Good episode.
From IMDb: A teenage drug addict claims that a nun molested her at a treatment house, but the investigation leads an accusation of rape involving the chief executive of the facility.
A young teenage runaway is arrested after discharging a gun in a diner. Cerreta and Logan look into the reasons why she had run away and learn that she had been raped at the halfway house she had been staying in. The investigation leads to a free thinking nun and the caretaker of the halfway house.
Thursday, July 9, 2015
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
Season 2 Episode 13, Severance
From IMDb: Stone and Robinette go after a defense contractor, as well as his lawyer and the hit-man he allegedly hired, after two men are killed and a whistle-blower who planned to testify against him goes missing.
Sunday, April 26, 2015
Season 2 Episode 12, Star Struck
An insanity trial. A mentally ill man attacks an actress and nearly kills her because he is "in love" with her and he hears a voice in his head telling him that if he can't get her he must kill her. The girl is very afraid and pleads with Stone to get the man convicted for maximum sentence because he had accosted her several times in the past and would do so in the future if left walking in the world. Stone struggles with making a case because juries are hard to convince of a crime on part of mentally ill. Towards the end in the trial Stone asks the man: if you get an apportunity would you still like to talk to her? Pursue her?.. etc., and he said: yes, nothing is changed. That's what was needed. The jury convicts him for attempted murder after Stone's speech to them.
Good points: The way Stone first asks the above mentioned questions to the defendant followed by a speech to the jury that wins him the conviction for the defendant. After the trial on their way out, however, Stone expresses his unhappiness to Robinette, saying: the man should be in hospital, we put him in jail.
Season 2 Episode 11, His Hour Upon the Stage
IMDb: The frozen body of a Broadway producer is found five years after his death. Stone suspects that a show investor and the producer's fiancée actress were involved, but time makes it more difficult to find a motive.
Friday, April 17, 2015
Season 2 Episode 10, Heaven
Not a significant episode in my view.
IMDb summary: An arson at an Hispanic social club that killed 53 people is related to a powerful Cuban, an INS agent, and the sale of fake green cards.
IMDb summary: An arson at an Hispanic social club that killed 53 people is related to a powerful Cuban, an INS agent, and the sale of fake green cards.
Season 2 Episode 9, Renunciation
A boy hits his teacher's husband with a car and kills him. He and the teacher are in an affair. The woman wanted her husband to die because he had a lot of debt and after catching her with the boy in their house was filing for divorce by which she would inherit his debt. She used the boy to kill the husband. At first the boy is a suspect and a defendant. In the end the boy's story of the teacher planning to kill the husband finds corroboration. The boy's lawyer gets a deal for a lesser charge and the episode ends with the teacher being arrested with murder.
Good point: No significant good points. Interesting to watch how the woman manipulates the boy into committing the crime exploiting his emotions about love/lust.
Good point: No significant good points. Interesting to watch how the woman manipulates the boy into committing the crime exploiting his emotions about love/lust.
Season 2 Episode 8, Out of Control
Rape case. A girl is raped at a party to which her boyfriend/fiancé who had broken up with her recently had invited her, to have sex with a group of his friends. Their break up was a result of the guy coming to know about the girl's promiscuous sexual history. His interaction with the girl about her coming to the party to have sex with his friends was a joke on the girl's part, however it, coupled with her sexual history makes her case difficult.
Stone makes a good case against the defendants, however the jury acquits them. Stone is disappointed and tells the girl that jury made a mistake and the system failed her. He was sorry.
I personally didn't like this episode for showing that Stone thought the jury gave wrong judgement, and for thinking that the girl was innocent on the first place. A drunk girl is accountable for her actions just as a drunk driver is accountable for his. A promiscuous girl who makes a joke that "she will have sex with guys at the party and the guys would love her dress if they love little girls", and goes to the party where she will get drunk unconscious, is definitely putting herself in harm's way, and is supposed to know that, and be responsible about it - and is at least equally responsible if she gets raped.
Good point: The jury found her guilty.
Stone makes a good case against the defendants, however the jury acquits them. Stone is disappointed and tells the girl that jury made a mistake and the system failed her. He was sorry.
