Law & Order (season 2)

Law & Order
	Season 2
	Season 2 U.S. DVD cover
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	22
Release
Original network	NBC
Original release	September 17, 1991 –; May 12, 1992
Season chronology

The second season of Law & Order aired on NBC between September 17, 1991, and May 12, 1992. This season marked the first death of a main character, as George Dzundza had departed the series after the conclusion of the first season. The death of his character Max Greevey is shown in the season premiere. Carolyn McCormick makes her first recurring appearance as Dr. Elizabeth Olivet.

Cast

Phil Cerreta (played by Paul Sorvino) replaced season 1's Max Greevey (George Dzundza) in the role of senior detective. The cast was otherwise unchanged.

Main cast

Recurring cast

Carolyn McCormick as Elizabeth Olivet

Episodes

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Prod. code	US viewers (millions)
23	1	"Confession"	Fred Gerber	Michael Duggan & Robert Palm	September 17, 1991 (1991-09-17)	67416	16.40
The DA's office has a major grand jury investigation underway on corruption and theft in the construction industry. The night before Det. Sgt. Max Greevey is to testify, he is gunned down at home in his driveway. Needless to say, Logan is upset and partnered with, Phil Cerreta (Paul Sorvino) looks for what they and the DA's office believe must have been a leak from a member of the grand jury Daniel Magadan sr (Val Avery). When it turns out the jury foreman may have told his son Daniel Magadan jr (Vyto Ruginis) of Greevey's upcoming testimony, Logan tracks him down and gets him to confess at gunpoint. There seems to be little doubt that the man is the one who killed Greevey but Logan's zealousness in getting the confession may result in the case being thrown out of court, while he speaks to a counselor.
24	2	"The Wages of Love"	Ed Sherin	S : Robert Stuart Nathan; S/T : Ed Zuckerman	September 24, 1991 (1991-09-24)	67405	16.60
A double homicide of a wealthy older man Edward Cullen and his younger lover Alexandra Beckett who were found shot to death in his apartment bedroom. The man had been separated from his wife, Melanie Cullen (Shirley Knight), for over a year and their son Jamie says he was with his mother at her home when the shooting occurred. They investigate several possible leads and eventually arrest the dead woman's ex-boyfriend who had previously had a dust up with the dead man. They develop doubts however and soon learn from one of Jamie's college classmates that Jamie was home when he was supposed to be with his mother. Melanie Cullen is charged with first degree murder and ADA Stone's major task will be to get the jury to focus on the facts and not the sympathetic defendant.
25	3	"Aria"	Don Scardino	S : Michael S. Chernuchin; T : Christine Roum	October 1, 1991 (1991-10-01)	67411	18.90
Cerreta and Logan investigate the death of 19 year-old Priscilla Blaine, who died from an overdose of an anti-depressant. Most of her friends and even her sister Patti swear that Priscilla had an aversion to drugs of any kind. Priscilla had recently started acting in porno film and they learn that her mother, Elizabeth, was a domineering stage mother of the worse kind who wanted her daughter to succeed as an actress at all costs. Elizabeth Blaine is charged with her daughter's murder and the first step is for ADA Stone to get Patti named executor of her sister's estate which would let her to waive doctor-patient privilege allowing the victim's psychiatrist to testify.
26	4	"Asylum"	Kristoffer Siegel-Tabori	S : Robert Palm; T : Kathy McCormick	October 8, 1991 (1991-10-08)	67409	20.80
A victim's stabbing death of a young man. Who was killed on a street corner in front of several witnesses, none of whom are of much help in identifying the attacker. A store owner identifies a homeless man who lives in a cardboard box outside the store and they eventually identify him as a homeless person who goes by the name of Lemonhead. He proves not to be the attacker and they realize there were two of them at the scene. The second person lives in a cardboard box in Central Park and they soon make an arrest. ADA Stone gets a conviction but soon finds himself in the State Court of Appeal when a lawyer argues that the police did not have a warrant to search his "home" under the tree in the park.
