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"Sophomore Jinx"
SVU, Episode 1.06
Production number: E0904
First aired (US): 25 October 1999
First aired (CAN): 25 October 1999
First aired (AUS): 13 March 2000
  th of 502 produced in SVU  
th of 502 released in SVU
  th of 1271 released in all  
CassidyMunchSophomoreJinx
Written By
John Chambers

Directed By
Clark Johnson

Summary[]

Detectives Benson and Stabler are having trouble investigating the murder of a young student, because they experience resistance from the college that she attended.

Plot[]

A student named Jeanne Gallagher is found dead in front of her dorm building at St. Raymond's, the local college that Cragen graduated from in the 1960s. St. Raymond's is known for its traditionally strong basketball team. Jeanne was present, as a hostess, at numerous sports parties at St. Raymond's, and she maintained close contact with the basketball players. Benson and Stabler turn their attention to Chuck Mosley and the arrogant and privileged Riley Cougar, a pair of star players on the basketball team, who have lead the team to the NCAA tournament and national acclaim. Chuck is attending St. Raymond's with the help of a scholarship.

The St. Raymond's administration tries to block the investigation at every turn, because they're not willing to risk the negative publicity that the investigation could bring to the college and the upcoming basketball game in the tournament. Benson and Stabler must sort through a labyrinth of sex, parties, and the lives of pampered college athletes. Benson and Stabler learn that Jeanne was raped by Riley Cougar two months ago, and that the St. Raymond's administration encouraged her to not press charges, because the administration didn't want the team to lose one of its star players.

Cragen tells Benson and Stabler about another cover-up. When the dean of science won a Mustang in the fall of 1964, a drunk student decided that he had to take it for a spin. He lost control on an icy road, hit another car, and broke the other driver's leg. Campus security decided that the student deserved another chance. Cragen turned out to be the one with the broken leg, and the drunk student who hit his car was Anthony Schlasser, who is now working in the Mayor's office. Cragen talks to the campus security officer who gave Riley an alibi for the rape. Cragen grills the officer and gets him to reveal that although Riley wasn't actually there, he decided to cover him and give him a false alibi for the night in question two months ago because the officer believes that "a girl with a grudge can destroy a man". The officer says he is sorry for giving Riley a fake alibi, and Cragen sternly says he should be sorry.

Benson and Stabler also investigate French Professor James Henri Rousseau, who was obsessed with Jeanne. Shelley Brown, one of Jeanne's friends, tells Benson and Stabler that Rousseau had stalked Jeanne, but the administration had decided not to intervene. Benson and Stabler learn that, before Rousseau became a professor at St. Raymond's, he was a student there. In 1976, he forced himself on a girl. While she was passed out, Rousseau took her to his place, and let the girl perform oral sex on him while she slept. After she came to, the girl was given cab fare to Bronxville, and the St. Raymond's administration wrote the incident off as "boys will be boys."

Benson and Stabler learn that Rousseau had altered his entire schedule to fit Jeanne's. After searching Rousseau's home, they arrest him. Rousseau tells the detectives and ADA Abbie Carmichael that he had indeed stalked Jeanne, and that he saw her on the night of her death. He revealed that she'd fallen down the stairs and hit her head. After carrying her body into the bushes, he made love to her.

Carmichael makes a deal with Defense Attorney Vargas to take out the homicide charge, and let Rousseau plead guilty to having sex with a deceased person. With the addition of obstruction and disturbing a crime scene, Rousseau faces three years to be served consecutively. Cougar is charged with raping Jeanne. After the case, Munch and Cassidy visit Chuck as he and his mother are packing up. Munch apologizes for accusing Chuck of the crime, while assuring him that Couger will get his sentence in court. Seeing his sincerity, Chuck shakes Munch's hand in acceptance.

Cast[]

Main cast[]

Recurring cast[]

Guest cast[]

References[]

Quotes[]

[Stabler catches his daughter sneaking into the house at two in the morning]
Stabler: Out, nothing, nobody. Those are your answers to me?
Maureen Stabler: Uh-huh.
Elliot: Fine. You're busted. You're grounded. Go to your room.
Maureen: Wait, for how long?
Elliot: Until I got some answers or you turn eighteen, whichever comes first.

Officer: You want us to go through the trash?
Stabler: Yeah, you. Personally.

Stabler: Everything's preliminary at this point.
Benson: What isn't preliminary is that this girl was drunk. Alcohol level was .27.
Cragen: Wow. Triple the limit. There was a time I yearned for a girl who could drink like that.

