05x09 - The Bad Client

[bunniefuu]

ANNOUNCER: This is Justice in America.

And I'm Madeline McBride.

It has been days since the m*rder

of -year-old Kaylee Nagle.

Kaylee was found sexually
assaulted and stabbed to death

in her Westchester, New York home.

And while the police have yet
to make an arrest,

there is one suspect from whom

we never hear.

I'm talking about Kaylee's stepfather,

Jeremy Brennan.

According to Jeremy's
statement to the police,

he picked up Kaylee after school

at soccer practice and returned home.

And while Kaylee's mother was at work,

Jeremy claims he went on a bike ride

and returned less than
an hour later to find

his stepdaughter
dead on the kitchen floor,

her soccer jersey ripped open,

her shorts pulled down to her ankles,

and a kitchen Kn*fe buried in her chest.

Well, apparently, the police
are running out of ways

to get this man to talk, and that is why

I am asking you,
for the nd night in a row,

to let Jeremy Brennan know
that you need to hear from him.

You want answers.

And he can't hide!

Let's keep up the pressure.

Let's bombard this man with our tweets.

Let's demand that he come forward

and answer some questions.

@JeremyBrennanRealty.

#StopHidingJeremy.

Dr. Bull, Mr. Colón.

I appreciate you braving the pandemic

to meet me this morning.

For the record, I get tested every day.

The room is disinfected every night.

So feel free to leave your masks on

or take them off as you see fit.

You gentlemen know why you're here?

I'm guessing it's because

you have a Madeline McBride problem.

She's being sued by that family
of the little girl

who was m*rder*d. And they want her

to stop encouraging her viewers
to harass the stepfather

on social media.

Please.

Well, you know...
this Madeline McBride issue.

She's picking a fight with someone who,

who might be the guilty party,
but also someone

who could certainly be
perceived as the victim,

in that his stepdaughter
was the person who d*ed.

Can't pay them off...
They don't want money.

Can't ask Madeline to stop
what she's doing

without doing irreparable harm
to her brand,

which, as you know, is
the tough-talking, acerbic,

defender of those denied justice.

Yada, yada, yada. Long story short,

we're going to court,
whether we want to or not.

BENNY: So you think the jury

just might side with
the family of the dead girl?

(SIGHS)

Our whole business is based

on the assumption that
the First Amendment gives

our air personalities
the right to express themselves

without fear of retribution.

And I don't want to give
the courts or a jury

any reason to second-guess that.

I'd just love to shut this down
sooner rather than later.

If you two were inclined
to lead the fight for us...

I'd certainly make it worth your while.

You ever watch that lady's show?

I have caught a little
of it here and there.

It's hard to believe that's
what the founding fathers

had in mind when they were
cooking up the Constitution.

Are you trying to tell me
you'd rather not be involved?

Madeline McBride is part of
this culture of evisceration

that takes over cable
television every night.

Whether it's politics
or celebrity stalking

or true crime, it's just...

it's just mean, man.

Well, it might be mean,
but Madeline McBride

and WNN are on the right
side of this thing legally.

It's the First Amendment.

And the problem is...

if you don't stand up for
the people you don't agree with

when they're being silenced,
there might not be

a right to free speech

when they come after the people
that you do agree with.

Right? No less a figure
than George Washington said,

"If freedom of speech is taken
away, then dumb and silent

we may be led
like sheep to the slaughter."

BENNY: Your Honor,
the law of the state of New York

is very clear... an injunction
can only be granted

if there's proof
that the party in question

is doing irreparable harm.

Counsel is correct on that point.

Is your client suffering
irreparable harm?

Without question, Your Honor.

Jeremy Brennan is suffering
indescribable mental anguish

because of Madeline McBride's relentless

and very public att*cks.

To be clear, she's accusing my client

of the m*rder of his stepdaughter

on national television,
virtually every night

for over a month now.

All this while he and his wife

are dealing with the anguish

of having lost their only child in...

as gruesome and savage

a r*pe and m*rder

as I can ever recall.

She is using her bully
pulpit to urge her viewers

to call him out via social media.

My client receives over
a thousand tweets a day...

All of them hostile,

many of them threatening...
And all of them mention

Ms. McBride and her program by name.

