Rhonda Pearlman
| Rhonda Pearlman | |
|---|---|
 |
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| First appearance | "The Target" (episode 1.01) |
| Last appearance | "–30–" (episode 5.10) |
| Created by | David Simon |
| Portrayed by | Deirdre Lovejoy |
| Information | |
| Aliases | Ronnie |
| Gender | Female |
| Occupation | Prosecutor, Judge |
| Title | Baltimore City Judge |
| Spouse(s) | Jimmy McNulty (Ex-Boyfriend), Cedric Daniels (Boyfriend) |
Rhonda Pearlman is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actress Deirdre Lovejoy. Pearlman has been the legal system liaison for all of Lieutenant Cedric Daniels' investigations on the show. Later in the series, she begins a relationship with Cedric Daniels.
As a leading Assistant State's Attorney in the narcotics division, Pearlman has been a guiding legal presence through all of the wiretap detail's investigations. A tough prosecutor and a stickler for process, Pearlman's grasp of the nuance of surveillance law and the legalities of complex casework proves invaluable to the investigations of Barksdale, Sobotka and Stanfield. One of the most morally upright figures on the show, she is ambitious nonetheless, and often worries about the political implications of the casework. As the seasons progress, she becomes more obsessed with her own success and willing to cut legal and moral corners in order to advance her own career. She once had a soft spot for Jimmy McNulty, leading to an on-again-off-again affair that was eventually discovered by McNulty's wife - and ultimately contributed to the breakup of the marriage. Although McNulty was honest enough to give Pearlman no hint of a future together, he would occasionally show up drunk on her doorstep. This ended when her relationship with Daniels began.
Pearlman was the ASA heading the Narcotics Cases in Season 1, assisting Lieutenant Cedric Daniels' detail in prosecuting the Barksdale Organization, a violent drug crew whom Detective Jimmy McNulty suspected of beating the Baltimore Police's homicide unit out of 10 murders. She appears telling Daniels to "make lemonade" with the lack of quality police he has been given and appears as the liaison between the detail and judge Daniel Phelan on legal matters. She approves the unit's level of "exhaustion" of conventional means – a requirement to have a wiretap authorized – helping them make a case against Avon Barksdale. Throughout the season, she has a sexual relationship with McNulty. When Detective Lester Freamon begins following the Barksdale Organizarion's money trail, several developers and politicians are implicated and Pearlman's boss, Steven Demper, becomes interested in the case. As the State's Attorney for Baltimore City Demper is more interested in his elected position than quality prosecutions and threatens her job. When Barksdale's nephew D'Angelo is arrested for drug possession, she and McNulty try to squeeze him into a witness protection program. The attempt fails when his mother intervenes, and Avon Barksdale gets a lighter prison sentence.
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