The Good Wife s01e06 Episode Script
Conjugal
Previously on The Good Wife: I understand the need to blame someone for your husband's downfall, but I didn't release that sex tape to hurt you or your family.
You should know, I was holding back.
Mr.
Childs, if you have something to show me, just do it.
- Did you bury something? - We all know what's going on here.
Peter Florrick was a corrupt and convicted state's attorney.
If evidence was buried, he buried it.
Alicia, I know this has been hard on you, but you have to believe me, I'm innocent.
Everybody shut up, and don't move! What you staring at? Get down! Kiss the floor! Chicago P.
D.
! Don't move! Don't look at me! Get down! Come on.
Talk about undue publicity.
You say that didn't affect the jury pool? No.
I'm telling you it doesn't matter.
We don't have the time.
We have got county clerk.
We're late, Clarence Wilcox stays on death row.
We can't risk it.
We can't not risk it.
Undue publicity argument is the weakest part of the brief.
It needs more work.
Which would be a problem if it was the only part of the brief.
We've got five other solid arguments in there to appeal Wilcox's conviction.
Let's ask Will.
- He'll agree with me.
- Good, then it'll be settled.
If it doesn't end up in the brief, Will can't use it in oral argument? This this is crazy.
There's no time to write it.
It'll mean open heart surgery on the brief! - This is odd.
- Yeah, we can compete tomorrow.
We think there's enough time to add another argument to the Legal Aid appeal, but we have to move quickly.
Quickly seems to be an understatement.
What time's the cutoff? There was a cable TV movie broadcasted a week before jury selection.
We believe it influenced the jury.
- Why didn't Legal Aid pursue it? - We don't know.
We found it 2 hours ago.
- Can you do it in 48 minutes? - Just.
You're the faster typist.
We need to get the cable viewership for Cook County.
I'm on it.
Undue publicity argument We're never gonna shove all this in before the deadline.
I got cable viewership from six years ago.
- Give me the numbers.
- It's not broken out by program.
What?! - We're not going to make it.
- Damn.
Damn? Don't say damn.
This is gonna take an hour.
Go ask upstairs, ask him if he needs it.
Give me a section.
We're almost done with the TV movie argument, but we can't specify the saturation of the jury pool.
You don't have the ratings broken out? Okay.
We'll slip it into a friend of the court brief.
Just submit what you have now.
Legal Aid couldn't handle the appeal.
They gave it to us a week before oral arguments.
- Interesting? - Clarence Wilcox.
Apparently killed an off-duty cop in a grocery store.
He's been on death row for six years.
Legal Aid thinks he got an unfair trial.
You know what the appellate courts think of technicals.
- They'll kill it? - Oh, yeah.
Give me a section.
Finished pages, hand them over now.
You organize.
Don't give them to me.
Hand them to him.
Okay.
There's a typo there.
- No, no, no.
- Shut up.
- There.
- Shut up.
This is Cary Agos at Stern, Lockhart & Gardner.
We have a death row appeal coming to you now.
If you don't mind, I stay on line to be sure you receive it.
Damn! WiFi's low! Come on.
Come on - Come on.
- You're sure? You don't see it? Okay, good to know.
Thank you very much.
People of the State of Illinois v.
Clarence Wilcox.
Mr.
Gardener, we've read your brief, and we're now prepared for oral arguments.
You may begin.
Thank you, Chief Justice.
May it please the court.
Six years ago, Clarence Wilcox, a 24-year-old Chicago man, was arrested for the murder of a plainclothes officer during the robbery of a grocery store in South Chicago.
It's our contention that Clarence Wilcox did not receive a fair trial.
He has spent the last six years on death row due to the fact Mr.
Gardener, please explain your undue publicity arguments.
Yes, Your Honor.
It is our contention that Clarence Wilcox How is it different from the Scott Peterson appeal? It also involved a TV movie released prior to jury selection.
Yes, well, Your Honor, in that case, the TV movie didn't show the Peterson character murdering his victim.
In "Cop Killer", our client is seen shooting the victim.
Thank you, Mr.
Gardener.
That was a nice last-minute Hail Mary with the TV movie.
Judges love novelty in arguments.
Think you can you get a preview on the decision? Let's see what I can find out, but don't get your hopes up.
are rejected out of hand.
Right.
Good job.
Excuse me, Miss? Sorry to bother you, but my name is Patrice Wilcox.
I'm Clarence's wife.
Of course.
I'm so sorry.
I'm Alicia Florrick.
Do you know why Clarence wasn't in court today? Why? Well, during automatic appeal, the defendant's not usually seated.
Didn't someone tell you? So you're his new lawyers then? No.
Legal Aid didn't have the staff to argue the appeal, so we're on temporarily.
Because you never said anything about Clarence being innocent.
Yes.
Unfortunately, that wasn't the point of this appeal.
It was whether some mistake was made in the law.
Isn't it a mistake in the law if he didn't do it? If he was with me that night? Have you ever even met him? And you're arguing for his life.
I want you to have this.
That's the last time he held his daughter.
We lost the appeal.
What? When? How do you know? The Chief Justice's clerk.
He sets up time for writing opinions.
- It was an easy no.
- I thought we had it.
- To be honest, I did, too.
- So, what do we do now? - Go back to the office.
- Well, about the case.
The case? It's not ours.
It's Legal Aid's.
Crédits Team Actual innocence? Yes.
We lost the automatic appeal.
Now you want to appeal on actual innocence? I read the trial record.
Defense never put his wife on the stand.
She was his only alibi, and the jury never heard from her.
Because wives lie.
I can't believe I'm having to tell you this.
And she had priors.
- I read the trial record, too.
- Juvenile priors.
Then, those don't count.
What am I missing here? When I worked at the state's attorney's office, we called these "appeals by hunch.
" This guy had his trial, an expensive trial.
He killed a cop.
- Allegedly.
- No.
found him guilty.
That means not allegedly.
That means he killed a cop.
You know, sometimes people with cute daughters and sweet little wives do bad things.
Sometimes very bad things.
I'm not helping you on this one.
Suit yourself.
Cary wants to take a week on Clarence Wilcox.
See if there's any foundation for an evidentiary appeal.
On actual innocence.
- We think it's a good idea for a week.
- It's good promotable work.
And, not to sound too cynical, it burns off the hours we owe the pro bono consortium.
- So you two up to doing this? - You did a good job on the Wilcox brief.
Bree sings your praises as a team.
- Sure.
- Why not? What? It's a good cause.
I'm just trying to fit this into the fuller Cary picture.
Hey, there aren't that many generations left.
You've taken the greatest generation, the lost generation, the Pepsi generation, so what do we have left? The surprise generation? So, surprise.
