All language subtitles for Law & Order (1990) - S02E06 - Misconception (720p WEB-DL x265 ImE)_track3_[eng]

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.

( garbled radio transmission )

OFFICER:
So my brother-in-law

moves into Hell's Kitchen.

Doctor?

The genius.

Quarter-mil on 46th Street.

He says
he's a pioneer.

Hope he's got a gun.

WOMAN:
If I never see another
off-record statement

it will be too soon.

I'm just happy
for the overtime.

We do all the work.

They make
all the bucks.

Come on,
I called a cab.

I'll drop you.

I'm charging it
to a client.

You live in Queens.

Where you gonna drop me?

We'll swing over
to your place...
No, that's okay.

I'm just gonna take a subway.
It's the only exercise I get.

You sure?

Sure, I do it
all the time.

DRIVER:
Where to, lady?

Gooden's pitching.
The kid should see it.

She never heard
of negotiation?

You swap days.

Nope. By the book.

Every other weekend.

I got to call my damn lawyer

to take the kid
to the freakin' zoo.

27 car for a signal 10-56.
DISPATCH:

in the alley.
Corner of Water and Vesey

27 Charlie, 10-4.

Central K,
we have a female down.

Need ambulance on corner
of Water and Vesey.

Roger, 27.
DISPATCH:

( labored breathing )

I'll talk to them
in five.

Call came in
at 1:17.

We were
around the corner.

A mugging?

Too hysterical
to talk.

Where's the caller?

Joined the Silent Majority.

911 anonymous.

Probably used a pay
phone around the corner.

Found it down the block.
License says her
name's Amy Newhouse.

453 West 45th.

I got ten bucks says she's
taking self-defense

at the 92nd Street Y.
You know, I wish

they'd teach these people
it's not worth the fight.

Yeah, well, I doubt this
one put up much of a fight.

What makes you say that?

She's preggo.

Out to here.

Tough town.

( whistles )

Captioning sponsored by
NBC/UNIVERSAL

12 hours in E.R.,
you see everything.

Did you see Amy Newhouse?

Yeah, I admitted her
around 2:00 a.m.

Roughed up,
nothing's broken.

Scratches, scrapes,
bruises.

That's a first
for this rotation.

Looks like the patient
will be just fine.

Paramedics said
she was pregnant.

Yeah, maybe five,
six months.

Well?

Some women sneeze too hard,
it causes a miscarriage.

Others, they run a triathlon,
everything's hunky-dory.

What's that,
a medical term?

Partial abruption
of the fetus.

The placenta starts to separate
from the uterine wall.

We've got her hooked up
to fetal monitors.

All we can do
is wait and see.

You catch the guy?

Nope.
Belongs in a cage.

Talk about
your sociopaths.

This guy kicks her two, maybe
three times right in the belly.

Can you tell us
where can we find her?

Yeah, upstairs, 612 South.

I only had $20.

Credit cards?

I don't have any.

Amy...

can you remember
anything about this man?

How tall he might have been
or something he might have said?

It's okay.

It's all right.

He grabbed me from behind.

I never even saw him.

He took my bag.

The next thing,
I was on the ground.

My baby...

He took your bag
and then he kicked you?

What were you doing out
at that hour?

My boss kept me late.

I work for a law firm--
Wood, Carlton, Troy.

Has anybody
contacted

your husband?

I'm not married.

The father?

Chris.

He's at work.

He's a cabby.

You know, I would have given
that man my money.

What about the baby?

So far, so good.

New York
was Amy's idea.

Saw Working Girl
one too many times.

You think that bunch of lawyers
gives a damn about her

keeping her there
till all hours?

She always walk
to the subway that late?

She's a secretary
of some hotshot partner.

Jerk thinks he owns her.

A million times, I asked her
what she needed that job for

but she wanted the overtime.

Maybe now we can go
back to Wisconsin.

Look, I've got to get
to the hospital.

She's going
to be okay.

The baby is
a question mark.

Great, so for 20 bucks
we might have a murder?

If he already
had her bag

he didn't need
to kick her.

This city is known
for its mental health?

Or maybe somebody had something
else in mind.

Like for instance?

Like causing a miscarriage.

That's a hell of a way
to get your jollies.

We'll run the M.O.
through the assault files.

Could be this started
closer to home.

CRAGEN:
All right.

Talk to the neighbor.

