All language subtitles for Law & Order s04e20 Nurture.eng

(male narrator)
In the criminal justice system...

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

the police
who investigate crime...

and the district attorneys
who prosecute the offenders.

These are their stories.

[police siren wailing]

[exclaims]

Wendy here?
You mean Bughead?

Is she here?

Yeah, she's got
her head stuck in the tailpipe.

She's trying
to kill the lice.

We're leaving, kid.
You on or off?

Okay.

[engine starting]

I went to her apartment
but Beatrice didn't answer the door.

The lady across the hall
hasn't seen Wendy for two days.

Well, who's Beatrice?

Beatrice Hines
is Wendy's foster mother.

I tried calling over there
but there wasn't an answer.

Well, maybe
they just went away for a couple of days.

They didn't go away.

Beatrice was in there.
I heard her moving around.

But something's
happened to Wendy.

Well, it could be
she's just sick in bed.

She would've called me.
She would've had me bring her homework.

Well, don't you think
that Wendy's foster mom would have called us?

She doesn't care
about Wendy. But I do.

That woman does not
take care of that child. I've seen it myself.

(Beatrice)
You know how kids are today. They come, they go.

This one goes for two days,
and you don't think to call us?

Look, she'll turn up.
She always does.

You find any kind of a note,
like maybe she ran away?

No, nothing.

When did you
see her last?

Day before yesterday,
when she came home from school.

I told her to get busy
on the laundry.

You know, we got the
self-service down the block.

And yesterday?
Bells didn't go off when she didn't come home?

Look, I thought
maybe she went to visit her friend Janel.

I work nights. I can't
pay attention to everything that girl does.

My towels aren't here.

Now you're worried, huh?

I guess maybe
you better look for her.

A 10-year-old girl,
gone two nights.

No problem.

(Cervantes)
Yeah, she was here around dinnertime Monday.

She sorts by colors.
She knows how to use bleach.

Do a lot of people
send their kids to do their wash?

If they could,
they'd send their dogs.

You see her talking
to anybody?

Just me. We joke around.

Sometimes I buy her
a soda or give her half my sandwich.

All she ever has is money
for the machines, nothing extra.

Did you buy her a soda
on Monday?

I had five dryers down.
I nearly had a riot.

What time
did Wendy leave?

I don't know
but she left her dark load in the machine.

What am I supposed to do
with this stuff?

We hit every store
on the block with her picture.

And nobody saw
the little washer girl?

The foster mother,
she give you a list of the girl's friends?

I don't think
she knows or cares.

She seemed to miss her towels
more than the kid.

What about the girl's
real mother? We're on our way.

Since I got the call,
I've been sick with worry.

I've been trying
to get custody again.

She's my little girl.
Her foster mother didn't seem too worried.

That bitch Beatrice.

She just cares about Wendy
for the check. I'm her mother, I'm blood.

And she'd be living here
if there wasn't a problem, is that correct?

I used to drink.
I'm getting off it.

Yeah? How's it going?

This is just a beer.

When's the last time
you saw her?

A couple of weeks ago,
she came, she spent the night.

(Briscoe)
And since then?

My little girl,
they got her all messed up.

And who would "they" be?
Children's Services.

This is her home.
I knew this would happen.

What would happen?

She'd run away because
of Beatrice's boyfriend.

Oh, you don't know?
A guy named Brian.

He'd get drunk
and he'd beat her up.

He got arrested but nothing
ever happened to him.

I complained
to Children's Services but...

they gonna listen to me?
I'm only her mother.

I don't know where she is,
and I don't care where she is.

We heard you cared enough
to slap her around.

Hey. Her mother's lying...

to try to get her back,
so she can collect the welfare check.

She probably
put the kid up to it.

Did she put the DA
up to arresting you?

I'm out on bail.
I never did anything to her.

(Logan)
Your trial's coming up.

Be nice for you if
the star witness disappeared.

I never go near her.
That's one of the conditions of my bail.

I can't even stay over
with my own girlfriend.

You do any laundry Monday,
about 6:00?

I was here until 8:00.

Underneath a Toyota
with a leaky transmission.

They can tell you.

(Beatrice)
Look, the kid lied.

It runs in the family.
You saw what her mother was like.

Brian never hit her.
She just made it all up.