No.
Look the truth is, his wife came up to me yesterday with his daughter really cute, you know and gave me this.
What? It meant something to me.
- You think she has a car full of them? - Hey, it worked.
We're on it.
I'm kind of liking her more now.
Mrs.
Florrick, thank you so much for doing this.
Thank you.
Would you've pursued it if I hadn't given you pictures? That's what I said.
Do you hand these out like party favors? Lawyers tend to forget he's a person.
I love my husband.
He's innocent, and I know he's innocent, and I would do anything for him.
Anything.
- Patrice, how are you doing? - Good.
- I just wanted to introduce you.
- Josh Baldwin.
- Cary Agos.
Nice to meet you.
- Alicia Florrick.
Follow me.
Now, I thought we had a good defense.
- We could have won.
- Except? Except it was me against about a half-dozen Asas.
This was the first case in that high-profile task force your husband set up.
They only handled four or five cases a year, but they put all their resources into this.
Tammy, how do I work this thing?! Thanks.
do you know who your husband put in charge of that task force? Glenn Childs.
Small world? Go to the deepest heart of Appalachia, you won't find a town smaller than Chicago.
Up there, top two boxes.
- Why didn't you put Patrice on the stand? - She had priors.
The jury would think she was lying to protect her husband.
You need to be calm for that.
You know, I just think I'll live with the mystery.
Look, it wouldn't have mattered anyway.
- It all came down to the eyewitness.
- The med student? Everything else was circumstantial.
The blood spatter.
Clarence was wearing a Bulls sweatshirt two days after the murder.
But that lady stood right up in court, pointed at Clarence and said, "He did it.
" That's when I knew it was over.
That movie was awful, wasn't it? My dad taped it for me.
First of all, I was in there buying cat food.
And I was alone.
And all of a sudden, I'm this blonde coed who falls in love with a married man.
Was anything right in it? Well, I did see him Wilcox, that was true.
He ran through the door, he fired his gun, he yelled at me to kiss the floor, but I peered up, and I saw him kill that police officer.
You have no doubts? I've seen people die I a lot of people die, actually, on the operating table.
I worked for a summer in South Chicago.
But I've only seen one person murdered.
- It's not something you forget.
- Do you think we're on a fool's errand? I think we all have a job to do.
I save the lives of some people who I know, as soon as they get well, are going to go out and kill.
But I still try to save them.
It's your job to try to get him off.
It's the prosecutor's job to stop you.
It's my job to tell the truth.
I would say, "Good luck," but I wouldn't mean it.
Take care.
- What do you think? - I think we're in trouble.
- What am I looking for? - Just watch.
The police believe that man just killed someone, and you are the only eyewitness, so That's the six-pack photo array the police present to you.
Which one is it? That's him.
Yeah, maybe.
Hold on.
You're confident? I'm confident.
You're wrong.
The culprit isn't one of these.
This is when we explain to the jury about cross-racial identification.
Studies still haven't adequately explained why, but it's harder for Caucasians to identify subtle differences in African-American faces, and African-Americans in Caucasians.
- How much do you charge to say that? - My consultation rates are comparable.
$20,000 for a routine appeal.
Well, we filed an evidentiary appeal, but we don't know if we have it yet.
Would you like to try it? Let me guess.
A terrorist.
You don't need a story, do you? Which one is it? None of them.
You're confident? Nope.
Number three.
Hide everything, quick! Here comes the opposition.
S'up, Muller.
Hey, Shores.
Busy day, I see.
Hey, we're at a 65% clearance rate.
We're doing our part to clean up after you.
Yeah, looks that way.
So, Clarence Wilcox.
Tell me about his lineup.
That was six years ago.
Well, lady comes in, describes the suspect.
Male, black, mid-20s, six feet tall, wearing a Bulls sweatshirt.
So well, she seemed pretty certain, so we went over to Howie, and he did a sketch.
So, we found your guy.
He matched the sketch.
He had blood spatter on his sweat top.
He tried to wash the blood out, but, uh, he failed.
So, we put him in a lineup.
Six guys, all black.
All the same height, same build.
Lady pointed right at him.
- And? - And we went out for steaks afterwards.
I don't know what you want to hear.
What I want to hear is that you didn't put your thumb on the scale.
No hint, no nod, no nudge? No hint, no nod, no nudge.
And what about a six-pack? Did you show her the six-pack first? Is it in the investigative report? Then, no.
You've lost your sense of humor these days.
Hey, Muller.
What's up? I thought you weren't helping on this one.
The eyewitness described him as a six-foot black man, mid-20s, in a Bulls sweatshirt.
Oh, my God.
Yeah.
The only one in a Bulls sweatshirt.
They showed the eyewitness this six-pack before the lineup.
I get this to Will.
It's enough for an evidentiary appeal.
Probably, but if you're going to go all the way with this, - you'll have to talk to your husband.
- My husband? Why? He knows where the bodies are buried.
Thanks for this.
You okay? So, we got our retrial.
Good job on getting that six-pack.
- Oh, that was Kalinda.
- Now things get interesting.
Bree, I want you to pull together everything we have from the first trial.
Cary and Alicia, I want you to reinterview all the witnesses.
Six years go by, people have a very different memory of things.
Get Kalinda to undercut this eyewitness.
Look into her background, - whatever dirt you can dig up.
- You won't find anything.
We'll see.
Everybody's got something.
Today's a win.
Now, let's see about tomorrow.
Peter Florrick.
Report to interview room five.
Florrick, interview room five.
Kalinda? Where's Alicia? Pat.
Your wife doesn't want to visit you to get your take on this case.
I don't deal in the same moral shades of black and white, so hi.
- What case? - Clarence Wilcox.
She's defending a cop killer.
But he did it.
- You know he did it.
- What I know and what I don't have shifted a bit.
This goes back to Childs.
He was top man on that case.
Yeah.
He's not happy about the retrial.
This could hurt Childs.
It could.
It's an interesting dynamic, isn't it? If Childs does poorly, voters remember me fondly.
You know what I like about you? You're three months into a ten-year sentence, and you're plotting your political comeback.
Politics is just a game of Chutes and Ladders.
Right now, I'm at square one.
Here's our problem.
You see that? Conversation between family members and convicts is subject to prison surveillance, except under certain circumstances.
Conjugal circumstances.
Now, you and I are adults.
We can talk honestly and directly.
I can help you with your case, but I can't help you.
I've done other things in my life and if you want, I can tell you about them but I didn't do this.
Did the officer who took your mug shot Shores.
Right.
Detective Shores.
Did he put you in that Bulls sweatshirt? - No.
- Did anybody else? - No, I came in wearing it.
