Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (TV Series)

Spellbound (2017)

Raúl Esparza: ADA Rafael Barba

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Quotes 

• Rafael Barba : Ladies and gentlemen, this whole case comes down to one thing. Credibility. Is the defendant a man of integrity? Someone you can trust? Based on the evidence presented at trial, the answer to both those questions is a resounding no. As Lieutenant Hill just told us, when he had to chance to save his friend's life, the defendant ran away instead. Based on the evidence you've heard, it's clear that the defendant knowingly used hypnosis to rape Ms. Clarke. He didn't use simple charm. He used a proven neuro-linguistic technique designed to disorient and incapacitate. He even confessed this to his friend and drug counselor, Jack Roe. Hypnotizing a woman is no different than giving her a date rape drug. It renders the victim helpless, and it makes her legally incapable of consenting to sex. Therefore, the "yes" you heard from Ms. Clarke on the audio recording, it... it's meaningless. As such, you have a legal and moral obligation to find the defendant guilty.

• [last lines] 

  Abby Clarke : I haven't heard from Steven in three days. He won't return my calls.

  Olivia Benson : Well, you know... well, maybe he just needs a little time, you know.

  Abby Clarke : I was looking so hard for this amazing life.

  Olivia Benson : Look, Abby, you did nothing wrong. You were honest about everything; about your life, about your relationship, about Steven. If you want him back, fight for him. But if he doesn't get it... it's not worth the fight.

  Abby Clarke : [collecting her things and standing up]  Thank you again.

  Rafael Barba : Best of luck.

  Olivia Benson : Take care.

  Rafael Barba : [watching her leave]  Who knows? Maybe it will all work out.

  Olivia Benson : Yeah, I hope so.

• Olivia Benson : Okay, this is horrifyingly familiar.

  Dominick Carisi Jr. : And she was tested for drugs and alcohol. She was totally clean, just like Abby.

  Odafin Tutuola : Maybe he put something undetecable in the water.

  Rafael Barba : I think he slipped something undetectable in his words. Neuro-linguistic programming.

  Odafin Tutuola : Neuro-linguistic what?

  Olivia Benson : Are you suggesting that she was hypnotized?

  Rafael Barba : Exactly.

• Rafael Barba : That was brutal. So much for flipping the script. Do we have anything else on Trask?

  Olivia Benson : We're still digging.

  Rafael Barba : We're running out of time.

  Olivia Benson : [Carisi enters]  Please tell me that you found something.

  Dominick Carisi Jr. : [showing them a folder]  Yeah. Yeah, something good. Now, it happened eighteen years ago in Philly; it's got nothing to do with rape, but it does go directly to the heart of this case: Trask's credibility.

  Olivia Benson : Proves he's a selfish coward. That's for sure.

  Rafael Barba : Is the arresting officer on board?

  Dominick Carisi Jr. : Ready and willing.

  Olivia Benson : Do you think you could get this in?

  Rafael Barba : If Trask takes the stand, I'll find a way.

  Olivia Benson : He will. He thinks he can hypnotize the jury.

• Rafael Barba : You help broken people become whole with your retreats?

  Declan Trask : Yes, and sometimes I help whole people become more whole.

  Rafael Barba : People pay you for this?

  Declan Trask : Yes.

  Rafael Barba : But you don't keep all of the money. You give some of it to your foundation.

  Declan Trask : That's right.

  Rafael Barba : What does your foundation do?

  Declan Trask : They provide safe drinking water to the poor and impoverished nations.

  Rafael Barba : You save lives?

  Declan Trask : I do, and I'm proud of it.

  Rafael Barba : As you should be. Have you ever been arrested for a crime?

  Declan Trask : Never.

  Rafael Barba : Nothing further.

  [as Trask steps out of the witness box] 

  Rafael Barba : Your Honor, I'd like to call a rebuttal witness, Philadelphia Lieutenant Richard Hill.

  Rita Calhoun : Objection. May I approach?

  Judge Karyn Blake : [waving them forward]  Where are you going, Mr. Barba?

  Rafael Barba : Lieutenant Hill arrested the defendant twenty-two years ago.

  Rita Calhoun : What the hell does that have to do with this case?

  Rafael Barba : Everything. It proves he's a liar, and that he has no regard for anyone but himself.

• Rafael Barba : The tox screen was negative, but she still feels like she was drugged?

