Andy? It got so late, I thought you weren't coming.
I'd about given up on you.
Misty.
- Did you tell her? - Tell me what?
Then do it, Andy. Tell her.
He doesn't love you.
No!
Everybody stop.
Put your hands in the air.
Ensign Kingsley, you have the right to remain silent.
Anything you say may be used against you in a trial by court-martial.
You have the right to consult an attorney.
You have the right to have a lawyer during questioning.
Do you understand these rights?
Yes, ma'am.
Do you waive the rights to remain silent and consult an attorney?
I don't need an attorney, ma'am.
How did you meet Misty James?
My wife was a disbursement officer on the John O'Connor, ma'am.
Her ship was on deployment in the Med.
One night, I stopped by the minimart on base for ice cream,
and that's where I met Misty.
I thought he was just being sweet, sir,
bringing me ice cream.
But he was having an affair.
A friend of mine saw them together.
- So, what'd you do then? - I confronted him.
I told him we were married for keeps and we needed to work this out.
He promised he would break it off.
- What was your wife's reaction? - Well, Susan went ballistic, ma'am.
She wouldn't listen to reason.
I had to restrain her.
That's why you arranged a meeting with Miss James?
Yeah. Then Susan got in the car to go with me.
She told me I had to tell Misty in front of her.
Why did you agree to accompany your husband?
Andy made me go with him.
I didn't want to.
It was degrading.
What'd you do once you got to the meeting place?
He got out of the car, and they started hugging.
So I got out of the car.
I told him if he was gonna do it, he should do it.
I think I was crying.
What happened then?
The girl, she came at me with some kind of pipe.
She swung it at me.
My wife had a pipe in her hand.
She must have brought it with her.
Before I knew what was happening, she was attacking Misty.
Did your wife say anything?
No. I tried to stop Susan.
I tried to protect Misty.
And then Susan turned on me.
I never saw her like that before.
Well, what happened then?
I must have ducked. I don't remember.
She came at me again.
I grabbed the pipe.
And I swung it.
Did you strike the blows that killed Misty James?
She tried to kill me, sir.
She and my husband.
He tried to grab me to help her.
But why would your husband and Miss James wanna try to kill you?
They were having an affair. I was in the way.
Why not just file for divorce?
My family is rich, sir.
Andy wanted my money.
I think that's all he ever wanted.
He never really loved me.
Hey.
Did you guys have a good time last night?
Well, the theatre. That's where you and my mom went, right?
You always get home at 5:30?
Well, no, I fell asleep on a friend's couch.
You always get up at 5:30?
Gives me time for a five-mile run before work.
God.
You know, I wanted to say I'm sorry about messing up your date
with my mom on her birthday.
Apology accepted.
You know, I didn't get her a present yet myself.
And, well, you know how she's a gardening freak,
so I wanted to get her a couple dogwoods,
but my car's too small to pick them up.
- Well, you wanna use mine? - Well, you know, if it's not a problem.
You know, I don't have any spare time today, but...
- You don't have to come with me. - No, I don't mind.
Maybe another morning this week.
Oh, not before one of your five-mile runs.
How's your afternoons?
Give me a call. We'll work something out.
Outstanding.
You should have seen her, Mac. She was breaking my heart.
Her husband says she was more into breaking heads.
Well, she says they tried to kill her.
Kind of takes "he said, she said" to a whole new level.
Ma'am. Sir.
I've got the preliminary autopsy report on Misty James and the forensics.
Great. Thanks, gunny.
Hey, gunny, you worked homicide in New Mexico, didn't you?
Yes, sir. Until I got shot in the left posterior.
Stick around, will you? Have a seat.
"The decedent received three blows to the head with a heavy linear object.
A short length of pipe recovered from the scene
was found to be consistent with the injuries sustained."
Well, there's no argument there.
Both parties concur Ensign Kingsley swung the pipe.
Yeah, but was it murder or self-defence?
Any defensive wounds on the victim, ma'am?
No marks on the hands, no marks on the arms.
