"The ticket window opens at 7:30." "They have that wine-bar thing I was telling you about 7:00." "What do you think?" "Yes, there are plans." "That is why they're called plans." "Exactly." "Okay, so, I'll see you later." "Bye." "How do you take it?" " What?" " Your coffee." "Uh, cream, no sugar." "Wilfredo Villamaria strangled his wife to death while she slept in their bed." "Trial starts today in Ventimiglia's part, and my egghead arresting officer is out for the week." "I need you to go down there and get me an adjournment." "Can I respectfully ask you to get someone else?" "I'm sort of crazed today." "I don't need somebody else, Michelle." "I need you." " It's an errand." " It's managing a finicky judge on a murder case I've been working for three years." "You're me... who in this office do you send?" "I'm you..." "I do it myself." "Believe me, if I could get out of this 10:00 circle jerk with the other bureau chiefs, I would." "What am I asking for, a couple of months?" "Feel him out." "Get what you can." "I trust you. transcripted by chamallow35" ""Trout Fishing"" "I've been telling Chris for weeks he's got to treat the time as an opportunity." "Well, it's tough for teenagers to see that." "He can see the concept." "It's just not real to him." "And that's why I got to make sure he gets these applications done now before it gets real." "What schools?" "Close to home..." "Stony brook, Ccny, Hunter, Rutgers." "Chris is a smart boy..." "Hmm, when supervised." "We're also gonna fill out the application for Columbia." "Wow." "Reaching for the improbable..." "Making sure Chris knows how to do that." "She definitely going in?" "She went after a woman her boyfriend was involved with." "Should have been over with a shove, but the woman fell, broke her nose." " Add in the prior misdemeanor assault." " She's going in." "Offer's a year." "I can cut it in half." "And she can handle the time." "I just have to keep her out for another six weeks so she can help her son finish his college applications." " When's the trial?" " About a half-hour from now..." "Farnsworth's part." "It's hard to picture Farnsworth granting you an adjournment." "Unless I'm on trial with someone else." " But you're not." " Ah, but I will be." "I've also got Vernon Johnson with Kessler." "He's been in 13 months, so she'll definitely put me on trial." "Meanwhile, Bobbi goes to Farnsworth, tells him I'm unavailable, and we get the adjournment for regina." "And Vernon's on board?" "He will be." "Trial?" "So, what, they're gonna say I stripped a car?" "And I'm gonna say what..." "No, I didn't?" "You're gonna say you fell asleep in the car, which is true." "And you ripped up the seat cushions to use them as a pillow, which is also true." "Plus I got the radio, Jerry." "I ain't got a story for that." "V..." "Vernon, I'm..." "I'm not saying we have a great shot at winning." " So, then, why are we doing it?" " Because a year and a half is a lousy deal, and I think there's a good chance that the D.A. will come down from that if we push hard enough." "By going to trial." "You've been charged with an "e" felony." "That means the best... the best the prosecution can get from a jury conviction is six months more than their offer." " That's small potatoes for them." " That's big potatoes to me..." " Me too..." " Real big potatoes." "...which is why if we play chicken," "I think they'll be the ones to blink." "They don't want to waste their resources, Vernon." "We do it right, maybe we can shake it down to a misdemeanor, have you walking out of here in a couple of days." "Couple of days?" "No guarantees." "But I think it's worth a try." "I really do." " You feel strongly about this?" " I do." "Jerry, you always have my back, so do your thing." " I'm with you." " All right, brother." "That's the problem with outrage." "It creates unreasonable expectations." "Nobody wanted to hear the justices suggest that there might be acceptable scenarios for a strip search." " Quinoa or brown rice with your salmon?" " Do you disagree?" "No." "I'm just trying to get a jump on the lunch rush." "Brown rice." "And remember, the only reason we're ordering like this is so that we can indulge at the end of the week." "I'm... not actually gonna be here on Thursday or Friday." " The judicial conference." " Did I know that?" "I'm supposed to sit on the law secretaries' panel." "I told you about six weeks ago." " Six weeks ago?" " And two weeks ago." "Oh." "Huh." "We've got the Johnson trial on the books starting today." "You're not gonna really need me for much, so..." " Johnson... remind me." " Auto stripping." "Okay, um, well, assuming we're on with the auto-stripping case, you're free to sit on your panel, but" "I'm just gonna have to order from otto mezzo without you." "And if there's a disposition?" "Well, McGee