(group sings)
(radio announcer) New Orleans, good morning. It's Rob Ryan in with you.
Coming up, tickets for the big Voodoo Fest coming to town...
(radio announcer #2)... Ponchartrain, to the banks of the Mississippi,
from Baton Rouge to Bayou Boutin,
this is Hooks checking your news headlines.
(radio announcer #3) Good day to be in New Orleans...
(humming)
How's the birthday boy? Huh?
- (man) And this is for Mommy. - (woman) Thank you, sweetheart.
(man) Look at Grandpa. Look at Grandpa. Say hi.
(sings softly)
- You wanna open a present? - (boy) Yeah!
(humming)
- Good morning, Mr. Wood. - Morning, Katie.
- Paper. - Oh.
- Thank you. How was your weekend? - Great. How was yours?
- Very nice. - Good.
- How are the kids? - Great.
Oh, sh...
- (giggling) - Henry!
Jacob.
- Ted. Morning. - It's happening.
- What? What's happening? - Does your car have a radio?
Greenspan's speech was delayed after the FOMC meeting.
Rumor is he's sick, and my screen looks like
the end of the world is factored into prices.
Let's have everyone in the conference room in ten minutes.
Deborah, I need you for five minutes.
Ted, it's Monday, buddy. There'll be a Tuesday.
(Deborah) OK, you have a conference call
about the anti-trust approvals with Hallory at 11.
Close the door, please.
- So, how did Henry's party go? - Terrific. He had a great time.
Good.
- L-I have a problem. - OK. What is it?
(humming)
He taught me a song for his birthday, and I have to sing it for him
tonight at bedtime, and I can't think, for the life of me, what it is.
OK, OK. Just, you know, sing me a little and we'll figure it out together.
Whoo!
- (gunfire) - What the hell is this?
(shouting)
- Call 911! - (gunfire continues)
- (woman) 911. - Yes, I wanna report a shooting.
(screaming)
- Get behind the desk. - What?
- Get behind the desk and stay there! - Ma'am?
Uh, the Laurel-Morgan Building.
- Third floor, Pete Murray and Colfax. - How many are injured, ma'am?
- Ma'am? - I don't know.
I don't know how many... No, you gotta stay with me! God!
- Quiet... - They put me on hold.
- Hello? - Oh, shit.
- Deborah. Deborah, calm down. - Can you see anything?
- It's gonna be fine. I promise. - Hello?
Hello? Come on...
(Deborah) Come on. Please send somebody.
(crying) Somebody pick up. Please pick up.
(gunshot)
- Good morning, Mr. Pulaski. - Morning, Nick.
- Do you need some help with that? - Ah, bilge ring keeps crappin' out,
blocking up the damn pump. I got it now, Nick.
Last time, you nearly took out every sink in the quarter, you know.
Hey, that was those kids messing with the water main. (coughing)
You know, you should really quit those things.
What for?
Christmas comes a little early this year.
(man) Ah, there's our boy. So, what do you say?
Does he stop in for coffee and a cruller?
- (man #2) Ah, let's give him a cruller. - Oh, bingo! We have a winner.
(man #2) I can smell the fried dough over here.
(man #1) And... Ah, there he is. Breakfast of champions, right there.
Oh, and we're losing him. I'll take just a couple more.
Say good-bye to Mr. Nicholas Easter. Who's next on the hit parade?
- Hi. - Bonjour.
- Can I look at that candle? - C'est la?
No, I'm sorry. The red one.
It's just to the left of that scary pentacle and the jar of bloodroot.
- Right there? - (speaks Cajun)
Oh!
Oh, thank you. What did you say?
She's Cajun. I told her that you wanted the St. Nicholas candle.
- Right? Is that what you wanted? - Yeah, that's the one I was pointing to.
(speaks Cajun)
Now, what happened right there? What did she say?
She said you're a nice-Iooking boy, but she doesn't trust you.
She didn't say that, did she?
You know what it is?
Jury duty. Got a summons in the mail. Just trying to pray my way out of it.
- Where's your sense of civic duty? - Um, I flunked civics.
- Oh. - Do you have any other tips?
I would go with the St. Catherine candle.
- What did she do? - She's the patron saint
of unmarried women and... jurors.
- Really? - Really.
That's not what that candle really is, is it?
This your first time in New Orleans?
No, no. I've been here a number of times.
Hm. I had you pegged as a first-timer.
- Is that right? - (chuckling) Yeah.
- How's your mother? - Excuse me?
- Is she feeling better? - How do you know about my mother?
She was in the hospital, but now you're taking care of her at home.
She had a stroke.
Your wife wants you to put her in a home,
but you're feeling guilty about that. You've checked out a few of them,
and it doesn't feel like the Christian thing to do.
My advice: Reconsider the home.
Better an unhappy mother than an unfriendly wife.
I'm up here on the right.
(man) The same thing with guns and Vicksburg Firearms.
The only thing that's gonna win the case for us is because for the first time,
we got a gun company ex-executive who's gonna go up against his former employer
and, with good conscience, he's gonna testify for us.
I promised Celeste that I would win it for her
and all the other victims that died that day.
You're gonna make history, Celeste.
We're gonna make history together. Thank you for your courage.
Barry, we got the Strickland SUV case at noon,
and, Celeste, I'm gonna see you and your son at Arnaud's at six...
- Just as long as we don't talk about... - Nothing about the case.
This is dinner with you and Henry. Barry, you got time to see her to her car?
- Absolutely. - Thank you.
- Mr. Rohr. - Yeah?
Lawrence Green. Lindus Hostetler.
- Ah, Hostetler. - We... Yeah.
- Yes, jury consultants, New York City. - Philadelphia.
I wanna thank you for agreeing to meet with me, sir. Thank you.
I just want you to guess how many phone calls and letters
I get from expert jury consultants such as yourself.
- I can imagine, sir. - Go on, take a guess.
