Original subtitles

My time, the court's time, and the taxpayer's money. A charge has been

brought, and somebody has to prosecute it. An argument in Gold's office.

I don't know.

What'd you do to Sean?

Nothing. He just doesn't like being low man on the totem pole.

Where's the sheepdog?

I beg your pardon?

Pat Quinlan, the mayor's boy.

Election's only a few days off. I figured he'd be around at the crowbar

trying to pry your foot out of your mouth.

I want you to get on this one with dispatch and vigor.

I know you have other cases, but this is priority.

Why?

Because... I've had it up to here with looking at pictures of abused children.

Who took those pictures?

The police.

While they're waiting for the locksmith.

I know it seems callous, but it makes good evidence.

Her parents did this to her? Yes.

It's inexcusable. I don't care that these people are poor. I don't care that

they come from a different culture.

Nobody has any right or reason to treat a child this way.

What a tragic situation, Kurt.

Update on the chicken lady story.

You remember Lily Boffo, who was arrested for keeping two dozen chickens

in her one-bedroom apartment.

When Ms. Boffo refused to get rid of the birds, they were confiscated by animal

control officers.

Ms. Boffo has been charged... You newshound. ...in violation of a city

ordinance. Her trial starts tomorrow.

You can count on us to keep you posted.

So, John, whose side are you on?

The law?

Or the chickens.

The

applicable

ordinance is Title 17, Section 12, which strictly prohibits the keeping of

livestock in any areas that are zoned residential.

Is the defendant's address in such an area?

Yes, it is.

Does the ordinance list the prohibited animals?

Yes, it does.

Do chickens appear on the list?

Yes, they do. Are there any exceptions relating to chickens?

No, there are not.

And what did you cite her for?

I cited her for possession of chickens in direct contravention of 17-12.

17-12.

I have no further questions, Your Honor.

Mr. Zeller?

Does the ordinance say anything about running a business from one's home?

That would be 17-3.2. Thank you. And what does it say?

Certain home-based businesses are perfectly legal.

Thank you.

That's all.

Redirect, Your Honor.

Are any home-based businesses legal if they involve live chickens?

No, they are not.

Thank you.

I'm Joe McMahon, Public Defender's Office.

Vicki Cobb, this is Tess Coffman.

Oh, yeah. I've seen you around.

Tell her I'm representing Mr.

and Mrs.

Otero.

See, that's not the way this works.

You talk to her, and she'll take it from there.

Did your clients request one attorney instead of two?

I'll get the Oteros to sign a waiver. It's not a problem.

Come in, sit down.

I'm Tess Kaufman from the district attorney's office.

They don't speak English.

Nobody's provided me with a translator yet.

What are we doing here?

I figured you and I could hammer out a deal.

Before you talk to your clients?

I've got 53 cases on my desk, Ms. Kaufman.

I make a dent wherever I can.

No, I didn't see anything physically wrong with the girl when I examined her.

I'm not qualified to judge her emotional state.

Well, hell, I could judge her emotional state without even meeting her.

Do you have an opinion?

She seemed unhappy.

No.

I can only tell you what I know, Detective Cobb.

Okay, then tell me this, then. Why did you have to check the file? I mean,

doesn't this stuff stick in your mind?

Well, in the beginning, it does.

The four-year-old with cigarette burns over half her body, the little boy whose

fingers have fused together because his mother held his hands in the fire, the

baby who died because her uncle raped her and ruptured her internal organs.

Every day, every day, Detective Cobb, I see what you call this stuff.

After a while, it all blurs into one single image of incomprehensible

savagery.

So I check my files, make sure I have the facts straight.

Is there anything else?

No.

Call me Dee Dee.

Okay.

Dee Dee.

Talk to me about your parents.

Sure.

You told the police you'd been in this country three years and that your

parents joined you about four months ago.

Yeah.

Before that, I lived with my aunt and uncle.

My parents were supposed to come up sooner, but they had a hard time getting

papers.

Not hard enough, if you ask me.

Do you know why they locked you up?

Locked me up?

