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Feb
27thHand it over, JackJack McCoy has a habit of playing fast and loose with the rules. He also isn’t very fond of disclosure. Back when old Jack was Executive ADA his assistants often had to convince him to disclose favorable evidence to the defense. The lovely ladies weren’t soft-hearted; they were being pragmatic—and practicing safe law. According to the model rules of professional conduct (and a little old ruling by the Supreme Court), “a prosecutor in a criminal case is duty-bound to make timely disclosure to the defense of all evidence known to the prosecutor that supports innocence or mitigates the offense.” In other words, if Jack has evidence that supports Jill’s contention of innocence, he is required by law to hand it over to her defense attorney.
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May
21stDefense Attorneys: You Gotta Love/Hate ‘Em.When a TV show has been on the air as long as Law & Order has, the producers need to stir things up a bit to keep fans on their toes. And no one stirs things up quite like a New York City criminal defense lawyer. L&O has featured some colorful defense attorneys to say the least. Here are some of the standouts from over the years, along with (of course) our opinion of them. All in all, if you find yourself in a legal scrape, we suggest you hire Randy Dworkin. Randolph “Randy” J. Dworkin (Peter Jacobson) Quirkiness: √√√√√ Legal moxie: √√√√√ Passion for winning: √√√√√ Talent for driving McCoy to drink: √√√√√ Favorite Quote: Dworkin: “My client pleads ‘innocent.’” Judge: “That’s not an option.” Dworkin: “I’ve always found that interesting.” Actor Fact: Peter Jacobson once played a ghost on the sitcom Scrubs. Now he’s Doctor Taub on House. Danielle Melnick (Tovah Feldshuh) Quirkiness: (w/out cane) √√ (w/cane) √√√ Legal moxie: √√√ Passion for winning: √√√√√ Crankiness: √√√√√ Favorite Quote: “[My client] is accused of a crime, but that doesn’t make him Hannibal Lechter.” Actor Fact: You can hire Tovah Feldshuh to arrive at your house doing an impersonation of Tallulah Bankhead, an actress who nearly played Scarlett O’Hara in Gone With the Wind. Rodney Fallon (Giancarlo Esposito) Quirkiness: √ Legal moxie: √ Passion for winning: √√√√√ Penchant for becoming apoplectic: √√√√√ Favorite Quote: “Are there any amendments the people haven’t violated?” Actor Fact: In Spike Lee’s Do the [...]
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Mar
7thDick’s Wolf PackThe theme from Law & Order drives dogs wild. Don’t believe us? Take a look at this kick ass montage of canines reacting to that oh-so-familiar opening song.
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Sep
28thCriminal Intent: D’Onofrio, Erbe, and Bogosian OutThis just in from the proprietor of the excellent and informative site All Things Law & Order… There is a disturbance in the Law & Order Criminal Intent force. The Hollywood Reporter says that Vincent D’Onofrio, the linchpin of Criminal Intent, will be exiting sometime during the ninth season. Kathryn Erbe, his work partner and conscience, and Eric Bogosian, the oftentimes-deadpan captain, will also both be phased out. As reported earlier, Julianne Nicholson will not be returning, leaving Jeff Goldblum at the helm, and THR says that Saffron Burrows will replace her.
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Apr
17thBusinessman may finally be cleared in 1980s murdersBY JERRY DeMARCO Locked up more than 20 years for a crime he says he didn’t commit, a North Jersey businessman convicted in a 1983 double murder could be freed by a federal appeals court. Today, a defense attorney detailed six instances of prosecutorial misconduct that he said were deliberately concocted to keep Paul Kamienski behind bars despite his innocence. Kamienski, a well-known businessman who grew up in Passaic before moving to Garfield, was convicted in Nov. 1988 as an accomplice in the Jersey Shore slayings of a Florida couple during a major cocaine deal gone bad.
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Apr
16thMore Munch, PleaseRecently, our friend, cartoonist Bob Eckstein gave his friend Richard Belzer a copy of True Stories of Law & Order: SVU. Soon after I had a dream that the poet Kravitz & I were sitting at a table in Andrew’s Coffee Shop quietly munching on toast when Richard Belzer walked in and joined us. He was wearing a beret and looked like he just woke up. The waitress called out “Hi John” and then brought him a cup of coffee. He drank it black. Suddenly, I realized all three of us were wearing berets, although I didn’t recall putting mine on. Kravitz was toying with his beret, making it big and puffy. Richard Belzer thought this was funny. It dawned on me that this was a good opportunity to interview him for our blog. I took out a notebook and started jotting down whatever he said. “How alike are you and John Munch?” I asked him. No answer. “Do you ever feel like you’re having a ‘Munch’ moment in your real life?” Nothing. He smiled and turned back to Kravitz whose beret was now shaped like a giant cheese soufflé. Richard Belzer liked that. He laughed some more. Then I woke up. Afterwards, I decided that we need more Munch in our lives. Don’t get me wrong, I like Livvy and Elliot. They’re certainly cute (hot even). But the truth is that John Munch and George Huang are my favorites. As for Dwyer, he’s particularly fond of Mr. Munch, and [...]
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Mar
26thIs Dick Wolf Out of Order?Separated at birth? Attorney Ravi Batra and actor Eric Avari Dick Wolf may be rich but he still has to face the music—or in this case the judge. Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Marilyn Shafer has denied a motion by Wolf and his defense team to dismiss attorney Ravi Batra’s libel lawsuit against the producer. In his suit, the Indian-born, New York-based attorney alleges that Wolf & Co. defamed him in the 2003 Law & Order episode “Floater.” The episode revolved around a judge for sale who accepted bribes from several divorce lawyers, including one particularly slick character named “Ravi Patel.” The fictional Patel shares the same first name as Batra and the same pate—both men are bald. In real life, Batra was investigated by Brooklyn D.A. Charles Hynes. The Brooklyn D.A. was following up allegations of corruption and serial cronyism in the borough. Apparently, Batra is a known hob-nobber with political connections and a reputation for wining, dining, and bestowing generous gifts on Brooklyn jurists. However, Hynes’s investigation did not uncover any illegal activity in Batra’s career. According to the New York Times: Mr. Batra filed his lawsuit under a doctrine known as libel-in-fiction. To win his case, he must demonstrate that the identities of the real and fictional characters “must be so complete that the defamatory material” becomes a “plausible aspect” of the plaintiff’s real life, Justice Shafer wrote in her ruling, quoting case law. Mr. Wolf’s lawyers argued that the similarities between Mr. Batra and the Patel character [...]
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