Law & Order (season 8)

The eighth season of the legal drama Law & Order aired on NBC from September 24, 1997, to May 20, 1998, and consisted of 24 episodes.

Law & Order
Season 8
Season 8 U.S. DVD cover
Country of originUnited States
No. of episodes24
Release
Original networkNBC
Original releaseSeptember 24, 1997 (1997-09-24) –
May 20, 1998 (1998-05-20)
Season chronology

Cast

The cast of season 8 remained unchanged from season 7.

Main cast

Recurring cast

Episodes
No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateProd.
code		US viewers
(millions)
1581"Thrill"Martha MitchellRené BalcerSeptember 24, 1997 (1997-09-24)K250817.58[1]

The cops break the seemingly random murder of Matthew Wheeler a fried chicken deliverer, which was discovered to be a thrill killing, with a little "undercover" work in the park, but McCoy and Ross face a harder battle to get a conviction when the two defendants Joey Timon (Rob McElhenney) and Dale Kershaw (Michael C. Maronna) 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. Meanwhile, Curtis learns that his wife has multiple sclerosis.

1592"Denial"Christopher MisianoS : René Balcer;
S/T : David Shore		October 8, 1997 (1997-10-08)K250414.30[3]

Bloody sheets and an apparently stolen credit card lead Briscoe and Curtis to a pair of college-age lovers Christina Talbert and Tommy Horton who present McCoy and Ross with a united front of denial that one of them killed their newborn son and disposed of the body.

1603"Navy Blues"Jace AlexanderS : Dick Wolf;
S/T : Kathy McCormick		October 15, 1997 (1997-10-15)K251011.80[5]

When two patrolman find a dead body in a park Detectives Briscoe and Curtis think the man, Navy Chief Robert Stroud, is the fifth victim of a mugger who also kills his victims. They break the case rapidly but when ballistics confirms that Stroud was shot with a different gun, they still have a murder to solve. They soon learn that the married Stroud was having an affair with a pilot, Lt. Kirstin Blair (Kate Walsh). The DA's office soon finds itself in a tussle over jurisdiction with the Navy but manages to charge Blair with murder. She's a very cool customer and claims that Stroud was shot accidentally. Her lawyer bases her case on the defendant's character. So does ADA Jack McCoy.

1614"Harvest"Matthew PennS : René Balcer;
S/T : I.C. Rapoport		October 29, 1997 (1997-10-29)K250614.20[7]

Briscoe and Curtis investigate the death of Nancy O' Neal, the victim of a drive-by shooting while she was returning home with her husband Marty. The husband's story doesn't stand up to scrutiny but the truth - that he was in that neighborhood to buy a diamond ring from a fence - makes more sense. They locate the fence who saw three men in the area where the shooting took place. They quickly track down the shooter, Elias Camacho, but Jamie Ross notes an anomaly in O'Neal's time of death and it appears the hospital prepared to harvest Nancy O'Neal's organs before she was officially declared to have died. The DA's office believe that the doctor in charge, Donald Cosgrove (Michael Nouri), may have precipitated her death in order to deliver her organs to a hospital where he was hoping to get a job.

1625"Nullification"Constantine MakrisDavid BlackNovember 5, 1997 (1997-11-05)K250713.00[9]

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 acquittal despite the evidence.

  • Inspired by Militia actions such as the sieges of Ruby Ridge, Idaho and Waco, Texas, the Oklahoma City bombing and the trial of the Chicago Seven. Writer David Black said while researching for the episode that he found some aspects of the movement to be bigoted, but found that some of it reminded him of "original revolutionists of America. They do sound like Tom Paine and Thomas Jefferson... I don't think they should use terrorist tactics, but philosophically I have some sympathy."[10]
1636"Baby, It's You"Ed SherinJorge ZamaconaNovember 12, 1997 (1997-11-12)K251116.00[11]

The death of a 14 year-old fashion model, Britney Janaway. She had complained to her father, a doctor, that she had abdominal pain and he took her to his office to treat her. She also had a bruise on her back and scratches on her arm. The medical examiner determines she died from toxic shock and had been raped some weeks before. The Janaways aren't very cooperative and their lawyer goes out of his way to make it difficult by placing ads and offering a hefty reward. Briscoe and Curtis look into the Janaways household staff - past and present - and the Baltimore police help out by checking out the home the Janaways kept there. Trying to arrest their main suspect is not easy however but when they do, he is in fact a witness.

