Law & Order (1990–2010): Season 8, Episode 17 - Carrier - 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.

You're home early, Mrs. Kiley.
How was your trip?

Oh, best anniversary present
lever had, Michael.

Hey, Mr. K,
long flight?

It's always long when you're
coming home, Michael.

Send the suitcases up,
would you?

Yes.
Your daughter, she...



Oh, May hasn't gone out,
has she? Not this early.

No, no. I haven't
seen her this morning.

Good.

SCOTT: What in the hell
is going on in here?

LENORE: May?

Who are you?

LENORE: May?
Oh, my God.

(BOY COUGHING)

All right, come on.
Get up.

Get out of here,
all of you, right now.

LENORE: May? May?

Andy?

Mr. Kiley.
I was... I was just...

Cover yourself.



Andy, what is going on here?

May had a couple of kids over.

LENORE: Oh, my God!

Lenore? Lenore!

(LENORE CRYING)

Oh. my...

Oh!

Oh, my God.

It started out, you
know, just a few kids.

What time?

Around 8:00, 8:30.

You go to school with May?

I used to.
Before I went to Williams.

I'm on spring break.

You were here with
a girl, right? A date?

Yeah, she's from Dalton. I met her
at the party, then we crashed.

You talk to May at the party?

May was in the bedroom with
somebody. I don't know who.

They were having a bad fight.

You hear a gunshot?

I didn't hang around
outside the door.

I mean,
with the music that loud.

Wait here.
How are the parents?

Well, Mom's calling her doctor,
and Dad's calling his lawyer.

Well, I got this one kid, said he heard
an argument in May's bedroom. You?

No. Some of the kids she hung out with
thought she was the life of the party.

Not anymore.

What happened last night
was not like her.

Up until this year, she
never even went to parties.

We worried about her.

A kid needs a social life,

and May was always
such a loner.

Until last year, and then
she just seemed to blossom.

Before you went to England...

There was never
any talk of a party.

What about drugs?

If you found any there, they
were not hers or her friends'.

At least her close friends'.

CURTIS: Are you sure?

Yes.

What about boyfriends?

LENORE: May's crowd,

they don't really date
like we did.

Can you give us some names?

That would be Chris Landauer.

She's in her class.

And Julia Buckley.

She's a year behind her.

Sometime after 8:00, 8:30, kids,
friends, friends of friends,

strangers who heard about
the party started showing up.

Doorman calls up to the apartment,
"Hey, are these your guests?"

May wants to be popular so she
says, "Sure, send them up."

Yeah, so at some point
things get out of hand.

One kid said he heard May arguing
with a guy around 11:00.

Now another kid,
Melinda Suarez,

heard a shot maybe
half an hour later.

But she thought it
came from the street.

The gun from the room?

A 22 caliber. Unregistered.
Latent's working on the prints.

Gunshot residue?

Working on it.

11:30 to what?

What time did the
parents find May?

6:00.

6:00.
Six and a half hours.

None of the kids went in
the room, saw the body?

The door closed?
It's possible.

The parents got there, there
were bodies all over the place.

Sleeping, drugged, drunk.

What about these Polaroids?

Well, you can get arrested for
putting them on the Internet,

but no shots of May.

No diary or phonebook?

Working on that, too.

Now, some other people
we talked to said,

"May was shy, but
everybody liked her."

"Fun, not wild.
A little naive."

If she'd been a little
more streetwise...

Maybe she would've been
killed on the street.

Latent got three sets
of prints off the gun.

The girl, an unknown, and
this mook, Maxwell Paris, 23,

just did six months
at Rikers for dealing.

CURTIS: So, how'd you end
up at the party, Max?

BRISCOE: Somebody decides
to throw a party,

they just put your name
on the top of the list?

What do you do,
supply the party favors?

Am I under arrest?

BRISCOE: For what?

How long were you at the party?

A couple of hours.

Who'd you talk to?

You talk to May?

Who?
CURTIS: Your hostess.

We found this gun there, Max.

It's got your prints on it.
Now, why would that be?

Why would your prints
be on this gun, Max?

I just brought it, okay?

Some kid found it in my pocket,

started showing
it around to people.

I tried to look
for the thing later,

but this blondie,
she could tell you.

I was with her from the minute I
walked in the door till when I left.

Blondie got a name?

Well, everybody's got a name.
Cindy, I think. Mary.

All right,
you recognize blondie?

Yeah, yeah, that's
her, that's her.

GLORIA: If my mother ever finds
out that I was with that guy...

