When a young woman dies during a hectic emergency room night shift, her father claims the hospital was negligent, and an investigation leads the detectives to believe that the doctor treating her may have been drunk on duty.
The shooting of two black men by a white woman in a crowded subway initially appears to be a case of self-defense, but further investigation reveals revenge as a possible motive.
The death of a man with AIDS appears to be the work of a serial killer who may have been motivated by mercy.
Stone has difficulty prosecuting a privileged preppie with a history of abusing his girlfriends after one of them dies at his hands.
Greevey and Logan have a hunch that robbery is a cover for the real motive in the death of a millionaire in a parking garage.
The mugging of a councilman leads the detectives to arrest a mobster, who in turn leads Stone and Robinette to corrupt city officials.
When Logan and Greevey investigate how a family man came to be found unconscious in Central Park, they uncover a very high-class call girl operation run by a well-educated socialite.
The shooting of a black honors student stirs up racial tensions, especially after it becomes apparent that the cop responsible for the death may have planted a gun on the body to excuse the shooting.
During the investigation into the death of a little girl in a respectable, middle-class family, Greevey and Logan uncover a myriad of family secrets involving abuse, molestation, and murder.
A city arts commissioner and a socialite come under investigation when an artist noted for his sadomasochistic themes is found dead under suspicious circumstances.
Greevey and Logan's investigation into a black teenager's claim that she was raped by white policemen is hampered by a publicity hungry, black politician who will not grant the detectives access to the victim.
Stone faces pressure from the public and from Schiff as he prepares to prosecute the person accused of bombing an abortion clinic.
Police start a citywide manhunt for a man suspected of killing a cop during a rooftop pursuit.
Greevey and Logan reopen an investigation to help Stone and Robinette build a stronger case against three boys accused of gang-raping a TV reporter.
An assault on a candy storeowner leads Stone and Robinette to build a case against a powerful mafia don.
Stone tries to salvage his prosecution of the Masucci family when Beigel faces bribery charges and seems willing to turn against his brother-in-law.
The accidental shooting of two children by a 14-year-old hired killer leads to a drug dealer and a real estate agent.
Stone faces a flashy Texas lawyer and a hostile community as he tries to prosecute a young man accused of killing a drug dealer.
Two brothers appear to be the logical suspects in the murder of their wealthy parents.
Logan is forced to face his cultural biases when both a Lebanese gunrunner and an Irish terrorist are suspected of killing a drug dealer.
Stone and Robinette prosecute a surgeon and the wealthy father of a transplant patient for illegally obtaining a kidney.
Cragen comes under suspicion when his mentor in the department is investigated for laundering drug money.
Logan crosses the line in order to obtain a confession from the man suspected of murdering Max Greevey. Stone finds that his prosecution is placed in jeopardy because of Logan's actions.
A double homicide casts suspicion on both the ex-wife and the former boyfriend of the murdered duo, with the dead man's murdered son holding the key to the mystery.
A lethal drug overdose leads the detectives to an aggressive stage mother and a pornographic movie producer.
The conviction of a homeless man for murder is threatened on appeal based on the lack of a search warrant for his "home", which was a lean-to in Central Park.
A couple faces trial after they deny medical help to their daughter based on their religious beliefs.
The mugging of a pregnant legal secretary leads to a case involving her lover, her boss and charges of murder when she loses the baby.
The renovation of a brownstone uncovers the remains of a boy who disappeared 31 years earlier, reviving a wrenching and long-suppressed memory in his childhood friend and neighbor.
The detectives investigate the gang rape of a college student during a fraternity Holloween party.
A hit-and-run investigation leads to the discovery of a schoolteacher carrying on an affair with one of her students. Cerreta and Logan suspect that she may have manipulated him into killing her husband.
The investigation into a social-club fire which claimed 53 fatalities leads to a connection between arson, illegal immigrants and the sale of green cards.
The discovery of a frozen corpse in a dumpster leads to rival Broadway producers.
An obsessive fan pleads temporary insanity when he is charged with attempting to murder the soap-opera actress who is the center of his life.
Stone faces an old rival in court as he tries to link a hit man and three murders to a sleazy lawyer and a powerful man behind bars.
An apparent mugging ends in the death of a wealthy woman but the case comes to hang on a silver pin that may have been in the victim's possession.
Stone is determined to see that a teenage boy doesn't get away with murder twice when the young man is brought to trial for the shooting death of one of his friends.
The parents of a murdered woman contest Stone's prosecution of her killer so that he can be extradited to their home state, where the death penalty still exists.
Cerreta and Logan investigate the accusation that a nun in charge of a shelter for teens molested a young addict.
The discovery of a dead baby leads to a case involving a slumlord who would not provide any heat and who defends her actions by blaming the rent laws.
The brutal murder of a Jewish jeweler appears to be a hate crime, but the investigation soon leads back to the man's brother and his shady business deals.
When a Chinese-American honors student is killed, the investigation uncovers a racist mother who's son was competing with the victim for the same scholarship.
A politician opposes the prosecution of his son's murderer because it might mean revealing that his late son was gay.
The murder of a Wall Street legend begins a case involving an ailing union worker and a former governor and old friend of Schiff's.
When a sleazy photographer is murdered, his models appear to be the most likely suspects.
The assassination of an African-American leader leads to the arrest of a man whose ex-wife was suspected of having an affair with the victim.
A priest-turned-lawyer uses race and class as the basis for his defense of a young Mexican man who murdered his wealthy girlfriend after she broke up with him.
A teenager's fatal heart attack is traced to fraud and greed on the part of the manufacturer of his pacemaker and their supplier.
The discovery of a young woman's body in the river leads to an investigation of illegal sweatshops and the enslavement of young immigrants.
Dr. Olivet accuses her gynecologist of rape, but Stone finds his case in trouble when he discovers that Olivet tape-recorded the crime.
Cerreta and Stone find themselves on opposite sides of the fence when a storeowner kills two robbers and then claims self-defense as a justification.
Cerreta poses as a weapons dealer to help Stone build a case against a Columbian hit man, but the deal takes an unexpected turn, resulting in bloodshed.
Logan gets a new partner and Stone faces an old friend from law school as they investigate a woman's claim of self-defense in the shooting death of a small time hood.
An engineer and a tribal chief become the chief suspects in the death of a Nigerian woman who died while smuggling heroin internally.
The apparent abduction of a little girl by her natural mother becomes complicated by charges of sexual molestation.
After Stone accepts a plea bargain from the much younger and poorer lover of a wealthy older woman found murdered in her apartment, he begins to have doubts that he has sent the right man to prison, especially as he learns more about the attorney who handled the woman's estate.
The confession of an elderly man that he assisted his wife in committing suicide doesn't fully satisfy Stone when rumors surface that the man was once a Nazi collaborator.
The investigation into the murder of a young physician leads to the discovery of an unorthodox and illegal relationship between her fiance and his psychiatrist.
The absence of a murder weapon complicates the investigation into the murder of a drug addict who stole from her family to support her habit.
Stone battles the Brooklyn DA's office over prosecutorial jurisdiction in the case of a mentally handicapped man who confesses to the stabbing deaths of two women.
Stone and the police battle the closed ranks of the Navy to investigate the death of a female Naval officer during a party in a Manhattan hotel.
The initial investigation into the death of a research scientist leads to an animal-rights group until evidence surfaces that her husband's affair with a coworker may point to a possible motive for the murder.
While investigating several deaths at a diabetes clinic, Briscoe and Logan discover that teenage computer hackers may have tampered with the clinic's medical database.
When a Romanian immigrant kills, his lawyer announces he will plead his client "not guilty due to cultural insanity" claiming the man had been conditioned to violence in his homeland.
The statement of a drug dealer who survived a shoot-out that killed a cop leads Logan and Briscoe to suspect that the cop died because he was gay and his fellow officers were reluctant to back him up.
Logan and Briscoe begin their investigation into the death of a hearing-impaired young woman by questioning her two most recent boyfriends.
A guest is murdered on-air on a controversial talk show. Meanwhile Logan and Briscoe have a new boss, Lt. Anita Van Buren, and Stone gets a new colleague. The police and district attorney attempt to prosecute the show's abrasive host.
A disruptive, unbalanced homeless man is found severely beaten in an alley of the middle class neighborhood he calls home, leading Stone to try and prosecute one of the residents for premeditated murder.
A college student charges an admittedly promiscuous rock star with rape, but he claims the act was consensual.
Stone finds himself up against an ambitious black lawyer defending a white, racist serial killer.
The police suspect a cover up when they receive an anonymous tip that a wealthy man was murdered by his wife, who refuses to allow an autopsy after a physician declares that the death occurred from natural causes.
A 17-year-old boy becomes the chief suspect in the murder of his father, raising questions of self-defense and abuse that the family does not want to face.
Stone and Kincaid try to prove that the young woman believed to have planted a bomb in a parking garage had been brainwashed and was acting under the direct orders of a charismatic cult leader.
A skeleton unearthed at a building site resurrects one of Stone's old cases, and brings him face to face with the tenacious, brilliant culprit, who is seeking a new trial.
A lawyer decides to defend her teenage client charged with murder as an adult with the claim that he's violent because of a genetic predisposition due to an extra Y chromosome.
A "green-card" bride from Russia is suspected of murdering her rich, but cold husband, who was threatening to divorce her just weeks before she would qualify to remain in this country.
An emaciated elderly woman is found dead of an apparent heart attack and her granddaughter is charged with neglect and grave indifference to human life.
A millionaire friend of Schiff's won't cooperate with the police following his son's kidnapping.
While investigating a woman's claim that she passed out in a taxi and awoke to find her newborn missing, Briscoe and Logan uncover a scam involving private adoptions.
A phone call threatening a woman's young daughter leads to a case that causes Kincaid to resign from Schiff's office because of an affair in her past.
A 14-year-old's shooting death involves the son of a former police detective, who's also an old friend of Briscoe's.
A scientist becomes the chief suspect when his estranged wife, who's been delaying divorce proceedings, is the victim of a letter bomb.
During a 24-hour period, Briscoe and Logan have a heavy caseload that includes 5 unrelated murders and a domestic quarrel, which results in the maiming of the husband.
Briscoe and Logan bet that the killing of a star athlete's father is linked to gambling debts and threats to the baseball player's family.
A black minister fans the flames of racial intolerance after a hit-and-run in Harlem claims the life of a 12-year-old and the Jewish driver isn't indicted.
Briscoe and Logan investigate the disappearance of a child from her abusive foster home and find her being held by a loving but disturbed woman who insists she has acted only for the child's own good.
An assailant breaks the wrist of a tennis player prior to a tournament, and a competitor is among the suspects.
A truck hits a pedestrian and the investigation reveals the victim's link to a baby-food company in which a new partner has connections to the Russian mob.
A woman's death exposes an unorthodox method of treating cancer that Executive Assistant DA McCoy intends to prove is negligent homicide.
