All language subtitles for Law.and.Order.S08E23.Tabloid.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.

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' 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?
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 the 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?
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. Um...

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.

Oh, 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.

So 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 record,

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...

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.