Well, I appreciate that you invited me down here, sir.
Well, this is more important now. Which one?
- I'm sorry? - Well, I'm off to court.
This is the striped, non-striped. Striped, non-striped.
Go... I would go with the striped one, sir. It matches your jacket.
And you have a striped one because you're from New York City.
Philadelphia, sir.
I think we're gonna go with the non-striped one, Phyllis.
You know, as a clever jury consultant,
you should know that jurors down here don't trust a lawyer
- who's too nattily turned out. Huh? - It's...
- How familiar are you with my case? - Very, sir.
- You think it's a strong case? - Yes, sir.
- Ooh. Do you think it's a winning case? - People don't win gun cases, Mr. Rohr.
I think I can help you with that, sir.
There's gotta be another commuter flight.
Have you tried one in Richmond or Atlanta?
I gotta call you back. He's here.
You represent the widow of a man shot by a Vicksburg Firearms gun.
That gun company's finding out things about prospective jurors
their husbands and their wives don't even know.
- Is that right? - Yeah. And the word is,
the defense has retained Rankin Fitch as their lead jury consultant.
- Rankin Fitch? - You don't...
No, I know who he is.
Mr. Fitch, how was your flight?
Fine. Are we up and running, Miss Monroe?
We are. Kaufman's inside with Birk and the kid from MIT, Lamb, he's here, too.
- What about Broussard, Forensic... - Linguistics out of Rochester.
He missed his connecting flight in Atlanta, but he'll be here by three.
- Who's our backup? - Sir, he'll be here by three.
- Who is our backup? - Levon Raines, out of Dallas.
All right. Call Mr. Broussard. Tell him his service is no longer required.
- See what time Raines can be here. - Yes, sir.
Mr. Fitch.
I just want you to tell me why I need a jury consultant.
Fitch's team will be scientifically picking jurors predisposed in his favor
by using video surveillance, wiretaps, psych profiles, graphology...
- Barry, where's my car? - It's where you parked it.
All right, come on. We're going together.
Sir, I have a master's in psychology from the University of Chicago.
I know handwriting analysis. I know this stuff. I really do. Plus civics, OK?
(woman) Delores Kinnerly, registered Democrat,
46 years of age, unmarried, occupational therapist. Devout cat lover.
Yeah, look at the way she turns away from the man walking his dog.
She's definitely self-conscious about her weight.
(Fitch) Maybe she just hates dogs.
- Good morning. - Morning.
Freeze that, Mr. Lamb.
We love fat women, people.
They're tight-fisted, unsympathetic.
I want her on my jury. Ladies and gentlemen, let's find 11 more jurors
and three alternates just like her.
- Who's next? - Jerry Fernandez, 40 years old.
Puerto Rican. Works for a local moving company...
I got 35 years of experience in courtrooms,
and my instincts for picking jurors
has served me quite nicely so far. I wanna thank you for your time.
Mr. Rohr, I flew down here on my own dime.
- Why? - Because I... I...
Because I believe in... I believe in this case!
- Why? - I... I believe in a world without guns.
That's very sweet, but a little naive.
- 30 percent. - I'm sorry. Excuse me?
30 percent of your usual fee, you're hired, strictly probationary status.
You don't wanna check out my résumé...
Already did. It's impressive.
- (man) OK, here's the thing. - (Nick) What've you got?
(man) "The following are automatically exempt..."
- I read through that stuff. - "Not a resident of New Orleans Parish."
That's not gonna work. What am I gonna say?
- We have to be thorough. - Russell, I'm gonna tell these people
- I'm just gonna pack up and leave? - Number two...
What do you mean, pack up and leave? I've seen your stuff.
- You ain't got nothing to pack. - No, it's true. They own you.
But I'll tell you this. One thing you can do: Leave the country.
Why am I gonna leave the country?
- Uh, church convention. - Sex change.
You're leaving because you're becoming a woman.
Yeah. You got a goat farm...
This whole thing is a disaster because I got my life, I got my work
and I got my training. The Challenge. The Challenge.
- Ooh! Ooh! You can claim hardship. - That's eight weeks away...
- Eight weeks and you're gone. - I can't do it.
And you can't do it.
You've got the Challenge. You can't go.
All right, all right. Check this. "If you have been convicted of a felony..."
- Have you been convicted of a felony? - No.
You should commit a felony. Just commit a crime.
- Are you serious? - It doesn't have to be a bad crime.
- You're out. You're gone. - I should commit a crime?
You're asking to get out of it, are you not?
You registered to vote. That's the problem.
If you register to vote, then they got you in that jury pool.
We need to de-register him.
You know, one of these days, I'm gonna get organized, throw half this stuff away.
Oh, what's that? A Walther PPK. That's a nice piece.
That's the same gun James Bond uses. You know that?
Really? Can't be too safe these days. Walking on the streets all alone.
- Smooth, Maxine. - Tell you what.
It's easier to find an honest firearm these days than a good man.
- Ouch! - You know how to use it?
Oh, my brother took me out to the dump one time.
Mm-hm. You should let me take you down to a firing range, really.
- Attaboy. Attaboy. - Yeah, I'll show you how to shoot.
- I got a few ideas. - I bet.
- Nice job, Maxine. - (man) Way to go.
Frank Herrera, Cuban, 43 years old. Retired Marine sergeant.
Served tours in Panama and Grenada. Twice divorced.
Now he makes his living cleaning swimming pools.
Fair to say that he misses his former position of authority.
I think Frank would make an excellent jury foreman, don't you, Mr. Cable?
Well, I'm only lead counsel for the defense, Mr. Fitch.
I don't pretend to know very much about jury selection.
- Really? - Really.
- Who's next? - Next is Nicholas Easter.
34, co-manager of Game Trader in the Esplanade Mall.
- Who's it for? - Oh, he's gonna love this.
Yeah. Now watch me hit this lady in the head.
- See how her head explodes? - It completely explodes!