27	5	"God Bless the Child"	E.W. Swackhamer	David Black & Robert Stuart Nathan	October 22, 1991 (1991-10-22)	67404	15.10
A couple Nancy and Ted Driscoll, whose religious beliefs forbids medical treatment, is on trial for letting their daughter die of strep throat infection. Stone's prosecution hinges on whether either or both of the parents wanted to call for medical help. The investigation uncovers two other pertinent facts: 1. the night of the girl's death, the mother was drinking (also against the couple's religious beliefs), and 2. the couple had another child that died under similar circumstances.
28	6	"Misconception"	Daniel Sackheim	S : Michael Duggan; S/T : Michael S. Chernuchin	October 29, 1991 (1991-10-29)	67410	18.50
The mugging of a pregnant legal secretary Amy Newhouse (Molly Price) leads to a charge against her employer of assault, which is upgraded to murder when the baby dies. Time span confirmation of the baby's conception and the employer-secretary affair eliminates the employer as a suspect. Suspicion shifts to the secretary and her boyfriend Christopher Baylor (a disbarred lawyer) David Alcott. When a wiretap reveals that the couple intended, first, to have the employer held criminally responsible for the baby's murder and, second, to sue the employer for wrongful death. Initially, the primary issue appears to be the fetus age at which a murder charge can be leveled. The primary issue proves to be two-fold; 1. whether the suspects can be held accountable for knowing both the law and its meaning, and 2. even if the suspects cannot legally be convicted of the baby's murder, whether they can be convicted of a lesser crime, i.e. attempted murder.
29	7	"In Memory Of"	Ed Sherin	S : Siobhan Byrne; T : Robert Stuart Nathan; S/T : David Black	November 5, 1991 (1991-11-05)	67413	18.10
During a building renovation, construction workers find human remains in the walls of the building. The coroner estimates the remains are those of a 9 year-old male that has been inside that wall for over 30 years. Detectives Cerreta and Logan work their way through old missing persons report and identify the remains as those of Tommy Keegan who lived across the street from the construction site. The police in the original investigation suspected two men but just finding those related to the case proves difficult. They find one of the men alive, Ed Conover but he's not very cooperative. They also find Julie Atkinson, herself only a child at the time of Tommy's death who agrees to work with Dr. Olivet to see if any repressed memories might be found. What she remembers points to her father, Thad Messimer, as the culprit.
30	8	"Out of Control"	John Whitesell	S : David Black & Robert Stuart Nathan; T : Jack Richardson	November 12, 1991 (1991-11-12)	67403	19.30
Cerreta and Logan investigate when university student Andrea Fermi claims she was raped by two men at a halloween party. The case is complicated however. Andrea had been drinking and was quite drunk when the incident occurred. She identifies the two boys who attacked her as fraternity brothers in the house where the party was held and where her boyfriend Gary is a pledge. Everyone in the fraternity clams up tight denying anything happened. Some even question whether Andrea was even at the party. They slowly build the case and ADA Stone thinks he has enough to get a conviction. He knows however that public sympathy is with the two boys and not with the victim.
31	9	"Renunciation"	Gwen Arner	Michael S. Chernuchin & Joe Morgenstern	November 19, 1991 (1991-11-19)	67414	16.00
When a gambler Larry Kealey is killed in a hit and run but based on an eye witness account of what happened, Sgt. Cerreta and Det. Logan are certain that he was struck on purpose. Kealy was a bartender with a tendency to gamble heavily on sports and his wife Jenna (Ashley Crow), a teacher at a fancy prep school, freely admits that they often argued about his gambling. They believe either a bookie or a loan shark may have had it out form him but they soon realize that you couldn't collect from a corpse so they look elsewhere. They trace the vehicle used in the collision to one of Jenna Kealey's students, Roy Pack, with whom she was having an affair. It appears however that Jenna has been manipulating everyone around her.
32	10	"Heaven"	Ed Sherin	T : Nancy Ann Miller; S/T : Robert Palm	November 26, 1991 (1991-11-26)	67415	19.10
