All language subtitles for Law and order S13E16 - Suicide Box

NARRATOR:
In the criminal justice system

the people are represented by two
separate yet equally important groups,

the police who investigate crime

and the district attorneys
who prosecute the offenders.

These are their stories.

Couple ofjabs.
Couple ofjabs. Boom!

A right cross
and that's all he wrote.

You're gonna knock out Coop?

Speed, my friend.
No, not speed. Quicks.

Two rounds tops.

JIM: I'll tell you what. You knock out Coop
in two rounds, beers are on me for a month.

You in on this?
Coop's a southpaw.

ROB: So?
You ever fight a southpaw?

Burger, rare.
Fries crispy, guys.

That man has the bladder
of a fruit fly.

No. A beer says it's not
his bladder that's aching.

No. No, no.

I said no, Adam.
Come on, no one cares.

I do!

I got a husband, damn it.
Didn't bother you last week.

I made a mistake.

So what does that mean?
You figure it out.

Hey!

I got a gun. I'll use it.

JIM: He's not gonna catch me.

ROB: Catch you? Yeah.
One punch and I'm down.

Jab. Jab. Cross. Uppercut.
If Coop hits back?

ROB: Bob and weave.
Bob and weave.

JIM: Black and blue. Black and blue.
(GUNSHOTS)

(CAR TIRES SQUEALING)

Shots fired, MOS down. Rush the bus.
43rd and 11th.

Give her room, damn it! Back up!
Give her room! Hang on, Alice.

ADAM: Alice Cushman.
She works the 31.

You too, huh?
Yeah. I just talked to her.

What about?
I went to take a leak.

It was a "hello" outside the men's room.
Nothing heavy.

Anybody else talk "heavy"
to her in the past? Why?

Just helps to get a fix on who
the victim is, that's all.

I saw her in the house
every morning before call.

"Morning." "You see the game?" Stuff
about Rickie. Stuff like that?

Who's Rickie? Her son, 17 months.
Real cutie.

I seen pictures.

Paramedic says she's gonna make it.
Shoulder through-and-through.

She's just mostly in shock.

Adam Brennan.
Any fix on the shooter?

Maybe I should be asking you
that question.

You were the first one out
of the diner, right?

I was inside.

You know, Alice has got a husband.
Maybe I should call him.

Why don't you give us
his number.

I can get it for you.
Great.

I think Officer Brennan knows a
lot more than he's telling us.

What, a little birdie
told you that?

You and I've been partnered,
what, four years?

He knows the exact age
of the victim's kid.

So?

So, forget about
how old my daughter is,

you even know
what state she lives in?

Hey, the busboy saw a blue car speed
around that corner after the shots.

The plates had three numbers followed by three
letters, the last two were "U" and "V".

I don't think the
first one was "L".

The Commissioner's talking
about a task force.

What, over two cops, who each
have a spouse on the side,

sweating up the sheets?

Lennie's been watching
too much Dr. Phil.

I don't know who that is but if he's
got a cure for marital infidelity

on the job we ought to
put him on retainer.

On the other hand, half of the 31 ends
up at the Market Diner for coffee.

If someone was holding a grudge
against Officer Cushman,

they'd know to find her there.

Witness says the shooter was
moving at a pretty good clip.

Could have been he wasn't picky,

as long as
you were wearing blue.

Well, let's hope
to hell Lennie's right.

(TELEPHONE RINGS) Yeah?

Okay.
They'll be right there.

She's awake.

Don thinks I should have quit
the job after we got married.

He thinks a woman's place
is making dinner and babies.

Tell me I'm wrong now.
Well...

Tell him this was a freak thing.

ALICE: It's not like there's anyone
out there gunning for me, Don.

Well, actually
we can't confirm or deny.

Oh, yeah, all those
parking tickets,

I knew I should have
worn a Kevlar bra.

You wear a uniform.

There could be some nut out
there gunning for all cops!

I'm just saying
we got a new baby.

By the way, your pal, Adam
Brennan, sends his best.

Who?
Just one of the cops.

My wife!

Just one of the boys!

She's out partying and I'm
stuck home changing diapers.

What, it's my fault
no one's hiring?

Look, I really didn't see
the guy or the car.

(CLEARS THROAT) Look, Doc says I should
get some sleep if you don't mind?

You know where to find us.

Okay. You were right. Once.

ADAM: Okay. We rented a room
twice.