Furthermore, Mr. Brennan is
a real estate agent.

His name... is an integral
part of his business.

Bus benches with his name and photo

are being defaced
with the words "pedophile"

and "k*ller."

Mr. Brennan can't even go out
in public anymore.

And let's start with the fact

that my client has never
been arrested or charged

with any crime. None.

Furthermore, there is clear evidence

that someone else is the k*ller.

There was unidentified
DNA and skin cells

present under Kaylee's fingernails.

Something Ms. McBride doesn't
even mention on her show.

BENNY: Your Honor,
the DNA found underneath the victim's

fingernails could come
from anyone, anywhere.

Possibly even...

one of her friends on the soccer field.

And isn't this ultimately

about the First Amendment?

No less a figure than
George Washington declared,

"If freedom of speech is taken away,

"then dumb and silent,

we may be led
like sheep to the slaughter."

GODFORD: Mr. Colón knows good and well

that not all speech

is protected by the First Amendment.

The Supreme Court has
been very clear on that.

There's a reason you can't yell fire

in a crowded theater.

Respectfully, Your Honor,
you can if there's smoke.

Personally, going forward,
I would encourage

Ms. McBride to show
a degree of sensitivity

to Mr. Brennan, who,
as Mr. Godford points out,

has not even been charged
with a crime at this point.

However, I am bound
by the State of New York

as well as the United States'
Constitution.

Madeline McBride has a
guaranteed First Amendment right

to state her opinion.

Therefore, I am denying
the request for an injunction.

Court dismissed.

Nice job, gentlemen.

Uh... I told you we were in good hands.

That George Washington quote
was very moving.

We barely said hello,
but I'm very grateful

for what you did here today.

And...

I know that Kaylee is, too.

(ELEVATOR BELL CHIMES) _

Hi, hi, sorry!

Forgive me for ambushing you.

It's just that your place
was locked, but then...

the guard downstairs recognized me

and he said that I could
wait here for you,

so...

What can I do for you, Ms. McBride?

(SIGHS)

I got a phone call about an hour ago.

Jeremy Brennan,
Kaylee Nagle's stepfather,

he...

...he k*lled himself last night.

(PHONE RINGING, BUZZING)

Hello?

Yes, this is she.

Sorry, what hospital is this?

Oh, no, no, there must be some mistake.

You're, like, three blocks away from me.

My father lives in Louisiana.

Has for the last years.

Wait, he what?

Tonight?

Day ... no response

from Jeremy Brennan or his attorneys

regarding his availability
or willingness

to appear on this show.

No response from Westchester PD

as to what their plans
are moving forward

in regards to the Kaylee Nagle case.

No response from the mayor.

No response from the county supervisor.

And that is why I've applied
for a permit

for an organized rally across the street

from the Brennan home.

The scene of Kaylee's death.

And if you live in the tri-state area,

I do hope that you will
come down and join me

as we let the world know
that we have some questions.

And we want some answers!

Our client concluded her broadcast,

this broadcast, at : .

According to the Brennan cable
box, the program was viewed

in both the bedroom and the family room.

Jeremy's widow tells us
she watched it alone

and fell asleep shortly thereafter.

Apparently her late husband
never made it upstairs to bed.

Sometime between : and : a.m.,

he entered the garage,
climbed into his car,

started the engine...

but never opened the garage door.

Just sat in the front seat and
waited for the carbon monoxide

to do its job... no texts,
no note, no nothing.

BULL: Let's talk law...
The other side is gonna have

to prove Jeremy Brennan's
su1c1de was uniquely

a result of Madeline McBride's
on-air provocations.

And as disturbing
as what we just saw was,

that's gonna be a very,
very difficult thing to prove.

And yet, the six people
sitting in judgment of all this

may have a hard time
separating what Madeline did

from who Madeline is,
or who she appears to be.

Taylor, you have those Q scores?

"Q score"?

They measure the likeability
and familiarity

of a celebrity.

Madeline McBride has an
extraordinarily high Q score, actually.

Over % of adults
who are between the ages

of and know who she is.

Additionally, two out
of three of those %

admit to watching her at
least three times a month.

Okay. She's popular. We knew that.

