Thanks for picking me up from work.
No problem.
Do me a favor, little brother.
Pull over up there. I need to cash my paycheck.
You think it's still open? It's kind of late.
Trust me, it's open.
Just pull over.
And wait in the car.
♪ So there's no reason ♪
♪ That a man and another man can't elope ♪
♪ But if you feel like I feel, I got the antidote... ♪
♪ Hey, must be the money... ♪
♪ I met you ♪
♪ I think I dreamed you ♪
♪ Into life ♪
♪ I knew I loved you ♪
Just drive, man. Just go.
♪ Before I met you ♪
What are you doing? Go fast.
♪ I have been waiting all my life ♪
♪ Ooh ♪
You okay?
Just drive, man.
Just drive.
(BIRDS CHIRPING)
Dad, these expire today.
It's fine, honey.
Come on.
I wouldn't feed you spoiled meat.
Mom told me you used to cut mold off food and eat around it.
Well, maybe when I was a kid.
And I turned out okay, didn't I?
(LAUGHS)
(DOORBELL RINGS)
Kristen, the door!
(DOORBELL RINGS)
Afternoon, ma'am.
We're looking for George Brown.
I think you must have the wrong house.
Nobody named George Brown lives here.
George Brown?
Are you addressing me?
My name's James Grayson.
Yeah, I'm sure you're right, Mr. Grayson.
Mix-ups happen all the time. Could I trouble you
to come down to the local police station with us
so we can clear this up?
I was barbecuing out back.
- I mean, is this important? - Actually, we have
an arrest warrant for George Brown
for a murder in Staten Island.
Thing is, all the authorities involved think he lives here.
I think they think he's you.
Pretty sure you're gonna want to come with us and clear this up.
Look, I-I don't know what's going on,
but he's not George Brown.
He's Jim Grayson. James Grayson.
Ma'am, I'd like you to lower your voice and back up.
Mr. Grayson, you have a nice family here.
You live in a nice neighborhood.
Don't make me come back with sirens and lights and...
Let's just clear this up.
Are you sure they know
we're just here to file a motion?
We've been sitting here over an hour.
Yeah, I've spoken to everybody.
They all know why we're here.
The next arraignment is for George Brown.
The defendant doesn't have a lawyer. Mr. Colón.
Would you be so kind
as to stand in for Mr. Brown's arraignment?
I love the way they make it sound like you have a choice.
(CHUCKLES) Yeah.
I'd be, uh, happy to, Your Honor.
Okay, uh...
any family members here for George Brown?
I'm his wife.
I didn't know judges could just assign lawyers like that.
Are you our lawyer now?
No. No, I'm just standing in
until your husband gets his own attorney.
We only have a few minutes
to try to argue bail.
Is your husband employed?
If so, where?
Uh, what's your family life like? Does he have any friends?
Yes. He owns a restaurant.
He's a devoted father. We have three kids.
He's in a bowling league. What else can I tell you?
We just need to establish that he has roots in the community.
They want to make sure he's not a flight risk.
So, the police arrested your husband
after looking for this murderer for 18 years?
Mrs. Grayson, it doesn't seem
like the kind of thing they would do baselessly.
I don't know what to tell you.
I haven't slept for two days.
I just want my husband to come home.
Look, my kids just want their dad to come home.
(MOUTHS)
Are you my lawyer?
For the purpose of this brief hearing.
How bad is it?
It's pretty bad.
You're being charged with a count of felony murder.
You're looking at 25 years to life.
But all I did was drive a car.
Please state your name for the court record.
George Brown.
JUDGE: How do you plead?
BENNY: Your Honor, we'd like to enter a plea of not guilty.
George Brown is a family man, father of three,
community volunteer,
small business owner,
and he employs seven people in New Jersey.
PELUSO: Your Honor, 18 years ago,
George Brown was the getaway driver
in a robbery at a Fast Cash Express check cashing store.
His coconspirator and older brother,
Richard Brown, held up a 25-year-old man
by the name of Kirk Getty at gunpoint.