I personally didn't like this episode for showing that Stone thought the jury gave wrong judgement, and for thinking that the girl was innocent on the first place. A drunk girl is accountable for her actions just as a drunk driver is accountable for his. A promiscuous girl who makes a joke that "she will have sex with guys at the party and the guys would love her dress if they love little girls", and goes to the party where she will get drunk unconscious, is definitely putting herself in harm's way, and is supposed to know that, and be responsible about it - and is at least equally responsible if she gets raped.
Good point: The jury found her guilty.
Monday, April 13, 2015
Season 2 Episode 7, In Memory Of
Not a very significant episode in my opinion. A nine year old boy's remains are found in basement of a building. The boy died 30 years ago. Investigation leads to a man who killed the boy. A girl who was a neighboring kid when the boy was killed had seen her father washing the boy's bloody sweater in their bathroom.
Good point: During the trial the defendant's lawyer calls into question the witness daughter's sanity as she had spent time in psychiatry recently. She is also accused of hating her father because she has had a life full of bad decisions which her father disliked about her, for which they were not on good terms. When she recounted the day's story on which she witnessed her father in the bathroom with bloody sweater she was accused of having fabricated the story in her mind because she was not sane and had hatred for her father. Her mind was said to have constructed memories of things that never happened. Stone later makes the father plead guilty on manslaughter charge (which he had earlier pleaded not guilty on) even though he had good chance to get a conviction on murder charge. He explained the reason: He didn't want the daughter to get nightmares about indicting her father with a story made up by her insane mind. This way she will know that her father did really commit the crime. What a human being, Stone!
Good point: During the trial the defendant's lawyer calls into question the witness daughter's sanity as she had spent time in psychiatry recently. She is also accused of hating her father because she has had a life full of bad decisions which her father disliked about her, for which they were not on good terms. When she recounted the day's story on which she witnessed her father in the bathroom with bloody sweater she was accused of having fabricated the story in her mind because she was not sane and had hatred for her father. Her mind was said to have constructed memories of things that never happened. Stone later makes the father plead guilty on manslaughter charge (which he had earlier pleaded not guilty on) even though he had good chance to get a conviction on murder charge. He explained the reason: He didn't want the daughter to get nightmares about indicting her father with a story made up by her insane mind. This way she will know that her father did really commit the crime. What a human being, Stone!
Season 2 Episode 6, Misconception
A pregnant girl and her boyfriend stage an assault on her to cause miscarriage to reel her boss in to a lawsuit in order to extract wealth from him. In larger scheme of the couple, the boss of the girl was lured in to having an extramarital affair with her and given to believe that the child was his - which he didn't want and insisted on abortion - so that the girl and her boyfriend blackmail him for money. This would be set as a motive for the boss to assault the girl to kill the baby. During investigation it is found that the child was not the boss's, and that the couple were only using this plot of the boss assaulting the girl as a camouflage and now pressed a ten million dollar civil suit against the boss for misdemeanor. Meanwhile, the boss's wife is also dragged in to this who seeks divorce and wants to rip him apart financially. In the end, the couple is convicted of attempted murder (of their unborn).
Good point: The episode has many unpredictable turns. First the boyfriend is arrested for seemingly assaulting the girl. Then the girl's boss comes in to the picture and he is arrested instead. Then it turns out the girl is not innocent after all. Then it turns out the girl and her boyfriend staged this whole thing and so technically there was no criminal assault on the girl to begin with. Stone wants them to be convicted of murder of the child but can't because if the fetus is not over 24 weeks old it can't be considered alive. Stone, however, reasons that if you shoot a dead body thinking it is a live person, even though you technically didn't kill, your intention was to kill since you didn't know the the person was already dead. So while you can not be said to have murdered the person, you can be charged with attempted murder. Using this argument Stone determines to convince the jury that if the couple did not know the law about fetus needing to be over 24 months old to be considered alive, in their mind they were intentionally committing murder. Only if they knew the aforementioned law they can't even be charged with attempted murder. It would be failure of the law that due to this legal technicality the clearly vicious people can not be convicted, which is unacceptable to Stone. He flips the technicality to convince the jury of the couple's guiltless of attempted murder.