A comedy-club owner comes under suspicion for having shot his wife, now comatose with a bullet in her head, after it's discovered he was abusive and she was about to divorce him.
The killing of a Japanese nightclub owner who was visiting New York leads to the arrest of a singer who once worked for the deceased, and whose lawyer uses the "battered-woman syndrome" as a defense.
After it's determined that a wealthy woman did not commit suicide but was murdered, the detectives question both her first and second husbands and her teenage daughter.
A routine investigation uncovers evidence that leads Briscoe and Logan to a long-time fugitive, a radical Vietnam War opponent on the run since a 1971 burglary that left a policeman dead.
When Lt. Van Buren is the victim of an attempted holdup by two teens, she fires her gun and kills one of them, and the detectives are faced with the fact that she shot an unarmed child in the back.
When Briscoe and Logan suspect that a missing infant may have been murdered by her parents rather than kidnapped, they uncover a terrible family secret which hides a mentally ill serial killer.
McCoy uses a charge of "larceny by extortion" against a councilman, whose former colleague claims he demanded sex in exchange for a law-firm partnership.
Among the suspects in a lawyer's murder are a swindler, who conned a woman out of her family fortune, and the woman's once-wealthy son.
The killing of a man who had served as a juror in a mob trial leads to a battle of wills between McCoy and his long-time friend, the suspect's attorney.
After the body of a young female junkie is identified as the daughter of a wealthy family, Briscoe and Logan try to find out who left her to die in the yard of a day-care center.
The investigation into the killing of an abortion clinic doctor leads to an activist group led by a former priest.
A Wall Street broker accused of murdering his mentor uses the defense of "black rage" in court.
Briscoe and Logan set out to identify the apparent victim in a snuff film, but find her alive and really the victim of a points-for-sex club at her prestigious high school.
A routine investigation into a woman's death leads Briscoe and Logan to a fertility doctor guilty of unethical practices, but who cannot apparently be touched because of confidentiality rules, and patient reluctance to talk.
The shooting of a board member of an exclusive private school leads to a blue-collar family and a classist system.
A bomb at a construction site kills a 12-year-old boy, and the suspects include the bankrupt contractor and a jealous husband.
The investigation into a double murder leads to a young alcoholic whose family once lived in the victims' house and who had admitted to his AA group that he's had nightmares about killings.
The death of an autistic youth in custody reveals a multitude of unusual and possibly illegal therapies being used, but also parents reluctant to pursue a prosecution.
Logan relives unhappy childhood memories when a friend is found dead, a presumed suicide, until the investigation reveals recent contact with a former priest, with a history of pedophilia.
The investigation into a taxi driver's murder involves a loan shark, a forged check, a missing plumber and the victim's wife.
Suspects in a psychiatrist's murder include the victim's ex-husband, a patient suffering from multiple-personality disorder and her obstructive father.
A gay city councilman is murdered and the trail leads to a bigoted rival politician and a male prostitute.
Briscoe and his new partner, Det. Reynaldo Curtis, investigate the murder of a young girl who disappeared between school and her music lesson, with a blurry film from an ATM machine as their clue.
Briscoe and Curtis have a hard time finding cooperative witnesses when investigating the murder of a college student at a rough biker bar.
McCoy and Kincaid clash over the death penalty as McCoy prosecutes a man who murdered an undercover cop during a drug bust.
A triple murder at a magazine publishing company leads to a case of sibling rivalry, a protective matriarch and a corrupt judge.
When the detectives solve a series of murders committed by a holdup team in ski masks, McCoy must determine whether a young woman found with them is an unwilling hostage, or an active participant in the crimes.
Briscoe and Curtis try to solve a co-ed's murder after a graphic description appears online, while McCoy finds himself up against a lawyer who is reluctant to reveal elements of her client's past.
The investigation into a prostitute's murder leads to a married plastic surgeon as the obvious suspect, but Kincaid has a hunch that an elaborate frame-up is in play.
A mother claiming that her baby was kidnapped while she was at confession retraces her steps and actions with Curtis, which raises legal questions later when her attorney introduces a unique defense.
A hidden anti-Semitic message in a high school yearbook offers a clue to an art teacher's murder and leads to a case that matches McCoy against "Klan lawyer" Roy Payne.
The victim in a 30-year-old rape and stabbing case is fearful when information received by Briscoe and Curtis creates the possibility of a new trial for the perpetrator.
The death of a show horse leads to a trial involving insurance fraud, a sting operation and a wealthy woman's disappearance.
A man serving time in a serial killer case claims malicious prosecution and false imprisonment after a man who killed two more boys confesses to the other murders. All of the evidence points to Jack McCoy and his former assistant.
A subway station gas attack, similar to one that took place in a Baltimore church five years earlier, brings Baltimore homicide detectives Tim Bayliss and Frank Pembleton to New York to assist Briscoe and Curtis in apprehending the prime suspect in both incidents. (For God and Country (2) aired on Homicide: Life on the Street, season 4, episode 12.)
Paul Robinette places the system on trial when he defends a young black woman accused of kidnapping her biological baby from his white, adoptive parents.
A jogger killed in Central Park turns out to be the second wife of a former comedy club owner, who was acquitted of killing his first wife. And convicting him this time may hinge on tracing the path of a Columbian coin used as a subway token slug.
A down-on-his-luck ad executive becomes the prime suspect when his wife and son are killed, and his daughter wounded on a night that he claims was spent drinking.
When a young attorney is murdered shortly after he decides to file a sexual harassment claim against his employer, Briscoe and Curtis quickly discover that the alleged harasser and his wife each have an excellent motive for murder.
The investigation into the murder of a model with a passion for cocaine and partying focuses on the men in her life -- a nightclub owner, a basketball player, a photographer and a limousine driver.
A woman is shot while sleeping, and the investigation leads the police to a boy whose crack-addicted mother has entrusted him to a dealer's care.
After a college co-ed's body is found, the detectives look for a campus rapist, but the medical examiner's report puts them on a different path, one involving prostitution.
The investigation into multiple homicides at a clothing store leads to the arrest of a schizophrenic who presents McCoy with a formidable opponent when he decides to represent himself.
After an infant is found dead in his crib, it's determined he was poisoned, and all evidence points to the child's au pair.
After Briscoe, Curtis, McCoy, and Kincaid witness the execution of a criminal they brought to justice, their unique reactions to the event culminate in personal tragedies for each of them.
McCoy's new second chair, ADA Jamie Ross, is determined to prosecute as harshly as possible a carjacker who took the life of a teacher as she pleaded for her life on an audio tape discovered at the crime scene.
The cops tackle identifying a corpse left in an elevator, and McCoy finds his prosecution of the suspect later hampered by a vindictive judge who resents Ross's in-court rebuke for sexual harassment.
Briscoe and Curtis have to break the mutual alibi of two girlfriends as they try to find the killer of a young black man, whose angry parents pressure McCoy to indict a young woman who claims the victim had raped her.
Briscoe and Curtis's investigation of the murder of a rare coin dealer nets them a millionaire as a suspect, but Ross has to play detective too as the DA's office tries to establish a provenance for the missing coin collection.
Curtis, angered by the attitude of an old colleague of Briscoe's, looks beyond the findings of an IAB investigation and turns up evidence of police corruption that puts the DA's office into competition with an ambitious judge and Briscoe under investigation for stealing evidence from a police lockup.
The murder of a janitor in a university laboratory building leads back to a student employee whose participation in a drug study may have prompted the crime.
The murder of a deadbeat father whose son is dying of leukemia presents McCoy and Ross with a sympathetic suspect and a moral dilemma.
The murder of Richard Speigel, chief financial officer for an exclusive, family-owned department store goes from the sitting room to the bedroom and into the board room as suspicion shifts from co-workers to family members.
The case against Huey Tate, a young man accused of shooting the well-known leader of the African-American Congress comes undone when the New York authorities learn that their chief witness was once an informant for the FBI, and is still under their protection.
The sidewalk shooting of a young husband uncovers the fact that his wife's first husband died in a inadequately investigated accident, and that they may have been having an affair before it happened.
The detectives face a difficult struggle getting witnesses to a girl's apparent suicide to come forward while Ross tries to prove that a known bully is the one really responsible for her actions.
An unpromising case of murder suddenly develops new leads when the cops explore the possibility that the victim was mistaken for someone else. McCoy walks a thin line in the matter of ethical conduct as he tries to make a case against a lendor who uses unscrupulous methods to collect the money owed to him.
The discovery of a would-be thief refocuses a murder investigation, leaving the prosecutors the task of making a conspiracy case against the deceased's attorney and the pretty young widow.
The murder of an ex-cop with a penchant for blackmail and illicit sex brings feminist lawyer Lanie Stieglitz into court against McCoy to defend a suburban wife and mother.
A headless corpse fished out of the river sends Briscoe and Curtis out to Los Angeles to obtain a blood sample from their chief suspect while McCoy and Ross back in New York try to obtain a court order for the procedure.
Back in New York with their suspect, Briscoe and Curtis try to pin down his schedule on the night of the murder, but find instead that another man was in the area at the right time and more importantly, might have a motive for the crime. But after the issuance of a new arrest warrant, McCoy and Ross have to fly to LA to defend their warrant against attacks by the man's defense counsel, Ross's former husband Neal Gorton.
The trial of Eddie Newman begins but the prosecution's chances of conviction are hampered by a "dream team" of defense attorneys, Gorton's personal pressures on Ross, the public questioning of the relationship between Curtis and Lisa Lundquist, and a surpise accusation.
McCoy becomes obsessed with nailing a serial rapist recently released on parole and pushes the cops perilously close to harassment as he attempts to connect the man with a new rape and murder matching his previous M.O.
The cops' best hope of finding a kidnapped hired car driver alive is one of the armed robbers who grabbed him after a job, but the immunity deal he demands in return would effectively preclude his prosecution for the shooting death of an off-duty cop, placing McCoy in a difficult position as he seeks to placate the cops, who want the guy prosecuted, and the kidnapped man's wife, who wants every avenue of saving her husband explored.
A young man who claims to have helped a murdered young man change a flat tire is first the cops' primary suspect, then the prosecutors' chief witness.
Briscoe and Curtis investigate the death of a pretty young book editor who was reputedly having an affair with one of her authors, and find themselves focusing on the author's long time companion, who steadfastly denies there was anything wrong with their relationship.
The cops have a definite clue when a bloodstain that's not the same as the victim reveals that the killer was a blood relative, and the prosecutors stumble when their chief suspect claims their chief witness is her lawyer, and his knowledge of the crime represents privileged communications.
The cops uncover a man with a secret second life as they try to learn who opened fire on a group of people disembarking from a party cruise, but his guilt or innocence becomes almost a second thought as Schiff goes toe to toe with the governor and the States Attorney General over the decision to seek the death penalty.
The cops break the seemingly random murder of a pizza delivery guy with a little "undercover" work in the park, but McCoy and Ross face a harder battle to get a conviction when the two defendants resolutely point the finger at each other, and the one item identifying the actual killer is the recording of a confession-made to a priest.
