All language subtitles for Law and Order S08E23 Tabloid.DVDRip.NonHI.en.UNVSL

In the criminal justice system

the people are represented by two
separate yet equally important groups,

the police who investigate crime

and the district attorneys
who prosecute the offenders.

These are their stories.

The regular doorman always
lets me deliver to the front door.

Too bad he's not on duty today.

Hey, look, I'm running
a little late here.

Well, then you're gonna have to
hurry around to the service entrance.

Come on, I'm trying to make a living here.
- Leave me alone!

So am I.

My God!

Get an ambulance!

I just heard the crash. I
didn't see anything before that.

Okay.

She shot out in front
of me, scared-like.

Scared, huh? Yeah.
Looking behind her.

Looked like she was
running away from somebody.

Did you see anybody with her?

I barely saw her till I hit her.

Take a look at who it is.

Margaret Abbott.

The Margaret
Abbott? Maggie Abbott.

Oh, my God. I
killed Maggie Abbott.

Found this button on the
sidewalk. It was torn off her sweater.

Aside from the expected
bruises and broken bones,

she had a contusion around her
wrist. Like somebody grabbed her.

Mugging.

She was still wearing a diamond
tennis bracelet on her other wrist.

Pocketbook was found on the
sidewalk. Credit cards, 20 bucks.

Hudson University
Law faculty card.

She was just appointed
to the appellate court.

Looks like she
ran out of appeals.

I talked to Maggie
just after lunch.

We'd made plans to go out to
the island early this weekend.

She just walked
in front of a car?

It was a cab. Right.

The driver thinks she may
have been chased into the street.

Somebody deliberately what?

Somebody killed Maggie?

We don't know.

Mr. Abbott, the police
are canvassing the area.

They're doing everything
that can be done.

Your brother's taking the
first flight out of Heathrow.

Did you reach Annie? No.

I left a message at
the senator's office.

Okay.

I'm sorry.

If the D.A.'s office
can be of any help...

Thank you.

Mr. Abbott, if you don't mind,

there's a couple of
things we'd like to clear up.

All right.

Was your wife having any
problems? At work? At home?

She was busy. It's the
end of the school year.

And then there's the whole
circus surrounding her nomination.

Has she received any
threats? Strange calls?

You mean, did she
have any enemies?

Detective, pick up a copy of
the New York Ledger. The Press.

The right wing nuts in this town

were determined to
block her appointment.

But do I think they
would have killed her? No.

What about your marriage?

If the people who
hated her didn't kill her,

then the people
who loved her did?

Is that what you're asking?

We're sorry, Mr. Abbott, but we
have to ask these kind of questions.

So, you were here
at work all day?

Except for lunch, yes.

Where'd you go for lunch?

The Yale Club.

Forgive me, but I want
to see my daughter,

so she doesn't hear what
happened from someone else.

Thank you.

In just 30, 40 minutes,

this guy's assistants called every
area code in the northern hemisphere.

Well, when you're
through being impressed,

can you connect him up to this?

At the time his wife was killed,

he says he was at the Yale Club.

They confirm he
came in. Had a salad.

Couldn't pinpoint the
time or how long he stayed.

And the wife?

As far as we know, she was on
her way home from Hudson Law.

She put up a fight? Anything
under her fingernails?

M.E.'s still working it up.

Maggie Abbott. This
one's going to be a mess.

Lennie.

How you doing?

It doesn't get better.

I can imagine.

Thanks.

Marrying into that family, you
know you're going to be the focus

of a certain
amount of attention.

But recently it seemed
to be getting to her.

We heard she
liked to stir the pot.

Even people who violently
disagreed with her respected her.

What about her relations with
the students, the other faculty?

Romantic attachments?

She wasn't the kind of person
to make that kind of mistake.

What kind of mistake
would she make?

Maggie had a good marriage.

She was ambitious.
Had big plans.

Best legal mind I've
come across in 40 years.

You said that it started to get
to her. Anything in particular?

I don't know. She just
didn't seem like her old self.

"Maggie Abbott,
feminist hypocrite."

Small potatoes. How about this?

"Bloody Maggie
attacks pro-life rally."

"Bloody Maggie."

Maggie at the opera.
Leaving some fashion show.

Even at her kid's school play.

Here's a shot of her skinny
dipping off their yacht.

Imagine, everywhere
you go, everything you do.

And if her name
was Maggie Jones?

Here's something different.

