Frank: Chinese today?
Cliff: No, they had something else planned. But if we’re here tomorrow…
Kris: Christ, I hope not.
Cliff: Okay, let’s see where we stand.
Mrs. Lim: I would like to say something.
Cliff: And we all want to hear it. After we break for lunch. We’ve just got time for a vote.
They vote. It’s split down the middle, six to six.
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Jury, Day Two, Afternoon:
Cliff: I want to start off this afternoon saying I’ve considered what Diane said earlier, about my referring to Mike more deferentially. That’s exactly the kind of thing that drives me nuts about other people, so it really hurt. So I really thought hard about ways I am influenced by own biases.
You know, I mentioned that I am recently separated. And I’ve searched my heart to see if that has had some impact on how strongly, since the beginning, I have favored Mike’s case. I have to be honest with you: it does. I took that idea, that the business was their child, very much to heart.
I have a child, and I foresee that my wife and I will be engaged in a bitter battle for custody. I see that child will be hurt, no matter what I do, but I can’t give her up. I will fight to the death for her. Just like Mike is fighting for his company. So I guess I understand. I see Lindy’s ownership, in a way, but it can’t be cut in half or it will be destroyed, you know, like in the Bible story where the real mother won’t have the child cut into two pieces, but the false mother will. Their company will be terribly harmed, maybe irreparably, if Lindy is given a big chunk of their assets. He’ll have to cut off an arm, and maybe a leg, and…
Diane: Oh, please! He might sell a bunch of buildings and machinery, if it comes to that. Since when does metal bleed?
Grace: Can you let him finish? I want to hear the rest.
Cliff: Thank you, Grace. Anyway, I guess what I’m saying is, it’s right to remove yourself from personal considerations, even if it seems impossible. So I went through my whole chain of reasoning one more time…
Diane: Let me guess. Mike still wins!
Cliff: Well, yes. There just is not one iota of evidence to support Lindy’s claim.
Diane: Figures.
Cliff: No written promises, no marriage certificate, no witnesses to direct promises. It just comes down to her word against his, as to an oral contract. How could Mike have made it any clearer that he did not wish to be married? I mean, they were together twenty years. Should he have written it in blood?
No, on the contrary, what I see is that she signed her name to an agreement that said they should separate their property. There were innuendoes made by Lindy’s lawyers that he forced her to do that, using some nasty psychological pressure, but you know, he strikes me as a pretty straightforward person. What she saw was exactly what she got.
Mrs. Lim: Really? What about the fact that for most of those years, he presented her to the world as his wife, and then claimed he didn’t? Doesn’t that prove he’s deceitful?
Frank: He did that out of consideration for her feelings. He wanted to keep her without compromising his own wishes. And as for saying he didn’t recall, well, it’s possible he forgot…
Diane: It’s possible I’m a ring-tailed lemur, but I don’t look like one or act like one. But then some people prefer their delusions…
Frank: Or his very normal sense of self-preservation kicked in.
Cliff: Anyway, I’m hoping we’re all trying to vote the law, and not self-interest. Let’s make sure in our minds we’re being fair to the evidence. And in spite of how we mock the poor lawyers, they provide a necessary service. They must plow through a lot of garbage to pull out the stuff we need to hear to decide. I think they all presented good cases. It’s just that Mike’s was inherently, objectively better.
Courtney: How can you say that? Lindy’s lawyers made as much sense as they did. Also, to me, Mr. Riesner and Ms. Casey had a little attitude, like, the decision’s so obvious. Well, I don’t think it’s so obvious.
Diane: “Smug” is only one of many good words that describe those two.
Courtney: After all, it’s up to us.
Grace: Cliff, going back to what you were saying, you got me thinking. I’m a very emotional person. I got all wrapped up in Lindy’s problems, because that’s the kind of person I am. I just can’t leave a dead dog in the road, you know? I’m out of my car, finding a sack, burying the poor thing somewhere…
Cliff: You have a big heart, Grace. I’m sure we’ve all noticed that.