Yeah, maybe.

I mean, the kid's got this
kind of weird imagination.

She just sits in her room
all day just telling stories to the wall.

I got a hard enough time
getting her out of there...

so she can come
and do her chores.

You smack her yourself
once in a while to give her incentive?

I never touched her.
Brian never touched her.

When he's here,
we got better things to do.

Well, Beatrice, if we start
asking the neighbors...

are we gonna find out that
Brian's been coming around, ignoring his bail order?

Because if he does, he goes
straight to jail, and you lose custody of the kid.

Yeah? Well,
that would be terrible.

Yeah,
your check stops coming.

(Beatrice)
Know how I got Wendy?

I used to get a sandwich
at a coffee shop where her mother was a waitress...

when she could stand up.

We became friends.

She was having trouble
down at Children's Services.

She knew I liked kids.
Peggy gave Wendy to me.

What, was she on the menu
under Live-ln Servants?

I'm the best thing
that ever happened to that kid.

Beatrice Hines was qualified
as a foster parent.

The birth mother's
consent papers were in order. They were friends.

Is it departmental policy
that children can be exchanged as gifts?

Peggy Sylvester used to
send her daughter out...

to shoplift cigarettes
and six packs for her.

Moving Wendy out of
that environment was a considerable improvement.

Oh, really? Well, did you
ever drop by and take a look at that foster home?

I investigated the child abuse
report and talked to Wendy in person.

Followed up with a phone call.

I was assured
that Brian Sprague was staying away.

Did Wendy ever talk
about running away?

She did run away once,
about four months ago.

She came back
about a day later. Did she say where she went?

She told me that
her father owned Central Park.

She was going to live
in Belvedere Castle but it didn't work out.

Who is her father?

She has no idea. Her mother's
not too sure, either.

Our teacher's got us
putting these up all over the neighborhood.

Maybe somebody
will recognize her.

Do you think she ran away?

I mean, was she saving
her money up for it?

Beatrice never
gave her nothing, just worked her.

I lent her some of my clothes,
so she wouldn't freeze...

and my mom let her
come over for dinner.

So she never talked
about running away?

Yeah, but there's no way
she would've gone now.

We had a trip to the Museum
of Natural History to see the dinosaurs.

Oh, she liked
that sort of thing?

Yeah, she was crazy
about that stuff.

Did she have
any other friends?

You mean real ones?

What, she had
some other kind?

Well...

you got to promise
you don't tell nobody, but she wrote letters to Carol.

It's just
a made-up somebody...

Iike there was a big sister
somewhere else that she was writing to.

Well, we might
want to look at those letters.

She didn't want anybody
to know about them.

Well, we won't tell anybody
and it might help us find her.

Her school locker.

Right 23, left 10...

right 14.

(Briscoe)
Sometimes she writes letters...

sometimes she writes poems
to this imaginary friend.

"Riding a pony in the snow
Another place to go

"Smiling and laughing on TV
Another place to be

"Flying away on a giant beast
With my suitcase in its teeth"

Okay, so we check
pony stables, TV studios, and Big Bird.

Well, somebody liked it.

They wrote, "Excellent work,
Wendy. Very imaginative."

That's great,
but it's dark out, and it's night number three.

Here's more writing
in the margin, spelling and grammar corrections.

Teacher?
Yeah.

One she liked enough
to tell her secrets to.

Yes, I recognize
the margin notes. Arnette Fenady.

They must be
from last semester.

You can date the ink?

Miss Fenady gave a poetry
workshop for our more gifted students.

Despite Wendy's appearance,
and the fact that she was often exhausted...

and that she had to be treated
for head lice...

she had the potential
to be an A student.

Where is this teacher now?
In class?

No, she's currently
on a leave of absence.

She's a published poet herself
who donates her time.

Would she have
gotten to know Wendy pretty well?

There are only
half a dozen kids in the class.

Practically a
1-1 situation. Ideal.

Ideal how?

Here we have 40 children
to a class.

Our school system
encourages these volunteers from the community.

So you'd have her address?

That's terrible.
How long has she been missing?

(Briscoe)
Since three days ago.

Miss Fenady,
if she did run away...

would you have any idea
where she might have gone to?

No. I just know
she was very unhappy.

