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.
( whooping )
( screaming )
( man laughs )
( screams )
Sorry.
Hey, watch it, girl.
Oh! Get away from me!
OFFICER: I'll bet you never cut class, either.
( chuckles )
Me? I was a fine upstanding picture of American manhood.
Yeah, sure.
Oh, look at this.
Get off me! ( siren wails )
Get off me!
MAN: Shut up!
Okay, you two, take it easy!
Take it easy.
I was just trying to help her.
She's going to get run over, man.
They grabbed me.
They pushed me down...
Give me a little help here.
Come on. Come on, darling.
Come on, darling, get up. Come on.
Um, sophomore, University of Manhattan.
Says she was raped by several men--
Halloween party.
No vaginal or perineal abrasions.
Got any signs of intercourse?
There was semen present.
You send out the kit?
Yeah, also ran a blood test; she was drunk.
How drunk? Very.
If she'd been driving, she'd be under arrest.
Blood alcohol's .13.
All right, can we talk to her?
She's out cold,
and I don't know how much she's going to remember.
Doc, can we stop the waltz? What are you saying?
Obvious emotional trauma.
Rape?
We offered her a counselor.
She said no.
Captioning sponsored by NBC/UNIVERSAL
¶ ¶
WOMAN ( over PA system ): All on-duty interns please report to nurse's station five.
All interns please report...
WOMAN: I was invited to the party.
By the men who assaulted you?
My fiancé, Gary Burnham.
He was a pledge at Theta Pi.
Your fiancé assaulted you?
No.
Look, can you identify the boys who did this?
Somebody helped me upstairs.
It was some kind of...
he was wearing some kind of animal.
What kind of animal?
What color?
It was light.
I think, maybe, um... gray or brown.
Can't you give us a little better idea of what went on?
They offered me a drink.
Who?
Um... I'm not sure.
It's all fuzzy, but...
I think Ted Campion and Joel Holder--
two of Gary's friends-- were there.
I'm pretty sure Ted had the bottle-- Scotch.
I was drinking from it.
And...
...I think there was something over my face.
Um... and they were on top of me,
and I tried to scream.
Um... I must have passed out.
The next thing,
I was alone in the room...
looking for my clothes.
So Ted and Joel assaulted you?
I think so.
You know, you had been drinking a little bit.
Rape's a serious accusation based on "I think so."
( sighs )
I was drunk, and I was scared, but I know what happened.
I was raped.
She said what?
This is crazy.
Joel, did you even see her?
I didn't even know she was here.
Is this serious?
Maybe we should talk to a lawyer.
We never even went upstairs.
( chuckling ): Look, guys, this didn't happen.
A girl comes to your party,
and just for the hell of it, she charges rape?
Everybody knows about Andrea.
Well, we don't know.
Why don't you fill us in?
A pledge of ours, Gary Burnham
he was getting serious about her.
( chuckling ): Freshmen.
He didn't know about her reputation.
About which you so generously informed him.
She's an easy score, okay?
Gary's a little naive.
Gary dropped her.
She stormed in here last week,
claimed we ruined her life.
And then she said we'd regret it.
You don't mind if we call in a few technicians
to look around, do you?
No problem.
The wolf pack is having a feast here.
Where are they getting this stuff?
Somebody at the hospital.
Did CSU find anything in the boys' room?
No. No hair, no fiber, no nothing.
I got to tell you, if these boys are lying,
they're pretty cool about it.
Granted.
Except their story makes no sense.
If she wants revenge,
why didn't she give us a sure ID?
Why make it harder on herself?
Maybe she didn't want it to sound so pat.
It gives her an out if things go wrong.
Come on.
You want revenge, you don't turn your life into a circus.
What am I hearing here?
This girl's not on trial.
I know that, but we got no witnesses.
So far, nobody even saw her there.
These fraternity brothers are going to say
that Joel and Ted never left the party
and that Andrea made a public threat.
( sighs )
Gee, somebody's lying.
Well, that makes you
detective of the month, Mike.
Any bets on who?
