Det. Lenny Briscoe and his new partner Det. Ray Curtis investigate the abduction and murder of12 year-old Jodie Gaines. She was dropped off by her school bus less than a block from her after school piano lesson. She never showed up. They get a lead from an ATM camera where they find a white van parked on the street where walked by. It leads to the arrest of Nick Capetti who is charged with murder. At his arraignment however the dead girl's mother, Karen Gaines, shoots him dead. She gets a sympathetic judge and a lenient sentence leading DA McCoy to have the case re-investigated. The new suspect in the case is Karen Gaines herself. Written by garykmcd

Detectives Briscoe and Curtis investigate the murder of NYU student Tommy Bell who was stabbed in a biker bar. A witness says he saw Bell in the bar having an argument with someone and then Tommy's girlfriend screaming after he was stabbed. The girlfriend, Caridad Montero, admits being there but says she didn't see anything. She says Tommy went there to buy a motorcycle. They find an exchange between Tommy and the bike's seller, Axle, who was there but left when a gang arrived and never saw him. When they locate an eye witness through an electronic bulletin board he refuses to help them saying the articles he posted make him a journalist. For ADA McCoy, learning what Tommy was wearing the night he was killed - and learning where he got it - leads him to the person who caused his death. Written by garykmcd

Detectives Briscoe and Curtis investigate the murder of an undercover policeman, Bobby Croft who worked in the Intelligence Division. He was investigating a phony antiques dealer, Ted Quinlan, who he thought was actually dealing heroin. There is little evidence against Quinlan but the investigation leads the to his accountant, Paul Sandig, who had hired an investigator to find out just who Croft was. The real debate isn't about Sandig's guilt but whether they should seek the the recently re-instated death penalty. They go forward and obtain a guilty verdict but the question then becomes whether New York's law is constitutional. Written by garykmcd

Detectives Briscoe and Logan investigate multiple deaths when three people at a magazine office are shot at work. The magazine's editor, Eddie Nicodos, came from a rich family whose family business was food distribution. They check into ex-employees and a computer game developer who was suing the magazine over a bad review. When they learn that Eddie and his brother Peter had been arguing over the lawsuit. ADA McCoy's biggest challenge is the presiding judge, Edgar Hynes, who seems to go out of his way to rule against the prosecution. After the prosecution rests its case, the judge grants the defense request to dismiss the case. Adam Schiff knows Hynes quite well and when he hears that his old friend is going through a divorce, he begins to suspect corruption. Written by garykmcd

Detectives Briscoe and Curtis investigate a shooting at a nightclub during a robbery. A man and a woman came into the bar in ski masks and in the shooting that erupted, at least two people were killed. The manager, Helen Shane, is also missing. They've barely begun to work at the scene when they get another call that a man and a woman in ski masks have robbed a Korean deli 12 blocks away and killer the clerk. They have CCTV footage from the deli but forensics points them in the direction of Leon Trapp who is shot by a store keeper. They arrest his girlfriend Leslie Harlan who claims Trapp kidnapped her 6 months ago and forced her to participate in his crime spree. ADA McCoy decides to charge Leslie with four counts of murder. Written by garykmcd

Detectives Briscoe and Curtis investigate the murder of a 20 year-old college coed, Allison Reich, who is found stabbed to death in her room. She was stabbed 27 times but was not raped. She was well liked by everyone in the dorm but she may have had a cyber-stalker. Meril Grupp's stories on the Internet are gruesome and when they find Allison's panties in his room, they are sure they have their man. When they catch Allison's roommate Megan Maslin in a lie, they decide to re-question her and arrive in time to prevent her suicide, having taken an overdose of pills. In her semi-conscious state, she admits to the murder. When McCoy learns of an earlier conviction, he knows he is dealing with a very disturbed person. Written by garykmcd

Detectives Briscoe and Curtis investigate the murder of a prostitute, Gwen George, who was found shot to death in an alleyway. More interestingly, she had $2000 in cash on her and she has a record for having blackmailed one of her clients. There are several possible suspects, including a local store owner who's had it with hookers on the street in front of his store but CCTV footage clears him. They do catch one the dead woman's clients, Dr. Mark Danforth, in a lie and they suspect she may have been blackmailing him. McCoy thinks they don't have a case but when Claire Kincaid thinks they do, he tells her to go ahead and prosecute the case herself. She gets the conviction but quickly begins to believe they have been manipulated by the real killer. Written by garykmcd

Detectives Lenny Briscoe and Ray Curtis investigate a baby kidnapping when Leah Coleman reports that a Perto Rican man took her child, Rachel, out of her stroller. Curtis decides to spend a day with Leah retracing her steps in the hope she may remember something important. In a quiet moment in her church, she tells him that she smothered her baby with a pillow and then incinerated her remains. McCoy thinks he has an open and shut case and is doubly pleased when he learns that a relatively inexperienced public defender, Ross Fineman, has been assigned her case. He's somewhat taken aback with Fineman's proposed defense and his outrageous attempt at manipulating the jury. Written by garykmcd

