[Man Narrating] In the criminal justice system...
all defendants are innocent until proven guilty,
either by confession, plea bargain or trial byjury.
This is one of those trials.
She was in love with him.
I tried to warn her. All clichés are true.
But naiveté shouldn't be a death sentence.
Everybody in this office knows that Kurt Lascher murdered my daughter.
- You've known for 19 months. - Unfortunately, Mrs. Blaylock,
knowing and proving are very different things.
- Her blood- - Was in the car, but that's inadmissible.
You know that. It was contaminated.
So you're saying what?
A murderer gets to walk free just because he's famous?
No, I'm saying it's very difficult to convict a murderer if there's no evidence.
Well, that's why I'm here- evidence.
I found this in her trench coat pocket. It's an obstetrician's card.
There's a date on the back. It's for the day before she disappeared.
This is great. We'll look into it.
Yeah. It's not right.
I mean, can you stand there and tell me that this is right?
No.
No, I can't.
[Moaning]
- [Ringing] - [Moaning Continues]
[Ringing Continues]
What?
What time? Listen, I have an 11:00 rehearsal.
All right. All right. I'll have Roberto pick you up on the way.
And, Peter, you were supposed to make this go away.
Remember that part?
[Phone Beeps Off]
[Sighs] Who was that? My lawyer.
A little late, don't you think? Uh-huh.
He just got a phone call.
I have to surrender in the morning.
Surrender to who?
Why?
The police. They think I killed Dede Blaylock.
It's a different prosecutor- a broad with a hair up her ass.
- Just handle it. - Oh, that bitch! We agreed.
- Absolutely no press. - [People Chattering]
Back up. Give 'em some room. Give 'em some room. Back up.
Give 'em some room. Give 'em some room to get out. What happened?
- Thank you. - [Woman] How well did you know her, sir?
Can you just please let us through?
Kurt, you know I would never have agreed to this perp walk.
Shut up, Peter. She didn't call 'em.
I did. [Man] Did you kill your girlfriend, Mr. Lascher?
Did you kill your girlfriend?
[Chattering Continues]
[Man] Please, sir. Thank you.
Docket 101604, People of the State of New York versus Kurt Lascher.
Charge is murder in the second degree.
- How do you plead, Mr. Lascher? - Absolutely not guilty.
[Judge] Save the rewrites for the paying customers.
A simple declarative "not guilty" is incredibly sufficient.
- Thank you, Your Honor. - People on bail. Ms. Gaffney?
It's a murder, Your Honor. The defendant has a nine-figure net worth.
He has a Gulfstream jet that can take him out of this country at will.
We ask for remand given that he is the living definition of a flight risk.
Ray Charles could have seen that, counselor.
However, I'm loathe to remand someone when there's no body.
But I can make it expensive. Bail is set at five million dollars. Short date.
- What? - And Mr. Lascher will surrender his passport.
- [Man] Did you kill your girlfriend, Mr. Lascher? - Did you kill your girlfriend?
[Branch] Clearly a defendant who is terrified...
at the prospect of dealing with the criminal justice system.
The man is custom-tailored scum, Arthur. He's a producer, Jack.
And the reason I had you hand this case offlast year...
is because I didn't see how a jury would convict this guy...
without the blood evidence, not to mention without the body,
and I didn't want my executive assistant to lose a celebrity case at trial.
Why would I want one of my bureau chiefs?
Because it's a very strong circumstantial case, and we know he did it.
Come on, Tracey. Ajury won't know that.
Are you absolutely certain there's no way we can get the blood in?
The people at the lab told me categorically that Dede Blaylock's blood...
was in the rental car,
but couldn't swear under oath to a reasonable degree of scientific certainty.
Exactly what they said a year and a half ago.
It's circumstantial, but the circumstances are compelling.
[Kibre] Another circumstance: Her mother found...
a gynecologist's business card in one of her coats.
The doctor will testify that Dede Blaylock was pregnant.
Will this doctor testify that Kurt Lascher was the father?
[Sighs] Well, let's see if we can even indict this jerk.
Has he indicated he wants to testify before the grand jury?
Kelly gave Behrens a 19050 at the arraignment.
My guess- Behrens will say that Lascher is going to.
I'll notice him to appear - [Branch] He'll miss the date.
You'll reschedule. Lascher'll be sick. You'll get the indictment.
Which sets up a motion to dismiss for failure to give Lascher...
an adequate opportunity to testify before the G.J.