You're not supposed to hit her. You know, you hit the bad guys.
- I can try? - Give it a shot, yeah.
OK. Show me how to hold it.
- Here you go. - Thank you.
I threw in this little, um, sniper game. I thought he might like it.
Uh, I wrote down my phone number.
Oh, OK. So that's a local number. You're here.
- Yeah, we're close. Perfect. - Right on.
- I'm Maxine. - I'm Nick Easter.
He calls himself a part-time student.
- Uh, Tulane? City college? - Currently nowhere.
So he's lying. Where's he from?
Moved here eight months ago. Trail's cold.
Just dropped out of the sky like the Archangel Gabriel, huh?
You put him on a jury with Sergeant Herrera,
he's gonna be doing dog tricks inside five minutes.
Look, without reviewing his questionnaire,
without a formal Q and A, I don't think I can trust this.
Well, you're only lead counsel for the defense, Mr. Cable.
You shouldn't pretend to know very much about jury selection.
Nicholas Easter, he's an entertainer. Wants to make everybody happy.
Not a bad way to go through life, making everybody happy.
But in court, it's not that simple.
Somebody always loses.
Just not me.
He's a risk. Let's move on.
(anchorwoman) The case stems from the shooting death
of New Orleans stockbroker Jacob Wood two years ago.
Seating a panel won't be easy in this highly watched,
politically charged trial that begins with jury selection today.
On the defense, Vicksburg Firearms.
Attorneys will begin questioning potential jurors today...
(reporter) The gun industry has never lost in the courts,
but this time, the man leading this fight, attorney Wendall Rohr,
says it'll be different. He says this time, the gun industry will pay.
- It's not sticking. I need the other tape. - Ah, for pity's sake.
- You know what you're doing? - You're good to go.
- Could I get your glasses, big guy? - Perfect. Same prescription.
The frames, however, will feel a little bit heavier. Put 'em on.
Right side of the table. Keep it square. Keep it clear.
Mr. Cable. I'm gonna be putting this behind your right ear.
- What is it? - Well, it ain't Dramamine.
Right there. All set.
- You're done? - I am.
Mr. Rohr.
- Can you smell that? - 200-year-old mahogany.
Furniture polish, cheap cologne and body odor.
Wendall.
How you doin'? I'm Nick.
- Lydia. - So, what are we supposed to do?
Are we supposed to sit here all day? Is that it?
- What do they want us to do? - I'm sure we can think of something.
(bailiff) All rise!
Oyez, oyez, oyez, civil district court for the Parish of Orleans is now in session.
The Honorable Frederick Buford Harkin presiding.
God save this state and this honorable court.
Thank you, bailiff. You may take your seats.
This suit is brought by the plaintiff Celeste Wood...
Over your left shoulder. Rankin Fitch, 2:00.
Dark suit. You've heard the myth.
- Now meet the man. - I'm quaking in my Florsheims.
...used to kill Jacob Wood. Celeste Wood claims
that Vicksburg Firearms is liable for her husband's wrongful death
and seeks special damages for loss of Mr. Wood's future earnings,
as well as general damages, including pain and suffering.
Plaintiff has exercised her right to a jury trial.
Ladies and gentlemen, we are now ready to begin the voir dire.
(Rohr) Miss Coleman.
- Mrs. - Mrs. Coleman. Excuse me.
I see from your questionnaire
that you have no particular feeling about guns one way or another.
- Briefcase on the jury. - Would you say that's correct?
Yes, sir, that's correct.
I don't feel one way or another about guns,
but I sure hate to see people get hurt, though.
I understand. Do you or your husband own a gun?
We do not.
Ever fired a gun for sport or in self-defense?
Uh, look at the shoulder shrug. Now, she's evaluating
the person asking the question before she ever answers.
I mean, she's telling Rohr exactly what he wants to hear.
- So you think she's lying? - Not necessarily.
- But she knows how to. - Rikki Coleman, 36 years of age.
Her husband's a Baptist minister.
She's a card-carrying member of the Sierra Club and a registered Democrat.
Ah, I hate Baptists almost as much as I hate Democrats. What else you got?
- She had an abortion two years ago. - And, and, and?
And the guy holding her hand at the clinic, not the Baptist minister.
(group) Ooh!
Tone of voice, body language. She's got an open mind.
I like her. She's gonna be fair and sympathetic to Ms. Wood.
Mr. Rohr, do you wish to exercise challenge for cause?
No, Your Honor. We accept this juror.
- Mr. Cable? - Take her. Take her.
- No objections here, Your Honor. - Enter Mrs. Coleman as a juror.
I'm co-manager of Circle Foods. It's a local grocery chain.
I've been living here about 14 years.
Circle Foods. Take him, Mr. Cable. Take him.
- We accept this juror, Your Honor. - Mr. Rohr?
- No objections, Your Honor. - Thank you.
You may enter Mr. Shaver as a juror. Next?
Prison. Prison for those people who break the law.
Your Honor, we'll accept this juror.
- (Fitch) She looks good. - No objection, Your Honor.
Enter Miss Hullic as a juror.
It's ridiculous. They're just floodin' the community with...
- No, no, no. - Preemptory challenge, Your Honor.
Go ahead, sir. What are your grounds?
- (Rohr) We accept this juror. - (Harkin) Mr. Rohr?
- (Rohr) No objection. - (Cable) We accept this juror.
(Cable) Do you have a gun in your home?
- I'm thinking about getting one. - Thank you, Mr. Black.
- A Mossberg Pump. - I like him! Yes!
(Harkin) Thank you, Mr. Cable.
- Your Honor, we accept this juror. - No objection.
(Harkin)... Frank Herrera as a juror.
- I'm an auto mechanic. - What about gun control?
Same way I feel about birth control, man.
- It doesn't work. - We accept this juror.
- Please enter Eddie Weese as a juror. - Yes. Yes, definitely yes.
