Extradition
This ep suggestion is modeled after the classic season 3
"Jurisdiction" and will focus in on Abby's past as a DA down in her
home state of Texas. Notice that L&O has occasionally had episodes whereby
a cast member had to deal with a incident from the past. "Censure,"
"Trophy," "Bad Faith," and "Corruption" comes to
mind. In this ep, I will focus more on the "Order" side as I try to
give Abby a character that will make you take more notice of her. It's a tall
task, but here I go.
To begin, a superintendent goes in his apartment to collect a late rent payment
from one of his tenants. When he gets upset, he opens the door and discovers
the tenant is savagely murdered with a kitchen knife. He then tries to get some
help from a neighbor, but when he opens the door, the female tenant is
seriously raped and traumatized. Lennie and Ed begin to investigate and ask
questions. Lennie quips that if the rent wasn't so high for a dump, they could
have had some security guards or video cameras. Go to opening credits.
Now I should point out for the sake of time that Lennie and Ed conduct their
usual first rate and thorough investigation as to who might be the perp or
perps in this case. They question both the family of the knifed victim and the
raped victim at the hospital. The ME does point out both the raped and knifed
victim were cut with the same weapon.
Van Buren and some people in the squad room go through the police files to see
anyone who might fit that description. Lennie and Ed do find a crazy homeless
man who has a history of mental disease and was recently released from prison
after pleading guilty to attacking a pedestrian. Even though he is still in
another planet, it turns out he does have a strong alibi. But the super tells
Lennie and Ed the homeless man has loitered around the building repeatedly and
hassling the tenants for food or money. It seems he does this while the super
is out tending to his other business, a grocery store.
The raped victim gains consciousness and begins to give Lennie and Ed a better
description of the man. She swears it was only one person who committed both
the rape and the murder.
Van Buren gets a call from Nora's office to visit her. Nora asks Van Buren if
they have any leads on this case. Van Buren tells the DA's they are ready to do
a stakeout on this perp. Abby begins to look at her computer to see if there
are any fugitives out there who are dangerous and fits the description. Then
back at the squad room, Van Buren gets a call from headquarters. At
headquarters, the captain (Dan Lauria) tells Van Buren there was another
incident in Queens whereby a man in his mid 20's was beaten, robbed, and
stabbed to death last night. The police brass is putting this case on high
priority and is asking the 27 and other precincts to work together in finding
this man.
After some intense questioning of witnesses and by- standers and catching a
break, the cops have pinpointed the place where the perp might strike next. Van
Buren agrees to pose as a homeless woman since it is believed the perp likes to
strike up a conversation with the homeless. It turns out the perp is a drifter
who is not from the NYC area.
At this sting, Van Buren and the perp get acquainted. When the perp begins
describing the rape and the murders, she begins to flee but not to raise
suspicion. However, the perp gets nervous and flees himself. But a SWAT team
comes in and nabs the perp.
In the interrogation room, Lennie and Ed do their song and dance. Both get a
little rough on them, but not over the line. The perp's attorney then arrives
and attempts to end the questioning on the grounds he is insane. Abby comes in
and tells Van Buren the perp is originally from Texas and he escaped a prison
five years ago whereby he was doing time for two murders and was waiting trial
on another. When Lennie hears this he quips again, "Here's a rarity, a
survivor of the George W. Bush correctional facility program."
In the "Order" part, Abby is ready to arraign the perp for rape and
two counts of murder one. But then all of a sudden a Texan comes in and claims
to be the DA of Travis County, Texas. He wants the proceedings postponed so
that the perp can be extradited back to Texas. Abby obviously objects as does
the perp's NY attorney. The judge delays the arraignment and schedules a
hearing on what to do.
At Nora's office, Jack is furious that someone would just come in from out of
the blue and take someone without NY getting a crack at the perp for his
crimes. Nora tends to agree and says that the people of NY must have a chance
to have justice done. Abby says it's not that easy. The papers filed by the
Texas DA is that the perp should first stand trial for the murder charge that
he was going to be tried on. She also points out the Texas DA was in a position
similar to Jack back when she was a young ADA in Austin right after graduating
from law school and he is good.
