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Allison Leotta, novelist, former sex-crimes prosecutor, tv critic

Author of A Good Killing, Speak of the Devil, and others.

SVU Episode #13-19: Street Justice

by 23 Comments

Recap: Holy lycra tights, Batman! There’s a masked man taking on a serial rapist in New York. And NYPD is not delighted to receive the assistance of the caped vigilante.

Tonight’s episode opened with the fifth victim of the SOHO Rapist being bundled into an ambulance. The requisite twist? The crime was interrupted by a man in a superhero costume. Both men fled.

A British journalist taunts NYPD for its inability to catch the perp, and a community group expresses its collective outrage. The naysayers get even louder when a 6th victim is targeted. The masked man again comes to the rescue before dashing off into the night.

Olivia tracks down the suspect, and beats him up after he tries to hit her. Bam! Pow! Nice moves, Olivia. And she didn’t even have to get bitten by a spider.

A few odd things about the rapist:  he hasn’t left a shred of DNA at any of the 6 scenes. The taunting journalist claims he has a taunting letter written by the rapist, which includes details that only the rapist would know. Oh, and the rapist keeps getting into fights with a guy dressed like Batman. My Spidey sense says something is off here.

Meanwhile, Nick ignores the case and trails his wife to charming sidewalk cafes where she sips white zinfandel and giggles with her apparent lover. Instead of bringing evidence to the crime lab, Nick drives to Philly to punch the guy in the face. Wham! Ka-pow!  (I could picture several real cops doing exactly the same thing under similar circumstances.)

Rape #6 turns out to be a copycat rapist, who’s only guilty of  the single crime. Nevertheless, the copycat is beaten within an inch of his life and hung from a basketball court fence. The culprits? A bunch of caped crusaders who call themselves the New York Justice League. They’ve decided the justice system is too slow, and they want revenge on a much quicker schedule. (Quicker even than SVU’s two-minute evidence processing system? Imagine how peeved they’d be by the wait in real life!)

Moving on to rape #7. The victim is Fantastica, a woman from … the Justice League itself! Holy coincidence, Batman! Wearing a mask and thigh-high patent-leather boots, Fantastica was staking out a rooftop with a stuttering comic store clerk in a rayon cape, when the SOHO rapist attacked her. The stuttering-clerk-turned-vigilante claims he fended off the rapist.

 

After a commercial break, Nick’s wife storms into the police station and berates our handsome young detective (because, hey, he’s not really doing any police work anyhow, right?) for punching her platonic friend. Also, that house she’s been going to? It’s not her lover’s – it’s her shrink’s. (Nice call, Tokobali!)

Nick’s remorse established, SVU barrels through some suspects for the SOHO rapist: the prime one being the randy restauranteur whose alibis include half the sous chefs in Manhattan. Personally, I suspected the taunting reporter. How’d he know those were details “only the rapist” would know? But no, it was the stuttering comic-book clerk – the very founder of the Justice League.  Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?

Like so many superheroes before him, he did it all to impress a girl. A beautiful woman had stopped by his comic-book store and scoffed at the notion that NY was dangerous. To prove to her that it was, the clerk began the string of SOHO rapes. Convinced by the attacks, she shopped at BuyCostumes.com, joined the stutterer’s nascent Justice League, took up the Fantastica persona, and went out with him to beat up other civilians. Riiiight.

Verdict: B-

What they got right:

Believe it or not, there have been a bunch of real-life full-grown men dressing up as superheroes and walking city streets hoping to fight crime. Things didn’t turn out so well for them, either. A caped crusader calling himself Phoenix Jones of the Rain City Superheroes was arrested in Seattle after allegedly pepper-spraying a crowd of innocent club-goers in the mistaken belief that he was breaking up a fight. Folks, leave the police work to the police, and the molded plastic breast-plates to Val Kilmer.

I thought it was interesting that the SOHO rapist “started things he couldn’t finish.” As a sex-crimes prosecutor, I was astonished by how many rapists became impotent during the sexual assault itself.

I also liked that Nick’s wife said, “I’m your wife! You can’t treat me like one of your suspects.” My husband and I are both lawyers, and, during fights, often accuse each other of cross-examining.