Here's the fascinating part.

Two-thirds of that subset
that says they watch her,

admit they don't like her.

They find her shrill,
hysterical, judgmental, unfair.

Most repeated comment:
"She's not a nice person."

BULL: And therein lies the problem.

That is our potential jury pool,
which is why

we have to make sure
this case doesn't devolve

into a referendum
on our client's personality.

Now, the other side's gonna
have their hands full

trying to prove causation,
which I'm fairly sure

we will be able
to defend against, but...

if this case becomes
about what that jury thinks

about McBride's behavior as
a TV personality, we will lose.

We can't play defense and win.

We have to make sure
this jury understands

this is much bigger
than a cable news TV show.

(MELANCHOLY, ORCHESTRAL MOVIE
MUSIC PLAYS, BELL TOLLS)

(KNOCKING)

This better be important.

What can I do for you?

Any progress in the
Madeline McBride of it all?

Still in the midst.

Actually, I had a startling
revelation a little while ago.

Our client...

is the Hunchback of Notre Dame.

People see her...

They're appalled,
but they're also fascinated.

Same way they feel about the Hunchback.

They can't look away.

So, what the novel does,
what the movie does

is it humanizes this person

that people find
so frightening, so terrifying.

It makes them care about him.

That's what we need to do with Madeline.

Any idea how?

Not a clue.

Something will come to me.

But I suspect that is not why
you came to my office.

Actually, I was hoping

to get a couple of minutes
with the other Dr. Bull.

The psychologist.

(SIGHS)

What's going on?

My father passed away last night.

COVID.

- I'm so sorry.
- No, it's fine.

I'm fine.

Didn't even know he was sick.

Haven't seen or spoken with him
in almost years.

I thought he was
in New Orleans this whole time.

Turns out he was living
four subway stops away from me.

Is that what you wanted
to talk to me about?

No. No.

Um, I wanted to talk about me.

So, I got the call
at : in the morning.

Hung up, went straight to sleep.

Didn't cry.

Just slept.

Then I got up, came to work.

Still haven't cried.

Is that crazy?

Well, there's a lot I don't know,

but my suspicion is...

you're not reacting yet
to what happened.

And there's two reasons.
One, you're in shock.

And two, your father
already left you years ago.

So, I suspect you've been mourning him

on and off for years.

That makes sense.

Thank you, Dr. Bull.

Danny?

Sooner or later, you will cry.

I don't know.

He is my father.

And it's not like
I don't have any good memories.

But in a lot of ways,
he was a really bad guy.

I'm just telling you,
it could be tomorrow,

could be years from now.

You'll be walking down the street,

and suddenly, it hits you.

I just want you to know it's coming.

Okay.

I've been warned.

GODFORD: And when
did the two of you become

aware that Madeline McBride
was implicating your husband

in the death of your child
on national television?

Were you regular viewers of her program?

No, I had never seen it before,
I'd-I'd never heard of her.

Um, I'm guessing
the first time she mentioned it,

it was a Friday night,
because I remember

it was a Saturday morning
when we first got the tweets.

Um, my husband

- had his own Twitter account for,
- _

uh, for his work.

And he woke me up to show me the...

ugliest messages.

Um, and as I said,
it was a Saturday morning,

which are always the hardest,

because Saturdays were Kaylee's days.

It was soccer and sleepovers,
and then...

there were just these

long days that we had to fill
by ourselves.

GODFORD: And how did your life change

as Madeline McBride began

her nightly campaign
against your husband?

After she insinuated
on national television

that Kaylee's stepfather was
a pedophile and a k*ller?

(VOICE BREAKING):
My husband was vilified.

At the grocery store,

at his office, everywhere he went.

They would call him names,

tell him to stop hiding.

And...

did you and Mr. Brennan ever feel

that you were in any real danger
because of Ms. McBride?

We did, and we were.

In fact, the night before
Jeremy took his own life,

someone threw a brick
through our front window.

Your Honor, we would like to introduce

into evidence the aforementioned brick

that came through the Brennans' window.

Objection, Your Honor.

A brick thrown by an unknown
perpetrator is not relevant

to statements made by Ms. McBride,

and any attempt to connect
the two is speculative at best.