This is part one of a two-part episode that concludes on Homicide: Life on the Street.

Special appearances by Richard Belzer as John Munch; Yaphet Kotto as Al Giardello; Jon Seda as Paul Falsone

  • Based on the JonBenét Ramsey case.[12]
1647"Blood"Jace AlexanderS : René Balcer;
S/T : Craig Tepper		November 19, 1997 (1997-11-19)K250215.10[13]
The apparent suicide-homicide of Karen Burdett a wealthy woman who jumped - or was pushed - out of her luxury apartment window. They initially suspect suicide but the crime scene unit confirms she was thrown off the balcony. Her husband Josh dismisses suicide at first but then confirms that she may have been depressed over giving up their three week old daughter for adoption. He says they gave her up because he didn't want children, but when the police learn the baby is black, they begin looking for her boyfriend. The fact is that Josh Burdett is actually African American but has passed as white all of his life. Even his first wife - to whom he was married for 19 years - denies ever knowing he was black. ADA's McCoy and Ross soon realize they're on the wrong track and prosecute the person they are sure is responsible.
1658"Shadow"Matthew PennRichard SwerenNovember 26, 1997 (1997-11-26)K250514.80[14]
The murder of Manny Erlich, a bail bondsman who was shot through the head while sitting at his desk. Briscoe and Curtis learn he didn't usually work on Saturday nights but had received a call from someone and so went in to the office. They first suspect one of Erlich's clients, Oscar Liriano, who failed to show up in court. They apprehend Liriano and his girlfriend Josette tells them that his lawyer, Arvin Baker, was going to fix the case for him. A review of Baker's recent cases show an unusually large number of dismissals. A disgruntled former client confirms that he fixed cases but the question for the DAs office who in the legal justice system is taking the bribes.
1669"Burned"Constantine MakrisSiobhan ByrneDecember 10, 1997 (1997-12-10)K250114.20[15]
When a woman hears an answering machine message saying they're responsible for killing someone by the name of DeeDee. The first suspect the phone's owner, Stan Kaminski but Briscoe and Curtis realize the message may have been intended for Roy Lawlor (Michael O'Hare). Two years ago, a drunken Lawlor fell asleep with a lit cigarette and set fire to his apartment killing his daughter Diane, aka DeeDee. They trace the incoming call to the home of Carl Anderton (Robert Vaughn), Lawlor's former father-in-law. From the voice on the tape, they suspect Anderton's grandson 15 year-old Terry Lawlor (Sam Huntington) - DeeDee's half-brother - to be responsible. Once the boy is arrested, the powerful and politically connected Anderton pulls out all of the stops to get the case dropped including threatening to withdraw his support from Adam Schiff who faces re election in a few months. DA McCoy consults Dr. Emil Skoda who thinks the boy may be bipolar but Terry's grandfather flatly refuses to let the boy undergo a psychiatric examination. It turns out Anderton may have something of his own to hide.
16710"Ritual"Brian MertesKathy McCormick & Richard SwerenDecember 17, 1997 (1997-12-17)K251613.90[16]

Briscoe and Curtis investigate the death of Josef Moussad, an Arab man found behind a concert barrier on top of a parking garage, the victim of an apparent mugging. The detectives soon realize that Moussad had brought a doctor, Ismail Nasser (Aharon Ipale) into the country to perform a clitoridectomy on his young niece Alison Martin (Emmy Rossum), and suspicion turns to the family. Ross is horrified that young Alison's grandmother and uncle were both in full support of the operation, which makes it hard for her to prosecute the case objectively.