Jeffries: Everyone knows they bought their way up.
Cragen: Hey, hey, hey! Come on, watch it! That's my school you're talkin' about!

Riley Couger: You know the way those people get.
Munch: The way what people get?
Riley Couger: You know, street players. Don't you mess with my homies and all that gangsta rap crap. Thinking they can get away with anything cuz they're so bad.
Munch: As opposed to suburban white boys who think they can get away with anything because of their daddies' money?
Riley Couger: Yeah?

[SVU is soliciting sperm samples from the St. Raymond's basketball team, but Rev. Sharpton has lodged a protest on behalf of the black players]
Reverend Al Sharpton: I'll stand with you on this, Brother Mosely


[Chuck Mosely takes his sperm-collection cup and leaves]


Stabler: I never lived in a dorm. That's what I wanted to do. I even knew where.
Benson: Where?
Stabler: Are you ready for this? Everglades University.
Benson: Everglades?
Stabler: Yeah. Playboy magazine rated universities by their sexual temperature. E.U., always at the top of the list.
Benson: Beautiful. I can see you had your priorities in order.
Stabler: Thank you.

Abbot McCourt: These situations often come down to the student's word against that of a wellliked professor.
Stabler: Sir, Ms. Gallagher is not speaking much these days.
McCourt: I've had several discussions with Henri, and we've agreed that he will modify his behavior accordingly. You see, in our world...
Stabler: In our world, Father, behavior modification means prison time.
McCourt: For unwanted attention? Please.
Stabler: Again, sir, we call it "stalking." Legally, "harassment two." If we find priors, it goes up to "menacing in the first degree."
McCourt: Menace...? Well, that's in the eye of the beholder, isn't it?
Stabler: No, Father. It's in the eye of the District Attorney.

Stabler: Just once, I want to see people take a little bit of a breather before they let the healing begin. Look at this. "Enrolled in God's college now. We love you, Jeanne."
Benson: Come on Elliot. It's a spontaneous outpouring of emotion.
Stabler: I'm just saying, if I ever go down, you better make sure the place where my body is found doesn't EVER look like this or I will haunt you for the rest of your days.
Benson: Noted.

Benson: [to Elliot] Oh no, you meant that he hit her over the head with the building.

[searching for the murder weapon]
Benson: What if he pushes her down the stairs? This whole time, we've been assuming that the rock hit her.
Stabler: Maybe she hit the rock.

Defense Attorney Vargas: Come on, Miss. You're badgering my client.
Benson: It's Detective, not miss. And we're not in court, counselor. We're in my house so why don't you save your lawyering for somebody who gives a damn.

Munch: For whatever embarrassment or discomfort, its caused you to wear the red jersey and move out of town, I apologize on behalf of my people
Chuck Mosely: You a weird cat Munch, but you cool.

Background information and notes[]

  • A sophomore jinx refers to an instance in which a second, or sophomore, effort fails to live up to the standards of the first effort. It is commonly used to refer to the performance of athletes (second season of play), bands (sophomore album), and television shows. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit was the second series in the Law & Order franchise, but doesn't seem to be suffering from a sophomore jinx. Special Victims Unit is the highest rated television series in the franchise.
  • Actor Tom O'Rourke (Campus Security Officer Anthony Schlasser) is a well known face in the Law & Order franchise. He previously appeared on Law & Order as recurring character Defense Attorney Peter Behrens, but he is probably best known for playing Judge Mark Seligman throughout the rest of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
  • The campus security officer who admitted to giving a fake alibi to Riley for a rape accusation because "a girl with a grudge can destroy a man whether he did something or not, I have seen it happen!" is listed in the episode credits as Anthony Schlasser, played by Tom O'Rourke. However, Schlasser, the man who crashed his car into Captain Cragen when they were both college students and broke Cragen's leg as a result, now works in the Mayor's office as an adult according to Cragen. This was a production error.
  • Another episode that deals with college athletics is the season 15 "Gridiron Soldier".

Episode scene cards[]

1 2 3 4

St. Raymond's University
501 Convent Street
Thursday, October 14

Dorm Room of Shelley Brown
Agatha House
St. Raymond's University
Friday, October 15

Office of Professor James Rousseau
St. Raymond's University
Friday, October 15

Office of
Campus Safety and Security
St. Raymond's University
Friday, October 15

5 6 7

Special Victims Unit
Interrogation Room
Tuesday, October 19

Agatha House
St. Raymond's University
Tuesday, October 19

St. Julian's Square
St. Raymond's University
Wednesday, October 20

Previous episode:
"Wanderlust"
"Sophomore Jinx"
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Season 1
Next episode:
"Uncivilized"
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