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"Doubt"
SVU, Episode 6.08
Production number: E5209
First aired (US): 23 November 2004
First aired (UK): 23 May 2005
First aired (CAN): 23 November 2004
First aired (AUS): 13 April 2005
  th of 502 produced in SVU  
th of 502 released in SVU
  th of 1271 released in all  
Stabler Doubt
Written By
Marjorie David & Paul Kolsby

Directed By
Ted Kotcheff

Plot[]

A graduate school student claims that she was raped by her professor. The professor, in turn, claims the sex was consensual until she wanted him to get rough with her, at which point he just wanted it to be finished. Lines are drawn within SVU with Benson believing the student and Stabler believing the professor, who is in the process of divorce and has limited custody of his daughter. The reason for this is revealed when Elliot admits that his wife left him due to his devotion to his job. As the episode progresses, both the student and the professor's actions cause their respective supporters to begin doubting them: the student setting up a suicide attempt to gain further sympathy from Olivia and the professor's seeming pressure on his daughter to give a statement to the police that casts doubt on his accuser. Both Olivia and Elliot later admit that they jumped the gun on the case.

Cast[]

Main cast[]

Recurring cast[]

Guest cast[]

References[]

Quotes[]

Stabler: What's your name, sir?
Ron Polikoff: Ron Polikoff. I know Myra. Is she okay?
Stabler: She says she was raped. Know anything about that, Mr. Polikoff?
Ron Polikoff: She's going to say I did it.

Benson: So Warner says that the other DNA sample on Myra's teddy is indeed Justin Wexler's.
Novak: Good, I don't think that's going to hurt us with the jury too much.
Stabler: The fact she wore sexy silk underwear to Polikoff's sure will.
Benson: That's not an invitation for rape.
Stabler: Maybe she didn't even see it as rape until he told her to leave.
Benson: Elliot...
Novak: Guys, I can't prosecute this until you agree. Call me when you get on the same page.

Benson: What is your problem with Myra?
Stabler: She's neurotic. Look, she chased after a guy whose life is falling apart.
Benson: So that gives him the right to force her to have sex?
Stabler: She was the one who wanted to have sex.
Benson: Really? Did she want to be strangled, too?
Stabler: A lot of people do.
Benson: Elliot, what's wrong with you?
Stabler: What's wrong with me? Myra hasn't told a consistent story yet! She lied about when he looked at her portfolio!
Benson: Right, maybe he lied! It's her word against his!
Stabler: Yeah, but her words can put him in prison for 10 years! She hails a cab instead of calling the cops? She doesn't even mention rape until she's about to be arrested!
Benson: Elliot, rape victims are in shock. They're in denial. You know that!, you've seen it.
Stabler: I've also seen liars.

Cragen: [to Lorna Scarry about Stabler] That's enough, Counselor. In 12 years, there has never been a complaint against this man.
Lorna Scarry: Men change especially when their wives file for legal separation. My investigator checked the court documents. He also found out that your wife took the kids and moved in with her mother.
Stabler: You have no right to use my personal life to make your case.

Benson: Elliot, stop! Hey! What's going on?
Stabler: I touched her in an inappropriate manner. Didn't you hear?
Benson: I don't believe that. Forget that. What's going on at home?
Stabler: Nothing.
Benson: Hey, would you talk to me?
Stabler: Kathy left me.

[about Myra's allegation of sexual harassment]
Cragen: [to Stabler] Why did you get into a car alone with a female victim?
Stabler: It was 3:00 in the morning, the sector car was going to be an hour late.
Cragen: Why not just drop her at her building? Why go inside?
Stabler: Captain, that girl was dead on her feet. She lives in a fifth-floor walk-up.
Cragen: That it?
Stabler: No, I wanted to size her up.
Cragen: You should've done that in the precinct.
Stabler: You really think that lawyer's going to file a complaint?
Cragen: I think Scarry's just trying to bully us. We arrest Polikoff, this will all go away.
Stabler: I thought we decide who we arrest.
Cragen: We do, and you are done with Myra Denning.

