# Law & Order season 8

The eighth season of the legal drama Law & Order aired on NBC from September 24, 1997, to May 20, 1998, and consisted of 24 episodes.

## Cast

The cast of season 8 remained unchanged from season 7, for the first time in the show's history. Carey Lowell, who played Jamie Ross, left the series at the end of the 8th season but made a special guest appearance as a Defense Attorney in the 10th season episode "Justice" and the 11th season episode "School Daze", as well as going on to play Ross, who had become a judge, on Law & Order: Trial by Jury. Carolyn McCormick as Dr. Elizabeth Olivet doesn't appear in this season, nor season 11 or 12.

### Main

* Jerry Orbach as Senior Detective Lennie Briscoe
* Benjamin Bratt as Junior Detective Rey Curtis
* S. Epatha Merkerson as Lieutenant Anita Van Buren
* Sam Waterston as Executive Assistant District Attorney Jack McCoy
* Carey Lowell as Assistant District Attorney Jamie Ross
* Steven Hill as District Attorney Adam Schiff

### Recurring

* J. K. Simmons as Dr. Emil Skoda

### Guest Stars

* Richard Belzer as Detective John Munch

## Episodes

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | Prod. code | U.S. viewers (millions) |
| 158 | 1 | "Thrill" | Martha Mitchell | René Balcer | September 24, 1997 (1997-09-24) | K2508 | 17.58 |
| Detectives Briscoe and Curtis break the seemingly random murder of Matthew Wheeler a fried chicken deliverer, which was discovered to be a thrill killing, with a little "undercover" work in the park, but McCoy and Ross face a harder battle to get a conviction when the two defendants Joey Timon and Dale Kershaw 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, Detective Curtis learns that his wife has multiple sclerosis. Based on the April 1997 Thomas Koskovich and Jayson Vreeland case. ||||||||
| 159 | 2 | "Denial" | Christopher Misiano | S : René Balcer; S/T : David Shore | October 8, 1997 (1997-10-08) | K2504 | 14.28 |
| Bloody sheets and an apparently stolen credit card lead Briscoe and Curtis to a pair of college-age lovers Christina Talbert and Tommy Horton, who present McCoy and Ross with a united front of denial that one of them killed their newborn son and disposed of the body. Beginning with this episode, J. K. Simmons would appear in a recurring role as Dr. Emil Skoda until 2004. He would reprise the role in 2010, the final season. Based on the Amy Grossberg and Brian Peterson case and the Melissa Drexler case. ||||||||
| 160 | 3 | "Navy Blues" | Jace Alexander | S : Dick Wolf; S/T : Kathy McCormick | October 15, 1997 (1997-10-15) | K2510 | 11.79 |
| McCoy finds himself battling the Navy and the office of the Judge Advocate General as he tries to prosecute a female pilot Kirstin Blair accused of murdering Robert Stroud her married lover after he tried to break off with her. Inspired by the 1997 U.S. Air Force sex scandal involving Lt. Kelly Flinn. ||||||||
| 161 | 4 | "Harvest" | Matthew Penn | S : René Balcer; S/T : I.C. Rapoport | October 29, 1997 (1997-10-29) | K2506 | 14.18 |
| A discrepancy concerning the time of death of a drive-by shooting victim Nancy O' Neal, leads McCoy and Ross to initiate prosecutions against both the shooter Elias Camacho and the doctor Donald Cosgrove, who harvested her organs as transplant donations. Inspired by a piece on 60 Minutes about people being shot in Los Angeles drive-bys. ||||||||
| 162 | 5 | "Nullification" | Constantine Makris | David Black | November 5, 1997 (1997-11-05) | K2507 | 12.98 |
| After Briscoe and Curtis 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." ||||||||
| 163 | 6 | "Baby, It's You" | Ed Sherin | Jorge Zamacona | November 12, 1997 (1997-11-12) | K2511 | 16.01 |