"Iron Maggie's broken heart."

"The latest appellate court
nominee appeals to her husband,

""Leave the interns alone.""

"Phil Marco's New York."

I never read it.

I bet Maggie did.

Tell you the name of the
intern? Are you kidding?

Mr. Marco, we're trying
to solve a homicide.

Yeah. Well, solve it
without my sources.

You got this item
from the intern herself?

Look, I don't have
anything to tell you

about the story or the Abbotts,

or the unfortunate death of Mrs.
Abbott. Now, I have a deadline.

It's going to be kind of hard to
make it from our interrogation room.

Oh, you pull me
in for questioning,

and I run tomorrow's
column blank

with a headline that it was delayed
by a couple of storm troopers

with an uncertain
grasp of the constitution.

It'll be a big boost
to circulation.

So pull me in,
Detective. I would love it.

Oh, I'm sorry. Mr. Abbott
isn't in the office today.

I'd be happy to leave a
message that you called.

We didn't come
here to talk to him.

Well, who would
you like to talk to?

We'll start with you.

I don't think so.

This story about
Mr. Abbott and the intern...

Look, I'm busy.

What do you know about it?

The day I got this job, the first thing
they told me, you know what it was?

Yeah. Don't get pulled in for
questioning about your boss's wife's death.

Now, listen to this. You
tell us, we don't tell anybody.

You don't tell us,
we tell your boss

we have to bring you downtown.

Then you lose your job.

But you can't tell
anyone it came from me.

Julianne Lowry. When
the news got out, she left.

Thanks.

I don't know how
that rumor got started.

How do any rumors get started?

So there was nothing to it?

Mr. Abbott's wife was one of my
professors at law school. My mentor.

She got me the internship
at Abbott, Mitchell and Crowe.

Then why leave, Miss Lowry?

Mr. Abbott said, given what
his wife was going through,

he had to avoid even the
appearance of anything improper.

Do you know how his
wife took that article?

I've gotta get back to work.

Your new job,
clerking for a judge.

That's a pretty big step up
for somebody still in law school.

It's part-time, and I'm
very good at what I do.

Did Mr. Abbott help you
with a recommendation?

If you had an affair
with Warren Abbott,

maybe it had something to
do with Mrs. Abbott's death.

Maybe you could
end up an accomplice.

Did you tell that to Warren?

I didn't think so. You'd
better talk to my lawyer.

You have a lawyer?

I'll get one if I have to.

There he is!

Mr. Abbott? REPORTER
2: Come on. Let's go!

Checking back in?

What are you talking
about? The suitcases.

Come on, guys!

Reporters were camped outside.

Yesterday I stayed at a hotel.

You sure it wasn't more
like two weeks ago?

When the news broke about
you and your intern friend?

We can check with the hotel.

Maggie and I both
decided to go to a hotel.

You both stayed there?
We can check that, too.

You do whatever you have to.

I'm not quite done.
About you and this intern...

She's a child, for Christ's
sake. Now, I'm done.

The staff at the hotel
remember Mr. Abbott.

But they don't
remember Mrs. Abbott.

Do they remember Miss Lowry?

No. But room service put a
couple of dinners for two on his tab.

Unless it was champagne and strawberries,
I wouldn't jump to any conclusions.

My hunch is we're looking
at a Staten Island divorce.

Wham, bam, no muss, no fuss.

A guy like that? A
place that public?

You think he'd take the chance?

It's more private
than the Oval Office.

M.E.'s report, nothing
under Mrs. Abbott's nails.

But there was chlorine
residue on her skin and hair.

Swimming pool?

Well, she had a gym card in her
wallet a block from where she was killed.

Hmm.

I can't believe it. She
worked out with Matt until 2:00

and then she did her
usual 20 laps in the pool.

What happened? She leave alone?

I didn't see her leave, but that
weenie from the Ledger, Phil Marco,

was in here looking
for her earlier.

The gossip columnist?

We get a lot of celebs.

Last month we found him
sleazing around here for a story,

trying to sneak a
photographer in here.

When he asked for Mrs. Abbott,
did he say why he wanted to see her?

No. But he asked if
I'd like a 20 to let him in.

You take it? Of course.

You let him in? Are you kidding?

He was out of here real fast.

Not his choice. I can
be very persuasive.

- I hope you're finished.
- Just...

A warrant? Am I under arrest?

You're a material witness in
the death of Margaret Abbott.

