than this little charade.

You can't handle it.

You're too weak.

Hey, Bryant, for once, why don't you just... It's okay, Detective.

Maybe you're right.

Maybe not.

I guess I must have been weak. I wouldn't have to hide what you did to me

for so long. But you're strong, Bryant.

You lived with it all this time.

That's something I'm never gonna understand.

Trial will be rough.

Wilson is going to call every expert in town, and they will do everything they

can to poke holes in your... Excuse me.

Ms. Kaufman, I'm Amanda Jones.

My son Sam would like to speak to you.

Hello, Sam.

Hello.

My name is Samuel Winston Jones, and I want to...

Press charges against James Bryant.

I saw your

picture on TV.

Next to Mr. Bryant's.

I think a lot of people did.

I figure if he could do it, and he's old, I could do it.

I hate Mr.

Bryant. He did a very bad thing to both of us.

And we can't let him get away with that.

You scared, Sam?

Little.

Are you?

A little.

But not so much.

Not that I know you'll help me.

Miss Morgan.

What do you want?

I'm not sure.

I'm involved in this other case.

Um... James Bryan.

Yeah. I seen the papers on the TV.

All them rich little white kids.

Front page headlines.

My Freddy got three lines on page 27.

Guess it happens too much around here to be news.

It shouldn't be that way.

You came down here to tell me that?

Man, you ought to just... Like I said, I... Don't know why I came down here.

Maybe because... I lost a boy.

Crib death.

Six months old.

Who knows what he might have become.

I can't make sense out of why he was taken away.

Just like I can't make any sense out of why kids are running around the streets

with guns, I am sorry for what happened, ma'am.

I'm truly sorry.

All you're understanding don't do me a bitter good.

Come on.

Thanks.

I went to see Biffy and Morgan, the mother of the kid that I killed.

Yeah, I feel bad.

I feel bad that this kid...

Took some wrong turns and ended up dead.

I feel bad about Cleary and this little boy, Sam.

And all those other kids who... Bryant and... Guys like

him, victimized day after day.

Well, there won't be as many because of you.

Don't you ever give up?

That is why I like you.

I've been thinking about my little boy who died, Tess.

In my mind...

He's this perfect kid.

Great athlete.

Cures cancer.

Becomes president.

Can easily outmaneuver someone like Brian. Or he could tell me about it so I

could protect him.

God, I miss him real bad.

I'm sorry.

I didn't come here to cry in your shoe.

What did you do?

Just to thank you.

Maybe I couldn't have protected my boy.

But what you did today...