Raising the Bar (2008) s02e12 Episode Script
Beating a Dead Horse
They said you were under the bridge at 125th and the FDR, - a bunch of people doing heroin.
- They ain't get me with nothin'.
Looks like they got some other people with drugs on them.
Not me.
I ain't new.
They charged you with appearing in a public place under the influence of narcotics.
- It's just a violation.
- They arrested me and my friends, keep us sitting in here two days before we even see a judge on that? Citywide crackdown on drugs.
They're putting everyone through the system - It backs things up.
- Yeah, but they gonna just let us all go anyway, right? Even with your record, they won't hold you.
Should be time served.
Maybe a couple afternoons of substance-abuse blah blah blah.
In, out.
In, out.
Whole thing's just a waste of my time.
So, we see that judge, get out today? Yeah.
Good.
"Beating a Dead Horse" They're really gonna take me to trial? I was trying to save my horse.
You struck a policeman with your whip.
He had to have seven stitches - They don't drop those charges.
- Now, that cop, he was trying to pull me off Ophelia.
Ophelia.
Right, the horse you were beating, hence the animal-cruelty and resisting-arrest charges.
Ophelia had colic.
You got to get a horse with colic back on its feet, or it could die.
That cop wouldn't listen.
Conviction of assaulting a police officer can mean up to seven years in prison.
He goes in front of a jury.
He shows his scars I did hit him.
I did do that.
Look, all I care about is my hack license.
I'll plead to hitting the cop, to resisting.
I'll even do some time.
But my life is horses.
I'm a cabbie.
That's what we do in my family.
Help me get a plea that'll let me get a new horse for my carriage.
Please.
That's all I need.
Did you tell anyone about the colic? That night, I tried to tell everyone, but nobody would listen.
No, I know.
After your arrest.
Only you.
You said don't tell anyone, so I didn't.
Good.
Good.
Let's see what we can do.
He'll take misdemeanor assault? That's supposed to stop a trial? The guy horsewhipped a police officer in front of a street full of witnesses.
- The "d" felony's a lock.
- Hey, I'm trying to be creative.
He'll even do a little time.
Just keep the number reasonable.
Did I mention the street full of witnesses? He is not gonna look like the bad guy in a trial.
Trust me.
Come on.
The felony will cost him his hack license.
Just make it the misdemeanor.
You get your conviction.
You get a sentence.
He gets to keep his license, which is what really matters to him.
Wait, wait, wait, wait.
Let me get this straight.
You want me to knock down felony assault on a police officer, resisting arrest, animal-cruelty charges so that a guy who beat his horse to death in the middle of Manhattan can get his hack license back and get a new horse? Well, when you put it that way, it doesn't sound like you're gonna say yes.
I don't think so.
Okay.
See you in court.
Time served.
Surcharges waived.
Next case.
Docket ending 672.
People of the state of New York vs.
Cynthia Lazarre.
Charged with 240.
40 appearance in public under the influence of narcotics.
Waive the reading, not the rights.
Same raid, judge.
Same charge.
Same offer as the last five defendants time served.
- Defendant pleads guilty? - Yes, judge.
Time served.
Surcharges waived.
Next case.
Docket ending 674.
People of the state of New York vs.
Eden R'mante.
Charged with 240.
40 appearance in public under the influence of narcotics.
Roberta Gilardi.
Waive the reading, not the rights.
Same raid, judge.
Same charge.
Same offer as the other defendants? Actually, your honor.
We're not prepared to make an offer at this time.
We need to investigate this case further.
Investigate what? The facts are the same as all the other cases.
Your honor, there are additional circumstances we need to look into here.
Judge, this is a violation.
Will the court offer time served? If the people say there are additional circumstances to investigate, let them do so.
Then ROR her so she'll be out pending this investigation.
Your Honor, Miss R'mante has 9 prior arrests and 3 drug convictions in the last 18 months.
We ask for bail to ensure she doesn't take off while we're looking into things.
- Your Honor - Bail is set at $1,000 cash.
What does that mean? They're keeping me in? I ain't got no $1,000! They let everybody go but me.
They can't do that.
- Eden - I need you! Get your hands off me! - Officer, take charge.
- Don't touch me! Mark her card for medical attention.
Your Honor, I am begging you! Please! Get off me! Waive the reading, not the rights.
You can't treat a defendant differently just because she happens to be pregnant.
I'm not treating her differently because she's pregnant.
I'm simply choosing to investigate a case prior to disposition.
Oh, bullshit.
Come on.
No, you come on.
Look, just say hypothetically we have a drug addict with a long list of priors and no indication she can clean up, and she's exposing her unborn child to heroin.
I mean, if she winds up behind bars off drugs for the rest of her pregnancy, is that really such a bad thing? You can't lock someone away because of what she might do to an unborn child.
She was under a bridge shooting up with a dozen other junkies.
She is doing it.
She can get medical treatment in jail for her and her baby.
Look, just Take off your PD hat for one second and think.
As a human being what's the best thing for everyone here? The best thing is probably a good treatment program outside.
Yeah, well, I'm sure that worked great for her in the past.
She'll get a program inside.
You have no right to hold her, okay? You can investigate all you want, but we'll be back with the judge in a day or two, and the law is the law.
She's not walking.
That what you sayin'? Yeah, look, have some candy.
It helps.
But that almost never happens.
It could get sorted tomorrow.
It could take longer.
I got to get out now! You got anyone that can raise $1,000 cash for bail? Called my cousin.
She trying to get family to pitch in, but $1,000? That's a lot of cash.
She's saying maybe a week, but I can't wait.
- I know.
I know it's hard.
- You don't know! You don't.
I'm getting sick.
I got to get out.
I can't be dope sick in here.
Please.
You got to get me out.
We still on for dinner? Oh, what time is it? Uh almost 11:00.
Come on.
Edward's is open till midnight.
- Can I ask a favor? - Always.
I got Merton and Boyd both going to trial.
Roz says I'm too overloaded.
- We're all too overloaded.
- I know, right? But, apparently, there's some rule you can't have more than 115 cases pending at a time.
Ohh.
Right.
That rule.
I have to off-load a bunch of cases before the trials kick in.
Can I give you the important ones? - What do you got? - Yes.
Okay.
- Easy pleas.
Tough clients.
- Check.
This is a trial, but there's about six months worth of motions before it pops.
The only front burner is this.
Eden R'mante? Wait, wait.
You're dumping a violation? Should have been out at arraignment, but Ernhardt saw that she was pregnant and decided to keep her in.
- She said that? - She's too smart to say it, but There's no reason to hold her.
And she's hitting major withdrawal.
She needs to get out now.
She's got a cousin trying to make the bail, but it's iffy.
And it's in front of Kessler, so she's not exactly reasonable.
But Charlie is, and he's got her ear.
All right, so we need a great program, something that Kessler can't turn down without really embarrassing herself, something bulletproof.
It's 11:00 at night.
Right.
First thing tomorrow, I'm on it.
- Dinner? - Thanks.
Dessert? Absolutely.
Ernhardt.
- You spend the night here? - Actually, yes.
I thought I recognized that outfit.
Hey, McGrath, check it out.
Ernhardt pulled an all-nighter.
Someone actually cares about the work.
Yeah, boss.
The rest of us are phoning it in at 8:00 a.
m.
I'm just saying.
