"Dammit!" "Very good." "Smash us up against a post." "Railroad Station" "Hurry up!" "Yes, this is Wilczek." "Hi, Michal." "I've put him on the train." "He's coming to you." "Who?" "Lukasz." "What do I care if you put him on the train?" "Do you know what time it is?" "Don't teach me, OK?" "Zdzisek, Zdzisek!" "You still think you,re the head student of our class?" "Don't call." "I'll call you." "Bye." "Special guest appearance" "IMMENSITY OF JUSTICE" "Music" "Photography" "Written and directed by" "The screenplay is inspired by a true story." "Any resemblance to real events or people is unintended." " Excuse me, sir, Attorney Wilczek?" " Yes." "My name's Lukasz." "Father has called you." "Yeah... yeah..." "Let's go somewhere... to talk." "How's your father?" "It's been a long time." "The last time at a class reunion." "Still on the go, with no time to waste?" "Exactly." "I know you've graduated, you have to decide about your legal training, and you don't want to be an attorney." "Not even a lawyer." "It was my Father's idea." "What did he tell you about me?" "That you've won some celebrated cases, and will persuade me." "Thank you, Mrs. Maria." "A mistake." "I'm not going to persuade you to do anything." "You'll do what you please." "The best piece of advice I could get." "I can still catch the express train." "Thank you." "Wait a minute!" "You haven't traveled six hours to tell me you don't need my advice." "You won't give it, so I won't listen to it." "What's the problem?" " You could stand me vodka." " I don't drink it." " Coke please." " Right away." "I'm generally into beer." "Miss Asia, same here." "Tell you something." "And you'll draw your own conclusions or not." "What do you want to do in life?" "Take pictures." "An artist, are you?" "Attracted to nudes, huh?" "Trees." " Trees?" " Yes." " You snap trees?" " Mostly, but not only those." " Nature in general." " An expensive hobby." " Dad can afford it?" " I give tutorials." " Why trees in particular?" " I don't know." "They're strong... have unusual energy." "I was seriously ill once." " So trees healed you, yes?" " Yes." "That's the way it was." "And you snap them out of gratitude?" "Out of curiosity." "I search for what can't be seen." " To make a living?" " I don't know." "Certainly not off law." "Law is too unambiguous: from here to here." " Says you?" " Exactly." "Right after the commie times." "I worked in Attorney Bos's office, who'd given me legal training." "A famous counsel for the defense in political cases." "Next he entered politics." "I was alone in the office when a married couple came." " Good morning." " Good morning." " We'd like..." " Attorney Bos will be in the afternoon." "I'm sorry." "May I help you?" "We're looking for Attorney Wilczek." "It's me." "Please be seated." "Yes?" "Our daughter's been murdered." "The murderer's in jail pending trial." "A suspect, not a convicted killer." "We know it was him." "We're afraid they'll want to shelve the case." "He worked in TV." "His friends are protesting already." "Saying his arrest is a provocation." "Yes, I know the case." "We've been looking for someone honest." "They all pointed at you." "We want you to be the auxiliary prosecutor." "If it weren't Jerzy Kuter..." "Does it change anything?" "My boss Attorney Bos is his counsel for the defense." "I can't decide unless he says yes." " If Attorney Bos agreed..." " Then yes." "We'll wait." "Of course you can." "Important to your career no matter on whose side." "It'll be a celebrated case." "Andrzej, well into the case, will help me." "We'll be adversaries in a sense." "Only in a sense." "Battered and strangled before death." "See the bruises on the face and neck?" "She was drowned after she passed out." "The killer pushed her head into the water with a baby quilt." "The cause of death of the 8-month-old fetus was suffocation in utero." "Whose blood was it in the tub?" "The victim's most likely." "Policemen pulled the plug thoughtlessly." "Luckily, they took samples of the sediment." " You got the results?" " No, none whatsoever yet." "You've seen the fingerprints?" "The defendant's." "Found on the tub among others." " That's no evidence in the case?" " Why?" "He'd come there every day, almost lived there." "He must've bathed leaving his fingerprints at any moment." "Please read his explanations." "Was any other evidence secured at the scene of crime?" "Cigarette butts, locks on the doors, other prints?" "What's the point?" "An open- and-shut case, that." "No, it wasn't secured!" "Sorry." "Sorry, I'm beat." "The investigation is not only full of mistakes and just bloopers." "Those first on the scene had no homicide experience at all, but of juvenile delinquency:" "small-timers, break-ins into kiosks." "They just happened to be on duty then." "No thorough examination of the scene, no evidence secured." "Worse still, they soiled all traces, assholes." "Were you there?" "No, no, no." "A young DA went there." "Later, it turned out she knows Dominika from a student theater." "On seeing the body in the tub, she fainted." " I see." " See what?" "You don't understand a thing!" "We have only circumstantial evidence!" "Though certain it's him, I have no direct evidence whatsoever." "Get it?" "What's your indictment based on?" "That's easy." "On the assumption that it could only be he." "The only one with a motive:" "an inconvenient mistress well into pregnancy, demanding that he divorce." "Read the explanations first." "We'll talk later." "Pretty." "A little younger than I. And he?" "A TV journalist like her." "Her guru." "Much older than she with wife and two kids." "Everybody knew about the affair." "Popular, simpatico." "A real hound dog, they say." "Why should he have killed?" "She was 8-month pregnant." "He could've done it earlier." "Maybe she started to blackmail him." " Blackmail?" " I don't know." "Listen to his latest version:" "I worked till 2 a.m. and went right away to Dominika, who was waiting with a supper in fine mood." "She was happy she,d soon bear our baby." "After supper, we went to sleep." "I was waken up by a noise, like