An arson at a social club for people from Central America results in the deaths of 53 people. The fire department has proof of the arson with someone having laid the propellant on the floor below the club. Initial information points to Guillermo Ruiz, who was thrown out of the club late that night but it's a dead end as is looking for the property owner, who died from injuries in the fire. The winding trail ends with Cesar Pescador (Luis Guzman) who claims he was hired by Domingo Guerra, a well-known and highly respected member of the Latino community. It also looks like he's a supplier of phony immigration documents, who wanted to send a message to the community to stop complaining about the quality of his services. It turns that that Immigration agent, James Collins, is also involved in the scam.
33	11	"His Hour Upon the Stage"	Steve Cohen	Robert Nathan & Giles Blunt	December 10, 1991 (1991-12-10)	67407	18.30
The body of Broadway producer Joshua Foster is found in a dumpster. He who was shot and the medical examiner found ice crystals in his organs, meaning the body had been frozen. Foster had been reported missing five years before, but the investigation at the time revealed nothing. The police focus on his associates at the time of his disappearance. His would-be fiancée, Leslie Hart (Finn Carter), was hoping to be an actress back then and is now a successful producer in her own right. His business partner, Gary Wallace (Frank Converse), is still in the business producing shows. Their story is basically the same: the show they were producing at the time was in need of cash and Foster went off to a meeting to raise the money and was never seen again. The investigation reveals that the likely shooter is now himself dead, but ADA Stone is prepared to deal to get those behind the killing in jail.
34	12	"Star Struck"	Ed Sherin	S : David Black & Alan Gelb; T : Robert Nathan & Sally Nemeth	January 7, 1992 (1992-01-07)	67406	21.30
Invesigating the vicious beating of Lucy Neven (Blanche Baker), a major daytime soap opera star. The woman was found in the park and left for dead. The detectives soon enter the world of obsessed fans and memorabilia collectors. They eventually end up talking to Jesse Unger who followed Neven, wrote to her and would pay top dollar for any memorabilia he could find. He's charged with attempted murder but soon pleads temporary insanity. ADA Stone knows the young man needs help but is satisfied that Unger knew right from wrong at the time he beat her. He suspects that the boy's father has told him exactly what to say to get off and has to weigh the option of a plea bargain to get Unger behind bars. Based on the murder of the actress Rebecca Schaeffer.
35	13	"Severance"	Jim Frawley	S : Michael Duggan; T : Michael S. Chernuchin; S/T : William N. Fordes	January 14, 1992 (1992-01-14)	67418	17.40
The shooting death of two advertising men gunned down while getting their car in parking garage. It may be a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Another car parked nearby belonged to Janet Torrens who was a key federal witness against Charles Martine, whose aerospace company sold shoddy goods to the Defense Department. She had worked as his accountant for 6 months and the police are convinced Martine and his lawyer Larry Teasdale had her eliminated by hit man Frank Kemp. All three are charged with conspiracy and murder but are putting up a solid and united front which makes it virtually impossible for ADA Stone to get one of them to testify against the others. When one of lawyers tries to get Stone replaced on the case, Stone has a strategy of his own.
36	14	"Blood Is Thicker"	Peter Levin	S : Robert Nathan; S/T : Ed Zuckerman	February 4, 1992 (1992-02-04)	67422	17.60
The body of Lois Ryder the mother of a wealthy family, is found beaten to death under a pile of garbage just outside a nightclub. Her husband Jonathan Ryder says he was out of town over the weekend and had not seen his wife. The medical examiner determines that she died due to a blunt force trauma, the same type of injury in other similar cases the police have been investigating. He also finds semen but no evidence of rape so the police assume she had a boyfriend. They track her boyfriend, Dr. Joel Friedman, who admits to the affair but points the finger at her husband. The identification of a piece of jewelry, a family heirloom, is the key to getting a conviction.