et al is up next, and I'm gonna need to have you around." "You anticipate problems?" "A three-defendant gun conspiracy?" "It's a minefield." "You know that." "In the long run, this conference is the sort of thing that will make me better at my job." "I don't need you to be better at your job." "I need you to do your job." "Number 12 on the calendar, docket ending 3575, Regina Daniels." "This matter is on for trial." "People ready?" "Yes, Judge." "Bobbi Gilardi for the office of the public defender." "Actually, Mr. Kellerman is on trial." "We'd like to adjourn until October 15th." "Where is Mr. Kellerman on trial?" "Judge Kessler's part." "Judge Kessler?" "Really?" "I don't see Judge Kessler on today's trial list." "I believe they started this morning, Your Honor." "That's funny, because we were all supposed to start this morning." "Don't you think that's funny, Miss Gilardi?" " Uh, y... yes, I do." " You're not laughing." "It's more contemplative sort of funny, Your Honor." "Right." " Are people ready?" " Yes, Judge." " Defense is ready, Your Honor." " Very well." "Shall we order up a panel?" "Jury selection will begin after lunch." "Hang tight." "I'll see you in a couple of hours." " Jerry." " How'd it go?" "Farnsworth wouldn't grant the adjournment." "What?" "He has to." "We're picking a jury after lunch." "Well, according to him, you're picking a jury at 11:00... in his courtroom." " What is this guy's problem?" " What can I say, Jerry?" "It's Farnsworth." "1,106 days, Your Honor..." "That's how long Wilfredo Villamaria has been waiting for the opportunity to defend himself against these charges." "More than three years behind bars without a conviction, 19 different adjournments..." "Now the people want a 20th?" "That does seem to be where we are." "They claim to have a case, Your Honor." "Please make them try it." "Otherwise, let the man go home." "Well, Miss Ernhardt?" "I take issue with the characterization of neglect, Your Honor." "There are no speedy-trial statutes in a murder case." "Tell me something I don't already know." "Well, arresting officer is out for the week." "Where did he go, Dubrovnik?" "Croatia..." "It's got a lovely coastline." "I believe it was Queens." "Then bring him back." "We'll work around him." "What else?" "Well, our forensics expert is scheduled for major surgery this week." "These are serious complications, Your Honor, that..." "Major surgery..." "What's the procedure?" "Well, I'm not sure, but I believe it's fairly... serious." "Like a splenectomy?" " I'm not sure." " Or a nose job?" "That's fairly serious." " As I said, Your Honor..." " You're not sure." "I know." "Okay, here's what we're gonna do." "The people will get a grace period to get their ducks in a row." "However, because this case is getting long in the tooth, the grace period will be 48 hours." "I assume the defense can be ready by then." "Completely ready, Your Honor." "Well, then, saddle up, people." "We pick a jury after lunch on Wednesday." "He's getting a wart removed." "I know." "I just kind of threw it out there hoping he'd bite." "I didn't want to flat-out lie." "Major surgery..." "Good for you." "You want a chance to redeem yourself?" " Depends." " Try the case." "Get yourself a murder conviction." " Are you serious?" " Why wouldn't I be?" "Well, you've been working on this case for three years, and now you're just gonna hand it to me?" "I'm not just handing it to you." "I'm gonna make sure you have everything you need to be successful." "Look, I'm overloaded here." "I can't give this thing the attention it deserves, much as I would like to." "Of course, if you don't want it, I can always give it to someone else." "No, no, no." "I..." "I want it." "I have 48 hours to pull a case together that I know nothing about, but" " I want it." " Good." "Get cracking." "I'm here if you need anything." "Okay." "Thank you." "Balls." "Jerry!" "I have to get out of here!" "How come we have to be in court" " Bump in the road." " Well, Chris has a half day today, and we're not missing the free hours at moma again." " I have a plan." " Well, you had a plan before," " though, right?" " I have another plan." "The law's on our side here..." "not always the case." "It's actually Mr. Kellerman in the flesh." " I guess now we can bring a panel in?" " No." "No, Your Honor, I..." "I..." "As I'm currently on trial in Judge Kessler's court," "I cannot proceed with voir dire in yours." "Repetion is loathsome to me, counselor." "I've already had this conversation with your colleague." "You were scheduled for trial with me." "Your commitments with Judge Kessler are immaterial." "I don't make scheduling exceptions." "Well, e... except, Your Honor, that my client in Judge Kessler's case is incarcerated, which should take precedence over a defendant who's out on