While preparing his case, Rudy gets to know a young woman whom he met at the hospital, Kelly Riker (Claire Danes), a battered wife whose husband, Cliff (Andrew Shue), has beaten her so savagely with a baseball bat that she must be hospitalized. After a particularly violent attack, Rudy persuades Kelly, to whom he is attracted, to file for divorce.
Going to Kelly's home to pack her belongings, Rudy and Kelly are confronted by a bat-wielding Cliff. After Cliff is injured in the fight that follows, Kelly insists Rudy leave. From outside, Rudy can hear Cliff being hit with the baseball bat. To protect Rudy from being implicated in Cliff's death, Kelly tells the police she killed her husband in self-defense. Rudy promises to defend Kelly if the case goes to trial, but the district attorney declines to prosecute, knowing Kelly would never be convicted.