MovieChat Forums > The Lincoln Lawyer (2011) Discussion > Can someone please explain Corliss testi...

Can someone please explain Corliss testimony? SPOILERS

posted 9 years ago by CorleoneFan
2 replies | jump to latest

WARNING SPOILERS

There is something that I'm unable to wrap my head around. Here is my understanding: Haller needed Corliss to testify in order to get him to say that Roulet killed Renteria while the detectives happen to be in the court room (which is why Haller gave them subpoenas). But even with Corliss testifying that he heard Roulet bragging about the beating, the fact is Corliss is a documented liar, so how will that statement be used as future evidence if Haller wanted to have Martinez free and Roulet prosecuted for the murder of Renteria?

Furthermore (this is what I really don't get), how exactly did Haller set this up without Minton knowing that Corliss was a "jail house snitch" and wouldn't Minton refuse to put Corliss on the stand knowing Corliss was a liar?

Thanks

[–] lynnlady 9 years ago

He just wanted the police that had arrested Martinez to hear the snitch say that Roulet had bragged about killing another woman and when he mentioned the tattoo of a snake(?) that Roulet supposedly told the snitch about, that let the cop believe it must have been true otherwise how would the snitch know about the tattoo if Roulet didn't tell him.

Then when Haller saw his parking ticket at the end it made him realize what his friend was talking about with the message he left on the answering machine when he said he had the "ticket to get Martinez out of jail".

Remember Haller had asked the detective to check if Roulet had anything besides parking tickets on his record. So at the end Haller told his ex to check for any parking tickets on Roulet. They found out he had gotten a parking ticket in front of Renteria's house the night she was killed. That was what got the detective friend killed and what gave the prosecutors the evidence that helped get Roulet convicted.

And as far as Haller finding out about the other snitching that was done while the guy was in jail elsewhere, someone (I think it was his blond assistant) mentions looking under his initials for his first name ( I think the initials were DJ Corliss) and that's how they found the info about the wrong conviction. At that point the DA knew it was a hopeless case and dropped the assault charges on him.



[–] aGuiltySoul 9 years ago

I agree with Lynnlady with all of her answers with the addition of:

how exactly did Haller set this up without Minton knowing that Corliss was a "jail house snitch" and wouldn't Minton refuse to put Corliss on the stand knowing Corliss was a liar?

The reason that Minton is devastated when he loses the case is because he's probably also lost his job. Why? Because he either knew Minton was a liar, a "jail house snitch," when he put him on the stand, which means he's violating his position as an officer of the court, or he didn't know, which means he's a piss poor prosecutor. In other words, he's either corrupt or incompetent and possibly both.

It's not what a movie is about, it's how it is about it.
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