the door slammed." "She was not in bed, so I got up and went to the bathroom." "She was lying in the water." "I tried to get her out and resuscitate her, but she was dead." "What was next?" "I went downstairs, got in the car, and fell asleep." "I woke when they started a car near me." "Then I drove home." "Irrational and stupid." "They kill his beloved and he gets in the car and falls asleep?" "An educated, mature man with imagination?" "His first version is much more reliable." "Who made him change his testimony?" "The police?" "No court will ever accept such a version." " Possibly." "So we must help the court." " Help?" "How?" "Her parents will testify that he promised to marry her." "His wife will confirm she didn't know anything." "But it's too little." "The court must be absolutely convinced that he lies all the time, and his version is unreliable." "Talk again to his friends, former lovers... to build an image of a man who does not know what the truth is about." "Excuse me." "Dominika hid from me that he was married." "Didn't want me to worry." "My husband Stas works in an outside telecast van." "And everybody there..." "He was against that relationship all along." "We knew about his wife, children... affairs." "Stas worried that Dominika was just his another flame." "He even visited me here once." " Mrs. Irena..." " Excuse me for a moment." "We'll finish the talk, but this first." "I assure you I'll never harm her." "You'll harm someone anyway." "I don't want to." "Being with her, you harm your family." " Being with the family..." " I'll divorce." "Give me some time." "Don't your children need you?" "Why, Maciek is 10, Kasia is going on 15." "Nothing will change emotionally!" "I can't see it." "Give me some time." "Please trust me." "Excuse me." "He'd deceive her, play-acting all the time." "He surpassed himself at her door when he tried to get inside." "Feigning worry while he knew our daughter's body was there." " Lying he didn't have the key." " How do you know?" "You defend him?" "I'll show you someone." "Barbara Gamza." "His former victim." "She could tell you much about him." "Me his victim?" "You've amused me." "Jerzy?" "A brilliant journalist and a fantastic man." "Unable to live in a normal family, or to work at a desk for that matter." "Bursting with energy." "I landed in a hospital once." "He came once... with flowers." "And then he just left, without a goodbye." "Dominika had just been employed." "Son of a bitch." "Can we believe him?" "I don't know." "Now matter if he tells the truth or not." "We can't lose this case." "Typical circumstantial evidence." "Rather than evidence the DA has vague suspicions." "Can suspicions make a case?" "An acquittal." "But it's going to be interesting." "Hello, gentlemen." "I'm off to the airport." "To a spectacle that could be more interesting than anything pending here." "Any messages?" "The curia has postponed the reception for a week." " Thank God." "And?" " Another divorce suit." " Which this month?" " Fourth." "People go crazy." "Will you deal with it?" "I already have." "What's up, Michal?" "It's hard to play in the team doomed to lose." "Sometimes it pays at least to make an appearance." "It's soon." " Any idea for your speech?" " Not yet." "Not to worry." "I have a speech in the Parliament, but am unprepared either." "Taxes?" "Don't you read the rags?" " The Anti-abortion Law." " So they'll be at loggerheads." "A mortal combat." "The Reds won't budge." "They'll give me no quarter." "Again the police is to blame for botching the job." "There's a murder but no guilty party." "Fora year I've been trying to change something, but it's not so simple." "I'll have to account for inefficiency." "The crime detection rate is going south." "You want a spectacular success, but your mistakes are..." "Stop!" "Yours and ours." "Yes, which I patch up with a dubious indictment." " You know it's crappy." " Just like the evidence." "They can't acquit him." "Get it?" "!" "Every moron can see it was him." "So I'm not your every moron." "It could've been her ex just as well." "You can't believe that?" "Good that you've come." "I've looked through your notes." "We have to talk." "Hello, sir." "I'll be going then." "Attorney Wilczek is the auxiliary prosecutor." " Drabik." "Glad to meet you." " Wilczek." " Call me in case..." " Sure." "Bye." "Come on in." "Colonel Drabik is deputy police commissioner." "A real pro." "Be seated, please." "I've found nothing here to back up my conclusions, except the story of his last lover he ditched when she went to hospital." "Whom he left when he met Dominika." "Comes to the same thing." "Stick to it." "Used women... a good lead." "But it's not enough." "Why don't you dig some more:" "her ex, for instance?" "He could know something that could help." "I know my duties, sir." "We have little time." "Why didn't you tell me of other fingerprints there?" "First, just one fingerprint." "Second, it's meaningless in this case." "It may be anybody's, a neighbor's, of the owner of the flat, of someone..." "A needle in the haystack!" "Don't think your colleagues from the office can make a use of it." "Was the fingerprint checked out?" "I said... a needle in the haystack." " No drink really?" " No, thank you." "Where was I?" "..." " I called the guy." " Exactly." "Why?" "We may not have been the best couple." "But we liked each other." "Ours was an open marriage." "Maybe too open." "That guy showed up then." "Dominika stopped sleeping with me." "I wasn't surprised, given what we lived through." "But I was when she demanded a divorce." "I felt sorry about our relationship." "Jessie, not so up-tempo." "It's a different time." "She said she loved him and wanted out." "So I met the guy..." "Is there a joint here where we could talk in peace?" "I have to go back soon." "Forget her, man." "A serious guy with wife and children, find another toy." "This may turn out ugly." " You threatening me?" " No, I'm not." "I care about her." "When she steps in, she goes all the way." "Then it's depression, booze, drugs." "I've seen her like that and won't ever