Law & Order (season 7)

The following is a list of Law & Order episodes from the series' seventh season (1996–1997):[1]

Law & Order
Season 7
Season 7 U.S. DVD cover
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	23
Release
Original network	NBC
Original release	September 18, 1996 (1996-09-18) – May 21, 1997 (1997-05-21)
Season chronology

Cast

Jamie Ross (played by Carey Lowell) replaced season 6's Claire Kincaid (Jill Hennessy) in the role of Assistant District Attorney. The resulting ensemble cast was the most stable in the history of the Law & Order series up to this point, being unchanged for two seasons and 47 episodes.

Main cast

• Jerry Orbach as Lennie Briscoe
• Benjamin Bratt as Rey Curtis
• S. Epatha Merkerson as Anita Van Buren
• Sam Waterston as E.A.D.A. Jack McCoy
• Carey Lowell as A.D.A. Jamie Ross
• Steven Hill as D.A. Adam Schiff

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)
135	1	"Causa Mortis"	Ed Sherin	René Balcer	September 18, 1996 (1996-09-18)	K1106	15.70[2]
The murder of Maureen Rankin who is found on a deserted tract of land. She died from a blow to the head though death was not instantaneous. The police believe she was the victim of a carjacking. Briscoe and Curtis track down the car and arrest the carjacker but a key piece of evidence is ruled inadmissible and his new assistant, Jamie Ross, is all for transferring the case to Federal jurisdiction when the death penalty will apply. The DA's office is batting zero after the judge in the case rules a second key piece of evidence inadmissible. It's left to McCoy to start playing hardball with the carjacker's fiancée if they want to have any hope of getting a conviction. Based on the murder of New Jersey schoolteacher Kathleen Weinstein in Toms River.[3] First appearance of Carey Lowell as ADA Jamie Ross. Small appearance by: David Zayas.
136	2	"I.D."	Constantine Makris	Ed Zuckerman	September 25, 1996 (1996-09-25)	K1107	16.50[4]
The body of a dead young woman whose nude body is found in an office building elevator. She is eventually identified as Joanne Sullivan by her sister Lucy (Pamela Gray) who is visiting from Indiana. Fingerprints and a report from New Jersey police reveal that Joanne and her husband were con artists who had recently been scamming casinos. The police develop the theory that Joanne may have been on the run from the mob but when they catch Lucy in an outright lie, they believe she murdered her sister. It's going to be a difficult case to prove as the judge, Nathan Marks (Jerry Adler), seems only interested in two things: ruling the DA's evidence inadmissible and making sexually suggestive comments to ADA Jamie Ross. Then there's also the simple matter of mistaken identity.
137	3	"Good Girl"	Jace Alexander	Jeremy R. Littman	October 2, 1996 (1996-10-02)	K1103	14.50[5]
The murder of Charlie Monroe who was stabbed to death in his apartment. He had been seen with a young woman and there is every indication that she was in the apartment with him. Monroe was a hardworking African-American student, an upstanding young man whose only mark against him was a juvenile conviction when he was 12. A library book in his apartment leads them to Danielle Mason. She admits to having met Charlie at the library and then going to his apartment where he attacked and raped her. The evidence doesn't add up but when McCoy hesitates seeking an indictment, the case takes on racial overtones with Mason's lawyer arguing his client is being railroaded under pressure from the African-American community.
138	4	"Survivor"	Vincent Misiano	Barry M. Schkolnick	October 23, 1996 (1996-10-23)	K1104	15.50[6]
Briscoe and Curtis's investigate the murder of a rare coin dealer Steven Campbell, a dealer in rare coins and antiques who is found bludgeoned to death in his store. Some relatively low value coins were taken but if it was a robbery, the thief left far more valuable coins on the shelves. Also missing are 40 Greek and Roman coins belonging to the victim's good friend, Richard Peterson (Michael Willis). The detectives work on the premise that Campbell knew the killer as he let the person into the store after hours. It turns out Campbell was having financial difficulties and they suspect Peterson but it appears that someone was after Peterson claiming the missing coins belonged to them. It leads the to arrest of Judith Sandler (Karen Allen) whose father, a Holocaust survivor, once owned those coins. As the DA's office delves deeper into the case, a question arises as to whether Peterson ever owned the missing
139	5	"Corruption"	Matthew Penn	S : René Balcer; S/T : Gardner Stern	October 30, 1996 (1996-10-30)	K1101	16.20[7]