He asks about her child, and she talks for a long time about what it’s like to be the sole caretaker for a handicapped adult. Many people sympathize with her. You can feel her relaxing, feeling better just to have some recognition for her difficulties. He suggests that after the trial is over, she call his office. He knows of some social service agencies that might be able to find relief for her. There’s a fifteen minute break, and during the break, many people share their worries about how long they’ve been gone from their jobs and daily lives. Everyone except Frank drinks lots of coffee, and many are nibbling on snacks.
Cliff: Like Grace here, it’s clear we all have so many important obligations that are falling by the wayside while we try to decide this thing. So let’s try to be efficient. Let’s try to come to some agreement here. The tide does seem to be moving toward Mike. I’m wondering what the rest of you die-hard Lindy fans need to be convinced.
Diane: (laughing) Well, well, well. No more beating around the bush. You think you’ve got it in the bag. You know, I have to admire you, Cliff. Here you are, and almost singlehandedly, with just the occasional, bumbling help of your male compadres, you’re turning this group around to your point of view. I sure see why you’ve been successful in politics. Here’s how it works, right? You target the weakest links and then you whittle away…
Grace: Weakest link?
Diane: I have to wonder about this child of yours, Cliff, that came out of the blue this morning. You never once mentioned her before. Is she real or rhetorical?
Cliff: I’ve been experiencing a lot of personal pain, Diane. I don’t enjoy talking about it. I’m sure you can understand that.
Diane: You didn’t answer the question.
Grace: You see me as a weak link, Diane? Talk about a piece of work. You think a person has to be able to jump up a mountain on a pogo stick to prove their worth, but I see life very differently, lady. Strength is taking care of the people you love, forging lifelong ties, doing whatever you do well, and that includes laundry on a regular basis.
You know what I don’t hear from you, Diane? I don’t hear a word about your family.
Kris: You don’t have kids, do you, Diane? That would be so irresponsible.
Frank: No, people in a risky business like Diane’s have to fight their basic instincts.
Kevin: Ten to one odds she never even married.
Grace: You’re so pro-Lindy because you’re enjoying all this. You haven’t got much else going in your own life.
Diane: I do have family. And I have resolved my issues about what I do already, so please, how about the rest of you get over it, and get back to the case?
Now, Grace, you talked earlier about Lindy Markov’s loyalty, about her deserving something in compensation. That isn’t a legal argument, it’s a moral one. The proper thing to do is not always the right thing. I think Ignacio said that, too.
Ignacio: Yes, I agree.
Diane: Married or not, explicit promises or not, doesn’t she deserve some percentage, even a small one, of their total assets after twenty years? She doesn’t even own her own home! He’s out there living in a mansion with his new tootsie, and she’s left with nothing.
Grace: Well, not everybody gets to own a house. I rent.
Bob: Me, too.
Diane: He violated her faith. He took a new partner, in essence. She never did.
Grace: I do think we
ll of her for that. I do.
Kevin: We all do, I think. She’s a personable girl, Lindy Markov. And she’s been real successful. Don’t you think we aren’t giving her enough credit? She pulled herself up from nothing. If she did it once, she can do it again.
Diane: Why should she? Is Mike Markov going to do that? And aren’t you admitting she was the driving force behind their business success?
Mrs. Lim: I want to say something, but first, I’m not comfortable with Diane characterizing this as a moral choice rather than a legal one. I believe Lindy and Mike had an oral contract, as valid and binding as anything written. I believe that business is, at minimum, half hers. It’s not a matter of him giving her money. It’s a matter of us ensuring that she gets what is already hers.
I’m a businesswoman myself, and I can only marvel at their success. I’m envious, too, and I don’t think I’m the only one here. But to be fair to this situation, I’m trying to put my petty side behind me and give this case the serious concern it deserves.
Grace: Well, we are all doing that.