And so she was caught by surprise, ma'am.
Yeah, which matches the husband's story.
Ensign Kingsley didn't have any marks on her body.
Sounds like a one-sided fight, sir.
Two sets of fingerprints on the pipe: Ensign Kingsley and Miss James.
Supporting her story that they struggled for it.
"Miss James' prints were formed, in part, in cerebral fluid."
She grabbed onto the pipe
after her brains were splattered all over it.
Kind of hard to do.
- Morning, Tiner. - Morning, sir.
Dr. Walden called twice, admiral. She can't make lunch.
- See if dinner will work. - Aye, sir.
Also, Rose Palermo will be here at 0945,
and Colonel MacKenzie and Commander Rabb are waiting for you.
Who isn't? Morning. At ease. Take a seat.
- Morning, sir. - Morning.
Have a seat.
We're here to give a recommendation
on the Misty James murder, sir.
Did somebody actually name her Misty?
Yes, sir.
Sir, we believe Ensign Kingsley murdered her.
Jealous wife kills husband's lover?
Yes, sir. The forensic evidence is pretty clear,
and the husband is an eyewitness.
Apparently, the ensign thought you might pick her as a killer.
She's hired a lawyer.
Colonel, how do you feel about going up against your old professor?
- Juanita Ressler? - Ensign Kingsley's going first class.
- I'd welcome the opportunity, sir. - Good. Roberts will assist.
Commander, you'll look into the death of Petty Officer Matteo Palermo.
The suicide investigation, sir?
Suicide investigation aboard the USS Seahawk.
You can keep up your carrier quals while you're there.
Thank you, sir.
Are you sure you should be carrying him, sweetie?
He's too small to carry me.
- Hey. - Hey.
- Boy, he's quite a bruiser. - Hi.
I'm teaching him how to eat, sir.
I understand the Redskins are looking for a new lineman.
Excuse me, commander. Mrs. Palermo's waiting in your office.
- Oh, thanks, gunny. - Sir.
Can I hold him?
- Until the next one comes, if you want. - Can I hold you, sweetie?
It's okay, it's okay. Let her take you. He's tired.
You guys are so lucky having a girl this time. One of each.
Ma'am, l...
That is to say, we would like to talk to you.
- Is everything okay? - Yes, ma'am.
It's about Sarah.
- Who's Sarah? - Technically, you are, ma'am. Sarah.
So we decided to call our baby girl Sarah.
If that's okay with you, colonel.
I'd like that.
I brought these.
Matteo wrote to me every week. He never missed one.
- How many boys do that? - Well, I know I didn't, ma'am.
I want you to read this one.
"Dear Grandma, good news.
Everything I wanted to happen is coming true."
I got accepted to SEAL training.
I go to Coronado in November, but first I get 30 days' leave.
And that's enough time to see you.
And now that I got a start in life,
I'm gonna ask Assunta if she wants to get married.
"I can't wait for her to meet you.
Love, Matteo."
That was right before it happened.
Does that sound like the letter
from somebody who's going to kill himself?
Well, ma'am, things aren't always the way they seem.
I want to bury Matteo next to his mother.
But if he took his own life, I can't.
That's what the Church says.
Here.
Read the rest of these letters.
And you tell me if he committed suicide.
I'll get Kingsley's academy records. I want you to go to the John O'Connor.
Talk to her commanding officer.
Ma'am, I have a friend at BUPERS
who has a friend at NAVSEA that heard a rumour
that Ensign Kingsley was taken to captain's mast
for fighting with a fellow female officer.
- A captain's mast where, lieutenant? - I don't know, ma'am.
Well, maybe your friend in BUPERS has a friend in SURFLANT
who can find out.
- I'll ask her, ma'am. - Colonel?
- why you went with your husband that night to see Misty James?
It was Andy's idea.
He wanted me to know that he' carried through on his promise.
Or at least that's what he said. That's how they lured me there.
Mel, this charge is outrageous. Ensign Kingsley is the victim here.