- Rohr? - No challenge.
(Cable) No, we accept this juror, Your Honor.
They call me Millie. I'm an ironwork sculptress.
- (Rohr) Accepted. - Go ahead and take her.
...Deshazo as a juror.
- (Cable) We accept. ...Ms. Deets as a juror.
- We accept this juror. - Having an AK-47 overstates the case.
- I want her. Yes, I want her. - No objection, Your Honor.
...Vanessa Lembeck as a juror. - Mr. Cable?
- No challenge. - No, let's challenge.
(Cable) Preemptory challenge, Your Honor.
Nine-millimeter. It was more of a man's kind of gun.
...Jerry Fernandez as a juror. - We talked about this.
- I like him a lot. We know about her... - I don't carry a gun.
Your Honor, we accept...
- Let's not do down this road. - Thank you, Mr. Rohr.
(Cable) Well, thank you all for being here. Thank you.
- Mr. Docken? - Yes, sir.
- How do you do? - Fine, thank you.
How do you feel about being a juror in this trial? Do you feel you could be fair...
Look at the way he's hunched over and his fingers are interlaced.
I mean, he's trying too hard not to be too obvious.
Yeah, but he's definitely on our side of the fence.
It's a veneer. He's campaigning. He wants on. Bounce him, Cable.
- Go ahead and bounce him. - We're almost out of challenges.
I don't care! Bounce him! Bounce him, Cable! Bounce him!
Preemptory challenge, Your Honor.
- Hold on. Hear me out. - (Harkin) Thank you, Mr. Docken.
- You're excused. - No, I wanna be heard!
- Mr. Docken, you may be excused. - I wanna be heard!
Bailiff!
- I wanna be heard! - Get that man out of the courtroom.
This is the blood of innocent children gunned down by greedy corporations!
Get this self-righteous lunkhead outta here!
- You son of a bitch! - Help him! Help him!
Come on! Help this man! Help this man! Get him out of here!
- Let me go! - (Harkin) It's not a show in here.
- How does it feel? - Get him outta here!
Our nation's trying to kill itself, and you wanna give it
the weapons to do it! You son of a bitch! Let me go!
Let me go! Let me go! Greedy bastards!
- I guess that's lunch. - (gavel)
Somebody add "class clown" to Mr. Easter's ever-expanding résumé.
Court's adjourned. Voir dire will resume tomorrow at 9:00am.
Attorneys, both of you, see me in my chambers right now.
Good call.
(man) There are some things, however, that seem to live eternal.
That's a tendency to always come back, asking for more.
A total of 12 million more.
Now, each of our gun companies has already ponied up $4 million
into this Sportsman's Legacy Fund.
Now, that may not seem like a hell of a lot of money where you come from,
but we think $20 million ought to be enough to secure
a jury in the People's Republic of Berkeley, California, let alone here.
- How about 30,000? - 30,000? What are you talking about?
It's an interesting amount to reflect on. The number of gun deaths every year.
Or the number of men, women and children who are disabled
by your gentlemen's products last year alone: 100,000.
Or we could focus... on the number one.
Because one is all they want. One win, one precedent.
Because once they get that, they're gonna be traveling around this country,
filing civil actions and siphoning away
at that $2 billion that you gentlemen sell in firearms and ammo every fiscal year.
$2 billion. Whoo!
Where I come from, that's a lot of money.
What I'm asking for is a pittance
compared to what a negative verdict is gonna cost you.
Our share price is down 25% just on word of this trial.
I'm down almost 30.
I'll kick in an extra 1.5, but no más.
- 1.5 each. That's 7.5 total. - Well, I'll take it.
Do you have any additional plans for this pittance?
- Matter of fact, I do. - Lonnie Shaver. Manager here?
- All day. - Ernie Strode.
I'm gonna put you gentlemen in the grocery business.
Grocery business?
We're in the process of acquiring your store.
...meeting with all the store managers
to discuss their future roles in the organization...
(Fitch) Poor bastard hadn't had a promotion in five years.
Not all employees are gonna make the transition.
We've identified you as one of our candidates
for the Superhouse program. How soon can we fly you up?
Mr. Shaver, in subtle and unspoken ways, will be made to appreciate
the terms of advancement in the Hammond Foods empire.
- I don't like the looks of this one. - Ex-Marine drill instructor.
These people are looking for a leader. They'll follow Frank Herrera.
And if they elect someone else foreman?
Whoever they vote for will be following me.
Just like in Cincinnati and Oakland and Pittsburgh.
Gentlemen, trials are too important to be left up to juries.
(laughter)
(bailiff) God save this state and this honorable court.
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. You may take your seats.
- Who's next? - Herman Grimes.
Who? Who'd did he say?
(Harkin) Is there a Herman Grimes in the court?
Mr. Grimes is not on my list.
There's a swinging door ahead of you, honey. You got it?
45 degrees to your left, then 20 degrees to your right.
Uh, hold on a minute there, Mr. Grimes.
There's no need for you to have come down here today.
You're excused for reasons of disability.
And what if I do not wish to be excused, sir?
Well... I've never known a blind man to serve on a jury,
and I must say, I can't recall any case or law
or statute that would permit or prevent...
State v. Jack, Your Honor. The Louisiana Supreme Court has held
that it is a violation of constitutional due process
to just automatically dismiss the visually impaired...
- He's right. ...from jury service.
Well, Mr. Grimes, that's very impressive.
- Why are you smiling, sir? - (laughter)
Mr. Rohr, Mr. Cable, any objections to Mr. Grimes serving on this jury?
The plaintiffs would welcome Mr. Grimes to our jury, Your Honor.
- "Our jury." - (Harkin) Mr. Cable?
As would we on the defense, Your Honor.
- Who's next? - (bailiff) Nicholas Easter.
(Harkin) Mr. Easter?
- Mr. Rohr. - Your Honor.
- Good morning, Mr. Easter. - Good morning.
