How To Get Away With Murder (2014) s05e05 Episode Script
The Worst Day Of My Life
1 Previously on How to Get Away With Murder We're gonna need you to do a psychiatric evaluation.
I just remember I wanted a slice of cake.
We get to argue our insanity defense.
Just answer the question! - Why me?! - You know what?! I'm trying to change the damn world here! Literally! Mr.
Maddox, you're now my second chair.
It's her kid, Annalise.
Her kid who was a product of rape.
- Where's her sister live? - Why do you care? So we can find out what happened.
It said your baby's alive.
Please tell me you don't believe that.
I do.
Oliver to the dance floor! Let's all call him.
He has to be close.
- Leave a message.
- Are you still here? We're gonna do a different type of case review today.
We're gonna call it an autopsy.
So let's cut open the body and see where we went wrong during the trial.
Sorry where I went wrong.
I needed to prove that my client was insane at the time that he murdered Gerald Reinhoff.
So, what was my first mistake? Really? None of you thought that I made one mistake during this trial? You screwed up with your very first decision.
You mean replacing you as second chair with Mr.
Maddox? I guess I'm talking about your second decision, then.
We have till noon tomorrow to tell the judge if we're waiving our right to a jury at Senior's trial.
So let's hash it out who votes jury, who votes judge? You always go with a judge on an insanity defense.
When have you ever known me to do what's expected? Okay, but if you start throwing terms like "volitional act" and "defect of reason" at a jury, you've already lost them.
Yeah, but this case is about emotion, making people feel what Nate Senior felt when he was losing his mind locked away in that cell.
What is the biggest pitfall - of Mr.
Maddox's strategy? - It's nice, right? - One, think about the emotion - For a bar Well, it's cheap, and it's available on the 15th.
- We should book it.
- My mom has a church retreat every year around the holidays.
I have to make sure she's free.
Do you think he'll be on our side - or the prosecution's? - For her son's wedding? Do you agree, Mr.
Walsh? I'm sorry, what was the question? Do you think Judge Coughlin will be biased against our case? I think whatever Gabriel thinks.
I agree with Mr.
Maddox, too.
So, I believe our best bet is a jury trial.
Now, it's a big swing, but your name is on the Supreme Court win, not to mention you're a likable guy.
When he wants to be.
Judges been messing with me my whole life.
I finally get to take the stand in front of my peers.
Well, that's not what we're saying.
Our case is strong, and we probably won't even need to put you on the stand.
You don't put your sane clients on the stand.
Why make it seem like that was a possibility? I tell my clients what they want to hear, and then I win, and they forget all about it.
- I'm late.
- How is she? How do you think? Frank.
You had one job! Bonnie? You asleep? I never wanted anything bad to come of this.
I mean it.
I thought I was doing this for you.
Then why tell Annalise before me? Annalise knows you the best.
I thought maybe she could help me figure out that That I kidnapped my own baby? Or that I killed him? All I was trying to do is help you.
You ripped open the part of my life that I killed myself to get past.
And I got past it.
I was good.
But now What can I do? That's the problem.
You did what you did and now I'm left with it.
It's always me that's left with it.
All right, hold up.
Bonnie.
She's probably at her boyfriend's.
Or she drove off a bridge.
Or went to Julie's and drove her off a bridge.
Where the hell'd you go? Nate's.
I'm going to sleep.
Bonnie I'm not gonna do anything stupid.
I'll hide all the razor blades.
Nate? - No, my 2L.
- Calling this late? Oh, well, he's my new favorite, so he's allowed.
- What? - Prosecution just sent over their new witness list.
- They added a new name.
- Who? You also failed to properly prepare for the prosecution's first witness.
You mean their hostile witness? I mean your client's son Nate Lahey, Junior.
You knew about his complicated history with his father, and yet you failed to grill him before he took the stand.
She did.
I was there.
Okay, well, then I guess she did a bad job considering the bomb the prosecution dropped.
How could she have seen that coming? I don't know, second chair.
I guess that was your job.
Mr.
Lahey, how old were you when you discovered your father sold drugs? - I don't recall.
- But you're not disputing the fact that you were aware that your father was a drug dealer of marijuana and crack? My pops dropped out of school when he was 16 to box professionally.
When that didn't pay the bills, there weren't a lot of other options.
When you father was living at home with you, what was his mood around the house? - Was he angry? - Objection! You can't testify to someone else's state of mind.
Sustained.
He was a boxer, though.
Must've knocked you around a bit, yeah? He was a boxer in the ring only.
Never took his work home with him.
So you're saying you felt your home was a safe place? Yes.
Your Honor, I'd like to introduce as evidence - a letter written by the witness - Objection! This letter wasn't in any of the discovery.
The letter has only just now become relevant, Your Honor.
All right, both of you up to the bench.
Now.
They buried that letter on purpose.
There was nothing she could've done.
She could've gotten it thrown out as hearsay.
Her only option was to challenge its relevance.
How is this letter relevant at all? It's written by the defendant's son.
A year before the murder in question.
This letter is permissible to show lack of accident, perhaps even motive.
It is character evidence It's character assassination, Judge.
The whole point of this exercise is to figure out where you and Professor Keating went wrong.
Why are you getting so defensive? 'Cause that's what a real lawyer does defends their client.
You're not a real lawyer.
You're just her little mini-me.
- Sit down - No.
You hid in the back of that courtroom like a baby the entire case, and now you have something to say? And you sat shotgun and let her drive this case - straight off a cliff.
- I said sit down! This is a law school not a daycare.
The judge ruled against us.
So, what could I have done next? Mr.
Lahey, you testified that you felt safe at home, but you wrote this letter to your father's Parole Board when you were 14.
Would you please read the second paragraph? "I was told to write this letter to convince you to let my pops come home.
But I don't want him to come home.
My moms and I are doing good without him, but that will all change if you believe his lies and let him out.
" "Please just know I feel safer with him behind bars.
" Thank you.
You did this on purpose, didn't you? You heard what I said on the stand.
I-I don't remember writing it.
Yeah, well I remember everything that happened after that.
I was supposed to win that parole hearing! We'll never know if that letter was the reason you lost the hearing You want to know what happened after that? Huh? I started picking fights with everybody, disrespecting the guards.
That's when they put me in the SHU.
All of this Me losing my mind, me killing that man all of this because of you and that letter.