Ron Polikoff: Look, I have lost my job, I lost my home. I've lost everything all because an unbalanced woman couldn't deal with rejection or a bad grade.

[about Ron Polikoff]
Stabler: Isn't he smart? He comes forward, he says, "I did it" and we all think he's a stand-up guy.
Cragen: Maybe that's what he is.
Stabler: He just manipulated the hell out of his daughter and he's manipulating us. The first time that I saw him, he walked right up to me and he said, "She's going to say I raped her." This guy's good.
Benson: So now you don't believe him.

[after Myra attempts suicide]
Myra Denning: You saved my life.
Benson: And what if I'd been stuck on the Williamsburg Bridge for an hour?
Myra Denning: I don't understand.
Benson: You made sure that your tub would flood the downstairs apartment. Your neighbor works from home. You knew he'd be there.
Myra Denning: You're wrong.
Benson: You called my office. You spoke with my colleague. He told you that I was on my way. You weren't going to die.
Myra Denning: Okay, I was taking a bath and I couldn't stop crying, so I just took some pills to make the pain go away and it wasn't working, so I took some more and I felt myself going, but I just didn't care, 'cause I just wanted to die.
Benson: Why?
Myra Denning: Because I can't do this anymore. The grand jury was horrible and court's just going to be worse. They're going to make me relive every horrible detail. And Ron, all he has to do is say that I'm lying and I can't prove a thing, but I'm not lying. He raped me. He raped me.

Novak: You still want to claim that you're the victim here?
Ron Polikoff: Yes.
Novak: Because a woman forced you to have sex with her?
Ron Polikoff: No, because it's my picture in the paper, not hers. My daughter has had to change schools, my wife is suing for sole custody. I've lost my job. My life is a shambles and all I can do is say, "I did not rape her." I did not rape her!

Donna Emmett: The crime of rape used to be hard to prove. Even harder to convict. The victim was on trial, not a rapist. Then the laws changed. Woman's identity was protected, her sexual history excluded and rapists were rightly brought to justice. And, now, perhaps the pendulum has swung too far. Women who have sex and later regret it are not entitled to call their partners rapists. Now, Miss Denning went to my client's apartment late at night, wore sexy clothes, drank several glasses of wine and then kissed him, but now, she says she was there to discuss her art portfolio. Now, every piece of evidence is open to interpretation, but two facts are undeniable: first, there is nothing in Ron Polikoff's past to suggest he is capable of such a violent act. Second, his life has already been ruined by this woman's unfounded, unsubstantiated and unjust accusations. Don't punish him any more for a crime he did not commit.
Casey Novak: Believe me, rape is still hard to prosecute and it is still a nightmare for the victims. Miss Denning has had to endure three separate sexual humiliations. Her teacher, a man she admired, raped her. In the hospital, she had to strip naked. She was photographed, poked, prodded, and then scraped, so the police could gather evidence and finally, she sat here and relived every sordid, painful detail, her sex life dissected, her psychological traumas exposed, her entire motivation called into question. So ask yourselves this: why would she put herself through such hell if she wasn't telling the truth?

Background information and notes[]

  • The "Doubt" episode is unique in that it ended abruptly right after the jury foreman read "We find the defendant..." as it cuts to the credits, leaving the verdict unknown, making the viewers to come to their own conclusions. When it aired, NBC conducted an online poll so viewers could determine the verdict. Most of them (60%) sided with the professor, 20% sided with the student, and the rest wanting more information.
  • In this episode, we find out Kathy and Elliot Stabler have separated.
  • Viola Davis, who appears as Defense Attorney Donna Emmett, would go on to receive an Academy Award nomination for her performance in another production entitled Doubt.

Episode scene cards[]

1 2 3 4

Technical Assistance
Response Unit
One Police Plaza
Thursday, October 21

Apartment of
Myra Denning
43 Driggs Avenue
Brooklyn, New York
Thursday, October 21

Trial Part 13
Wednesday, November 17

Trial Part 13
Wednesday, November 17

Previous episode:
"Charisma"
"Doubt"
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Season 6
Next episode:
"Weak"
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