Plain Truth (2004 TV Movie)

Mariska Hargitay: Ellie Harrison

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Quotes 

• Reporter #2 : Ms. Harrison, this is four out of four victories for you. How does it feel?

  Ellie Harrison : Actually, it's five, but who's counting?

• Steven : Ah, congratulations. The firm is psyched. They want to meet with you tomorrow. We're talking partner here, Ellie; senior partner.

  [she sighs] 

  Steven : Ellie?

  Ellie Harrison : Whitmore sent me two dozen roses.

  Steven : Well, he should send you to Barbados, first-class for a month.

  Ellie Harrison : I threw them in the trash.

  Steven : What? Why?

  Ellie Harrison : Steve, this guy was accused of embezzling $300 million from people's retirement funds. I got him off.

  Steven : Well, it's your job, which you do damn well.

  Ellie Harrison : He was guilty.

• Ellie Harrison : Doesn't it ever bother you?

  Steven : What? That everyone has a right to a defense, and that by defending them, we preserve not only our legal system, but our Constitution.

  Ellie Harrison : Why don't you tell that to the old man who was sitting in the courtroom with tears streaming down his face when the verdict was read?

  Steven : What happened to winning, and making good money doing it?

  Ellie Harrison : I don't remember taking that class at law school.

  Steven : When did you become such a bleeding heart?

  Ellie Harrison : I'm not. I just have a conscience.

• Leda : What's going on?

  Ellie Harrison : Oh, I think I'm having a midlife crisis ten years early.

  Leda : Steven?

  Ellie Harrison : Yeah, we broke up.

  Leda : [sympathetic]  Oh...

  Ellie Harrison : Just wasn't right. And I just turned down two job offers, and I told my firm that I'm taking a month off, and if they don't like it, they can fire me. So, they said take two, so I am going to Italy. I'm gonna eat lots of pasta and figure out what the hell I'm doing with my life.

• Ellie Harrison : What was so important that you couldn't talk on the phone?

  Leda : My cousin's daughter is in the hospital; complications from childbirth.

  Ellie Harrison : Oh, my god. Your Amish cousin?

  Leda : Yeah.

  Ellie Harrison : I thought you didn't talk to them.

  Leda : Well, it's really more of a matter of them not talking to me, but Sarah's desperate. Gets worse; the baby died, Ellie.

  Ellie Harrison : Stillborn? Well, if this is medical malpractice, I can make a referral. I'll get you the best.

  Leda : No, it was a home birth, and she kept her pregnancy a secret.

  Ellie Harrison : [getting what she's implying]  Oh, no, Leda. I can't. I'm sorry. Not now. Don't do this to me. I cannot do this.

  Leda : They're talking murder, Ellie, and the Amish don't fight back, so Katie's gonna end up going to prison, and her family are just gonna say it's God's will. She needs a lawyer.

• Ellie Harrison : There are dozens of other lawyers in town that are dying to take on a case like this.

  Leda : You're the only one I trust.

  Ellie Harrison : Leda, did you hear what I just said? I am desperate for some time off.

  Leda : It's my family we're talking about. A frightened 18-year-old who's never even been off the farm, let alone in a courtroom. She didn't kill her baby, Ellie, I'm telling ya.

  Ellie Harrison : And I am telling you, the last thing that I need right now is another case. I'm sorry.

  Leda : Maybe this case is exactly what you do need. Do you even remember why you wanted to be a lawyer?

• Ellie Harrison : Your Honor, I'm Ellie Harrison for the defense. I apologize for my tardiness. May I have five minutes with my client?

  Judge : Please, do.

• Ellie Harrison : Katie, do you know what an advocate is?

  Katie Fitch : Not really, no.

  Ellie Harrison : It's... it's somebody who supports somebody else. It's what a lawyer does, and it means that I'm on your side, and the sooner you realize that, I think the easier this is gonna be.

  Katie Fitch : Okay.

  Ellie Harrison : I just wanted to tell you that whatever we talk about is held in confidence. That means it's just between us.

  Katie Fitch : Mm-hmm.

  Ellie Harrison : So why don't we make a deal? I'm not gonna ask you if you're guilty, but in return, I need you to tell me the truth about the things that I do ask, okay?

