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.
JUDGE: Has the jury reached a verdict?
FOREWOMAN: We have, Your Honor.
On the sole count of Attempted Murder in the First Degree, how do you find?
We find the defendant, Darnell Marbury,
not guilty.
(ALL CLAMORING)
JUDGE: Order.
(BANGING GAVEL)
I want quiet in here.
Order! Order!
MAN: You're gonna pay for this.
Order!
Court Officers, escort the jury out of the courtroom.
(SPECTATORS CHANTING)
They had ballistics. They had forensics. They had motive.
Don't forget the eyewitness. Oh, two, actually.
Rabbit out of the hat, my friend.
No, no, no. Rabbit? Hell, it was more like a hippo.
Hey, who the hell attacks an arrest warrant?
No, no, no. An arrest warrant that was perfectly executed.
Oh, that is why I get the big bucks.
Yeah, right, if only you'd send out a bill now and then.
How many times do I have to say it?
You cannot put a price on civil rights.
Order some appetizers. I'm going out for a smoke.
Not only is he going to hit the front page tomorrow,
but it looks like he's going to do the do with Marian Sherwood.
Oh, no! Nobody does Miss Sherwood.
I think that's the 38th Amendment.
Nobody gets an acquittal with two eyewitnesses, either.
Oh, can we talk about Cheryl?
(GUNSHOTS OUTSIDE)
Was that... Vance.
You guys are gonna love this.
Is that who I think it is?
The one and only Vance Grodie, Attorney-at-Law.
Damn.
He made me trip over my tongue more than once.
Buddy says he came out for a cigarette, somebody started blasting.
Well, somebody went home with an empty clip.
Looks like he got hit five or six times.
Anybody see anything?
A lady saw a guy run to a side street and speed off in a blue Chevy.
We're still canvassing.
How about people out looking for a gun? We're on it.
You heard about the verdict, right?
Yeah, it's all over the news.
This must have been Grodie's victory celebration.
Can you believe that SOB Marbury got off?
Yeah, maybe next time he won't. Ripped By mstoll
He didn't expect the verdict for a couple of days.
So this wasn't a planned get-together?
Nah, it's kind of a tradition.
You get a verdict, you buy.
He called my cell maybe 8:30.
ED: And you?
Oh, um...
I was in my office. I heard the verdict on the radio
and just assumed Vance would be here with his wallet open.
Did he carry a lot of cash?
Vance Grodie didn't do what he did for money.
I guess every adversarial system needs a bad guy.
Actually, Vance was the good guy.
You still didn't answer the question about the cash.
Are you serious? You really think this was a robbery?
What do you think it was?
Who am I to speculate?
You're the closest thing we have to a witness, that's who.
Look, it's no surprise Marbury's acquittal pissed off a lot of people.
Meaning cops.
Just speculating.
You know, when I went to take a leak,
there was this guy in there that was saying things about Vance.
BRISCOE: Like what?
Like, "How can you eat with that sleaze without getting sick?"
He was pretty plastered, breathing gin in my face.
A white guy. 5'9 ", 5'10".
That's it?
I didn't get a good look. He was in the next urinal.
A 5'10" white guy who had too much to drink. Story of my life.
Was there anyone here tonight you hadn't seen before?
Downing a lot of gin.
What time we talking about? 9:00, 9:30.
Does a half a dozen Tom Collins count?
Yeah, for most people.
He was like one of those silent types.
A couple of ladies tried to cozy up.
He ignored them, like he had something else to think about.
Did he pay cash or charge?
Cash.
You know, he was wearing a dark windbreaker, with like a golf shirt under it.
His shirt had one of those company logos on it, but I don't remember what.
What time did he split? I couldn't say.
I just turned around and there was a pile of cash.
But it was before Vance was shot.
Okay, thanks. We'll let you know.
A golf shirt and a windbreaker.
That doesn't sound like the Wall Street type to me.
Well, I doubt they wear their Armanis to bed.
Cops don't sleep in their blues.
I don't want to hear it, Ed.
Hey, man, I'm just suggesting that we go straight to the horse's mouth.
Hey, it comes with the job, right?
I mean, you sign on, you gotta expect...
I don't gotta tell you guys.
Are you sure you don't want?
No, thanks, man.
