Legally Blonde - Elle Interrogates Chutney

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Do you swear to tell the
truth, the whole truth,

and nothing but the truth, so
help you God?

I do.

Be seated.

Ms. Wood, you may begin
your questioning.

Um, first of all I would
like to point out that not

only is there no proof in
this case,

but there's a complete lack of
mens rea,

which by definition tells us
that there can be no

crime without a vicious will.

I am aware of the
meaning of mens rea.

What I'm unaware of is
why you're giving me a

vocabulary lesson when you
should be questioning your
witness.

Yes, your honor.

Um, Ms. Windham, when you
arrived back at the house,

um, was your father there?

Not that I saw.

But like I said, I went
straight upstairs and took

a shower.

And, um, when you came
downstairs what happened?

I saw Brooke standing over
his body drenched in his blood.

Um, but Mrs. Windham
didn't have a gun.

No, she had
stashed it by then.

Move to strike that from
the record, Your Honor.

It's speculation.
So stricken.

Ah, um, Ms. Windham, did
you hear a shot fired? No.

I was in the shower.

Okay.

So sometime in the 20
minutes that you were in

the shower your
father was shot.
I guess.

Your father was shot while
you were in the shower,

but you didn't hear the
shot because, um, because

you were in the shower? Yes.

I was washing my hair.

Where is she
going with this?

Have a little
faith, Gerard.

Um, Ms. Windham, what had
you done earlier that day?

I got up, got a latte,
went to the gym, got a perm,

and came home.

And you got in the shower?

I believe the witness has
made it clear that she was

in the shower.

Yes, your honor.

Um, Ms. Windham, had you
ever gotten a perm before? Yes.

How many, would you say?

Two a year since I was 12.

You do the math.

You know, a girl in my
sorority, Tracy Marcinko,

got a perm once.

We all tried to talk her
out of it.

Curls weren't a good
look for her.

She didn't have your bone
structure.

But, thankfully, that same
day she entered the Beta

Delta Pi wet t-shirt
contest where she was

completely hosed down
from head to toe.

Objection.
Why is this relevant?

Oh, I have a
point, I promise.

Then make it.

Yes ma'am.

Um, Chutney, why is it
that Tracy Marcinko's

curls were ruined when
she got hosed down?

Because they got wet?

Exactly.

Because isn't it the first
cardinal rule of perm

maintenance that you're
forbidden to wet your hair

for at least 24 hours
after getting a perm at

the risk of deactivating
the ammonium thioglycolate? Yes.

And wouldn't somebody
who's had say 30 perms

before in their life be
well aware of this rule?

And if, in fact, you
weren't washing your hair

as I suspect you weren't
because your curls are

still intact, wouldn't you
have heard the gunshot?

And if, in fact, you had
heard the gunshot, Brooke

Wyndham wouldn't have
had time to hide the gun

before you got downstairs.

Which would mean that you
would have had to have

found Mrs. Wyndham with a
gun in her hand to make

your story plausible.

Isn't that right?

She's my age.

Did she tell you that?

How would you feel if your
father married someone who

was your age.

You, however, had time to hide
the gun, didn't you Chutney,

after you shot your father.

I didn't mean
to shoot him.

I thought it was you
walking through the door.

Order. Order.

Order.

Oh my God.

Oh my God.
Oh my God.

Bailiff, take the witness
into custody where she

will be charged for
the murder of Heyworth

Windham.

In the matter of the State
versus Brooke Windham,

this case is dismissed.

Mrs. Windham, you're free to
go.

Elle, how did you know
that Chutney was lying?

Because she's
brilliant, of course.

The rules of hair care
are simple and finite.

Any Cosmo girl
would have known.