Suspect Page #6

Synopsis: A judge commits suicide, and his secretary is found murdered. A homeless deaf-mute man, Carl Anderson is arrested for her murder. Public defender Kathleen is assigned by the court as his lawyer. She sets to find the real killer, and gets help from the congressional advisor, Eddie Sanger who is called to be on the jury panel. Together they discover a dangerous circle of corruption in high places.
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Director(s): Peter Yates
Production: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
 
IMDB:
6.6
Rotten Tomatoes:
69%
R
Year:
1987
121 min
665 Views


who's probably guilty.

Guilty.

It's not that complicated.

He needed the money,

so he killed a woman.

- What about Michael's murder?

- Another sick bastard.

- What about the files?

- It's all bullshit!

I'm tired, okay?

I want you to go. Now.

Good night.

Ladies and gentlemen,

it's my responsibility to ensure -

- that these proceedings maintain

the highest standards of integrity.

There is the possibility that

these standards are being compromised.

To ensure this doesn't happen, -

- I will sequester the jury

for the remainder of this trial.

I remind you of your solemn oath

to remain impartial,-

to weigh the evidence, -

- and independently to render

a verdict of your conscience.

You will be made

as comfortable as possible, -

- and I thank you

for your perseverance.

Counsel, I expect you both to be

models of propriety in this proceeding.

The defense calls

Carl Wayne Anderson.

Remove Mr. Anderson's handcuffs.

Mr. Anderson's hands can be free

while he testifies.

Thank you, Your Honor.

Please raise your right hand.

Do you swear to tell the whole truth

and nothing but the truth?

For the record,

the witness indicated his assent.

You may be seated.

Please state your full name

and address.

"Carl -

Wayne -

Anderson. "

Your address?

"None. "

- We need a home address, Your Honor.

- Make it in care of me.

Without objection.

Mr. Anderson

Have you ever killed anyone?

- "Yes. "

- Why?

- "I'm not sure "

- You're not sure why?

"I was in Vietnam. I was nineteen. "

So you were a soldier. It was your job

to kill. You didn't need a reason.

Do you think you needed a reason?

"Yes. "

In fact, it upset you so much

that you had a breakdown.

You were discharged from the army

and spent six years in a hospital.

All because you were a good soldier

who needed a reason to kill.

Carl, what were your dreams?

When you were young,

what did you want to be?

"A carpenter.

And build my own house. "

Were you ever in love?

"I loved Caroline. "

Who was Caroline?

"My wife. "

Did you and Caroline

plan to have children?

- "We talked about it. "

- And what happened?

- "We were divorced. "

- Why?

"After the sickness,

I had nothing left -

to offer her. "

It's been rough.

You've had your share of problems.

You've been kicked around pretty good.

Are we supposed to

feel sorry for you?

Plenty of people have problems.

Plenty of people get kicked around.

You know the difference

between you and them?

They still have their dignity.

They don't sleep in the gutter

or eat out of garbage cans.

They don't urinate

on people's lawns.

They shower and change their clothes.

They don't feel sorry for themselves.

They get married, they have children.

They take responsibility.

They don't sleep in other people's cars

or steal nine dollars from anyone!

Did you kill Elizabeth Rose Quinn?

Your witness.

That was a wonderful performance.

The man shouldn't be on trial,

he should be given a medal.

You were discharged from the army

for psychiatric reasons?

"Yes. "

Did you beat an officer with a shovel

because he asked you to dig a trench?

- "Yes. "

- Violence seems to follow you around.

- Objection, Your Honor.

- Sustained.

Were you arrested in 1978

for assaulting a congressional aide?

"Yes. "

And were you in jail for six months

for beating a man?

"He stole my shoes. "

Did you punch your attorney

in the face

- Objection! That's privileged.

- I'll withdraw the question.

You were in the parking lot on K Street

the night of December 18th?

"Yes. "

And you did break into

Elizabeth Quinn's car?

- "It was cold. "

- Just yes or no, please.

- Your counsel has explained enough.

- Objection, Your Honor.

Could we proceed?

Did the parking-lot attendant

throw you off the lot?

"Yes. "

But you came back

just before midnight?

"Yes. "

And you attacked Elizabeth Quinn

and dragged her down to the river?

"Nu. -

You were at the Potomac River

after midnight, weren't you?

- "I was looking for wood. "

- Just yes or no, please.

"Yes. "

Elizabeth was there.

You were there.

Her purse was stolen.

You had her purse.

Her throat was cut. You had a knife.

Those are the naked facts!

Objection.

Would Mr. Stella wait till the end of

the trial to make his closing argument?

Sustained.

Miss Riley has the gift of speech.

I'll let the facts

speak for themselves.

How did you expect us to believe

you didn't kill her?

No further questions at this time,

Your Honor.

- What do you think you're doing?

- I was her friend.

- Miss Riley.

- I'm sorry to bother you at home.

That's perfectly all right,

although highly irregular.

I know, but I have evidence, that will

at least necessitate a mistrial.

Excuse me, Matthew.

May I use your phone?

Deputy Attorney General Paul Gray,

Miss Kathleen Riley.

Miss Riley is the public defender

in the Elizabeth Quinn trial.

Miss Quinn worked for me. I've been

following the trial with interest.

Miss Riley feels she has evidence

which will exculpate her client.

- The phone?

- There's one in the study.

Don't bother, Matthew.

Nice to meet you, Miss Riley.

What is this evidence?

Your Honor, I've behaved rashly.

I should present the evidence

properly in court.

- This is somewhat erratic, isn't it?

- Sorry, I'm under tremendous strain.

This behavior is bordering on

professional misconduct, Miss Riley.

Matthew?

There's a problem I have to take

care of. Thanks for a lovely evening.

- Let me show you out.

- Oh, don't bother.

This is Justice Charles F. Lowell.

For twenty years

I've lived with this burden, -

- always expecting exposure from a law

student, a legal scholar, a colleague.

Elizabeth Rose Quinn,

a clerk at the Justice Department, -

- recognized the injustice

of the decision -

- in United States vs Cook

and came to me.

More than the fear of exposure,

I've had to live with myself.

It's a terrible price to pay

for ambition.

In 1968,

while I was the presiding judge -

- on the case of United States

vs Cook in the federal court, -

- I conspired to fix the case.

I accepted a bribe.

In exchange for a seat on

the United States Circuit Court -

- I dismissed charges of vote fraud

against an influential defendant.

Miss Quinn has contacted

the others that were involved.

I leave them to their consciences.

I will make my peace

somewhere else.

I have asked Elizabeth Quinn

to make this public after my death.

This is my last small measure

of justice.

To fix a case, you need a judge

who's willing to go along.

You need a very influential defendant,

a politic defense attorney -

and a corrupt prosecutor.

United States vs Cook.

That must be a case I didn't get to.

But I'll bet that Paul Gray

was the prosecuting attorney.

You're accusing the Deputy Attorney

General of the United States of murder.

I had the federal supplement in here.

I must have left it at the courthouse.

What's going on?

Is this the Public Defenders' Office?

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Eric Roth

Eric Roth (born March 22, 1945) is an American screenwriter. He won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for Forrest Gump (1994). He also co-wrote the screenplays for several Oscar-nominated films: The Insider (1999), Munich (2005), and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008). more…

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