Tell us about the gun.

It was a gun.

Well, a lot of your
friends carry guns?

No. Look, I didn't
even know he had it.

Some kid took it out
of his pants pocket.

BRISCOE: And Max didn't
try to stop him?

Well, his pants were on the
other side of the room.

(SIGHS) Okay.

BRISCOE: Were you
with him the whole time?

Did he go off by himself? Get a beer?
Anything like that?

No, I came up in the
elevator with him and...

Well, I didn't know that
he was going to the party.

We were both crashers, so...

Well, I don't know, he pretty much
kept an eye on me the whole night.

I think he was scared I was going
to run out on him or something.

Yeah, he'd lose
his meal ticket.

Look, I know what goes on.

I mean, if you only
saw the dweebs

that I usually go out
with from my school.

And this guy Max is,
what, exciting?

Real. I mean,
he really does stuff.

Like time in Rikers.

Look, I'm really sorry about what
happened to Billy's girlfriend,

but Max was with
me the entire night.

Who's Billy?

Billy Fields, the guy who
told me about the party.

He was there with May.

Where can we find him?

I don't know. Greenwich
Paper, down on 12th Street.

Ever since it happened,
it's like a nightmare.

Well, you want to tell us
exactly what happened?

I wanted to
explain it to someone.

My friend Louis said that...
Louis?

Louis Morse. He said
that I should report it.

I was scared.
Hey, that's okay.

Something like this
happens, people get scared.

I didn't know
what to do, you know.

I mean, just a party.

It was just a regular party.

May planned it a while ago, when she heard
her parents were going out of town.

So, what happened at the party?

BILLY: I got there late,

and I was just
taking off my coat

when Louis pulled
me into May's bedroom.

And he had this gun. I don't
know where he got it.

And we were looking at
it when May came in.

And she was hysterical.

She was telling us
how she got this letter,

and that she had AIDS.

And she was crying,
and saying it wasn't fair.

I freaked. I was like, I kept
telling her, "Are you sure?"

She said yes.

I thought maybe I had it, too.

(STUTTERS)

She told me to
put down the gun,

and she picked it up,
and somehow it went off.

I don't even know
what happened then.

I thought I killed her.

And I was scared.

Louis and I,
we just booked together.

God, I mean, I'm so sorry.

We got him in interrogation,
waiting on his lawyer.

She tells him she's got AIDS, he
freaks and accidentally shoots her.

You buy that story?

Well, he's a mess,

but his friend, Louis Morse,
confirms everything.

So, there's a struggle.

Maybe he wanted to kill her because
he was afraid she'd given him AIDS,

and she tried to stop him?

We're having the M.E. check
if the girl was HIV positive,

and if the wound makes
the boy's story possible.

Well, book Max for criminal
possession of the weapon,

charge Billy with murder two,
and talk to May's parents.

Find out what they know
about Billy.

HIV? What are you talking about?
What are they talking about?

We're just trying to confirm...

My daughter's dead,

and you come here
telling me she...

Who told you that?
Mr. Kiley, I...

Whoever told you that
is a liar.

My daughter was
not sexually active.

She was fitted for a diaphragm
a little over a year ago.

She what?

May was a late bloomer.

She came to me
for advice, and I...

Why didn't you tell me this?

Because she was afraid you would
react the way you're reacting.

Who was she sleeping with?

I didn't ask.

What is the detective
looking for?

Oh, he'll be finished
in a minute.

Did May ever talk about
getting tested for HIV?

What can you tell me about
her friend, Billy Fields?

We met him a couple of times.

He seemed like
a very sweet boy.

I didn't know
he was her boyfriend.

(DOOR OPENING)

Found this in one of her school books.
"May, we have to talk."

"It's very important. Lana."

Who's Lana?

There's a Lana Madison
in her chorus.

I don't think they
were friends, though.

May, and this girl from Spence,
Grace Leonard, and me,

we all went out
with the same guy.

Me, about a year
and a half ago,

and then Grace a year ago,
and May nine, 10 months ago.

He bounced from Grace to her.

Who was the guy?

I only know his
street name. Twist.

Do you know
where we can find him?

I don't know. I haven't
seen him around lately.

Does he go to school with you?

No, he's older.

Couple of years.

Do you know where he lives?

No, he just hangs
around the scene.

So, where did you...

LANA: My parents' place.

They were out.

What about May's
current boyfriend?

Billy? He's a shy kid.
You know, more May's speed.

Not like Twist.

