Nerve Endings Firing Away

Ash and I are self-professed Law & Order fans although the show is not aimed at our demographic group. Given the umpteen re-runs of the show, there is always a L&O playing during primetime on at least one cable channel (usually USA, TNT, or Bravo). Although originally made for NBC, the show now has original new episodes on USA on Sunday nights leaving all the crappy shows like American Gladiators and Celebrity Circus (?) for the parent channel.

There are basically three shows within the L&O family – Regular, Criminal Intent (CI), and Special Victims Unit (SVU) with an assortment of characters with their own quirky and convoluted backgrounds. The regular L&O is equally divided into investigative detective work and courtroom drama. The latter two focus mostly on the investigation part with CI targeted at the complicated cases that often start out with homicide and end up revealed an international money laundering racket involving state governors and SVU is targeted at sex crimes more often than not involving children. I love the chain of investigation in CI led by the brilliant and quirky Detective Robert Goren played convincingly by Vincent D’Onofrio and the empathetic dedication of Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni) and Olivia Benson (Marsika Hargitay) in SVU. The newest episode involved a Bhutto-like plot involving the Tamil Tigers starring Indira Verma (was live-blogged by Sepia Mutiny; alright I’m not that serious of a connoisseur of the television drama)

But apart from the original and dramatic plot lines which often are inspired by real-life events, I love the courtroom drama, behind-the-scenes wrangling of lawyers in search of pleas for their clients, and detective work within the confines of the law. Admittedly, the real-life police work might be quite different and might tread lightly on the unlawful side aided by coverups (see The Departed) but it is enlightening to know and understand the intricacies of American law and the rights it accords even to the most heinous criminals. Presumed innocent until proven guilty with the burden of proof lying with the state prosecutors and all it takes for a non-guilty verdict is convincing the jury of your peers of ‘reasonable doubt’. The Executive Assistant District Attorney (now District Attorney), Jack McCoy played over the years by Sam Watterson  has helped me understand much of the inner workings of American criminal law.

The Miranda rights that you hear often in other cop drama are given context in L&O and often affects the prosecution of a case even when the suspect is clearly guilty of the crime simply because the evidence obtained was through an illegal search and thus cannot be used against the suspect. There are hundreds of such little intracacies that you are made aware of during various investigations and trails. Often the crime is solved within the first fifteen minutes of the hour-long show and the rest of the show is dedicated to examining the legal propriety and nuances of sticky issues like rape, capital punishment, attorney-client privilege, etc.

I mention Miranda rights earlier because those rights are something that you are made aware of first when the police arrest you. You might consider yourself less susceptible to being ever read the Miranda rights but given that there are more than ten thousand laws that you can break, chances aren’t that low. I am not implying that you consider viewing L&O as an alternative for attending law school but as an inhabitant of this country (United States), you must be aware of your rights even if you aren’t a citizen. Although L&O speaks from the perspective of the prosecution and the police who are shown as dedicated honest individuals striving to keep the world safe, you must understand that after all their real counterparts are looking to solving crimes. In this day and age of paranoia where your brown skin may instantly trigger deeply rooted prejudicial fears, taking shelter in the (existing) laws that protect the individuals right to a fair trail might be your only alternative. The Miranda rights starts off with “You have a right to remain silent” and more often than not that is perhaps the best way to go even if you are completely innocent. Although the system is geared toward protecting the innocent even if it means letting a hundred guilty men go free, it hasn’t always worked that way given the number of innocent people being freed today based on DNA evidence. If there is any one advice an attorney will give you even before you have committed a crime, it is – don’t talk to cops. Why? Watch the video below for a complete understanding:

Thus as the professor advises, never speak to the cops before you have talked to your lawyer even if you are clearly innocent of any crime that the police might be investigating. But the police by the writ of their experience are more adept at getting you to talk, as George Brunch fromthe Virginia Beach PD explains:

Of course, none of this advice may be useful if you are labeled an ‘unlawful enemy combatant’ and shipped off to Guantanamo Bay after a ‘random’ search at the airport. But not every time you might come under the police radar, you might be accused of such heinous crimes. It just might be a speeding ticket. But be thankful that you will be caught in a country where you enjoy certain rights. Until then enjoy Law & Order and pray that you never are the inspiration for their next original story line.