All language subtitles for Law & Order s04e13 Breeder.eng

(male narrator)
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.

[people chattering]

(Wallengren)
Nurse, it's been an hour.

Maybe I should have
called a hearse, skip the middleman.

Nobody ever died
of whiplash, Mr. Wallengren.

Look, I got Blue Cross,
I got Blue Shield.

What do I gotta do
to get my wife in to see a doctor?

We're doing our best.

You want to complain,
fax it to Hillary.

[phone ringing]

Get you
another ice pack.

It's gonna take
another 15 minutes, I don't know.

What are you doing?
I'll get it.

Holy....

Nurse!

Name's Debra Elkins.

Twenty-two.
Her driver's license is from upstate. Poughkeepsie.

She gonna make it to 23?

She must have lost
two and a half pints of blood.

BP was way down.

She was lucky
that we found her when we did.

Wait. What do mean,
you found her? It was a zoo in here.

One of the patients
noticed her. She was alone.

Unconscious and hemorrhaging.

What do you think,
her boyfriend got fancy with a knife?

I first assumed
it was with a coat hanger.

A botched
third trimester abortion.

But her hemorrhage
is a postpartum complication.

So she gave birth.

Not easily, I'm afraid.
Her uterus is grossly over-distended.

We have her on lV. Oxytocin.
She'll be all right.

Okay, so why are we here?
Where's the baby?

The doctor said
it wasn't supposed to happen...

for another two weeks.

My mom gave me some money...

and I was in town for the day
buying baby clothes.

You don't remember
giving birth?

Well, I went and took a walk
after dinner...

and I got these sharp pains.

I didn't know what to do.

This man...

he put me in a taxi.

I must've passed out.

Did your husband
come down here with you?

I'm not married.

Well, the baby's father.

I was raped at work.

It's still my baby.

Do you think you'd remember
that cab driver?

What kind of person
steals someone's baby?

I've been through two births.

I remember every push
and squeeze. I'll tell you what...

passing out
is the impossible dream.

This girl's story
does not jive.

What are you saying,
she took an hour bus ride to dump the kid in an alley?

Read the stats. Last year,
11,000 abandoned babies in New York alone.

Most of whose mothers spend
their days on the short end of a crack pipe.

This girl's tox report
is negative.

You said
she was raped, right?

Maybe she's not as happy
about maternity as she would have us believe.

Well, there are
other alternatives.

Yes, well, maybe not
everyone's as enlightened as you are, Mike.

It's our lucky day.
Struck gold, fifth try.

Last night,
a hack from Madison Taxi turns in a cab.

Back seat covered with blood.

(Greenberg)
They're all animals.

They think for a $5 fare
they rent a toilet.

They don't care
what kind of garbage they leave in the back seat.

Yeah, well, is this
particular garbage new?

Hey, just because
I live in a sty doesn't mean I'm a pig.

We clean up after every shift.
It's good for the Midtown trade.

Okay, so who was driving
this car last night?

The Russki. Alex Walinsky.

We're gonna
need an address.

Yeah, let me see.
Here you go.

102 East 16th.

He should be there.
He called in sick.

If he doesn't recover
by tomorrow, you tell him, don't bother.

Alex Walinsky?
Yes.

[baby crying]

What's this?
I did nothing wrong. Yeah?

Well, there's a new mother
with tubes up her nose who might disagree.

If he's a day old, call
the Guinness Book of Records.

What are you doing
with my son? Here, take him.

What did you do
with the kid you found in your cab?

Kid?
(Logan) We saw your car.

Your last fare
didn't have a nosebleed.

That girl, she was sick.

She told me to take her
to the hospital.

Do you remember
where you picked the girl up?

On Lexington, in the 30s.

In front of St. Paul Hotel.

I swear to you,
there was no baby.

If Dr. Zhivago's
telling the truth maybe Van Buren was right.

I don't know,
you gotta be awful desperate to dump a kid.

This from a guy who spent
the last 20 years trying to avoid fatherhood?

Hey, back off,
all right?

I didn't want
the abortion, she did.

Okay, a girl comes to town
for one day's shopping.

Does she check into a hotel?

Let's hope the kid's
watching Sesame Street and ordering room service.

[elevator bell dinging]

Sure, I got her a cab.

She was white as a sheet.
Looked like she was about to pass out.

She okay?
She'll live.

She have a baby with her
when you put her in that cab?

No.

What the hell happened here?

My guess,
the miracle of childbirth.

There's more blood
in the bathroom. Look at this.

Briscoe. Yeah, I'm gonna
need a CSU unit.

