Law & Order (1990) s16e01 Episode Script

In the criminal justice system the people are represented by two separate yet equally important groups, the police who investigate crime and the district attorneys who prosecute the offenders.
These are their stories.
Come on, Jenny Bean.
The meter's almost out.
You understand there's a time element? You just broke my concentration.
Right.
What else you got? Let me help you out.
Uh You got a check, you got a mate.
Yeah? Check that.
Stop it! Jenny! Help me! Jenny! Jenny! Oh, my God! Jenny! Help me.
Yo, man, where's the sergeant? Over there.
Thought you were riding a desk.
I'm done with that.
The kid was in the backseat? Jennifer Clark, five years old.
Guy probably didn't see her when he jacked the car.
Well, he could've been fleeing another crime.
Nothing reported in the area.
Well, did the mom get a good look at him? Barely.
Male, white, short brown hair, blue jacket.
Okay, and we put the word out on the car? Make, model, and color only.
The mother's having trouble talking, can't remember the plate number.
We're tracking it down.
All right, keep working the crowd, maybe somebody knew this dude.
Get a street name, anything, all right? Thanks, man.
He wasn't one of the regulars you see hanging around.
So, maybe he was trying to score.
Maybe.
He looked kinda strung out, you know.
But, I didn't see him buy any drugs.
Okay, thanks.
So, it sounds like some dude snatched a hoopdee.
Yeah, right, because he lost his bus token.
Let's just hope he dumps that car when he sees what's in the back seat.
Mrs.
Clark? I'm Detective Green.
This is my partner, Detective Fontana.
Where's Jenny? Where is she? Ma'am, we're gonna do everything we can to make sure we get your daughter back.
Is there a Mr.
Clark? Maybe we should get him down here? He's He's out of town.
I already called him.
Ma'am, we're gonna have to ask you some questions about what happened, okay? Now, walking to your car, you were coming from where? We came through the park, like we always do.
Jenny likes the playground.
Did you notice anyone following you? Uh-uh.
So, what happened when you got back to the car? I strapped Jenny in her seat, I started the car, and then the man opened the door, and he pulled me out.
He pulled me out by my hair and he hit me.
I didn't I didn't even see him, I mean, it happened so fast.
Then he He drove off with her.
Please, please, get my little girl back, please.
Detectives.
Patrol found the car.
Rivera! Call Crime Scene.
Get a canvass going.
See if anybody saw that little girl getting pulled out of that car.
And get an area search going for anything he tossed or dropped.
Keys are still in the ignition.
Joe, look at this.
He cut the straps to get the kid out of the seat? So, this dude wasn't just stealing a car.
We get a current photo of the girl yet? We sent a unit over to the mother's house to find one.
What do we have so far? It's kind of hard to sort out.
I mean, at first it looked like a carjacking.
But then, he dropped the car here and took off with the kid.
I doubt he hailed a cab.
He just walked out of here? Maybe.
Or he had it all planned out and had a car here waiting for him.
You think he targeted this child? The mother did follow a routine.
I mean, she went through the park at the same time every day.
That being said, I think ransom's unlikely.
She obviously has no money.
I'm gonna set up a nest kit in her apartment anyway, just in case we get a call.
Follow up on the domestic angle.
Make sure we're not looking at a custody issue here.
Where's Fontana? He's checking the surveillance cameras on the block, seeing if we can catch an image of the dude.
Lieutenant? Captain Cragen called, he's looking for you.
I'm keeping Special Victims in the loop, depending on where this thing goes.
How accurate are the time and date on this thing? More or less.
Well, is it more or is it less? All right, look, stop.
Back it up ten minutes.
Joe.
How's it going? So far, a lot of nothing.
A lady next door in the burrito stand said she might've seen our suspect pass by.
But, my Spanglish isn't what it used to be.
Whoa, stop.
Play it slowly.
Come on.
We're gonna need a copy of that.
We'll get prints made up for the canvass.
Yeah.
I want to get the mother a second look at this dude.
Never seen him before.
You sure? Maybe hanging in the park? Mmm-mmm.
I should've fought him and never let him get me out of the car.
Mrs.
Clark, this is not your fault.
Maybe Jimmy put the guy up to it.
Who's Jimmy? Jenny's father.
We're divorced.
You said he was out of town.
Ls he? I didn't want him to know.
He'd just blame me.
Things haven't been good lately, okay? Are you two having a custody fight? We had an arrangement.