bail." "Should or shall?" "Either or." "It's a rule of the court." "I can document it if you'd like." "No." "I'll take your word for it, counselor." "Thank you for enlightening me." "Bail is revoked for Miss Daniels." "This trial will proceed." "Officer." " What?" "W... what?" " Well, with your client incarcerated," "Judge Kessler's trial no longer takes precedence, does it?" " What is this?" " H... have you lost your mind?" "Take it easy, Mr. Kellerman." "Y... you're taking away my client's freedom to prove a point?" "I'm just working within the rules." "You of all people should understand that." "No, no, you are manipulating the system at the expense of my client." "There is no way... no way I'm proceeding with this trial." "You'll proceed, or I'll hold you in contempt." "Hold me in contempt, then." "Done!" "You are in contempt." " Officer." " I'm entitled to a hearing." " You want a hearing?" " Hell yes, Your Honor." " How's noon tomorrow?" " Noon's great." "Work for you?" "Hell yes!" "I'll pencil you in!" "Officer, do your job!" "I..." "I'm so sorry." "Regina, I'm so sorry." "T...this is beyond crazy." "I'm gonna fight this with everything." "Jerry, get my phone from my purse and call my sister Janeece." "Make sure she's sober, 'cause somebody's got to pick up Chris." "I'm gonna make this right, Regina, I..." "I promise." "When I put you on trial in my court, Mr. Kellerman, you are on trial in my court." "Judge Farnsworth's case is gonna have to wait." "I completely agree, Your Honor, but Judge Farnsworth just revoked bail on my client simply to prove a point." "I am not interested in what Judge Farnsworth is doing." "I'm interested in what we do, and we are on trial here." "If you come within three feet of that door before we adjourn today" "I'll hold you in contempt, too." "Voir dire." "Mr. Mcgrath, let's proceed." "It's good." "It's good." " Jerry!" " Marcus, I got to roll." "Farnsworth held you in contempt?" "You gonna be all right?" "These judges want to beat me up, fine." "I can take it." "But when their petty bullshit hurts my clients, I'm gonna fight back." " Word to the wise..." " Yeah, yeah." "...don't do anything stupid." " Marcus." " Troutman!" "Let's talk about Justin Stankowitz." " Stanky?" " You're familiar with the case." "A white investment banker gets busted for misdemeanor possession, it jumps out at you..." "In fact, makes you wonder why the cops don't hit those wall street hangouts more often." "They'd do a sweep, they'd probably find, what, 40 guys carrying... 50?" " That's a lot of business coming your way." " Yeah, a little too much." "Yeah, well, it happens every day north of 125th street." "The social inequity is staggering." "Nevertheless, I need an outright dismissal." "Excuse me?" "Yeah, it's his first offense." "You're not gonna push for more than a dis con, anyway." " He's gonna walk." " And he'll be a lucky boy." "Not if he loses his series 7 license, which could happen without a full dismissal." "My client might not be your idea of a sympathetic defendant, but do you really want to rob him of his future?" "It would be a favor, Marcus." "And should the shoe ever be on the other foot," "I can be very helpful." "So Emma Troutman wants a favor." "I can't believe how perfect this is." " Tell her no." " Okay." " Did she flirt with you?" " The Troutman?" "That woman has such an inflated opinion of herself, honestly." "Tell her no." " Yeah, you said that." " I'm saying it again... no." "Oh, and by the way, no." "No!" "Also, if you could get me a copy of your notes on the Ramsay opinion, that's another thing I can take care of while you're gone." "Got it." "You're not Trudy Kessler." "No, I am not." "Judge Kessler is..." "Is on her way home." "What is it I can do for you?" " Trudy Kessler?" " Yes?" "You've been served." " What?" " Trudy." "Jerry Kellerman has subpoenaed me." "To testify in his contempt hearing with Farnsworth?" "In his dreams." "Charlie, what do I do?" "You're an employee of the state." "I assume the attorney general's office will provide you with counsel." " I can't hire private counsel?" " I don't know." "Do I have to pay?" "Judges don't generally get subpoenaed, so it's hard to say." "No kidding." "Get the a.g. On the phone." "Oh, for pete's sake." "Charlie, we've got to figure this out." "Right away." "And then call Joe Simonson." "Screw protocol." "I want his take on this." "Got it." "And then call otto mezzo and order the mushroom ravioli." "I am not waiting until Friday." "What can I do?" "Help." "Woolsley told me he's gonna ask Ventimiglia to make me turn over the discovery tomorrow, and I'm pretty sure he'll get a favorable ruling." "Well, not if you tell the Judge that woolsley's a crybaby, and crybabies don't deserve special exemptions." "I don't think Ventimiglia will buy that." "I