Law & Order (1990–2010): Season 3, Episode 19 - Virus - full transcript

A computer virus creates a malfunction at a Diabetes clinic which results in the deaths of two patients. Detectives tie the virus to a teenage hacker, whose father unsuccessfully accused the clinic of malpractice.

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.

I thought I was being a good boy

with the huffing
and the puffing,

bowl of soup for
lunch. And then, bing!

The scale goes up to 208 pounds.

I told Lori, "That's
it. Don't bake me

no more cookies, no more cakes."



When a woman cooks for
you, that's an expression of love.

It's an expression of
she's trying to kill me.

Mr. Henninger.

Mr. Henninger. Huh?

Time for a sugar count.

Yeah, yeah.

Huh. I bet you like this part.

How did you guess?

My...

Yeah.

Hey, how about some night

you let Nurse Lopez take over?

Uh-huh.

'Cause you guys



would never let
her out of here alive.

96. You're okay, Mr. Henninger.

Sweet dreams.

Mr. Norman?

Mr. Norman?

Damn.

Dr. Morris, code
blue in Room 440.

Rodriguez!

Hypoglycemic
shock. Glucose, stat.

We got a hypoglycemic
shock in here,

and a flat-liner in Room 6.

Uh, 50 percent glucose solution.

Do it. Shoot it!

All right, clear.

Dr. Morris, code
blue in 412 and 304.

Code blue, 412 and 304.

Oh, baby, this one's still warm.

You hear it? It's
saying, "Eat me, eat me."

Come on, Profaci,
just give me a bagel.

No, no, no, no, I froze
my butt off getting these.

You want it, you earn it.

All right, all right. Catch
the call, you get the bagel.

Logan, Homicide.
Yeah, hold on a second.

Okay, go.

Uh-huh. Could you give
me your name, please?

Yeah, I got that.
Hogan-Hayes Clinic.

Could you give me
your name... Hello?

Lennie, you got the 60 sheets?

There's nothing in here.

Nothing what?

The guy says he works
for Hogan-Hayes Clinic.

According to him,

six patients were
killed last night.

You sure he didn't
call from Waco?

Could be a nut.

Could be the
last guy in the city

with a conscience.

Could be you should start paying

for your own damn bagels.

Doesn't take a brain
surgeon to figure it out.

We're a diabetic hospital.

Diabetes kills. People die.

Six in one night.
That doesn't say much

for your healing touch, Doc.

We didn't have six deaths.

Where did you hear six?

What does it matter where?

How many was it?

Two. From hypoglycemic shock.

Low blood sugar.

Isn't your staff

trained to watch out for that?

We had our hands full.

Six code blues in one hour.

Three are still in a
coma, one's recovered.

Well, then our information
wasn't so far off.

We'd like to see your
patients' medical records.

Not without the
families' approval.

All right. Then we'll start
with your admission records.

That's not privileged, is it?

I don't know what's so unusual.

Diabetes kills more
people than AIDS.

Could I have the names
of the two that died, please?

Daley, Claire,
and Stuart, Arthur.

Claire Daley was
admitted yesterday morning.

Yeah. She, uh, she
wasn't in good shape.

You file a report

with the Medical
Examiner's office?

If a patient dies within
24 hours of admission,

you're required by law to
file a report with the ME.

She was a couple of hours short.

What's the big deal?

The deal is, Doc,
Mrs. Daley's remains

are evidence in a
homicide investigation

and are subject to an autopsy.

At the time of death,

Claire Daley's blood
sugar was 9 mg per dl.

I've never seen
a reading that low.

The normal range for
a diabetic is 80 to 180.

Yeah, but the hospital said

she was in bad shape
when they admitted her.

Two hours before she died,

they measured her
blood sugar at 320.

Insulin should have
brought it down to normal.

Instead it nose-dived,

and she went into
hypoglycemic shock.

Is there any reason for that?

Lots of reasons.

Too much insulin,

or the insulin was contaminated,

or her blood sugar
readings were off.

Dealer's choice.

My cards add up to a fat payday

for some malpractice lawyer.

Or maybe someone's dealing
from the bottom of the deck.

Listen, two deaths, three comas,

all from hypoglycemia.

Out of a total of 97 patients,

doesn't that seem a
little high for one night?

Seems high, even for
the island of Manhattan

unless these people

were knocking on
heaven's door to begin with.

You got a tumor, you
go to Sloan-Kettering.

You got high blood sugar,

you go to the
Hogan-Hayes Clinic.

My father was
on their waiting list

for six months.

A man can lose a lot of ground

in six months.

He developed
problems with his eyes,

his feet.

He scalded his
foot taking a bath.