Mrs. Lim: I hope we are all trying to do that, as best we can. Now, here’s another point I wanted to make. Did anyone notice Lindy hardly paid attention when the receiver testified? Didn’t seem to care about the numbers. Her eyes just glazed over.
Kevin: I thought we discussed this. She was getting her revenge by hitting Mike where he lives, in the pocketbook. The amount of damage probably doesn’t matter too much.
Mrs. Lim: No. The amount is not important to her, but for another reason. She’s suing on principle. We have to consider the principles here. She owns half that company. And even if what she really wants is Mike back, we can give her her share.
Grace: Whatever we decide, she loses. She’ll never get him back, and dividing up the company’s gonna kill anything they had going. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could force Mike to go back to her? That’s what she wants.
Courtney: I wanted to hate him but I never did. I just think what’s happening between them is so tragic.
Cliff: Yes, it is sad. Maybe that’s why we’re having trouble ending this discussion and getting out of here. The money isn’t really going to help her anyway.
Diane: Let’s drop the melodrama. Nina Reilly said several times that the only compensation available in this case is financial. That’s the way the law works.
Grace: I’m so tired of talking about this. It’s hard to stay worked up about Lindy’s problems after talking about them for nearly two days, although I’ve stuck to my original position because I definitely feel some sympathy.
Cliff: Remember the judge’s instructions? You can’t let sympathy influence you. As I said, that’s been a problem for me, too.
Diane: We may be bored but we are right, Grace. That’s worth a lot.
Grace: I don’t know about that. Maybe Kevin’s right, just because there’s money, it doesn’t mean she should have some.
Diane: It isn’t just because there’s money. It’s because, as Mrs. Lim said just moments ago, that money belongs to both of them!
Kevin: Show us a paper, any paper, that proves it.
Cliff: Is everyone ready for a vote? It’s four-fifteen, a good time to check out where we are.
Kris: Yes! Maybe we can tell the judge to convene everyone tomorrow morning. Maybe this time, we’ll have a verdict!
They vote. It’s five for Lindy, seven against. There’s another hour of bickering but no change in the vote before they quit for the day.
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Jury, Day Three, Morning:
Cliff: I have a good feeling about today! I bet we get to our verdict!
This has been really something. We started off eight to four in favor of Lindy Markov, and now we’re seven to five against her claim. I have a feeling as we discuss the case and apply the hard test of reason, logic is telling people the law in this case should protect Mike Markov.
Diane: Not logic, Cliff. You.
Mrs. Lim: Once again, Mr. Wright, I must object to your language. You twist the truth by suggesting that those who do not agree with you are illogical. I’ve said all along, I’m looking at the evidence. I’m not being pushed around by my feelings either way.
Cliff: Mrs. Lim, is English your second language? I think you read nuances into very simple statements of mine that are not there.
To continue. Yesterday, Ignacio cornered me at the end of the day and asked if we couldn’t discuss the church ceremony.
Ignacio: That day those two people knelt down before God and made their promises, that day they were married. They are married in the eyes of God.
Kris: Do they allow God in the courtroom these days? They don’t let much else in.
Kevin: God or not, this is a legal case, Ignacio.
Ignacio: Of course.
Kevin: You have this picture in your mind of this woman in a wedding dress and this man in a tux going off to church one fine day. Here’s the reality. One afternoon, maybe they have a couple of drinks. And he goes to the church to please her, and that night they hit the sack happy. If God was there, he was shaking his head in dismay.
Courtney: You are disgusting! I don’t think it was that way at all.
Cliff: Now Courtney, no need to hurt Kevin’s feelings. But you are awfully young, aren’t you? You said yourself, you can’t know what goes on between two people, didn’t you?
Courtney: Yes, but…
Cliff: I see you have youthful skepticism. That’s healthy. I also see that, although you’ve supported Lindy so far, you have a lot of doubts, don’t you?
Courtney: A few.