A case this big, some judges might give it to them.
- It's just delaying the inevitable. - Since when is anything...
inevitable with the law?
[Woman] Second line in. Wanda, Carrie. [Piano]
Delay? That's it? Delay?
Kurt, delay is a guilty man's best friend.
Don't you ever sit in judgment of me.
It's not my job. I'm your lawyer. You ask, and I'll answer.
[Man] Take five, people!
[Ends]
Why did the little bitch get pregnant?
[Scoffs]
Slate myself? Dede Blaylock.
She was just chasing a dream. Once Lascher started sniffing around-
- She was in love. He was in lust. - Tracey Kibre's got a hard-on for Lascher.
Kibre? I never had a case with her.
Yeah, she's tough, smart.
Hates to lose. I'm tellin' ya, I wouldn't want her after my ass.
I would have kept my mouth shut - [Salazar] You seen enough?
Yeah. Anyway, it's not our problem.
Oh? What is our problem?
To make sure Kibre's got all the evidence that's there,
reinterview everybody the homicide detectives talked to, go over all the paperwork.
Yeah, see if the precinct guys screwed up. Yeah, it happens.
You know, Lennie, I was a precinct detective before I got shot five times.
If it wasn't for this squad, I'd be on permanent disability.
- I'd be retired. - So don't kick a gift horse in the mouth.
Well, it helps pay the alimony. So who's up first?
Vic's roommate, Karen Masters.
You have any idea how many sessions it took for me to get through this?
Excuse me? With my shrink.
Your pregnant best friend goes out to dinner, and she never comes back.
Some new evidence has come up. And?
The D.A.' s going to the grand jury. They'd like you to testify.
Whoa. Nobody ever said anything about testifying.
- Wait a minute. Are you an actress? - Only when I'm not being a paralegal.
I've seen you in a commercial. You saw my Land Rover?
I knew it was some kind of car. Which one- But you were great.
You want to see my reel? I'm just kidding.
I know you're nervous about testifying, but grandjury testimony is sealed.
Nobody in the business will ever find out.
Kurt Lascher will.
I'm gonna have to think about this.
You guessin' she's an actress- That's a no-brainer.
You saw her damn commercial, and you remembered her face?
No, I got TiVo. You push the magic button, there's no commercials.
Who's next? Maître d' of the restaurant where they ate.
And Lascher's been a regular here how long?
Since you were walking a beat. Twice a week, sometimes more.
What about women? Two a week, sometimes more.
- What about this woman? - I figured this was about Dede Blaylock.
Nice girl.
Fell in love with Lascher. Not a smart thing to do.
- So she came in more than once? - Once a week for three or four months.
She used to tell me this was their place. Delusional.
The Homicide guys came around two or three times...
after she disappeared, but then nothing happened.
- What's going on? - The D.A.' s taking this to the grand jury.
- You're going to have to testify. - Oh, great.
Why don't you take us through what happened the last time she was here?
The night she disappeared? Yeah, the night she disappeared.
Well, they seemed happy. Lascher had a couple of vodkas,
and then he ordered a magnum of Cristal.
She said they had something to celebrate.
They had a magnum? They drink the whole thing?
Well, she just sipped at one glass, but he turned it into a dead soldier.
He get smashed? Lascher never got smashed.
Check that. He never looked smashed.
- He did some coke in the men's room. - Oh? How do you know that?
Because he's been doing coke in the men's room ever since I've been here.
Anyway, he came back to the table...
and sent his chauffeur home,
then tells me to get him a rental car.
- He do that often? - Try never.
Never is an absolute.
He'll testify to never? In the 12 years he's been working there,
he said he never saw Lascher send his driver home.
He didn't even know Lascher had a license.
And Dede just had the one glass of champagne? Yeah. She didn't even finish that.
I mean, she sure acted like she had a bun in the oven.
Based on the fact that Lascher made his last child support payment...
for his illegitimate son three months ago-
Seventeen and a half percent of his annual income for the last 18 years.
A pregnancy would probably really piss him off.
- No wonder he drank the whole magnum. - [Kibre] I'm probably gonna be able to get...
the grand jury to indict, but when we go to trial, we're gonna need a lot more to convict.
I want you to enhance the case.
And welcome to the squad, Detective. You're one ofJack McCoy's favorite cops.
Thanks. It's better than hanging out at the O.T.B.
- You're really worried. - I'm always worried.