You finished? 'Cause we still have a case to win.
Keep him away from me.
I don't want to see his face again.
You better want to, because it's his face the jury needs to see in that courtroom someone who loves you.
Otherwise you're the bastard who turned on his own son.
Professor Keating, my criticism isn't that you didn't get the letter thrown out, but that you didn't go at the witness hard enough during your cross.
How is discrediting the defendant's son, someone on our witness list, helping to win over the jury? Desperate times call for desperate measures.
A good lawyer should never be desperate.
Professor Keating lost this round because of one reason she didn't see the letter coming.
Why didn't I see it coming? You were too close to the witness.
You know, this all could've been avoided if you'd just done the research and found that letter.
Sounds like your boyfriend's job.
Uh, fiancé, and is anyone really to blame here? Yeah, the guy who wrote the letter.
We all do stupid things when we're 14.
Pretty sure he wasn't 14 when he chose to become a cop.
What does him being a cop have to do with anything? What kind of guy turns his back on his own people? Okay, none of this helps our case right now.
Exactly.
I'm going to C&G to prep for tomorrow.
Are you trying to get him to punch you? Where are you going? Oh, uh, he needs my Antitrust outline.
I'll see you guys back at the house.
Those two guys friends again? Eh, they're probably just boning.
If we're gonna do this, we need to be more discreet, and we need some ground rules.
Mm, ground rules kinda take the fun out of "Operation Slama Jama.
" Okay Rule one, no more calling it that.
Two, no work talk.
Three, no relationship talk.
Good, because that is never happening again.
Your place tonight? Think I can, uh, squeeze you in.
Great.
Have you heard anything about Bonnie? She hasn't been at work in a few days.
Are you interested in her again? No, I'm worried about her as a friend.
Mm-hmm.
I can be friends with girls, Michaela! Frank, buddy.
How's it going? Good until now.
Okay, bro, what the hell is going on? She's sick.
Uh, yeah, but what kind of sick? Because if it's serious, her boss needs to know.
So you came here as her boss? She won't answer my calls, and if that's because I freaked her out with that stupid HR form, you tell her to forget it.
I'll pass along the message.
Look, I-I want to be the one to pass along the message.
Sorry bro.
It's gotta make you feel pretty good, having your beau so smitten he's begging for your attention.
I know you're telling yourself you need to find out the truth.
But just consider the other option.
You do nothing.
'Cause you've been happy way more than I've ever seen.
But no one I mean no one, Bon, deserves to be happy more than you.
So, if you just want to pretend you never found this out, leave the past in the past, know I fully support that.
Mm.
You know what I'd do if I were you? I'd pour myself a stiff drink.
I'm good.
At least we have the psych expert on our side.
I mean, that's all we really need I lied on the stand, Annalise.
I remember writing the letter.
You were just a boy.
God knows what I said to my mother at that age Just listen.
First time I saw him in cuffs, I was pissed at the cops.
But by the second, the third, the fourth I began thinking he wasn't the good guy, they were.
So I decided to be one of them.
So at least I wouldn't end up like him.
If you beat yourself up over this, the same system that got in his head is gonna get into yours.
What if all this is for nothing? Do you think I would drag our asses all the way to the Supreme Court only to lose in Philly? We're gonna win.
All right.
Okay.
All right.
As down as we might all feel right now, I think it's important that we focus on one of the wins we had on this case.
I believe your cross of the prosecution's psych expert was an unqualified success.
Does everyone agree that I won the round against Dr.
Charmagne? I think you won.
I just don't understand how you got that intel.
Ms.
Pratt, would you like to answer that one? A good lawyer never reveals their deep throat.
She don't wanna duck me - Asher! - She just wanna show me love - She don't wanna cuff me - Open up! Mad 'cause I'm on now You can't leave me alone now Got my mama strong now What the hell? I'm working on our "Slama Jama" playlist! - See everybody want a handout - Hope you brought your backup panties! - I'm tryna get it - Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey.
This I need your help with our case.
- We said no work talk! - It's not about work.
It's about Nate.
The prosecution's putting their psychologist on the stand tomorrow, his name's Dr.
Charmagne Yeah, Dr.
Charming.
He's the most handsome, likable expert out there.
We need to discredit him.
The D.
A.
's office uses him as a psych expert all the time You do realize you're still in the doghouse with me You think I'm a heartless bitch, I understand why but your heart your heart is big and kind, - and that's why I fell for you - Stop.
Look, I have a good thing going with the D.
A.
, all right? I'm finally getting my life back on track.
And now you want me to risk that all for you and and Annalise? Just take me and Annalise out of the equation.
If Nate was the one coming to you right now, you'd do this for him.
Right? Oh, hell, no.
None of you are supposed to know where I live.
Yeah, they don't.
But since I'm the brilliant and resourceful student you mistakenly passed up on your clinic Someone in the D.
A.
's office gave you my address.
A-And I have the info you need to take down Dr.
Charming.
Dah! First, why don't you tell me what's going on with Bonnie? Nothing is going on.
Tell me what is up or no juicy intel for you.
What do you think? - What the hell is this? - Don't worry Bonnie's childhood.
And that man - It's gonna be fun.
- is her father.
Can I do anything? No, you can give her some space.
Don't tell the others, especially Miller.
- Of course not.
- Now pony up.
According to the D.
A.
's database, Senior's case is the last time Dr.
Charming is allowed to testify.
- Why? - Why do you think? Hello, Governor.
Dr.
Charmagne, do you believe that the defendant was insane on the day he killed Gerald Reinhoff? No.
No.
You mean even after spending a year in solitary? The patient files lead me to believe that Mr.
Lahey was only pretending to have delusions, uh, and hallucinations, and this is a textbook sign of malingering.
Which means? Mr.
Lahey is making up his insanity to win a "not guilty" verdict.
- Your witness.
- Dr.
Charmagne, why is your diagnosis so different from Dr.
Phillips, who declared my client insane at the time of the murder? Our field of study is not an exact science.
So not because your new boss told you to testify against my client? Uh, excuse me? Is it true that Governor Birkhead hired you as the head of the new mental health initiative? Objection.
Argumentative.
I'm showing a connection between the witness and Governor Birkhead, who was the first defendant in the class action that resulted in this trial.
Overruled.
The witness will answer.
Yes, I've been given a job with the governor.
