The Law According to Lidia Poët (La legge di Lidia Poët)

Yeah! Good one!

Way to go!

It's over!

THE LAW ACCORDING TO LIDIA POËT

With the formal drafting of the charges by Prosecutor General Pierluigi Fourneau,

the Turin Court of Assizes is preparing to host

what the bourgeois press

has already dubbed "The Trial of the Century."

-Shame on you! -Shame on you!

You are defending a murderer!

A rather curious definition, to say the least,

given that public opinion has already issued a guilty verdict

against Grazia Fontana.

The prosecutor has a telegram you sent to your husband

two days before Easter.

-That's impossible. -I'm afraid he does. We saw the original.

You specifically asked him to join you at our house.

You tell her.

I didn't send any telegram, Lidia. I swear.

I believe you, Grazia, but

what matters is what the jury thinks, not what I think.

It could be fake.

Oh, perfect!

We can accuse the prosecution and the Carabinieri

of conspiring against her. Why didn't we think of that before?

It's not a conspiracy, but I didn't write anything.

Grazia, listen to me. It may seem absurd now,

but I need you to admit you sent that telegram.

Say it was a moment of weakness because your escape plan had failed

and you knew if you went back home, your husband would beat you to death.

-You invited him to our house out of fear. -They'll think I wanted to kill him.

Maybe they'll understand you were terrified

and wanted to meet him with other people present.

It's the only chance we have to contain the damage,

so they won't think you're acting in bad faith.

Right?

It might work.

I've always trusted you.

Now you have to trust me.

-Hi. -Hi.

All rise. The court is now in session.

Is the defendant present in the courtroom?

-Present. -Represented by whom?

By me, Your Honour. Enrico Poët of the Turin Bar Association.

Ms Poët, if I'm not mistaken,

there is a Court of Appeals ruling, upheld by the Court of Cassation,

revoking your registration to the Bar Association.

Correct.

Your Honour, Ms Poët is here merely as an assistant.

Well, if she really must assist, she should find a more appropriate place.

Your Honour, may I ask you which article of the code

forbids a lawyer from having a woman as an assistant?

If you do not leave that bench immediately,

I will have you escorted out of the courtroom.

Fine, Your Honour. I hope the lay judges are less prejudiced than you. Thank you.

Honourable members of the jury,

please disregard this shameful spectacle

and focus exclusively on the evidence and testimonies,

evaluating them according to your conscience

and inner convictions

with the impartiality and resoluteness befitting men of integrity and freedom.

I swear.

Grazia Fontana is charged under Articles 526 and 528

for, on April 10th, 1887, in Turin,

premeditatedly killing

retired naval captain Guido Fontana.

Let us proceed with the questioning of the defendant.

As God is my witness, Your Honour, I never wished death on my husband.

I only wanted to save myself and my daughter.

Any further questions, gentlemen?

No, Your Honour.

You stated that you were surprised when your husband arrived

for Easter lunch at the Poëts'.

Is that correct?

However, we have evidence that two days before the crime,

you sent him a telegram.

The document is on file as exhibit number 12.

"We are in Turin at Lidia Poët's house."

"I'll be waiting for you."

"Grazia."

Could you tell us why we should believe that you were surprised

by your husband's arrival?

Why should we believe anything you have said so far?

Because I didn't write that telegram.

Liar!

Liar!

Silence!

That telegram is fake, Your Honour.

Is this your defence?

To discredit the investigators?

No, Your Honour.

Moreover, it would be unethical on my part

to coach Mrs. Fontana on her responses during this questioning.

However, the record contains no expert analysis

attesting the telegram's authenticity.

Let me get this straight.

Are you requesting an impartial expert opinion

to establish the authenticity of the evidence?

Yes.

Very well. Request denied.

Do you wish to object?

No, thank you, Your Honour.

Court is adjourned.

Well, all in all, it didn't go that badly.

Did you know, Lidia, that to top off this wonderful day,

Zanardelli called me?

The tone of his voice wasn't very promising.

-Did he tell you what he wanted? -No.

He said he's coming to Turin and wants to meet me.

So when you meet, we'll deal with the problem,

if there is one.

I can't take it.

Lidia, you have to understand that Zanardelli and Enrico are in love,

and one false move could destroy their romance.

Mr. Ferrari is renting out a delightful pied-à-terre next door.

-I can get you a good price. -I would miss your warmth, Enrico.

It has a beautiful fireplace.

Consuelo would love it. You could throw yourself into it.

Enrico, stop it!

Jacopo can stay here as long as he wants.

Thanks, Albertina. You can go.

Actually, if I may?

Of course.

I need a lawyer.

Albertina, did you kill someone?

No, ma'am. How could you think that? It's about my cousin, Ernesto Dozza.

A very good person. He wouldn't hurt a fly.

The Carabinieri are saying that he killed a boxer.

I often went to watch boxing matches to take my mind off things.

I started going when my son died.

The drinks are cheap, and sometimes I made a few bets.

That night, I saw a few matches, then decided to leave.

And when I came out…

I saw that boy with his head in the trough.

Hey! What are you doing?

I tried to wake him, but someone yelled that I'd killed him.

They almost lynched me.

May I ask your relationship to the victim?

None.

I mean, I knew his name,

I'd seen him fight a few times, but that was it.

Excuse me, let's take a step back.

You went to these gatherings where betting was allowed, right?

Yes. There's a guy who runs everything.

His name is Mario Fedeli.

He brings in the boxers, and, before each fight,

sets the odds and collects the money.

And did you ever lose money betting on this Nino Birago?

Is that what you think? That I killed him because he lost me money?

Mr. Dozza, we're here for you, and if we're asking you these questions,

it's only to rule out a possible motive.

I had no reason to kill that kid. When I found him, he was already dead.

I have nothing else to say.

Frankly, I don't care about the motive.

I have nine eyewitnesses

who swear they saw Dozza kill Mr. Nino Birago.

We magistrates call it "being caught in the act."

I'm sorry, did the witnesses clearly see him

drown the victim in the fountain?

Clearly? Miss, it was evening. They weren't even close.

But they all say they saw Dozza on top of that poor man,

holding his head underwater.

Dozza claims that he found him already dead with his head in the water.

Of course, sir.

He can say whatever he wants, but we don't have to believe him.

We don't have to believe your witnesses either without a motive.

Sir, Dozza was a chronic gambler and also very fond of alcohol.

Give me a hand, if you don't mind.

It's normal

for a person to kill someone who lost them money.

No, sorry, but these are assumptions, Prosecutor.

Of course, miss, they are assumptions, but I have nine eyewitnesses,

whereas you have rhetoric suited for an electoral platform.

Can we at least know if Nino had any family?

A younger sister, Romilda.

If you want to meet her, head to the squat on Viale Monferrato.

Excuse me. Can you tell me where Romilda is?

Romilda Birago, right?

Please excuse us.

We're lawyers.

We wanted to ask you a few questions about your brother, if possible.

Were you there the night Nino was killed?

I'm very sorry.

I already told the prosecutor everything I know.

I understand.

You see, miss,

we're defending Ernesto Dozza against a murder charge,

and we're trying to understand

if there was anyone who had reason to kill Nino.

Anything you know may be important.

There's no point talking to you. It's clear you have no idea how we live.

Can you tell me anything about Mario Fedeli?

Mario is like a father to me and Nino.

He always took care of us. What do you want from him?

To talk about Nino, about that night.

If you want to talk to Mario, you have to go to the fights.

You'll find him there.

Thank you.

The girl is quite cooperative.

What do we do? Shall we go home?