History Recap / LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnitS14E18LegitimateRape

* HopeSpot: Despite the fight Prucell gives in court, he allowed his villainous nature to slip multiple times, disrupting court, which earned the ire of the judge, and the pseudo-science he tried to pass off in court to defend himself arguing "[[TitleDrop legitimate rape]]" was quickly dismantled in open court in a matter of ''minutes'', which made the SVU see the trial as a no-brainer guilty verdict... but then it takes nearly two days for the jury to reach a verdict, and they unfortunately had to settle on a slap on the hand punishment [[HorribleJudgeOfCharacter all because one juror bought into the junk hoax argument the discredited doctor gave out and refused to budge on her "Not Guilty" decision no matter how hard the other jurors tried]], resulting in Purcell's freedom [[FromBadToWorse and his continued harassments of Avery by suing her for custody of her child]].

* PetTheDog: As despicable as he is, Purcell really does seem to love his child with Avery.

* ItsAllAboutMe: Purcell has this in shades, going over his counsel and choosing to represent himself [[YouHaveFailedMe when his appointed lawyer fails to ask the questions he deems to be important to the case]], badgering the witnesses, and invoking both EntitledToHaveYou and NotIfTheyEnjoyedItRationalization by exploiting Avery's desires for motherhood. It's also implied he doesn't really care about her son Theo and is just using him as an excuse to remain close to Avery by any means via court-mandated visitation rights. Towards the end, Fin had to drill it into Prucell's head that if he's really serious about being a father, then one of the first things he has to learn is that it's not going to be about him anymore.

* HopeSpot: Despite the fight Prucell gives in court, he allowed his villainous nature to slip multiple times, disrupting court, which earned the ire of the judge, and the pseudo-science he tried to pass off in court to defend himself arguing "[[TitleDrop legitimate rape]]" was quickly dismantled in open court in a matter of ''minutes'', which made the SVU see the trial as a no-brainer guilty verdict... but then it takes nearly two days for the jury to reach a verdict, and they unfortunately had to settle on a slap on the hand punishment [[TooDumbToLive all because one juror bought into the junk hoax argument the discredited doctor gave out and refused to budge on her "Not Guilty" decision no matter how hard the other jurors tried]], resulting in Purcell's freedom [[FromBadToWorse and his continued harassments of Avery by suing her for custody of her child]].

* HopeSpot: Despite the fight Prucell gives in court, he allowed his villainous nature to slip multiple times, disrupting court, which earned the ire of the judge, and the pseudo-science he tried to pass off in court to defend himself arguing "[[TitleDrop legitimate rape]]" was quickly dismantled in open court in a matter of ''minutes'', which made the SVU see the trial as a no-brainer guilty verdict... but then it takes nearly two days for the jury to reach a verdict, and they unfortunately had to settle on a slap on the hand punishment [[TooDumbToLive all because one juror bought into the junk hoax argument the discredited doctor gave out and refused to budge on her "Not Guilty" decision no matter how hard the other jurors tried]], resulting in Purcell's freedom [[FromBadToWorse and his continued harassments of Jordan by suing her for custody of her child]].

* ItsAllAboutMe: Purcell has this in shades, going over his counsel and choosing to represent himself [[YouHaveFailedMe when his appointed lawyer fails to ask the questions he deems to be important to the case]], badgering the witnesses, and invoking both EntitledToHaveYou and NotIfTheyEnjoyedItRationalization by exploiting Jordan's desires for motherhood. It's also implied he doesn't really care about her son Theo and is just using him as an excuse to remain close to Jordan by any means via court-mandated visitation rights. Towards the end, Fin had to drill it into Prucell's head that if he's really serious about being a father, then one of the first things he has to learn is that it's not going to be about him anymore.

* {{Truth In Television}}[=/=]{{This Loser Is You}}: One of the most notable examples was in the episode, where a congressman {{Expy}} of Todd Akin said that it was impossible for a woman to become pregnant from rape. This [[spoiler: resulted in Jordan's rapist being acquitted because of one holdout juror, suing for custody of the her son, and thus forcing her to flee the country.]]

