| "Asylum" | ||
|---|---|---|
| ← | L&O, Episode 2.04 | → |
| Production number: 67409 First aired: 8 October 1991 | ||
 | ||
| Teleplay By Kathy McCormick Story By Robert Palm Directed By Kristoffer Siegel-Tabori | ||
Plot
The detectives arrest a homeless man, who is later convicted of murder based on their discovery of the weapon in his "home" in Central Park, but the conviction is threatened on appeal because they lacked a search warrant.
Cast
Main cast
- Paul Sorvino as Sergeant Phil Cerreta
- Chris Noth as Detective Mike Logan
- Dann Florek as Captain Donald Cragen
- Michael Moriarty as Executive A.D.A. Benjamin Stone
- Richard Brooks as A.D.A. Paul Robinette
- Steven Hill as D.A. Adam Schiff
Recurring cast
- Carolyn McCormick as Dr. Elizabeth Olivet
- Bill Alton as Judge Bernard O'Malley
- Ira Wheeler as Appellate Judge Bloom
Guest cast
- Matthew Cowles as Christian "Lemonhead" Tatum
- Ron McLarty as Defense Attorney Scoler
- Elizabeth Lawrence as Elsie Hatch
- Lycia Naff as Mimi Sternhagen
- Wendy Radford as Defense Attorney Fahey
- Michael Tolan as ACLU Attorney Norman Ackerman
- Garrett Russell as Sal Violet
- Melissa Fraser Brown as Ms. Murdoch
- Stuart Rudin as James Joseph Polesky
- Lex Monson as Homeless Man #1
- Jack Wallace as Homeless Man #2
- Tom Riis Farrell as Homeless Man #3
- Irving Metzman as Judge Robert Streebie
- Jane White as Appellate Judge A. Green
- William Mesnik as Appellate Judge Leonard Rosenblum
- Graham Brown as Appellate Judge Barry Marton
- Dan Grimaldi as Counterman
- Mary Testa as Dilbeck
- Steven Randazzo as Quinn
- George T. Odom as Attendant
- Alexandra O'Karma as Technician
- Alex Draper as Nathan Robbins
- Tessell Williams as Hotel Clerk
- Sam Baum as Law Clerk
- Michael Cannis as Reporter #1
- Meg Anderson as Reporter #2
References
- Central Park
- William Blackstone
- Hester v. U.S.
- Katz v. U.S.
- Justice Potter Stewart
- Oliver v. U.S.
- Justice John Marshall Harlan II
- Clarence Darrow
Quotes
"He's psychotic; he's not psychopathic."
"What's the difference?"
"Psychotic is when you believe the doorman was sent from Planet X to put mind control devices in your teeth. Psychopathic is when you blow the doorman away and take out twenty other people while you're at it."
- - Dr. Elizabeth Olivet and Phil Cerreta
"And night before last, there was a naked man with a crossbow, running up and down West 74th Street."
"Where did he keep the arrows?"
- - Elsie Hatch and Mike Logan
"I want that reward."
"I thought Polesky was your friend."
"I'm flexible."
"Crazy, not stupid."
- - Christian Tatum, Phil Cerreta and Mike Logan
"What can you tell us about the ring?"
"When is Mr. Rehnquist getting here?"
"Oh, listen, he’s caught up in a Supreme Court thing. Hang tight."
- - Phil Cerreta, Christian Tatum and Mike Logan
"Your psychiatrist tells us that you have moments of rational thought. We're going to take care of you, and you're going to go back in there and have one of those moments."
- - Benjamin Stone
"Let's say it was a mugger. He got scared off before he could get to the money."
"Or maybe he just got mad because somebody kicked his box."
"Well, wouldn't you?"
"Don't you kick my box!"
- - Mike Logan and Phil Cerretta
"He was sitting under that tree drinking Scotch."
"This doesn't look like the Scotch-and-soda crowd to me."
- - Homeless Man and Mike Logan
"Take your time."
"I want the good-looking one. Bachelor number two."
- - Phil Cerreta and Ms. Murdoch
"How come every freak in the country lives in New York? Why don’t some of you people move to Nebraska?"
"I’m from Nebraska, sweetie. How do you think I got this way? "
- - Ms. Murdoch and Sal Violet
"You didn't have a warrant to search the appellant's place of abode."
"Place of abode, huh? It was in the damn bushes."
- - Benjamin Stone and Mike Logan
"I'm thinking Man Two?"
"I'm thinking murder two, he does 25 to life"
"I'll Appeal, we'll start over"
"I'll be there"
"Manslaughter one"
"All right but Mr. Polesky does the max"
"Well, my client won't be very happy, but at least he'll have a roof over his head for the next twenty-five years."
"Well, there's Lemonhead -- rubber cell at Bellevue. And Nathan Robbins -- he's got six feet of dirt over his head. So what's happy got to do with it?"
- - Mr. Scoler and Benjamin Stone
Background information and notes
- This episode is based on the David Mooney case. In August 1987, Mooney, who lived under an on-ramp to Interstate 91 in New Haven, Connecticut, was arrested for the murder of Theodore Genovese, a supervisor in the radiology department at Yale-New Haven Hospital, who was found strangled with an electric cord in his home. Evidence led police to Mooney, and he was picked up for questioning. Mooney's girlfriend led the police on a search for the spot beneath the highway where he kept his belongings and slept. In a cardboard box, the police found a 38-inch belt matching the waist size of the victim. In a duffel bag, they found a pair of bloody trousers. Mooney was later released due to homeless rights advocates, who raised the question of whether the privacy of homeless people is protected by the Fourth Amendment during Mooney's trial. They pointed out that Moooney had an expectation of privacy, and the police had no search warrants to look into his belongings.
Episode scene cards
| 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|
|
Ezra's Coffee Shop |
Supreme Court Building |
Supreme Court |
| 4 |
|---|
|
Six weeks later |
| 5 | 6 | 7 |
|---|---|---|
|
Appellate Division |
Bellevue State Hospital |
Chambers of Judge |
| Previous episode: "Aria" |
"Asylum" Law & Order Season 2 |
Next episode: "God Bless the Child" |