He tied him up, gagged him,
and Mr. Getty asphyxiated to death.
The older Mr. Brown stole $8,000 and fled the scene of the crime.
George Brown drove the getaway vehicle.
Police arrested Richard, or Rick,
a short while later.
He was captured on tape calling George
to tell him where the stolen money was hidden
and to take the money and flee.
And apparently started a new life as Jim Grayson.
- Did you know he had a brother? - No. No. No.
George Brown has been a fugitive from justice
for 18 years, Your Honor.
His fingerprints,
lifted from the gun used in the robbery,
were in the system
and finally flagged in New Jersey a few days ago.
He's clearly a flight risk.
And that is why we are strenuously requesting
that the Court deny Mr. Brown bail.
So ordered.
The defendant is remanded into custody.
I'm so sorry.
So, what happens now?
Now you need to find a good criminal lawyer,
someone who knows their way around felony murder.
And where do we find one of those?
When I get back to my office, I'll e-mail you a few names.
And what about the two of you?
Have you ever defended someone charged with felony murder?
Yes.
And did you win?
Yes.
So why don't we start with you.
After the fantastic job we just did for you here?
Apparently, he's been making them look like fools
for almost 20 years.
I don't think Johnnie Cochran could have gotten him off.
We own a restaurant.
We can pay you.
Just meet with him.
Listen to his side of the story.
And then if it's not for you...
I'll give him ten minutes.
Thank you. Thank you so much.
This is my boss, Dr. Jason Bull.
Your wife wanted us to meet with you,
hear your story, and see if we might
want to be of help to you.
How's she doing?
About as well as can be expected
given that after ten years of marriage,
she just found out she doesn't really know you.
She doesn't know your real name.
You want to tell us how you got here?
It's not much of a story.
I was 18 years old.
My older brother had a DUI,
so I was driving him home from work.
He was a janitor.
2:00 to 10:00 at the mall.
He said he wanted to go to this check cashing place.
Did you go inside?
I think I actually fell asleep in the car waiting.
I had no idea he was planning on robbing the place.
And what happened after that?
Right after? A lot of nothing.
Went about my life. I went to school the next day.
Came home. He wasn't there.
Figured he was at work.
But then I went to pick him up, and he never came to the car.
He was under arrest?
Turns out he had gagged
the guy behind the counter,
but couldn't tie the gag with his gloves on,
so he took them off.
Once they had his prints, it was all over.
And they picked him up at the mall.
I, of course, knew none of this.
Finally, Rick calls me a couple days later from jail.
Tells me where the money is. Tells me to take it and run.
So, if all you did was drive the car,
and if you didn't even know what your brother did
when he was inside the check cashing store,
why did he tell you to run?
Why didn't you go to the authorities,
tell them your story?
Rick told me the public defender told him
they were about to put out a warrant for my arrest.
They were convinced we were in it together.
Something called a joint venture.
Ah. In which case,
even though you were only the getaway driver,
in the eyes of the law,
you're as guilty as the person who held the gun.
And since someone died, everyone's charged with murder.
Hmm.
So now you're on the run.
(EXHALES)
Moved around New England for about a year.
Slept in bus stations.
Didn't talk to anyone.
And then I met a guy selling drugs in the bus station
who told me he could get me
a dead person's Social Security number for $350.
And Jim Grayson was born.
Stupid.
I went to renew my liquor license
about a month ago.
They asked for my prints.
I didn't think a thing about it.
Pretty sure that's what did me in.
BENNY: Mrs. Grayson?
So, that was an awfully long ten minutes.
How's he doing?
(CHUCKLES)
That's funny.
He asked the exact same question about you.
My sense is that he is overcome
with regret and remorse,
and at the exact same time, he is angry and bitter
because any logical examination of the facts
suggests that...
he didn't really do anything.
You sound like you're on his side.
You sound like you believe him.
I guess I do.
Does that mean you'd be willing to represent him?
I guess it does.
Synced & corrected by -robtor- www.addic7ed.com
ADA Peluso. Thanks for coming by.