St. Paul Hotel,
38th and Lexington.

You sure
you didn't see a baby?

No. Just the two of them.

The two of them?
The boyfriend. He checked in with her.

Shaw, Steven J.

Said he wasn't staying but...

a couple of kids paying cash,
I take everybody's name just to make sure.

You keep phone records?
Yeah.

I don't know
what you're talking about.

Come on. You told us
you were in town for the day.

You've been in a hotel
since last Tuesday.

You told us
you were in town alone...

and then we find out
your boyfriend's with you.

What difference
does any of this make?

My baby's still missing.

It's all these lies, Debra.

It makes us think that maybe
you know where your baby is.

If I knew,
why wouldn't I tell you?

Where's your friend Shaw?

He stayed with me one night,
then he went back home.

Yeah, well,
the problem is there's no Steven Shaw listed...

in the Poughkeepsie
phone book.

[knocking on door]

They ran the hotel's
phone records.

This girl made 14 calls
to her voicemail in Poughkeepsie.

She's got a lot of friends?
She made one local call.

William Wendyll,
attorney at law.

Debbie Elkins.
One of the young, the poor, the pregnant.

Well, not anymore.
She gave birth two days ago.

Good for her.

But it's really
not my problem anymore.

Was it ever?

When my clients
were in the running, it certainly was.

Well, wait,
let's just back up a couple of steps.

My business is adoptions.
I help my clients find these girls.

I screen out the kooks,
and in one out of every eight cases...

I help them through
the system. I thought Debbie was one of the good ones.

Goes to show.

She called me
a couple of days ago, and she changed her mind.

She said that she wanted
to keep her baby.

(Logan)
Looks like she didn't do a very good job.

Let me ask you something.

You get paid
only on delivery, right?

Sure. Why?
Just thinking.

Debbie's kid's missing.

Maybe one of your clients
did an end run around your legal fee.

[chuckles]

Are you kidding?
Those people are loaded.

My fee is meaningless.

Did Elkins ever mention
a Steven Shaw?

Look, Detectives,
these girls are very skittish.

They just don't open up
to lawyers.

Yeah, sure, but they spend
a lot of time with their clients, right?

That is
attorney-client privilege.

We're investigating kidnapping
and child endangerment, Counselor.

If you hinder prosecution,
we'll come back...

with material witness warrants
for your clients.

Stephanie.
(Stephanie) Yes, sir?

Get the Savitts
on the phone, please.

First, it was our careers,
then, it was financial security...

then, emotional security,
and by the time we were ready....

We tried fertility drugs,
in vitro, everything.

We thought Debbie
was finally the one. We sure did.

Let me show you something.

We did exactly
what Bill Wendyll told us.

We put ads in college
newspapers, in regional papers in the southeast.

(Gwen)
"Our hearts are open to receive your baby.

"We have so much love
to give. Please call."

We had an
800 number installed. We received calls every day.

Debra was the seventh girl
we interviewed.

She got our number
from the school paper at Hudson.

She said
she was a rape victim, someone that she worked with.

We felt so sorry
for her.

I don't mean to be crass,
but we spent a lot of effort and money on this girl.

You put her on salary?
She was carrying our child.

We wanted to make sure
she had good nutrition, proper medical care.

We felt she deserved it.

Did she ever talk about
somebody named Shaw?

She had us make a check out
once to a Steven Shaw.

She told us
he was her landlord.

You still have
that cancelled check? Yeah.

When you find the baby,
could you give us a call?

Ma'am, please.

It would mean so much to me.
To both of us.

Yeah, I know people want kids.
But advertising?

800 numbers?
It's a little nuts.

Hey, there's two kinds
of people in this world.

Those with kids,
and those without. That's right, Pops.

Yo.

Okay, go.

Right. Got it.

What? You're kidding me.

Okay. Thanks.

I got Shaw's address
in Poughkeepsie.

Oh, good,
a road trip to Hudson.

Haven't done one of those
since college.

Don't pack
your rubbers yet.

The bank said they wired
$10,000 out of his account to Western Union...

in Midtown this morning.

Well, that'll buy
the baby some formula.

(clerk)
Here we go. The wire transfer arrived at 1:00.

Mr. Shaw signed for it
at 1:40.

Do you remember
if he had a baby with him?

Sorry,
a lot of business today.

Come on, what're you
doing up there, balancing a checkbook?

That's right.

And when we're finished,
you'll know.

By any chance, did Mr. Shaw
leave a local address?

It says here,
"When wire is received, call him at the Lowery Hotel."

