The Trial of a Vigilante
The Bernhard Goetz Case
Script is taken from real court transcripts
Characters:
Barry Slotnick – Bernhard Goetz’s Defense Attorney
Gregory Waples – Prosecutor
Judge Stephen Crane
Bailiff – Security Guard of the Courtroom
Bernhard Goetz – Defendant – charged with charges of attempted murder and four charges of assault; gun possession and reckless endangerment
Troy Canty – African American victim (age 19)
Barry Allen - African American victim (age 19)
James Ramseur - African American victim (age 18)
Victor Flores – Witness – Transit Authority Employee
Myra Friedman – Bernhard Goetz’s neighbor
Christopher Boucher – Prosecution’s Star Witness
Peter Smith – Police Officer
Dr. Bernhard Yudwitz – Expert in Neuro-Psychiatry
Bailiff: All rise…. this court is now in session. The honorable Judge Stephen Crane presiding.
Judge: Good Morning, ladies and gentleman. Prosecution may make an opening statement.
Waples: Good morning, ladies and gentlemen of the jury. My name is Gregory Waples and I will be prosecuting this trial. At first, December 24th 1984 seemed a day much like any other day to the 20 or so passengers who were seated in the seventh car of the 10 car IRT Number 2 Downtown Express train. About 1:40 pm this grimy, graffiti smeared car was lurching, swaying in the noisy and peculiar rhythm that’s almost unique to the New York City Subway system as the train holed underground from the 14th Street Station towards its next stop at Chambers Street. Most of the passengers in that car were preoccupied with their own affairs…. Suddenly, every passenger on that train, every passenger in that car was jolted by the electrifying and terrifying spectacle of Behnard Goetz, standing on his feet firing shots in every direction from a gun he was holding in his hand. In a brief compunction of violence the defendant deliberately shot and seriously wounded four young men who had been riding on that train long before he boarded the car. By the defendant’s own admission, tape recorded admission that will be played for you at this trial; at least two of the four young men that he shot were trying to run away or in the process of running away from him, when he gunned them down. One of the two individuals, who was shot in the back, was a 19 year old young man by the name of Darrell Cabey. Shockingly you will hear the defendant admit that before the last shot was fired at the seated and helpless Darrell Cabey, that the defendant advanced on him as he was seated in the seat and said, “You look alright. Here’s another.”
You will learn that the bullet that actually did strike Darrell Cabey caused massive injuries to his body. It sever his spinal cord. As a consequence, since December 22, 1984 [sic] , Darrell Cabey has been paralyzed from above the waist down and can look forward to the rest of his life, if that’s the best way to characterize it, living in a wheelchair. For whatever reason, be it right or wrong, this case has touched a raw nerve on the American anatomy. For whatever reason this case has not become simply a media sensation, but something of a cultural phenomenon, and indeed… with the haste and stridency that says quite a bit about ourselves and the society in which we live today, the name Behnard Goetz, whose claim to fame is that he shot four persons in the subway…
Slotnick: Objection, your honor, as being an improper statement.
Judge: Mr. Waples…
Waples: Convinced that the criminal justice system has totally collapsed, this defendant with moralistic and self-righteous zeal , resolved to take the law in his own hands. Like a self-appointed vigilante, answerable only to a higher cause. This defendant determined to do, on his own, what he felt the laws of that processes could not do.
You are here to decide whether the idea of equal justice under the law for all people is a reality, or is an empty dream.
Thank you for your attention.
Judge: Thank you Mr. Waples. Mr. Slotnick, would you like to make an opening statement?
Slotnick: I do desire, your honor, if I may.
Judge Crane, members of the bar, Bernhard Goetz, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, as you know by now, my name is Barry Slotnick, and I represent Bernhard Goetz.
I just sat and listened to the District Attorney’s summation [sic], which might indicate that Bernhard Goetz was a citizen Rambo. During the course of the summation, I scratched my head and wished I had a tape recorder. So that at the end of this case I could play you back that opening statement. So you would be totally insulted, as I was.
There were times when I sat back there, and I thought I was sitting at a testimonial dinner for these four thugs and hoodlams. But Mr. Waples forgot to tell you was that these four predators of society surrounded Bernhard Goetz on December 22nd, 1984 on the IRT subway with the intention to rob him, even admitting it. You’ll hear that in this case. You’ll hear police officers come in and give you statements taken from this hero, saying that the purpose of surrounding Bernhard Goetz on December 22nd, 1984 was to rob him.....
We might as well switch tables, because I’m going to prosecute those four and you are going to see that those four were committing a robbery, They are not on trial here, for some strange reason, which is not explainable, but Bernhard Goetz is.
But I’m going to try them for robbery, and I promise you that. And you’re going to convict them, and acquit him....
Again, I ask you to have an open mind, and the assurance and knowledge that at the end of this case you’re going to find Bernhard Goetz not guilty.
I thank you for your patience.