have to send over something, Nick, and I don't have time to figure out what's actually relevant." "This is your case." "It's the security video from the camera outside Villamaria's apartment building." "Outside the building?" "What does that get us?" "It's a visual of Villamaria's tendencies." "Watch it." "You'll see." "Jury's gonna eat it up." "Can I ask you something else?" "Eight years ago, Villamaria took a deal on a rob one." "You were the prosecutor, right?" "You pulled the d.a. Files." "To line up the priors." "So that case, this case..." "I mean, I'm just wondering, is that a coincidence for you or..." "Not a coincidence." "Villamaria did a bodega in Spanish harlem." "He was a predicate." "With a little backbone," "I could have had him doing 10 years, but I folded and gave him three." "You good at math?" "If you had gotten the max, he would have been in prison three years ago." "Instead, I cut a deal, and Villamaria strangled his wife to death in their bedroom." " Ding, ding." "Very good." " You don't think her death is on your hands," " do you, Nick?" " I mean..." "It is on my hands." " Anything can happen." " But this is what happened." "Think about it next time I'm banging away on you guys to take the hard line." "I'm not just getting my jollies." "So this case is about exercising some demons for you." "Your case now." "And you should be figuring out what it's about for you." "What if I'm just picking up where you left off?" "No." "Look, in my mind, Villamaria is a symptom of a bigger problem..." "Namely that two out of every three of these skels re-ups." "It infuriates me to no end." "And since my mother is irish and my father was italian," "I have no problem communicating my anger to a jury." "And that's me." "I'm an angry son of a bitch." "You... you're gonna win by bringing what you bring to the table." "And what do you think that is?" "Um...what do I bring?" "Work ethic, intelligence." "And you're beautiful." "You know how you can use that?" "By being a sweetheart." "The way you look, people automatically want to be on your side." "But if you're beautiful and nice, people will bend over backwards for you." "I promise." "You don't subpoena a Judge." " Did you think this through at all?" " Actually, I did." "Kessler didn't sleep last night." "She's been on the phone all morning with the attorney general's office arranging counsel." "It's a professional embarrassment." "Which was the whole point." "Kessler and Farnsworth are having a pissing match that cost my client her freedom." "That's the point." "I..." "I can't be in two courtrooms at once, so, yeah," "I'm gonna ruffle as many feathers as I can until one of them backs off." "That's my only option, Charlie." "I thought I'd have your sympathy." "You do." "You just should have come to me first." "Okay." "And you would have done what?" "Tried to talk you out of it." " She's making your life miserable, isn't she?" " Don't start." "Why do you put up with it?" "She needs you way more than you need her." "What you don't know about people could fill a room." "I know my clients." "I mean, it's not like Kellerman can be in two courtrooms at the same time." "It's silly when you think about it." "Eventually, one of you is gonna have to back down." "I understand the physics of the thing, Charlie." "It's just no one's been able to explain to me why I'm the one who should shoulder all the inconvenience." " Self-preservation?" " Oh, please." "I don't think one wins battles with Judge Kessler by fighting." "Whatever muscle is required to back down," "I don't think she was born with it." "Well, that's an interesting suggestion..." "Fight without fighting." "Is that buddhist?" "Well, I'll give her one thing..." "She was smart to send someone with people skills to make her case." "But in the words of a very wise man," "I yam what I yam." "That's not someone who gives in." "I'm not actually here on her behalf." "Thursday, I am supposed to sit on the law secretaries' panel at the judicial conference." "If we have to adjourn Kellerman's case, the next one up is much more complex." "Judge Kessler will need me to stay." "Even though she already agreed to let you take the time off." " Well, like I said..." " Charlie, you were working for me, you'd be going to that conference no matter what we had on the docket." "I don't renege on my promises." " I'm sure that's true." " But since you're not working for me," "I don't understand why I need to rearrange my schedule on your behalf." "Well, I thought the point would be that we're, um..." "Friends of a sort." "We are friends." "And I'm telling you, as your friend, if you got a problem with your boss, you need to work it out..." "With her." "Considering that the people have had this case for more than three years, Your Honor, it seems only fair that the