- Didn't they want it for evidence? Yeah, but they wanted to take my mug shot first.
They made you keep it on for the mug shot? - Yeah.
- Did they say why? No, but when I tried to take it off, that guy, Shores, he said, "No.
Keep it on.
" They wanted it in the picture.
And, here we are again, Mrs.
Florrick.
Your Honor? And who do we have over here? Oh, ASA Becker and, my goodness, the deputy state's attorney, - Mr.
Brody.
How are you today? - We're ready, Your Honor.
It's strange that we have to be ready at all because I thought this case was previously adjudicated, but the appellate court has found reason to reverse my ruling.
Not by our hand, Your Honor.
That's right, so who saw fit to question my ruling, Mrs.
Florrick? Your Honor, we mean no disrespect.
We believe Your Honor was given incorrect information by those trying the case.
Good, well, as long as there's no disrespect.
I mean, I guess it's better to be considered a fool than a cheat, right? Well, shall we begin, Mr.
Becker? Your Honor, we would like to introduce into the record the transcripts - from the first trial.
- Objection.
Overruled.
So moved.
The prosecution rests, Your Honor.
Thank you, Mr.
Brody.
Mr.
Gardener, are you ready to proceed? Okay.
I must admit we're caught a bit off guard.
Yes, my guess is that was Mr.
Brody's intention.
It was, Your Honor.
Defense requests recess until tomorrow morning.
No, no, no, no, you see, I know how this works, Counselor.
You still need time to prep your witnesses.
Now, Mr.
Brody has surprised you, and now the ball is in your court.
Actually, Your Honor, our witnesses are on their way to court right now.
Oh, good, well, then we just need a short recess.
Ten minutes.
I know I said tomorrow, sir, but this could be a matter of life and death What time do you think you'll be back from Baltimore? Call me back with an ETA.
Can you please have him call me back as soon as he gets this message? Got one.
Two hours away.
- We need to talk.
- Oh, we're short a witness.
Remember what I said about visiting your husband? I know you like obsessing over the ethical niceties.
Illinois Court ruling An attorney may use leaked information, just not Kalinda, there's no need.
Peter's got nothing on this case.
He does.
How do you know? I saw him.
- You saw him? You saw Peter? - Yeah.
You visited my husband in prison? I used to work for him.
I told you that.
How often did you visit my husband in prison? - Please don't go there.
- Why not? Because it's not pertinent and it's not true.
Don't - visit my husband in prison.
- Then you visit him.
You want to help Clarence, go visit him.
Well? Defense calls Detective Alec Shores as a witness.
Objection, Your Honor.
Detective Shores isn't on the defense's witness list.
That's right, he's on yours.
Well, is he in court anyway? Maybe we can get something done today.
I want you to do this.
- Cary prepped for it.
- You know it? Then let's go.
Yeah, that's the sweatshirt he was wearing.
So? And you don't think it's prejudicial to put only one suspect wearing a Bulls sweatshirt in a photo lineup intended to find a suspect in a Bulls sweatshirt? I don't know.
It's what he was wearing.
And you found bloodstains on this sweatshirt? Yeah, he tried to wash the blood out, but it left a stain.
- And where was the stain, Detective? - Where? Here.
The witness is pointing to the forearm of his right sleeve.
And how did the suspect explain the stain? Yeah, he said he, uh, he was in a pickup game the night before the murder, made contact, and he got a nosebleed.
And this blood matched the victim's? No, the police lab could not get a DNA match.
Since he washed the shirt, it degraded the blood.
So that would be a "no"? That would be a "no.
" Detective, I'm curious, if you got a nosebleed in a pickup game, what would you do? I don't understand the question.
You're playing some two-on-two, you want to keep playing, your nose is bleeding.
- What do you do? - What do you do? You do you know.
Let the record show that Detective Shores attempted to wipe his nose with the forearm of his right sleeve.
Excuse me, Your Honor, he did nothing of the kind.
Consistent with the stain on the accused's sweatshirt.
Objection.
Detective Shores, what were you preparing to do? Your Honor, I was preparing to raise my right hand to my face to wipe my nose.
Objection sustained.
Continue, Mrs.
Florrick.
Detective, isn't it true that the only reason you arrested Mr.
Wilcox is because he was wearing a Bulls sweatshirt? No, he matched the physical description.
Detective, do you own a Chicago Bulls sweatshirt? Objection, Your Honor.
What's the point here? I am trying to show that at the time of Mr.
Wilcox's arrest, Bulls apparel was quite popular, so therefore it wouldn't be unusual to find a multitude of suspects wearing Bulls sweatshirts.
Overruled.
Answer the question.
No, I do not own one of those.
You're under oath, Detective Shores.
I understand that, Your Honor.
I'm not a fan.
Well, I am.
I have a Bulls sweatshirt identical to that one.
Your Honor, objection.
I'm sorry, you're objecting to me? No.
I'm just objecting to the general tenor of Lenny, do you have one of these Bulls sweats? Judy, how about you? Anyone else? Your Honor, given this testimony, we request that Detective Shores' work product be excluded from the record.
Nice try, Mr.
Gardener, but there's nothing here that rises to the level of "fruit of the forbidden tree," so you'll have to do better than that.
But you and Mrs.
Florrick do get an "E" for effort.
Any further questions? No, Your Honor.
We got some traction on Clarence Wilcox? - Looks like it.
- And what happened with Cary? - What do you mean? - You have him running something down - with Kalinda? - Right, his choice.
When you bumped him from second chair.
Am I being grounded? We had an agreement.
Six months and we see what cream rises to the top.
And we are seeing.
Not if you're promoting one over the other.
Look, Diane, I want to be very specific here, very clear.
Alicia is a secret weapon.
She freaks him out.
- Cary? - No, Matan.
She's a junior associate, and the state's attorney's office can't think straight around her.
Just dangle Alicia in front of them, and they lose control of their case and their bowels.
Okay, and what about her? Her? Alicia? What do you mean? She's still Florrick's wife.
She has an agenda, whether you believe it or not.
And what would that be? Embarrassing the man who derailed her husband's career.
There is no audio or visual recording, there is no monitoring, and there is no outside intervention.
There is a panic button located just inside the front door should you require our assistance.
For security reasons, you will not be permitted to leave the premises until 6:00 a.
m.
Tomorrow unless said panic button is activated.
Turn around and raise your arms.
You're sure? Here's the thing, Miss.
You phoned the cops about an armed robbery a week ago.
We thought it might be the same suspect because you're near.
The suspect was he possibly wearing a Bulls sweatshirt? Okay, thank you.
Well, this is kind of cool.
Kind of out here investigating.