Well, it says here that you work in an electronics store.
Yes, sir, that's correct.
How would you feel if you knew there was a gun
behind the counter in case of a robbery?
- Well, we're in the mall, sir. - But I think you'd agree
that robberies take place in malls on occasion, do they not?
Yes, but we're in the Esplanade Mall,
which is right across the street from the sheriff's office in Jefferson Parish.
Yes, I'm familiar where it is.
Well, I mean, you'd have to be on crack to try to rob it. I guess that's my point.
I see. Well, tell me...
Mr. Easter, that's the second time you've looked at your watch.
Are we keeping you from something?
No, Your Honor. I wouldn't presume to waste your time.
I just... I think if you knew my situation,
you might be inclined to excuse me from...
- Your situation, Mr. Easter? - Yes, Your Honor.
- It's the Madden Challenge. - The Madden what?
You know, "Madden Football." It's a video game.
Well, you'd be surprised at how many people play. At any rate,
every year, they choose the best 15 players from across the country
to compete in a kind of tournament, you know,
- against NFL players and celebrities... - I'm not following you.
- Against NFL players and celebrities... - I'm not following you.
It's like this, Your Honor: The prize is $100,000. So I just don't know
if I can afford to pass up the opportunity to make that kind of cash. It's a big deal.
I'd like this boy to have a lesson in civic responsibility.
Do you have any objection to that, Mr. Rohr?
Your Honor, it's something I've been doing for a very long time.
The jury system was originated, Mr. Easter,
because, for thousands of years before that, an individual judge
had the power to hang, for example, any young man he simply did not like.
- Yes, Your Honor. - Any objections, Mr. Rohr?
I have no objection whatsoever, Your Honor.
- Mr. Cable? - What do I do?
- Any time today, counselor. - Harkin sandbagged us.
- Go ahead and take him. Take him. - Uh, no objections, Your Honor.
- Enter Mr. Nicholas Easter as a juror. - Freeze that right there, will ya?
Freeze it.
(Fitch) 30 years in the trenches have taught me this:
There's always a loose end.
Everybody has a secret they don't want you to find. Find it.
First group, Ms. Monroe: Rikki Coleman, Sylvia Deshazo, Vanessa Lembeck.
Mr. Klein: Herman Grimes, Millie Dupree, Eddie Weese.
Mr. Garson: Loreen Duke, Lonnie Shaver, Frank Herrera.
Mr. Lamb: The three alternates. Lydia Deets, yoga teacher,
Phillip Seville, shrimp fisherman. Henry Wu.
Let's find out everything we don't know.
Mr. Doyle, you know the city better than anyone.
You take Jerry Fernandez, Stella Hullic, Nicholas Easter.
These are your babies, people. This is what you live for.
I think you got the wrong apartment.
What are you gonna do? Call the cops? Hm?
- You weren't there today. - I couldn't. I was too nervous.
What are you gonna do? You gonna hit me in the head with my...
my George Foster big stick?
What are you nervous about, huh?
You are not juror number nine in the biggest case of the year.
You're kidding. You're kidding me!
- You're kidding me! - No, I'm not kidding you.
- How'd you do it? - Let go of that thing.
- How'd you do it? - Madden Challenge.
It was a thing of beauty. The judge even threatened to hang me.
- Juror number nine. - Juror number nine.
(squeals) What do you have for me?
(kisses) I love St. Catherine.
(soft rock)
- How do I look? - Handsome.
- Do I look honest and trustworthy? - Hm... To an innocent eye.
Good enough to survive 10 to 15 in the state pen?
Don't say that. It's bad luck.
Look... We're not gonna be seeing each other for a while.
They're gonna be watching us. You have to come back to bed. Now.
We're just gonna have to be more careful then, aren't we?
- How much do you think it's worth? - 10, 15 million. Maybe more.
Look, that's enough. Come back to bed.
We only need eight of them for a verdict.
Everybody's got a button. We just gotta find out where and push.
You have them.
We don't have anything yet.
...Celeste Wood. You'll recall that two years ago,
Wood's stockbroker husband Jacob was gunned down in a mass slaying
inside the brokerage firm where he worked.
...two years ago by a failed day-trader who later turned the gun on himself.
Never before has a jury found the gun industry liable for murder.
You might remember also the former mayor of the city...
...after her husband was gunned down in the prime of his life.
The man leading this: Famed New Orleans attorney Wendall Rohr...
Mr. Cable, do you feel that this lawsuit is frivolous?
Uh, it's capricious. I find it's unfortunate that Mr. Rohr has chosen
to use Miss Wood and the courts as vehicles...
Mr. Rohr, how do you expect to win this case?
It's very simple.
Reckless, profit-hungry gun companies like Vicksburg
have been getting away with murder for too long, and we have...
(man) I'm losing a lot of money on this jury thing.
(man #2) Oh, really?
- (man #3) What? - (man #4) 16.
- (man #3) 16? - (man #4) Yeah.
(man #3) No way. $16 a day? What is this, 1892?
Well, you're not supposed to do it for the pay, darling.
You're supposed to do it out of civic duty.
- Nice to meet you. Frank Herrera. - Henry Wu. I became a citizen...
(woman) Well, he deserves it. He's the president of the free world.
There's coffee and donuts over there. Now, these muffins, I made 'em myself.
A treat for the first day.
These look like they are a treat.
OK. Morning.
Well, everyone's here. All accounted for? Good.
I think we should elect a jury foreman, like Judge Harkin instructed us.
And who would that be, Mr. Man?
Well, if no one else feels strongly about it, I'd like to throw my hat in the ring.
Uh-uh, excuse me...
- Mister... - Herrera, ma'am. Frank Herrera.
Mr. Herrera. Out of all of us,
what makes you think you're the best person for the job?
- Well, Miss... - Mrs. Loreen Duke.
- Mrs. Duke. - Mm-hm.
I was a master sergeant in the Marine Corps.