They were dating for about six or seven months.
I'm not quite sure how long they were going out, because she didn't tell me when they first got together.
- And why was that? - It was Kurt Lascher.
He's notorious. Notorious. For what?
[Karen] Okay. How's this?
He's also 33 years older than Dede.
I knew she was gonna get hurt. I didn't think she was gonna get killed.
What did you say to her when she told you she was pregnant?
That I would go with her for the abortion.
And what was her response? She said she was having the baby.
- Was she upset? - She was ecstatic.
She said they'd get married, and... I lost it.
I told her she was kidding herself.
We started fighting, yelling at each other.
I left.
I never saw her again.
Thank you, Karen. Questions?
Uh- [Clears Throat]
- Mr. Duzshinsky? - Did she say...
whether she had told Lascher...
how many other men she had slept with?
What? In her life?
No, no. The week she disappeared.
- She wasn't sleeping with anyone else. - Oh, you know?
What, you are psychic too? She's an actress.
No wonder Russians hate jury trials.
Can you imagine 12 Duzshinskys trying to reach a unanimous verdict?
[Door Opens] Here it is.
Thank you.
Murder two.
You wanted enhancement? I got you enhancement.
It's all irrelevant and totally inadmissible, but it certainly enhances your perspective.
Today, Ted. Did you know that Lascher used to be an attorney?
What do you mean, used to be? He was disbarred.
In 1968, he was working for Texana Oil as a lawyer.
He drew up over 200 leases for ranchers in Oklahoma.
Every one of them had a fatal flaw in favor of the ranchers.
He quit Texana Oil and goes to work for the ranchers.
- How many of them signed up? - A hundred and eighty-one.
Contingency? Thirty percent.
It cost Texana Oil $68 million.
Sixty-eight million 1968 dollars.
22,666,000.
22,666,000 for him.
Texana Oil went after his ass.
Full ethics investigation. Disbarred.
- Why didn't they sue? - Bad publicity. They made a deal.
He surrendered his license but kept the money.
That's how he produced his first plays.
Lascher had been skating his whole life.
- Is the calendar out? - We got Anderlee.
- Amanda's my kind of judge. - I want to get the Texana Oil story out.
Don't leave any prints.
[Behrens] I've already drafted our motion to dismiss.
What grounds? You were deprived of an opportunity to testify...
and an assistant district attorney plowed ahead and voted the indictment.
All right, all right. Best case?
It should buy another 60, maybe 90 days. What?
By then it'll be almost two years since she disappeared. Oh, no. No, no.
It's out of the magazines. Out of sight, out of mind. No.
No. News management. I want to get my side out.
So you call Dominick Dunne, invite him to dinner at Alain Ducasse.
I'll buy a bottle of La Tâche. Kurt-
Peter, please. I know how to control the press.
The D.A.' s are already talking to him. There's a Vanity Fair article coming.
Oh, really? When were you planning to tell me that?
I just found out this afternoon. What's the spin?
Good-looking woman D.A. Takes on the king of Broadway.
You're fired. Excuse me?
You're fired. I need a woman.
Here's what's going on, Kurt. The fat lady's about to sing.
You're being arraigned in two days...
on a criminal charge of second degree murder.
There's gonna be a trial. Twelve people,
who probably can't even afford to go see one of your plays,
are gonna decide whether you go to prison for the next 25 years.
- You're not gonna let that happen. - If I decide to take the case.
But I'm not going to unless I know you're going to help me.
I don't care if you did it.
I'm not interested in proving you innocent, just not guilty.
I have to keep as many damaging facts away from the jury as possible.
Why am I being arraigned again? I was arraigned.
That was on a criminal complaint.
This time, it's with the trial judge who will advise you...
on the indictment and the actual charges.
You really want to know?
Yeah, I have to know.
I liked her.
We had a nice short run.
My life's an open book. I've been a bachelor for 19 years.
I'm not known for my parenting or my monogamy skills.
She walks into the Des Artistes and lays that on me?
So what did you do?
I ordered a magnum of Cristal,
thought about how to make her disappear.
You sent your driver home.
Get a rental car delivered to the restaurant.
I told her we were gonna drive up to Connecticut to celebrate.
We got in the car and headed up.
She wouldn't shut up.
So I finally I told her I'm never getting married again.
It was nothing against her, but I'd never subject anybody...
to being married to me.
And I told her she couldn't have the baby.
She flipped out.
