Conviction S1E5 - English Transcript

Good point. That is the Senegalian symbol of the river god, Buhte. That's such a crock. - What? - It's henna. Yeah, but you're still a beautiful African queen. Oh, Billy. Did I introduce you to Terrence, my boyfriend? Well, you guys have a great evening. Two shots of tequila, please. - Care to join me? - For what? A shot for starters. After that, I'm open to suggestions. - I'm Diane. - It's a pleasure, Diane. Let me guess. Grew up in Greenwich. Went to Brown. You got a few tattoos, spent a month in Amsterdam finding yourself. Now here you are, in New York City, working at a publishing house on Madison Avenue. Struggling musician from Bensonhurst. One year at Kingsborough CC. I took a shot. What can I say? - So what's your name anyway? - I'm Brad. You here all alone, Brad? No, I came with a friend. But I don't intend to leave with him. - You going to take your shot? - Maybe. You always so difficult? I'm playing hard to get. Bring yourself back to center. Extending your legs all the way forward. And slowly making your way down onto your spine. Releasing all the way into Savasana or corpse pose. And allowing your breath to move slowly in and out. Breathing in and out. Releasing your eyes. Softening your ankles and your knees. Just finding your breath. Breathing in and out. Releasing all of the muscles in your face. Detective Mooty, I'm A.D.A. Finn. What, Steele too good for early calls these days? - I'm not sure of his reasons - Got a comatose five-month-old baby. Parents say she fell off a counter. I say baloney sandwich. - Where are the parents? - Waiting room. Who's the attending physician? Senkovich. He's upstairs talking to some neurologists. - Casual Monday? - I was in Yoga class. - Kundalini or Astanga? - Astanga. Hm. Me too. My wife's got me on it. It's a miracle for my back. There's Daddy, suspect number one. - Who's the girl? - The baby's mother. And suspect number two. "Abandon all hope all ye who enter." Dante. Conviction Epîsode 1x05 - Savasana ------------------- --------------------- See you around, Billy. I'm a clerk in TB 80. Oh. Good. I, uh, thought I recognized you. Maybe I'll see you later. Yeah. All right. - Good morning. - Good morning. - Sweetie, you forgot this. - Oh thank you. - Honey, this is - Jim Steele. Oh, sure. Good to see you again. We met last year at the Christmas party. Yeah, I think that's right. - I gotta go, baby. - Oh, bye. - Have a good day. - See ya. So the eighth floor is really hounding me for those quarterly reports. We need to show an increase in volume: trials, convictions. Wall Street sure pays better than Centre Street. They don't get to spend all day with rapists and murderers. Did you catch this game last night? I turned it off at half-time. Ridiculous. It was like the word defense wasn't written into their contract. Genevieve St. John, Legal Aid ice princess. She'shot. Yeah, and apparently she's richer than God. Grandfather started the French Wal-mart or something. I hear she's a snotty, elusive ***. I know. It's awesome. Hey, Peluso. Listen, you got a second? Yeah. Hey, how's your mentee doing? Potter? He gave a three-time loser a walk on a stolen car case last week. I know. He talked to me about that. Truth is, it was a bad case. Lousy evidence, the witnesses weren't going to stand up in court. Keep an eye on him. How close? Close enough to see if he gets it. All right. Tell Steele to call me right away. It's important, okay? - Dr. Senkovich. - Yeah? I'm Assistant District Attorney Christina Finn. I'm here about the infant with the head injuries. Which one? Five-month-old. Anna Diletez. She's dead. I thought she was in a coma. She's on a ventilator in the ICU, but it's a waste of time. There's no chance at recovery. What's your diagnosis? The pediatric radiologist found dozens of tiny fractures to her skull. - Someone hit her? - Doesn't look that way. We still need to evaluate the retinal slices. You're saying it's shaken baby? Yeah, but don't quote me on it. There'll be a meeting later. You should be there. Hey, Finn, canvass turned up a neighbor who heard a girl screaming, "Stop, you're going to hurt her." - It's gotta be the dad. - Right. - You ready to sign off on a warrant? - Arrest or search? - Both. - Let me just call Steele. I don't want the parents to leave the hospital. Give me five minutes. - I can't, I'm-- - 1974. It's remembered as the year Nixon resigned. Ali beat Foreman in the Rumble in the Jungle and ABBA ruled the pop charts. But for someone else, For Leslie Doran, it was the year she was brutally *** and tortured in her own bedroom. I'd focus less on '74 