I mean, did they log who she called from the hospital?
An advisor, English professor.
She was afraid to call her mother.
Students. Sometimes they make us their mothers.
How do you like your new daughter?
What's not to like?
Wants to take every course in the department.
How about her social life?
It was active.
You mean she had a lot of boyfriends?
Look, her parents divorced when she was six.
Is she looking for a male figure in her life? Sure.
How about if she got one and lost him?
You think she'd be capable of wanting to get back at him?
Am I getting a message here?
You have some doubt Andrea was raped?
You think she made it up?
Did I say that?
There is nothing so powerful as the unspoken.
Did she get along as well with women as she did with men?
I advise a student, Betsy Rawls.
Works in the college bookstore with Andrea.
That is, if you want to talk to people who like her.
Poor Andrea.
She sends out a come-on without even knowing it.
Are you saying that she asked for this to happen?
Did they give you guys insensitivity seminars?
No woman asks to be raped.
I'm just saying that she gives it off.
You know, heat? Pheromones?
Men hit on her.
It's not her fault.
What about the boyfriend? Gary?
He's sweet, but Andrea has a good imagination.
Marriage, fiancé?
He's 18.
I got married, I was 20.
It's a different generation, Sergeant.
Mm-hmm.
Do you want my opinion?
Andrea doesn't know who the hell she is.
She said I was her fiancé?
We just dated, that's all.
Did you have a date with her last night?
What's this about?
Andrea says she was raped at your fraternity house last night
during the Halloween party.
Oh, my God.
Did you see her there?
Why would she be there?
We-We broke up.
Why did you break up with her, Gary?
I met her... she's, uh, very sophisticated.
Dating a sophomore, it made me feel good.
I found out some things about her.
When you broke it off, was she very upset?
She called me all the time, showed up at my classes.
The whole thing got out of control.
It's funny, she doesn't seem that intimidating to me.
I never knew what she'd do next.
Want to see what I mean?
This is the last letter she sent me.
Mm-hmm.
"If you hurt me, I promise I'll hurt you worse.
I'll ruin your life."
Boyfriend says she's wacko.
She says they're going to get married.
They're kids; that's how they talk.
She comes on to guys.
She doesn't mean to.
And she can't quite point the finger at who raped her.
What the hell do you want?
Signed confessions from the boys and a dozen witnesses?
What I want is a victim who can testify
to the DA without killing the case.
Right now, they'd be lucky to get an indictment.
Let's talk to the roommate.
After Barbara and I moved in last year,
they raised the rent.
We put up a notice, Andrea called.
She took the apartment sight unseen.
Mm. That's a little impulsive.
That's Andrea.
Changes courses every other day.
Boyfriends, too?
No more than most women today.
That's one man's opinion.
Okay, maybe a little more than most,
but she was frank about it.
She likes men.
There's nothing wrong with that.
When Andrea got back from the hospital,
did she talk about anything that happened?
Yeah, she said she had been raped.
Any details?
Well, it was all pretty confused.
There was something about a room,
everything going dark.
She was very shaken up.
So she seemed like a women who'd just been raped?
Geez, yes.
She was hurt, angry.
Did you get any read off her?
After 50 minutes?
How about some top-of-the-mind,
inadmissible, subjective impressions?
Just as long as you don't go out on a limb.
Is it just me or all women with triple-digit IQs?
Well, you're the only one I know, Doc.
Andrea Fermi?
Do I think she consented to have sex? No.
Do I think she's emotionally disturbed? Yes.
How disturbed?
Disturbed enough that she needs to be in therapy.
It's not uncommon, and she fits the profile:
Parents divorced,
desperation for a relationship with a male,
inability to tolerate rejection, making threats.
Look, girls are bombarded with images
of who they should be to get boys:
ads, movies, Madonna.
They end up playing a stereotypical role:
a highly-sexualized adult woman.
But in reality, they're just children seeking approval.
Was she raped or not?
I'd say absolutely, but...
But what?
Based on her previous sexual behavior,
the boys may have convinced themselves
that she didn't care.