Started yelling and screaming up the West Side Highway.
I hit her, knocked her head into the windshield frame,
and that's how the blood got in the car.
She was out cold.
So I drove up to northern Westchester,
went out to Allen Watross's place,
because I knew that there was a very deep abandoned well,
and Allen was never there during the week.
I strangled her,
threw the body down the well,
drove home.
Nobody saw me.
Obviously.
- Any other questions? - Dozens.
- Hundreds. - Fine.
- I have one. - How much?
When are Briscoe and Salazar coming in?
Tomorrow or the day after. They have four more names to reinterview.
- Is it just me, or are the cadets getting younger? - And taller.
Notice of change of counsel. Who?
Maggie Dettweiler.
I've heard she's good. Is she that good? She's better.
[Piano] Graydon set a land speed record for a cover story.
I talked to Nick. I told him all about Brunei and the sultan's party girls.
It's all in there. Good.
Unfortunately, it's the only good thing in there for us in a 3,000-word story.
Your quotes weren't. He makes you sound like Rasputin.
You may have forgotten that his daughter was murdered by her boyfriend.
And that expression- "I'd like to strangle this bitch"?
I would lose that from my physical palate.
You may have noticed that thejudge and both prosecutors are all bitches.
Why do you think you're here?
So, what's my seven-figure defense?
This is a girl who went to Brunei twice. Mm-hmm.
She spent nine months singing in Japan when she was 19.
Oh, so she's a slut. Who knows where she is? If the shoe fits.
What's the significance of the Brunei trips?
Am I missing something? You know about the sultan?
Yeah, he's, what, like the third richest guy on the planet?
He's also very generous to his friends, especially his male friends.
He flies in young girls as party favors.
Dede was there for five weeks the first time, two months the second.
- A lot of parties. - And a lot of favors.
- Is there anything else? - Japan.
- What aboutJapan? - She spent six months there when she was 19.
- Doing what? - Singing.
- She's a singer? - Not before or since.
How come this wasn't in her file? Didn't they check her passport?
Never found it. [Briscoe] And it's still valid.
And we know she doesn't mind long flights.
- Are you sure, counselor? - What? That Lascher murdered her?
That she's dead.
Is that your justice-is-blind look?
Oh, the voice that launched a thousand appeals.
- What's it like working for a Republican? - Better than working for a killer.
- Alleged killer. - Oh, yeah.
Sticks and stones may break his balls,
but I gotta insist on a victim to convict him.
Necessity is the mother of invention.
If you're talking "multi-illogical alterizations" of this crime,
let's just say Dede Blaylock didn't have a good discriminative taste in men.
Any names? Oh, yeah.
How about Michael Feltscher?
How about Sean Murray?
A road company Michael Bolton with no pipes.
How about Matt Mandebach?
A B-level producer. But there's something else.
There's something- Some actress-model-
- Oh, Amy Woodbury. - Disappeared without a trace.
That's right. [Man] A friend of mine out in Los Angeles there-
Robbery Homicide- tells me that this guy Matt Mandebach...
was and still is the main suspect in her disappearance.
- When did they go out? - When she got back from Japan.
Okay. It is not worth as much...
if we hand them the name as if they find it themselves.
They already have it.
Name and number.
Kibre does? The cops.
When they searched my house, they found her Filofax.
She was obsessive about phone numbers.
If she knew him, he's in there, especially if he was a producer.
So I'll ask for it.
They will go through every name in that book before they hand it over. Trust me.
You're batting a thousand. Excuse me?
Your case just got worse. Your vic may not even be dead,
but if she is, there's a lot better suspect in there than Kurt Lascher.
Who's that? [Briscoe] One Matt Mandebach, who was and is...
the prime suspect in the disappearance of a model...
named Amy Woodbury in L.A. Five years ago.
God Almighty!
He'd been dating Dede Blaylock right around the same time.
The cops go to question Mandebach about Amy Woodbury,
Dede Blaylock's in his apartment.
[Briscoe] It gets worse.
Don't see how it could.
Mandebach was in New York when Dede Blaylock disappeared.
You didn't know about this guy? [Kibre] The police assured me...
they'd followed up on all the physical evidence.
An address book isn't physical evidence? [Kibre] Let's not take our eyes off the prize.
Lascher did it. We know he did it.
Everything else is immaterial. Exactly.
Exactly wrong. Beyond a reasonable doubt.
I think you're gonna have trouble meeting that burden.
