All language subtitles for Law.and.Order.S08E07.Blood.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP2.0.H.264-playWEB_track3_[eng]

by two separate
yet equally important groups,

the police
who investigate crime

and the district attorneys
who prosecute the offenders.

These are their stories.

Honey, your leashing
is too slack. Shorten up.

I said shorten, Ryan.
That's better.

Never had any complaints
about my leashing before.

Don't worry.
I'm a master at teaching
old dogs new tricks.

Oh, my God!

Decedent is a female,
blond, early 30s,
name of Karin Burdett.

Looks like she fell,
or jumped
from the building.

Her place
on the 18th floor
has a balcony.

Who ID'd her?
The doorman.

Says her husband
is president
of some drug company.

Did he see her fall?

He says
he was on break.

Excuse me,
is Mr. Burdett around?

I called upstairs
right when it happened.
He wasn't in.

What time was that?

11:45 or so.

He might have slipped back
in while I was on my break.
I better check.

You notice what time
he went out this morning?

No, I must have missed it.
I might have been
on a break then, too.

Three breaks in one morning?
You must have
one hell of a union.

What I have
is a prostate condition.
Oh, wait, there he is.

Let him in,

Mr. Burdett,
we're with the police.

Yes, what's wrong?
What happened here?

I'm afraid it's about
your wife, sir.

My wife?
I was just at the pharmacy
getting her prescription.

Karin!
Take it easy, Mr. Burdett.

There's nothing
you can do for her now.

Take it easy.
All right.

All right.
Sit over here.

Come on.

We got you.
You're gonna be okay.

All right,
you just try to relax.

We're gonna come
back and talk to you
in a minute. All right?

Guy is president
of a drug company,

and he still has to
schlepp to the drugstore
like the rest of us.

What do you think
she needed?
Happy pills?

I hope he got
some for himself.

It's Desyrel.
An anti-depressant.
Karin had a bad night.

What time did you
leave this morning?

About 10:00.

The pharmacy
doesn't deliver?

They said it would
take two hours.

Was your wife
expecting anybody?

No. She'd taken
some sleeping pills.

She was groggy.
She was in no shape
to see anyone.

Mr. Burdett, did she ever
talk about suicide?

No.

Clemente,
what have you got?

Latent pulled some
nice prints off the door,

and over here
on the railing.

This where she went off?
Uh-huh.

Looks like
she stumbled around,
knocked over these pots.

Hey, Lennie.

Well, we got sleeping pills,
broken flower pots...

And we got this.

Parlodel?

It's used
to stop lactation.

So where's the baby?

Mr. Burdett,

these Parlodel for your wife.
Do you know
why she was taking them?

She gave birth to a girl
three weeks ago.

Is the baby staying
with someone else?

We gave it up for adoption.

Well, how did Mrs. Burdett
feel about that?

It was understood
when we were married

I didn't want
any more children.

I have a teenage son
by my first marriage.

When Karin got pregnant,
we discussed it again.

In the end it just
didn't make sense.

She had two partially
digested Halcion tablets
in her stomach.

She was feeling pretty good.

Good enough to make
it over a railing?

She might have managed it.

You said she was
taking Parlodel?

That's right.

The panel didn't pick
up any in her blood.

She hadn't taken it
for at least three days.

It takes that long
to clear the system.

So she stopped taking them.
Maybe they were
upsetting her stomach.

Or she was getting ready
to take the baby back.

What's that?

You're jumping ahead.
It's an abraded contusion.

Back of her right wrist.

From the fall?

From having her arm
twisted, hard.

He's 57 years old, Lennie.

How would you like to
do diaper duty again?

Yeah, if that happened to me,
I'd jump off the roof.

Look, she would have
fought back.
There'd be marks on him.

She was too
doped up to fight.

You talk to
Burdett's pharmacy?

They remember he was there,
but they don't know
when or for how long.

Still, it's a ten minute trip
he says took him an hour.

One vote she was pushed,
one vote she jumped.

Van Buren.

Could you hold on?

See if forensics
can break the tie.

And could you
close the door please?

Boyfriend?

Mrs. Van Buren?

No. I heard she took
the Captain's exam.
Usually means a transfer.

Just when I was
getting used to her
sunny disposition.

We'll do
another drop,

but so far
we keep getting
the same results.

If we just drop the dummy,
it lands in the water,

56 inches short
of where
your victim landed.

What if she
had pushed off the rail
when she jumped?

Gets her maybe a foot
closer to the target.

She needed a nice big shove
to land where she did.

So much for
May-December romances.

It's enough to
make me a cynic.

You know, Lennie,
Karin Burdett's
obstetrician

was the one who prescribed
the anti-depressant.

She must have
gotten an earful
about the adoption.