Put that in your column.

All right. Let me
get this straight.

I ask to talk to
somebody at a gym,

and this somehow makes me
involved in that somebody's death?

You're involved because you forgot to tell
us that you were at the somebody's gym.

You talk to Mrs. Abbott
when she came out?

She was dodging my phone calls.

Once more. You talk to Mrs.
Abbott when she came out?

No. I left before.

What'd you want
to talk to her about?

I wanted to confirm something I
was gonna run in Sunday's column.

What? Look, I don't
have to tell you.

Where did you go
when you left the gym?

I grabbed a cab, headed
down to the Trattoria.

I had a lead on another
story. Much bigger, believe me.

You want to tell us about that?

Bebe Vaughn. She was giving a
birthday party for her hairdresser's niece.

She'll confirm that
you talked to her?

I couldn't get through Bruder. Her
manager. Alan Bruder. A real Visigoth.

Marco? Yeah. He slithered in.

What time?

We got there at 2:00, I don't know.
It might have been a half hour later.

Sit down.

Can't pin it down, huh?

No. It's a zoo.

Between the fans,
paparazzi, and Bebe's people,

a little too busy
to watch the clock.

How did Marco seem?
Unctuous. Vicious.

He owes me. I saved his life.

Bebe would've torn his eyes
out if she'd seen him there.

That popular, huh? He ran
a piece she was pregnant.

You know, he'd get something
off the Internet, off a toilet wall.

Doesn't bother to confirm
anything if it's close to deadline.

He's afraid somebody
else will run with it first.

So he seemed okay to you?
Nothing out of the ordinary?

Yeah. Except for the piece of
tissue paper on his shaving cut.

Doesn't usually wear
that on his cheek.

I don't know about you,

but I don't usually shave in a
taxi in the middle of the afternoon.

Well, Marco could've gotten
scratched by her tennis bracelet.

All those diamonds
have sharp edges.

Curtis. Yeah. Lennie,
hold on. It's Mallory.

Yeah? BOY: Hey, mister.

Talk to me.

- Throw here!
- Uh-huh. Hmm.

Yeah. Right. Thanks.

What's up?

Mallory's snitch claims
that the drug dealer

Danny Jones put out
the hit on my daughter.

Tell me something I don't know.

What the hell am
I supposed to do?

One step at a time, Lennie.

Yeah. Over the edge.

I cut myself, so what?

We found blood on Mrs. Abbott's
bracelet. You want us to go further?

My client wants to cooperate.

We're listening.

I met Maggie Abbott
outside the gym.

She was still angry about the piece
on her husband and his little intern.

Was it true?

I had a deadline.

We walked, talked.

About what?

An unwanted pregnancy.

You can read about it if I ever
get out of here to confirm it.

You talked? Like
what, old friends?

Not quite. I told her I was going with
the story. That's when she slapped me.

She turns to go.
I try to stop her.

I grab her sweater. She pulls
free and runs into the street.

Taxi hit her.

And what did you do?

I got scared and ran off.

At worst, my client is guilty of
harassment in the second degree

and assault three. Nothing more.

Marco's facilitating himself.

Anything else going on
between Marco and Mrs. Abbott?

Oh, if she promised him an
exclusive and then reneged,

he might have
thrown a hissy fit.

So he threw her into traffic?

She was good copy for him.
More valuable alive than dead.

So what do we do,
take him at his word?

Let him go with a
slap on the wrist?

Not necessarily. Look, if there
was a pattern of harassment,

if he was stalking her, there might
be something we can prosecute.

He's responsible
for my wife's death?

That's what we're trying to
determine. If he was stalking her...

He was stalking us!

He was in front of the
building every other day.

He'd track us
down to restaurants.

He must've been
paying off waiters.

Once he showed up at
one of my wife's classes.

Because of this affair?

Alleged affair.

The Abbott name sells papers.

Dad, I'm home.

Laura! Hi, honey.

I got pizza.

Just stick it in the oven. I'll be
right in. As soon as I'm done.

Sorry, Dad. No. It's okay.

Did Marco ever make any
threatening remarks to you or your wife?

I took everything he said
as a threat to my family.

He told us he was working
on a story about a pregnancy.

That's why he approached your
wife. An unwanted pregnancy.

Well, whose pregnancy was
it? Your wife's? Miss Lowry's?

What a load of crap.

Nothing to it,
huh? That's right.

You working for the Ledger now?