At the extradition hearing, the family of the Texas murdered victim comes over
asking for justice. They have been waiting for five years for this day and
don't want this delayed any further. Jack puts on the stand Van Buren and
Lennie, forensic experts, and the NY victim's families. The Texas DA doesn't
address the issue of what should happen once that trial is over. He doesn't
seem to be interested in what happens to NY. The perp’s attorney then puts the
perp on the stand. To everyone's surprise, the perp proclaims that he fled
prison due to the overcrowding, violence inside, and torture which he and other
inmates felt from the guards. The perp’s attorney argues insanity based on the
abuse he felt in prison. He also argues that the perp committed these crimes as
a reaction to lifelong abuse from his parents to his time in jail. He also
argues that since the prison system in Texas is cruel and unusual, it would
violate his client's 8th amendment rights. He brings up some experts on this
issue. The judge rules that although Texas does have the right to extradite the
perp to answer for the crimes down there, the NY victims must be given a chance
to have their day in court.
Back in Nora's office, Abby is OK until Nora turns on the TV and finds the
father of the Texas victim proclaiming that Abby as an ADA down there allowed
the perp to be transferred to a better prison, but with less security, since
there was a less tendency of violence within those walls. The Texas DA plans to
appeal this matter to a federal court and crucify Abby in the press for being
soft on criminals.
The same routine occurs in federal court. The Texas officials want the perp
brought down to Texas, Jack wants the perp tried here in NY first. Abby is
forced to take the stand and explain her actions in Texas. She regrets what
happened to the victims down there and what occurred to the NY families. Since
she was prosecuting the Texas case and the DA was at the time her boss, she
wanted to make sure that no prisoner was unpunished, but that no one was beaten
or attacked either. She decided to ask in an underhand way to have the perp
transported to this other prison so as a way to stem off possible civil rights
suits and other lawsuits the county and state must face. The Texas victim's
father is upset and is removed from the courtroom.
At Nora's office, Nora is upset that Abby would undermine her former employer
and begins to have doubts about her judgment. But Jack backs up Abby on this.
He claims that what Abby did wasn't compassion for the criminals, rather a
preemptive strike against further violence that could lead to deaths and
violence. But Nora says that thanks to Abby's warm heart, three people are dead.
A messenger comes in and serves Abby with papers. The families of the NY
victims and the father of the Texas victim are suing her personally for
$10,000,000 for negligence and prosecutorial misconduct. Nora quips, "So
much for preventing lawsuits."
Meanwhile, back in federal court, the judge rules that the NY authorities have
the right to try the perp and remands the case back to the NY courts. But the
judge also rules that a special prosecutor be named to examine the Texas prison
system to see if any civil rights violations have occurred. The Texas DA then
storms out and contacts the attorney general of Texas for a possible appeal at
the US Supreme Court.
Back in Rikers, the perp is beginning to get on Abby's nerves. She is upset
that his story has caused her all this grief. Jack offers a deal whereby the
perp pleads to murder one but not get the death penalty and serves life with no
parole in Attica. Jack tells the perp and the attorney that Attica compared to
Texas is like Miami Beach to Siberia. Jack also tells the perp that he must
tell everything that went on in Texas to the US attorney for the deal to work.
He does.
After the allocution hearing, the Texas DA is served with papers of his own. He
personally and the state is being sued by the families of the inmates who did
nothing wrong in prison but was attacked brutally since the prison officials
did nothing. Also, the US attorney comes back to place a federal injunction on
future prisoners being transported to this hellish prison in Texas until a
through investigation is done. Abby smiles saying she still has some contacts
down there and quips that while she doesn't have a soft spot for criminals, she
has a cold heart for cold prosecutors. Jack smiles at this.
Cast of characters:
Perp-William Sanderson, he was Larry from "Newhart."
Perp's attorney-Charlie Meadow from "Wedded Bliss."
Father of the Texas victim-Barry Corbin from "Northern Exposure."
Texas DA- J.D. Cannon from "The Secret Sharers."
NY Judge-Judge Sally Goldman, played by the same actress in
"Jurisdiction" and "Homesick."
Federal Judge-Laurie Kennedy.
US Attorney overseeing the Texas prison system-Chuck Rodman, Jaime's classmate.
Hank74