Bloody sheets and an apparently stolen credit card lead Briscoe and Curtis to a pair of college age lovers who present McCoy and Ross with a united front of denial that one of them killed their newborn son and disposed of the body.
McCoy finds himself battling the Navy and the office of the Judge Advocate General as he tries to prosecute a female pilot accused of murdering her married lover after he tried to break off with her.
A discrepancy concerning the time of death of a drive-by shooting victim leads McCoy and Ross to initiate prosecutions against both the shooter and the doctor who harvested her organs as transplant donations.
After the cops trace an eagle tattoo on a man shot and killed while holding up an armored truck to a group of militia members, McCoy finds himself facing one of their number as the pro se counsel for his friends, arguing for the concept of "jury nullification", the right of a jury to protect a defendant from an unjust law by finding him not guilty despite the evidence.
It's old home week for Briscoe when an apparent murder of a teenage model in New York develops ties to Baltimore, and Detectives Munch and Falsone pay a visit to the Big Apple to observe the case. Meanwhile, McCoy finds himself battling the attorney of the victim's parents for access to his clients and the Baltimore DA for jurisdiction. (Baby, It's You (2) aired on Homicide: Life on the Street, season 6, episode 5.)
The paternity of a black baby given up for adoption by a white mother might provide a clue to her murderer but it also unearths some long buried family secrets.
The murder of a bail bondsman looks fairly routine until the chance words of the chief suspect uncovers possible case-fixing between a shady lawyer and an unknown contact within the judicial system.
A message overheard on an answering machine leads Briscoe and Curtis to a confessed murderer and the home of wealthy Carl Anderton, whose stubborn non-cooperation with the district attorney threatens to create a serious miscarriage of justice.
The investigation into the death of a man who initially appears to be the victim of a mugging victim reveals him to be a Middle Eastern physician who performs genital mutilations on young girls.
After Briscoe and Curtis finally determine who was driving the car that killed three people, the legal prosecution stands in danger of becoming a kangaroo court when McCoy's feelings over Kincaid mesh with the political agenda of an ambitious judge anxious to make an example of the defendant.
The shooting of two people in a restaurant restroom takes some abrupt turns as they try to discover who exactly the intended victim was, and the prosecutors have to deal with a defendant claiming to have been in a dissociative state while committing the crime-- the same defense used years before by the defendant's father.
The street murder of a woman who worked with underprivileged kids takes a turn towards the bizarre when the detectives uncover she had a predilection for kinky sex, and that one of her current partners appears to be a serial killer, who offers an overexposure to television violence as his defense during his trial.
The cops, as they try to pin down the specifics of an assault on a man reluctant to talk about it, uncover the alleged rape of two women in custodial care. But as the prosecutors attempt to prepare their case, a reluctant witness changes their view of the cases.
Taking on an apparent mafia murder, Detectives Briscoe and Curtis are stymied by a dead witness and a seemingly incoherent mob boss.
The stabbing death of a psychologist draws Detectives Briscoe and Curtis into a heated divorce case and pits McCoy and Ross against a manipulative attorney.
The death of a college student leads to a case involving an HIV-positive male who's seeking to infect as many young women as possible. McCoy, testing right-to-privacy ethics, wants to charge him with murder.
When a woman is found unconscious at the bottom of her apartment stairs, Briscoe and Curtis must figure out what happened -- before it's too late. In order to make his case, McCoy pits the two detectives against each other in the courtroom.
A defendant refuses to allow his lawyer to raise the issue of insanity, this complicating matters for the brother who turned him in with hopes of securing medical treatment for him.
After a 12-year-old quadriplegic dies at home in his bed, paramedics claim that he was suffocated and the suspects include the boy's parents and sister.
Schiff's re-election may hinge on the stabbing death of a police officer; Briscoe's daughter is arrested for dealing drugs.
The case of a teacher's shooting uncovers a vendetta involving the rape of a mentally challenged coed by three students, whose attorney claims they weren't aware of her condition.
Tabloid journalism comes under scrutiny during the investigations into the deaths of a gossip columnist and a celebrity target he pursued.
During the search for a pedophile who raped a 10-year-old, a snitch offers Briscoe a chance to avenge his daughter's death. Meanwhile, Van Buren learns that her job is in jeopardy; McCoy is ordered to appear before a disciplinary committee because of his conduct in a DUI case; and the increasingly political Schiff worries that the rape case may adversely impact his reelection bid.
The investigation into a girl's death reveals secrets the adoptive family was desperately trying to hide.
Detectives discover a shocking twist involving unlikely suspects when they investigate the brutal beating of a black man dumped near the highway.
The investigation into how a teen got wounded leads to a case involving a young woman's murder and a drug operation.
After a child in a day-care center dies of a virus, Briscoe and Curtis try to find the source of the infection, leading to a case involving an extramarital affair, embezzlement and a drug manufacturer.
After the detectives find a murdered postman and a woman who was left for dead in her apartment, the investigation leads to a serial killer and a surprise.
The murder of an employee at a fertility clinic leads to a case involving a dead man's first and second wives.
The killing of a professional escort leads to a case involving the relationships between a young man and two older women.
The murder of a corrections officer leads detectives to a women's prison where a guard was linked to an inmate Carmichael put away on drug charges and a confrontation with defense attorney Danielle Melnick.
The double murder of a wealthy man and his daughter leads the detectives to the wife and stepmother of the deceased. However, Canada's objection to the death penalty hampers McCoy and Carmichael in seeking crucial evidence for obtaining a conviction.
Evidence points the detectives in the direction of a fascist youth gathering after the brutal beating and murder of a high school girl.
Briscoe and Curtis reopen a case that was closed in the '60s when a vehicle is dredged from the Hudson River containing the remains of a murdered man.
Briscoe and Curtis probe the murder of a popular Harlem community leader while McCoy and Carmichael struggle to prevent a chaotic situation.
Briscoe and Curtis race against time to find the killer of a parolee before two bounty hunters find the suspected murderer.
When Briscoe and Curtis discover that a high-level federal official found murdered in Battery Park was recently transferred from Baltimore, they reteam with Baltimore homicide detectives. The joint investigation reveals that the victim was involved in a love affair with another high-level government official, whose career will be destroyed if the relationship becomes public. The independent counsel summons McCoy and his Baltimore counterpart, Ed Danvers, to Washington and demands that McCoy reveal his source or be jailed for contempt. Briscoe and Curtis apprehend the suspect, but F.B.I. claims jurisdiction and the suspect evades trial, if not justice. (Sideshow (2) aired on Homicide: Life on the Street, season 7, episode 15.)
After a teen is found dead in the emergency room, the investigation leads to a case involving a religious ritual and a defendant who claims that the action taken was dictated by a saint's voice.
Briscoe and Curtis investigate a possible homicide while probing the assault of a retired divorce attorney.
Briscoe and Curtis investigate the murder of a police officer who was shot while on an undercover stakeout.
The investigation into the shooting of a newspaper columnist leads to a murder case from two decades earlier and involves a suspect who at that time had been a juvenile.
After a philosophy professor is pushed in front of a subway and killed, the investigation leads to a suspect who, following a divorce, changed his identity and disappeared with his daughters.
The death of a corporate mogul caused by an overdose of a sexual performance-enhancing drug leads to a case with a witness that puts Curtis in a compromising position.
The murder of an audio installation salesman leads the detectives to a case with connections to the mafia.
A coed's killing leads to a case involving the deceased's relationship with a professor and two male students who vouch for each other's whereabouts on the night of the murder.
A shootout between a motorist and the police leads to the discovery of a gruesome Russian mob killing --- and a traumatized boy who was an eyewitness to the murder.
McCoy and Carmichael risk violating the civil liberties of witnesses when they are forced to jail them in order to safely continue their investigation.
A murderer's shooting spree in Central Park prompts Briscoe and his new partner, Detective Eddie Green, to trace the murder weapon's origination; McCoy makes it his mission to punish the killer and the gun manufacturer.
Briscoe and Green believe a 10-year-old is responsible for a child's death, and McCoy wants her isolated to stop any future fatalities.
As Briscoe and Green investigate the shooting of a judge, suspicion quickly points to her husband as the person who ordered the hit, but McCoy's case is hindered when she refuses to implicate her husband during the trial.
The murder of a drug-laden teen presents the detectives with a host of suspects from her wealthy family.
Jamie Ross returns as a defense attorney to represent a previous client who has key evidence concerning a prisoner on death row.
A frustrating investigation of a purse-snatching victim who was fatally shot leads to tension between Briscoe and Green over age and racial innuendoes. Briscoe notices his partner has developed a dangerous habit.
The investigation that follows the discovery of a comatose woman in her apartment leads to an unusual case involving murder and a possible frame-up, despite the prosecution having key DNA evidence to the contrary.
A taxi driver finds that his passenger is dead, leading the detectives to a case involving an insurance scam and Holocaust victims.
A patient is found beaten to death in a hospital lounge -- and the resulting case involves infidelity, Alzheimer's disease and a ladies' man.
After sanitation workers find a teenage boy's body, the investigation leads to a school bully who displays an avid interest in martial-arts weapons, and whose father bought the murder weapon.
The investigation of a schizophrenic woman's death leads to a case involving a homeless man and his right to refuse medication.
Bloodstains in an apartment that belonged to a young couple with a baby leads to the separated parents, each of whom claims that the other has the infant.
Briscoe and Green investigate the shooting of a best-selling mystery writer and the death of her accountant, with a love triangle as a possible motive for the crime.
The focus of the case returns to a politically influential family and, during the course of the trial, McCoy finds the powerful matriarch to be a formidable opponent. (Entitled (1) aired on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, season 1, episode 15.)
After the bodies of two teens are found, the detectives trace their identities and learn that one of them had a sister who was traveling with the girls.
The murder of a stockbroker points to organized crime when a hired hit man kills the prime suspect.
The murder of a white teen-ager in Harlem seems like an open-and-shut case until two patrol officers are implicated in the crime.
The investigation into a helicopter bombing points to a victim's wife and her unconventional financial advisers.
The body of a teacher, suspected of having an affair, is found in a car trunk and the investigation involves husband and father-in-law, both of whom are psychiatrists.
A wealthy woman, who is a patron of the arts, is found dead in her apartment and the ensuing investigation leads to a suspect whose violence was spurred by a painting similar to the crime scene.
The discovery of a strangled prostitute's body leads to a case involving illegal immigrants and the events have an impact on a family.
Detectives Briscoe and Green probe the strangulation of a college coed who moonlighted as a stripper, and while they believe a pair of drug-dealing skinheads committed the murder, they struggle to determine the motive of the strip club owner who paid them for the hit. However, as they work their way up the ladder of complicity, the cops learn that the slaying is keyed to an insider trading scam that forces Assistant D.A. McCoy to connect a former porn star with a businessman.
The detectives' investigation into why a wealthy woman is comatose involves her husband, daughter and doctor.