All-nighter.
- Hey.
What's the case? - In public under influence of narcotics.
- You stayed up all night on a violation? - Dedication, see? She's 7 months pregnant and 9 priors.
Arrested shooting heroin with a baby in her belly.
And you want to keep her in to protect the baby.
Yes.
But I cannot find one case to support it.
- Can you charge her for the drugs? - They're all tagged to other people.
I was thinking of charging assault or attempted assault on the fetus, - but the laws aren't there.
- What about endangerment? There are no laws against endangering a fetus.
- Well, there you go.
- It gets worse.
There's actually case law that says detaing a pregnant woman solely because of her drug use is unconstitutional.
What would you do, McGrath, if you cared to say up all night? Well, the law's clear.
It isn't pretty, but it's clear.
Got to cut her loose.
Which basically means letting this mother destroy her unborn baby.
I'm not saying it feels good, but we don't make the law.
We just enforce it.
Well, we're not allowed to keep her inside 'cause she pregnant and using drugs, so we can't do that.
But there are plenty of other enforcement options.
No, the law is a tool, McGrath, not a ruler.
Forget all this.
Let me show you a totally different idea.
I think you're gonna like it.
Me and my girlfriend, we come around the corner.
And I see this cabbie jumping off his carriage.
The horse is laying on the ground, collapsed.
And the guy's shouting at her.
He's screaming at the top of his lungs.
- What was he screaming? - You know, "get up! Get on your feet!" That sort of thing.
And he starts whipping it right there on the ground, over and over, cursing, calling it names.
Do you rember what names he was calling the horse as he whipped her? - Yeah.
"Old mare.
Lazy belgian.
" - He called a belgian "lazy"? Yeah, he used "lazy" a lot.
- While he was whipping her? - Yes, sir.
- How long did this go on? - I don't know.
It wasn't like one hit.
It was a lot.
I mean, he went on and on.
You said you heard the defendant screaming at the horse while he was beating her.
- Yeah.
- Was the horse making any noises? Oh, yeah.
I mean, you could hear that whip hitting.
And horse was making the most awful sounds when that whip came down, like a horse sound.
Like "whinny" you call it.
You know? But it was worse.
It was like screaming.
Yeah, it, uh It was horrible.
Thank you.
I arrived on the scene, and people were screaming for the police.
So I pushed through the crowd, and I saw this guy whipping his horse on the ground.
And he was really whaling on her.
He wouldn't stop.
It was brutal.
I'd never seen anything like it.
What did you do? I was in uniform, but I identified myself as a police officer in a clear, loud voice, and I ordered him to stop.
No.
He continued, at which point I approached him.
What did you do next? I, once again, ordered him to stop.
And I placed an arm on his shoulder, and with my right hand, I reached out for his wrist to stop the whip.
What did he do? Well, he whirled around, and he tried to whip me.
He's going for my face, too.
- I'm lucky I got my arm up in time.
- What happened? Well, his whip hit my arm full force and knocked my arm right into my face.
And at that time, the other officers arrived, tackled, and subdued the suspect.
What happened to your arm where he hit you with his whip? It was bleeding, and I got seven stitches.
I still have a scar.
What happened to the horse? Well, we called animal control and NYPD horse patrol unit, but the poor animal died before they got there.
It just died right in the street.
Thank you.
When you identified yourself as a police officer, did Mr.
Capulet say anything to you? Oh, he was screaming a lot of things.
Among those things, do you recall him telling you that the horse had colic and he had to get her on her feet? He wasn't telling me anything.
He was yelling like a madman.
So he didn't say, "this horse has colic.
We need to get it on its feet"? I told him to stop beating the horse, and he was screaming like a crazy man.
I don't recall what he was screaming.
You don't recall him saying, "she could die.
We need to get her up"? No, I do not.
Are you a mounted officer, or do you have traing in the field of horses? - No.
- No.
So you wouldn't know the proper steps to take to save a horse with colic.
And you wouldn't even know what a horse looks like in that specific distress? Well, I know what a horse looks like when it's on the ground, getting whipped.
But you don't know horses.
And you didn't listen to this horse's owner when he told you what he need to do to save his animal's life.
If anyone was an animal here, it was the perpetrator, all right.
He was out of control and would not respond to a direct request from a police officer.
He beat the horse.
He attacked me.
That's that.
Michelle.
Eden R'mante? - Isn't that Bobbi's case? - Yeah, she's got two trials coming at her.
Punted to me.
- Oh, joy.
- All right, check this out.
I spoke to a friend at the sandler center, pulled strings.
They agreed to put her in their outpatient recovery program.
- Uh, I don't think so.
- You don't think so? This is as good a program as you could get.
I'm not convinced.
Look, Michelle, from a legal standpoint, I didn't have to do any of this.
- She should have been out yesterday.
- You really think a voluntary outpatient program in the bronx and a halfway house in queens mean anything to someone with her history of drug addiction? Look, Michelle, I'm trying to make this easy.
But I've got a great package here.
Kessler will have to go for it.
I don't need you to sign off.
- We'll see, won't we? - Yes, we will.
With due respect, treatment is also available at rikers.
This is a great program.
She's never stuck with a program before.
And while we investigate the case, - we fear she's a flight risk.
- What is it exactly that you're investigating? It's ongoing.
We'll inform the court when we've completed oh, come on! Your honor, we all know what's going on here.
All I know, counselor, is the people feel she's a flight concern.
And I'm disinclined to reduce bail while there's an ongoing investigation.
All right, if you won't reduce bail, your honor, my client will plead to the docket.
Release her to the treatment program.
Verify with them that she's complying with every term and condition.
And if she's not, you can put her back in jail.
Well, your client is entitled to plead guilty.
Your honor, the people at this time will be serving a 170-20 notice that we will be pursuing this case as a felony.
What?! What felony? Details will be in the indictment when we hand it down.
Well, that certainly changes things.
And because this case is now a felony, your honor, the people ask that you increase bail.
Oh, come on.
She can't make the $1,000 bail as it is.
Then it won't matter that in light of more serious charges, the court's increasing bail to $2,500 cash.
We'll hear more after the people file.
Next case.
- You got to get me out of here.
- I'll be back there in a second.
A 170-20? Are you out of your mind? I don't feel out of my mind.
Do I seem like I'm out of my mind? You're manipulating the system to keep a woman behind bars because you don't like that she's pregnant and using.
Oh, my God.
I sound horrible.
How will I live with myself? Look, I'm not trying to destroy this woman's life.
I'll deal this out at three months.
Deal what out at three months?! What is the supposed felony charge here? Not that we're obligated to say until we file, but it'll probably be conspiracy.
Oh.
All right, yeah.
Conspiracy? We'll charge her along with the other dealers who were selling under the bridge.
All right, Michelle, you have any evidence at all for this? We're investigating, aren't we? Okay.
Come on.
You know you have no case here.
You'll never get a conviction.
Maybe so.
But your client will sit in jail for 12 to 18 months waiting for trial, or she can plead to 3 months and be out in 2.
Until she has the baby.
I didn't say that, did i? Come on, Jerry.
Don't make me take the hard line here.
Michelle, come on.
If she has the baby in jail, they'll take it away from her.
You know.
You know that the conspiracy charge is bogus.
If your client doesn't want to take the deal, we can settle the matter at trial in 12 to 16 months.