I can't imagine him
shooting anybody.

Sounds like you
don't like Twist.

Yeah, well... No, like three
weeks after we broke up,

I ran into him at a party,
and he told me he had AIDS,

so I probably had it,

and then he laughed.

And I thought
it was a sick joke.

He was just trying to get
back at me for dumping him.

But two weeks ago, I had
to go get tested for VD,

and I found out
Twist wasn't joking.

I'm sorry.

What do you guys say?

"Can't do the time,
don't do the crime?"

That's what it feels like. You know,
like I'm some sort of criminal.

You getting help?

Yeah, I got a good doctor. At
least my parents say he's good,

and now they get to
congratulate themselves

on being understanding.

(SIGHS) This Twist, would Grace
know where we can find him?

I tried to contact
Grace, too, to tell her,

but she already knew.

She died.

AIDS.

Pneumonia. Last month.

Look, Twist is a jerk.

Hey, he even bragged about
infecting as many girls as he can.

Taking us all with him.

CURTIS: The M.E. confirmed
that May was HIV positive,

and the angle of the wound makes
the boy's story possible.

We've got the kid's statement.

Confirmation from the witness?

Yes. He saw the fight.
I talked to Billy's lawyer.

What do we know about the boy?

CURTIS: By all reports,
a good kid, good student.

So, we're not talking
a hard case here.

It sounds like it
happened the way he said.

Freaked out, the gun went off.

I'm inclined to make the deal.

Okay. We close
the books on Billy.

I wish they were all this easy.

What about this
other guy, Twist?

VAN BUREN: What about him?

He's purposely infecting
women to kill them.

BRISCOE:
He bragged about it.

Said he was going to take as
many girls with him as he could.

Well, isn't this something we should
hand off to the Health Department?

LT, he's dangerous.

VAN BUREN: I don't know.

CURTIS: It's at least
attempted murder.

And what? We get him to plead down to man two?
It's a stretch.

I vote with Curtis.

It appears we have a good kid who
accidentally killed his girlfriend,

and maybe a bad one who's
deliberately infecting women.

Well, pick him up.

We'll worry about
how to keep him later.

Start with the clinic
where the girl got tested.

MALLON: We get a list
of sexual encounters

from everyone who tests
positive for HIV.

We contact these people,
we urge them to get tested.

We get from them their list of
sexual encounters, and so on.

Well, Lana Madison told
us she got tested here.

This is the letter
you sent her.

We're hoping you traced
the guy who infected her.

The records are confidential.

Hey, we got somebody out there who's
infecting these people on purpose.

All right. I can tell you
in the past three months,

half a dozen girls who tested
positive gave overlapping contacts.

One guy?

We found out he tested positive
about a year and a half ago.

We're gonna need his name.

The rules make no exceptions.

Listen, while we're
standing here talking,

he could be out
infecting somebody else.

If half the time,
money and effort

you're spending trying to find this
guy went into sex education...

We work for the Police Department,
not the School Department.

And I work for
the Health Department,

which does not disclose
confidential information.

Excuse me.

We can't get this kid's name
from the Health Department.

So, we can't get
him off the street.

He'll keep spreading
the disease.

This kind of thing
makes judges very nervous.

We're dealing with a
Constitutional issue here.

The right to privacy.

What about the right to life?

The city health codes are pretty
specific about confidentiality.

So, you're saying what?

We back off and let
this guy spread death

as quickly as he can get those
kids to kick up their heels?

(SIGHS) Okay,
I'll file a motion.

Look, we're all
in agreement here.

This is a crime.

I sure hope so.

People v. Rodriguez. The defendant was
compelled to undergo an AIDS blood test.

The People are not asking
a suspect to take a test.

They're asking us to release the
test results on a third party.

The issues of privacy
are the same.

In Rodriguez, the defendant was
charged with sexual assault.

The victim moved to determine
her attacker's HIV status

for her own peace of mind.

Ms. Ross seeks to turn
Rodriguez on its head.

Your Honor, if we don't get
this man off the street,

he will infect more women,

and we can't get him off the
street if we don't know who he is.

VESSAS: There's a larger
consideration here, Judge.

The need for secrecy
to encourage those people

who may be infected
to get tested,

and for those people who are
infected to seek treatment.

If the D.A. can force disclosure,
people infected with HIV

are going to avoid the city Health
Department like the plague.

Ms. Ross, if I order
these records unsealed,

won't I send the AIDS
community a message

that confidentiality is
out the window?

The People's need for
this information is limited.