again." "I care about her." "So do I." "And you'll divorce?" "I don't know." "I knew you won't." "You could be her father." "Fuck off!" "She soon got that shitty divorce." "The funny thing is:" "I'd never wanted marriage." "A paradox, huh?" "I'm outta here." "Nice talking to you." "You've been very helpful." " When will you move in with me?" " When will you marry me?" "It's important to you?" "No, it isn't." "Don't go yet." "I have the key to that flat." "I'd like to take a look." "Will you come along?" " I'm scared." " That's good." "I'm scared too." "We'll be scared together." "Let's leave this place, please!" "Fragments of broken or trampled-on glasses of the victim." "Possible." "Not everything was secured." "So we have the frames and glass fragments." "Unfortunately, it contributes nothing to the case." "She wore glasses." "Must've been assaulted when she had them on." "I thought everything happened in the room, and in the bathroom." "Maybe there was a tussle by the door?" "The entrance door?" "Does it mean anything?" "Yeah?" "They're really inviting me?" "Wait a minute, Ann..." "You can't abort a 7-month-old fetus." "Is that a human?" "Yes, at least the majority in this hall will say so." "And a 3-month-old that can be killed with impunity?" "It is not human yet?" "!" "Who lays down the law about when life begins?" "Senator Pawel Bos's speech started a boisterous discussion..." "You still there, Ann?" "Something happened." "I think I know how to make the indictment." "Your Honor." "It was not a single homicide." "It was a double crime!" "The defendant killed a woman and a child." "Isn't an 8-month-old fetus human?" "Children born in the 6-7th month of pregnancy can be kept alive, let alone a child several weeks older." "By strangling and drowning Dominika, he killed the life she was carrying in utero." "Thank you." "Was he acquitted?" "No, convicted for double murder." "They put it differently, but in his speech the judge made it clear he meant a double." "Good night, attorney." "Thank you." "Attorney Bos must have been unhappy." "He'd given you an argument that may've tipped the scale." "Do you remember the killing of that journalist?" " No, when?" " Long ago." " She was 8-month pregnant." " The one from TV?" "The talk of the town." "Ten years ago or more." " He's still in jail?" " No, President pardoned him." "Fuck it!" "Such a murderer walks the streets." "Who should we vote for if even President..." "How do you know it was him?" "Because convicted?" "!" " Pull over!" " It's still some way..." "We're getting out!" "You asked about Bos's response to the verdict?" "Quiet." "He wasn't much upset." "But I wasn't the prosecutor in the case." "Along with Bos we were the counsel for the defense." "Don't worry." "If he misses the train, I'll put him up for the night." "No, no..." "We may even make friends." "Forget the gratitude." "Your son's attitude to law is quite healthy." "Yes, I'll tell him." "Go to sleep." "Your old man is a pain in the ass." "He says you've switched off your mobile?" "Why did you tell me a story you'd made up?" "It's pointless." "A true story, that." "But Andrzej worked with the prosecutor." "Ann was his girl." "I worked with Bos till the end." " Why this game?" " Game?" "You want to prove something?" "You overdo it." "What should I prove to you?" "Listen to this." "No... my mistake." "This has nothing to do with that." "All that started in a banal way." "With a woman." "Hello." "Oh, I'm sorry." "Come on in." "This is my associate, Attorney Wilczek." "Mrs. Alicia Kuter." "Sit down." "The lady has suggested that we defend her husband, charged with art. 148 of the Penal Code." "I see..." "You still need me, gentlemen?" "I guess not." "You've signed the proxy." "Just one thing." "We'll be in strict cooperation." "Of course, if need be." "From now on any talks, suggestions, or questions remain in this room." "I understand." "Thank you." "Hope for the best, Mrs. Alicja." "I don't believe it." "Ten minutes ago we tried to guess in the bar who'd take this case." "Big names were dropped, but nobody thought of you." "About us." "We're in it together." "Yes?" "And Andrzej?" "The absent are wrong." "He's well into some divorce suits." "A younger one, he can wait." "Thank you, Pawel." "Don't prepare for grandstanding or ovation." "The point is not to make the trial happen." "As long as it's preparatory proceedings and there's no indictment, anything is possible." "Why didn't they think of me as the counsel for the defense." "You bring to mind political trials, as a moral authority." "Is that so?" "lnteresting..." "Luckily, some don't mind it." "A hard nut to crack, that guy." "He won't talk to anyone." "The DA claims he knows only the word 'no'." " Is that wrong?" " I didn't say anything." "My name's Pawel Bos." "That's Michal Wilczek." "We're your counselors." "Your wife must've mentioned." "Sorry, she didn't." "I understand." "We've read your explanations." "They're not very consistent." "The last time you saw Dominika was in TV about 3 p.m." "When you came to her place at night, the door was closed." "No one would open." "Realizing you didn't have the key, you decided to wait in the car." "But you fell asleep." "After waking up, you rang the doorbell again." "Nobody opened so you went home." "When she didn't show up at work, you started to look for her." "You went to her parents." "Was that so?" "Everything's in the files." "Why did you change the version into one less to your advantage?" "Ask the DA and the police." "I'm asking you." "We'd like to help you, to get you out of this." "It's also up to you if we succeed." "Nothing is lost yet." "Why should it be?" "I haven't been indicted." "The point is to prevent an indictment." "Good bye." "Bitter and twisted." "A typical defensive posture." "His wife cares more about preventing the indictment than he." "I'll see him tomorrow myself." "A little camel asks his dad:" ""Why are those humps so big and ugly?" "What for, dad?" "," ""When we set out across the dessert, we carry in them:" "food and water, so that we could go hundreds of miles.," "The