Susan, you had no idea
what would lay in store for you that night?
How was I supposed to know my husband wanted to murder me?
I went with him because I love him,
because I wanted to save my marriage.
And then that woman attacked me. And he attacked me.
I'm sorry she's dead,
but I was fighting for my life.
Ducking and trying to hold on to the pipe
and screaming, "They're trying to kill me."
My own husband, he wanted me dead.
Call Judge Morimoto.
I want a gag order on Ensign Kingsley and Ms. Ressler.
Forget it, colonel.
I don't want the country crying with this girl.
You don't have a choice. I just got off the phone with SECNAV.
Three months ago, he agreed for the first time
to allow TrialTV to broadcast a court-martial.
This is the one they want.
I'm standing in front of the headquarters
of the judge advocate general,
a building that houses the elite cadre of military lawyers known as JAGs.
With me is the kind of lawyer they don't go up against very often.
Juanita Ressler, known for her courtroom dramatics
and media savvy, is about to make her appearance.
Good morning.
Can you tell me what approach you're going to take to this case?
The truth, Lynn, just the truth.
Ensign Kingsley is basically a naive young woman
who suddenly found herself brutally attacked
by her husband and his mistress.
She screamed, "They're trying to kill me."
That's the message we're going to be getting out in court.
Ms. Ressler, the prosecutor, Lieutenant Colonel Sarah MacKenzie,
is one of your former students.
- Nice picture. - She has a reputation for being tough
and aggressive, despite having had to overcome
a series of personal and professional difficulties.
Colonel, you have a pile of messages. People magazine wants an interview.
The Washington Post, 60 Minutes II...
Tell them I have better things to do.
But I think she's failed to learn one basic lesson:
You don't prosecute the victim.
Thank you.
Good morning. Be seated.
As all parties are aware, and as consented to by the accused,
this court-martial will be televised.
This has been approved so that the general public
might have a better understanding of how military justice works.
But I caution all counsel that they are to conduct themselves
as if the cameras were not present.
I will not tolerate any grandstanding and/or theatrics.
Does counsel understand me?
- We do, Your Honour. - Yes, Your Honour.
Good.
Colonel MacKenzie, you may begin with your opening remarks.
Thank you, sir.
Good morning.
During the course of this trial,
we will present clear and convincing evidence
that Ensign Susan Kingsley killed Misty James,
that her husband was having an affair with Miss James,
and that Ensign Kingsley knew about it.
That she arranged for her husband to take her to Miss James,
so she could confront her.
That she brought the murder weapon with her
to the scene of that confrontation.
That in full view of her husband,
she struck Miss James repeatedly with that weapon.
Those are the facts in this case. They are simple and clear.
And they indicate beyond any reasonable doubt
the accused is guilty as charged of premeditated murder.
Thank you.
Ms. Ressler.
Surprises. That's what this case is really about.
Colonel MacKenzie wants to talk about facts.
But there are a few surprising facts she did not mention.
The fact that her star witness
is a man who cheated on his wife in the first year of their marriage.
The fact that Ensign Kingsley expected
to see her husband break off an adulterous relationship
with a teenage girl,
only to find herself under physical attack.
The fact that Ensign Kingsley fought to save her life,
only to find herself charged with murder.
Ensign Kingsley has been a victim once.
Don't let it happen again.
Thank you.
Joining us now are two people who know the combustible combination
of law and media better than anyone.
Gloria Allred and Johnnie Cochran.
Well, what do you think?
Did Ms. Ressler outflank the colonel?
Mel, maybe I'm partial to the Defence,
but I like Ms. Ressler's "take no prisoners" style.
It's a close one, Mel. Two powerful women slugging it out.
Ms. Ressler's ahead on points. She's fiery and passionate.
You always like flash, Johnnie.
All Colonel MacKenzie needs is time to build her case.
What she needs is an appointment with a Beverly Hills hairstylist.
That's incredibly sexist, Johnnie.
But I guess she can't do anything about her outfit.