Good point: The episode has many unpredictable turns. First the boyfriend is arrested for seemingly assaulting the girl. Then the girl's boss comes in to the picture and he is arrested instead. Then it turns out the girl is not innocent after all. Then it turns out the girl and her boyfriend staged this whole thing and so technically there was no criminal assault on the girl to begin with. Stone wants them to be convicted of murder of the child but can't because if the fetus is not over 24 weeks old it can't be considered alive. Stone, however, reasons that if you shoot a dead body thinking it is a live person, even though you technically didn't kill, your intention was to kill since you didn't know the the person was already dead. So while you can not be said to have murdered the person, you can be charged with attempted murder. Using this argument Stone determines to convince the jury that if the couple did not know the law about fetus needing to be over 24 months old to be considered alive, in their mind they were intentionally committing murder. Only if they knew the aforementioned law they can't even be charged with attempted murder. It would be failure of the law that due to this legal technicality the clearly vicious people can not be convicted, which is unacceptable to Stone. He flips the technicality to convince the jury of the couple's guiltless of attempted murder.
Friday, April 10, 2015
Season 2 Episode 5, God Bless the Child
Religious parents let their child die of fever because their religion doesn't believe in modern medicine. They are tried on charges of endangering welfare of child and manslaughter in second degree, and get convicted on the latter.
Good points: Law allows people freedom to live according to their religious beliefs. It's what is meant by separation of State from the Church. Hence, to prove the parents guilty of manslaughter it was necessary to establish that they had doubts about the effectiveness of prayer. Only then they are said to have recklessly lead the child to death. If they firmly believed that prayer helped, they can't be guilty per law. After the conviction Stone is asked what the judge will give them, to which he says, "My guess, they won't spend a night in jail." "Then what's the point ", he is asked. And he says, and I paraphrase, that it will be in the book, and will get the press. Maybe in the future some parent will call the doctor because they will remember the verdict of this case and a child won't die. That is the point.
Good points: Law allows people freedom to live according to their religious beliefs. It's what is meant by separation of State from the Church. Hence, to prove the parents guilty of manslaughter it was necessary to establish that they had doubts about the effectiveness of prayer. Only then they are said to have recklessly lead the child to death. If they firmly believed that prayer helped, they can't be guilty per law. After the conviction Stone is asked what the judge will give them, to which he says, "My guess, they won't spend a night in jail." "Then what's the point ", he is asked. And he says, and I paraphrase, that it will be in the book, and will get the press. Maybe in the future some parent will call the doctor because they will remember the verdict of this case and a child won't die. That is the point.
Season 2 Episode 4, Asylum
A homeless man mugs and kills, and gets convicted. A few weeks after, an appeal comes from them invoking the Fourth Amendment protecting people's right to privacy. Because the police extracting the murder weapon from the defendant's abode in the bushes of Central Park was without a warrant.
Good point: An interesting debate follows on whether the Fourth Amendment applies to the homeless since his "home" is a public property. Stone loses. However, in turn of events bringing another evidence in the picture, in the end Stone succeeds in striking a deal with the defendant's lawyer for manslaughter one charge.
Good point: An interesting debate follows on whether the Fourth Amendment applies to the homeless since his "home" is a public property. Stone loses. However, in turn of events bringing another evidence in the picture, in the end Stone succeeds in striking a deal with the defendant's lawyer for manslaughter one charge.
Season 2 Episode 3, Aria
Mother forces her daughter into pornography. The daughter commits suicide by drug OD. Can the mother be charged with murder?
Good point: Game play change by Stone because it would be difficult to establish the mother pushing the daughter into pornography as the proximate cause of suicide. Stone changes the theory mid-way to that of accidental death by OD which was caused by the mother because she induced her to take the drug to help her go through the porn film shooting which the daughter wasn't comfortable with. (The mother had told the daughter to go to the person who took drugs to numb herself mentally during porn shoot.) Stone gets a deal by the defending attorney of acceptance of manslaughter two charge on condition that the defendant does the maximum time.
