Law & Order (1990–2010): Season 1, Episode 14 - The Violence of Summer - full transcript

Narrator:. In the criminal justice
system, the people are represented

by two separate yet
equally important groups-

the police
who investigate crime,

and the district attorneys
who prosecute the offenders.

These are their stories.

Paul!

I had your office try you
at home this morning.

You're still asking
for a severance.

Yeah. Almost not, given the number of
threats my client received this weekend.

Diane, we prepped him for this. He
wavers now, we're back where we started.

He's a kid- just the sight
of these two will freeze him.



That's their right.
To intimidate him?

we requested separate
transport vans.

Hopefully this thing'll
be short and sweet.

Bailiff:
Docket number 9357.

Motion to sever
defendant Ryan M. Cutrona

from co-defendants

Howard S. Metzler
and Steven B. Hanauer.

why is there a motion to sever
in a gang rape case now.

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

The more motions
filed on this case,

the more press attention
it seems to get.

Due to an overwhelming amount
of evidence against his co-defendants-

what evidence? He's lying.
He's got nothing.

He wants to save
his own ass.



Judge: Order! Don't be
stupid, okay? Don't be dead.

Order.

we know what you did.

Okay, you hear me, Ryan?
Judge: Counsel!

Judge: I'll have your client detained!

Look at me!
Do you hear me?

Huh? You hear me?!

I want you to know exactly-!

wait, Ryan, don't-

Guard: Get down, get down!

Face to the floor!
Do it!

Because I can't even get him to sit in a damn
chair, much less listen to anything I have to say.

A severance is not going to do
your client much good

if he's facing
the exact same charges.

Oh, for crying-
the kid's terrified.

I offered to lower the charges
if he gave me pertinent information.

Okay, so where do we stand?

I can prosecute either way,
with or without him,

but I'd have to guess
from what happened in court

that he's got something of value.

I'd rather have the truth than not.

Yeah.
So let's set it up.

we'll take a run at him.

Logan: Howard, how long
did you follow her for?

A couple blocks.

Did anybody talk about it
while you followed her?

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

Why? Did you talk
about it before?

Yeah.

Ryan said he wanted to.

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

he'd back off, get scared.

That's not true.

Logan: Did you touch
Ms. DeVries at all?

Lawyer:.
We're clear on that issue, Detective.

My client stated
that he only watched.

Logan: Did you want to touch her?

Ryan's the one who got off.

Hanauer's is worse.

He says you begged him
to help you do someone.

Says they even had
to stop you during the attack.

I don't want to see it.

It's just more lies.

why don't you
fill us in?

I can't.

Ryan, whatever you're holding back
must be damning enough to scare them.

They're counting on your fear
to protect themselves.

I'll take
a lie detector test-

and prove that
I didn't do anything.

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

Ryan, you're accused
of raping a woman.

I'm 17.

I don't have a record.
You'll be tried as an adult.

Any jury that sees those tapes

will send you up for a lot more time
than your buddies'll do.

You know he didn't
run point on this.

I can't prosecute
on instincts.

She had bruises
on her wrists and ankles.

How many hands do you
think my client has?

Interesting defense.
You plan to out-prosecute me?

where are you going
to take this?

I can only work
with what I have on hand,

and if your client plans to...

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

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

DNA tests on the semen samples
are due in this afternoon.

we'll talk
with you then.

Because it's a game to these kids,
and I'm sure they were the driving force.

The Cutrona kid's holding something-
I have no idea what it is.

Nothing out of the transcripts
from the victim?

Her recollection
has been shaky at best.

She's pretty much repressed
the whole event.

She's what,
a reporter?

Reporter?
She does exploitive crap!

All sizzle and no steak.

Where is that coming from?

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

I want to put away
the scum that raped her,

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

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

Tough case without her
on the stand.

I wish that were
my only concern.

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

we've got enough with the tapes
and maybe the circumstantial

to put someone away-
probably the wrong kid.

which means that Metzler's
and Hanauer's people

will ask to be severed
from the Cutrona kid

because
he'll take the fall,

then they get suspended
or greatly reduced.

Or maybe nothing.

No match
on the semen sample.

On any of them?