We're not asking for
all records to be unsealed.

Only one order
about one individual.

Which is how it starts. If
one, why not two, 10,100?

Rodriguez presented unprecedented
issues in this state.

In that case, the suspect
had already been arrested.

In this case, we're breaking
confidentiality to make an arrest.

We're in uncharted waters here.

Is there a crime here?

That's what we're
trying to determine.

That's why we need
to talk to him.

Given both the seriousness
of the consequences

and the urgency of the matter,

I'm inclined to lean a little on
the side of protecting the health,

and perhaps the life of those
who are in danger of infection

over a right that is not
a matter of life and death.

You've got your records
unsealed, Counselor.

We're looking for
a kid named Twist.

Last known address,
your building.

Didn't give an apartment.

Stark. That's it. Kenny Stark,
in what's-his-name's place.

A real pain in the ass.

Which apartment?

I haven't seen him since,
what month is this?

He moved out, huh?
Mmm-hmm.

We need to find him, fast.

Well, you know Village Blues, two blocks up?
You can't miss it.

He used to work in the kitchen.

Thanks.

Yeah, he washed dishes
whenever he needs the cash.

I haven't seen him for awhile.

Romeo, right?

Different girl every
time he comes in. Young.

You know the type.

Gets the girls by
playing the doomed artist.

And they're so dumb.

They see him shooting smack,
and want to take care of him.

CURTIS: He do
a lot of drugs?

Not really his thing. Just
enough to convince himself

that he's not middle class,

and convince the girls
that he's a tortured soul.

You know where he lives?
Around.

Anybody who's stupid
enough to take him in.

Like that kid he was
with the other night.

She was putting up those
flyers about that lost cat.

What, the Siamese?
Manx.

Got it.

Are you here about my cat?

Actually we're looking
for Kenny Stark.

Twist.

What for?
Is he in trouble?

Is he staying with you?

What's he done?

CURTIS: Is he here?

He just went out.

BRISCOE: Where'd he go?

He's in this band. They've
got this big gig coming up.

I mean, it's not definite,

but this A&R guy's gonna
come down and check them out,

and they're going to get
this big recording contract.

You should hear them.

Well, maybe we can
go hear them rehearse.

Hey, it's nothing
for you to worry about.

(SIGHS) East Third, 413.
Over the laundromat.

You his girl?

Yeah.

Did Kenny tell you he was sick?

What do you mean?

Listen, don't go anyplace. We're
gonna have to talk to you, okay?

We're looking for Twist.

Hey, it's okay. I got this
problem with my eyes.

See, I can't see
anything but Twist.

I can't even see you.
Where is he?

(GLASS CLANKING)

STARK: Hey, no, baby,

I don't use rubbers.
It's better bareback.

CURTIS: Police!
STARK: What's going on?

CURTIS: Get out of bed. Let's go.
How the hell?

Stand up.

Kenny Stark, you're under arrest
for the murder of Grace Leonard,

and the attempted
murder of Lana Madison.

WOMAN: Twist. You've got the
right to remain silent.

Anything you do say can and will be
used against you in a court of law.

"Docket number 27341.
People v. Kenneth Stark."

One count Murder
in the Second Degree.

Four counts Attempted Murder
in the Second Degree.

Mr. Stark,
how do you plead?

Not guilty, Your Honor.

The People request remand.

Mr. Stark is
not a flight risk.

He's a threat to the community.
Mr. Stark is HIV positive...

So, we put everyone with
AIDS in internment camps?

Not everyone with AIDS,
Your Honor.

Just those who
deliberately infect others.

MARGINI: From the beginning
of the AIDS crisis,

quarantine has been consistently
rejected as an option.

"The power given by statute
to isolate a person"

"is dependent upon his infections
or contagious disease."

Smith v. Emery.

1896. And, Your Honor, the most
recent applicable law is from 1947.

We're talking ancient history.

Is Mr. Margini suggesting
the court ignore precedent?

Is Ms. Ross suggesting the court
ignore basic Constitutional rights?

Mr. Stark has no Constitutional
right to place others at risk.

All right, Counselors,
settle down.

Defendant is
remanded to custody.

Think you're a little hasty?

We have a serial
killer on the streets.

I'm not sure prudence
dictates we go slow.

We're not talking
about a serial killer.

All right, a serial killer can murder
what, two, three, half a dozen?

Stark can infect,
kill dozens, hundreds.

What he did is clearly a crime.

In a perfect world.

But in this one, under the
system of laws that we have...