Marco was responsible, directly
or indirectly, for my wife's death.

What are you going
to do about that?

So what if he calls
himself a journalist?

He doesn't have a First Amendment
right to chase her into traffic!

I admit he's a pest.

A pest? He tore her sweater!

- Isn't that assault?
- Or self-defense.

He got a cut on
the cheek from her.

Reporters and stalkers,
the line gets blurred.

There's nothing
legit about Marco.

The guy's got a criminal record.

Harassment, criminal nuisance,
even breaking and entering.

He hunted Maggie Abbott down.

His lawyer offered a plea of
harassment two, assault three.

He'll pay a fine for chasing
a woman to her death.

Her choice to run. See if they'll
make a deal. First Degree harassment.

B misdemeanor, max he
gets 90 days, suspended.

Is that so?

Freedom of the
press at any cost.

That should generate
some nice editorials.

Can't have too many
friends in the media.

Especially at election time.

Lay off.

The attacks on Adam
are getting personal.

Feldman accused him of
prosecutorial Alzheimer's.

I don't know about
you, but I know

I don't want to be working for
Gary Feldman come November.

By the time we got to 61st Street,
Mrs. Abbott was pretty upset.

She slapped me.
Ran into the street.

I grabbed her sweater.
I tried to stop her.

She went right
in front of the taxi.

I got scared. Took off.

That's it. I'm sorry.

Are the People satisfied?

Yes, Your Honor.

Then, in accordance
with the plea agreement,

I'm sentencing you to 30
days suspended sentence,

four weekends community service,

a $5,000 fine, and
two years’ probation.

We're adjourned.

Three shell casings a
few feet from the body.

Nine millimeter.

The shooter stood close.
He didn't want to miss.

- Where were you going?
- I was on my way

to Morean's when
I heard the shots.

How many did you hear? Three.

Pop, pop, pop, like that.

You see the shooter?

By the time I got to the corner,
all I saw was Marco, lying there.

Bobby!

Hey, what happened here?

Phil Marco got shot.

Dead? No kidding.

Yeah.

Give the people what they want.

A standing ovation.

Yeah. Don't worry. We took
down all their names just in case.

There's an obvious
place to start.

Assuming Warren
Abbott is that stupid.

Or that angry.

Whoa! Check the
box next to stupid.

Nine years ago, Abbott got
a carry permit for a nine mil.

That get us a search warrant?

If he's the only citizen
with a permitted gun.

Guess you guys will have to find
that gun the old fashioned way.

My gun? I haven't seen
my gun in the last four years.

Last place being where?

I'm not sure. I'll
have to think about it.

Well, why didn't
you report it missing?

I didn't say it was
missing. It's just misplaced.

Why'd you get it
in the first place?

I was litigating a case
against Local 904.

I was advised to get
some personal protection.

Advised by who?

Local 904.

So where were you last night?

Well, I wasn't outside
Morean's shooting Phil Marco.

You know, that's exactly what
we thought you were gonna say?

How about telling us
what you were doing.

I was at Julianne Lowry's.

The intern you weren't
having an affair with?

Makes me a hell of
a son of a bitch, huh?

She helping you
get over your wife?

Why don't you ask her?

And if I find that gun, I'll
be sure to let you know.

He came over about
7:30. We talked.

Until what time? 2:00 or 3:00.

He didn't want to stay all
night because of his daughter.

She's home from school.

How thoughtful.
What'd you talk about?

His wife, us, I don't know.

Phil Marco?

Not really.

About a story Phil Marco was
working on? An unwanted pregnancy?

No. Mr. Abbott didn't
get you pregnant, did he?

No.

Because that would give him
another good reason to shoot Marco.

Look, what Warren
likes me to do,

you can't get
pregnant from. Okay?

Okay.

Now, if you'll excuse me.

Strike two.

Be nice to know who
was feeding Marco his info.

The Kennedys, Trump, Madonna, the
Giffords, the entire tabloid hit parade.

Here we go. Abbott. Separate
folders for Warren, Margaret,

the whole mishpocheh.
Not a lot of notes.

Maybe Marco didn't want
to be confused by the facts.

Well, he already knew all
about Warren's favorite hobby.

What's this entry here? F.
Howard and a number. And Laura.

Yeah. Frank Howard. He's
married to one of Warren's sisters.

Some kind of tree-hugger.

Oh, yeah. He helped
clean up the Hudson.

