American Crime Story (TV Series)

The Dream Team (2016)

Rob Morrow: Barry Scheck

Photos 

Quotes 

• Alan Dershowitz : Barry, clarify your strategy.

  Barry Scheck : OK. I'm not going to contest the DNA matches. I'm going to keep them out of court entirely. If it can be shown that there may have been errors in the collection or the handling of the samples used for the prosecution's DNA analysis, we can contest the validity of the evidence itself. At best, we get some of it thrown out, at worst, we get the jury to question it, the very idea.

  Alan Dershowitz : We will attack every assumption, question every single molecule of evidence, every aspect of how that molecule was gathered, handled, and analyzed. We will disrupt their presentation of physical evidence at every turn. We will hack at them. Make every piece of evidence presented either thrown out, untrustworthy, or confusing. No quarter.

• Barry Scheck : How much do you gentlemen know about DNA evidence?

  Robert Shapiro : Pretend not much.

  Barry Scheck : Oh, that's OKm 'cause not a lot of people do. But it is on the verge of revolutionizing criminal law. In a couple years, it will be at the crux of any case of violence without eyewitnesses.

  Robert Shapiro : OK, can you see DNA through a microscope?

  Barry Scheck : No, no. A-A DNA molecule's about two nanometers in width, whereas, like, a human hair's about 80,000 nanometers, so it presents representationally with electrons and scanning-tunneling, atomic force microscopes...

  Robert Shapiro : OK, OK, OK, cut to the... cut to the quick. Can you use DNA to show that it's someone else?

  Barry Scheck : Not at all. I mean, the chances of--of one individual's DNA profile matching another person's are extremely small. It's roughly one in a billion.

  Robert Shapiro : Great. We're screwed.