Detectives Briscoe and Curtis investigate the murder of Sarah Aronson, a high school art teacher who is found dead after hours in her classroom with the school locked and the alarm system on. The police initially focus on one of her colleagues, math teacher Richard Kovaks, after they learn Sarah had become aware Kovaks was selling higher grades to some of his students. When he has an alibi for her time of death they focus on four students who put a cryptic anti-Semitic slur in the high school yearbook. Student Matt Hastings is charged with murder and hires Roy Pane to defend him. Pane has defended white supremacists in the past and his defense is that there is a Jewish conspiracy to frame his client. Written by garykmcd

When a mob arsonist is arrested, he wants to make a deal for a lighter sentence. He tells the police that the vicious rape and assault of Cookie Costello 30 years before was not committed by the man who confessed to the crime, Sal Munoz, but by a mob enforcer by the name of Mike Farina. The claim is credible and the Costello case is re-opened. They eventually conclude that Farina had an alibi for the time Costello was assaulted but that doesn't stop an aggressive lawyer, Teri Marks, from seeking a new trial for Munoz. When her appeal is granted, she also manages to have Munoz's confession thrown out leaving ADA McCoy to prosecute a 30 year-old case with witnesses, those who are alive at any rate, with at best faded memories. Written by garykmcd

Detectives Briscoe and Curtis are called to what they're told is a murder only to get there and find the victim is an expensive show horse. Curtis thinks it's a waste of time but Lt. Van Buren insists they investigate the possibility of insurance fraud. The horse was owned by Richard Brandson and the investigation leads him to his associate Lyle Christopher who has a history of being sued by former clients. When they try to locate one those dissatisfied customers, Ruth Thomas, they learn she was supposed to be on a three month cruise. She never made it to the cruise ship and the police and the ADAs are convinced Christopher he killed her. Without a body and a generally weak case, Executive ADA McCoy is going to have to play with an ace up his sleeve. Written by garykmcd

Detectives Briscoe and Curtis investigate the murder of a young African-American boy who is found dead in the park. In his pocket is a note identical to that used by another killer of young black boys but who is still in prison for those crimes. The police think they may have a copy cat killer on their hands but when they get a confession from a security guard that he was responsible for all of the murders - including those from 5 years ago - evidence begins to mount that McCoy and his assistant at the time, Diana Hawthorne, may have railroaded the original defendant and not provided the defense with exculpatory evidence. Hawthorne is arrested and it's left to Claire Kincaid to get the conviction and clear Jack McCoy's name. Written by garykmcd

Detectives Briscoe and Curtis investigate a gas attack in New York city subway system that left 20 people dead, all African-Americans. In Baltimore, Detectives John Munch and Frank Pembleton read about the attack and realize that it's quite similar to a similar gas attack in a church some 5 years ago where the victims were also African-American. They travel to New York to help out in the case but after getting the cold shoulder from Briscoe and Curtis go about investigating on their own. They soon arrest Brian Egan and are convinced that he is also responsible for the Baltimore attack. Egan's lawyer asks for and receives a change of venue to Westchester County where ADA McCoy will have to convince an all-white jury that Egan is guilty. Written by garykmcd

Detectives Briscoe and Curtis investigate the murder of a social worker, Larry Mello, who is found dead on the street. The investigation reveals that Mello was less than honest creating fictitious children to be placed in foster homes and then pocketing the monthly payouts. As they begin to check out some of his clients they arrive at the home of Alan Corbin to learn that his adoptive son Alex has that morning been kidnapped. Curtis thinks the boy's biological family may be behind it all, both the kidnapping and Mello's murder. They arrest the boy's mother at the bus depot as she is trying to leave town with him. She is charged with murder and kidnapping and is represented by former ADA Paul Robinette who argues in court that she had every right to take her African-American son back as he was adopted by a white family. Written by garykmcd

Detectives Briscoe and Logan investigate the murder of a woman in central park. After passersby shouted at the assailant to stop he ran off, killing another person who ran after him. The only real clue they have is the knife he used to stab the good Samaritan and it leads them to Luis Cruz who works as an enforcer for a loan shark. The woman is eventually identified as Emily Dobson, the wife of Michael Dobson who had once been accused of killing his first wife. Dobson and his wife owned a restaurant and he had a $1 million partnership insurance policy should he or his wife die. When the police find a connection with Cruz, the arrest Dobson again but the evidence is circumstantial and a judge rules that any information about the death of his first wife cannot be entered as evidence. McCoy wants to go for the death penalty but Dobson almost convinces them that he's innocent. Written by garykmcd