Maybe he liked to
dish the dirt to Marco.

I have no idea why
he'd have our number.

Neither Frank nor I
would ever take his calls.

Well, somebody did.

His phone records show that he called
your number the night he was murdered.

Oh. He called Betty's
number. Our daughter.

Why would she talk to Marco?

She was in her room with
Laura, Warren's daughter.

Warren was stuck
downtown on business,

God knows what, and he asked if
Laura could spend the evening with us.

Did she spend the evening?

She left just before 9:00.

Right after Marco's call. Do
you know where she went?

I don't know. She seem upset?

Laura's high-strung. Her
mother's death hit her very hard.

I didn't want her to leave.

Why not?

Two years ago she
tried to commit suicide.

I was afraid she might
do something to herself.

You know if she's been pregnant?

No. Of course she hasn't.

You're assuming?

She's been on the
pill since she was 14.

I think I would have heard
something from my daughter.

Laura's on the pill, and dad's
girlfriend is a technical virgin.

That brings us
back to Mrs. Abbott.

So she had an abortion.
No big deal to her.

Who said anything
about an abortion?

Well, Marco just said his story
is about an unwanted pregnancy.

Do we know if she was
pregnant when she was killed?

I spoke to the M.E.

Maggie Abbott had a hysterectomy
right after her daughter's birth.

How do we know exactly when?

Well, the procedure
that was used,

a Spalding-Richardson,
is no longer done.

It's no longer taught.

Last time Rodgers
saw it was back in 1982.

And even then
it was pretty rare.

So no unwanted
pregnancies since.

Are you saying the unwanted
pregnancy was the daughter?

Yes. Unwanted if
Abbott's not her father.

What's this? Nothing else fits.

Beautiful.

Motive evidence
straight out of the tabloids.

And how about
means and opportunity?

You getting that
from the comic books?

Warren Abbott has an
alibi. The girl doesn't.

She had access
to her father's gun.

Marco called her, probably
told her what he knew.

Right. Keep in mind this is
Warren Abbott's daughter.

His friends have deep pockets.

Not a constituency I
can afford to alienate.

Make sure he's in the
room when you question her.

Have the police pick her
up and notify Warren Abbott.

Jamie Ross? Yes?

It's Neal again. He's pulling me
into court over Katie's custody.

Marco didn't say much.

Just that he had some
information about my mother.

What sort of information?

I don't know.

He said it was important.

Your aunt said you
were upset, Laura.

Of course she was upset. Her
mother's dead because of that bastard.

Mr. Abbott, we'd rather hear
what your daughter has to say.

Why were you upset, Laura?

Mr. Marco said we had to
meet to talk about my mother.

I didn't want to. I
tried to hang up.

But he started to say stuff that
was wrong, so I'd try to correct him,

and all of a sudden
I was talking to him.

If the son of a
bitch weren't dead...

Did you meet with him?

I was going to but
I changed my mind.

Why?

I just did.

Where did you go?

I went home.

I watched some videos
and then I went to sleep.

She was asleep when I got home.

Did you know that
your father owns a gun?

See, that's it. This is
exactly what I mean.

Mr. Abbott... This is how
you prosecute cases?

By running head
games on young girls?

If you want to
help your daughter,

encourage her to tell the truth.

Isn't that why you went
home, to get the gun?

Don't answer that, sweetheart.

Arlen, we're done. We're done.

If you leave now, Mr. Abbott, I will have
no choice but to arrest your daughter.

What! On what evidence?

Her whereabouts
are unaccounted for

and she had access to the same
caliber weapon that killed Marco.

And she had a motive.

What motive?

Marco was about
to publish a story

about an affair
her mother had...

Stop right there.

I want my daughter
to wait outside.

Come on. Go on. It's all right.

My daughter has been
traumatized enough.

She doesn't need to find out
from you I'm not her real father.

It's true?

There was a teaching
assistant at Hudson Law

when Maggie was
pregnant with Laura.

Big crush on Maggie. Unrequited.
He had a wild imagination.

He started this story.

Laura called me.

She told me Marco wanted to meet
with her to discuss these rumors.

I told her to go home.

I shot Marco! I'd do it again!

What if he's covering
for the daughter?

He's not covering for his
daughter. He thinks he can beat it.

And you're confident he can't?

I have his confession.

Incomplete confession.

And a room full of lawyers
who charge $500 an hour.

A plea offer, Adam, for
cold-blooded murder?

