Marlee is another of the main characters of The Runaway Jury. She has adopted a number of aliases in her life. She was born Gabrielle Brant in Columbia, Missouri, to parents Evelyn and Peter Brant. Both her parents died of lung cancer from years of smoking. Heartbroken and angry, Gabrielle formulated a plan to take down the tobacco industry while studying in graduate school. She moved to Kansas, where she adopted the alias Claire Clement and met and fell in love with Jeff Kerr. When they both moved to Biloxi, Mississippi, to infiltrate the Pynex trial, Jeff became Nicholas Easter and Claire became Marlee.

Marlee begins calling Rankin Fitch to build the false trust that her plan requires. As Marlee’s plots grow more devious, like having Nicholas bounce various jurors that she deems disruptive, Fitch’s approbation of Marlee grows, as he believes that she is similar to him: “‘Sounds like Marlee,’ Fitch said, as if he were admiring a daughter” (401). Fitch believes that Marlee is a money-oriented operative focused only on the financial gains available from trial manipulation. He becomes so trusting of Marlee due to her cultivation of trust with him that when the trial takes a turn, Fitch thinks, “Marlee could salvage this disaster. Only Marlee” (416). As Nicholas makes efforts to infiltrate the jury’s trust, Marlee works diligently to make Fitch reliant on her, using her charisma to make him believe that she’s on his side and that she is the sole person who can deliver a verdict in favor of the defense.

When she double-crosses him, she finally reveals the emotional motivation for her actions. She tells Fitch, 

They both got hooked on cigarettes when they were in college, and I watched them fight the habit until they died. They hated themselves for smoking, but could never give it up. They died horrible deaths, Fitch. I watched them suffer and shrivel and gasp for breath until they couldn’t breathe anymore (486). 

Marlee keeps herself emotionally distant throughout the narrative, giving no hint toward her motivations for her carefully laid plans until she succeeds. With the stress of the plan behind her, Marlee can show her emotional side to Fitch, illustrating both the complexity of her character and the complexity of her relationship with Fitch.

Fitch is one of the antagonists of The Runaway Jury. He is a private consultant working for The Fund, a pool of money derived from the Big Four tobacco corporations that seeks to fight against any litigation against the aforementioned corporations. The Fund is untraceable, and Fitch undertakes countless immoral and illegal actions on behalf of the tobacco companies. He believes himself to be anonymous, like The Fund: “[Fitch] was an unknown, a nameless shadow who introduced himself to no one and lived under an assumed name. […] No one knew his name—except of course his employees, his clients, and a few of the lawyers he hired” (72). Fitch manages to succeed in his ventures because of this perceived anonymity, so when Marlee sends him a note addressed to him by name, he is shaken. Fitch loses his grasp on his usual plots, as the trial begins taking turns that he does not expect, especially as Marlee’s contact ramps up. For example, when the jury recites the Pledge of Allegiance like Marlee predicts, Fitch is thrown, thinking, “The fact that Marlee knew it was coming was bewildering. The fact that she was playing games with it was exhilarating” (135). Fitch juxtaposes his surprise at Marlee’s knowledge with his thrill at the idea of turning the trial into a “game.” Fitch’s gamesmanship is a key aspect of his character. He takes his job seriously, but he also enjoys the cat-and-mouse elements of his interactions with Marlee.

Fitch also has a heightened sense of himself and his role in the tobacco industry. He views himself as a general fighting a war against the hordes of litigators, as the narrator depicts: “‘Know thine enemy,’ [Fitch] said aloud to his walls. The first rule of warfare” (295). Fitch genuinely sees his goal of eliminating tobacco litigation as a righteous war that he must win. However, Fitch has respect for his supposed “enemies,” thinking that “he’d love to chat with Marlee and Nicholas over a long dinner and get all his questions answered. His admiration for them gr[ows] by the moment” (380). The use of the term “admiration” further illustrates his regard and respect for Marlee and Nicholas as adversaries, adding complexity to his role as the antagonist. He works against Marlee and Nicholas, but he finds their ability to thwart him and his schemes admirable and interesting.