• Ellie Harrison : [arriving at the Fitch's farm]  I suppose if I squint, this could be Tuscany.

• Ellie Harrison : I can't imagine how difficult this must be for you.

  Katie Fitch : The boy they're burying, he's not mine, if that's what you're thinking.

  Ellie Harrison : How did you know it's a little boy?

• Aaron Fitch : Ms. Harrison, are you secure in your faith?

  Ellie Harrison : Am I what?

  Aaron Fitch : Are you Catholic, Methodist?

  Ellie Harrison : I'm sorry, but what does my faith have to do with being Katie's lawyer?

  Aaron Fitch : Many people come through here thinking they want to become plain, live simply in the Amish way; as if that's the answer to all their problems.

  Ellie Harrison : I assure you, Mr. Fitch, that I am not here to become "plain." I'm only here to keep your daughter out of prison.

  Aaron Fitch : Hmm. Well, if you aren't religious, what do you believe in?

• Ellie Harrison : I heard you talking to somebody. You thought that he was hiding.

  Katie Fitch : She.

  Ellie Harrison : What?

  Katie Fitch : The person I was talking to is a girl.

  Ellie Harrison : Okay, so who is it?

  Katie Fitch : My sister, Hannah.

  Ellie Harrison : Your sister? How come I haven't met her? Where is she, at school?

  Katie Fitch : She's dead. She was seven. I was twelve. I was supposed to be watching her when she went missing. I tried to save her, but she drowned.

  Ellie Harrison : So... sometimes you come out here, and you... see your sister?

  Katie Fitch : Yes. At night, we talk.

  Ellie Harrison : What do you guys talk about?

  Katie Fitch : Things.

  Ellie Harrison : Katie, have you told anybody about this?

  Katie Fitch : No. No, mom and dad would think I'm frahoodled; crazy.

  Ellie Harrison : Do you think that you're... frahoodled?

• Ellie Harrison : Okay, so why don't we start with you telling me about the baby?

  Katie Fitch : I didn't have a baby. I wasn't even pregnant.

  Ellie Harrison : Katie, I can count at least three medical experts who have already gone on record saying that your body shows sign of a recent delivery. Plus, I can wave a blood test in your face that proves the same thing, so how can you sit there and tell me that you didn't have the baby?

  Katie Fitch : How can you sit there and say you're not judging me?

• Katie Fitch : I didn't have a baby.

  Ellie Harrison : Really? Even though the police, a doctor, and an entire hospital say that you did?

• Ellie Harrison : Katie, I can't help you unless you tell me the truth.

  Katie Fitch : I went to bed on Thursday evening. I woke up on Friday and made breakfast. Then I walked to the McKenzies' to deliver some milk.

  Ellie Harrison : Is there anybody else at all who can vouch that you were here sleeping in your bed all night?

  Katie Fitch : I don't know. I was asleep.

  Ellie Harrison : [indicating another bed]  What about the person that sleeps there? Who sleeps there?

  Katie Fitch : No one sleeps there.

• Katie Fitch : What are you doing here?

  Ellie Harrison : I think that's my question.

  Katie Fitch : Uh... I, uh...

  Ellie Harrison : Are you here meeting your boyfriend?

  Katie Fitch : Samuel? N-No.

  Ellie Harrison : Katie, you're on trial for murder and you're sneaking around here in the middle of the night. Who are you meeting?

  Katie Fitch : I wasn't meeting Samuel.

  Ellie Harrison : Okay, so who were you meeting?

  Katie Fitch : No one. I-I just... I-I couldn't sleep.

• Judge : Well, Ms. Harrison makes a compelling argument, but with murder one, I'm not comfortable with a family member supervising the defendant.

  George Calloway : Thank you, Your Honor.

  Ellie Harrison : Well, the court can appoint an outside guardian.

  Judge : Fine. I'll appoint you, Ms. Harrison.

  Ellie Harrison : What?

  George Calloway : What?

  Judge : And I'm not talking about chaperoning her to the prom. I'm talking about supervising this young woman on their farm 24/7.

  Ellie Harrison : Your Honor, as much as I would like to honor the court's request, that would be impossible. I'll be busy preparing my client's case.

  Judge : Either you're the guardian, or there's no bail.

  Ellie Harrison : Fine, Your Honor. I accept.

  Judge : So ordered.