I served my country in Panama, Grenada, Beirut.
- You name it, I was there. - I can run a 6-minute mile.
Young lady...
Well, if nobody minds, I'd also like to be considered for foreman.
I mean, I might not have served in Grenada or Panama,
but I'm the mother of two small children...
In that case, y'all ought to consider me. Hell, I got three kids.
Ladies and gentlemen, with all due respect,
I think I know who would make an excellent foreman.
- Oh, and who might that be, Mister... - Easter. Nicholas Easter, sir.
I was watching a lot of people very closely
during the jury selection, and only this man... I don't know your name, sir.
- What is your name? - Herman Grimes.
- Only Mr. Grimes... - No, just Herman.
Only Herman had the guts to stand up to the judge,
and only Herman seems to know a little something about the law.
So, in my book, you know, I think it'd be a good idea for him to represent us.
- But... - But he's blind, man. So what?
- So is justice, right? - (man) That's right, brother.
What do you think, Herman? Are you up to it?
- Well, of course I am. - All in favor of Herman.
- Did I get any votes? - Hey, it's unanimous. You're in.
- (man) Congratulations. - All right, listen up.
Court's in session. Lunch is set for 1:00.
We order out from Verdi's Mart. Please fill out a menu.
Make sure you circle what you want, now.
Don't make it too expensive. Thank you.
Oh, I had this last week. It's really good. Thank you.
- (man) Think I'm gonna have salmon. - (woman) Nothing on that menu.
(bailiff) All right, all right. Thank you.
(Rohr) October, two years ago, at 8:45 am on a Monday morning,
a man by the name of Kevin Peltier casually walks though
the brokerage house from which he was fired the previous Friday morning.
He walks into the elevator. He loads a 36-round magazine
into his Performa 990 semiautomatic, and when he reaches the third floor,
he opens fire on his former coworkers, killing 11 and critically wounding five
before turning the gun on himself. Now, they never had a chance.
This was all less than two minutes. They couldn't stop him.
11 lives ended. That's all you jurors, minus one.
And among them was Jacob Wood,
the husband of my client, Celeste Wood,
and the father of their son Henry, six years old.
I don't know about you, but I'm angry at the tragic and senseless loss of life.
Why does the Vicksburg Firearms company make it so easy
to buy these guns on the underground market?
Because they care more about making money than they do about your life
or my life or the life of that woman's husband.
A very courageous former executive of Vicksburg Firearms
is gonna come in here, and he's gonna testify
that this Performa 990 semiautomatic was manufactured for, principally,
criminals, all those others poised for violence.
Excuse me. Would you please give these to Mr. Rohr and Mr. Cable?
...into a very efficient mass murderer.
Yes, it was Mr. Peltier that squeezed the trigger that awful Monday morning.
But it was the Vicksburg Firearms company,
through a deliberate and negligent distribution policy,
that put that assault-type weapon into the hands of Mr. Peltier.
As such, they were complicit in those murders.
And this I'll prove to you during the course of the trial.
Thank you very much. Your Honor.
- (Harkin) Mr. Cable. - Thank you, Your Honor.
- I feel so nervous. - You'll be fine.
That was quite provocative.
Now, I wanna tell you two things about guns today.
I don't think either of them will be news to you,
but the first is guns are dangerous. They're guns. This is their function.
And I wanna tell you today that no one is more aware of that
or takes more responsibility for it than the gun industry,
especially Vicksburg Firearms,
as a company that's been in business since before the Civil War.
Now, the automobile industry works every day
to ensure that their cars are safe.
Why? Because they drive them.
Now, the people at Vicksburg work every day
to keep the guns out of the hands of the criminals.
Why? Because they have families with children...
Did you see who handed this to you?
Well, it was a woman. She had blond hair.
She had pretty blond hair, just like that woman on television.
We didn't catch her on any of the CCTVs.
Doesn't matter. I'm sure she was wigged.
I doubt you'll find any, but have this sprayed for prints. Anything turns up...
I'll process it through the Printak database.
- (Cable) We're not here to legislate. - Mr. Cable is winding up.
Well, ladies and gentlemen of the jury,
amidst all the finger-pointing, Mr. Rohr did say one true thing:
This case is about money.
You know, it looks like Judge Harkin won't be breaking till after two.
Would you mind holding his jury's lunch order till then? Thank you.
What do you think about her? I hear she teaches a class over at Tulane.
- Yeah? - Wouldn't mind takin' that class.
- What subject? - Yeah, well, she's a tall glass of iced tea.
A little too much lemon, a little too much ice.
Um, I'm sorry,
but would you mind not doing that in here? I'm predisposed to asthma.
Come on, I'll open the window. It ain't gonna bother you.
Actually, I mind, too. Sorry. Secondhand smoke.
I gotta tell you, Mr. Shaver, I don't wanna smoke your cigarettes, either.
Damn. I can't smoke, can't leave the room. What is this, California?
- It is against the rules. - Aw, man, be quiet.
You're just an alternate, man.
What does that have to do with anything?
(overlapping arguing)
(Herman) Come on, come on. We're gonna be here for a while together.
(Lonnie) So why are you bothering me?
You know that I think? I think we're all just really hungry.
And where's our lunch they promised us? It's 1:30.
That's why I wanna smoke. I'm starving. Tamp down my appetite.
Herman, you want me to go check out what's going on with lunch?
Good idea, Nick. Go see what's taking 'em.
(Harkin) So they go over there and he sees a cow
and he sees a golf ball up in that cow's ass.
And he says - well, this is delicate - "Excuse me, ma'am."
And he raises that cow's tail and says, "Does this look like yours?"
And she hit him with a four-iron!
- Excuse me, Judge. - Huh?
- There's someone to see you. - All right, all right.
Excuse me, gentlemen.
- You are...? - Nick Easter, juror number nine.
Yes. Now, what do you think you're doing outside of that jury room,
Mr. Easter-juror-number nine? And where's Lou Dell?