defense should have more than a few minutes to review the discovery before trial." "The people have no legal obligation to share discovery before the jury is impaneled, Your Honor." "It's trial by ambush, Your Honor." "Does anyone really win?" "And while Mr. Woolsley may wish to debate the fairness of our legal process here, there is a more appropriate time and place..." "Perhaps when the people have equal time to complain." "What do the people have to complain about... vacation pay?" "My point is it's tough all around, Your Honor." "You mean I can complain, too" "Absolutely." "We could have a day for complaing on the calendar." "It's under consideration." "About the discovery, let's put fairness aside." "I'm in the mood to be polite." "And I think the polite thing to do is to let the defense get a look at the discovery a few days early." " Nick." " Didn't my guy tell you no?" "Well, I thought I might get a more favorable ruling from the big boss himself." " What were you doing in that courtroom?" " Looking for an old friend." "Villamaria..." "Your old client?" "Yeah, he did look familiar, but I was talking about you." "We aren't friends, Emma." "But I will refresh your memory." "Eight years ago, you and I cut a deal to give him three years on an armed robbery, which he took advantage of by getting out and killing his wife." "Three years on a rob one..." "I knew you were reasonable." "No, I was weak." "And you were gorgeous." "I was dizzy for a week thinking about getting you between the sheets because you promised quid pro quo." "Then you got your deal, broke your promise, and I got a cold shower." "I got to hand it to you, though... you worked me good." " Nick, I..." "I had no idea that you..." " Oh, put it away." "You had your time." "This is my time." "Next time, I don't get blue balls, you don't get a favor, and Villamaria gets the time he deserves." "Oh, Fredo." " This is Richard." " Home run, papi." "You watching the tape?" " Nick Balco." " Saint Nick Balco to you, and I'm coming down your chimney with a big, fat gift..." "Man one and 18." "Well, I definitely like the sound of man one, but, uh, 18 is too much." "13, on the other hand, is something I might be able to..." "You realize we could show that tape to 12 monkeys and get a conviction, right?" "Monkeys have an affinity for prosecutors." "They see themselves." "I'll tell you what." "I'll knock off three years for the joke and add one back for prick tax..." "Man one and 16." " Prick tax?" " Just take it to your client." "Don't screw it up." "Funny man." "A couple of those people in front of my building..." "They had reputations, you know?" "They were hard, man." "She was out there yelling at them like they were nothing." "I had to pull her out of there." "I get it, Fredo, but in a headlock?" "You saw the tape." "You think she was gonna let me take her by the hand instead?" " You should have told me." " Look, she didn't die in no headlock, Richie." "She died in her sleep, man." " D.A. made an offer." " Oh, don't go there on me now." "First-degree manslaughter, 16 years." "Good time, plus the three you've already done, you'd be out in 10." "10 more years?" " Richie, I..." " A guilty verdict means at least 15 years to life, which means a parole hearing after 15 years, maybe." "But, honestly, nobody gets paroled on their first shot." "I mean, they can keep you as long as they want." " I'm losing you 'cause of this, ain't i?" " No." "Fredo, Fredo, you're not losing me, man." "I..." "I just want you to consider..." "They're lying about what I did, man!" "How am I supposed to know that the headlock was important when it's got nothing to do with what really happened?" "You aren't." "But we're talking about how things look, not the facts." "The headlock suggests a pattern." "Now, Fredo, we're gonna do whatever you want, whatever you want, all right?" "And I'm never going to abandon you, but" "I'm also not doing my job unless I say try and look at this from a juror's perspective before you make a decision." "Look, man, she got calm when we got upstairs." "I told her she had to stop getting high 'cause it made her angry." "She said she was gonna try." "It was important to me, so she said it was important to her." "And then she fell asleep..." "Just like always, man..." "Right there next to me." "That's what I remember." "That's the only way I'm gonna look at it." "Challenges for cause..." "Mr. Mcgrath." "Uh... number 5." "I think it was when she mentioned overincarcerating the underprivileged" " for the third time." " She also said she could be fair." "Challenge granted." "Perempts..." "Mr. Mcgrath." "Excuse me." " Defense is entitled to..." " Entitled to what?" "Participate in the process, perhaps." "Cause for the people, cause for the defense." "Excuse me." "We're in the middle of