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Episode cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Jerry Orbach | ... | Detective Lennie Briscoe | |
Chris Noth | ... | Detective Mike Logan | |
S. Epatha Merkerson | ... | Lieutenant Anita Van Buren | |
Michael Moriarty | ... | E.A.D.A. Ben Stone | |
Jill Hennessy | ... | A.D.A. Claire Kincaid | |
Steven Hill | ... | D.A. Adam Schiff | |
Carolyn McCormick | ... | Dr. Elizabeth Olivet | |
Joe Seneca | ... | Lionel Jackson | |
Cecilia Hart | ... | Mary Bradley | |
Bruce Katzman | ... | Allen Bradley | |
Brian Davies | ... | Dr. Rheinhold Bishop | |
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William Carden | ... | Arthur Tunney |
James Earl Jones | ... | Horace McCoy | |
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Frances Chaney | ... | Amelia Whitney |
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Jose Ynoa | ... | Jose Montoya |
Detectives Briscoe and Logan investigate two shootings that occurred on the same day. Both victims were shot at close range from a sawed-off shotgun. The medical examiner is of the view that the shootings were from the same gun. There had been a similar shooting two weeks before and all three people had one thing in common: they were people of color. A fourth victim is severely injured but survived the attack and he can recall the shooter's voice. Dr. Olivet and an FBI profiler give the police a profile and they work down the list of subscribers to white supremacist magazines. It eventually leads them to Arthur Tunney whose mother died after being mugged by black youths just a few months before. After his arrest, Tunney hires a prominent black attorney, Horace McCoy, to defend him. McCoy manages to get him out on bail, which has a major impact on the case. Written by garykmcd
James Earl Jones is the guest star in this episode playing a defense attorney who has willingly taken on the case of a racist serial killer William Carden. As it turns out people who are non-caucasian are being systematically killed with a shotgun and it's happening in the Upper West Side of Manhattan where Jerry Orbach grew up.
The motives Jones has for taking this case is that he wants to be an east coast Johnnie Cochran. Reach that uppermost rung of high price defense lawyers although you can see his disgust registering with him as he and his client are together.
The FBI drew up a profile and this as always is used as a guide in what to look for. Profiling is not an exact science, but Jones finds enough consistencies in it to embarrass Michael Moriarty and Jill Hennessy in court.
The episode does not end in a traditional Law And Order way. Let's say that Charlotte Colavin who plays Judge Lisa Pongracic probably should have resigned the bench after this one. But the Judge Pongracic character has been back more than a dozen times over the years.
Always good to see James Earl Jones in anything.