Diane: Hold on. Just stop right there. This marriage thing. To get Ignacio to switch his vote, Kevin makes Mike and Lindy sound like two drunks stumbling into a church prior to a sleazy one-night stand. That accomplished to your satisfaction for the moment, you go to work on Courtney. But everybody, listen. How many people do you know who celebrate a night like that as an anniversary for twenty years? They both admitted they did. That was a solemn, honest, and heartfelt occasion.
Cliff: When was the last time you went to church on Sunday, Ms. Miklos?
Diane: Huh? What does that have to do with-
Cliff: You pose as someone who agrees with Ignacio, but you really don’t at all.
Diane: I’m not posing as anything.
Cliff: C’mon, when? Six years old, Easter, yanked in there by Grandma?
Diane: Now, hold on!
Cliff: You don’t believe they were married in the eyes of God or anyone else, do you?
Diane: Why are you attacking me?
Cliff: You don’t answer my questions. And why is that? It’s because you know Ignacio is about to realize that wedding was not important to this case. You’re trying to mislead and confuse him by contradicting everything we say in support of Mike, no matter how much logic, reason and evidence we have to support our arguments.
Diane: It’s true, I’m not a follower of organized religion, but I have my own beliefs.
Cliff: Something you picked up in Tibet, no doubt, after forking over sixty-five thousand dollars for the privilege of being lugged up Mount Everest by a Sherpa.
Diane: I’ve never been to Tibet.
Bob: Jesus. You have to pay that much to climb a mountain?
Cliff: That’s right. It’s a sport for the elite of the world.
Diane: I fight for every penny! I work very, very hard to earn the respect and support of my sponsors and friends!
Bob: Making slide shows and going on hikes. Whew. It’s a tough job, but someone’s got to-
Courtney: Stop picking on her!
Cliff: She makes it our business by bringing it into an argument. We’re just trying to be rational here, trying to examine the evidence like Mrs. Lim says.
Mrs. Lim: Don’t you dare quote me! I have never seen such a blatant prejudice and such underhanded exploitation and maneuvering in my life, and I see plenty of it in my business! You go too f
ar!
Kevin: Break time! We’re out of coffee. Now, that’s unconscionable. I’m getting the bailiff.
They break.
Cliff: First I want to apologize if I got a little overheated in my arguments. You put your faith in me as a leader, and I take that duty seriously, so seriously, I may go a little overboard in trying to help us get closer to a verdict.
Courtney: But Cliff, it’s getting obvious the only verdict you want from us is against Lindy.
Cliff: I never meant to give that impression. If the majority had gone for Lindy, I would accept that. It’s just that after airing our views, we seem to be going the other way.
Bob: There is one point I’d like further discussion about. That’s Ignacio’s view that Lindy and Mike were married because they stepped inside a church once and made some promises to each other.
The point I’d like to make is this: our country is founded on the notion of a separation between church and state. That was so people could practice religion as they pleased, but the state could develop its own set of rules aimed at the common good.
Ignacio, is it right for you to base your decision in this case on your religious beliefs? This is a case brought before the state. Shouldn’t state law be our guide?
Ignacio: (heavy sigh) That is something to think about.
Cliff: Of course, you have to feel good in your conscience about how you vote. But look at it this way, you can believe they were married, without necessarily voting to give Lindy anything.
Ignacio: What do you mean?
Cliff: Well, you say they were married in the eyes of God. But we all agree they weren’t married according to the laws of this state. Logically, then, when it comes time for them to split up, the state’s usual community property laws should not apply.
Mrs. Lim: But this analysis is incorrect. If he believes they agreed to marriage, then he must realize they assumed certain obligations under that agreement, mutually agreed-upon obligations. Remember, if there’s a contract, and Ignacio is saying he believes there was from that moment, the judge said we can infer its existence and terms from the conduct of the parties. They certainly acted married. Why shouldn’t they be held to the normal terms of that contract?
Breach Of Promise Page 29
