Runaway Jury Page #5

Mr. Rohr, how do you

expect to win this case?

It's very simple.

Reckless, profit-hungry gun companies

like Vicksburg

have been getting away

with murder for too long, and we have...

I'm losing a lot of money

on this jury thing.

Oh, really?

- What?

- 16.

- 16?

- Yeah.

No way. $16 a day?

What is this, 1892?

Well, you're not supposed to

do it for the pay, darling.

You're supposed to do it out of civic duty.

- Nice to meet you. Frank Herrera.

- Henry Wu. I became a citizen...

Well, he deserves it.

He's the president of the free world.

There's coffee and donuts over there.

Now, these muffins, I made 'em myself.

A treat for the first day.

These look like they are a treat.

OK. Morning.

Well, everyone's here.

All accounted for? Good.

I think we should elect a jury foreman,

like Judge Harkin instructed us.

And who would that be, Mr. Man?

Well, if no one else feels strongly about it,

I'd like to throw my hat in the ring.

Uh-uh, excuse me...

- Mister...

- Herrera, ma'am. Frank Herrera.

Mr. Herrera. Out of all of us,

what makes you think

you're the best person for the job?

- Well, Miss...

- Mrs. Loreen Duke.

- Mrs. Duke.

- Mm-hm.

I was a master sergeant

in the Marine Corps.

I served my country

in Panama, Grenada, Beirut.

- You name it, I was there.

- I can run a 6-minute mile.

Young lady...

Well, if nobody minds, I'd also

like to be considered for foreman.

I mean, I might not have

served in Grenada or Panama,

but I'm the mother of two small children...

In that case, y'all ought to consider me.

Hell, I got three kids.

Ladies and gentlemen, with all due

respect,

I think I know who would

make an excellent foreman.

- Oh, and who might that be, Mister...

- Easter. Nicholas Easter, sir.

I was watching a lot of people very closely

during the jury selection, and only

this man... I don't know your name, sir.

- What is your name?

- Herman Grimes.

- Only Mr. Grimes...

- No, just Herman.

Only Herman had the guts

to stand up to the judge,

and only Herman seems to

know a little something about the law.

So, in my book, you know, I think it'd be

a good idea for him to represent us.

- But...

- But he's blind, man. So what?

- So is justice, right?

- That's right, brother.

What do you think, Herman?

Are you up to it?

- Well, of course I am.

- All in favor of Herman.

- Did I get any votes?

- Hey, it's unanimous. You're in.

- Congratulations.

- All right, listen up.

Court's in session. Lunch is set for 1:00.

We order out from Verdi's Mart.

Please fill out a menu.

Make sure you circle what you want, now.

Don't make it too expensive. Thank you.

Oh, I had this last week.

It's really good. Thank you.

- Think I'm gonna have salmon.

- Nothing on that menu.

All right, all right. Thank you.

October, two years ago,

at 8:
45 am on a Monday morning,

a man by the name of Kevin Peltier

casually walks though

the brokerage house from which

he was fired the previous Friday morning.

He walks into the elevator.

He loads a 36-round magazine

into his Performa 990 semiautomatic,

and when he reaches the third floor,

he opens fire on his former coworkers,

killing 11 and critically wounding five

before turning the gun on himself.

Now, they never had a chance.

This was all less than two minutes.

They couldn't stop him.

That's all you jurors, minus one.

And among them was Jacob Wood,

the husband of my client, Celeste Wood,

and the father of their son Henry,

six years old.

I don't know about you, but I'm angry

at the tragic and senseless loss of life.

Why does the Vicksburg Firearms

company make it so easy

to buy these guns

on the underground market?

Because they care more about

making money than they do about your life

or my life or the life

of that woman's husband.

A very courageous former

executive of Vicksburg Firearms

is gonna come in here,

and he's gonna testify

criminals,

all those others poised for violence.

Excuse me. Would you please

give these to Mr. Rohr and Mr. Cable?

...into a very efficient mass murderer.

Yes, it was Mr. Peltier that squeezed

the trigger that awful Monday morning.

But it was

the Vicksburg Firearms company,

through a deliberate

and negligent distribution policy,

that put that assault-type weapon

into the hands of Mr. Peltier.

As such, they were

complicit in those murders.

And this I'll prove to you

during the course of the trial.

Thank you very much. Your Honor.

- Mr. Cable.

- Thank you, Your Honor.

- I feel so nervous.

- You'll be fine.

That was quite provocative.

Now, I wanna tell you

two things about guns today.

I don't think either of them

will be news to you,

but the first is guns are dangerous.

They're guns. This is their function.

And I wanna tell you today

that no one is more aware of that

or takes more responsibility for it

than the gun industry,

especially Vicksburg Firearms,

as a company that's been in business

since before the Civil War.

Now, the automobile industry

works every day

to ensure that their cars are safe.

Why? Because they drive them.

Now, the people at Vicksburg

work every day

to keep the guns

out of the hands of the criminals.

Why? Because they have

families with children...

Did you see who handed this to you?

Well, it was a woman. She had blond hair.

She had pretty blond hair,

just like that woman on television.

We didn't catch her on any of the CCTVs.

Doesn't matter. I'm sure she was wigged.

I doubt you'll find any, but have this

sprayed for prints. Anything turns up...

I'll process it through the Printak database.

- We're not here to legislate.

- Mr. Cable is winding up.

Well, ladies and gentlemen of the jury,

amidst all the finger-pointing,

Mr. Rohr did say one true thing:

This case is about money.

Hi, I'm calling from the courthouse.

You know, it looks like Judge Harkin

won't be breaking till after two.

Would you mind holding his jury's

lunch order till then? Thank you.

What do you think about her? I hear

she teaches a class over at Tulane.

- Yeah?

- Wouldn't mind takin' that class.

- What subject?

- Yeah, well, she's a tall glass of iced tea.

A little too much lemon,

a little too much ice.

Um, I'm sorry,

but would you mind not doing that

in here? I'm predisposed to asthma.

Come on, I'll open the window.

It ain't gonna bother you.

Actually, I mind, too.

Sorry. Secondhand smoke.

I gotta tell you, Mr. Shaver, I don't

wanna smoke your cigarettes, either.

Damn. I can't smoke, can't leave

the room. What is this, California?

- It is against the rules.

- Aw, man, be quiet.

You're just an alternate, man.

What does that have to do with anything?

Come on, come on.

We're gonna be here for a while together.

So why are you bothering me?

You know that I think?

I think we're all just really hungry.

And where's our lunch

they promised us? It's 1:30.

That's why I wanna smoke.

I'm starving. Tamp down my appetite.

Herman, you want me to go

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