That could solve our entire dilemma.
we may be dead in the water.

Possibly
another assailant?

Never mentioned
by the others.

She was foggy the first few days on the
numbers, but since said it was three.

what about a boyfriend?
I'll check.

Just a minute-

did she state whether there
was penetration during the rape?

She's repressed it.

Rape kit findings at the hospital
indicate there was.

If there was no discharge
during the rape,

could be a boyfriend-
previous night, that morning.

well, find out.

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

Logan: Paul!

we're thinking
of requisitioning you

a flak jacket
for your birthday.

Yeah, it's all over
the precinct.

Last I heard he- what,
single-handedly disarmed the kid?

Crushed the gun
with his bare hands.

Monica DeVries
have a boyfriend?

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

Howwas she in the line-up?

what do you mean?

Her confidence.

Not good, she wasn't
clear. And the perps?

The young kid was i
a giveaway, nervous.

He'd never been in a line-up.

Is this thing unraveling?

There's no DNA match
on the semen samples.

Come on, that's crap! They bragged
about it all over the neighborhood.

we got their confession
on tape!

Conflicting.

Yeah...

still.

So there's no match
- that doesn't mean she wasn't raped.

what are you gonna do?

Hope she slept with someone
before the attack.

Four in the last
half hour.

Press thinks the case
may be slipping away.

How do you think they'd react
if they sensed an opportunity

to publicly fry
one of their own?

Meaning what?

Advance copy
of tomorrow's "Ledger. "

This backed up? They
know she's got a record.

A five-year-old bust.
She was there to research a story.

Can't we counter with a statement?

Like what?
"Everybody past fifth grade

should understand relevance"?

Reasonable doubt in the mind of a jury,
the defense'll run with it.

One drug arrest
five years ago.

It's like another lifetime. But
now, because it's j on page six,

I can be raped
without penalty.

It's not a question
of abstract application

of the law, Ms. DeVries,
it's perception.

We're dealing with the collective minds
and morals of a jury.

Often, it's just a question
of cause and effect.

what was she doing down there?
why was she dressed like that?

And what's her background?
Jurors are not computers,

these things do have
an impact on them.

Maybe they'd like
to check between my toes

for needle marks before they rule.

I'll pass.

I've already been bent over once.

Unfortunately, we can no longer
prosecute without you on the stand.

You told me you had no problem
with me being off the stand,

that the drug arrest
might cloud the issue.

In a perfect world it would,
but your friends in the fourth estate

have taken that choice
out of our hands.

Plus... we didn't get
a match on the DNA tests.

what?! Do you have a boyfriend?

Someone you might have
slept with before the attack?

what the hell does that matter?
Does that mean I wasn't raped?

The defense'll probably
ask for a blood sample.

From every guy they think
I might have had sex with?

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

but you're a reporter,
try processing the facts.

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

Do you want these people who
violated you to walk uncontested?

No one in this room
has the ability

to redesign
the entire railroad.

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

Make my peers really happy.

Give them a lot to write about.

You think this is
enough newsprint

dedicated to one
rape investigation?

Everything but my name-
how polite of them.

There's enough newsprint
that if you don't testify,

you're sending a dangerous
message to the women of this city-

that a rape victim's chances
forjustice are so slim,

she might as well
not even press charges.

You are a public figure.
People do watch what you do.

It's difficult for any woman.

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

Testifying might be
the only way to counter this.

"The Post," "The Times,"

everything to "Vanity Fair. "

She's right-
everybody's taken a shot.

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

so the description
does just as much damage.

who provided
the most coverage?

"Post. "

You know anyone
over there?

One or two people, why?

we need as much background
on her as possible.

You think
she's still using?

If she is, I'd like to know
before the rest of the world does.

Thank you.

Lunch?
Thanks a lot.

Look, the bottom line is,

nobody's gone too far.

Every news source in town
has practically ID'd her.

No more than any other
rape victim.

"well-known investigative
reporter for local TV

whose oft-criticized style of
sensational and exploitive coverage-"

Listen, man,
she's a local minor celebrity,

people want
to follow the case.

The need to read drives the press to
print speculations like a drug habit?

Can I put it this way?
Nobody I know

is afraid of
a civil suit for libel.