little one asks again:" ""Why do we have such big hooves?" "," "Why did he take you rather than me?" "Must've thought you work too much." "Yeah, those divorces make me sick already." "Does he think I'm less able?" "Tell me." "Don't you know how highly he appreciates you?" "Don't waste time." "I won't change my testimony." "Your wife had an accident." "What accident?" "A car accident." "Very important to your career." "Provincial Court" "Michal, wait!" "We'll fight!" "So he's taken you." "I'm really happy." "No!" "We fight against each other." " How so?" " I'll be the auxiliary prosecutor!" "The boss OK'd it." "Bye!" " A bite to eat?" " No, I'm in a hurry." "We have to split the roles." "I'll contact Mrs. Kuter and you, him..." "Ice queen but still attractive." "No kidding." "This is important." "You know why the other version?" "He let the police trick him." "They led him to believe in his wife's car accident." "The abandoned kids in panic." "Told him he'd walk if he comes up with a reliable version of Dominika's death:" "She bathed, collapsed, drowned while he was asleep." "Once he signed they had what they wanted:" "Present on the scene when the victim died." " The rest was peanuts." " He let them trick him?" "At 4 a.m. after a dozen hours of debilitating questioning?" "Why not?" "His wife in hospital, kids home alone..." "So he'll retract it all and say how it was." "Yes, we've just got it." "Thank you, Marian." "It's my treat next time." "Bye." "What do you make of that?" "The DA's office throws in the towel?" "I'm afraid you're wrong." "The truth is there's no evidence whatsoever." "I've never seen such a puny indictment." "That shows how determined you are." "But they won't correct the investigation bloopers." " Wrong again." "They will." " How?" "By convicting him." "You think we won't win?" "You sound so convincing." "Talk to Kuter." "Settle on one version." "And the keys." "There were two sets." "One must've been his." "You've read the testimony of her parents." "Let's not let them take us aback." "Just routine examinations and observation." "We won't suggest, let alone prove anything." "They don't need it." "Where are those court papers?" "I'll tell you something." "They don't care what we write." "Their legal experts will treat our opinion as they please." "Who?" "The judge, the DA, no matter." "Your point of view depends on where you sit." "It's the question of interpretation as in the movies." "You wanted to talk to him?" "Well, talk to him." "You said the other version wasn't yours." "Will you retract it in court?" "I will." " Did you have the keys or not?" " I did." "But that Friday I left them in my desk." "They may still be there." "I lied in court saying I hadn't had them." "I was scared." "You know what?" "With Dominika I had no sense of guilt about my wife." "Don't say that in court." "I wasn't harming my family." "I'd give them all they expected." "I couldn't leave them." "Someone else in my shoes would have but I couldn't." "Not that I was afraid." "I just felt responsible for them." " Dominika demanded a divorce?" " Not at the beginning." "Later, she'd mention it time and again." "Rather than quarrels, they were discussions." "She wanted me to move in and start a family." "Then you decided to leave her." "Yes?" "No." "But I had certain doubts." "More specific, please." "If I weren't doing her wrong." "What a bullshit!" "He'd better shut up!" "Doubts!" "The court should have them, not he!" "I've got an idea." "It's enough to read the records well." "You said the water in the tub was pink." " On account of blood.?" " I don't know." "Someone had drained the water." "Was the victim injured so that she could've bled.?" "No." "It could've been blood from her placenta." "Any wounds, scratches or such on the defendant's body?" "None whatsoever." " Any other samples from the tub.?" " What do you mean.?" " Sediment, for instance." " Yes." " Was it sent to the lab.?" " Yes." "What were the results?" "The sediment samples got lost on the way to the lab." "Six fingerprints were secured:" "two on the entrance door, one on the fridge door, another on the door frame and another on the tub." "All were the defendant's." "If I count correctly five were the defendant's." " Didn't you say six?" " Yes." " The sixth was the defendant's?" " No." " Maybe the victim's?" " Not either." " You know whose then?" " No." "She wanted to part with me." "She wanted the divorce for the sake of truth and feelings." " You wanted to part too?" " No." " Why.?" " I had it good with her." "Please face the court." "I had it good with her." "You still loved her?" "You could say so." "Did you quarrel and fight just before the divorce?" "Yes, but it's normal..." "Did you beat her?" " I hit her once." " I understand." "What did you do on the night of June 29?" "Your Honor, it's irrelevant." "I object." "Objection sustained." "Why?" "It's very important, Your Honor." "Please enter in the records the question and the sustained objection." "We can enter it." "The objection is sustained anyway." "I'll lodge a motion in writing concerning the matter." " Hello." " Hello." " How do I put it?" " A motion for correction of minutes." "Good show, Michal." "Thank you." " It was your idea." " But you brought it up." "I'll be back in a day." "The meeting at the curia is especially important to you." "I bless the bar in particular for their share in building a new social order." "Keep trying to struggle for a better tomorrow." "Now let's have a bite to eat." "Tell His Excellency you want to have many kids." " Yeah?" "Will he ask?" " He asks everyone." "If you say fewer than four, you'll blow it." " The boss has two." " He admitted to 3 illegitimate ones." "Don't say that around Bos, or he'll hate you forever." "One who loves unborn children will hate me?" " This is Attorney Wilczek." " How nice..." "I've heard a lot about you... young man." "You have a future." "Married?" "With children?" " No, I haven't thought about it." " You should hurry then." " Will you see me off, Senator?" " It's an honor." "So you failed." "Too bad." " You could