Richard Mathers: I always felt that the beauty of the jury system was that ordinary people make the ultimate decisions, guided by their hearts, their minds, and their own humanity. Right now I don't want to talk about the elements of fraud, burdens of proof, or reasonable doubt or any of that. I just want to tell you who I am. My whole life, I never wanted to be anything but a lawyer. By the time I was a teenager. I could recite the courtroom speeches from every loyal movie I had ever seen. Inherit The Wind, To Kill a Mockingbird, Town Without Pity - I knew all of them. I went to law school for a year at night. When I lost my scholarship, I dropped out. I drove a cab, I taught high school, I sold office furniture. But the whole time, I read and I work at teaching myself how to be a lawyer. At first, I practice just for friends. Little by little, though, I realized I could really do this. I didn't need a diploma. I was going up against graduates from top-10 schools and beating them cold. I might not have been legitimate, but I served my clients with unstinting loyalty. Not a single one of them came to testify against me because not a single one of them felt defrauded. Competent representation was what they ask for, and competent representation was what they got. Yes, I practiced law without a license. And regardless of your verdict, I will never practice law again. That, for me, is the greatest punishment of all.
[Members of the Jury listen to Mr. Mathers' speech]
Richard Mathers: When I walk through those doors, when I see that reporter seating at her machine, and I plead my case knowing that someone is depending on me to get them through what are most likely the most desperate moments of their life, I feel more alive here than I do anywhere else on earth. I love doing this. God, I love doing this. It's hard to imagine this is the last time I ever will.
[Richard Mathers ending his speech in court. Mr. Kuzak understood who Mr. Mathers is]