Due to what is clearly a bribe from the Governor's office, - Objection, Your Honor.
- I move to strike - Speculation.
- this witness' testimony - from the record! - Your Honor! I am in adamant agreement with Ms.
Keating.
I instruct the jury to disregard Dr.
Charmagne's entire testimony as it is biased and lacking all credibility.
Great.
Great, yeah, yeah.
Just set them aside.
I'll be there to pick them up.
What did Annalise assign you? A precedent list and a pocket motion? Yeah, for an in limine hearing we're never gonna have.
Just so you know, you will never be able to finish that in one night.
Well, thanks for the vote of confidence.
No, that's my way of saying I'll help you.
I'll come to your place after I pick Christopher up I mean, as long as I can bring him.
Yeah.
But why would you want to help me? Well, I'm gonna be second chair pretty soon, and then I'll need your help.
Pops if you want to talk your case, Annalise should be here.
You see, uh This right here is what I'm sick of.
You telling me how I should be, Annalise telling me how I should be.
You can be mad at me, not her.
I'm mad at both of you.
We're losing this case.
- You don't know that.
- I got eyes.
I can see what that jury is thinking.
Nate, I want a chance to talk to them myself.
Trust Annalise.
This is my life.
And for just once, I want the chance to fight for myself using my words, not having somebody else call me crazy, or violent, or a liar.
Me.
I want my day in court, man.
Well, it's not me you got to convince.
Annalise sure as hell ain't gonna listen to me.
- You think she'll listen to me? - I've seen the way she looks at you.
Yeah, she'll listen to you if you try hard enough.
Please, son.
Hey.
Put together a list of every major insanity defense in the last 50 years where the defendant took the stand.
Why? Why do you think? Our client's taking the stand.
That's crazy.
Get on board.
Thanks.
Don't thank me yet.
That was kind of kind of aggro.
In a good way? Well, more in a "you made me feel like some random hook-up from Humpr" kind of way.
I'm sorry.
I guess I just got kind of lost in the moment for a second.
Or you were thinking of Annalise.
Come on.
You have every right to be pissed at her.
I mean, first, she boots you off of the Supreme Court, and now she's booting you off from the Senior case.
Are you trying to rile me up again? I want you to take all the outrage that you've been burying in sex and put it into the class action.
And for you to just quit and let her scare you away, - that's not like you.
- Well, maybe it's the new me.
Well, I don't want to marry that guy.
I want to marry the badass social justice renegade.
'Cause that's who you really are.
Uh, it's my mom.
Fingers crossed the date works.
Hi, Mom.
Every high-profile insanity defense from the '90s was won without putting the defendant on the stand.
Same thing in the '80s.
Guess the only time nutjobs testify is when they try to defend themselves.
Did you hear Gabriel say "nutjob"? That's not a very nice term to use when referring to the mentally ill.
Okay, please tell me you do not talk to him like that all the time.
Research shows that when talking to your baby and making eye contact, it helps brain development.
That way my guy won't end up being a serial killer, mnh-mnh.
Why would he become a serial killer? His dad pass down some bad genes or something? His dad's not around.
You know that.
Yeah, I know, I just I know you're a single parent.
I just wasn't sure if the father was completely out of the picture.
Well, now you know.
Your dad? Ghosted before I knew him.
But we should, uh, should get back to this.
I'll take the '70s, you take the '60s.
Oh, the but the '70s are so much juicier with the irresistible impulse test ruling of 1971.
Fine, you can have the disco years.
Mr.
Lahey, how was solitary? Get much reading done? They don't let you do no reading in there.
W-W-Which is funny enough because the lights are on 24/7.
You know, studies show that prisoners who fare the best in solitary are the ones who have a strategy to overcome it.
What was yours? I had a photo of me and my son that I snuck in.
This photo here? Yeah, that's it.
And it worked, too.
It worked until the guards took it, and then I went downhill pretty fast after that, and after a few months, all my thoughts just started smashing into one another, and, uh, I started hearing things and seeing things.
And all that's because they took my son away from me.
So, after a year in solitary, how'd you feel when they let you out? I was scared.
I wasn't used to people talking to me, you know, looking at me.
So, how would you describe the moment when your fellow inmate, Mr.
Reinhoff, a 280-pound career criminal, approached you in the yard? Well, you know, he come at me, talking smack.
So, you know, I, uh I wasn't a man at that moment.
I was a I was a bomb fixed to to explode, and I did, and I still don't know why I did, but I did, and it doesn't matter if it was him.
It was gonna be somebody because That is what the SHU did to me.
It made me very sick in my head.
And so I wasn't myself.
I am so happy you called.
- I'm sorry it took so long.
- You have to be honest.
If that stupid HR form made you freak out, just rip it up.
I need to tell you something.
You asked me about my family and why I don't talk to them.
Mm-hmm.
My father molested me and my sister.
It started when I was five, she was six.
My mother knew.
It was how they made money.
Tapes, and selling us to men.
When I was 15, I got pregnant.
I had the baby, a boy.
But my parents told me he he died.
And now I just found out he might be alive.
I'm sorry if this is too too much.
- No.
- I just don't know if now is the right time for this for me.
Hey.
Look at me.
Bonnie.
You're the bravest person I've ever met.
I mean it.
And I love you.
No matter what, I love you so much.
Mr.
Lahey, you said that the altercation began when Gerald Reinhoff began talking smack to you.
Do you remember what it was about? He said he he wanted to fight the boxer.
But on your psych evaluation, you said that you were having hallucinations at the time.
Yeah, I was.
Well, if that's the case, how is the jury supposed to believe your made-up version of events? Is it possible that you threw the first punch? I didn't.
Hm.
Maybe Joe Frazier did? He was your imaginary cell mate, right? - He's badgering the witness - The jury has a right to understand what happened that day I'm trying to tell you what happened Well, why should we believe you? I know I have a lot of problems, but I'm not stupid.
I remember.
It was the worst day of my life.
So, you knew? In the moment you knew that that was the worst day of your life? Well, that sounds like you regret what you did.
Your Honor, the counsel is testifying Agreed, cease this line of questioning But how could you feel regret if you were insane at the time? Your Honor, stop this! - Unless you're lying - That's enough, Mr.
Cox.
to push this sham of a defense I said that's enough! I insist that you hold Mr.
Cox in contempt.
He's intentionally confused a mentally ill man to manipulate his testimony.