Unlike some lawyers, Colonel MacKenzie believes
in sticking to the facts.
The facts? The husband was breaking off his affair.
Why would his wife kill the other woman?
If the motive's ruled out, there's reasonable doubt.
- Yeah? - Sir, Danny Walden's on Line 2.
Tell him not today, Tiner.
Tell him day after tomorrow, 12 noon sharp.
Petty Officer Palermo was a good kid, sir.
Excuse us, gents. He was a third-class ordinance man.
I wasn't on duty the day it happened.
He just showed up during flight ops.
- You were there? - Affirmative.
I don't like losing a man on my watch, commander.
- Tell me how it happened. - We were in the middle of a recovery.
The last F-14 was landing.
It passed within 20 feet of the island. That's when he ran out of the hatch.
He deliberately jumped in front of the aircraft.
He got hit head on by the starboard mainmount.
Petty Officer Palermo got dragged 100 feet down the deck.
Did he say anything before he ran out?
Yes, sir.
As he came out of the hatch, he yelled, "Let's rumble."
"Let's rumble"? What'd he mean by that?
I have no idea, sir.
Had he seemed distracted or depressed of late?
No, sir. He had a very positive attitude.
I still don't get it, sir. And Matt and I were pretty close.
His grandmother said he was excited about starting SEAL training,
and his girlfriend.
Yeah, well, he had a little problem there.
Wait, he had girlfriend trouble?
You know how it goes with women, sir.
Assunta, his girlfriend...
She kind of dumped him two, three days before the accident.
- How was he dealing with it? - Well, I told him she'd come back.
You know, sir, they do. Sometimes.
And we hung out a lot together.
We liked to shoot pool at the lounge, watch videos.
I thought he was feeling better, sir.
That one's mine. Do you know Captain Atomic, sir?
- No. - It's an awesome book, sir.
He has uranium isotopes implanted into his brain
that give him super powers.
But in real life, he's just a garage mechanic.
Matt and I traded stuff back and forth all the time, sir.
Dr. Winston, you're a chief medical examiner
- at Norfolk Hospital? - That's correct.
Can you tell us, please, ma'am, how Misty James died?
Misty James received three blows to the head from a heavy linear object.
She died from blunt-force trauma.
Lieutenant? Lieutenant, do you have another question?
Yes, sir?
Oh, yes, sir.
Dr. Winston, could you light...
Enlighten.
Enlighten us as to whether this pipe found at the crime scene
inflicted the deadly blows?
Yes, lieutenant. In my opinion, it did. It has the necessary mass,
and it has the residue of blood, hair and brain tissue
that match the decedent's.
Dr. Winston, can you explain to us
the significance of small pebbles found embedded in the victim's scalp?
The assailant knocked the victim to the ground,
perhaps even with the first blow.
The pebbles indicate the victim's head was on the ground
when at least one of the other blows landed.
And what are defensive wounds, doctor?
They are marks on the hands, wrists and arms
that suggest the struggle to defend oneself.
Were any of these present on the victim's body?
No. Which indicate the victim was struck by surprise.
Thank you, Dr. Winston.
No further questions.
Dr. Winston, on the night Misty James died,
were you at the scene?
No.
So you don't know what happened?
Not from eyewitness knowledge, no.
If Misty James swung the first blow and Ensign Kingsley ducked,
you would have no way of knowing that, would you?
If she dodged every blow without injury,
I would know that that was remarkably good dodging.
Did you know that Ensign Kingsley lettered in varsity track
at Lake Forest High School?
I did not.
Could a fit young woman with an athletic background
dodge one or more swings of a pipe before grabbing it away
and swinging it back at her attacker?
Yes, it is possible.
JAG headquarters, Gunnery Sergeant Galindez.
Oh, commander, it looks like your hunch paid off.
What do you got, gunny?
The extended tox scan on Petty Officer Palermo.
His body had high levels of lysergic acid diethylamide.
- LSD. - Yes, sir. And based on the levels,
he probably didn't know where he was or what he was doing.
I'll fax you the report.
