Scene: A courtroom. Julie is on the stand.
EMMETT: Miss Norman, do you recognize the defendant from anywhere other than the police lineup?
[She hesitates to answer]
JULIE: Uhh, uhh.
EMMETT: I'd like to remind you that you are under oath.
JULIE: Yes.
EMMETT: Where did you see my client?
JULIE: At the Shipyard.
EMMETT: What is the Shipyard?
JULIE: It is a strip club.
EMMETT: What kind of strip club?
JULIE: One where women dance naked for men.
EMMETT: What where you doing at the Shipyard, a strip club, that night?
CABOT: Objection. Relevance.
JUDGE: Overruled.
JULIE: I was there with a few friends.
EMMETT: Please go on.
JULIE: I was performing amateur night.
EMMETT: Amateur night, that's where women who are not professional strippers sign up to pretend to be a stripper for several minutes, correct.
JULIE: Yes.
EMMETT: And you signed up on one of the "Seven Minutes in Heaven" nights, correct?
JULIE: Yes.
EMMETT: And this is where the Shipyard staff takes the contestant's clothes and locks them away for seven minutes, correct?
CABOT: Objection! Relevance.
JUDGE: What is the purpose of this?
EMMETT: We need to fully establish all details of how she met my client, your honor.
JUDGE: Overruled.
JULIE: Yes.
EMMETT: What are the details of you noticing my client?
JULIE: It was during the "seven minutes" portion of the competition.
EMMETT: So you were naked on stage during this time period?
JULIE: Yes.
EMMETT: And when did you see my client?
JULIE: I think it was about halfway through. He was sitting at a table by himself.
EMMETT: And why were you so reluctant to tell anyone about this earlier in the investigation?
JULIE: I didn't think it was necessary.
EMMETT: I have no further questions for this witness.
[Cabot walks up to the witness stand.]
CABOT: Miss Norman, it has been established that you performed amateur night at the Shipyard, and you did so on a "Seven Minutes in Heaven" night. Is that correct?
JULIE: Yes.
CABOT: And that meant removing your clothes and spending seven minutes naked on stage.
EMMETT: Objection! Relevance?
CABOT: The defense has made their case on the fact that the victim engaged in public nudity. I need to get all facts straight.
JUDGE: Overruled.
JULIE: Correct.
CABOT: And you made eye contact with the defendant?
JULIE: Correct.
CABOT: And other than that, you cannot think of any way in which you know the defendant.
JULIE: Correct.
CABOT: No further questions.
Scene: A courtroom. Danny has taken the stand.
EMMETT: Mr. Hancock, would you please describe the night you met the defendant?
DANNY: I went to the Shipyard to watch amateur night. I like watching the "Seven Minutes" nights because they're just a lot more fun. She was the third contestant. She wore a tight white shirt, blues jeans, and sandals on stage. A lot of the girls really take their time once the music starts but she was very quick. She took off her jeans and then her shirt pretty fast. She was wearing a matching hot pink bra and thong, and she took those off fast, too. She tossed her thong into the chest, they locked it, and the timer started. During her seven minutes she looked at me and smiled. Then she took her finger and waved it in the air like she was saying "No, no, no" and had a matching facial expression. Once her time was up it was like she didn't want to put her clothes back on. She was really slow getting them out of the chest and she smiled at a lot of people while getting dressed. Then during the judging she was declared the winner.
EMMETT: And did you have any contact with her after the contest was over?
DANNY: Yeah, I introduced myself and we've been seeing each other ever since.
EMMETT: And on the night of the alleged rape, did she say it was alright to sleep with her?
DANNY: Yeah.
EMMETT: And she said she wanted to use drugs and be tied to the bed, correct?
DANNY: Yeah.
EMMETT: No further questions, your honor.
[Cabot walks to the stand.]
CABOT: Mr. Hancock, there is no evidence to support that you talked to Miss Norman after she was done performing. Nor is there any evidence that either of you ever met after that night until the night of the rape.
DANNY: I don't follow you.
CABOT: None of her friends have ever seen you before, nor can anyone you know confirm that you were dating her.
DANNY: Then they're mistaken.
CABOT: There is, however, forensic evidence supporting that you forced her into your van and then into your apartment, that you drugged her…
EMMETT: Objection!
JUDGE: Overruled.
There were also rape drugs found in your apartment, the rape kit was positive, and she picked you out of a police lineup. Is all of that correct?
DANNY: Yes.
CABOT: No further questions.
Scene: A courtroom. Closing arguments.
EMMETT: Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, as you have seen throughout this trial the woman accusing my client of rape performed "amateur night" at a strip club. No one forced or even pressured her to do so, she just felt like it. She just felt like spending several minutes naked in front of total strangers. Then she wants you to believe that several weeks later my client successfully grabbed her, drugged her, and moved her all the way into his apartment without anyone noticing. She says she did not want to be tied to the bed and drugged, but can we really believe her? Thank you for your time.
CABOT: It is true that Miss Norman performed amateur night. The defense has spent much of this trial going into every detail about it, her performance, and her motivations. The simple fact is that yes, she did dance on stage naked in front of an audience of mostly strangers, including the defendant. As a strong, accomplished young woman she wanted to add it to her very long list of accomplishments in life. But no matter what you think of her actions, what she did was perfectly legal, and neither she nor any other young woman who has ever performed amateur night has said "it is ok to rape me."
There is no evidence that Danny Hancock was in a relationship with Julie Norman. There is plenty of evidence – drugs in her system and his apartment, a rape kit, a police lineup – that he did in fact rape her. You must return a verdict based on the facts, not what you believe about the again perfectly legal actions of the victim, and the fact is that Danny Hancock committed the illegal act of rape.
Scene: A courtroom.
JUDGE: Have you reached a verdict?
JURY FOREMAN: We have, your honor.
[The bailiff hands the judge a sheet of paper, which he reads.]
JUDGE: All rise.
JURY FOREMAN: We the people find Danny Hancock, on the count of rape in the first degree, guilty.