Hey, you know what?
I can drink as much as I want now without ever going to the pisser.
It all runs down a tube into this bag I got strapped to my leg.
I'm so sorry for what happened to you, Chris.
What's to be sorry?
I'm still getting paid by the job and all I gotta do is answer phones.
Fat City, right?
And the best part is, I get a day off
after the guy that put me here gets a free pass.
Who could ask for anything more?
You know, the job's always here for you.
Yeah, this is it.
This is my world.
Marbury took my life
and that son of a bitch Grodie got him off. I'm glad he's dead.
I just wish I could be there to spit on him before the M.E. Cuts him up.
Maybe this isn't a good time.
Yeah, I'll be better tomorrow.
Look, man, you know we've got a job to do, right?
I know what you're thinking.
You're thinking someone on the job did this.
And you should be ashamed of yourselves.
Well, he's right.
Hey, I don't love this guy Grodie either,
but that doesn't mean I'm gonna turn my back on his killer.
Let me hear again all the evidence you have implicating a cop.
I'm just saying that maybe Wilson got together with a couple of his buddies,
they had a couple of drinks, they start talking.
Next thing you know, you've got a lynch mob.
Only they would have lynched Marbury, not his lawyer.
Maybe they couldn't find him. Maybe he's next.
I've got news for you, Ed, this isn't the Wild West.
Yeah? Well you tell that to Amadou Diallo's family.
This whole blue wall thing, dinosaur.
Look, you show me the first drop of blue
and I'll sit right beside you on the bandwagon. Fine.
Look, I don't think Marbury's
the first unfortunate victim of sociopolitical circumstances
that Grodie got acquitted.
Vance convinces the judge that the radar gun was miscalibrated,
so the cop was reckless in using it.
And he actually has the balls to ask for damages,
both compensatory and punitive.
The judge had such a good time listening to his argument,
he awarded Vance $1,000.
Which he donated to the ACLU?
No, he kept a running tab at the local pub,
open to anyone who worked legal aid.
He had a gift.
Maybe he should have stuck to speeding tickets.
You don't get it.
For Vance, the arguing was an end unto itself.
Yeah, but unfortunately he argued for the wrong people.
You mean the underprivileged, the poor, the disenfranchised?
No. The guilty.
They're the ones who need it most.
The shooting, did it have something to do with the Marbury acquittal?
That's one possibility.
Listen, we were wondering,
did Vance have any financial or personal problems that you're aware of?
Look, we all know this was an assassination.
We have cabinets full of unpopular cases and clients.
Well, we'd like to start by going through all your files.
You're kidding me, right?
It's their self-righteousness that gets me.
They could say the same thing about you.
Why? 'Cause I don't think a cop shot Grodie?
Oh, come on, Lennie, do the math.
Hey, 1992. I'm testifying in a double homicide.
Lloyd and Julie Lippman, husband and wife.
It was a break-in gone bad.
I got the shooter nailed, cold. Ramon Vasquez.
The son of a bitch confesses.
Grodie gets me on the stand,
starts questioning me about my extra-curricular activities.
Oh, you mean the liquid kind.
He had the jury convinced I was running around solving cases in between shots.
Hey, man, from what I hear, you were.
You wanna talk to Chris Wilson's old partner, fine.
Hey, wait, wait. Wait a minute.
What happened with Vasquez?
Grodie got him acquitted.
Two weeks later, Vasquez kills two high school students.
You see, that's what I'm saying.
That was 10 years ago and you're still mad.
Yeah, but I didn't shoot the guy.
Where can we find Vitelli?
Let me guess, Homicide? Damn, and I just ran out of cigars.
That ain't funny, man.
Your partner needs to loosen up.
That is loose.
Look, my shift commander pulled me off the street for this. Can we hurry it up?
How long did you ride with Wilson?
Year and a half.
I was with him when he got shot.
Wasn't one of my better days.
And how was yesterday?
Top 10 with a bullet, no pun intended.
The world's a better place now that Grodie's worm food.
Hey, man, talk like that will make you a suspect.
Hey, how many legs does your partner have?
Calm down.
When it happens to you and you see the scumball who did it walk away,
come back and talk to me.
Hey, Vitelli, take it easy.
Last night I pulled a 4:00 by 12:00 shift.