They didn't lock me up. They chained me up, like some dog that nobody wants.

Do you know why they did that?

They don't like me to go out.

They think girls have to stay at home till it's time to marry them off.

I told them this is not Mexico.

And they said they don't care if it's the moon. I gotta stay home. Period.

I wish they'd stayed in Mexico.

She'll make a good witness.

She's smart. She's articulate.

They may be her parents, but I think she'll testify against them. She doesn't

seem scared of that.

What'll you do for me if I plead the Oteros guilty?

Suspended sentence with counseling?

Your clients treated their daughter like a dog. She had food and water.

They endangered her life, Mr. McMahon.

What if there'd been a fire?

What if she'd gotten sick?

Six months in county jail.

One year.

Permanent removal of the daughter from the home.

Fine.

Fine?

The defendants Manuel and Marta Otero are being charged with false

imprisonment and felony child endangerment.

This court has a heavy schedule, Mr. McMahon.

Would it be too much to ask that you come prepared?

Mr. McMahon, explain to your client that this is a court of law, and explain to

me why he feels compelled to fly off the handle. I'm sorry, Your Honor. Ms.

Catherine and I worked out a plea bargain. To which your clients clearly

take exception.

If you'll just give me a minute.

I do

not want to make a

deal with Darren Burke.

You know as well as I do that he will insist on jail time.

And what do you think a jury will insist on?

With a jury, I've at least got a chance.

No, you don't.

You have no case.

You stole money from a dead woman and you got caught.

I have told you over a hundred times I fully intended to pay it back.

Get up.

What the hell kind of defense is that?

You say that to a jury and all they'll see is a greedy yuppie. He's trying to

wind his way out of self-inflicted trouble.

Dammit, you are supposed to represent my interests.

You do make it hard, Bruce.

If you want to go to trial, then that's what we'll do.

But I'm telling you, I would much rather look for Darren Burke's weak spots than

to have to try and soften up 12 jurors who think all lawyers are scum and who

would love to nail your hide to the wall.

I don't care how many cases you have. You don't make a deal without running it

by your clients before you get to court.

It never occurred to me they wouldn't plead guilty.

If you aren't able to represent them to the best of your ability, then you

should get the case reassigned. Look, I got them the best deal you had to offer.

They turned it down. Now they'll just have to take their chances with a jury.

Boy.

I am glad I don't have to depend on that guy for anything.

Yeah, me too.

I got some more people to talk to.

Don't wait up.

There were 24 chickens all told, not counting the eggs.

And they were all in the defendant's apartment?

They pretty much had the run of the place.

We had a time rounding them up.

Did Miss Boffo lay claim to the birds? Oh, yeah. She got real upset.

She kept on calling them my babies, my babies.

Thank you.

Can you tell the jury what conditions the chickens were living in? Your Honor,

this is immaterial.

Cruelty to animals is not the issue. Judge Fielding.

If the jury feels that Miss Boffo was abusing these chickens, that perception

will certainly color their opinion of her.

I'm going to allow it, Mr. Kelly.

Well, ma'am? The apartment was clean. God knows how.

It was well ventilated, and the birds had plenty of food and water.

So, in fact, the chickens were well cared for. If chickens can be happy, I'm

sure these birds were ecstatic.

Thank you. That's all.

Mr. Kelly?

Your Honor, the people rest.

Their supervisor gave them an excellent rating, which means they do their work

well without complaining. They don't show up late, and they don't call in

sick. You know them personally?

I'm sure I must have interviewed them when they were hired, but I can't recall

them specifically, no. All those Mexicans look alike, huh?

This hotel has upwards of 200 employees, Detective Cobb. I cannot be expected to

make friends with all of them. I can only tell you that according to our

records, Mr. and Mrs. Otero were model employees.

No, throw it!

Hands up!

Dee Dee's out of control, Detective Cobb.

When she comes to class, which isn't very often, she's disruptive and unruly.

How long has she been like that?

She started out fine, but she just got worse as she went along.

Ditching, drugs, sex.