See if you can get
a read on the boyfriend.

I'm sorry.

My hearing, you know.

The best thing about getting old
is you only have to do it once.

( laughing )

Oh, that Amy, oh, she's a doll.

She brings me papers every day.

The stairs, you know.

They're such
a nice young couple

and now a baby.

So Chris was happy
about the baby?

He thought he was too young.

I was his age when I was already
expecting my third.

Mrs. Fisher...

Hmm?

Listen... did you ever hear
anything... you know, strange

coming from
their apartment?

Well, since Sam died,
I only turn these on for guests.

Are you kidding?

The walls
are like toilet paper.

This isn't
exactly Gramercy Park.

Ever hear anything
out of the ordinary?

Put it this way--

every time he's in the mood,
I know about it.

Couple of horny toads.
Ought to be a law.

Any violence?

Yeah, the guy blew his top
every now and again.

Did you ever see Chris
actually hit Amy?

Last spring,
she had a cast on her arm.

And you think

Chris caused that?

She said she fell.

Who am I to say otherwise?

In my opinion,
the guy's a dip.

The fare wanted to go
to Forest Hills

he took them to Forest Lawn.

You kept him on.

Almost a year.

Honest beats smart any time.

Was Chris on duty
Tuesday night?

Uh, graveyard--
12:00 to 8:00.

How much trouble could
he get into after midnight?

Can you tell me
where he was around 1:00?

Somewhere on the L.I.E.

Picked up a fare
at 79th and Columbus.

Took them out to Kennedy.

37 bucks on the meter.

Another 40 coming home.

He was in
the wrong borough

at the time
of the attack.

So much for Ken
popping Barbie.

That's no alibi.

Hey, summer of '82
I hacked part-time

to pay tuition.

Sometimes middle of the
night, I'd get lonely.

I'd park my cab in front
of Janie Meyer's house,

leave the meter running,
go inside

take care of business,
pay the fare myself.

Which would amount
to what, about $2 or $3?

Like going
to Jersey and back.

Let's go talk to the girl.

Back home we had
the real thing-- 120 pounds.

His name was Regis.

He shouldn't have spent
the money,

but that's Chris.

So Chris was happy
about the baby?

Hmm. That's all he talked about.

All he wants out of life
is a wife and half a dozen kids.

Amy, we know about
your broken arm last spring.

You want to tell us
how you got it?

I fell down.

In the middle of a fight?

No, I told you that...

Amy, there's no reason

to protect Chris
if he did this to you.

What do you think--
Chris is an animal?

He wouldn't hurt me or his baby.

LOGAN:
Look...

he hit her once.

He'd hit her again.
This much is clear--

she is lying
about the broken arm.

You think he wanted
to nix the kid?

Wait a minute, wait a minute.
Wife-beatings are spontaneous.

Are you saying he actually
drove cross town then waited

outside her office
in order to pop her?
All right, a theory.

Chris wasn't as happy
about fatherhood

as Amy would have us believe.

She wouldn't get an abortion,
so it was a do-it-yourself job.

Okay, so he loses his temper
now and then.

But beat her enough
so she'll lose the baby?

Any way you look at it

the wheel stops
at the boyfriend.

He's got buttons. Push them.

I know how it is, Chris.

She ticks you off

so maybe
you lose your temper.

It happens
all the time.

Maybe I hit her once,

but that was a long time ago,
before she got pregnant.

I'd like to believe you

but whoever did this to Amy
had one thing in mind.

You think I would hurt my baby?

Hey, I know how tough it is

raising a family.
You're broke, you're young.

The last thing you
need is someone...

We'd get by.

Chris, if you speak up now,
maybe the D.A. will listen.

The D.A.?

Yeah.

Amy's pressing charges?

Nobody's under arrest.

She knows I couldn't have
done this.

I love her.
I love the baby.

( knock at door )

Amy had a miscarriage.

Oh, God.

If the fetus
was less than 24 weeks old

there's no homicide,
and all we've got is assault.

You've got to be
kidding me.

That's the statute.

That's great.
So, a bunch of lawyers decide

whether you're alive
enough to be murdered.

Better yet,
it could vary
state to state.

Oh, that's wonderful.
Good thing they weren't

traveling cross-country
when he beat her.

Would've been like Tic-Tac-Toe--
here we charge you,

here we don't.
Guys, what do you want me
to tell you?

