Reversal of Fortune Page #4

she went berserk.

Once she broke her hip and

didn't go to hospital for two days.

- Did you hear what I just said?

- Did you hear the judge sentence me?

Sorry. 30 years is a pretty stiff sentence.

Twice trying to murder one's wife,

anything less would be monstrous.

But for a man like myself,

who did nothing...

What I wanted to ask:

if we lose the appeal,

will I have the chance later to set my

affairs in order before I'm incarcerated?

In Europe, a gentleman is given

the opportunity to end things properly.

- Come on, Claus.

- We are each the keeper of our own soul.

Two big problems:

the case against him is very strong,

and the legal conviction isn't the only

conviction that we've got to reverse.

The more dangerous conviction

is the absolute certainty

of the American people

that Claus is guilty.

Finding grounds for reversal

won't be enough here.

Judges on the Rhode Island

Supreme Court

will have to go home to their spouses

and explain why they reversed.

To get them to do that, we have to

obliterate every aspect of the state's case.

Destroy the medical case

and their witnesses,

so the judges have

no possible way to affirm.

Total victory,

or we are dead in the water.

Now, I assume that you've all had

an opportunity to look at the transcripts.

First impressions?

I think this whole thing stinks.

I think Claus von Bulow stinks.

He's obviously guilty of

something pretty despicable,

and, if we free him, we become partners

in his crime, accessories after the fact.

I'm shocked, with your record

defending the poor and oppressed,

that you've taken this case.

I won't have anything to do with it.

And I hope my fellow students

won't, either. Goodbye.

My I exercise my First Amendment

right to free speech?

If lawyers only defended the innocent,

there'd be just ten lawyers in the country.

Why help guilty people get off?

You're sure he's guilty? 100% sure?

He had a lawyer. He had a trial.

He was convicted.

- Are you sure he had a fair trial?

- Come on!

It's the basis of the whole legal system!

Everyone gets a defense.

So the system is there for the one

innocent person who was falsely accused.

OK, look. Say it's you. OK?

You decide to get a divorce.

You're gonna divorce your husband.

A week later, you're accused

of molesting your son.

Don't give me that look.

Stuff like this happens all the time.

Suddenly, you're alone. You hate it.

It's a nightmare.

Everyone assumes that you are guilty.

Even the mailman is beginning

to look at you a little funny.

You only got one person

who believes in you.

There's only one person

you can trust:
your lawyer.

Yeah, OK. So, someone's

gotta defend Claus.

But why you? Why us?

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