Around the time Oliver Wendell Sleazebag took a bullet,
I was on 116th Street chasing down a couple of punks who robbed a bodega.
You want, check the blotter.
Chris was a good cop.
Sure, he was well-liked by everybody,
but I can't see anyone here taking this into their own hands.
Here's Vitelli. He collared two uptown, 7:35.
We're also gonna need to take a look at your roll call.
What for?
We want to know everybody in this precinct who was off duty last night.
Between vacations, sick days and RDOs, there's more than 20 guys,
including me.
It's okay, Lennie. I'm sure Sergeant Lawrence will compile a list and forward it on.
LAWRENCE: Not a problem.
There was something in that blotter, an entry from last night, 1854 hours,
"Sector George transporting MOS family member to 100 Centre."
Unusual to give a cop's relative a lift to the courthouse
at 7:00 at night.
It's unusual and against Department regulations.
So we got a call from dispatch to pick up Chris Wilson's brother
from some car dealer on 11th Ave. What's the problem?
So, you're saying that Command asked you to violate the regs?
Cop takes one in the line of duty, the regs go out the window.
ED: That cop was shot over a year ago.
Yeah, well, for some of us, the pain lingers.
Wilson's brother, you drove him to the courthouse?
Cap promised Chris he'd have him there for the verdict. Just in case, you know.
No, I don't.
In case it got emotional. He wanted his family's support.
Wilson's brother. Kevin.
Was he 5'10", 165 pounds, brown hair, wearing a navy blue windbreaker?
Sounds about right.
I figured Chris would need the support,
but it turned out to be me that couldn't handle it.
All that kid's been through and he ends up holding my hand.
I'll tell you what. He's a strong kid.
Me, on the other hand...
And after the verdict, you and Chris, what, went out for a couple?
No, he wanted to go home.
So I helped him into his car and we went back to his place.
That's funny. Because a guy that fits your description to a tee
was drinking gin at Lafayette Grill last night.
Yeah, right about the time that lawyer got shot.
You know, I think we should take some quality time
and discuss this under the proper conditions.
I want to talk to my brother about this.
I think you'll be talking to us first.
It's not good but it's hot.
What is this?
You're supposed to lull me into confessing to something I didn't do?
Back in the day, we wouldn't use coffee.
Back in the day, cop killers didn't live long enough to go to trial.
First off, your brother's not dead.
Well, he might as well be.
You know, you never saw a 2-guard with a better shot.
The kid was like butter, you know?
Coach from Rutgers came to see him play.
But all that dumb bastard wanted to do was "protect and serve."
Just 'cause our dad...
Your dad was on the job?
In Queens.
Damn him!
You can't blame your dad for what happened, Kev.
So who should I blame?
Vance Grodie?
Okay.
I followed Grodie into the restaurant.
I didn't know what I was going to do, but I knew I had to do something.
And?
I drank myself into a stupor, I crawled into a cab
and I blew my lunch just as soon as I got home.
You left out the part about bad-mouthing Grodie in the john.
What? So that means I killed him?
Add it all up, I wouldn't bet against it.
I didn't so much as talk to the son of a bitch.
He was hitting on two babes. Maybe one of them got jealous.
These babes have names?
How would I know?
Check Grodie's Palm Pilot. The blonde left him her number.
Grodie didn't have a Palm Pilot when we got to him.
That would be a lot of lead just to steal an electronic phone book.
I'm not so sure.
Grodie had Marbury's address in there.
Who is it? It's the police, ma'am.
What do you want?
We'd like to speak with Darnell.
He isn't lived here since you locked him up last year.
You're his mother, right?
Don't mind who I am.
Darnell ain't stupid enough to come back
where he knows you're gonna be looking for him.
Ms. Marbury, your son could be in a lot of danger.
Yeah, from you.
Last time you people came for him, you shot up the whole damn building.
His lawyer is dead. He could be next.
Darnell can take care of himself.
Now, I got food on the stove.
Hey, Chandra, it's Ed.
Did you get a hit on that number I left with you?
Yeah, okay. Hurry up.
Mom made an outgoing phone call about two minutes ago.
We know it wasn't for take-out.
Yeah, 113 West 145th Street. Apartment 6-B.
All right baby, I got it. Thank you. I'll see you later.
