My Cousin Vinny Google Drive

[Luisa Rodocker]

Inthat movie, Tomei played Mona Lisa Vito, a smart-talking Brooklynite who is engaged to Pesci's character Vinny, who has recently become a personal-injury lawyer. The plot revolves around the wrongful arrest of Vinny's cousin Bill. In the end, Bill's fate hinges on the vehicle he was driving at the time of the crime and whether it could have left the tire tracks that were found at the scene.

Ignition timing is the precise moment when a spark is released to help combust the fuel in the cylinder of a gasoline-powered internal-combustion engine, relative to the movement of the piston and crankshaft. The district attorney character tries to undermine Lisa's expertise by asking her a very specific question about the correct ignition timing on a 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air with a 327-cubic-inch engine and a four-barrel carburetor.

Lisa proves her knowledge by replying, correctly, that what he was asking is a trick question. "Chevy didn't make a 327 in '55. The 327 didn't come out till '62," she said. "And it wasn't offered in the Bel Air with the four-barrel carburetor till '64."

As Vinny tries to prove that Bill's car was not the one at the crime scene, he questions Lisa about the color of the vehicle the criminal was driving. She correctly notes that the 1964 Buick Skylark driven by Bill and the getaway vehicle, which she believes to be a 1963 Pontiac Tempest, could easily have been mixed up because they both were produced by General Motors and thus were offered in the same color palette.

These cars are from two different generations of vehicle and were built on different platforms. The Skylark was built on the new-for-1964 A-body platform, which had a 115-inch wheelbase, while the Tempest was built on the previous generation Y-body, which had a shorter, 112-inch wheelbase.

There are actually two errors here. The Positraction product name was used only by Chevrolet. Pontiac's version was called Safe-T-Track. (The word positraction has since become something of a metonym for such differentials.) It also turns out that the '64 Buick Skylark actually was available with an optional limited-slip differential called the Positive Traction differential.

As a final means of proving the innocence of Bill and his '64 Skylark, Lisa claimed that, in the 1960s, there were only two cars made in the U.S. that had Positraction and independent rear suspension and enough power to make those tire marks. She names these correctly as the Chevrolet Corvette and the Pontiac Tempest. But she is incorrect that these were the only two.

Two guys from New Jersey are charged with murder of the clerk at the Sack-o-Suds convenience store in Wazoo City, Alabama. They accidentally confessbecause they think they've been charged with shoplifting. Their cousin Vincent Gambini, fresh out of law school, comes down to Alabama with his girlfriendto represent them. The judge is Fred Gwynne, better known as Herman Munster on the old TV show, "The Munsters."

13) Prosecutor Trotter: Your Honor, Counsel, members of the jury, the evidence in this case is going to show that at 9:30 in the morning, January 4, bothdefendants, Stanley Rothenstein and William Gambini, were seen getting out of their metallic green 1964 Buick Skylark convertible with a white top. Theevidence is gonna show that they were seen entering the Sack O' Suds convenience store in Wazoo City. The evidence is going to show that minutes after theyentered the Sack O' Suds, a gun-shot was heard by three eye-witnesses. You're gonna then going to hear the testimony of the three eyewitnesses who saw thedefendants running out of the Sack O Suds a moment after the shots were heard, getting into their faded, metallic green 1964 Buick Skylark, and driving off ingreat haste. Finally, the State is going to prove that the Defendants, Gambini and Rothenstein, admitted and then recanted their testimony to the Sheriff ofBeacham County. Now lets get down to the live-long. Your verdict is gonna depend on what you think of the sworn testimony. Not what I think. What Ithink don't count. You're the jury. It's your job to decide who's telling the truth. Truth. That's what verdict means. It's a word that comes down from oldEngland, and all our little old ancestors. Now we're going to be asking you to return a verdict of Murder in the First Degree for William Gambini, and a verdictof Accessory to Murder in the First Degree, for Stanley Rothenstein, for helping Gambini commit this heinous crime.

J: Objection sustained. The entire opening statement, with the exception of "thank you" will be stricken from the record. The jury will please disregardCounselor's entire opening statement. And you, Mr. Gambini, you will not use that kind of language in my court. Do you understand me?

15) Public Defender: Ladies and gentlemen of the j-j-j-j-jury. On January f-f-f-fourth my client did indeed visit the Sack O' Suds uh uh convenience store (Hisstuttering continues throughout.) But but he didn't kill anyone. He, uh--We intend to prove that the prosecution's case is circumstantial and and and and andcoincidental. Thank you.