She says she's clean.

Plus, I talked to her producers-
they verified the assignment.

Her producers?
what are they going to say?

She's a commodity, man.
You think they're going to burn her?

But her peers will?

Her peers?

Maybe her peers think
she got what she deserved.

why? Because they think she was buying
or because they think she's a bitch?

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

but if you listen
to what the hallway rumors are,

that's what she was down there for.

Stone: How many assailants
were there, Ms. DeVries?

There were three.
And did all three of these men

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

I think so.
You originally told police

there may have been as many
as five assailants, is that not true?

I was confused
- The hospital reports that you were traumatized,

and suffering from trauma-induced
amnesia, is that correct?

Yes, that's right.
Yet you remember now?

Yes! You remember the
day and the time of day?

Howwarm it was? So warm you
wanted to take your jacket off.

You remember the stoop
that they forced you under,

screaming for help,
and begging for mercy?

Yes, that's right. Yet you cannot remember
how many men tried to have sex with you?!

That's not the same thing!

Did any of these men
try have sex with you?

Yes, damn it! Then will you
submit to a drug test, Ms. DeVries?

what the hell is going on?

At that point, I'd jump up
and yell objection.

And then what would happen?

I'd argue relevance,

the defense would state that
you were there to buy drugs,

or already under
the influence of them.

Thus your recall-

or your actions-

were radically different
from what we're stating.

And you would say?

I don't know.

why don't you tell me?

word has it, your habit is not
as old as you'd like to think.

I was not high.

Okay,
that's a start.

were you there
to buy drugs?

I was raped.

what the hell difference does it make
why I was down there?

It doesn't.

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

You are not on trial.

But I cannot
prosecute effectively

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

I asked them
if they had any coke for sale.

Them-
the boys who raped you?

It was for the story.

To check on availability.

Hurts us that she
initiated contact.

The defense'll state
it could have been a come on.

That's beatable
if the jury buys

that her request
for coke was research.

Do you?
No-

but I don't have
any choice.

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

Her recollection
on a lot of the details

did feel...
co-mingled.

Could have been
culled from the papers.

Yeah, too good on some,
non-existent on others.

She remembered she scratched
someone, that her actual memory?

"I remember...

clawing at a sweaty face. "

Police report does not list
scratches on any of the accused,

and there was no tissue
under her fingernails.

And "The Post" and another paper
both describe that in portrayal pieces.

She hadn't talked
to any reporters.

They took license,
did not present as fact,

and she latched onto that.

Do you think it was
a conscious attempt?

My best guess, no.

I'd say she's
filling in the blanks,

and what better source
than news accounts?

It makes her a liability
on the stand.

which means we better find out
one way or the other.

At this point, she had no
recollection of the event at all?

She knewwhat had happened to her,
but only because she had been told.

And she was still in physical pain.

Any rule of thumb on how
much usually comes back?

It differs case to case.

Best hope scenario.

Usually the mind
will only go so far.

It'll fill in the areas
of information

around the assault,
but it won't go

all the way back
into the pain.

Thanks.

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

I don't know.

The public hears
dismissal,

they think the case
has been dropped.

we'll be editorialized
from hell to breakfast.

I'll re-file as soon
as something breaks.

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

The press hears dismissal,

that's it.

Then you tell me
what to do.

The judicial calendar has
already been announced.

who did you draw?.
Scanlon.

Tough on rape,
could have done worse.

Adam, she had
poor recall

in the mock cross,
and her own doctor

doubts the details
have returned.

That, combined with
the drug use rumor.

The fact that she
asked about coke,

whether it was research or not,
puts her in a pretty negative light.

what about the gun charge
on Metzler?

Criminal possession, third
degree, he never even fired it.

He had intent but, with three court
officers wrestling for control-

That's an "E" felony.
would you rather let him walk?

It's his first offense.

They'll plead to a
class "A" misdemeanor,

he'll walk and then we'll
really look desperate.

whew!
We'll hold it.

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

All right, you just
do me the favor,

and you go as fast
as you can to re-open.

we'll get Greevey and Logan
back on the investigation.

They'll find evidence to
open up the Cutrona kid.

It lies with him.

