Jock's Trial Part Two

Dallas 

Season 3 Episode 23

Original Airdate:   February 29, 1980

Recap:  Miss Ellie tells Matt Devlin that she feels like she is betraying Jock, when he starts going on about them being in love.  He tells her that it’s not a betrayal to fall in love, (yes it is when you are married to someone else, it never seems that way to the person you’re having the relationship with).  Miss Ellie confesses that she didn’t fall in love with him.  She tells him that she used him, he made her feel desirable again.  She tells him that she is sorry if she hurt him.  He tells her that he is going to scrap the Mimosa Park project, because it means so much to her.  Bobby calls and tells her about Jock’s arrest, he tells her that he will come and pick her up.  She asks him what the charge is, and he tells her murder.

   Reporters swarm around the family as they leave after the bail was paid.  They answer a few questions.

   Cliff goes into Digger’s hospital room and tells Digger that he finally got Jock for him.  Digger tells him that he could really use a drink.

   Back at Southfork, Miss Ellie asks what evidence Cliff has against Jock, when Pam gets home, she tells Jock how sorry she is.  JR tells her that she must be very proud of her brother right now, Bobby tells him to shut up and follows her upstairs.  In their room, she asks him what Cliff could be thinking, he tells her that he doesn’t want her interfering.

   Jock’s lawyer, Scotty Demarest comes over and Bobby introduces him to everyone.  He starts off by telling them all that all of them except Bobby could have killed Hutch McKinney.  He tells them that unless Jock has an alibi for that night then it will be a hard case to win.  JR gets a phone call, he tells Bobby and Miss Ellie that Sue Ellen was arrested in Fort Worth, they picked her up when she was trashing an apartment, they had to break the door down before she did anymore damage.  He asks Bobby to come with him.

   Scotty tells Jock that there is at least one witness to the fight that Jock had with Hutch, and he wants his side of the story.  Jock tells him that he found out that Hutch was stealing from him, selling cattle and pocketing money, so he went to the saloon that all the workers went to after work and confronted him.  In a flashback we see Jock talking to Hutch, they begin to fight after Hutch hits him first, Hutch tells Jock that he will make him pay, once Jock throws him to the ground.  Jock tells him to leave Southfork or he will kill him.  Hutch tells him not to bet on it.  Jock tells Scotty that Hutch left then later he saw him at the bunkhouse with an empty bottle of gin, he tells Scotty that he woke him up and they fought some more.  Scotty tells him that he isn’t going to put him on the stand.  Jock asks him if is going to ask him if he is guilty or not.

   Miss Ellie comes outside and finds Jock reading the paper the next morning she tells him to put it down, since it’s only upsetting him.  She says that they won’t convict him.  Jock asks her about Matt Devlin and the fight for Mimosa Park.  She tells him that it’s over, she tells him about what happened between her and Matt, she says that she used him.  Miss Ellie tells him that she wanted to know if she could still attract a man.  She tells Jock that she loves him and could never be unfaithful to him.

   JR asks Sue Ellen if she will spend the rest of her life in bed, and she tells him that nothing matters anymore, and it will give more time to tell lies about her to his family.  He asks if it was a lie, when he and Bobby bailed her out of the Fort Worth jail.  Sue Ellen says she doesn’t remember any of that.  JR asks if she remembers tearing up the little love nest.  She tells him that she can’t believe that he cares more about this then the mess his father is in.  He tells her that no jury will convict his father on Cliff’s flimsy evidence.  She asks why he isn’t on Cliff’s side since if Jock is convicted Ewing Oil would all be his.  He tells her that to him Ewing Oil is his father, and that she doesn’t know him as well as she thinks she does because everything he does is for his family and especially his father.  JR tells her that she would know that if she stopped looking at the world through the bottom of a glass.

   At the hospital, Bobby joins Pam in Digger’s room, he asks her about Digger, and tells her that he is worried about her.  He tells her that he has hired a full-time nurse for Digger.  Pam thanks him, but she doesn’t want to leave him.  Bobby tells her that she won’t do any good for Digger if she gets sick too, she agrees and they go home.