| It's old home week for Briscoe when an apparent murder of Britney Janaway 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 the Homicide: Life on the Street episode also titled "Baby, It's You", which originally aired two nights after this episode. Special appearances by Richard Belzer as BPD Det. John Munch; Yaphet Kotto as BPD Lieutenant Al Giardello; Jon Seda as BPD Det. Paul Falsone. Based on the JonBenét Ramsey case. ||||||||
| 164 | 7 | "Blood" | Jace Alexander | S : René Balcer; S/T : Craig Tepper | November 19, 1997 (1997-11-19) | K2502 | 15.13 |
| The paternity of a black baby placed for adoption by Karen Burdett a white wealthy mother, who later fell from an apartment balcony might provide a clue to her murderer, but it also unearths some long-buried family secrets that it seems more than one person would kill to keep hidden. ||||||||
| 165 | 8 | "Shadow" | Matthew Penn | Richard Sweren | November 26, 1997 (1997-11-26) | K2505 | 14.81 |
| The murder of Manny Erlich a bail bondsman looks fairly routine until the chance words of the chief suspect uncover possible case-fixing between a shady lawyer and an unknown contact within the judicial system. ||||||||
| 166 | 9 | "Burned" | Constantine Makris | Siobhan Byrne | December 10, 1997 (1997-12-10) | K2501 | 14.24 |
| A message overheard on an answering machine leads Briscoe and Curtis to a confessed murderer and the home of wealthy Carl Anderton, an old friend of Adam Schiff, whose stubborn non-cooperation with the district attorney threatens to create a serious miscarriage of justice. ||||||||
| 167 | 10 | "Ritual" | Brian Mertes | Kathy McCormick & Richard Sweren | December 17, 1997 (1997-12-17) | K2516 | 13.88 |
| 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 mutilation. ||||||||
| 168 | 11 | "Under the Influence" | Adam Davidson | René Balcer | January 7, 1998 (1998-01-07) | K2517 | 16.98 |
| After Briscoe and Curtis finally determine who was driving the car that killed three people, the legal prosecution stands in danger of becoming a kangaroo court when McCoy's feelings over Kincaid mesh with the political agenda of Gary Feldman, an ambitious judge anxious to make an example of the defendant to boost his election chances against Adam Schiff. This episode revisits the car accident involving Assistant District Attorney Claire Kincaid from Season 6 episode "Aftershock." ||||||||
| 169 | 12 | "Expert" | Lewis H. Gould | David Shore & I.C. Rapoport | January 21, 1998 (1998-01-21) | K2518 | 13.55 |
| The shooting of two people in a restaurant restroom takes some abrupt turns as they try to discover who exactly the intended victim Lindsay Carson was, and the prosecutors have to deal with a defendant claiming to have been in a dissociative state while committing the crime — the same defense used years before by the defendant's father. ||||||||
| 170 | 13 | "Castoff" | Gloria Muzio | David Black & Harold Schechter | January 28, 1998 (1998-01-28) | K2512 | 15.59 |
| The street murder of Jennifer Gaylin – 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 serial killer Eddie Chandler, who offers an overexposure to television violence as his defense during his trial. Based on the Andrew Cunanan case. ||||||||
| 171 | 14 | "Grief" | Christopher Misiano | Suzanne Oshry | February 4, 1998 (1998-02-04) | K2514 | 14.56 |
| As Briscoe and Curtis try to pin down the specifics of an assault on George Harding a man reluctant to discuss it, they uncover the alleged rape of two women in custodial care. But as the prosecutors attempt to prepare their case, a reluctant witness changes their view of the cases. ||||||||
| 172 | 15 | "Faccia a Faccia" | Martha Mitchell | René Balcer & Eddie Feldmann | February 25, 1998 (1998-02-25) | K2519 | 13.78 |
