Cutter is forced to play hardball with his mentor after her Innocence Project group gets his guilty verdict in a murder trial set aside, but is he ready to handle the unexpected consequences... Read allCutter is forced to play hardball with his mentor after her Innocence Project group gets his guilty verdict in a murder trial set aside, but is he ready to handle the unexpected consequences of his actions?Cutter is forced to play hardball with his mentor after her Innocence Project group gets his guilty verdict in a murder trial set aside, but is he ready to handle the unexpected consequences of his actions?
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Did you know
- TriviaDespite playing a character being accused of murder motivated by gay hatred, Robin Lord Taylor is in fact gay.
- GoofsWhen the title card states that the next scene takes place in Sylvia Corgan's realty office and gives the date, the month is spelled "Febraury".
- Quotes
Cedric Stuber: This guy's not even a lawyer. Can he even make a deal?
Connie Rubirosa: Yes, he can, Mr. Stuber. And if you have any doubts, I'm here for your peace of mind.
Cedric Stuber: [sarcastic] Oh, that's sweet of you.
[sitting down]
Cedric Stuber: So what do you got?
Michael Cutter: Man one. Twenty years.
Cedric Stuber: [derisive laugh] Screw that.
Emily Ryan: Come on, Mike. You can do better than that. If he is going to blow trial, the minimum is fifteen years.
Connie Rubirosa: Everyone in this room knows he won't get less than twenty-five to life after a conviction for a hate crime.
Cedric Stuber: You know what? I'm sick of this hate crime crap. It's not like he was a black guy or a spic.
Michael Cutter: Our offer just went up to twenty-five.
Emily Ryan: Mike.
Michael Cutter: Go to trial if you don't like it.
Emily Ryan: How about our motion for dismissal? How about your law license?
Michael Cutter: You can have my license! It'll free me up to testify about the hate speech your client just spewed in here. And after he's convicted of murder in state court, I'll walk across to the U.S. Attorney's office and have your client prosecuted for violating the Matthew Shepard Act. Hate murder against gays is a federal offense now. Are you ready to do back to back life sentences, Mr. Stuber? You will die in jail.
But you can see the seeds of melodrama being sewn late in the original run of Law and Order. They're not so bad as to be distracting like now, but the show is already starting to rely too much on mustache-twirling villains and over done reactions from the others. This episode is one of them, where guest Amy Madigan -- playing a holier than thou law professor who mistakes overzealous social justice for actual justice -- seethes with soap opera style hubris.
Still, compared to now, this episode is virtually Shakespeare, with ADA Cutter going up against his former mentor when she tries to get a jury verdict overturned for an obvious bigot and murderer. It works mostly because the cast is so able -- this is the last iteration of Law and Order where all of the actors deliver, inhabiting their characters and giving them dimension.
The biggest flaw here, though, concerns when the professor decides to go low and call into question Cutter's legal standing to be in the Bar. It seems somehow all of his credits weren't sorted out, so technically, he didn't receive an undergraduate degree. The big flaw is it's Madigan's character -- his former adviser in law school -- who tells him not to worry about it when he brought it to her attention all those years ago. It seems merely testifying to this effect would have both effectively quashed her accusation and also outed her for her own malfeasance, as if she hadn't told him that, he likely would have pursued other means to make sure he had his degree. But for some inexplicable reason, they don't go there.
- bkkaz
- Mar 24, 2023