Are you sure you don't want to reconsider this?
- We have an indictment. - Well, an indictment doesn't mandate a trial,
especially in an election year.
If I lose, I'll resign.
I'm sure I'll find that very comforting on election day when I lose.
[Kibre] The police are checking the names in the book.
I'm just asking for additional time so they can complete their investigation.
You know, silly me. I was always under the ridiculous illusion...
that a trial was a search for the truth.
Oh, please, counselor. A trial is a search for admissible evidence.
- Your Honor- - Would you just let me rule in your favor?
- Your Honor- - Just make a copy and give it to them.
Isn't this what Xerox machines were invented for?
I really don't see how this request can be rationally turned down.
- Thank you, Your Honor. - Okay, any other alarms...
or diversions?
Great. Let's set a date forjury selection.
It's a hundred fifty thousand through the verdicts,
a hundred-thousand-dollar bonus for an acquittal, 50,000 for a hung jury.
Is he kidding?
And if you're not kidding, you must be insane.
A quarter of a million dollars for a jury consultant?
- It's a simple cost-benefit analysis. - Oh, really?
250,000, 25 years to life.
Who do you think your ideal juror is?
[Sighs]
Educated, upper middle class, older,
a theatergoer, male.
- What do you think of Mr. Lascher's profile, Lin? - It's a hundred percent wrong.
[Man] Yeah, your ideal juror is a high school graduate, middle-aged, middle-class...
married female who wants to be a theatergoer.
- You're trying the victim? - Yeah, well, we'll be pointing out...
certain character shortcomings of an extremely alluring,
missing, alleged victim who could be anywhere in the world.
Exactly. A nd who do middle-aged women despise?
Pretty girls in their 20s who go out with older men.
[Kibre] Are you familiar with the term "May-December romance,"Mrs. Phelps?
- Of course. - And how do you feel about them?
I'm sorry. Are you asking me whether I want to have one?
No, um, I'm just, uh, asking how you feel...
about them in the abstract.
Relationships are relationships. Whatever makes people happy is fine with me.
So, you would have absolutely no qualms...
about an older man going out with a much younger woman?
- It takes two to tango. - I think Ms. Kibre agrees with me. Watch.
- Thank you. - She's gone.
The People are going to excuse Mrs. Phelps, Your Honor.
[Anderlee] Jurors one, two, three,
six, seven, eight, nine, 10,
12 are excused.
Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.
[No Audible Dialogue] [Clears Throat] Sidebar, Your Honor.
It took Mr. Stotti less than an hour...
after Mr. Lascher recognized Mr. Mandebach's name...
to reach a senior commander of the L.A.P.D...
who informed him that Mr. Mandebach...
was the prime suspect in another Missing Persons case.
- The victim is also an actress. - Your Honor, I don't see what-
Go on, Ms. Dettweiler. The fact is,
is that he is a much more likely suspect than Mr. Lascher,
being that he did live and still does live...
two blocks away from the alleged victim's apartment.
- Is this true? - I have no idea where Mr. Mandebach lives, Your Honor.
Excuse me.
I'd say that could be the definition of a nonresponsive response.
- Of course they know about Mandebach. - Sit down, Mr. Lascher.
I'd say, this doesn't seem to be the N.Y.P.D.' s finest hour, Ms. Kibre.
I can't believe I missed a damn Filofax on the evidence locker list.
There were 219 items on that list.
I missed it too.
She's here, with pictures.
I just had to thank you for finally getting that bastard in front of a jury.
It's not gonna be easy to convict him. I hope you know that.
He's guilty. They'll see that.
Mrs. Blaylock, did Dede ever mention a man named Matt Mandebach?
I never heard of him. Dede told me everything.
L- I just wanted you to remember.
This is what he took.
Kurt Lascher did not take Dede Blaylock's life.
The last time he saw her, they shared a wonderful meal and a bottle of champagne.
In fact, the State will be unable to prove that she's even dead.
All they will be able to tell you is that no one has seen her for the last 18 months.
But if Dede Blaylock is dead,
the State has had information about another suspect-
a much more compelling suspect-
who was never even investigated. [Beeping]
Thank you for your attention.
How did it play?
Well, they're not crazy about the alternative killer theory.
The State has had information about another suspect-
a much more compelling suspect - who was never even investigated. [Beeping]
- I guess I'm taking that out of the opening. - But look at this.
As a matter of fact, the State will be unable to prove that she's even dead.