ask him..." " Come off it." "Excuse me, Your Excellency?" "Should I buss your ring?" "Michal, wait!" "You must withdraw the motion for correction of minutes." " Are you kidding?" " I've thought about it." " When?" "At the reception?" " Don't attract attention!" "You'll write it right away." "It must be in court tomorrow before the hearing." "You deprive our client of a chance of an effective defense." "Her ex may've been the killer just as well." "He killed her in a fit of jealousy when she left." " We must check his alibi!" " Don't blather." "His acquittal?" "We have it made." "What happens if we increase the number of suspects?" "What?" "We'll have Mrs. Alicja Kuter involved." " Yes?" " Yes." "She's a decent woman from a respectable family." "You want the asshole DA or worse still a news hound conclude it may've been she?" "Her motive is obvious, so why not?" "Her alibi hasn't been checked either." "Don't make a fool of yourself." "Who asked you to withdraw the motion?" "The host of this circus?" "A funny insinuation, that." "Her father told me she is taking it very badly." "We have to spare her any more humiliation." " She's our client." " Her husband is our client." "Wrong." "She commissioned us for a steep price." "They're both our clients." "What if it was she who killed?" "No, she didn't do it." "I disagree with Dr. Kocki." "Given the records of proceedings and the results of observation of the defendant in the mental hospital and mine own," "I state that he is a neurotic type, whose complicated situation and emotional disturbance may have made him commit the murder." "All legal experts are whores." "Not all maybe..." "But that professor hit the bull's eye with that emotional disturbance." "Check the victim's biography." "I wonder what she did in the past, in that student theater, in particular." "Why?" "They're all out to convict him." "We should prove the girl wasn't an angel." "She was the cause of evil." "She caused two marriages to break up:" "hers and Kuter's." "Hence the misfortune... maybe." "It'd make sense if Kuter admitted his guilt or were proved guilty, but..." "Then understand that we must be prepared for all possibilities." "Something happened?" "I'm pregnant." "You're kidding!" "Does he know?" " You'll abort?" " No." "You may be done for." "You're new in TV." "They'll fire you." "Don't think about it, Dora." "It matters nothing." "I love him and want his child." " And if he doesn't?" " He does." "We'll soon get married when he gets a divorce." "Will you be so gullible forever?" " Miss Dorota..." " Please call me Dora." "I don't understand this, Dora." "Did you know there would be no wedding?" "No, but I remembered us waiting tables on vacation once." "She fell for an architect." "It was requited love." " And he was married?" " No, he wasn't." "But she got pregnant." "Was frightened first, reconciled with it and even liked it." "But there was another one, more heavily pregnant." "I don't get it." "The guy had two flames." "So then she decided on abortion." "Don't worry." "I speak in the Parliament and have no idea yet either." "Taxes?" "Don't you read the papers?" "The Anti-abortion Law." "A mortal combat." "The Reds won't budge." "Wish you luck!" "Outta here." "Bye!" "Good you've found that actress." "Two facts are vital:" "Dominika had many lovers and aborted." "Put Dora on the stand only when Kuter's guilt is beyond doubt." "Rest assured about that." "You admitted not having promised a marriage, yes?" "Yes." "So you didn't want to marry her, lying that you'd filed for a divorce." "And you cheated on your wife, having an other relationship." "How can you explain such behavior?" "He may be forced to defend himself actively." "Let him lie that I knew about his romance." "It wouldn't be far from the truth." "I knew as much as I wanted." "I have to ask a question not to be taken aback later." "What did you know about that relationship?" "I practically knew nothing." "Excellent... excellent." "All will be well, Mrs. Alicja." "The doubts keep growing in this trial." "I know." "Tell him he can return home if they acquit him." "If they convict him, I'll file for divorce." "Good bye." "Wonderful woman." "It's a pity that she smokes." "It would be better for her if they convicted him." " At least a little." " You kidding?" "It would be just." "Even if he didn't kill, he destroyed a lot..." "They can't convict you." "Show some good will." "The judge doesn't understand you." "What do I tell her then?" "That we live in a culture that can't reconcile a relationship with a partner and friendship with the wife?" "'Cause one would be condemned and the other sympathized with even if she didn't want it?" "You think the woman judge understands that?" "It doesn't matter." "We need new witnesses." "His refusal to explain may be quite useful." "How?" "You'll see." "Your Honor!" "I move that the testimony be considered of Dorota Derecka, the victim's friend of the times they worked in a theater." "The court sees no objections." "It's idiotic." "Rein in your emotions." "You can't back out now." "A mistake that will screw up your career." "Your word..." "I did it exclusively for his wife." "She cares about her marriage and his image too." "So you couldn't have done it otherwise, yes?" "Don't play a fool." "Your name will be mud!" "As the word will spread even though I promise to keep mum." "How generous of you." "Thank you." "You'll return here." "And did you?" "No." "They found a replacement." "I can't recall who." "I read about the verdict in the papers." "Dora didn't testify." "She agreed to say only that Kuter had promised marriage." "I'm going to bed." "You can sleep in the other room." "No, thanks." "I have a train soon." "Thank you for the lesson." "Fuck it!" "We open in a quarter." "Please wait." "I'd like to see the records of a trial 15 years ago." "Where can I find them?" " You,re a legal intern?" " Not yet." "The archive is in the second wing on the 4th floor." "Thank you." "Records of Proceedings" " You need a permit, you know?" " I do now." " Here you are." " Thank you." "Sentence" "Presiding