But he's two months behind in child support.
And, you told him he couldn't see Jenny anymore? I can't pay my rent.
What am I supposed to do? Damn.
Hey, what's up? We're looking for Jimmy Clark.
Don't think he's working today.
Come on.
You wanna try that one again? Get up, get up, get up, get up.
Come on, come on.
I didn't do nothing! You run pretty fast for someone who didn't do nothing.
Two o'clock today, where were you? Right here.
Been working since noon.
Your boss will vouch for that? Check my timecard.
Do you know why we're here? The drunk driving warrant.
I skipped my court date, right? Oh, man, you're not even close.
We're here about your daughter.
Oh, come on, I'm gonna pay her the money.
Denise is pissed she missed a sale at Filene's.
You know this guy? Should I? Look again! Wait, is that ls that Jenny? She was abducted four hours ago.
Somebody snatched your kid.
Now, you make us believe you had nothing to do with it.
What? No way.
Denise says you two have been having issues.
I would never do something like this.
She's been hassling you for money! Look man, I'm just short on cash.
Where's my kid? What happened? Look, I'm gonna ask you one more time.
Do you recognize this guy? Now think! No, man.
I never seen him, I swear.
What's your gut? A deadbeat, but we don't think he snatched the kid.
Okay.
What else? We're pulling mug shots of every white male in the sex offender registry, and we're checking them against the surveillance photo.
We sent the photo out citywide, to every precinct, to get more eyes on it.
Well, I got an okay from the Deputy Commissioner.
It's gonna be released to the press.
Oh, come on.
What are you talking about? We're not there yet.
We're not? What else do we have? If we go public with the photo, we're gonna waste a lot of time on bogus leads.
Or we might get something good.
Or, this guy could panic and kill the girl.
Come on, let's wait and see what jumps up on the registry check before we do anything.
For all we know, this was a stranger abduction.
The girl's been missing over six hours.
Lieutenant, I've worked on cases like this before.
All you're gonna do is provoke him.
No, I'm throwing everything we've got against the wall to find this kid.
And with all due respect, making a big mistake.
Then it's on me, ain't it? She's right, Joe.
We don't know what's gonna happen here.
Nobody should give up on trying to get this girl back.
Don't lie to yourself, Detective Green.
These things never end well.
A patrolman from the 21 just called in.
He saw the posting, he thinks he collared our perp last year for shoplifting.
Go.
What did Dwight do now? Well, he might have some information on an ongoing investigation.
It's very important that we talk to him.
Obviously, you gotta wake me up at 1:00 a.
m.
Ms.
Jacobs, you know where can we find your son? I haven't seen him in a couple months.
He shows up when he wants.
Well, do you have an address for him? Nope.
What about a phone number if you've got to get a hold of him? Not one that works.
I was three weeks in the hospital on account of my diabetes, before he figured it out.
He only came 'cause his girlfriend kicked him out of the apartment again.
Do you know his girlfriend's name? Charleen something or other.
Dwight's a criminal and has a foul mouth.
Only nice thing he ever did was bring me those eggs.
And now I'm running out.
Think he cares? Tastes like garbage anyhow.
P.
S.
107, your son work at that school? We only hired him after two of our cooks quit.
Said his name was Dan Jacobson.
He passed the background check.
His real name is Dwight Jacobs.
Well, whatever he called himself, I fired his ass three weeks ago.
Caught him stealing boxes of food out of the freezer.
Did you have any problems between him and the students? What do you mean, like pedophile stuff? Yeah.
Nothing I heard about.
But, we keep the kitchen staff back here.
Very little interaction with the kids.
That why you're looking for him? Oh, we can't really go into it.
Hmm.
Must be something real bad, you gotta get me down here this early.
I really should call the superintendent about this.
Well, you don't have to wake him up.
Besides that, we're authorized.
Thank you.
Greenpoint, New York.
Same as on the police report.
It's bogus.
You know, he called me last week with where to send his paycheck.
Wasn't that address.
You still have it? The super says that the apartment's rented to Charleen Dowd.
He's not sure if they're home.
Any sign of the kid? He couldn't say.
Oh, we're good for the arrest and the search.
Let's do it.
Police! Get down! Get down on the ground! Where do you think you're going? Get back in here.
Pull him up on his feet.
Detective, apartment's clear.
Where is she? What'd you do with the girl? I don't know what you're talking about.
Hey, Ed? I got something here.