He didn't even feel it.

He was scared.

See, this thing
runs in families.

He watched his own father
have his leg amputated.

How was he once he got to Hogan?

His blood sugar stabilized.

Everything was supposed
to be under control.

What did they say
was the cause of death?

Heart failure, because
of low blood sugar.

I don't really get it.

I talked to him that morning.

He sounded fine.

He was only 54.

Martha was only
diagnosed a year ago.

Her blood sugar
wasn't even that high.

No offence, Mr. Kendall,

but healthy people
don't end up at Hogan.

She only went in

for their maintenance program.

Huh. Diabetes
101, she called it.

You know, nutrition, exercise.

She was supposed to
come home tomorrow.

Instead she ended
up in a damn coma.

They should all end up in jail.

Mr. Kendall,

what did they tell you happened?

Ah, something about
low blood sugar,

but they don't know.
They screwed up.

They took a lovely,
vibrant woman,

and they turned her
into a... I don't think

that's what they
had in mind for her.

Well, now what do you
mean, "screwed up"?

Did she get her shots on time?

Four times a day,
once at bedtime.

They said they

ran a... a blood test
before each shot.

But you never know
with these doctors.

I gotta get back
to the hospital.

These people were
fine until they traded in

their civvies for a gown
at the Hogan Clinic.

Well, that's why God
created malpractice lawyers.

I'm sorry, I don't
see a crime here.

The ME sees more
than coincidence.

Listen, Don, our informant said

these people were killed.

Really? Well,
next time he calls,

would you tell him
to say hi to Elvis?

Come on, fellas, I
look in here, I see

people getting
treatment, insulin shots.

And the more insulin you get,

the lower your blood sugar goes.

Too much insulin,

you end up a permanent guest

in the Sunny von
Bulow Rest Home.

Okay, see if you can find out
who was holding the needles.

I've been giving
injections for 20 years.

As far as mistakes
go, I'm zero for 50,000.

You don't mind if we
check your stats, do you?

Go ahead.

Our review committee's
already looked at them.

On the night she died,

you gave Claire Daley
twice the amount of insulin

she normally received.

It's the same story
with Arthur Stuart,

Martha Kendall,
and the other three.

If their glucose is twice
to three times normal,

the procedure is to
give them more insulin.

Well, if their blood
sugar levels were so high,

weren't you concerned?

With diabetics, if they
sneak in a doughnut,

their blood sugar
goes through the roof.

It's a normal fluctuation.

As a safeguard, the night nurses

check their glucose
during the night.

Do they run the blood
through the machine again?

No, they perform a
bedside procedure

every couple of hours.

If it's too low, we give juice.

If it's too high,

the nurses give
them another shot.

So these nurses have
access to the insulin?

Well, of course.

It's not like there's
a street market for it.

We couldn't get the kids to bed.

Too much ice cream for dessert.

Anyway, I was late
getting to the clinic.

Not according to your timecard.

That's what friends are for.

Rodriguez was
already up on the floor

when I got there.

By himself? For how long?

Come on. He
wouldn't do anything.

He's a doctor, for God's sake.

You don't find too many doctors

emptying bedpans.

Unless their
degree is in Spanish.

New York State doesn't know

from med schools in
the Dominican Republic.

Maybe for a good reason.

He's as qualified as any
doctor I've worked for.

If it weren't for him,

we would have lost two
more patients that night.

He saved their lives.

If you see yourself
throwing touchdowns,

you're not going to be happy

warming the bench
the rest of your life.

So, what, playing
Dr. Death with a syringe

is gonna put a
smile on your face?

What about the number
one rule in arson?

The guy who finds the
fire probably set the fire.

You know, you got
some security guard,

he's sick of people
forgetting his name.

He torches the place,
and then plays the hero.

So by saving two people's lives,

maybe Nurse Rodriguez
becomes Dr. Rodriguez?

How could I do
a thing like that?

I'm not a stupid man.

How about a frustrated one?

We've looked at your
employment records.

In the past eight years,

you've changed jobs five times.

City cutbacks. I was laid off.

Maybe you thought
you were better

than the people
you were workin' for.

I'm not like that. And
this... this is all wrong.

What's wrong is six people
overdosing on your shift.

You got an explanation,
don't keep it to yourself.

Look, I don't know
what happened.

I've considered
everything and...

I mean, there's no explanation.

You were alone with
them for how long?

Five minutes. Not more.

Wait. Your shift
starts at midnight.

Sifford said he
got there at 12:30.

That leaves you 30 minutes.

I was downstairs
in the pharmacy.

Yeah, they got you signing out

3,000 units of insulin at 12:10.

Five minutes to
get to the third floor.