  Amanda Rollins : Well, we all know Rohypnol can leave your system within a matter of hours. I mean, a... a vic urinates, it's gone.

  Olivia Benson : Well, that's certainly possible, but she seems to remember exactly what happened.

  Amanda Rollins : I don't know. She was affected by something.

  Rafael Barba : Is she on any kind of medication? Does she show signs of mental illness?

  Olivia Benson : It doesn't appear that way. I mean, she seems like a high-functioning young woman to me.

  Rafael Barba : Is it possible she has another agenda? Trask is rich.

  Olivia Benson : I don't see that, either. I mean, she is a successful publicist, and her boyfriend is partner in a law firm.

  Rafael Barba : We need more evidence.

  Dominick Carisi Jr. : [entering]  Like a previous victim? I've been digging into Trask, and I found a civil case filed in 2014. A woman named Rachel Sykes accused him of rape.

  Olivia Benson : In New York?

  Dominick Carisi Jr. : No, in Paramus, New Jersey, but the case was dropped.

  Rafael Barba : Rachel Sykes willing to talk?

  Dominick Carisi Jr. : That's unclear. Can't really find her. Last known address was a dead end. Last place of employment, they couldn't help either.

  Olivia Benson : Okay, so keep looking. I mean, look, talk to the lawyer and let's see what we can find out.

• Olivia Benson : It seems possible. I mean, the victims' stories are basically the same. The way he talked to them, massaging their temples. I mean, the elements are all there.

  Dominick Carisi Jr. : Hold on. Isn't hypnotism, like, a carnival trick, though? This... this seems out there to me.

  Odafin Tutuola : Uh, my cousin quit smoking with hypnotheray. He was a pack a day guy. One session with a hypnotist, bang, he was clean.

  Rafael Barba : In Brooklyn, I had a hypnosis case. One of my first sexual assault trials - lost - broke the record for fastest felony acquittal. We made a strong case, but the judge never bought in.

  Dominick Carisi Jr. : If the judge doesn't buy it, then the jury does the math.

  Rafael Barba : Trust me. I know this sounds crazy, but I've seen this. Trask used common hypnotheraputic methods on both those women. How do we prove it?

  Dominick Carisi Jr. : We can't use Rachel Sykes. That criminal case was never filed, the civil suit was dismissed.

  Rafael Barba : No way a judge allows that in.

  Olivia Benson : Well, hold on. So we get into this case another way.

  Rafael Barba : First we have to prove that Trask knowingly used hypnosis to rape Abby.

  Amanda Rollins : Which means we need evidence that Trask even knows how to hypnotize.

  Dominick Carisi Jr. : Well, he must have learned how to do it somewhere.

  Olivia Benson : Yeah, so start digging.

• Rita Calhoun : Hey, just because the judge ruled in my favor doesn't mean I'm averse to making a deal.

  Rafael Barba : A deal?

  Rita Calhoun : Sexual misconduct.

  Rafael Barba : [scoffs]  A misdemeanor? This is a class D felony. Sexual abuse, first degree. He admits to the hypnosis and he goes on the registry.

  Rita Calhoun : Assault two, no registry.

• Olivia Benson : You're considering her offer?

  Rafael Barba : The facts in this case are less than ideal.

  Olivia Benson : No registry? You cannot be serious.

  Rafael Barba : I can be pragmatic.

  Olivia Benson : Okay. Well, have you talked to Abby?

  Rafael Barba : Yes.

  Olivia Benson : And?

  Rafael Barba : She wants to let the jury decide.

  Olivia Benson : Well, there you go.

  Rafael Barba : It's not up to her.

  Olivia Benson : Based on what she's been through, I'm pretty sure I disagree.

  Rafael Barba : Based on what she's been through, I'm pretty sure I don't wanna lose.

  Olivia Benson : So let's flip the script. Let's lean into this. Let's keep digging.

  Rafael Barba : And this means the jury will hear that recording of Abby saying yes.

  Olivia Benson : All we need to do is prove that Trask hypnotized Abby, and that "yes" will mean nothing.

• Olivia Benson : Abby. You okay?

  Abby Clarke : I don't know.

  Olivia Benson : You did a very brave thing.

  Abby Clarke : Thanks for believing in me. I couldn't have done it without your help.

  Olivia Benson : It was all you.

  Rafael Barba : Trask is going away for a long time.

  Abby Clarke : Good.