Jack McCoy and his new assistant, Jamie Ross, get off to a rocky start together as they try to prosecute a carjacking/murder suspect after the judge excludes a cassette tape that could prove his guilt.
A woman is charged with murdering her sister, but prosecutors learn that the defendant is actually the other sister--who assumed the real victim's identity. Meanwhile, the judge becomes hostile to the prosecution during the trial.
A white teenager accused of murdering an African-American man claims that she was a date-rape victim, and racial overtones threaten to overpower the actual merits of the case.
To avoid the consequences of a bad shooting, a corrupt police officer makes a deal to cooperate with a commission investigating police corruption. During his testimony, he accuses Briscoe of stealing drugs after an arrest.
A schizophrenic chemistry student is on trial for killing a former school janitor, but a professor claims that he is part of one of his drug studies and that his sickness is under control.
A man is accused of killing his deadbeat, abusive ex son-in-law. He claims self defense, and the outcome of the case rides on determining who was in possession of the murder weapon at the time.
Two feuding daughters of a department store owner are suspects in a murder investigation. Both have motive and connections to the murder weapon, but getting a conviction on either daughter could prove to be difficult.
A woman jumps to her death off the Brooklyn Bridge, but evidence and eyewitnesses suggest that a crazed man made her jump after they were in an auto accident.
Detectives believe that a murder victim may have been mistaken for another target. But when the actual target is also killed, they discover that a loan shark had taken out a life insurance policy on her.
Briscoe and Curtis go to Los Angeles to question a personal trainer about a movie executive's murder. During the investigation, Curtis finds a potential romantic interest.
Briscoe and Curtis serve an arrest warrant on a Hollywood director in the film-executive murder case. Opposing counsel--Jamie's ex husband--challenges the warrant. Jack and Jamie now must go to L.A. to defend it.
The prosecution's murder case against the Hollywood director threatens to fall apart. And the case could cost Jamie her job and custody of her child, and it could cost Curtis his marriage.
A serial rapist recently granted parole against Jack's wishes is a suspect in a new rape and murder. Detectives can't get enough evidence to charge him, so Jack orders detectives to trail and harass him.
Lawyers make a deal with a suspected cop killer in order to find a kidnapping victim. However, the DA's office wants to renege on the deal after the victim is found dead, and detectives suspect that he knew the victim was dead all along.
A good Samaritan's life is thrown into turmoil when he is accused of murder. And when Jack asks him to testify against the real killer, things only get worse for him.
The investigation into the murder of an up-and-coming editor uncovers a love triangle between the victim, a pretentious writer, and a jealous attorney.
The death of a former model is connected to the daughter she gave up for adoption, and a possible multi-million dollar inheritance claim involving the woman's biological father.
A man opens fire during the docking of a dinner cruise boat. The Governor appoints a special prosecutor because Schiff refuses to seek the death penalty; McCoy helps Schiff appeal while Ross helps the special prosecutor at trial. Schiff's wife is hospitalized following a stroke.
