- Why are you talking to the police without a lawyer present? Ugh, that's, "Law & Order"'s gonna drive me insane! "Law & Order" is back, baby! I grew up with "Law & Order". I love "Law & Order", and I was very sad when it got canceled. It's been off the air for
over a decade, a decade! And why would you cancel
regular "Law & Order"? It was a tent pole! - Why? It was a tent pole, a tent pole! - I'm super happy that it's back, though I don't know if it holds up. But let's get to it, let's dig in. - [Narrator] Two separate
yet equally important groups, the police who investigate crime and the district attorneys
who prosecute the offenders. These are their stories. (cell clanging) - Diane, I spent three years, two months, and 11 days in prison for a crime that I did not commit. Like many people of color, I was wrongfully charged
and wrongfully convicted. - Okay, so right off the bat, we have a guy who is a
stand-in for Bill Cosby, and right off the bat, this video is completely demonetized. Great, wonderful. (soft electronic music) - Over here. Name's Henry King. - The singer? - [Technician] Among other things. - All right, so clearly, it's going to be one of this guy's victims that got revenge and killed this guy. This is a classic "Law & Order", just ripping it right from the headlines and just laying it out on a platter, here, is my guess where this is gonna go. (humming "Law & Order" theme song) - All right, "Law & Order"'s back! I love it! - Mrs. King, where were you tonight between the hours of nine and 11? - Okay, so this is the widow. She's clearly a suspect. Why doesn't she have a lawyer? Have a lawyer if the police are talking, and their first question
is, "Where were you?" They're asking to find
inculpatory evidence. You can afford a lawyer, get a lawyer! Duh! - Since your husband was
released from prison, have there been any problems? Have you noticed anything unusual? - I think this is unusual, that you're talking to the
police without a lawyer present. - Just found a text on King's
phone sent two days ago. It says, "It's over, I'm coming for you." (cell clanging) - All right, so in classic
"Law & Order" fashion, this is going to be a hot lead that turns out to be a red herring. I guarantee it. - Hey, hey, how you doing? We're looking for a guy
named Shabazz Walker. Seen him? - Yeah, a'ight. - Yo, yo, I'm not done talking to you. - Yo, kiss my ass! - What'd you say to me? (people yelling) - Ooh, okay. All right, now, come on. There are circumstances where
the police can detain you, but this guy isn't a suspect. This isn't even a material witness. This is some random person that this guy has found on the street, and now the police are
laying hands on this guy. That's clearly a
constitutional violation, here. (people chattering) - Are you kidding me? These young kids, they got no respect. - Oh, so he disrespected you
and you just grabbed him? You don't get to do that, policeman "Burn Notice" guy! (laughs) - It's like a free pass. - Yeah, I'm not sure
what you mean by that. - Uh, I mean, I'm white, he's black. I say the wrong thing
and my career's over. - Maybe. - Maybe, is there another
way of looking at this? - Hey, Frank, you came at him hot. - Came at him hot? He laid hands on him! He restricted, that's assault! That's more than coming in hot! - Well, if we're gonna
keep this thing going, you gotta know something about me. I speak my mind, probably about things I
shouldn't speak my mind about. But it's just how I'm wired. - I mean, that's just
good writing, right there. Just replacing all the subtext with text. "I speak my mind, "probably about things I
shouldn't speak my mind about." I mean, that's just A+. - Look at this. - I know her. She's a prosecutor, her name's Jamie Ross. (cell clanging) - Henry King has been harassing me since he was released from prison. Blames me for ruining his life. - Hm, why you? - I was the lead prosecutor
on his rape trial. I was also the one who made
the original promise not- - Why are you talking to the police without a lawyer present? I mean, sure, it would look a little weird if a district attorney asked
for their own attorney, but still, you don't
wanna talk to the police if you have potentially some involvement in a criminal homicide. - At the time, there was
only one victim, Nicole, and it was a tough case. There wasn't a lot of evidence. So, I offered him
immunity for that one case so that Nicole's lawyer could depose him. - So, you're the reason he went to prison and the reason he was released. - All right, this is really interesting. See, this actually did happen
in the Bill Cosby prosecution. The prosecuting attorney made a statement that they weren't going
to prosecute Cosby, and then later on due process grounds, he was able to get out of
prison after three years, claiming that he relied on the
statement to the prosecution. Interesting fact, the prosecutor at the
time was Bruce Castor Jr., who would go on to represent
former President Trump in his impeachment hearings. But basically, and a lot of
people disagree with this, the statements of the
prosecutor were the reason that Bill Cosby was let out of jail. And so, we're basically
copying that fact circumstance in this prosecution as well. - Why did you and Henry
King meet the other day? - He said he was going to
destroy me, destroy my family, and I, I just lost it. - And because of your mistake, he's walking out of jail a free man. - What are you really