That looks like blood.
And there's fresh mud on those boots.
I'm calling Crime Scene.
Let's get Jacobs downtown.
Never ends well.
Where's the girl, Dwight? What girl? This girl.
Jennifer Clark, five years old.
You grabbed her mother out of her car, and you snatched her from the backseat.
We have eyewitnesses put you at the scene.
That ain't me.
That is your hand over that girl's mouth.
That's her dress we found in your place.
You planted it.
Did we plant the mud on your boots, too? What's that all about anyway? I took a walk by the river.
Oh, really? Where? What river? We're gonna take those boots, and we're gonna send them to the crime lab.
You wanna help yourself out, now's the time.
If that girl is still alive.
Forget about it.
You're done.
We both know it.
The blood on that girl's dress nails you for the murder.
I want a lawyer.
You'll get a lawyer when you talk.
Where's the girl, Dwight? Detectives.
- We're not done.
- It's over.
Let's go.
If you want us to find that kid, it's not a good idea to have the A.
D.
A.
watch our interrogation.
All right, you can start booking him.
He can get a lawyer assigned at arraignment.
We're charging kidnapping and murder? Kidnapping for now and we can up the charge later.
We're releasing Jenny's photo to the press.
Maybe we could get some help finding her.
How'd it go? Jacobs was remanded.
Who'd they assign for his defense? Charles Graham.
Never had him before.
I know Charlie.
We should be able to work with him.
Well, between the bloody dress and the surveillance video, we can go right now with felony murder.
Fontana and Green are still looking for her, but But, no one is optimistic.
Well, let's hope everyone is wrong.
Jacobs is the best chance we have at finding her alive or dead.
Talk to Charlie Graham.
If he can convince Jacobs to cooperate, we'll put a deal on the table right now.
Look, I'm open to negotiation.
I just can't guarantee it'll happen.
He's not cooperative? Look, if this girl's still alive I get it, I get it.
Believe me, it's about making him get it.
It's a very sensitive situation.
If she is still alive, your guy has a chance to squeak by with just kidnapping.
And for the sake of argument, what if she isn't? Let the mother bury her daughter.
For recovery of the body, we'd still make Jacobs a better offer than he'd get with a murder one conviction.
He's been in and out of the system his whole life.
He knows how it works.
I'm telling you, he's in no rush to wrap this up.
The longer that he waits, the more public scrutiny, the worse he looks at trial.
Let's be frank.
We'd all look bad.
So, you'll keep talking to him? I'll do what I can.
Yes, ma'am, she is a beautiful girl.
Yes.
Yes, it's sad.
It's very sad.
Oh.
Well, thank you.
Thank you for all your help.
Jenny Clark was just seen leaving a McDonald's on 114th street.
In Harlem? That's funny, Jersey State Police has her spotted on the turnpike.
Which only goes to prove we're spinning our wheels here.
Look, man, as far as we know, that girl is still alive.
You want some coffee? Because I can use an espresso.
Hey, look, why don't we go back to Jacobs' building and knock on a few doors again? I mean, maybe we missed somebody who might've seen him with the girl or heard something at least? You mean do some real police work? I wouldn't mind finding out where his girlfriend went off to.
Harbor wants you guys down on the East River.
Someone's found a body.
Some kids collecting bottles found the bag, saw a body inside.
Any footprints? Nothing.
The tide must've dumped it here.
No one has touched it.
The M.
E.
's on her way.
Watch your step.
Jacobs did say he took a walk by the river.
Oh, you gotta be kidding me! Some sick son of a bitch! There's no way I could know, Detective.
It looked like a body.
We're not supposed to touch anything.
Forget it.
You think that's funny? All right, come on.
Beat it, you two.
Beat it! Hey, look.
As far as we know, that kid is still out there, am I right? Jenny just started school this fall.
All she'd do was talk about going to kindergarten.
She could already read.
Her father never thought she'd learn this early, but, every night, I read to her.
Denise, we're doing everything that we can to bring her home.
What about this man in custody? He knows where she is.
Make him tell you.
We're required to communicate through his attorney.
Why? Because he has rights? Is that what you're saying? I don't care about his rights.
Jenny is out there, and I am not with her.
The police are working around the clock.
Whatever he wants, just give it to him.
Please, you have to, please.
Denise, any developments, anything at all, as soon as we know it, you will know it.
Is this man ls he one of those people? The ones that hurt children? We don't know why he took your daughter.