- You're chipper, aren't you? - Dangerously chipper.
Okay, so here's the plan.
We look for armed robberies after Clarence Wilcox was arrested and see if any of them match this sketch.
That way we get another suspect in court.
We'll split the interviews.
How long you been working at Stern, Lockhart? - No.
- What? Ask them about the M.
O.
, the Bulls sweatshirt, anything that's remotely similar to Clarence.
What did I do? Uninterested.
You're uninterested in talking? How much we have in common? I don't like talking to people I have a lot in common with.
Okay, I have a proposition for you.
Find this person, I'll tell you whatever you want to know.
- Whatever I want to know? - And more.
Okay, you just saved Clarence Wilcox's life.
There's one for you, too.
- Hello! - Hello! Is this weird or what? Weird.
And in such pretty accommodations.
I told them to put in that painting.
Listen, I have to ask you a favor.
No, it's nothing.
I know we have a lot of work to do, but I haven't taken a shower alone in months.
Of course.
- Sorry, go.
- Thanks.
The weak link in this case is Shores.
If I can discredit his testimony, the case falls apart.
- What's that? - Double-homicide.
Accused was shot in the back.
Shores was accused of planting a gun.
- Was it proven? - Didn't have to be.
At a suppression hearing, the judge ruled the gun inadmissable.
I had to DP the case.
Decline to prosecute.
What? Was he this man? Was the robber this man? It could be.
I'm not good with faces.
It went so fast.
- Who are you again? - A lawyer.
You're a lawyer? - What are you doing here? - I don't know.
Was this man, this robber, was he wearing a Bulls sweatshirt? Bulls sweatshirt? Really, I couldn't say.
He burst through the door, and the first thing he said was "Kiss the floor, don't look up," so I didn't.
- He said what? - He said, "Kiss the floor, don't look up.
" He said those exact words? He had a gun on me.
I think I would remember what he said.
Sounded like good advice at the time so I kissed the floor.
Okay, thank you very much.
So, this guy robbed him, told him to kiss the floor - in May 2003? - Yeah.
A month after Clarence was convicted.
And here's the thing: the cops told him they caught this robber a month later, maybe two.
So, it couldn't be Clarence because he was in jail.
And this guy, he was a really nice guy, by the way, he was supposed to go to court to testify, but they told him they didn't need him because the robber copped a plea.
Okay, armed robbery, no injuries, money taken.
- He probably got four years.
- Let's not lose track here.
What about my reward? Mike, can you look up armed robbery plea bargains in the summer of 2003? - What reward? - No, you know what reward.
Let me just think of some really embarrassing question.
No, I'm looking for an armed robber.
I bet this is the first time this has happened in here.
You okay? I'm great.
- Are you joking? - No, I'm serious.
This is the closest five minutes of normalcy I've had in eight months.
It's like we're in camp.
Want me to tell you a story? Good night.
Your Honor, please.
This is too much.
Detective Shores was never found guilty of planting a gun.
The judge suppressed the evidence and the attorney declined to prosecute.
- Is that what Peter was saying? - Excuse me, sir! You can talk to me.
You leave my junior associate out of this.
Come on, let's face facts here.
I think that's what we're trying to do, Mr.
Brody.
Detective Shores is an honored homicide detective.
I have worked with him for a decade now and he has been - nothing but professional and - A perjurer? Excuse me, Your Honor? I don't like someone staring me right in the eye and lying to me, and there's not a cop I know who isn't a Bulls fan.
- Your Honor, that is irrelevant.
- I'll decide what's irrelevant.
If you want to file a complaint, that's why Judy is here.
Now, Mr.
Gardner, I'm finding now reason to reverse myself.
I think you've made a very strong "fruit of the forbidden tree" argument.
If I can't trust Shores, then I can't trust the evidence that's tied to him.
So, the line-up, the Bulls sweatshirt, the artist's sketch, they are now stricken from the record.
Shut up, Matan.
You've still got the eyewitness.
That's the cornerstone of your case anyway.
Now, Mrs.
Florrick, Mr.
Gardner.
Do you have any other tricks up your sleeve? - No, Your Honor.
- Good.
Then we are in recess until tomorrow at 10:00 when I will decide on this case a second time.
Are we all happy? Good.
That's Michael Parsons.
The one that said "kiss the floor.
" He was convicted of four armed robberies in South Chicago - over a two year period.
- He pled and was sentenced - to Wabash Valley for four years.
- So, this is the killer? - We believe so.
- Where is he now? Well, that's the bad news.
He's dead.
He died in prison in 2006.
So, they got an eyewitness and we got nothing.
Great.
That's great.
Thank you for coming in, Doctor.
No problem, but I wish I could actually help you.
Maybe you can.
We have a picture to show you, we found another man we think is the killer.
His name is Michael Parsons, and he was convicted of armed robberies too.
He even used the same language from yours.
He yelled for everyone "to kiss the floor.
" I'm sorry.
If I could help you, I would.
But Clarence Wilcox did this.
Just keep an open mind, please, Tara.
This is the police sketch from the description you gave, right? And this is the mugshot of the man we think did it.
Michael Parsons.
Just please look at them carefully.
I'm sorry.
I really wish it was him.
But it's not.
- You're sure? - Yes.
You're sure that Clarence Wilcox is who you saw? I'm sure.
I'm sorry, but Clarence Wilcox did this.
This isn't Clarence Wilcox.
Excuse me? We switched their faces.
That's Michael Parsons.
It's not.
It is.
This is Clarence Wilcox.
And you just said that this man didn't do it.
And this man did.
My God.
I am certain.
The man I saw killing a police officer was not Clarence Wilcox.
In fact, um, Your Honor, can I say something to Mr.
Wilcox? I'm sorry.
I don't know what else to say.
But I am just so sorry.
Here's the thing, Mr.
Brody.
I don't like to be reversed.
In fact, I hate it.
Here's some advice for you and the good attorney.
You keep that from happening.
- Your Honor, I want to insist - No, you don't have room to insist.
And you should be grateful.
I'm giving your boss an out as big as the great outdoors.
I don't understand, Your Honor.
Tell Charles to blame his predecessor.
It's not the job of the bench to offer you advice, Mr.
Deputy Chief.
But I am just telling you very clearly, I want this to go away.
The regrettable corruption during Peter Florrick's term still infects this department.
Every step in the Wilcox case was supervised and approved by Peter Florrick and we are doing everything in our power to correct his mistakes.
That is why I have decided to withdraw all charges against Mr.
Clarence Wilcox.
There have been no discussions about restitution.
You okay with this? Yes.
Thank you.
No more questions.
That is all.
Thank you.
They say he's coming out this door.