(Briscoe)
Thank you.

Who are you?
(Briscoe) We ask the questions.

Are you Steven J. Shaw?
Yeah. So what?

[baby crying]

Hey, what the hell's
going on? Shut up.

[baby babbling]

Okay.

(Steven)
What do you think you're doing?

Our favorite thing.

Steven Shaw,
you're under arrest.

Hi, this is Det. Logan.
I'm in Room 512 at the Lowery Hotel.

Have an ambulance respond
to a newborn male.

You have the right
to an attorney.

If you cannot afford one,
one will be provided for you.

(Logan)
You're not Debra's landlord.

You're not her husband.

You're not even
the kid's father.

So what were you doing
in a hotel room with the baby?

I told you.

I am her boyfriend.
You're quite a lady's man, Steven.

You always
let your girlfriends bleed half to death in a cab?

She wanted me to stay
with the baby.

There's plenty of room
in that taxi for all three of you.

I understand
the jam you're in. It's not your kid.

You wanted her to give it up,
she didn't want to. You two had a fight.

I didn't care
that she had been raped.

We both wanted the baby,
all right?

Hey, if it was me,
and I found out she was pregnant...

man, I would've grabbed
my hat and split.

You know, I don't know
what you're talking about.

I want to talk to Debbie.

Listen, dumping that kid
somewhere was gonna make your life...

a hell of a lot easier,
wasn't it? You're wrong, man, all right?

Just ask Debbie. You'll see.

Jeez, this is bad.

What are you hassling me for?

I didn't do anything wrong.

You know what really
pisses me off, Debbie?

Some little bitch
wasting three days of my life.

So you gonna arrest me
for it?

No. But how about
child abandonment? That's pretty serious.

What abandonment?
I left him with Steven.

Okay, so we'll add
endangerment to the list.

He'd never hurt the baby.

After all the lying
you've done...

who do you think
the judge is gonna believe?

What do you want from me?

For starters?
Why are you jerking us around?

Forget it, Mike.

We'll just throw both of them
in the can and let the DAs sort it out.

The kid's gonna wind up
in foster care anyway.

Here we go again, man,
just like the last time.

Those bastards
at Child Welfare.

They said I was unfit.

They took my daughter away.

I wasn't gonna
let that happen again.

What do you want me to do?
There's no crime here.

She intentionally interfered
with a police investigation.

That'd get her six months.

And you know a judge
who'd put her in prison with a newborn?

Forget about it, Lennie.
(Logan) She's just a kid.

She got screwed
by the system once. Who can blame her for lying to us?

Child Welfare was right
the first time. She's garbage.

I'll tell you what.
We let her go, we might as well...

get a head start
and arrest the baby right now.

[phone ringing]

Van Buren. Yes, they're here.

When? Thanks.

The Foundling Hospital
just called.

Someone walked out
the front door with the Elkins baby.

(Sheridan)
First, I took care of the screamers.

Add formula,
change the diapers.

Then, I counted the sleepers.
One short.

Well, the report said
the baby was taken early this morning.

She had
authorization papers.

What does that mean,
the kidnapper had a hall pass?

Authorization for transfer
to Victoria General, where the mother is.

It all looked kosher
until the baby's blood work-up came in...

about an hour ago.

Kid's allergic to formula,
so I called Victoria to tell them.

And the baby never showed.
Right.

She gave me
all the correct forms with all the signatures.

Everything was in order.

So somebody walks in waving
the right paperwork...

and you just give them
a baby?

But she was a nurse.

I mean, she showed me
her state card. Dorothy Hemmerick.

Dorothy Hemmerick?
Do you know what she looks like?

She was a white lady,
as old as you.

Not so tall.
Dirty blonde hair and green eyes.

She came in at 5:30
in the morning. Isn't that a little before office hours?

But she knew everything
about the little baby.

I mean, she even knew
the mother's name.

When she saw his hazel eyes,
she said they looked just like the mother's.

I am so sorry.

Please tell the mother
that I am so sorry.

(Briscoe)
Hey, she knew what color eyes you have.

What, you think
we're involved?

You got a reason
why we shouldn't think it?

She said she was a nurse,
and she knew everything about you and the baby.

Nurse?

That crazy bitch.

It had to be Mrs. Baxter.

You people want
to give us a hint here?

We interviewed her
about adopting the baby.

Wait a minute,
what about the Savitts?

I talked to them
after the Baxters.

I knew that woman was crazy.

Come on, let's go, open up.

Are you Herbert Baxter?
Yeah.

Okay, we're executing
a search warrant.

