Law & Order 1x14

1. by two separate yet equally important groups:

2. the police, who investigate crime

3. and the district attorneys

4. who prosecute the offenders.

5. These are their stories.

6. Paul.

7. I had your office try you at home this morning.

8. You're still asking for a severance?

9. Yeah, well, almost not,

10. given the threats my client received this weekend.

11. Diane, we prepped him for this.

12. He wavers now, we're right back where we started.

13. Come on, he's a kid.

14. Just the sight of these two will be enough to freeze him.

15. That's their right.

16. To intimidate him?

17. We requested separate transport vans.

18. Hopefully this thing will be short and sweet.

19. Docket #9357.

20. Motion to sever defendant Ryan M. Cutrona

21. from co-defendants Howard S. Metzler

22. and Steven B. Hanauer.

23. Why is there a motion to sever in a gang rape case now?

24. I'd like to get this trial started, people.

25. The more motions filed on this case,

26. the more press attention it seems to get.

27. Your Honor, due to what we feel may be an overwhelming

28. amount of evidence against his co-defendants...

29. What evidence?

30. He's lying. He's got nothing.

31. He wants to save his own ass.

32. ( gavel banging ) Order.

33. Don't be stupid, okay?

34. Don't be dead.

35. ( gavel bangs ) Order.

36. We know what you did.

37. Counsel? You hear me, Ryan?

38. I'll have your client contained. Do you hear me?

39. Look at me! Do you hear me, Cutrona? Huh?

40. You hear me?

41. I want you to know exactly...!

42. Wait, Ryan. Don't... Walk away!

43. Walk away!

44. Face to the floor. Do it!

45. Captioning sponsored by NBC/UNIVERSAL

46. Because I can't even get him to sit in a damn chair,

47. much less listen to anything I have to say.

48. A severance is not going to do your client much good

49. if he's facing the exact same charges.

50. Oh, for crying...

51. The kid's terrified.

52. I offered to lower the charges

53. if he gave me pertinent information.

54. Okay, so where do we stand?

55. I can prosecute either way.

56. with or without him, but I'd have to guess

57. from what happened in court this morning

58. that he's got something of value,

59. and I'd rather have the truth than not. Yeah.

60. So let's set it up, we'll take a run at him.

61. did you follow her for?

62. A couple blocks.

63. Did anybody talk about it

64. while you followed her?

65. We... really didn't think he'd go through with it.

66. Why? You talked about it before?

67. Yeah. Ryan said he wanted to.

68. We just thought we'd set him up.

69. He'd back off... get scared.

70. That's not true.

71. at all? touch Miss De Vries

72. We're clear on that issue, Detective,

73. My client stated that he only watched.

74. Did you want to touch her?

75. Ryan's the one who got off.

76. Hanauer's is worse.

77. Says you begged them to help you do someone.

78. Says they even had to stop you

79. during the attack.

80. I don't want to see it.

81. It's just more lies.

82. fill us in? Why don't you

83. I can't.

84. Ryan, whatever you're holding back

85. must be damning enough to scare them.

86. They're counting on your fear to protect themselves.

87. I'll take a lie detector test

88. and prove that I didn't do anything.

89. That's not enough with what your buddies are telling us.

90. Ryan, you're accused of raping a woman.

91. I'm 17.

92. I don't have a record.

93. You'll be tried as an adult

94. and any jury that sees those tapes

95. will send you up

96. for a lot more time than your buddies will do.

97. You know he didn't run point on this.

98. I can't prosecute on instincts.

99. She had bruises on her wrists and ankles.

100. How many hands do you think my client has?

101. That's an interesting defense. You plan to outprosecute me?

102. Where are you going to take this?

103. I can only work with what I have on hand,

104. and if your client plans to martyr himself

105. with a heavier sentence, that's not my problem.

106. I'll go after the others as hard as I do your client.

107. DNA tests on the semen samples

108. are due in this afternoon.

109. We'll talk with you then.

110. Because it's a game to these kids, Adam,

111. and I'm sure they were the driving force.

112. The Cutrona kid's holding something.

113. I have no idea what it is.

114. Nothing out of the transcripts from the victim?

115. Her recollection has been shaky at best.

116. She's pretty much repressed the whole event.

117. She's what, a reporter?

118. Reporter?

119. She does exploitive crap.

120. All sizzle and no steak.

121. Where's that coming from?

122. I'm sorry, Adam, but I have to be honest.

123. I want to put away the scum that raped her,

124. but I don't have to embrace her journalism,

125. her lifestyle or her attitudes. I don't like her,

126. and I don't think a jury will like her either.