The death of an elderly man trying to find who was responsible for the torture killing of his son in 1973 Chile leads to a high-level foreign colonel who is now in a Manhattan hospital.
After a disabled boy dies of smoke inhalation during a fire, his parents and a building tenant with a history of "accidental" fires become suspects.
After a woman's body is found in a subway station, a suspect is arrested, but the resulting case concerns the lack of medication supplied him while in prison.
The detectives investigate the murder of a young violinist whose fellow musicians resented her rapid rise to fame, in a trial that results in threats exchanged between Lewin and the presiding judge who has a history of bias against McCoy.
After a prisoner's murder, an investigation leads to a suspect, but the question arises if he acted on his own or on orders from within the prison.
The murder of a storeowner leads to a case where the suspect flees to Israel and may be protected from extradition by Israel's Law of Return.
A former Black Panther, accused of murdering a Caucasian police officer, questions Green's integrity amidst a politically charged trial.
Under pressure from the department's top brass, a 20-year-old murder case, initally investigated by Briscoe's now retired boss, is reopened involving the slaying of a teen-age girl with the spoiled son of a politically connected family as the prime suspect.
The killing of a school-hockey coach leads to a case in which the defendant claims that he committed the crime while suffering from "sports rage."
An assistant manager at a jewelers discovers four bodies at the store, leading to the prosecution of an amiable murder suspect who insists on representing himself, and winning the admiration of a female juror.
The death of a lab technician and the abduction of 17 infected monkeys lead to a trial involving the treatment of research animals.
Following "wilding incidents" in Central Park, a woman's body is found in the lake and the suspects include the deceased's wealthy husband.
The beating death of a restaurant owner leads Briscoe and Green to thrill-seeking teenagers; McCoy and Lewin are forced to decide how young is too young for the death penalty.
HATE CRIME TEARS APART FAMILY - When a gay man is beaten to death during the abduction of his adopted infant son, Detectives Briscoe and Green suspect that ransom from the murder victim's wealthy partner (guest star David Pittu) may have been the motive for the crime. But as more is learned about the child's birth mother (guest star Catherine Kellner) and homophobic biological father (guest star David Vadim), Assistant D.A.'s McCoy and Carmichael find that what appeared to be a botched kidnapping might be more accurately prosecuted as a hate crime.
SPORTS STAR ACCUSED OF PLOTTING MURDER - When a pregnant loan officer is found in the trunk of her car with fatal gunshot wounds, Detectives Briscoe and Green at first suspect a carjacking or the woman's fiance and co-worker (guest star Albert Jones). But as the woman's premature baby clings to life in the hospital, the investigation turns to professional basketball player Cris Cody (guest star Kevin Daniels), whose ties to the dead woman may extend beyond the loans she approved for him--and may include reason for him to want her and her unborn child dead.
When a participant in a TV reality show is murdered, McCoy goes after the producers and network executives for deliberately fomenting hostility among the participants to boost the ratings. All too appropriately, the outcome of the case hinges on a videotape made by a hidden-camera.
When a woman is found strangled to death with a large quantity of the drug Ecstasy in her handbag, Detectives Briscoe and Green have difficulty gathering sufficient evidence for an indictment of their prime suspect, drug-dealer Francis 'Taz' Partell. But when they question one of his former associates, they discover new evidence indicating that Taz is responsible for the earlier murder of a bouncer in Bronx county.
When the dead body of Karen Hall, an investigator with the State Attorney General's Office Criminal Division, is found in a Manhattan river, Detectives Briscoe and Green find that her boss, Frank Conroy, had written off her disappearance as a random kidnapping from an Albany train station. But as more is learned about Conroy's controlling relationships -- with the dead woman, with his wife and with a long-term girlfriend -- he quickly becomes a suspect.
An ARMY MAJOR FACES SURPRISING BATTLE IN WAR ON DRUGS- When a couple is found dead in their apartment, Detectives Briscoe and Green follow the trail of drugs and money, which leads to Caryn Wyman (guest star Charlotte D'Amboise), the wife of a U.S. Army Major (guest star Michael Gaston) responsible for the country's anti-drug efforts in Colombia. Despite the evidence linking Caryn to the drugs, she is fearful of cooperating with the police--until A.D.A. McCoy convinces her and her husband that she has no choice but to risk her life to catch the killer.
When an hispanic male is found dead from a severe chest trauma, Detectives Briscoe and Green discover that he and two other illegal immigrants had been in a staged automobile accident. As evidence mounts linking numerous similar car crashes with the same employer, chiropractor, insurance adjuster, and lawyers, A.D.A.s McCoy and Carmichael must determine who is ultimately responsible for the man's death, from which so many others profited.
The murder of a prep school student points to a mystery woman who may have been extorting money from the victim's wealthy father.
Briscoe and Green discover a murdered businessman may have been the target of a well-known criminal , but the investigation stumbles when the FBI acts as the suspect's alibi.
Jamie Ross returns to defend a student accused in a mass school slaying.
An attempted murder of a tough Judge leads Briscoe and Green on a wild goose chase to track down the inimical criminal. When the perpetrator is found, Carmichael and McCoy have a difficult time making a case.
A woman's murder leads the police to discover the actual target was a reporter who did a story about improprieties in a recent senatorial election. Carmichael can't get the reporter to reveal her sources for a story that contains allegations that the vote was fixed and ballots tampered with, even though the reporter's life is at risk. Without the source, McCoy and Carmichael have a difficult time making a case against the Senator, who they believe has ties to the mob and ordered the hit on the reporter. The case hinges on 2000 missing ballots from the vote that were stolen by the mob. Once the ballots are found, there is a big court battle about whether or not the ballots should be counted. McCoy believes that the ballots will show Benton's motive for ordering the hit, but an appellate court won't allow it, so their case is virtually dead. In the end, McCoy is able to convince the reporter to reveal her source and have him testify against the senator.
The investigation into the death of a jogger mauled by a vicious dog leads to an Attica inmate, his attorneys, and an underground dog-fighting ring.
The fatal stabbing of a man leads to the discovery of his status as a Vietnam war veteran and the truths uncovered about an incident that occured with him and three former soliders in his division.
The death of a parolee, who was a hit man, leads to a wealthy widow and daughter and whether they hired him to kill their rich relative.
The daring daylight kidnapping of a diamond dealer which results in two murders at the scene uncovers an international dynasty of diamond sales and its links to a foreign civil war.
Investigating the murder of a woman in a rent-controlled apartment, the detectives discover that she was engaged in a long-running battle with her landlord and had been blocking the potentially lucrative sale of the building.
The shooting death of a former singer's wife leads the detectives to investigate his manager and sons after his explanation of the events surrounding her death have no credibility.
A murder investigation uncovers deliberately faulty forensics in the wrongful conviction of two men 12 years earlier in the case that paved the way for Van Buren's promotion.
When a building is set ablaze, a girl must be identified despite her fatal burns. Through further investigation, it turns out that an extreme environmentalist group struck the match...
When a celebrity is implicated in a nightclub murder, McCoy and Southerlyn battle the flaks who attempt to insulate their client from any involvement or interrogation.
The murder of a magazine publishing company's black CEO leads to a suspect who has a clear streak of racism and whose attorney intends on using that as a mental defect.
The death of a cleric leads the detectives to a priest who was given information by a murder suspect outside of the church but insists that he can't discuss anything about it, bringing McCoy to question whether the confessional seal should apply.
The father of a dying girl gets his revenge on an insurance executive who denied a certain leukemia treatment for his daughter. One problem arises when the father is technically on both sides of the law.
The bludgeoning of two women in their apartment leads the detectives to a suspect who has taken a hostage while demanding legal representation ... and Southerlyn's actions, while heroic, results in disbarment proceedings against her for violation of Disciplinary Rule 1-102.
When a girl's parents frantically search for her, Briscoe and Green see that the girl's belongings were packed up in her apartment. They learn that the girl had been seeing a married man -- her boss. When the boss is brought up on charges, his wife sheds some new evidence.
The murder of a psychologist leads to a case involving a computer company that sells information and their responsibility in shielding their clients' history in order to serve their needs.
The investigation into the death of an 11-year-old girl uncovers the possible culpability of the child's mother and a rebirthing therapist.
When a high school student is found dead in an apartment building, Briscoe and Green suspect that the murder was a result of her running a website. As McCoy and Southerlyn investigate the case further, they realize that her best friend, who was reluctant to come forward as a witness, may be the answer to the murder.
A stock analyst's murder leads the detectives to a corporation whose stock had fallen ... and plenty of suspects in the investors.
The investigation of a student's killing leads to a case involving meat contamination at a food service.
When a "gold digging" wife is found dead, there are plenty of possible perpetrators. Her husband has become "whipped" and blinded by his young wife and then messes up his story to Briscoe and Green. When he finally comes around, it seems that the wife's ex-boyfriend was getting revenge for being fired from a contracting job. The medical examiner uncovers some more clues which point to a bitter alcoholic ex-wife. Eventually, ther criminal comes forward but the only crime she's committing is trying to save her family.
The investigation into the death of a private investigator uncovers corruption, deceit, and immigration fraud in a Youth Baseball League whose manager will go to any lengths to win.
The wife of an attorney with many disgruntled clients is killed but the detectives believe that he was the intended target as he was willing to reveal information despite confidentially agreements. As the investigation continues, his tumultuous love life is exposed and the prosecutors are suspicious of his desire to return to the courtroom.
The body of a scantily clad woman is found on the Upper East Side. Because of her attire, it is initially presumed that she could be a high-class escort, especially after promiscuous behavior is uncovered by the medical examiner. The detectives uncover a seven-digit number on a slip of paper inside her pocket, which turns out to be a hack driver's ID. They track down the cab driver who claims he dropped the woman off on 60th St. and there was a black Infiniti waiting for her. But she died 33 blocks uptown. The Detectives retrace her steps and discover she had been at a "swingers" party where she got into a fight with another woman, Alexandra Shabtai, who works at a nightclub and ID's the dead woman as Eliza Glaser, a cosmetic dermatologist who was providing her with the narcotic Oxycodone.
A tenement building explodes and the lone victim is Joseph Haden. The building was rent controlled and there had been a tenant strike, so the police initially suspect arson. But the landlord doesn't have insurance, ruling out their arson theory, and the medical examiner discovers that Haden's neck was broken and he was tied up before the explosion happened. Trying to figure out Haden is even more difficult. He didn't appear to have a family or a girlfriend and never got any substantial mail. He worked at the Jiffy Job service station making minimum wage, yet had $90,000 in the bank. Briscoe and Green do some more digging and find out that Haden was using an alias, and his real name was Yusuf Haddad.
An American Muslim becomes the prime suspect in a double murder after an academic challenges his religious beliefs.
The murder of a female high school English teacher uncovers a love triangle that includes a female student and a male teacher, both of whom become suspects. The prosecutors have to deal with the student's multiple identities and refusal to live past adolescence.