Detectives Briscoe and Curtis investigate the murder of Joyce Weber and her son Billy who were found shot in their beds. Her eldest daughter Jenna survived the attack but the father, Ron Weber, says he was out drinking and passed out in a local diner. Weber had been having a hard time of late. His alcoholism was getting the better of him and he had lost his job, something he had failed to tell his wife. He was worried about how he would care for his family and meet his responsibilities as the head of the family. Dr. Olivet confirms that he fits the pattern of a family annihilator and ADA McCoy proceeds with the prosecution. Part way through the trial however, Olivet begins to have doubts leading the police and the DA's office to take a second look at Jenna Weber's boyfriend Chester Manning. Written by garykmcd

After a gay man is found murdered, police discover he was suing the law firm who recently fired him. When a husband and wife both surface as suspects, McCoy and Kincaid have troubling which of them is the killer - since they share motive, means, and opportunity. Written by Anonymous

Detectives Briscoe and Curtis investigate the murder of model Sharon Lasko who was found dead in a landfill soon after a photo shoot. The autopsy reveals that she was struck on the head with a bottle. They investigate the photographer, Rick Casteler, who admits they slept together that afternoon but swears she was alive when he left. After his story checks out, they look for other connections and find that she had called her regular limo driver, Johnny Stivers. When they find blood evidence in his limo, he's arrested. Stivers admits killing her but claims he was under extreme emotional disturbance at the time as he was in a relationship with the woman. The police and DA's office can't find any amorous connection between the two but they do discover a connection between Lasko, Stiver and a major drug dealer. Written by garykmcd

Detectives Briscoe and Curtis investigate the death of Carol Merrick who was shot in her bed with her husband lying next to her. The police suspect her husband who clearly has a drinking problem and blacked with no memory of what might have happened. Ballistics determines however that she was shot from 50 to 100 yards away and that it was likely a stray bullet fired from the roof of the building across the street. Some kids had been seen there and are identified as Lonnie Rickman and Clayton Doyle. Clayton admits that Lonnie tried to shoot him and that both of them were working for a known drug dealer, Roscoe Morales. Lonnie meets with Dr. Olivet who finds that he was likely abused by his mother. When the DA learns that Lonnie's mother gave the boy in payment to Morales to settle her drug debts, they have to find a way to get the boy to testify against the drug dealer. Written by garykmcd

Detectives Briscoe and Curtis investigate the murder of undergraduate Bridget Kaylin, who is found dead in her college's library. They learn from campus authorities that there have been a number of attacks on female students recently, so they check out an ex-boyfriend and several of her friends, but that leads to nothing. A credit-card receipt leads them to a posh restaurant, where one of the workers recognizes her photo and is convinced that she working as a high-class prostitute. The detectives set up a sting, and one of Bridget's classmates admits that several of them have been working as high-class call girls, organized by Shelley Taggert with the tacit approval - if not more - of her father, businessman Barry Taggert. After Taggart's daughter flees to Europe, ADA McCoy uses racketeering statutes against Taggert to force her to return. Written by garykmcd

Detectives Briscoe and Curtis investigate a multiple homicide when several people in a laundry are stabbed to death. There is one survivor and she - and several others - identify a crack-head that hangs around many of the businesses on the same street. He's eventually identified as James Smith a schizophrenic who is off his meds. Smith is a lawyer who manages to obtain the court's approval to represent himself. The prosecution faces a dilemma knowing that while Smith might be quite presentable when taking his medication, he has in the past simply decided to stop at which time his mental health would rapidly deteriorate. The case is particularly difficult for ADA Claire Kincaid who had once agreed to a plea bargain with him. The families of the dead now blame her for the loss of their loved ones. Written by garykmcd

Detectives Briscoe and Curtis investigate the death of a toddler who is found dead in his crib. The autopsy reveals that the child was poisoned with nicotine, a common ingredient in pesticide. The investigation quickly focuses on the child's 19 year-old British nanny. She clearly was not happy in her current job but the terms of her employment required her to stay for a full year or she would have to pay for her return home, something she could not do. ADA McCoy is convinced of her guilt but when they catch one of their own witnesses in a lie, he gives an opening to the defense lawyer to get a confession on the stand. Written by garykmcd

Detectives Briscoe and Curtis along with ADAs McCoy and Kincaid travel to Attica to witness the execution of a man they arrested and convicted. The execution has a deep effect on all of them. Claire Kincaid has always been against the death penalty and is now thinking of quitting the law altogether. McCoy goes to a neighborhood bar a reminisces about his father, not all of which involves pleasant memories. The happily married Curtis spends the afternoon with an attractive young woman. One of Lennie Briscoe's daughters picks the wrong time to try and have a heart to heart with her estranged father. Lennie falls off the wagon. For one of them, the night ends in tragedy. Written by garykmcd