What up?
You know why we're here.
Man, we gave at the office.
Hey, yo, we need to speak with Darnell.
Who?
His lawyer was murdered. We just need some information.
Tell Rupert I'm talking with you.
Look, man, Darnell is a witness, he's not a suspect.
What if he don't wanna be a witness?
Then maybe he wants to be the next victim.
Look, man, tell Darnell that we'll meet him in a public place.
We'll lay it all out for him.
Chicken place across the street.
Order a happy meal or something and wait.
Now you know how I feel on the Upper East Side.
So, Darnell, have you been watching the news?
Your get-out-of-jail-free ticket took five in the chest.
I guess he's in mourning, Ed.
Whoever did it might be after you, bro.
And you want to catch him?
Grodie was all right. He wasn't all about the money.
ED: Yeah, well, somebody had a problem with that.
He didn't deserve what happened 'cause of me.
Is that a conscience I hear?
Something like that.
It's my fan mail from the joint.
I'd appreciate it if my current address stays confidential.
Some nasty stuff here.
"They should string up spook cop killers like you in Madison Square Garden."
"Garden" spelled with an "I."
Oh, get this one.
"Confess your crimes or God will send the Angel of Death. You will die.
"Your lawyer will die."
I was able to identify three different publications
based on their distinctive type-sets
and the text on the underside of the cutouts.
Wackos Illustrated?
Close. House & Garden, Redbook and Tropical Fish Monthly.
We ran a printout of each magazine's subscribers
in the Suffolk County ZIP Code where the letter was mailed.
There was one name in common, Thalia Raye Phillips.
You want to take the Northern State or the LIE?
That Redbook. I'm thinking of canceling it.
It's getting far too risqué for my taste.
Sex, sex, sex.
It's disgusting is what it is.
Anyway, I'm sorry you two traveled all the way out here,
but I don't know anyone named Mayberry.
Actually, that's Marbury, Mrs. Phillips.
Well, of course, you just told me that.
Or the one with the funny name?
Yeah, Vance Grodie.
I don't know him either.
Did he do something terrible?
It depends on who you ask.
We're very sorry to have troubled you, Mrs. Phillips. Thank you very much.
No trouble at all.
Mrs. Phillips, what do you do with your magazines when you're done with them?
The town here has recycling.
And a nice young man in the building takes them out for me.
ED: Thank you.
Mind if we step in, Mr. Preuss?
Of course not.
Anything I can do to help New York's finest.
Although, you are a little far from home.
BRISCOE: Well, we're investigating some suspicious mail
that was sent from this area.
Isn't the Post Office supposed to do that?
They're not as fine as we are.
How long have you lived out here, Mr. Preuss?
Three years.
You go into the city very often?
No. I'm not really a city guy.
Tell me about it. The smells. The traffic.
And forget about the parking.
No, I'll bet Mr. Preuss takes the train.
He probably has a nice car. He wouldn't want some parking guy nicking it.
What kind of car do you drive?
A Chevy.
What does that have to do with suspicious mail?
The Second Amendment, huh?
I believe every American is entitled to protect his home and loved ones.
9l 11 actually made the masses realize that.
Yeah, every cloud has a silver lining.
While we're here, you mind if we take a look at your weapon?
Am I being investigated for something?
The American Patriot Union?
What is that? Some kind of historical society?
Maybe we shouldn't talk anymore until I get a lawyer.
Sixth Amendment, right?
Well, you can tell him to meet us in the city.
Barbecue sauce.
The American Patriot Union sells barbecue sauce over the Internet.
Is that a crime?
FINESTEIN: My partner filed all the corporate documents himself.
They're up to date with Albany.
The taxes are paid.
ED: You're not a criminal attorney, are you, Mr. Finestein?
(CHUCKLES)
I went to law school.
Well, then that would qualify you to try a murder case.
What?
BRISCOE: Mr. Rib Sauce here may have killed Vance Grodie.
I don't even know who that is.
I do.
You know where all the money from all that sauce goes?
We have a lot of expenses.
ED: Yeah, guns, explosives.
BRISCOE: All those copies of Mein Kampf.
Maybe I'm not qualified for this.
Don't say anything until you get yourself another lawyer.
Just can't trust those people, can you, Julian?