Actually, the two are
very much connected,

very much related, Your Honor.

Sorry, Counselor.

I think we need to see where this goes.

Overruled.

GODFORD: The brick
that you're holding...

There's some writing on it?

Would you please read what it says?

It says, "Stop Hiding Jeremy."

GODFORD: And are you
familiar with that expression?

TRACY: I certainly am.

"StopHidingJeremy" was the hashtag

McBride told her audience
to tweet to Jeremy every night.

BULL: You okay?

What do you mean?

Well, that had to be hard
to listen to in there.

Oh. Well, I'm fine.

I know, and I think the jury sees,

that this is very difficult for her.

She invited him into her house.

She invited him into her life.

And now her daughter is dead,
so she's lashing out at me.

It's-it's kind of classic textbook.

Don't you think?

Oh. Do you disagree?

Well, for what it's worth,
that's not what I heard.

I heard her communicate...

And rather effectively, I might add...

The impact your show had on her life.

And, by extension,
her late husband's life.

That is what they heard.

Let's not confuse things, Madeline.

Jury's not here to litigate
her late husband's guilt.

They're here to litigate yours.

I'm guilty of nothing.

I've k*lled no one.

All I've done is exercise
my First Amendment rights,

and, um, last time I checked,
that's not a crime.

So, don't you confuse things.

And don't forget
who you're here to defend.

(SIGHS)

Dr. Soto, will you please tell the court

what it is you do?

I'm a licensed psychiatrist

in the state of New York

in private practice
in Westchester County,

and until his death,
I saw Jeremy Brennan once a week

for the past... just about four years.

And can you give the court some idea

why you were seeing the late Mr. Brennan

these past four years?

SOTO: Well,
without going into too much detail,

what brought Mr. Brennan
into my office was his struggle

with issues
involving generalized anxiety.

The stresses involved
with running your own business.

Pretty run-of-the-mill stuff.

And can you talk about the impact

Kaylee's death had on him?

He was, uh, shattered.

Destroyed.

Uh, wanted to be
this strong anchor for his wife,

who obviously was devastated,

and felt ashamed that he couldn't do it.

Couldn't function.

And then there was the
whole issue of responsibility.

Tracy was at work, he was at home.

The way he explained it
to me was, he could have

just as easily been there,
been at the house,

maybe stopped it from happening.

But he was riding his bike.

At one of our last sessions, he told me

it was an incredibly beautiful ride.

And at the time,
it gave him enormous pleasure.

And he really had trouble understanding

how he could experience so much pleasure

when someone he loved so deeply
was experiencing so much horror.

Your Honor, we mean no disrespect,

but it's hard to see the relevance

of any of this testimony,

what bearing it has on the case at hand.

GODFORD: Your Honor,
we believe it's essential

for the jury to understand
Mr. Brennan's state of mind

before Ms. McBride turned him

into the focus of her broadcasts,

so they may better understand
the impact she had on him.

I agree,

but I feel confident
that you've done that.

If we could please move it along.

GODFORD: Beg the court's pardon.

If I could just ask one last question...

- Your Honor
- about the days before

Ms. McBride made him the
centerpiece of her broadcasts?

One.

But keep it brief.

GODFORD: During that period,

immediately after Kaylee's death

but before Ms. McBride made him
topic number one

on her television show, did
he seem at all to you suicidal?

As his doctor,

were you ever really concerned
about his safety?

No.

He was depressed. He was angry.

He couldn't sleep or eat.

But he was also very clear

that he had to be there for his wife.

GODFORD: I see. And after he
was implicated by Ms. McBride?

That was the first time I saw

anything even resembling
suicidal ideation.

She was on television every night

implying awful things.

The unrelenting tweets.

The phone calls
in the middle of the night.

The brick through the window.

This rally she wanted to have
across from his house.

I wish I hadn't been so timid about it.

I wish I really had pushed

to have him hospitalized.

Nothing further, Your Honor.

(CLEARS THROAT)

_

BENNY: Hello, Dr. Soto.

So...

Are you familiar
with the concept of correlation

and how it's often confused
with causation?

I'm familiar with it, yes.

BENNY: That even if there is

a correlation
between Ms. McBride's actions

and Jeremy Brennan's
depression and mental distress,

well, that doesn't prove causation.