Investigating the death of a rock band singer who had large amounts of cocaine and heroin in her system, the detectives question a former boyfriend who was a disgruntled band mate of her late husband. The prosecuters are hampered by the actions of a retired detective, who worked a case with Briscoe several years back, turned writer whose unconventional research tactics makes him a suspect as well.
A struggling actress is murdered in an apparent robbery-homicide where a video tape, made by a couple touring the city sold to a local news station, shows three suspects loading the stolen property into an SUV. They are charged with felony murder, a capital crime, and causes unrest with Southerlyn surrounding the death penalty.
The discovery of a body in Hells Kitchen who had been wearing a $40,000 diamond ring leads the detectives back to the World Trade Center attacks as the victim had been reported to have died when Tower One collapsed. The ensuing investigation leads to a fiancee and a lover and the determination that the events of 9/11 may have been good timing to hide the fact that she was murdered the night before.
The execution style shooting of a city contractor leads Detectives Briscoe and Green to suspect a professional hitman. They first focus upon possible enemies of the victim, but end up suspecting the victim's wife and her boyfried of hiring the killer. However later discovered evidence leads McCoy and Southerlyn to a conspirator that no one had suspected.
A defense attorney who managed the acquittal of the defendant in the attempted murder of a cop is gunned down outside a Manhattan restaurant. The detectives start with police officers in the precinct of the injured officer, then to his brother, before they are led to a white supremacist who is part of a national network. McCoy is faced with the unlikely prospect that the defendant's attorney, his friend of 20 years and a friend of the slain lawyer, played a part in the murder of a Florida district attorney following the defendant's arrest. McCoy is able to make a deal that perserves the integrity of his adversary, but not without a cost.
A star baseball player becomes the prime suspect in the murder of his limousine driver when it is discovered that the driver regularly supplied steroids to the sports icon. The subsequent investigation reveals blackmail as the underlying motive for the murder.
The smoldering corpse of an Asian girl found outside the Chinese consul general's apartment leads the detectives to believe she had made a political statement. When forensics shows that she had been murdered beforehand, they find themselves in the middle of a religious conflict with the consul general their prime suspect and his attorney an old friend of District Attorney Branch.
The hit-and-run death of a popular high-school student leaves the detectives suspecting the girl's father was the real target. When evidence reveals that the death was possibly a random killing, they are able to track down their suspect to his apartment. However things get complicated when their killer is murdered, and the person who committed the crime happens to be the victim's mother.
The murder of a bookie with a high-class clientelle leads the detectives to arrest his partner. Charged with first-degree murder, his attorney puts forth an unusual defense strategy that turns the trial into a political statement.
A dead teenager's father and a vigilante priest are suspects in the killing of a drug dealer.
When the witness in a jewelry store robbery-homicide fails to appear in court, McCoy suspects foul play until he discovers that the man is a fugitive in a 20-year-old murder case.
The bludgeoning of a luxury sports car dealer leads the detectives to a mentally challenged man and his girlfriend who is extremely attractive and whose expensive tastes leads her to be equally manipulative.
The death of a stockbroker leads the detectives to his girlfriend whose mother is a cosmetics mogul who has a long standing friendship with Branch, and will stop at nothing to protect her corporate image by using hormone replacement therapy withdrawal as the basis for her defense.
A media-savvy attorney defends a black teenager accused of shooting an off-duty policy officer.
Investigating the murder of a cab driver, the detectives come to suspect a famous author and his protege, a former child prodigy.
A missing football player becomes the prime suspect in the murder of a woman whose body is discovered floating in the East River.
The prime suspect in the murder of a woman outside a sex club claims to have merely witnessed the crime via a psychic vision.
The murder of an admissions director of a private school leads the detectives to investigate a pair of angry parents whose children were denied admission, but then set their sights on the headmaster when they discover that the victim was about to go public with the denied admissions.
The suspicious death of a Russian model leads the detectives to suspect medical malpractice.
It's a race against time as the detectives go on the hunt for a sniper whose victims are shot in broad daylight.
Briscoe and Green catch four murders and a kidnapping on the same day, and get handed confessions in each case.
Briscoe and Green are assigned to a case involving an eccentric comedian who may have killed his young son by dangling him off a ledge.
While investigating the death of a teenaged girl, the detectives stumble on a pattern of crimes that indicate they are after a serial killer. The suspect, however, puts the prosecutors through an ethical ringer when he discloses his attorney's knowledge of the victims and their whereabouts.
The investigation into the murder of a bounty hunter leads to a reporter with compromised ethics and a dubious defense strategy.
The investigation into the carjacking of a vehicle containing vials of a deadly virus leads the detectives on a search for the first person infected with the virus and a biochemist whose sinister motivations were driven by passion.
The police and prosecutors investigate the connection between an award-winning songwriter and the young woman found murdered in his home to discover who would profit by her death at his hands.
A teenager's need for parental love, acceptance and recognition sets in motion the events leading to the deaths of 23 concert goers in a blaze started by a rock band's illegal pyrotechnics.
When a man is found murdered shortly after depositing almost $400,000 in his savings account, the investigation into the source of funds reveals that the victim ran an identity theft scam which left an elderly man homeless and impoverished.
The husband of a woman whose partially decomposed body is found floating in the Hudson River becomes the prime suspect in her murder until the prosecutors uncover a connection between her prospective attorney and a judge who has heard a suspiciously high number of his cases.
After a reporter accused of causing the deaths of soldiers with whom he was embedded in Iraq by reporting on their troop movements is shot and wounded on the eve of his return to the front, the ballistics report indicates that the gun belonged to one of the dead soldiers, leading the detectives to uncover who brought the gun back from the front and committed the crime.
When a con man passing himself off as a grief counselor is poisoned by a respected doctor he victimized, McCoy must determine whether revenge or insanity prompted the crime.
The owner of a clothing company with alien immigrant workers is found murdered which sends the detectives on a search for an unidentified evening caller whose girlfriend, also a worker in the factory, recently gave birth. Upon discovery that the victim was also the baby's father, the boyfriend is arrested with the motive being an office affair until the victim's widow discloses that it was a surrogate arrangement.
The apparent hit-and-run of a homeless man send the detectives on a search for the driver, a high profile female publicist, which fuels the fire for the prosecutors to obtain a murder conviction. Forensic evidence given during the trial reveal that the victim was severely beaten before being hit by the car which leads to a suspect within the homeless community.
The investigation into the murder of a former bookie turned mob informant reveals a disturbing new wrinkle in organized crime involving legitimate businessmen moonlighting as contract hitmen in a battle for mob leadership, and ends with a Federal ploy to nullify the plea bargain in the case, leaving McCoy seething and two more people dead.
The death of a woman who fell from a hotel balcony leads to a case involving a lesbian couple and a state law banning gay adoption
A city employee's clerical error sets in motion a chain of events which culminates in a fatal shooting at City Hall and a secret Federal court proceeding with sinister implications.
A decorated Gulf War veteran grief-stricken over the Afghanistan combat death of his son murders an anti-war protester, claiming at trial that he acted under extreme emotional distress.
McCoy faces an uphill battle in proving that witnesses to the murder of a drug mule were bribed, intimidated, and eventually murdered on the orders of the drug dealer accused of the crime.
When McCoy fails to win a murder conviction against an eccentric cross dressing millionaire for the death of his neighbor, he redoubles the effort to convict the man for murdering his second wife years earlier by demonstrating that he murdered a witness to the crime.
When a Holocaust survivor is murdered on the eve of her testimony in the deportation trial of a former concentration camp guard, McCoy prosecutes the man and the Neo-Nazi sympathizer who's running a fundraising web site for him, and must debunk a Holocaust denial defense which claims that the millions of deaths resulted from disease, pestilence and wartime conditions.
The District Attorney's Office is set on its ear when the investigation into the death of an A.D.A. uncovers a scandal that could imperil hundreds of cases.
Greed, treachery and disrespect shape the motives for murder when two men are gunned down at an exclusive restaurant.
The investigation into a bar room brawl fatality reveals a detective's decades-old vendetta against a petty criminal turned murderer who was falsely accused of one murder after evading conviction on another.
Van Buren has reservations about Branch's tactics in luring a Ginza nightclub owner back to New York after the Japanese government is unwilling to extradite him to face charges of conspiracy and murder in the death of his wife on a New York City vacation.
When a caviar importer is murdered the day after his wedding to a much-younger woman, the large pool of suspects includes his new wife, his children, and his chief competitor, each of whom has a compelling motive for committing the crime.
Briscoe bids farewell to the 27 as the prosecution of two women for killing each other's husbands comes to a successful conclusion.
An Iraqi immigrant who murders a former military policewoman in retaliation for torturing her brother at Abu Ghraib prison claims that she is covered as an enemy combatant under the terms of the Geneva Convention.
When a woman abandoned by her firefighter husband for his partner's widow is threatened with also losing custody of her children, she murders her romantic rival, claiming that 9/11 post-traumatic stress syndrome prompted her actions.
When a prison gang puts out a contract on a Sing Sing corrections officer and his family, assigning the job to a newly released ex-con, the terrified officer pleads preemptive self-defense after he's brought to trial for the parolee's murder. As the trial proceeds, the gang attempts to affect the outcome of the case by sending a death threat to the presiding judge, who refuses to be intimidated. Shortly after the conclusion of the trial, McCoy discovers that the defendant's fears about the power and the reach of the gang were well-placed.
McCoy goes after the C.E.O. of a pharmaceutical company who knowingly commissioned further clinical trials on a drug to extend its patent protection yielding millions of dollars of profit without disclosing that previous clinical studies had demonstrated that the drug created a high risk of suicide in its users.
After Green goes undercover to gather evidence on the gun dealers who murdered two detectives during a buy-and-bust, McCoy is able to connect the hit men to the attorney who paid them to avenge the death of his gun-running stepson at the hands of the same detectives during a similar buy-and-bust several years earlier.
When a plastic surgeon's greed and narcissism contribute to his failure to care for a patient that ultimately results in her death, Branch insists that McCoy prosecute him for criminally negligent homicide, rather than leave the matter to the civil courts, after an investigation reveals a several instances of the doctor's inattention to patient care.
The investigation into the death of a governor's wife uncovers a web of infidelity, greed, and corruption which forces McCoy to counter a defense based on a ground-breaking interpretation of spousal privilege.
The detectives are skeptical when a former street activist turned shock jock with a history of staging phony muggings to gain publicity for his causes appears to be the subject of an attempt on his life after publicly assailing a mobster, but they begin to believe his story after they discover that the married jock was involved with the mobster's mistress.
When the investigation into the contract killing of a jeweler uncovers his plan to roll over on his Russian mob connections to a federal prosecutor, as well as an unhappy wife whom he refused to divorce, McCoy must determine who financed the hit.
The prosecution of a drug trafficker responsible for a stash house massacre is hampered when McCoy discovers that the defendant claims diplomatic immunity, and has been working as an undercover operative aiding the U.S. military in Afghanistan.