That still leaves
you with 15 minutes.

I don't know. I didn't
look at my watch.

You just said you were
sure it was five minutes.

I don't know.

Then it was 15
minutes, wasn't it?

Fifteen, not five!

Okay, okay, 15
minutes! You satisfied?

Hey, we're getting somewhere.

Yeah, well, forget about him.

The Hogan Clinic just called.

Three more patients just
went into hypoglycemic coma,

just like the others.

So unless this guy is using
mind control to kill people,

I suggest you make
your apologies in triplicate.

We had different
personnel on duty last night.

Unless there's a
conspiracy amongst

the... the nursing staff,

I can't see that any of
them would be involved.

Maybe it's the insulin.

If someone can spike a
bottle of headache pills...

We thought of that.

But we buy our insulin

from two different
manufacturers,

and I checked the batches myself

this morning.

What about your, uh,
blood machine, the one

that tells you how much
insulin to give them?

You looked under
the hood lately?

It's run off a computer program.

If it was miscalibrated,

then everybody's
doses would be off.

Maybe somebody's
trying to make a point

about your clinic.

My partner, Dr. Hayes,
is a top endocrinologist.

I'm an ophthalmic surgeon.

It isn't like we do
backroom abortions here.

Diabetes is a disease,
not a social issue.

And it doesn't make
sense that someone

is trying to kill innocent
people at random.

Why assume it's random?

Maybe your patients
had something in common

besides diabetes.

Anything's better

than butting our heads
against a brick wall.

I agree. Once we get the
okay from their families,

we're gonna want
to see the files

on all nine of those patients.

Six men, three women.

We checked referring doctors,

work histories.
Nothing matches up.

All of your victims

are between the
ages of 50 and 55.

Something wrong with turning 50?

Well, maybe at the
Hogan Clinic there is.

There were 19 other patients

in the same age range.
Nothin' happened to them.

Maybe it's not the
year they were born,

but the day. Check this out.

April 2, January 25, June 12

May 27, November 2, July 21,

et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

You guys notice a
lot of twos in there?

So what?

Deuces get you an
extra helping of insulin?

This, uh, blood machine,

you said it runs off
a computer, right?

My cousin, the number cruncher,

he told me that when the
IRS does a random audit,

they tell their computer
to spit people out

according to their birthdays.

So somebody programs
the blood scanner

to find patients
with this profile

and tells it to kick up
their blood sugar reading?

The blood sugar looks
higher than it really is.

They get more insulin
than they really need.

It's not like someone
could just walk in here,

tap a few keys and
reprogram the blood analyzer.

First, you'd have to create

something like a computer virus

and then somehow get it
on the machine's software.

Well, who has access
to the blood analyzer?

You're lookin' at him.

Well, ahem, back
at the precinct,

all of our computers
talk to each other.

Same story here?

Yes, every time
I run a test here,

it automatically gets
billed to the patient

on the accounting computer.

You know a lot of people
have access to that machine:

nursing stations,
pharmacy, outside suppliers.

Your suppliers can
call up the computer?

Well, nobody sends anything
through the mail anymore.

The machine has
its own phone line.

So somebody could
dial the main computer

and then work their way over
to the blood scanner machine?

Well, if someone called
in and uploaded a virus,

there would be a record.

Let's figure they called
during the off-hours,

a day before the code blues.

No.

No.

This is all routine traffic.

Wait. Here. 3:00 a.m.

Someone called in
and uploaded a file.

Five kilobytes of information.

That's not a very big
file, but that could be it.

That easy?

Well, now you have to find it.

You see, it's probably
already attached itself

to the blood scanner's program.

Um, in other words,
I'm out of my league.

I compared what you brought me

to the blood scanning program
I got from the manufacturer.

By separating
out the extra bits,

I found your virus.

Here, take a look.

I type in Lennie Briscoe.

Date of birth: January 2, 1940.

Blood sugar: 81 mg.
Watch what happens.

324 mg?

Four times the
actual blood sugar.

Four times the insulin.

Now does this thing
stay in there forever?

Well, you call in
once, drop it in,

it works till you
tell it to stop.

Whoever created this had to
be fluent in medical software.

Is there any way to trace it?

Bad news is, with
a little outside help,

any good hacker
could have done it.

Good news is,

hackers are not
programmed for their modesty.

They love to sign their work.

I translated the virus
into machine language.

Now, you see these, uh,
squiggles and happy faces?

That's what the computer reads.

See these, uh,
symbols down here?

What are those, skulls
and thunderbolts?

Not part of the normal alphabet.

Used almost exclusively by DOD.

What's that?

Oh, DOD. Department of Doom.