Judge: Mr. Prosecutor, you may call your first witness
Waples: The Prosecution calls Troy Canty
Bailiff: Do you solely swear that the testimony that you shall give to this court and the jury in the case, People of the State of New York against Bernhard H. Goetz, defendant at the bar, shall be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
Canty: So help me God.
Waples: Troy, how old are you?
Canty: 21.
Waples: And where are you living at the present time?
Canty: A rehabilitation center.
Waples: What kind of rehabilitation center is it?
Canty: For drugs.
Waples: How long have you been there?
Canty: 24 months.
Waples: In December of 1984, were you in school at that time?
Canty: No.
Waples: How far had you gone in school?
Canty: Completion of the 9th grade.
Waples: You dropped out after that?
Canty: Yes.
Waples: How did you support yourself after you dropped out of school?
Canty: Robbed video machines.
Waples: Did you ever go to jail
Canty: Yeah.
Waples: And what kinds of crimes were you convicted of?
Canty: Misdemeanors.
Waples: and when did you begin using drugs? How old were you, approximately?
Canty: ‘bout 13, 14.
Waples: How much money were you spending on crack?
Canty: Sometimes $50, sometimes more.
Waples: Now, when you say $50, was that in one day, or in a week, a month, a year, or what?
Canty: That would be in a day.
Waples: Now, December 22nd, 1984 Troy, you remember that day?
Canty: Yeah.
Waples: Did there come a time on December 22nd where you met Barry Allen?
Canty: Yes.
Waples: What happened after you met Barry Allen?
Canty: We decided we was gonna go into Manhattan and break into video machines.
Waples: And what did you do after you made that decision?
Canty: We bumped into James.
Waples: You’re talking about James Ramseur?
Canty: Yeah.
Waples: What happened when you bumped in to James?
Canty: He decided to come along with us.
Waples: Did you meet anyone else that morning?
Canty: Yes.
Waples: Darrell Cabey?
Canty: Yes.
Waples: What happened.
Canty: He decided to also come along with us.
Waples: So that particular day, when you get on the train at 149th street, What happened at 14th Street? Do you remember?
Canty: Man got on the subway?
Waples: Do you know who that man is now?
Canty: Yeah.
Waples: What’s his name?
Canty: Bernhard Goetz.
Waples: Was he alone, or was anyone with him, when he got on the train?
Canty: He was alone.
Waples: Now, on that particular day, what was your intention when you realized that neither you nor, as far as knew, any of your companions had any money?
Canty: Try to get some.
Waples: Alright, after you saw the defendant sit down, he looked at you and you looked at him, what happened next?
Canty: As far as I can remember, I walked up to him and asked him, you know, “Can I have $5?”.
Waples: Did you have anything in your hand?
Canty: No.
Waples: And when you were standing in front of him, where were Barry Allen, James Ramseur, and Darrell Cadey?
Canty: As far as my recollection, I think they were still sitting down.
Waples: Alright, what happened, exactly after you spoke with the defendant?
Canty: He just got up from his chair and said, “You all can have it.”
Waples: Now describe his body motion when he got up.
Canty: Well, he got up. He got up and turned his back toward me.
Waples: and what happened?
Canty: He turned around, he pulled out his pistol and he fired.
Waples: Now, how far from the defendant were you at this point?
Canty: I was six, seven feet.
Waples: And what happened?
Canty: He fired, I grabbed my chest and I went to the floor.
Waples: Now, how many shots did he fire at ya?
Canty: One.
Waples: And what happened next?
Canty: I heard more shots.
Waples: How many more shots did you hear?
Canty: Three.
Waples: Did you see who, if anyone, was being fired at?
Canty: No
Waples: Where were you at this point?
Canty: Lying on the ground.
Waples: And where was James Ramseur, was he on the floor, too?
Canty: Yes.
Waples: And where was Barry Allen after the shooting was over?
Canty: I think he was still sitting in his seat, jumpin’ around, movin’, saying, “It burns! It burns!”.
Waples: And do you know where Darrell Cabey was when the shooting was over?
Canty: No. Well, I know he was near the rear of the car.
Waples: How could you tell that?
Canty: ‘Cause his voice came from that direction.
Waples: And what did you hear him say?
Canty: “Why did he shoot me? Why did he shoot me?”
Slotnick: Objection, your honor.
Judge: Overruled.
Waples: was it your intention to rob Mr. Goetz?
Canty: No.
Waples: Uh… Troy, there was one more question I neglected to ask you. When you got up from your subway seat and approached the defendant, why did you approach him?
Canty: He was closest to me.
Waples: Thank you, your honor.
WAPLES SITS BACK DOWN, SLOTNICK GETS UP Cross-examination by Barry Slotnick:
Judge: Your witness, Mr. Slotnick.
Slotnick: Thank you, judge.
Mr. Canty, on December 22nd, 1984 when you were aboard that subway train, you weren’t wearing that nice suit, and that shirt, and that tie, were you?
Canty: No, I wasn’t.
Slotnick: I’d like to ask you to look at defense Exhibit C. Tell me if you recognize it.
Canty: Yeah, I do.