I spent a grand
on a malpractice
seminar in Curaçao.

Besides finding out
I'm too old for Mai Tais,

I learned never to
talk out of school.

Your patient is dead,
Dr. Frieder.

I doubt she'd mind
if you violate
her privilege.

Her estate might.

You mean her husband?

He's the murder suspect.

Well, if it makes
you feel any better, Doc,

patient chit-chat
isn't privileged.

That includes anything
non-medical she might
have said to you

about wanting to
revoke the adoption.

She had been
very ambivalent all along
about giving it away.

She had 30 days
after the adoption
to change her mind.

I don't know if she
took any legal steps.

Did she tell you
how her husband
felt about it?

No. But I don't think
he was very supportive.

He didn't even show up
for the ultrasound.

Too much going on at work.

Do you know which adoption
agency they used?

They went
through a baby broker.
I don't know his name.

Well, who did you
hand the baby off to
after the delivery?

I wasn't at the delivery.

What, another
surf-and-sand seminar?

I was right here.
They were in Trenton,
New Jersey. At City Hospital.

A public hospital?

Sure, I remember
the Burdetts.

Our patients don't usually
pay with a platinum card.

And a very close,
loving couple they were.

While she was
delivering the baby,
he's on a cell phone.

Half an hour after
that baby's born,

a lawyer shows up
in a limo
and signs it out.

So you'd have his name
and number
in the Burdetts' file.

Yes. That's where we keep
confidential information.

Oh, come on.
You show me his number,
and I'll show you mine.

And I guarantee,
you'll have more fun
with me

than I'm gonna
have with him.

I don't think so, Romeo.

Last week, a young woman
came in here wanting to get
in touch with the Burdetts.

Who was she?
I don't know,

but she didn't get
anything out of me either.

And she was a whole
lot cuter than you.
Excuse me.

I knew it.

So what do you think?
The adoptive mother?

Well, if she got word
Karin Burdett
was making a move

to get
the kid back...

Remember Baby M?
That got very nasty.

Yeah, but they don't
give babies
back to dead people.

We got to find
these parents.

We can try to get
the adoption papers
unsealed.

By then, the kid will be
getting her first hickey.
Oh, Miss.

Our lawyer said
that no one was supposed
to know who we were.

How did you guys...
His car service.

They drove him here
with the baby.

And the hospital told us
you tried to contact
the biological parents.

I didn't know we were
breaking any laws.

Why were you
looking for them?

We waited five years
to get a child.

I wrote them
a letter to thank them,

and to let them know
that Maggie
was in a good home.

Mr. Tooley wouldn't
pass it on to them.

So I found out
where Maggie was born.

Did you ever talk
to the parents?

No. The hospital wouldn't
give me their name.

Where were you last
Sunday morning?

We were at a friend's house
in Astoria Park
with Ellen's parents.

They were visiting
from Indiana.

We'll need to talk
to your friend.

Why? What's going on?

The baby's mother
was found dead last Sunday.

Oh, my God.
What happened?

We're not sure.

Anyone ever tell you
that she wanted to
revoke the adoption?

No.

I can't believe this.

Excuse me.

Do they want Maggie back?

The mother
might have.

We don't know
about the father.

Well, 12 more days
and it's official.
She's ours.

I don't think you have
anything to worry about,
Mr. O'Brien.

We can't even remember
what life was like
without her. It was...

Isn't she beautiful?

Hello, baby.

The hospital in Trenton,
the lateral pass
to the baby broker.

Whatever difficulties
Karin and I had,

we worked out
like civilized people.

Let me get this straight.

Your wife cheats
on you with...
What's his name?

I don't know.
She wouldn't tell me.

Okay, so she gets pregnant.

Now, you don't kick her out,
you don't slap her around.

You even let her
have the baby.
Because you're so civilized?

Yes.

Nobody is that
civilized, Josh.

Yeah, all right,
maybe if it was one
of your country club pals.

But she was sweating up
the sheets with some
big good-looking black stud.

That can really
piss some people off.

You that kind
of people, Mr. Burdett?

No.

If she gets the baby back,
everybody is gonna know.

Stop it.

She was playing
Scarlett O'Hara
with Mandingo!

Enough. That's enough.

I did not kill Karin.

Now, I've said
all I want to say.

I came here voluntarily.
Now, I'm leaving.

If you want to talk to me
again, contact my attorney.

This guy could
keep snowflakes
in his mouth.

Well, if he killed her,
it's probably not

the first time
he laid a hand on her.

You check with
the local precinct?

Yeah. No record
of domestic calls.

We asked the neighbors.
The walls are thick.

They wouldn't have heard
him if he shot her
out of a cannon.

She have a job?
Yeah.

Resource Development
at the Shuman Foundation
for Women.