Just before he was being arrested, the
police heard Stark say to a girl,

"It's better bareback."

What?

ROSS: He didn't want
to use a condom.

Brother.

JACK: And he told one girl he wanted
to infect as many women as he could.

It's a crime, Adam.

Is it one we want to prosecute?

A lot of people are gonna
see this as a signal

for open season
on people with AIDS.

That's a political
consideration, Adam.

Political. Just possibly
Constitutional.

People are dying. We have the
tools to stop it. Let's use them.

No one gave consent
to get infected.

The Health Department
traces these things.

This is their responsibility.

Sure, to trace them,
not to stop them.

The Health Department
is not the sex police.

Besides, these kids
don't even report it.

And you think that this case...

Could save
some lives? Sure.

Well, we're not here
to start a crusade.

And I'm not on a crusade.

We can't save everyone from
getting shot on the street,

and I know we can't save
everyone who gets AIDS.

It is our job to
prosecute anyone

who's responsible for
the death of another.

Playing into the
worst kinds of prejudice.

It'll be on the front
page of every newspaper.

I don't want that.

Get Stark to plead out.
Do what you have to.

(DOOR BUZZING)

Anne Paulsen. Kagan,
Romero, Schoenholtz.

I'll be handling Mr. Stark's
case from here on in.

Where's Mr. Margini?

He went back to
defending streetwalkers.

(STARK CHUCKLING)

JACK: Your client's
easily amused?

That's not half as
funny as the charges.

What's your interest
in this case?

Her weekly golf game with my mother
who lives next door in Ardsley.

And a very large retainer.

Kenny.

I didn't notice them
at the arraignment.

They're suddenly concerned?

Yeah, well, we haven't seen
much of each other lately.

Mr. Stark's been out of
contact with his family

the past couple of years.

His murder spree
took all his time.

(SCOFFS)

Look, do you want to
tell me what happened?

I can assure you, Mr. McCoy,

his parents will do everything
they can to help their boy.

We're ready to offer man one.

Three-to-nine, and
he names his contacts.

So you can manufacture
more fake charges?

So we can alert
your client's victims.

Victims? We all know
the charges are bogus.

His irresponsibility is sad and
immoral, but it isn't a crime.

I'm moving to dismiss.

PAULSEN: Mr. McCoy is seeking
to criminalize sexual activity.

No, I'm seeking to impose
criminal sanctions on a murderer.

No matter how irresponsible he may
be, Mr. Stark is not a murderer.

His weapon of choice
may be unusual,

but he's no less deadly than a
common thief who fires a gun.

You can infer intent when
a thief pulls a trigger.

Mr. Stark told one of his victims
he wanted to take them with him.

Your Honor, if you allow Mr. McCoy
to prosecute people with AIDS...

He knowingly infected others
with a deadly disease.

No warning, no protection.

Enough.

It's a sustainable case, Mr. McCoy,
if you can prove intent.

I'm going to let you proceed,

but I'm mindful of the
sensitivity of this issue.

I won't let you turn
this into a witch hunt.

If you go forward
with this case,

you are crucifying
an entire community!

We're not crucifying a community,
we're prosecuting one man.

Who has AIDS!

And who therefore, in the
press, in the public mind...

Nobody has said he's gay.

You think that's going
to make a difference?

You know, people hear
AIDS, they think gays.

The tabloids will use this case to attack
anyone who's HIV positive, which...

Which includes...
Yes.

You've got to think about the
effect that this is going to have!

Therefore, don't
prosecute a murderer

who happens to be a Christian
fundamentalist because people might think

he represents all
Christian fundamentalists.

That it?

The courts don't exist in some
sort of ivory tower, Adam.

All legal decisions
are political.

I don't make decisions about
which cases to prosecute

based on fear of what
the newspapers will say.

I've always
supported you, Adam.

Every time you've come up for
reelection, I've busted my hump for you

and I have never asked
for anything in return.

But if you don't
back off on this one,

I will bury you.

Start digging...

So Judge Al Hoyt
found for the People.

When'd he grow a backbone?

Maybe he has granddaughters.

He's what they used to
call a confirmed bachelor.

Well, you got your crime.

Do you think Paulsen
will consider a plea?

We tried again.
She turned us down.

Establish intent.

Maybe then her
client will wise up.

Establish intent.

This thing's
political poison for him.

Background noise.
Ignore it.

Let's start with the victims.
Lana Madison?

We have her sworn statement.
The girl in the loft?

She's on board.

Stark's girlfriend,
Leslie Crowell?

