Michael Cutter

Michael "Mike" Cutter is a fictional character on the long-running NBC series Law & Order played by Linus Roache. The character debuted in the show's eighteenth season premiere, broadcast January 2, 2008.

Character overview

Career history

Within the continuity of the Law & Order franchise, Cutter is the Executive Assistant District Attorney, following the appointment of his predecessor Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston) to the New York County District Attorney seat vacated by Arthur Branch (Fred Dalton Thompson).

He works closely with Connie Rubirosa (Alana De La Garza), the Assistant District Attorney who had previously aided McCoy. Because of this, he has occasionally discussed McCoy with her—usually with complaints—in an attempt to understand his new boss. As evidenced by his first appearance, he was familiar with former District Attorney Arthur Branch, having apparently been in Branch's office on at least one occasion ("Called Home"). In the episode "Executioner" we find out that he is for the death penalty. In the Season 19 episode "Lost Boys", Cutter goes after polygamy even when McCoy tells him the case is about murder, not polygamy. In the episode "By Perjury", he is almost murdered in the bathroom of the courthouse before being saved at the last moment by detectives Cyrus Lupo (Jeremy Sisto) and Kevin Bernard (Anthony Anderson).

Personality

Tactics

Roache describes his character as follows: "Sometimes he's a little dangerous; he's not necessarily a comfortable kind of guy." (...) "He cares about justice ... but he sometimes takes these leaps out-of-the-box and is kind of non-linear." Since the introduction of Cutter on Law & Order, little has been revealed about his past or personal life. In "Pledge", Cutter said he attended a "state school" but did not name the school or indicate whether he attended the school as an undergraduate, a law student, or both.

Like his predecessor, Jack McCoy, Cutter is dogged in his pursuit of justice. Also, he appears willing to bend or break rules to secure a conviction. In "Darkness", detectives found the likely hideout of kidnap victims who had been threatened with death. When the presiding judge was approached for a search warrant, he refused to execute the warrant without further evidence such as computerized police records which, because the city was experiencing a power blackout, were inaccessible. Gambling that he could be able to justify the actions later, Cutter told the detectives to enter the premises anyway. In "Quit Claim", he nearly suborns perjury.

In "Tango", he realized one of the jurors was attracted to Connie. He made no mention of this, and encouraged her to cross-examine witnesses in his stead. When Connie learned the truth, she felt Cutter "pimped [her] out to the jury". Though she was upset with him at the end of the trial, the hostility was apparently brief because subsequent episodes have portrayed a stable working relationship. In "Brilliant Disguise", Cutter referred to his actions while cross-examining the defendant in an attempt to elicit incriminating testimony.

Other methods of Cutter's include guilt tripping (potential) witnesses. In near the end of "Darkness", Cutter uses a man's daughter to make him testify. In another episode, he convinces a young girl that her relative may face serious charges unless she talks. He even once intimidated a defendant in "Bogeyman"; by implying that he is a member of a Scientology-like group called "Systemotics", Cutter exploits the defendant's paranoia to earn a plea bargain. In "Skate or Die" Cutter pretended to be a Russian spy to provoke a witness into headbutting him in front of Dr. Elizabeth Olivet (Carolyn McCormick) and demonstrate to her that the witness was a threat to himself and to others, leaving her no choice but to order him to take anti-psychotic drugs. Cutter benefited from his provocation because the medicated witness was now able to provide coherent testimony.

In the season 19 finale "The Drowned and the Saved", McCoy made a deal with the governor not to prosecute criminal charges against him in exchange for the governor's testimony against his wife. After McCoy had left the room, Cutter showed a piece of paper to the governor purporting to contain a list of call girls and demanded that he resign at the threat of exposing the list. When the governor points out that that was not part of the deal, Cutter responded that "I'm not Jack McCoy!" Later, Cutter revealed that the piece of paper was blank.

Preparation

More than his predecessors, Cutter is seen working hard to prepare himself for each court meeting. Examples of this include:

• In episode 18.3, "Misbegotten", Cutter is shown rehearsing defense counsel's summation speech so that he can work out his own rebuttal.

• Often visible is a wooden baseball bat Cutter keeps in his office, which he sometimes holds in a batting position when discussing or concentrating on aspects of a trial. This is a similar characteristic of the character LTJG Daniel Kaffee in the movie A Few Good Men in which he states several times that he needs to hold his lucky bat to think and properly prepare for the trial. He is also occasionally seen playing with a baseball and a baseball-glove.

• Writing on a whiteboard, similar to sports coaches and educators, as seen in "Strike".

Personal Life

Cutter is pro-life ("Dignity").

In episode 20.9, "For the Defense", Cutter indicates that he possesses romantic feelings for Connie Rubirosa. McCoy, despite experiencing controversy due to his own relationships with various former ADAs (including the now deceased Claire Kincaid), appears to be supportive of Cutter's aspirations. At the end of the episode, it is hinted that she is aware of his attraction; but her own feelings are unknown.