Somebody's gotta talk
to Monica DeVries.

Stone:
We go into trial now and we lose,

we cannot go
after them again ever.

You asked me what
I thought the odds were,

I'm giving you
a fair assessment.

It'll be swept
into some pending file.

Robinette: Monica, we're
not dropping the case.

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

Hopefully we can go in
with more substantive evidence.

what more could you possibly need?
They've confessed!

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

I agreed, for God's sake.

You don't remember.

what?

You don't remember
the events.

Your mind has picked up on a mixture of
facts and speculation from the news media

and blended them together
into something that you believe.

But if I put you on the stand,

any defense attorney in this city

will blow enough holes
in that case to bury us.

what matters
is that they did it.

Yes, that matters.

But the three of us
knowing that in this room

is not a substitute for proof.

And I do intend to prove
that you were raped by these suspects.

Bailiff:
Docket number 9357,

motion to dismiss

in People versus
Howard S. Metzler,

Steven B. Hanauer,

Ryan M. Cutrona.

Mr. Robinette.

Your Honor, with respect
to the People's motion,

I'd like to reiterate the State's intention
to reopen this case

on such a date when
further evidence is obtained.

Otherwise, the People's position
is clearly stated

in the papers filed earlier.

Your comments are so noted,
Mr. Robinette.

Case number 9357
is dismissed.

Defendants are free to go.

I'd just like
to get this case

back up and running
as quickly as possible.

If it sits, we run the risk
of it collapsing completely,

and this case
is not un-winnable.

wait a minute, we gave
you enough to prosecute.

we're not the ones
who blew this thing.

This is not an assessment of blame. It's
a petition to put the case back together.

we've got a victim
who's co-mingling fact and fiction,

and a defendant who's holding
back relevant information.

So how do we get the truth?

You made the motion
to dismiss...

you got any ideas?

No, I don't have any ideas!
That's why I'm here!

All right, fellas, could we please
hold this down to a dull head stomp?

we're thin.

It's obvious they're
holding something back.

If we weren't confident you could provide
that something for us,

we would've taken
our shots with the jury.

As for suggestions,
I don't have any ideas.

We weren't able
to leverage Hanauer,

or Metzler, and the younger kid
is not forthcoming.

And he's not going to give it up
now that the case has been dismissed.

But...

if you guys
can find a back door...

well, maybe we press
the two older kids-

work some kind
of a play on them.

we'll backtrack
through our notes,

see what pops up.

All right, three weeks,

that's all I can afford
with their caseload.

Thanks.

Personal effects,
Monica DeVries.

She never picked them up.

Never will, either.
Reminds her too much.

I can't say
as I blame her.

Mind if I borrow this?

Oh, no, Paul.
we have our own.

All right.

They stopped here around
3:50 in the afternoon.

They forced her
down under that stoop.

General disagreement
on who said what,

blouse was ripped off,

jacket pulled up
to hold her arms until it rips.

Slight shoulder dislocation
during struggle.

The- well,

now we get into
a big discrepancy

as to who was
actually on top of her.

ER report-

multiple attackers.

How many of these buildings
did we canvas?

we canvassed
both sides-

whole block,
came up with nothing.

No witnesses,
just a lot of listeners.

It's the post
Kitty Genovese era.

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

This building
and the one next to it,

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

Yeah, 1 B,
right here.

Fifth, sixth
and 11th.

Left notes each time.
Upstairs, same thing.

Good a place as any.

It's about the rape
that happened out front.

woman:
I was gone.

Upstate at my sister's.

Did you hear anything from any
of the neighbors about that day?

You still
haven't caught them?

Logan: Hey, Max,
let me get in here.

Yes, ma'am, we have.
we're just following up.

we're wondering, did you
hear anything since then?

Talk, rumors?

I don't go out.

This is as far out
in the world as I go

without my son.

You better believe
I wasn't at home.

20 hours of labor.

Besides, I called.
I left a message at the number you left.

we never got it.

what a surprise. Ms. Varella,
was there any talk in the building

about what people
heard or saw?.

Yeah, there were more people here in one
weekend than I've talked to in two years.

How come you
only arrested three?

why? Do you think
there was more?