Judge" "You've missed your train?" "Come on in." "You lied to me." "I told you two stories." "It's up to you what you'll do with them." "You can have a drink, rest for an hour..." "I'll be leaving then and so will you." "What's this?" "Yes." "I was the presiding judge." "Bos and Wadecki were the counsel for the defense." "I wanted to forget about it." "All that started with that air..." "Listen." " You've played it once." " But listen..." " Must it be here?" " It doesn't matter now." "You've been appointed the presiding judge." " How do you know?" " Boss told me." "That's why I'm here." "I don't believe it." "Good evening." " Excuse me." " All right." "Go." " I preside over the Kuter's trial." " Yes?" " You know what that means to me?" " I don't know." "A trial everyone would like to preside over." " She told you?" " She'll be the reporting judge." " Always well-informed." " That's more than a distinction." "Have dinner with me after the show, OK?" " What's that?" " I don't know." "The most beautiful erotic scene was in The Ghost." "With Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore." " How?" "With a ghost?" " Why not?" "Remember When Harry Met Sally?" "They were in a restaurant..." "and she..." "And remember the woman at the next table telling the waiter: "I'll have..." ""...whatever she's having"?" "I wonder if she'll have the same." "Scandal!" "We've scared patrons away." "To your success." "Tell me about the trial." "A guy killed his pregnant lover." " That I know." " Much more than I know." "I don't even know if he killed." "A typical lawyer, businesslike to the hilt." "Doubts have seeped in." "Doubts galore." "You'll manage." "This indictment is too puny." "You saw what evidence the police had secured." "So why did they hurry with the indictment?" "Well, doesn't everything fall into place?" " I don't see that." " God, what a weather." "Kuter will undergo psychiatric examinations." "Just now?" "That woman doctor convicted of killing her lover's wife?" "They waived the examinations of her acc- omplice." "The Court quashed the verdict." "The case had to be reexamined." "You know why?" "Because of "ignoring the elementary conditions of procedural justice."" " Of course!" " But we won't." " When do we vacate the flat?" " There's no need." "Lucja is with that attorney Wiktor Danko, the funny one." "A poor prospect, he." "That's no relationship for her." " They keep a low profile." " A judge and an attorney?" "It's illegal." "If it's just socializing, it's legit." "Anula?" "Hi!" "How was it?" "Great!" "My congratulations." "You had lunch?" "Too bad. ls dad home?" "Tell dad mom had to stay overtime..." "No, not long." "Kiss you darling..." "Bye." "Stay awhile." "By battering her, strangling, and drowning in the tub he killed her." "Act as charged by art. 148 of the Penal Code." "Thank you." "Defendant should rise." "You've understood the charge?" "Yes." " Pleading guilty?" " No." "Do you sustain your explanation during the preparatory proceedings?" "No." "I gave the true version right after the apprehension." "The door was locked." " What about the keys?" " I don't know." "How come?" "Driving over the bridge you dropped the keys into the river." " Yes?" " Yes." "What did you do with the keys?" "Why did you change your explanations?" "Because the policemen promised something." " What?" " That I'd be released." "This is the record of Mr. Kuter's questioning." "Why was it made at 4:25 a.m.?" "May I see it?" "An obvious mistake of the recording clerk." "At 4:25 p.m. not a.m." " Not in the middle of the night?" " Of course not." "Didn't you tell him his wife had had an accident and gone to hospital?" "Nonsense." "He came around noon." "I was home with my younger daughter." "He asked about Dominika..." "And I was surprised." " Why surprised?" " I thought they were together." "And then?" "The three of us ran to the car and we drove there." "The door was locked." "When I entered..." "I saw..." "Don't come here!" "I began to shout at him:" ""You murderer... you've killed my child!"" "How did the defendant respond?" "He didn't respond." "Thank you." "No more questions." "Coffee?" "No, thank you." " I wonder whom to believe." " You,re new here." "Right?" " Just a few months." " A pensioner too?" "No, a downsized teacher." "My friend, a lay judge, talked me into signing up." "You have doubts?" "There was no outside pressure." "The counsel told him to retract his incriminating testimony." "He did and prevaricated more." "Why was he the last one to enter the bathroom and wouldn't let anybody in?" "He knew there was a corpse in the tub." "Why didn't he deny when she called him a murderer?" "Because he'd killed." "An innocent man doesn't act that way." "I don't know." "And you who want to study law?" "Yes, Your Honor..." "I believe him." "With no material evidence, I think..." "Belief is good in church, not in court." "In the records of proceedings, I found only a few photographs." "Why so few?" "And those from the room where the victim's open bag was found?" "And those from the hallway?" "They got lost." "Got lost..." "But you have the negatives." "Right?" "Got lost with the photographs." "The negatives too..." "Maybe the defendant's desk keys got lost too?" " Like the photos." " No, they didn't get lost." "As they had never been found." " He praised you?" " No." "Something important." "So secretive?" "His first divorce hearing tomorrow." "He's off to meet the lawyer." "Not bad." "If all goes well, it's an August wedding then." "You,re invited." "I couldn't tell her I didn't believe in that wedding." "In fact, no one did." "It was mystification." "What for then?" "To have peace and quiet." " Whose?" " Everybody's." "Could Jerzy Kuter commit the murder?" "No, never." "He knew what he wanted, but wouldn't have harmed anyone." "He couldn't have killed for sure." "Change something." "We can't go on like this." " What do you mean?" " Don't be such a softie." "Soon Bos will keep you under his thumb." "I can't forbid him to ask questions." "Can't you be more decisive?" "The defendant is no doubt sensitive and