Or I can take it to the grand jury and have them kick it for the obvious crap that it is.
You want to take your pregnant, drug-addicted client to the grand jury, be my guest.
Say Wednesday, 10:30? Just talk to her.
Let her get methadone inside, medical supervision till she has the baby.
I know she won't like it, but this is the best path open to her right now.
Thanks to you.
Thanks to her! My 21st birthday, papi said it was time to get my own horse.
The whole family saved up.
We went to the stables, and there was plenty of horses.
But Ophelia we just looked at each other, and it was like we could communicate, you know? I said, "she's the one.
" We worked together from that moment on.
Most cabbies have gimmicks.
They sing or they have patter for their tourists.
For me, it was always Ophelia.
She would just look at a couple or a child, and they would want to ride with her.
And how was her health leading up to the incident? She'd been a bit sick the week before, nipping at her hindquarters, eating a bit less.
Did you check her feed? That was the first thing I did.
It was her usual, but I threw it out, just to be safe.
Got her a new bag.
I kept her in the stable, didn't let her work.
And then a few days later, she seemed better, so I took her back out.
And she was better? We worked three nights, and she was fine.
- And then that night - The night of the incident.
That night, she started breathing real heavy, nipping at her backside again.
I pulled over to the side of the street.
She She just collapsed.
And with those symptoms, what did you think was going on with Ophelia? Well, that's colic.
There's only one thing you can do for that.
You got to get the horse back on its feet.
So you hit her with your whip? A horse's hide is thick.
And if they're sick, they're not gonna want to get up.
You can't reason with them.
You got to get them up, clear the blockage.
That was the only way to save her life.
So you were trying to save Ophelia's life.
Yes.
- And what happened next? - A crowd starts to form.
I'm trying to save Ophelia, and then, suddenly, all these people are yelling, "stop beating that horse.
You're gonna kill it!" One guy threatens to punch me.
And what happened when the police officer arrived? By then, I'm pretty frantic.
All these people are screaming.
The cop gets there, and I'm like, "thank God.
Keep this crowd back.
We got to get my horse up.
" And did the officer help you keep the crowd back? No.
He says, "put the whip down and step away from the animal.
" "Animal.
" I'm trying to save her life, and he just says, "step away from the animal.
" - Did you step away? - I told him.
I said, "my horse has colic.
We got to get her to her feet, or she'll die.
" - Did he help you get Ophelia to her feet? - No.
He grabbed me, tries to pull the whip out of my hand.
This is the only thing that I have to save my horse's life.
I push back.
I didn't mean to hurt him.
I just I didn't want to let her die! - You didn't mean to hurt Officer Gafferty.
- No.
- But you did hit him.
- I guess so.
You guess so? Well, you heard his testimony.
You saw his scar.
You were there.
- I was focused on saving my horse.
- With your whip.
Yes.
Could you please tell the court, what is this whip made of? - Leather.
- It's actually steel and leather, isn't that right? The handle and the top of the crop have steel under the leather, yes.
And how long is this steel-and-leather whip? 5 feet.
So, when Officer Gafferty told you to stop beating your horse and step away, you responded by hitting him with a 5-foot, steel-and-leather whip.
I didn't mean to.
I just wanted them all to let me get my horse up.
Thank you.
Do you have a particular specialty in your practice? I specialize in large animals, specifically horses.
And as a specialist, if you saw a horse nipping at her hindquarters, breathing heavily, and then collapsing, would there be a particular diagnosis that might jump out? Anyone experienced with horses would suspect colic right away.
And as a veterinary doctor, could you tell us what one would do to help a horse in that circumstance? If a horse is collapsed, the immediate danger is a blockage that can't clear.
- You have to get the horse on its feet.
- How would one do that? isn't gonna want to get up, so you use your whip.
But doesn't whipping hurt the horse? So does slicing open a person's throat, but that doesn't stop a doctor from performing an emergency tracheotomy.
Medicine can be invasive and painful, but we do what we have to do to save lives.
So, in your medical opinion, Mr.
Capulet was doing everything he could to save Ophelia.
Absolutely.
And the crowd and police officer who tried to stop him? I'm sure that they thought they were doing good.
But when they stopped an experienced horseman from treating his animal, well, those do-gooders are probably the reason that horse died.
Isn't it right to protect an unborn child? Yeah, but how far do we go with that? Do we put women in jail if they drink wine? - What if they smoke? - Or don't take prenatal vitamins? I'm okay with drawing the line at shooting heroin.
What about constitutional rights, subverting the system to keep someone in jail? We all know that if the baby's born in custody, it's gonna get taken away from her.
Oh, have you seen this woman's sheet? I mean, it's not just drugs.
It's prostitution, assault.
I mean, what will this kid's life be like - being born to a drug addict prostitute? - That's social engineering! We're not supposed to do that.
The system takes kids out of bad situations all the time.
Yeah, Charlie, when there are legitimate charges.
If family services takes the baby away, it's because they determined she isn't a fit parent.
And if she ever cleans herself up, she can petion for custody.
It's not some grand civil-liberties case, Jerry.
It's a woman being put on bail set legally by a judge.
You're right.
It is just a bail case.
- Thank you.
- So I'll be appealing her bail.
- What?! - See you in the appellate division.
You could have jumped in back at the bar.
I wouldn't have minded the support.
I jumped in.
Not really.
I'm tired, Jerry.
I have two cases going to trial.
I mean, are you not with me on this? If I were representing her, I'd be right in there fighting.
But since I'm not and it's just us, - I can't say it's an easy call.
- Not easy, but her fundamental rights are being violated.
Honestly, for me, it's not as black and white.
There's another life involved.
So you think that the child is better off in the system than it is with its mother? We're not having this conversation.
You dumped this case because you don't believe in it.
I off-loaded a bunch of cases because Roz said I needed to clear my plate before trial.
No, no, no.
You dumped this case.
You chose to dump this case because you feel more for the unborn child than for the I have defended pedophiles, murders, and rapists.
I fight my heart out for every client.
You do not question my integrity.
Bobbi, Bobbi, I'm sorry.
I I didn't mean that.
- Bobbi, you can't believe - No "buts," Jerry.
We may not agree on this case.
Can you live with that? - I don't know.
- Well, figure it out.
Because if there is no room for disagreement between us this this is a defining issue.
The only thing it defines is our relationship.
Either we're free to disagree and we can be honest with each other, or we're not.
And what if we disagree about that? What if we disagree about something important like this? What do we do? You know, I'm not someone who just cools down about things.
I I like that about you.
Come on.
- Take your pants off.
- What? Well, since you're hot - I'm I'm really pissed off about this.
- I know.
We'll use it.
Trust me.
Come on.
Pants off.
Jerry Kellerman's actually gonna take a bail writ to the appellate division? Now, that sounds fun.
He's accusing us of colluding with Judge Kessler to pervert the law.
That's why it'll be so much fun to go to the appellate court and kick his ass.
I might even let you watch.
I actually pulled another all-nighter getting ready for the arguments.
What arguments? You didn't think I'd actually let you just go argue a case at the appellate division, did you? You'll come.
You'll watch.
You'll learn.
How dare he appeal my bail decision, question my judicial integrity.
Did you see this? I did.
He is saying that we manipulated the system to keep someone in jail.
That is the most offensive thing you can say about a judge.