DNA test on the samples
gives us intercourse with two men.
You still need proof of that rape.
Not in court, you don't.
The law says no corroboration necessary.
Fine, but without it, you don't get a conviction from a jury.
Unfortunately, he's right.
She was drunk, and her rep ain't exactly spotless.
Okay, so all the men and half the women
are going to say she was asking for it.
Date rape, maybe.
But this?
Nobody asks to be gang-raped.
Just go talk to her.
Tell her what the problems are.
Maybe she'll give you something else.
FERMI: All right, so I was drunk,
and I'm not a virgin.
So I'm not the perfect victim.
If those boys say they never saw her,
they're lying.
Mrs. Fermi, we are trying to help your daughter.
You heard from Gary lately?
No...
but then I guess what do you say to a raped fiancé?
He told us you weren't engaged.
I guess that's what you say.
He said you two had broken up,
and there was no date for the party.
Well, that's not true!
And he did invite me to the party.
Well, I guess he's lying, too.
I don't believe that he said we weren't engaged.
And that you threatened him.
He showed us a letter.
One of my letters? Mm-hmm.
Show them his, Andrea.
"You've changed my life.
"I want that change to be permanent.
Don't be shocked, but...
I want to marry you."
Now which one of us is lying?
BURNHAM: Okay, in the heat of the moment
I wrote something foolish.
Not to mention lying to us.
You guys, you don't know Andrea.
She got crazy; she scared me.
But you're still saying you didn't see her at the party
and know nothing about the rape?
Like I told you.
CERRETA: Why don't you talk to her?
This is a girl you wanted to marry.
She gets raped, you don't even call to see how she is?
They said it would be better if I didn't.
They?
Ted, Joel-- all the officers.
As vice president, I warned Gary.
These allegations could damage the fraternity.
You warned him not to speak to Andrea?
Well, we were told it's better if there's no contact
between any house members and Andrea.
Mm-hmm, yeah, Gary's a pledge,
So that applies to him, too.
Hey, we're glad to cooperate,
but we were also told
since Joel and I are mentioned by name,
that we shouldn't talk to you without counsel present.
That's your legal right.
We're sorry about Andrea.
It's just we wish she wouldn't have fantasies on our premises.
On your premises?
I thought she wasn't here that night?
LOGAN: Just to double-check.
None of you went upstairs for even a few minutes
the entire night, right?
ALL: No.
Did someone mention the word "cooperation"?
Try different questions.
Maybe we try different people.
You have the list of your party guests
and your employees for that party?
We'd be glad to get you one.
But there's always crashers.
Yeah, from on and off campus.
Hey, if there really was a rape, it could have been anyone.
Okay, the boyfriend did lie.
That kid knows something.
I think what he knows is how to take orders
from his upperclassmen and keep his mouth shut.
A six-hour party-- nobody sees anybody go upstairs?
Nobody goes upstairs himself?
Yeah, right, like they don't serve liquor to minors.
What? A misdemeanor charge?
You think that's going to crack the wall of silence?
All right, we got 70, 80 names here.
Probably take us right up to retirement.
I would start with anybody who isn't, wasn't,
and never will be a member of that fraternity.
Maybe she wasn't there.
We get one more no,
you got to think everybody was as drunk as she was.
Who's next?
Sorry, I might have served her,
but there were at least 100 kids there.
He must have some eyesight, huh?
I can't help you.
Hey, listen, come here.
You think you served any underage kids there?
Oh, come on.
Maybe we could find a few.
All right, listen, I'll level with you.
I did two years' hard time, and I'm almost off parole.
Working parties and bartending is a no-no.
Cool it, we're not the parole division.
All right.
Pigtails had on the wrong costume.
She looked like a little girl,
but she can drink like a sand dune.
How much?
Eight or ten shots, easy.
Yeah, enough to put me into a long dream.
Anybody follow her, you know, go upstairs?
Well, I was tracking her.
I thought she might be my score for the night,
but she staggered out with some guy.
That was the last I saw of her.