37	15	"Trust"	Daniel Sackheim	S : Michael Duggan; S/T : René Balcer	February 11, 1992 (1992-02-11)	67417	17.60[1]
Cerreta and Logan investigate the shooting death of a teenage boy, a student from an expensive private school. The boy had only one friend among his classmates, Jamie Maser (Harley Cross) and it so happens the boy's father owns the type of gun used in the shooting. Under questioning in the presence of his father Ian Maser and a lawyer Dan Barnett (Michael Constantine), Jamie admits to the shooting but claims it was an accident. His story is credible and the father confirms that the boy had never shot that type of weapon. The police become suspicious however when they learn that Jamie was involved in a similar incident just a few years before. It led to his parents divorce and a binding agreement that neither parent would discuss the incident. ADA Stone faces the challenge of the sealed information when he concludes that Jamie is lying and should be prosecuted.
38	16	"Vengeance"	Daniel Sackheim	S : Peter S. Greenberg; T : René Balcer; S/T : Michael S. Chernuchin	February 18, 1992 (1992-02-18)	67420	19.20
After repairmen and the building superintendent discovered the body of Judy Bream, who is found bound and gagged atop an elevator car. In going through the records, they find at least two other cases of women who were killed and found in very similar circumstances. Clearly they have a serial killer on their hands. Two of the women had the same gynecologist, a doctor with many complaints registered against him. The third victim used a different doctor but there is a connection in that both doctors used the same accountant: Albert Lawrence Cheney (James Rebhorn), a convicted sex offender. The police question him for 12 hours non-stop and they eventually learn he has a storage locker. There they find photos and other evidence of his crimes. ADA Stone however immediately runs up against the admissibility of the evidence given the excessive interrogation techniques used by the police. With a shaky case, the dead woman's parents want him extradited to their home state which has the death penalty.
39	17	"Sisters of Mercy"	Fred Gerber	S : Robert Palm; S/T : René Balcer	March 3, 1992 (1992-03-03)	67423	16.40
After 16 year-old Maggie Corson, pulls out a gun and threatens to kill herself, she tells Detectives Cerreta and Logan that she ran away from the Catholic drug rehab center because she had been sexually assaulted by one of the nuns who worked there, Sister Bettina (Kate Burton). They are both skeptical but Maggie seems quite sure of herself and even Dr. Olivet believes her. It turns out she was stoned at the time and is relying on something a fellow rehab patient, Maria Barragon (Judy Reyes), says she saw. It turns out that Maria has her own ax to grind against the rehab center's Director, Jack Powell. ADA Stone charges Powell with rape but he insists it was consensual.
40	18	"Cradle to Grave"	James Frawley	Robert Nathan & Sally Nemeth	March 31, 1992 (1992-03-31)	67424	18.10
Investigating the death of a baby that is found at the entrance to a hospital emergency room. The baby froze to death and they manage to track down it's mother but the case is not as straightforward as it may have first appeared. She had a regular sitter for baby while she worked but the girl had been refused entrance to the apartment building by someone she thought was the super. As they get more into the case, it seems the landlords, Iris Corman (Karen Lynn Gorney) and Joseph Turner (Rocco Sisto) , are trying to force the tenants out so they can renovate and raise the rents. One of their tactics is to turn off the heat for lengthy periods and that's why the baby died. After his first attempt at a manslaughter conviction against Turner is thrown out because a court interpreter did not correctly translate testimony, he goes after both Turner and Corman.
41	19	"The Fertile Fields"	Ed Sherin	Michael S. Chernuchin & René Balcer	April 7, 1992 (1992-04-07)	67425	17.50