• Ellie Harrison : My client pleads not guilty.

  Judge : Mr. Calloway, is there a bail recommendation from the State?

  George Calloway : Pennsylvania law requires bail be denied in first-degree murder cases. I see no reason not to comply.

  Ellie Harrison : Your Honor, the law requires that bail be denied where proof is evident or presumption is great. In this case, neither exists.

  George Calloway : This does not obviate the flight risk inherent in first-degree murder defendants.

  Ellie Harrison : Are you serious? Your Honor, she's Amish. Violence among them is virtually nonexistent, not to mention the strong ties that they have with their community. She's the least likely flight-risk candidate that I've ever encountered. Thus, bail should be granted.

  [seeing his look] 

  Ellie Harrison : With certain conditions, of course.

  Judge : Such as?

  Ellie Harrison : That Ms. Fitch be sequestered at her parents' farm, under the supervision of a family member at all times.

  George Calloway : That's absurd, Your Honor. This is a murder one. The-the... we don't know what this young woman is capable of.

• Katie Fitch : Do you think I'm crazy?

  Ellie Harrison : No.

  Katie Fitch : Then why do you want to say that I am?

  Ellie Harrison : I'm only saying that you were temporarily in a mental state where you didn't know what you were doing.

  Katie Fitch : Ellie, once a cow goes mad or a horse goes lame, they don't recover.

  Ellie Harrison : And you are not an animal.

  Katie Fitch : Doesn't matter. But people will think. I'll be known as crazy forever.

• Cooper : How are you?

  Ellie Harrison : Good, thanks. How are you?

  Cooper : Good. Yeah, really good. Uh, is everything okay?

  Ellie Harrison : Uh, yeah, everything's fine.

  Cooper : Well, it's just that we haven't spoken in quite a while. I was thinking maybe you still hadn't gotten over me.

  Ellie Harrison : Oh, no, no, Coop, I got over you right about the time you got married. That was a joke, Coop.

• Ellie Harrison : Why didn't you tell me that you had a brother?

  Katie Fitch : Because we don't talk about him. My father doesn't allow it.

  Ellie Harrison : Katie. Katie, I don't care what your father allows. I'm your lawyer, defending you against murder. Didn't you think that your trips to the city were relevant?

  Katie Fitch : I don't see how.

  Ellie Harrison : Stop it! Just stop it! Was it some boy that you met in the city? Is that who the father is?

  Katie Fitch : I don't know his name. All I know is that he forced himself on me.

• Katie Fitch : Why can't you tell them I didn't do it?

  Ellie Harrison : Because I have nothing to back that up.

  Katie Fitch : I can tell them.

  Ellie Harrison : Get on the stand and testify?

  Katie Fitch : Yes.

  Ellie Harrison : [sarcastic laugh]  Oh. Okay. Katie, do you wanna lose? You're what I would call an unreliable witness. I can't allow that. Are you kidding me? The D.A. would crucify you. I'm sorry.

• Ellie Harrison : Do you believe Katie, when she says that she wasn't pregnant?

  Sarah Fitch : My Katie is a good girl.

  Ellie Harrison : Sarah, I know that these are difficult questions, but the prosecution can be much, much tougher. The more I know, the better I can defend Katie.

• Ellie Harrison : Listen, Cooper, I'm worried about this girl. She... she denies that she even had the baby.

  Cooper : Well, that's not that abnormal.

  Ellie Harrison : And she claims to see ghosts.

  Cooper : What are we talking here, Casper? It was a joke, Ellie.

  Ellie Harrison : It's her dead sister, and she talks to her out loud.

  Cooper : I'll see you Monday.

• Cooper : You have another option?

  Ellie Harrison : Yeah, say that Katie did do it. Say that she was dissociative at the time, and she didn't realize what she was doing.

  Cooper : No, it's still a form of insanity.

  Ellie Harrison : Yeah, but I don't have a choice. It's hard to base a case on the testimony of one expert witness, and I think that I can make this insanity defense work.

  Cooper : Okay. So why is it bothering you so much?

  Ellie Harrison : What do you mean?

  Cooper : Come on, Ellie. Pleading insanity still means she did it, regardless of the state she was in at the time, and deep down... you believe she's innocent.

  Ellie Harrison : Am I that easy to read?