127. A tough case without her on the stand.

128. I wish that were my only concern.

129. I feel like we're hitting baseballs in the dark.

130. We've got enough with the tapes and maybe the circumstantial

131. to put someone away, probably the wrong kid,

132. which means that Metzler and Hanauer's people

133. will ask to be severed from the Cutrona kid

134. because he'll take the fall.

135. Then they get suspended or greatly reduced.

136. Or maybe nothing.

137. No match on the semen sample.

138. On any of them?

139. Oh, that could solve our entire dilemma.

140. We may be dead in the water.

141. Possibly another assailant.

142. Never mentioned by the others.

143. She was foggy the first few days on the numbers,

144. but has since said it was three.

145. What about a boyfriend?

146. I'll check.

147. Just a minute.

148. Did she state whether there was penetration

149. during the rape?

150. She's repressed it.

151. Rape kit findings at the hospital

152. indicate there was.

153. If there was no discharge during the rape,

154. it could be a boyfriend previous night, that morning.

155. Well, find out.

156. Either way, we're hurt without a DNA match.

157. All right.

158. Paul.

159. We're, uh, thinking of requisitioning you

160. a flak jacket for your birthday.

161. Yeah. It's all over the precinct.

162. Last I heard you what..?

163. Single-handedly disarmed the kid?

164. Crushed the gun with his bare hands.

165. Monica De Vries have a boyfriend?

166. Don't know. Why, are you in the market?

167. How was she in the line-up?

168. What do you mean?

169. Her confidence?

170. Not good.

171. She wasn't clear.

172. And the perps?

173. was a giveaway— nervous. The young kid

174. He'd never been in a line-up.

175. Is this thing unraveling?

176. There's no DNA match on the semen samples.

177. Oh, come on, that's crap.

178. They bragged about it all over the neighborhood.

179. We got their confession on tape.

180. Conflicting.

181. Yeah, well, still...

182. So there's no match.

183. That doesn't mean she wasn't raped.

184. What are you going to do?

185. Hope she slept with someone before the attack.

186. Four in the last half hour.

187. Press thinks the case may be slipping away.

188. How do you think they'd react

189. if they sensed the opportunity

190. to publicly fry one of their own?

191. Meaning what?

192. Advance copy of tomorrow's Ledger.

193. This backed up?

194. They know she's got a record.

195. A five-year-old bust.

196. She was there to research her story.

197. Can't we counter with a statement?

198. Like what?

199. Everybody past fifth grade should understand relevance?

200. Reasonable doubt in the mind of a jury.

201. The defense will run with it.

202. One drug arrest five years ago.

203. It's like another lifetime.

204. But now, because it's on page six,

205. I can be raped without penalty.

206. It's not a question of abstract application

207. of the law, Miss De Vries. It is perception.

208. We're dealing with the collective minds

209. and morals of a jury.

210. And often it's just a question of cause and effect.

211. What was she doing down there?

212. Why was she dressed like that?

213. And... what's her background?

214. Jurors are not computers.

215. These things do have an impact on them.

216. Maybe they'd like to check between my toes for needle marks

217. before they rule.

218. I'll pass.

219. I've already been bent over once.

220. Unfortunately, we can no longer prosecute

221. without you on the stand.

222. You told me you had no problem with me being off the stand—

223. that the drug arrest might cloud the issue.

224. And in a perfect world, it would,

225. but your friends in the fourth estate have taken that choice

226. out of our hands.

227. Plus, we didn't get a match

228. on the DNA tests.

229. What? Do you have a boyfriend?

230. Someone you might have slept with before the attack?

231. What the hell does that matter?

232. Does that mean I wasn't raped?

233. The defense will probably ask for a blood sample.

234. What, from every guy they think I might have had sex with?

235. Monica, I don't want to diminish the rape,

236. but you're a reporter.

237. Try processing the facts.

238. If it's the system you abhor, make a decision.

239. Do you want these people who violated you

240. to walk uncontested?

241. No one in this room

242. has the ability to redesign the entire railroad.