and more on '06. Tough for a jury to feel that much anger over something that happened so long ago. Good point. How did they finally find this punk anyway? Applied for a gun license in Georgia a few months back. Brilliant move for a guy ducking a *** trial. - This the vic? - That's her. Leslie Doran. She's beautiful. She was anyway. Leslie. Hi. Thanks for coming by. Well, the clerk just called. Looks like your trial will start later this week. I've waited 32 years. Another few days shouldn't be a problem. Hey, I was thinking about pleading out that robbery case. NYU freshman robbed at gunpoint. This an I.D. case? I have three witnesses. The victim plus two elderly Ukrainians who have coke bottle glasses. Let me guess, the NYU student was drunk. - And ***. - What about the Ukrainians? Described the suspect as a tall chocolate man with big branches. Sounds like a plea to me. I thought maybe we could get together for dinner this week. Like a proper date. Steele, Cabot wants to see you in the conference room. Pick this up later on, okay? Two guys went at it in a bar at 72nd and 1st. The vic got beat up pretty bad. Broken nose. Eight stitches over his eye. Any witnesses? A few for the vic, few for the defendant. - Any sober? - Not really. - Anything else? - Yeah. The defendant beat the crap out of the vic's brother seven years ago. You think that's admissible? Hopefully. Get me a copy of your Molineaux memo ASAP. Sure, but why? Because I want to take a look at it. I know you're my mentor and all, but Just get me a copy. But Your Honor, this *** case should be tried under current law and not the antiquated sexist laws of 1974. But my client is entitled to the Constitutional protections in effect when alleged crime was committed. Which would unfairly impair the People's ability to try their case. I'll hear you on that, Mr. Desmond. In 1974, a woman's statement that she was *** was not enough to convict. A woman under oath could testify she was pulled into a dark alley and brutally *** at gunpoint then identify the man who did it. Yet if someone didn't actually hear her scream, see her injuries, or view the actual attack, ma'am, that ain't ***. Are you a Yankee or a Met fan? Yankee. What if I'm umping a Yankee game and in the fifth inning, I toss out the DH rule. Is that fair? I understand the parallel, Your Honor, but baseball Is it fair to change the rules of a game after it started? In this case, absolutely. Well, whether or not you agree, Mr. Desmond, I'm bound by the Constitution. So this trial will proceed under the law that was applicable in 1974. How's 1974 going? So far, not a great year for me. Try busting out that 'fro or wearing a leisure suit. Maybe the jury will give you some extra points. Not a bad idea. Hey, Diane. How you doing? - I'm good. You? - Great. Want to grab a quick lunch? Uh, I would love to, but I'm in the middle of a pretty serious *** trial and my colleague and I were just about to grab a quick cup of coffee. - I'm Diane Kastle. - Sorry. Jessica Rossi. Nice to meet you. I'll let you two talk. Guy's worst nightmare, huh? His one-nighter ends up working in the same building. I don't appreciate what you did last night. What I did? Pretending not to know me. I get it, you're turning this around on me. Clever. I'm an A.D.A. I have to be discreet about my identity in public venues. Your identity, please. - It's the truth. - That's crap. Good luck with your *** trial. Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, we're about to proceed with a termination hearing brought by St. Ann's Hospital in the case of Anna Diletez. Miss Finn, be seated. We're about to start the termination hearing. Termination hearing? - That's not something the D.A.'s office - I said have a seat. Mr. Eason, what's the hospital's position on this? Your Honor, the medical experts agree that the child should be taken off the ventilator. I've consulted with three neurologists. The consensus is the child is brain dead. The brain stem and hemispheres have flat electroencephalogram readings, meaning she's in a permanent vegetative state. There's absolutely nothing more we can do for her. You gotta keep trying, just can't stop that's our baby. Your Honor, we ask that life support be continued. - Ms. Finn. - Your Honor. What is the D.A.'s opinion on this? Your Honor, we clearly have no standing in this matter. Ms. Finn, what is your position? - I don't know what you want - Should we terminate or not? The People are in agreement with the objective medical experts. Thank you. Effective forthwith, the petition for termination of life support is granted. You can't kill my