Marshall Page #4

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But now you live in Greenwich.

Yes, that's right.

So if you live in Greenwich, you

must have heard about this case.

It's all anybody talks about.

I assume, then, that you've come

to some sort of conclusion

regarding the defendant's

guilt or innocence?

You assume incorrectly.

I don't have all the evidence,

now, do I?

Have you met

Mrs. Strubing?

In passing, at parties

and community events.

I believe we belong

to the same club.

Do you really think then,

Mrs. Richmond,

that with all of these connections...

the club, the parties...

that you could really

just set all of that aside?

I don't see why not.

Thank you.

No further questions.

The State accepts

Mrs. Richmond.

Your Honor...

What?

No. Absolutely not.

Mr. Friedman.

Your Honor, may we have

five minutes, please?

Fine with me, Your Honor.

The court will recess

for exactly five minutes.

But we're not gonna make a habit

of this, are we, counselor?

No. No, of course not.

Thank you, Your Honor.

We have one challenge left.

It was made for this woman.

Just trust me on this.

She's a Southerner.

Lives in the same town.

Take her.

I'm not your goddamn puppet.

I'm getting rid of her.

She's smart, she's confident,

she resists authority.

Did you see the way

she talked back to you?

The other jurors will listen to her.

Which is exactly the problem.

She knows Mrs. Strubing. They

run in the same social circles.

And she doesn't

put her on a pedestal.

Maybe Mrs. Strubing

is a drinker.

Maybe she has a boyfriend in town.

This woman may know things.

You are stabbing in the dark.

Maybe, but this I do know.

The one thing Southerners like her

hate more than the colored...

arrogant Yankee pricks

like Willis.

Were you watching her?

She folded her arms and sat

back when Willis spoke.

When you began, she opened up,

leaned forward,

removed her glasses.

These are signs.

Signs of what?

She likes you.

No, my gl...

my glasses!

I need my glasses.

Well, it's about time.

Yeah.

Mr. Friedman?

The defendant

accepts Mrs. Richmond.

Am I missing something?

Mrs. Richmond, you've been

accepted by both of the parties

and will serve as

our 12th and final juror.

The evidence will begin

tomorrow morning at 10:00.

Mr. Friedman!

Mr. Friedman.

What do you have to say about

today's comments by the NAACP?

What comments? -The press

release by Walter White?

He says that, "The Spell case

will show the world"

that a colored man cannot get a fair

trial in the United States of America."

Do you agree, Mr. Friedman? I

have nothing to say about that.

What about you,

Mr. Marshall?

Hasn't it been proven

in this courtroom already?

How can a man have a fair trial when

he's denied counsel of his choice?

When the members of his race are

eliminated from service on his jury?

When fear and bias against his race are the

central points of the case against him?

In Europe right now,

the forces of tyranny

have mobilized

behind the vision

of a so-called master race.

But here in America, our differences

aren't supposed to matter.

Here we're promised

equal protection under the law.

Separate but equal!

Nothing complicated about that.

That promise has not been

realized, not even close.

Not in Birmingham, Alabama,

nor in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma,

and certainly not here

in Bridgeport, Connecticut...

where your bigotry is simply

covered by a northern accent.

But a fair jury can always

render a just verdict.

That's what we're striving for

here today.

The Constitution was not written for us.

We know that.

But no matter what, we're

gonna make it work for us.

From now on

we claim it as our own.

What's bothering you?

- Sam.

- Not now.

What's bothering me?

You insulting the judge on the courthouse

steps. That's what's bothering me.

Just relax.

Excuse me?

I have to live in this city

after you're gone. Understand?

No more public statements until

this trial is over, or I'm gone.

Let me make this clear.

My people will decide what to say to

the newspapers and when to say it.

The newspapers should have

no place in this trial.

But they already do. People are losing

their jobs because of these stories.

Those people are not my clients!

Well, they are mine!

My jury isn't just the 12 people in that

jury box. It's the whole goddamn nation.

You just focus on this case,

try your best not to screw it up

and leave the big picture to me.

Sam.

What is it, Irwin? Don't

you have something to do?

There's someone waiting

for you in my office.

Yes?

And who is this someone?

Officer McCoy.

And who the hell

is Officer McCoy?

The cop who pulled

Spell over that night.

I just did what you said.

I drove around Port Chester, pulling

over police cars, and I found him.

Attaboy, Irwin.

Attaboy.

What time did you pull over Mr.

Spell?

Did you hear the question?

3:
37 a.m.,

according to my notes.

Why'd you stop him?

It didn't look like...

a man like that

would drive that car.

Was anyone with him in the car?

No. He was alone.

You're willing to

testify to that in court?

If I have to.

Irwin, get a sworn statement from

Officer McCoy, then escort him out.

Officer.

An honest policeman.

See what your publicity

stirs up?

No, it just brings 'em out

where you can see 'em.

Give us justice!

That doesn't look

anything like me.

Does it?

The State of Connecticut

v. Joseph Spell.

Are counsel ready to proceed?

Ready for the State.

We are, Your Honor.

Mr. Willis, you may call

your first witness.

The State calls Greenwich Police

Captain Burke to the stand.

Would you identify these

photos, Captain Burke?

Yes, sir.

That's the Kensico Reservoir.

Did you find any evidence

at the scene

that pertains to this case?

Yes, sir, we did.

We found Mrs. Strubing's sealskin

coat floating in the reservoir,

under the bridge, about here.

Then about here, on the guardrail,

we found some strands of fabric.

I believe they were stuck

to some bird droppings.

Were you able to

identify the fabric?

Yes, sir. It matched the fabric from Mrs.

Strubing's sealskin coat.

Thank you.

Nothing further.

Your witness,

Mr. Friedman.

Bird droppings.

Sorry?

Bird droppings,

Captain Burke?

Yes, that's right.

Were you able to

identify the bird?

May I?

Thank you.

Now...

on one side of the bridge is the

reservoir, placid as a lake.

On the other side is a 30-foot

drop onto a jagged rock bed.

- Is that correct?

- You could say that.

And the fabric that you

found was on the lake side,

right about here,

around 60 feet onto the bridge.

Sixty-seven feet,

four inches.

Okay.

Did you conclude, then, that Mrs.

Strubing fell or jumped off the bridge?

I concluded that she was pushed.

Pushed?

To murder her.

That's right.

As a trained

crime investigator, Captain,

did you ever ask yourself,

if someone wanted

Mrs. Strubing dead,

why not push her onto the sharp, jagged

rock bed rather than the still lake water?

Object.

Asking for speculation.

Sustained. The jury will

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