243. So I should just lash myself to the front of the train?

244. Make my peers really happy.

245. Give them a lot to write about.

246. You think this is enough newsprint

247. dedicated to one rape investigation?

248. Everything but my name.

249. How polite of them.

250. I think there's enough newsprint,

251. that if you don't testify,

252. you're sending a very a dangerous message

253. to the women of this city.

254. That a rape victim's chances

255. for justice are so slim,

256. she might as well not even press charges.

257. You are a public figure.

258. People do watch what you do.

259. It's difficult for any woman.

260. I'd be lying to myself if I thought it was easier for you.

261. Testifying might be

262. the only way to counter this.

263. The Post, the Times, everything to Vanity Fair.

264. She's right.

265. Everybody's taken a shot.

266. She's not named, but she's well-known enough

267. so that the description does just as much damage.

268. Who provided the most coverage?

269. The Post.

270. You know anyone over there?

271. One or two people. Why?

272. We need as much background on her as possible.

273. You think she's still using?

274. If she is, I'd like to know

275. before the rest of the world does.

276. Thank you.

277. Lunch? Thanks a lot.

278. Look, the bottom line is, nobody's gone too far.

279. Every news source in town has practically I.D.'d her.

280. No more than any other rape victim.

281. A well-known investigative reporter for local TV

282. whose oft-criticized style of sensational exploitive coverage...?

283. Listen, listen, man.

284. She's a local minor celebrity; people want to follow the case.

285. And the need to read drives the press

286. to print speculations like a drug habit?

287. Can I put it this way? Nobody I know

288. is afraid of a civil suit for libel.

289. She says she's clean.

290. Plus, I talked to her producers. They verified the assignment.

291. Her producers? What are they going to say?

292. She's a commodity, man.

293. You think they're going to burn her?

294. But her peers will?

295. Her peers? Maybe her peers think she got what she deserved.

296. Why? Because they think she was buying

297. or because they think she's a bitch?

298. Look, I'm not here to make any accusations,

299. but if you listen to what the hallway rumors are,

300. that's what she was down there for.

301. were there, Miss De Vries? How many assailants

302. There were three.

303. And did all three of these men

304. attempt to engage in sexual acts with you on that day?

305. I think so.

306. And you originally told police

307. that there may have been as many as five assailants.

308. Is that not true?

309. I was confused.

310. that you were traumatized, And the hospital reports

311. trauma-induced amnesia. and suffering from

312. Is that correct?

313. Yes, that's right.

314. You remember now.

315. Yes.

316. Remember the day and the time of day, Yes.

317. how warm it was. So warm that it made you

318. want to take your jacket off.

319. You remember the stoop they forced you under,

320. screaming for help and begging for mercy.

321. Yes, that's right. And yet you cannot remember

322. how many men tried to have sex with you.

323. That's not the same thing.

324. Did any of these men try to have sex with you? Yes, damn it!

325. Fine, then will you submit to a drug test Miss De Vries?

326. What the hell is going on?

327. And at that point, I'd jump up

328. and yell "Objection."

329. And then what would happen?

330. I'd argue relevance.

331. The defense would state that you were there to buy drugs

332. or already under the influence of them,

333. thus your recall or your actions

334. were radically different from what we're stating.

335. And you would say...?

336. I don't know.

337. Why don't you tell me?

338. Word has it,

339. your habit is not as old as you'd like to think.

340. I was not high.

341. Okay. That's a start.

342. Were you there to buy drugs?

343. I was raped.

344. What the hell difference does it make why I was down there?

345. It doesn't.

346. I don't care if you were there to buy a nuclear bomb.

347. You are not on trial.

348. But I cannot prosecute effectively

349. if I have to worry what's around every corner.

350. I asked them if they had any coke for sale.

351. Them?

352. The boys who raped you?

353. It was for the story...

354. to check on availability.

355. Hurts us that she initiated contact.

356. Defense will state it could have been a come-on.

357. That's a beatable

358. if the jury buys that her request for coke

359. was research.

360. Do you?

361. No, but I don't have any choice.

362. It's her memory I'm concerned about now.

363. Her recollection on a lot of the details did feel co-mingled.

364. Could have been culled from the papers.

365. Yeah, too good on some, nonexistent on others.

366. She remembered that she scratched someone.

367. That her actual memory?

368. "I remember clawing at a sweaty face."

