The Ledger

Carrier

Very well-written and well-acted episode (8.17) in which a young man with HIV knowingly infects as many young women as possible. McCoy and Cheekbones dedicate themselves to prosecuting him so they can keep him off the streets, but they encounter many legal obstacles along the way.

The episode begins with a well-to-do couple returning to their park-side apartment after a short vacation. When they get upstairs, they find numerous teenagers in various stages of consciousness and undress strewn about their apartment. When they go to their daughter's bedroom, they find her dead from a gun shot wound, and the weapon on the floor beside her.

Briscoe and Curtis arrive and question the young guests. They learn that the victim was quiet and usually kept to herself, but one witness heard her yelling in the room at 11 the previous night, and heard a gunshot, but thought it came from the street. The detectives get prints off the gun, and trace it to a petty criminal who admits he was at the party but says another good took the gun away from him and was showing it around. Eventually, the detectives learn the girl had a boyfriend. They track him down, and he says he was at the party, and was with the victim. He says she had a letter that said she had tested HIV-positive. She started screaming and then grabbed the gun and shot herself dead. They learn from another girl that the person who gave her HIV was going around bragging about how many people he was infecting.

The kid's story checks out, and they apparently drop charges against him. While discussing this with Cheekbones, Curtis says he thinks they should continue looking into the guy who is infecting people. Cheekbones agrees, and Curtis and Briscoe look into it. Soon enough, they track down the kid, who goes by the name "Twist," and arrest him. When they find him, he's about to have sex with yet another young woman, and the cops overhear him say he doesn't use condoms. When the prosecutors get enough evidence to proceed, McCoy checks in with Schiff, who is adamantly opposed to going to trial, because of the precedent it sets and because of the drubbing he'll take in the papers. There is an incredible reaction shot of Schiff when Cheekbones quotes the kid as saying, "Bareback is better." When Schiff figures out what she means, he says, in his inimitable way, "Brother..."

Despite his boss's reluctance, McCoy proceeds, but the boy's new defense attorney moves for dismissal. The judge (who Schiff later says is "what they used to call 'a confirmed bachelor'") says the charges can stand, as long as McCoy can prove intent. To do that, they need to prove Twist knew he had HIV. The medical records are sealed, and they can't get his parents or current girlfriend to talk. The judge soon dismisses the charges, but issues a stay, so that McCoy has 48 hours to appeal the decision to an appellate court. McCoy waits til Friday afternoon at 4 pm and then visits the appellate judge. He gets him to prolong the stay until the following Monday. Over the weekend, McCoy and Cheekbones get the current girlfriend to admit that Twist told her he was "sick" and that she should use a condom for "her protection." At the hearing on Monday before the appellate court, McCoy uses this statement to prove intent, and his extremely well-written argument convinces the panel of judges to side with McCoy and allow the trial to go on.

The defense attorney comes to McCoy looking for a deal, but it doesn't really matter: Twist has come down with pneumonia, and is very ill. As the episode ends, he only has a short time to live.

As I mentioned above, this episode is well-written and very acted, both by the regular cast members and the guest stars. There are several memorable scenes, including one in which an attorney for the department of health argues to a judge that Cheekbone's motion to open medical records should be denied. In another good scene, a gay rights advocate angrily confronts Schiff about the precedent the case will set. The advocate over-acts a little, but Schiff's calm manner balances it out. The advocate tells Schiff he always worked hard on his campaigns, but if he allows the case to continue, he'll "bury" him. Schiff's response: "Start digging."

The episode is also illustrative of the relationship between McCoy and Schiff. As I've said before, this relationship is characterized by Schiff's resisting, but ultimately giving in to, McCoy's justice-at-all-costs "missions." Even when he tells him to quit, Schiff seems to know McCoy will keep at it. "I want it to stop," he tells McCoy. "After we talk to the parents," he says. Schiff: "After we talk to the parents." It's a very unusual relationship for a tv show, and it contrasts with the mentor relationship Schiff had with Stone. This episode highlights it well.

One casting note: Michael Pitt, who is currently appearing in the new Bertolucci film The Dreamers, has a brief appearance as a friend of the victim. The episode was filmed in 1998.

The episode's title refers to the disease-carrying young man known as Twist.

Posted by adm at February 20, 2004 12:13 AM

Comments

Post a comment

validate