  Cooper : Only to me.

• Katie Fitch : I don't know.

  Ellie Harrison : You don't know what?

  Katie Fitch : I don't know who it was.

  Ellie Harrison : I don't know what that means.

  Katie Fitch : I don't remember.

  Ellie Harrison : Katie... did somebody rape you?

• Ellie Harrison : I can't believe what just happened. You admit to them that you had sex and, in essence, had a baby, but you deny it to me?

  Katie Fitch : Because it's expected of me, not because it's true.

  Ellie Harrison : Oh, so you let them, you let their system, walk all over you?

  Katie Fitch : No, I let the system work. I don't want to be right or strong or first, I just want to be part of them again. It's easier to confess than to fight. It... I don't expect you to understand.

  Ellie Harrison : [incredulous]  Understand? I'm playing house with the Waltons, which is a reference you don't even understand, and I can't get a straight answer out of you.

  Katie Fitch : I told you, I...

  Ellie Harrison : Don't. Don't. Don't even think about saying to me you already told me the truth. Your boyfriend, who, by the way, is devastated at the thought of you being with another guy, told me that you two have never slept together.

  Katie Fitch : Of course not. We're not married.

  Ellie Harrison : Oh, so now it's a virgin birth.

  Katie Fitch : I told you, I...

  Ellie Harrison : I know, you didn't. You didn't have sex with him, and you didn't have a baby. But your family just buried the baby, and the church punished you for your sin. But me, I can't get a straight answer out of you. How do you expect me to defend you if I don't know what happened? I don't know how to help you!

• Cooper : She's lying. She knows when the baby was conceived. That little date-rape story isn't it.

  Ellie Harrison : It's a Thanksgiving party. If this frat boy did what she says, then she would have gotten pregnant in November, had the baby in June, because it was two months early. She got pregnant in August. Why does this girl keep lying to me?

  Cooper : She knows you're unhappy with her. She's telling you what you want to hear.

  Ellie Harrison : What *I* want to hear?

  Cooper : Yeah, she wants your approval. She looks up to you.

  [she sighs] 

  Cooper : She's lucky to have you.

• Bishop Stoflus : Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night, which said there is a man-child conceived...

  Katie Fitch : He's apologizing for his weakness as a preacher.

  Ellie Harrison : If he's so bad, what's he doing up there at all?

  Katie Fitch : He's not really bad. He's just showing us he's not proud.

• Ellie Harrison : I was just explaining to Mr. Fitch that the battery on my computer has just died, and I need to recharge it to do my work.

  Aaron Fitch : I will not have electricity on my property.

  Bishop Stoflus : Now, Aaron, you remember the Bridges boy who had asthma. He needed his machine. We allowed it then.

  Aaron Fitch : This isn't life and death.

  Ellie Harrison : Tell that to Katie.

• Jacob Fitch : I haven't seen my parents in four years, but when I heard about Katie, I had to come.

  Ellie Harrison : And your opinion on what you've heard?

  Jacob Fitch : This whole thing is crazy. It's got to be just some kind of big mistake.

  Ellie Harrison : Look, you've been living in the English world long enough to know that your sister wouldn't be on trial for murder if there wasn't evidence.

  Jacob Fitch : Look, I wanna help you, but I didn't even know she was pregnant.

  Ellie Harrison : Well, are you aware that she's even denying that?

  Jacob Fitch : Is it possible that she wasn't?

  Ellie Harrison : Not unless she's the Virgin Mary.

• Katie Fitch : You always talk to me like I'm stupid.

  Ellie Harrison : That's not true.

  Katie Fitch : Yes, it is. But I don't take it personally, because I figure you look down your nose at everyone. Come on, don't tell me you've never been called conceited?

  Ellie Harrison : I don't think that I've ever been called conceited.

  [they share a laugh] 

  Ellie Harrison : [giving her a playful elbow jab]  Okay, you're right. Maybe once. Jeez.

  Katie Fitch : That's what's nice about being Amish; it's a sin to act better than your neighbor. You know, we strive to be like every other Amish member. It takes the pressure off.

• Ellie Harrison : I had no idea that Katie had a brother.

  Jacob Fitch : Yeah. They, uh... they don't like to talk about me.

  Ellie Harrison : Why not?