It's too early to draw any conclusions.
End of the week, we'll be adding first degree murder to the indictment list.
It's a little early to be declaring this girl dead, isn't it? I think we're all expecting bad news here.
So, this is Mr.
Jacobs' chance to help recover.
- Jennifer Clark's body.
- What's the offer? Concurrent sentences, 25-to-life.
It means the possibility of parole.
That ain't much of a deal.
It's far more generous than we need to be.
It's a good offer, Dwight.
What if she's not dead? If she's not, then help yourself by making sure she comes home that way.
I'm not gonna waste time playing games with you, Mr.
Jacobs.
We have more than enough evidence to prove murder to a jury, with or without her body.
Blood on a dress ain't a body.
That's reasonable doubt right there.
If a jury's asleep, maybe.
Yeah, well, I'll tell them what happened.
I didn't see her in the back of the car, and when I dumped it, I couldn't leave her in that bad neighborhood.
You know, somebody might hurt her.
And what's your excuse for the dress? She had a bloody nose, she bled all over the place.
I helped her change her clothes.
Dwight.
You walk, you'll never know.
Our offer's on the table.
Twenty-five years ain't gonna get little Jenny.
You'll be back.
I ain't finished.
Jack.
No more games, Charlie.
What can I say? The guy knows the system.
He wants to drag this out and hope that the case falls apart.
Borgia.
So, you think the girl is dead.
That was a surprise.
If I wasn't sure before this meeting, lam now.
What? That was Fontana.
They're with Denise Clark.
Mommy? Want to come home, Mommy.
Don't like it here.
Please, please can I come home? All right, you said enough.
The call came in less than two hours ago.
We had a trap on the line? Traced it to a stolen cell phone.
Did you call the number? Of course.
There was no answer.
And there hasn't been any activity on the phone since that call.
We can count on it being tossed by now.
And the woman in the background? Could be Jacobs' girlfriend, Charleen Dowd.
Jacobs lived in her apartment.
She was already gone when we got there.
Maybe with Jenny.
I was coming back from your office.
I just missed her.
Denise, we know she's alive now.
This is good news.
I should've been here for her.
I'm sorry.
Jacobs said he wasn't finished.
You think he's behind this? We're monitoring his calls from Rikers.
We'd know if he put Charleen up to it.
So he didn't use the phone.
He got a message out some other way.
He's using it to leverage a plea? He just improved his position.
Well, this looks a situation where I can do something to help you.
I'm not discussing any terms until the girl is safely returned, Mr.
Jacobs.
I need a moment with my client.
You know what? I'm getting three meals a day in here, a warm place to sleep.
And I can score dope or get anything else that I need.
I got all the creature comforts, you know what I'm saying? I can't say the same for that little girl.
If anything happens to her, you'll be locked up forever.
I'll make you a deal.
I'll plead to whatever you want, but, I get nothing.
No time.
Absolutely not.
I don't do no time, neither does Charleen.
You can't use extortion to walk out of prison, Mr.
Jacobs.
Then send me back to my cell, because I can wait for you to come around.
Now, how long do you think that little kid's gonna wait? - Gentlemen, excuse me just a moment.
- Sure.
So, Jacobs is saying he'll give up the girl if we let him walk out of court? We think she's being held by a woman named Charleen Dowd.
We're certain the girl's still alive? As of five hours ago.
Situation like this.
Not much upside if the press gets this.
Jacobs could even leak it that we refused his offer.
If Jenny died I know my fundraisers over there might not be too pleased.
What do you think? I'm not sure we can legally do it even if we wanted to.
And "Whitehurst v.
Kavanagh" says that a deal for immunity like this is unenforceable.
Which means Jacobs' attorney won't sign on.
- "Whitehurst?" - Case on point.
Whitehurst negotiated a plea in exchange for his victim's life.
The D.
A.
refused to honor the plea after she was found dead.
But, he knew she was dead the whole time.
Unfortunately, that's irrelevant.
It shouldn't be.
Arthur, a girl's life is at stake here.
Stall Jacobs.
Tell his attorney we're preparing a counter offer.
If he's somehow in touch with whoever's got the girl, maybe it'll keep her alive.
A neighbor reported her '94 Chevy Malibu stolen yesterday morning, not too long before Jenny was abducted.
And she says that Charleen has borrowed the car before.
And made a spare set of keys.
It would explain how Jacobs got away with the kid after dumping Denise's car.