When a paroled child murderer is run down, the investigation leads to a terrified social worker and an experimental prison therapy program.
The investigation into the murder of a wealthy husband leads to the uncovering of a conspiracy involving infidelity and greed and leads to one defendant attempting to evade justice by killing the other.
When a rap producer is found shot to death in his studio, detectives focus on his protege, whose demos link him and a friend to a second murder. As the investigation unfolds, Southerlyn's opinions put her sharply at odds with both McCoy and Branch.
Fontana and Green are baffled by a series of flu-related deaths until they discover that the victims were given fake vaccine. McCoy goes after the con man who distributed the vaccine for murder.
A conservative talk show host involved in a sexual harassment scandal is murdered, but the trail leads to the victim's wife and an obsessed stalker.
McCoy prosecutes a famous basketball star accused of murdering a man who was suing him because of a massive brawl between players and fans.
The investigation into a fatal traffic accident leads Fontana and Green to a slaughtered hunting party in the woods and an unknown man who may have been pursuing vigilante justice.
When a TV network executive is found murdered, Detectives Fontana and Green suspect a pair of twins who were stealing from the organization until they discover a celebrity chef with whom the married victim shared an affair. The nimble and charming chef is adroit at cultivating relationships with judges and juries alike, but prosecutor McCoy intends to reveal that the suspect's cooking show was about to be cancelled by his late lover.
Police and prosecutors go after a fanatical cult leader who encourages sex with children among her followers.
The bludgeoned corpse of a promiscuous lawyer is found in her office, and detectives treat her former lovers as suspects until DNA evidence points to a co-worker. (Skeleton (2) aired on Law & Order: Trial By Jury, season 1, episode 8.)
Fontana and his temporary partner, Det. Nick Falco, must tread lightly when they discover links between a powerful police commissioner and the murders of an infamous porn actress and a maverick publisher.
The shooting of a Panamanian jockey sends Fontana and Falco into the colorful world of horse racing, and they learn that the animal's owner used stolen funds for the purchase.
When Fontana and Falco investigate an arson which caused the death of a firefighter, they discover a murder weapon tied to a nine year old murder and a hate crime in which the defendent attempts to have his case dismissed because he became a born again Christian after committing the murder.
After a man causes a massive train crash that results in multiple deaths, McCoy tries to prosecute him for murder despite his insanity defense. But McCoy finds himself hampered by a defense attorney whose own agenda may undercut that of his client.
A young girl is abducted in broad daylight, and the only link to the girl is an ex-convict who wants a deal before he's willing to talk.
Green and Fontana bring S.V.U. detective Olivia Benson onto their scene when a D.O.A. has her number on his cell phone. (Design (1) aired on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, season 7, episode 2.)
Fontana and McCoy pursue a man believed to have murdered a young girl ten years earlier despite numerous obstacles.
The bombing death of a husband set to remove the feeding tube of his wife, who's in a persistent vegetative state, focuses the investigation on the protesters.
Police turn their attention to the murder of an undercover reporter, but realise that the killer isn't as guilty as he appears.
Teenage suspect Traci Sands dies in police custody after being arrested for the murder of the man who reported her to child protective services. Rodgers reveals that she died because someone outfitted her with a benecrine I.U.D. that reacted with Sands' sickle cell syndrome and ended up killing her. Fontana and Green follow the trail to a charitable clinic and nurse Gloria Rhodes, who believes she is saving the world by sterilizing women that she does not believe are worthy of having children. McCoy faces former assistant district attorney Paul Robinette in court as Robinette defends Rhodes.
The team investigates the killing of a single mother and the abduction of her child.
Detectives discover that the owner of a trucking company has been smuggling illegal aliens and suspect that a citizens border-patrol member has killed him.
The deaths of three women with the same name lead Fontana and Green to the nine-year-old conviction of Leland Barnes, who had shot and killed his wife in an office full of people. With two of the three witnesses against him dead and Jack McCoy on the hit list, the detectives struggle to determine how Barnes, who has been in prison the entire time, got someone on the outside to kill the only people who could keep him in jail. The investigation leads them to Leland's two sons, with surprising results.
After the daughter of one of Van Buren's college friends is found dead in her room, a suicide, Van Buren joins Green and Fontana in hunting down the man who burned her face with acid months earlier, ultimately leading to her suicide. Van Buren is unsucces
The case of a man who defiled a copy of the Torah turns into a religious battle for McCoy.
After Philip and Valerie Messick are attacked in their home, Green and Fontana follow the trail to a small-time thug named Jay Fleckner. After Valerie's testimony unintentionally helps free Fleckner, he is found dead, and detectives soon realise that Bob Cerullo, a family friend of Valerie and her late husband, was the triggerman. Unfortunately, when McCoy attempts to prosecute Cerullo, a retired cop, he threatens to claim that he deliberately planted evidence in his past cases in an attempt to get McCoy to drop all the charges.
A journalist's suicide becomes suspect after Green and Fontana find evidence at the scene suggesting that it wasn't a suicide after all.
Fontana and Green arrest a fellow student after a young man is murdered, but McCoy faces a tough adversary when he tries to prosecute the crime.
After the body of a teenage boy is found dead in a warehouse, detectives use DNA to connect the boy to a convicted rapist and serial killer, then to the boy's mother, Allison Ashburn, the convict's ex-wife. While trying to solve Danny's murder, Fontana and Green learn that he recently got his girlfriend Tina pregnant, and his mother had seen him recently when she had given him money despite having claimed she hadn't seen him for months. Allison finally admits that she murdered her son after the police arrest her new husband John, but claims she did it to save the world from her son, whom she was convinced would become a monster just like her father. Borgia and McCoy face an uphill battle trying to convict the perfect soccer mom.
The case against a high powered executive accused of killing her lover rests on the executive's estranged husband and unstable teenage daughter.
After Jeffrey Pope, a private military contractor, is found dead, suspicion eventually leads Green and Fontana to Robbie Howell, the younger brother of a man who died because of Pope's incompetance, and Kevin Boatman, Nick Howell's former co-worker who had witnessed the tragic events in Iraq.
Fontana and Green investigate when a bank manager is involved in the robbing of his own bank and learn that his daughter is being held hostage and that he had to go along with the robbery or risk losing his daughter.
When a teenage boy commits suicide after firing on a doctor and hitting an innocent party, Fontana and Green investigate why he was after the doctor to begin with.
After undercover cop Dana Baker is murdered, Fontana and Green learn that the man who killed her had discovered her identity after seeing a photograph of her.
Fontana and Green are called in to investigate when Green's former replacement, Nick Falco, is suspected of murdering a young woman he had spent the night with.
The family of a man who once turned his customers into the police is slain, and the ensuing fracas pits McCoy against a corrupt D.E.A. agent.
Green and Cassady investigate the death of a cop accidentally killed during a botched robbery which leads them to stolen photographs of a celebrity mother married to a player.
Green and Cassady investigate after the photograph of a dead woman is found on a popular website, B-Frendz.com. Their investigation leads them to a mentally disturbed young man whom the teenage daughter of the victim claims kidnapped and raped her, but his lawyer offers up an even greater incentive -- the supposed kidnapping victim, Molly Preston.
When eight-year-old Jenna Wechsler dies as a result of a building explosion, Green and Cassady follow the trail of evidence to Rosalie Schaffner, the owner's ex-wife. McCoy and Rubirosa pursue Rosalie Schaffner despite a lack of concrete evidence, but the case takes a turn when Rubirosa finds a piece of evidence that points them in a new direction.
After Eric Khabaly is seen being murdered on tape in what appears to be an American movement against Islam, Green and Cassady investigate the case which leads them to Khabaly's cousin, Ben Faoud, who appears to be connected to a terrorist cell functioning inside New York. Unfortunately, the best link to Faoud appears to surround a recent shipment of uranium, which McCoy and Rubirosa are forbidden to mention by the federal government. When news of the uranium leaks out, McCoy and Rubirosa find themselves the victims of intense federal scrutiny, and Paul Robinette's vigorous defense of young Faoud doesn't help matters.
When Carl Mullaly is discovered murdered in his apartment, Green and Cassady learn that he had recently been profiled on HardFocus, a tabloid talk show that exposes sex offenders who are caught via the ScumWatch website. With an eight-year-old girl as the only eye witness, detectives arrest the murderer, but McCoy and Rubirosa soon learn that HardFocus is a lot more involved than they claim.
The shooting of a local businessman is linked to a killing in Iraq, and McCoy and Rubirosa refuse to allow the killer to plead out.
A has-been actor wearing blood-stained clothing arrested for drunken driving reveals religious prejudices during his rantings.
After Hudson Moore is found bludgeoned in the back of the Babes Being Bad bus, suspicion initially truns to the company's creator, Chris Drake, until video footage leads detectives to a young woman who was with Moore the night that he died. After concentrating their investigation on the young woman, the reasons behind Moore's murder soon become apparent, and McCoy and Rubirosa struggle to prosecute a man who, while not directly responsible for the murder, may have been responsible for the incidents that led up to it.
Green and Cassady hunt a mass murderer Leon Vorgitch, who recently escaped from prison. The finally corner Vorgitch in a school with a room full of hostages, and before surrendering himself to police, Vorgitch shoots a number of innocent children. His unwillingness to accept a deal infuriates McCoy, as it gives him more time to escape prison again. When the father of one of his victims takes justice into his own hands and ends up being used as a campaign slogan for a local politician, McCoy and Rubirosa try to convince Robert Purcell not to let himself be a scapegoat for a political platform.
After corporate attorney Charles Dillon is discovered dead in a hotel room, Green and Cassady investigate and learn that the company he was working for is in the process of being indicted. Their investigation leads them to a high-priced callgirl, Julia Veloso, who turns out to have been romantically involved with the company's C.E.O., Samantha Weaver. McCoy and Rubirosa find themselves at odds as Rubirosa wonders if McCoy's prosecution of Weaver has more to do with her gender than her guilt.
After Michael Jones dies in his mother's hospital room with no immediate explanation, his mother Ashley accuses her former husband's adult children, Miles and Hillary Foster, who are fighting her for control of their father's substantial fortune. The autopsy rules out the Fosters, and points Green and Cassady in the direction of illegally harvested donor bones, which Jones had received in a transplant eighteen months prior. McCoy and Rubirosa struggle to prosecute the case after it becomes clear the only way they will get the evidence they need is to test another young man who received bone grafts from the same woman who had given Michael Jones his legs.
Green and Cassady investigate after Sean Archer, a producer who had recently adopted a child from Africa with his wife, well-known actress Sofia, is gunned down outside an ice cream shop while holding baby Christopher. The shooting is soon linked to the recent adoption of Christopher, which had received international scrutiny because it appeared to have been pushed through based on the couple's celebrity status. McCoy and Rubirosa initially investigate the murder of Sean Archer, which soon turns into an investigation of a child's death when the identity of baby Christopher comes under question.