The guy down in "C," Silva,

heard the whole thing.
Said it was six or seven?

well... wasn't it?

I heard the case
was dismissed.

That doesn't mean
it's closed.

Did you hear
the rape, Mr. Silva?

Most of it.

Although I wasn't sure
what was going on.

I mean...

this street.

Didn't we talk to you?
we got a statement down from you.

I said that I was gone.

I was...
going through something

with a friend of mine.

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

You didn't call 911
during the attack?

I wasn't sure at first.

Uh...

I know
I was wrong not to.

These kids
live around here.

You know how much bashing goes on
on this block?

Besides...

I heard you were
making arrests, so...

How many people
did you hear?

I thought
I might have heard...

five.

I, uh- I-I-

I guess I might
have heard three.

I tell you, it's more of a mess now
than it was two months ago.

People don't knowwhat they heard,
what they saw, what they didn't see,

what they heard on the news, what they
heard on the street, in the newspapers.

Maybe we'll get a guy
down here with a gold watch,

hypnotizes the whole
neighborhood?

what?

why don't we take a
legitimate shot with the vic?

Come on, Mike,
It's a weak case as is.

You know how the courts stand
on that. Hit and miss at best.

No, no, no. I'm not saying we provide
them with hypnotically-induced testimony,

No, we'll use it
for investigation only.

Talk to the DA.

Robinette:
They don't always toss it,

but they have been uneven
in accepting aided testimony.

I know that.
That's not what we're asking.

Look, we're up against
a wall here.

I don't want
to put her under,

have a new investigatory
line pop,

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

It's a good idea- try it,
but if anything new

surfaces during the session,
we've got to link it

to something substantive
down the line.

As testimony,
I'd rather not use it at all,

unless it's extremely
compelling.

we'll let you know.

we got bad news.

It's the tox report.

She left a brush and some other
effects with the police after the rape.

The hair tested positive, but-

we can probably counter it.

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

Paul, you made
a serious mistake here.

You ordered a lab test
on what basis?

It's for our knowledge only.

I don't want
to prosecute her on it.

what about her right to privacy?

wait a minute.

This is one of your
biggest concerns.

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

That is over the line.

You mean to tell me
it's more important

that we maintain some myth
of blind justice,

walk into court
and get our butts kicked?

You'd rather not know.

Not if it means circumventing
a basic guaranteed right of the people.

what about
the Supreme Court's stand

on blind drug testing
- mandatory in certain job classifications?

Not mandatory
when you're raped.

Monica: "... It's a party,
" and they started to laugh.

Doctor:. When they ask
where you were going,

do you look
at their faces?

Monica:
I think if I look right at them,

they'll stop harassing me.

What do their faces
look like?

They're young.

Late teens,

early 20s.

The youngest
looks frightened.

The others
are bigger.

They seem older.

which one is the most...

intimidating?

The oldest.

He doesn't have
any life in his eyes.

I know he's
the most dangerous.

He doesn't care
that I'm afraid.

He's not excited by it-

not like the other three.

They're there for him.

Monica, let's back up
for a second.

when you were
describing the boys,

did you mean to describe
three or four to me?

Four.

Are you sure?

You're sure?

Yes.

Now I'm going to ask you

to relax even further.

Remember,

these are only memories.

They cannot hurt you.

This fourth boy,
who is the oldest,

focus in on him,

and tell me
about his face.

Gaunt.

Drawn.

Looks that-

might once have been
good-looking.

He has green eyes.

He has a scar
over his right eye.

His skin is pale.

His hair looks unwashed.

Did you, at any time
during the attack,

hear his name used?

Tim.

we know there was
a fourth guy.

we know he committed
the majority of the rape.

we got his first name.
I say we use it against the other three.

One of them's
bound to collapse.

It would only tip our hand.

Something in here
has got to lead to him.

She told us
who did what,

who held her,
who performed what acts,

the fact that he tried to get her
to fellate him,

the threats
to slash her face.

we got everything we need
except the fourth guy.

we pick him up, we get a blood
test to match on the semen sample,

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

Fine, let's go pick him up.
His name's Tim.

Come on, Max, you know
what the hell I'm talking about.

All right, you want
to make a move?