369. Police report does not list scratches

370. on any of the accused,

371. and there was no tissue under her fingernails.

372. And the Post and another paper both described that

373. in portrayal pieces.

374. She hadn't talked to any reporters.

375. They took license, did not present as fact

376. and she latched on to that.

377. Do you think it was a conscious attempt?

378. My best guess, no.

379. I'd say that she's filling in the blanks

380. and what better source than news accounts?

381. Makes her a liability on the stand.

382. Which means we'd better find out, one way or the other.

383. At this point, she had

384. no recollection of the event at all?

385. Well, she knew what had happened to her,

386. but only because she'd been told,

387. and she was still in physical pain.

388. Any rule of thumb

389. on how much usually comes back?

390. It differs case to case.

391. Best-hope scenario?

392. Usually the mind will only go so far.

393. It'll fill in the areas of information

394. around the assault,

395. but, uh, it won't go all the way back

396. into the pain.

397. Thanks.

398. If we put her on the stand now, they'll shred us.

399. I don't know.

400. Public hears dismissal,

401. they think the case has been dropped.

402. We'll be editorialized from hell to breakfast.

403. I'll refile soon as something breaks.

404. Yeah, well, they won't let you finish the sentence.

405. The press hears dismissal, that's it.

406. Well, then you tell me what to do.

407. Judicial calendar has already been announced.

408. Who did you draw? Scanlon.

409. Tough on rape. Could have done worse.

410. Adam, she had poor recall in the mock cross,

411. and her own doctor doubts the details have returned.

412. That, combined with the drug use rumor,

413. the fact that she asked about coke—

414. whether it was research or not—

415. puts her in a pretty negative light.

416. What about the gun charge on Metzler?

417. Criminal possession, third degree.

418. He never even fired it.

419. He had intent, but with three court officers

420. wresting for control... That's an "E" felony.

421. Would you rather let him walk?

422. It's his first offense.

423. They'll plead to a class "A" misdemeanor.

424. He'll walk, and then we'll really look desperate.

425. We'll hold it.

426. We'll tack it on the rape if we get it.

427. All right, you just do me the favor,

428. and you go as fast as you can to reopen.

429. We'll get Greevey and Logan back on the investigation,

430. and they'll find evidence to open up the Cutrona kid.

431. It lies with him.

432. Somebody's got to talk to Monica De Vries.

433. If we go into trial now and we lose

434. we cannot go after them again, ever.

435. You asked me what I thought the odds were.

436. I'm giving you a fair assessment.

437. It will be swept into some pending file.

438. Monica, we're not dropping the case.

439. Oh, and we'll have a better chance two months from now?

440. Hopefully we can go in with more substantive evidence.

441. What more could you possibly need? They've confessed.

442. I need you on the stand, and I can't put you there.

443. I agreed, for God's sake.

444. You don't remember.

445. What?

446. You don't remember the events.

447. Your mind has picked up on a mixture of facts and speculation

448. from the news media, and blended them together

449. into something that you believe.

450. But if I put you on the stand,

451. any defense attorney in this city

452. will blow enough holes in that case to bury us.

453. What matters is that they did it.

454. Yes, that matters, but the three of us knowing that in this room,

455. is not a substitute for proof, and I do intend to prove

456. that you were raped by these suspects.

457. Docket #9357:

458. Motion to dismiss

459. in People v. Howard S. Metzler, Steven B. Hanauer,

460. Ryan M. Cutrona.

461. Mr. Robinette?

462. Your Honor, with respect to the people's motion,

463. I'd like to reiterate the state's intention

464. to reopen this case on such a date

465. when further evidence is obtained.

466. Otherwise, the people's position is clearly stated

467. in the papers filed earlier.

468. Your comments are so noted, Mr. Robinette.

469. Case #9357 is dismissed.

470. Defendants are free to go.

471. Whoo!

472. Whoo!

473. I'd just like to get this case back up and running

474. as quickly as possible. If it sits,

475. we run the risk of it collapsing completely,

476. and this case is not un-winnable.

477. Now, now wait a minute.

478. We gave you enough to prosecute.

479. We're not the ones who blew this thing.

480. This is not an assessment of blame.

481. It's a petition to put the case back together.

482. We've got a victim who is co-mingling fact and fiction,

483. and our defendant

484. who is holding back relevant information.