Would you recognize this guy if you saw him again?
No. Too dark.
His mask was half off his face--
some costume...
What kind of costume-- an animal?
Yeah, that's right.
Yeah. What kind of animal?
( chuckling ): Sorry.
It had big ears.
If that's any help.
At least we know she was there.
Oh, yeah, with an animal that has big ears.
Where does that get us?
Two steps ahead of where we were yesterday.
With no corroboration.
Oh, gee, Mike why don't we just quit?
Next up, Gail, Stuart Carradine,
grad students.
Good. Very good.
We were only there for a half an hour.
We're not, uh...
My wife and I aren't really party people, so...
So, nothing strange happened?
It was Halloween... but rape?
No.
( coughing )
Excuse me, may I have some water?
Sure.
Thank you.
Must be something in the air.
I feel like I'm swallowing ashes.
It doesn't take Sigmund Freud
to see that you're nervous, Gail.
( sighs )
Can you believe it?
I was a ballerina.
I felt ridiculous.
I didn't even want to go,
and all those TPs act like they own the world.
Stuart used to be president.
Thought he had outgrown all that crap.
We went upstairs.
I went to the bathroom. What the hell are you doing?
What are you telling him? Just what I saw.
It's none of their business.
This is rape, not a college prank.
Go ahead. This is our business.
I came out of the bathroom,
and I saw two guys on the stairs
and one of them said, "Come on, she's there.
Let's go, let's go."
That could have meant anything
and you can't be sure who, 'cause it was dark.
I'm sure, Stuart.
One of them was Joel Holder.
Yeah? Well, it's a mistake, or it's a lie.
Hey, look, it couldn't have been me, all right?
I'm sure it is a mistake, Joel.
Why don't you clear it up?
Yeah, just get a blood test.
It will show that you didn't have sex with the girl.
Okay... okay, all right.
No problem.
We got a deal.
When?
( music blasting )
They say
somebody saw me upstairs.
No way.
We were with him all night.
LOGAN: Oh, yeah?
Well, Joel here is going to take a blood test,
and we'll get this over with.
Nobody's taking any blood test.
We're calling our lawyers.
Fine.
They still have witnesses who say
they never left the first floor during the party.
Under oath, maybe not.
Holder said he would give blood?
CERRETA: My guess is he did it,
but he knows he didn't leave a souvenir.
How good is this Gail Carradine?
The husband didn't break her.
We got Holder on the third floor at the right time.
But no Campion.
She believes these guys did it.
My call? Pick them up.
All right, do it.
Holder and Campion.
Back up.
Come on, come on, let's go.
( inmates hooting )
We want to call our lawyers.
In a minute.
You can't do this to us.
Oh, sure, we can.
INMATE: Hey, sweet cheeks.
I see my girlfriend now.
Take a right.
Okay, gentlemen,
toes on the line. Got them?
I want pictures of every inch of their bodies.
I don't want any police brutality claims here.
Judge, a blood test at this time seems premature.
We'll present to the grand jury next week.
Miss Gifford?
My client, Joel Holder, is perfectly willing
to give a blood sample.
The prosecutor's information looks good to me, Mr. Gould.
I'm signing this order for both Holder
and for your client, Mr. Campion.
The detectives may approve the transfer to Rikers,
where the defendants will give blood samples.
Nice work, gentlemen.
Four-probe DNA match on Campion.
It's not so good on Holder-- two-probe, bad sample.
I forget what that says about the odds.
We got a witness on Holder.
We're going to need more than that.
They filed a civil suit against the girl.
Defamation and slander.
CERRETA: So what? Public relations.
No, Ezra Gould is not that kind of lawyer.
If he goes through with it...
He has something exculpatory.
They must know something about that night that we don't, huh?
You don't know what happened, I do.
What is the agenda here?
Don't go to the grand jury, we'll drop the civil suit.
You're asking us to play blind.
Tell us what you have.
What if it doesn't force you to drop?
We're not handing you our case.
Ezra, are we on the same planet?
We have a DNA match on your clients.