Dr. Bull's expecting you.
Any excuse to get out of the office.
So, I'm guessing we're all here to talk plea deal?
Well, I can't speak for you,
but Dr. Bull and I are here to talk about dismissal.
Dismissal? Well, it's good to have a dream.
(CHUCKLES)
Well, the joke's not lost on me,
but let's talk it through for a second.
No matter how you slice it,
prosecuting that man is still a moral conundrum.
After all, the primary function of our criminal justice system
is to provide deterrence, protect society,
punish people who commit crimes,
and rehabilitate criminals once we have them in custody.
Now, hasn't all of that
already been accomplished with regard to George Brown?
He's led a successful and productive life
since the robbery.
He's not a danger to society.
And he has no intention to commit another crime.
So... (CHUCKLES)
what would be the point of sending him to prison?
Dr. Bull, this trial isn't an ethics symposium.
We can't just give someone a “get out of jail free” card
for evading the law.
Come on, did you really think
I was gonna roll over for you that easily?
He's an innocent man.
Maybe he is...
and maybe he isn't.
That is why we're having a trial.
See you on the ice, gentlemen.
BULL: A man can't be found guilty
of a murder simply because it happened in his midst.
And he absolutely can't be found guilty
of a murder in which he took no part
and was not even aware.
BENNY: So that's our narrative?
We're gonna make the government prove
that George knew what was going on?
Yeah. To be held accountable for a joint venture,
George had to have known
that his brother was gonna commit armed robbery.
And he didn't know.
How in the world are we gonna prove that?
We'll start by showing the jury what kind of man he is.
And the key to that is his wife.
Chunk.
Let's get her in here.
What's important is when she is sitting in that courtroom,
that she sends the right message to the jurors.
She loves this man.
She trusts this man.
This is a good man.
All right. I'll do whatever I can
to get her in here today.
And what do we know about how and from whom
he bought this fake Social Security number?
Well, he says he met a guy at a bus station.
Says his name was Joe,
and he sold cell phones in Burlington,
which makes sense,
'cause to buy a cell phone, you have to buy a plan;
To buy a plan, you have to give the merchant
your Social Security number.
Well, at least you did back then.
Any thoughts on voir dire?
The more I think about it, the more I think
the answer lies in... generativity.
Okay, I'm out.
Yeah, me, too.
Seven years of college
and I have no idea what you're talking about.
Generativity is the concern for,
and belief in, the future.
And a commitment to the idea that no matter
how bad things may be at any given moment,
you can persevere and redeem yourself.
Let me give you an example.
Marissa.
If you say so.
I mean it as a compliment.
It's an admirable quality in a person.
So, tell me your life story.
Boil it down to what you think's relevant.
I was adopted into a wonderful family.
And meeting my birth parents
made me appreciate different ways
my life could have ended up.
But I like the way it's gone.
I worked for Homeland Security.
I developed an algorithm to try to help understand people,
which led me to you.
I have had a string of interesting relationships.
Some good, one Kyle.
But none of them broke me,
and none of them made me who I am.
You see?
Highly generative people,
they're driven to help others
for the betterment of the future,
because they see the arcs of their lives
as redemption stories.
And that's what we want.
Jurors, who no matter what the prosecution presents,
will only see a man who's changed,
making a good life out of a bad circumstance.
BENNY: So tell me,
if you lost your job today,
where would you be in five years?
I guess I'd try to find a similar position somewhere else.
And if that didn't work, well,
I'd just try and find another job.
I'd like to think I'm the captain of my own destiny.
This juror is acceptable to the defense, Your Honor.
MARISSA: This should be interesting.
Harold King was essentially homeless from the age of 13 on.
Grew up on the streets, hustling for food and money.
Finally got a legitimate job working
for a private sanitation company.
Worked there for 22 years,
till he was suddenly laid off last Christmas.
Six weeks later, his wife left him.
It's a wonder he can get out of bed.
Let me ask you a question, sir.
Would you trade your life for anyone else's?
Not a chance in hell.
