Spousal Privilege (Season 16, Episode 8)
Premise: A leaked video shows a retired football star knocking out the mother of his son, and SVU pursues the case although she refuses to cooperate.
- Air date
- Season/Episode
- Season 16, Episode 8
- Starring
- Sgt. Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay), Det. Odafin “Fin” Tutuola (Ice-T), Det. Nick Amaro (Danny Pino), Det. Amanda Rollins (Kelli Giddish), ADA Rafael Barba (Raúl Esparza), Defense Attorney Rita Calhoun (Elizabeth Marvel)
- Guest stars
- Chad L. Coleman as A.J. Martin, Meagan Good as Paula Bryant, Leslie Odom Jr. as Reverend Curtis Scott, Jefferson Mays as Dr. Carl Rudnick, Jeb Brown as Sergeant Igor Gerbic
- Ripped from the headlines
- Based on the 2014 incident in which Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice assaulted his fiancée.
- Director
- Sharat Raju
- Writers
- Story: Warren Leight; Teleplay: Samantha Corbin-Miller; Story & teleplay: Julie Martin
Summary
“Spousal Privilege” begins when Fin, chasing hacked celebrity nude photos on a gossip site, spots garage security video of retired football star A.J. Martin, a Heisman winner and eight-time Pro Bowler turned sportscaster, with his longtime girlfriend, Paula Bryant, the mother of his son. The clip, from the night of a Met gala six weeks earlier, shows him hauling her, dazed and missing a shoe, out of a stairwell. Amaro, meanwhile, is fighting with his ex-wife, Maria, over Thanksgiving. Precinct Sgt. Igor Gerbic says both were arrested. The assistant DA dropped the charge against Paula and offered A.J. an adjournment in contemplation of dismissal, which his lawyer refused, so Barba says the case is still open.
At the couple’s home, A.J. insists on staying in the room while Paula says she tripped chasing him, and their eight-year-old son seems scared of his father. The garage says its footage is erased weekly, but a gossip site soon buys and posts the stairwell video, which shows A.J. punching Paula unconscious. Questioned separately, with Rita Calhoun at their side, both say a drunk, jealous Paula made a scene and A.J. only tried to stop her. Calhoun rejects third-degree assault with 90 days, so Barba charges felony reckless endangerment. Paula tells Benson the case is about taking a strong Black man down a notch, reads a statement with Reverend Curtis Scott taking the blame, announces on television that A.J. has proposed, and marries him that day.
At trial, Deputy Chief Medical Examiner Carl Rudnick calculates that the punch could have killed Paula, and Calhoun questions Benson about a detective in her squad who returned to duty after anger management. After a few drinks, Rollins argues that Paula has the right to choose, needles Amaro about his ex-wife and drives him to walk out; Fin later advises her not to take anyone from the job home. The reverend calls the Martins’ marriage loving and equal but admits he never watched the video, and Barba presses A.J. about why he never called 911. Calhoun then calls Paula, who was not on the witness list. She insists A.J. is not abusive, but Barba draws out how her life revolves around him, notes that she glanced at him before answering, and she pleads not to lose her family.
Spoiler, the ending: Jurors ask whether the video could have been altered, but they find A.J. guilty of reckless endangerment, and he is remanded to Rikers to await sentencing; Barba expects the two-year minimum. Paula, now without her husband and her son without his father, tells Benson the choice was hers and turns the charge of abuse back on her. Benson and Barba agree that they did the right thing.
Why it stands out
- Hoda Kotb makes a cameo as a television anchor interviewing the newly engaged couple.
- Chad L. Coleman and Meagan Good play the couple, with Leslie Odom Jr. as their pastor, Reverend Curtis Scott.
- Showrunner Warren Leight has said the cast’s travel for the Chicago crossover meant this next episode had to be a courtroom-centered one.