The law always
makes sense?

Ours is not to question why;
just pick up the garbage.

Fellas, just try to find out
how far along this girl was.

Without the trauma

she would have had
a healthy boy.

Can you tell us if the fetus
was 24 weeks old?

The B.P.D.
is 5.8 centimeters.

Femur lengths 4.4.

In my opinion,
probably about 25 weeks.

In other words, there's no way
to tell for sure?

Did you check
with her regular O.B.?

She said
she didn't have one.

Look, I don't know
what to tell you.

We take amnios,
we run sonograms

but the best story
is the old way--

counting backwards.

Amy, the D.A. does not like
hostile witnesses.

There's always a chance

that he's going to charge
you with obstruction.

You don't really want

to go to jail
for Chris, do you?

Okay.

Chris did hit me once.

But it was a long time ago.

He...

he found out I was cheating.

With who?

My boss.

Your current boss,

Mr. Alcott?

It was his baby.

Chris didn't
know that.

Chris thought he was the father.

Was Mr. Alcott in the office
on Tuesday night?

Yeah. He left
ten minutes before I did.

I'm sorry about the mess.

It's been 15-hour days
since November

with the takeover.

Amy said you were with her
the night of the attack.

Yeah.

I heard about the baby.

Look, I, uh,
feel responsible.

I'd kept her here
late that night.

We had to be at the
printer at 8:00 a.m.

I had the temp send her flowers.

What time did you leave?

Oh, must have been
about a quarter of 1:00.

I asked her to finish typing

an opinion letter
and fax it to our
clients in Houston.

I just told her
she could go home.

I knew she liked to walk,
but, you know, at that hour...

See anybody hanging around
outside the building?

No, sorry. Grabbed a cab,
went off to my club.

At 1:00 in the morning?

I live in Mamaroneck.

If I were to go home,
I'd just have to

hop right back on the train and
come back to the city.

I always stay at the club
when I'm forced to work late.

Is that often?

Law isn't 9:00 to 5:00.

So your relationship with Amy
was purely professional, right?

My wife was Summa at Bryn Mawr.

Amy is a sweet young girl.

She's not my type.

CERRETA:
So this is the place
for the other woman, huh?

BARTENDER:
Members have their own rules.

Wives--
they take to the Yale Club

Knickerbocker--

but here, it's strictly
extracurricular.

What about Mr. Alcott?

Nice guy.

Drinks Johnny black,
straight up.

Does he drink it alone?

Look, last year I picked up
an extra ten grand in stock tips

in a down market.

keeping quiet.
A big part of the job's

Yeah, right.

I can get very long-winded

when I pull people in
for questioning.

Sometimes it can go

into the middle
of the evening.

And then if I don't happen
to tell my partner

what I asked you,
that could go... what..?

At least another day.
Oh, yeah.

All right.

Off the record...

Yeah.

Alcott has a good time
now and then.

Ah.

With her?

Yeah.

Miss Meyers and tonic.

Tuesday night--
was he here?

Came in around 1:00.

I'm supposed to close the place,
but what the hell?

He's a regular. Belted down a
couple, hit the rooms upstairs.

Chris isn't my type.

A little too rough
around the edges.

But Amy must have seen
something in him.

They get along?

Used to be pretty rocky.

When Amy got pregnant,
Chris was all lovey-dovey.

What about her boss,
Alcott?

Well, a lawyer.

Enough said.

Amy told us she was seeing him.

She said the baby was his.

Set up an appointment for her

at some fancy Park Avenue
ob-gyn.

He was going to pay
for the whole thing

and send her on a cruise
off to St. Thomas-- real sport.

But she didn't want
an abortion, right?

She didn't want to
go through with it.

Alcott exploded.
The door was closed,

but you
could hear him down the hall.

What now? The security guard
saw us together?

Actually, the bartender
at your club.

I told you-- when
I work late at the office

I spend
the night at the club.

Sometimes Amy brings me papers
from the office.

I bought her a drink.
That doesn't mean we're lovers

and it certainly doesn't mean
that I beat her up.

She says she was carrying
your baby.

She's very convincing.

Yeah? Well, my daughter swears
there's a Tooth Fairy

but that doesn't make it so.

I have clients waiting.
If you don't mind.

Of course he denied it.

I've been a legal secretary
for four years.