trial business here..." "Trial for my courtroom." "Kraznoff identifies four basic rules as the framework for a proper apology..." "Admit wrong doing, acknowledge regret, show understanding for the feelings of the offended party or parties, and, of course, be truthful." "I have nothing to apologize for." "Agreed... you merely responded accordingly to what was boorish behavior on my part." "I apologize." "Please accept this gift." "Olives?" "In lieu of a branch?" " Thank you." " You're welcome." "Mr. Kellerman, you'll be glad to hear that I'm dropping the contempt charge." "Your trial with Judge Kessler may proceed." "Good day, everyone." "What about my client?" "Your client?" "Oh, Miss Daniels, right." "I'll issue a cut slip." "Three-month adjournment..." "For her troubles?" "Sounds fair." "Oh, kalamata." "Yum." "Do you feel that, Judge?" "Feel what?" "The warm glow of compromise." "I don't think it's completely left the room." " Do you, Marcus?" " I have no idea what you're talking about." "He's trying to milk his sudden good fortune for all it's worth." "Not really, Your Honor." "I mean, how much leverage do the people really have with a predicate "e" felony?" "Vernon's already done 13 months." "That's a very good point." " What's the people's offer?" " One and a half to three, Judge." "That's the best you can do?" " How about you drop the felony?" " Yeah, come off the felony..." "Spirit of the moment." "Give him the "a" and a year." "That's a very good suggestion." "Do you really want to be mired in this trial for the next three days?" "Could be a week." " Not really." " Sweet!" "Sold to the man who has been sleeping in a stolen car..." "One "a" misdemeanor, one year, and one get-out-of-jail-free card." "Ooh." "Let me pop a breath mint." "Oh, when it happens for you and me, it's not gonna be some calisthenic act on top of a desk." " I'm a sensitive guy, Roz." " Oh, I know, Nick." "Besides, I wanted to talk to you boss to boss, give you a heads-up." " About what?" " Your boy Woolsley..." "He's blindly charging forward into a murder trial he can't win." "I made a great offer, you know, just looking at the big picture, health of the system, cost to the taxpayer, and whatnot." "But I don't know, this kid..." "He's hell-bent." " Who's the client?" " Wilfredo Villamaria." "We got video on the guy." "Honestly, he is dead to rights." "Now, I offered man one and 16, which is, what, half of what he'll get out of conviction?" "That's about right." "I'm not trying to get the kid in trouble." "You know the job's a grind, right?" "It makes us all crazy at some point." "So does sitting in Rikers Island for three years waiting for trial," " especially if you're innocent." " Innocent?" "Come on, now." "I thought we were gonna keep this friendly." "We are, Nick." "But before you pathologize one of my best p.d.s," "I just want you to understand the mentality of a client who believes that his life has been stolen from him." "His life?" " What about his wife's?" " They get angry and desperate, and every day is a battle against giving into hopelessness." "So when their attorney goes to them with a plea deal, they just might be inclined to tell the D.A. to shove it up his ass." "I'm sure Richard will be just fine." "Thanks for the little chat." "Wait, what?" "Is there gunpowder in this tissue?" "That is exactly what it is." "The tissue is from a gunshot victim." "Close range." "Right again." "I'm a closet forensics nerd." "I sort of love this place." "Well, I'll..." "I'll have to give you the official tour  when we both have more time." "Oh, right." "Do you recall an autopsy you did on an Angela Villamaria?" "You determined the cause of death to be manual strangulation on March 5, 2006." "Mm, causing a hypoxic state in the brain, right." "Right." "The toxicologist found high levels of alcohol and methamphetamine in her system on March 18, 2006, two weeks later..." "Which suggests that the autopsy was performed and cause of death determined without the toxicology information." "Yeah, but no." "No, this must be a clerical error." "That's what I figured." "Only problem is I don't think I can actually prove that in court." "Suppose for a second that this isn't your case." "And suppose that I was bringing you in as an expert witness for the defense." "Would you say it was possible that the drugs in her system could have caused her to choke on her own vomit?" "The marks on her neck were consistent with strangulation." "Right." "But is the drug scenario possible?" "Well, if you just look at the paperwork, yes, it is possible, but..." "So you would have reasonable doubts as to what actually caused her death, you know, if you were hypothetically looking at this case from the outside." "Dr. Hirschman," "I have no interest in exposing past mistakes." "But I'm going to trial