Have you talked
to her friend Janel?

(Briscoe)
Yes, we did.

Did Wendy talk to you much
about her problems?

No, I just had
to read her poems.

(Briscoe)
What do you mean?

Well, there is a real
survivor's spirit there.

She lives in miserable
circumstances but she never gave up on herself.

Dear God,
I hope she's all right.

Do you have any children,
Miss Fenady?

No. No, I'm not blessed
with children.

Well, it's an awful
lot of house here for one person.

Yes, it's been in the family
nearly a century. I hold poetry workshops here.

So Wendy's been here?

Yes, but I haven't seen her
since last term.

You must give me your number.
There's a chance she might contact me.

She has your phone number?
Yes.

All my children do.
Well, we'll be in touch.

If there's anything I can do.
Thank you.

(Briscoe)
I could have used a few teachers like her at PS 189.

(Logan)
Oh, yeah? I don't know, something about her.

What? She donates
her time helping kids.

She gives her phone number
to her students. Why would anyone bother?

What, that makes her
too good to be true?

Hey, humor me, will you?
Let's check her out.

One arrest, February 1990.
Endangering the welfare of a minor.

The charges were dropped,
so the record was sealed.

Which means we can't find out
what the charge was about.

Could be she took her students
to the pony rides, and then some parent panicked.

Well, sealed or not,
there's a file sitting in someone's desk.

I'll call Kincaid.
Get her working on a judge's order.

The clock's running out
on this kid. We don't have time to wait for a judge.

Well, then find out
who the arresting officer was.

Oh, yeah, the rich poet.
You've seen the place she lives?

Yeah, so how did she endanger
the welfare of a minor?

Drinking a sherry
while playing Pick-Up Sticks?

[chuckles]

The complaint was from
the parents of a 6-year-old.

One of her little poets.
She tried to kidnap the kid.

Tried how?

She kept her overnight,
and then denied she had her when the parents showed up.

And when you showed up?

She was packing
the kid into her car for a trip upstate.

It was weird. It took us
three hours to get her to admit it wasn't her kid.

Your lecture about
your commitment to children was fascinating.

Why did you leave out
the part about kidnapping?

Well, that's not
what I did at all. I was protecting her.

From what?

Well, Molly was malnourished.
She hadn't had any proper food.

Some people don't deserve
to be parents.

You ever hear
of Children's Services?

Yes, of course. But they
have their procedures.

The child could have died
if I hadn't done something.

And a drive upstate in
the middle of winter, that was going to save her life?

I was frightened
and I overreacted.

But everyone knows I did
the right thing. Molly was placed in foster care.

The charges against me
were dropped.

Which brings us to Wendy.
Is she your latest cause?

I am very worried about her.

Why can't you just believe
that I want to help?

You see a little girl
getting slapped around...

a lot of people would take her
into their home.

Yeah, and those people
usually call the cops.

Well, your hunches
aren't gonna get us a search warrant.

Well, we got the notebooks.
Let's see if there's anything about Fenady in there.

"Flying away on a giant beast
With my suitcase in its teeth"

That doesn't sound
like Fenady to me.

Wait a minute.

"On leather wings,
I fly beyond Atop my friend the pteranodon"

The flying beast
is a dinosaur.

So a brontosaurus did it.

No, Fenady's comments
are on this poem, and Wendy's friend said...

they didn't learn
about dinosaurs until a couple of weeks ago.

Fenady said
she hadn't seen Wendy since last term, right?

Flying dinosaurs won't get you
into Fenady's house.

Did you follow up
on the endangering charge?

Yeah, that kid wound up
in a foster home...

and the DA chose
not to indict Fenady.

Yeah, well,
they didn't give her a medal, either.

Let's put her
under 24-hour surveillance.

And canvass the neighborhood,
maybe someone saw her with the little girl.

She's a very caring person.
She even donated money to plant trees.

Well, did you ever see
any kids go in there?

All the time.
She loves children.

Last year she built
a whole playroom upstairs.

You get the full tour?

Yes, she's always remodeling
for the kids.

Last month, she had
cinder block and cement in front of her house.

Some of the neighbors
complained. I said, "Come on, it's for the kids."

Speaking of kids, we're
looking for this little girl. She's 10 years old.

Was she around on Monday?
Yeah, I think so.