I tried to talk to her aunt and uncle a couple of times, but the aunt has two

jobs, and the uncle just wasn't interested.

Until her parents got here, she had no supervision.

You met the parents?

Yes.

And I'd say they have Dee Dee's best interests at heart.

They got a funny way of showing it.

Certainly the method they chose is unacceptable, but they don't need

condemnation. They need help, and so does Dee Dee.

I appreciate your help. Thank you. Good luck.

One

of

you guys, Lewis Otero...

That's me.

I already talked to you cops.

Yeah, I know you did, but there's always another question or two.

How long did Dee Dee live with you and your wife?

Her name's Elena, and I already answered that one.

Okay.

When you took Elena in,

did you expect to have to keep her so long?

Let me make it easy for you.

When Elena first got here, she was a sweet kid.

A few months living in this crap, she was a handful.

By the time Manuel and Martha got here, she was raising hell.

She won't listen to nobody.

She's missing school.

She's out all night with a bunch of lowlifes who don't do nothing but stand

around drinking beer.

What do you think made that happen?

I think you got a lousy country where children got no respect for their

parents.

And I think you got no business arresting people for trying to teach

respect.

They lived in one of those squatters camps near Mexico City.

The other two children, they died there, apparently of dysentery.

They scraped together enough money to send Elena up here so she'd have a

chance.

They chained her up because she was out every night doing

drugs and fooling around.

Tess, I think they were trying.

Not trying smart maybe but trying the only way that they knew how

Am

I

that predictable K

Am I that boring?

Well, you wanted a brandy Alexander, maybe?

No, I'll tell you what I want.

I want a vacation.

Where would you go?

I would have a helicopter set me down on top of a mountain with nobody else

around.

Well, what about John?

Hey, you want to go, bud?

Okay, nobody but John.

And then what?

Well, I have a case of beer and a box of ho-hos.

And some dog food.

And I guess I need a can opener.

And a spoon.

And a dog dish.

And a tent.

And a sleeping bag.

A razor.

No shaving.

Soap. No, no shower.

Toilet paper.

No... Okay.

Toilet paper.

And a compass.

And a knife.

A flashlight.

Clean socks and underwear.

Portable TV.

Beeper. Cellular phone.

Ah, hell.

There's probably not a good mountaintop left anyway.

Drink your beer.

What's in them, Brandy Alexander?

Has Mr. McMahon explained to you that you don't have to talk to me if you

don't want to?

Si. Yes.

If you and Mr. McMahon have no objection,

I'd like to hear your sad story.

We want everyone to understand.

We love our daughter. We would never...

ever cause her harm.

I'm not saying that we should drop the charges. I am saying that there are

extenuating, extenuating circumstances.

Exactly how do you extenuate child abuse?

The girl was on drugs.

They tried to get her help, but every low-cost program in the city had a

waiting list a mile long.

They didn't know what else to do. That's very heart-wrenching, but mitigating

factors are a defense's responsibility, not yours.

That's the problem, Arthur.

Joe McMahon doesn't give a damn.

He just wants to plead him guilty and move on and botch his other 52 cases.

And what I want is to send a message to parents that they may not abuse their

children.

What about McMahon?

Pass along the information. That'll cover you ethically.

Is that what we're all about?

To cover ourselves ethically and to hell with justice?

Justice is the court's job.

Yours is to be the people's advocate.

Hey, Casey.

How's it going, Dickie?

Uh, okay. Is this Joe McMahon's office?

That half of it is.

He around?

Haven't seen him today.

Where is he, court?

Not if he can help it. You could try the racetrack. Or the men's room.

This is stuff he needs for the Lutero case.

Tell him it's important, okay? Sure.

If he ever shows up.

What is your occupation, Mr. Ponzini?

I own a carnival, a traveling show, 200 cities a year, 14 live acts,

rides, games, fun for the whole family.

You have animal acts?

Everything from seals to horses.

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

Are you making an objection?

Yes, sir.

Well, I could sustain your objection, Mr. Kelly, but to do so would deprive

the court of the opportunity to see where Mr. Zeller's going.