Am I under arrest?
No, but you can consider yourself our guest until your new counsel shows up.
The first blip on the FBI's radar screen about the American Patriot Union
was in Virginia, about 10 years ago.
They're a cross between the Christian right
and some of the nationalist militias we'd see out West.
God and guns. Bad chemistry.
Their leader, Stephen LeClerk, is serving federal time
for blowing up the car of a Florida judge.
So how close are we on ballistics?
A hop, skip and a jump. Preuss' membership in the gun club lapsed.
So there's no locker, no gun.
Did you check the American Patriot Union office?
I didn't know they had one.
Well, a warrant would be nice.
So would probable cause.
Well, we could go talk to them, but I doubt they'd open up to us.
What? You think they'll talk to me?
Blonde hair. Blue eyes.
Hell, if you're lucky, they'll put you on a poster.
Oh, gee, thanks.
I've been following your website for years.
Whoever does your artwork is brilliant.
It's out of the Nashville office.
What was that article about defense lawyers defiling the Constitution?
That blew me away.
That was Julian. Preuss.
He runs this office.
I'm new around here. I just left the city after three miserable years.
That armpit. I don't know how you lasted this long.
If I could get some literature? Yeah.
I was thinking about getting one of these. How do you like it?
There's a newer model now. The 515.
But Julian says that it's a waste of money.
My sister just bought one. I can see what she thinks.
Maybe you can return it.
Hi, it's me.
Yeah, that new PDA that you bought, was that a Palm 515?
'Cause my friend has a 105.
Of course I'm sure, it's sitting here in plain view.
I lost her. She says you should have splurged on the newer model.
What's going on here?
BRISCOE: Oh, just collecting garbage.
I want to see a warrant. Plain sight, baby, we don't need one.
Keep an eye on that desktop until the paperwork gets here.
Yes, sir.
Julian Preuss bought the exact model personal organizer that was stolen from Grodie.
He needed the software to bypass Grodie's password
and download his files onto the hard drive of his computer.
Get back to me when you translate that into English.
Preuss has all of the names and addresses
of Grodie's friends, clients and associates.
That could translate into a hit list for the American Patriot Union.
But we haven't actually recovered Grodie's organizer?
No, but Grodie's law partner has ID'd the files.
If he didn't take them, how'd they end up on his computer?
This electronic shell game, you understand it?
Yes.
Then charge him with murder two.
"Docket number 86661. People v. Julian Preuss.
"Murder in the Second Degree. Robbery in the First Degree."
How does your client plead, Mr. Clemens?
(BOTH WHISPERING)
I don't have all day.
My client instructs me to stand mute.
Mute?
He claims any response will be an admission ofjurisdiction.
Is he 730 material, Mr. Clemens?
Are you crazy?
No, Your Honor.
Swell. I'm entering a plea of not guilty on the defendant's behalf.
People on bail?
Your Honor, not only did the defendant ambush and murder an officer of this court,
but he's also a member of a terrorist group.
I object.
So do I, Mr. Preuss. The only difference is I'm allowed to.
Your Honor, Mr. Preuss has acquired all of Mr. Grodie's personal files.
We believe that makes him a threat to other innocent people.
The People ask for remand.
Do you want to respond, Mr. Clemens?
Is there any point?
Actually, no.
Is this what I get?
Some liberal hippie gypsy lawyer.
The court appreciates your color commentary, Mr. Preuss.
And to show that appreciation,
not only am I going to grant the People's request for remand without bail,
I'm also imposing special administrative measures.
That means that pending trial you will have no contact with anyone
except for the gypsy fellow beside you.
No phone calls. No mail.
It looks like you should have gone with your first instinct, Mr. Preuss.
You know, the one about standing mute.
The SAM restrictions weren't my idea.
JACK: Come on.
Well, I wish I could take credit, but Taylor ruled sua sponte.
Personal or political?
Maybe a little bit of both.
(DOOR OPENING) Preuss' attorney was dumbfounded.
She still is. Hello, Jack. Serena.
You're representing Preuss?
You know, I had an opening in my calendar and I said to myself,
"What the hell, why not defend our Constitution?"
So here's my notice of appearance on behalf of Julian Preuss.
You know what he is?
I know he deserves better than some legal aid guy
who needs a refresher course in civil rights.