After Jewish diamond merchant Ezra Shore's body is found burned in an alley, Cerreta and Logan believe they are dealing with a hate crime. Shore's brother and business partner Isaac Shore says Ezra was out visiting a client. He had $10-12,000 worth of diamonds on him. There is little blood at the scene leading the detectives to believe that he was killed elsewhere and moved to the alley. The medical examiner reports that he was beaten to death and set on fire afterward. Several black youths were seen running away from the body and soon the DA's office has both communities after him to do something about the others. The man's killer is much closer to home and is connected to mobsters and money laundering. First appearance of Leslie Hendrix as Assistant Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Elizabeth Rodgers.
42	20	"Intolerance"	Steven Robman	Robert Nathan & Sally Nemeth	April 14, 1992 (1992-04-14)	67426	14.90
Cerreta and Logan investigate the shooting death of Tim Chong a brilliant physics student who was in the running to a national scholarship. He was gunned down just outside his school. His friends Katie Silver (Sabrina Lloyd) and Carl Borland were with him just moments before when he had been harassed by Asian gang members. Tim had been a member of the gang for a very short while but the police find that it's a dead end. They subsequently learn that Carl's mother, Marian Borland (Kelly Bishop), was highly protective of her son who was Tim's only competition for the prestigious scholarship. When they get evidence that Mrs. Borland lied about the time she left work, she and her eldest son Randy are charged with murder. ADA Stone has to get a conviction without a murder weapon after the gun used in the shooting is ruled inadmissible.
43	21	"Silence"	Ed Sherin	S : Michael Duggan; T : Michael S. Chernuchin; S/T : René Balcer	April 28, 1992 (1992-04-28)	67427	11.10
While investigating the stabbing death of Councilman James Vogel who is found lying in the middle of the street. Vogel had been on city council for many years and was well-liked by everyone. They learn that he had received a large sum of money from his father Edward Vogel who acknowledges giving him the money but insists he didn't ask him why. They quickly conclude that Vogel was being blackmailed and that a local newspaper was going to out him as being gay. He had been corresponding with a prison inmate who has just been released on parole but it's his lawyer that they focus on. For ADA Stone, the challenge will be to find someone who is willing to admit in open court that they too were being blackmailed. For his part, Vogel's father is doing everything he can to protect the family's reputation.
44	22	"The Working Stiff"	Daniel Sackheim	S : William N. Fordes; S/T : Robert Palm	May 12, 1992 (1992-05-12)	67428	12.10[2]
Cerreta and Logan investigate the shooting death of Marshall McFadden, a merger and acquisitions expert worth hundreds of million. He was found sitting at his desk at his office and the gun was left at the scene. He may have had many enemies given that he often bought companies only to break them up for resale and closing unprofitable units. Their first suspect is Simon Vilanis (Eli Wallach) who, after working for 40 years, lost his pension, health care and even his place to live after McFadden bought out the company he worked for. Simon's gun was used in the shooting but it's quickly apparent that someone had taken his gun to commit the crime. They then learn that just as McFadden was to be indicted, the Justice Department unit investigating was shut down. There were ties between McFadden and a major bank, one that was run by DA Adam Schiff's good friend Dwight Corcoran (William Prince). Adam wants Corcoran to pay the full price for what he's done.

gollark: Still sounds stupid.

gollark: Hmm, sounds stupid.

gollark: And production-lining it is stupid because there are so many disparate components. I just shove the recipes into AE2.

gollark: OC isn't horribly *expensive*, sure, just insanely annoying.

gollark: That's a terrible way to do it.

References

Donion, Brian (19 February 1992). "CBS wins, but ABC gets silver". USA TODAY.
Gable, Donna (20 May 1992). "Weddings blissful for NBC". USA TODAY.

External links

Preceded by Season One (1990-1991)	List of Law & Order seasons (1990-2010)	Succeeded by Season Three (1992-1993)

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[1] Donion, Brian (19 February 1992). "CBS wins, but ABC gets silver". USA TODAY.

[2] Gable, Donna (20 May 1992). "Weddings blissful for NBC". USA TODAY.