I saw them coming
out of the car.

Now, are you positive
about that?

I only saw them from the back.

Can't this wait
until after I eat my lunch?

It's about a missing child,
Your Honor.

We have an eyewitness
who saw her with our suspect.

Now, Miss Fenady lied
about the last time she saw the child.

That's this thing here
about the dinosaur?

Once again, Your Honor,
there's a certain urgency here.

Do you want me
to read this or not?

No disrespect,
Your Honor.

Your eyewitness
is a little iffy. I don't wanna start a witch hunt here.

I'm gonna limit you
to a look-see warrant.

(Fenady)
Mrs. Stavros couldn't have seen Wendy here.

I'm sure she has the day
wrong. I had children here Sunday for a workshop.

Well, the school said
you were all through with the workshops.

Well, that doesn't mean
that I've stopped helping the kids.

Well, what were you
doing Monday, Miss Fenady?

I was working
on my books. Children's books.

It's better than
Romper Room up there.

I'm sorry it's such a mess.
I don't come down here much.

There's a storeroom in here.

I checked it.

[door shuts]

You doing some construction?

The contractor said
we needed a wall to support the playroom.

Look, I know
you're doing your job, but I'm really worried...

about all the time
you're wasting when you could be looking for Wendy.

Just let us worry
about Wendy. We'll be in touch.

Well, her concern
is touching. You still sure she has her?

I hope you guys
found something.

I'm not exactly
looking forward to another eight hours out here.

Well, maybe she'll invite you
in for tea.

Well, she knows
we're around.

You think if she's got
the girl stashed somewhere, she's gonna lead us to her?

I don't think she's gonna
let the kid starve.

She could already
be dead, Lennie.

Yeah, and she could still be
in that house, okay?

Well, we just
searched the house. We looked around.

That cinder block wall
in the basement.

Fenady said it was
for a playroom built a year ago.

Now, we got neighbors
who saw cinder blocks on the sidewalk a month ago.

You think maybe
she's got a Houdini room?

Well, let's find the
contractor and see what kind of shoe this lady's building.

(Borden)
Miss Fenady? Real good people.

Most people won't let you use
the toilet. She gave us milk and cookies.

You build a bearing wall
in her basement?

Those old brownstones
are overbuilt as it is.

She didn't need
any structural support.

So you never
touched the basement?

No. She asked us about
maybe putting in a maid's room downstairs.

I gave her an estimate
but she never got back to me.

So how long has it been
since you actually did work for her?

About eight months ago.

She ordered some materials
through me last month.

Cinder blocks?
Cement?

Yeah, copper pipes,
fixtures, flooring.

All the makings
for a nice, cozy hideout.

This woman has
dedicated her life to the children of this city.

There is no reason
you should be harassing her.

Unless you back off,
I'm gonna slap you with an injunction.

Go for it. Any judge
will see our actions are consistent...

with a normal
police investigation.

You have no idea
how destructive your actions are.

Parents come over
with their kids, they see police cars parked outside.

Neighbors are calling,
asking what's going on.

Miss Fenady's even gotten
calls from the media.

Well, Miss Siegal,
you have your job and we have ours.

As long as Miss Fenady
remains a suspect in the disappearance of a child...

we have no intention
of backing off.

That's your line
in the sand. Fine.

Nice performance.
It is just a performance.

Unless we get some results...

the minute Siegal gets
to a judge, school's out.

Well, before she gets
an injunction we're going to need another search warrant.

Judge Romney's
a defendant's judge.

He might see
a second search as part of a pattern of harassment.

Well, how's he going to see
Ms. Fenady lying to us about her remodeling?

One last time, Miss Fenady.

What's behind that wall?

I don't know.
I wasn't here when they built it.

It's probably nothing.

It could be dead space
on the other side but...

no way through
that we can find.

Tommy, tell the press to work
from the other side of the street, all right?

[journalists chattering]

[footsteps pattering]

Strike out up there?
(technician) Nada.

Anything?

Yeah, the walled-off part
of the basement is right under this floor here.

Your warrant specifies
you're not allowed to tear anything up.

Miss Fenady, how many
other TVs do you have in the house?

Two. One upstairs
in my bedroom and one in the playroom.

Really?

