American Violet Page #7

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- No.

- Did you test him?

- No.

- You think Eddie Porter

is mentally stable?

- Objection.

My client's

not a psychiatrist.

- You go ahead

and answer the question.

- I still can't believe

you're doing this.

- Well, here I am.

Now please

answer the question.

- Look,

I can answer any question

y'all want to throw at me, okay?

Just 'cause

I didn't go to law school

doesn't mean sh*t.

Eddie Porter is crazier

than a $3 bill, okay?

He wouldn't know

which way the sky was

unless I pointed him

up to it.

The sh*t that boy did-

I mean, I had to walk him

through every single step

every time.

- Then why'd you trust him

as a confidential informant?

- Mr. Arnold,

you were a combined

county drug task force commander

in November of 2000,

were you not?

- Yes.

- Was the drug task force

racist in its design?

- Absolutely not.

- I'd like to enter this

as exhibit 5.

It comes

from your files.

And it's dated a month before

the raid at Arlington Springs.

Are those the folks

whom you arrested that day?

- Most of them.

- Do you know them?

- Most of them.

- Could you tell us

each person's race?

- Black-

African American.

Black,

don't know,

black, black,

black, black.

I believe black.

Black, don't know,

gonna assume black,

black, black,

assume black again,

black, black,

black, black,

black, black, black,

don't know,

black.

- Mr. Lloyd,

I warned you last time.

- What?

He ain't fit

to take the kids.

All right, the first chance

he has to go to a bar,

he'll leave

their ass hungry.

- True, but I'm not gonna leave

the children with you either.

They're gonna have to go

to a group home.

- Look, I got a house.

They belong

with their mama.

- Miss Lloyd?

- What?

- This is not a debate society.

You're done here.

- Those are my kids.

They belong

with their mama.

- Thank you very much.

- Next case.

- Here you are, sir.

- Hughes versus Roberts.

- Dee.

- She's violent.

She's abusive.

Just last month,

she was arrested

for a criminal attack.

- The attack

was on his truck

because he kidnapped my girls.

- Well, they my children too.

- I've never

abandoned my daughters.

I was in jail, and I left them

with their grandmother,

my mother,

who's an excellent caregiver.

- Well, Miss Roberts,

you do seem to have

a rich and varied

relationship with the law.

Larceny, criminal attack,

repeated disturbances

of the peace.

- You mean where I'm screaming

'cause he's beating me?

- An arrest for selling drugs

in a school zone.

- Those charges

have been dropped.

- Mm.

One can see

why Mr. Hughes is concerned.

- If he is so concerned,

maybe he should make some

of his child support payments.

- I do pay child-

it's called "child support"

not "Dee support."

I pay for my children.

- Or stop seeing a woman

who's been convicted

for child molesting.

- All right, now,

you know that's not true.

Mr. Hughes, if I want

any more input from you,

I will ask for it.

You seem to have a point,

Miss Roberts.

Perhaps these girls shouldn't be

with Mr. Hughes either.

Unfit parents are why the state

has homes for children,

after all.

- I am not

an unfit mother.

Now, if you want to hurt me

because I'm suing you,

go ahead and do it.

But so help me God,

if you hurt my children...

I'm not an unfit mother.

- [Sighs]

- I have a report here

from CPS Inspector Moss.

Hm.

Based on that, I am leaving

the children with you for now.

But, Miss Roberts,

do not assume that I will be

so lenient next time.

Next case.

- Do you think

it will help?

- Help?

- The lawsuit.

Will it really help?

- Will it-

Dee?

An African-American man

has a better chance

of being charged for a crime

than graduating college.

The system

is so fundamentally broken...

Oh, God,

I don't know.

Yes.

I think it'll help.

I hope it'll help.

Are you ready for tomorrow?

- I'll be fine.

Thank you.

- I should be thanking you.

I don't...

I don't know how you have

the strength to keep going.

- I had help.

- All right.

Shall we?

- Miss Roberts,

do you have a job?

- No.

- Are you currently

seeking employment?

- Yes.

But it's hard

because of the drug thing.

- So you have

no source of income?

- But my mama's

helping me out.

- Sounds to me like

you could use some money.

I bet a big, old, fat settlement

check from my clients

would come in handy,

wouldn't it?

What do you think, Gus?

- Objection.

Is that a question?

- [Chuckles]

I knew that was coming.

Speaking of that drug thing,

you'd been arrested before,

hadn't you,

and since.

- Yes.

- Now, it seems to me that

the more you do something,

the more used to it

you get,

the less stressful

it should become.

- Oh, come on, Mark.

What are you do-

are you asking a question,

or is this a monologue?

- Just an observation, Sam.

Tell me about

your first arrest.

- It was for theft.

It was a very long time ago.

- You were guilty?

- Well, yes, but-

- You were guilty.

So your second arrest,

that was for selling drugs

in a school zone.

We know all about that,

don't we?

- Those charges

were dropped.

- What about

this most recent arrest?

Tell me about that.

- It was for criminal mischief.

I busted up Darrell's truck

so he would give me

my girls back.

- You were guilty

of that one too?

- Those charges

were dropped.

- But you were guilty.

- Objection.

Mr. Shelby,

this is not a court of law,

and you're not a judge.

- Uh, who's this guy Darrell?

- Darrell Hughes,

he's the father

of my two youngest kids.

- But I thought

you had four children.

- I do have four children.

- The oldest two

have different fathers.

- Fathers,

like plural?

- [Laughs]

Damn, woman.

How many different men

have you had sex with

in the past eight years, huh?

- Objection!

- You okay?

- Uh-huh.

Seen better days.

- Well, you're doing good.

Remember, they're just as afraid

of you as you are of them.

- [Sighs]

- All right, let's get back

to these multiple fathers

we were talking about

before the break.

Now, we know about

Darrell Hughes,

but what can you tell me

about the other two?

Where do they

currently reside?

- They in prison.

- Both of them?

- Mm-hmm.

- Why?

What were they convicted of?

- You know,

I believe drugs.

- Drugs.

What kind of drugs?

- Cocaine.

- Cocaine.

Crack cocaine?

Would you mind

repeating that for the record?

- Crack cocaine.

- That's the same drug that you

were arrested for dealing,

was it not?

- Well, I didn't do that.

- Yeah, so you say.

- Objection!

Miss Roberts

is not on trial here.

- Well, Counselor,

forgive me,

but I'm just having a tough time

trying to understand

why it is that this arrest

has caused Miss Roberts

so much mental duress.

I mean, it seems to me

like she and her whole family

have been in

and out of jails and prisons

and police stations

her whole life long.

So what is it

about this particular arrest

that is so different?

- Mr. Shelby-

- I'll tell you what

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