SVU Episode #16-2: American Disgrace

Mashing up Ray Rice, Donald Sterling, Solange Knowles, and Darren Sharper, tonight’s SVU paid homage to TMZ’s greatest hits of 2014.

Recap:

A star NBA player named Shakir is attacked in an elevator by a beautiful woman who claims he raped her three months earlier. The attack is caught on the elevator video, and the resulting scandal leads two more women to come forward and claim that Shakir drugged and raped them.

The detectives charge Shakir with three counts of sexual assault. But, it turns out, Shakir raped no one. He was set up by the team’s owner, Orion Baur, a demented white supremacist who was enraged that Shakir dated and impregnated Baur’s pretty blond daughter. Baur paid all three “victims” to fake their stories. Barba drops the charges, but Shakir’s reputation is in ruins, his contract revoked, and his baby aborted by his lover, who thought he was a monster.

Verdict: B+

What They Got Right:

TMZ, an upstart news site often labeled an online tabloid, has repeatedly broken some of America’s biggest stories in recent years. Tonight’s SVU episode was a skillful and entertaining mashup of TMZ’s latest scoops.

Donald Sterling was the demented white supremacist owner of the Clippers, whose girlfriend recorded him demanding that she not to bring black players – including Magic Johnson – to basketball games. TMZ obtained and published that tape.

TMZ broke the story of Darren Sharper, an NFL player-turned-TV-analyst, who has been charged with drugging and raping several women. TMZ also obtained and published the notorious elevator videos showing Solange Knowles attacking Jay-Z, and Ray Rice cold-clocking his fiancee.

With Ray Rice, TMZ singlehandedly made America talk about domestic violence.  With Donald Sterling, TMZ made us confront the virulent racism that still pervades the highest echelons of society. Much like SVU itself, TMZ shines a light on subjects that many won’t touch – forcing uncomfortable but essential conversations about our country’s most shameful problems. No wonder SVU wrote TMZ a love letter by way of this episode.

What They Got Wrong:

I throw popcorn at the TV whenever a defense attorney sits next to her client, smiling prettily, while he incriminates himself. Tonight’s lawyer was a terrible, twiddling her thumbs while Shakir admitted two crucial incriminatory facts: he had (1) sex with all the complainants and (2) a stash of Ambien. A real defense attorney is as likely to let her client be questioned by the prosecutors as a lobster is to throw itself into a pot of boiling water. Defense attorneys know the vast majority of their clients are guilty – and any time a defendant opens his mouth, he risks revealing that.

Controlled meets, like the one Carla had with Shakir, can be great evidence in rape cases. The victim asks the assailant why he did what he did, and sometimes he makes admissions or an apology, which is recorded in a hidden mic. But the government can’t do this once a defendant is represented by counsel. A witness like Carla could record a conversation on her own. But in this case, Olivia urged Carla to go after additional evidence, and thus Carla might be considered a state actor for the issue of whether the government violated rules against contacting represented parties. For analysis of a similar issue, check out this article by one of my favorite jurists.

At trial, Baur testified that he believed Shakir assaulted all three women. “When three people at a party tell you you’re drunk, don’t drive home,” he drawled. Nice homespun wisdom, but totally objectionable testimony. One witness may not comment on whether he believes another witness or the defendant. He may just state the facts that he knows.

Finally, why was Barba wearing a $2000 suit?? That’s like his monthly salary. The courthouse janitor is more likely to be able to afford a $2000 broom.

What do you think, SVU fans? Can a website really be a “tabloid” if it’s breaking the biggest stories of the day? Was that defense attorney taking Ambien when she allowed Shakir to incriminate himself? And are we going to get into a storyline of Barba being bribed? Leave your comments!