I don't understand.
Stand aside and be quiet.

What's this about?

Well, at least tell me
what you're looking for.

I suppose this is for a dog.

Where's the baby, Mr. Baxter?

I don't know
what you're talking about. We don't have a baby.

(Briscoe)
Where's your wife?

What does my wife
have to do with it?

Dorothy Hemmerick.
Is that her maiden name?

What the hell is going on?
Never mind what's going on.

Just tell us where she is.

She said she was going
to her sister's house in Queens.

[knocking on door]

Dorothy Baxter?
No, I'm her sister.

Dorie!

Dorothy Baxter?
(Dorothy) Yes.

Dorothy Baxter,
you're under arrest for kidnapping.

No, this is my baby though.

Ma'am, I'm gonna ask you
to give up the baby.

No, I can't.

(Briscoe)
Go right ahead. Please. No.

Just let go.
It's all right.

It's my baby though.

I'm telling you.
All right.

Okay.

Be careful, please.
(Briscoe) Okay.

[sobbing]

You have the right
to remain silent. Anything you do say...

can and will be
used against you.

My wife is
not a kidnapper. Right.

She just borrowed
the kid for the afternoon.

Jeffrey is my baby.
Dorothy, please.

I'm Morris Hoffman.
I'm attorney of record for Dorothy Baxter.

I'd like any interrogation
of my client to stop immediately.

(Logan)
You're a little late, Counselor.

She admits she took the baby
from the nursery.

Well, if she did,
she's well within her rights. It's their baby.

They have a contract
with Debra Elkins.

You hear the whole story, Ben,
I guarantee you'll call off the dogs.

Mrs. Baxter's good people.

Since when do good people
steal babies?

Well, when they honestly
believe they're entitled.

Look, Ben, Ms. Elkins answered
the Baxter's ad...

in the Hudson College
newspaper. She took their money.

You're saying
they bought the baby?

They paid her
reasonable medical expenses.

Private adoption, Ben.

Everything was done
by the book. Then the girl reneged.

Is this in writing?
Well, Ms. Elkins made a promise.

Mrs. Baxter relied
to her detriment.

There are
no signatures involved? Come on, Counselor.

You want to talk validity
of an oral contract, give Kim Basinger a call.

Even if we assume
they had a valid contract...

you can't complete an adoption
by snatching a baby out of foster care.

Having a family
is my wife's whole life, Mr. Stone.

Ten years ago
she had a miscarriage, followed by a hysterectomy.

Debbie Elkins
isn't the first one.

We've been
through this four times in the past six years.

The girls either decide
to keep the baby...

or give it to somebody
with a bigger apartment.

Does that justify kidnapping?

I can't even bail her
out of jail.

They took every penny we had.
This was our last chance.

Mr. Stone, what my wife did
may have been wrong...

but you have
got to understand, she is not a criminal.

She didn't mean
to hurt anybody.

(Hoffman)
Bottom line, Ben, the woman snapped.

Call it insanity,
call it diminished capacity.

Look, if you don't buy
this contract theory, can't you take the blinders off?

Let a little compassion
shine through?

Do us all a favor,
let your expert have a go at her.

Thanksgiving was
always my favorite. Yeah.

I know that some people
like Christmas, you know.

But for me, with the
whole family sitting around the table and everything.

I've always thanked God
for my family.

Did you have
a big family?

I have three brothers,
two sisters, seven nephews, five nieces.

That's what life's about.

People say that
that's not the only thing, you know, but of course...

they're the ones
who have children.

Yeah. And I don't know
how they could say that...

because when I held Jeffrey...

I could feel his breath
right on my cheek. It was beautiful.

Do you have children?
I've never been married.

You can still hope.

I used to have
fainting spells, and I used to have morning sickness.

And sometimes, I even thought
I could hear the baby or feel the baby kicking.

The doctors call that
the haunted womb syndrome.

It's very common
after a miscarriage.

Every morning
on my way to work...

I walk five blocks
out of my way, so that I do not have to see...

the children
on their way to PS 3.

And if I see
a baby carriage...

the only thing I want to do
is run and hide.

It's only natural, Dorothy.
No!

No.

What's natural
is having a baby. That's what's natural.

I have been through this
so many times.

That girl told me
that she wanted me to have that baby.

It's not fair.

(Olivet)
The woman's certainly been through the wringer.

There's only
so much frustration any psyche can take.

You're saying
she honestly didn't know what she was doing?

I wish I could say that.

You're not saying
that she can plead insanity, are you?

Well, both God
and society said, "Be fruitful and multiply."