And it's a ride I don't want to miss.

Overruled.

Do you know the defendant, Ms. Boffo? Yeah.

She got me to look at her chicken act.

And what was your professional opinion? I told her she and her chickens can come

work for me any time.

So, you thought...

Her act was of a professional quality.

It was great.

Those chickens are a gold mine.

I have nothing further, Your Honor.

Mr. Kelly?

I wouldn't know what to ask, Your Honor.

This witness's testimony, as riveting as it's been, is entirely

irrelevant to the charges.

Judge Fielding, if I may call my next witness.

The relevance will become clear.

We're on pins and needles, Mr. Zeller. Thank you, sir.

The defense calls Mr.

L.L. Elwood.

Man wasn't there.

I left the papers on his desk.

Who was he?

Nobody seemed to know, Tess.

Casey Arpino.

Told me to try the racetrack.

I think she was kidding.

I hope so.

Yes.

It's not your fault that he's a burned-out sack of garbage.

Any more investigating on this case?

You got the sports page?

How long have you been doing Ms. Boffo's taxes, Mr. Elwood?

Eight years.

When did she first start using the birds as a business deduction?

The year she first acquired them, 1989.

Did the IRS have a problem accepting chickens as a legitimate...

Non-farm business expense?

She's never been audited.

Your Honor, are we to assume that the defense is trying to pass off two dozen

chickens as business equipment instead of livestock?

So it would appear.

A novel defense, wouldn't you say?

For the birds, I'd say.

Why the hell would I want to make a deal for Bruce Kaufman?

Why wouldn't you?

If he pleads guilty, he loses his license, his livelihood, and his pride.

That should be enough, even for you.

I don't hear you saying anything about jail time, Maggie.

Community service.

In your dreams.

Look, let me short-hand it for you, Counselor. I'm taking this case to

trial, okay? Bruce Kaufman can tell it to the judge.

What a warthog you are, Burke.

Oh, stop.

You're making me cry.

Ms. Kaufman, how long do you anticipate your case taking?

One day, Your Honor, depending on the length of Mr. McMahon's cross

-examination of the prosecution witnesses.

Mr. McMahon?

Half a day, Judge York, maybe a little more.

Any pretrial motions?

No, sir.

Ms. Kaufman?

No, sir.

When does the Mahoney trial start?

Next Monday.

In that case, people versus Otero is set for 9 o'clock tomorrow morning.

There is no way that McMahon can mount an effective defense in half a day.

Just questioning the witnesses that Dickey has given him would take longer

than that. Now listen, Tess. You uncovered exculpatory information and

you passed it along.

Worry about your own side of the case.

The system does not work if both sides aren't equally aggressive and equally

prepared. He's not prepared.

He's not even conscious, Arthur.

Well, then, the Oteros will have grounds for an appeal, won't they?

The system is prepared for that contingency.

Come on, Tess.

Go home.

Get some sleep.

And, uh, we'll see what happens tomorrow.

Hi. Hi.

Can we talk?

What do you want to talk about?

A friend of mine.

Okay.

This friend got himself in trouble.

White-collar stuff.

He's sorry he did it.

And God knows he's not a threat to society.

But he's up against a prosecutor who refuses to deal.

My friend is really scared, Tess.

And

the people

will prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendants in this case falsely

imprisoned their daughter, thereby endangering her safety.

Thank you.

Would you like to open now, Mr. McMahon, or would you rather reserve it? Now,

Your Honor.

Ladies and gentlemen,

the defense will demonstrate that the police and the DA's office overreacted

to the defendant's exercise of parental discipline.

The child was not physically harmed.

She suffered no lasting ill effects.

Thank you.

Call your first witness, Ms. Kaufman.

Your Honor, may we approach?

Your Honor, I'd like the court to know that the prosecution has provided

exculpatory information to defense counsel, and that counsel appears not to

be acting on that information.

Did you hear the comment, Mr. McMahon?

I received no information, Your Honor.

Excuse me, sir, that's not true.

Papers have been delivered to Mr. McMahon's office.