Assigned to a narcotics stake-out in their precinct, Detectives Briscoe and Curtis find themselves on the hot seat after the narcotics officer in charge, Lt.John Flynn (Kevin Conway), shoots the dealer they were to meet to buy drugs. Flynn says the dealer went for his gun but neither Briscoe nor Logan were in a position to see anything. Flynn makes it quite clear that he expects them to back him up but Curtis has no intention of lying to Internal Affairs. In fact, Curtis thinks the whole thing stinks to high heaven and is convinced the shooting was a set up. When Flynn is caught up in a major investigation into police corruption, he points the finger to Lennie as the man who stole drugs from a police evidence room many years before.
140	6	"Double Blind"	Christopher Misiano	Jeremy R. Littman & William N. Fordes	November 6, 1996 (1996-11-06)	K1105	15.20[8]
The murder of a building janitor Greg Franklin who is found shot to death in his apartment. Franklin was relatively new in that particular job and had previously worked as the night janitor at a local university for 9 years. The autopsy shows that the bullets used had been treated with fulminate of mercury and the evidence leads them to a student, Alan Sawyer who eventually confesses to the crime. When Alan tells them voices told him to kill Franklin as the janitor was a 600 year-old Templar knight they learn he is schizophrenic and the question becomes whether he should be committed. Alan was part of a study run by psychiatrist Christian Varick who it seems is more interested in keeping his grant money coming in than the health of those in the study group.
141	7	"Deadbeat"	Constantine Makris	Ed Zuckerman & I.C. Rapoport	November 13, 1996 (1996-11-13)	K1108	14.90[9]
The shooting death of Michael Malone who is found dead on the floor of his hotel room. While they're still examining the scene, Malone has visitors who definitely have a criminal backgrounds. According to Malone's girlfriend, the dead man was working for the FBI - after working for the CIA and others. It's all made up of course and Malone was actually Michael Webber who walked out on his family and owed his ex-wife Arlene a good amount of money despite making a hefty salary as a car broker. He liked living the party life and wanted to have it all. The evidence leads them to Arlene's father Max Schaeffer. He admits to shooting his son-in-law but says he acted in self-defense and records show that the gun used in the shooting actually belonged to the dead man. McCoy finds a hole in Schaeffer's story however and believes the murder was anything but an accident.
142	8	"Family Business"	Lewis H. Gould	Gardner Stern & Barry M. Schkolnick	November 20, 1996 (1996-11-20)	K1111	14.00[10]
Briscoe and Curtis investigate the murder of Richard Spiegel, CFO of a major New York City department. The company was run by Spiegel's wife Kate and her sister Laura after their father Seymour Bergreen (Joseph Wiseman) retired. The investigation leads them to designer Paul Medici who it turns out was having an affair with Kate. He has a solid alibi for the time of the killing however. They subsequently learn the victim had consulted a criminal attorney and that Laura Bergreen may have been using employee pension funds to pay off the store's debts. When they locate the murder weapon, they find the gun was owned by Kate and had Laura's fingerprints on the barrel. Both sisters are arrested but there is no evidence of a conspiracy and little specific information to point the finger at one or the other.
143	9	"Entrapment"	Matthew Penn	René Balcer & Richard Sweren	January 8, 1997 (1997-01-08)	K1109	13.20[11]
What appears to be an assassination attempt on Roland Brooks, the leader of the Africa-America Congress. Brooks himself had become the head of the AAC after the assassination of his predecessor, Marcus Tate. The initial investigation focuses on building contractors who were under AAC pressure to increase minority hiring. Their focus however soon turns to Huey Tate, Brooks' predecessor as head of the AAC. They seem to have an open and shut case when Tate's friend, Angela Roney (Michelle Hurd) provides a tape recorded conversation with Tate where he admits he's going to kills Brooks. When it's revealed Roney was once a paid informant for the FBI, the case quickly falls apart.
144	10	"Legacy"	Brian Mertes	Ed Zuckerman & Jeremy R. Littman	January 15, 1997 (1997-01-15)	K1113	15.10[12]
The shooting of James Shepherd who was walking to his home from the parking garage where he keeps his car. He had just returned home from an outing with his wife Robin and 8 year-old daughter to celebrate the child's birthday. Forensics reports that the same weapon was used in a hit some two years before by a professional hit-man. A fixer points the finger at Robin Shepherd's former mother-in-law, Estelle Muller whose son Rick was married to Robin until he died some 5 years ago in a rock climbing accident in Central Park. Jim Shepherd was with him when Rick died and Estelle is convinced he was responsible for her son's death. She makes no bones about ordering the hit but offers to plead guilty if the police and DA investigates Shepherd for murdering her son. A new autopsy on Rick Muller shows he was hit on the head with a baseball bat before he fell. The DA decides to proceed against Jim Shepherd