Then why do you have
four lines splitting off from the cable junction here?

This line goes right through
the closet floor.

You wanna tell me now?

(Logan)
Wendy?

Are you all right?

"Docket number 286721,
People v. Arnette Fenady.

"Charges are kidnapping
in the second degree...

"custodial interference
in the first degree...

"endangering the welfare
of a child in the first degree."

How do you plead?
Not guilty.

People request that
the defendant be held without bail, Your Honor.

My client is not
a violent felon.

She abducted a 10-year-old
girl off the street and held her in a basement.

We don't want to put the girl
at further risk. Your Honor.

Save it, Miss Siegal.
I have three of my own. Bail is $250,000.

Aren't you on the wrong side
of the plate here, Rose?

I thought children's rights
attorneys defended minors, not their abductors.

Sometimes defending
an alleged abductor is in the best interest of the child.

Miss Fenady took Wendy
without the consent of her legal guardian.

We've got
our prima facie case.

If you're looking
for a deal here--

Never crossed my mind.
I want you to drop the case entirely.

If you'd look past
the statutes for a second...

you'd see that Arnette Fenady
was trying to save that child.

Do you have any idea what
Wendy's life was like before she took her to her home?

Oh, and it was really improved
by being stuck in a cellar?

Look, I know this woman
would never hurt a child.

If you have any doubts,
have your experts talk to her.

Have them talk to Wendy.

I guarantee
you'll see the light.

(Wendy)
We had pizza with pepperoni, then she showed me to my room.

She said I'd be safe
just as long as no one found out.

(Olivet)
Did she make you stay in the room the entire time?

No, I came up for a party.

What party?

A birthday party.
She had a cake for me.

It was chocolate
with 10 candles on it.

It was your birthday?

My birthday's in October.

I'll be 1 1.
This was Crystal's.

Who's Crystal?

I don't know. That's what
it said on the cake.

Did Miss Fenady
ever hurt you?

No.

We read poems
and played games.

Weren't you worried
that Beatrice might miss you?

Miss Fenady said
I could use the phone. She said I could call.

Did you?

Thank you very much, Wendy.
Welcome.

[door opens]

[door closes]

If she were mistreated,
I don't think she'd keep it a secret.

So Fenady honestly kidnaps
children to save them?

Children?

Well, she did the
same thing four years ago. A 6-year-old girl.

Is there a way
I could interview Miss Fenady?

It's possible.
I don't think her lawyer would object.

(Olivet)
Are you sure you don't want your attorney present?

I don't need my attorney.

I don't understand
what all the fuss is about.

Wendy was happier with me.
Didn't she tell you that?

That's not the point.

Her mother,
her foster mother...

they didn't love Wendy.

It's hard for us
to know how they felt.

I know
how you're supposed to feel.

Have you had
those feelings yourself?

God gives people children.

And he sometimes
takes them away.

How would you know
anything about that?

I don't, but...

I have a feeling
that you do.

Did you lose a child?

How old
would she be now?

Ten?

It must have been
very painful for you.

She was nine months old
when she died.

You loved her very much.

I'd do anything for her.

Just like you'll do
for Wendy.

You know what they did?

Do you know
how they treated her?

Nobody treats Crystal
that way, nobody.

You know,
if you pray hard enough...

sometimes God answers
your prayers.

(Siegal)
Hell of a world.

If she weren't
a fictional character...

you'd want to toss
Mary Poppins into the booby hatch.

Your client
is mentally ill, Rose.

Why? Because she takes
an abused kid off the street and pampers her?

(Stone)
Because she thinks that kid is hers.

I'm trying to help you, Rose.
Great.

We lock Fenady in a state
hospital, Wendy goes back to another Beatrice Hines.

Whatever happens, Miss Fenady
is not going to get custody of the child.

No. But the press gets a whiff
of the real story...

maybe we re-examine
the foster care system.

Your client is Arnette Fenady,
not the needy children of the world.

And I'm representing her...

with all the zealousness
required by the Canons of Ethics.

By sacrificing her
for a cause?

Hey, I'm going
to win this case.

I'll tell Arnette
of your generous offer, and I'll see you in court.

[phone ringing]

Rose Siegal called.

Fenady would rather spend
the rest of her life in prison than in a hospital.