It's a... it's a local hackers'
gang best known for

breaking into the Sanitation
Department's computer

and shutting down
service for two days.

Probably took that long
for anybody to notice.

Now these guys have a clubhouse?

No. They, uh, they meet

on an electronic bulletin board.

A kind of a party
line for computers.

The board system operator

served four months last
year for computer trespass.

It's a computer
program. Do I get a prize?

Yeah, you get a prize.

How about 25 years

in the penitentiary
of your choice?

Somebody put this program into

a hospital's computer
and killed two people.

What makes you think we did it?

Because we passed this virus

through our secret decoder ring.

Guess whose name popped up?

Hey, now, we get 2,000
users calling in every month.

Any one of them could
have copied the DOD's code.

Did they ever call in and
ask about medical software?

Yeah, maybe.
They'd have to leave

a message on one
of the public forums.

How about you take a look?

Try "glucose."

No, nothing.

Try "blood analysis."

Here it is.

"Striker One wants
the access path

for a Blood
Analyzer, Model 203."

Who's Striker One?

It's a handle.

Let me check the user file.

No, I just have a phone number:

416 area. Toronto.

Probably not his real number.

Hackers hate paying phone bills.

Most likely he routed his call

through some company's
PBX switchboard.

I guess it's
impossible to trace him

using that number?

Not if you know
what you're doing.

Are you saying you do, Kenny?

I'm in Toronto.

Got him.

I can only get as far as
his computer mailbox.

Can you hack into his mail?

With my eyes closed.

Here's the letter.

"To striker one:
scammed two tickets

"for the Knicks
game next Saturday.

Signed, Zardoz." Dude's local.

"To Striker One:
Here are the answers

to Magee's algebra
exam. Signed, Hat Trick."

Hey, you want to guess

how many algebra
teachers named Magee

are in the five boroughs?

Things like this never happened

back when we used mimeographs.

Now the exams go on computers,

the computer shoots
out 100 copies.

Eighteen students
acing your exam.

That didn't tell you something?

It told me they
were smart enough

to hack their way into
the school computer.

Look, guys,

if they bother to
show up for class

and they're not
brandishing weapons,

I'm happy.

The kid who stole the
exam calls himself Hat Trick.

Now, you ever
notice any hockey fans

in your class?

I don't know, maybe.

I see 200 eager faces a day.

If I can put a name
to five of them,

I'm looking good.

Maybe if you could just
put a little effort into it.

Well, there is one skinny kid.

He keeps bringing
his skates into class.

I tell him it's a hazard.

He doesn't listen to me.

Tenth grade. Fourth
row, seventh seat.

Let me take a look.

Here. Andrade, Neil.

How did he do on the exam?

A-plus.

I wish people would
stick to bullets and knives.

What's the matter,
you don't like progress?

I just like it when people take

a personal interest
in their work.

Neil Andrade?

We heard you're an algebra whiz.

So what?

I didn't do anything I
gotta talk to you guys about.

Well, how about,
uh, criminal trespass,

unlawful duplication,
criminal possession?

That's three felonies
already, Hat Trick.

Like I care.

Hey, didn't you
notice? I'm a juvenile.

Well, that's great.
That'll make somebody

in the holding pen real happy.

Come on, let go!

Take it easy, Lennie.

Listen, kid, you want
to do yourself a favor?

We're looking for
a friend of yours:

Striker One.

We know you go
to school with him.

We just want to
know his real name.

John.

What? I didn't hear you.

John Cook.

John Cook live here? Yes.

Ma'am, we have a search warrant

which we're going to
execute at this time.

Where's John's room?

Uh, in the front,
through the living room...

Okay, stand aside, please.

What's going on?

Hold it, hold it.
Get away from that.

Come on, get off of me!

All right. The techs are gonna
be here in about half an hour.

I don't want anybody
to touch anything.

You got no right,
man! That stuff's mine!

We'll talk about it
at the stationhouse.

You don't know what
you're talkin' about.

We're talkin' about
the messages you left

about blood-scanning machines.

I left them?

Why don't you get a clue, man?

Anybody can use
my handle. Anybody.

John, we got three
police technicians

going through your computer.

If they find anything,

you're staring at
two counts of murder.

Now, your buddy Neil
might have tipped you off,

but my guess is you didn't
erase everything in time.

Look, John, when I was a kid,

I used to play with
a chemistry set.

One time, I nearly blew
the roof off the house.

Is that what happened
with your computer program?

It was just an
experiment, right?

I mean, it wasn't
meant to hurt anybody.

Little nose-wipe's holding up.

Why not?

We don't even have enough

to hold him for stealing
time from Ma Bell.

