The Practice (TV Series)

The Chosen (2003)

Camryn Manheim: Ellenor Frutt

Quotes 

• Brad Stanfield : [to Frutt]  Are you out of your mind?

  Ellenor Frutt : It's called "Plan B." We use it on occasion when "Plan A" is sure to fail.

  Brad Stanfield : What about Emma's testimony? She'll support suicide.

  Ellenor Frutt : None of us feel Emma will help us. In fact, we think trying to exploit her further could even hurt.

  Brad Stanfield : Well, my testimony...

  Ellenor Frutt : And we don't think you should testify, either. There's too much to impeach you with. Right now, your domestic assault isn't in evidence. If you testify, Bradley, it comes into play.

  Brad Stanfield : What is our defense?

  Ellenor Frutt : Reasonable doubt. All we need to show is that it's possible somebody else did it including, possibly, your sister-in-law. We know it's desperate. We're not kidding ourselves, but it's something, Bradley.

• Ellenor Frutt : [to Christine Shepard about her sister]  You said she was a devout Catholic. Are you?

  Christine Shepard : Yes, I am.

  Ellenor Frutt : Is it possible, knowing how opposed you were to suicide, that your sister concealed her plans to take her life?

  Christine Shepard : This was not a suicide and I am finding this repulsive.

  Ellenor Frutt : You seem angry.

  Christine Shepard : I am.

  Ellenor Frutt : You and your sister often got angry with each other, didn't you?

  Christine Shepard : We had our differences primarily over the war zone that they subjected Emma to.

  Ellenor Frutt : Just out of curiosity, where were you the day your sister died?

  Christine Shepard : I beg your pardon?

  Ellenor Frutt : I don't mean to be rude, but if my client should be convicted of this murder, he'd be disqualified from inheriting and you'd get more of your sister's money, wouldn't you?

  Christine Shepard : Are you suggesting I killed my sister?

  Ellenor Frutt : I'm just suggesting that you had keys to her house, that you knew her coffee-drinking patterns. Did the police ever investigate you?

  Christine Shepard : No, they did not.

  Ellenor Frutt : A year ago, you tried to get custody of Emma because you considered your sister to be an unfit parent.

  Christine Shepard : I considered them both unfit because of the way they fought continually in front of Emma.

  Ellenor Frutt : You love Emma very much.

  Christine Shepard : Like a daughter. Yes, I do.

  Ellenor Frutt : And if your sister dies and your brother-in-law gets convicted of this crime, you would get custody of Emma, wouldn't you, Christine? Everything would work out.

  Christine Shepard : You are disgusting!

• Brad Stanfield : [to Frutt]  Rest? What about my testimony?

  Ellenor Frutt : We agreed you shouldn't testify since...

  Brad Stanfield : I never agreed. You agreed.

  Ellenor Frutt : If you take the stand, your domestic assault comes into evidence.

  Brad Stanfield : And if I don't go up there, we have no defense.

  Ellenor Frutt : Our case is reasonable doubt. It's burden of proof. We've already established the possibility of suicide, we've established the possibility of somebody else killing her. That's the best we can do here.

  Brad Stanfield : No, it isn't.

  Ellenor Frutt : If you take the stand, you are guaranteed a guilty...

  Brad Stanfield : You listen to me! From my perspective, I've already bought the guilty verdict. I do not want to rest.

  Ellenor Frutt : If you get...

  Brad Stanfield : I'm talking. Like you said from the start, everyone thinks I'm guilty. I'm the sick bastard who killed his pregnant wife and unborn child. Well, people need to hear from me now. My daughter needs to hear from me.

  Ellenor Frutt : Then do it behind closed doors.

  Brad Stanfield : I will do it in that room!

• Ellenor Frutt : Brad, you have to understand why you're a suspect. You have a troubled marriage, your wife wants to leave you and she's suddenly found poisoned to death in your home with no signs of anybody else being there but you.

  Brad Stanfield : I would never be capable of taking a human life. I could never hurt the woman that I love more than life.

• Tara Wilson : Not good.

  Ellenor Frutt : How bad?

  Tara Wilson : All six voted guilty. Unequivocally.

  Brad Stanfield : Uh, what are you talking about?

  Ellenor Frutt : I hired a focus group to monitor the trial.

  Tara Wilson : They found your testimony unconvincing and unanimously rejected it.

  [Brad shakes his head, looking down and clenching his hands] 

  Ellenor Frutt : All right. Look. I would like to explore Murder Two.

  Brad Stanfield : Absolutely not!

  Ellenor Frutt : Brad...

  Brad Stanfield : That is a life sentence, Ellenor!

  Ellenor Frutt : With the possibility of parole. I... I don't know what to tell you. We are going to lose here. We are dead!

  Emma Stanfield : Daddy, let me tell!

  Brad Stanfield : Emma, please. Be quiet.

  Emma Stanfield : Daddy, you said you...

  Brad Stanfield : Emma...?