Marco contributed
to his wife's death

and he was ready to humiliate
what's left of his family.

Murder two, 15-to-life.

His friends will be grateful.
- Hope so.

Feldman's talking about
an October surprise.

We make this deal
and Marco's colleagues

will give Feldman all
the press he needs.

Who reads the papers anyway?

This looks like fun. Motion to
suppress Abbott's confession.

I was expecting that.

That's just the appetizer. Then
we have a dozen other motions,

to introduce Marco's
employment records,

gossip columns, criminal record.

Mostly just
throw-away arguments.

A smokescreen. Brief it all.

I got a custody hearing at 1:00.

I'll get started. Go
kick Neal Gorton's ass.

There's absolutely no
basis for suppression.

Mr. Abbott confessed
freely and voluntarily.

At the time he wasn't
even a suspect.

His daughter was.

Arlen, if I may...

My daughter was
facing a murder charge.

I was desperate to
protect her. I spoke rashly.

That goes to weight, Your
Honor, not admissibility.

If Mr. Abbott wants to repudiate his
confession, let him do it on the stand.

Your Honor, this so-called
confession was an off-the-cuff remark,

made in the heat of passion.

If you let it in, we may as
well go straight to sentencing.

I'm going to let the jury decide this
one, Mr. Levitt. The confession's in.

What's the next item
on this laundry list?

Mr. Marco's criminal record.

Completely irrelevant
to the charges.

As are the victim's work
records, his writings.

It's res gestae, Your Honor.

Mr. Marco's own work
set the stage for his death.

The jury should hear about it.

How much of his work are
you seeking to introduce?

Everything. I want to put his
whole career before the jury.

It's a ploy, Your Honor.

The motion papers limited
themselves to acts that took place

starting two weeks prior
to Mrs. Abbott's death.

Now Mr. Levitt
wants to extend it.

Your Honor, I should at least be
allowed to explain all the circumstances

that led to Mr. Marco's death.

All the relevant circumstances.

Why not let the
jury sort it out?

Please, Your Honor, give me
some chance to defend myself.

This one's yours, Mr. Levitt.
I'm granting that request.

- That was a gift.
- Whatever.

About your offer of 15-to-life,
thanks, but no thanks.

You have another number in mind?

Any time away from
my daughter is too much.

You take a plea, the
circumstances of her birth

won't be splashed
across the tabloids.

Don't be naive. The
blood's already in the water.

It's just a matter of time.

It's no plea, Mr. McCoy.

It's your funeral.

Mr. Abbott...

I was Marco's editor ever since
he came over to the Ledger.

He wrote a daily gossip
and human interest column.

Daily? That's a lot
of gossip, isn't it?

Well, the public has
an insatiable appetite

for stories about famous people.

You say there was a lot of
competition to get the hottest item?

You have no idea.

So Mr. Marco was under a lot of
pressure to come up with stories.

That's true of any journalist.

And certain people,
certain families,

like Mr. Abbott's family,
are targeted, isn't that right?

Targeted is a loaded word.

Well, in the last
year didn't your paper

publish 538 stories
about Mr. Abbott's family

including his siblings, his
spouses, his uncles, his cousins?

And not because they
discovered the cure for cancer.

Well, if the public has a
particular interest in certain people,

yes, we tend to give
them what they want.

Thank you.

Now, in this highly
competitive business,

what limits, if any, did you impose
on Mr. Marco in his pursuit of stories?

He had to adhere to the accepted
standards of journalistic ethics.

Really? Such as following
a subject, that's acceptable?

Yes.

And taking pictures,
also acceptable?

Yes.

Taking pictures
of their children?

If it's newsworthy.

Spying on them in their
homes using telescopes?

As long as they don't trespass.

Going through
their garbage? Yes.

Invading their privacy?

As I said, as long as
they don't trespass.

Defense eight.

This is a deposition

given by a hotel
maid in a lawsuit

brought by Mr. Abbott's nephew,

Gregory Abbott, against
the Barrington Hotel.

In it, the maid
states that Mr. Marco

bribed her to let
him into the suite

in which Mr. Abbott's
nephew was staying.

Now, did you discipline
Mr. Marco for taking such action?

No. No.

Well, then, I ask you
again, what limits, if any,

did you impose on Mr. Marco
in his pursuit of stories?

Would none be an
accurate answer?

Miss Sanger?

It's all right, Your Honor.

She doesn't have to answer.

