Law & Order (season 8)

The cops break the seemingly random murder of a fried chicken deliverer with a little "undercover" work in the park, but McCoy and Ross face a harder battle to get a conviction when the two defendants resolutely point the finger at each other, and the one item identifying the actual killer is the recording of a confession-made to a priest. Meanwhile, Curtis learns that his wife has multiple sclerosis.

• Based on the Thomas Koskovich and Jayson Vreeland case.^[1]

Bloody sheets and an apparently stolen credit card lead Briscoe and Curtis to a pair of college-age lovers who present McCoy and Ross with a united front of denial that one of them killed their newborn son and disposed of the body.

• Based on the Amy Grossberg and Brian Peterson case and the Melissa Drexler case.^[2]

McCoy finds himself battling the Navy and the office of the Judge Advocate General as he tries to prosecute a female pilot accused of murdering her married lover after he tried to break off with her.

• Inspired by the 1997 U.S. Air Force sex scandal involving Lt. Kelly Flynn.^[3]

A discrepancy concerning the time of death of a drive-by shooting victim leads McCoy and Ross to initiate prosecutions against both the shooter and the doctor who harvested her organs as transplant donations.

• Inspired by a piece on 60 Minutes about people being shot in Los Angeles drive-bys.^[4]

After the cops trace an eagle tattoo on a man shot and killed while holding up an armored truck to a group of militia members, McCoy finds himself facing one of their number as the pro se counsel for his friends, arguing for the concept of "jury nullification", the right of a jury to protect a defendant from an unjust law by acquittal despite the evidence.

• Inspired by Militia actions such as the sieges of Ruby Ridge, Idaho and Waco, Texas, the Oklahoma City bombing and the trial of the Chicago Seven. Writer David Black said while researching for the episode that he found some aspects of the movement to be bigoted, but found that some of it reminded him of "original revolutionists of America. They do sound like Tom Paine and Thomas Jefferson... I don't think they should use terrorist tactics, but philosophically I have some sympathy."^[5]

It's old home week for Briscoe when an apparent murder of a teenage model in New York City develops ties to Baltimore, and Detectives Munch and Falsone pay a visit to the Big Apple to observe the case. Meanwhile, McCoy finds himself battling the attorney of the victim's parents for access to his clients while also battling the Baltimore DA for jurisdiction.

This is part one of a two-part episode that concludes on Homicide: Life on the Street.

Special appearances by Richard Belzer as John Munch; Yaphet Kotto as Al Giardello; Jon Seda as Paul Falsone

• Based on the JonBenét Ramsey case.^[6]

Curtis and Briscoe investigate the death of Josef Moussad, an Arab man found behind a dumpster, the victim of an apparent mugging. The detectives soon realize that Moussad had brought a doctor into the country to perform a clitoridectomy on his young niece, and suspicion turns to the family. Ross is horrified that young Alison's grandmother and uncle were both in full support of the operation, which makes it hard for her to prosecute the case objectively.

• Based on heightened concern over female genital cutting.^[7]

The street murder of a woman who worked with underprivileged kids takes a turn towards the bizarre when the detectives uncover she had a predilection for kinky sex, and that one of her current partners appears to be a serial killer, who offers an overexposure to television violence as his defense during his trial.

• Based on the Andrew Cunanan case.^[8]

Taking on an apparent Mafia murder, Detectives Briscoe and Curtis are stymied by a dead witness and a seemingly incoherent mob boss.

• Based on the Sammy Gravano case.^[9]

Schiff's re-election may hinge on the stabbing death of a police officer; Briscoe's daughter is arrested for dealing drugs.

• Based on the Karla Faye Tucker case.^[10]