What they got wrong:

Ice-T said they’d get the rapist’s note from the British reporter’s “cold dead hands.” True, it would probably take a while. But no one has to die. The Department of Justice is very careful about issuing subpoenas to journalists. Per the U.S. Attorney’s Manual, before any prosecutor issues such a subpoena, she must get a series of approvals within DOJ. Might take a while for the politicals mull it over. If the top brass agrees, the prosecutor can then issue a subpoena compelling the evidence.

The journalist would probably move to quash the subpoena, citing First Amendment freedom of the press, and the court would hold a hearing. If the journalist had direct evidence of a crime, the government would probably win, and the reporter would be in contempt of court and possibly jailed if she still refused to turn the evidence over. Journalist Judith Miller  spent 12 weeks in nasty old D.C. Jail while she refused to turn over her sources in the Scooter Libby case. Eventually, she gave in, testified under government subpoena, and then probably went home and took the longest shower of her life. So – cold dead hands? No. A few months later? Yes. Certainly long enough to enrage the masked men of the Justice League.

 

Will they stop continually sending Amanda out as bait for rapists? I know she looks great in a short skirt and stilletos. But this is just silly, and not something real police officers do. Real crime is way too random and sporadic for this technique.

Ice-T grumbled that it was a “nice change” that the stop-and-frisks would be of white males this time. Oh, come on. That may be a valid point in real life. But the vast majority of victims and suspects on SVU are white. And good looking. And endowed with a trust fund.

Also, Ice-T, please snap on a pair of gloves and stop fondling the rapist’s knife with your bare hands. Jeez Louise, we’re never going to get any usable prints that way. That said, I laugh at every one of your awesome one-liners.  Although the best one tonight was Munch’s, after Nick’s wife stormed into the precinct:  “That’s why I stopped marrying Italian women.”

 

Comments

  1. From now on, I claim to be Professor X from X-men :P.

    The fights with your husband must be hilarious. “You never clean a damn thing in this household.” “Objection! Assumed facts not in evidence.”

    On a serious note, what in reality is the relationship between the media and the police/DA? On SVU, whenever there is a journalist, he/she is always portrayed like a self-absorbed, incompetent enemy who constantly hinders the investigation. Are journalists really so unethical that their story is more important to them than an investigation, or are they more cooperative? And is the standard answer from the police always “no comment”, or do they use the media from time to time to find witnesses?

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    • Such an impressive call, Professor X! Standing ovation.

      Re: your question: In reality, federal prosecutors simply do not talk to journalists. There are strict DOJ rules that prohibit it. Any statement to the press must go through the front office or the US Attorney himself. Of course, the rules differ from state to state, in terms of policies of local DA’s offices. Like any other profession, journalists come in a wide spectrum of talents, motivations, and ethical boundaries. Generally, I found the reporters in D.C. Superior Court to be a smart, savvy, and ethical bunch.

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  2. I’d like to second TokoBali’s objection above, although I’ll limit my complaint to this episode only. Why wouldn’t the reporter turn over the letter? Having read it on the air, he’s already gotten as much journalistic value out of it as he’s going to get. He’s got nothing to gain by withholding it from the police, but proceeds to do just that… which opens him (and whoever he works for) to the bad PR of being obstructionist. Usually, if a reporter refuses to disclose information, it is because they have made an affirmative commitment of confidentiality, but there isn’t (or at least, shouldn’t be) such a commitment here.

    I suspect that this reporter character is being introduced here to set up a later appearance.

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  3. Did the producers dust off an old Hunter script or something? Because the whole “vigilantes egged on by a reporter” storyline felt like something out of an 80s cop show.

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  4. I thought that this was one of the more fast paced episodes of the season where you can’t look away from the TV. It was a bit funnier than usual, particularly when the Asian copycat put his hands up in an attempt to intimidate Olivia and she slapped him. I also laughed out loud at Munch’s line about Italian women, but I feel as if he barely gets any screen time :/

    I agree with James, do you know who the actor is that played the British reporter? For some reason it seemed like he was a guest star, or a character that might come back again 😛

    Reply

    • Belzer has a contract for only a limited number of episodes, that’s why Munch is so frequently absent. Belzer has a house in France, where he likes to spend the winters. Or so I’ve heard.

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      • Katy, I also loved that part where Olivia beat up the bad guy, too. I love me an ass-kicking female cop. And I agree, the show moved really fast tonight, and had a fun element that it doesn’t always. TokoBali, the way you’re rolling these days, I wouldn’t be surprised if you were hanging in that chateau with Munch.