You know - Words are hard.
- I know.
It's not like people say.
I never expected him to get out.
You should know, I was holding back.
Mr.
Childs, if you have something to show me, just do it.
- Did you bury something? - We all know what's going on here.
Peter Florrick was a corrupt and convicted state's attorney.
If evidence was buried, he buried it.
Alicia, I know this has been hard on you, but you have to believe me, I'm innocent.
Everybody shut up, and don't move! What you staring at? Get down! Kiss the floor! Chicago P.
D.
! Don't move! Don't look at me! Get down! Come on.
Talk about undue publicity.
You say that didn't affect the jury pool? No.
I'm telling you it doesn't matter.
We don't have the time.
We have got county clerk.
We're late, Clarence Wilcox stays on death row.
We can't risk it.
We can't not risk it.
Undue publicity argument is the weakest part of the brief.
It needs more work.
Which would be a problem if it was the only part of the brief.
We've got five other solid arguments in there to appeal Wilcox's conviction.
Let's ask Will.
- He'll agree with me.
- Good, then it'll be settled.
If it doesn't end up in the brief, Will can't use it in oral argument? This this is crazy.
There's no time to write it.
It'll mean open heart surgery on the brief! - This is odd.
- Yeah, we can compete tomorrow.
We think there's enough time to add another argument to the Legal Aid appeal, but we have to move quickly.
Quickly seems to be an understatement.
What time's the cutoff? There was a cable TV movie broadcasted a week before jury selection.
We believe it influenced the jury.
- Why didn't Legal Aid pursue it? - We don't know.
We found it 2 hours ago.
- Can you do it in 48 minutes? - Just.
You're the faster typist.
We need to get the cable viewership for Cook County.
I'm on it.
Undue publicity argument We're never gonna shove all this in before the deadline.
I got cable viewership from six years ago.
- Give me the numbers.
- It's not broken out by program.
What?! - We're not going to make it.
- Damn.
Damn? Don't say damn.
This is gonna take an hour.
Go ask upstairs, ask him if he needs it.
Give me a section.
We're almost done with the TV movie argument, but we can't specify the saturation of the jury pool.
You don't have the ratings broken out? Okay.
We'll slip it into a friend of the court brief.
Just submit what you have now.
Legal Aid couldn't handle the appeal.
They gave it to us a week before oral arguments.
- Interesting? - Clarence Wilcox.
Apparently killed an off-duty cop in a grocery store.
He's been on death row for six years.
Legal Aid thinks he got an unfair trial.
You know what the appellate courts think of technicals.
- They'll kill it? - Oh, yeah.
Give me a section.
Finished pages, hand them over now.
You organize.
Don't give them to me.
Hand them to him.
Okay.
There's a typo there.
- No, no, no.
- Shut up.
- There.
- Shut up.
This is Cary Agos at Stern, Lockhart & Gardner.
We have a death row appeal coming to you now.
If you don't mind, I stay on line to be sure you receive it.
Damn! WiFi's low! Come on.
Come on - Come on.
- You're sure? You don't see it? Okay, good to know.
Thank you very much.
People of the State of Illinois v.
Clarence Wilcox.
Mr.
Gardener, we've read your brief, and we're now prepared for oral arguments.
You may begin.
Thank you, Chief Justice.
May it please the court.
Six years ago, Clarence Wilcox, a 24-year-old Chicago man, was arrested for the murder of a plainclothes officer during the robbery of a grocery store in South Chicago.
It's our contention that Clarence Wilcox did not receive a fair trial.
He has spent the last six years on death row due to the fact Mr.
Gardener, please explain your undue publicity arguments.
Yes, Your Honor.
It is our contention that Clarence Wilcox How is it different from the Scott Peterson appeal? It also involved a TV movie released prior to jury selection.
Yes, well, Your Honor, in that case, the TV movie didn't show the Peterson character murdering his victim.
In "Cop Killer", our client is seen shooting the victim.
Thank you, Mr.
Gardener.
That was a nice last-minute Hail Mary with the TV movie.
Judges love novelty in arguments.
Think you can you get a preview on the decision? Let's see what I can find out, but don't get your hopes up.
are rejected out of hand.
Right.
Good job.
Excuse me, Miss? Sorry to bother you, but my name is Patrice Wilcox.
I'm Clarence's wife.
Of course.
I'm so sorry.
I'm Alicia Florrick.
Do you know why Clarence wasn't in court today? Why? Well, during automatic appeal, the defendant's not usually seated.
Didn't someone tell you? So you're his new lawyers then? No.
Legal Aid didn't have the staff to argue the appeal, so we're on temporarily.
Because you never said anything about Clarence being innocent.
Yes.
Unfortunately, that wasn't the point of this appeal.
It was whether some mistake was made in the law.
Isn't it a mistake in the law if he didn't do it? If he was with me that night? Have you ever even met him? And you're arguing for his life.
I want you to have this.
That's the last time he held his daughter.
We lost the appeal.
What? When? How do you know? The Chief Justice's clerk.
He sets up time for writing opinions.
- It was an easy no.
- I thought we had it.
- To be honest, I did, too.
- So, what do we do now? - Go back to the office.
- Well, about the case.
The case? It's not ours.
It's Legal Aid's.
Crédits Team Actual innocence? Yes.
We lost the automatic appeal.
Now you want to appeal on actual innocence? I read the trial record.
Defense never put his wife on the stand.
She was his only alibi, and the jury never heard from her.
Because wives lie.
I can't believe I'm having to tell you this.
And she had priors.
- I read the trial record, too.
- Juvenile priors.
Then, those don't count.
What am I missing here? When I worked at the state's attorney's office, we called these "appeals by hunch.
" This guy had his trial, an expensive trial.
He killed a cop.
- Allegedly.
- No.
found him guilty.
That means not allegedly.
That means he killed a cop.
You know, sometimes people with cute daughters and sweet little wives do bad things.
Sometimes very bad things.
I'm not helping you on this one.
Suit yourself.
Cary wants to take a week on Clarence Wilcox.
See if there's any foundation for an evidentiary appeal.
On actual innocence.
- We think it's a good idea for a week.
- It's good promotable work.
And, not to sound too cynical, it burns off the hours we owe the pro bono consortium.
- So you two up to doing this? - You did a good job on the Wilcox brief.
Bree sings your praises as a team.
- Sure.
- Why not? What? It's a good cause.
I'm just trying to fit this into the fuller Cary picture.
Hey, there aren't that many generations left.
You've taken the greatest generation, the lost generation, the Pepsi generation, so what do we have left? The surprise generation? So, surprise.
No.
Look the truth is, his wife came up to me yesterday with his daughter really cute, you know and gave me this.
