Criminal Law Page #5

The purity?

There you are, you know, that's what I hate.

You show me scenery, you tell me history

and dog stories, but not about you.

I am telling you about me.

Avenger.

That's the role I was destined for,

that's what makes sense of my coming

into this world of suffering,

wh-why my tiny spark

was not snuffed out

before it had a chance to blaze.

I was spared for a reason.

Spared?

You know, you're right.

Anything is justified.

O-B-G-Y-N.

Come to my office.

I'll see you in the morning, Ann.

I knew you were an obstetrician.

It never occurred to me it was relevant.

You do abortions.

My practice is family

planning, birth control,

sterilization and pregnancy termination.

Do you discuss your work with Martin?

No, and I won't discuss it with you, either.

Why are you here?

Last time we talked, you insisted Martin

was home the night of the murder.

Now we know he could have been out.

He says that can't be held against him.

That's a technicality.

I'm talking about the truth.

Martin knows about your work, of course?

Of course.

And he also knows that you wanted

to terminate your own pregnancy.

You wanted to terminate Martin.

He didn't tell you that.

You should have told me. I

told you what was relevant.

You want brutal frankness,

Mr. Chase, go to Simon.

He was the one who told him the whole

story, his version of the story

when Martin was 14.

He wanted to tear him away from me.

It didn't matter.

He was already lost to me,

had been since he was eight.

You and I are the only ones close to Martin.

He wants to tell me this himself,

but he can't.

I had an emergency case.

It was in this room.

The woman had left it too late

and then tried to do it herself.

She was in bad shape.

My nurse and I were working desperately

trying to save her and we forgot the door.

The open door.

I turned to put the fetus...

It was dead before she got here.

I had it in my hands to put

it in the tray, and I saw...

I saw Martin standing there watching.

I shall never forget his eyes.

I tried to explain.

But I couldn't get him to talk about it.

The therapist couldn't either. Except

once when she got him upset somehow

and he told her that his mother...

He said that his mother killed babies.

Yeah, come on.

Peanut oil, soy sauce, garlic, ginger.

Now, you're cooking.

I have garlic.

You know I have garlic.

You always need more garlic.

Come on, boy.

First, I'm gonna bestow a gem of wisdom.

And then I'm gonna ask

for a piece of information.

Fair enough?

Life is weird.

You know, never underestimate

how weird life is.

Yesterday I almost killed Martin.

It seemed like the only solution.

Today I've got him neat and tidy,

if Janet had an abortion.

Yeah, yeah, while I was in California.

Her boyfriend, Hal something.

I never met the guy.

He was living here.

Janet got pregnant and she wanted a baby.

Hal didn't. They fought over it.

Broke up over it.

What's that got to do with all this?

I'll tell you when it's a done thing, okay?

But you were right.

What?

Everything is personal.

Now, what about you?

How come you're alone?

Well, maybe I never met the right guy.

Met the right guy.

We gotta talk. Now.

This has got to be the dumbest

thing you've ever done.

And "this" is?

The motion to seal

Dr. Thiel's medical files.

I wish you'd have let me see

it before it went through.

Gary, don't you read the journals?

That motion gives us a piece of one

of the legal issues of our day.

The battle of police...

It's a battle we shouldn't even be fighting!

If you hadn't made the motion,

they might not have thought to ask for it.

But now the prosecutor's not only going to

ask for it, he'll want to examine them.

He already has.

It's Parks.

Heh, he took his offer

of proof to Judge Ailman,

who was a prosecutor for a mere 30 years.

He'd love to give Parks the stuff.

If he can justify.

Well, there you are.

Where?

Come on, Ben.

Ailman will examine the

files himself, in camera.

So?

So, if the names are in there,

he'll spill those files all

over the courthouse steps.

So?

For Christ's sakes.

If the prosecution can

show the personal files

of otherwise unrelated victims

were in your client's mother's

office, in his own house,

he won't see daylight until Judgment Day.

And justice will be done.

He's guilty.

The nightmare of all defense

attorneys caught up with me.

I did everything I knew

to spring a guilty man,

and he did it again.

What do you mean "guilty?"

I mean he did it.

Most of our clients did it.

That's how most defendants

become defendants.

They did it and a lot of

people know they did it.

But making sure it's proved they did

it, establishing why they did it

and getting a reasonable penalty,

that's work for attorneys.

Guilty is for juries.

And justice is for God.

You have to do the best for your client.

If your sense of his guilt

prevents you from that,

then you withdraw from the case.

There's no other course.

I had to retrieve my error.

Parks.

What about the names?

Nothing at all. Not one.

Ailman examined the files in

camera and found nothing.

He threw my motion for access out of court.

He threw me out of court.

None of the names?

I'm sorry, Carl.

I really thought I had

something for you this time.

But damned if I know why Chase

wanted that stuff sealed.

It doesn't make sense.

I told you what to do about him.

Yeah. It's already

in the works.

I'm not a signatory.

Yes, yes.

I have no stake in the lengthy...

Yes, but what do you think?

I just say, pick up the option.

Stu? Done.

And done.

Just sign here, Ben.

And this whole thing will be

behind us, until next time.

Well, let's get back to it, Joan.

Carol, will you call Mrs. Corbet and

tell her I can't make it tomorrow.

And, Mr. Burgess called about the

preliminary hearing tomorrow.

It's at 4:
00.

Call back to confirm.

Quiet, it's just the mailman.

Hi.

Here you go, ma'am.

Come on.

Hal!

Hal!

Yeah?

I'm Ellen Falkner.

I was Janet's friend.

So, how'd you know I was here?

Your new girlfriend told me

at the apartment.

So?

I wanna know about the abortion.

Janet said you had some kind of a...

F*** you.

Yeah, okay. Fine.

I'll ask your girlfriend.

So, the woman whose apartment I

subletted recommended her clinic.

But I'm not sure this is the right one.

Could you check and see if

a Janet Wallen comes here?

I'm sorry, you'll have to ask her.

We don't give out information

about our clients.

Of course, I understand. But you can

tell me about the doctors, right?

This is a list of all our doctors,

with their credentials and affiliations.

Mrs. Baker? Room Three.

This Dr. Thiel. I've heard of her.

She's very good?

There's no guarantee of seeing a

specific doctor. They're all good.

My last question, how late are you open?

Normally till 5:
30.

We're running a little late today.

Great. Thanks. I'll be back.

Hello, this is the recorded

voice of Ben Chase.

Please leave your name and

number when you hear the beep.

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