Charleen picked him up.
Put the Malibu on an AMBER Alert.
Maybe we'll get lucky.
What else do we know about this woman? She's been with Jacobs at least two years, going back to an arrest for larceny.
She has a history of petty crime, possession, did seven months at Rikers for an assault.
On that last one, she had a psych evaluation before sentencing.
That's quite a couple.
I got in contact with her sister.
She says that Charleen is bipolar and she's usually off her meds.
Between that and a crystal meth addiction So, they haven't seen her either.
Boy, would I like to do this the old-fashioned way.
Fifteen minutes with Jacobs, I guarantee you we'd have that kid.
Well, if it comes to that, you're gonna have to get in line behind me.
Keep working the car.
Hey, what do you got? The driver of the truck heard the AMBER Alert on the radio and spotted the vehicle.
I like his initiative.
Did he happen to see Charleen Dowd as well? Already made the ID off her mug shot.
Says she jumped out of the car and disappeared down the subway.
Did she have the little girl with her? Looks like it was cheeseburgers for dinner.
Still warm.
We got catalogs, bills.
These all belong to the lady she stole the car from.
Hey, how about this? Charles Graham, attorney-at-law.
Graham.
That's Jacobs' lawyer.
Well, I wonder what Charleen's doing with it? You had contact with one of the prime suspects in the kidnapping.
Come on, Jack.
I had no idea she was involved.
- You must've suspected.
- I didn't know till you told me.
Jacobs told you she wasn't an accomplice and you believed him? I'm his lawyer, remember? Between you and me, I figured the girl was probably dead.
So did you, as I recall.
When did you meet with Charleen Dowd? Right after my client's arraignment.
I met with her yesterday briefly around noon.
And what was said at this meeting? You know I'm not gonna answer that.
Did you pass along any correspondence from Jacobs? You want me to compromise my obligation to my client? This coming from a guy like you, Jack? Don't talk to me about ethics when your client is trying to extort his freedom with a girl's life! Look, I don't want anything to happen to that kid.
But, I still have to defend the guy.
Okay? I will swear under oath.
I don't have any information that will help locate Charleen Dowd or Jennifer Clark.
Our detectives can make that assessment, not you! I'm not telling you anything, however innocuous that's gonna come back to bite me down the road.
Sorry.
Did you have any further contact with Charleen Dowd in the last 24 hours? That's none of your business, either.
Who's the next judge on rotation? Last I checked, Judge Hellstrom.
You're not serious.
Jack, Hellstrom's no friend of this office.
She acts like she's still on Legal Aid's payroll.
We'll take who we can get.
Request an emergency hearing for the morning.
I'll draw up the motion for Graham's disqualification.
Who does Mr.
McCoy think he is, policing my conduct? Lam simply upholding my ethical obligations as required by the New York State Bar.
Mr.
Graham has an ethical obligation to reveal ongoing criminal activity.
I don't know where Jennifer Clark is.
Lam, however, protecting my client's interests.
And in doing so, acting in furtherance of his crime.
In furtherance of his basic right to a fair trial.
Which is looking less and less likely given the courting of the media through this crisis.
If Your Honor is referring to recent press conferences by the police, those are an attempt to mobilize the public to help find a missing child.
What's the greater priority for the District Attorney here, Mr.
McCoy? The girl's recovery or Mr.
Branch's re-election campaign? This motion concerns Mr.
Graham's conduct, not the District Attorney's.
And it seems to me your motion is baseless.
You're attempting a thinly disguised end run around privileged communication.
We believe Charleen Dowd is holding Jennifer Clark.
Mr.
Graham's conversations with her do not fall under the umbrella of privilege.
Is there any proof this woman is a co-conspirator in the crime, beyond your speculation? It's an ongoing investigation.
Then bring me some evidence.
This girl doesn't have time.
I assure you, we are all hoping for her safe return.
You have to stay within your investigative powers.
If you can't meet your burden, I can't help you.
Motion denied.
Okay, now what? Call Fontana and Green.
I want Graham arrested as an accomplice to kidnapping.
Where do I start? False arrest.
Interfering with my client's defense.
We had probable cause.
Because you lost a motion? Give me a break.
This is extreme misconduct.
It's an extreme situation.
And you think that justifies strong-arm tactics? What, I'm supposed to help you send my client to prison, lose my reputation, not to mention my license? You're about to lose a lot more than that.