What? It meant something to me.
- You think she has a car full of them? - Hey, it worked.
We're on it.
I'm kind of liking her more now.
Mrs.
Florrick, thank you so much for doing this.
Thank you.
Would you've pursued it if I hadn't given you pictures? That's what I said.
Do you hand these out like party favors? Lawyers tend to forget he's a person.
I love my husband.
He's innocent, and I know he's innocent, and I would do anything for him.
Anything.
- Patrice, how are you doing? - Good.
- I just wanted to introduce you.
- Josh Baldwin.
- Cary Agos.
Nice to meet you.
- Alicia Florrick.
Follow me.
Now, I thought we had a good defense.
- We could have won.
- Except? Except it was me against about a half-dozen Asas.
This was the first case in that high-profile task force your husband set up.
They only handled four or five cases a year, but they put all their resources into this.
Tammy, how do I work this thing?! Thanks.
do you know who your husband put in charge of that task force? Glenn Childs.
Small world? Go to the deepest heart of Appalachia, you won't find a town smaller than Chicago.
Up there, top two boxes.
- Why didn't you put Patrice on the stand? - She had priors.
The jury would think she was lying to protect her husband.
You need to be calm for that.
You know, I just think I'll live with the mystery.
Look, it wouldn't have mattered anyway.
- It all came down to the eyewitness.
- The med student? Everything else was circumstantial.
The blood spatter.
Clarence was wearing a Bulls sweatshirt two days after the murder.
But that lady stood right up in court, pointed at Clarence and said, "He did it.
" That's when I knew it was over.
That movie was awful, wasn't it? My dad taped it for me.
First of all, I was in there buying cat food.
And I was alone.
And all of a sudden, I'm this blonde coed who falls in love with a married man.
Was anything right in it? Well, I did see him Wilcox, that was true.
He ran through the door, he fired his gun, he yelled at me to kiss the floor, but I peered up, and I saw him kill that police officer.
You have no doubts? I've seen people die I a lot of people die, actually, on the operating table.
I worked for a summer in South Chicago.
But I've only seen one person murdered.
- It's not something you forget.
- Do you think we're on a fool's errand? I think we all have a job to do.
I save the lives of some people who I know, as soon as they get well, are going to go out and kill.
But I still try to save them.
It's your job to try to get him off.
It's the prosecutor's job to stop you.
It's my job to tell the truth.
I would say, "Good luck," but I wouldn't mean it.
Take care.
- What do you think? - I think we're in trouble.
- What am I looking for? - Just watch.
The police believe that man just killed someone, and you are the only eyewitness, so That's the six-pack photo array the police present to you.
Which one is it? That's him.
Yeah, maybe.
Hold on.
You're confident? I'm confident.
You're wrong.
The culprit isn't one of these.
This is when we explain to the jury about cross-racial identification.
Studies still haven't adequately explained why, but it's harder for Caucasians to identify subtle differences in African-American faces, and African-Americans in Caucasians.
- How much do you charge to say that? - My consultation rates are comparable.
$20,000 for a routine appeal.
Well, we filed an evidentiary appeal, but we don't know if we have it yet.
Would you like to try it? Let me guess.
A terrorist.
You don't need a story, do you? Which one is it? None of them.
You're confident? Nope.
Number three.
Hide everything, quick! Here comes the opposition.
S'up, Muller.
Hey, Shores.
Busy day, I see.
Hey, we're at a 65% clearance rate.
We're doing our part to clean up after you.
Yeah, looks that way.
So, Clarence Wilcox.
Tell me about his lineup.
That was six years ago.
Well, lady comes in, describes the suspect.
Male, black, mid-20s, six feet tall, wearing a Bulls sweatshirt.
So well, she seemed pretty certain, so we went over to Howie, and he did a sketch.
So, we found your guy.
He matched the sketch.
He had blood spatter on his sweat top.
He tried to wash the blood out, but, uh, he failed.
So, we put him in a lineup.
Six guys, all black.
All the same height, same build.
Lady pointed right at him.
- And? - And we went out for steaks afterwards.
I don't know what you want to hear.
What I want to hear is that you didn't put your thumb on the scale.
No hint, no nod, no nudge? No hint, no nod, no nudge.
And what about a six-pack? Did you show her the six-pack first? Is it in the investigative report? Then, no.
You've lost your sense of humor these days.
Hey, Muller.
What's up? I thought you weren't helping on this one.
The eyewitness described him as a six-foot black man, mid-20s, in a Bulls sweatshirt.
Oh, my God.
Yeah.
The only one in a Bulls sweatshirt.
They showed the eyewitness this six-pack before the lineup.
I get this to Will.
It's enough for an evidentiary appeal.
Probably, but if you're going to go all the way with this, - you'll have to talk to your husband.
- My husband? Why? He knows where the bodies are buried.
Thanks for this.
You okay? So, we got our retrial.
Good job on getting that six-pack.
- Oh, that was Kalinda.
- Now things get interesting.
Bree, I want you to pull together everything we have from the first trial.
Cary and Alicia, I want you to reinterview all the witnesses.
Six years go by, people have a very different memory of things.
Get Kalinda to undercut this eyewitness.
Look into her background, - whatever dirt you can dig up.
- You won't find anything.
We'll see.
Everybody's got something.
Today's a win.
Now, let's see about tomorrow.
Peter Florrick.
Report to interview room five.
Florrick, interview room five.
Kalinda? Where's Alicia? Pat.
Your wife doesn't want to visit you to get your take on this case.
I don't deal in the same moral shades of black and white, so hi.
- What case? - Clarence Wilcox.
She's defending a cop killer.
But he did it.
- You know he did it.
- What I know and what I don't have shifted a bit.
This goes back to Childs.
He was top man on that case.
Yeah.
He's not happy about the retrial.
This could hurt Childs.
It could.
It's an interesting dynamic, isn't it? If Childs does poorly, voters remember me fondly.
You know what I like about you? You're three months into a ten-year sentence, and you're plotting your political comeback.
Politics is just a game of Chutes and Ladders.
Right now, I'm at square one.
Here's our problem.
You see that? Conversation between family members and convicts is subject to prison surveillance, except under certain circumstances.
Conjugal circumstances.
Now, you and I are adults.
We can talk honestly and directly.
I can help you with your case, but I can't help you.
I've done other things in my life and if you want, I can tell you about them but I didn't do this.
Did the officer who took your mug shot Shores.
Right.
Detective Shores.
Did he put you in that Bulls sweatshirt? - No.
- Did anybody else? - No, I came in wearing it.
- Didn't they want it for evidence? Yeah, but they wanted to take my mug shot first.