Everything I've been through has made me who I am today.
I love that man.
“Mr. Palmer, you continue to confuse the law
“with some kind of game show.
“It's not about winning and losing.
It's about the search for what is right.”
A “D.” Damn it. A “D”?
(SCOFFS)
(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
Hi. I'm Kristen.
Jim's wife... uh, George's wife.
I-I just came straight from the courthouse.
Dr. Bull wanted me to do some witness prep?
Although, nobody's told me I was going to be a witness.
Oh, hi.
I'm Chunk Palmer. It's nice to meet you.
And no, you won't be going on the stand.
Not in the immediate future, at least.
Then what's the point?
We just want to make sure that you're mindful,
that even when you're sitting in the gallery,
that the jury is still watching you.
No. I know.
It's important.
It's all important.
I actually went
to go see him last night in jail.
Not a moment I ever imagined,
but I needed to know what was true and what wasn't,
about everything he's ever told me.
And he was honest about everything that mattered.
I mentioned our kids and he cried.
Do you have kids?
Yeah. One.
They're just... your everything.
And the shock of all of it,
knowing that their last names...
my last name... is made up, bought.
I got so mad.
And then he reminded me that their first names...
those were ours.
Our first baby, Malone,
before she arrived, we had no money.
And so for fun, we would go
to these minor league baseball games.
And they cost, like, two dollars a ticket.
And they had this shortstop, Malone Jackson.
And Jimmy...
George loved him.
He loves everything about baseball,
but he really loved him.
And so I loved him, too.
And when the baby came, and she was a she,
we said “so what,”
and she became Malone.
That's her.
That's Malone. (SNIFFS)
And Ella and Richard.
They're with my mom right now.
They miss him so much.
This...
how you look and feel right now,
that's what we need in the courtroom.
So, when you're sitting there,
and the prosecution is making him out
to be anything but the man you know,
remember this feeling.
It's gonna give you peace.
And it's gonna help the jury see who George really is.
Ladies and gentleman of the jury,
I am here to tell you about an innocent man,
who endured difficult circumstances
early in his life,
only to make something of himself.
My client was born George Brown,
to parents Malone and Ella Brown.
(GASPS)
Both parents were killed in a car accident
when George was only ten.
And his brother, Richard Brown,
raised him for the next eight years.
Your wife suddenly seems very upset.
BENNY: George Brown is a loving husband...
- Marissa, is Chunk there? - BENNY: A devoted father...
Did he even prepare Kristen at all?
She looks like she's about to fall apart.
I don't know what to say.
I worked with the woman for almost an hour.
Here it is online. Malone and Ella Brown.
“Fatal collision kills parents of two in Staten Island”...
Wait a second.
Did you say Malone and Ella?
Those are his parents' names?
Those are the names of their kids.
He lied to her again.
BENNY: The two boys didn't have an easy time of it,
but nonetheless, they had to do what they had to do,
- in order to get on... - Face front.
You're only making things worse.
BENNY: The older brother, Richard,
took a job as a janitor at the local mall,
and George went about
completing his high school education.
(GALLERY MURMURING)
- (DOOR CLOSES) - (SIGHS)
(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
You okay?
My children are named after parents
I never knew anything about,
and a brother-in-law I never met.
Why would he do that?
That's not a lie he needed to tell me,
and how many more of those are there?
Well, lies are funny things.
I can tell you from personal experience,
you convince yourself there's only one lie
you need to tell out of necessity.
And then the others...
the others just... happen.
It's all too much.
I know it seems that way,
but he needs you.
And tomorrow, the prosecution
is gonna begin to present its case.
And if you're not there, he has no one,
and the jury's gonna notice.
They certainly did when you left.
PELUSO: So after executing
the search warrant on the suspect's premises,
what did you find?
We found a gun under a mattress
in what we determined to be Rick Brown's bedroom
in the apartment that, uh, Rick and George Brown lived in.
- Stop looking for her. - PELUSO: Were you able
to lift fingerprints...
All you're doing is calling the jury's attention
- to the fact that she's not here. - DETECTIVE: Yes. Two sets.