It's not like it was this
hot-and-heavy kind of thing.

I'm happily married.
How happy is your wife?

Very. And if it's okay with you,
I'd like to keep her that way.

That's why I didn't say
anything last night.

You're a real ace with
secrets, huh, Brennan.

How happy is Alice's marriage?
ADAM: You think Don?

No way.

BRISCOE: What, he's not
the possessive type?

She says he didn't have a clue.

And if he did, he'd be
taking shots at me, not her.

Did Alice get "personal"
with anybody besides you?

No way. She's a good girl.

Could we...
Yeah, yeah.

New York's finest.
Hey, he cheats on his wife.

You built a new wing on some
casino in Atlantic City.

I liked the liquid refreshment
a little too much.

We're dogs, every one of us.

No wonder the public thinks
so highly of us.

Oh, no, they love us. They have to.
(CELL PHONE RINGING)

When they run away from
something, we run toward it.

Yeah, Green.

Okay. Could you do me a favor?
Get that over to Forensics.

All right. Cool. Thanks, man.

A BMW was clipped last night around the
corner from the scene by a blue car.

Could be our shooter.

I parked it in front of my house two
nights ago when I got home. I overslept.

The next morning it was gone. Why
didn't you report it stolen?

Because I thought
you guys towed it.

And you didn't call
Parking Enforcement to check?

I didn't have the money to claim it
back until next week's pay check.

Took me an hour-and-a-half
on the bus to get here.

Does anybody else have
access to the car, Ms. Thomas?

Like who?
A kid, for instance.

My son is dead.

So, you did your good deed
telling me it was stolen.

You can go now.
I got work to do.

You don't understand,
Ms. Thomas.

Whoever took your car may have
tried to shoot a police officer.

Oh, that sure explains it.
ED: Explains what?

How hard would you have looked
if it was me reported it stolen?

So much for your theory
about the public loving us.

Well, there's an exception
to every rule.

Well, hopefully she don't
work every night. Hey!

ED: How you doing? Can we talk
to you about Janet Thomas?

Who'd she kill?

Now why would you say that?
She's got a temper, that one.

Thinks the world owes her.

Last night she screamed at me because I
took the last milk in the Nurses' Lounge.

So she was here all night?
Until midnight.

You don't know
the problems that caused.

ED: What you mean, she don't
care for the graveyard shift?

Well, just the opposite.

Well, they wanted to put her on days,
but she raised all kinds of hell.

Says she's got to be home when her
son gets home from high school.

Her son?

She told us her kid died.

Looks like she's lying
to someone.

Well, why do you suppose she wouldn't
tell us she had another kid?

I don't know.
Let's ask him.

Thank you.

(SCHOOL BELL RINGS)

BRISCOE: Back when
I was using Clearasil,

we didn't have to walk
through metal detectors.

When you were 18, I doubt if you
could buy a semi-automatic weapon

on every street corner.

Wait. Are you saying Stevie...
No. No.

He smokes some weed.
Cuts some classes.

Nothing out of the ordinary.

Unfortunately, that's a truth the
times have made me live with.

If you wait here,
I'll bring him out.

All I can say is
I'm glad my kid is grown.

I'm glad I'm grown.

Look, I don't know
what you think I've done.

It's not me, Stevie. It's
the detectives want a word.

Man, I ain't do nothing!

I ain't do... Yeah. You can tell
me all about it down at the squad.

Come on.

Alice Cashman.
Don't know her.

BRISCOE: Cushman.
And she's a cop.

Well, maybe she was getting a payoff under
the table or something. I don't know.

Where did you come up with that?

That's what they do, ain't it?

How old are you?
What's it matter?

There's something
you ought to know, Stevie.

My partner here, he's famous all
over the city for his temper.

You can tell your partner to kiss my ass.
I ain't done nothing.

Not like it makes
no difference though.

You haven't been reading
the papers, have you, kid?

Cops are heroes now.

Not to me, they ain't.
You know what, Lennie?

I think you could use
a cup of coffee.

(DOOR CLOSES)

Let me tell you something,
Stevie.

That little attitude of yours,
that might play on the street,

but from this moment on,

all it's gonna do is dig you in
a hole you can't get out of.

Man, I can handle it!
Hey, man, you shot a cop.

People around here, including
me, don't appreciate that.

So, what! "Officer Tom's" gonna
rescue me now? Oh, hell, no.