Proves sex, not rape.
You have zero on Mr. Holder.
It's a lousy case, and you're ruining these boys' lives.
No, these boys ruined Andrea Fermi's life,
and we're trying to make them pay for it.
The college is concerned about a trial.
Are they concerned
about their drunken fraternity boys
raping a girl?
You think the civil suit is a ploy?
It's a chess game.
There's a pawn on the board that we don't know.
Where will you go with the alcohol problem?
She was legally drunk-- no capacity to consent.
Legally drunk to drive,
but appearances can be deceiving.
I have two shots of gin-- that can roll me into bed.
She has four.
She may look perfectly coherent.
Adam, she passed out on the street.
Iffy. Did she pass out in that room?
You don't like this without sugar?
You know the boys are getting better press play.
What does that tell you? They'll get better play from a jury.
Thank you, Paul.
What do you want to do?
Forget about the law.
Pretend you're a jury, and find somebody
who will testify that she wasn't in any condition
to say yes or no.
Well, it doesn't matter what happens now.
Nobody's ever going to believe me.
The civil suit is a problem, because the only way
it makes sense is if they have a witness--
someone to convince the jury that you consented.
I didn't!
Plus whatever they have in their back pocket.
The front pocket looks pretty good.
You did know the boys.
Not that well. Not...
I'm tired of feeling like a slut.
Have you talked to Gary Burnham?
No.
Why?
The police think he's frightened about something.
Did he... participate in the rape?
No. I... I don't even think he was there.
I mean, I didn't see him.
The bartender remembers you.
He says you went upstairs with a man in a costume.
Something about big ears.
We went through this.
I don't remember.
Think.
Maybe.
I don't know.
Maybe it could have been a... mouse.
With big, black ears.
Then again, maybe I'm just imagining that, too.
We've been through this 50 times--
no rabbit costume, no mouse.
You know, the bartender said ears.
Andrea said black ears.
That's a major contribution.
Little Bo Peep, Batman, Master of the Universe
Abraham Lincoln, Lee Iacocca...
What?
I don't know; they're college kids.
Ronald Reagan, Nancy Reagan,
Wonder Woman, Snoopy, Spiderman...
Snoopy?
Let me have that card.
Hubble's law of the critical energy density.
Beautiful, huh?
Little school girl, white knee socks--
she said she was with you.
She said she felt sick, had too much to drink,
so I took her to the bathroom.
You leave her there?
No. I came back down and had a drink.
I got worried when she didn't show, so, um...
I have to testify about this?
You might have to, yes.
Look, I have a lot of work to do here,
so I really shouldn't have said anything.
You should have told the police.
At the time, I didn't make the connection.
Absentminded physicist?
You don't look that out of it, Mr. Collins.
I went to look for her.
She came stumbling out of her room.
Look, these jocks...
I mean, if I testify, they're going to...
We can always finish this conversation in court.
Okay, Joel runs out.
He throws his arms around her
and sort of... carries her back in.
Joel Holder?
Yeah. Joel Holder.
SCHIFF: What would you settle for?
If he'll roll on Campion, rape three.
Maybe toss in menacing.
With the questionable DNA,
rape one is going to be tough, anyway.
Even with the witnesses.
I hate to roll him, Adam,
but the closer we get to trial, I'd be happy with anything
before we get hit with whatever Holder
and Campion's lawyers have under their hats.
So far, we're basically shooting blanks.
Set up a meeting with her tomorrow.
Maybe she'll be ready to plead him out.
Yeah, I hope so.
Newspapers make their stories up, just like your defendant.
Rape third degree, menacing
with a leniency recommendation.
That could still mean prison.
Oh, I'm not going to jail.
If you're convicted, a jury will send you away for longer than we do.
Mm-hmm, so you want me to lie, betray my friend,
and go to jail for doing this.
A witness saw you dragging her from the room.
I wasn't dragging her! Joel.
She was drunk.
I was helping her walk.
Mr. Holder, I assume Miss Gifford informed you
that rape in the first degree holds a minimum of eight years.