All they'll be able to tell you is that no one's seen her for the last 18 months. [Beeping]
I'd open with, " Ladies and gentlemen, where's the body?"
Ladies and gentlemen, where's the body?
All rise.
Give your attention, and you shall be heard.
The HonorableJudge Amanda Anderlee presiding.
No. To my personal knowledge,
Mr. Lascher never had a rental car dropped off at the restaurant.
Thank you. Oh, sorry. One last thing.
Do you think Kurt Lascher is a dangerous misogynist?
Objection, Your Honor. Calls for an opinion.
Withdrawn.
Your witness.
How long has Mr. Lascher been coming to your restaurant?
Apparently for more than 20 years, but I've only been there the past 12.
[Dettweiler] Have you seen him with other women over those years?
- [Maîter d'] Many other women. - Mm-hmm. And has Mr. Lascher...
displayed a variety of moods with those other women?
What was the 911? One of our witnesses is changing her story.
What? Who?
Briscoe and Salazar are on it.
- Have you ever see him get angry with any of those women? - Yeah.
Did he kill any of them? Objection!
- Withdrawn. - Since it's after 4:00,
we'll resume at 9:00 on Monday morning.
- [Woman] I want to see your badges. - We don't need no stinkin' badges.
What? What did you say? I said, " Yeah, people need to see our badges.' '
I told that D.A. What's her name? Gaffney?
Gaffney. I told her...
I had to speak to her about changing my testimony.
Last year, you told the detectives why you left the show-
that stuff about Lascher slapping you around.
- That's why I have to talk to the D.A.' s. - Talk about what?
I lied to those cops last year, but I can't lie under oath.
You think there's any way to get her new story in?
Not on direct. It's beyond prejudicial.
It will probably get him a mistrial.
But if we got Maggie Dettweiler to ask the wrong question-
Even if it got in, Anderlee would instruct the jury to ignore it.
It's completely irrelevant. Irrelevant?
It's the definition of irrelevance.
It's pretty hard to un-ring a bell that loud,
no matter how the judge instructs the jury.
I've got to figure out how to start pushing Maggie Dettweiler's buttons. What?
Dettweiler will never ask questions she doesn't know the answer to.
Any lawyer can be made to ask the wrong question.
[Woman] I had appeared in eight Broadway shows,
three national touring companies and six dinner theaters,
where I started in the chorus, and then I was a featured dancer-
Let's just keep it a little simpler. I'll say, " Ms. Sterba,
"you were a veteran stage dancer and singer...
"when Kurt Lascher asked you to play the lead in Separate Beds,
"but you had limited acting experience.
Is that correct?" And then you'll just say, "Yes.' '
And then I'll say, "Well, why do you think he did that?"
Because we were having an affair?
- Just make it a statement, not a question. - [Gaffney] You should lower your eyes a little.
- You know, try to look a little embarrassed. - Yeah, okay.
Then I'll say, uh, "Well, that seems like a huge career move for you.
Why did you leave the show before it opened?"
- You want the whole story? - No. No. No.
How about, "He terrorized me during rehearsals, so I left"?
He terrorized me during rehearsals, so I left.
[Kibre] Okay, just stop there,
and then you look at the jury and tell what he said to you.
- In rehearsal? - No. Don't say anything about that.
Just the threat. The way we discussed.
- He terrorized me during rehearsals, so I left. - [Mouthing Words]
And then I look at thejury.
Kurt Lascher is a monster.
Oh. [Clears Throat]
Kurt Lascher is a monster.
One night he told me that he could make me disappear, like that. [Snaps Fingers]
Thank you, Ms. Sterba.
Your witness.
You've testified that you left Separate Beds...
because Kurt Lascher terrorized you?
Among other reasons. Let's talk about those other reasons.
Isn't it true that you left because Mr. Lascher ended your affair?
No. No?
No. It was something that he told me...
that was so disturbing that it made it impossible for me to continue.
A moment, Your Honor?
Am I gonna hear something here that's gonna hurt us?
I called her a stupid cooze.
Sue me.
So your testimony is that you threw your whole career away...
because Mr. Lascher, in a moment of anger,
made a disparaging personal comment?
No. He did that every day.
The day I quit,
I was playing a woman who had been beaten by her husband.
We were rehearsing a scene. You bitch.
- Mr. Lascher. - [Sterba] Kurt told me...
that I should make the audience understand that I still loved my husband.