I'll talk to her.

Those girls you
said he infected?

Twist isn't that kind of guy.

I mean, I know him.
You don't.

I know what he did.

You know what they said he did.

What do you know about them?

One's dead from AIDS.

Another's infected.

I don't have AIDS.

You been checked out?

My blood's okay.

What clinic?

Leslie, this is important. You
have to get a test. Please.

What do you care?

I'll take you. Sometimes it's
easier if someone goes with you.

I went to see Twist.
In the Tombs.

My mom kicked me out of the
house after my dad died.

When I met Twist, he told me he'd
been waiting for me all his life.

My mom, my dad, they never
even told me they loved me.

Leslie, how long
have you known him?

Two months.

How do you know those girls
didn't get it from someone else

or needles and
blame it on Twist?

Because, like that girl in Central
Park who was screaming at him?

About what?

When she saw him with his arm
around me, she went crazy,

saying she was
going to get him.

She was going to make him pay.

Because?

Because she was jealous.

Maybe it was because
he gave her AIDS.

Well, she didn't
say anything about that.

She just said she was gonna make him pay.
And she did, didn't she?

You know her name?

She has light brown
hair, she's 5'5 ", 5'6."

ROSS: How long
have you been sick?

It's just a cold.
It's no big deal.

I don't need
anybody's sympathy.

I've got enough trouble
dealing with my parents.

You sure Kenny Stark
gave you HIV?

You can prove it?
Yes.

Details? Partners?
Dates?

This is gonna be embarrassing.

What about meeting him
in the park?

Who told you about that?

Is there a reason to hide it?

No. No. It's just...

Why didn't you tell the police?

Because it would
sound like I accused him

of giving me AIDS
to get back at him.

And did you?

Twist gave me the disease.

(CRYING) Then he laughed. Yeah,
yeah, I want to get back at him.

I'm never gonna get
married or have kids.

I mean, what's the point of staying
in school or going to college?

Even if we don't put Lana on the
stand, Paulsen will. Thank you.

Then she'll put
Leslie on the stand.

Why did she threaten Stark?

Why didn't she tell anyone
about meeting him in the park?

Who else could she
have gotten HIV from?

Reasonable doubt.
I've got reasonable doubt.

Doubt the kid is
telling the truth?

Doubt that a jury will ever
buy it, even if she is.

We don't put Lana on the stand,

the jury doesn't hear Stark's threat.
We lose half our case.

We may lose the other half.

A motion to suppress
Stark's test results.

We can't prove he knew he had
AIDS, we can't prove intent.

PAULSEN: It's black-letter
law, Your Honor.

The doctor-patient
relationship is sacrosanct.

Your Honor, Judge Kaplan
has already ruled

that the records can
be unsealed.

I don't care what
Barbara Kaplan ruled.

Go on, Ms. Paulsen.

Not only is that confidentiality
supported by CPL 3504,

the city's own Health Department
rules specifically state

the identity of AIDS patients
must remain anonymous.

Your Honor, this report is the
only record we could possibly have

of one of the elements of
the crime, namely, intent.

The court must
put aside the fact

that it takes the form
of a medical report.

Well, how does this differ from any
other medical communication, Mr. McCoy?

People v. Thomas,
People v. Fonseca,

People v. Gearhardt,
in all those cases,

the courts ruled that the State's right
to learn if a defendant had AIDS

outweighed his
right to privacy.

PAULSEN: Which is a basic
Constitutional right.

In those cases,
the crime was never in doubt.

In this case, you're trashing the
principles this country was founded on.

Judge, you open this door,
where does it end?

Even the Gay Men's Health Crisis
group has reversed its position,

and come out in favor of doctors
reporting HIV positives

to the State Health Department.

I don't care
what that group does.

The Constitutional issue is not
to be lightly swept aside.

The rules of confidentiality
should not have been breached.

Therefore, the report on Mr. Stark's
condition is suppressed.

PAULSEN: Your Honor,
I am moving to dismiss.

Without evidence of intent, the
charges can't be sustained.

We still have Lana Madison's
statement about Mr. Stark's threat.

That's hearsay from a witness
who could have contracted AIDS

from any number
of sexual partners.

We have her
entire sexual history.

Unless she's forgotten someone,

or is protecting someone,
or lied.

Quite right, Ms. Paulsen. I'm
granting your motion to dismiss,

but I'm staying the order

until what I assume
will be Mr. McCoy's

speedy appeal to
the appellate court.