And his grandmother keeps calling here, sir.
- What should I tell her? - Not that.
Gunnery sergeant, when you arrived at the scene,
did the victim have a pipe in her hand?
- Yes, ma'am. - Where was Ensign Kingsley?
Standing over the body, ma'am.
So it is possible that Ensign Kingsley
was placing or had just placed the pipe in the victim's hand?
Objection, Your Honour. Speculation.
Sustained.
As the security chief for PMO,
have you been trained in homicide investigation?
Yes, ma'am.
In your experience, have you ever seen anyone club themselves to death?
- No, ma'am. - How do you account for the fact
that given her injuries, the victim had the pipe in her own hand?
- I can't, ma'am. - Unless someone had placed it there.
Objection. Speculation.
- Sustained. - No further questions.
Gunnery Sergeant Dandridge, was it dark that night?
- Most nights are, ma'am. - Yes, they are.
- How was visibility that night? - Not good.
It was foggy.
Well, if it was difficult to see, then one has to rely on other senses.
- Did you hear anything? - There were some shouts.
Grunts, groans.
Any shouts in particular?
I don't recall, ma'am.
Gunnery sergeant, that night, a woman was fighting for her life.
Take a moment and think back.
Did you hear anything?
I recall hearing
Ensign Kingsley yelling,
"They're trying to kill me."
I interviewed him three times, colonel. He never said that to me.
Ensign Kingsley didn't say it at the crime scene, Bud.
She said it on TV.
I didn't even expect Susan to get out of the car, ma'am.
But all of a sudden, there she was.
What were you doing when she appeared, lieutenant?
Misty had put her arms around me, ma'am.
She thought I was just there to, you know,
love her.
What did your wife do next?
She said, "Do it. Tell her."
But before I could say anything, she swung something
and hit Misty in the head.
And after a second, I realised it was a pipe.
Did Ensign Kingsley bring the pipe with her?
- Objection. Calls for speculation. - Sustained.
Did you have a pipe in your car, lieutenant?
No, ma'am.
I had cleaned it out that afternoon. There was no pipe.
Did you see Ensign Kingsley pick a pipe up off the ground?
No, ma'am.
Can you describe what happened
after Ensign Kingsley struck Misty James the first time?
I tried to stop her.
And she swung at me.
She hit me here.
Misty had fallen to the ground,
and Susan hit her a couple more times.
Lieutenant Kingsley, had your wife expressed anger at Misty James
for what you had done?
- Objection. Hearsay. - Accused state of mind, Your Honour.
Objection overruled.
Lieutenant, you may answer the question.
Susan said she thought that what I did was Misty's fault.
But Susan got it mixed up in her mind.
Had that happened before? That your wife got things mixed up in her mind?
Something would set her off.
- She would just lose it. - Move to strike. Irrelevant.
Goes to a pattern of impulsive, angry behaviour, Your Honour.
Objection sustained.
I couldn't track down anything on Ensign Kingsley's captain's mast.
- Thanks, anyway. - But I did pick up some rumours
that she had some juvenile arrests.
Where? When?
- I don't know, ma'am. - I need something hard, lieutenant.
- I'll do my best. - On Entertainment Tonight:
The inside story of the TrialTV court-martial in Virginia.
Ratings have never been higher for TrialTV
since they started coverage of a military trial in Virginia.
But it's not case law male viewers are drooling over.
It's prosecutor Colonel Sarah MacKenzie.
It seems this sexy, sassy lady lawyer
is one giant Mac attack on the TV competition.
Her sizzle factor gives the phrase "body of evidence"
a whole new meaning.
I've died and gone to hell.
MacKenzie has a reputation as a straight shooter,
and looks great in a bikini.
- Oh, colonel, come on in. Have a seat. - Admiral, this is getting out of control.
Never knew you led such an interesting life.
"Her favourite hobby: Working on dinosaur bones.
She has a skeleton of an Icarosaurus..."
- Icarosaurus. - "Icarosaurus in her apartment."