145	11	"Menace"	Constantine Makris	S : Barry M. Schkolnick; S/T : I.C. Rapoport	February 5, 1997 (1997-02-05)	K1114	15.00[13]
An apparent suicide turns out to be murder as Briscoe and Curtis investigate the death of a woman Karen Marsh who jumped from a bridge (in front of numerous bystanders) to avoid a crazed attacker Harold Dorning (John Cullum) with whom she was apparently involved in a fender-bender. When they are unable to convict, McCoy and Ross dig deeper and discover that the 'accident' might not have been so accidental after all. Meanwhile, Curtis is booted from his house after admitting to his wife that he cheated on her.
146	12	"Barter"	Dan Karlok	René Balcer & Eddie Feldmann	February 12, 1997 (1997-02-12)	K1110	14.80[14]
An unpromising case of the murder of Shelley Ganz who is found in her coop's parking garage shot in the back. Ganz was a financial analyst and apparently well-liked by everyone. She did work as the treasurer for her coop building but the police are unable to find any resident - or prospective resident - who might have an ax to grind. The do note that one of her neighbors, Susan Tashjian, bears a striking resemblance to the dead woman and wonder if she might have been the intended target. When she's gunned downed a few days later, it's obvious they were right. They quickly find the shooter and a pattern that leads them to unsolved murders. The common thread among all the victims is that they owed money to the Beechwood Loan Company owned by Sam "Bunny" Russo (George DiCenzo) - who also had insurance policies on all of the victims.
147	13	"Matrimony"	Lewis H. Gould	Ed Zuckerman & Richard Sweren	February 19, 1997 (1997-02-19)	K1115	13.10[15]
The investigating death of septuagenarian Peter Triandos who is found dead - strangled - in his apartment. While still investigating the scene, the dead man's much younger wife, Kim Triandos (Arija Bareikis), arrives claiming she was at a museum ball while her husband was entertaining a group of disadvantaged students from his old primary school to whom he promised, years before, that if they stayed in school he would pay for their college education. A total of 17 students were at the party. So was Kim Triandos' mother who says one of the parents, Luis Polanco, got into an argument with Peter. The police quickly return to the young wife however when they catch her in a lie. She denies killing her husband but the DA's office think she conspired with her husband's lawyer, Oliver Shain. They soon learn that someone else was involved with Shain.
148	14	"Working Mom"	Jace Alexander	Jeremy R. Littman & I.C. Rapoport	February 26, 1997 (1997-02-26)	K1118	15.00[16]
The shooting of Gilbert Gilly Keen an ex-cop in a neighborhood notorious for prostitution leads Briscoe and Curtis to two suburban housewives, Hilary Colson and Sondra Benton (Jodie Markell) who are secretly high-class hookers. When one of the housewife's specialty lipstick is matched to a lipstick sample taken from a very private spot on the victim, it seems like McCoy has an open and shut case. However, the accused soon claims rape and hires a famous women's rights attorney to defend her.
149	15	"D-Girl"	Ed Sherin	René Balcer & Ed Zuckerman & Gardner Stern	March 13, 1997 (1997-03-13)	K1119	19.80[17]
A headless corpse fished out of the river sends Briscoe and Curtis out to Los Angeles before they can get a blood test from him. The detectives follow him there but have trouble getting the blood sample when the court order ADA McCoy obtained is quashed. They find a way around that and Evan Grant (Jeffrey D. Sams) is returned to New York. He may have a reasonable alibi however. They then focus on Ellison's ex-husband, director Eddie Newman. Curtis meanwhile ends up on a date with an attractive studio executive, Lisa Lundquist.
150	16	"Turnaround"	Ed Sherin	René Balcer & Ed Zuckerman & Gardner Stern	March 20, 1997 (1997-03-20)	K1120	18.10[18]
In New York, Briscoe and Curtis investigate when the partial remains of a woman are found in the river. The autopsy reveals the woman was cut up with a large knife, like a machete, and was likely cut up when she was still alive. She had cosmetic surgery and they manage to identify her as Heidi Ellison, the president of a Mattawin Studios in Hollywood. They focus on her personal trainer, Evan Grant, but he goes off to Los Angeles before they can get a blood test from him. The detectives follow him there but have trouble getting the blood sample when the court order ADA McCoy obtained is quashed. They find a way around that and Grant is returned to New York. He may have a reasonable alibi however. They then focus on Ellison's ex-husband, director Eddie Newman (Scott Cohen). Curtis meanwhile ends up on a date with an attractive studio executive, Lisa Lundquist.
151	17	"Showtime"	Ed Sherin	René Balcer & Ed Zuckerman & Gardner Stern	March 27, 1997 (1997-03-27)	K1121	17.10[19]
