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The Judge
The lawyer who serves as the public prosecutor in Henry’s court case is a manipulative and crafty man who stakes his entire strategy on trying to convince the jurors that the Chicano community poses a threat to American society. Portrayed by one of the actors who also plays various members of the press, the prosecutor convinces the biased judge that Henry and his friends shouldn’t be allowed to change out of their dirty clothes because the witnesses and jurors will have a hard time recognizing them if they’re not dressed in the stereotypical pachuco style. He also twists Della’s words around when she testifies, forcing her to say a number of things she doesn’t mean. When Della finally stops answering the prosecutor’s questions because she knows he’s going to use her words against her, the judge holds her in contempt of the court and sentences her to a year in a correctional facility for young women.
The Public Prosecutor (“Press”) Quotes in Zoot Suit
The Zoot Suit quotes below are all either spoken by The Public Prosecutor (“Press”) or refer to The Public Prosecutor (“Press”). For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Act 1, Scene 9: Opening of the Trial
Quotes
PRESS: (Jumping in.) Your Honor, there is testimony we expect to develop that the 38th Street Gang are characterized by their style of haircuts…
GEORGE: Three months, Your Honor.
PRESS: …the thick heavy heads of hair, the ducktail comb, the pachuco pants...
GEORGE: Your Honor, I can only infer that the Prosecution…is trying to make these boys look disreputable, like mobsters.
PRESS: Their appearance is distinctive. Your Honor. Essential to the case.
GEORGE: You are trying to exploit the fact that these boys look foreign in appearance! Yet clothes like these are being worn by kids all over America.
PRESS: Your Honor…
JUDGE: (Bangs the gavel.) I don’t believe we will have any difficulty if their clothing becomes dirty.
GEORGE: What about the haircuts. Your Honor?
JUDGE: (Ruling.) The zoot haircuts will be retained throughout the trial for purposes of identification of defendants by witnesses.
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Act 1, Scene 11: The Conclusion of Trial
Quotes
PRESS: (Springing to the attack.) You say Henry Reyna hit the man with his fist. (Indicates HENRY standing.) Is this the Henry Reyna?
DELLA: Yes. I mean, no. He’s Henry, but he didn’t ...
PRESS: Please be seated. (HENRY sits.) Now, after Henry Reyna hit the old man with his closed fist, is that when he pulled the knife?
DELLA: The old man had the knife.
PRESS: So Henry pulled one out, too?
GEORGE: (Rises.) Your Honor, I object to counsel leading the witness.
PRESS: I am not leading the witness.
GEORGE: You are.
PRESS: I certainly am not.
GEORGE: Yes, you are.
JUDGE: I would suggest, Mr. Shearer, that you look up during the noon hour just what a leading question is?
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PRESS: […] We are dealing with a threat and danger to our children, our families, our homes. Set these pachucos free, and you shall unleash the forces of anarchy and destruction in our society. Set these pachucos free and you will turn them into heroes. Others just like them must be watching us at this very moment. What nefarious schemes can they be hatching in their twisted minds? Rape, drugs, assault, more violence? Who shall be their next innocent victim in some dark alley way, on some lonely street? You? You? Your loved ones? No! Henry Reyna and his Latin juvenile cohorts are not heroes. They are criminals, and they must be stopped. The specific details of this murder are irrelevant before the overwhelming danger of the pachuco in our midst. I ask you to find these zoot-suited gangsters guilty of murder and to put them in the gas chamber where they belong.
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The Public Prosecutor (“Press”) Quotes in Zoot Suit
The Zoot Suit quotes below are all either spoken by The Public Prosecutor (“Press”) or refer to The Public Prosecutor (“Press”). For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Act 1, Scene 9: Opening of the Trial
Quotes
PRESS: (Jumping in.) Your Honor, there is testimony we expect to develop that the 38th Street Gang are characterized by their style of haircuts…
GEORGE: Three months, Your Honor.
PRESS: …the thick heavy heads of hair, the ducktail comb, the pachuco pants...
GEORGE: Your Honor, I can only infer that the Prosecution…is trying to make these boys look disreputable, like mobsters.
PRESS: Their appearance is distinctive. Your Honor. Essential to the case.
GEORGE: You are trying to exploit the fact that these boys look foreign in appearance! Yet clothes like these are being worn by kids all over America.
PRESS: Your Honor…
JUDGE: (Bangs the gavel.) I don’t believe we will have any difficulty if their clothing becomes dirty.
GEORGE: What about the haircuts. Your Honor?
JUDGE: (Ruling.) The zoot haircuts will be retained throughout the trial for purposes of identification of defendants by witnesses.
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Act 1, Scene 11: The Conclusion of Trial
Quotes
PRESS: (Springing to the attack.) You say Henry Reyna hit the man with his fist. (Indicates HENRY standing.) Is this the Henry Reyna?
DELLA: Yes. I mean, no. He’s Henry, but he didn’t ...
PRESS: Please be seated. (HENRY sits.) Now, after Henry Reyna hit the old man with his closed fist, is that when he pulled the knife?
DELLA: The old man had the knife.
PRESS: So Henry pulled one out, too?
GEORGE: (Rises.) Your Honor, I object to counsel leading the witness.
PRESS: I am not leading the witness.
GEORGE: You are.
PRESS: I certainly am not.
GEORGE: Yes, you are.
JUDGE: I would suggest, Mr. Shearer, that you look up during the noon hour just what a leading question is?
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PRESS: […] We are dealing with a threat and danger to our children, our families, our homes. Set these pachucos free, and you shall unleash the forces of anarchy and destruction in our society. Set these pachucos free and you will turn them into heroes. Others just like them must be watching us at this very moment. What nefarious schemes can they be hatching in their twisted minds? Rape, drugs, assault, more violence? Who shall be their next innocent victim in some dark alley way, on some lonely street? You? You? Your loved ones? No! Henry Reyna and his Latin juvenile cohorts are not heroes. They are criminals, and they must be stopped. The specific details of this murder are irrelevant before the overwhelming danger of the pachuco in our midst. I ask you to find these zoot-suited gangsters guilty of murder and to put them in the gas chamber where they belong.
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