- Well, isn't that what you're doing? - Excuse me? We all want what we want in this case.
But in here, between us, behind closed doors, can we not just call it like it is? Oh.
Charlie, how is it? You're doing what you're doing to keep her in.
I'm not saying I totally disagree.
- Not totally disagree.
- All I'm saying is don't get all angry at some defense lawyer just because he's had the temerity to call a spade a spade, - even if it may make us look bad.
- Doesn't make us look bad.
It makes me look bad.
I acted within the letter of the law.
I exercised my discretion in a perfectly judicial fashion.
A pregnant drug abuser is behind bars.
Her unborn child is safer.
I'm not gonna apologize for that.
I'm not asking you to.
I'm sorry.
You know the problem with you and all your friends is you're idealists.
You have no concept of how idealism hurts real people.
Our founders were idealists, weren't they? You want to be a judge? It's about hard choices.
I thought you'd been around here long enough to see that.
We make tough choices about real people.
This was my call! Screw Jerry Kellerman for messing with me.
And screw you for questioning me about it.
There's a doctrine in our law called "necessity.
" It means that sometimes in extreme circumstances, you are allowed to violate a law in order to prevent an even greater harm.
It's exactly what alberto was trying to do prevent the horse that he cherished and nurtured and worked with for almost 20 years from dying on a city street.
Alberto didn't want to hurt a police officer.
He didn't aim to hurt a police officer.
He was solely trying to save a life, a life he knew that only he could save.
By pulling Alberto away from Ophelia, Officer Gafferty was killing her as certainly as if he was aiming his service revolver at her head.
All that Alberto was trying to do was to get him to drop the gun.
In a city of millions, survival depends on certain inalterable rules.
Pull over when you hear a siren.
Listen when an officer tells you to drop a weapon.
You don't get to ask who's in the ambulance, and you don't get to horsewhip a New York city police officer and blame horse colic after the fact.
Miss Whitman would like you to acquit on the grounds of necessity, to weigh the fate of a horse against the scarred arm of a police officer.
But that is a fool's comparison because there was another way, one that didn't involve scars or horsewhips or arrests or death.
Mr.
Capulet could have simply taken 10 seconds to explain what he was doing and why.
But he didn't.
And whether or not he was right about his horse, he was wrong to resist arrest and criminal for turning a whip against a New York city police officer.
The D.
A.
's office and court are using excessive bail to do something the statutes won't allow.
They're keeping a woman in jail to protect a fetus.
That's quite a charge, counselor.
What evidence is there that the bail is pretextual or excessive rather than reasonable? Of the six people arrested that night on identical charges, all got time served but her.
- Perhaps their backgrounds weren't comparable.
- Well, actually, Your Honor, I pulled the papers.
Four of the other six have records worse than Miss R'mante.
How about other factors that justify the disparate treatment? Miss R'mante has family in the jurisdiction.
She's returned to court in the past.
She was originally charged only with a violation, and the prosecution has refused to even consider a disposition.
Moreover, despite this supposed felony investigation, the prosecutor on the case has made an offer of 90 days.
Miss R'mante is 7 months pregnant.
The offer is designed to do only one thing to make sure that miss R'mante has her baby at rikers Island.
Still, you're asking me to find that a judge knowingly acquiesced in a overt lie by the D.
A.
's office and set bail on an unsupported charge.
Your Honor, there's no other logical way to look at it.
The point of a pretext is to subvert the law and advance a personal or political agenda and make it seem as if a prosecutor or court is merely following that law.
I'm urging you to dig deeper, to recognize a power play for what it is to see the truth behind the excuses.
Mr.
Balco.
Mr.
Kellerman speaks of a world he can't imagine and has no business questioning.
Prosecutors are endowed with enormous power and tremendous discretion.
We wield that power and exercise that discretion every minute of every day.
We decide who to prosecute and when to dismiss.
We and we alone decide what kind of plea to offer.
A plea bargain is a gift, not a right.
To allow second-guessing on evidence this flimsy is to undermine our critical role.
Charges like this, if sustained, would invite every defendant unhappy with their bail or disappointed with their lea offer to cry, "pretext.
" And it would open the floodgates to a deluge of litigation.
Even entertaing the motion is an insult to the professionalism of prosecutors and the integrity of the courts.
We did what we did because we believe it to be right and know it to be legal.
Nothing more, nothing less.
Will the defendant please rise? In the matter of the people of the state of New York vs.
Alberto Capulet, on the first count of the indictment charging aggravated cruelty to animals in violation of section 353-a of the agriculture and markets law, how does the jury find? We find the defendant not guilty, Your Honor.
And as for the second count of the indictment charging assault in the second degree, how does the jury find? Guilty, Your Honor.
And as to the final count of the indictment charging resisting arrest, how does the jury find? Guilty, Your Honor.
I presume you'll be bringing in the usual sea of blue uniforms to remind me how egregious assaulting a police officer is.
- Well, that was kind of my plan.
- And you will give me the usual weepy story of a struggling man supporting his wife and five children.
- Actually four, Your Honor.
- Have a seat.
Mr.
McGrath will demand the maximum.
Miss Whitman will cry for mercy.
I think we can save us all a little bit of time if I just try to manage expectations.
Society demands that we respect the authority of our peace officers.
If we do not, well, then there's no order at all.
- Exactly, Your Honor.
- That said I grew up with horses.
My family could not afford its own, but our neighbors, the Dawsons, had a mare named Opal.
They would let me ride her if I cleaned the stable.
I'm not ashamed to say that I cried the night that she passed away.
I know what it's like to love your horse.
I cannot excuse anyone for assaulting a police officer, neither can I ignore the unique circumstances of this crime.
So, while I will consider all of counsels' sentencing memoranda, I expect to impose a sentence of 5 years, 90 days to be served as incarceration and the balance to be done on probation.
- Your Honor - I brought you in here for a preview, not a debate.
When your client is released from custody, he may return to my courtroom, and I will consider granting him a certificate of relief - from civil disabilities.
- Thank you, Your Honor.
Certificate of relief.
What does that mean? It means you can get your hack license back when you get out.
I can get another horse.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Eden, I got your message.
What is it? What is it, sweetheart? - The message said, "urgent.
" - You got to get me out of here, Jerry.
The appeals court will come back in a matter of days.
You got to get me out of here now! Listen to me.
Listen to me.
If you need help getting into the jail hospital, I can ask someone.
My baby's coming.
What? My baby's coming.
You're in labor now?! The baby coming! Don't let them take my baby! Please, Jerry! Don't let them take my baby! - Guard! Don't let them take it! baby's coming! how is she? You heard? She had a baby right in front of the courthouse.
Word spreads.
She okay? They're taking her back to the hospital at rikers.
Look, she can have time served.
You already had family services file papers to take the kid.
Family services is doing what they do, which is find the best course for the child.
And if she had had her baby on the outside, they'd be nowhere near her.
She'd be holding her baby in her arms right now.
The woman is not ready to become a mother.
I don't like it, but it's the best of all the bad possible outcomes here.
I don't think so.
Well, if we agreed on things, what would we have to do all day? - This isn't a joke.
- I didn't say it was.
The addict gets time served, the baby gets Foster care, and the bail writ is moot.
It's over.
It's tough to lose.
I know you didn't feel the same about the case as I did, but I'm glad you fought as hard as you did.