This was faxed from
the computer lab.

The kid's mother is
downstairs waiting.

She's on Page
two of the Riot Act.

Let them squawk.

It looks like the kid
wasn't quick enough

with the delete button.

Lohr found
fragments of the virus

still on his computer.

Little Johnny just
graduated to murder two.

Read him his rights.

I don't know a computer virus

from a case of the
whooping cough.

But I do know that
John here is a good kid.

I'm telling you, Ben,

you're making a
major-league mistake.

George, our people found

components of the
virus on his hard drive.

Don't you think if I was smart
enough to create the virus,

I would be smart
enough to erase it?

Not if you didn't
think you'd be caught.

Of course I didn't think
I'll be caught. I did nothing.

The virus appeared on
your hard drive by magic?

Yes, Counselor,
there is a tooth fairy.

Son, at the present moment,

you are looking at spending

the better part
of your life in jail

for the death of two people

that you obviously
don't give a damn about.

You don't get it, do
you, Charlie Brown?

It's called a virus
for a reason, man.

The Hogan-Hayes Clinic
thing was just the start.

This thing's gonna grow.

We're talking every
hospital on the East Coast,

maybe even the country.

I used to be DOD.

I know how crazy these guys are.

I know my son, Mr. Stone.

There is no way
he could be involved

in something like this.

Mrs. Wrenn, with
your son's attitude

and the evidence we have...

Close the statutes
for a second, Ben.

You indict him now,
you ruin a good kid's life.

If you hold off for
a couple of weeks,

John will help you
destroy the damn thing.

You'll both end
up on Ted Koppel.

I'll let you know tomorrow.

There are viruses,
worms, logic bombs.

There's even something
the hackers call

the Trojan horse.

Fancy names for
programs that command

other programs
to either shut down

or function in a way
not originally intended.

It's gotten so bad,

the FBI has an entire
floor of us working full-time.

What do you know about
this Department of Doom?

Misfit teenagers,
for the most part.

Typically, they
break into a system

just to show that
it can be done.

Kind of like a space-age
King of the Mountain.

If they're living
up to their name,

frankly, this is the
first we've heard of it.

The police checked usage details

on that 416 Bell
Canada phone number.

In the last year, John Cook made

over 2,000 phone
calls around the world.

One of those phone calls
was to the 27th Precinct,

the day after those people died

at Hogan-Hayes Clinic.

Crim Pro One: You
search, you seize,

you need a warrant.

The Fourth Amendment
protects individuals

against illegal
search by the state.

I don't think a kid at
his keyboard qualifies.

He does when two of your goons

are standing over his shoulder.

So who exactly broke
into Mr. Cook's computer?

Kenny Rinker, a member
of the Department of Doom,

a hacker club acting on his own.

And as you know,
the Constitution

does not bar individuals
from gathering evidence.

Except when he's gathering
it at the behest of the police.

Your Honor, Mr. Rinker

hacked into Mr. Cook's computer

with Detectives Briscoe
and Logan watching.

It's the same as if they

asked him to break into his room

because they
couldn't get a warrant.

He's right.

You can't end-run
the Constitution, Ben.

Anything taken from
Mr. Cook's computer

and any evidence derived
there from is excluded.

Your Honor...

That leaves the
cupboard bare, Judge.

But for the illegal search,

the state wouldn't even
have my client's name.

Mr. Cook is responsible
for two deaths, Your Honor.

Without evidence,

you're gonna have a
hell of a time proving it.

I am dismissing the charges.

Judge Pate thinks

the Constitution was
written on a laptop.

Don't like what it says,

push a button, rights
appear out of nowhere.

The crying towels are in
the closet down the hall.

We had that kid dead
to rights. Now we can't

use any of the evidence,
not even his name.

I didn't know that
the Bill of Rights

was written to
make your life easier.

What do you want us to do?

You know how these
people were killed.

Now maybe you ought to
take another look at the why.

The why? The FBI
said it was a game

with these hackers,

like climbing K2
because it's there.

There are bigger mountains
than the Hogan-Hayes Clinic.

You think that

he specifically
targeted that clinic?

If he did, you find a
motive, you work backwards.

Inevitable discovery?

We come up with Cook's
name independently...

And we convince a
judge that we would have

inevitably discovered
that he planted that virus?

And all the evidence
is admissible.

Hogan, Pruitt, M.D., P.C.

Not bad.

Only two litigations
in the past 15 years.

We settled both.

O'Meara, Sean. Colbert, Mary.

That's it?

Oh, that's all who
actually served Dr. Hogan

with complaints.

Doesn't mean all the rest
are dancing in the streets.

What, you get hurt
but are too shy to sue?