What the hell is an Icarosaurus?
It's the oldest airborne vertebrate, sir. A lizard with wings.
Its wingspan exceeds its... Never mind.
"Most fascinating fact:
Can fieldstrip an M-16 blindfolded in 16 seconds."
Where are they getting this? I didn't even talk to them.
That just whets their appetite, colonel.
Any time a public figure says, "No comment,"
they wonder, "What's she really like? What's she hiding?"
You cooperate with them, you can help your case.
I'm trying a murder case, sir.
So is Ressler, and she gave them a tour of her office.
She wants to try her case in the press, let her.
Court-martial members are different than civilian jurors.
They take seriously the order to listen
only to what they hear in the courtroom.
Oh, like the testimony of the gunnery sergeant
who said he heard Ensign Kingsley yelling that they were trying to kill her?
Well, I guess congratulations are in order.
- Sir? - On your engagement.
"All attempts to interview Colonel MacKenzie were rebuffed,
as were attempts to interview Australian attorney Mic Brumby,
who said he would not violate his fiancée's privacy."
If you're respecting my privacy, you don't tell a magazine
that we're engaged when we're not.
And at this rate, we're not damn well likely to be.
Call me before I attack you with a lead pipe.
Now, officially, she's a colonel in the Marines.
But to me, she's a major babe.
I think we now know why the Marines are first on the beach.
Well, here I am, as promised, even if it is before noon.
I'm sorry, I left you a message. I've got another full day.
Oh, really? I didn't get it.
All right. I guess I can call my mother, have her come pick me up.
Have it back by 6, huh?
You got it.
So what's going on over here?
- Justice. - Yeah?
I've heard of that.
Was there ever any evidence of drug use
in Petty Officer Palermo's physicals, doc?
No, sir. And I gave him a rigorous physical
prior to SEAL training.
- You don't test for LSD, though. - It's not part of the standard physical.
Is it possible he was using and just never got caught?
Commander, I see drug users all the time.
This kid didn't have any of the signs.
Except having LSD in his system and running in front of an F-14.
Dear Grandma,
good news. Everything I wanted to happen is coming true.
I got accepted to SEAL training.
I go to Coronado in November, but first, I get 30 days' leave.
And that's enough time to see you. And now that I got a start in life,
I'm gonna ask Assunta if she wants to get married.
I can't wait for you to meet her.
All my love, Matteo.
- Yeah? - Excuse me, admiral,
but were you expecting a Detective Grady?
Loudoun County Police?
No. Send him in.
Admiral Chegwidden.
Hi, how are you?
Admiral, do you own a blue SUV? Licence plate 291 IPL?
Yes.
Can you tell me why it was abandoned mired in a mud pit
on a dirt road in West County Park?
- No. - Can you explain why we found
eight ounces of street-grade marijuana in your locked vehicle?
Admiral, I parked your car at the nursery.
I went inside to pay for the dogwoods.
I came out, and the car was gone. It was stolen.
And you just kept this your secret?
You didn't file a police report.
Well, I was embarrassed, you know. I left the keys in the car.
I was trying to get up my nerve.
Mr. Walden, did you leave anything else in the car?
- Maybe a jacket. - Not a quantity of marijuana?
No. No, that must have belonged to whoever stole the car.
Danny, are you sure you didn't put off calling me or the police
because you got too stoned?
No.
Thank you, Mr. Walden. We'll talk again.
Admiral.
I can't believe this happened.
What are you gonna tell my mother?
Nothing.
Good. Good, because she'd freak.
You're gonna tell her.
Lieutenant Kingsley, don't you find it strange
for a husband to meet with his mistress in front of his wife?
- Yes. - Honest answer at last.
Objection. She's commenting on the testimony.
Sorry, Your Honour. Yet you did it, lieutenant.
You drove your wife to your private lover's lane
to meet your schoolgirl mistress.
- Because that's what Susan wanted. - Not what you wanted?
- No, ma'am. - Lieutenant Kingsley,
didn't you lure your wife to a deserted road in order to kill her?