In the ongoing investigation into the death of Heidi Ellison, the murder weapon - a hundred year old knife - is found and turned into the police. The knife was found near a small airport where Ellison's ex-husband, Eddie Newman, took a private plane to Los Angeles on the night she was killed. After the police find her blood in his car, they issue an arrest warrant for Newman and Briscoe and Curtis head back to LA. They arrest him but Newman's lawyers - who include Jamie Ross' ex-husband Neil Gorton (Keith Szarabajka) - contest his extradition forcing McCoy and Ross to fly to LA to argue their case. Meanwhile, Curtis gets a job offer from studio executive Lisa Lundquist - and the offer of a relationship.
152	18	"Mad Dog"	Christopher Misiano	René Balcer	April 2, 1997 (1997-04-02)	K1116	14.90[20]
Briscoe and Curtis investigate the rape and death of a young woman, Teresa Perez, who was found dead in her bed by her mother. They check out her boyfriend but he has a solid alibi. They're not even sure how the killer got into the building until they find a connecting duct with the building next door. The medical examiner can provide little forensic evidence but ADA McCoy is certain the perpetrator is Lewis Darnell (Burt Young), a convicted serial rapist who was recently released on parole in spite of his personal intervention at the parole hearing. With little evidence to go on, McCoy gets the police to harass Darnell - 24 hour surveillance, multiple searches of his home and workplace - in the hopes of getting him to break down and confess.
153	19	"Double Down"	Arthur W. Forney	S : Richard Sweren; T : Ed Zuckerman; S/T : Shimon Wincelberg	April 16, 1997 (1997-04-16)	K1122	14.60[21]
The cops' best hope of finding a kidnapped hired car driver Mitchell Titus 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.
154	20	"We Like Mike"	David Platt	Gardner Stern & I.C. Rapoport	April 30, 1997 (1997-04-30)	K1125	13.40[22]
Briscoe and Curtis investigate the murder of Matthew Sherman who is found by his sister shot to death in his car. She who had earlier been waiting for him in a nearby coffee shop. It has all the appearance of a mugging and the main suspect is a young man who had also been in the coffee shop briefly. They locate the man, Mike Bodack (Frank John Hughes), at his wedding rehearsal dinner and he claims he had helped Sherman change a flat tire. When they find a drop of the victim's blood on his jacket they arrest him at his wedding. Bodack claims he saw a man with a snake tattoo on the back of his hand and the investigation leads them to Ricky Garcia but when most of the evidence is ruled inadmissible Garcia is out on the street. The only way they'll get a conviction is to have Bodack testify but he's proving to be a reluctant witness.
155	21	"Passion"	Constantine Makris	S : Richard Sweren; S/T : Barry M. Schkolnick	May 7, 1997 (1997-05-07)	K1124	13.10[23]
Briscoe and Curtis investigate the murder of book editor Joan Timberman who was found bludgeoned to death in the home of lawyer Diane Posner (Sara Botsford) and college professor Charles Evans (Robert Foxworth). Posner was away for the night at their country home and Evans was at a symposium at Vassar. Joan was smart and ambition and was editing Evans' latest manuscript. The police follow several possible leads but when they catch Diane Posner in a lie and forensics finds traces of the victim's hair in her car, she is arrested and charged with murder. Evidence however begins to suggest that Posner may be lying to protect Evans but the murderer is someone else altogether.
156	22	"Past Imperfect"	Christopher Misiano	Janis Diamond	May 14, 1997 (1997-05-14)	K1112	13.40[24]
The cops investigate the murder of one-time supermodel Christine Sandal who is found dead by her next door neighbor Craig Holland (David McCallum) who was waiting for her to arrive for a surprise party he was hosting in her honor. Holland tells the police she had epilepsy but the medical examiner is doubtful having found no evidence of a seizure. There was bruising on her upper arms however. Blood evidence leads them to believe a close relative was also at the crime scene and they focus on her son Douglas Burke. A canceled bank check however leads them to Sonja Harlann who turns out to have a special relationship with the dead model. When she's charged with murder it turns out that her lawyer may also be her co-conspirator in an attempt to claim a very large inheritance.
157	23	"Terminal"	Constantine Makris	René Balcer & Ed Zuckerman	May 21, 1997 (1997-05-21)	K1102	14.90[25]
The cops uncover a man Hank Coburn (Kent Williams) 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 Adam Schiff goes toe-to-toe with the governor and the state's Attorney General over the decision to seek the death penalty. Meanwhile Schiff learns his wife has been rushed to Cedar's Hospital after suffering a severe stroke rendering her unconscious.

