Law & Order (TV Series)

Falling (2008)

Alana De La Garza: ADA Connie Rubirosa

Photos 

Quotes 

• Jack McCoy : From a crane collapse to a jealous wife.

  Michael Cutter : Cops just followed the facts. This is where they led us.

  Jack McCoy : To a crime with no witnesses and no forensic evidence.

  Connie Rubirosa : Not quite. The defense asked us to produce a float pole from the pool. I had the police check it and they found Sandra's prints on one of the pole and Amelia's partials on the other.

  Michael Cutter : The lawyer's gonna argue Sandra used the pole to fish Amelia out of the water after pushing her in. It's mitigation.

  Jack McCoy : It's worse than that. They'll argue renunciation. Sandra Talbot had a change of heart after trying to drown Amelia. She could get away scot free.

  Michael Cutter : Renunciation's no defense if it's motivated by a fear of getting caught. Amelia didn't drown right away, Sandra was worried somebody'd walk in, so she fished her out.

  Jack McCoy : Good luck proving that. Gary Talbot is a key witness in our crane case. Try not to muddy that up.

• Mr. Goodwin : You know 200 grand's out of their reach.

  Connie Rubirosa : Well, then lower your retainer.

  Mr. Goodwin : You have no eyeball witness, a motive you can't prove, and a link between the alleged act and the victim's coma that's more science fiction than medical fact.

  Connie Rubirosa : What are you looking for?

  Mr. Goodwin : Assault two, suspended sentence.

  Connie Rubirosa : Assault one, she does five years.

  Mr. Goodwin : The whole idea of a plea is keep Mrs. Talbot with her daughter.

  Connie Rubirosa : Our idea is to give Amelia Lazaro justice. Your client knew about the affair and she tried to drown the other woman. Now she has to answer for that.

• Connie Rubirosa : I turned up a police report filed by Dr. Ziering about anonymous threats left on his office voicemail. It's dated two weeks before Amelia was pushed into the pool. Maybe that's what Amelia's call to Ziering was about. She was leaving another threat.

  Michael Cutter : Threat about what?

  Jack McCoy : Bird in the hand, Mike. Next time a defendant wants to plead guilty, let 'em.

• Connie Rubirosa : Goodwin's agreed to a meeting. I got to tell you, Mike, I think the judge made the right call.

  Michael Cutter : Ever since she pushed Amelia into that pool, Sandra Talbot's done nothing but lie and obfuscate, and now her reward's a green light to maim her child.

  Connie Rubirosa : It's not our business anymore. Besides, there are no clean hands here.

  Michael Cutter : Sometimes it's hard to know what justice is, but you have to do something. You just have to try and save who you can save.

• Michael Cutter : I'm moving to stop the procedure.

  Jack McCoy : On what basis?

  Michael Cutter : It's an assault on a handicapped child.

  Connie Rubirosa : I don't know if I would go that far.

  Michael Cutter : What would you call disfiguring this poor kid? Tearing out her uterus, forcing hormones into her veins to stunt her growth? I mean, look, I've read up on this, I talked to doctors. No one knows what the long-term effects are, assuming Lacy even lives to find out because the hormones might cause a blood clot that kills her. The procedure's not medically necessary. It's all for the parents' convenience to save their marriage.

  Jack McCoy : What does any of this have to do with our prosecution of Sandra Talbot?

  Michael Cutter : One assault's to cover another. This one on a child. It's all part of the same criminal enterprise.

  Jack McCoy : It's a stretch. She was ready to plead.

  Michael Cutter : On false grounds.

  Jack McCoy : You're splitting hairs.

  Michael Cutter : What, so we don't have an obligation to pursue the truth?

  Jack McCoy : Lacy Talbot's treatment isn't our concern. We have a victim: Amelia Lazaro. If Mrs. Talbot doesn't want to come clean, empanel a jury, but this office focuses on established crimes.

• Michael Cutter : [to Rubirosa]  We're amending the complaint to add a charge of conspiracy to assault Lacy Talbot. Unindicted coconspirator: Gary Talbot. Overt act: payment for the surgery.

  Connie Rubirosa : Mike, were you not here when Jack said focus on established crimes?

  Michael Cutter : Well, if the judge buys my argument that the operation is a crime, then Jack won't have anything to complain about, will he?

  Connie Rubirosa : You just want to stop them from doing this procedure on their daughter. I don't have kids, and I am not in the Talbots' shoes, but I'm not convinced.

  Michael Cutter : Stick around.