I thought that you were friends with Vance Grodie.
I was.
But if it doesn't bother Preuss, it doesn't bother me.
Besides, this is precisely the sort of case
that Vance Grodie would have salivated over.
Representing a member of a white supremacy group?
Representing a guy whose civil rights have been obliterated
by some overzealous government official.
You know what I hope? What do you hope?
I hope you never gave Vance Grodie your home address.
Oh, come on, Jack.
I'm bringing an order to show cause tomorrow in Part 50
to vacate the special administrative measures.
Have a good day.
Julian Preuss is accused of a crime, Your Honor.
But that doesn't make him Hannibal Lecter.
He's a member of a group that's on the FBI's watch list of domestic extremist groups.
Excuse me, but doesn't the First Amendment say
that he can congregate with whomever he chooses?
You are kidding me, right?
I assure you, Your Honor, Mr. Preuss did not steal Vance Grodie's organizer
in order to beef up his Christmas card list.
Everyone in it is potentially in danger.
I see. The prosecutor reads minds now?
Sarcasm isn't helping your cause, Ms. Melnick.
I'm sorry, Your Honor. The law doesn't seem to be either.
Your Honor, this court has taken away from my client
his First Amendment right to expression,
his right to assist in his own defense, his right to due process.
It is cruel and unusual to bar a man not yet convicted
from all contact with the outside world.
In most cases, yes, it is.
But because of your client's potential threat to innocent people,
I am forced to uphold Judge Taylor's ruling.
The special administrative measures will remain in place.
Your Honor... Not to worry, Counselor.
Your client still has the right
to your insightful repartee.
(BANGS GAVEL)
Hello, Jack.
Okay, let's talk turkey.
What are you up to?
And don't give me that party line about Preuss being a threat to society.
When you argue, I have this compulsive need to argue back.
Really?
Have you seen the way he's being treated?
Haven't had the pleasure.
Let me tell you, you wouldn't last 15 minutes.
I didn't gun down a member of the bar.
And you're so sure he did?
How else did he get the files from Grodie's organizer?
I don't know. Maybe it was taken by an associate?
Who also drives a blue Chevy and sends letters from Suffolk County?
Come on, Jack. Let's be reasonable.
Unless Preuss memorized Grodie's phone book,
there's nothing he could have told anyone.
Now, that's a good point. Perhaps you should have raised that with Judge Lusky.
Oh, nice.
You know, I love you, Jack.
But you are really pissing me off.
What can I get you?
A Kevlar vest. A D.A. Was murdered in Florida last night.
His name was Mark Featherstone.
I never heard of him.
He was a friend and classmate of Vance Grodie's from Georgetown.
Tell me it's a coincidence.
His claim to fame was that he prosecuted Stephen LeClerk,
who was the founder of the American Patriot Union,
currently serving 25-to-life.
Did you call the FBI?
There's more.
Featherstone was vacationing at his fishing cabin in North Carolina.
And his address is on Grodie's organizer.
Could this fella Preuss have passed along Featherstone's address
before we arrested him?
Grodie's organizer was breached just a few hours before Preuss was arrested.
The cops are pretty sure
that Preuss didn't have any contact with anyone during that time period.
And the computer technicians are sure that they would have found an e-mail.
Featherstone's wife told us only those closest to him knew where the cabin was.
No one in his office even knew about it.
So somehow Preuss is calling the shots
even though he's separated from the world
by a couple of tons of steel and concrete.
That's unlikely. He would have had to have memorized Featherstone's address.
Featherstone did convict his fearless leader.
If there was one address he was going to focus on...
You know, I've stayed in a lot of fishing cabins in my time
and they all have addresses like 3 Trout Lane.
50 Brook Road.
Good theory, but the only one to have contact with Preuss
since he was jailed is Danielle Melnick.
Well, let's take a look at her.
Hold on, Arthur. Danielle and I have been friends for 20 years.
Your point being?
She was philosophically opposed to the SAM restrictions, Jack.
And she would not knowingly break the law.
Why don't I just ask her?
That will give her the chance to cover her tracks.
Why don't we see what we can do
about getting a wire in the counsel room at Rikers
before we rush to judgment either way.
Great plan. Only there's a little thing called attorney-client privilege.