He said it was like when you strangle a dog.
- Your Honor- - [Sterba]Just before they die, they fall in love with you.
They look into your eyes and wag their tail.
Objection, Your Honor. [Clears Throat]
Sidebar. Overruled.
You can hardly object to the answer to your own question.
- Then I move for a mistrial. - Motion denied.
But I will instruct the jury to disregard Ms. Sterba's last statement.
You will not refer to the statement in any way or let it color your deliberations.
The People rest, Your Honor.
Pissed off voice message from Briscoe. They're 11 years back, and there's nothing.
Well, call him and remind him I said to go back 15, and do it faster.
No, it would be a huge mistake. I agree.
- And I have no choice. - It's exactly what Kibre wants.
- She could go anywhere on cross. - Just let me explain the dog thing.
I would not like to be convicted just because I wanted to manipulate...
a performance out of an untalented chorus girl.
She was pretty compelling on the stand.
Yeah, I would lose the "untalented chorus girl" descriptor.
You may be a ballbuster, but when you're right, you're right.
Fourteen years, three months. You're not only right, you're lucky too.
Oh. Lascher the dog lover.
I've loved dogs my entire life.
I grew up with 'em.
The idea that I would hurt a dog, or any animal, is ludicrous.
But you did say what Ms. Sterba said you said?
Yes, I did. I was giving her direction.
Penny Sterba is... great in bed, but she's a lousy actress.
I would have said anything to get a performance out ofher.
But an inexperienced actress, uh, confused direction with reality.
Thank you, Mr. Lascher.
Your witness.
- Let's talk some more about dogs. - Objection. Irrelevant.
- Ms. Dettweiler opened the door, Your Honor. - Overruled.
You've testified that you're a true dog lover.
- My entire life. - Then why do you kill them?
That's ridiculous.
I'd like this entered as People's 67,
but I'd like Mr. Lascher to verify its accuracy.
- I'd like to see that. - So would I. Sidebar.
This compounds other irrelevant and immaterial...
material already entered into evidence.
Again, Your Honor, I must strenuously object. And again, I must overrule.
Your client has no one to blame but himself. Step back. You may approach.
Do you recognize those documents, sir?
Oh, for God's sake.
- I take it that's a "yes"? - This is completely out of context.
[Kibre] Let the record show that the defendant...
is looking at a bill for $150...
for putting three dogs to sleep...
on May 4, 1989 in Mt. Kisco, New York.
I had just moved back to the city. These were country dogs.
They would have had to been walked on leashes.
So you killed them.
One might conclude that one of your problem-solving solutions is killing things.
Is there a question in there, Your Honor?
Your Honor, I have no more questions for New York's favorite animal lover.
Not guilty. Guilty.
Guilty. Not guilty.
Eight guilty, four not guilty. This is ridiculous.
Eight of you want to convict somebody of murder...
for euthanizing his own dogs?
Me? I'd like to give him a medal for keeping my shoes free of all dog crap.
I can't get the image ofhim strangling a dog out of my head.
- He said he was just trying to elicit a performance. - Please! W ho's kidding who?
This guy's a sociopath. And we all read that article in Vanity Fair.
State police called an hour ago.
But they found the body a week ago? Six days ago.
Home inspection of a mortgage company. The bottom of a well on an estate.
Are they sure it's Dede Blaylock?
The dental records match. We'll have the D.N.A. In the morning.
Four days late and a dollar short.
It doesn't make any difference. It's in the hands of a jury.
If they acquit, he walks.
What, your jury's still out? Five days.
Well, they, like juries all over the tristate area,
will be rendering verdicts tonight and tomorrow.
You know this. I know this.
How? Because play-offs start tomorrow.
Not guilty.
Guilty. Guilty. Eleven to one.
Please, you know in your heart he killed her.
I'm not even sure she's dead. She could be in Japan or Brunei.
She's dead, she's dead, she's dead, and Kurt Lascher did it!
Fine. Let's just pick this up in the morning.
No, no, no. Let's stay here until we get this settled.
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, have you reached a verdict?
- We have, Your Honor. - How say you?
We find the defendant, Kurt Lascher, guilty.
[Murmuring]
Thanks.
Never saw it coming. Thank God.
That was a buzzer beater. That was a three-point buzzer beater.
You convicted a guy on cruelty to animals, not evidence.
Life's a bitch. Yeah, and some days,
the one holding the scales is blind, deaf and dumb.
[Howling]