Miss Sanger, this is
a copy of your paper.

From two years ago, yes.

People's 19.

Would you describe
Mr. Marco's column from that day?

The highlighted item?

Mr. Marco reported a rumor
that a Borough president

had charged the city for an
intricately carved mahogany headboard

as a gift to a
woman, not his wife.

A rumor?

Yes. At the time.

But it resulted in an
investigation, isn't that right?

Yes. It uncovered a
systematic abuse of city funds.

The Borough president
was forced to step down.

So, a rumor in a gossip column

resulted in serious
political consequences.

For the Borough
president, certainly.

How did Mr. Marco
uncover his story?

He went through the
Borough president's garbage.

If we were to operate
under a slew of restrictions

all we would ever print
would be press releases.

Thank you.

When you have no
case, attack the victim.

Especially when the victim represents
everything that's wrong with journalism.

The public still remembers a
mangled car in a Paris tunnel.

If they don't,
Levitt'll remind them,

with Marco's criminal
record, his writings...

It should have all
been suppressed.

Sorry to do this
to you again, Jack,

but I've got to meet
my lawyer in 15 minutes.

Neal's driving me up the
wall. He claims if I get married,

Katie'll spend more time
with David than with me

because of my long hours.

If you get married?

He's got a judge convinced Katie'll
be better off with him than with David.

So it's David or
the job. No-brainer.

Dr. Neustadt, you
hold the Wilson chair

at the Columbia Graduate
School of Journalism, is that right?

Yes, sir.

Are there any generally accepted
rules that govern legitimate reporting?

Of course, as there
are in any profession.

Could you tell us what they are?

Well, before you file a story,
you make sure that any fact

is confirmed by at
least two sources.

And if it's a controversial
story, at least three or more.

Do you ever pay these sources?

Absolutely not.

What about reporting
on private lives?

If it affects the story, yes.
Yes, you can go with it.

But if it is just gossip?

Then it's just that. It is
gossip. It's not journalism.

Eavesdropping,
telephoto pictures?

Some tabloids use these methods,

but they debase the profession.

They create a tendency to focus
on trivia like a politician's intimate life

rather than his policies.

That is not news, that's noise.

It's licentious. It
corrupts journalists.

Thank you.

Dr. Neustadt.

Who makes the rules
governing journalists?

Well, no one makes
them. They're customary.

Well, then, who decides
when the rules are broken?

Reasonable men and women
can agree on reasonable restraints

to irresponsible journalism.

In your courses, do you
teach the work of Ida Tarbell,

Lincoln Steffans,
Upton Sinclair,

and more recently, I.F. Stone?

Yes, I do.

And isn't it true that all of
them published exposes about,

for instance, the
meatpacking and oil industries,

which at the time were widely
regarded as irresponsible?

Yes, that's right, but
history has shown

that these journalists were
in fact acting responsibly.

Oh. History.

And how can we be sure that
history won't be equally as kind

to a reporter like Mr. Marco?

Well, we can't.

And aren't there generally
accepted responses

for someone who doesn't like
what he reads in the newspaper?

Letters to the editor?
Lawsuits? Yes.

Would you say that murder was one
of the generally acceptable responses?

Of course not.

But there are countries where journalists
have been shot for what they've published.

Yes, but we have a free press,

and the whole point
of the First Amendment

is that no one can
control the press.

Thank you.

Defending Marco
makes my skin crawl.

Levitt's backed us into a
corner. I know how he feels.

Yesterday, The Observer
ran a squib about me and Neal.

I feel sorry for Abbott's kid.

"Abbott's secret's out!

"Abbott's struggle to
survive Marco smear.

"Lovesick teacher's aide started
wild rumor about Maggie's love child."

Let me see that.

What?

Dig up all the clippings
you can find about Abbott.

My daughter's had counseling,
but emotionally she's fragile.

When Mr. Marco called her that
night, asking to meet her, she called me.

She was in tears. I
went to see Mr. Marco.

My wife was dead.

There was no reason for him to pursue
the so-called story of my daughter's birth.

I asked him to leave her alone.
He refused. I offered to pay him.

He said that'd make
an even better story.

I told him it could drive my
daughter to commit suicide.

He didn't care.

He tried to leave.
I grabbed him.

He said he'd love
for me to hit him.

He said he'd get it
on the front page.

That's when I shot him.

I didn't mean to kill him. But,
God help me, I wanted to stop him.

