The episode appears to be based on two separate cases:
- The 1994-1995 Susan Smith case. In October 1994, she drowned her two toddlers by driving her car into a lake. She appeared on TV, sobbing, with her ex-husband, begging the African-American man who she claimed carjacked her at a stoplight to return her boys. She broke down about a week later and confessed her crime. She was sentenced to 25 years in prison. The Susan Smith case is even referenced in this episode, though not mentioned by name, when Curtis initially defends the mother in this case, saying: "You're not gonna find her baby in a car at the bottom of some lake".
- The 1968 Brewer v Williams case, in which a police officer "mentions" that he hopes the child's body is found so she can have a "Christian burial." This statement persuaded the murderer to lead the officer to where the victim's body was. This became a US Supreme Court case about Miranda warnings (of right to counsel and right to not incriminate oneself) and the validity of confessions outside of formal interrogation proceedings. A later landmark Supreme Court case, Rhode Island v Innis addressed similar issues and shares key facts with this episode.
When giving evidence in her defence of the murder of her baby, Leah Coleman (Elizabeth Connors) cited the horrors the world was witnessing, including the line 'terrorists are trying to blow up the World Trade Centre'. This was broadcast in November 1995 and just less than 6 years later what she was terrified of was eventually perpetrated by terrorists on 11 September 2001 (9/11).
Leah Coleman was referencing the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, where a truck parked below the North Tower was set off, killing 6 people. It was intended to bring down both towers, but failed.
Leah Coleman was referencing the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, where a truck parked below the North Tower was set off, killing 6 people. It was intended to bring down both towers, but failed.
Fisher Stevens' defense attorney character in this story has the same name - "Ross Fineman" - as the defense attorney played by Byron Jennings in the earlier episode Doubles (1994). Stevens' character is clearly not intended to be a recurrence of Jennings' namesake attorney - besides the fact that they are played by different actors, the two Ross Finemans are completely different in age, experience and personal style. Moreover it is indicated in this episode that Stevens' character was unknown to the DA's office prior to this case.
As mentioned before, this case has similarities with the real-life Susan Smith case. One similarity is that when Leah Coleman is addressing the TV cameras, she looks down rather than at the cameras. Susan Smith did the same thing, which is when the authorities began to suspect she wasn't telling the truth.
Actor Fisher Stevens (Defense Attorney Ross Fineman) once again continues the tradition of an actor playing multiple characters throughout the Law & Order universe. In edition to this episode he has appeared in one episode of Homicide: Life on the Street (1993), two episodes of Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2001) and two episodes of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999) playing a different character each time.