baby. It's a little late for that, son. You can't kill my baby! You can't kill my baby! Savasana. - Did you say something? - No. Don't let a hack judge use this office to cover her ***. - Stand your ground. - I tried. Why, in God's name, should we be involved in a termination hearing? I think the judge just panicked. The doctors wanted to terminate. Doctors don't have to argue a case in front of a jury. Or defend against claims that a baby's life was terminated prematurely because the D.A.'s office was hot and heavy for a homicide case. M.E. confirmed the preliminary diagnosis. Shaken baby. Arrest the father. Finn will get you a subpoena for the mother. Hey, heard about your shaken baby case. You okay? - I'm fine. - Congrats. Heard the big news. What big news? You got a date with Genevieve St. John. Oh, that. Yeah. It's not definite yet, but Let me guess. You heard she's evil. No, not evil. Just aloof, arrogant, bisexual. And the problem is? Whatever. I gotta be honest. Proving *** under 1974 law will be extremely difficult. I know that, Mr. Desmond. I testified in 1974, remember? Well, if you feel that moving forward under these circumstances might be futile, I'd understand. Are you saying that you don't want to go to trial? I could try to make a deal. Get him to plea to a lesser charge. A lesser charge? I don't want to put you through any unnecessary pain. I'll worry about my pain. You worry about convicting this animal, Scaretta. They're wrong. She fell off the counter. - It was an accident. - We're way past that, Vida. The injuries are too severe. I know you love Alonzo, but you have to tell us what happened. When do I get my baby back? She's still in the medical examiner's office. I want to say good-bye to her. You'll have a chance in a few days. I need you to tell the truth to the grand jury. Okay? Where did you first see this man? At the market. He offered to help carry my groceries, but I wanted nothing to do with him. When did you see him next? A few hours later, I was reading in bed and I heard a noise. The next thing I know, there he is him standing over me with a knife. What did the defendant do next? He climbed on the bed. He put the knife to my throat with one hand and with the other hand, he pulled off my underwear. Then he *** me. Could you please be more specific? He had *** intercourse with me. Nothing further. - You didn't scream? - Objection. Overruled. Answer the question. No, I didn't scream. You didn't try to fight him either. Not with a knife at my throat. Mr. Scaretta never cut you, did he? No. Or punch you. No. When Dr. Collingwood examined you, you weren't even crying, correct? Do I have to tolerate this? Please answer the question. Why the drop in drug-related indictments? Fewer drug-related arrests. Are you counting charges or defendants? If you want to embellish the numbers to impress the big guys on the eighth floor - You are such a bureaucrat. - Is that why we broke up? We never dated. Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot. We were just sleeping together. Something like that, yeah. - It was fun though, right? - Sure was. Then why'd I get dumped? - Jim. - I'm serious. I don't want to talk about this. No, I'm totally over it. I promise. I'm sure you are. So we never really talked about it. Why'd I get the ax? Because I met Robert and he seemed like the perfect guy. What do you mean seemed like? Are you in love with him? He's a wonderful man. - That's not what I asked. - Of course I love him. Am I sensing problems? The problem is that I have a meeting in five minutes. So Do you want to have dinner later? Sure, yeah. I'll let you know where. What's up? Close to a deal on that NYU case. Misdemeanor assault, one year probation. Sounds good. I was thinking of making my world-famous penne *** tonight. Feel like coming over? I thought I wasn't allowed in your apartment. Maybe it's time to expand the rules. I'd love to, but I'm having dinner with Alex. We're going over this whole quarterly report thing. Rain check? Yeah. Sure. Cool. Your Molineaux memo stinks. You gotta get to the point faster. Okay? And lose the prose, Tolstoy. This is a memorandum of law, not a novel. I'll take another crack at it. - Leave it on my chair tonight. - Tonight? I have dinner plans. I have hoping to get it tomorrow. Tonight. Brian, I appreciate your concern, but But what? This is my case. So if the motion isn't as succinct as you'd like That sucks. Get it? Sucks. If you file this motion as is, you'll lose. Now cancel your precious dinner and fix the *** memo. There's no question the child was forcibly shaken. There was retinal hemorrhaging