That's grounds for So, what do we think? Do we count our client's testimony for our side or the prosecution's? The prosecution's.
The jury left that testimony believing our client knew the difference between right and wrong when he killed Reinhoff.
So you don't think I can come back from that? I think you know my answer by now.
So, what do the rest of you think? Because this moment right now is when the best lawyers prove their worth.
Closing arguments begin in three hours.
So, let's discuss how we can still win this case.
Really? You've already given up on me? No one in this room believes that I can still win this? Professor Keating.
Yes.
I think you should move for a mistrial.
You think I should throw in the towel? It's better than a guilty verdict.
Here.
During Nate Junior's cross, Cox referred to Senior as a crack dealer, but his arrest records show he was only arrested for marijuana.
Lying about crimes he didn't commit is misconduct and grounds for a mistrial.
I've already showed my hand to the State.
I'd have to build a whole new defense, and who knows if our client can even survive another trial But he is your face case.
Losing this will hurt all of your class action appeals going forward.
Okay.
So, let's take a vote.
Who agrees with Mr.
Maddox that I should move for a mistrial? The defense lied to you.
They lied.
Mr.
Lahey was a violent man before he went to jail.
So I don't want you to fall for the father-son sob story.
Instead, I want you to think of the victim who was murdered before he had the chance to start his own family.
I urge you to find the defendant guilty of the murder of Gerald Reinhoff.
Ms.
Keating? Ms.
Keating? 492,750.
That's how many minutes Nathaniel Lahey, my client, spent in a cement box smaller than a parking space.
Now, the prosecution claims that Nathaniel's time in solitary did not make him insane, even though a neutral, court-appointed doctor testified that it did.
Not to mention numerous studies that prove that solitary confinement causes severe psychological disorders.
The facts of the case are clear.
Nathaniel Lahey went into solitary confinement for less than a year, and just days after he got out, he did something he'd never done before.
He snapped.
Exploded.
He lost his mind.
Now, if you still don't think that that can happen, then I want you to put yourself in his shoes for one minute, just a fraction of the time that he spent there.
Here.
492,750 minutes, and all he heard was this.
Connor.
Hey.
Just because I didn't go for the mistrial doesn't mean it wasn't a good idea.
Okay.
Want me to tell Gabriel? Why? It was your idea.
Maddox, give this to Annalise.
- It's how she can get a mistrial.
- You can show her.
She's gonna listen to you over me right now.
It's the only way to win the case.
You're the only one who knew this case well enough to catch that detail.
Yeah, well, it doesn't matter.
- Your closing was great.
- Hopefully the jury agreed.
I shouldn't have taken you off the case.
I'm trying to say I'm sorry, Connor.
Professor Keating.
The jury's back.
My clerk's informed me the jury has reached a verdict.
- Is this true? - We have, Your Honor.
On the charge of first-degree murder, the jury finds Nathaniel Calvin Lahey - not guilty by reason of insanity.
- Yes! Oh! Ohh.
At this time, Mr.
Lahey will be remanded back to the care of the state until a suitable psychiatric facility can be found for him.
You won.
You told your story and they listened.
This was all you.
Thank you.
How will today's decision affect your appeals moving forward? I think winning is a good strategy moving forward.
Don't you? This win is nothing.
It's not even a drop in the bucket.
It's one step in a 100-mile journey in wiping out injustices in our legal system.
So let's keep working to give the invisible population in prisons the chance to tell their stories in front of a jury.
Wish I could've done more.
No, all is forgiven.
You say that now, but in a few days, - once the high's worn off? - No, are you kidding? H-How can I expect 12 strangers to forgive me and I can't forgive my own son? Huh? And this win isn't just for people behind bars.
It's a win for all people who feel like the system, our justice system, is making them go crazy.
You should be standing behind her.
But before we continue, I want to take this moment So you can get in a photo, send it to your mom.
- to thank the students in my clinic - Not my style.
for their tireless support and dedication on this case.
I know they will bring the same level of skill and commitment to our many other clients awaiting their own chance for justice.
- I also want to thank - You here to spy on me? Don't flatter yourself.
I got to talk to Annalise.
About Gabriel? What about him? As much as I wanted to believe your story that you were looking into - all the new students - That's true All I had to do is find out where he lives! Wes's building! And when I asked him how he ended up there, that some guy he "hoops with" told him about the apartment.
populations in prison Who the hell is he? in front of a jury.
Well, what does this mean for the rest of your plaintiffs? It means that the Supreme Court agrees with us.
The juries agree with us.
The only people who don't agree with us are the officials who run this state.
And I don't blame them I mean, we're the ones cleaning up their mess.
Is that a shot at Governor Birkhead? I respect Governor Birkhead.
Listen, she has a tough job.
She oversees billions of dollars, thousands of employees, and I'm just one little defense attorney that keeps beating her in court.
That can't be fun.
Bring her in.
Let's see if she's got the balls to say any of this to my face.
- Senior! - Solitary whaaaat?! To Nate Senior! You think now's a good time to tell them? - Not yet.
- Hmm, okay.
Enough whispering, you two.
You're having sex, aren't you? - Oh, God, no! - Gross-eries! Connor and I deserve to know if our best men are boning.
Uh, we're not boning.
We're planning your joint bachelor party! Operation Slama Jama! - Pew! Pew! Pew! Pew! Pew! - Pew! Pew! Pew! Pew! Pew! - No one told you to do that.
- I don't want one of those.
Well, we're doing it, and we're doing it here, because we're all poor.
So, don't be surprised if the only stripper we can afford is me.
It's gonna be this Friday, so mark your calendars.
No, my mom is coming on Friday.
Wait, what? We said no moms until the wedding.
I know, I know, but the Senior case gave me all the parent feels, and I invited your mom, too.
- I'm sorry.
- Oliver! I'm sorry.
Oh, this is gonna be the best bachelor party ever! - You know it! - Hey! Oh, I got to order more penis hats.
Where the hell are you? Frank said you weren't home.
I'm fine.
Don't worry.
Just tell me where you are.
Outside Julie's.
Don't do anything.
I'll come right there.
We can do this together.
- I'm not alone.
Ron drove me.
- What? Bonnie, we don't even know if he can handle this.
I'll call you as soon as I'm done.
I promise.
Hey.
Anyone seen my husband? Oli? Oliver.