No. Their attorneys are.

I can see that you've
never sued your doctor.

Little-known statute
says along with

a complaint in a
malpractice case,

an attorney must sign
a certificate of merit

saying that after consulting
with another doctor,

he reasonably believes
the case has merit.

And if he can't find
another doctor to agree?

He signs a
certificate saying so.

But think about it.

How many PI
attorneys do you know

who would set foot in a
courtroom without backup?

So in other words,
you can't sue one doctor

unless another doctor
says he made a mistake.

So enough birds flock together,

nobody goes to court.

Could make for a
lot of angry patients.

Well, they write letters:

to the editor, their
congressman,

the guy who does the 6:00 news.

To the Manhattan
Medical Association.

People's bodies
fail. It's a fact of life.

Some people can't accept it,

they look for someone to blame.

Their physician's
at the top of the list.

How many blamed Dr. Hogan?

Well, would you like

alphabetical or chronological?

I'm telling you, most
of them are crazy.

Robert Cook?

What does this mean,
"Pending, Southern District"?

Good old Mr. Cook. He
couldn't sue his doctor,

so he's suing all of them.

He filed a complaint
against the MMA.

What was his problem
with Dr. Hogan?

Well, Mr. Cook has
diabetic retinopathy.

It's a slow deterioration
of the vision.

Part and parcel with diabetes.

Sometimes it can be controlled

with laser surgery but...

In his case, it couldn't.

No.

And, of course, he's
blaming Dr. Hogan.

Can I have a copy of this file?

Oh, sure. Here.

Cops. Lawyers.

Everybody wants Johnny in jail.

Well, thank God the
judge can see what's what.

Your son killed two people.

You can say that, but you
can't prove a damn thing.

It's frustrating, isn't it?

It's kind of like

having your eyes
butchered by some quack

and then having
the courthouse doors

slammed right in your face.

Whatever your problems
are with Dr. Hogan,

there are better
ways to resolve them

than killing innocent people.

Quid pro quo, huh?

You know, I'm enjoying this.

I have been run
through the hoops

by doctors, by lawyers,
by congressmen,

for almost six years.

And now suddenly,
you're not ducking my calls

because you need me.

Well, you can all just
pucker up, Counselor,

and get ready to
plant it right here

because I am not helping
you or anybody else

put my son Johnny in jail.

I almost felt sorry for him.

All he wanted was
his day in court.

He couldn't get even
with Hogan in court,

so his son ruins his clinic?

Someone blinded my
dad, I'd be awful mad.

It's a motive.

Well, we found
it without violating

his Fourth Amendment rights.

Call Briscoe and
Logan. They'll probably

find him getting out
of school about now.

Arrest the little creep.

Do you have children, Mr. Stone?

Then you know sometimes
they make mistakes.

Two people are dead, Mrs. Wrenn.

Did John tell you that
he planted the virus?

You have to be aware of
what he's been going through.

A lot of diabetics
lose their vision,

and their sons
don't seek revenge.

The disease isn't
contagious, Mr. Stone,

but the anger is. The obsession.

Proving Dr. Hogan
ruined his eyes

was all Robert could talk about.

He infected John.

So you don't believe that

Dr. Hogan committed malpractice?

I don't know what to believe.

You have to understand,
John idolized his father.

And lost him
because of Dr. Hogan?

The lawyer says you can't win.

Do you believe him?

Can I afford to take a chance?

Mrs. Wrenn,

without a confession,
I can't help you.

Judge Pate already excluded

the evidence once, Your Honor.

The CPL does not provide

for a second bite at the apple.

But the Supreme
Court does, Your Honor.

Since 1984 in Nix v. Williams,

tainted evidence may be admitted

if the state can prove
that the evidence

would have been discovered
by other police techniques.

And you have
evidence to that effect?

Yes, we do, Your Honor.

Through a completely
independent investigation

we discovered both the
identity of the defendant

and motive
sufficient to establish

probable cause to
search his apartment

where we would have
inevitably discovered

both his computer
and the virus therein.

Several weeks after the
commission of the crime.

Even if this alleged
virus was in fact

on my client's computer,

isn't it reasonable
to presume that

he would have erased
it during this time?

Since when is there
a constitutional right

to destroy evidence?

Your Honor, even if we assume

that the state would
have inevitably discovered

the name of my client's father,

it certainly doesn't follow

that they would
then focus on the son

who doesn't even
live with his father.

The Supreme Court
prescribes a hypothetical,

not factual, showing
of the evidence.

They have their jobs for life.

They can afford to hypothesize.

In my courtroom, we'll
deal in facts, thank you.

And I don't see

clear and convincing
evidence of any.

