Marshall Page #8

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That's not true. That's a lie.

He gagged me. He tied me.

Raped me.

I am so... so sorry for your

unhappiness, Mrs. Strubing.

No more questions.

- Mr. Willis?

- I have no questions.

How can we put Spell on the

stand with all this baggage?

The jury needs

to hear him deny it.

And you bring out

all the bad stuff yourself.

Don't leave anything for Willis.

What happens to the

organization if we lose?

I don't even want

to think about it.

You could blame me.

You're one of us now, Sam.

Haven't you noticed?

In the papers they write, "Sam Friedman

and Thurgood Marshall of the NAACP."

Joseph, please tell the jury

where you were raised.

Louisiana.

You have a wife and two

children, right? -

Even though you have a wife, you have

another woman in White Plains, is it?

Yes.

What's he doing?

- Ever served in the army, Joseph?

- Yes, sir.

Fort Benning, Georgia,

six years. Discharged.

That was

a dishonorable discharge?

Yes.

Then you moved north?

That's right.

Before working for the Strubings, you

worked for another family in Greenwich?

Yes, sir.

They accused you of stealing

and fired you.

Yes, sir.

And when you worked

for the Strubings,

did you run into

any other difficulties?

No, sir. -Did the Strubings

treat you well, Joseph?

She was always real nice to me.

What about Mr. Strubing?

Was he mean to you?

He was mean to everybody.

It is what you did.

Don't lie to me.

Watch where you're standing.

Yes, sir.

Just a second, Joseph.

I'm sorry.

That's quite all right, ma'am.

On the night of this incident,

why did you go into

Mrs. Strubing's room?

To ask her for money. I had to pay

a man I'd been playing cards with.

What happened

when you got to the room?

I knocked on the door.

Come in.

I could tell she'd been sad.

She was crying.

- Are you okay, ma'am?

- What do you want, Joseph?

It can wait, Mrs. Strubing.

But she told me to stay,

ask my question.

I told her I needed some money.

She asked what for.

There's a man I owe.

So she went to the bureau.

She said, "Is this enough for you,

Joseph?" I said, "Yes, ma'am. Thank you."

But she didn't give it to me.

Then she asked me...-

I'm not awful like him,

am I, Joseph?

No, ma'am.

Joseph.

She asked me not to

leave her alone that night.

And, I didn't.

Then what happened?

Well, we went down to the

living room, me and her.

We had a drink together. -What

did the two of you talk about?

She told me he beats her.

Who beats her?

Who did that?

My husband.

Did she ever resist you, Joseph?

No, she didn't.

Not at all.

What happened next?

We were lying on the sofa.

God.

And she heard some dogs barking.

Joseph.

She was convinced somebody was gonna

come to the house and find us together.

Get up. Get up!

Nobody gonna wake up.

She started panicking. I told her there's

no one coming. Everything's fine.

But she was insisting on,

"We gotta get out of here.

We gotta get out of here right

now." So we left the house.

We go down to the car,

and we drive around for a bit.

She sat in the back,

so it don't look wrong.

Then the cop car

come up from behind.

She get real scared.

She say... Why don't you

lie down and keep quiet?

I can't be seen

with a colored man.

I say, "You lie down

and keep quiet then."

Don't move.

Where'd you get this car, boy?

I'm a chauffeur, sir. Belongs to John

Strubing. Greenwich, Connecticut.

Identification.

Yes, sir.

Drive slower, boy.

Yes, sir.

Get your ass

out of Port Chester.

On my way right now, sir.

Thank you.

What happened next?

We get to the reservoir,

and, she scream at me.

Joseph, stop the car.

Stop the car!

Joseph, stop the car!

What's the matter?

She keeps shaking her head

and saying, "What have I done?"

Everything's gonna be fine, Mrs.

Strubing.

Just take a deep breath, okay?

No, no, no, no.

No, you don't understand.

Maybe we should just

go back to the house?

You don't understand.

You don't understand.

She keeps saying, "I'm gonna get

pregnant." "No, you ain't," I said.

- You're not gonna get pregnant.

- I can't have a colored child.

You're not gonna have

no babies at all, okay?

I say,

"Just let me take you home."

And she screamed at me.

Let me out of the car!

I'm gonna tell everybody

you raped me!

She go to open the door,

and I grabbed her.

Let me go!

Just to keep her there.

That's when she scratches my arm.

Mrs. Strubing.

Hey. Hey!

Mrs. Strubing,

what you doing up there?

I yell at her

to come back, but...

Come on down right now. Let's

get in the car and go home.

She just turned away.

Mrs. Strub...

Joseph, did you rape

Mrs. Strubing?

No. I did not.

Thank you, Joseph.

Your witness.

Not bad.

You wouldn't lie to the jury, would

you, Joseph? Not bad at all.

No, sir, I wouldn't.

But the fact is,

you are a liar, aren't you?

Objection!

Argumentative.

Overruled.

It's cross-examination.

He's okay.

When you married

your first wife, Hattie,

you swore to God you'd be

faithful to her, did you not?

Yes, sir. -But you weren't.

It was a lie.

You could say.

You told her you'd take care

of your children, didn't you?

Yes, sir.

But you haven't, have you?

Not so much as I should.

Then you were in the service and

you swore to honor your country.

But that was a lie too.

No.

Then you came north and you

stole from your first employer?

When the police picked you up, you lied to

them about your whereabouts the night before.

- Didn't you?

- Yes, I did.

You gave a statement under oath

that you were in a bar all night.

Yes.

So you lied to your wife, you

lied to the State of Louisiana,

you lied to the police,

you lied to God.

Why should anyone

believe you now?

I don't know why they should,

except it's the truth.

The truth? If it's the truth, why

not tell it from the beginning?

If you're an innocent man,

why lie?

Why lie, Mr. Spell? Answer the question.

Tell him, Joseph.

If you were an innocent man,

why would you lie?

I tell the police I was with

her, it was what she wanted?

If it's the truth.

In Louisiana, you know what they do to me

for being with a white woman like that?

If they don't kill me

right then and there,

soon enough the others come, they

drag me off, they tie me up,

they cut off my manhood.

And then I'd be swingin'

off the branch of some tree.

So... why'd I lie,

Mr. Willis?

Because the truth

gets me killed.

That's why.

I move the answer be stricken.

The answer will stand.

Mr. Willis?

Nothing further, Your Honor.

You know what?

It finally looks like a

respectable law office in here.

Come in.

There's someone here

to see you, Mr. Marshall.

Walter?

What are you doing here?

Can we talk?

I'll just move

to Irwin's office.

Come on, Walter.

What is this?

Fourteen-year-old boy in Mississippi.

They say he killed a cop.

He needs a lawyer.

And I have to leave tonight?

He ready with the summation?

Sam? He will be.

Then there's no reason for you to stay.

I'll take care of everything.

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