I knew you would.
That's why I gave it to you.
Thanks.
- They ain't get me with nothin'.
Looks like they got some other people with drugs on them.
Not me.
I ain't new.
They charged you with appearing in a public place under the influence of narcotics.
- It's just a violation.
- They arrested me and my friends, keep us sitting in here two days before we even see a judge on that? Citywide crackdown on drugs.
They're putting everyone through the system - It backs things up.
- Yeah, but they gonna just let us all go anyway, right? Even with your record, they won't hold you.
Should be time served.
Maybe a couple afternoons of substance-abuse blah blah blah.
In, out.
In, out.
Whole thing's just a waste of my time.
So, we see that judge, get out today? Yeah.
Good.
"Beating a Dead Horse" They're really gonna take me to trial? I was trying to save my horse.
You struck a policeman with your whip.
He had to have seven stitches - They don't drop those charges.
- Now, that cop, he was trying to pull me off Ophelia.
Ophelia.
Right, the horse you were beating, hence the animal-cruelty and resisting-arrest charges.
Ophelia had colic.
You got to get a horse with colic back on its feet, or it could die.
That cop wouldn't listen.
Conviction of assaulting a police officer can mean up to seven years in prison.
He goes in front of a jury.
He shows his scars I did hit him.
I did do that.
Look, all I care about is my hack license.
I'll plead to hitting the cop, to resisting.
I'll even do some time.
But my life is horses.
I'm a cabbie.
That's what we do in my family.
Help me get a plea that'll let me get a new horse for my carriage.
Please.
That's all I need.
Did you tell anyone about the colic? That night, I tried to tell everyone, but nobody would listen.
No, I know.
After your arrest.
Only you.
You said don't tell anyone, so I didn't.
Good.
Good.
Let's see what we can do.
He'll take misdemeanor assault? That's supposed to stop a trial? The guy horsewhipped a police officer in front of a street full of witnesses.
- The "d" felony's a lock.
- Hey, I'm trying to be creative.
He'll even do a little time.
Just keep the number reasonable.
Did I mention the street full of witnesses? He is not gonna look like the bad guy in a trial.
Trust me.
Come on.
The felony will cost him his hack license.
Just make it the misdemeanor.
You get your conviction.
You get a sentence.
He gets to keep his license, which is what really matters to him.
Wait, wait, wait, wait.
Let me get this straight.
You want me to knock down felony assault on a police officer, resisting arrest, animal-cruelty charges so that a guy who beat his horse to death in the middle of Manhattan can get his hack license back and get a new horse? Well, when you put it that way, it doesn't sound like you're gonna say yes.
I don't think so.
Okay.
See you in court.
Time served.
Surcharges waived.
Next case.
Docket ending 672.
People of the state of New York vs.
Cynthia Lazarre.
Charged with 240.
40 appearance in public under the influence of narcotics.
Waive the reading, not the rights.
Same raid, judge.
Same charge.
Same offer as the last five defendants time served.
- Defendant pleads guilty? - Yes, judge.
Time served.
Surcharges waived.
Next case.
Docket ending 674.
People of the state of New York vs.
Eden R'mante.
Charged with 240.
40 appearance in public under the influence of narcotics.
Roberta Gilardi.
Waive the reading, not the rights.
Same raid, judge.
Same charge.
Same offer as the other defendants? Actually, your honor.
We're not prepared to make an offer at this time.
We need to investigate this case further.
Investigate what? The facts are the same as all the other cases.
Your honor, there are additional circumstances we need to look into here.
Judge, this is a violation.
Will the court offer time served? If the people say there are additional circumstances to investigate, let them do so.
Then ROR her so she'll be out pending this investigation.
Your Honor, Miss R'mante has 9 prior arrests and 3 drug convictions in the last 18 months.
We ask for bail to ensure she doesn't take off while we're looking into things.
- Your Honor - Bail is set at $1,000 cash.
What does that mean? They're keeping me in? I ain't got no $1,000! They let everybody go but me.
They can't do that.
- Eden - I need you! Get your hands off me! - Officer, take charge.
- Don't touch me! Mark her card for medical attention.
Your Honor, I am begging you! Please! Get off me! Waive the reading, not the rights.
You can't treat a defendant differently just because she happens to be pregnant.
I'm not treating her differently because she's pregnant.
I'm simply choosing to investigate a case prior to disposition.
Oh, bullshit.
Come on.
No, you come on.
Look, just say hypothetically we have a drug addict with a long list of priors and no indication she can clean up, and she's exposing her unborn child to heroin.
I mean, if she winds up behind bars off drugs for the rest of her pregnancy, is that really such a bad thing? You can't lock someone away because of what she might do to an unborn child.
She was under a bridge shooting up with a dozen other junkies.
She is doing it.
She can get medical treatment in jail for her and her baby.
Look, just Take off your PD hat for one second and think.
As a human being what's the best thing for everyone here? The best thing is probably a good treatment program outside.
Yeah, well, I'm sure that worked great for her in the past.
She'll get a program inside.
You have no right to hold her, okay? You can investigate all you want, but we'll be back with the judge in a day or two, and the law is the law.
She's not walking.
That what you sayin'? Yeah, look, have some candy.
It helps.
But that almost never happens.
It could get sorted tomorrow.
It could take longer.
I got to get out now! You got anyone that can raise $1,000 cash for bail? Called my cousin.
She trying to get family to pitch in, but $1,000? That's a lot of cash.
She's saying maybe a week, but I can't wait.
- I know.
I know it's hard.
- You don't know! You don't.
I'm getting sick.
I got to get out.
I can't be dope sick in here.
Please.
You got to get me out.
We still on for dinner? Oh, what time is it? Uh almost 11:00.
Come on.
Edward's is open till midnight.
- Can I ask a favor? - Always.
I got Merton and Boyd both going to trial.
Roz says I'm too overloaded.
- We're all too overloaded.
- I know, right? But, apparently, there's some rule you can't have more than 115 cases pending at a time.
Ohh.
Right.
That rule.
I have to off-load a bunch of cases before the trials kick in.
Can I give you the important ones? - What do you got? - Yes.
Okay.
- Easy pleas.
Tough clients.
- Check.
This is a trial, but there's about six months worth of motions before it pops.
The only front burner is this.
Eden R'mante? Wait, wait.
You're dumping a violation? Should have been out at arraignment, but Ernhardt saw that she was pregnant and decided to keep her in.
- She said that? - She's too smart to say it, but There's no reason to hold her.
And she's hitting major withdrawal.
She needs to get out now.
She's got a cousin trying to make the bail, but it's iffy.
And it's in front of Kessler, so she's not exactly reasonable.
But Charlie is, and he's got her ear.
All right, so we need a great program, something that Kessler can't turn down without really embarrassing herself, something bulletproof.
It's 11:00 at night.
Right.
First thing tomorrow, I'm on it.
- Dinner? - Thanks.
Dessert? Absolutely.
Ernhardt.
- You spend the night here? - Actually, yes.
I thought I recognized that outfit.
Hey, McGrath, check it out.
Ernhardt pulled an all-nighter.
Someone actually cares about the work.
Yeah, boss.
The rest of us are phoning it in at 8:00 a.
m.
I'm just saying.
All-nighter.
- Hey.
What's the case? - In public under influence of narcotics.