Mr. McMahon?

I never got them, Your Honor. They must have been misplaced.

Perhaps you'd like to put the information on the record.

Yes, sir. Thank you. All right.

After the morning recess before the jury's call this time, Mr. McMahon, the

court will watch you take possession of the information.

Would you like a delay?

No, sir.

My case is prepared. The defense stands ready to proceed.

Are you ready to call your first witness?

Yes, sir. Please do so.

The people call Officer Joanna Westmore.

Everyone thinks chickens are ugly. Ugly and stupid.

I want to show the world how beautiful they are. How smart they are.

If we could all be more like chickens, this planet would be a much nicer place.

Like Asgard.

When you first acquired the chickens... Excuse me, Mr. Zeller.

Asgard, Miss Bothell.

Oh, yes, sir.

An undiscovered planet in the Moravian Cluster. Chickens originally came from

Asgard.

How did they get here? Your Honor.

Have you no wish to expand the frontiers of your knowledge, Mr. Kelly?

Well,

I don't suppose it matters.

Go ahead, Mr. Zeller.

Thank you, sir.

Can you describe the chicken act for the jury?

It's so hard to put into words.

But if those stories... could give me my babies back, I... I could show you.

I worked two jobs the whole time I was in law school.

I busted my butt.

You know, I never got more than five hours sleep a night for three solid

years, and I didn't do that so that I could listen to some nutcase tell me

about how chickens came from the planet Dimwit.

You have given me nothing but garbage cases ever since I got here.

The newer people get the smaller cases.

Surely that can't come as a big surprise to you. And how long is it going to be

before I get something that's not completely harebrained?

When I decide.

Private practice with

no partners has its attractions.

What can I do for you, Miss Sombra?

I want to talk to you about Darren Burke.

One more question, Miss Otero.

Can you tell the jury how this treatment at the hands of your parents made you

feel?

Feel?

How would you feel if your own parents chained you to your bed just because

they didn't like your friends?

It felt terrible.

It felt like they don't think I have any right to be a person.

Thank you.

No further questions, Your Honor. Mr. McMahon?

Mr. McMahon, are you with us?

Uh, I have no questions, Your Honor.

Counsel, please approach the bench.

Mr.

McMahon, would it be too much to ask that you pay attention during the

proceedings? I heard every word, Your Honor. I'm not deaf.

Have you even read what I sent you? Miss Kaufman?

Sorry, sir.

In my chambers, both of you. Ten-minute recess.

Have you read the material, Mr. McMahon?

With respect, Your Honor, my strategy's my business. Not Ms.

Kaufman's, not the court's. Yes or no, Mr. McMahon?

And I think you might want to inquire into the prosecutor's motives for

wanting to run my case as well as her own. Nice try, Counsel, but it's clear

to me that Ms. Kaufman has gone the extra mile here in trying to be ethical.

Now, answer the question. Have you read the material?

No, sir.

Bring me People's Exhibit 6, please.

And you, both of you, keep yourselves available.

You'll hear from me later in the day.

Hey.

Yeah. Been checking into family counseling programs.

There's one at the county hospital. It's free.

Is there a word in this?

Yeah, but they're willing to give priority to the Oteros.

I can be persuasive sometimes.

Judge Oreck would like to see you in chambers.

I'll take care of your lunch.

Thank you.

After reviewing this material, I'm of the opinion that the Otero family is

salvageable.

And I strongly suggest that the two of you try to work out a deal that serves

the interests of justice, the interests of society, and the interests of the

Oteros.

And you can present the results to me tomorrow morning, 9 o'clock, in court.

Mr. McMahon was due in my office for a plea conference at 6 o'clock. It is now

6.30.

Well, he's probably on his way.

Probably is not good enough, Mr. Fowler.

I know that your office is short-staffed, but that is no reason to

tolerate incompetence and misconduct.

Either light a fire under this guy or reassign the case.

This isn't going to happen tonight, is it? Not a fix-up.

Don't worry about Judge Orrick.

He knows it's not your fault.

Hey, don't forget to vote tomorrow.