No one knows for sure why Jeremy Brennan

did what he did.

You don't know why Mr. Brennan
did what he did, do you?

The witness will answer
the question, please.

BENNY: Oh, that's okay,
Your Honor. (CHUCKLES) That's all right.

I-I think the jury gets it.

They know if the doctor, uh,
was certain about any of this,

she would have absolutely had
Mr. Brennan hospitalized.

A-And not just thought about it.

You know, like, done it. Made it happen.

But she wasn't certain.

Were you?

No.

Okay, so, let's get back
to correlation and causation.

To the best of your knowledge,
did my client

tell Jeremy Brennan
to get on social media?

No, not that I'm aware of.

And, for that matter, did my client

ever force Jeremy Brennan
to watch her TV show?

No, I-I can't imagine she did.

I can't imagine that, either.

Thank you.

No further questions, Your Honor.

I need you to answer the door, Marissa.

What? Answer the door?
What are you talking about?

What door?

Answer the door, Marissa.

Doubt has arrived.

Morning. Um, any way
we could have a chat?

Sure.

What's up?

Um, I need a favor.

My father passed away earlier this week.

Oh, God, I... Danny, I'm so sorry.

Were you close?

I barely knew him.

Well, that's not true. I knew him.

And I loved him.

But he left us... Uh, my mom and me...

Right before
I went into the police academy.

No goodbye. Nothing. Just, uh,
came home from school one day,

and he was... he was gone.

Took off with some woman.

I haven't spoken to him in years.

So the point is, um,

I, uh, I hired a-a company

to go into his apartment
and box up all his things.

Get them out of there
so the, uh, the landlord

can get the place ready
for a new tenant.

Anyway, um, they just called,

and apparently,
it's about -some boxes.

And I just don't have enough room

for all that stuff
in my tiny apartment, so...

Is there any way
that I could store them here,

out of the way?

(KNOCK ON DOOR)

- MAN: Judge is on his way out.
- We're coming.

After the other side questions me,

you get to question me, too, right?

Yes. That's how it works.

Okay. For your last question,

just make sure you ask me
how I got into all of this.

What makes me care so deeply
for victims of crime.

What makes me care so deeply
for people like Kaylee.

Hmm?

(DOOR OPENS)

MCBRIDE: No evidence of forced entry.

No real alibi for the time period

during which Kaylee was
sexually assaulted and m*rder*d.

I mean, he claimed
he went on a bike ride,

but no one actually saw him.

(CHUCKLES): So, he just seemed

like someone that you would want
to get answers from.

You know what they say
about walking like a duck.

SULLIVAN: Any more questions

for this witness, Counselor?

Yes, Your Honor. Just one more.

So,

Ms. McBride,

we've all

seen you on television.

We've all seen you in action.

So, how did you come to this?

How did you come to be
a champion of justice?

A champion of victims like Kaylee?

Like a lot of things in life...

...you never see it coming.

years ago,

I was married.

I was living in Indiana.

It was, like...

nine or ten weeks after / .

It was Black Friday.

I was doing my patriotic duty

by getting some
early Christmas shopping done.

And my three-year-old,

David...

He was at that in-between age.

You know, they want to be carried,

and, oh, no,
they want to walk on their own

or they want to hold your hand.

It's like, no, no, they want to be free.

Anyway, my husband at the time

was in some other part of the mall.

And I saw out of the corner of my eye

this robot pet
that was so popular that year.

I mean, it was sold out everywhere.

(CHUCKLES SOFTLY) And then there it was.

Magically, right in front of me.

So, I grabbed David's hand,

and we walked over to where they were.

I remember that the aisle

was so very crowded.

People and shopping carts

and winter clothes.

(SNIFFLES)

(CRYING): It seems so stupid now.

Anyway...

I grabbed the toy,

and then I realized that I...

I didn't want David to see it.

I didn't want him to know

that Mommy was getting him
the toy and not Santa.

So I switched hands for a second.

And...

And then I looked down.

He wasn't there.

You can figure out the rest.

It was, like, me, my husband,

the police... We were all over that mall

until they locked the doors

and made us leave.

(CRYING): He was just...