You help us find Charleen Dowd, or we will prosecute you for your role in Jennifer Clark's kidnapping.
You couldn't make a case for that if you tried.
You go to hell.
And tell McCoy to do the same.
What do you want to do? What can I do? Just keep him sweating for a couple of hours and then cut him loose.
Hey.
Bingo on this guy's cell phone.
Charleen Dowd called him? Two incoming calls last night at 11:00.
We traced them to a motel in Queens.
That would've been right after her close call with the delivery truck.
She must've reached out to Graham for help.
Go.
Okay, open it up.
Jenny? Jenny? Joe.
I think we found Charleen.
Three cutting wounds to the anterior chest.
Defensive wounds on the hands.
So, she put up a fight.
Mmm-hmm.
You got a time of death? Rigor's about four over five.
Body temp and lividity, I'd put it about 12 hours ago.
All right.
We searched the entire motel.
No sign of the kid.
Well, nobody leaves this fleabag until we talk to them.
You got it? The M.
E.
puts the time of death around midnight last night.
She came here right after the guy with the truck tried to stop her, and got herself murdered.
So, who was she meeting? Fake name on the room registry.
Place like this, big surprise.
Detectives? You wanna take a look? Blood on the sink.
More on the doorknob and the shower door.
Yeah, the do-er tried to wash up afterwards.
Take a look.
Left us a good print right here.
Gas company, open up! Gas company, let's go! There's a leak in the building and we have to evacuate the premises! Police! Let me see your hands! Up against the wall.
Where's the girl? What girl? The one you tried to buy off of Charleen Dowd last night, you son of a bitch! You got the wrong guy.
How you think we found you, Bernard Heinz? You're a registered sex offender.
And we've got your fingerprint in Charleen's blood.
How'd you cut yourself, huh, Bernie? What happened? She tried to sell you the kid, you didn't like the price and you stabbed her to death? Where's the girl? I don't know, man.
There was no kid there.
See, now you're starting to piss me off.
She was alone, I swear.
She came at me with the knife, I defended myself.
I was supposed to meet Jacobs, not some whack-job trying to castrate me.
You were supposed to meet Jacobs.
Keep talking.
Iran into him down at the probation office.
Told him my mother died, left me some money.
No secret what I'd been in for, you know? Jacobs wanted to sell me something.
Said I wouldn't say no.
When did this happen? Thursday.
And then, he called me again the night before last.
We made arrangements.
But Jacobs was a no-show.
She wanted my money to get him out of jail.
She was out of her mind, man, she tried to kill me.
Did she say where she was keeping the girl? Never did.
I tried to get out of there, she pulled the knife.
I don't know where the girl is, I swear.
Ah! Charleen is dead, Mr.
Jacobs.
She was murdered by your friend, Bernard Heinz.
It is time to put a stop to this before something happens to Jenny.
Dumb bitch.
She couldn't do nothing right.
This changes nothing.
I talk when I walk.
Tell us the girl's location and we'll discuss an appropriate sentence.
Uh-uh.
Think about what you're gonna tell that mother when you find her kid dead in a box.
You know what I want.
We have to make this deal.
It's the only way.
As despicable as I think he is, I can't let him make a deal I know is worthless.
The court negated Whitehurst because the D.
A.
challenged the deal before sentencing.
What if we agreed to stand by it? Oh, you'd actually let him walk? Come on.
If it means finding Jennifer Clark alive.
Forgive me, but, my client's right.
His leverage goes out the window the minute that girl's recovered.
There'd be nothing stopping Branch from changing his mind.
Well, his attorney's right.
I'd go back on the deal in a second.
How does that help a missing kid? There are broader implications here.
Is it worth a dead child to put Jacobs in prison for the rest of his life? The alternative is no better.
We can't let a criminal extort his own freedom.
Jack, you've done everything you can to find this girl.
That's all that you can do.
We're in a situation that the law is inadequate to address.
How do I go back to that woman and tell her that it was the law that wouldn't let me save her child? Then make the deal.
And the next time someone has a hostage to negotiate with, make that deal too.
And the next one after that.
And then where do we stand? And if we don't do it, then we're culpable in Jennifer Clark's death.
Because we had a choice.
There's your problem.
You think we have a choice.
We don't.
And we don't negotiate with men like Jacobs.
I heard you pulled my client off the bus to Rikers.
What's that about? We'll make the deal with Jacobs.
Provided Jennifer Clark is found alive.
