Lupo and Bernard investigate the stabbing death of Jerome Turner. In the process of investigation, the truth comes out about a large corporation profiting from cells taken from a patient decades earlier without informed consent or compensation to his dirt-poor family.
Tropes present in this episode
- Brush-Off Walk-Off: EADA Cutter calls Lt. Van Buren to testify and he asks about her ovarian cancer while she is under oath. Afterwards, she gives him a "The Reason You Suck" Speech: "I know what you were doing. You were using me, Mr. Cutter. You violated my privacy so that you could win your case!" After the verdict is issued, they cross paths in the hallway, and he tries talking to her, but she snubs him with a chilly "Counselor," and walks on.
- Plea Bargain: Cutter and Rubirosa get the defendant to accept a ten-year-sentence for manslaughter one. In exchange, they get HEMA labs to pay ten million to the family of Nathan Robinson, whose cancer cells they have profited from.
- Ripped from the Headlines: Based on the case of Henrietta Lacks
. Before she died of cervical cancer a surgeon took samples of her cells for his research and put them in a Petri dish. They ended up becoming the first immortal human cells ever grown in a laboratory. - "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Van Buren to Cutter, after she is called to testify and he asks about her cancer while she is under oath."I know what you were doing. You were using me, Mr. Cutter. You violated my privacy so that you could win your case! You are no better than HEMA Labs!"
- Tranquil Fury: The episode's final line, from Van Buren to Cutter. They cross paths in the hallway, and he tries talking to her, but she snubs him with a chilly "Counselor," and walks on.
- Unwitting Test Subject: Historical instances of these, specifically the infamous Tuskegee Syphilis Study, are brought up by the defense.
