Trial by Jury

The town braces for Rusty Pirone's upcoming trial, and District Attorney Daniel Graham is determined to secure a conviction. Graham mobilizes his team and signals that this time the case must stick. Pirone's operation is already feeling pressure as the legal battle begins.

Vesey, a burned-out former cop, is sent by Pirone to find a way to get the charges dropped. He first targets the jurors with an effort to blackmail them, pursuing leverage over the panel. When that approach fails, he shifts to finding a juror who can be compelled to cooperate.

Vesey identifies single mother Valerie Alston as someone who could move the jury while being controllable. He warns that if she does not cooperate, the Pirone family will harm her son and elderly father. The plan centers on bending a single juror to influence the verdict.

Graham's key witness dies before testifying, forcing him to scramble for a replacement. He assigns his investigator John Boyle to track down a new witness who can credibly implicate Pirone. The scramble increases the pressure on the defense and the case as a whole.

Hughie Bonner, a former Pirone henchman, takes the stand and identifies Rusty as a major underworld figure. His aggressive moment causes a tense interruption in court. The defense points out that Bonner has a deal with the prosecution, tainting his testimony.

Graham pressures Rusty's uncle Johnny Verona to testify, even threatening to expose a prison video that could implicate Johnny. Johnny relents and takes the stand, linking Rusty to the murders. The testimony appears to seal Rusty's fate in the eyes of the jury.

Valerie tries multiple times to find a way out, but Vesey blocks each attempt. Rusty eventually breaks into her apartment and threatens her family, leaving Valerie with no options but to comply. Her coerced cooperation sets the stage for the final verdict.

During jury deliberations, the eleven other jurors vote guilty while Valerie holds out. She manipulates the deliberation procedure to highlight discrepancies in Graham's case. As pressure builds, three jurors switch their votes to join her, undermining the case against Pirone.

With the jury torn, Pirone goes free while Graham rages at the outcome. He asks Boyle to poll the jurors who found Rusty not guilty to learn what happened. The questions lead to the discovery of Valerie's alleged influence.

Graham suspects Valerie may have been tampered with and meets her discreetly to press for information. Valerie denies any wrongdoing, maintaining that she was protecting her son. The exchange leaves the truth unresolved but raises serious questions about the jury's integrity.

Rusty's thugs kidnap Valerie in broad daylight and lock her in a car trunk. Vesey pursues them and engages in a firefight to save her, taking mortal wounds in the process. Before dying, Vesey warns that Pirone will not let Valerie live and urges her to resolve things with Rusty.

With no other options, Valerie uses the jury skills she learned to manipulate Rusty. She infiltrates his hideout in a vintage dress, seduces him, then stabs him with an ice pick when he lunges to kill her. She escapes, ending Rusty's rule and reclaiming control of her life.

Graham and Boyle sift through the fallout of the shootout and discover Vesey's body among the thugs. Rusty has vanished, prompting suspicions that the Pirone family eliminated him. The case leaves authorities with more questions than answers.

Graham confronts Valerie at her son's football game, explaining that he isn't wearing a wire but seeking truth about her involvement. Valerie offers a restrained answer, implying she acted to protect her family rather than out of malice. The scene leaves the audience with doubt but also a sense of closure and unresolved moral ambiguity.