- She's chattin' it up in the hallway, sir. - Well, Mr. Easter,
I would strongly advise you to return to that jury room and finish your lunch.
That's the problem, sir. I think somebody forgot to order our lunch.
- The jury has no lunch? - That's why I'm here, sir.
Everybody knows you here in the parish.
They know you like to keep a tight schedule on your bench.
If we're gonna be back in less than 45 minutes...
I gotta be honest with you, sir. We're hungry.
Well, what exactly, Mr. Easter, would you like me to do?
(Jerry) Hey, Lonnie, Lonnie! Could you pass me some garlic bread?
- You got any over there? - Oh, absolutely, man. Stuff is delicious.
(upbeat soul)
I'm not sure, but I believe I'm buying lunch for this jury.
Jury's right there.
Well, in 35 years, that is the most absurd thing I've ever seen.
- You got a little mustard on your tie. - I did it on purpose.
First day of the trial, judge is having lunch with the jury. What's that about?
- Look at that. - What?
- Let's go. - (glasses clinking)
- Hey, hey, hey! To Nick! - (woman) To Nick!
- This is horseshit. - It wasn't me.
It wasn't me. It was Judge Harkin. Judge Harkin!
OK, that's enough. Thank you very much. All right.
- Here's the deposition you needed. - Thank you, thank you.
(clears throat)
We gonna talk about this?
I cannot believe you had the nerve to bring that in this office.
- I think we ought to discuss it at least. - Well, a better idea:
- Why don't you just give it to the judge? - 'Cause they'd throw the case out.
Let me explain something to you. That's a defense tactic, OK?
All it's meant to do is just throw our focus off,
so that we can just move toward a mistrial.
But I'd really like it out of the office, so give it to me, please.
Barry, after you shred it, burn it. OK?
You know how many of those crank things I get?
What if it's for real?
- No, it's not for real. - What if it is?
Well, if it's for real, then this isn't a trial, is it? Then this is just an auction,
and I might as well get on this phone here
and call up all those anti-gun activist friends of mine in Washington
and tell 'em we're just gonna put on a telethon and we will buy this verdict.
(phone rings)
'Cause they're not gonna think of that, are they?
Somebody wanna get that phone? You got any other suggestions?
Well, look at it. Syntax, handwriting, word choice.
Clearly a woman did the note. Someone's working the inside. A juror.
Miss Monroe, I think seven hours spent on this topic is sufficient.
- Can we agree? - Mr. Fitch, I got a call for you.
Line seven.
- Yes. - (woman) Hello, Rankin.
I'm the agent handling the property you were notified about earlier today.
- I'd like to know who I'm speaking with. - You can call me Marlee.
Pay phone, 15 miles away.
- You can call me Marlee. - Where are we going with this, Marlee?
All the way to the verdict.
The fact is, the jury's mine, and I can push it either way. For a price.
Sounds good. So good, in fact, I don't believe you can do it.
I'll bet you're old enough to remember a time
when people delivered on what they promised. I'm one of those people.
I'm also old enough to remember Watergate, Abscam, Linda Tripp...
...and a whole bunch of other times people got entrapped
for engaging in conversations just like this, and you'd do very good
to remember that, young lady. There are consequences.
Well, let me worry about those. For now, I just hope you're feeling patriotic.
- You hope I'm feeling... - Patriotic?
- Morning, Nick. - Morning, Lou.
- Good morning, Vanessa. - Morning.
- Nick. - Hey, guys.
- How you doin'? - What's up?
OK.
- Hey, Lonnie, Sylvia. - Hey, man.
Good morning, Frank.
Frank, you were in Panama and Grenada, right?
- And Beirut. - Wow.
That really must've been something, huh?
Yeah. Pulling the bodies of friends of mine out of the rubble.
- It was really something, Nick. - No, no, no, no. You don't understand.
I had a friend who was in Desert Storm. He was in the Corps, too.
- What division? - The 1-4 out of Pendleton.
Yeah, well, that was mostly air power.
Not much real action down there anyhow.
Actually, there was, Frank.
You don't know what the hell you're talking about, Easter.
My friend's name was Donny Rabbs, and his helicopter was shot down
in a Kuwaiti oil field. He was killed 12 years ago today.
- Sorry to hear that. - I'm sorry. It's just a strange day.
I always figure, if I don't remember him today, nobody else will.
That's the way people are. Short memories.
That's a terrible thing, y'all, but we don't always know God's plan.
Listen, I don't know if it'd be inappropriate,
but do you think we could do something today to remember him?
- We could say the Lord's Prayer. - Well, I don't wanna ask people to pray.
- How about "God Bless America"? - I couldn't ask people to sing.
- I don't sing. - I don't sing, OK?
You know what? I have an idea.
Good morning. You may take your seats, please.
I pledge allegiance
to the flag of the United States of America
and to the republic for which it stands,
one nation under God, indivisible,
with liberty and justice for all.
I don't know about you, Wendall, but I'm feeling pretty patriotic.
Uh, thank you, ladies and gentlemen. Will you please take your seats?
Jesus.
- (gunshot) - Shit.
Pull!
You wanted to see me?
Mr. Cable called me last night in a bit of a panic.
Now, he's concerned that someone's trying to monkey with our jury.
As am I. As are my associates.
- Who is it? - It's a parlor game.
Just because somebody can influence where a jury has lunch,
that doesn't mean they can hand us the verdict.
Ah, well, you see, Mr. Fitch, this is where I get a little confused,
because I was under the impression
that we had already purchased ourselves a verdict.
You know what I love best about this gun?
Though it's 70 years old, it's just as reliable as the day it was made.
Mr. Fitch!
You find out who it is, will you?
Pull!
...one nation under God...
At some point, everyone on the jury
acknowledges Herrera, like they're doing it for him.
It's not him. Right here at the end, Loreen Duke, our juror number 10...