They're all risk-adverse.

to submit to a blood test?
You ever ask him

He never questioned
that it was his baby.

At this point he denies
ever having slept with you.

Unfortunately, it comes down
to your word against his.

How appropriate.

He loved to dictate.

The law wasn't the only thing

on his mind.

I thought I might need it
sometime for protection.

With the marital deduction trust
ALCOTT:

to the next generation
the after-tax savings

will be $280,000.

in the shower.
I love to see you naked

Slut.

She's the one who wanted me
to make that tape, you know.

She asked me to do it,
said it made her hot.

Doesn't sound
like she's the only one.

Come on, it was a Christmas
party.

It was the first one I'd
been to in years.

I had a little too much
to drink.

And she was your present?

All right, so I slept with her.

It's been five or six months.

Once she got pregnant?

I put on the brakes
once she got pregnant.

I begged her
to get an abortion.

So it was your baby?

She said she'd stopped sleeping
with her boyfriend.

You believe that?

It's a 50-50 shot.
What am I gonna do?!

I can't afford a paternity suit.
I said I'd help her out

financially--
I could live with that.

True or false--

your life is much easier
if she miscarries?

Hold on now.

No, the boyfriend knew
that she was sleeping around.

He probably did it.

She's lucky
he didn't have a shotgun.

Yes, Chris knew
it was David's baby.

Yeah, so how did he react
when he found out?

He was mad, but...

he didn't hit me.

He didn't do this.

Listen, you been
jerking us around

since day one.

Look... Chris thought

this baby

would make us rich.

He said Alcott would have to pay
for his mistake.

Are you telling us
you blackmailed Alcott?

I didn't want to do it at first,
but Chris said I was entitled.

And did he pay?

$2,000.

We figured

it was like
a security blanket

in case he tried
to fire me.

But Chris kept saying

that this baby
was our meal ticket.

And he was sure

that Alcott
would pay big money

to keep us quiet.

I didn't say anything
before because...

will we have to go to jail?

They're a couple of hayseeds
who thought

they'd squeeze Alcott
for the big bucks.

Alcott had a lot to lose--

money, wife, kids...

Partnership...
CRAGEN:
The other secretary?

Beverly Kern.

...said he has one hell
of a temper.

Alcott left the office

knowing Amy would be down
in a few minutes.

He knew her route home.

He waited in the alley,
and bingo.

Witnesses?

One. Reported the attack,
disappeared.

and opportunity.
So you got motive

It's all circumstantial.

Come on, Paul--
the guy's a lawyer.

He's going to be talking deal
before we slap the cuffs on him.

I'd hock the house on it.

Assault's a possibility.

Murder may still be a stretch
with the 24-week statute.

I'm game if you are.

Go.

Excuse me.
You just can't walk in

without
an appointment...

David Alcott, you are under
arrest for the murder

of the unborn son
of Amy Newhouse.

You have the right

to remain silent.

If you choose to not exercise
that right, anything you say

can and will be
used against you in

a court of law.
You have the right to...

BAILIFF:
Docket # 1422,
People v. David M. Alcott.

The charges are murder
in the second degree

assault in the first degree.

JUDGE:
How does the defendant plead?

This is absurd,
Your Honor.
These char...

This is not
a board room,
Mr. Alcott.

plan to enter a plea?
Mr. Manley, does your client

Not guilty, Your Honor.

Applications.

$250,000 bail, Your Honor.

What?

That is unconscionable.

My client is
an esteemed bar member.

Aren't we all, Mr. Manley?

It would be court-sanctioned
extortion, Your Honor.

The people's case
hardly rises

to the level of frivolity.

Your regard for our
judicial system is admirable.

The bail is set at $100,000.

No way is it murder.

I just talked with Alcott.

You can read minds?

I can read a calendar.

The first time
they slept together?

The Christmas party.

That's 20 weeks
before the attack.

Good theory.
Only she says they started

sleeping together
in early December.

Who do you think
the jury will believe?

Come on!
No witnesses. No evidence.

Even assault is a stretch.

Do everyone a favor.

Menacing.

Under the carpet,
quick and easy.

No time.

A "B" misdemeanor?
Yeah.

Try man one.

He attacked her with intent.

He is innocent, Paul.

Come on.

He has a family

a reputation.

Fine. Tell his family
they get visiting days.

I need Chris and Amy
to convict Alcott.