I never forget to vote.

I just don't ever like the choices.

Is that your breakfast?

Nope. Two of the food groups.

Caffeine and cholesterol.

How can you think... Tess, you think we can work something out in 20 minutes?

The Otero case?

Yes, I was up till 3 this morning going over the material.

What happened to McMahon?

Joe McMahon now has all the time in the world to spend at the racetrack.

Now, I... I don't think the Oteros should have to do jail time.

I'd also like some way to expunge...

Well, they plead guilty to one count of false imprisonment.

Are you demanding jail time?

Time served.

What about the girl, Elena?

Would you ask Detective Cobb to bring in Miss Otero, please? Yes, sir.

Nobody wants to take your daughter away from you.

But we'll have no choice unless you and Elena can work out your differences.

No matter how you feel about what she's doing,

you can't chain her to her bed.

I can send your parents to jail, Didi.

Is that what you want?

But they have to lay off my boyfriend.

And I'm not going to promise to be home by 6.30 on school nights.

I'm not here to mediate or set ground rules.

Are you willing to go to family counseling with your mother and father?

Gracias. Is this arrangement satisfactory to the defense?

Yes, sir. May I hear that from your clients?

Mr.

Otero, Mrs. Otero, are you in agreement with the plea bargain?

Thank you, sir.

Ms. Arpino, the court appreciates your efforts.

And Ms. Kaufman, I commend you for the manner in which you've risen to the

challenge presented by the circumstances of this case.

The plea is entered.

are contributing money to help Lily Bothell reclaim her chickens from the

animal control department.

And six farmers have offered free room and board for the acrobatic birds.

It sure does a heart good to know there's so many people out there who

care, doesn't it? Certainly does, Misty.

In other news tonight, on the lighter side, as if that weren't light enough.

Yeah, yeah, I want it.

I want a case that should have been tried in an insane asylum.

I got tons of media coverage. I had to stand in front of a microphone and talk

about chickens.

Chickens.

I hope my parents didn't see it.

Yeah.

Gold already told me how I have to move up, you know, slowly.

Do you want to sit down?

No, no, I just came by to tell you that I can't do this anymore.

I mean, my professional life is humiliating, and, uh, my personal

life is... being in love.

Someone who doesn't love you back is the hardest thing in the world. I'm sorry.

Yeah, me too.

If I could make you love me, I would.

But I know you can't help the way you feel.

I wish I could.

I really do.

Don't.

Don't tell me you like me, okay?

Don't tell me that you think kindly of me. You wish me well. I...

I don't want to hear it.

I'm accepting a job offer in New Orleans.

It's a legal claim.

Helping people who need help.

No more chicken?

No more chickens.

for Arthur Gold, Mayor Devan's hand-picked candidate to take Ed

Stigley's seat on the City Council.

With 52% of the votes counted, Tom Corbidge leads by nearly 4,000, and our

projection shows him being endorsed by at least 57% of the 9th Ward's voters.

Arthur Gold stunned the city's political establishment last week when he

apologized to the voters for putting political expediency above principle in

the Eddie Novak case.

I guess honesty is always the best part.

Apparently not, Misty.

Could have been a victory celebration.

Whose victory?

The people's. Oh, you think the people get a victory with Tom Corbidge

representing them? I think the people get screwed, no matter who wins.

Go downstairs to concede.

Would you, uh... Would you like to join me?

Okay.

If the people get screwed, whose fault is that?

They're willing to settle for what masquerades as leadership in this

country the fault is their own

No,

I

don't think so John last time we played ball you broke two lamps in a wall clock

Okay, so I broke the wall clock.

Why is there never anything to eat in this place?

When are you gonna learn how to shop?

Hey,

come in.

What's up?

Nothing.

I should get a TDD, shouldn't I?

I'd be a nice birthday gift.

But, uh, I'd rather have season tickets for the Cubs.

Can I take your code? No, uh, I'm going to dinner.

You want to go?

You bet I do.

You okay? Yes.

Nothing wrong?

No.

I just felt like being with a friend.