Objection. Lieutenant Kingsley is not on trial here.
- He should be. - Your Honour.
It's legitimate cross-examination, Your Honour.
Yes, it is. Just watch the grandstanding.
Lieutenant Kingsley, is your wife rich?
Her family has considerable means.
She has a trust fund and a generous allowance.
Yes.
Lieutenant Kingsley, have you ever withdrawn a sum of money
from your wife's account without asking for her permission.
Yes.
Did you use that money to buy a gift for your teenage mistress?
Yes.
Lieutenant Kingsley, did you love Misty James?
Yes.
No further questions.
Why did you go with him?
Because I wanted closure.
What happened when you got there?
That woman, Miss James, was waiting.
Andy got out of the car, and they embraced.
- What did you do then? - I made a mistake.
I got out of the car to see what was going on.
Susan,
what happened then?
Miss James attacked me with a pipe.
I tried to get it away from her.
- Did you succeed? - Yes.
That's when the worse thing happened.
Andy grabbed me.
I remember yelling, "They're trying to kill me."
And then I guess I hit him by reflex. Things happened so fast.
I just know he stopped coming at me.
And then Miss James attacked me again.
I swung the pipe to keep her away from me.
- Were you afraid for your life? - Yes.
Ensign Kingsley,
that night, was it your intention to kill Misty James?
No, ma'am.
I regret very much what happened.
Ma'am, the polls are running 4 to 1 against you.
Were you able to find out anything
about those rumours about Ensign Kingsley?
Somebody thinks they heard about her assaulting a classmate at Annapolis.
Somebody heard.
Her arrests will be found in Illinois. That's where she went to high school.
Juvenile records are sealed.
There could be some way to use them.
We have sealed records, rumours, unconfirmed reports,
the name of a state. There's nothing we can get into testimony.
Except the forensic evidence.
Ma'am, we could track down this other stuff
if we had enough people looking.
You've turned us down so many times before, we'd given up hope, colonel.
Well, Mel, I've just been a little busy.
Tell me, how does it feel to go up against one of your old law professors
in that courtroom?
Juanita's a great teacher, Mel.
In fact, I'm still learning and profiting from her example.
Is it true she once said that you would do better
as a lap dancer than as a lawyer?
- You' have to ask Juanita Ressler. - She's the one who told me, colonel.
Juanita is a tough opponent.
When you go up against her, she makes you better.
That's a very generous thing for you to say.
But you do seem to have your own style.
You're straight ahead. You let the facts speak for themselves.
I believe in facts. That's why I'm a little frustrated
by all the rumours flying around this case.
There are all kinds of rumours about Lieutenant Kingsley...
I'm talking about the defendant.
I'm hearing stories about juvenile arrests,
assaults on fellow naval officers, you name it.
- Really? - Yeah.
- Assaults on fellow officers? - They're just rumours.
Until and unless they are proven to be facts, I don't deal in them.
I can't deal in them.
Only people who have known Ensign Kingsley through the years
can tell if they're true.
They might be out there somewhere.
- Thanks for coming. Have a seat. - Yes, sir.
Just a few loose ends we need to tie up.
Like why Petty Officer Palermo would yell, "Let's rumble"
before he ran out of flight ops.
- Did he really, sir? - Yeah.
That's what the guys said he did?
- It's a familiar phrase, isn't it? - It's Captain Atomic's battle cry, sir.
So why would your friend yell Captain Atomic's battle cry
and jump in front of an F-14?
I don't know, sir.
I guess he was upset about his girlfriend.
So he yells, "Let's rumble"?
It doesn't make sense, sir.
Your friend was hallucinating.
He was high on LSD when he died.
You didn't know that?
No, sir.
You said that Petty Officer Palermo was fine an hour before the incident,
that he was writing this letter to his grandmother.
Where would he get LSD from?
I don't know, sir.
That stamp's different from the other ones, isn't it?
Maybe Petty Officer Palermo ran out of stamps
and he borrowed one from your stash.