I'm just telling you what's what.
After that, it's up to you.

So what? You get some kind of raise
to take a brother off the street?

That's right, man. For every 10 I
bring in I get an extra day's pay.

If he's got a big mouth,
I get two days!

If I bring him in a little bloody, the
man gives me a damn toaster oven!

The best thing for you to do,
Stevie, is for you to talk to me.

Gimme a reason why?
I am your last chance, bra!

You shot a white cop.

Nobody else in this building wants
to listen to your little ass.

You want me to say I'm sorry?

The only thing I'm sorry about
is that cop is still alive.

You don't even have a record!

Now I know you didn't
wake up one day and say,

"I'm going out
and shoot me a cop today!"

What do you know!
Stevie.

Tell me why, please.

You think I don't know you?
I know everything about you.

Whitey gets shot or gets a hangnail,
they snap and Tom comes running.

But my brother gets shot. (SOBBING)
And no one... No one does nothing.

No one gives a damn!
No one but me!

So what, you take down a cop,
just to even things out?

That's right.
You better believe it.

Your client didn't ask for an
attorney until after he confessed.

Well, be that as it may,
he's just a child.

It just so happens his 18th
birthday was last week.

So he's not entitled to have a parent
with him in the interrogation room.

Eighteen.

Let me ask you, Lieutenant,
when you were 18,

would you have been capable
of holding your own alone,

in a closed room
with two homicide detectives?

I wouldn't have popped
three rounds at a cop.

I would have thought the air in
here would be more sympathetic.

Now why would you think that?

Do I offend you, Lieutenant?

You know, the truth is, Counselor,
I've seen you in action.

I've seen you turn a simple assault
into Brown v. Board of Education.

When the sheet fits...

Your client shot an innocent
cop, a wife, a mother.

Because his brother was
murdered eight years ago

and a whole bunch of other innocent
cops shined him and his mother on.

Which is a fact you can take up

with the District Attorney,
Counselor.

Who, if they ever get around
to it, will quickly see

this is not the kind of case they
want to put in front of a jury.

Have a nice day.

There he goes. Johnnie
Cochran without the rhyme.

He's just saying
what we already know.

Let's not pretend Joe Cop
moves with the same speed

when the call's to 125th and
Lennox than to 63rd and Park.

Okay. 1994. The 16 investigated
the murder of an Eric Thomas.

ED: You call up the file?

All the current database had was
the name and "case closed."

There you go.

That means we caught the guy
who killed Eric Thomas

and now his kid brother and his esteemed
attorney are trying to pull a fast one.

You know, we should talk
to the lead detective.

That'll be hard to do
without a séance.

Lead detective was a guy
named Nick Helms.

I went to his funeral
about six years ago.

ED: Well, I hope you brought
your antihistamine.

Why?
You ever been to "Dead Files"?

Whoa. Whoa. The computer
said the case is closed.

Well, this one isn't.

And this kid's
whole defense is that

we screwed up on his brother's
murder investigation.

So what? So I, for one,
would like to know how bad.

Bottom line, Ed,
no matter what we find,

it doesn't justify that kid
shooting at a cop.

It could affect sentencing.

And if God had wanted man
to have fair trials

he would have given the jury Pentium
processors instead of prejudices.

Hey, all I'm saying is people bring a whole
lot of baggage into everything they do

and lawyers, like Halpert, know
how to make the worst of it.

Here's all I got.

"All you got"?
What does that mean?

Most of the file looks lost.

Lost? This is file storage.
How do you lose a file?

Eight years.

CLERK: I'll put out an APB, but based
on past experience, odds aren't good.

I'm starting to think
Halpert is right.

Complaint was called in by a neighbor
who found the body on 128th Street.

Cops arrived at 1:48 a.m.
And found Eric Thomas dead.

You hear what I said? Weapon was a
Ruger found four feet from the body.

Should be in the
Property Clerk's unit.

But the death certificate and
final autopsy report are missing.

Lennie...

Hey, Ed, what do you want from me? I
sold my plantation over a century ago.

All I'm saying is,

where do they store the homicide
files for the rich, white kids?

I think we can worry
about that another time,

because Stevie's brother
Eric wasn't murdered.

He committed suicide.

Of course their report said
Eric committed suicide.

That way the cops never had
to investigate the crime,

that way they can sweep the life
of another innocent black child

underneath their very
white carpets.