Where the hell are you?! Oliver! If you're out here, I'm seriously gonna kill you! Oliver! Mom?
I just remember I wanted a slice of cake.
We get to argue our insanity defense.
Just answer the question! - Why me?! - You know what?! I'm trying to change the damn world here! Literally! Mr.
Maddox, you're now my second chair.
It's her kid, Annalise.
Her kid who was a product of rape.
- Where's her sister live? - Why do you care? So we can find out what happened.
It said your baby's alive.
Please tell me you don't believe that.
I do.
Oliver to the dance floor! Let's all call him.
He has to be close.
- Leave a message.
- Are you still here? We're gonna do a different type of case review today.
We're gonna call it an autopsy.
So let's cut open the body and see where we went wrong during the trial.
Sorry where I went wrong.
I needed to prove that my client was insane at the time that he murdered Gerald Reinhoff.
So, what was my first mistake? Really? None of you thought that I made one mistake during this trial? You screwed up with your very first decision.
You mean replacing you as second chair with Mr.
Maddox? I guess I'm talking about your second decision, then.
We have till noon tomorrow to tell the judge if we're waiving our right to a jury at Senior's trial.
So let's hash it out who votes jury, who votes judge? You always go with a judge on an insanity defense.
When have you ever known me to do what's expected? Okay, but if you start throwing terms like "volitional act" and "defect of reason" at a jury, you've already lost them.
Yeah, but this case is about emotion, making people feel what Nate Senior felt when he was losing his mind locked away in that cell.
What is the biggest pitfall - of Mr.
Maddox's strategy? - It's nice, right? - One, think about the emotion - For a bar Well, it's cheap, and it's available on the 15th.
- We should book it.
- My mom has a church retreat every year around the holidays.
I have to make sure she's free.
Do you think he'll be on our side - or the prosecution's? - For her son's wedding? Do you agree, Mr.
Walsh? I'm sorry, what was the question? Do you think Judge Coughlin will be biased against our case? I think whatever Gabriel thinks.
I agree with Mr.
Maddox, too.
So, I believe our best bet is a jury trial.
Now, it's a big swing, but your name is on the Supreme Court win, not to mention you're a likable guy.
When he wants to be.
Judges been messing with me my whole life.
I finally get to take the stand in front of my peers.
Well, that's not what we're saying.
Our case is strong, and we probably won't even need to put you on the stand.
You don't put your sane clients on the stand.
Why make it seem like that was a possibility? I tell my clients what they want to hear, and then I win, and they forget all about it.
- I'm late.
- How is she? How do you think? Frank.
You had one job! Bonnie? You asleep? I never wanted anything bad to come of this.
I mean it.
I thought I was doing this for you.
Then why tell Annalise before me? Annalise knows you the best.
I thought maybe she could help me figure out that That I kidnapped my own baby? Or that I killed him? All I was trying to do is help you.
You ripped open the part of my life that I killed myself to get past.
And I got past it.
I was good.
But now What can I do? That's the problem.
You did what you did and now I'm left with it.
It's always me that's left with it.
All right, hold up.
Bonnie.
She's probably at her boyfriend's.
Or she drove off a bridge.
Or went to Julie's and drove her off a bridge.
Where the hell'd you go? Nate's.
I'm going to sleep.
Bonnie I'm not gonna do anything stupid.
I'll hide all the razor blades.
Nate? - No, my 2L.
- Calling this late? Oh, well, he's my new favorite, so he's allowed.
- What? - Prosecution just sent over their new witness list.
- They added a new name.
- Who? You also failed to properly prepare for the prosecution's first witness.
You mean their hostile witness? I mean your client's son Nate Lahey, Junior.
You knew about his complicated history with his father, and yet you failed to grill him before he took the stand.
She did.
I was there.
Okay, well, then I guess she did a bad job considering the bomb the prosecution dropped.
How could she have seen that coming? I don't know, second chair.
I guess that was your job.
Mr.
Lahey, how old were you when you discovered your father sold drugs? - I don't recall.
- But you're not disputing the fact that you were aware that your father was a drug dealer of marijuana and crack? My pops dropped out of school when he was 16 to box professionally.
When that didn't pay the bills, there weren't a lot of other options.
When you father was living at home with you, what was his mood around the house? - Was he angry? - Objection! You can't testify to someone else's state of mind.
Sustained.
He was a boxer, though.
Must've knocked you around a bit, yeah? He was a boxer in the ring only.
Never took his work home with him.
So you're saying you felt your home was a safe place? Yes.
Your Honor, I'd like to introduce as evidence - a letter written by the witness - Objection! This letter wasn't in any of the discovery.
The letter has only just now become relevant, Your Honor.
All right, both of you up to the bench.
Now.
They buried that letter on purpose.
There was nothing she could've done.
She could've gotten it thrown out as hearsay.
Her only option was to challenge its relevance.
How is this letter relevant at all? It's written by the defendant's son.
A year before the murder in question.
This letter is permissible to show lack of accident, perhaps even motive.
It is character evidence It's character assassination, Judge.
The whole point of this exercise is to figure out where you and Professor Keating went wrong.
Why are you getting so defensive? 'Cause that's what a real lawyer does defends their client.
You're not a real lawyer.
You're just her little mini-me.
- Sit down - No.
You hid in the back of that courtroom like a baby the entire case, and now you have something to say? And you sat shotgun and let her drive this case - straight off a cliff.
- I said sit down! This is a law school not a daycare.
The judge ruled against us.
So, what could I have done next? Mr.
Lahey, you testified that you felt safe at home, but you wrote this letter to your father's Parole Board when you were 14.
Would you please read the second paragraph? "I was told to write this letter to convince you to let my pops come home.
But I don't want him to come home.
My moms and I are doing good without him, but that will all change if you believe his lies and let him out.
" "Please just know I feel safer with him behind bars.
" Thank you.
You did this on purpose, didn't you? You heard what I said on the stand.
I-I don't remember writing it.
Yeah, well I remember everything that happened after that.
I was supposed to win that parole hearing! We'll never know if that letter was the reason you lost the hearing You want to know what happened after that? Huh? I started picking fights with everybody, disrespecting the guards.
That's when they put me in the SHU.
All of this Me losing my mind, me killing that man all of this because of you and that letter.
You finished? 'Cause we still have a case to win.
Keep him away from me.
I don't want to see his face again.