Let's check
the stoop for glass.

what?!

She remembered them
breaking a bottle,

threatening to slash
her face, right?

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

when's the last time
you swept under your stoop?

Ugh, this is
making me nauseous.

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

I was thinking of puking
just to improve the smell.

Oop, more glass!

Okay, send it up.

Remind me never
to eat at your house.

They're perfectly good tongs,
you think I'm going to throw them away?

You got a couple of partials,

third and fourth fingerprints
on one of the fragments,

I think it's a bottleneck.

Run a crosscheck on every set
we got, first name Tim, Timothy-

do all the "T's"
just to be safe.

It's going
to take some time.

Hey, do I look
like I'm in a hurry?

Timothy Pruiting!

Three assaults, two narco pops,
one sale weight,

partial matches on
middle and ring finger.

Great. It's not enough-
they're only partial matches.

There's at least 35 other
possible match ups here.

Logan: He lives two
blocks from the scene.

He's been popped for dealing.

Narcotics says Metzler and Hanauer
have been running for him for months!

Fine.
The prints place him at the scene,

not the time, of the attack.

we pop him,
he'll match on the DNA.

And what if he doesn't? There's no sex
offenses here. what do we hold him on?

I don't know.
This guy fits.

Tulli down in narcotics
says he'd gut his mother for a nickel.

The Cutrona kid's
probably scared to death.

Look, guys,

do I have to speak
slowly here?

Yes, I think he's our guy.

Yes, I would like
to pop him,

but this thing has been
dismissed once already.

we cannot go off half-cocked.
we need more.

Like what?

Like... testimony
from the Cutrona kid.

A statement, anything.

we'll give him a run.

Good, Mike, because...

I don't think he's gonna come
waltzing in here on his own!

Logan:
we know he was there.

we need you to testify
against him.

You do that, the DA will reduce
the rape charges against you.

How far?
You'd have to talk to Stone,

but he assured me...
no time.

what about working
for Pruiting?

You're not up
on the drug charges.

The hope is you
clean that up by yourself.

He said he'd kill me.

Max:
You let us worry about that.

The truth is,
he's a punk.

He's not going
to last long in prison.

You'd be the least
of his problems.

He'll testify.

Police, Mr. Pruiting.
You're under arrest-

Hold it!

Get off of me, man! You're
charged with rape and assault.

You have the right
to remain silent- Freeze!

Those little bastards
ratted on me, man.

I'm not going down alone!

You hear me!
You think I'm lying?

Those little jerks
were with me when we did it.

I want those little humps!
Put something on.

Little punks'll say whatever you
want to hear! Logan: Yeah, yeah.

what the hell's
going on?

when was he Mirandized
at the bust?

Hey, that's crap if he's saying
he wasn't Mirandized.

I read 'em as
we were taking him out.

After he made
the statements.

Are you gonna
tell us about our day?

Sounds like spontaneous
declaration to me.

Fine, it'll fall into "For what
it's worth," and I'll bury it.

I'll be with my client. Let's
not have this take all day.

Look,

I started during
his statements.

The guy was screaming like crazy,
then the girl made a move.

I re-read them after everything
calmed down.

Hey, this guy was
out of his mind high,

he was blurting things out
left and right.

It doesn't matter.
I'll make it admissible.

Taggert'll take the wind out of it.

The statements may be
too vague to help us anyway.

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

Because we have
a problem.

Oh?

You can't subpoena
blood samples

if you have nothing
to match it against.

Forensics seems to have...

misplaced the rape samples.

what?!

This is unbelievable.

They're continuing to look,
but my guess is

some idiot saw the paperwork come through
on the dismissal and out they went.

That's incredible.

which leaves us
with not much.

what do you want to do?

Stone: That's what
we're here to decide.

I can't justify
much longer

detaining Pruiting
to his lawyers.

Even with the Cutrona
kid's statement?

That's an uncorroborated
statement

from an accomplice.

we need something
to back that up with.

How long can you
justify holding him?

Duck a couple of phone calls
from his attorney.

After that...

After that,
you lose the paperwork.

Max, what is this?

Last shot- get Metzler
and Hanauer to roll.

we got no leverage-
what the hell is going on?