It's a charity.

Well, if it's anything
like this place,
everybody knows her business.

I do know she and Mr. Burdett
were having some problems
over her pregnancy.

You mean,
they had arguments?
Physical arguments?

God, no. I didn't mean
to give you
the wrong impression.

I just overheard
a phone call.

She was pretty furious.

What did she say?

I just heard a little.
She said something like,

"It's your baby.
It's damn time you took
responsibility for it."

Maybe not those
exact words.

Are you sure she was
talking to Mr. Burdett?

Well, I assumed
it was him.

Could it possibly have
been somebody else?

No.

You mean...

No, not Mrs. Burdett.
I would have picked up
on something like that.

Who would have figured
in an office full of women,
she kept her affair a secret?

You'd expect
she'd put a star
next to her rendezvous?

Depends how good
her boyfriend is.
Here we go.

Ian Fraser, Esquire.
Matrimonial Law.

She was fooling around
with a divorce lawyer?

No, I think this
was business.

She had an appointment
with him two weeks ago.

Maybe she chose
the baby over Burdett.

"Morris Keach,
Vice President
of RLH Contracting

"and Co-Chairman
of the Saint Vincent's
Children's Foundation."

Here he is accepting
a $10,000 check
from Karin Burdett.

And here he is
sharing a cocktail with her
at a Foundation luncheon.

If they were any cozier,
he'd be sharing
his pants with her.

And he's the right
complexion.

We got friendly last year,
when I solicited her
Foundation for a grant.

She called me up
and asked me to lunch.

Just like that?
Out of the blue?
What did she want?

Best I could figure,

she wanted to talk
about my kids.
I have three.

She wanted to know
what it's like
raising them in the city.

She was looking for
a good nursery school?

No. Raising them
as African Americans.

What kind of problems
they might run into.

She was thinking
of adopting
an African American baby.

Actually, Mr. Keach,
she gave birth to one.

Really?

You think I'm the father?
That's nuts.

Look, Mr. Keach,
you got yourself in a jam.
We can understand that.

And Karin Burdett
wouldn't let
you off the hook.

She expected help
with the baby.

Now I know you're nuts.

Yeah?
Where were you
on Sunday morning?

I went running
at the reservoir.
This is unbelievable.

I did not sleep
with Karin Burdett.

So prove it to us.
Take a paternity test.

I want to talk
to a lawyer first.

He'll tell you we
can get a warrant.

Well, then get one.

Until the adoption is final,
the O'Briens
are a little gun-shy.

That's why they asked me
to talk to you
about this paternity test.

It's very simple.

The police think whoever
killed Karin Burdett
is the baby's father.

They have a suspect,
they'd like to
establish paternity.

What's in it
for the O'Briens?

Nothing.

Isn't doing
your civic duty
its own reward?

It's a headache
they don't need.

Mr. Brody, we're talking
about a small blood sample
from the baby.

So you can determine
that her father
murdered her mother?

Little Maggie already has
more baggage than Greyhound.

She's got inherited
megaloblastic anemia.
She's got asthma.

The O'Briens'
cup runneth over.

We feel badly for them,
but we have a situation.

Well, let me talk to them.

Ross is getting
the big stall
from the O'Briens.

Keach's lawyer
won't let him go
anywhere near a needle.

Can you bust
his alibi?

He was running
by himself.

We showed his picture
around the reservoir.
Nobody remembers him.

Toss it back to the D.A.
Let them worry
about the paternity test.

Actually, there might be
another way to hook up
Keach to the baby.

The kid has an inherited
medical condition.
Megaloblastic anemia.

So either Karin Burdett
or Keach would have
had to pass it on.

The M.E. said whoever
passed it on to the kid
would be taking medication.

Large doses
of folic acid.

Well, here's the inventory
from the Burdetts'
medicine cabinet.

Folate,
one milligram tablets.

Wait a minute,
that's not right.

This prescription
is made out
to Joshua Burdett.

He's the father?
He's black?

Maybe the pharmacy
made a mistake.

Or maybe he's taking
it as a supplement.

I heard it's good
for thinning hair.

Burdett has
an ex-wife, right?

Ask her
if he has anemia.

Yes, Josh has
the condition.

We were worried
that he might pass it on
to our son David,

but we were lucky.

Mrs. Houston,
as far as you know,

what's your ex-husband's
ethnic background?

Burdett is an old
Anglo-Scottish name.

And his mother,
I think,
was French-Italian.

Did you ever meet
his relatives or see
any pictures of them?

Josh was an only child,
and his parents died
when he was very young.

What are you getting at?

His late wife gave birth
to a baby
with megaloblastic anemia.

The baby was part black.

That's... Oh, what about
Karin's parentage?