Right there. Freeze there. Yeah. Tighten in on her left hand.
Right there. (chuckles)
Isn't that sweet?
Nicholas Easter, our song and dance man, has an agenda.
Mr. Lamb, how did this confidence man crash my jury pool?
I don't know. I'd-I'd need some time, sir.
Now. I'm asking for an educated guess.
Maybe he just did it. I mean, who wants jury duty? Nobody, right?
It's like going to the dentist. It's worse than going to the dentist.
It's a municipal database that nobody would ever wanna hack into.
The security protocol is weak, so he'd put a name on the list...
I got it. I got it, Mr. Lamb. Thank you.
- Mr. Doyle? - I'm on it.
Your Honor. Good afternoon, Mr. Murphy.
- You own and operate Excalibur Guns. - Yes, sir, I do.
Yes, and isn't Excalibur Guns a retail outlet store
- for Vicksburg Firearms? - Yes, sir.
Would you tell us about your arrangement with a man,
Michael Kincaid, who illegally sold this Performa 990 semiautomatic
to Kevin Peltier smack-dab out of the trunk of his car?
- My arrangement? - Yes, sir.
Well, Mikey... Mr. Kincaid bought guns from my store...
At a rate of more than 25 guns a month, didn't you ever wonder
who your friend Mikey was turning around and selling these guns to?
- Well, that's none of my business. - Oh, you mean it's not your problem.
- Now, hold on there. I didn't say that. - Objection, Your Honor.
- The counsel is testifying. - Sustained. Mr. Rohr...
Yo! Thanks a lot.
- Afternoon. - Afternoon.
(Rohr)... your friend Michael Kincaid 28 guns in December.
Now, did you ever wonder why one man
would buy 112 guns in a period of four months?
- A collector? - A collector, sir?
112 weapons, and all of them semiautomatic assault weapons?
- I don't know. - Come on, take a guess.
- Christmas presents? - That's a guess.
Objection, Your Honor. This is all speculation.
- Sustained. - Did they send a field rep
- out to investigate? - No, sir.
No, because they were very pleased with your success, weren't they?
- Say again? - Is it not true that Vicksburg Firearms,
instead of investigating the increasing number of guns that were being sold
to one man, instead send you and your wife on a trip to Jamaica.
- No. - No?
My wife hates Jamaica. We switched to Cancun.
(laughter)
I have no further questions, Your Honor.
Thank you, Mr. Rohr. We'll adjourn today. Hold cross till tomorrow.
Release the jury 45 minutes early. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.
Oh, hi. Yeah, the landlord let me in.
He said some of the tenants had been having trouble with the cable.
- Uh-huh. - But, uh... I checked yours out and, uh...
Hey!
(honking)
(panting)
(starts engine)
Whoa!
Hey!
...looks fine. I don't think you have anything...
- (Fitch) What do we got, people? - The drive's been erased twice over.
It's empty. But it's not zeroed out.
He may have been more sloppy than he thought.
- Give me a few moments. - Mr. Fitch.
Lamb, trace it.
Fitch here.
- You don't play nice. - What are you talking about?
You broke into Nick Easter's apartment.
You freely assume it was me.
Oh, wouldn't you be disappointed if I didn't?
I'm bumping a juror. One of yours.
This time it's just gonna be a pinprick.
Next time it's really gonna hurt.
(hangs up)
Looks like somebody had themselves a good time last night.
I woke up on my stove. Oh, man.
- You don't got any aspirin, do you? - Uh-uh.
I think I can do a little bit better than an aspirin.
- Yeah? - Mm-hm. A little hair of the dog.
- Oh. Can you sweeten this up for me? - Yeah, put it under the table.
You're an angel.
- No, let me pour it. - I'll pour it.
Let me do it. Let me do it!
It's mine, sir.
I didn't take you for a day drinker, Mr. Easter.
I'm usually not.
You still trying to get off my jury? Is that it?
Your Honor, I took an oath to do my level best, and I meant it.
Difficult as that is to believe, Mr. Easter,
it's even more difficult to believe this is your liquor.
I might be wrong, but I don't think that's your shade of lipstick.
Ms. Hullic?
And moving into Ms. Hullic's spot will be first alternate Ms. Lydia Deets.
Ms. Deets... will you join the jurors in the box, please?
Welcome to our jury. I trust you got
the same instructions the rest of the jurors did.
- You ready to go? - Yes, sir.
(Harkin) Very good. Well...
- Cell phone, untraceable. - Marlee?
- I'd like your offer, Mr. Fitch. - Not over the phone.
If you thought this whole thing was gonna take place long-distance,
you're mistaken.
- You wanna lose another juror? - Anybody can get a juror booted.
That doesn't show me that you can deliver a verdict.
Hell, I could get Nick Easter canned if I put five man-hours into it.
But you won't do that. You need him to guarantee the jury swings your way.
So next time I call, have your offer ready.
(hangs up)
Ladies and gentlemen, this girl is an amateur.
You understand? A dilettante! And I want this nonsense ended today!
I want you to find her! I want you to contain her!
Because you're losing me my jury!
Now find something on every one of them!
Pull their files! Review every word, every photo, every medical record. Do it!
- Who do we have? - Rikki Coleman's boyfriend's name
is Neil Pollard. Mrs. Coleman broke it off with him two months after the abortion.
- Who's gonna help Daddy? - Me, me!
The good news is Mr. Coleman has racked up three cases of domestic battery,
and there's no way she would've cried on his shoulder about it.
Your husband looks a lot different than your boyfriend with you at the clinic.
We'll be in touch.
Back up, back up!
About four months ago, Mr. Weese began filling prescriptions
for the following drugs: Crixivan, Epivir, and AZT.
Unbeknownst to his mother, his employer, his church and his friends,
Mr. Weese is HIV-positive.
Get off me!
That's what I'm talkin' about!
- Get a little present for ya. - Who are you?