Only the doctors
told her she couldn't.

And when that reality set in,
her self-image as a woman...

and as a human being
all but disappeared.

But that does not justify
what she did. I'm not saying that.

Only along comes Debra Elkins
and all her predecessors.

They dangle a carrot in front
of her nose and say, "Run fast enough and it's yours."

How many laps around the track
does it take before you believe you deserve a bite?

Put me on the stand, Ben. As a
psychiatrist, I'll say Dorothy Baxter was legally sane.

Ask me as a member of
the human race if I think she deserves to go to prison...

you'll get an unqualified no.

My son and his wife
ran loop-to-loops...

with the adoption services
for six years.

Desperation begets
desperate measures.

I doubt if Josh
would have stolen a child.

No. He wouldn't be so fast
to put the Baxter woman behind bars, either.

If Olivet felt sorry for her,
imagine what 24 crying eyes...

in a jury will do to our case.

You want us to let her walk?

I want you to get on the phone
to Morris Hoffman and work something out.

The defendant
wishes to withdraw her plea of not guilty...

and enter a plea of guilty,
Your Honor.

I assume there's been
some negotiation on this?

We've agreed on a plea
of custodial interference in the first degree, Your Honor.

With a suspended sentence.
Mrs. Baxter has agreed to undergo...

six months of psychiatric
outpatient treatment.

Mrs. Baxter, do you realize
you're pleading guilty to a class E felony?

Yes.

Has your attorney advised you
of the consequences of such a plea?

Yes.

Please describe
your criminal acts in your own words.

I took Jeffrey
from the hospital.

I wanted to say that...

we did everything
that we were supposed to do.

We gave her money,
we took care of her...

and then she dumped us
just because we don't live in Westchester.

I want to know where it says
that you need a backyard to love your baby.

Do you understand now
that the baby isn't yours?

You should have
seen her, Ben.

Pathetic doesn't even begin
to describe Dorothy Baxter.

I doubt six months
on the couch will even scratch the surface.

Debra Elkins doesn't realize
half the effect of her actions.

She's probably as confused
as Mrs. Baxter.

You don't give
your baby away every day.

You know, I'm starting
to think maybe she's not as confused...

as she would
have us believe.

In her allocution,
Baxter said that Elkins rejected her in favor...

of someone
who lived in Westchester.

You live in this city.
You blame her?

The Savitts also live here.
What are you saying?

That she promised the baby
to somebody else?

We know of two couples
already paying her way.

The more, the merrier.

Both the Savitts and
the Baxters placed ads in that college newspaper, right?

Let's see
if the mystery couple in Westchester...

tried contacting the stork
in the same way.

But if you're right...

God help us.

(Ric)
We spent a week with her in the city.

Plaza Hotel,
four-star restaurants. She said it was her first time.

She helped us
pick out furniture for the nursery.

FAO Schwarz,
Bergdorf's, the works.

The week cost me
close to $15,000.

Then, she has the nerve
to ask me if she can stay another week.

She's just a kid, Ric.
It's over, Mary.

We're not
getting the baby.

Did you ever send her money?
Does $10,000 cash count?

It was always something
with this girl.

One week she couldn't
pay her rent, the next week she couldn't afford a doctor.

It's cold,
they shut off her heat.

(Mary)
She got depressed.

She'd probably be better off
getting an abortion but...

how could we
let her do that?

Did she ever say specifically
that if you gave her money...

she would give you
the baby in return?

She said she wanted us
to have the baby.

I'm afraid
that's not good enough.

When we were in Saks,
looking at baby clothes...

Debbie started to cry.

She said it was the first time
in months that she felt good about things.

She said her baby was lucky
to have us as parents.

She sent me a sonogram
of the baby.

On Mother's Day, I got a card.

(Ric)
Tell me, what kind of sadist would do something like that?

We've been through it before,
Miss Kincaid.

I realize for these girls
it's a tough situation.

But this one, she's special.

Garrett Stubbs. Nice fellow.

Twenty years ago,
prosecuted him for...

selling the same building
to three different buyers.

Talk about lrish charm.

The problem is,
she never actually told the couples...

if they gave her money,
she'd give them her baby.

Hell of a con.

She plants the seed
and then lets their imaginations do the rest.

She can take reasonable
medical expenses, but she cannot sell a baby.

Unless you can call
an emergency session...

of the state legislature,
she can.

So you're saying
selling a baby is not against the law?

The domestic relations law
says a contract to sell a baby is null and void.

The penal law says nothing.

That's unbelievable.
That's slavery.