Now, you've got 48 hours to put
something together, Mr. McCoy.

(GAVEL POUNDS)

McCoy, you're a nice
guy, so I've been nice.

Drop this case, or I'm going
to roast you in the papers.

How's Adam Schiff
going to take to that?

So, it went that well, huh?

Yep.

Forty-eight hours to prove Stark
knew he had AIDS a year ago.

To prove intent all over again.
Make the case from scratch.

Forget it.

Let the 48 hours expire.
Blame it on the judge.

Is it the idea of trying
to protect people

from the consequences of
casual sex that offends you?

Oh, I see.
I'm an old fuddy-duddy.

No, Adam, I just...
And I think it's politics,

and I'm afraid the case
will sink the election?

If we had a chance, I'd
tell you to go ahead,

whatever happens.

But we're past that now.

Cut your losses.

I want to talk to his parents first.
Then we'll see.

Then we'll see.

We went to visit
Kenneth in jail.

He still won't talk to us.

My son hasn't really been part
of the family since he was 16.

Before jail, when was the
last time you spoke to him?

Last spring. When
did he come up here?

Uh...

April.
The dogwood was out.

Didn't even call first.

Last spring. That's around the
time he found out he had AIDS.

Did he say anything to
you about his health?

He came to you because
he was sick, didn't he?

(CLEARS THROAT)

Mr. and Mrs. Stark,
you do understand

that this isn't just
about your son's welfare.

But it is my son
you're asking about.

ROSS: Your son consciously
infected other people.

Just how many, we don't know.

We're aware of what
you're accusing him of.

He has to be stopped.

He should be off the streets.

Don't you think we've been
trying for the last few years?

If he came to you, if he told
you about his condition...

You could use that
to put him in jail.

We've offered to make a deal.

Isn't this something you should
be talking to my lawyer,

my son's lawyer about?

We're willing to reduce the charges
from murder to manslaughter.

Instead of going to jail for 25
years-to-life, he goes for three-to-nine.

Our son may be
dead in three years.

Even if Kenny did come
to us when he was sick,

do you think we would
help you put him in jail?

My son has had problems, I know
that, and he's going to die.

So will a lot of other children,
if you don't help us.

You don't know that.

And you will be just as responsible
for their deaths as he is.

I'm going to live
after my son is gone.

I can't live knowing
he died hating me.

He'll die with us, at home.

Not in jail.

I checked with the Starks'
insurance company.

Mid-April, around the time he
showed up at his parents' house,

Mrs. Stark called the company to see if their
son was still covered under their plan.

There was a note in the file.

So, the kid comes home, tells
his parents he's sick.

The HMO told Mrs. Stark that she
could put her son on the policy

by paying a premium
after he's had a physical.

Which Kenny can't take because
it'll show he's HIV positive.

The parents knew a year ago.

But won't cooperate with us.

Because they still
want to protect him.

Not enough to dig into their own
pockets, get him treatment.

I checked their bank accounts,
stock transactions.

There were substantial withdrawals,
cash, at regular intervals.

His parents were slipping
him money to get help.

We don't know that.

But Stark and his lawyer
don't know we don't.

We can fold or bluff.

We talked to your parents.

We know they
contacted their HMO

to try to get
you on their plan.

Privileged. No jury
will ever hear that.

They made
regular cash withdrawals.

And you can't prove they've
been giving it to my client.

We know you used the money
to get medical help.

Funny thing about cash, McCoy.
It all looks the same.

JACK: You want me to charge
his parents with obstruction?

PAULSEN: What are you
going to charge me with?

Accessory after the fact?
(LAUGHS)

You're dreaming, McCoy.

None of this will fly
with the appellate court.

I'll file again next
year and the year after.

We'll wheel him in on a gurney.

See what the jury
thinks about that.

Conference is over.

(SIGHS)

We've got till the end of
the day to file the appeal.

Maybe I'll have lunch first.
It's Friday.

We might get more
time by being late.

Mr. McCoy. Ms. Ross.

My clerk told me why
you're here. Forget it.

Your Honor, if this
Stark kid gets out,

it's like releasing
Theodore Kaczynski

and giving him
a bomb and a stamp.

I can understand your concern.

But an expedited
appeal with a full panel?

It's 4:00, Friday.

This is urgent.

You know the chances of
finding four of my brethren

to take the bench at this hour?

Judge Hoyt's
stay expires today.

Stark will be out
by tomorrow morning.

You want me to extend
the stay until Monday?

Unless you can find a full
panel now to hear my appeal.