I couldn't let him do to Laura
what he'd done to Maggie.

Thank you very much.

You recognize this?

Yes. That's an article about
my daughter's sweet 16 party.

People's 21.

Did the photographer and
reporter sneak into your house?

No. I invited them in.

Why, if you treasure
your privacy so much?

It was better than having them
climb trees and jump fences.

People's 22.

This profile of you appeared in a
national business magazine last year.

You allowed the
reporter to observe you

spending an intimate evening
at home with your family.

Isn't that right?

Yes. I remember that.

Didn't this article coincide

with the opening of a branch
office of your firm in Los Angeles?

Objection, Your Honor. I fail
to see the relevance of this.

Objection overruled.

Yes. The article
happened to coincide

with the opening of
my Los Angeles branch.

Is it fair to say that
you've managed the news

and used your private life
to advance your career?

Absolutely not.

People's 23.

Do you recognize this?

Yes. It's an article
about the smear

directed at my daughter
and my late wife's reputation.

An article arranged by you?

Absolutely not!

You had nothing to
do with its publication?

Nothing.

The article refers to a rumor
started by a lovesick teacher's aide.

Other than you, how many people
knew about the origin of this rumor?

I have no idea.

Do you have a publicist? Yes.

I use her to clarify and correct
stories that appear now and then.

Isn't it a fact that your
publicist contacted

the reporter who
wrote this article?

Your Honor, Mr. McCoy
has no right to attack me,

to attack my private behavior.

Please, Mr. Abbott.

To be dragging my
private life into this.

He's no better than that
son of a bitch, Marco.

The right to free speech is not more
important than the right to privacy,

the right to be left alone.

Which one of you would like to be
secretly photographed while sunbathing?

Or while on your honeymoon? Or
coming home with a newborn baby?

Mr. Marco pursued Mr. Abbott's
wife, he hunted her down,

until she ran in front of a taxi.
And what did the State do?

A rap on the knuckles,
and let him go.

Let him go to hunt
down Laura Abbott.

He set her in his sights as
surely as if he held a gun.

Now, Mr. McCoy has pointed out

that there are ways to respond

to what you read in the press.

Letters to the
editor. That's all fine.

But Mr. Abbott was
facing life and death.

His daughter's life and death.

No time to write letters.

Mr. Abbott shot Mr. Marco. But
he did it in the heat of the moment.

Mr. Marco provoked my client.
He drove him to fire that gun.

Of course, people
should be protected

against gross
invasions of their privacy.

There should be limits.

But there must also be
constraints on what a man can do

when his privacy
has been invaded.

Even when his family's
privacy has been invaded.

Now, you may like Mr. Abbott
and sympathize with him.

And you may not like Mr. Marco.

From what I know of
Mr. Marco, I don't much like him.

And I don't much like
what he was going to do.

But that cannot be a justification
for what happened to him.

We may not like
tabloid journalism

and the cult of
celebrity that it feeds.

The hunger for fame over
virtue, for gossip over integrity.

To us it may seem an unpleasant,
miserable, disgusting game

with which we would
prefer to have nothing to do.

But Mr. Abbott
participated in it willingly.

It was only when it
turned against him

that he took out his
gun and shot Mr. Marco.

We may not want a world
in which celebrity and gossip

are all mixed up with news.

It's messy.

But our society can
survive the mess.

What it cannot survive without

is the free and easy
exchange of information.

All kinds of information.
Even if it's unpleasant.

Even if it's irrelevant.
Even if it's just gossip.

We sort it out
and we blunder on,

but we blunder on free.

The only alternative is
a world in which people,

if they're smart enough,
rich enough, powerful enough,

likable enough,

can stop the truth
from being told.

Warren Abbott shot
Philip Marco to shut him up!

With premeditation.
In cold blood.

Because he didn't like what
Mr. Marco was going to write.

Has the jury reached a verdict?

Yes, we have, Your Honor.

On the first count of the indictment,
murder in the Second Degree,

how do you find?

The jury finds the defendant,
Warren Abbott, not guilty.

On the second count
of the indictment,

manslaughter in
the First Degree,

how do you find?

We find the
defendant not guilty.

On the third count
of the indictment,

manslaughter in
the Second Degree,

how do you find?

We find the defendant guilty.

Man two, seven years max.

Want to give odds he
doesn't do even that?

I see Abbott isn't trying to prevent
the press from doing its job today.

Today, it's news.