That went out a century ago.
For everybody but children.

We don't have standing
to institute a civil suit, so--

So we can't do anything.

(Stone)
Debra Elkins took money from three couples.

Each of whom thought
that they would receive the baby.

If we can prove
that she never intended to give that baby to anyone--

Larceny by false promise.

And she received
more than $60,000.

That's grand larceny two.

You dragged my client down
from Poughkeepsie for this?

A C felony always
gets my attention, Jane.

What's he
talking about?

Why don't you ask
the Baxters, the Savitts, or the Cushmans?

Hey, if they're
stupid enough--

(Jane)
Ben.

I know you've been stuck
in this building for God knows how long...

but across the street,
the birth mother always has the right to change her mind.

Check the domestic
relations law. She's got 45 days.

I'm more interested
in the penal law, Jane.

Specifically, the sections
on grand larceny.

I never asked these people
for anything.

What they gave me,
they gave on their own.

I never
promised them anything.

You led them to believe--
I know exactly what I said, Mr. Stone.

I also know
I can't be held liable for what they assumed.

On the other had, Miss Elkins,
you did take money from these people...

knowing full well that
the baby would not be adopted by anyone.

(Jen)
Very creative, Ben. Now l'd like to see you prove it...

considering the fact
that the baby has already been adopted...

by Les and Gwen Savitt.

Miss Elkins,
how does this con game work?

When you found out that
you were pregnant, was the first call to your lawyer...

to find out what you could
or could not say to these people?

As a matter of fact, yeah.

You should have seen her.
The girl's inhuman.

Unfortunately, inhumanity
is not against the law.

The law's supposed
to be a shield, Adam, not a sword.

Debra Elkins took it,
manipulated it, and drove it right through...

these people's hearts.

And enjoyed
every minute of it.

Why shouldn't she?
It made her a lot of money.

Well, the Savitts
obviously won the baby contest.

I find it hard
to believe that they didn't offer Debra...

a little more consideration
than the other couples.

So you're thinking Debra
was a little more adamant with her demands?

A lot more adamant.

Whatever you want, Ben.
I just want this girl off the street.

Okay.

[cooing]

You must be kidding.

We're not stupid, Mr. Stone.

We know that if we help you,
we lose our son.

(Stone)
Debra can only contest to the adoption...

within 45 days
after giving birth.

By the time we're at trial,
we'll be long past that.

She cannot take your baby
away from you.

(Les)
You don't get it, do you?

Do you have any idea
how long we've waited for this?

There is no way I'm gonna let
anything screw this up now.

This girl is dangerous.

Which is exactly why
you're not going to get anything out of us.

If you actually
bought the baby-- It's not against the law.

(Kincaid)
No.

But then the adoption
is null and void.

You can't take my baby.

Mrs. Savitt, we can subpoena
your bank records.

(Les)
I thought blackmail was against the law, Mr. Stone.

Do what you have to do,
but I'm telling you right now, you're wasting your time.

Well, if the Savitts
paid Elkins, they covered their tracks.

No records of any transfers
from either of their banks.

So we're back to
running in circles.

Well, we can always
put the Savitts on the stand.

No, I think
they'd even risk perjury.

When you had that meeting
with the Cushmans...

wasn't there something
in your memo about abortion?

Mrs. Cushman said
that whenever Elkins got depressed about money...

she talked about
ending her pregnancy.

Doesn't that sound
like extortion to you?

Extortion?

I'd get my Bar review outlines
out, Counselor. It's time for a little brush up.

Your client threatened
physical injury if she did not receive payment.

She's been accused of a lot,
but I didn't hear...

anyone say she held a gun
to their heads.

Then brush the dust
off the outline.

The statute reads,
"Threat of physical injury to anybody."

We know she told
the Cushmans she was contemplating abortion.

This is a joke, right?

I find nothing amusing
about your client.

Why don't we see
what Judge Sanderson thinks?

Fine. Let's do that.

To be accurate,
the extortion statute requires a threat...

to cause injury
to a person.

It doesn't mention
a person not yet born.

A fetus older than 24 weeks
is deemed a person...

for purposes
of the murder statute.

By extension--
Come on, Counselor.

Every first-year
law student knows the penal law is meant...

to be narrowly construed.
We don't extend.

If it's not in those pages,
it doesn't count.

The statute also covers
threats to damaged property.

And if, as you state,
a fetus...

is not a person at any point
in its gestation--

I don't want to hear
the end of that argument, Ben.

I understand, Your Honor.
But this case--

Deserves to leave skidmarks
on the bowl.

Thank you.