Q. Excuse me your Honor, two "youths." Is it possible, the two defendants entered the store, picked 22 specific items off of the shelves, had the clerk takemoney, make change, then leave, then two different men, drive up in a similar--don't shake your head, I'm not done yet, wait till you here the whole thing, sothat you can understand this now, two different men drive up in a similar looking car, go in, shoot the clerk, rob him, and then leave?

32) Q. Oh, oh, I'm sorry, you testified earlier that the boys went into the store and you had just begun to make breakfast, you were just ready to eat and youheard a gunshot, so obviously it takes you five minutes to make breakfast.

47) Q: Bushes, right. So, Mr. Crane, you could positively identify the defendants for a moment of two seconds looking through this dirty window, thiscrud-covered screen, these trees with all these leaves on them, and I don't know how many bushes.

56) Q: About a hundred feet. Would you hold this please? (Running a tape measure). Sorry, excuse me, excuse me, sorry, sorry. Okay. This is fifty feet. That's half the distance. How many fingers am I holding up? (He hold up two fingers.)

61) G: I object to this witness being called at this time. We've been given no prior notice he'd testify, no discovery of any tests he's conducted or reports he'sprepared, and as the court is aware, the defense is entitled to advance notice of any witness who will testify, particularly those who will give scientific evidence,so that we could properly prepare for cross-examination, as well as giving the defense the opportunity to have the witness's reports reviewed by a defenseexpert, who might then be in a position to contradict the veracity of his conclusions.

62) Q. Now, Mr. Wilbur, these are photos of tires belonging to the Defendants' car and these are photos of the tire marks left by the assailants' car as it fled theconvenience store. Now, are you familiar with these?

A: Yes indeed. The car leaving the convenience store spun its rear tires dramatically and left a residue of rubber on the asphalt. Now, I took a sample of thatrubber and analyzed it. I also took a sample of the rubber from the rear tires of the defendants' Buick, and I analyzed that too.

82) Gambini: Your Honor, Miss Vito's expertise is in general automotive knowledge. It is in this area which her testimony will be applicable. Now, if Mr.Trotter wishes to voir dire the witness, I'm sure he's going to be more than satisfied.

83) Q: All right, all right. Now, Miss Vito, being an expert on general automotive knowledge, can you tell me what would the correct ignition timing be on a1955 Bel-Air Chevrolet with a 327 cubic inch engine and a four-barrel carburetor?

A: Cause Chevy didn't make a 327 in '55. The 327 didn't come out till '62, and it wasn't offered in a Bel-Air with a four-barrel carb 'til '64. However, in 1964the correct ignition timing would be four degrees before top dead center.

90) Q: Miss Vito, it has been argued by me, the defense, that two sets of guys met up at the Sack O' Suds at the same time, driving identical metallic mint green1964 Buick Skylark convertibles. Now, can you tell us, by looking at the picture, if the Defense's case holds water? (pause) Miss Vito, please answer thequestion. Does the Defense's case hold water?

A: It's a limited slip deferential which distributes power equally to both the right and left tires. The '64 Skylark had a regular deferential, which anyone who'sbeen stuck in the mud in Alabama knows, you step on the gas, one tire spins, the other tire does nothing.

A: No, there's more, you see, when the left tire mark goes up on the curb, and the right tire mark stays flat and even, well, the '64 Skylark had a solid rear axle,so when the left tire would go up on the curb, the right tire would tilt out and ride along its edge, but that didn't happen here, the tire marks stayed flat and even. This car had an independent rear suspension. Now in the 60's there were only two other cars made in America that had positraction and independent rearsuspension and enough power to make these marks

One was the corvette, which could never be confused with the Buick Skylark. The other had the same body length, height, width, weight, wheel-base, andwheel-track as the 64 Skylark, and that was the 1963 Pontiac Tempest.

A: On a hunch, I took it upon myself to check out if there was any information on a 1963 Pontiac tempest, stolen or abandoned recently. This computerreadout confirms that two boys, who fit the defendants' description were arrested two days ago by Sheriff Tillman in Jasper County, Georgia, for driving astolen metallic mint green 1963 Pontiac Tempest, with a white convertible top, Michelin model XGV tires, size 75 R 14.

SURREY, BC, Dec. 9, 2023 /CNW/ - For the third year the Maan family has been gathering toys around the Lower Mainland to help families in need this Christmas season. With donation drop off locations spread out at a number of local businesses, toys have been piling up for the Maan family to gather and donate to The Salvation Army's Boundless Vancouver Toy Shop which allows families to choose toys off the shelf that best fit the interest of their children. This toy drive all started as a way to honour the legacy of the late Uncle Vinny, a beloved member of the family who passed away unexpectedly on December 11, 2019.

3a8082e126