Danish. About as
white as you can get.

Excuse me.

David, would you and Veronica
go upstairs please,
until I'm finished?

Thank you, honey.

You saw my son.
He's not black.

And neither is Josh.

I'm sorry, Mrs. Houston,
but this baby...

Karin was unstable.

I called Josh
that Sunday morning.

He had to go out
and get her some pills.

I could hear her
screaming like a banshee.

She was capable
of anything with anybody.

We've already
been down that road.

Josh is not black.

I was married to him
for nineteen years.
I'd know.

Your lawyer
is on his way in.

To pass the time,
let's talk about you
volunteering a blood sample.

For what?

A paternity test.

You and that baby
you can't run away from
fast enough.

That's ridiculous.
I'm not the father.

Well, you both
have the same anemia.

So do thousands
of other people.

First I killed Karin
because she had a child
by another man.

Then I killed her
because she had my child?

Because she wanted
to keep your child.

And because everybody
in your just-us-white-folks
executive suite

was gonna find out
you're black, Josh.

That's absurd.
I mean, look at me.

I want to talk to him.

Hello, my brother.

Damn, look at you.

You did it. You passed.

You know, I thought up
close I'd be able to tell,
but I swear, I can't.

So what's it like
when it's just
you and them?

You laugh along when
they tell the jokes?

Oh, you know what
I'm talking about, right?

Or do you tell
nigger jokes, too,
just to keep up appearances?

If you don't mind.

Oh, am I sitting too close?
What, I remind you
of somebody? Your mother?

Was she dark-skinned?
High yellow?

Redbone?

You're scared now,
aren't you?

You been scared
for almost 40 years.

And all that fear
came gushing out
Sunday morning.

You panicked.
Isn't that right?

You go ahead.
Tell me what happened.

Take the weight off,
my brother.
You'll feel better.

I'm Mr. Burdett's attorney.

You mind telling me
what my client
is doing here?

We're arresting your client
for the murder of his wife.

Take him down
to booking.

Josh Burdett,
you're under arrest.

You have the right
to remain silent.

Anything you do say can
and will be used against you
in a court of law.

You have the right
to an attorney...

It seems he had
everybody fooled.

His whole life
was a charade.
It's pathetic.

Maybe 30, 40 years ago
it made more sense.

Back then
they had lynch mobs
and bullwhips.

Now they use
toilet plungers.
Progress.

You confirmed
that he's the father
of this child?

We're just waiting
for a blood sample
from the baby.

What else?
Weak alibi.

Forensics to establish
the manner of death.

His motive being that
he didn't want anyone
to know he was black. Why?

Shame, loss of friends,
his work.

I can just imagine
what he was afraid of.

Don't imagine it.
Prove it.

Madeline's phone number.
I promised her you'd call.

Ross. Yeah.

Since when?
We'll get right on it.

That was Curtis.
The adoptive mother

has disappeared
with the baby.

I don't know
where they are.

She left
without telling you?

What's it to you?

They can come
and go as they please.

That child's paternity
is evidence in a murder.

I'm her father.

You're crazy if you think
I'm gonna help you
to prove Burdett is anything.

Why? What are you
worried about?

If Mr. Burdett turns out
to be the biological father,

it gives him legal standing
to revoke the adoption.

His wife wanted
our baby back.
Maybe he does, too.

Who told you that?
Was it Mr. Burdett?

Did he threaten you
or pay you to do this?

The paternity test
could help convict
Burdett of murder.

No judge will ever grant
custody to a murderer.

Tell that to
the Simpson kids.

Mr. O'Brien, I have
a court order
for the paternity test.

I can compel you
to tell us
where your child is.

What are you going to do,
cite him for contempt?

His position is,
he doesn't know

where his wife
and baby are. Period.

We need that test.

We need to turn up
the heat on O'Brien.

If he's getting
paid off by Burdett,

he's on the hook
for a lot more
than contempt.

I'll get Briscoe
and Curtis on it.

Then talk to
Burdett's employers.
Let's nail down his motive.

You can't be right, Ms. Ross.
Josh is a straight arrow.

If he says he's white,
he's white.

He checked white
on his application.

I thought it was illegal
to ask an applicant's race.

It is now.
That was filled out in 1963.
The bad old days.

What if he'd said
he was black?

He was hired
as a sales associate
in our Richmond office.

The market
was southern doctors
and pharmacists.

The application would have
ended up in the trash.

And now?
If the company found out
he was African American?

Now? Hell, we'd probably
put him on the board.

Cheaper
than Colin Powell.

You're wrong about Josh.
I've known the man
for twenty years,

and I never saw any hint

he was anything
but what he said he was.

What kind of hints
were you looking for?

Well, for example,

there was a young black man
a couple of years ago.
Shawn Taitt.