- You stayed up all night on a violation? - Dedication, see? She's 7 months pregnant and 9 priors.
Arrested shooting heroin with a baby in her belly.
And you want to keep her in to protect the baby.
Yes.
But I cannot find one case to support it.
- Can you charge her for the drugs? - They're all tagged to other people.
I was thinking of charging assault or attempted assault on the fetus, - but the laws aren't there.
- What about endangerment? There are no laws against endangering a fetus.
- Well, there you go.
- It gets worse.
There's actually case law that says detaing a pregnant woman solely because of her drug use is unconstitutional.
What would you do, McGrath, if you cared to say up all night? Well, the law's clear.
It isn't pretty, but it's clear.
Got to cut her loose.
Which basically means letting this mother destroy her unborn baby.
I'm not saying it feels good, but we don't make the law.
We just enforce it.
Well, we're not allowed to keep her inside 'cause she pregnant and using drugs, so we can't do that.
But there are plenty of other enforcement options.
No, the law is a tool, McGrath, not a ruler.
Forget all this.
Let me show you a totally different idea.
I think you're gonna like it.
Me and my girlfriend, we come around the corner.
And I see this cabbie jumping off his carriage.
The horse is laying on the ground, collapsed.
And the guy's shouting at her.
He's screaming at the top of his lungs.
- What was he screaming? - You know, "get up! Get on your feet!" That sort of thing.
And he starts whipping it right there on the ground, over and over, cursing, calling it names.
Do you rember what names he was calling the horse as he whipped her? - Yeah.
"Old mare.
Lazy belgian.
" - He called a belgian "lazy"? Yeah, he used "lazy" a lot.
- While he was whipping her? - Yes, sir.
- How long did this go on? - I don't know.
It wasn't like one hit.
It was a lot.
I mean, he went on and on.
You said you heard the defendant screaming at the horse while he was beating her.
- Yeah.
- Was the horse making any noises? Oh, yeah.
I mean, you could hear that whip hitting.
And horse was making the most awful sounds when that whip came down, like a horse sound.
Like "whinny" you call it.
You know? But it was worse.
It was like screaming.
Yeah, it, uh It was horrible.
Thank you.
I arrived on the scene, and people were screaming for the police.
So I pushed through the crowd, and I saw this guy whipping his horse on the ground.
And he was really whaling on her.
He wouldn't stop.
It was brutal.
I'd never seen anything like it.
What did you do? I was in uniform, but I identified myself as a police officer in a clear, loud voice, and I ordered him to stop.
No.
He continued, at which point I approached him.
What did you do next? I, once again, ordered him to stop.
And I placed an arm on his shoulder, and with my right hand, I reached out for his wrist to stop the whip.
What did he do? Well, he whirled around, and he tried to whip me.
He's going for my face, too.
- I'm lucky I got my arm up in time.
- What happened? Well, his whip hit my arm full force and knocked my arm right into my face.
And at that time, the other officers arrived, tackled, and subdued the suspect.
What happened to your arm where he hit you with his whip? It was bleeding, and I got seven stitches.
I still have a scar.
What happened to the horse? Well, we called animal control and NYPD horse patrol unit, but the poor animal died before they got there.
It just died right in the street.
Thank you.
When you identified yourself as a police officer, did Mr.
Capulet say anything to you? Oh, he was screaming a lot of things.
Among those things, do you recall him telling you that the horse had colic and he had to get her on her feet? He wasn't telling me anything.
He was yelling like a madman.
So he didn't say, "this horse has colic.
We need to get it on its feet"? I told him to stop beating the horse, and he was screaming like a crazy man.
I don't recall what he was screaming.
You don't recall him saying, "she could die.
We need to get her up"? No, I do not.
Are you a mounted officer, or do you have traing in the field of horses? - No.
- No.
So you wouldn't know the proper steps to take to save a horse with colic.
And you wouldn't even know what a horse looks like in that specific distress? Well, I know what a horse looks like when it's on the ground, getting whipped.
But you don't know horses.
And you didn't listen to this horse's owner when he told you what he need to do to save his animal's life.
If anyone was an animal here, it was the perpetrator, all right.
He was out of control and would not respond to a direct request from a police officer.
He beat the horse.
He attacked me.
That's that.
Michelle.
Eden R'mante? - Isn't that Bobbi's case? - Yeah, she's got two trials coming at her.
Punted to me.
- Oh, joy.
- All right, check this out.
I spoke to a friend at the sandler center, pulled strings.
They agreed to put her in their outpatient recovery program.
- Uh, I don't think so.
- You don't think so? This is as good a program as you could get.
I'm not convinced.
Look, Michelle, from a legal standpoint, I didn't have to do any of this.
- She should have been out yesterday.
- You really think a voluntary outpatient program in the bronx and a halfway house in queens mean anything to someone with her history of drug addiction? Look, Michelle, I'm trying to make this easy.
But I've got a great package here.
Kessler will have to go for it.
I don't need you to sign off.
- We'll see, won't we? - Yes, we will.
With due respect, treatment is also available at rikers.
This is a great program.
She's never stuck with a program before.
And while we investigate the case, - we fear she's a flight risk.
- What is it exactly that you're investigating? It's ongoing.
We'll inform the court when we've completed oh, come on! Your honor, we all know what's going on here.
All I know, counselor, is the people feel she's a flight concern.
And I'm disinclined to reduce bail while there's an ongoing investigation.
All right, if you won't reduce bail, your honor, my client will plead to the docket.
Release her to the treatment program.
Verify with them that she's complying with every term and condition.
And if she's not, you can put her back in jail.
Well, your client is entitled to plead guilty.
Your honor, the people at this time will be serving a 170-20 notice that we will be pursuing this case as a felony.
What?! What felony? Details will be in the indictment when we hand it down.
Well, that certainly changes things.
And because this case is now a felony, your honor, the people ask that you increase bail.
Oh, come on.
She can't make the $1,000 bail as it is.
Then it won't matter that in light of more serious charges, the court's increasing bail to $2,500 cash.
We'll hear more after the people file.
Next case.
- You got to get me out of here.
- I'll be back there in a second.
A 170-20? Are you out of your mind? I don't feel out of my mind.
Do I seem like I'm out of my mind? You're manipulating the system to keep a woman behind bars because you don't like that she's pregnant and using.
Oh, my God.
I sound horrible.
How will I live with myself? Look, I'm not trying to destroy this woman's life.
I'll deal this out at three months.
Deal what out at three months?! What is the supposed felony charge here? Not that we're obligated to say until we file, but it'll probably be conspiracy.
Oh.
All right, yeah.
Conspiracy? We'll charge her along with the other dealers who were selling under the bridge.
All right, Michelle, you have any evidence at all for this? We're investigating, aren't we? Okay.
Come on.
You know you have no case here.
You'll never get a conviction.
Maybe so.
But your client will sit in jail for 12 to 18 months waiting for trial, or she can plead to 3 months and be out in 2.
Until she has the baby.
I didn't say that, did i? Come on, Jerry.
Don't make me take the hard line here.
Michelle, come on.
If she has the baby in jail, they'll take it away from her.
You know.
You know that the conspiracy charge is bogus.
If your client doesn't want to take the deal, we can settle the matter at trial in 12 to 16 months.
Or I can take it to the grand jury and have them kick it for the obvious crap that it is.