caused when the eyes were slammed against the back of the sockets. Doctor, in your opinion, what caused the death of the child? The scan shows an acute subdural hematoma. A brain bleed. In lay terms, yes. Could you demonstrate the force with which the baby was shaken? The baby would have to be shaken with at least this much force. Thank you, Doctor. Our next witness will be the baby's mother, Vida Diletez. Actually, you know what, let's take a 15-minute break. Uh, Vida's mother called, said her daughter's not going to testify. What did you say? I tried to change her mind, but she hung up on me. - What do you mean tried? - 'Scuse me? Finn, a baby was killed. I'm sorry. No, trying is not good enough. You understand me? Hey, Forlini's sound good? Oh, I can't. I'm sorry. I have to get home. Is everything okay? Yeah, Robert wants to have a talk. - Sounds like fun. - It should be easy, you know. Falling in love. Committing. Getting married. You're talking about the rest of your life. There's nothing easy about that. I just always thought I'd have this feeling in my gut telling me this is it, this is the one, but I don't. Yeah, that sweet little romantic voice shuts off after awhile. Like right around the tenth *** trial. Are you telling me I should marry Robert? I am not good at these conversations. With all due respect, I'd just rather not get involved. Yeah. Good night. Tell one more timeshe either cooperates or we're charging her with homicide as well. Jim, she's probably just scared. Scared. She's laughing at us. Make this kid understand the consequences, Christina. Latest draft. I updated the case law, reworked the narrative, cut the flowery prose. - So? - It's not bad. Cheryl, my love, will you make these changes and file this in my Jensen assault case? What should the signature line read? - Peluso. - Wait, wait, wait, are you gonna It's called multitasking. You could've told me that. That's how it goes around here, rook. Look, I'm sorry, okay? Glad I could help. At least your brilliant motion won't go to waste. What do you mean? I looked through your case file this morning. I want you to plead out the bar fight and call it a day, okay? - But if I get the prior assault charge - You won't. The fight was seven years ago. Too much time has passed. Call the defense attorney and negotiate a deal. I appreciate your advice but I prefer to wait Wait until what? You lose the motion and the judge dismisses the case? No, make a deal and move on. Fungus, Mold, Asbestos. I risked my life digging up these files. Thank you. - Genevieve - Damn. She modeled while going to law school. She say yes yet? I'm getting there. How's it going with the *** case? Uh, we're dead. Judge wants to direct a not guilty verdict. It happens. But I still got a burglary charge I can prove. Burglary. Yeah, the *** clipped a $12 bracelet on his way out the door that night. - Neighbor saw him leave with it. - So? If I can get a burglary conviction, I might be able to introduce a prior *** charge at sentencing. Prior *** charge? What is this guy? Some kind of serial *** or something? Yeah. Been investigated six times. Indicted twice, but never convicted. So you're going to try to backdoor a $12 burglary into a *** conviction. Exactly. All right. You know what, good luck. You don't think I can pull it off? I just think it's a long shot. No longer than a working class mutt from Queens getting a date with Genevieve St. John. Good luck. Either you talk to the grand jury, or you'll be arrested for manslaughter. I didn't do anything wrong. Vida, has Alonzo threatened you? Has you threatened you, Miss Diletez? Alonzo loves me like I'm his own mother. You people know nothing. He supported Vida, the baby, he paid the rent. - He's a good man. - I'm sure he is. But that doesn't mean Who's going to help with Vida's new baby, huh? You? You're pregnant? Yeah. A little over two months. Vida, my boss will do everything in his power to punish the person responsible for killing your baby. If you don't help us, he'll punish you too. Who's going to help me with my new baby? I'm going to be all alone with no money. Yes or no, Vida. Yeah, I'll testify. Mr. Desmond, unless you have a witness to help corroborate the ***, I am prepared to direct a non-guilty verdict this afternoon. As you know, Your Honor, the People haven't rested yet. Do you have a witness? Yes or no. Yes. - To the ***? - To the robbery, Your Honor. The robbery. Yeah, a necklace was stolen from Ms. Doran's apartment the night she was ***. $12 piece of junk. You're kidding, right? Mrs. Doran was not only *** at knifepoint, she was robbed at knifepoint too. But