Don't hold a ticker-tape
parade just yet, Miss Schuman.

I'm going to let the State
take its case to a jury.

This is ridiculous.

If I get reversed, so be it.

But I have a feeling
your client is exactly the sort a panel of judges...

would love to use
to make new law.

Whatever we gave her,
she just wanted more.

Did there come a time
when you felt you had to inform Miss Elkins...

that you could no longer
give her additional funds?

Yes.

We're not, you know,
wealthy people and...

we had already
given her $10,000...

and we told her
that we were struggling to get by, as it was.

How did she respond
to that?

She said,
"What's the use?"

She said,
"Maybe it would be best for everyone...

"if I just didn't go
through with it."

What do you think
she meant by that?

That she would
terminate the pregnancy.

Thank you.

Your witness.

Isn't it true, Mrs. Baxter...

that you pled guilty
to kidnapping my client's baby?

She told me he was mine.

Now, Mrs. Baxter,
if she really...

said that, then...

you wouldn't have been guilty
of a crime, isn't that so?

She sent me a list
of baby names that she liked.

And you interpreted
that to mean that the baby was yours?

She said that she wanted us
to have the baby.

She said that
we would have made the best parents.

Did she ever say that she was
going to give up the baby to you for adoption?

Not in so many words.
So that's a no.

No.

So basically,
you misunderstood her intentions, isn't that so?

I guess so.

Isn't it possible then that
you also misunderstood her intentions...

when she talked
about an abortion?

I don't know how many times
she said it.

"Maybe I should
just get an abortion."

How did you respond?
Sent her more money.

That got her
out of her depression in a hurry.

(Stone)
So it was your understanding at that time...

that Debra Elkins would
terminate her pregnancy...

if you did not give her
more money?

She had a way
of making me believe everything she said.

I had to believe her.

All right, thank you.
Your witness.

Can I assume that you felt
just awful when you found out that Debra decided...

to give the baby
to someone else?

I don't have a baby.

My husband is filing
for divorce.

She should be punished.

You know, some people
would call that sour grapes, Mrs. Cushman.

Objection.

(Schuman)
Ben.

No matter what Judge Sanderson
thinks, a motion alone doesn't get you a conviction.

I've established my
prima facie case, and that's all I'm concerned about.

Yeah? Well, I wouldn't
count my chickens just yet.

I just added a new witness
to my list.

Mr. Savitt will be
taking the stand. Have fun.

We'd been through it
a dozen times over the past five years.

A girl answers our ad,
we meet her, we like her, hopefully, she likes us.

It really
doesn't mean anything. So...

even though
you paid Debbie's expenses...

you never thought
the adoption was a sure thing?

You go through this enough,
you realize these girls...

are in an overwhelming
emotional situation.

Was there ever a time
when Debbie told you...

she was considering
having an abortion?

Like it or not, that's one
of the options available to girls in her situation.

Sure, she talked about it,
but it's not as if she held it over our heads or anything.

I just want to be clear,
Mr. Savitt.

Did Debbie Elkins
ever give you an ultimatum?

Give her money,
or she ends her pregnancy?

Of course not.
No more questions.

Mr. Savitt, was there ever
a time when Debra Elkins asked you for money...

that you could not
deliver a check?

I make a good living.
The money was nothing.

I see. So...

Ms. Elkins never had to resort
to extortionist tactics, correct?

You give her too much credit,
Mr. Stone. Debbie's not that kind of girl.

Sure, maybe she's mixed up,
but all she's trying to do...

is place her baby
with the best possible family.

She's not a criminal.

Oh, really?

Well, what do you call
intentionally misleading the Baxters and the Cushmans...

into thinking that they were
going to receive the child...

so that Debra Elkins
could receive as much money as she could?

Objection.
Sustained.

I know these other people
are disappointed.

I understand that.
I've been there.

And the easiest thing
in the world is to blame the birth mother.

But it's hardly extortion.

Oh, and besides, Debra Elkins,
she's just not that kind of girl, right?

Then why are you here, sir?

You have the baby.
Objection.

(Stone)
Did she promise you something?

She threaten you?
(Schuman) Your Honor.

Enough.

Mr. Stone.

We both know what kind of girl
Debra Elkins is, sir. And...

don't think you're any better.

The jury had to see
that Les Savitt had another agenda.

(Kincaid)
Only your entire cross was inadmissible.

The judge instructed them
to disregard.

The jury can't ignore
what they heard.

And when the appellate judges
hear it, it'll add fuel to Schuman's fire.

[intercom buzzing]

Yes?