485. So how do we get the truth?

486. You made the motion to dismiss.

487. You got any ideas?

488. No, I don't have any ideas; that's why I'm here!

489. All right, fellas, could we please hold this down

490. to a dull head stomp?

491. We're thin.

492. It's obvious they're holding something back.

493. And if we weren't confident

494. that you could provide that something for us,

495. we would have taken our shots with the jury.

496. And as for suggestions, I don't have any ideas.

497. We weren't able to leverage Hanauer or Metzler,

498. and the younger kid is not forthcoming.

499. He's not going to give it up

500. now that the case has been dismissed.

501. But if you guys can find a back door...

502. Well, maybe we press the two older kids—

503. work some kind of a play on them.

504. We'll backtrack through our notes—

505. see what pops up.

506. All right, three weeks.

507. That's all I can afford with their case load.

508. Thanks.

509. Personal effects.

510. Monica De Vries.

511. She never picked them up.

512. Never will either.

513. Reminds her too much.

514. I can't say as I blame her.

515. Mind if I borrow this?

516. Oh, no, Paul.

517. We have our own.

518. All right.

519. "They stopped here around 3:15 in the afternoon.

520. "They forced her down under that stoop.

521. "General disagreement on who said what.

522. "Blouse was ripped off.

523. "Jacket pulled up to hold her arms until it rips.

524. "Slight shoulder dislocation during struggle.

525. The... " Well... well, now we get into big discrepancy

526. as to who was actually on top... of her.

527. E.R. report— "multiple attackers."

528. How many of these buildings did we canvass?

529. We canvassed both sides.

530. The whole block.

531. Came up with nothing. No witnesses.

532. Just a lot of listeners.

533. The post-Kitty Genovese era.

534. No one wants to look— they think they'll get involved.

535. This building and the one next to it—

536. weren't there a couple of apartments we never got?

537. Yeah.

538. Fifth, sixth and eleventh.

539. Left notes each time.

540. Upstairs same thing.

541. ( sighs ): Good a place as any.

542. It's about the rape that happened out front.

543. I was gone.

544. Upstate at my sister's.

545. Did you hear anything from any of the neighbors

546. about that day?

547. You still haven't caught them?

548. Hey, Max, let me get in here, let me get in here.

549. Yes, ma'am, we have.

550. We're just following up.

551. We were wondering, you know,

552. did you hear anything since then, you know, talk, rumors?

553. I don't go out.

554. This is as far out in the world as I go

555. without my son.

556. You'd better believe I wasn't at home.

557. 20 hours of labor.

558. Besides, I called.

559. I left a message at the number you left.

560. We never got it.

561. What a surprise.

562. Miss Varella, was there any talk in the building

563. about what people heard or saw?

564. Yeah, there were more people here in one weekend

565. than I've talked to in two years.

566. How come you only arrested three?

567. Why? Did you think there was more?

568. Guy down in C, Silva, heard the whole thing.

569. Said it was six or seven?

570. Well, wasn't it?

571. I heard the case was dismissed.

572. That doesn't mean it's closed.

573. Did you hear the rape, Mr. Silva?

574. Most of it.

575. Although I wasn't sure of what was going on.

576. I mean, this street...

577. Didn't we talk to you?

578. We got a statement down from you.

579. I said that I was gone.

580. I was going through something with a friend of mine.

581. I didn't want him to know I was here.

582. You didn't call 911 during the attack?

583. I wasn't sure at first.

584. Uh, I know I was wrong not to.

585. These kids live around here.

586. You know how much bashing goes on on this block?

587. Besides, I heard you were making arrests, so...

588. How many people did you hear?

589. I thought I might have heard, uh, five.

590. I... I, uh... I guess I might have heard three.

591. I tell you, it's more of a mess now

592. than it was two months ago.

593. People don't know what they heard,

594. what they saw, what they didn't see,

595. what they heard on the news,

596. what they heard on the street,

597. what they heard in the newspapers...

598. Maybe we'll get a guy down here with a gold watch—

599. hypnotizes the whole neighborhood.

600. What?

601. Why don't we take a legitimate shot with the vic?

602. Come on, Mike.

603. It's a weak case as is.

604. You know how the courts stand on that.

605. Hit and miss at best.

606. No, no, no, I'm not saying we provide them

607. with hypnotically-induced testimony. No.