That is a mistake, Your Honor.

The law requires a
preponderance of the evidence...

You're out of order, Counselor.

And your search
is still illegal.

Well, what'd you expect?

Judge Fillmore's no light bulb.

I expect him to apply
the correct standard.

The Supreme Court never required

clear and convincing evidence.

Meanwhile, we're stuck with

a closet full of
evidence we can't use.

Well, we can't use
it against John Cook,

but we never violated
his father's rights.

You're saying the
father was involved?

The computer printout
of the hospital records

that we found in John's room,

the experts said that he used it

to create the virus. Mmm-hmm.

What if it is his
father's blood profile?

You think John didn't take it
directly from the clinic's computers?

And if his father
gave it to him,

it's one step in
furtherance of a conspiracy.

Only if we can
prove his father knew

why his son wanted it.

Right.

Their divorce was amicable.

Divided everything down
the middle, including John.

Joint custody?

It got rough later.

She sued Robert for violating
the custody agreement.

For keeping him too long?

Not long enough.

He stopped seeing
John altogether.

Claimed it was too big a burden.

A shrink says
separation from his father

was dangerous to John,

but Robert continued
to ignore him.

He had other things on his mind.

Forty letters to the
medical association

alone this year.

And look at this.

It's a letter from
Hogan to a Dr. Watkins

assuring him that
Cook's laser surgery

was done with all due care.

Watkins must be
one of the doctors

Cook's attorney contacted
to confirm the malpractice.

What is Cook doing
with that letter?

This is an original.

It looks like it was downloaded

directly from the
hospital's computer.

And it was
attached to this letter

Cook sent to the
Medical Association.

So this proves that
he knew his son

could break into
the clinic's computer.

You think it's enough
to convince a jury?

Yeah, a leap like that,

they'll put you in
a Nike commercial.

Adam, we know that
Cook planted the virus.

Then he should
be the one on trial,

not the father.

Only, the evidence is admissible

against the father, not the son.

It's also admissible

against everyone
else in the phone book.

Makes for a crowded
courtroom and no convictions.

The father thinks
he was blinded.

He's the one with motive.

Mmm-hmm. And rock 'n'
roll gives me a headache.

It doesn't mean I'm
part of a conspiracy

to kill John Lennon.

I'm supposed to let two
murderers go unpunished?

No, but you're supposed
to punish the right person.

The father wasn't involved...

I doubt if the son will
let the father go to prison.

I see.

You want to
prosecute the father,

the kid gets a case of
the guilts, confesses,

keeps Dad out of jail.

For years, all the son heard was

how Hogan ruined his dad's life.

If anything, I think Cook

indirectly convinced
his son to act.

Only, you cannot convict

without direct
evidence of conspiracy.

I think we have enough evidence

to implicate the father.

I don't.

Let's go to trial and
see what a jury thinks.

Huh.

People will tell you
anything over the telephone.

Call a secretary, sound like
you know what you're doing,

you get the access
number, password.

You're into the system.

Once a hacker's into the system,

is it possible to inject a virus

that would alter a
patient's glucose readings?

Sure. Although it
would be a lot easier

if he had prior knowledge
of the computer's capabilities.

Sir, I show you what is
marked People's Exhibit 3.

It is the defendant's
blood profile.

It was made by
the clinic's computer

and it was found in
the son's bedroom.

Would this facilitate the
creation of such a virus?

Yes.

And finally,

have you reviewed the
files taken from the computer

belonging to the
defendant's son, John?

Yes.

What did you find?

I found fragments
of the same virus

that infected the
clinic's computer.

Thank you.

Turning your attention
once again to People's 3,

is it possible for a hacker

who's entered the
clinic's computer

to have this document printed
from his personal machine?

Yes.

So he didn't necessarily
get it from my client?

No.

Robert Cook is an
insulin-dependent diabetic.

He entered our
clinic to try to control

the wide fluctuations
of his glucose level.

And was your program successful?

Through diet, exercise,
the regulation of his insulin,

we managed to
stabilize his condition

for the most part.

But you weren't entirely
successful, were you?

Mr. Cook suffered from
diabetic retinopathy.

That's a degenerative
loss of vision.

We tried to arrest
it with laser surgery.

And it didn't work, did it?

Well, there's no
guarantee in medicine.

His vision got worse,

but not because
of anything I did.

Although I had trouble
trying to convince him of that.

Were you aware that
he tried to sue you?

Yes, but my attorney

assured me that
it was frivolous.

Thank you.

Did Robert Cook

ever threaten you
physically, Doctor?

No.

Did he ever threaten
to destroy your clinic?

Not to my knowledge.

No more questions.