Why not plead him down
to petty larceny?

Probation.

From extortion?

Already admitted
to blackmailing him.

They're kids, Adam.

A jury will acquit
on sympathy alone.

Even with them,
it's rough sailing.

No physical evidence.

The only eyewitness
vanished.

Alcott's going
into that courtroom

with a suitcase of respect.

That's no defense.

That's reasonable doubt.

Maybe if you want
to make an assault case

but murder...

The statute says 24 weeks.

Manley's got an expert.

He's got his expert.

I've got mine.

You pay enough,
they'll say anything.

AMY:
Chris worked nights.

I worked days.

I was lonely.

David didn't force me.

I wanted to go.

When did you first start
sleeping with Mr. Alcott?

I don't know.

We started working late
on a takeover deal.

It must have been
early December.

And how long
had this been going on?

Maybe a month.

Until I got pregnant.

STONE:
What happened
when you got pregnant?

He told me
I had to get an abortion.

He told me it was
the right thing.

What was your response to that?

I couldn't do it.

And how did Mr. Alcott
react to that?

He threatened to fire me.

But I told him that I would go
to the .

In other words, you thought you
would blackmail the defendant.

He owed us.

He got her pregnant.

He should pay.

What should he pay?

He gave us 2,000.

I told Amy to ask for ten.

And what if he refused?

We'd go to his wife

and then we'd sue
the partnership

for sex discrimination.

He threw her out
of his office.

What did you do?

I went to see him.

I said the price
went up to 20,000.

He said it would be
a cold day in hell

before some white trash
screwed up his life.

He wouldn't give a nickel.

I measured the
biparietal diameter

and the femur lengths
of the fetus.

Indicating what, Doctor?

That the fetus was 25 weeks old.

Thank you.

There are several ways of
determining the age of a fetus.

Isn't that true, Dr. Mishon?

B.P.D. measurements can be
taken interuterally by sonogram

or in a post-rejection
fetus autopsy.

When did you take
these measurements?

In an autopsy.

That certainly is
the more accurate

of the methods.

Ah.

And what is the margin of error

for post-rejection
B.P.D. measurements?

Well, that can vary
with the equipment and...

What is the accepted margin
of error?

Plus or minus
two to three weeks.

So...

Ms. Newhouse's fetus
could have been 22 weeks old.

Isn't that correct?

Yes.

Thank you, Doctor.

Your Honor,
considering the fact

that not even the prosecution's
expert can say with confidence

is at least 24 weeks of age
that the fetus in question

I move that the charge

of murder in the second degree
be dismissed immediately.

Your Honor, Dr. Mishon
has testified...

In my chambers, gentlemen.

Mr. Stone knows he should not
have brought those charges.

It's obvious he's
only trying to back in

to the lesser-charged felony.

He should have raised this issue
in pretrial motions.

Oh, be serious, Ben.

I can parade a dozen experts
through that courtroom.

You only tacked on murder
to outrage the jury.

Now they'd convict him
for killing J.F.K.

for God's sakes.
The age of the fetus

is a question of fact
for the jury.

of law for me.
it's a question
No, Mr. Stone,

The defendant's motion
is granted.

There's nothing we can do?

The statute is clear.

But medical science,
unfortunately, is not.

You mean if it happened
two weeks later

he'd go to jail?

The assault charges
weren't dismissed.

He can serve
five to 15.

Five years for a life?

We heard the heart beat.

We felt the kicks.

I'm sorry, Amy.

Manley's smart.

Get an assault conviction,
and he claims any evidence

relating to the loss of the
fetus was improper.

ROBINETTE:
That's why he didn't object

to the charge prior to trial.

If it's a mistrial,
Alcott walks away untouched.

( phone rings )

Yes?

Thank you.

Not quite untouched.

Chris and Amy just filed

a $10-million lawsuit
against Alcott.

Retained council,
Jacob Bloom.

The King of Torts?

The Prince of Darkness.

The woman miscarried.

We're talking
major league suffering.

Not to mention the lifetime
earnings potential

of a healthy white male.

You win the criminal side.

Cuts my work in half.

I'm rooting for you.

Mr. Alcott
is bucking

for a mistrial.

This kind of publicity
won't hurt his cause.

You've got
no limitations problem.

You could have waited.

Is this jealousy I'm hearing?

It's nausea.

Ambulance-chasing
brings that out in me.