| Taking on an apparent Mafia murder, Detectives Briscoe and Curtis are stymied by a dead witness and a seemingly incoherent mob boss. ||||||||
| 173 | 16 | "Divorce" | Constantine Makris | Barry M. Schkolnick | March 4, 1998 (1998-03-04) | K2520 | 14.71 |
| The stabbing death of Linda Burke a psychologist draws Detectives Briscoe and Curtis into a heated divorce case and pits Prosecutors McCoy and Ross against a manipulative attorney. ||||||||
| 174 | 17 | "Carrier" | J. Ranelli | David Black | April 1, 1998 (1998-04-01) | K2525 | 12.73 |
| The death of May Kiley a college student leads to a case involving an HIV-positive male who's seeking to infect as many young women as possible. McCoy, testing right-to-privacy ethics, wants to charge him with murder. ||||||||
| 175 | 18 | "Stalker" | Richard Dobbs | Kathy McCormick | April 15, 1998 (1998-04-15) | K2523 | 16.38 |
| When a woman Andrea Blake is found unconscious at the bottom of her apartment stairs, Briscoe and Curtis must figure out what happened — before it's too late. In order to make his case, McCoy pits the two detectives against each other in the courtroom. ||||||||
| 176 | 19 | "Disappeared" | David Platt | Richard Sweren & William N. Fordes | April 22, 1998 (1998-04-22) | K2528 | 14.20 |
| A defendant Matthew O'Dell refuses to allow his lawyer to raise the issue of insanity. This complicates matters for the brother who turned him in with hopes of securing medical treatment for him. Based on the Ted Kaczynski case. ||||||||
| 177 | 20 | "Burden" | Constantine Makris | David Shore & I.C. Rapoport | April 24, 1998 (1998-04-24) | K2526 | 11.34 |
| After Michael Sutter a 12-year-old quadriplegic dies at home in his bed, paramedics claim that he was suffocated and the suspects include the boy's parents and sister. ||||||||
| 178 | 21 | "Bad Girl" | Jace Alexander | René Balcer & Richard Sweren | April 29, 1998 (1998-04-29) | K2524 | 14.26 |
| Schiff's re-election may hinge on the stabbing death of Dana Flynn a police officer; Briscoe's daughter is arrested for dealing drugs. This episode stars Isabel Gillies, who would later join the Law & Order: Special Victims Unit cast as Kathy Stabler, wife of Elliot Stabler. Based on the Karla Faye Tucker case. ||||||||
| 179 | 22 | "Damaged" | Constantine Makris | Janis Diamond | May 6, 1998 (1998-05-06) | K2522 | 14.27 |
| The case of a teacher's shooting uncovers a vendetta involving the rape of a mentally challenged coed by three students, whose attorney claims they weren't aware of her condition. Briscoe is devastated to learn of his daughter Cathy's death at the hands of a killer that an unknown Prosecutor failed to convict. ||||||||
| 180 | 23 | "Tabloid" | Brian Mertes | S : Alec Baldwin; S/T : David Black | May 13, 1998 (1998-05-13) | K2515 | 13.28 |
| Tabloid journalism comes under scrutiny during the investigations into the deaths of a gossip columnist and a celebrity target he pursued. ||||||||
| 181 | 24 | "Monster" | Ed Sherin | René Balcer & Richard Sweren | May 20, 1998 (1998-05-20) | K2527 | 14.80 |
| A 10-year-old girl Malika Richardson is raped and rendered comatose by a pedophile. A snitch offers Briscoe a chance to avenge his daughter's death. The NYPD brass is looking to force Lieutenant Van Buren out of her job. McCoy must contend with Judge Feldman as an adversary both at trial and outside the courtroom due to an ethics complaint the judge filed against him. While all of this goes on, Schiff begins to consider the possibility that Feldman might defeat him in the election. At episode's end, Ross resigns from her job as an ADA to devote more time to her family life and her ongoing divorce. Last appearances of Carey Lowell as Assistant District Attorney Jamie Ross as a series regular. ||||||||