tomorrow, and I really need to know if my case is gonna fall apart." "The doubts would be reasonable." " So we're screwed." " No, we're not." "Woolsley's gonna figure it out, same as I did." "He's gonna bring another m.e." "Who will say the cause of death can't be determined," " and then the jury will know that we don't have..." " He's not bringing anyone else in." "Of course he will, and then we'll lose." "We're not gonna lose." "Come on, I'll show you." "Why don't you just tell me, so..." "Because we don't have time for me to walk you through this anymore." " So you're taking back the case." " Don't take it personally." "You did a good job." "I'm serious." "What the hell are you doing, Richie?" "You and I both know you should have taken that offer." "Client said no." "You're gonna let him say no to man one and 10?" "Man one and 10..." "Go ahead, ask him." "Good time, plus the three years you've already done, you're out in six?" "No." "All rise." "Court is now in session." "Honorable Dominick Ventimiglia presiding." "Number 6 on the calendar, docket ending 8553, people vs. Wilfredo Villamaria." "All right, looks like everybody's strapped in." "Shall we go over a panel?" "Your Honor, if I may..." "The people have discovered a minor discrepancy in the medical examiner's report." "Let me be clear." "We don't believe that this discrepancy exonerates Mr. Villamaria, but this office does not believe in pursuing cases that are anything less than ironclad." "The process must always come before passion, and the evidence provided to us by the m.e.'s office does not meet those exacting standards." "As a result, the people cannot in good faith proceed with this trial, and we therefore move to dismiss." "Principled, eloquent..." "Outstanding, Mr. Balco." "Motion to dismiss is granted." "Mr. Villamaria, you are a free man." "And I'm gonna go play squash." "I'm going home." "Thank you." "Thank you." "A loss is a win if you spin it right." "How long have you known the evidence was bad?" "How long did it take you to figure it out..." "A couple of days?" "That's pretty good, actually." "It took me a week." "So you talked your way out of going to trial for three years so you could keep a guy that you couldn't convict in jail." "Did you see he almost took the 10, though?" "Oh, that would have been some beautiful symmetry." "You're an ass." "Excuse me." "I'm your boss." "And everything I did was my legal prerogative." "Oh, and by the way, Villamaria still killed his wife." " Or not." " Fine." "Then he did the time he should have done before." "It works, and I know you get that." "What are you so cranky for?" "Because you lied to me." "You made me prep a case that was never going to trial." "Yeah, well, someone had to prep while I worked a deal." "Yeah, and someone had to stay late in the office thinking," ""wow, this is great." "My boss really believes in me."" " And it was total crap." " It wasn't crap." "You underestimate me as a lawyer." "Not true." "You did some great work on this case." "And it was all meaningless." "So you didn't learn anything valuable?" "Because if that's true, then, yeah, it was all meaningless and I really have misjudged you." "If not, take what you got from this and move on." "Well, I'm sorry about the judicial conference." "You know why I capitulated, don't you?" "No." "I thought you should be able to go." "Also, I wanted to show you that I was the kind of Judge who didn't take his personal relationships for granted..." "The kind of Judge you might want to work for." "Charlie, I'm asking you directly." "I want you to be my law secretary." "Thank you." "It is a very tempting offer, but I have to say no." "Why?" "I mean, call me an egomaniac, but I can't believe you would prefer to work for Kessler." "I prefer to keep the promises I make." "In the long run, I think that's gonna serve me best." "So, you never found out what the discrepancy was?" "Nope." "The discrepancy was the case was going to trial when, in fact, they had no case... never did." " Seemed like they had a case." " But just before trial," "Balco starts hounding you for a deal?" "That's a little sketchy." "Manipulating the system to keep an innocent man in jail." "But when you manipulate the system to keep a guilty woman outof jail," " that's okay?" " No, no," "I do whatever I can within the law to protect my clients' interests." "That's my mandate." "What's yours?" "To be fair." "Don't tell me what my mandate is." "All right, all right, look." "My question about what Balco did, if he did it, is why?" "The guy's responsible for thousands of cases." "Why'd he work so hard to keep Fredo Villamaria down?" " 'Cause he's Balco." " Exactly." "It's a little late to make good on your promise." "Never too late to get my client a deal." "Not gonna happen." "Mm." "We'll see."