A real comer
Josh put under his wing.

Then one day, he's gone.
Josh had enough
of the attitude.

Everything was
"black this, black that."

Mr. Burdett fired him?

And get us sued?

Josh promoted him
to our office in Duluth.

One sub-zero winter,
and Taitt got the idea.
He quit.

Mr. Burdett told
your colleagues you had
an attitude problem.

Maybe that's what
he told them,
but we got along fine

until I found out
he was from Knoxville.

What, you don't like
people from Knoxville?

I told him
I had family there.

And they knew
a Burdett family.

A black family.
Mmm-hmm.

A month later I was
shipped off to Duluth.

Did you suspect why?

Mmm-hmm.
He was passing.

You could have sued.

Why make trouble for the man?
He's a whole other generation.

I can just imagine
what he went through,

being a black kid
in Tennessee in the '50s.

That's the fourteenth
Burdett I've spoken to
in Knoxville.

Not one of them will
claim Josh Burdett.

What about birth records?

They're in the Knox
county clerk's office.

They're working on it,
but it might
take some time.

There's nothing in
his personal records either.
No birth certificate,

no relatives
in his address book,
no photos.

The paternity test
might be our only way
to prove he's black.

What's happening
with the O'Briens?

The police haven't
found any pay-offs
by Burdett.

But they turned up
this check.

Leonard Hillman, Esquire.
Twenty thousand dollars.

Burdett wrote it a week
before his wife died.

Hillman specializes
in employment
discrimination claims.

Yeah, he sued this office
two years ago.

So, what does a white male
executive need with
a civil rights attorney?

I'll ask.

By the way,
how'd it go last night?

With Madeline?
She's bright, attractive,
funny. As advertised. Thanks.

You're welcome.

In case you're wondering,
she thought you were
charming, passionate.

Passionate?

About your work.

She said you mentioned
Claire Kincaid.

Because Madeline's brother
spent three months
in the hospital

thanks to a drunk driver.
I was not obsessing.

Don't worry. For some reason,
she'd like to see you again.

Yes, Mr. Burdett
came to see me.

No, I can't tell you
what we discussed.

Fine. So let's discuss
my problem, Mr. Hillman.

Just so happens in
my spare time I'm president
of a large company.

Go on.

This company
doesn't hire women.

So I've mislead my employers
and the shareholders
by claiming I'm a man.

And they fell for it?
Hard to believe.

Can I be fired for that?

As a general rule,
misrepresentations
not material to your work

are not grounds
for dismissal.

So if they fire me
for lying about my gender,
or race,

they're liable for a claim
of wrongful termination?

Yes. But in the hypothetical,

most executives
are employed under
personal services contracts,

which have standard
provisions for termination
for acts of moral turpitude.

Such as lying.
Yes.

But, again
in the hypothetical,

that could put
your considerable stocks
and pension benefits at risk.

You charge the average
executive $20,000
to talk about those risks?

No, what Joshua Burdett
paid me is a retainer.

'Cause he thought
he was about to get fired?

Because his company
was about to find out
he's African American?

I can't comment.

Burdett has
a retirement package
worth over $8,000,000.

With stock options,
it's double that.

We're in
the wrong business.

Burdett concluded
it'd be cheaper
to kill his wife.

Except he paid
the lawyer a retainer.

The lawyer as much
as told me that Burdett
and his wife had decided

to get their baby back.

There goes his motive.

Why do you always
give me bad news
while I'm digesting?

If it's true,
why didn't Burdett
tell us?

Is there somebody
he's trying to protect?

He has an ex-wife
and a teenaged son.

Even if Burdett was
willing to take the heat
for his decision,

maybe they weren't.

Will you please find out
what they were doing
that Sunday morning?

I'll get this.

Frances Houston,
Burdett's ex-wife,

said she called
him in the morning,

just before he went
to the pharmacy.
That's confirmed by her LUDs.

We got calls on her line
and on her son's,

roughly 20 minutes
before and after
Mrs. Burdett was killed.

They live about 10 minutes
from the Burdetts.

So either of them
had the time to do it.

But look at these.

LUDs from last week.
Ms. Houston got
a 12-minute collect call

from a convenience store
in Hobart, Indiana.

The adoptive mother,
don't her parents
live in Indiana?

Yes. Look at the next call
Ms. Houston made.

Western Union.

I doubt she was sending
birthday greetings.

Ms. Houston wired $3,000
to a Mrs. Teresa Gaydos
in Hobart.

She's your mother-in-law,
isn't she?

Mr. O'Brien, hindering
prosecution is a felony.

If you don't
cooperate now, today,
I will prosecute you.

You and your wife
will go to jail.

You will lose
custody of your baby.

Mr. McCoy...