They made you keep it on for the mug shot? - Yeah.
- Did they say why? No, but when I tried to take it off, that guy, Shores, he said, "No.
Keep it on.
" They wanted it in the picture.
And, here we are again, Mrs.
Florrick.
Your Honor? And who do we have over here? Oh, ASA Becker and, my goodness, the deputy state's attorney, - Mr.
Brody.
How are you today? - We're ready, Your Honor.
It's strange that we have to be ready at all because I thought this case was previously adjudicated, but the appellate court has found reason to reverse my ruling.
Not by our hand, Your Honor.
That's right, so who saw fit to question my ruling, Mrs.
Florrick? Your Honor, we mean no disrespect.
We believe Your Honor was given incorrect information by those trying the case.
Good, well, as long as there's no disrespect.
I mean, I guess it's better to be considered a fool than a cheat, right? Well, shall we begin, Mr.
Becker? Your Honor, we would like to introduce into the record the transcripts - from the first trial.
- Objection.
Overruled.
So moved.
The prosecution rests, Your Honor.
Thank you, Mr.
Brody.
Mr.
Gardener, are you ready to proceed? Okay.
I must admit we're caught a bit off guard.
Yes, my guess is that was Mr.
Brody's intention.
It was, Your Honor.
Defense requests recess until tomorrow morning.
No, no, no, no, you see, I know how this works, Counselor.
You still need time to prep your witnesses.
Now, Mr.
Brody has surprised you, and now the ball is in your court.
Actually, Your Honor, our witnesses are on their way to court right now.
Oh, good, well, then we just need a short recess.
Ten minutes.
I know I said tomorrow, sir, but this could be a matter of life and death What time do you think you'll be back from Baltimore? Call me back with an ETA.
Can you please have him call me back as soon as he gets this message? Got one.
Two hours away.
- We need to talk.
- Oh, we're short a witness.
Remember what I said about visiting your husband? I know you like obsessing over the ethical niceties.
Illinois Court ruling An attorney may use leaked information, just not Kalinda, there's no need.
Peter's got nothing on this case.
He does.
How do you know? I saw him.
- You saw him? You saw Peter? - Yeah.
You visited my husband in prison? I used to work for him.
I told you that.
How often did you visit my husband in prison? - Please don't go there.
- Why not? Because it's not pertinent and it's not true.
Don't - visit my husband in prison.
- Then you visit him.
You want to help Clarence, go visit him.
Well? Defense calls Detective Alec Shores as a witness.
Objection, Your Honor.
Detective Shores isn't on the defense's witness list.
That's right, he's on yours.
Well, is he in court anyway? Maybe we can get something done today.
I want you to do this.
- Cary prepped for it.
- You know it? Then let's go.
Yeah, that's the sweatshirt he was wearing.
So? And you don't think it's prejudicial to put only one suspect wearing a Bulls sweatshirt in a photo lineup intended to find a suspect in a Bulls sweatshirt? I don't know.
It's what he was wearing.
And you found bloodstains on this sweatshirt? Yeah, he tried to wash the blood out, but it left a stain.
- And where was the stain, Detective? - Where? Here.
The witness is pointing to the forearm of his right sleeve.
And how did the suspect explain the stain? Yeah, he said he, uh, he was in a pickup game the night before the murder, made contact, and he got a nosebleed.
And this blood matched the victim's? No, the police lab could not get a DNA match.
Since he washed the shirt, it degraded the blood.
So that would be a "no"? That would be a "no.
" Detective, I'm curious, if you got a nosebleed in a pickup game, what would you do? I don't understand the question.
You're playing some two-on-two, you want to keep playing, your nose is bleeding.
- What do you do? - What do you do? You do you know.
Let the record show that Detective Shores attempted to wipe his nose with the forearm of his right sleeve.
Excuse me, Your Honor, he did nothing of the kind.
Consistent with the stain on the accused's sweatshirt.
Objection.
Detective Shores, what were you preparing to do? Your Honor, I was preparing to raise my right hand to my face to wipe my nose.
Objection sustained.
Continue, Mrs.
Florrick.
Detective, isn't it true that the only reason you arrested Mr.
Wilcox is because he was wearing a Bulls sweatshirt? No, he matched the physical description.
Detective, do you own a Chicago Bulls sweatshirt? Objection, Your Honor.
What's the point here? I am trying to show that at the time of Mr.
Wilcox's arrest, Bulls apparel was quite popular, so therefore it wouldn't be unusual to find a multitude of suspects wearing Bulls sweatshirts.
Overruled.
Answer the question.
No, I do not own one of those.
You're under oath, Detective Shores.
I understand that, Your Honor.
I'm not a fan.
Well, I am.
I have a Bulls sweatshirt identical to that one.
Your Honor, objection.
I'm sorry, you're objecting to me? No.
I'm just objecting to the general tenor of Lenny, do you have one of these Bulls sweats? Judy, how about you? Anyone else? Your Honor, given this testimony, we request that Detective Shores' work product be excluded from the record.
Nice try, Mr.
Gardener, but there's nothing here that rises to the level of "fruit of the forbidden tree," so you'll have to do better than that.
But you and Mrs.
Florrick do get an "E" for effort.
Any further questions? No, Your Honor.
We got some traction on Clarence Wilcox? - Looks like it.
- And what happened with Cary? - What do you mean? - You have him running something down - with Kalinda? - Right, his choice.
When you bumped him from second chair.
Am I being grounded? We had an agreement.
Six months and we see what cream rises to the top.
And we are seeing.
Not if you're promoting one over the other.
Look, Diane, I want to be very specific here, very clear.
Alicia is a secret weapon.
She freaks him out.
- Cary? - No, Matan.
She's a junior associate, and the state's attorney's office can't think straight around her.
Just dangle Alicia in front of them, and they lose control of their case and their bowels.
Okay, and what about her? Her? Alicia? What do you mean? She's still Florrick's wife.
She has an agenda, whether you believe it or not.
And what would that be? Embarrassing the man who derailed her husband's career.
There is no audio or visual recording, there is no monitoring, and there is no outside intervention.
There is a panic button located just inside the front door should you require our assistance.
For security reasons, you will not be permitted to leave the premises until 6:00 a.
m.
Tomorrow unless said panic button is activated.
Turn around and raise your arms.
You're sure? Here's the thing, Miss.
You phoned the cops about an armed robbery a week ago.
We thought it might be the same suspect because you're near.
The suspect was he possibly wearing a Bulls sweatshirt? Okay, thank you.
Well, this is kind of cool.
Kind of out here investigating.
- You're chipper, aren't you? - Dangerously chipper.
Okay, so here's the plan.