Hey, he was just
getting warmed up.

He can try his case
in the press,

but that doesn't mean
I have to listen to it.

The kid shot at a cop for no reason
other than that she was a cop.

What does he want?

Dead Files sent this over.
It was filed under "E".

"E" for Eric, that makes sense.

Says here that the weapon
was melted down

three years after the case
was deemed a suicide.

Your boy Helms interviewed somebody
named Jason Hendri three times.

What about the death
certificate or autopsy report?

Well, it must be filed
with Hendri's statement.

Well, let's hope he remembers seeing
Eric Thomas put one in his own head.

Jason, I'm Detective Green.
This is Detective Briscoe.

We want to talk to you
about Eric Thomas.

What about him?
We're looking into his death.

A little late, aren't you?

Well, it's come up
in connection...

Why'd I care about that?

BRISCOE: We found your name
in the file.

It seems you told Detective Helms
that you saw the shooting.

(LAUGHS)

(EXHALES FORCEFULLY)

We want to laugh, too, man.

What's in it for me?

That nice warm feeling you get
from doing the right thing.

You're serving three
consecutive life sentences,

a few years off one of them
ain't gonna do much.

Wanna know why I was laughing?

I mean, what's it been, seven, eight years
you all haven't figured it out yet?

ED: Figured out what?

Yeah, I saw the son-of-a-bitch
who shot Eric Thomas.

Pretty hard not to see when you the
son-of-a-bitch who pulled the trigger.

You?

(WHISPERING) Pow!

You know,
it never ceases to amaze,

the extent some people will go to prove
their ignorance, fear and hatred.

No cameras here, Carl. No
need to waste the sound bite.

Hey, let's discuss the mother of all
sound bites, "To protect and serve."

Actually, I prefer
the unexpurgated version,

"To protect and serve them
that look like us."

I'm glad to see
you haven't lost a step.

I'm just getting started.

A suicide but no autopsy report?
Give me a break.

A felony defense based on
incompetent office personnel?

Oh, Jack, you're giving them
too much credit.

Let me spell this one
out for you, "cover up."

Nobody lost anything.

That's right.
I saw your press conference.

The cops didn't investigate it in
the first place. That's right.

Why bother to investigate

when you can get one of your lackeys
to check the little suicide box.

Neat. Clean. No fuss. No muss. Best
of all everyone's home for dinner.

Even if that were true, vengeance
isn't a defense for attempted murder.

I'm not sure this even rises
to the level of vengeance.

Officer Cushman wasn't even on
the force when Eric Thomas died.

The criminal acts
against my client

weren't committed by an individual
but by the entire system.

Now, you call a murder a suicide

and the victim's family is
robbed ofjustice under the law.

This is nonsense. It's obvious you
just want to inflame the jury.

Big picture, Ms. Southerlyn.

This case is not
about a devastated kid,

it's about Jim Crow, new and improved
racism with a felt-tipped pen.

All I have to do is point the
jury in the right direction

and they'll do exactly
what they should.

Let your people go?

(CHUCKLES) Yeah. Perhaps. But
I'll settle for Stevie Thomas.

Carl, Carl.

I'm sure you had better things to do with
this morning than spend it here with me.

Simple assault. No time.

He shot a cop,
you know I can't do that.

As always, my brother, time
with you, is time well spent.

Ms. Southerlyn.

We can move to exclude all evidence
of Eric Thomas' death as irrelevant.

Or we can cut it off
at the pass.

If we can prove beyond a doubt
that it was a suicide,

we essentially prove that the
police didn't do anything wrong.

Start with whoever it was that
wielded that felt-tipped pen.

RODGERS: I put in a request
to records after you called.

My luck was about
the same as the cops.

Files don't just disappear.
Really?

What city do you work for?

The good news,
we did come up with a name,

Gail Berardi performed
the autopsy on Eric Thomas.

Great. If nobody's
misplaced her, that is.

Yeah. You might
be better off.

Gail left the M.E.'s Office a few years
ago to become a private consultant.

The parting wasn't
what you would call sweet.

What are you telling me, this woman
ransomed her autopsy reports?

With Gail Berardi,
nothing would surprise me.

I don't remember the case.

The M.E.'s Office seems to
think you have the files.

It's possible. I'll take a
look and get back to you.

When?
I don't know.

When I get around to it.