I'm sure
she was fully apprised by her attorney.

Well, if the woman doesn't
want to plead insanity, we can't force her.

Yeah, but we don't
have to try her.

Whether she was sane at the
time that she committed the crime is for a jury to decide.

But whether she's even
competent to stand trial, that's for a judge.

We challenge
her competency?

If she's delusional,
she can't understand the charges against her...

and she can't help
in her own defense.

Isn't this
her attorney's job?

That attorney
is more interested in making a point...

than helping her client.

Miss Fenady is sick.
She belongs in a hospital, not in a prison.

(Olivet)
Miss Fenady operates in a world of her own making.

A world where
she sets the rules.

Does she understand
our rules as they apply...

in the legal proceedings
against her?

(Olivet)
She won't even try.

All that matters to her
is her mission...

to rescue a girl she believes
is her dead daughter.

Nothing else is relevant,
nothing else is real.

(Stone)
Dr. Olivet, in your expert opinion...

is Arnette Fenady capable...

of understanding
her trial...

and assisting
in her own defense?

No. She's not.

Thank you, Doctor.

(Siegal)
When you interviewed Miss Fenady...

did she know who you were?

She knew
I was a psychiatrist, yes.

Does she know who I am?

She knows.
I just don't think she cares.

Isn't there a difference,
Dr. Olivet...

between believing
the law is irrelevant and believing it is wrong?

Of course.

And is a person
who believes the law is wrong incompetent to stand trial?

That depends on the person.
Let's take Miss Fenady, then.

Doesn't she believe
the law is wrong...

because it fails
to protect children while prosecuting those who do?

That's part of her
belief system, yes.

And isn't she capable
of articulating that belief to you...

to me, to a judge, to a jury?

Yes.

(Siegal)
And you are a board-certified psychiatrist?

Yes. I'm on the staff
of Manhattan Hospital.

And you examined
Arnette Fenady at my request.

Yes.

I found her to be
passionate about the well-being of children.

(Siegal)
Does she hear voices that tell her how to behave?

No. She decides how to behave.

In your
expert opinion, Doctor...

does Miss Fenady
understand the nature of these proceedings...

and the charges against her?

She not only understands them,
she welcomes them...

as a means to raise
public awareness of the problems of children.

Thank you.

Doctor, did Miss Fenady
decide to break the law?

I believe she did.

And did she decide to mistake
Wendy for her dead daughter?

Her belief is figurative...

an extension of her passion
to save children.

You are familiar
with the interview with Dr. Olivet, correct?

Where she repeatedly mistook
Wendy for Crystal?

She identifies the suffering
of other children with that of her own daughter.

It doesn't
make her delusional.

But if, in fact,
Miss Fenady mistook Wendy for her dead daughter...

what is to prevent her
from mistaking any other 10-year-old...

for her dead child?

By definition, Mr. Stone,
a delusional person will have delusions.

I just don't think
that's the case here.

Arnette, do you know
what you are charged with?

Kidnapping.

I rescued Wendy,
Your Honor--

Just answer your attorney's
questions, Miss Fenady.

The charge is kidnapping.

But I intend to prove
that I did nothing wrong.

How do you intend
to prove that?

With a trial in public.

Then, everyone
will know the truth.

(Siegal)
But you know that you could go to jail.

Could. Yes.

Do you understand
what my function is?

You're my attorney.

Your job is to make sure
that I get a fair trial...

to prove
that I did nothing wrong.

Nothing further.

(Stone)
Miss Fenady...

you don't think
that you did anything wrong...

because it was the will
of God, correct?

I believe it is God's will
that children not be neglected or abused.

Especially your own child?

My child died 10 years ago.

I did what I did
to help Wendy.

I have no doubt
that the defendant suffers from a colorful...

assortment of
psychological problems.

But that's all
they are, problems.

Therefore, I am not convinced
under Section 730...

that the defendant
is an incapacitated person.

The criminal action
against Arnette Fenady...

is to proceed.

[gavel pounds]

(Kincaid)
If the judge could have heard the way...

Fenady talked to Olivet.

Yeah, well even psychos
can act normal when it serves their purpose.

The judge had to go
with what she saw.

Not to mention their expert
cancelled our expert.