   Sloan goes into Cliff’s office and congratulates him on all his work on the case.  Cliff tells him about Scotty interviewing all the jurors and that he plans on sending a letter to them all telling them that they don’t need to talk to anyone.  Sloan tells Cliff that the higher ups in the DA’s office are concerned about Cliff’s prejudice against the Ewing’s.  Sloan tells him that he won’t be prosecuting the case, he will.  Cliff tells him that there wouldn’t be a case without him, Sloan tells him that he knows, and that they will let Cliff assist him.

   Scotty tells Jock, JR and Bobby that he wants them to hire some investigators and have them go to every name on the juror list so they can get to know them really well.  He asks Jock about the gun, Jock tells him that it just disappeared one day, and that he can’t tell him anything more than that.  Scotty tells him what the DA’s office has on him, Bobby tells him that he makes it sound like Jock is already convicted.  Scotty tells him that murder trials aren’t predictable.  He says that Jock is a rich and powerful oil man, and that isn’t something that is popular, and Cliff has made a very believable case.  The phone rings JR tells Louella that he told to her not to disturb them, but she tells him that Pam is calling for Bobby.  Pam tells Bobby that Digger is conscious, he asks if Cliff is coming, she tells him that he is on his way.  Bobby tells her that he is coming to, that he wants to talk to him.

   At the hospital Bobby stops Cliff before the door, Cliff tells him to get out, that he is there to see his father.  Bobby tells him that they are going to talk about Jock.  Cliff tells him that it’s not going to happen.  Bobby pushes him against the wall, Cliff tells him to get his hands off him.  Pam comes out and breaks them up.  Cliff goes into the room, Bobby and Pam following right behind him.  Cliff tells him to get out, but Bobby says that Cliff doesn’t care about Digger, he’s been spending all his time trying to send Jock to prison, and he tells Cliff that all he cares about is vengeance.  He tells Digger that Cliff is trying to frame Jock for murder.  Cliff says that he isn’t framing him, that he has solid evidence.  Bobby asks Digger if he wants Jock to go to prison for a murder he didn’t commit, he asks him if he wants to hurt Miss Ellie.  Digger says that he never wanted any of this and that he doesn’t want to hurt Miss Ellie.

   The ADA, calls the first witness.  Bobby asks Scotty if he got the jury he wanted, he tells Bobby that Cliff blocked them pretty good, but they’ll see  how it goes.  The Sheriff is sworn in, Sloan asks him about the body being found.

   JR leaves the court room and Bobby follows him, he asks him what’s wrong.  JR tells him that he doesn’t want to testify.  Bobby tells him that he has to.  JR tells him that he’s afraid he might say something that would hurt Jock’s case.  Bobby tells him to just tell the truth.  JR says that however this ends up he will drive Cliff out of Texas.  Bobby tells him that he’ll have to stand in line behind him, they go back into the courtroom.  The ADA is now questioning the anthropologist that created the model of Hutch.  He asks the bailiff to bring it into the courtroom.  Scotty objects, the Judge has them both approach the bench and Sloan tells him that since the case is so old he wants to remind the jury that Hutch was a living man, who lived and was killed.  Scotty tells the Judge that it’s just a stunt and it would be like bring a corpus into the courtroom.  The Judge decides to allow it and it is brought into the courtroom.  Cliff smirks and the bailiff wheels it in.  When Sloan removes the cover, there is a gasp though out the room.  Sloan ask for it to be admitted in as evidence, but Scotty object and tells the judge that it’s been tampered with since the ADA showed it to him, the model now has a bullet hole in its forehead.  The Judge calls for a recess and wants the lawyers in his chambers, and when they come back the model is to be removed. 

   Sue Ellen goes off by herself and takes a drink from a bottle in her purse, JR catches her and tells her to spray her mouth with some breath spray.  She tells him that he should be happy it’s what he wanted to happen.  He tells her to use  the spray, since his father is in enough trouble without her smelling like a distillery.  He tells her that the worst thing that happened to her was that she lost her class, she tells JR that the worst thing that happened to her was him.

   Scotty is questioning Ray, he asks him if Jock tried to stop the Sheriff from getting the employment records, Ray says no.  Scotty asks him if Jock tried to stop him for looking for them too, Ray says no again.  Scotty asks him if the Sheriff ever mentioned the name Hutch McKinney, and Ray says he didn’t.  So Scotty asks him that even thought the Sheriff was hunting for evidence so they could manufacture it against Jock, he never tried to stop him.  Sloan objects so Scotty rephrases the question.  He asks him if Jock ever prevented the Sheriff from looking for him. Ray says no.