Did you determine who they belonged to?
Rick Brown and the defendant, George Brown.
(GALLERY MURMURING)
(CLEARS THROAT)
(EXHALES)
You sent the gun to the crime lab.
We certainly did.
And you got my client's prints back.
We certainly did.
(GALLERY MURMURING)
(QUIETLY): Tell Chunk mission accomplished.
And thank you.
Now, just to be clear,
do these prints show you
when George Brown touched the gun?
No.
And do they reveal how he handled the gun?
I mean, I would think there's one set
of prints you typically get when someone uses a gun
and perhaps a different pattern of prints
when someone handles the gun.
Uh, picks it up, uh, to move it.
Something like that.
I suppose that's true.
Well, it's either true or it isn't, Detective.
Yes.
If someone used the gun,
the location of the prints would be different
than if somebody handled the gun.
BENNY: And would you say
that the pattern of his prints is consistent
with someone who had used the gun?
No,
I would not.
BENNY: And you've already testified
that the prints don't indicate
when my client might have handled the gun.
Isn't that correct?
Your Honor, counsel's testifying.
Overruled.
Continue, Mr. Colón.
Yes, Your Honor.
So, to sum it up,
you have my client's prints
on a gun that belonged to a man
that he had shared a home with his entire life.
Not a surprise.
The prints don't prove he used the gun
or that it was in his possession
at any time in or around the robbery.
Is that an accurate reflection of your testimony, Detective?
Yes.
No further questions, Your Honor.
How's the weather over there?
We still frozen out?
Actually, I'm starting to feel a bit of a thaw.
We picked up one green juror.
I'll take it.
And I just had a thought.
See if you can get Benny and me
two visitors' passes to Green Haven.
We'd like to sit down with Rick Brown.
(LOCK BUZZES)
Mr. Brown, my name's Dr. Jason Bull.
This is Benjamin Colón.
We're here on behalf of your brother, George Brown.
On behalf of your brother
and his wife Kristen
and their three children,
your nieces and nephew.
He's a dad? He's a...
I'm an uncle?
(EXHALES) Uh...
Wh-Where is he? Is he okay?
He's on trial for the murder of Kirk Getty.
My God.
BULL: We're trying to help your brother.
Mr. Colón is his attorney,
and I'm what they call a trial scientist.
Now, obviously, we know George's version
of what happened that night. But only you know
what went on inside the check cashing shop.
RICK: What do you want to know?
I was-was all bundled up.
Big coat.
Scarves.
Ski gloves.
It was cold.
Plus... (STAMMERS)
I knew there was a camera.
And you were armed?
I had a gun.
And it wasn't loaded.
Plus, I-I was wearing gloves.
(STAMMERS) You ever try to hold a gun
while you're wearing ski gloves?
BENNY: Wait a second.
Go back to the part where the gun wasn't loaded.
What about it? There was no reason to load it.
I wasn't planning on shooting it.
And why was that?
Because I wasn't planning on killing Kirk.
He was my friend.
Well, if you didn't plan on using the gun
and Kirk was your friend,
- what was your plan? - I was planning
on paying some bills.
I was planning on being a good brother.
George started talking about wanting to go
to cooking school after he graduated.
And I met this guy at the mall.
He worked at the Sunglass Hut.
He ended up getting a job at the check cashing place.
And he wanted to buy a motorcycle, this guy.
(STAMMERS)
We thought we were so freakin' brilliant.
Wait a second. I'm...
I'm confused.
So, your friend, how did he die?
We knew that they had cameras.
We knew we had to put on a show.
I came in there, waved the gun around,
I tied him up, put a gag in his mouth.
And then I don't know what happened.
By the time I was done,
you know, they to... they told me they think he panicked.
He threw up, choked on his own vomit.
Tell me about George.
You tell me about George.
Did he have any idea what was going on?
Not a clue. He was just...
He was my ride. That's all.
Period.
You want to make this right?
What do you mean? How?
Testify on his behalf.