asking me, detective, if I killed Henry King? - Did you? - Get the hell out of my office. - Ooh, she doesn't answer
the question, there, and also did not have
legal representation. If you're talking to the police,
get legal representation. - Hey, got a hit. Here's King's wife on the
corner of 78th and Columbus, two blocks from her house. Timestamp says 9:33. - That's 27 minutes
before Henry got popped. (cell clanging) - I didn't lie, I just
left out a few details. - That's what lawyers would call a distinction without a difference. - After dinner, I started walking home, but I knew Henry would still be awake and I couldn't bear it. So, I went to a bar a
block away, Maxwell's. Had a few drinks. - Okay, so without a lawyer, you are admitting that what you told the police previously was a lie, and now you are also saying that you have animosity
towards the victim. Yeah, not the brightest on this one. - This is probably nothing, but I did notice someone hanging out at the end of the block a few times. He had on a hoodie, green, I think. And he was wearing sunglasses
even though it was dark. - Okay, so she was drinking, she left out a bunch of details, and then she's able to
remember a mundane fact like, there was a person with a hoodie on the night of the murder. I mean, it's kinda like the
Simpsons episode where they ask, "You remember a boy
with a piece of paper?" Like, "Yeah, you don't
forget a fact like that!" - When Milhouse left, did you notice if he was
carrying a piece of paper? - Oh, yeah, you don't
forget a thing like that. - Got a hit from the DNA. A woman named Nicole Bell,
maiden name Nicole Atkins. - Wait, okay. (laughs) Is this the next day, the next week, is this months in, surely you can't get a DNA
match just, like, immediately! And even then, is this person
going to be in the database? I mean, (laughs) this seems like some real
"CSI" nonsense right here. - Nicole Atkins was the first
woman to accuse Henry King. - Oh, called it! It's one of the victims
committed the murder. Nailed it. - Tuesday night I was
home with my husband. - Why are you talking to the police without a lawyer present? Ugh, that's, "Law & Order"'s
gonna drive me insane! - No one in this building
thinks you did anything wrong. Hell, if it were up to me, I'd
give you the key to the city. The other thing you gotta understand is we've got the whole thing on video. Holding the Sig 380, waiting outside the service
entrance, shooting King. - Okay, so, the police
are allowed to lie to you. This has gone up to the
Supreme Court many times and the Supreme Court says that the police are under no obligation
to tell you the truth. It's popular belief that the police have to tell you that they're police and they can't lie to you. That's total nonsense. The police can lie to
you all that they want. So, what he's doing here
passes constitutional muster. - We already know what happened. Why are we even talking? 'Cause they're lying to you and you don't have a lawyer, dummy. - Tell us your side of the
story so we can help you. - Then what? - Nicole, you move on with your life. I give you my word. - (laughs) Again, this is probably getting close to the line, but I don't think that that violates any constitutional issues, here. - Well, you saw his TV interview, right? There was no remorse, none. It was like he was mocking us. I couldn't take it. - Yeah, then she confesses, okay. - Yes, I shot him. - Nicole Bell, You're
under arrest for murder. - What? You just said- - I lied. - And of course, right. She's surprised because
she's being arrested after she confessed to the crime. Now, you might be wondering, was she given her Miranda rights
before this interrogation? And the answer is probably no because the police are just
doing an investigation. Miranda rights kick in only
when you are dealing with what's called a custodial interrogation, meaning that you have
already been arrested. So, generally, when someone is arrested, they are read their Miranda
rights at the same time. But if the police are interviewing you and they haven't arrested
you, you're free to go, then you're not in police custody and the police can still use
your confession against you even if you haven't gotten
Miranda rights at that point, presumably, we don't know exactly what happened in this investigation, but that's the way that
they're portraying it. So, I don't think the
lack of Miranda rights at this particular time is an issue with respect to this confession. - Keller filed a motion to suppress Nicole Bell's confession. - On what basis? - Defendant was improperly Mirandized, confession wasn't known and voluntary, police used improper and coercive tactics. - Did Cosgrove lie? - Yeah. Did a good job, too. - Yeah, who cares? Well, I mean morally, whatever, but why does this district attorney care whether the interrogating
police officer lied or not? - This case is front page news, Nolan. - I get it. But with all due respect,
that's not relevant. When you asked me to come here, you said, "I need someone who sees the world "through a different lens." - The district attorney is recruiting specific assistant district attorneys to see things through a different lens? What is that nonsense? No way! - But it's a legal confession, Nolan. Cops are allowed to lie. - They are, but it makes the
confession less reliable. - Why? - No, it, no! What version of ethics are
they going to go with, here, that a constitutional, legal