  • Based on heightened concern over female genital cutting.[17]
16811"Under the Influence"Adam DavidsonRené BalcerJanuary 7, 1998 (1998-01-07)K251717.00[18]
After Briscoe and Curtis investigate a hit and run accident in Harlem that resulted in the death of three people, one of them a child. They're not entirely sure it was an accident but can't find anyone who would do the victims any harm. They're able to identify the make and model of the car to high-flying executive Bernard Dressler (Daniel McDonald) who had returned to the USA on the morning of the accident. There is little doubt he was behind the wheel of the car but McCoy and DA Schiff decide to prosecute him for murder one. The central question is whether he was too drunk to form intent. Dressler's lawyer claims he was but McCoy very much wants this man - who had been involved in a previous drunk driving accident - to go to jail for a very long time. Jamie Ross thinks he's out for revenge of sorts over the death of Claire Kincaid.
16912"Expert"Lewis H. GouldDavid Shore & I.C. RapoportJanuary 21, 1998 (1998-01-21)K251813.60[19]
The police believe they have a revenge shooter on their hands when a small-time hood by the name of Mike escapes a shooting in a restaurant men's room. Dr. Leon Mayer from Seattle is seriously wounded in the incident but the detectives soon realize that his shooting not an accident and that he was the intended victim all along. Mayer, a psychiatrist, was in town to act as an expert witness who was going to testify in a high profile case, something he did on a regular basis. It leads them to Lindsay Carson (Vera Farmiga) who blames Meyer for her father Arthur Rigg's conviction. It seems that Meyer refused to help them with the appeal and it's left to Jack McCoy to figure out why he refused to do so.
17013"Castoff"Gloria MuzioDavid Black & Harold SchechterJanuary 28, 1998 (1998-01-28)K251215.60[20]

The street murder of a woman Jennifer Gaylin who was possibly the victim of a drive-by shooting. She was a social worker and quite popular at the community center where she worked. Her father Doug Gaylin is convinced the killing was racially motivated but the detectives learn she may have been using drugs to boost her sex drive. It turns out the victim was heavy into the S&M scene and had a partner, TV reporter Stu Steiner. When the police find him dead in his apartment they learn from the FBI that there have been 3 other very similar killings in other cities. From another participant in the S&M scene they learn that Eddie Chandler might be behind the killing. Chandler is arrested and charged with first degree murder. His lawyer, Neil Pressman (Dennis Boutsikaris), will argue that prolonged exposure to TV violence led to his sociopathic behavior.

17114"Grief"Christopher MisianoSuzanne OshryFebruary 4, 1998 (1998-02-04)K251414.60[22]
As the detectives investigate the severe beating of George Harding (Erik Jensen), who is found under a bridge in Riverside Park. This is the second beating for Harding in less than a week, but he refuses to cooperate with the investigation. Harding works as an attendant at a psychiatric hospital and when patient Leslie Russo (Marin Hinkle) told her brothers Joe and Frank Russo that he had raped her, they administered the beatings. The hospital says they conducted a thorough investigation and found no evidence that Leslie had been raped, let alone by Harding. When they learn there was a rape investigation at another hospital where Harding worked, they find that Wendy Singer, a comatose patient, is several months pregnant. They are now certain they can get a conviction against Harding, but when ADA Jamie Ross catches Wendy's mother in several lies, she realizes that much more is going on.
17215"Faccia a Faccia"Martha MitchellRené Balcer & Eddie FeldmannFebruary 25, 1998 (1998-02-25)K251913.80[23]
Briscoe and Curtis investigate the murder of Tony Legrasso, a former mafia hit man who is found dead in Central Park with six bullets in the chest. It takes the police some time before they identify him however as he had been living in another state under the federal witness protection program. He was continuing to cooperate and was scheduled to give evidence against top mob boss Alberto Napoli who ordered one of his men, Johnny DeMayo (Michael Rispoli), to eliminate him. DeMayo is cooperating with the DAs office but Napoli's lawyer claims his client is mentally incompetent as a result of a recent stroke. McCoy thinks Napoli's illness is all an act. He then concludes that DeMayo isn't the shooter so they go back to square one.
