An 80-year-old man is accused of killing the man who stole his identity and caused him to lose his home. However, the defendant's son wants him declared incompetent to stand trial.An 80-year-old man is accused of killing the man who stole his identity and caused him to lose his home. However, the defendant's son wants him declared incompetent to stand trial.An 80-year-old man is accused of killing the man who stole his identity and caused him to lose his home. However, the defendant's son wants him declared incompetent to stand trial.
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- DA Arthur Branch
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Did you know
- TriviaA.D.A. Serena Southerlyn mentions to E.A.D.A. Jack McCoy 'that case in Texas where the lawyer fell asleep during trial'. In 1983, Calvin J. Burdine received a death sentence for the murder of his former roommate, W.T. Wise. During trial both the jurors and the court clerk noticed Burdine's court-appointed lawyer, Joe Frank Cannon, falling asleep frequently. In 1999, a federal district judge ordered a new trial for Burdine, but the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals voted against it.
- GoofsThe defendant's attorney tells his client that a charge of manslaughter in the first degree would carry a sentence of 15 years. While that is certainly a possible sentence for a violent, class B felony he should have pointed out that the minimum sentence for it can be as little as five years in prison, but on the other hand the maximum sentence is 25 years in prison.
- Quotes
Executive A.D.A. Jack McCoy: Do you know what a Pyrrhic victory is, Mr Jackson?
Lonnie Jackson: I'm not really sure.
Executive A.D.A. Jack McCoy: That's when you win but you really lose. Like this hearing: if I win, I get to say that you're competent, in which case, I get to go into another courtroom and try to prove that you did something I know you did, but at the same time I can't prove.
Lonnie Jackson: So why don't we just call it a day?
Executive A.D.A. Jack McCoy: It's what they call going through the motions, it's what I get paid for. So will you bear with me?
Lonnie Jackson: Sure.
- ConnectionsRemade as Law & Order: UK: Pride (2014)
Jerry Orbach and Jesse Martin get assigned the investigation of the homicide of a computer graphics designer found stabbed to death in his home. Turns out that he had been faking going to work for several months. He had been laid off but there seemed no appreciable tightening of the belts.
What this man had done is stolen the identity of Paul Benjamin and elderly man in Harlem with a paid in full brownstone, put a second mortgage, defaulted it, and then used the money in a secret account and withdrew it bit by bit. As for Benjamin his house was taken from him and sold at auction. This investigation was mostly following a paper trail, but Briscoe and Green come up with Benjamin.
This was one of the saddest Law And Order episodes ever done. This man who is a World War II veteran whose house was just dispossessed out from under him. When he found out who was responsible he did the deed. I'm not sure I wouldn't have done the deed myself in the same spot.
Sam Waterston is ready to cut Benjamin some considerable slack. Benjamin's lawyers are Roscoe Lee Browne and Lorraine Toussaint and she made a long heralded return as Shambala Green who used to spar in court with Michael Moriarty back in the series early days. Given his age and circumstance it's the easiest thing in the world to have him plead temporary insanity and diminished capacity.
But Benjamin is full of pride and he'd rather go to jail than have a finding of any kind of insanity due to age. Interestingly enough he had certainly enough marbles to do his own investigation and seek out the man responsible for his predicament. An argument that could have been raised by Waterston but wasn't.
Quite a conundrum to be sure, but Benjamin won't back down.
And quite a few issues about old age are raised here as well. Nice episode dominated by Paul Benjamin as old, but proud.
- bkoganbing
- Jan 6, 2013