I mean it!

People who get in the way
of my murder cases
get run over.

Come on.

He tells you
what he knows,

you don't press charges
against him or his wife.

Let's hear it.

Ms. Houston came to us
before Burdett was arrested

and she said, "Watch out.
Burdett didn't
kill his wife."

She said once
he clears himself,

he's gonna fight us
for the baby.

She told us to take
Maggie out of state.
She even offered us money.

Did she say why
she was doing this?

I can't understand
how an educated woman
like her could say it,

but she said

she didn't want "some
nappy-haired little monkey"
ruining her family.

The bad news is,
we might charge him
with hindering prosecution.

Prosecution of whom?

The police identified
the fingerprints

found in your bedroom
and on the balcony.

They found yours,
your wife's,
your housekeeper's,

and your ex-wife's.

Frances?

She paid the O'Briens
to take the baby out of state.

We think she
killed your wife.

Anything you want to
tell us, Mr. Burdett?

Uh, excuse us.

z

For now, whatever my client
tells you is off the record.

Let's hear it.

Before we were married,
I told Karin
about my background.

It was our secret.
But the pregnancy
was a mistake.

We argued for weeks
about terminating it.

We finally agreed
on the adoption.

But after we gave up
our baby, Karin became
so unhappy.

I loved her,
she wanted our child back,

so that's what
we decided to do.

That Saturday,
I told my son the truth
about everything.

The next morning,
Frances called me.

She said David was angry
and behaving erratically.

She begged me to reconsider.
I said our mind was made up.

I didn't know what to think
after Karin died.
I called Frances.

She said Karin was dead
and we had to protect our son.

She told you your son
killed your wife?

No.

No, not in so many words.
But that's what I understood.

That's why
I misled the police.

I discussed your offer
with Ms. Houston.

I explained that prosecutors
don't just like
to beat the other guy.

They want him to
limp off the field.

No wiggle room,
Ms. Joyner.

Manslaughter one,
eight-and-a-third-to-25,

or she goes on trial
for murder two.

Then you won't
like my counter.

Second degree manslaughter,
minimum time.

That's unrealistic.
We've got her prints,
her pay-offs to the O'Briens.

I said man two,
minimum time.

Do you really want to
put your son through
a trial, Ms. Houston?

Let her worry
about her son.

Frankly, Ms. Joyner,
I'm surprised
you'd represent a bigot.

I don't see a bigot here.
I see a woman deceived

and pushed to the brink
by a self-hating coward.

Everyone at my firm
agrees, Mr. McCoy.

No jury will
ever convict her.

This trial is about a baby.

A child of white
and African American
parents.

Karin Burdett bore it.
She wanted to raise it.

That's why she's dead.

The evidence
will show that

Frances Houston
knew Karin Burdett
was home alone,

that she struggled with her,
and pushed her
off of a balcony.

That she bribed a witness.

That she did all this
because she didn't want

her narrow-minded
circle of friends

to know that she had once
been married to a black man.

Because, as she stated
in the vicious vocabulary
of racism,

she didn't want
a "nappy-haired
little monkey"

ruining her good name.

Mr. McCoy
wants you to believe
that my client is a bigot.

Well, I'm here to
tell you she's not.

She's a realist.
She knows what goes on
in America.

You'll hear that educated
black men earn far less
than their white counterparts.

That black men
are denied the access,
the promotions,

the memberships
given to white men.

That black men
are routinely harassed
and brutalized by the police.

That's what my client
was thinking about.

She wanted to
preserve for her son

the protection
the word "white"
afforded him.

She didn't want him
to have a lesser life,

because the word "black"
had been added
next to his name.

If, at the end
of this trial,

you believe that
my client caused the death
of Karin Burdett,

please understand it was
not the premeditated
act of a racist,

but the unintentional
act of a mother

desperate to save
the son she loves.

She didn't do it
because she's a racist,

she did it to protect
her son from racists.

It explains
their witness list.

Statisticians,
social scientists.

You got to admit,
that's some
mitigation defense.

Something for
every prejudice.

The white jurors
wouldn't want their kids
growing up black either.

And black jurors
because they know

that the playing field
isn't level?

If I were the defense,
I wouldn't count
on much support there.

How many whites
on the jury?
More than one?

That's all Ms. Houston
needs for a mistrial.

If the jury
disregards the facts.

Fine, you win their minds,
she wins their hearts.

I'm not ready
to concede anything.

All we have to do
is convince the jury

that her son would be
no worse off living as
a black man in this country.

You can start by making sure
they never hear
from these witnesses.

These witnesses
are relevant, Your Honor.

Professor Murphy's study
quantifies
the economic discrepancies

between the races.

Professor Harrison's work
on law enforcement practices

has been cited
in every...

