Ethics in Law and Order: January 19th 2011

1. How realistic was the episode, based on what you know of real legal processes?

I thought that the episode was not very realistic. The first thing that I noticed was the dramatic start of the show. Within the first few minutes, there was an assault, accusations, and sexual issues involving young children. Another thing that I thought was not very realistic was the male detective being physically confrontational when the suspects were already contained. While interviewing the wrestling coach, he began to suffocate him and then when while meeting with the operator of the child site, he kicked the chair out from under him and was rough. The counter deal that the father offered (5,000 names and addresses) from a simple dinner also seemed unrealistic. A deal that great would not usually be that readily available. Also, the images and videos stored on the fathers computer and flash drive were pretty easily found. I thought that the detectives made too many compromises in conducting the case; first by going along with the counter deal even though it put the wife and child in danger and secondly by dismissing the mother's stabbing the husband. Lastly, I thought that the child breaking into the courtroom and professing his love for his mother and making the jury sympathetic was also unrealistic. This would not be allowed in a normal case, and even though the judge tried to stop the boy from speaking, he still got his words out and was heard by the jury.

2. How effective was it? (To answer this part of the question, you'll first have to identify a goal, again, based on what you know of it rather than research, then evaluate how well it achieves the goal.) Consider whether and to what extent the concessions to reality add or detract to the show's effectiveness.

I believe the goal of this episode was to make the audience angry about child rape and the existence of secret organizations enabling pedophile relationships. I thought that the episode did a good job of achieving this goal. The unrealistic aspects of the show, such as the boy breaking in to the courtroom and spilling his heart out to the people also helped to make the audience of the show sympathetic as well. Also, the stepfather proposing a counter deal to get him out of trouble after what he did made the audience dislike him that much more. He did not own up to his actions and accept punishment but rather tried to save himself. Also by proposing this counter deal, he caused the wife and son to have to eat dinner with him and the site operator, thus further endangering them.