Point of View (Season 3, Episode 9)
Premise: A woman claims she killed a man in self-defense against rape, but the evidence suggests a contract killing for a mob boss.
- Air date
- Season/Episode
- Season 3, Episode 9
- Detectives
- Sgt. Phil Cerreta (Paul Sorvino), Det. Lennie Briscoe (Jerry Orbach), Det. Mike Logan (Chris Noth)
- ADAs/DA
- Exec. ADA Ben Stone (Michael Moriarty), ADA Paul Robinette (Richard Brooks), DA Adam Schiff (Steven Hill)
- Guest stars
- Carolyn McCormick as Dr. Elizabeth Olivet, Lisa Eichhorn as Mary Kostrinski, Elaine Stritch as defense attorney Lanie Stieglitz, Alan North as Jimmy Scanlon
- Director
- Gilbert Moses
- Writers
- Walon Green & René Balcer
Summary
The Investigation
“Point of View” pairs Logan with Det. Lennie Briscoe while Cerreta recovers from his gunshot wound. Tommy Duff is found shot outside a bar, and the detectives learn he sold bootleg liquor and carried money for racketeer Jimmy Scanlon. Two patrol officers admit lying about when they passed by: they saw Duff following a woman. Bar patrons recall her kissing Duff, and her professionally done makeup leads to widow Mary Kostrinski, whom the officers identify. Her thumbprint is on the .32 shell casing.
Defense attorney Lanie Stieglitz says Kostrinski fired to stop a rape. Kostrinski tells Dr. Olivet that Duff grabbed her, and Olivet concludes her fear was genuine. Stone argues that Duff was unarmed; Olivet answers that his size alone was a threat. But the medical examiner finds Duff had drunk no alcohol, and forensics show she fired from about four feet away. In the hospital, Cerreta tells Logan he is taking a desk job at another precinct and will not return.
The Trial
The officers disagree on the stand about whether Duff seemed threatening, and the bartender says Kostrinski asked the time every half hour before Duff arrived. Stieglitz calls Olivet, and Schiff tells Stone not to warn her before cross-examination. Stone gets Olivet to admit she was raped within the past year and that the experience could color her judgment.
The detectives learn a Scanlon executive gave Kostrinski $30,000 toward her apartment, and that Duff’s estranged wife holds $270,000, suggesting he was stealing from Scanlon. Stone shows Stieglitz the contract killing, and she refuses to let her client testify falsely.
Spoiler, the ending: Facing 25 years, Kostrinski gives up Scanlon, explaining that her late husband beat her and Scanlon took pity on her, in exchange for a manslaughter deal. Scanlon is arrested for Duff’s murder and held without bail. Stone apologizes to Olivet, and Logan keeps Cerreta’s belongings at the desk.
Why it stands out
- It is Jerry Orbach’s first episode as Det. Lennie Briscoe and Paul Sorvino’s last as Sgt. Phil Cerreta, the series’ first mid-season replacement of a major character.
- Olivet’s rape from “Helpless” is used to impeach her as a defense expert.
- Defense attorney Lanie Stieglitz refuses to put her own client on the stand rather than present perjury.