None of which
has anything to do
with her client.

It goes to
her state of mind,

her fear her son
would suffer the fate
of many African Americans.

Your Honor, if Ms. Joyner
wants to establish
her client's state of mind,

she can call her
to the stand.

Even if I do,
these witnesses are evidence
that her beliefs and concerns

about racism
in this country
are reasonable.

There's no question
the beliefs are reasonable.

The issue is whether
or not her client
actually believes them.

We wouldn't be here
if she didn't.

Simmer down, counselors.

Ms. Joyner, the case
is about the defendant's
state of mind,

not the state
of the union.

And since these witnesses
have no direct knowledge

of what your client
was thinking,
they're excluded.

Now, let's get back
to court.

Frances kept telling me
we had to protect David.

I felt I had no choice
but to lie to the police.

Before this incident,
was the defendant aware
you were black?

Yes. She found
out six years ago,

when my sister
appeared at our door,
looking for me.

In nearly 20 years
of marriage she had
never met your family?

No. I'd cut myself
off from them.

You see,
when I was a child,

my mother always
told me I had "good skin,

"good features,
good hair."

Back then,
in Knoxville, Tennessee,
"good" meant "white."

I was often
mistaken for white.

I could sit at
the front of the bus,

I could drink
at the water fountain
reserved for whites.

You can't imagine what
an advantage that was

when you're bone-dry thirsty
on a hot summer's day

and it's another 20 blocks
to a colored water fountain.

After college,
I got a good job,
because I passed for white.

I was promoted, I was
transferred to New York.

No one ever asked me
if I was white.

Frances had no reason
to question me.

After she met
your sister, what happened?

She was very upset.

She wanted a divorce.

In the divorce agreement,

were any special conditions
imposed by the defendant?

Yes, Frances asked that...

Objection.
Approach, Your Honor?

Your Honor, the witness
and the defendant
signed a binding agreement

not to disclose
the terms
of their divorce.

Without paying
a substantial penalty.

Mr. Burdett is willing
to write Ms. Houston
a check.

There are third parties
to be considered here.

Namely,
the defendant's son.

Mr. McCoy, what term
of the divorce do you want
your witness to testify to?

The defendant exacted
his promise that he wouldn't
tell anyone he was black.

We'll stipulate
to that, Your Honor.

All right.

Objection sustained.

Members of the jury,

the defense stipulates
for the record that
Mr. Burdett and Ms. Houston

agreed as a condition
of their divorce not to
disclose Mr. Burdett's race.

Go on, Mr. McCoy.

No more questions.

Mr. Burdett, doesn't the fact
that no one found out
you were black

prove you're
an accomplished liar?

I lied once,
on an application form.

After that, the question
never came up.

You passed for white
because it gave you
an advantage

over other
African Americans,
isn't that right?

Yes.

You saw how
blacks were treated

by your white friends
and colleagues?

Yes.

You didn't want that
to happen to you,
isn't that right?

Yes.

Then why make it happen
for your son?

Why did you decide
now to come out
of the racial closet?

Things aren't
the same anymore.

Really?

When you started at
Northfield Pharmaceuticals,

how many black presidents,
vice-presidents
and directors were there?

None.

And now?

Three directors,
in Human Resources
and Marketing.

Out of how many executives?
Ten? Thirty?

Nationwide, over 150.

Well, the Reverend King
can rest easy.

His dream
has finally come to pass.

Objection.

Withdrawn.

There's nothing
in the divorce agreement
other than what I told you.

I don't want to be
taken by surprise.
Why did they object?

I have no idea what
Frances was thinking.

Now, you'll have
to excuse me.

You looked at
the divorce decree, Jack.
There was nothing there.

Pull the full
record of the divorce.

Depositions,
draft agreements,
filings, everything.

Most of it's
probably sealed.

Get a court order.

I tried to
reason with Karin.

I begged her to think about
Josh's son, and what
she would be doing to him.

But I wasn't
getting through.

What was going
through your mind?

All I could
think about was David.

How his life
would be changed.

All of his friends are white.
And all of their friends
are white.

I was afraid for him,
for the same reasons
that Josh kept secret his...

Objection.

Sustained.

Go on with what happened.

Karin said she wasn't
feeling well, and that
she needed some air.

She went out onto the balcony
and our argument heated up.

At one point she was
wagging her finger at me
and I slapped it away.

And then suddenly
she grabbed my hair
and I pushed her.

Before I realized
what was happening,
she lost her balance

and she went
over the balcony.

Was that your intent?

No.

All I could think
about was David.

I just wanted
to protect my son,
as any mother would.

I never thought
to kill Karin.

Thank you.

Did you seriously
expect Mrs. Burdett
to abandon her baby girl

for the sake of your son?