method of interrogation that got them the confession was, ugh! So what, it was used? No way, I don't buy this for a second. - Cosgrove spun the suspect upside-down. He practically promised her immunity, told her that no one in the DA's office would even consider prosecuting her. Why? Let the defense tear him apart on cross, shift the focus away from the evidence, and onto her sympathetic client and the big, bad police department. I just wanna do what
is best for this case. - No, that is, that's so wrong. - Okay, then it's out. - (blows raspberry) How? - Thank you. - I mean, if he's not going
to use the confession, then you assign another
assistant district attorney to prosecute this case. Just yank him off. Okay, so this is February. Two months after the murder,
they're going to trial. That's not a thing. That just doesn't happen. No way. - Two blocks from the brownstone, tossing the murder weapon into a dumpster. As for motive, well, she's got a good one. When the justice system failed her, the defendant took matters
into her own hands, got justice her way. - I mean, that's a
classic opening statement. You can't make an argument, but you need to explain that just because the victim of the murder
did some bad things, that that doesn't entitle the defendant to take law into her own hands. And you know, you need to set that out right in front of the jury. So, he's doing an okay job. I think you could do a better job of it, but you 100% would want to
get that out in the open and just own it from the very beginning. - Where did you recover the murder weapon? - There. ECT found it in that dumpster. - Detective, you have no idea
that the hoodie you recovered is the actual hoodie that the person in the photo is wearing. - "You have no idea," no, that's a really bad question. You would never, ever
phrase a question that way, because that's not what
the witness is saying. - Correct. - Whoa, what? You're, what are you talking about? Yes, you have an idea, because you can use your eyes and you can see the
one that's in the photo and you can compare it to
the one that's in court, and they look really similar. So, that's a really dumb question to ask and that's a really dumb
way to answer that question. - Okay, so help me out, here. If someone is wearing a
sweatshirt and shoots a man five times at close range, there would likely be blood
spatter all over it, correct? - Not necessarily. And like I said, when we found the hoodie, it was damp like she just washed it. - [Keller] But. - Ah, man. So, the classic blunder
in cross-examination is you're trying to get the witness to agree to your conclusions. You just lay the foundation. This hoodie did not have any blood on it. And then, with an expert witness later on, you would have them testify that if someone was shot at close range, that the blood would get on a hoodie, and then you connect those dots later on. You don't try and do it
through an adverse witness! This is bad. - You have absolutely no evidence that Nicole Bell committed this crime, just some random blood-free hoodie that vaguely resembles the hoodie- - No, that's not what he's testifying to. - No, that's not what I'm saying. The woman in that green
hoodie by that dumpster is Nicole Bell. - Detective, please refrain
from drawing conclusions. - I apologize, your honor. I'm not drawing conclusions, because the defendant actually told me she tossed the murder
weapon into that dumpster when she confessed that she shot- - Objection! - Sustained. Counsel, my chambers, now. So, what the hell is going on here, Price? - As I said, your honor, Detective Cosgrove made an honest mistake. - I know Cosgrove. He's smart, he doesn't
make honest mistakes. Whatever he said, he said for a reason. - It's possible. It's still my fault. I should have reminded Cosgrove that the confession was inadmissible. I apologize. But his testimony wasn't
overly prejudicial. A curative instruction can fix this. - Ah, that seems unlikely. I mean, what he's asking for is the judge to instruct the jury
to forget and disregard that they heard this
talk about confession. But that seems awfully prejudicial. But the thing is, this confession was
not illegally obtained, so even if you decided as the prosecutor not to introduce this evidence, I don't think you would ever make an agreement with the defense
that would tie your hands, in case something like this happened. - I agree. I'll advise the jury to
disregard Cosgrove's statement. - What? No mistrial? The jury cannot unhear
what Cosgrove just said! - They'll have to, because
we are moving forward. - The problem is it's grounds for appeal. So, I would not wanna continue
prosecuting this case, knowing that the court of appeals might just turn it around like that because of this prejudicial
information that came out. - He poured me a glass of
wine and I just stared at it. I was afraid he might
have put something in it. He saw that I was nervous
and that infuriated him. He, he started berating
me, so I ran outside. He followed me and grabbed me. I thought he was going to
kill me, so I shot him! Henry King ruined my life. He ruined 39 other lives, too. And some judge just let him walk free! - Objection, she's making a speech. - So, I shot him, so- - I mean, making a speech,
that's not an objection. I guess he's saying she's