17316"Divorce"Constantine MakrisBarry M. SchkolnickMarch 4, 1998 (1998-03-04)K252014.70[24]
A marriage counselor who also works on Roman Catholic annulment cases is murdered in her office. The suspect is a woman Molly Kilpatrick (Haviland Morris) who was contesting the annulment of her marriage because it would make her son, for the church, illegitimate. The lawyer Sheila Atkins (Jill Clayburgh) who handled her legal divorce uses the situation to squeeze more money from the ex-husband.
17417"Carrier"J. RanelliDavid BlackApril 1, 1998 (1998-04-01)K252512.70[25]
While investigating the shooting death of a wealthy teenage girl, the detectives learn of a guy who is HIV positive who is infecting girls despite knowing his condition. Jamie makes the health department reveal who this person is. And after being caught his parents want to keep him out of prison so their lawyer claims that using information from the health department is a violation of confidentiality and the judge upholds it and that is basically their whole case. So McCoy has to find some other way to prove his intent.
17518"Stalker"Richard DobbsKathy McCormickApril 15, 1998 (1998-04-15)K252316.40
Briscoe and Curtis investigate an attack on a young woman, Andrea Blake (Susan Floyd), who was pushed down a flight of stairs. She was a cyber stalking victim who had received a number of suggestive emails from someone named Giovanni and despite changing her email address and moving several times, he always seemed to find her. According to the hospital supervisor where she worked as a nurse, her stalker had even threatened to shoot up the hospital. They focus on Russell Lowry recently released from Ryker's Island who used access to information to get her address. When Andrea regains consciousness however, she says her attacker was likely Louis Dutton (Robert Joy) who was a tenant in the same apartment building prior to her move. However, an inconsistency in her statement to the police leads the detectives to believe she threw herself down the stairs to get police action. When they subsequently find her dead, they develop a good case against Lowry but her previous fabrication creates major problems for the prosecution. Briscoe now believes her fall the down the stairs wasn't a fabrication and is prepared to testify as such but Rey Curtis doesn't agree.
17619"Disappeared"David PlattRichard Sweren & William N. FordesApril 22, 1998 (1998-04-22)K252814.20[26]
While the police investigate the disappearance of Paul and Donna Ericson. Their absence isn't noted until their 8 year-old son returned home on Sunday after spending the weekend away. The Ericsons were having a dispute with their condo developer Nathan Faber, but he too soon disappears. The police are now convinced they're the victims of a kidnapping and an anonymous note to a newspaper seems to confirm it. Ben O'Dell (Kenneth Welsh) contacts the police to say that his brother Matt, who is mentally ill, is responsible. He turns him in on condition that he will not face the death penalty and Carrie agrees to take his mental health status into consideration. Matt however flatly refuses to be examined by a psychiatrist and his lawyer, Danielle Melnick (Tovah Feldshuh), manages to get much of the evidence thrown out. Once found guilty, the question becomes the death penalty for someone who may want to die.
17720"Burden"Constantine MakrisDavid Shore & I.C. RapoportApril 24, 1998 (1998-04-24)K252611.30[26]
After Michael Sutter a 12-year-old quadriplegic dies at home in his bed, the detectives first suspect the boy's mother, Lois Sutter (Maryann Plunkett), who claims she was at home alone with the boy the afternoon he died. When they learn she was having a tryst with her dance instructor the afternoon her son died, she admits she'd left the boy with her daughter Stephanie (Heather Matarazzo). When they find hemlock in the dead boy's system, they think the father Joe may have been responsible. With little evidence and no clear way forward, the detectives investigate one of the boy's physician, Dr. Lyle Semeko, whose patients seem to have a very high
17821"Bad Girl"Jace AlexanderRené Balcer & Richard SwerenApril 29, 1998 (1998-04-29)K252414.30[27]