you already know that because one of the indictments sets forth a robbery charge. I plan to prove that case. Well, fine. Just don't waste my time, Mr. Desmond. Your Honor, the defendant's prior assault charge should clearly be admissible under Molineaux. That was seven years ago? I understand. But there's a connective tissue here. Connective tissue? What the hell are you talking about, son? The victim in the current case is the brother of the victim in the prior case. Clearly this is not a coincidence and should be considered relevant for the purposes of intent and motive. As set forth in New York v Allen, this court stated What the hell do you mean you're not going to testify? Like I told the cops way back when. I didn't see or hear any *** that night. That broad's heels were always facing the ceiling anyway. Do you remember seeing a man running down the fire escape carrying a necklace? Cousin, that was 32 years ago. My memory's slipping. Writing checks with no money in your account is illegal, Mr. Lowry. Always has been. But I assume you're aware of that since you were arrested five times for it. I ain't helping. This isn't an invitation, understand? If you so much as hesitate on the stand, I'll indict you for perjury faster than you can write a rubber check. Given your exemplary resume, it won't be hard to put you back behind bars. You want to spend your golden years in prison, that's your call. Yo, Finny! You got a minute? What's up? I need some advice about this dinner thing with Genevieve. She sends me this e-mail. It says "let's touch base tomorrow." Is that a definite yes or does that mean let me think about it? I'm not in the mood. Whoa, what's the matter? Nothing. Is this about the baby case? I'm fine. The mother, Vida, she testify yet? Yeah, and did a pretty good job too. You got enough to indict the father? Think so. *** or manslaughter? It's up to Steele. But you think manslaughter. I think this whole thing is a horrible mess. It's not your problem. They're such a young couple and this guy Alonzo, he's working 20 hours a day. And he killed his baby. - That's not the point. - Sure it is. You worry about the victims, not the defendants. Hey. Heard about your verdict. Sorry. Even Ali lost five fights. What you talking about? I won. Got a guilty on the robbery charge. Oh, I didn't know. Um, good for you. Sorry, just heard the bad news. What can you do, right? Cheryl, you get that address yet? Don't you ever say hi? Did you get the address for Jane Banks? Yes or no? Just because you lost your damn *** case, don't be barking at me like I'm your damn cleaning lady. Mrs. Banks, I'm A.D.A. Billy Desmond. I thought I told you to leave me alone. I'm sorry. I thought you said come on up, have some hot tea, and chat about sending a *** named Anthony Scaretta to prison. Please, just five minutes. - I'm not interested. - He *** three other women. Thank you. - Homicide numbers. - Charges or defendants? Defendants. That's how I play it. I'm sorry. Where are we on the shaken baby case? Two days away from indicting the father. What about the mother? Looks like she's going to cooperate. She watched her boyfriend shake the life out of her baby. She has to answer for that. We need her as a witness. She's the only one who saw what really happened. Indict her. Keep the pressure on. I disagree. With all due respect, I don't really care. "With all due respect"? Is there a problem here? I don't appreciate being told how to run a case. It's my bureau, Jim. I know that you and Robert are having problems This has nothing to do with that, don't you understand. Don't you walk away from me. I'll here you on sentencing, Mr. Desmond. Your Honor, the defendant committed a brutal attack on Leslie Doran. My client has been acquitted on that charge. Perhaps Mr. Desmond is forgetting about that. I cannot consider the alleged *** of Ms. Doran. You know that, Counselor. But you can consider the fact the defendant has been accused of *** three separate times. And has never been charged or convicted. The defendant has been evading the law for 32 years to avoid a retrial in the present case. What is your point? This man is a serial *** hiding behind the statute of limitations and antiquated *** laws. He deserves to be punished. How can he be punished for crimes he hasn't even been charged with? Just listen to one of the victims, please. - I assume the alleged victim is present? - She is. This testimony is meaningless. There's no proof that my client ever met her let alone *** her. You can't possibly allow her I can allow her anything I want. Mr. Desmond, call your witness. Jane Banks, please