Stop trying to scare him with numbers.
He's succeeding.
It wasn't rape.
Joel, not another word.
And if it takes a trial to prove that we're innocent,
then maybe we have to go through with it.
We'll talk sexual misconduct.
A misdemeanor for what happened to her?
You have the wrong century.
And you have the wrong offer.
I feel for Miss Fermi,
but she's putting herself through this for nothing
and doing it to my client, too.
Either he's tougher than he looks,
or he believes what he says.
Let's see what Campion believes.
You can't prove sex wasn't consensual, Stone.
All you've got is the girl,
and her memory is as bad as her morals.
We have a DNA match on your client,
a witness who puts Miss Fermi in his room,
and slew of witnesses that say she was very drunk,
too drunk to consent.
I read the medical charts.
.13 is not that high.
She was a heavy drinker.
Now, you said you had something to offer?
Rape three
with a recommendation, plus testimony.
What is he, a serial killer?
We could just discuss sexual misconduct, huh?
For Mr. Holder, maybe, not Mr. Campion.
I can't believe this.
You're destroying my life.
Doesn't anybody understand that?
We're just talking, Ted.
My mother hardly gets out of bed anymore.
My father, who is going broke to prove I'm innocent
looks at me like I can't even be his son.
That's enough, Ted. No, it's not enough!
You're playing with my life like it's a game.
Rape three, rape one, sexual misconduct.
It's a joke.
Andrea came to the party...
Ted, we discussed this. And I don't want to wait.
She knew what she wanted, and she got it.
If you want proof, talk to her boyfriend,
talk to Gary Burnham.
He set it all up.
I haven't heard the word "immunity."
This week I forgot what it means.
And my client forgot what happened.
If he tells the truth, and it's accessory,
he won't be charged.
I invited her to the party, but she knew why...
...to have sex with some of the fraternity brothers.
With Holder and Campion?
They just happened to be first.
It could have been anybody.
She just wanted to have a good time.
She told you this?
I found out... about all the guys she'd had.
She said it was no big deal.
I got angry.
I said, "You want to take on the whole house,
I can arrange it."
She laughed, and said, "Go ahead."
You thought she was serious?
Not at first.
When I called her about the party,
I said they were waiting for her.
She said, "They're going to love my costume
if they like little girls."
I thought she meant it.
I thought she wanted it.
None of it is true?
Okay.
He thought he was the first man in my life.
And when we fought, we said stupid things,
but we didn't mean them.
Did you say the boys would like your costume
if they liked little girls?
It was a joke.
Gary will testify.
So now it's not just my word against Ted and Joel's
it's against Gary, too?
You don't want to go through with this.
Do you?
If the boyfriend's convincing,
the jury sees a premeditated orgy.
We're on a line-- seduction or betrayal.
Juries like the seduction side.
I had breakfast this morning at the City Club.
Two bankers sit behind me.
I listened while they convinced themselves
that she's responsible.
What are we supposed to do?
Rewrite the entire sexual history of women
in the courtroom?
The boys think
they did nothing wrong, and she's vague.
She threatened, she knew them...
And she didn't consent.
The Supreme Court in Canada
has allowed women's sexual histories
to be introduced in rape cases.
Message for you.
Current issue.
Sex Crimes and the Law.
Page 54.
"Recent jury studies show women need
"to separate themselves from the victim.
"They need to believe it could not happen to them.
Therefore, women do not believe the victim."
This cheers me right up.
We need a jury of feminists.
You need a witness to get you past reasonable doubt.
The law says we don't need corroboration.
Wonderful.
Last time I looked, Utopia is a small town upstate.
Different zip code
from the Criminal Courts Building.
Gail Carradine's strong but she's not strong enough.
Schiff's right.
With Campion and Holder in ties and blue blazers,
the jury sees their sons.
They won't see their daughters in Andrea.
What about Gail's husband?
What about him?
She said he had been the president of the fraternity.
So? Fraternity presidents tend to be straight arrows.
Why not appeal to his honor?
Why don't you try prosecuting bad guys.