...gone.

BENNY: I'm so sorry.

I was desperate,

so...

I went to the media.

I didn't even know what the media was.

But...

I wanted David's picture

and his name everywhere.

You know, just in case somebody saw him.

And I-I wouldn't let up.

Not even after my husband

stopped speaking to me.

Not even after he left me.

But...

(WHIMPERS, SNIFFLES)

I just couldn't stop.

My son's...

body washed up
on the shore of the Patoka Lake

a few weeks later.

And...

I guess everyone figured

that was that.

But not for me.

I went everywhere
there was a microphone.

Uh, radio stations.

Colleges.

I just... I kept pushing

because I wanted the scalp

of the man who kidnapped

my son and m*rder*d him.

And then, finally...

I got it.

The police found him.

'Cause, you know,
they never dared stop looking

'cause I was screaming
from the rooftops.

I got justice.

I speak for the dead.

Like my son.

And like Kaylee.

Told you I knew what I was doing.

That was quite a piece of testimony.

Any of it true?

Yeah, step on in. Close the door?

I'm here to inform you that WNN
is withdrawing from the case.

Excuse me?

Also that our lawyers are
on the phone with your lawyers

negotiating the dissolution

of your contract with our network.

As of now,
you are off the air, Madeline.

What's going on?

The man who k*lled Kaylee?

They caught him about an hour ago.

Confessed to everything.

What are you talking about?

The man who k*lled Kaylee
was her stepfather.

No, he wasn't.

Look, the word is starting to
get out, and people are starting

to gather in front of the courthouse.

They're looking for you.

So I'd arrange for some extra security

to get her out of here? Yeah?

DANNY: The k*ller was a
man named Wayne Dixon.

He was working a construction job

down the street from the Brennan home.

Dixon had apparently targeted
Kaylee a few weeks earlier.

He was watching the house

and saw Jeremy ride away on his bike.

Dixon claims he approached the house,

said he was a friend of Kaylee's dad,

and she let him in,

which is why there is
no evidence of forced entry.

Is there anything in there
about how the police knew

to question Dixon in the first place?

How did he come to their attention?

Well, according to this, they got a tip.

Dixon's girlfriend. Why?

We're in court at : .

See if you can find the girlfriend.

See if you can get her
on the phone with me.

Ms. James, stacked all
the boxes downstairs

in that courtroom like you told me.

(EXHALES) Thanks so much
for all your help.

And I almost forgot.
The person who helped pack up

your dad's things wanted me
to give you this.

Thanks.

Have a great day.

BENNY: Good morning, Ms. Cowley.

Now, could you please
tell the court what it was

that prompted you to call the police
on your boyfriend Wayne Dixon?

Uh, yeah, I-I don't know.

Um, Wayne was working
construction in Westchester,

and, uh, since he started,

he just seemed different, distant,

you know, like he was preoccupied

with something or-or someone.

And then, a few nights later,

I found him out back,
burning his clothes.

I mean, why would you burn your clothes?

He said he got some type of
toxic chemical on them at work.

But he does framing
and drywall. I-I don't know.

It just... it didn't seem right to me.

Now, is that when you phoned the police?

Uh, no, no, not yet.

Um, what really got me thinking
was, all of a sudden,

he wanted to start watching
Madeline McBride's show

with me all of a sudden.

Like, he never wanted
to watch that show before.

He did not like her.

No offense.

I'm sorry. I-I love you,
and I love your show so much.

BULL: Go,

- Quasimodo.
- Um...

So, anyway, he started
watching it with me.

And whenever she'd bring up the case,

he'd always say how he was
working in that neighborhood

and he knew the house that
she was talking about, and...

BENNY: And did you know
your boyfriend was interested

in prepubescent girls?

(VOICE BREAKING): I don't know.

We never talked about it.

But... whenever we were
at the beach or at the park...

(SNIFFLES)

...I thought I always saw him looking.

Then I thought
maybe it was just in my mind.

And what did you tell the police
when you called them?

I knew from her show

that Kaylee had DNA on her
that hadn't been identified.

So, I called them,
and I offered Wayne's hairbrush.

And how did you know to do that?

From her show.

She talked about how DNA
from a hairbrush caught a k*ller

she was profiling a couple years back.