I'd love to.
But who's gonna believe me?
(CHUCKLES)
You let us worry about that.
(GAVEL BANGS)
- Your brother said to say hello. - Rick?
H-How is he? Is he okay?
As okay as you can be in prison.
He feels terrible
about everything that's happening to you.
He wants to help.
So...
the court officer just informed me
that the judge wants to have a meeting in his chambers.
(SIGHS)
PELUSO: Yes,
I am asking to call a surprise witness.
But it's as much a surprise to me as it is to you, Your Honor.
We just put this piece of the puzzle together yesterday.
BENNY: Your Honor, what may or may not have happened
three years after the crime that my client is on trial for
is completely irrelevant.
I disagree. It is the very definition of relevance.
It's a subsequent bad act.
Your client used his stolen identity to commit larceny
in the state of New Hampshire.
He bought $10,000 worth of electronics at a Best Buy
with a fraudulently acquired credit card
and never paid it off.
Well, maybe he did, maybe he didn't.
Let's not forget none of this has been proven. But,
as Mr. Colón pointed out, how would credit card theft
illuminate for the jury whether or not Mr. Brown
was party to a murder?
Well, for one, it might very well suggest
a pattern of lawlessness that the jury could find compelling
as they try to wrestle with the key question here,
which is, how much did Mr. Brown actually know
about what he was doing that night?
Really, Your Honor? The possibility that my client
may have bought a TV and DVD player and never paid for it
somehow makes him a more plausible coconspirator
to murder?
Are you lecturing me, sir?
(SARCASTICALLY): Of course not, Your Honor.
I'm going to allow the witness.
But I'm calling
a recess for today to allow both sides to prepare.
PELUSO: Thank you for allowing the witness.
- And thank you for the time to prepare. - BENNY: Yes.
Thank you for the time to prepare.
You're all very welcome.
(SIGHS) Even if we do put his brother on the stand,
he's right. Who's gonna believe him?
BENNY: It's a tough story to buy into.
“My friend and I planned
“this robbery together.
“He just happened to die. And, oh,
“uh, by the way, my brother had no idea
- what we were up to”? - Not to pour salt in the wound,
but the two green jurors that we still have, they're soft.
Based on my focus group work,
it's not gonna take much to turn them red.
(KNOCKING)
I don't want to hear it!
I've had enough bad news for one day.
Too damn bad. I'm coming in.
Wow, look at all the happy faces.
(BULL SIGHS)
You come up with something to refute the charges
that George committed credit card fraud?
Although, for the life of me,
I still don't see what that has to do with this.
Cable's working on it.
I've been watching the closed circuit security tapes
of the robbery that came over with the prosecution's
latest batch of discovery materials.
Can I show you guys something?
There's no sound.
Just picture. So you got to watch carefully.
Okay, see what George's brother does after everything is done?
He's got the money.
Now, based on the time stamp, we know that,
by this time, the alarm is going off.
So he's got to be concerned that the cops are on their way.
Watch him.
He starts to head out, and then he comes back.
BENNY: Looks like he's saying something.
He's realizing something's wrong.
DANNY: See?
BULL: He's realizing
his friend is dead.
DANNY: When's the last time you heard about a robber
stopping mid-getaway to check his victim's pulse?
BENNY: So you think if we show this to a jury
after we put Rick on the stand, they'll believe
that Kirk's death was accidental?
CABLE: Yes!
I think George has an alibi.
Well, what do you mean?
Okay, on the day of the purchase,
he was nowhere near New Hampshire.
He was working as a dishwasher in a restaurant he now owns.
I just finished reaching out to his old boss, the man
he bought the restaurant from.
He has time cards and eyewitnesses.
There is no way he could have done it.
What do you think?
It's good.
I just wish it was a little more.
And I wish with all my heart it proved he had no idea
what his brother and best friend were up to that night.
Well, actually, there is a little bit more.
I tracked down the Best Buy receipts
and located all the serial numbers and identifiers
associated with the purchased items,
which were actually laptops, by the way.
Then I did a search for those.