You know, like criminals.
Ted and Joel are good guys?
You were on the same floor at the same time
this rape took place.
I never saw a rape.
You really want Theta Phi
to be a fraternity of rapists?
I saw Gary in the hall.
He was sitting down.
He was drunk.
He looked like
he was going to cry.
I asked him what was wrong,
and he said, "I should have warned her.
She didn't know."
We had a deal; you can't charge him.
Paul.
"If he tells the truth, and it's only accessory,
he won't be charged."
You lied, Gary.
It was a mistake.
We have a witness who talked to you.
You knew Andrea didn't consent.
You can't get in testimony against my client.
Hearsay.
Statement against penal interest
in furtherance of a conspiracy.
I think we'll get it in.
PAUL: Try it.
We'll have an indictment on Mr. Burnham
in 36 hours.
I just want this to end.
It can, if you cooperate.
PAUL: A few minutes with my client-- alone?
He'll say what you want him to.
I can't promise you'll get a conviction on it.
Sexual abuse, first degree.
Come on, if anybody deserves a misdemeanor, he does.
He didn't have sex with her.
Just pimped for those who did. Sexual abuse two.
You need him.
He's your best hope.
Ted and Joel told me that she wasn't worth worrying about,
that they'd prove the kind of girl she was.
When you entered the room, what did you see?
Ted was having intercourse with Andrea.
And did Andrea protest?
At first, she looked unconscious.
Then she started to moan.
She tried to sit up,
but Ted pushed her back down.
His shirt fell over on her face.
Was that to prevent her from seeing who was assaulting her?
Objection. Calls for a conclusion.
Sustained.
How long were you in the room?
When Ted finished, Joel undressed.
He got on top of her.
It sounded like she was crying.
Joel finished.
Ted motioned to me that it was my turn.
That's when I left.
Mr. Burnham, do you have any doubt at all in your mind
that Andrea was not consenting to have sex with the defendants?
Objection.
He has no knowledge of anyone's state of mind.
Statement of intent hearsay exception, Your Honor.
Still conclusionary, Mr. Stone.
Objection sustained.
No further questions.
Mr. Burnham, did you and the other boys stand around
and say, "Let's get Andrea to the party and rape her"?
No. We talked
about having sex with her.
Then you thought she'd be willing?
Isn't that right?
We thought, I mean, I thought...
If you planned to have sex with her,
either you assumed she'd be willing
or she'd have to be raped.
Which is it?
We thought she wouldn't mind.
Wouldn't mind having intercourse with your two friends?
Why would you think that, Mr. Burnham?
I guess because of her reputation.
Objection. Miss Fermi is not on trial here.
Sustained.
Let me ask the witness directly.
Did you believe she wouldn't mind
because she told you she wouldn't?
I misunderstood her. I...
There was no misunderstanding in your pretrial statement.
Are these your words?
"I said, 'if you want to take on the whole house
"I can arrange it.'
She laughed and said, 'Go ahead.'"
I said later, I knew she didn't mean that.
This was after entering into a plea bargain agreement
with the district attorney's office?
I was sorry for what happened--
for having lied, for having hurt Andrea.
I loved her.
Just one more question.
If you thought she was being raped,
why didn't you try to stop it?
I don't know.
Ted and Joel were my friends.
I don't know.
No more questions, Your Honor.
Redirect, Your Honor?
JUDGE: Briefly, Mr. Stone.
Mr. Burnham, the night of the party, did Andrea
do or say anything to you
to indicate that she wanted to have sex
with the defendants?
No.
Never.
Thank you.
I had been drinking for maybe an hour.
Do you recall entering the defendant's room?
It's all hazy.
I remember sitting next to Ted
on the couch,
and he held a bottle of Scotch up to my mouth.
Do you remember
being forced to have intercourse?
Just in flashes.
I'd blacked out.
I remember trying to leave the room once,
and somebody pulled me back in.
And the room was dark,
and I was on the floor,
and it was happening.
What was happening, Miss Fermi?
Somebody on top of me...