lapsing into a narrative, but you don't make that objection when this kind of a witness is testifying. - Did the defendant tell you she'd planned to kill Henry King? (ominous music) - I refuse to answer on the grounds that it may incriminate me. - Okay, so this would
cause all kinds of problems with the trial, here. I mean, obviously you're not allowed to use someone's statement that they refuse to
testify against themselves. I actually don't know if
that applies to third parties or if the jury can take
an adverse inference, given that some witness
is refusing to testify on the grounds that it
might incriminate them. Yeah, this is a disaster for the defense. This is just really, really bad. I don't think this is bad
for the prosecution at all. - The jury wants to acquit
irrespective of the facts, irrespective of the law. Too bad we didn't have a damn confession. - (laughs) Yeah, that would've been good. - You told me a story a while back about your family. - You're saying you want
me to deliver the closing? I'm a prosecutor. I am sworn to enforce
the laws of the state. Yet I understand the
defendant's desire for revenge. Nine years ago, my sister
was raped and murdered. - Ah, I, d'oh. I don't think you're allowed to bring in that kind of a personal
anecdote on closing argument. That seems incorrect, right there. - When Henry King was
released from prison, the defendant's thirst
for revenge escalated. Maybe she even began to
fantasize about killing him. - That's, ah, that seems like
an awful lot of speculation, even for closing argument. - This case comes down
to one simple question. Did Nicole Bell intentionally
shoot and kill Henry King? If the answer is yes, you must convict. (somber music) - On the count of murder
in the second degree. - Wait, why would it be
murder in the second degree? I mean, this was premeditated. I mean, she planned it out, and that was the entire
prosecution's argument, here. It really should be murder
in the first degree. I don't think there's any, like, yes, it's a lesser offense. But if you prove up all of
the elements of murder one and then you go for murder two, it's gonna confuse the jury that, ugh, it should be murder
in the first degree. - Guilty. (people murmuring) - [Nolan] Jury got it, right, Sam. - Doesn't feel right. - And now she's showing remorse, but it was absolutely the right decision. They would've used the confession and they would have no
problem about this conviction. This is weird. This is silly. - The only thing that will let me sleep is you requesting the
lightest sentence possible. - What, no! Never. Okay, well, at least
"Law & Order" is back! Now it's time to give it
a grade for legal realism. On the one hand, you have basically a case that parallels the Bill Cosby case. Issues involving immunity, lying to the victim, and the constitutional issues
that come as a result of that. On the other hand, basically everyone's
motivation makes no sense, the strategy makes no sense, and none of this would
ever happen because the DAs would not have moral
issues with any of this. So, on the whole, God, it pains me, but I have to say this
is probably C or C-. I'm thrilled that law order is back, but this was terribly unrealistic. And apropos of this episode, there's been a lot of
discussion about the potential to end Roe v. Wade, and it often feels like
there's nothing that we can do. But that's not true. In fact, if you wanna do
some good for this world, I'd recommend Tab For a Cause, which lets you raise money for charity just by opening tabs and
browsing the internet, which you were probably gonna do anyway. And Tab For a Cause has
responded to your requests and they just launched Tab
for Reproductive Health. Every tab that you open in your browser will raise money for
non-profit organizations protecting and providing access
to reproductive healthcare, like the Center for Reproductive Rights and Planned Parenthood. And Tab For a Cause is great. I use it myself. It's a Google Chrome
extension that allows you to pick the charity of your choice. And then every time you open up a new tab, instead of a blank page, it displays a new customizable tab with a couple of tiny ads. And the money that you generate is then donated to your charity. You can even customize the new tab that opens up in your browser. And in fact, Legal Eagle tabbers have raised over $35,000 for charity. And I know this because
Tab For a Cause's finances are 100% transparent. You can see for yourself
how much they've raised and where it has gone. All you have to do is click on the link that's on screen right
now or in the description to install this browser extension. That's it. Every page that you then open will create revenue that goes to charity. So, just click on the
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you were going to do anyway. So, click on that link,
or I'll see you in court.
I like Legal Eagle and I'm glad he loves Law & Order. I hope he will cover more episodes!
Loved this vid. Long-time watcher of L&O and subscriber to his channel, so I was glad to see this video given the, let’s just say inconsistencies, that we’ve seen so far in this reboot.
I enjoyed this video however near the end he questions whether the charge should have been murder in the first degree because the crime was premeditated. However in New York State premeditated murder by itself doesn’t necessary constitute murder one.
I thought a lot of those things while watching this one too. But I do feel the season has been better as it goes along.
Watch his breakdown of Rainmaker