608. We'll use it for investigation only.

609. Talk to the D.A.

610. They don't always toss it,

611. but they have been uneven in accepting aided testimony.

612. I know that; that's not what we're asking.

613. Look, we're up against the wall here.

614. I don't want to put her under,

615. have a new investigatory line pop

616. and then have the courts tell you guys we can't use it.

617. It's a good idea. Try it.

618. But if anything new surfaces during the session,

619. we've got to link it to something substantive

620. down the line.

621. It's testimony I'd rather not use at all

622. unless it's extremely compelling.

623. We'll let you know.

624. We've got bad news.

625. It's a tox report.

626. She left a brush

627. and some other effects with the police

628. after the rape.

629. The hair tested positive,

630. but we could probably counter it.

631. It doesn't mean she was using on that day.

632. Paul, you made a serious mistake here.

633. You ordered a lab test on what basis?

634. It's for our knowledge only.

635. I don't want to prosecute her on it.

636. What about her right to privacy?

637. Wait a minute.

638. This was one of your biggest concerns.

639. "Let's find out before the rest of the world does."

640. That is over the line.

641. You mean to tell me it's more important

642. that we maintain some myth of blind justice,

643. walk into court and get our butts kicked?

644. You'd rather not know?

645. Not if it means circumventing

646. a basic guaranteed right of the people.

647. What about the Supreme Court's stand

648. on blind drug testing

649. mandatory in certain job classifications?

650. Not mandatory when you're raped.

651. where you were going, When they asked

652. do you look at their faces?

653. I think if I look right at them,

654. they'll stop harassing me.

655. What do their faces look like?

656. They're young.

657. Late teens, early 20s.

658. The youngest looks frightened.

659. The others are bigger.

660. They seem older.

661. Which one is the most intimidating?

662. The oldest.

663. He doesn't have any life in his eyes.

664. I know he's the most dangerous.

665. He doesn't care that I'm afraid.

666. He's not excited by it.

667. Not like the other three.

668. They're there for him.

669. Monica, let's back up for a second.

670. When you were describing the boys,

671. did you mean to describe three or four to me?

672. Four.

673. Are you sure?

674. You're sure?

675. Yes.

676. Now I'm going to ask you to relax even further.

677. Remember, these are only memories.

678. They cannot hurt you.

679. This fourth boy— who is the oldest—

680. focus in on him, and tell me about his face.

681. Gaunt.

682. Drawn.

683. Looks that might once have been good-looking.

684. He has green eyes.

685. He has a scar over his right eye.

686. His skin is pale.

687. His hair looks unwashed.

688. Did you, at any time during the attack

689. hear his name used?

690. Tim.

691. We know there was a fourth guy.

692. We know he committed the majority of the rape.

693. We got his first name.

694. I say we use it against the other three.

695. One of them is bound to collapse.

696. It would only tip our hand.

697. Something in here has got to lead to him.

698. She told us who did what.

699. Who held her, who performed what acts.

700. The fact he tried to get her to fellate him.

701. The threats to slash her face.

702. We got everything we need except the fourth guy.

703. We pick him up,

704. we get a blood test, a match on the semen sample,

705. it's a slam dunk, the other three go down with him.

706. Fine, let's go pick him up.

707. His name's Tim.

708. Aw, come on, Max.

709. You know what the hell I'm talking about here.

710. All right, you want to make a move?

711. Let's check the stoop for glass.

712. What?

713. She remembered them breaking a bottle,

714. threatening to slash her face, right?

715. Two months later, you think we're going to find anything?

716. When was the last time you swept under your stoop?

717. Ooh, this is making me nauseous.

718. Gee, that's funny, Max. You ought to come down here.

719. I was thinking of puking just to improve the smell.

720. Oop, more glass.

721. Okay, send it up.

722. Remind me never to eat at your house.

723. They're perfectly good tongs.

724. You think I'm going to throw them away?

725. You got a couple of partials.

726. Third and fourth fingerprints

727. on one of the fragments—

728. I think it's a bottle neck.

729. Run a cross-check on every set we got.

730. First name Tim, Timothy...

731. Do all the Ts just to be safe.

732. This is gonna take some time.

733. Hey! Do I look like I'm in a hurry?

734. Timothy Pruiting!

735. Three assaults, two narco pops, one sale weight.

736. Partial matches on middle and ring finger.

737. Great. It's not enough.

738. They're only partial matches.

739. There's at least

740. 35 other possible match-ups here.