I'm being called as an expert
tomorrow in Hartford. Next week, LA.

I don't think
I made myself clear.

This file is going to be evidence
in an attempted murder case.

I don't think I made myself clear,
it's not my problem anymore.

Goodbye.

Dr. Berardi's files are
evidence in a felony trial.

Subpoena them. That's the
first thing I threatened.

But what's evidence to us
is work product to her.

She'd fight it for sure.

This woman rents herself out as
an expert witness, doesn't she?

You want to hire her?
No.

But no one else will either

if we charge her with embezzlement
of government property.

SERENA: Dr. Berardi took files
when she left the M.E.'s Office.

Her personal files,
which she had every right to.

As an employee of the State those files
were produced at behest of the State.

They were in effect
"works for hire"

and were and remain
her employer's property.

What is it we're talking about here?
Research? Time cards?

Autopsy reports.

Shame on you.

SERENA: Thank you, Your Honor.

And shame on you for trying to
swat flies with SCUD missiles.

This is a civil matter,
Counselor.

If you want to argue
about personal property

you should take it up with
people who actually give a damn

about this sort of nonsense.

Your Honor...
You've got a colorable claim

and I use that term very freely.

Although I'd love to, I can't in
good conscience dismiss the charges.

So what do you say, Doc?

Give the lady her files or you're
looking at one major headache.

These notes are better organized and
more detailed than most of what I see.

The cause of death was a single
gunshot wound to the skull.

Consistent with suicide?

No. I said organized and detailed.
I didn't say complete.

Why aren't I surprised?

There's nothing here regarding the position
of either entrance or exit wounds.

Trace gunshot residue is
referenced but taken alone,

that's not enough
to say for sure.

See, you really need to examine
the beveling of the bone.

We typically keep
photos and scale drawings.

Do you think
Berardi held them back?

Oh, you'd never be able
to prove it if she did.

Documents from closed files are often used
for research, teaching, statistical studies.

Her reports could be anywhere
between here and Albany.

So you're telling me I won
the battle and lost the war?

Not necessarily.

You've still got
a fighting chance

if you get me the skull
of Eric Thomas.

You people. You tossed one of
my boys off like he's garbage.

Now you want me
to pull him from his grave?

If Eric were my son, I'd want to
know for sure what happened to him.

I always knew what happened.
Now I know how and who.

Of course. I understand.
What do you understand?

You don't care a damn about Eric. You
just want to save some cops' butts.

Those are some pretty
harsh words, Mrs. Thomas.

You earned them.

Eight years you people have
kept me dangling on a string.

Well, I'm not dancing
for you no more.

I don't care how many
strings you try to pull.

Of course not.

How about you let me talk to Mrs.
Thomas, mother-to-mother?

Thanks.

You know, it's a funny thing, Mrs.
Thomas,

we have a laundry room
in the basement of my building

and a couple of weeks ago I went down to
move a load from the washer to the dryer

and I noticed that my box of detergent
was missing and I knew who did it.

Mrs. Ross, second floor,
real scavenger, that one.

You got a point?

Yeah, I got a point.

A week later,

my son, my oldest, Stefan, gets
into a fist fight with Andy Ross.

It seems
he called his mother a thief.

Hatred isn't inherited,
Mrs. Thomas.

It's learned.

I didn't talk Stevie into doing this,
if that's where you're headed.

I think I can understand how
angry you must be, how hurt.

Now, I can see it in your
eyes and we just met.

I can only imagine
what Stevie felt like

looking at those eyes
for eight long years.

He had to feel small, powerless,

unable to ease
his mother's pain.

He just turned 18, right?

Yeah.

So now how could he become a man if he
couldn't stop his mama's suffering?

Stevie traded his life
to ease your hurt.

The least you can do
is make it mean something.

Prove to the world that your
oldest was really murdered

and I swear to you
I will personally go after

whoever was responsible
for covering it up.

Oh, God. Oh, God!

(SOBBING)
Help! Help me!

The funeral home was owned
by Douglas Lexhall.

Was?
He was convicted

four years ago for selling
corpses without permission

to foreign medical schools.

The A.D.A. Handling the case thought
they'd ID'd all of the missing bodies.

That is a real comfort.

With the way this case has
been handled to date,

I wouldn't be surprised
if Eric Thomas just got fed up

and decided to walk off
on his own!

Missing files.
Missing bodies.

I for one would like to display

at least a modicum
of competency at my job.

