Line #13 Recap/LawAndOrderS5E8Virtue


1	Briscoe and Logan are called to the scene of a road crash where a fatally injured "driver" wasn't actually driving the car - her body was moved and the real driver ran. It emerges that the driver was her co-worker Todd Lock. He and the victim, Lyssa Westley, both worked for popular city councilman Spencer Talbert. On the night of Lyssa's death, they attended a campaign event with Talbert, who invited Lyssa up to his room and seemingly raped her. Lock agreed to drive her to hospital but then the crash happened.
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3	The detectives learn that in Talbert's previous career at a law firm, the company paid a settlement to an employee he had sexually assaulted. Briscoe and Logan question the involvement of Sarah Maslin, Talbert's partner at the law firm. Under pressure, Maslin says Talbert raped her too. Despite Schiff's disapproval, [=McCoy=] decides to have Talbert charged with rape in Maslin's case rather than Lyssa's. Talbert insists he and Maslin had a consensual affair and she is just being vindictive. Maslin is furious and won't pursue the case, saying she has a personal reason not to want to prosecute.
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5	When the press reveals that Maslin had opposed Talbert's run for Congress because of his voting record, [=McCoy=] wants to bring conspiracy charges against her. She confesses that Talbert didn't physically force her into sex, but coerced her with the threat of ruining her career. [=McCoy=] decides that the best chance of prosecuting Talbert is to charge him with extortion. In court, Talbert's lawyer insists Maslin is just greedy and would still make a lot of money even without becoming partner. Maslin highlights her exceptional contributions both to the company and national legislation - none of which would have happened if she had been forced out of her job by Talbert.
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7	In [=McCoy=]'s summation he demonstrates to the jury that his position as [=ADA=] would make it easy for him to take advantage of someone, and the same is true of Talbert. The jury convicts, but Schiff thinks the legislature will overturn it, or else too many powerful men would be in jail.
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9	!!This episode contains examples of:
10	* TheAce: Maslin has a stellar professional and educational record, including making partner of a Wall Street law firm at an unusually young age.
11	* DrunkDriver: What kicks off this plot, as the driver of the second vehicle is found with a bottle of alcohol, which Briscoe describes as the "murder weapon".
12	* EveryoneHasStandards: Even Talbert's lawyer is disgusted by her client's actions and says so on her summation to the jury, but does present the argument that what Talbert did was not illegal. Unfortunately the jury does not agree.
13	* HalfwayPlotSwitch: The first half of the episode focuses on the investigation into Lyssa's death. The second is about Maslin's case and what Talbert can be charged with.
14	* InUniverseCatharsis: You can see the moment when relief overcomes Sarah Maslin's face when the guilty verdict is read.
15	* IWantYouToMeetAnOldFriendOfMine: Creator/ReginaTaylor, who guest stars as Sarah Maslin, had previously co-starred with Sam Waterston in ''I'll Fly Away''. Waterston had also played a prosecutor in that series as well.
16	* LovedByAll: Talbert is ''so'' beloved by everyone around him that it's difficult to find anyone who will support a case against him.
17	* NeverASelfMadeWoman: Maslin is deeply resentful of Talbert putting her in a position where the success of her career depended on him after all the effort she had dedicated to making partner.
18	* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: This is the reason why [=McCoy=] and Kincaid become determined to put Talbert in jail.
19	* SexualExtortion: What the episode's plot revolves around.
20	* SleepingTheirWayToTheTop: Talbert's defence is that Sarah was just doing this and no coercion was involved.

Context Recap / LawAndOrderS5E8Virtue