741. He lives two blocks from the scene.

742. He's been popped for dealing.

743. Narcotics says Metzler and Hanauer have been running

744. for him for months.

745. Fine. The prints place him at the scene,

746. not the time of the attack.

747. We pop him, he'll match on the DNA.

748. And what if he doesn't?

749. There's no sex offenses here; what do we hold him on?

750. I don't know.

751. This guy fits.

752. Tooley down in Narcotics

753. says he'd gut his mother for a nickel.

754. The Cutrona kid's probably scared to death.

755. Look, guys, do I have to speak slowly here?

756. Yes, I think he's our guy.

757. Yes, I would like to pop him,

758. but this thing has been dismissed once already.

759. We cannot go off half-cocked. We need more.

760. Like what?

761. Like testimony from the Cutrona kid.

762. A statement, anything.

763. We'll give him a run.

764. Good, Mike, because I don't think

765. he's going to come waltzing in here on his own.

766. We know he was there.

767. We need you to testify against him.

768. You do that, the D.A.

769. will reduce the rape charges against you.

770. How far?

771. You'd have to talk to Stone,

772. but he assured me no time.

773. What about working for Pruiting?

774. You're not up on the drug charges.

775. The hope is you'd clean that up by yourself.

776. He said he'd kill me.

777. You let us worry about that.

778. Truth is, he's a punk.

779. He's not going to last long in prison.

780. You'd be the least of his problems.

781. He'll testify.

782. Police! Timothy Pruiting, you're under arrest!

783. Hold it!

784. Get off of me, man!

785. You're charged with rape and assault.

786. You have the right to remain silent... Freeze!

787. Those little bastards ratted on me, man!

788. I'm not, I'm not going down alone!

789. You hear me?

790. You think I'm lying here?

791. Those little jerks were with me when we did it!

792. I want those little humps! Put something on.

793. The little punks will say whatever you want to hear. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

794. What the hell's going on?

795. When was he mirandized at the bust?

796. Hey, that's crap if he's saying

797. he wasn't mirandized.

798. I read them as we were taking him out.

799. After he made the statements.

800. Oh, are you going to tell us about our day?

801. Sounds like spontaneous declaration to me.

802. Fine, it will fall into "for what it's worth"

803. and I'll bury it.

804. I'll be with my client.

805. Let's not have this take all day.

806. Look, I started during his statements.

807. The guy was screaming like crazy.

808. Then the girl made the move.

809. I re-read them after everything calmed down.

810. Hey, this guy was out of his mind high.

811. He was blurting things out left and right.

812. It doesn't matter.

813. I'll make it admissible.

814. Taggart will take the wind out of it.

815. His statements may be too vague to help us anyway.

816. So why aren't we asking for a blood sample?

817. Because we have a problem.

818. Oh?

819. You can't subpoena blood samples

820. if you have nothing to match it against.

821. Forensics seems to have misplaced the rape samples.

822. What?

823. This is unbelievable.

824. And they're continuing to look, but my guess is,

825. some idiot saw the paperwork come through on the dismissal

826. and out they went.

827. That's incredible.

828. Which leaves us with not much.

829. What do you want to do?

830. Well, that's what we're here to decide.

831. I can't justify much longer detaining Pruiting to his lawyers.

832. Even with the Cutrona kid's statement?

833. That's an uncorroborated statement,

834. coming from an accomplice.

835. We need something to back that up with.

836. How long can you justify holding him?

837. Duck a couple of phone calls from his attorney.

838. After that...

839. After that, you lose the paperwork.

840. Max, what is this?

841. Last shot.

842. Get Metzler and Hanauer to roll.

843. We got no leverage.

844. What the hell is going on?

845. Max, no deals.

846. I want the other two as much as Pruiting.

847. Look at those mooks, still selling crack.

848. Gentlemen.

849. If this is a roust, you got no cause.

850. Hey, you think we need cause, ant brain, huh?

851. You think we don't know how to move vials, huh?

852. Hey, Mike.

853. No roust, no charges, no interrogation.

854. Just come in, make some statements.

855. We listen...

856. Listen to what?

857. Your version of what happened.

858. Since Tim Pruiting's been in all day screaming

859. that he didn't rape Monica De Vries.