And if my office can't convict a kid
who confessed to shooting a cop,

then I'm not gonna get
many more opportunities.

Halpert's insisting that
Stevie Thomas does no time.

(CHUCKLES)

What the hell? At my age,
I should be fishing anyway.

JACK: On February 4th,
at approximately 10:15 p.m.,

Stevie Thomas was not at home
working on his physics homework.

He was not watching the Knicks
beat the Clippers on television.

He was not talking
to his friends on the phone.

On February 4th,
at approximately 10:15 p.m.,

Stevie Thomas was
in his mother's car,

without her knowledge,

driving past the Market Diner
over on 11th Avenue.

On February 4th,
at approximately 10:15 p.m.,

police officer Alice Cushman
exited the Market Diner

after having a cup of coffee with several
other officers from the 31st Precinct.

She was on her way home.

She was thinking about kissing her
sleeping baby, Rickie, on the forehead.

On February 4th,
at approximately 10:15 p.m.,

Stevie Thomas had a.38 caliber
revolver in his hand.

He fired three times
from his mother's car.

One of those bullets struck
Officer Cushman in the shoulder.

Defense counsel will present a
bevy of possible explanations.

But in a court of law
in the State of New York,

they have nothing
to do with the case.

Stevie Thomas shot a cop.

That's all that matters.

Your opening statement,
Mr. Halpert?

I think I'll pass, Your Honor.

Actually, I didn't know
what happened.

I remember a flash of light,
wheels screeching,

a shooting pain
running down my side,

and then I guess I passed out.

Could you identify the car?

It was blue.
Kind of old.

A Pontiac, I think.
It happened fast.

JACK: The driver?

ALICE: The most I could tell
was that it was a male.

JACK: Had you ever had any dealings with
the defendant prior to the shooting?

I never saw him
face-to-face until today.

JACK: Any members of
his family?

ALICE: Not that I'm aware of.

Thank you, officer.

So other than being male, you can't
tell us anything about the driver?

He was African American,
if that's what you mean.

That's exactly what I mean.

Nothing more, Your Honor.

Forensics determined that the
bullet taken out of Officer Cushman

was from a.38

that was found in the trunk of an
abandoned car in Long Island City.

The car was registered
to one Janet Thomas.

Did there ever come a time

when you personally spoke to
the defendant, Stevie Thomas?

Yes.

My partner, Detective Briscoe and I brought
him down to the squad for questioning.

And what happened?

He confessed
to shooting Officer Cushman.

What did Detective Briscoe say
after Stevie confessed?

He wasn't in the room.
Really?

I could have sworn you just testified
that the two of you questioned my client.

Detective Briscoe was in the room
for part of the interrogation.

He left before
the defendant confessed.

I see.

So from now on we'd best assume

what you tell us
is "kind of" the truth.

Tag-teaming a suspect is often the most
efficient way of interrogating him.

It throws the suspect off.

Sometimes he forgets what he told one
detective and he changes his story.

Either way, the other detective

is monitoring the interrogation
from the observation room.

Did you question Stevie
about where he got the car?

Yes.

About the shooting?
Yes.

And there was something else,
something about a new toaster oven.

That was a figure of speech.

HALPERT: I never heard it used
in the context

of a police interrogation
before.

Why don't you explain it to me?

Your client was being
completely disrespectful.

And you thought
toast would help?

He was denigrating me as a cop.

And you got mad?
No.

I was always in control.

Isn't it true you told Stevie that the
department gives out toaster ovens

for every African American child
you beat the crap out of?

I wasn't serious.

You were joking?

Yes. That's right.

What did your partner,
who you've already testified

was watching through the glass,

what did he do when
you "joked" with my client?

He watched.
A white cop just watched

while his partner
threatened a black boy?

Does this happen often?
Objection.

JUDGE: Sustained.

Withdrawn.

Tell me, Detective.
Whose prints are on that.38?

It was wiped clean.

So you have no way of proving
exactly who fired it?

ED: Your client confessed.

After you threatened
to beat him silly!

I didn't threaten him.

When a jury is involved, the
truth doesn't always matter.

Especially this jury.

What are you saying,
"Especially this jury"?

What's different
about this jury,

that they wouldn't
recognize the truth?

Halpert wants to show

how irresponsible the force is when
dealing with the black community.

He gave you the brush,
Detective,

and you painted the exact
picture he was looking for.