The shooting of university student Jason Miles at a political rally hosted by controversial speaker Judith Barlow leaves any number of suspects, but after Green and Cassady prove that two of the people they've questioned are lying about their alibis, they turn their attention to Malcom Yates, a grad student who claimed to be with Jason's girlfriend at the time of his death. McCoy and Rubirosa realise that Yates went after Barlow because of her open criticism of stem-cell research, something that Yates had high hopes could help find a cure for his own Parkinsons.
A reverend confesses to the murder of a young gay actor, but McCoy and Rubirosa soon learn that he may not be the guilty party.
After an actress is found dead in her apartment, Green and Cassady attempt to prove that her death was not a suicide.
After publisher Serena Darby is found murdered in her apartment, suspicion turns to J.P. Lange, a former professional baseball player acquitted of his wife's murder who had written a book hypothesising how he would have committed the murder. Green and Cassady follow the trail of evidence from Lange to Gerald Stockwell, a former ghostwriter on the book, but Stockwell tries to clear himself by offering McCoy and Rubirosa proof that one of the jurors in Lange's trial was paid off to force an acquittal.
Green and Cassady investigate an arson turned homicide when a body found in a burned church turns out to have been murdered before the fire started.
Green and Cassady investigate the murder of a female rapper.
Green and Cassady get mixed up with the Russian consulate after Peter Rostov dies of ricin poisoning. Their investigation leads them first to his work, where they learn he spent a great deal of time traveling back and forth between Russia, and secondly to his brother, Karl. It isn't long before they link the Rostov brothers to an illegal prostitution ring trafficking in young Russian woman, but McCoy is faced with trying to get the remaining Rostov brother to testify so he can prosecute Brezin, the father of one of the trafficked girls.
Green and Cassady follow the leads when a young boy is found murdered to a suspected serial pedophile/murderer.
The detectives link the deaths of two homeless men to the war in Iraq.
When Nicole Bailey, the ex-wife of a respected former senator, is found murdered and brutalised in her home, Green and Cassady look first at the senator, but follow the trail of clues to a dysfunctional family with a number of potentially embarrassing secrets. McCoy finds himself in the hot seat when he is forced to argue the case in front of a judge more interested in public relations than justice.
Cyrus Lupo returns to New York after four years abroad to deal with his own terror. Lupo and Green investigate two suicides committed the same way. The detectives are suspicious of a parolee known as "Dr. Death".
Lupo and Green's first offical case together is a kidnapping that happened during a citywide blackout; a housekeeper is slain and a mother and daughter are kidnapped. The evidence that links all the kidnappers is the father and husband of the kidnap victims. When they search the kidnappers' hideout, they find preparations which implies that the kidnappers knew that the blackout was coming. Cutter must convince the man to testify after he has lied about a search warrant to save the man's daughter, or else the kidnappers will all go free. Issues of a warrantless search arise. Courtroom scenes revolve around questions of Enron-like manipulation of energy.
The explosion of a package including scientific research injures a pregnant security guard, leading to the investigation of the scientist's experiments.
The investigation into a pair of missing pants leads to the murder of a young lawyer. Lupo and Green soon turn their suspicions to a businessman who works for a shady multinational corporation called SavingsMart.
Lupo and Green investigate the shooting death of young white teenager and a 9 year old black girl. The investigation hits a brick wall when both white and black communities refuse to talk - an unfortunate result of formerly black neighbourhoods being bought out by rich whites. The detectives discover that the teenage victim and two of his friends had a basketball taken from them by a black teenager which eventually led to an altercation with deadly consequences and subsequently to surprising culprits.
A triple homicide has ties to a politician, but he may be just the first step toward the truth and a killer who will take desperate measures to keep his freedom.
A hit-and-run investigation leads back to a title company, and Green and Lupo must go undercover to crack the case.
A riot at an immigration rally ends in murder, and the political climate causes McCoy to assign a special prosecutor increasing tensions at the office.
A case of mistaken identity leads Green and Lupo to suspect that a murdered doctor may have been in the wrong place at the wrong time.
A high school party turns tragic when a teenager is found dead, and the detectives end up playing games with the two leading suspects to find out the real story. Unfortunately, unwanted attention from a juror for A.D.A. Rubirosa may disrupt the trial.
The murder of a psychiatrist focuses the suspect list to his clients and wife, and the defense of the murderer will challenge the D.A.'s office to somehow show the jury that a bad childhood is not a justification for crime.
When the police shut down a dog-fighting ring, the investigation becomes a murder case after a woman's finger is found inside one of the dogs; things get more complicated as the case deepens, and the interest of a pushy reporter is sparked.
A terrorist organization seems to be tied in with the violent death of an art dealer, until the victim's troubled son with ties to a fanatic religious group is investigated.
Internal affairs takes a special interest in Detective Green after a gambler is found dead by his bullet, and the investigation turns up a part of his past he's taken pains to conceal.
A novelist's apparent suicide soon changes to a murder investigation with suspects that include a cult and her husband, but Cutter's case may not be closed when jury tampering puts lives at risk.
A legal aid strike ends in the death of a lawyer, and the investigation leads to a golf greenskeeper who proclaims his innocence, again. Then the case takes an even stranger twist when Rubirosa is pitted against Cutter because of the strike that started it all.
An online romance may be at the heart of a mechanic's murder, but Detectives Lupo and Bernard must unravel some truly bizarre developments before the full story is known.
A jeweler's murder may have ties to a prostitution ring, and once the case goes to trial, D.A. McCoy's job is on the line as favors are called in.
The beating death of a stockbroker causes a battle of epic proportions between the victim's family and the faction responsible for his death.
A mentally challenged man is reunited with the mother who gave him away after his brother is killed.
A young woman (Jena Malone) escapes from a polygamous cult.
The detectives investigate the mystery of a falling construction crane in the city and that leads them to something much more sinister.
A revered sheriff becomes a possible conspirator in a case involving a murdered tourist.
Detectives Lupo and Bernard investigate when the writer of a bestselling memoir is found dead in a community of male prostitutes.
Cutter is determined to expose misconduct when he realizes an old friend working in the system is obstructing justice in the murder of an environmentalist.
While investigating the murder of two divorce lawyers, detectives Lupo and Bernard uncover a child slave trade ring.
The murder of the plaintiff in a high-profile lawsuit against a major airline leads detectives to a defense attorney (Dallas Roberts) who is willing to do whatever it takes to ensure his big payday.
When the son and housekeeper of a pair of prominent biologists are murdered, detectives suspect the couple's work on a controversial pharmaceutical study may have made them targets for the killer.
The owner of a trucking company, Vic Russell, is found dead after a business meeting; detectives uncover information that leads them to believe that Russell had ties to the Russian mob.
An NYPD officer kills a troubled fellow officer who took hostages at gunpoint; detectives Lupo and Bernard find valuable stolen documents and a dead body at the man's apartment.
An unconscious war widow and her lifeless infant are found in the rubble of a bombed army recruitment center; Jack McCoy is forced to make one of the most unpopular decisions of his career.
The creator of a religious website is murdered and the trail leads to a corrupt charitable organization.
As detectives investigate the death of a bank executive's mistress, they uncover a kidnapping and extortion plot.
The search for a writer's killer leads detectives to a closed espionage case.
A murdered television news reporter was investigating allegations that a billionaire Wall Street investment adviser was a fraud, but figuring out who killed her proves to be difficult
Detectives Kevin Bernard (Anthony Anderson) and Cyrus Lupo (Jeremy Sisto) investigate the case of Oswaldo Morales (guest star Hector Javier Munoz), an illegal immigrant found unconscious but still alive on a service road. When the detectives find a possible link to Oswaldo's attack and nine recent bias-related incidents, they uncover a deep-seeded, dangerous bias against Hispanic men within the community.
Firefighter Thomas Cooper and his wife Linda are tortured and murdered in their new townhouse. The murders are thought to be linked to an old unsolved drug case, but then the detectives learn about a firefighter named Nick Spence, who had just joined Cooper's company and was being severely hazed. The investigation suffers a setback when Spence dies in a fire under suspicious circumstances.
Two engaged scientists die in a fire and their mentally challenged neighbor is injured while trying to help them. The detectives discover that the couple was stabbed before the fire and this leads them to a disturbed and extremely jealous woman.
Detectives Lupo and Bernard investigate a serial killer who targets homeless men and discover that a copycat may be at work.
A prominent charity executive is murdered and claims of stalking and blackmail surface during the investigation.
The body of a young war veteran is found in a parking garage and the murder is connected to a law professor who used to work for the Department of Justice.
A crime scene investigator is murdered in her apartment. Her fiance is suspected, but then a journalist is attacked and DNA is found at the scene that links this crime to the murder.
The police investigate when an aspiring musician is found dead. A bag of cash leads them to multiple suspects.
A mother of ten adopted special needs children is murdered. The day after her murder, her husband appears on reality TV.
A doctor who performs late-term abortions is murdered in church. The case falls apart when Rubirosa is touched by an abortion nurse's testimony.
Bernard becomes the target of a dangerous website that is partly responsible for a homicide the detectives are investigating
When a young woman is found dead in her apartment, a few tell-tale signs quickly lead Detectives to believe that the killer was not after her wealth.
A deadly drunk-driving car accident brings Detectives to the scene when a suspicious nasal spray is found. After the medical examiner realizes the nasal spray is a powerful anesthetic that could easily disorient its user, the detectives become suspicious of the victim's boss, Zach Marshall.
A case that begins as a search for a missing witness spirals into a murder conspiracy with ADA Connie Rubirosa caught in the middle.
When an elderly man defends his shop from an armed robbery, the police suspect that this incident could have been an inside job. After further investigation, the detectives discover that the mugging might have been a scare tactic for a shakedown.
A community organizer who was working on voter registration is found dead with the word "FED" written on his chest. The detectives initially suspect an anti-government motive for the murder, but the case gets more complicated when they learn that the victim was secretly gathering incriminating information about the organization he worked for.
A freelance journalist is murdered. The detectives find a connection between her and a talk show host who has had a series of workplace affairs.
When a family of four is found murdered in their home, police discover that the deaths may be related to the deceased teenage daughters troubled friend, Bonnie.
When detectives come upon the burning body, a sixteen-year-old charter school student from a bad neighborhood, they begin to question his young mentee Moses, who was the last person to see him alive.
A young woman is found murdered in a hotel and the evidence leads to a medical student.
A man is convicted of a hate crime for allegedly killing a gay man, but a group called the Innocence Coalition is determined to clear his name.
The debate rages over how to treat an informant who shot and killed four police officers. However, did one of the officers try to put undue pressure on him to help catch a dangerous criminal?
When an environmental scientist, Dr. Oscar Silva, is poisoned during a global warming symposium, Detectives initially suspect competitors from Dr. Silva's field of study. It is soon discovered that Dr. Silva is involved in a messy custody battle with his wife’s ex-husband, Phillip Shoemaker. The focus of the investigation quickly shifts to the victim’s family.
The body of a model is found burning in an alley, Detectives search for her killer.