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  5. I thought it might be the journalist too. I agree that there really wasn’t an assumption of confidentiality since the information was from a letter. I don’t see a reason for the journalist to have kept it back. He could have at least provided the police with a photocopy if he didn’t want to let go of the original…

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  6. Didn’t the police want the original of the letter for possible fingerprints or DNA?

    The Justice League angle had me thinking this episode was inspired by the new The Avengers movie until I came here and followed the link to the ABC News Rain City Superheroes article. Holy Oleo. In real life crime, it is usually only the victim and the criminal present, and only they know who is which, and if an outsider did show up somehow, they could easily make a tragic mistake by intervening. Even worse: according to that article “On the night ABC News followed the men, they distributed food from Taco Bell to homeless people sitting on the sidewalks.”

    Reply

    • It’s great timing for the Avengers movie. I shouldn’t be amazed that grown men think they can just put on a cape and be a superhero …. but it is pretty amazing. I’d like to put on John Grisham’s socks and make myself a #1 NYT bestseller. Alas, I’ll just have to keep plugging away here.

      Love that you spotted the Taco Bell angle. 🙂

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    • They distributed Taco Bell to homeless people? What did the homeless people ever do to them?

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  7. This was an entertaining episode, but I think they tried to cram too much into the 45-minute storyline. Like everyone else here, I didn’t understand the motivations of the journalist holding back that letter from the police. Certainly some tabloid reporters like to “instigate” trouble in order to sell their stories and newspapers (maybe the guy worked for the New York Post?). But to blatantly withhold evidence on-the-air? I’m surprised the vigilante group didn’t protest outside of the guy’s new station.

    Because of the episode’s time-constraints, it seemed to me that none of the guest characters were fleshed-out as real people. We never had the chance to get to know who they were or what their motivations were. The story seemed to resort to certain crime-myths (like the rape victims who all had badly bruised-up faces). The premise of the shy, awkward, stutterer-guy who resorts to a rapist crime spree in order to impress a women was a bit of a stretch. I guess strange things do happen real life, but from what I understand, the motivation for rape is usually a combination of hatred toward women, power (or feeling lack of), and the crime “thrill”. To actually commit 6 rapes without getting caught is quite an accomplishment for such an awkward amateur (like he seemed at the end).

    The topic of vigilante justice was oversimplified and not really explored. They were just an unruly mob of cartoon-like characters. It seemed to me like the “super-hero” characters were confused about whether they should be comic or serious – playing the role of cartoon characters in a police drama. It felt unreal, or like something was off. The conflict between Amaro and his wife was the most interesting part of the episode – it brought the story back.

    Beware of the shy, awkward, stutterer – the lesson for the day.

    Reply

    • Great points, as always, Alenna. I also think it didn’t work that this guy was raping other women because he was *so in love* with the other girl, he just had to get her on his side to fight crime. I’ve just never seen a motivation that approaches anything like that. That was way out there.

      I also enjoyed the Amaro storyline the best. I really like him as a character. He seems real and nuanced and interestingly tortured.

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  8. “started things he couldn’t finish.” I suggest you discuss this with hubby. It’s a bit of a mystery what pushes the ON button for the male machinery. Assault is not so sexy in most cases. Not being a shrink, it seems reasonable to me that for a real rapist, sex and aggression are closely linked, but not so much for us better adjusted types. In the episode, the sexual interest was not directed to the object of the attack, so failure to perform is likely realistic.

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    • Hey eye5600, interesting theories. Even in sexual assaults where the “interest” is directed to the victim, though, the assailant often loses his ability to perform in the middle of the act. Also rape is often more about power and control than sexual pleasure.

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  10. I was a little thrown by the vigilante thing, I’m used to seeing the “real life superheroes” portrayed as either glorified party attractions or do-gooders that dress up to do things like raise money or pass out food or supplies to the needy. However, I thought it was an interesting angle showing them taking the law into their own hands; with all the hoopla surrounding Avengers and the upcoming Batman flick I’ve wondered what it would be like if someone decided to actually go full superhero. I figure if someone was going to do it with any level of success and survive more than twenty minutes, they’d end up going a lot more Big Daddy from Kickass than Bruce Wayne.

    Zero pity for Amaro’s wife. “You wouldn’t have understood why I was hiding everything from you” is not an excuse. I feel for the guy and certainly no man wants to feel suspicious of his wife, but she has no one to blame except herself for his perception. Not his actions, but his perception.

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