* ItsAllAboutMe: Purcell has this in shades, going over his counsel and choosing to represent himself [[YouHaveFailedMe when his appointed lawyer fails to ask the questions he deems to be important to the case]], badgering the witnesses, and invoking both EntitledToHaveYou and NotIfTheyEnjoyedItRationalization by exploiting Jordan's desires for motherhood. It's also implied he doesn't really care about her son Theo and is just using him as an excuse to remain close to Jordan by any means. Towards the end, Fin had to drill it into Prucell's head that if he's really serious regarding being a father, then one of the first things he has to learn is that it's not going to be about him anymore.

* ItsAllAboutMe: Purcell has this in shades, going over his counsel and choosing to represent himself [[YouHaveFailedMe when he fails to ask the questions he deems to be important to the case]], badgering the witnesses, and invoking both EntitledToHaveYou and NotIfTheyEnjoyedItRationalization by exploiting Jordan's desires for motherhood. It's also implied he doesn't really care about her son Theo and is just using him as an excuse to remain close to Jordan by any means. Towards the end, Fin had to drill it into Prucell's head that if he's really serious regarding being a father, then one of the first things he has to learn is that it's not going to be about him anymore.

-> '''Tutuola:''' Avery Jordan: is she the one that wears those tight white jeans on the sideline?
-> '''Rollins, in an exasperated tone:''' No, Fin, that's someone else, and beside the point.

* EvilerThanThou: Purcell is initially represented by Roger Kressler, the show's resident [[CardCarryingVillain swarmy defense attorney]]. Purcell finds Kressler unimpressive and eventually decides to represent himself, even proving that he is more cutthroat than him.

A popular sports reporter accuses her cameraman of rape and stalking, but when she later learns she's pregnant, the defense employs unconventional tactics to get him found not guilty and later also achieve custody of the child.

[This description was copied in violation of our Administrivia/{{Plagiarism}} policy. Please replace it with original writing.]

A sports reporter (Creator/LaurenCohan) seeks Benson's help to accuse a cameraman (Creator/DavidMarciano) of rape, but only agrees to press charges after she discovers the man is stalking her. But before the trial begins, she learns she is pregnant and Barba must contend with controversial defense tactics as a result.

* ArtisticLicenseBiology: In an in-universe case, Purcell uses a junk science argument to defend himself against the rape charge.

* ArtisticLicenseBiology: In-universe, Purcell uses a junk science argument to defend himself against the rape charge.

* AFoolForAClient: Unfortunately [[AvertedTrope averted]], The defendant, Purcell, is accused of raping sports reporter Avery Jordan, and later dismisses his counsel and opts to represent himself. Purcell proves to be significantly more competent than expected and he succeeds in convincing the jury to find him not guilty of rape, though they do find him guilty of stalking. To make matters worse, he also proves competent in representing himself when he sues for custody of the resulting child. He doesn't succeed, but he does get the judge to award him minimal visitation rights. His not being a fool for a client ends up making him a KarmaHoudini, though Jordan gets the last laugh: she leaves town to somewhere beyond extradition and takes the baby with her.

* AFoolForAClient: Unfortunately [[AvertedTrope averted]], The defendant, Purcell, is accused of raping sports reporter Avery Jordan, and later dismisses his counsel and opts to represent himself. Purcell proves to be significantly more competent than expected and he succeeds in convincing the jury to find him not guilty of rape, though they do find him guilty of stalking. To make matters worse, he also proves competent in representing himself when he sues for custody of the resulting child. He doesn't succeed, but he does get the judge to award him minimal visitation rights. His not being a fool for a client ends up making him a KarmaHoudini, though Jordan gets the last laugh: she leaves town to somewhere beyond extradition and takes the baby with her.

* AFoolForAClient: Unfortunately [[AvertedTrope averted]], The defendant of that episode, Purcell, is accused of raping sports reporter Avery Jordan, and later dismisses his counsel and opts to represent himself. Purcell proves to be significantly more competent than expected and he succeeds in convincing the jury to find him not guilty of rape, though they do find him guilty of stalking. To make matters worse, he also proves competent in representing himself when he sues for custody of the resulting child. He doesn't succeed, but he does get the judge to award him minimal visitation rights. His not being a fool for a client ends up making him a KarmaHoudini, though Jordan gets the last laugh: she leaves town to somewhere beyond extradition and takes the baby with her.

A sports reporter (Creator/LaurenCohan) seeks Benson's help to accuse a cameraman (Creator/DavidMarciano) of rape, but only agrees to press charges after she discovers the man is stalking her. But before the trial begins, she learns she is pregnant and Barba must contend with controversial defense tactics as a result.