Good point: Game play change by Stone because it would be difficult to establish the mother pushing the daughter into pornography as the proximate cause of suicide. Stone changes the theory mid-way to that of accidental death by OD which was caused by the mother because she induced her to take the drug to help her go through the porn film shooting which the daughter wasn't comfortable with. (The mother had told the daughter to go to the person who took drugs to numb herself mentally during porn shoot.) Stone gets a deal by the defending attorney of acceptance of manslaughter two charge on condition that the defendant does the maximum time.
Season 2 Episode 2, The Wages of Love
Separated middle aged wife kills her husband along with his young lover in his bedroom.
Good points: Two charges were levied, manslaughter and murder. Stone is advised that the jury may sympathize with the defendant and make a compromise by convicting her for manslaughter and acquitting for murder. Stone prefers to drop the manslaughter charge to not give jury a choice to compromise, but getting conviction on murder charge is a long shot. Before the verdict Stone is tensed because he has not been this "stupid" before. She has a fair chance of being acquitted and go home. A few minutes before the verdict Stone receives a deal that the defendant will do 9 years (which is more than 4 of manslaughter and 25 of murder). Stones takes the deal. Jury is freed as their verdict is not required. Later outside the court one of the jury members is telling the media that 10 minutes more and they were going to give a verdict of guilty. This game play is interesting.
Good points: Two charges were levied, manslaughter and murder. Stone is advised that the jury may sympathize with the defendant and make a compromise by convicting her for manslaughter and acquitting for murder. Stone prefers to drop the manslaughter charge to not give jury a choice to compromise, but getting conviction on murder charge is a long shot. Before the verdict Stone is tensed because he has not been this "stupid" before. She has a fair chance of being acquitted and go home. A few minutes before the verdict Stone receives a deal that the defendant will do 9 years (which is more than 4 of manslaughter and 25 of murder). Stones takes the deal. Jury is freed as their verdict is not required. Later outside the court one of the jury members is telling the media that 10 minutes more and they were going to give a verdict of guilty. This game play is interesting.
Season 2 Episode 1, Confession
Sargent Max Greavy gets shot. Logan reaches the killer and gets a confession at a gun point.
Good point: Legal complications of coerced confessions are shown. Heat is generated between Logan and Stone that is interesting to watch.
Good point: Legal complications of coerced confessions are shown. Heat is generated between Logan and Stone that is interesting to watch.
Season 1 Episode 21, Sonata for a Solo Organ
One of the better episodes. A man gets robbed of a kidney for a rich man's daughter. Should the rich man who paid for it charged with the crime of attempted murder?
Good points: Presents a moral dilemma. Willful blindness. Example: A man gives a truck driver an illegal parcel to deliver, without the driver knowing that the parcel is illegal and with instruction not to look what is inside, for a sum of money. The driver gets caught. Should he be charged? The daughter who gets the kidney defends her father to Stone saying that the man still had one kidney and he was going to be a wealthy man with the money her father set in his name, and Stone asked her: "Do you think your father would have acted any differently had you needed a heart and not a kidney?" Bravo!
Disappointing point: The rich man is convicted not for willful blindness but because proof is found (a tape of his conversation with the doctor who robbed the kidney) that he indeed intended that the kidney be found 'at any cost' including murder, if necessary. Thus the moral dilemma is not expounded upon.
Good points: Presents a moral dilemma. Willful blindness. Example: A man gives a truck driver an illegal parcel to deliver, without the driver knowing that the parcel is illegal and with instruction not to look what is inside, for a sum of money. The driver gets caught. Should he be charged? The daughter who gets the kidney defends her father to Stone saying that the man still had one kidney and he was going to be a wealthy man with the money her father set in his name, and Stone asked her: "Do you think your father would have acted any differently had you needed a heart and not a kidney?" Bravo!
Disappointing point: The rich man is convicted not for willful blindness but because proof is found (a tape of his conversation with the doctor who robbed the kidney) that he indeed intended that the kidney be found 'at any cost' including murder, if necessary. Thus the moral dilemma is not expounded upon.
Season 1 Episode 18, The Secret Sharers
Boyfriend shoots his girlfriend's rapist who is also a crack dealer. People are of the opinion that he was already a scum hence the guy who shot him should not be charged heavily.