...inside me.
And then, somebody else.
And I tried to push them off.
I said, "Please, no,"
but they wouldn't stop.
And something fell over my face, and I couldn't breathe.
And I passed out.
Thank you.
No further questions.
Miss Fermi, we've heard testimony that you consumed
seven to ten ounces of alcohol.
Have you ever had that much before in an evening?
Yes.
Can you normally walk and talk clearly
when you've consumed that much liquor?
I passed out that night.
So between the time
that you had a normal moment with the defendants
and the time you regained consciousness,
you can't really say what happened, can you?
I've already said what I can remember.
Isn't it possible you indicated a desire to have sex
with the defendants?
I hardly knew them,
and what I knew of them, I did not like.
Can you swear
that in the interim between
their perfectly acceptable behavior of the defendants
and the time you claim to have been assaulted,
you gave no indication that you would have sex with them?
I told you, I didn't know...
Yes or no, Miss Fermi.
Can you swear to it?
I cannot believe that I would have done that.
Isn't it possible
you might have forgotten you consented,
and in a moment of panic, thought you were being raped?
If you think
that a woman doesn't know when she's being raped,
I hope you never find out how wrong you are.
She was well-prepped.
At least you're still in the ring.
She was good; she could have been turned against herself.
She's about to be.
Andrea slept with someone else the night before the party--
an old boyfriend.
They call him tomorrow.
Son of a bitch.
Our engaged victim.
That's the trump card.
Call her, I want to see her.
I want to see her now.
How could they have found out about that?
They have investigators, too.
You realize you've put this entire case in jeopardy?
If you had told us,
we may have been able to work around it.
FERMI: He was lonely.
He wanted me back.
He told me how beautiful I was.
I let him kiss me.
It just happened.
You always said
that prior sexual experience wasn't relevant.
It was the night before, for God's sake.
In the jury's mind, it bears directly
on your attitude toward casual sex.
You testified that you thought you were engaged.
But it doesn't change the fact that I was raped.
Or do you think it does?
What I don't understand
is why were only two types of semen present?
It's viable for 24 hours.
Because Jimmy and I used a condom.
I always do.
No exceptions?
Never.
MAN: Mr. Hollis, you knew about this case.
Why didn't you contact either the defense or the prosecution?
Why would I? It had nothing to do with the rape.
Alleged rape.
Right.
Then I talked to the man in your office,
and I guess I realized I didn't have any choice.
Thank you.
No more questions.
Mr. Hollis, you testified
that this was an impulsive act on both your parts?
It happened pretty quick, yes.
Was any precaution taken
against disease transmission or pregnancy?
We used a condom.
So despite the passion of the moment,
you still took the time?
She insisted. She always did.
Always?
Yeah. Always.
Thank you.
Your Honor, People would like
to recall a previous witness.
Andrea always demanded that we use them.
She was fanatical about it.
So if she were voluntarily having sex with someone,
it would not be unprotected?
Objection. Calls for a conclusion.
Then, I'll rephrase the question.
Mr. Burnham, in your relationship with Miss Fermi,
who purchased the prophylactics?
I usually had them.
If I didn't, she always kept one in her purse.
Thank you. No further questions.
Concerning the defendant Joel Holder on charge of rape,
in the first degree, how does the jury find?
We find the defendant not guilty.
( observers murmuring )
Concerning the defendant Theodore Campion
on charge of rape in the first degree
how does the jury find?
We find the defendant not guilty.
Yes.
( reporters clamoring )
Miss Fermi!
Just one question.
Just tell me...
will you...
Miss Fermi, don't do this to yourself.
You did nothing wrong.
They knew what they did to me.
They knew I didn't want them to,
and that jury just told me that I'm guilty.
And they were wrong.
I went through all of this for nothing.
It may seem like that this second,
but this verdict will outrage people.
The next time... Great, thank you.
Thank you for the pep talk.
It's nice to know I performed a public service.
Miss Fermi.
The jury made a mistake, the system let you down.
I'm sorry.
So am I, Mr. Stone.
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