Whoa, better check
your playbill, Mr. Robinette.

Your friends came to me

the day after she got out
of the hospital.

I had a hell of a time

convincing her to wait
for the criminal case to begin.

That was a pretty short
period of mourning.

When my secretary's cat
died

she took a week off
from work.

A million-dollar damages.

It's the American dream,
I guess

but some people will make it
any way they can.

There's always the chance
that she's suing on principle.

What do we know
about Amy Newhouse anyway?

Some firms
have switched to H.M.O.s

but we still stand by your
basic health coverage.

So checkups aren't covered?

Not unless
they find something wrong.

Here we go... Amy Newhouse
put in a claim February 3.

The company reimbursed
her on the 18th.

There was something wrong?

Well, for most people,
pregnancy is a blessing.

Insurance companies
call it a disability.

Do you have
her doctor's name?

Bernard Gluck.

36th and 3rd.

Amy Newhouse.

Healthy young girl.

Everything was fine.

On February 3,
you told her she was pregnant?

That was the checkup.

I told her she was pregnant
back in December-- the 19th.

That boyfriend of hers--
he nearly jumped for joy.

I haven't seen her since.
How's she doing?

Not too well.

Letter read Barsky family trust.
ALCOTT:

As per my prior communication

will benefit two generations
the tax savings

of the generation-skipping tax.
without running afoul

Last night was spectacular.

You were right.

It was worth the wait.

Better than I ever imagined.

The first sight of you naked...

( stops tape )

So, what? We admit it;
he had the affair.

It sounds like you dictated
that letter

the day after
your first night with Amy.

There is a point to this?

It was dated
the 23rd of December.

The day after
the Christmas party.

How many times do I have
to tell you?

I told you she was lying.

There is no way
the baby was 24 weeks.

You made me jump through hoops
for nothing.

Save the theatrics, Jerry.
The murder charges
were dismissed.

The point is her doctor

says she was already pregnant
on the 19th of December.

That little...

I want
this case dropped immediately

and I want a public apology.

So the baby
couldn't have been mine.

They knew all along
Chris was the father.

They set Alcott up
for blackmail.

Doesn't affect his guilt.
What's important is

that he thought
the baby was his.

The creeps manipulate
this office, the police,
Alcott from the start.

All right,
they're liars.

Doesn't make them killers.

Maybe the blackmail
was camouflage.

Maybe their
ultimate goal

is a civil suit.

There may be more to Chris
than we originally thought.

He practiced law in Wisconsin.

And now

he's driving a cab?

Disbarred in '89.

What are you going to do, Ben?

Well, straightforward
won't work.

We got to hit him
from behind.

If the light at the end
of that tunnel was a civil suit

why not seal up
the tunnel?

Judge Burton
owes you a favor.

Call one in.

Get me a continuance.

What the hell
is his wife's... Sally.

Your husband may be guilty
of many things, Mrs. Alcott,

but we're not convinced
one of them

is attacking
a pregnant woman.

You're not required
to help them.

No, you're not, but I'm
sure your attorney

has told you that cause
has no bearing on the
property distribution.

In books, Mr. Robinette.

In real life,
it goes a long way.

You'll get your divorce.

You'll get his money

but the penalties for adultery

do not include
25 years behind bars.

Maybe they should.

Maybe then they would
keep their pants on.

David will pay for this,
Mr. Robinette.

Fine.

If he goes to jail

Chris and Amy's civil suit
against him is a sure winner

and in that case
there will be a lot less

to divide up
after the divorce.

What are you proposing?

I'm sure it doesn't
surprise you

that Mrs. Alcott has commenced
a divorce proceeding

against her husband.

You want Amy
to testify?

As a matter of fact, no. I want
you to drop the civil suit.

Why in the world would we...

For a million dollars.
That's why.

We're suing
for ten million.

First of all, let me assure you
Mr. Alcott's net worth

is barely $2,000,000

half of which I'm claiming
for Mrs. Alcott

in her divorce.

Fraudulent conveyance.

We'll recapture the funds.

Very good, Chris,

but I want
you to know

I can tie up
his assets

for years pending the divorce
settlement.

I've got a restraining order
on his bank accounts.

His partnership draw
is being garnished

and tomorrow,
we start

on maintenance
and child support.

I wouldn't mess with me if I
were you, Chris.

By the time you see a dime,
it won't be worth a nickel.