We'll be right there.

The Savitts are in your office
with their lawyer.

Now before we start, Ben.

I want your assurances
you're not going to get any crazy ideas...

about charging my client
with anything.

If your client is looking
for absolution, Ed, he came to the wrong building.

Whatever.

Now let's assume,
hypothetically speaking, of course...

that Mr. Savitt wants
to change his testimony.

This is not a game, sir.

Perjury is a serious crime.

Yeah, we understand that,
but that's not the real issue.

The real issue is,
how badly do you want the Elkins girl?

Now you give Mr. Savitt
a free ride, and you get the girl.

What are we talking about?

The girl didn't just
threaten us.

She tortured us.

Once, I suggested that
she was maybe spending too much money.

About a week later,
Gwen got a hysterical phone call.

She was sick. Could we
meet her at her doctor's office in Poughkeepsie?

And when I got there,
it wasn't a doctor's office, it was an abortion clinic.

She kept sending us
these sick pictures of dead fetuses.

And then, she'd write
on the bottom, something like, "This could be yours."

She's an animal, Mr. Stone.

Do you have
any of these pictures?

(Gwen)
Les did.

At first, in case,
you know.

But then, once we got
the baby, I made him get rid of all of them.

Mr. Savitt, I assume
that you did not come here...

out of the goodness
of your heart.

We gave her a bond
worth $75,000 when the baby was born.

What does she want from us?

Are you now saying
that she's asking for more money?

Not her. Her boyfriend.

After I testified,
he tried to shake us down for another $100,000.

He said we give him the money,
or he contests the adoption.

(Kincaid)
Steven Shaw?

He doesn't have standing.
He does if he's the father.

Kid's got a blood test to
prove it and a suitcase full of Baby Jessica clippings.

(Gwen)
It's never going to end with this girl.

We can't put ourselves
or our baby through this.

(Schuman)
My favorite kind of adversary, Ben.

Rather than suffer
the agony of defeat, raise those white flags early.

(Stone)
You may be right, Jane.

I may not have a case
against your client.

But against Mr. Shaw,
that's another story.

What are you talking about?

(Kincaid)
We had a discussion with the Savitts.

Two eyewitnesses to extortion
and grand larceny.

And they're
both felonies, sir.

Wait a minute. You mean,
I go to jail, and she walks away?

Shut up, Steven.
To hell with that.

Can't you see
what he's trying to do?

You're entitled
to a lawyer, sir.

Listen to me, Steven, listen,
everything is under control.

They think
we're just poor white trash.

Maybe they're right.

You shut your stupid face.

Stop calling me stupid.
Stevie.

Stevie, come on, sweetie.

I love you.

Don't blow this.

You are such a bitch,
you know that?

We are making
sentencing recommendations that your terms...

be served consecutively,
not concurrently.

That means you're going away
for a long time.

Just ignore him.

Apparently, Miss Elkins,
"stupid" here...

is going to prison for you.

I want a deal.
You see what I gotta put up with?

(Stone)
The deal depends on what you tell us.

It was all her idea.

She had this
whole thing planned before she even got pregnant.

I didn't want anything
to do with kids.

And then, she gets knocked up,
like it was an accident.

(Stone)
Did you witness personally any of her extortion?

(Steven)
Are you kidding me?

She had me go
to the Right to Lifers to get these pictures.

I heard her on the phone.
She's good.

You want to know what she did?

She's giving birth to the kid
in the hotel room...

she's on the phone taking bids
between contractions.

She wouldn't take him
to the hospital.

She wants me
to make a quick sale.

All you have is his word, Ben,
and we all know how much...

character it takes
to be a felon.

How much character
does it take to auction off your own child?

You want to talk
about character?

The only reason
that any of these people cared about me...

is because I had something
they wanted.

You don't think I know
what they think about me?

They used me,
so I used them back.

By selling your child?

My first kid....

I'm sitting
in the St. Vincent's Home for Girls in Poughkeepsie.

All these people
being nice to me, all their fake smiles...

their phony,
"How are you, Debbies?"

They take my baby,
and I'm back to my crappy apartment and my crappy life.

I wasn't gonna let that happen
to me again.

So I make babies, Mr. Stone.
Hell, I'm good at it.

So what if there are people
willing to pay me for it?

Grand larceny two, Ben.
She serves the minimum.

She serves 4-to-12.

I just spoke
with Gwen Savitt.

They're taking the baby
and leaving New York for places unknown.

All the publicity.
Who can blame them?

It's not the publicity
that scares them, Adam.

It's the knock on the door
12 years from now.

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