So can't you paint
a different picture?

How? I don't have
any more witnesses.

The People rest, your Honor.

At this time, Your Honor, the defense is
prepared to proceed with its opening statement.

Chambers, Your Honor.

You can't open
in the middle of a trial.

I don't see why not?

The Court rules give me
the right

to give an opening statement
to the jury.

They don't specify
when I have to give it.

The plain language of the rule

suggests that it was intended to be
given at the opening of the trial.

Well, that's funny, I thought it
meant at the "opening" of my case.

This is merely a way for counsel

to divert the jury's focus from
the People's case-in-chief.

It would provide
a distinct advantage.

HALPERT: Well, let's talk
about advantages.

Which side gets to sit spitting
distance from the jury?

Who gets
to open first and close last?

If you forgot,
it's the State on both counts.

I'm just trying to offset the
overwhelming advantage the State has

the moment we open
the doors to the courtroom.

I never thought of that.

Well, you've never been
a defendant.

The rules don't prohibit it,
so why should I?

HALPERT: You know,
before I got here today,

I joined an acquaintance
of mine on line

at a coffee truck
around the corner.

We reached the counter and we both
ordered a cup of coffee and a Danish.

Unfortunately, there was
only one Danish left

and the man at the counter
gave it to my friend.

He was white. I was mad.

Now here I was,
an established attorney

who'd argued before this
country's Supreme Court

and yet this "slight"
made my blood boil.

Not because I had my heart set
on that Danish, no,

but because for that moment
in time I was invisible.

Now just imagine
how mad I would have been

if I wasn't an attorney,

if I was an 18-year-old boy.

If it wasn't some ignoramus
behind a coffee counter

who made me disappear,
but the police.

Imagine how mad I'd have been

if I wasn't turned invisible for a
moment, but for eight long years.

Stevie Thomas's big brother, Eric,
was murdered eight years ago.

The police made the case disappear
by calling it a suicide.

They kept it invisible by not only losing
the records but his brother's body.

Now. As you listen to my case,
please keep two things in mind:

Stevie's prints
were not on the weapon.

And there are no witnesses
to put him at the scene.

I knew Eric Thomas from around.

You were friends?
I wouldn't go that far.

Tell us about the last time you
saw him, if you could. Sure.

Maybe eight years ago, it was
at night, maybe 9:00, 9:30.

We got into, like, a scuffle.
And what happened?

HENDRl: Eric wasn't
all that tough.

He tried to run, I put a round
through the back of his head.

You shot him?
That's right.

Were you ever questioned by the
police regarding this shooting?

Sure, but I gave them
some song and dance.

You're currently incarcerated at
Sing Sing State Penitentiary,

are you not, Mr. Hendri?

That's right. Three
counts of murder.

When do you expect to get out?

I don't.

So, you have no reason to lie,
do you?

You have no reason to tell the
truth either, isn't that right?

Huh?

The State can't do anything more to
you, so why not have a little fun,

get your name in the paper,
your face on the news.

All I know is, I shot him smack
in the back of the head.

It was Detective Helms working the case.
He told me he was dead.

Did he ever once say
your son committed suicide?

Not at first.

So, initially, he told you
Eric was murdered?

It was more than once.

Every time he told me he was getting
close to finding the killer.

Then one day he tells me
to stop calling him.

Eric killed himself, he said.
He's off the case.

Did you believe him?

I knew my son. I knew there was no
way he would take his own life.

So I went to his Lieutenant
and then his Captain.

Both of them told me there
was nothing they could do.

They said Eric committed suicide

and I should stop bothering
them and get on with my life.

Were Eric and Stevie close?

Since my husband passed away,

Eric was like both his
brother and his father.

Eric would do anything
for Stevie.

And Stevie loved him
more than he loved himself.

To have him murdered, to have his memory
treated like trash by the police...

As one of the
Assistant Medical Examiners,

it was my function
to perform autopsies.

And you performed the autopsy
on Eric Thomas, did you?

That was eight years ago.

I don't remember, but if the records
show that I did, I won't argue.

I show you what has been
marked Defendant's Exhibit D.

Do you recognize it,
Dr. Berardi?

Those are my initials, yes.

Please tell the court
what it is.

We call it
the M.E.'s Summary Report.

It contains
the bottom line on a case?

That's correct.

Typically, there are detailed
reports found inside the folder.