And what's in it for you?

Mrs. Alcott will drop
the divorce proceeding.

I'll let the son of a bitch
rot in jail

while I spend
whatever money he has left.

LAWYER:
Take a million now.

and everybody's happy.
Drop the civil suit

It was hardly worth the trouble.
AMY:

So much for suing on principle.

These two are
unbelievable.

LAWYER:
for you tomorrow.k

and get out of here.
Let's just take the money
AMY:

The grieving mother.

Does that constitute proof?

Couldn't they say
they got over it quickly?

Chris was the father,
not Alcott.

Chris and Amy knew that, but
made Alcott think it was his.

In order
to blackmail him.

In order to file a civil suit.
They weren't going for singles.

These people were going for the
long ball-- extra bases.

Staging this whole thing.

That's a hell of a couple.

So this whole thing was a scam--
the beating, the affair?

My guess--

Chris was the
anonymous caller.

We need you
to break his alibi.

You're the ex-cabby.

Get me the book.

For insurance purpose

we check the odometer
of every cab

when it comes in,
when it goes out.

Every cab
every day, huh?

You screw up
the insurance

they take away
your medallion like that.

Cab 34. Be my guest.

Guess what. He's only half as
smart as we thought.

The kid paid off the meter,
but he didn't know

they check
the mileage every day.

The only way he trekked out
to Kennedy Airport

is if they moved it
to Times Square.

The odometer's
40 miles short.

Then so is his alibi.

Read them
their rights.

We've already pled them out
on blackmail.

Experts cannot establish
the age of the fetus

so murder's
out of the question, too.

Is this
true or false--

Amy and Chris intended
to cause a miscarriage.

True, only what they did
wasn't a crime.

But they didn't know that.

Famous law school hypothetical.

I shoot a bullet
into the heart of a man

who appears to be sleeping

only he wasn't
sleeping

he was dead.

Am I guilty?

Not of murder.

But I didn't know he
was already dead.

I thought
I was committing a crime.

Chris and Amy thought
they were committing a crime.

So they had a guilty mind.

If not for murder, for...?

Attempted murder.

Learn from your past
mistakes, Stone.

The fetus wasn't legally alive,

ergo you can't
make it legally dead,

ergo you can't
convict on murder.

No one is disagreeing
with you, Miss Bayliss,

but if you read the indictment,
your clients are charged
with attempted murder.

Same difference.

I don't think so.

A man buys a pound of sugar,
thinking it's heroin.

We all know it's no crime to buy
a pound of sugar

but Miss Bayliss, in every
jurisdiction in the country,

the man is convicted
of attempted possession
of illegal narcotics.

CHRIS:
Yes, Mr. Stone.

But if your man knew
for a fact it was sugar

he's as free as a bird.

AMY:
I hate to spoil your fun,
Mr. Stone,

but I assure you,
after three years of law school

Chris knows how to read
a murder statute

and I certainly knew
how long I'd been pregnant.

She sat there and admitted
she killed her own baby.

I swear her pulse didn't rise
above 60.
They knew both the age

of the fetus and the law.
No murder, no attempt.

They have proof?
She had an O.B. confirm
her home pregnancy test

plus our young hero
Chris's statement that
he knew the statute.

Are you telling me
that a woman that smart

would willingly
sacrifice her body?

That's hard to believe.

Bed and brains

are not mutually
exclusive.

Maybe she was abused

but she was part of this
from the start.

If she couldn't form
the intent, if she was
acting under Chris's will?

Well, you saw her.

That baby was
no more important to her

than a watch, something she
could hock for a quick buck.

We got to go
forward with this.

You fire an unloaded gun at me,
it's attempt.

You know that the gun
is not loaded, it's nothing.

But to be acquitted,
I'd have to prove

to a jury that I knew the gun
wasn't loaded.

Chris and Amy will have to prove
that they knew they weren't

committing a crime, and
they'll have to take the stand.

Credibility is a question
for the jury.

Exactly. I open up the slightest
hole in their story,

I give the jury the opportunity,
they'll do the right thing.

You want them
to ignore evidence?

No. Chris and Amy want the jury
to look at the law.

I'll get the jury
to look at Chris and Amy.

The law's supposed
to be a shield,
not a sword.

They're despicable, yes,
but by letter of the law

they're not guilty.

