Presumed Innocent Page #8

Synopsis: Carolyn Polhemus, an up-and-comer in the Kindle County D.A.'s Office, is found viciously murdered in her home. Immediately her boss, D.A. Raymond Horgan and his chief deputy, Rusty Sabich start an investigation. Horgan, however, is in the middle of a campaign to keep his job, which he ultimately loses to former subordinate Nico Della Guardia. Della Guardia and his new deputy, Tommy Molto, decide to prosecute Sabich for Carolyn's murder when it is revealed that Sabich was a former lover of Polhemus. Horgan also turns against his former subordinate, and Rusty soon realizes he has few friends left - except for Sandy Stern, whom he has often faced on the other side of the courtroom, and who will become his new defense lawyer when he is put on trial for murder. Investigation by Stern and his team leads them to think that Rusty was framed for murder - by Molto, who wanted Sabich's job and was trying to punish him for backing Horgan. Is Rusty Sabich innocent...or is he a murderer?
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
Director(s): Alan J. Pakula
Production: Warner Bros.
  1 win & 2 nominations.
 
IMDB:
6.9
Metacritic:
72
Rotten Tomatoes:
87%
R
Year:
1990
127 min
2,575 Views


Do you know what investigation, if any,

Mr. Molto pursued--

I'll answer that! He took no action.

He wasn't going to chase

Sabich's red herrings.

Mr. Della Guardia, you will remember

you're the prosecutor...

...not the witness.

Perhaps we can all learn something

about red herrings and scapegoats.

That is all.

This court is adjourned for the weekend.

I don't understand what you're doing.

You're alienating the judge.

When I said they manufactured a case,

you wanted nothing to do with it.

Clearly, I changed my mind.

On the basis of what?

Instinct.

If you don't like it,

you can always come home.

I wanna go.

All my friends will be there.

I'll be okay.

Come here. Sit down.

Look, I'm accused of doing something

I didn't do.

This trial is gonna give me a chance

to clear myself.

-That's what's gonna happen.

-Of course.

Of course.

Here are the postcards. Use them.

-Don't forget to write.

-They make me.

What about me?

Did Mr. Sabich ever tell you...

...he had a personal relationship

with Ms. Polhemus?

No.

Did Mr. Sabich, at any time...

...order you not to get phone records

of calls from his home?

He never ordered me. He asked me.

He asked you not to get those records?

Did you oblige him?

I was taken off the case

before I got to those records.

-You did or did not get those records?

-I did not.

We had a lot of higher-priority items

on our mind.

A high-priority item...

...was the analysis of fingerprints found

in Ms. Polhemus's apartment.

Who talked with the Fingerprint Lab?

Mr. Sabich.

Did you ask him to expedite the reports?

Yes, sir, I did.

What did he say, if anything?

He said he forgot.

He forgot?

Rusty forgot.

Would it be fair to say the two of you,

by working together...

...have formed a personal friendship?

I suppose so, yes.

Were you assigned initially?

Harold Greer initially handled the case.

Has Mr. Sabich ever expressed to you...

...any reservations about

Harold Greer's abilities?

Everybody that I know thinks

of Harold Greer as a top-grade cop.

Do you know who decided to replace

Harold Greer and bring you on this case?

Mr. Sabich.

Do you feel....

Withdrawn.

To your knowledge, does the defendant

have a closer personal relationship...

...with anyone on the police force

than he does with you?

Not that he's mentioned, no.

So it's fair to say, Detective...

...that you are the police officer

least likely to suspect him of murder.

I would never believe that. Never.

Thank you for your cooperation

and answering...

...what must have been painful

and difficult questions for you...

...considering your relationship

to the defendant.

Nothing further.

You made reference to a theory

you were developing that...

...Ms. Polhemus might have been

the victim of a revenge killer.

Someone she had once sent to jail.

Yes, sir. We thought of that

as our most likely case.