Only these stamps here
were not meant to be licked for postage, were they?
They were dosed with LSD.
Oh, God.
It was a mistake, wasn't it?
I killed him, sir.
He was my best friend.
Well, that's the hell of it.
Ensign Kingsley, you've testified
that you struck Miss James several times.
It was self-defence, ma'am.
Were you enraged when you struck her?
I wasn't anything, ma'am. It all happened so fast.
You weren't enraged? She had been sleeping with your husband.
Even though she embraced your husband right in front of you?
I wasn't enraged. I was sad.
That's why you got out of your car? Because you were sad?
I wasn't thinking straight, ma'am. I was emotional.
You have trouble controlling your emotions?
- Objection. Relevance. - Overruled.
Do you have trouble controlling your emotions,
- Ensign Kingsley? - No, ma'am.
Didn't you lose control as soon as you heard of your husband's affair?
- No, ma'am. - Did you resolve to seek vengeance
- for what had happened? - No, ma'am, I didn't.
So you made your husband take you to meet his girlfriend.
That was his idea, ma'am.
And you hid this pipe in your husband's car.
I didn't do that, ma'am.
And you swung it at the woman who had stolen your husband.
- She attacked me. - She did attack you
by stealing your husband. And you wanted to teach her a lesson.
So you hit her once, and you hit her again.
- No. - And you hit her again
- after she was helpless on the ground. - No.
Time and again, breaking her skull,
beating her to death with no remorse and no pity.
No, that isn't me. I wouldn't do that.
You wouldn't?
Isn't it a fact, Ensign Kingsley,
that in 1996, you punched an ex-boyfriend's new girlfriend
in front of a movie theatre?
Objection. Alleged prior misconduct is not admissible.
MRE Rule 404, Your Honour.
Witness's claim she wouldn't commit an assault is subject to rebuttal.
Indeed it is.
She opened the door, Ms. Ressler. Overruled.
Ensign Kingsley, I'm sorry to upset you,
but please answer the question.
It was an accident. I didn't mean to hit her.
A juvenile court judge assigned you to anger counselling.
- My lawyer told me I had to do that. - To avoid a conviction?
Yes.
During the summer programme before your first year at the Naval Academy,
didn't you assault a woman named Karen Starling?
- No charges were filed, ma'am. - That's not what I asked.
Did you assault Karen Starling for flirting with your boyfriend?
- We had words. - You hit her with a five-pound weight.
I told her I was sorry.
An apology's not good enough for Misty James, ensign.
She can't hear you. She's dead.
This morning was jam-packed with excitement and surprises.
After a fiery cross-examination, closing arguments followed.
I said this trial was about surprises.
And in an effort to defame the defendant and obscure the issues,
Colonel MacKenzie has engaged in a mud-slinging contest.
But the oath you swore
demands that you ignore the slander
and consider only the facts.
But Colonel MacKenzie fought back in her closing.
In addition to the forensic evidence,
the prior acts of the defendant are at the heart of this case.
Ensign Kingsley has a history of violent attacks
on those who, in her mind, have sinned against her.
In this instance, her desire for revenge
cost a young woman her life.
Not bad.
Bless you for believing me.
Well, you didn't really give me much choice, ma'am.
It was a lovely service, commander.
Who shall I thank for Matteo's receiving the military honours?
The men he served with, ma'am.
Will the Defence please rise?
You may publish your findings.
Ensign Susan Kingsley,
on the charge and specification of violating Article 118
of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, premeditated murder,
this court finds you guilty.
This court is dismissed.
- Ms. Ressler. - Ms. Ressler, do you think it's best...
Only the beginning.
We have a half dozen grounds for appeal.
Colonel MacKenzie, this is a great victory for you.
How would you critique the performance
of the attorneys on both sides?
I would fault Ms. Ressler for trying to obscure the truth.
And I would fault myself for using trickery to reveal it.
With all due respect, colonel, isn't that what lawyers do?
Unfortunately, Ms. Kennedy, it is.