You want to take your pregnant, drug-addicted client to the grand jury, be my guest.
Say Wednesday, 10:30? Just talk to her.
Let her get methadone inside, medical supervision till she has the baby.
I know she won't like it, but this is the best path open to her right now.
Thanks to you.
Thanks to her! My 21st birthday, papi said it was time to get my own horse.
The whole family saved up.
We went to the stables, and there was plenty of horses.
But Ophelia we just looked at each other, and it was like we could communicate, you know? I said, "she's the one.
" We worked together from that moment on.
Most cabbies have gimmicks.
They sing or they have patter for their tourists.
For me, it was always Ophelia.
She would just look at a couple or a child, and they would want to ride with her.
And how was her health leading up to the incident? She'd been a bit sick the week before, nipping at her hindquarters, eating a bit less.
Did you check her feed? That was the first thing I did.
It was her usual, but I threw it out, just to be safe.
Got her a new bag.
I kept her in the stable, didn't let her work.
And then a few days later, she seemed better, so I took her back out.
And she was better? We worked three nights, and she was fine.
- And then that night - The night of the incident.
That night, she started breathing real heavy, nipping at her backside again.
I pulled over to the side of the street.
She She just collapsed.
And with those symptoms, what did you think was going on with Ophelia? Well, that's colic.
There's only one thing you can do for that.
You got to get the horse back on its feet.
So you hit her with your whip? A horse's hide is thick.
And if they're sick, they're not gonna want to get up.
You can't reason with them.
You got to get them up, clear the blockage.
That was the only way to save her life.
So you were trying to save Ophelia's life.
Yes.
- And what happened next? - A crowd starts to form.
I'm trying to save Ophelia, and then, suddenly, all these people are yelling, "stop beating that horse.
You're gonna kill it!" One guy threatens to punch me.
And what happened when the police officer arrived? By then, I'm pretty frantic.
All these people are screaming.
The cop gets there, and I'm like, "thank God.
Keep this crowd back.
We got to get my horse up.
" And did the officer help you keep the crowd back? No.
He says, "put the whip down and step away from the animal.
" "Animal.
" I'm trying to save her life, and he just says, "step away from the animal.
" - Did you step away? - I told him.
I said, "my horse has colic.
We got to get her to her feet, or she'll die.
" - Did he help you get Ophelia to her feet? - No.
He grabbed me, tries to pull the whip out of my hand.
This is the only thing that I have to save my horse's life.
I push back.
I didn't mean to hurt him.
I just I didn't want to let her die! - You didn't mean to hurt Officer Gafferty.
- No.
- But you did hit him.
- I guess so.
You guess so? Well, you heard his testimony.
You saw his scar.
You were there.
- I was focused on saving my horse.
- With your whip.
Yes.
Could you please tell the court, what is this whip made of? - Leather.
- It's actually steel and leather, isn't that right? The handle and the top of the crop have steel under the leather, yes.
And how long is this steel-and-leather whip? 5 feet.
So, when Officer Gafferty told you to stop beating your horse and step away, you responded by hitting him with a 5-foot, steel-and-leather whip.
I didn't mean to.
I just wanted them all to let me get my horse up.
Thank you.
Do you have a particular specialty in your practice? I specialize in large animals, specifically horses.
And as a specialist, if you saw a horse nipping at her hindquarters, breathing heavily, and then collapsing, would there be a particular diagnosis that might jump out? Anyone experienced with horses would suspect colic right away.
And as a veterinary doctor, could you tell us what one would do to help a horse in that circumstance? If a horse is collapsed, the immediate danger is a blockage that can't clear.
- You have to get the horse on its feet.
- How would one do that? isn't gonna want to get up, so you use your whip.
But doesn't whipping hurt the horse? So does slicing open a person's throat, but that doesn't stop a doctor from performing an emergency tracheotomy.
Medicine can be invasive and painful, but we do what we have to do to save lives.
So, in your medical opinion, Mr.
Capulet was doing everything he could to save Ophelia.
Absolutely.
And the crowd and police officer who tried to stop him? I'm sure that they thought they were doing good.
But when they stopped an experienced horseman from treating his animal, well, those do-gooders are probably the reason that horse died.
Isn't it right to protect an unborn child? Yeah, but how far do we go with that? Do we put women in jail if they drink wine? - What if they smoke? - Or don't take prenatal vitamins? I'm okay with drawing the line at shooting heroin.
What about constitutional rights, subverting the system to keep someone in jail? We all know that if the baby's born in custody, it's gonna get taken away from her.
Oh, have you seen this woman's sheet? I mean, it's not just drugs.
It's prostitution, assault.
I mean, what will this kid's life be like - being born to a drug addict prostitute? - That's social engineering! We're not supposed to do that.
The system takes kids out of bad situations all the time.
Yeah, Charlie, when there are legitimate charges.
If family services takes the baby away, it's because they determined she isn't a fit parent.
And if she ever cleans herself up, she can petion for custody.
It's not some grand civil-liberties case, Jerry.
It's a woman being put on bail set legally by a judge.
You're right.
It is just a bail case.
- Thank you.
- So I'll be appealing her bail.
- What?! - See you in the appellate division.
You could have jumped in back at the bar.
I wouldn't have minded the support.
I jumped in.
Not really.
I'm tired, Jerry.
I have two cases going to trial.
I mean, are you not with me on this? If I were representing her, I'd be right in there fighting.
But since I'm not and it's just us, - I can't say it's an easy call.
- Not easy, but her fundamental rights are being violated.
Honestly, for me, it's not as black and white.
There's another life involved.
So you think that the child is better off in the system than it is with its mother? We're not having this conversation.
You dumped this case because you don't believe in it.
I off-loaded a bunch of cases because Roz said I needed to clear my plate before trial.
No, no, no.
You dumped this case.
You chose to dump this case because you feel more for the unborn child than for the I have defended pedophiles, murders, and rapists.
I fight my heart out for every client.
You do not question my integrity.
Bobbi, Bobbi, I'm sorry.
I I didn't mean that.
- Bobbi, you can't believe - No "buts," Jerry.
We may not agree on this case.
Can you live with that? - I don't know.
- Well, figure it out.
Because if there is no room for disagreement between us this this is a defining issue.
The only thing it defines is our relationship.
Either we're free to disagree and we can be honest with each other, or we're not.
And what if we disagree about that? What if we disagree about something important like this? What do we do? You know, I'm not someone who just cools down about things.
I I like that about you.
Come on.
- Take your pants off.
- What? Well, since you're hot - I'm I'm really pissed off about this.
- I know.
We'll use it.
Trust me.
Come on.
Pants off.
Jerry Kellerman's actually gonna take a bail writ to the appellate division? Now, that sounds fun.
He's accusing us of colluding with Judge Kessler to pervert the law.
That's why it'll be so much fun to go to the appellate court and kick his ass.
I might even let you watch.
I actually pulled another all-nighter getting ready for the arguments.
What arguments? You didn't think I'd actually let you just go argue a case at the appellate division, did you? You'll come.
You'll watch.
You'll learn.
How dare he appeal my bail decision, question my judicial integrity.
Did you see this? I did.
He is saying that we manipulated the system to keep someone in jail.
That is the most offensive thing you can say about a judge.
- Well, isn't that what you're doing? - Excuse me? We all want what we want in this case.