  [walks to the couch Emma is sitting on and sits next to her] 

  Ellenor Frutt : Tell what?

  Brad Stanfield : Nothing. Could... could I have a moment alone with my daughter, please?

• Ellenor Frutt : [to Emma]  We know you love your dad very much and he loves you. We're his lawyers and all of his secrets are safe with us. Are you the person who poisoned your mother?

  Emma Stanfield : I told you I don't really want to talk about it right now.

  Jamie Stringer : Emma, I don't think you really want your dad to live the rest of his life in prison.

  Ellenor Frutt : There may be a way for us to help him and to protect you at the same time, but we need to know the truth, Emma. Did you poison your mother?

  [Emma cries and looks down at her hands] 

  Ellenor Frutt : Can you tell us why?

  Emma Stanfield : She was ruining everything.

• Brad Stanfield : [about Emma confessing to murdering her mother]  She's lying to protect me.

  Ellenor Frutt : I don't think so.

  Brad Stanfield : Where is she?

  Ellenor Frutt : She's with Tara. Listen...

  Brad Stanfield : I killed Molly, all right? Emma's just trying to protect me. Leave it at that.

  Ellenor Frutt : Oh, so now you're suddenly saying that you did it? You've been protecting your daughter.

  Jamie Stringer : This doesn't help her. She's 10. She'll be destroyed.

  Brad Stanfield : She'll most definitely be destroyed if she's locked up.

  Ellenor Frutt : That doesn't have to happen. There's probably an insanity defense. She's 10. Plus, for God's sake, if she's ever to have any chance of psychological or emotional health, she's going to need you on the outside. You accepting guilt for her crime...

  Brad Stanfield : I accept guilt because I'm at fault, Ellenor. She was raised in an environment of hatred. Her mom and I fought. Emma... whatever caused her to do this, I absolutely accept fault.

  Ellenor Frutt : Let us try to work this out.

  Brad Stanfield : Just make the deal on Murder Two. I'll take it.

  Ellenor Frutt : We're not allowed to do that.

  Brad Stanfield : As Emma's legal guardian, I am directing you to hire independent counsel for her. That you have to do.

• Brad Stanfield : [to Frutt]  All right. Look. I'm embarrassed to say I haven't been truthful with you. I killed Molly. I maintained otherwise for obvious reasons. I didn't want to spend my life in jail. As the case went south, Emma and I devised a back-up plan; a Plan B of our own, I guess you'd call it. It involved manipulating you, getting you to think that she did it, in the hope that you'd find a way to right an apparent travesty of justice which you did and I'm grateful. Now, we need to help her. Assuming double jeopardy will prevent me from being re-tried on strategy might be for me to come forward now and admit my guilt. Is that right? Do I assume correctly, Ellenor?

  Ellenor Frutt : You killed your wife?

  Brad Stanfield : Yes. And I'm not proud of using my daughter to secure my freedom. Actually, you two gave me that idea. Anyway, the mission now is to fix things, and get her out. So, we all need to get on-board. Again, I totally apologize for manipulating you. I thought that was the only way. When can we proceed?

  Ellenor Frutt : Brad? You're going to have to give us a little time to absorb all of this.

  Brad Stanfield : But let's not waste any time, okay? An innocent 10-year-old girl is in jail. We need to help her. Whatever we choose to do by the way, it cannot involve me going to jail. That is not an option.

• Jamie Stringer : [about Brad Stanfield]  I think he could be sick.

  Ellenor Frutt : We need to figure out a way to take him down.

  Jamie Stringer : How? There's double jeopardy, privilege...

  Ellenor Frutt : Jamie, he just used us as puppets to defraud the court. We need to take him down.

• Ellenor Frutt : The cyanide came from her mother's photo lab. Evidently, it's used in developing pictures.

  Jamie Stringer : It explains the simple suicide note, written by a 10-year-old.

  A.D.A. Mark Campbell : I need to talk to her.

  Atty. Marsha Singleton : I can't allow that.

  A.D.A. Mark Campbell : Look, you're going to have to help me out here, otherwise...

  Atty. Marsha Singleton : I'm assigned to help the girl, not you. Trust me. She's not talking.

  Judge Warren West : And if I were to subpoena her?

  Atty. Marsha Singleton : She'll plead the Fifth unless, of course, you'd like to grant total immunity.

  A.D.A. Mark Campbell : Well, if I can't speak to her, I have no new evidence, and therefore...

  Ellenor Frutt : Actually, you do. Jamie and I are witnesses as is Tara Wilson, our assistant. We heard the girl confess.

  A.D.A. Mark Campbell : And I'm to take your word? You represent the guy!

  Ellenor Frutt : No, actually we would have to recuse ourselves now because we've become witnesses. Look, I pull a lot of stunts. In this trial alone, pointing the finger at the sister. It was a tactic, a part of the game, but as an officer of the court, I am here before you now as is Jamie telling you, this was not a stunt.