The legislature
couldn't have conceived

anything like this, but wrong
should not win

by technicalities,
you know that yourself.

Get these bastards
off the street.

CHRIS:
went wrongat if everything

and Amy miscarried

we couldn't
be tried for murder.

We knew Amy had been pregnant
less than 24 weeks.

But you're not charged
with murder, Chris.

You're charged
with attempt.

It's a joke.

You think we would
go through all this

and not be sure?

I knew it wasn't a crime.

How's that?

Three years

University of Wisconsin
School of Law

two years practicing
in Fond Du Lac.

Thank you.

As an attorney, you are aware

that the definition of murder
varies from state to state.
Sure.

What constitutes murder
in Wisconsin

may be different in New York.

That's right.

Did you attend
law school in New York?

No, but I...

Yes or no, sir.

No.

But you claim to know the law

in New York.

I can read, Mr. Stone.

Well then, maybe
you can tell us, Mr. Baylor,

what happened to your license
to practice law.

Objection. Irrelevant.

Goes to credibility,
Your Honor.

Answer the question.

It was revoked.

You mean, you were disbarred?

Sir?

I made a terrible mistake,
but we didn't break any laws.

But you testified that Chris
intentionally hit you.

You said it was all
part of your plan.

We never meant to hurt it.

I am so sorry about the baby.

I wish I could
take it back.

And what about
Mr. Alcott?

Does he deserve any sympathy?

I take it

you don't care for him.

He cheated on his wife.

He cheats the government

for a living.

He deserves whatever
happens to him.

Amy, have you been examined
by a doctor recently?

Yes.

And what did he say?

As a result of the kicks

there was severe damage
to my uterine wall.

Which means?

I'll never have another child.

Objection.

Relevance.

Sustained.

Thank you, Amy.

Miss Newhouse, you testified

that you didn't intend
to have a miscarriage.

Yet you meticulously
planned the attack

to assure that the fetus
would be under 24 weeks of age.

Chris said it was a failsafe

just in case
something went wrong.

Can you tell us
why Chris was disbarred

in the state
of Wisconsin?

Answer the question, please.

Um... subornation of perjury.

STONE:
You know what that means?

He encouraged a witness
to lie on the stand.

Do you think

Chris could be at it again?

Objection.

Sustained.

Miss Newhouse, do you know
what it means

if you can't prove

that you and Chris
knew the law prior

to committing
the acts

that resulted in the death
of your baby?

Objection!

The witness is
not an attorney, Your Honor.

She is not competent
to determine this.

On the contrary,
Your Honor.

Miss Newhouse's entire defense
is based

upon the fact
that she knew the law.

She cannot now argue

that she is incompetent
to testify as to its meaning.

Answer the question,
young lady.

What would it mean

Miss Newhouse,
if you didn't know the law?

We would be guilty.

Of what?

Of attempted murder.

Of trying to kill your own baby.

We committed no crime.

Nobody got hurt.

STONE:
No crime?

What do you call the plan

that Christopher Baylor
and Amy Newhouse concocted?

They lured her own employer,
David Alcott,

into having an affair with her.

They convinced him
that their own pregnancy was his

and then,
they did the unimaginable.

They staged an attack--

an attack
in which Christopher Baylor

savagely kicked the mother
of his own child

in the belly

and they say it's no crime.

They killed
their own child for greed.

No crime?

The only possible way
that this is not a crime

is if you can manage
to convince yourself

that couple
had specific knowledge

of an obscure penal code.

I, however, believe
that if you review the evidence

you will find

that when they came up
with this heinous plan

they were unaware
of the 24-week statute

and that they are guilty
of the crime

that was in their hearts
all along--

the crime of attempted murder.

Have you reached a verdict?

We have, Your Honor.

We find the defendants,

Amy Newhouse
and Christopher Baylor,

guilty of attempt to commit
murder in the second degree.

Motion to set aside
the verdict.

Denied.

Gillion should have
set aside the verdict.
The only basis was horror.

The public is all over us

when a known criminal walks
on a technicality.

I just flipped the coin--
I let the people use a
technicality to convict.

I'm sure they'll appeal.

The jury disbelieved
their testimony.

Last time I looked, that is not
reviewable on appeal.

But they were
telling the truth.

I won't lose sleep over
it, and I don't think
the jurors will, either.

There's another
bit of justice.

What's that?

She'll never reproduce.

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