Not when the attorney becomes a conspirator, there's not.
Danielle Melnick?
Preuss had no other visitors than Ms. Melnick.
We had all of the corrections officers take lie detector tests.
If Preuss ordered the hit on Featherstone, he did it with her help.
You do realize, of course, if this eavesdrop doesn't bear any fruit,
the violation of attorney-client privilege
will probably be cause for dismissal.
There are a lot of names in Grodie's organizer.
We're willing to take the risk.
It's your career, Counselor.
MELNICK: The file is right there on your hard drive, Mr. Preuss.
There's not much that we can do with that.
PREUSS: We'll find somebody to say it's not.
I will not suborn perjury.
Then we'll get an expert witness to say that I was framed.
That the government put it there. Look, Julian...
You're my lawyer, right?
You're supposed to believe me.
Yes, but I have to be able to keep a straight face
when I present your case in court.
The FBI has been all over us for years.
I'm guessing they weren't the biggest fans of Mr. Grodie either.
Add it up, they kill him, put his info on my computer.
It's two birds in one stone.
Well,
now you're getting warmer.
I mean, at least with that one I won't get laughed out of the courtroom.
I know somebody. He's a computer genius.
He'll prove my story is true.
Here.
Take this name and address to John Burke.
The man who knows your contact in North Carolina?
That's right. He'll take care of everything.
SERENA: I don't like this any more than you do, Jack,
but Danielle was playing messenger boy.
She did it once. She's about to do it again.
You're jumping to conclusions.
She violated a judge's order.
And you're splitting hairs. Am I?
What if the first note said Mark Featherstone?
What if it said 50 Brook Road?
What if it said he wanted a case full of Snickers bars?
I think we owe it to Mark Featherstone to find out what it did say.
I'm gonna call Van Buren.
No.
I'll take care of it.
(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
Ever hear of the telephone? I know it's late.
Yeah, come in.
Do you know why I'm here?
No. Your golden retriever threw you out?
Mark Featherstone.
Who?
His address was on Vance Grodie's organizer.
He was an A.D.A. In Florida.
Yeah, so?
He was murdered.
What?
I know Preuss used you, Danielle.
Jack.
And he's doing it again. Wait, wait, wait.
We have you on tape.
At Rikers, your last meeting with Preuss.
Wait a minute. Just wait a minute, Jack.
The man gave me an address. That does not necessarily...
My God, my God.
Jack, you know that I would never knowingly...
You did violate the special administrative measures.
Because it was wrong.
God!
I'll let you surrender yourself.
You're charging me?
Tomorrow morning.
Jack.
Jack, it's me. Please.
Please...
Take care of yourself, Danielle.
CLERK: "Docket number 86904, People v. Danielle Rose Melnick.
"Conspiracy in the First Degree, Manslaughter in the Second Degree."
Ms. Melnick pleads not guilty.
In the strongest possible terms, not guilty.
I'm taking you off the Preuss case, Ms. Melnick.
Your Honor, there's no motion before this court.
I'm just following what the Eastern District did to Shargel in that Gotti mess.
You can't represent your client and conspire with him at the same time.
I assume the People aren't looking for bail.
These are serious allegations, Your Honor.
The defendant was recorded conspiring to violate
the special administrative measures imposed by this very court.
Prior leaks have already led to at least one murder.
Ms. Southerlyn.
The People are fine with ROR, Your Honor.
So ordered.
(BANGS GAVEL)
I had to ask for bail.
Just out of curiosity, what number did you have in mind?
I was going to leave that up to Judge Taylor.
Look, Jack, neither of us can know what was in her head.
Jack.
You're not supposed to be talking to me.
Do you want to have your lawyer join us?
That's not what I'm not talking about.
I'm talking about the guilt that should accompany the royal screwing of a friend.
The eavesdrop wasn't my idea.
Do you honestly think that I purposely relayed information?
Of course not.
But you must have known you were playing with fire.
You're saying I was reckless?
Or stupid.
That's great. This is great.
Maybe I'll use you as my character witness.
If Preuss played you, Danielle, you can do something about it.
Just tell me everything that went on at Rikers.
Why bother? You have it all on tape.
You know what I'm talking about.
Yeah, I do.
And I'm not going to breach attorney-client privilege.