I don't know what
I expected her to do.

I just needed to talk to her.

Because you were concerned
that your son's future
was in peril

if it became known
he was black?

Yes.

Even in this day and age?

Oh, yes, Mr. McCoy.

For every Tiger Woods,
there's a thousand
Fuzzy Zoellers

and I did not want
David to go through life

facing that
kind of prejudice.

Prejudice where?
At school?

Oh, yes.

Aren't there other
African American students
in his class?

The only black student
they have is from Bermuda.

Who decided to send
your son to this school?

It was your decision,
wasn't it, Ms. Houston?

Objection.

Overruled.

Answer his question,
Ms. Houston.

My father went to
the Chase Academy.

They have
excellent academics.

And no African American
students.

Isn't that the real reason?
No.

You wanted your son
to go to a white school,
to have white friends.

Isn't that right?
No.

Because you don't like
African Americans.

That's not true.

You didn't want
your white friends
to know

you'd been married
to one, did you?

No.
That you'd shared your bed

with a black man.
No.

Been intimate
with a black man,

a "nappy-haired
little monkey"?

That's a lie.
I never said that.

The O'Briens were lying?
Objection.

Everyone is a liar,
everyone is a racist
except you?

Your Honor, I objected.

Yes. Sustained,
Mr. McCoy.

Isn't it true, Ms. Houston,
that your son has more to fear

from your prejudice
than society's?

Objection.

No, I would like
to answer Mr. McCoy.

My son is not afraid of me.

He knows that I love him.

No more questions.

It has only been
three days, Adam.

Three days, 10 days.

The jury is stalemated.

There's always
the next time.

You have nothing better to do
than prosecute this woman?

It's a hate crime.

If that's not
worth prosecuting,
what are we doing here?

I've been paging you.

I've been breathing
six-year-old dust
in a warehouse,

reliving the mother
of all divorces.

Burdett v. Burdett.
It went all 15 rounds.

These are draft agreements
from Josh Burdett,

these are from
Frances Houston.

Take a look at the
custodial provisions.

Now look at
the alimony proposals.

She's unbelievable.

Get Mr. Burdett
to confirm this.

You're right.
That's exactly
what went on.

I was traveling on business
two weeks out of every month.

I couldn't possibly
take care of David.

It would have been nice
to have this information
before the trial.

We could have impeached
your ex-wife's testimony.

Mr. Burdett,
if there's a re-trial,

I'm going to use
this material,

and I'm putting you
on the stand

to authenticate it
and explain what it means.

Absolutely not.
My son doesn't know
anything about this.

Mr. Burdett...
I won't do it.

Whatever happens
to Frances or me,

my son believes
his parents love him.

I won't do anything
to make him think otherwise.

I gave myself
asthma for nothing.

We can't use these unless
he authenticates them.

The jury
resumes deliberations
at 9:00 a.m. tomorrow.

Call Houston's lawyer,
schedule a conference
for 8:30.

No bagels and coffee?
You should have told me.

I would have
brought some.

Don't count on keeping
your big appetite.

Mr. McCoy, that jury
is out of oil.

The engine is freezing over.
I can smell it.
They're deadlocked.

I'm ready to set
a new trial date right now.

And we'll hang
that jury, too.
And the one after that.

One more trial,
and it's over.

Ms. Houston, we uncovered
some documents
relating to your divorce.

I've highlighted
the relevant portions.

When I got a divorce,
I fought for custody
of my child,

but you actually fought
not to have custody.

I don't know what
you're talking about.

It's all there in
the draft agreements.

Neither of you
wanted custody.

Your husband
for practical reasons.

And you...

He actually had to triple
the alimony payments
before you'd agree.

They're wrong.

What I see in these papers
is a negotiation.

Whatever meaning
you're reading into it...

Was confirmed by
Mr. Burdett himself.

And he'll testify to it
at her next trial.

She didn't want the boy
because he's black.

Josh would never
get up in court.

He already agreed to do it.

The next jury won't buy your
Mary-Mother-of-God routine.

They'll see you
for who you are.

A bigot whose racism
runs so deep,
you even hate your own son.

I assume there's
an offer coming?

Man one,
eight-and-a-third-to-25.

Well, I want to see
the other attorneys
at the firm.

The white attorneys?

You walk out that door,
Ms. Houston, the offer
is off the table.

You'll be retried
for murder two.

You have an attorney present.
Give me your answer now.

You have a deal.

We'll notify the judge.

You have no idea
what I went through,
Mr. McCoy.

Only in your own mind,
Ms. Houston.

You're lucky
she didn't
call your bluff.

About Burdett
testifying?

You don't feel bad
about lying to her?

She got off easy.

Burdett's lie cost
her 20 years.

Mine only cost her eight.