Notes

• Carey Lowell joins the cast as Jamie Ross in this season.
• In the episode "Deadbeat", the actress who currently plays Dr. Melinda Warner (Tamara Tunie) in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit played defense attorney Caroline Bennett.
• In the episode "Entrapment", the actress who went on to play Monique Jeffries (Michelle Hurd) in the first two seasons of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit guest starred as a corrupt FBI informant.
• During the 7th season, Law & Order was becoming more popular than ever on television and was NBC's 2nd most-popular drama; however, the ratings were usually half the size of their big hit drama ER. NBC decided to give Law & Order some additional promotion by airing episodes 149 "D-Girl", 150 "Turnaround" & 151 "Showtime" (a three-episode story arc involving the murder of a Hollywood director's wife, partially set in Los Angeles) on Thursday nights at 10pm ET instead of ER reruns. Ratings for all three episodes were strong and helped establish the show on NBC's schedule for years to come. Episode 152 "Mad Dog" was supposed to air on a Thursday night as well, but NBC moved Law & Order back to Wednesdays at 10pm ET when their midseason show, the police drama Prince Street, bombed in the ratings in that same time slot.
• Sam Waterston was nominated for an Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series Emmy for his performance in "Mad Dog".
• Law & Order won the Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series for their work in the 7th season.

References

1. CNET Networks, Inc. (2007). TV.com episode summary for Season 7. Retrieved February 18, 2007.
2. "NIELSEN RATINGS". USA TODAY. 25 September 1996.
3. "Court tosses conviction of man in slaying of teacher who pleaded for her life". Associated Press. July 14, 2004. Archived from the original on October 25, 2012. Retrieved July 21, 2011.
4. "NIELSEN RATINGS". USA TODAY. 2 October 1996.
5. Graham, Jefferson (2 October 1996). "Baseball on NBC helps CBS". USA TODAY.
6. Bash, Alan (30 October 1996). "World Series lineup gives Fox a major win". USA TODAY. p. 3D.
7. "NIELSEN RATINGS". USA TODAY. 6 November 1996.
8. "NIELSEN RATINGS". USA TODAY. 13 November 1996.
9. "NIELSEN RATINGS". USA TODAY. 20 November 1996.
10. "NIELSEN RATINGS". USA TODAY. 27 November 1996.
11. "NIELSEN RATINGS". USA TODAY. 15 January 1997.
12. "NIELSEN RATINGS". USA TODAY. 22 January 1997.
13. "NIELSEN RATINGS". USA TODAY. 12 February 1997.
14. "NIELSEN RATINGS". USA TODAY. 19 February 1997.
15. Moore, Dennis (26 February 1997). "'Asteroid,' 'Schindler's' help put NBC on top". USA TODAY.
16. "NIELSEN RATINGS". USA TODAY. 5 March 1997.
17. "NIELSEN RATINGS". USA TODAY. 19 March 1997.
18. "NIELSEN RATINGS". USA TODAY. 26 March 1997.
19. "NIELSEN RATINGS". USA TODAY. 2 April 1997.
20. "NIELSEN RATINGS". USA TODAY. 9 April 1997.
21. "NIELSEN RATINGS". USA TODAY. 23 April 1997.
22. "NIELSEN RATINGS". USA TODAY. 7 May 1997.
23. "NIELSEN RATINGS". USA TODAY. 14 May 1997.
24. "NIELSEN RATINGS". USA TODAY. 21 May 1997.
25. "NIELSEN RATINGS". USA TODAY. 28 May 1997.

External links

• Episode guide from NBC.com

Preceded by Season Six (1995–1996)

List of Law & Order seasons (1990–2010)

Succeeded by Season Eight (1997–1998)