To identify possible suspects...

...you reviewed cases she had prosecuted,

and was currently prosecuting...

...going back several years? Correct?

Yes, sir.

Were you able to find all those files?

No, sir. A file was missing.

This is the so-called B file...

...that was withheld

from you and Mr. Sabich...

...until Mr. Sabich requested it personally

from Mr. Horgan?

Yes, sir.

It involved allegations--

Let's move on.

You've been warned about riding off

in all directions.

No further questions.

No redirect, Your Honor.

We need subpoenas for Carolyn's doctors...

...and for phone company records...

...to check for errors.

I don't think we need to bother with that.

You said there was something wrong

with the phone records.

That you never called Polhemus

the night of the murder.

Jamie, I'd like a moment alone

with my client.

-Sure.

-Thanks.

I used to call Carolyn's apartment

after it was over.

I'd call...

...just to hear her voice.

Then I'd hang up, like a goddamn kid.

I'm not sure I called that night or not.

I don't remember.

Contrary to my original hopes,

we will have to present a defense.

My first instinct is...

...to put Barbara on the witness stand.

No.

She's an attractive woman

and there are five men in the jury.

She can also support your alibi

quite effectively.

It's not negotiable, Sandy.

When I was a prosecutor...

...l always knew I had a winner

when the defendant refused to testify.

All I want to do is to tell the truth.

The jury wants to hear me say

I didn't do it.

And that, you will do very well.

But with every word, you will confirm

what the prosecution is saying.

That you were overwhelmed

with a sexual obsession...

...that took a wrong turn into rage

when she ended the affair.

You will have gone a long way

to eliminating the jury's reasonable doubt.

The State offers as evidence...

...from the defendant's suitcoat...

...a hair identified by the Police Crime Lab

as that of the deceased.

The skirt of the deceased contaminated

with fiber identified as Zorak V...

...a carpet fabric found

in the home of the defendant.

Chemist's identification of blood type...

...and semen from the vagina

of the deceased as type A.

Results of a blood test of Rozat Sabich...

...identifying his as blood type A.

The shirt of the deceased,

contaminated with the fiber Zorak V...

...carpet fabric used

in the defendant's home.

The State calls

Detective Morris Dickerman.

This relates to missing evidence.

I hope you're not considering

allowing them...

...to proceed with the fingerprint evidence

in the absence of the glass.

If so, we would like to be heard

on that question.

I understand that.

You may want to do some research

into this issue.

You hit the books tonight

and I'll listen to you tomorrow.

And if I were you...

...l'd roll up my shirtsleeves

and go to the Evidence Room...

...and find that glass.

You're not going to get any sleep again.

That glass is the strongest piece

of physical evidence that I was there.

If I can find solid precedents to keep it

out of evidence, their case will fail.

Get something to eat

and don't drink too much coffee.

Thanks.

For what?

For hanging in there.

What did you expect?

Yeah, just a sec.

It's your uncle.

My uncle?

We got something

on that very important matter.

I'm downstairs, in the lobby.

We're working to keep the glass

out of evidence.

F*** the glass. I found Leon.

Feature this. He's a Night Saint.

Leon!

Answer the door.

Open up, Leon! It's the police!

We just want to talk, Leon.

On the floor!

-Don't even breathe!

-What the f*** you doing?

I'm Detective Lipranzer.

This is Mr. Sabich

from the prosecutor's office.

We have a few questions, Leon.

If you're straight with us,

we're gone in five minutes.

Five, six years ago,

you paid off a deputy PA...

...$1 ,500 to make some trouble

you had go away.

Jack Friedman, you ask for.

What the f*** he do that for?

He wants your complete attention.

Rusty Sabich is getting on the phone,

he will tell your present associates...

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Frank Pierson

Frank Romer Pierson (May 12, 1925 – July 22, 2012) was an American screenwriter and film director. more…

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Submitted on August 05, 2018

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