Ben, you should be
ashamed of yourself.

Proceeding with
this farce, it's comical.

The grand jury wasn't laughing.

Well, an indictment is a
far cry from a conviction.

Face it, Counselor,

you're not getting
in the back door.

Unless, of course, it
leads to the bar committee.

Carla, if I thought you...

Just save it for your confessor.

Let's talk deal right now.

He'll cop to Criminally
Negligent Homicide,

two counts,

you give him probation.

You will deal someone
you believe is innocent?

It's the flip side
of trying someone

you've gotta know
you can't convict.

Look, Ben, the old guy
wants his day in court.

Since the MMA lobby
kept him out of civil term,

he thinks you're
doing him a favor.

He insists on taking the stand.

That's his right.

He's obsessed, Ben.

I don't know what's gonna
come out of his mouth.

The jury might
get the wrong idea.

We'll see.

My attorney, his
name was Sanders,

assured me there
was enough evidence

for a malpractice suit.

So why didn't you sue Dr. Hogan?

What, you don't think I tried?

These doctors, they all
want to walk on water.

They send their
lobbyists up to Albany

to rewrite the laws of gravity.

Answer the question, Mr. Cook.

The law says you have
to have corroboration

for a malpractice suit.

Well, what's the trial for?

I mean, they all scratch
each other's backs

and St. Hogan goes
right on blinding people.

Sir,

did you give your
son your blood profile

generated by the
clinic's computer?

No.

Did you ask your son to
sabotage the computer?

No.

No more questions.

Mr. Cook, why are you so certain

that Dr. Hogan
committed malpractice?

Because I can't
drive a car anymore.

I can't dial a telephone.

I can't go into a
restaurant alone

because I can't
read the damn menu.

Are you familiar
with a Dr. Stadler?

Sure. He examined my eyes
after Hogan had ruined them.

And didn't he conclude that
there was no malpractice?

Of course he did.
What do you think?

And Dr. Beck,
Dr. Murphy, Dr. Madison,

they all conclude
the same thing, right?

But don't you see?

They're all protecting him.

And your own malpractice
attorney, Mr. Sanders?

That's right,
he's in on it, too.

It's called conspiracy.

They're all out to get you?

And you, what about you?

How much are they paying you?

Any objections, Mr. Stone?

No, that's all
right, Your Honor.

Sure, it's all right.

I mean, what could be wrong?

The great Dr. Hogan

can still double-park
his Mercedes

in front of Lutece

while he goes in
for his rack of lamb.

The lawyers can still discuss

their non-refundable retainers

on the 18th green.

I mean, what could
be wrong about that?

It's all right.

Except that I
can't see anything!

Is that all right?

No more questions, Your Honor.

Hell of a show. The jury thinks

he's crazy enough
to have done it.

Yeah, three years of
doors slamming in his face

loosened some screws,

but it still doesn't mean
he conspired with his son.

I'm a prosecutor, Adam.

I present the evidence,

the jury will draw any
inference they like.

What are you, an
innocent bystander?

I don't want the wrong man

spending 25 years
in grey pajamas

because the jury

confused obsession with guilt.

You called the squeeze,
you see it through.

So how does it feel?

The whole thing's
out in the open.

You're here as a courtesy, sir.

Look, if you think I'm gonna say

Dad was in on this, you're nuts.

The jury saw the
same thing you did, son.

The truth.

If we go back in that courtroom,

your father will
not be coming out.

You just keep your
mouth shut, John.

They can't touch you.

Go ahead, tell him.

I'm your attorney, Robert.

I see what's going on.
They got to you, too.

Well, it's just you and me, Son.

Since when?

He stopped being your
son three years ago.

I thought bribery was
against the law, Mr. Stone.

Let's go, John.

Dad had nothing to do with this.

John, tell us what happened,

and I'll drop the charges
against your father.

That bastard blinded my father!

Wait, John. We'll
get you a lawyer.

Hogan ruined my family,
so I wanted to ruin him.

No, it was... it was me!

My family's ruined
because of that bastard!

No!

Johnny didn't know anything.

I got even for us, Pop.

I got even for us. Yes.

That kid is 16. He'll be lucky

if he gets out of
prison before he's 40.

The father lived a
myth, the boy bought it.

Ruined both their lives,

the lives of nine
innocent patients.

Are you so sure it's a myth?

Hogan came out
of medical school.

He didn't descend
from a mountain

carrying a stone tablet.

Well, I don't know.

All the medical
experts say one thing.

If it were me, I would
have believed them.

Yeah, well, my dad told
me he'd been a finalist

in the city Golden
Gloves tournament.

I checked their record books.

His name wasn't there.

Must have been a misprint.