"Law & Order" American Jihad (2002)

Director:

Constantine Makris

Writers:

Dick Wolf (creator)
Aaron Zelman (writer) ...

TV Series:

"Law & Order" (1990)

Original Air Date:

2 October 2002 (Season 13, Episode 1)

Genre:

Crime | Mystery | Drama

Plot:

A teenage converted Muslim from a wealthy New York family acts as his own counsel in his murder trial, claiming that he is a victim of an American Anti-Muslim conspiracy. |

Plot Keywords:

Attorney | Detective | Police | District Attorney | Evidence

Cast

Jerry Orbach	...	Detective Lennie Briscoe
Jesse L. Martin	...	Detective Ed Green
S. Epatha Merkerson	...	Lt. Anita Van Buren
Sam Waterston	...	Executive A.D.A. Jack McCoy
Elisabeth Röhm	...	A.D.A. Serena Southerlyn
Fred Dalton Thompson	...	D.A. Arthur Branch
Ali Reza	...	Defense Attorney Anwar Mohammed (as Ali Farahnakian)
Gordon MacDonald
Donna Hanover	...	Judge Deborah Burke
Richard Bekins
Merritt Wever	...	Jennifer Taylor
Carolyn McCormick	...	Dr. Elizabeth Olivet
Wil Horneff	...	Greg Landen / Mousah Salim
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Derek Argobright	...	CSU Tech Mahoney
Jeff Brooks	...	Charles Scott
Jason Butler Harner	...	Bernard Noah
John Cariani	...	CSU Julian Beck
E.J. Carroll	...	Kevin Bracken
Ned Coulter	...	Dr. Tom Hyra
Ramon De Ocampo	...	Michael Sanchez
Joe Gonzalez	...	Sgt. Martinez
Josh Kleinmuntz	...	Court Clerk
Jason Kolotouros	...	Derek Greer
Katie Kreisler	...	Stephie
Jordan Lage	...	University Dean Jeff Bodner
Liz Larsen	...	CSU Technician Jessica Reed
Abigail Lopez	...	Eve Sanchez
Robin Mattson	...	Francine Landen
Andrea Navedo	...	Detective Ana Cordova
Amro Salama	...	Salman Mogazi
Larry Sherman	...	Judge Colin Fraser
Paul Urcioli	...	Dog Walker
Pilar Witherspoon	...	Gina Sparrow
Stewart J. Zully	...	Sal

Company:

Wolf Films

Trivia:

In joining the cast for the Fall of 2002, Fred Dalton Thompson (District Attorney Arthur Branch) became the first serving U.S. Senator to take a regular TV acting job. His Senate term wasn't officially over until January 2003.

Quotes:

Detective Ed Green: [Phil calls Ed a primate repeatedly] I want to ask your opinion on Einstein's theory because I'm not sure he was right.
Phil: Headline: 'Cop Cracks Relativity'.
Detective Ed Green: No, not that theory, Phil. His theory on genius. See - and correct me if I'm wrong - Einstein argued that genius has no personality. But after talking to you for this short amount of time, I realize that you actually prove the negative. You definitely have personality. And it makes this primate want to whoop your ass. Now say somethin'.

American Jihad (13.1) Season opener 2002.The Best of the Best

Greetings,

I've been a loyal fan of Law and Order for many years and for the most part enjoyed all, with very few exceptions. However, by far this episode is was the "Best of the Best"!!!! I recognize that the subject matter is timely, as is the case with the greater majority L&O's work but this one had a much deeper quality and the lead guest was riveting.

I could see how a young person, without much of an identity,an aimless direction, and a need to be loved could turn to the pressures of extreme fanatic religion, once exposed, to give him a purpose in life. Having a son the same age as the episode's guest lead,who is away at college in New York, briefly gave me pause. In fact, I called him several times that week just to keep connected and have a sense that he wasn't becoming associated with these extremist groups.

I believe this is one of the most repeated episodes in L&O's history, based upon the several times I have seen it re-televised over the past few years. Maybe some number counter out there can verify my assumption.