And after all this time, I actually found one
on an archived
online auction site.
I did a little hacking
and tracked down the seller's IP address.
And it turns out
it belongs to an Emory Cochburn,
who, by the way, is in prison for insurance fraud.
- Which means...? - DANNY: Which means
whoever sold the stolen Social Security number to George
sold it at least one more time.
Looks that way.
Nice work, Cable.
I just wish
it cleared George of the crime
we were hired to defend him from.
George Brown stole the Social Security number
of the deceased, Jim Grayson,
to establish a new identity.
He then opened a credit card
at a Best Buy in Manchester, New Hampshire,
and used that card to purchase $10,000 worth of electronics
that he had no intention of ever paying for.
PELUSO: Thank you, Officer Lyden.
Officer Lyden, thank you.
Thank you for taking the time and coming
- to talk to us today. - My pleasure.
Let me ask you something.
Do you have any actual proof
that the man sitting before you here today is the same man
who fraudulently applied for a credit card
and bought these electronics?
Of course. It's the same name, same Social Security number.
What else do you need?
And what if I told you that this Jim Grayson,
also known as George Brown, was in Glen Rock, New Jersey,
hundreds of miles away at the time of the purchase,
and that someone else had bought
the same stolen Social Security number
and committed the theft that you are attributing to my client?
Well, I would say that sounds like a pretty convenient story.
Your Honor, we'd like to offer proof
of my client's alibi
in the form of time cards
and eyewitness accounts
from Mr. Brown's place of employment
at the date in question.
MARISSA: It may not be the slam dunk we need... not yet...
but these jurors are starting to warm up.
I can feel it.
The jury hasn't heard enough to acquit,
or even force a mistrial,
but they're listening to us again.
They think we have something to say,
and I'll take that any time.
Tell Cable thanks for all the hard work.
I just kept thinking about what you told us
the older brother said.
That this whole thing was really an inside job.
That no one was supposed to lose their lives.
That these guys knew each other.
And then I kept thinking about what you said.
That Rick can testify to it, but who's gonna believe him?
How do you prove it?
Yeah? So?
So I woke up and watched the tape again.
I mean, the idea of it actually woke me up.
Only this time, I watched it with that in mind.
And I think I found something.
See that?
See what?
Kirk, the friend, he puts his hands up
before Rick pulls out his gun.
You want proof it was an inside job, there it is.
You want to prove that they knew each other,
there it is.
You want to prove that no one was supposed to die that night?
Picture's worth a thousand words.
If we can prove it's an inside job with the cooperation
of an employee of the store,
technically, there's no armed robbery,
which negates the felony murder charge, which means...
George is actually innocent.
(SIGHS)
Well, what'd you get?
The mother lode, pretty much.
Although I think I did promise
- to marry the guy who got them for me. - Excellent.
Who doesn't love a good wedding?
So you're looking at call logs
between Kirk's pager and Rick's phone,
Rick's pager and Kirk's phone,
and calls between both men's phones starting in late 1999.
Then it jumps to ten exchanges per day
during the week of the robbery.
Ah. Great.
Um, go home, get some sleep.
What is your relationship to the defendant?
He's my younger brother.
And what was your relationship
to the clerk who died in the robbery...
Kirk Getty?
(SIGHS) I worked in the mall as a custodian.
Kirk sold sunglasses.
We met one night.
We hit it off.
We realized, uh, we had a lot in common.
So,
I mean, at what point did the two of you decide
to stage a robbery together?
Objection. Leading.
(GALLERY MURMURING)
My apologies, Your Honor.
Let me word it a different way.
Uh... uh, whose idea was it
to rob a check cashing place?
Well, it actually started out with Kirk. He...
You know, he wanted to buy this motorcycle.
Uh, but truthfully, within 90 seconds,
we were planning it together.
Because he worked there, he knew all the important stuff,
like combination to the safe
and what day and time to show up
when there would be the most cash there.
It really seemed like it was gonna be easy.
And-and what about your brother, George Brown?
Was he in on the planning?