Your client is responsible for two deaths that we know of.
Not until 12 citizens say he is.
Come on, Jack,
we'd only be pretending to look for justice
if a client cannot have absolute faith
in the sanctity of his communications with his attorney.
He used you to kill somebody.
I know that.
And I hate him, but...
It's the principle.
You're damn right.
And if you don't see that, I never knew you.
It's ironic.
I'm going to risk everything I have
to defend the rights of a man who may have killed Vance Grodie.
(LAUGHS)
And you know something?
That is exactly what Vance would have done.
Everything still out there that's supposed to be?
I take it Ms. Melnick declined our invitation.
I had a hard time pushing her. I can see her side of it.
Ah, she waived the Bill of Rights in your face, did she?
Well, we can't let lawbreakers use the right to counsel
to facilitate their crimes.
The Constitution's not a suicide pact.
Justice Jackson.
Oh, I know, you're more of a Brennan man.
Slippery slope and all that guff.
Times change, Jack, the pendulum swings.
And law-abiding people get clocked along the way.
You know, back in New Haven,
there was this fella, name of Thornhurst.
Is he any relation to... Yup.
That's him, sitting as Chief Justice in the Fifth Circuit.
His old man was the Secretary of State under somebody.
You ran in the right circles, Arthur.
Well, it turns out he had a hell of a time with his Bankruptcy class.
Son of a gun worked his butt off and still got an F.
It doesn't seem to have hurt him.
Thing is, that F was about to keep him from graduating.
But one of his good buddies goes to the professor with a whale of a story.
Thorny's old man has heart trouble, he said.
And if his first born doesn't graduate, then who knows?
In other words, he lied.
Those would be the precise words.
Long story short, the professor found his own heart,
he upped the grade to a D,
Thorny graduated, apple of his old man's eye.
I love a happy ending, Arthur, but didn't you just
change the subject in the middle of our conversation?
You tell me.
Have a good night.
What's he doing here? Where's my other lawyer?
She's no longer representing you, Mr. Preuss.
She can't do that without my okaying it. And I know that much.
In most situations, that's right.
And this has evolved into anything but the typical situation.
As your initial counsel of record,
Mr. Clemens has agreed to sit in on this meeting.
Don't worry, I'll get a real lawyer before we go to trial.
I appreciate that.
That'll be fine if you still want to go to trial.
Why wouldn't I?
Because Ms. Melnick told us everything.
She confessed to communicating with your associate Mr. Burke.
And we are in the process of negotiating a deal with her
for conspiracy to commit murder.
You believe her?
More than I believe you, Mr. Preuss.
Lawyers!
You are turning this great country into a cesspool. For what?
He set me up.
He sent that Jew lawyer in here all along planning to trap me.
That's got to be illegal.
Sure, I can argue that at trial. Although you'll have to...
Shut up.
What are you offering?
One count of Conspiracy in the First Degree.
One count of Manslaughter in the First Degree.
Is Ms. Melnick getting the same deal?
On the conspiracy, yes.
Sentences to run concurrently?
Why not?
It's a good deal.
If he allocutes that Danielle Melnick acted without any criminal intent.
Oh, I see what's going on here. Do you think I'm stupid?
The jury's still out on that, Mr. Preuss.
Choice A, you go to jail for the rest of your life
and Ms. Melnick goes for 15 years.
Choice B, you're eligible for parole in 12 and a half.
And she walks?
Your decision.
Of course he took the deal.
People like that, their hate only goes so far.
Their self-interest goes a hell of a lot further.
One might even say there was a little cause and effect going on in there.
Judge Lusky has agreed to drop all of the charges against Danielle.
The Bar Association Review Board will...
Name an award for her.
How many other lawyers would risk what she did for the sake of client privilege?
Remind me to never play poker with you, Jack.
You should have seen him in action.
Told a couple of whoppers, did you?
What's a whopper when it helps a good buddy?
That's what I always say.
(PHONE RINGING)
Mr. Branch's office.
Where?
What happened?
Melnick was waiting for the elevator.
We're still trying to piece it together.
Building security caught her trying to leave through the parking garage.
She was a traitor to America.
Traitor!
Better be careful, Jack. Looks like it's open season on lawyers. Ripped By mstoll