You better want to, because it's his face the jury needs to see in that courtroom someone who loves you.
Otherwise you're the bastard who turned on his own son.
Professor Keating, my criticism isn't that you didn't get the letter thrown out, but that you didn't go at the witness hard enough during your cross.
How is discrediting the defendant's son, someone on our witness list, helping to win over the jury? Desperate times call for desperate measures.
A good lawyer should never be desperate.
Professor Keating lost this round because of one reason she didn't see the letter coming.
Why didn't I see it coming? You were too close to the witness.
You know, this all could've been avoided if you'd just done the research and found that letter.
Sounds like your boyfriend's job.
Uh, fiancé, and is anyone really to blame here? Yeah, the guy who wrote the letter.
We all do stupid things when we're 14.
Pretty sure he wasn't 14 when he chose to become a cop.
What does him being a cop have to do with anything? What kind of guy turns his back on his own people? Okay, none of this helps our case right now.
Exactly.
I'm going to C&G to prep for tomorrow.
Are you trying to get him to punch you? Where are you going? Oh, uh, he needs my Antitrust outline.
I'll see you guys back at the house.
Those two guys friends again? Eh, they're probably just boning.
If we're gonna do this, we need to be more discreet, and we need some ground rules.
Mm, ground rules kinda take the fun out of "Operation Slama Jama.
" Okay Rule one, no more calling it that.
Two, no work talk.
Three, no relationship talk.
Good, because that is never happening again.
Your place tonight? Think I can, uh, squeeze you in.
Great.
Have you heard anything about Bonnie? She hasn't been at work in a few days.
Are you interested in her again? No, I'm worried about her as a friend.
Mm-hmm.
I can be friends with girls, Michaela! Frank, buddy.
How's it going? Good until now.
Okay, bro, what the hell is going on? She's sick.
Uh, yeah, but what kind of sick? Because if it's serious, her boss needs to know.
So you came here as her boss? She won't answer my calls, and if that's because I freaked her out with that stupid HR form, you tell her to forget it.
I'll pass along the message.
Look, I-I want to be the one to pass along the message.
Sorry bro.
It's gotta make you feel pretty good, having your beau so smitten he's begging for your attention.
I know you're telling yourself you need to find out the truth.
But just consider the other option.
You do nothing.
'Cause you've been happy way more than I've ever seen.
But no one I mean no one, Bon, deserves to be happy more than you.
So, if you just want to pretend you never found this out, leave the past in the past, know I fully support that.
Mm.
You know what I'd do if I were you? I'd pour myself a stiff drink.
I'm good.
At least we have the psych expert on our side.
I mean, that's all we really need I lied on the stand, Annalise.
I remember writing the letter.
You were just a boy.
God knows what I said to my mother at that age Just listen.
First time I saw him in cuffs, I was pissed at the cops.
But by the second, the third, the fourth I began thinking he wasn't the good guy, they were.
So I decided to be one of them.
So at least I wouldn't end up like him.
If you beat yourself up over this, the same system that got in his head is gonna get into yours.
What if all this is for nothing? Do you think I would drag our asses all the way to the Supreme Court only to lose in Philly? We're gonna win.
All right.
Okay.
All right.
As down as we might all feel right now, I think it's important that we focus on one of the wins we had on this case.
I believe your cross of the prosecution's psych expert was an unqualified success.
Does everyone agree that I won the round against Dr.
Charmagne? I think you won.
I just don't understand how you got that intel.
Ms.
Pratt, would you like to answer that one? A good lawyer never reveals their deep throat.
She don't wanna duck me - Asher! - She just wanna show me love - She don't wanna cuff me - Open up! Mad 'cause I'm on now You can't leave me alone now Got my mama strong now What the hell? I'm working on our "Slama Jama" playlist! - See everybody want a handout - Hope you brought your backup panties! - I'm tryna get it - Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey.
This I need your help with our case.
- We said no work talk! - It's not about work.
It's about Nate.
The prosecution's putting their psychologist on the stand tomorrow, his name's Dr.
Charmagne Yeah, Dr.
Charming.
He's the most handsome, likable expert out there.
We need to discredit him.
The D.
A.
's office uses him as a psych expert all the time You do realize you're still in the doghouse with me You think I'm a heartless bitch, I understand why but your heart your heart is big and kind, - and that's why I fell for you - Stop.
Look, I have a good thing going with the D.
A.
, all right? I'm finally getting my life back on track.
And now you want me to risk that all for you and and Annalise? Just take me and Annalise out of the equation.
If Nate was the one coming to you right now, you'd do this for him.
Right? Oh, hell, no.
None of you are supposed to know where I live.
Yeah, they don't.
But since I'm the brilliant and resourceful student you mistakenly passed up on your clinic Someone in the D.
A.
's office gave you my address.
A-And I have the info you need to take down Dr.
Charming.
Dah! First, why don't you tell me what's going on with Bonnie? Nothing is going on.
Tell me what is up or no juicy intel for you.
What do you think? - What the hell is this? - Don't worry Bonnie's childhood.
And that man - It's gonna be fun.
- is her father.
Can I do anything? No, you can give her some space.
Don't tell the others, especially Miller.
- Of course not.
- Now pony up.
According to the D.
A.
's database, Senior's case is the last time Dr.
Charming is allowed to testify.
- Why? - Why do you think? Hello, Governor.
Dr.
Charmagne, do you believe that the defendant was insane on the day he killed Gerald Reinhoff? No.
No.
You mean even after spending a year in solitary? The patient files lead me to believe that Mr.
Lahey was only pretending to have delusions, uh, and hallucinations, and this is a textbook sign of malingering.
Which means? Mr.
Lahey is making up his insanity to win a "not guilty" verdict.
- Your witness.
- Dr.
Charmagne, why is your diagnosis so different from Dr.
Phillips, who declared my client insane at the time of the murder? Our field of study is not an exact science.
So not because your new boss told you to testify against my client? Uh, excuse me? Is it true that Governor Birkhead hired you as the head of the new mental health initiative? Objection.
Argumentative.
I'm showing a connection between the witness and Governor Birkhead, who was the first defendant in the class action that resulted in this trial.
Overruled.
The witness will answer.
Yes, I've been given a job with the governor.
Due to what is clearly a bribe from the Governor's office, - Objection, Your Honor.
- I move to strike - Speculation.