You're telling me Branch signed off? That's not your concern.
What does that mean? I'll make the deal.
You have my word I'll stand by it.
That's kind of you, Jack.
But, it doesn't make it legit.
I'll move for immediate sentencing after he allocutes.
There won't be any opportunity for a challenge to the plea.
You're doing this behind Branch's back.
This is gonna get back to him.
Do we have a deal or not? Okay, we have a deal.
I assume after this, your career in the D.
A.
's office is over.
I appreciate the difficulty of your job.
But, in the interest of justice, there ought to be limits to compromise, don't you think? If we're talking about Dwight Jacobs's allocution, I don't need to remind you of the obvious impropriety of this discussion.
No impropriety intended, Judge.
Just speaking hypothetically.
Well then, hypothetically, let's just say I'll do what's right per the law.
Well, you know the law gives you discretion in sentencing and I'm sure you'll hand down a punishment that fits the crime.
I'm not in the habit of tossing out a legally negotiated plea.
Even if it makes everyone look bad? You mean, makes you look bad? If it lets a dangerous criminal out of prison, a presiding judge wouldn't be above the political fallout.
Really? I'm appointed to the bench.
I'm not beholden to a reactionary public.
I'm not running for re-election.
The man who appointed you is.
Look, if you don't want to make Dwight Jacobs the deal, don't let your chief prosecutor bring it to my courtroom.
I stand corrected.
Doing the right thing, that'd obviously be improper.
Mr.
Jacobs, I understand you're pleading guilty to kidnapping in the first degree, and a single count of unlawful imprisonment? Yeah, that's right.
In your own words, I want you to tell the court what happened.
Uh, all right.
I took that girl, so that me and my girlfriend, Charleen could sell her.
I know this guy, Bernie Heinz, he was gonna give us 2,000 dollars for her.
That'll do.
Now where is she, Mr.
Jacobs? Mr.
Jacobs? She's at my mother's.
In the garage.
Let's go! Let's see.
Come on.
Bust the lock.
Go! Jenny, you in here? Jenny? Joe, Joe, Joe.
You hear that? Jenny? Jenny? Get me a crowbar.
Jenny? Sweetheart, are you okay? Oh! I wanna go home I'm gonna take you home, sweetheart.
I'm gonna take you to your mom, okay? Get a bus here, right away.
Fontana.
We got her.
Ms.
Borgia? Jennifer Clark has been found alive, Your Honor.
She appears to be okay.
The People move for immediate sentencing.
The defense does not object.
I understand you've both agreed to a recommendation as a part of the negotiated deal.
Time served on all counts, Mr.
McCoy? That's right, Your Honor.
Mr.
Jacobs, please rise.
Mr.
Jacobs, this negotiated arrangement with the People is something I find contrary to the interests of justice.
A child, taken by you, against her will, returned by you to her lawful custodian in exchange for your freedom is an agreement against public policy.
Therefore, I find that mandating enforcement of an agreement reached under these circumstances would be a perversion, not a fulfillment, of jurisprudence.
I will not honor it.
Your sentence is my discretion, Mr.
Jacobs.
I'm imposing the maximum time allowed by law.
Your Honor, my client withdraws his guilty plea.
That's certainly his right.
He wants a trial, we'll conference tomorrow afternoon to set a date.
What're you talking about? We had a deal.
You can't do this.
You had no deal with me, Mr.
Jacobs.
What? No.
No, no, no.
We had a deal.
We had a deal, you son of a bitch! That's enough.
We had a deal, you son of a bitch! Officers, remove the defendant from the courtroom.
You made a deal, you son of a bitch! Let's go! Son of a bitch! We had a deal.
We had a deal! You didn't think I'd find out about Jacobs' allocution? It was a risk.
You could've simply stopped it.
Right.
Just waltz into court and pull the deal that's gonna save a young girl's life? That's what the public would expect in their D.
A.
Jennifer Clark is okay, that's what counts.
Oh, of course that counts, but there's more at stake here than just one kid.
If that were true, Arthur, the law wouldn't mean much to me or to anyone else.
Well, I admire your integrity.
But, I'm concerned about the integrity of this office.
We don't negotiate with terrorists.
Period.
I think your concern was politics, not office integrity.
If you want to fire me, Arthur, go ahead.
I'm not going to apologize for what I did.
Well, then you just don't get it, Jack.
You know, you're a great prosecutor.
But you'll never be a District Attorney.