Rose Siegal must be pleased.
Her issue's all over the papers...

and she'll have a martyr
to the cause when her client goes to jail.

Yeah, if we convict.

I'm not even sure
I still want to prosecute.

You want that fruitcake
on the street?

I want her
in a hospital, sir.

Well, that option went away.
Judge ruled against you.

I can still try
to cut a deal.

I'll drop it
to unlawful imprisonment.

You can drop it
to a building permit violation for all I care.

She's not guilty.
She needs help, Rose.

No, Ben, the children
of New York need help.

Without an insanity defense,
you don't have a case.

All I have to do
is seat one mother on the jury.

You can play the heartstrings
all you like, but the fact remains...

that your client took Wendy
Sylvester off the street, held her in a place...

that she was not likely
to be found. Read the statute. That's kidnapping.

For the past two years,
Wendy's legal guardian has been Beatrice Hines.

(Stone)
But at any time did the defendant ever...

have custody, guardianship,
or any legal right...

or authority
over Wendy Sylvester?

No.

Now, when Wendy
was under the care of Beatrice Hines...

did you ever hear complaints
about Wendy being abused?

Wendy's homeroom teacher
called Children's Services.

She said that Wendy
was coming to school with bruises.

We investigated
and took what we considered to be appropriate action.

Did anyone else from
the school ever contact you about her condition?

The school nurse,
about the same time as the teacher.

But what about Arnette Fenady?

Did she ever voice
her concern to you...

about the condition
of Wendy Sylvester?

Until she was arrested,
I had never heard Miss Fenady's name.

Thank you.

Your witness.

Your investigation
of Wendy's case found that she had been beaten...

that she
was left unattended...

unfed, unbathed,
barely clothed.

Is that correct?
(Freeman) Yes.

And what is
this appropriate action that you took?

Miss Hines' male companion
was arrested...

and placed
under judicial order to stay away from Wendy.

Was that order effective?

I don't know.

Why didn't you move Wendy
to a safer environment?

Suitable households
are hard to find. It takes time.

So while you looked...

your appropriate action
was to leave this 10-year-old girl...

in an unsuitable household?

You have to understand...

compared to a lot of the cases
that we handle...

Wendy Sylvester
was relatively well-off.

Really?

(Siegal)
Thank you.

No, I never met
Miss Fenady in person.

She called the house
a bunch of times to talk to Wendy.

She sounded like a weirdo.
Objection.

(Welch)
Sustained.

Jury will disregard
that last remark.

Did Miss Fenady ever tell you
why she wanted to talk with Wendy?

Yeah. She said it was
about her poetry...

but I think she was calling
to check up on us.

Miss Hines,
why do you say that?

Because one time,
she just ragged on the way I was raising Wendy.

She said that
I wasn't fit to be a mother.

But did you ever, at any time,
give Arnette Fenady permission...

to take Wendy?

No. Never.

Fine. Thank you.

Miss Hines, how many times
have you left Wendy alone all night?

(Beatrice)
I work nights. I got no choice.

Fair to say it was more times
than you can count?

Look, she's a smart one.
She can take care of herself.

But you didn't even know
she was missing until the police notified you.

What do you expect
from me? I gotta work.

No more questions.

Court will recess
until tomorrow morning.

We set them up,
Siegal just knocks them down.

I doubt if Wendy
will fall as easily.

I have one more prep session
with her this evening.

When I got into the car,
she told me to lie down.

Then she put
a blanket over me.

Did she say why?

She said that Brian
was looking for me...

and that he wanted to hurt me.

And you believed her?
He hurt me before.

You know, what happened
when you got to her house?

You already asked me that.

Can we stop now?

Okay. I guess
we've done enough.

[exhales]

How old were you when you
decided to become a lawyer?

I don't know.
Maybe in high school.

Bet you had all A's.

No, I got B's in Art.

I want to be a writer.
Or maybe a scientist, like a paleontologist.

Anything but a mother.

Having kids sucks.

You know, Wendy...

it doesn't always
have to be that way.

So after I answer
all those questions tomorrow, what'll happen?

The jury will decide
if Miss Fenady did anything wrong.

And if they say she did?

That'll be up to the judge.

(Wendy)
I was at the laundry.

It's my job to do the laundry
for Beatrice.

And did you finish
the laundry?

No.