step forward. Mrs. Banks, please tell the judge what the defendant did to you. Was I unclear about the motion? I know you suggested I make a deal. It was a directive, not a suggestion. - But I won. - You got lucky. What part of me winning don't you get? Nine out of ten judges would've ruled against you. And I was in front of number ten. You should've made the deal. I disagree. I understand you're looking to return indictments this week. You know I can't discuss matters pertaining to a grand jury. Well, I'd like to make a pitch for manslaughter if you're willing to listen. As long as he's got something to say. He does. I promise. I got home around 2:30 in the morning from work. Vida was home with her friends, partying. When they all left, me and Vida, we got in an argument about the drinking and the smoking that's been going on in the house. She said that she was tired of me treating her like a kid. he was sick of it. Then what? That's when Vida got mean and she told me that She told you what? She told me that the baby that's inside her stomach isn't mine. She's been seeing another guy for the past couple months. I got so mad. I mean, I love Vida. Then little Anna started crying. So I picked her up trying to quiet her down. But she kept on crying and Vida kept on screaming. So I You what? I shook her. But I swear to God I didn't mean to hurt her. I love my baby with all my heart. She's all I got. Thank you. It was a shake, not a slam that's manslaughter. - He killed a helpless infant. - He's remorseful. *** 2. Look at your file, Al. Last quarter, we had two identical cases, both manslaughter. Call me crazy. I like to go for *** when somebody kills a five-month-old infant. Me too, but it's my case and I prefer to win. You can always reduce the charge. Let's talk about this over dinner, my place. I can't tonight. I'm sorry. I have plans. Plans. Last night was a mistake. Robert and I got engaged this morning. I have good news. Judge pounded Scaretta on the robbery charge. Seven to twelve years. He *** me and he's going to prison for stealing a necklace I bought on Canal Street. Prison's prison. But I wanted the world to know this *** ruined my life. You don't need 12 people in a box to validate your pain. Your reality. That man *** you. I know that. You know that. The judge knows that. That's why he sentenced a first-time offender to seven years in prison. Thanks. Can I help you? I just heard that you won your big case. Congratulations. Thank you. You wanted to see me? Vida stopped by this morning to thank you for making an appointment for her at the Eastside Women's Clinic. She asked, I just Did you call on her behalf to make an appointment for an abortion? Yes. She needed help so I You thought that they'd fit her in if a Manhattan D.A. made the request. She asked me to make a call and I did, that's it. Do you have any idea how politically sensitive this is? Now we're going to have to voir dire jurors as to whether or not they're pro-choice because Defense is going to claim that we pushed a confused 16-year-old into terminating her pregnancy. I didn't push her to do anything. I got her an appointment, that's it. - I'm sorry. I didn't think-- - That's right, you didn't think. If you ever play social worker with a material witness again, I'll fire you. Come on, Finny. Steele threatens to fire me once a week. Go home. Get a head start on the weekend. I feel like a gigantic steak. You have any plans? Yeah. Genevieve. So I guess "touch base tomorrow" meant yes, huh? I guess so. Well, congrats. Have fun. I'll give you a call over the weekend. Maybe we'll go catch a flick or something. So I was thinking of making my world-famous Chicken a la Checca tonight. What do you think? Sorry. Going to the gym. Thanks for the offer. We could go out if you'd prefer. You know, just hang out. You know hanging out isn't part of our deal. So how's Potter doing? He's arrogant. Thinks he knows more than he does. Doesn't listen too well. But he's pretty good. So he gets it. Yeah, I think so. I should warn you, Diane, I'm not some "himbo." So showering me with gifts in return for *** favors Just open the damn thing. Admit it, you needed some help. I mean, the whole "grew up in Greenwich, went to Brown" riff is so over. To you and your big victory. To staying undefeated. Really? You've never lost a case? Never. What are you doing here? I am looking for a dinner companion. What happened to your date? She blew me off. Really? Yes. Something about her roomy from Andover flew in from Prague. - Way too many countries. - Exactly. You have that steak yet? No. Chinese. Come on. Let's go eat.