- this witness' testimony - from the record! - Your Honor! I am in adamant agreement with Ms.
Keating.
I instruct the jury to disregard Dr.
Charmagne's entire testimony as it is biased and lacking all credibility.
Great.
Great, yeah, yeah.
Just set them aside.
I'll be there to pick them up.
What did Annalise assign you? A precedent list and a pocket motion? Yeah, for an in limine hearing we're never gonna have.
Just so you know, you will never be able to finish that in one night.
Well, thanks for the vote of confidence.
No, that's my way of saying I'll help you.
I'll come to your place after I pick Christopher up I mean, as long as I can bring him.
Yeah.
But why would you want to help me? Well, I'm gonna be second chair pretty soon, and then I'll need your help.
Pops if you want to talk your case, Annalise should be here.
You see, uh This right here is what I'm sick of.
You telling me how I should be, Annalise telling me how I should be.
You can be mad at me, not her.
I'm mad at both of you.
We're losing this case.
- You don't know that.
- I got eyes.
I can see what that jury is thinking.
Nate, I want a chance to talk to them myself.
Trust Annalise.
This is my life.
And for just once, I want the chance to fight for myself using my words, not having somebody else call me crazy, or violent, or a liar.
Me.
I want my day in court, man.
Well, it's not me you got to convince.
Annalise sure as hell ain't gonna listen to me.
- You think she'll listen to me? - I've seen the way she looks at you.
Yeah, she'll listen to you if you try hard enough.
Please, son.
Hey.
Put together a list of every major insanity defense in the last 50 years where the defendant took the stand.
Why? Why do you think? Our client's taking the stand.
That's crazy.
Get on board.
Thanks.
Don't thank me yet.
That was kind of kind of aggro.
In a good way? Well, more in a "you made me feel like some random hook-up from Humpr" kind of way.
I'm sorry.
I guess I just got kind of lost in the moment for a second.
Or you were thinking of Annalise.
Come on.
You have every right to be pissed at her.
I mean, first, she boots you off of the Supreme Court, and now she's booting you off from the Senior case.
Are you trying to rile me up again? I want you to take all the outrage that you've been burying in sex and put it into the class action.
And for you to just quit and let her scare you away, - that's not like you.
- Well, maybe it's the new me.
Well, I don't want to marry that guy.
I want to marry the badass social justice renegade.
'Cause that's who you really are.
Uh, it's my mom.
Fingers crossed the date works.
Hi, Mom.
Every high-profile insanity defense from the '90s was won without putting the defendant on the stand.
Same thing in the '80s.
Guess the only time nutjobs testify is when they try to defend themselves.
Did you hear Gabriel say "nutjob"? That's not a very nice term to use when referring to the mentally ill.
Okay, please tell me you do not talk to him like that all the time.
Research shows that when talking to your baby and making eye contact, it helps brain development.
That way my guy won't end up being a serial killer, mnh-mnh.
Why would he become a serial killer? His dad pass down some bad genes or something? His dad's not around.
You know that.
Yeah, I know, I just I know you're a single parent.
I just wasn't sure if the father was completely out of the picture.
Well, now you know.
Your dad? Ghosted before I knew him.
But we should, uh, should get back to this.
I'll take the '70s, you take the '60s.
Oh, the but the '70s are so much juicier with the irresistible impulse test ruling of 1971.
Fine, you can have the disco years.
Mr.
Lahey, how was solitary? Get much reading done? They don't let you do no reading in there.
W-W-Which is funny enough because the lights are on 24/7.
You know, studies show that prisoners who fare the best in solitary are the ones who have a strategy to overcome it.
What was yours? I had a photo of me and my son that I snuck in.
This photo here? Yeah, that's it.
And it worked, too.
It worked until the guards took it, and then I went downhill pretty fast after that, and after a few months, all my thoughts just started smashing into one another, and, uh, I started hearing things and seeing things.
And all that's because they took my son away from me.
So, after a year in solitary, how'd you feel when they let you out? I was scared.
I wasn't used to people talking to me, you know, looking at me.
So, how would you describe the moment when your fellow inmate, Mr.
Reinhoff, a 280-pound career criminal, approached you in the yard? Well, you know, he come at me, talking smack.
So, you know, I, uh I wasn't a man at that moment.
I was a I was a bomb fixed to to explode, and I did, and I still don't know why I did, but I did, and it doesn't matter if it was him.
It was gonna be somebody because That is what the SHU did to me.
It made me very sick in my head.
And so I wasn't myself.
I am so happy you called.
- I'm sorry it took so long.
- You have to be honest.
If that stupid HR form made you freak out, just rip it up.
I need to tell you something.
You asked me about my family and why I don't talk to them.
Mm-hmm.
My father molested me and my sister.
It started when I was five, she was six.
My mother knew.
It was how they made money.
Tapes, and selling us to men.
When I was 15, I got pregnant.
I had the baby, a boy.
But my parents told me he he died.
And now I just found out he might be alive.
I'm sorry if this is too too much.
- No.
- I just don't know if now is the right time for this for me.
Hey.
Look at me.
Bonnie.
You're the bravest person I've ever met.
I mean it.
And I love you.
No matter what, I love you so much.
Mr.
Lahey, you said that the altercation began when Gerald Reinhoff began talking smack to you.
Do you remember what it was about? He said he he wanted to fight the boxer.
But on your psych evaluation, you said that you were having hallucinations at the time.
Yeah, I was.
Well, if that's the case, how is the jury supposed to believe your made-up version of events? Is it possible that you threw the first punch? I didn't.
Hm.
Maybe Joe Frazier did? He was your imaginary cell mate, right? - He's badgering the witness - The jury has a right to understand what happened that day I'm trying to tell you what happened Well, why should we believe you? I know I have a lot of problems, but I'm not stupid.
I remember.
It was the worst day of my life.
So, you knew? In the moment you knew that that was the worst day of your life? Well, that sounds like you regret what you did.
Your Honor, the counsel is testifying Agreed, cease this line of questioning But how could you feel regret if you were insane at the time? Your Honor, stop this! - Unless you're lying - That's enough, Mr.
Cox.
to push this sham of a defense I said that's enough! I insist that you hold Mr.
Cox in contempt.
He's intentionally confused a mentally ill man to manipulate his testimony.
That's grounds for So, what do we think? Do we count our client's testimony for our side or the prosecution's? The prosecution's.
