Defending Jacob

Ladies and gentlemen, before we begin,

it is my duty to remind you that a grand jury proceeding is not a trial.

As you can see, there is no judge in the room here with us,

no defense attorneys.

This is an investigatory process, at the end of which

you will be asked to decide whether or not I have provided you

with sufficient evidence to grant a true bill of indictment.

If so, I may take the case to superior court.

If not, if you return a decision of "no bill,"

then this case ends here, today.

Could you state your name for the record, please?

You were asked to state your name.

Andrew Stephen Barber.

Little louder, if you don't mind.

Andrew Stephen Barber.

Can you state your occupation, please?

I was an assistant district attorney in this building for ten years.

"Was"?

So you're no longer employed as a prosecutor

for Middlesex County, is that correct?

Yes. That's right.

Mr. Barber...

Andy.

I assume you're familiar with your Fifth Amendment rights?

I would hope so.

And you've waived them, correct?

I'm here, aren't I?

Would you agree that it's a little unusual, given the circumstances?

I don't have any tricks up my sleeve, if that's what you're getting at.

-No one was implying that. -Yes, you were. So would I.

I'm here 'cause I believe in the system and just want the truth to come out.

Well, let's get started on the truth then.

I'd like to begin by reading a quote from The Boston Globe

that ran a few weeks ago.

"They became national news,

an object of fascination for both the NPR set and the TMZ crowd,

the subject of a popular podcast,

hundreds of editorials and countless articles.

So it's easy to forget that less than a year ago

their lives were as mundane and uneventful as our own.

Is there such a thing as the perfect family? Of course not.

But the Barber family was a happy family,

and if there was anything truly special about them, it was this."

I wonder if you'd agree.

Is that an accurate description of your family

on the morning that Ben Rifkin was murdered?

"Happy"?

Yes.

Hey. Come on. Time to get up.

Let's go. Rise and shine.

Jake? Gotta see those eyes.

All right. You leave me no choice.

Last chance.

-I'm up. I'm up. -There he is!

Morning, buddy.

Can you quiz me on vocab? I have a test today.

-Oh. Good morning to you too. -Morning, Mom.

You need a ride today, or are you walking?

No, I'll walk. Did you get new waffles?

I did if you put them on my list. "Perspicacious."

"Having a keen understanding." They're not in here.

-Did you put them on my list? -Yes.

Then they're in there. "Cursory."

"Brief and lacking depth." I don't see them.

Second shelf next to the peas. "Myopic."

I'm telling you, they're not--

-"Myopic." -"Possessing a narrow view."

How was the run?

-"Recalcitrant." -Yikes.

Vocab test.

Hey, would you throw one of those in there for me, buddy?

"Recalcitrant." I don't know.

-"Defying authority." -Are you sure? Let me see.

-That's what it says. -Where'd you run?

Along Boylston. I got lost in that history podcast I told you about.

I think you'd really like it.

-I'll check it out. -No, you won't.

Oh, Claudia Hoffman e-mailed me again.

Who?

Lizzy's sister. The travel agent?

-Oh, right, right. Mexico. -Yeah.

What about Mexico?

We're thinking about going there for Christmas. Three of us. What do you think?

Cool.

-You might be a little more excited. -I am.

Well, tell your face.

You love that line.

You really do.

Look, we need to make a decision.

Should we go?

I mean, Jake is obviously ecstatic.

No, he's beside himself.

I wouldn't wanna break his heart.

What kind of parents would we be?

Hilarious.

-So are we going? -I say yes. Yes to Mexico.

Great. I'll call her.

All right, I've got an early meeting, so I'm jumping in the shower.

Okay.

-Will you finish quizzing him? -Yeah.

-Bye, honey. -Bye.

"Phlegmatic."

I'll see you later, okay?

Your Honor, I need a couple minutes to explain.

You'll have that opportunity in pretrial, Mr. Molloy.

The charge is distribution of a class A substance.

Such bullshit.

Bail is set at $1,000 cash or 10,000 personal recognizance.

Come on. Are you kidding me?

-Thank you, Your Honor. -What the hell are you thanking her for?

Pretrial conference is scheduled for May 24th.

Next.

Please.

Indictment number 17-2832, Commonwealth versus William J. Moore .

Charge is one count of aggravated assault.

Is Mr. Moore's attorney present?

Good morning, Your Honor.

Commonwealth?

Your Honor, I'm afraid we have to insist on a continuance

on the grounds that we've been unable to interview a necessary witness.

This court already granted you a continuance four months ago.

Yes, Your Honor, but this witness has been very difficult to locate.

Without getting into detail, it has to do with her choice of lifestyle.

She's an escort, Your Honor,

like her friend, who the defendant is accused of battering.

Since this was an issue last time, I had a state trooper track her down.

It only took a day.

She corroborated her friend's account of the assault.

She also said the defense had already questioned her.

Maybe he forgot to take notes.

-Your Honor, if I may just elaborate-- -No, you may not.

Continuance is denied. Trial is set for three weeks from today.

Next.

All right, you're due back in for a session in 15 minutes,

then meeting with Lynn, her office.

I think she wants an update on the Willis case.

Oh. That makes two of us. Bobby, you guys out of peach?

Could be. Let me check the back.

Thanks. How's the hip?

You know, worse than yesterday, better than tomorrow.

You wanted a conference with Judge French in chambers.

His clerk says he has a 2:30, if you want that.

Thank you.

Hey.

Oh, Jesus. Okay. Where?

Okay. Yeah, I'll meet you over there.

Something wrong?

You're a lucky man, Mr. B. Only got one left.

-Thanks. -What is it?

We gotta clear the rest of my day.

It's looking very good. No. Doing good.

Be careful taking that out. We don't wanna make a mess.

That's what she said.

What are we doing here? What are you dipping? That is--

Attention. Archer is now on lockdown, effective immediately.

All students are to remain in their classrooms...

All right. Okay.

Guys, I can't hear the announcement.

Over here, against the wall, please. Sit down. Stay quiet.

Repeat. We are now on lockdown.

News didn't take long.

-Yeah. It's gonna be a real shitstorm. -Yeah.

Let's go.

She's the one who found the body?

And the kid's backpack, which is how they managed to ID him.

Name's Benjamin Rifkin, 14 years old, stabbed three times in the chest.

Oh, fuck.

He's Jacob's year at Archer. Jesus Christ. His poor parents.

I take it you know them.

No, not that well.

Anyway, keep going.

ME thinks he was dead less than an hour before he was found.

Stabbing probably took place on or near the jogging trail.

-There's a lot of cast-off on the grounds. -Hey, hey, hey.

It's okay. Detective Duffy is with our office.

Let 'em through. The fuck's wrong with you?

Sorry, Duff. It's been a shit morning.

There's nothing worse than a kid.

Our thinking is, the attack took place over there,

then the body fell or was pushed down the hill.

Doesn't look like any effort was made to conceal it.

This way. Watch your step.

The lady who found him said he was facedown.

She thought maybe he was sick, so she rolled him over,

took one good look at him and freaked.

Crabbed away on her palms and knees, then got up and ran.

Basically fucked the whole scene.

Excuse me. I have to take this.

Jacob. You okay?

Yeah. The school's on lockdown, but nobody knows why.

I know, it's...

Look, I can't talk about it right now, okay, buddy?

Just listen to your teachers, do exactly what they say.

Yeah, but you do know why. I mean, is there some psycho shooter?

No, it's nothing like that. You're safe. I promise.

Jake?

Okay.

Dad?

Yeah.

What is it, buddy?