Max, no deals.
I want the other two as much as Pruiting.

Max: Look at those mooks,
still selling crack.

Gentlemen.

If this is a roust,
you've got no cause.

You think we
need cause, ant brain?

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

Hey, Mike.
Come on.

No roust, no charges,
no interrogation.

You just come in,
make some statements,

we listen-
Listen to what?

Your version
of what happened.

Since Tim Pruiting's
been in all day screaming

that he didn't rape
Monica DeVries. what?

He says
it was you guys.

You're full of it.

watch your mouth.

You think I pulled
that name out of thin air?

You want me
to describe his place?

In fact, we can drop by. I'll show you
what a mess we made during the bust.

Is he saying we did her?
That's a load.

Hey, you don't
have to convince us,

we know he did her...

but we gotta
pop somebody for it.

It's bull!

You want us to roll.

we already
arrested him, genius.

we don't need you
to incriminate him.

So we're not
under arrest?

Absolutely not.

Unless...

he convinces us
that he's right.

It can't be
used against us?

That's the deal.

Tell you what.

I'll make it really easy.

I'll call Legal Aid.

They'll set up a room.

You come in, in and out,

no hanging around.
Give me a quarter.

what?
Give me a quarter.

what are you doing?

Huh?

Hey, that's great, Max. Nowwe
got even more unusable statements.

Think so?
Who you calling?

Marie.

Think they have a reasonable
expectation of privacy right now.

Hi, honey, it's me.

I'll probably be
late tonight.

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

Stone's going to blow
a fuse over this

and Cragen'll strap us
to our desks forever.

wrong, Detective.

They are not under arrest.

Oooh.

Hanauer's voice:
Because if he is, I'm not taking the fall,

and neither should you.
We didn't do her. He got off on it.

Metzler:. What's all this crap
about keeping our mouth's shut?

He tells us
they got no evidence

'cause he's the only one
who'll match the load,

and he gets picked up
and rolls? Screw him!

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

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

but we 're not riding down
for Pruiting.

All right,
so it's damning.

Do I have to
run a list here, Stone?

M iranda, Bartolameo,
the Supreme Court's Minnick decision.

The whole thing's
illegally obtained.

They were both
represented by counsel.

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

There were no charges pending. There
was no accusatory instrument pending,

no outstanding indictment.
You know as well as I do

that Minnick provides
nothing new in New York.

what about their privacy?

The court's stance on the expectation
of privacy is fairly clear.

Please! They were
sitting in a cop car.

with the doors wide open,
in the middle of the day, in a city street.

You think there's a greater expectation
of privacy there than on a cordless phone?

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

It's debatable.

That's not debatable,
that's precedent.

And that's what
I'm going into court with.

You did good work.

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

I can't be sure of anything,
but I do knowwhat I believe in,

and I believe you didn't
violate the system.

want to re-arrest
Hanauer and Metzler?

Absolutely. No bargains.
The charge is rape.

we'll let their defense attorneys
figure out if they want to sever or not.

I'm sure they know
the procedure by now.

what do you want to do
with the Cutrona kid?

Him we need. Paul's going to
bring him in for a statement.

I can use that
instead of the DNA match.

well, our boy Pruiting

just tried to sell everyone he knows
during booking-

crack dealers, peepers-

all in the hopes
of landing a deal.

Hell of a guy.

Quite a piece of work.

In the coming days, you will hear
arguments on whether three men

in this courtroom are guilty
of the crime of rape.

You will then be asked
to decide two things:

the fate of the defendants,

and more indirectly
the fate of a legal system.

A system that is
too often circumvented and mocked

by those who seek
to escape the weight of justice.

A system which can be used
by the defense

to put a woman,
violated against her will,

on trial...

for anything ranging
from how she was dressed

to why she was
in a particular neighborhood.

It is the State's position

that there are
no valid reasons to justify

violent sexual behavior
against another person's will.

It is my job to present
these facts to you

and hope that you will agree
with the State's position.

It is your job to listen-

to listen how,
through willful intimidation,

and a moderate knowledge
of the legal system,

these three men

chose to flaunt
their crime of rape

in the face of a woman-

and in the face
of this system.