The jury left that testimony believing our client knew the difference between right and wrong when he killed Reinhoff.
So you don't think I can come back from that? I think you know my answer by now.
So, what do the rest of you think? Because this moment right now is when the best lawyers prove their worth.
Closing arguments begin in three hours.
So, let's discuss how we can still win this case.
Really? You've already given up on me? No one in this room believes that I can still win this? Professor Keating.
Yes.
I think you should move for a mistrial.
You think I should throw in the towel? It's better than a guilty verdict.
Here.
During Nate Junior's cross, Cox referred to Senior as a crack dealer, but his arrest records show he was only arrested for marijuana.
Lying about crimes he didn't commit is misconduct and grounds for a mistrial.
I've already showed my hand to the State.
I'd have to build a whole new defense, and who knows if our client can even survive another trial But he is your face case.
Losing this will hurt all of your class action appeals going forward.
Okay.
So, let's take a vote.
Who agrees with Mr.
Maddox that I should move for a mistrial? The defense lied to you.
They lied.
Mr.
Lahey was a violent man before he went to jail.
So I don't want you to fall for the father-son sob story.
Instead, I want you to think of the victim who was murdered before he had the chance to start his own family.
I urge you to find the defendant guilty of the murder of Gerald Reinhoff.
Ms.
Keating? Ms.
Keating? 492,750.
That's how many minutes Nathaniel Lahey, my client, spent in a cement box smaller than a parking space.
Now, the prosecution claims that Nathaniel's time in solitary did not make him insane, even though a neutral, court-appointed doctor testified that it did.
Not to mention numerous studies that prove that solitary confinement causes severe psychological disorders.
The facts of the case are clear.
Nathaniel Lahey went into solitary confinement for less than a year, and just days after he got out, he did something he'd never done before.
He snapped.
Exploded.
He lost his mind.
Now, if you still don't think that that can happen, then I want you to put yourself in his shoes for one minute, just a fraction of the time that he spent there.
Here.
492,750 minutes, and all he heard was this.
Connor.
Hey.
Just because I didn't go for the mistrial doesn't mean it wasn't a good idea.
Okay.
Want me to tell Gabriel? Why? It was your idea.
Maddox, give this to Annalise.
- It's how she can get a mistrial.
- You can show her.
She's gonna listen to you over me right now.
It's the only way to win the case.
You're the only one who knew this case well enough to catch that detail.
Yeah, well, it doesn't matter.
- Your closing was great.
- Hopefully the jury agreed.
I shouldn't have taken you off the case.
I'm trying to say I'm sorry, Connor.
Professor Keating.
The jury's back.
My clerk's informed me the jury has reached a verdict.
- Is this true? - We have, Your Honor.
On the charge of first-degree murder, the jury finds Nathaniel Calvin Lahey - not guilty by reason of insanity.
- Yes! Oh! Ohh.
At this time, Mr.
Lahey will be remanded back to the care of the state until a suitable psychiatric facility can be found for him.
You won.
You told your story and they listened.
This was all you.
Thank you.
How will today's decision affect your appeals moving forward? I think winning is a good strategy moving forward.
Don't you? This win is nothing.
It's not even a drop in the bucket.
It's one step in a 100-mile journey in wiping out injustices in our legal system.
So let's keep working to give the invisible population in prisons the chance to tell their stories in front of a jury.
Wish I could've done more.
No, all is forgiven.
You say that now, but in a few days, - once the high's worn off? - No, are you kidding? H-How can I expect 12 strangers to forgive me and I can't forgive my own son? Huh? And this win isn't just for people behind bars.
It's a win for all people who feel like the system, our justice system, is making them go crazy.
You should be standing behind her.
But before we continue, I want to take this moment So you can get in a photo, send it to your mom.
- to thank the students in my clinic - Not my style.
for their tireless support and dedication on this case.
I know they will bring the same level of skill and commitment to our many other clients awaiting their own chance for justice.
- I also want to thank - You here to spy on me? Don't flatter yourself.
I got to talk to Annalise.
About Gabriel? What about him? As much as I wanted to believe your story that you were looking into - all the new students - That's true All I had to do is find out where he lives! Wes's building! And when I asked him how he ended up there, that some guy he "hoops with" told him about the apartment.
populations in prison Who the hell is he? in front of a jury.
Well, what does this mean for the rest of your plaintiffs? It means that the Supreme Court agrees with us.
The juries agree with us.
The only people who don't agree with us are the officials who run this state.
And I don't blame them I mean, we're the ones cleaning up their mess.
Is that a shot at Governor Birkhead? I respect Governor Birkhead.
Listen, she has a tough job.
She oversees billions of dollars, thousands of employees, and I'm just one little defense attorney that keeps beating her in court.
That can't be fun.
Bring her in.
Let's see if she's got the balls to say any of this to my face.
- Senior! - Solitary whaaaat?! To Nate Senior! You think now's a good time to tell them? - Not yet.
- Hmm, okay.
Enough whispering, you two.
You're having sex, aren't you? - Oh, God, no! - Gross-eries! Connor and I deserve to know if our best men are boning.
Uh, we're not boning.
We're planning your joint bachelor party! Operation Slama Jama! - Pew! Pew! Pew! Pew! Pew! - Pew! Pew! Pew! Pew! Pew! - No one told you to do that.
- I don't want one of those.
Well, we're doing it, and we're doing it here, because we're all poor.
So, don't be surprised if the only stripper we can afford is me.
It's gonna be this Friday, so mark your calendars.
No, my mom is coming on Friday.
Wait, what? We said no moms until the wedding.
I know, I know, but the Senior case gave me all the parent feels, and I invited your mom, too.
- I'm sorry.
- Oliver! I'm sorry.
Oh, this is gonna be the best bachelor party ever! - You know it! - Hey! Oh, I got to order more penis hats.
Where the hell are you? Frank said you weren't home.
I'm fine.
Don't worry.
Just tell me where you are.
Outside Julie's.
Don't do anything.
I'll come right there.
We can do this together.
- I'm not alone.
Ron drove me.
- What? Bonnie, we don't even know if he can handle this.
I'll call you as soon as I'm done.
I promise.
Hey.
Anyone seen my husband? Oli? Oliver.
Where the hell are you?! Oliver! If you're out here, I'm seriously gonna kill you! Oliver! Mom?