We look for armed robberies after Clarence Wilcox was arrested and see if any of them match this sketch.
That way we get another suspect in court.
We'll split the interviews.
How long you been working at Stern, Lockhart? - No.
- What? Ask them about the M.
O.
, the Bulls sweatshirt, anything that's remotely similar to Clarence.
What did I do? Uninterested.
You're uninterested in talking? How much we have in common? I don't like talking to people I have a lot in common with.
Okay, I have a proposition for you.
Find this person, I'll tell you whatever you want to know.
- Whatever I want to know? - And more.
Okay, you just saved Clarence Wilcox's life.
There's one for you, too.
- Hello! - Hello! Is this weird or what? Weird.
And in such pretty accommodations.
I told them to put in that painting.
Listen, I have to ask you a favor.
No, it's nothing.
I know we have a lot of work to do, but I haven't taken a shower alone in months.
Of course.
- Sorry, go.
- Thanks.
The weak link in this case is Shores.
If I can discredit his testimony, the case falls apart.
- What's that? - Double-homicide.
Accused was shot in the back.
Shores was accused of planting a gun.
- Was it proven? - Didn't have to be.
At a suppression hearing, the judge ruled the gun inadmissable.
I had to DP the case.
Decline to prosecute.
What? Was he this man? Was the robber this man? It could be.
I'm not good with faces.
It went so fast.
- Who are you again? - A lawyer.
You're a lawyer? - What are you doing here? - I don't know.
Was this man, this robber, was he wearing a Bulls sweatshirt? Bulls sweatshirt? Really, I couldn't say.
He burst through the door, and the first thing he said was "Kiss the floor, don't look up," so I didn't.
- He said what? - He said, "Kiss the floor, don't look up.
" He said those exact words? He had a gun on me.
I think I would remember what he said.
Sounded like good advice at the time so I kissed the floor.
Okay, thank you very much.
So, this guy robbed him, told him to kiss the floor - in May 2003? - Yeah.
A month after Clarence was convicted.
And here's the thing: the cops told him they caught this robber a month later, maybe two.
So, it couldn't be Clarence because he was in jail.
And this guy, he was a really nice guy, by the way, he was supposed to go to court to testify, but they told him they didn't need him because the robber copped a plea.
Okay, armed robbery, no injuries, money taken.
- He probably got four years.
- Let's not lose track here.
What about my reward? Mike, can you look up armed robbery plea bargains in the summer of 2003? - What reward? - No, you know what reward.
Let me just think of some really embarrassing question.
No, I'm looking for an armed robber.
I bet this is the first time this has happened in here.
You okay? I'm great.
- Are you joking? - No, I'm serious.
This is the closest five minutes of normalcy I've had in eight months.
It's like we're in camp.
Want me to tell you a story? Good night.
Your Honor, please.
This is too much.
Detective Shores was never found guilty of planting a gun.
The judge suppressed the evidence and the attorney declined to prosecute.
- Is that what Peter was saying? - Excuse me, sir! You can talk to me.
You leave my junior associate out of this.
Come on, let's face facts here.
I think that's what we're trying to do, Mr.
Brody.
Detective Shores is an honored homicide detective.
I have worked with him for a decade now and he has been - nothing but professional and - A perjurer? Excuse me, Your Honor? I don't like someone staring me right in the eye and lying to me, and there's not a cop I know who isn't a Bulls fan.
- Your Honor, that is irrelevant.
- I'll decide what's irrelevant.
If you want to file a complaint, that's why Judy is here.
Now, Mr.
Gardner, I'm finding now reason to reverse myself.
I think you've made a very strong "fruit of the forbidden tree" argument.
If I can't trust Shores, then I can't trust the evidence that's tied to him.
So, the line-up, the Bulls sweatshirt, the artist's sketch, they are now stricken from the record.
Shut up, Matan.
You've still got the eyewitness.
That's the cornerstone of your case anyway.
Now, Mrs.
Florrick, Mr.
Gardner.
Do you have any other tricks up your sleeve? - No, Your Honor.
- Good.
Then we are in recess until tomorrow at 10:00 when I will decide on this case a second time.
Are we all happy? Good.
That's Michael Parsons.
The one that said "kiss the floor.
" He was convicted of four armed robberies in South Chicago - over a two year period.
- He pled and was sentenced - to Wabash Valley for four years.
- So, this is the killer? - We believe so.
- Where is he now? Well, that's the bad news.
He's dead.
He died in prison in 2006.
So, they got an eyewitness and we got nothing.
Great.
That's great.
Thank you for coming in, Doctor.
No problem, but I wish I could actually help you.
Maybe you can.
We have a picture to show you, we found another man we think is the killer.
His name is Michael Parsons, and he was convicted of armed robberies too.
He even used the same language from yours.
He yelled for everyone "to kiss the floor.
" I'm sorry.
If I could help you, I would.
But Clarence Wilcox did this.
Just keep an open mind, please, Tara.
This is the police sketch from the description you gave, right? And this is the mugshot of the man we think did it.
Michael Parsons.
Just please look at them carefully.
I'm sorry.
I really wish it was him.
But it's not.
- You're sure? - Yes.
You're sure that Clarence Wilcox is who you saw? I'm sure.
I'm sorry, but Clarence Wilcox did this.
This isn't Clarence Wilcox.
Excuse me? We switched their faces.
That's Michael Parsons.
It's not.
It is.
This is Clarence Wilcox.
And you just said that this man didn't do it.
And this man did.
My God.
I am certain.
The man I saw killing a police officer was not Clarence Wilcox.
In fact, um, Your Honor, can I say something to Mr.
Wilcox? I'm sorry.
I don't know what else to say.
But I am just so sorry.
Here's the thing, Mr.
Brody.
I don't like to be reversed.
In fact, I hate it.
Here's some advice for you and the good attorney.
You keep that from happening.
- Your Honor, I want to insist - No, you don't have room to insist.
And you should be grateful.
I'm giving your boss an out as big as the great outdoors.
I don't understand, Your Honor.
Tell Charles to blame his predecessor.
It's not the job of the bench to offer you advice, Mr.
Deputy Chief.
But I am just telling you very clearly, I want this to go away.
The regrettable corruption during Peter Florrick's term still infects this department.
Every step in the Wilcox case was supervised and approved by Peter Florrick and we are doing everything in our power to correct his mistakes.
That is why I have decided to withdraw all charges against Mr.
Clarence Wilcox.
There have been no discussions about restitution.
You okay with this? Yes.
Thank you.
No more questions.
That is all.
Thank you.
They say he's coming out this door.
You know - Words are hard.
- I know.
It's not like people say.
I never expected him to get out.