Detectives uncover a possible conspiracy to kill off wealthy cancer patients in the calendar year 2010 so that their inheritors don't have to pay an Estate Tax, but legal roadblocks make the case difficult to prosecute.
A fatal stabbing leads to the discovery that a bio-research firm has been exploiting the cells of an African American man who died 50 years ago for medical research, but has never compensated his dirt-poor descendants.
A reality TV crew finds a dead body locked in a dog cage.
Lupo and Bernard race against time to find a student posting internet blogs threatening to blow up a school.
Newly acquainted partners Bernard and Cosgrove investigate the murder of a notorious entertainer. A dispute over throwing out a confession creates a rift in the DA’s office.
The COO of a major tech company is found murdered in Central Park. Price and Maroun work to untangle a web of deceit to expose a cunning narcissist.
Bernard and Cosgrove investigate the disappearance of a social media star whose case takes the internet by storm. Price and Maroun must weigh their decisions regarding the case against the wishes of the missing woman's family.
After a family court judge is murdered, Bernard and Cosgrove dig into the many grievances against him. When the DA's office is faced with unforeseen challenges, Maroun takes matters into her own hands to save the case.
Bernard and Cosgrove investigate the murder of a congressional candidate. ADAs Price and Maroun contend with an extremist plot hellbent on thwarting the candidate's agenda by any means necessary.
When a young man is found dead of an apparent overdose, Dixon fiercely pursues a homicide investigation as an old unsolved case comes back to haunt her. Price and Maroun risk putting a witness in harm’s way to expose their suspect and reveal the monster underneath.
Bernard and Cosgrove are confronted with several suspects in the shooting of a headmaster at an elite private school. A teenager's life hangs in the balance as Price and Maroun debate who's more culpable -- the shooter or the enabler.
When the CFO of a Fortune 500 company is found strangled in her home, Bernard and Cosgrove work to connect multiple dead ends to find her killer. The prosecution is faced with an uphill battle as McCoy and Price butt heads over a choice that could cost them the case.
Bernard and Cosgrove must sift through fact and fiction to find the killer of a young Manhattan socialite. The murder trial takes a turn that becomes personal for Price and puts Maroun in a compromising situation.
The murder of an off-duty NYPD detective threatens to tear the city apart. Cosgrove mourns the loss of a friend and asks Capt. Benson for help solving the case. McCoy and Price disagree on how to prosecute the culprit.
A girl is shot and Cosgrove teams with Det. Jalen Shaw to track down her killer. Benson and Stabler assist and realize it's more than a typical homicide. McCoy and Price seek justice against an international crime ring.
A politician's daughter is found dead after an apparent mugging. Once Cosgrove and Shaw start to unravel the details behind her trip, they realize this isn't a random act of violence; Price makes a risky move. Maroun works to salvage their case.
A deadly subway shooting has Cosgrove and Shaw racing to find the culprit before another attack is orchestrated. Price and Maroun struggle to put their ethical principles aside when the U.S. Attorney's office pushes for the death penalty in the case.
When the young author of a tell-all book is found dead, Cosgrove asks a former mentor for help with the case. Price has an uphill battle in court when a search and seizure is deemed illegal.
Cosgrove and Shaw piece together the clues of what happened to a murdered law student, uncovering a web of blackmail and lies; Price fights to have a piece of shocking testimony thrown out.
When a fashion designer is killed on the night of his boutique opening, Cosgrove and Shaw must track down a suspect with very little evidence and no witnesses. Maroun is shocked to find her own name on the defense's witness list.
A crisis consultant who's made many enemies on behalf of her clients is murdered. Price and Maroun must set aside the potential damage to a witness's reputation in order to strengthen their case.
When a decorated military veteran is found murdered in his own home, Cosgrove and Shaw work with his daughter to uncover an important clue. Price and Maroun must untangle the stories of other service members connected to the victim to make their case.
A suspect arrested for murder escapes police custody after months of waiting for his day in court. As a hostage situation erupts, Shaw must re-examine his conduct as the arresting officer. Price questions his faith in the justice system.
When a homeless migrant is murdered, evidence leads Cosgrove and Shaw to a mysterious cover-up at a construction site. Price and Maroun push a key witness to testify, knowing that speaking out could lead to legal consequences.
When an ex-con is found beaten to death, Cosgrove and Shaw arrest an unlikely culprit. Maroun must put her personal feelings for the suspect aside and take the lead in court when she and Price can't agree on the best trial strategy.
After a teenager is killed, Cosgrove and Shaw discover what lengths kids will go to these days to become Internet famous. Price and Maroun take a risk to go after who they believe is the real criminal in the case, but wind up back where they started.
When a graduate student is found dead, Cosgrove and Shaw follow the evidence to a suspect with no clear motive. Price and Maroun uncover a money-grabbing scheme within a church. McCoy warns them to focus on the suspects and not the institution.
After shots are fired in a popular nightclub, Cosgrove and Shaw suspect the spree was a ruse to target a sole victim. When security footage mysteriously disappears, Price and Maroun must rely on a witness who values reputation over facts.
Cosgrove and Shaw must unravel a string of false crime reports to get to the truth surrounding a respected doctor's murder. Shaw becomes the target of retaliation when he files a complaint against two patrol officers.
When a celebrated journalist is killed, Cosgrove and Shaw explore an unpublished report involving a prominent politician. Price and Maroun fight an uphill battle when their only credible witness is currently awaiting trial for another heinous crime.
When a public defender is murdered, Cosgrove and Shaw are surprised to find Price at the crime scene. His involvement in the trial compromises the case.
When a young woman dies a slow and painful death from an untreated infection, Cosgrove and Shaw suspect she was under the influence of a powerful cult. Price and Maroun put pressure on its members to find the cult's true mastermind.
Cosgrove and Shaw investigate the murder of a physician whose politician wife suspects she was the intended target. Price and Maroun's case hangs in the balance when the defense calls one of the doctor's young patients to testify as a witness.
When a businessman is murdered, his surprising connection to Cosgrove's daughter helps the police make a break in the case. Price and Maroun disagree on how to proceed at trial when the defendant's age brings up legal precedent they must follow.
Cosgrove and Shaw suspect an art dealer was murdered but can't make an arrest until they locate her body. Price and Maroun must go to trial with a circumstantial case and a suspect with unlimited resources. The squad celebrates a birthday.
A senator is gunned down at his daughter's wedding. McCoy pushes for a severe sentence and squares up against a formidable DA -- his own daughter. Price aims to stay neutral but can't help but empathize with the defendant over a shared trauma.
In the wake of a murder on campus, the line between free speech and hate speech at a university is examined.
When a prominent tech CEO is killed, Shaw and Riley untangle multiple leads to reveal a plot for retribution. Price and Maroun debate whether an overdue piece of evidence should be submitted to the jury.
When a young woman is strangled, Yee connects the MO to a potential serial offender, leading Riley to revisit a case that went cold on his watch. Price makes a risky move to bait one of their own on the stand.
Shaw and Riley investigate a real estate agent's murder. After they speak with prominent clients, an unexpected witness appears. Price and Maroun struggle to convince a jury of motive and face a difficult decision about their only witness.
When a woman is found murdered in Central Park, evidence points to two frequent park-goers: a street vendor and a tech billionaire. In the face of extreme political pressure, McCoy takes drastic action to make the case.
When NYPD responds to the scene of an active shooter in a nearby hospital, Shaw is shocked at his connection to the suspect. Maroun and Price face a difficult trial when the defendant offers up an insanity plea.
When a successful investor is murdered, Shaw and Riley dig into his life to identify his killer. DA Baxter puts pressure on Price and Maroun to make sure his first case in office is a success.
Shaw and Riley investigate the death of a comic after a subway altercation. When a suspect is arrested, Baxter insists they increase the charges despite Price's apprehension. At trial, a new witness comes forward to throw the case into question.
When a congressman's aide is found dead after testifying in a corruption case, Shaw and Riley discover the suspect may be someone close to home. As Price solidifies his case against the defendant, Baxter proposes they go after an accomplice as well.
Shaw and Riley investigate the death of a prominent chef when he's stabbed in his own restaurant. Price has hesitations about prosecuting the defendant after new evidence comes to light.
When a real estate developer is found dead in one of his buildings, Shaw and Riley sift through a long list of suspects. Concerned for the welfare of the defendant's young daughter, Dixon and her son plead with Price and Maroun for help.
Shaw and Riley investigate the death of a therapist with a long list of troubled clients. Baxter takes over Price's chair when a disturbing connection to the defendant is discovered.
When a sports star is killed, Shaw and Riley suspect the shooter missed their intended target. Baxter's daughter comes forward as a witness, but her public testimony could impact his re-election campaign with the confession of a family secret.
When a Brooklyn prosecutor is found slain in her apartment, Maroun takes drastic action to convince an eyewitness to come forward. Riley struggles to adjust to the new lieutenant in charge.
When the founder of an AI-infused dating app is murdered, Shaw and Riley delve into who would want the love-obsessed man dead. Capt. Benson surprises Price and Maroun when she becomes a witness for the defense.
Riley's personal and professional lives clash when his brother is connected to a murder investigation. Price takes a chance on a witness who can testify to a hidden motive.
When a bomb goes off in a brownstone, Shaw and Riley must determine which of its inhabitants -- an author or fertility doctor -- was the target. Price and Maroun try to bring murder charges against the suspect, even though the victim is still alive.
A student is accused of killing his teacher. When the suspect's age puts the case in limbo, Price and Maroun put the school's policies on trial. Shaw's attempts to connect with the suspect backfire.
When the dean of a swanky prep school is murdered, Shaw and Riley must dig into the toxic system of pressure on the students to succeed. Brady's son asks for a favor.
When tragedy strikes the family of a prominent judge, Brady must determine if the murder is connected to any of the judge's rulings. Baxter steps in when a key witness refuses to testify. Maroun tries to protect another witness's privacy.
After a narcotics officer is shot in the back, Brady returns to her old precinct to investigate the murder. When the suspect's story doesn't add up, she enlists Shaw and Riley to discover the truth.
Since he has been sent to Staten Island after attacking a city councilman, Detective Logan is trying to earn a spot back with the NYPD. Logan finds out about a case involving a prostitute's murder and he figures this could be his ticket back. His lieutenant reluctantly assigns him to the case and is teamed up with Detective Frankie Silvera. During the case they come across a mob figure and father while learning that there is a dirty cop in Logan's old precinct.
"Law & Order" cast members past and present recall working with, and being friends with, the late Jerry Orbach.
For an up-and-coming actor, an appearance on a "Law & Order" episode is a rite of passage. Since 1990, more than a few of the attorneys, victims, perpetrators, witnesses, kids, suspects and police of the week have gone on to become some of the biggest television and movie stars in the world. With over 1,200 episodes from the "Law & Order" library to date and tens of thousands of roles for actors, it's no surprise that many of them have gone on to incredible careers. This insightful look back is a celebration of 30 years of a legendary franchise and the stars who have helped pave the way.