860. What?

861. He says it was you guys.

862. You're full of it.

863. Watch your mouth.

864. You think I pulled that name out of thin air?

865. You want me to describe his place?

866. In fact, we can drop by.

867. I'll show you what a mess we made during the bust.

868. Is he saying we did her?

869. That's a load.

870. Hey, you don't have to convince us.

871. We know he did her,

872. but we got to pop somebody for it.

873. It's bull!

874. You want us to roll.

875. We already arrested him, genius.

876. We don't need you to incriminate him.

877. So we're not under arrest.

878. Absolutely not.

879. Unless...

880. he convinces us that he's right.

881. It can't be used against us?

882. That's the deal.

883. Tell you what.

884. I'll make it really easy.

885. I'll call legal aid.

886. They'll set up a room.

887. You come in.

888. In and out.

889. No hanging around.

890. Give me a quarter.

891. What?

892. Give me a quarter.

893. What are you doing?

894. Huh?

895. Hey, that's great, Max.

896. Now we got even more unusable statements.

897. Think so?

898. Who you calling?

899. Marie.

900. Think they have a reasonable expectation

901. of privacy right now?

902. Hi, honey, it's me.

903. I'll probably be late tonight.

904. You're out of your mind, you know that?

905. Stone's going to blow a fuse over this,

906. and Cragen will strap us to our desks forever.

907. Wrong, detective.

908. They are not under arrest.

909. Ooh.

910. Because if he is, I'm not taking the fall,

911. and neither should you.

912. We didn't do her. He got off on it.

913. So what's all this crap about keeping our mouth shut?

914. He tells us they got no evidence

915. because he's the only one who will match the load,

916. and he gets picked up and rolls? Screw him.

917. Look, we know what we did; we just tell it straight.

918. All we did was hold her, maybe some other stupid stuff,

919. but we're not riding down for Pruiting.

920. All right, so it's damning.

921. Do I have to run a list here, Stone?

922. Miranda, Bartolameo, the Supreme Court's Minnick Decision.

923. The whole thing is illegally obtained.

924. They were both represented by counsel.

925. Not for the past two months they weren't.

926. There were no charges pending,

927. there was no accusatory instrument pending,

928. No outstanding indictment.

929. I'm sure you know as well as I do

930. that Minnick provides nothing new in New York.

931. What about their privacy?

932. The court's stance on the expectation of privacy

933. is fairly clear.

934. Please! They were sitting in a cop car.

935. With the doors wide open, in the middle of the day

936. in a city street.

937. You think there's a greater expectation of privacy there

938. than on a cordless phone?

939. And I'm sure you know the court's stance on that.

940. It's debatable.

941. That's not debatable,

942. that's precedent,

943. and that's what I'm going into court with.

944. You did good work.

945. Make sure it doesn't get thrown out of court.

946. I can't be sure of anything, but I do know what I believe in,

947. and I believe you didn't violate the system.

948. You want to rearrest Hanauer and Metzler as well?

949. Absolutely, no bargains. The charge is rape.

950. We'll let their defense attorneys

951. figure out whether they want to sever or not.

952. I'm sure they know the procedure by now.

953. with the Cutrona kid? What do you want to do

954. Well, him we need,

955. and Paul's going to bring him in for a statement.

956. I can use that instead of the DNA match.

957. Well, our boy Pruiting just tried to sell

958. everyone he knows during booking—

959. crack dealers, peepers—

960. all in hopes of landing a deal.

961. Hell of a guy.

962. Yeah, quite a piece of work.

963. In the coming days, you will hear arguments

964. on whether three men in this courtroom are guilty

965. of the crime of rape.

966. You will then be asked to decide two things—

967. the fate of the defendants

968. and more indirectly, the fate of a legal system,

969. a system that is too often circumvented and mocked

970. by those who seek to escape the weight of justice.

971. A system which can be used by the defense

972. to put a woman, violated against her will,

973. on trial for anything ranging from how she was dressed

974. to why she was in a particular neighborhood.

975. It is the state's position that there are no valid reasons

976. to justify violent sexual behavior

977. against another person's will.

978. It is my job to present these facts to you in hope

979. that you will agree with the state's position.

980. It is your job to listen—

981. to listen how, through willful intimidation

982. and a moderate knowledge of the legal system,

983. these three men chose to flaunt

984. their crime of rape in the face of a woman...

985. and in the face of this system.