Good points: 1) The defense lawyer from Texas says that in the state of Texas the guy would rather receive a medal. Stone says to this: "The commandment says 'thou shalt not kill', not 'thou shalt not kill nice people'." 2) A remark is made that he killed the guy defending this loved one, and Stone asks: "Defending or avenging?" In the end the defendant is acquitted though.
Good points: 1) The defense lawyer from Texas says that in the state of Texas the guy would rather receive a medal. Stone says to this: "The commandment says 'thou shalt not kill', not 'thou shalt not kill nice people'." 2) A remark is made that he killed the guy defending this loved one, and Stone asks: "Defending or avenging?" In the end the defendant is acquitted though.
Season 1 Episode 11, Out of the Half-life
Black girl creates a hoax of white cops assaulting and raping her. Black congressman takes advantage of this situation for personal benefit and justifying it saying he is fighting the centuries of injustice to black people. He obstructs the investigation by not allowing the mother and the girl to speak with the police or appear in the court.
Good point: The episode has good dialogues. It's about showing how ends can not justify the means, in context of the black congressman supporting the girl's accusation because black people have been done injustice to for centuries.
Good point: The episode has good dialogues. It's about showing how ends can not justify the means, in context of the black congressman supporting the girl's accusation because black people have been done injustice to for centuries.
Season 1 Episode 10, Prisoner of Love
A case of manslaughter crime involving three sado-masochistic persons. A man let's another man (masochist) die on order of the woman (sadist) who plays the role of slave master in their "game".
Good point: The episode reveals that Sargent Greavy is a Catholic with Christian morality when he refuses to be involved in the case because it involved "sinners". He believes they would anyway die soon if they live "like that". His boss tells him he should not bring his religious views in to this, and that "it's not about who committed the crime, it's about the crime."
Good point: The episode reveals that Sargent Greavy is a Catholic with Christian morality when he refuses to be involved in the case because it involved "sinners". He believes they would anyway die soon if they live "like that". His boss tells him he should not bring his religious views in to this, and that "it's not about who committed the crime, it's about the crime."
Season 1 Episode 8, Poison Ivy
A cop shoots a drug dealer boy dead, is prosecuted, and before the verdict commits suicide by "eating the gun".
Season 1 Episode 3, The Reaper's Helper
About morality of mercy killing of AIDS patient using a gun.
Good point: At one point Stone is convinced that the defendant is not guilty, but seeing another random 'mother killing her retarded son' taking inspiration from this case, he decided to proceed with the case. At the end, he plots his own defeat in the case so that the defendant does not get conviction for the harsher of the charges applied and the public is warned about not taking mercy killing lightly, too. So basically the defendant is made use of for the broader social purpose.
Good point: At one point Stone is convinced that the defendant is not guilty, but seeing another random 'mother killing her retarded son' taking inspiration from this case, he decided to proceed with the case. At the end, he plots his own defeat in the case so that the defendant does not get conviction for the harsher of the charges applied and the public is warned about not taking mercy killing lightly, too. So basically the defendant is made use of for the broader social purpose.
Season 1 Episode 2, Subterranean Homeboy Blues
One black man is killed and another injured by a white woman carrying a gun in the subway. A case against the woman for murdering the man on a hunch that he was a potential rapist.
Good point: The prosecutor, after learning deviant history of the man, changes his mind about the case and settles for appropriate punishment for him, letting the woman off the hook. Because it's not about winning or losing the case, it's about justice.
Good point: The prosecutor, after learning deviant history of the man, changes his mind about the case and settles for appropriate punishment for him, letting the woman off the hook. Because it's not about winning or losing the case, it's about justice.
Season 1 Episode 1, Prescription for Death
An alcoholic doctor accidentally kills a girl as negligence induced by alcohol.
Good point: The way it was proven by the lawyer administering the test to see whether the person is under influence of alcohol -- stretching arms and then touching the index finger to one's nose with eyes closed.
Good point: The way it was proven by the lawyer administering the test to see whether the person is under influence of alcohol -- stretching arms and then touching the index finger to one's nose with eyes closed.
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