intelligent." "Too intelligent to have left his car outside the victim's house" "and to have sat in it, having committed the murder." "No, no, no." "Only a primitive man would've done so." "One without imagination." "It couldn't be the defendant." " How long was your relationship?" " Several months." "Right after I came to Poland." "How often did you meet the defendant?" "Often." "A few times a week." " When did you part?" " Over a year ago." "Why?" "Something happened?" "I fell ill." "I had a surgery... and I was not available..." "in a sense." "In what sense?" "Your Honor, I object." "It's irrelevant to this case." "Moreover, why some intimate confessions in front of the reporters and the spectators present." "Objection sustained." "What did you do then?" "I object, Your Honor." "It's irrelevant to this case." "It's good you stopped that harassing of the witness..." " What witness?" " The one who fell ill." "I mistake them all the time." "But why did you stop the counselor from asking the victim's ex?" " He could be a suspect too." "Right?" " Yes, indeed." "The preparatory proceedings excluded such a possibility." "It's not in the records." "He could've got a chance to answer." "Don't be such a Sherlock Holmes wearing a skirt." "Didn't you hear the legal expert psychologist say," ""...his emotional disturbance may have made him commit the murder',?" "Yes, but the psychiatrist said something quite opposite." "Mrs..." " My name is Maria." " Please think, Mrs. Maria:" "Only he had a reason to kill." "No one else!" "We warmed it over many times." "He wanted the most comfortable way out of the situation." "Comfortable?" "It was clear he'd have problems." "All knew she was his lover, so he'd be the first suspect." "You don't think about it." "Contrary to experience." "The judge can confirm it, right?" "I can't confirm it for lack of such experience." " We were supposed to meet." " Change of plans." " You angry?" " Don't clown." "One show was enough." "What's your problem?" "You wanted to ingratiate with the old or the young "Yes, Your Honor',?" "We have no such experience, having killed nobody!" "Does that bother you?" "It's nonsense..." "To you, not to me." "Bye!" "The victim's broken glasses were found in the apartment." "Did Dominika usually use them?" "No." "Do you know when then?" "Only to watch TV." "She had only a Polish channel she watched till the sound off." "Thank you." "Your Honor." "On the floor, her bag and glasses were found, with which she'd only watch TV." "So she was assaulted, unlike what the prosecutor claims, while watching TV." "It could've been a robbery." "The killer was a pro, as all traces were blotted out well." " Any money missing from the bag?" " No." " Did she have any jewelry?" " Yes." " Any jewelry lost?" " None." "Thanks." "No more questions." "Wait..." "What's the trouble?" "A cramp." "It'll pass." "Why don't you call in sick?" "Out of the question." "Tomorrow it's the prosecutor and counselors." "Impossible." "Good it'll soon be over." "Take care of yourself." "Let's get away for a week at least." " The verdict is tomorrow?" " No, certainly not." "A very hard case, this." "So?" "Back to the records of proceedings." "When will you be back with us?" "When he opened the bathroom a crack, he said, "She's dead."" "How did he know?" "She could've just needed help." "No!" "He knew she was dead." "How?" "Given this, can we believe in the alleged accident or in his forced change of testimony." "The answer is clear." "Your Honor, these proceedings have substantiated the charges." "I demand that the defendant be found guilty of the killing and... excuse me... be sentenced to 15 years in prison." "There is this old saying:" ""Keep order and it will keep you."" "By deceiving all, not only his wife but the woman who loved him" "and her parents, the defendant destroyed that order." "Even living in sin you could be honest, by declaring your true intentions." "That's what he didn't do." "He exploited the woman's love, killed her and their child also." "So the charge should be reworded:" "He killed for, having come to senses, he tried to save his marriage and family and to have peace of mind." "he wanted to hide his grave mistake." "Your Honor, I move that the defendant be found guilty of the double murder and receive the most severe punishment." "Your Honor!" "Having examined the evidence revealed during these proceedings, and having listened to the speeches of the prosecutor and the auxiliary prosecutor." "I declare that the evidence gives no grounds" "for accusing the defendant of committing that criminal act." "The motive of killing, based on presumptions is not enough." "It cannot pass for the missing objective evidence." "I dare say that the perpetrator has not been found." "The law enforcement authorities are trying to help convict a person who has not committed the criminal act." "His sentence will only absolve the incompetence and ignorance of the law enforcement authorities." "Someone will pay dearly for their improper conduct." "Given the exceptional complexity of the case, the verdict will be pronounced, pursuant to a deliberation, in this hall in three days at 10 a.m." "I understand your doubts." "I have mine too." "About the evidence, but not about his guilt." "Do you have the clear conscience to say he didn't do it?" "That double murder of exceptional cruelty?" "Everything falls into place." "To acquit him now?" "Why couldn't he have blotted out traces in the flat and feigned a robbery?" " So inanely anyway." " So you have doubts too." "Could that legal expert psychologist have been wrong?" "I can't say..." "You know those experts." "I think she wasn't." "Have you read the news?" "The press has pronounced:" ""Not guilty."" "Should I bother?" "Are we to pass a verdict his colleagues expect?" "They'd say, "Broke under pressure."" "I don't care what they'd say." "No?" "You know what they say already?" "The verdict will show what we are more than you think." "Says who?" "They..." "In the corridors, rooms, at social meetings?" " They may be right." " What,re you talking about?" "We have