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.

›Click‹

27

›Click‹

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 far!

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?

Cliff: Mrs. Lim, there was no written agreement, and-

Mrs. Lim: There’s one interpretation for marriage, whether it happened under the eyes of God or in the eyes of the State of California.

Cliff: A case could be made that she read much more into that moment than he ever intended.

Mrs. Lim: He introduced her as his wife!

Cliff: And how can we know his intention, except as he explained it in court? He did it to please her. There was no hidden understanding that they were married. Why else would she say she was ashamed not to be married? She knew they weren’t! So did he!