I went to Miss Fenady.

[exhales]

Wendy...

Iet's back up
a little bit here.

Before you got
to Miss Fenady's, what happened?

I was on the subway.

Your Honor, permission
to lead the witness.

Objection, Your Honor.

I'm going to allow some
latitude on this, Miss Siegal.

(Stone)
Wendy, do you remember telling the police...

that Miss Fenady picked you up
in a car at the laundromat?

No.

I took the subway.
I was running away.

Miss Fenady said
I could stay as long as I wanted.

Wendy, isn't it true...

that Miss Fenady drove you
to her home...

and locked you
in an underground room?

(Siegal)
Your Honor, the District Attorney gets...

to ask the questions
not answer them.

She's right, Mr. Stone.
That's enough.

Can we adjourn
to chambers, Your Honor?

She lied, Your Honor.
Why?

Because she's not saying
what you want to hear?

Because she's saying
what you want her to say.

If you're accusing Miss Siegal
of subornation, counselor...

you're gonna need
a little more proof.

(Kincaid)
Your Honor, Wendy told me numerous times in prep...

that Miss Fenady
picked her up in her car...

covered her with a blanket
so no one could see...

and took her to her house.

That might make her
the first kid ever to tell a fib to please an adult.

Your Honor, if I could just
talk with her.

Be my guest, if you want
to be disbarred for tampering with a witness.

She's still on the stand.
It's okay, Your Honor.

If Mr. Stone is finished
questioning Wendy...

I certainly don't plan
on cross-examining her.

Talk all you like.

Wendy, I know you know
the difference between a truth and a lie...

and what you did in court
was lie.

You told me
what really happened.

I said Miss Fenady
never hurt me.

Not like Brian did.

But you want
to put her in jail.

No, we want to
get her help, Wendy.

You think she's crazy. Why?

Because she took care of me?
Because she wants to adopt me?

(Kincaid)
She told you that's what she wants to do?

Yeah.

But she's gotta be nuts
to want me, right?

No, Wendy, she's gotta be nuts
to think you're not Wendy...

to think you're someone else.

Surprised by our own witness,
the victim.

The jury's wondering
what the hell we're doing.

You said she was prepared.

It isn't Claire's fault.
The girl willfully committed perjury.

So what do we do,
indict a 10-year-old?

We could put her back
on the stand and treat her as a hostile witness.

And the jury sees us
putting words in her mouth.

Rose Siegal
is gonna love that.

Might as well send a car
and drive Fenady home.

It's not fatal.
We established our case with the other witnesses.

And the jury remembers that,
after they wipe the tears from their eyes.

(Siegal)
Wendy Sylvester was passed on by a mother who didn't care...

and passed over by a system
that should have.

Arnette Fenady could not
watch this neglect.

She believed that Wendy
would not survive.

Rather than turn a blind eye,
she did what, I believe...

most of us have the urge
to do, get involved.

The law provides
for the Arnette Fenadys of this world.

It allows that
otherwise illegal conduct is justified...

if it saves a child's life.

She could have called
the police, but instead she lied to them.

She could have called
Children's Services, but instead...

she evaded them.

So Miss Fenady's
so-called good intentions...

were, in fact,
just deceit.

Fortunately, no harm came
to Wendy Sylvester.

But what about the next time?

We live in a society
bounded by law...

and there is a system,
and it does work. Not perfectly...

and not in every case.

But those of you...

who care for children,
you must ask yourself this question:

Do you want
the Arnette Fenadys of this world...

to judge the quality
of that care?

And if she judges
that care as lacking...

and your child is removed
and hidden from you...

to whom do you appeal
that judgment?

As to the first count
of the indictment...

kidnapping in
the second degree, how do you find?

"Not guilty."

(Welch)
As to the second count...

custodial interference
in the first degree, how do you find?

"Not guilty."

As to the final count,
endangering the welfare of a child...

how do you find?

"Not guilty."

(Welch)
So say you all?

Court is adjourned.

[gavel pounds]

Arnette Fenady
applied for custody of Wendy Sylvester.

She must be crazier than
we thought. No way a court grants her application.

No way she was supposed
to be acquitted, either.

What kind of mother
could she possibly be?

For Wendy's sake,
I hope a good one.

[tongue clicks]

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