No. George would never do something like that.
All he was doing that night was picking me up from work.
He didn't know why I wanted
to stop by the check cashing place.
All he wanted was to get home.
So you never planned on killing anyone?
Of course not. There were no bullets in the gun.
It was all for the security camera.
With that in mind, we'd like to enter into evidence
the security camera footage from that night,
with a particular emphasis on the time code numbers
indicated on the paperwork.
You can clearly see the victim with his hands up,
even before the witness exposes his weapon.
A clear indication that he knew exactly
what was going to happen that night.
As well as another time code,
which clearly shows the witness delaying his exit
out of the store,
so he could check on the condition of his friend
once he realized that he was in some form of distress.
Additionally, we'd like to enter into evidence phone records
that clearly indicate the prior relationship
between the witness and the victim.
(GALLERY MURMURING)
(GAVEL BANGS)
JUDGE: Order in the court, please.
Let's quiet down. Let's quiet down.
No further questions for this witness, Your Honor.
Marissa, we just hit them with all the firepower we've got.
Tell me it made a difference.
You want the good news or the bad news?
All your generative jurors finally woke up
and have gone green.
Bad news is, there's only six of them.
The other six aren't quite there yet.
Mr. Peluso, your witness.
Uh, in light of all this new information,
if it pleases the Court, I was hoping
I could request a brief recess?
This court will take a 20-minute recess.
What do you think that means?
I don't know. Maybe he's a smoker.
Maybe he's got a small bladder.
Maybe he wants to borrow some money.
I'll be right back.
It's a great system, isn't it?
You go into it thinking, “I know what's going on here.
“I know what's right.
I know where this is gonna end up”...
And then...
It's just a great system.
I think it's, like, seven-five, or five-seven.
Or maybe it's split down the middle.
- What do you think? - I think he's an innocent man.
I think you know it. I think they feel it.
Thing is, you're not gonna get 'em all, and neither am I,
which means you're staring at a mistrial,
which means you steal another year
of this guy's life while he sits in jail
waiting for his second day in court.
And his kids keep growing, and his wife keeps wondering
why she suddenly became a single parent.
And he's forced to close his business
and let his employees go.
And like I said when we first met, what's the point?
He's not a criminal.
He never was.
You really want me to go in there and ask for a dismissal?
I have people I have to answer to.
This is not an easy conversation to have.
Yeah, but the conversation you want to have
isn't happening today, so why not get this one over with?
In fact, why don't you call 'em right now?
Mr. Assistant District Attorney, you're not a stupid man.
You know you're not getting a conviction against George Brown.
Not today, not ever.
And that's with me and my team having about a week to prepare.
You put my client through another year of this hell,
and I promise you I will spend every day of that year
getting ready for the new trial.
And when we meet again, you won't know what hit you.
Now I'm gonna go back inside while you make up your mind.
Surprise me.
Your Honor?
It's a great system, isn't it?
You go into a trial thinking, “I know what's going on here.
“I know what's right.
I know where this is gonna end up.”
And then the system humbles you.
You realize you hadn't considered all the facts,
that your thinking may have been flawed.
And that incarcerating someone who almost certainly had no idea
what was going on in a building 35 feet away
while he sat in a car makes no sense.
I believe that's the case here.
And with that in mind, the district attorney's office
would like to enter a motion
to dismiss all charges against George Brown.
(GAVEL BANGS TWICE)
JUDGE: This court will accept the prosecution's motion.
The defendant is free to go.
And we thank the jury for its service.
Thank you.
I know we've never met before.
But my name is George.
My last name is Brown.
And you'd make me the happiest man in the world
if you'd marry me and make that your last name, too.
You know, I think those two have a future together.
Wait a second.
Are those tears? You crying, you big old softie?
Excuse me. I believe you're mistaken.
These are not tears.
Wasn't it Tom Hanks who famously said,
“There's no tears in trial science”?
No. I believe he was talking about chocolates.
- No reference to trial science. - Whatever.
Synced & corrected by -robtor- www.addic7ed.com