  Jacob Fitch : I decided I'd go to college rather than stay on the farm. But the Amish aren't too big on higher education. They're afraid it fosters too much pride. So, because I turned my back on the church, I was excommunicated.

  Ellie Harrison : All right, that's a reason for the church to deny you, not your entire family.

  Jacob Fitch : Yeah, well, my father... we don't exactly see things eye-to-eye.

  Ellie Harrison : Does he with anyone?

  Jacob Fitch : I see you've met.

• Ellie Harrison : You're not gonna believe this, but I am staying at an Amish farm.

  Cooper : Is this some kind of religious transformation?

  Ellie Harrison : [amused laugh]  No, it's... no, my... my client is Amish, and she's been charged with murdering her newborn, and I have been appointed her guardian. I admit I'm out of my league here on this one, Cooper, which is... which is why I'm calling you. I-I need your help. I need you to evaluate her.

  Cooper : Well, why me? I'm just a regular shrink. I'm not a forensic psychiatrist.

  Ellie Harrison : Because this exam needs to be done on the QT, and I know this may sound unusual considering our past, but... I trust you.

• Ellie Harrison : I'm in over my head here, Cooper.

  Cooper : So, you can handle CEOs, but not an 18-year-old Amish girl?

  Ellie Harrison : I yelled at her today. I've never yelled at a client.

  Cooper : Well, it's becoming personal. What's wrong with that?

  Ellie Harrison : Everything. I'm not gonna be able to do my job.

  Cooper : Ellie, do you think I don't get involved with my patients on some level?

  Ellie Harrison : That's different.

  Cooper : No, it's not. It's human.

• Katie Fitch : What is this?

  Ellie Harrison : Oh, that's sculpture. Hey, I, uh... I left the TV on for you if you wanna watch it.

  Katie Fitch : You turned it on so I couldn't hear the two of you talk.

  Cooper : Smart girl.

  Ellie Harrison : Exactly, which is one reason why the insanity defense isn't gonna work.

  Cooper : Well, you always liked a challenge.

• Katie Fitch : Dr. Cooper likes you.

  Ellie Harrison : Yeah, well, we're friends.

  Katie Fitch : I didn't mean as friends. I mean... he *likes* you.

  Ellie Harrison : Don't be ridiculous. What made you say that?

  Katie Fitch : The way he looks at you. And the way you look at him.

• Ellie Harrison : I wish I could tell you exactly what happened in the early hours on the morning of August 10 on the Fitch farm, but I can't. I can't because I wasn't there. Neither was Mr. Calloway, or any of the other witnesses that are gonna be paraded through this courtroom. In fact, just a few days ago, I was prepared to argue that my client, Katie Fitch, was not guilty by reason of temporary insanity. I had expert witnesses ready to testify that Katie was unaware of her actions on the morning that she gave birth. But Katie wouldn't let me. She wanted the truth to be told. She wanted you to know that she wasn't crazy, and that she did have the baby... but she didn't murder it. She wanted to tell the truth regardless if it meant going to prison. So then you're wondering who killed this baby. First, we're going to show you that no one did. It died of natural causes. And the prosecution has no evidence to the contrary. You know why it's impossible for Katie Fitch to have murdered her baby? Precisely for the same reason that Mr. Calloway's made fun of her. She's Amish. And Amish people are nonviolent. They are strict adherers to the teachings of Christ. In fact, Katie Fitch is the first Amish person in this state to be charged with murder, ever. You know why? Because Amish people don't commit murder. Ever.

• Katie Fitch : I know I've been lying, but I haven't meant to hurt anyone. I need to tell the truth now.

  Ellie Harrison : Katie...

  Katie Fitch : I want the jury to know what really happened.

  Ellie Harrison : Katie, the truth is gonna get you fifteen years to life in prison. Nobody is gonna believe that you gave birth, you... fell asleep, you woke up, and poof, your baby was gone.

  Katie Fitch : If you tell them I committed murder...

  Ellie Harrison : I'm telling them that you were mentally incapacitated.

  Katie Fitch : But it's a lie. Ellie, in my world, if I make a mistake and admit it and repent, I'll be forgiven. But if I lie, I won't be welcomed back. I won't even be able to look at myself. I'll be totally alone. I might as well be dead. Please. If I have to go to prison, I'd rather it be because I told the truth.