Slotnick: Is that a fair and accurate representation of what you looked like on December 22nd, 1984?
Canty: Yeah.
Slotnick: So the photo is the Troy Canty that approached Bernhard Goetz on December 22nd, 1984.
Canty: Yeah.
Slotnick: I mean there was no suit, no shirt, no tie on that day, is that correct?
Canty: Yes.
Slotnick: Tell me, when you entered this rehabilitation program in 1985, did you own that suit?
Canty: Yea.
Slotnick: And you wore it to court today, before the jury?
Canty: Yea.
Slotnick: Mr. Canty, did you ever go to the Bronx-Lebanon Health Center, Department of Psychiatric Care?
Canty: I don’t remember.
Slotnick: Did you ever go any place for psychiatric care?
Canty: I don’t remember.
Slotnick: Well, you know if you went there, they would have kept records, right?
Canty: Yeah.
Slotnick: Do you remember telling them how you attacked a teacher in 1977. Do you remember that?
Canty: I don’t remember going there.
Slotnick: Do you remember attacking a teacher in 1977? Being suspended from school for beating up a teacher?
Canty: Yeah.
Slotnick: After Mr. Goetz shot you, you got a private lawyer, didn’t you?
Canty: No.
Slotnick :You know Mr. Meyer?
Canty: Yes.
Slotnick: Well, in regard to Mr. Meyer he became your lawyer after December 22, 1984, didn’t he?
Canty: Mmhmm.
Slotnick: Didn’t Mr. Meyer bring a suit on your behalf against Mr. Goetz for five million dollars?
Canty: Yes.
Slotnick: And you are now suing Mr. Goetz for five million dollars?
Canty: Yes.
Slotnick: You didn’t drop the suit did you?
Canty: No.
Slotnick: So it’s in your interest for Mr. Goetz to be found guilty of a crime against you, so that you can get some money from Mr.Goetz?
Canty: Its to my interest to see that justice is done.
Slotnick: Who told you to say that?
Canty: No one.
Slotnick: Oh… you just thought of that, is that correct?
Canty: Yeah.
Slotnick: Alright, now during the period since December 22nd, 1984, did you make any money as a result of this case?
Canty: I don’t remember.
Slotnick: Well, isn’t it a matter of fact that the National Enquirer paid you $300 for an interview, remember that?
Canty: Yeah.
Slotnick: Remember telling the National Enquirer, “We learned about taking peoples wallet’s, grabbing gold chains of people’s necks and strong arming people for money.”
Canty: No, I don’t.
Slotnick: By the way, when you did that interview, there was another guy with you, wasn’t there?
Canty: Yes.
Slotnick: What was his name?
Canty: Barry Allen.
Slotnick: Yeah, and essentially you and Barry Allen agreed what you were going to tell the reporter, you were gonna make some money off the National Enquirer, make statements to them, is that correct?
Canty: Yeah.
Slotnick: Do you remember you, or Barry Allen, making a statement, “All four of us gathered around him, standing over him, threateningly, as he looked up at us from his seat, Troy asked him, ‘Mister, can I have $5?’”?
Waples: Judge, I object.
Judge: That objection is sustained, please don’t read from an exhibit not in evidence like that, Mr. Slotnick.
Slotnick: Mr. Canty, did you testify before the Grand Jury, County of New York, March 21st, 1985?
Canty: Yea, I testified, I don’t remember what date it was.
Slotnick: Did you testify to the Grand Jury under oath?
Canty: Yea.
Slotnick: With the grant of immunity?
Canty: Yea.
Slotnick: And you know what that was, don’t you?
Canty: I couldn’t be prosecuted for nothin’.
Slotnick: Robert Morgenthau, District Attorney, County of New York asked you to testify, didn’t he? Yes or no.
Canty: I don’t remember.
Slotnick: Robert Morgenthau, District Attorney, the County of New York met with you personally, didn’t he?
Canty: Yea.
Slotnick: And when he met with you personally, a petty thief…
Waples: Objection…
Slotnick: Withdrawn.
Waples: Thank you.
Slotnick: Did he ask you to testify in the grand jury?
Canty: I don’t remember.
Slotnick: Did he say it was in your best interest to testify?
Canty: I don’t remember.
Slotnick: Now, the idea of demanding money from Bernhard Goetz was yours.
Canty: I don’t recall demanding money from him.
Slotnick: No? Page 441, when Mr. Waples asked you the following question did you give the following answer in the grand jury? “Question: When you went over and asked this guy for money, or demanded money, whose idea was that? Answer: Mine.” Now do you remember being asked that question and giving that answer?
Canty: No.
Slotnick: Remember on page 404, telling the grand jury that you were so close to Bernhard Goetz that he had to take some steps back, and around, otherwise you would have been right on top of him. Or words to that effect?
Canty: No, I don’t recall that.
Slotnick: So, you remembered it that way then, and differently now?
Canty: Yeah.
SLOTNICK SITS BACK DOWN, WAPLES GETS BACK UP
Waples: Troy, are you proud of the crimes you committed before you were shot two and a half years ago?