Well, it's lucky you watched her show.

Did you know that tips

from Ms. McBride's viewers have helped

in solving over one hundred cases

since the show first aired?

No.

I just think she's really smart

and cool.

Just really good at her job.

(QUIETLY): Sanctuary.

(SIGHS)

"Dear Danny James, you don't
know me, but my name is Devon.

"Some years ago,
I got to know your father.

"We met and fell in love in New York,

"and eventually, I convinced him

"to come live with me
in Louisiana where I'm from.

"I did not know at the time
about you or your mother.

"Three months after we settled
down in Louisiana,

"your father confessed to me
about the family he had left.

"Told me that he could no longer
bear the guilt

"and needed to go back to you.

"I did not stand in his way.

"He told me when he got to New York,

"your mother refused to speak to him.

"Warned him that if he
tried to make contact with you

"that she would k*ll him.

"He told me he found a small apartment

"and got a job working
teaching physical education

"at an art school.

"Even taught himself to sketch.

"Over the years he tried
to build up the courage

"to reach out to you,

"but he told me he was
so filled with guilt

"and shame for leaving you,

"he just couldn't do it.

"And then one day,
he was looking out his window,

"and there you were.

"Walking by.

"He figured you were probably
making your way home

"from the police academy.

"He said he saw you maybe ten
or times from that window,

"but then, no more.

"I didn't hear from your father
again for many years.

"And then about three weeks ago,
he called

"to tell me he was very sick.

"I flew to New York, but by the time

"I got there he was already
in the hospital.

So I'm writing to let you
know what he told me.

"That he wanted you to know
he was terribly sorry.

"And he wanted you to know

he loved you."

(SNIFFLES)

BENNY: Jeremy Brennan's su1c1de is

undeniably tragic.

And no one will ever know with certainty

why he decided to take his own life.

But you know what we do know
with certainty?

That Kaylee's k*ller was caught.

And that's, at least in part, due

to Madeline McBride...

for keeping Kaylee's story alive.

But she was only able to do it

because her freedom of speech
allowed her to do it.

See, that's the tricky thing
about freedom of speech.

It-it cuts both ways.

See, people have the freedom

to say whatever it is they want to say.

And everyone else has the freedom, uh,

not to listen, not to believe

and to do their own research

and come up with their own conclusions.

I mean, that's what Carla Cowley did.

You heard her.

She loved that woman.

But she did not let the fact

that for over a month, she heard

Madeline McBride,
who thought that Jeremy Brennan

probably committed the m*rder,

stop her from picking up the phone

and calling the police
when she was convinced

my client was mistaken.

Look, I...

I get it.

Okay? I get it. She was...

she was wrong.

Wrong on the facts.

Unnecessarily harsh.

And there were times
I felt that she took

way too much pleasure

in her ongoing campaign
against Jeremy Brennan.

But you know what?

That is not against the law.

And the problem is...

if you don't stand up

for the people you don't
necessarily agree with

when someone is trying to silence them,

then there might not be
the right to free speech left

when they go after the people
you do agree with.

WOMAN: In the matter of Tracy Brennan v.

Madeline McBride and the claim

of intentional infliction
of emotional distress...

we, the jury,
find Madeline McBride liable.

(TRACY GASPING)

And we award Tracy Brennan damages

in the amount of two
and one half million dollars.

SULLIVAN: Ladies and
gentlemen of the jury,

thank you for your service.

Court is adjourned.

Ms. McBride. I'm very sorry.

Don't be, you did your best.

But you lost your job.

You're about to get
a boatload of bad publicity.

And today is gonna cost you
two and a half million dollars.

Help me understand.

You seem to have made your peace

with this rather quickly.

Well, two and a half million?

That's why God created
personal liability insurance.

And the boatload of publicity?

I love it.

Good or bad,

it keeps me in the zeitgeist.

And it will come in handy

when I sit down to cut my new deal.

A new deal?

See, people like me?

People who have the courage to say

what everyone else is thinking
even if we're wrong?

We always draw a big crowd.

(LAUGHS) And trust me,

after today...

the crowd will only be bigger, huh?

Thank you, gentlemen.

Don't forget to send me your bill.