   Pam is sitting with Digger, when her Aunt Maggie comes in, she tells Pam that she should have called her sooner, and asks how he is doing.  Maggie says that Digger was bound to end up this way because of all his drinking.  When Digger wakes he tells Maggie she made a wasted trip that he will be out in no time.

   JR is now on the stand, and Sloan asks him if he recognizes the gun.  JR tells him that it was the gun that his grandfather presented it to his father as a token that he was a part of the family.  Sloan says that it must have meant a lot to Jock.  JR said it did.  He asks if there was any mention of the gun after it went missing.  JR says no, and Sloan says he finds that hard to believe that he never said anything about it going missing to him (I could think of a good reason, JR was just a little kid then).  JR says exactly what I was thinking.  Sloan tells him that if his covering up for his father then he understands.  Scotty objects to this and demands an apology in front of the court.  Sloan does apologize and asks him one more question.  He asks JR if he ever saw the gun after Hutch McKinney disappeared.  JR says that he doesn’t remember, but Sloan wants a yes or no answer.  JR says no.  Scotty tells the Judge that he has no questions for JR.

   Later Sloan is questioning Virgil, the witness to the fight in the saloon.  He tells them that after the fight Hutch fell asleep in the bunkhouse, and about midnight Jock burst in and pulled him out of bed, and warned him what would happen if he found him on Southfork, then they both went outside.  Sloan asks him what the warning was, Virgil tells him that Jock would kill him.  Sloan asks him if he went outside.  Virgil says that he thought it was best if he stayed right where he was.  He asks him if he ever saw McKinney again after that night, no he says.  The bailiff comes up to Cliff and tells him something.  Sloan asks if he saw Jock again, Virgil says that he saw him come into the bunkhouse and washed up, he tells him that Jock had blood splatter all over him.  Cliff stand and asks to approach the bench, he asks the Judge for a recess, he tells him he just found out that his father is dying.  The Judge agrees and announces court will come back in session at nine the next day.  Cliff tells Miss Ellie about Digger and tells her that he’s been asking for her.  She tells him that she will be right there.

   At the hospital Digger asks Cliff for Miss Ellie, he tells him that she will there soon.  She and Bobby walk in then, she goes to Digger’s side, and Digger tells her that he wants to talk to her, he asks Cliff that if want he says is legal.  Cliff tells him that he doesn’t understand.  Digger tells Miss Ellie that he wasn’t going to say anything, he was going to let Cliff get his final revenge against Jock for him, but he couldn’t let it happen because he still loves her after all these years.  He says that he can’t let Cliff do this to her, she asks him what he means.  Digger tells them it happened after one of his three day benders, he tells Cliff and Pam that no matter what he always came back home to them.  He tells them he came home and found Hutch with his wife Rebecca.  We see in another flashback that Rebecca tell Digger that Hutch was fired and is going to leave Dallas, and that she is going with him, and they are going to take Cliff with them.  He asks about the baby she is carrying, Hutch tells him that he is the father.  Rebecca tells Digger that it’s true.  They fight and Digger shoots him.  Pam asks Digger about the baby, he tells her that he always loved her like she was his own, and dies.

   Back at Southfork, in their bedroom, Bobby asks the doctor if Pam will be alright, he tells her that she had quite a shock, and that physically she is fine, she may need counseling, but not to do it right away.  He tells   Bobby that she will need  time to mourn.

   Jock comes into the drawing room and tells them that the charges were dropped.  Miss Ellie tells Jock that Digger finally accepted their marriage.

   Maggie tells the minister to keep the service short, since that is what Digger would have wanted.

Final Thought:  There was so much going on in this episode I thought it was longer than it really was.  I knew that Digger killed Hutch once he said he didn't want to hurt Miss Ellie, I just figured he would say something sooner.  The bombshell about Pam was pretty amazing, I can't remember if she had the tests done to see if she was a carrier of the disease, if she did then she would know whether or not she isn't Digger's daugther.  I wonder how soon she will try to get pregnant now.  Cliff lost once again, I bet he was pretty upset he had to drop the charges, but at least he didn't have to have his father arrested.

Best Outfit:  Again I had some trouble picking out something truly hideous, I picked this because this looks like a shirt and not a dress, or it really is a shirt and she got pants on but I can't tell since it's in a sepia tone.