But, alas, this one's empty.

Could that mean that the
detailed work you spoke of

was not performed in this case?

Absolutely not.

I couldn't have completed the
summary if I hadn't done the work.

And you know it was a suicide
because this little box is checked?

That's correct.

While at the M.E.'s office, I
performed thousands of autopsies

and I followed the exact same
procedure with each of them.

Okay, tell us what happens after
you check the little suicide box.

The case is deemed closed.

And the detectives stop working?

That's correct.

So, hypothetically,
if a detective was stumped

or if he just didn't feel
like investigating the case,

you could help him out
by making a little check here.

That is absurd.

But it's possible.

Dr. Berardi, I show you what
we'll call People's 17.

Do you recognize it?

Yes, these are my notes from
the autopsy of Eric Thomas.

Now, earlier, we heard

Mr. Jason Hendri testify that he shot
Eric Thomas in the back of the head.

Is there anything in these notes
that might confirm that statement?

Actually, quite the opposite.

I can state as a fact that Mr. Thomas
was not shot in the back of the head.

Please explain.

There were two holes in the
deceased's skull. Here and here.

In the occipital
and temporal bones.

The pattern of gunshot residue indicates
that the entrance wound was here.

Then in your opinion
Mr. Hendri lied

when he testified
that he murdered Mr. Thomas

by shooting him
in the back of the head.

That's correct.

This all happened
eight years ago

and I cannot say for sure
what happened.

But because the suicide box
was checked,

I would have to assume that there
were sufficient forensic markers

to conclude that
this was not a homicide.

JACK: Thank you, Dr. Berardi.

(QUIETLY) I may have
misunderstood Rodgers,

but I think Berardi's taking
liberties with the truth.

Find out.

I'm glad there are no hard
feelings, Dr. Berardi.

Certainly appreciate your
coming down here.

After what I did for you in court
today, I'd expect champagne.

Don't get me wrong. I like
winning as much as the next guy

but I don't like winning
with partially true testimony.

You think I lied?

Dr. Rodgers tells us that
gunshot residue by itself

is not enough to determine
entrance and exit wounds.

She told us that you'd have to examine
the beveling of the bones as well.

We'd like to know why you omitted
that from your testimony.

Hey, you go to hell!

You made it perfectly clear
that I had to testify.

Do you know
I busted my ass for this city,

and they paid me back
by not paying me.

But I came down here
against my better judgment

to serve the city one more time
on a case I don't even remember.

Do you want to know what it
was like for me at that time?

I had 20 open cases
on my desk at any given time!

I was overworked and overtired.

SERENA: Are you saying
you made a mistake?

That you checked
the suicide box by mistake?

Haven't you ever made
a mistake, Counselor?

Haven't you ever forgotten
a crucial question,

forgotten a vital piece
of testimony?

(SCOFFS)

You know what, the truth
is I just don't know.

Thanks for meeting me here.

When I'm on trial I live on Frankie's
chili. Keeps the heart pumping.

You can trade it in for a steak.

I'm sorry, Jack, I can't
take a deal, especially now.

I'm going to redirect Berardi
first thing tomorrow.

She was tired. She was overworked.
She might have made a mistake.

Or maybe
it wasn't a mistake at all.

Look, Jack, if you were in my
position, who would you believe?

A white woman who's already
lied once on the stand

or a couple of centuries
of history.

This isn't about history.

Now, Jack, that was a very self-serving
rationalization and you know it.

To a large portion of this country,
it is always about history.

So you're fine with the next kid

who's unhappy with the cop on the
corner and decides to get a gun?

Of course not.

But maybe now that kid won't
be condemned to live the life

his father and grandfather
were forced to accept.

It's not going to end, is it?

(SIGHS)

Jack, try the chili.
It's really good.

JUDGE: Jury Foreman,
have you reached a verdict?

We have.

On the first count
of the indictment,

attempted murder in the first
degree, how do you find?

We find the defendant,
Steven Thomas, not guilty.

(EXCLAIMING HAPPILY)

Hello! You're not in a rush
to get home tonight?

You know, I used to
wake up in the morning,

brush my teeth, comb my hair, look in the
mirror and see a cop looking back at me.

Stevie Thomas
shattered that mirror?

Now I've got six eyes
looking back.

A cop. A black woman.
A mother.

That's lucky.

You know what Eric Thomas sees?

Nothing.