• Sarah Fitch : Ellie, I want to thank you. You brought my Katie home to me, and... for that, you will always be special.

  Ellie Harrison : Well, I think I got a little something out of it, too.

  Sarah Fitch : You know, I could not bear to lose another child.

  Ellie Harrison : Well, you don't have to worry about that anymore.

• Ellie Harrison : Katie, I am gonna ask you one last time. *One* last time. What happened the night you gave birth?

  Katie Fitch : I don't know. I was shaky and dizzy, and I couldn't stand up, so I laid down, and I must have fallen asleep, because when I woke up, the baby was gone. And I thought God had finally listened and taken him back, and it was a miracle, and the only thing I could do was go back to my room, but I swear to you, I never hurt him.

  Ellie Harrison : Listen, it is possible that you did without even realizing it.

  Katie Fitch : No. No, I couldn't have.

  Ellie Harrison : Then who came to that pond and killed that baby? Hmm?

  Katie Fitch : I don't know! Ellie, but it wasn't me!

• Katie Fitch : Sometimes I wish you could stay out here on the farm.

  Ellie Harrison : I always wanted a kid sister.

  Katie Fitch : Someone you could boss around, you mean.

  Ellie Harrison : Well, isn't that the whole point?

  Katie Fitch : [laughing]  Well, I volunteer. There's something else I lied about.

  Ellie Harrison : Oh, no, Katie. What?

  Katie Fitch : The hoagies. I had one before with Jacob.

  Ellie Harrison : [laughing]  Jeez!

  Katie Fitch : You were so excited, I didn't want to disappoint you. Are you mad?

  Ellie Harrison : [laughing]  No, I not mad.

  [hugging] 

  Ellie Harrison : I am gonna miss you. I really am.

  Katie Fitch : Thank you for everything.

• Katie Fitch : I don't blame you for wanting to leave. I've lied to you way too much.

  Ellie Harrison : Why? Why? Why didn't you just tell me?

  Katie Fitch : I don't know. I... I didn't plan it or anything at first. I just... I thought maybe none of it had really happened, that it was all a bad dream. But then the police arrested me, and I prayed to God to make it all go away, and I just pretended that nothing had happened. You started to believe me, so I...

  Ellie Harrison : Does this Adam, does he know that you even had a baby?

  Katie Fitch : No. He moved to Europe to go to graduate school.

  Ellie Harrison : Does he even know that you were pregnant? Did Jacob?

  Katie Fitch : He didn't even know that Adam I were... seeing each other. We kept it secret.

• Leda : Do you always pace this much during a trial?

  Ellie Harrison : No, never.

  Leda : Oh! Well, then, this is probably a good sign.

  Ellie Harrison : You mean for the first time, I actually care if I win.

• Sarah Fitch : You must think my husband is very hard on his children.

  Ellie Harrison : Well, the thought has crossed my mind.

  Sarah Fitch : He does not blame Jacob for leaving. He blames himself, for not bringing him up in a way that would have made him want to stay.

  Ellie Harrison : So then why punish Jacob by banishing him from your home?

  Sarah Fitch : He is not punishing Jacob. He is punishing himself. Aaron has given up the thing he wants more than anything in the world: his son.

• Ellie Harrison : The defense calls Adam Sinclair.

  George Calloway : Objection! This witness is not on my list.

  Ellie Harrison : I only just learned of his whereabouts.

  George Calloway : That's no excuse. He still has to be on the list.

  Judge : Ms. Harrison, who is he?

  Ellie Harrison : He's the father of the child.

  George Calloway : Hey, fine by me. Objection withdrawn.

• Ellie Harrison : Do you know any other lawyers?

  Katie Fitch : What do you mean?

  Ellie Harrison : I'd like to quit.

  Katie Fitch : What?

  Ellie Harrison : But there's this thing, it's called a code of professional ethics, and when you become a lawyer, you have to take an oath. And you have to abide by it. And it says that I can't quit unless I find myself an adequate replacement. But seeing as your trial is only in a couple days, I don't know who we're gonna get.

  Katie Fitch : You wanna quit? I don't understand.

  Ellie Harrison : [showing her the photo booth pictures she stumbled upon]  You want to tell me who that is? The truth, Katie.