"Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury,"
Gwen began with her closing
argument as one of the partners in the firm listened. "I am asking you,
the jury, a fusion of intellects to make an intelligent decision. I am
asking you to look at no more than what has been presented to you. The
facts. That is all I am asking you to look at. Actually,"
Gwen continued,
"let us all look at the facts in this case. Is Mr. Rowlings here in court
today? Yes he is. Did Mr. Rowlings turn himself in to the LAPD under
his own free will after seeing a wanted poster with his face on it? Yes he
did. Was Mr. Rowlings arrested as a result of turning himself in? Yes he
was. Has Mr. Rowlings sat in a jail cell for the past five months and on
occasion received cruel and unusual treatment for the alleged crime of
rape? Yes he has. Does Mr. Rowlings have a prior arrest record? No, he
does not. In fact,"
Gwen emphasized, "Mr. Rowlings was awarded the
Father of the Year Award just two months before this trial began. He
was also awarded Coach of the Year by the Los Angeles Youth Football
Program one month before this trial began. Furthermore Mr. Rowlings
has not missed a day of work in the last nine years. Now, let us get back
to the facts of this case. Over the past four months, has the
prosecution's story changed? Yes it has. Did they tell you that they had
to send LAPD out to get Mr. Rowlings because he refused to cooperate,
and then change their story to fit their situation? Yes they did. Has the
prosecution arrested any other suspects in this case? No, they have not.
Do they have any other suspects in this case? No, they do not.
They arrested Mr. Rowlings because he supposedly matched an eyewitness'
statement of the suspect, but where is their eyewitness? Has the rape
victim accused my client? No, she has not. In fact, because that is what
we are talking about, she never saw her attacker. She never even heard
his voice. All she saw was a Swatch watch. Ladies and Gentlemen, not
to divulge my client's financial situation, but my client does have a six -
figure income, why would he wear a Swatch watch? Now, I asked you to
look at all the facts, and none will be more conclusive than this fact. Did
the prosecution find a discoloration on the victims clothing? Yes they
did. Was it semen? Yes it was.
Did the prosecution receive a compliant
sample of my client's semen to run tests to find a conclusive match? Yes
they did. Did they find a conclusive match? No, they did not. Is my
client guilty? No, he is not. Ladies and gentlemen, I asked you to look at
the facts because the facts don't lie. The fact of the matter is, the verdict
to be rendered by this jury must be based on just that, the facts. And
the punishment and compensation for the disruption of my client's life
should be awarded accordingly. Thank you."
"Ms. Matthews, I got a call from the court building that said you were
superb in court today,"
Mr. Cochran told Gwen as she returned to the
office from the court building.
"How did you ever get the jury to award
three million dollars in damages?"
"Thank you Mr. Cochran," Gwen said with confusion while wondering
who could have translated the information. "I got them to look at the
facts."
"You know Ms. Matthews, the fact is,
" Mr. Cochran said jokingly, "I
am going to be offering a position of Associate Partner soon. Keep up the
good work and who knows."
"That's good to know Mr. Cochran, and you can rest assure that I will
continue to do better than my best for the firm Sir."