Enjoy your weekend. I think you're
going to have a rough Monday.

Two more days.
What's the next move?

Prove Stark knew he had AIDS.
Stark's girlfriend.

Maybe he told her something
about what he had.

He'd never do anything to hurt anybody.
I know that.

But I don't know.

From where I sit, he doesn't
seem to care about anyone.

Not even you.

That's not true.

I mean, he told me
I had to be protected.

What did he tell you?

He said it wasn't about not
getting pregnant, it was about...

That he was sick.

Did he tell you
he was HIV positive?

He said he was sick, and he
didn't want me to get sick.

I mean, he knew we had to use a
condom, but I didn't want him to.

If he was sick,
whatever it was,

well, it's like
we were married.

"Till death do us part."

He knew he had AIDS. We can
argue intent from that.

Not on our Murder Two.

On the woman he was about to
infect when he was arrested.

Attempted murder.

Based on what
the cops overheard?

Mmm-hmm.

New evidence, new charge. We're
gonna give these judges a headache.

There's a cure for headaches.

Poor Leslie.

She thought she was helping him by
telling us how considerate Stark was.

The only decent thing he ever
did is going to sink him.

I understand
the People have dismissed

the top count
of the indictment,

Murder in the Second Degree?

Yes, we're proceeding
with the charge

of Attempted Murder
in the Second Degree.

All right.

This is a complicated case, and
I'll review the circumstances.

We're well briefed
on the facts.

Isn't this really a
question of whether or not

you can establish the defendant's
intent as a matter of law?

JACK: Yes, Your Honor.
And the People believe we can.

HOW?

JACK: Mr. Stark told his current
girlfriend that he was sick,

and needed to use a condom
for her protection.

And from that you infer intent?

JACK: After he made that statement,
he was arrested in the process

of initiating the sexual
act with another party.

And you know
what he was thinking?

The police overheard him say to this
partner that he did not use condoms.

What were his exact words?

"Hey, no, baby, I don't use rubbers.
It's better bareback."

Your Honor, intention can
be inferred from the act.

People v. Stokes.

And this inference is
to be drawn by the jury.

If the defendant gets
back on the street,

in the course of his lifetime, a
lifetime which may be tragically short

or indefinitely long, how many
other women might he infect?

Two dozen? 50? 100?

Yes, this is a difficult case.

And, yes, it challenges the
court to balance two goods.

The right to privacy,

and the right of people
in the most intimate act

to trust that they will be safe.
The right to life.

I am not going to pass judgment

on whether or not the women who had
intimate relations with Mr. Stark

should have avoided them. I'm
not going to blame the victim.

But having decided,
for whatever reason,

to enter a liaison
with Mr. Stark,

those women deserve the
protection that they would have

if Mr. Stark brought to bed with
him a knife or a razor or a gun.

Mr. Stark brought to bed with him
something equally dangerous.

If the law can't protect those
women, then we've all failed,

and that's a failure that
I'm not willing to concede.

All I want is the chance
to get before a jury.

ABRAM: As Mr. McCoy said,
this case is a difficult one.

Difficult, first of all,

because it will affect people's
attitudes and behavior.

Some consequences
we can predict.

Others we can't.

People may use what we say here

to support the
rankest kind of bias.

They may use
what we say to excuse

the most licentious
kind of conduct.

It is difficult, second of all,

because the issues before us
couldn't be more serious,

touching on the very
Constitutional principles

that framed our country.

However, this difficulty does not
absolve us from passing judgment.

In fact,
because it is difficult,

we must pass judgment
with prudence

so that we neither
follow nor lead society.

And though the case is a complex
one, our job is simple.

To apply the law,
fairly and reasonably.

Weighing the rights of the
individual versus the common good,

we were obliged
to rule in a way

that protects the benefit of the
many over the interest of the few.

The People have met their burden.
The order below is set aside.

Congratulations.
You got your reversal.

I'll feel better when your client's out
of circulation for the rest of his life.

I don't know how
long that's going to be.

Mr. Stark was admitted to the hospital
last night with a temperature of 103.

Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia.

(SIGHS)

What's your offer?

Same as before.
Three-to-nine.

We'll support any effort
to get him into Bedford.

They have good
medical facilities there.

(SIGHS)

All right.
You got a deal.

I talked to Stark's parents.
Kenny's in bad shape.

He's got a week, maybe two.

Lana Madison?

So far, so good.
Leslie tested negative.

You're really keeping track.

Yeah.

On this one, yeah.