But in here, between us, behind closed doors, can we not just call it like it is? Oh.
Charlie, how is it? You're doing what you're doing to keep her in.
I'm not saying I totally disagree.
- Not totally disagree.
- All I'm saying is don't get all angry at some defense lawyer just because he's had the temerity to call a spade a spade, - even if it may make us look bad.
- Doesn't make us look bad.
It makes me look bad.
I acted within the letter of the law.
I exercised my discretion in a perfectly judicial fashion.
A pregnant drug abuser is behind bars.
Her unborn child is safer.
I'm not gonna apologize for that.
I'm not asking you to.
I'm sorry.
You know the problem with you and all your friends is you're idealists.
You have no concept of how idealism hurts real people.
Our founders were idealists, weren't they? You want to be a judge? It's about hard choices.
I thought you'd been around here long enough to see that.
We make tough choices about real people.
This was my call! Screw Jerry Kellerman for messing with me.
And screw you for questioning me about it.
There's a doctrine in our law called "necessity.
" It means that sometimes in extreme circumstances, you are allowed to violate a law in order to prevent an even greater harm.
It's exactly what alberto was trying to do prevent the horse that he cherished and nurtured and worked with for almost 20 years from dying on a city street.
Alberto didn't want to hurt a police officer.
He didn't aim to hurt a police officer.
He was solely trying to save a life, a life he knew that only he could save.
By pulling Alberto away from Ophelia, Officer Gafferty was killing her as certainly as if he was aiming his service revolver at her head.
All that Alberto was trying to do was to get him to drop the gun.
In a city of millions, survival depends on certain inalterable rules.
Pull over when you hear a siren.
Listen when an officer tells you to drop a weapon.
You don't get to ask who's in the ambulance, and you don't get to horsewhip a New York city police officer and blame horse colic after the fact.
Miss Whitman would like you to acquit on the grounds of necessity, to weigh the fate of a horse against the scarred arm of a police officer.
But that is a fool's comparison because there was another way, one that didn't involve scars or horsewhips or arrests or death.
Mr.
Capulet could have simply taken 10 seconds to explain what he was doing and why.
But he didn't.
And whether or not he was right about his horse, he was wrong to resist arrest and criminal for turning a whip against a New York city police officer.
The D.
A.
's office and court are using excessive bail to do something the statutes won't allow.
They're keeping a woman in jail to protect a fetus.
That's quite a charge, counselor.
What evidence is there that the bail is pretextual or excessive rather than reasonable? Of the six people arrested that night on identical charges, all got time served but her.
- Perhaps their backgrounds weren't comparable.
- Well, actually, Your Honor, I pulled the papers.
Four of the other six have records worse than Miss R'mante.
How about other factors that justify the disparate treatment? Miss R'mante has family in the jurisdiction.
She's returned to court in the past.
She was originally charged only with a violation, and the prosecution has refused to even consider a disposition.
Moreover, despite this supposed felony investigation, the prosecutor on the case has made an offer of 90 days.
Miss R'mante is 7 months pregnant.
The offer is designed to do only one thing to make sure that miss R'mante has her baby at rikers Island.
Still, you're asking me to find that a judge knowingly acquiesced in a overt lie by the D.
A.
's office and set bail on an unsupported charge.
Your Honor, there's no other logical way to look at it.
The point of a pretext is to subvert the law and advance a personal or political agenda and make it seem as if a prosecutor or court is merely following that law.
I'm urging you to dig deeper, to recognize a power play for what it is to see the truth behind the excuses.
Mr.
Balco.
Mr.
Kellerman speaks of a world he can't imagine and has no business questioning.
Prosecutors are endowed with enormous power and tremendous discretion.
We wield that power and exercise that discretion every minute of every day.
We decide who to prosecute and when to dismiss.
We and we alone decide what kind of plea to offer.
A plea bargain is a gift, not a right.
To allow second-guessing on evidence this flimsy is to undermine our critical role.
Charges like this, if sustained, would invite every defendant unhappy with their bail or disappointed with their lea offer to cry, "pretext.
" And it would open the floodgates to a deluge of litigation.
Even entertaing the motion is an insult to the professionalism of prosecutors and the integrity of the courts.
We did what we did because we believe it to be right and know it to be legal.
Nothing more, nothing less.
Will the defendant please rise? In the matter of the people of the state of New York vs.
Alberto Capulet, on the first count of the indictment charging aggravated cruelty to animals in violation of section 353-a of the agriculture and markets law, how does the jury find? We find the defendant not guilty, Your Honor.
And as for the second count of the indictment charging assault in the second degree, how does the jury find? Guilty, Your Honor.
And as to the final count of the indictment charging resisting arrest, how does the jury find? Guilty, Your Honor.
I presume you'll be bringing in the usual sea of blue uniforms to remind me how egregious assaulting a police officer is.
- Well, that was kind of my plan.
- And you will give me the usual weepy story of a struggling man supporting his wife and five children.
- Actually four, Your Honor.
- Have a seat.
Mr.
McGrath will demand the maximum.
Miss Whitman will cry for mercy.
I think we can save us all a little bit of time if I just try to manage expectations.
Society demands that we respect the authority of our peace officers.
If we do not, well, then there's no order at all.
- Exactly, Your Honor.
- That said I grew up with horses.
My family could not afford its own, but our neighbors, the Dawsons, had a mare named Opal.
They would let me ride her if I cleaned the stable.
I'm not ashamed to say that I cried the night that she passed away.
I know what it's like to love your horse.
I cannot excuse anyone for assaulting a police officer, neither can I ignore the unique circumstances of this crime.
So, while I will consider all of counsels' sentencing memoranda, I expect to impose a sentence of 5 years, 90 days to be served as incarceration and the balance to be done on probation.
- Your Honor - I brought you in here for a preview, not a debate.
When your client is released from custody, he may return to my courtroom, and I will consider granting him a certificate of relief - from civil disabilities.
- Thank you, Your Honor.
Certificate of relief.
What does that mean? It means you can get your hack license back when you get out.
I can get another horse.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Eden, I got your message.
What is it? What is it, sweetheart? - The message said, "urgent.
" - You got to get me out of here, Jerry.
The appeals court will come back in a matter of days.
You got to get me out of here now! Listen to me.
Listen to me.
If you need help getting into the jail hospital, I can ask someone.
My baby's coming.
What? My baby's coming.
You're in labor now?! The baby coming! Don't let them take my baby! Please, Jerry! Don't let them take my baby! - Guard! Don't let them take it! baby's coming! how is she? You heard? She had a baby right in front of the courthouse.
Word spreads.
She okay? They're taking her back to the hospital at rikers.
Look, she can have time served.
You already had family services file papers to take the kid.
Family services is doing what they do, which is find the best course for the child.
And if she had had her baby on the outside, they'd be nowhere near her.
She'd be holding her baby in her arms right now.
The woman is not ready to become a mother.
I don't like it, but it's the best of all the bad possible outcomes here.
I don't think so.
Well, if we agreed on things, what would we have to do all day? - This isn't a joke.
- I didn't say it was.
The addict gets time served, the baby gets Foster care, and the bail writ is moot.
It's over.
It's tough to lose.
I know you didn't feel the same about the case as I did, but I'm glad you fought as hard as you did.
I knew you would.
That's why I gave it to you.
Thanks.