Briscoe and Curtis investigate the murder of Dana Flynn, an off-duty police officer who was stabbed to death in what appears to be a mugging. She managed to get one shot off before she died and Jesse Rosato, who the police believe is the mugger, is in critical condition in hospital. It turns out it was Jesse who tried to stop the attack and arrest Monica Johnson (Isabel Gillies) who is found to have Flynn's blood on her purse. At her trial, she actually breaks down on the stand and confesses to the crime. She then refuses to appeal her conviction or her death sentence and as she has now found religion, believes her fate is in the hands of a higher power. Meanwhile, Briscoe's daughter Cathy is arrested for drug possession. Adam Schiff's one time friend, Carl Anderton, comes out in support of his opponent in the upcoming election

17922"Damaged"Constantine MakrisJanis DiamondMay 6, 1998 (1998-05-06)K252214.30
The case of a teacher's shooting Amanda Kovac, she had recently been pivotal in getting three boys suspended for having sex in the school. One of the boys, Randy, says someone shot at them and they returned fire. They trace the shooter to another student, Sally Maxwell, but the boys say they have no idea who Sally is or why she would shoot at them. Sally claims the boys raped her older sister Valerie (Lauren Ambrose), who is mentally disabled with an IQ of 65, and decided to take matters into her own hands after school officials did nothing about it. The challenge for the prosecutors is to demonstrate that the boys knew of Valerie's disability before they had sex with her. Meanwhile, Ray Curtis has asked Lt. Van Buren for a transfer and Briscoe is still having deal with his own daughter Cathy's arrest.
18023"Tabloid"Brian MertesS : Alec Baldwin;
S/T : David Black		May 13, 1998 (1998-05-13)K251513.30[29]
Briscoe and Curtis investigate the death of well-known law professor who had just recently been nominated to sit n the appellate court. Maggie Abbott. She was struck by a cab after she darted out into the street apparently running away from someone. They initially suspect her husband, Warren Abbott (Timothy Carhart), who had an affair with Julianne Lowry, one of the interns at his law office. They subsequently learn that a gossip columnist, Philip Marco (Joe Mantello), is the man Abbott was running from when she ran into the street. Abbott gets a suspended sentence over the incident but when he subsequently shot and killed, they once again look at Abbott and his daughter Laura. When Warren Abbott is charged with murder, his lawyer puts the tabloid newspaper industry on trial. Meanwhile Jamie Ross, who is about to be remarried, once again finds herself in family court when her ex-husband seeks custody of their daughter.
18124"Monster"Ed SherinRené Balcer & Richard SwerenMay 20, 1998 (1998-05-20)K252714.80[30]
Malika Richardson a 10-year-old girl is raped and rendered comatose by a pedophile. A snitch offers Briscoe a chance to avenge his daughter's death. The NYPD brass is looking to force Lieutenant Van Buren out of her job, while Ross resigns from hers to devote more time to her family life and her ongoing divorce. McCoy, meanwhile, must contend with Judge Feldman (Cliff Gorman) as an adversary both at trial and outside the courtroom due to an ethics complaint the judge filed against him. While all of this goes on, Schiff begins to consider the possibility that Feldman might defeat him in the election.

Notes

References
  1. "NIELSEN RATINGS". USA TODAY. 1 October 1997.
  2. Dwyer, Kevin (2006). Review: True Stories of Law & Order: The Real Crimes Behind the Best Episodes of the Hit TV Show. Penguin. pp. viii, 179–184. Archived from the original on 2017-10-26. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  3. "NIELSEN RATINGS". USA TODAY. 16 October 1997. p. 3D.
  4. Wyatt, Edward (2005-01-08). "Even for an Expert, Blurred TV Images Became a False Reality". New York Times.
  5. "NIELSEN RATINGS". USA TODAY. 22 October 1997.
  6. Courrier, Kevin (1998). Law & order: the unofficial companion. Renaissance Books. pp. 285–286.
  7. "NIELSEN RATINGS". USA TODAY. 5 November 1997.
  8. Courrier, p.287
  9. "NIELSEN RATINGS". USA TODAY. 12 November 1997.
  10. Courrier, p.288
  11. "NIELSEN RATINGS". USA TODAY. 19 November 1997.
  12. Courrier, p.288-290
  13. "NIELSEN RATINGS". USA TODAY. 26 November 1997.
  14. "NIELSEN RATINGS". USA TODAY. 3 December 1997.
  15. "NIELSEN RATINGS". USA TODAY. 17 December 1997.
  16. "NIELSEN RATINGS". USA TODAY. 24 December 1997.
  17. James, Stanlie Myrise (2002). Genital cutting and transnational sisterhood: disputing U.S. polemics. University Press of Illinois. p. 73.
  18. "NIELSEN RATINGS". USA TODAY. 14 January 1998.
  19. "NIELSEN RATINGS". USA TODAY. 28 January 1998.
  20. "NIELSEN RATINGS". USA TODAY. 4 February 1998.
  21. Lo, Malinda (June 13, 2005). "Law and Order Treats Gay Men Fairly". AfterElton.com. Archived from the original on November 7, 2011. Retrieved July 21, 2011.
  22. "NIELSEN RATINGS". USA TODAY. 11 February 1998.
  23. "NIELSEN RATINGS". USA TODAY. 4 March 1998.
  24. "NIELSEN RATINGS". USA TODAY. 11 March 1998.
  25. "NIELSEN RATINGS". USA TODAY. 8 April 1998.
  26. "NIELSEN RATINGS". USA TODAY. 29 April 1998.
  27. "NIELSEN RATINGS". USA TODAY. 6 May 1998.
  28. Price, Melynda Janea (2006). At the Cross: Race and Religion in the Politics of the Death Penalty Among African Americans. p. 222.
  29. "NIELSEN RATINGS". USA TODAY. 20 May 1998.
  30. "NIELSEN RATINGS". USA TODAY. 27 May 1998.
Preceded by
Season Seven
(1996-1997)		 List of Law & Order seasons
(1990-2010)		 Succeeded by
Season Nine
(1998-1999)
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