families too, meet on the sly... just like them." "A substantial difference!" "Remember the auxiliary prosecutor saying," ""You can be honest even living in sin." And we are!" "We settled on do's and don'ts, we have families, don't cross each other's ways nor hurt each other, right?" "This may be a bigger lie and hypocrisy." "More honest than we, possibly, he couldn't cope with all that." "That's why he killed." "Yes?" "Acquitting him would mean solidarizing with him." "That's how they'll receive it.:" "They acquitted him to justify their own actions." "What nonsense!" "Nonsense?" "You know people." "The defendant's guilt has been proved beyond any doubt." " So..." "Your Honor?" " Guilty." "Guilty." "Guilty." " Guilty... but..." " Thank you." "I like your unanimity." "We have to be consequent with the punishment." "Battery, strangulation, and drowning show that the defendant's intention was to kill." "I find Jerzy Kuter guilty of committing the criminal act described in the indictment, sentence him to 25 years of imprisonment," "and deprivation of public rights for 10 years." "Please sit down." "The court will present the motives of the sentence." "The court to which the defense appealed upheld the sentence in force." "I soon parted with the court." "For 8 years I've been handling white- collar offences only as an attorney." "Why judge others when you pose a problem yourself?" "Come, I'll see you off to the station." " No, thanks." "I know the way." " But I could use a walk." "We've disappointed your father." "But that snapping of trees really got me." "If you won't be angry, one more question." "Perhaps too personal..." "How my romance with Bozena ended?" "In a banal way." "My wife soon left me." "She couldn't reconcile with what she'd heard about that." "Let's hurry or you'll miss the train." "You all wanted to punish him for different reasons no matter his guilt." "In the name of supposed justice and presumed truth." " This is law in practice?" "!" " This is not so simple." "Nothing is!" "But weren't you interested personally if he'd killed?" "Why?" "He was convicted." "You,re afraid." "You don't even want to know the truth, 'cause it could turn out you sentenced an innocent man." "Don't see me off any further." "Cool, but personally I'm not into digitals." "Same here." "But it can be useful." "As a matter of fact taking pictures is forbidden." "If I could be helpful, please tell me." " A place to sleep for a night." " A youth hostel 200 m away." " Thanks." " You,re welcome." "Your father called." "Stop it." "You won't change anything." " I may know the truth." " Truth..." "Whose truth?" "If in need, you know where to find me." "I'll manage." "Almost there." "The house on the other side." " Till tomorrow." " Yeah." "Thanks." "That's what you wanted." "The 1990 issue." "Something in particular?" " The TV program." " I see." "We close in 15 min." "This is it." " Blow it up." " The watch?" "A little larger?" "Good." "I can't any more." "Good evening." "It's me." "We talked by phone." " I remember." " I must find Mr. Kuter." " It's very important." " How could I help?" "I seem to have a proof he didn't kill Dominika." "I must check something." "I haven't seen him since then nor know where he lives." "Her best friend, you must've visited her." "Of course." " Did she have a dish?" " Dish?" " A satellite dish." " Why?" "I must know if she had only a Polish channel or others too." "Only Polish." "She regretted she couldn't hone her English or French without a dish." " You sure?" " Absolutely." "Wait!" "You'll find him in a hospital, but I don't know which." "That woman is very ill and he's there all the time." " Thank you." " Good luck." "No." "Definitely not." "I won't apply for acquittal." "You couldn't kill." "She was murdered when she watched TV." "Hence the glasses she never wore in other circumstances." "The program sounded off before 2 a.m. I checked it!" "She had no other channel as you said and her friend confirmed." "You worked till 2 a.m. You have an alibi, witnesses:" "the editor, colleagues, staffers..." "She may've fallen asleep with TV on." " And the watch?" " What watch?" "Hers." "It stopped when the murderer drowned her in the tub..." "At 1:15 a.m." "Blurred a bit." "That's all you have to say?" "Blurred a bit..." "You saw that watch?" "How do you know it broke?" "The picture might've been snapped at 1:15 a.m." "Or the watch may've stopped." "I don't believe such circumstances." "Why do you refute my every argument?" "The prosecutor would do it in court." "This is evidence." "Do something about it." "I won't even if it were unquestionable." "But it isn't." "Don't try to convince me." "I want no truck with the judiciary." "This is my past, so please respect it." "Please!" "The people must know." "They must know the truth!" "This is all the truth about us, our life." "This calls for humility." "My truth is dying over there on the female ward." "It may be curtains for me at any moment." "But I'm here by her side, believing she'll pull through." "This is my truth." "Which is of no interest to anybody and you too." "The evidence the DA based its indictment on were the defendant's explanations during the preparatory proceedings." "But guilt should be borne out by objective evidence even if the defendant admits to being guilty at the trial." "We should assess with more caution his explanations during the investigation and retracted at the trial." "In this case no objective evidence was found." "Despite that they wanted to convict him not only by breaking the basic principle of alleged innocence, but by applying the rule contrary to the in dubio pro reo one, by deciding about the doubts to the defendant's disadvantage," "which is a gross violation of the judiciary criminal law." "Scandal!" "Who's responsible for the choice of this case?" "The organizers." "Questioning the fairness of decisions means attacking the judiciary." "Please stay." "This is an elocutionary contest." "It's a shot on your own goal, young man." "I wonder why this case has surfaced just now?" "Excuse me." "Please continue..." "Cast"