# Law & Order season 16

The sixteenth season of Law & Order premiered on NBC on September 21, 2005, and concluded on May 17, 2006. This was just the second season in which the show's principal cast remained unchanged from the previous season. Annie Parisse had joined the series during season 15, following the departure of Elisabeth Röhm.

## Cast and crew changes

Jesse L. Martin returned to his role of Detective Ed Green for the season premiere; he had left with four episodes remaining in the previous season to act in the movie Rent. Midway through season 16, Law & Order's future on NBC was up in the air; it was not publicly known if the show would be renewed for a 17th season or canceled.
Parisse quit the series late in the season, wanting out of her contract. A show insider said to Fox News, "She saw the writing on the wall, they never treated her very well. They were always complaining about her hair. And they also thought she looked too young next to Sam Waterson (sic)." Parisse's character, ADA Alexandra Borgia, was brutally killed off in the season finale episode, "Invaders."
Less than two weeks after that episode aired, it was announced that Dennis Farina (Detective Joe Fontana) was also leaving the cast. Farina wished to pursue other offers and projects being developed by his production company. Dick Wolf said that he respected Farina's decision and looked forward to working with him again.
There were "a lot" of firings, including a portion of the camera crew. "None of the original writer-producers are there anymore," a source said to Fox News. "They've all been replaced by people from L.A. who don't get the show." Walon Green was show runner/executive producer this season with Nicholas Wootton, over Matthew Penn, and Peter Jankowski. Green stepped down as show runner/EP at the end of the season and Wootton took over in the 17th season.

## Cast
### Main

* Dennis Farina as Senior Detective Joe Fontana
* Jesse L. Martin as Junior Detective Ed Green
* S. Epatha Merkerson as Lieutenant Anita Van Buren
* Sam Waterston as Executive Assistant District Attorney Jack McCoy
* Annie Parisse as Assistant District Attorney Alexandra Borgia
* Fred Dalton Thompson as District Attorney Arthur Branch

### Recurring

* Michael Imperioli as Detective Nick Falco
* Richard Brooks as Defense Attorney Paul Robinette
* Carolyn McCormick as Dr. Elizabeth Olivet

## Episodes

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | Prod. code | U.S. viewers (millions) |
| 350 | 1 | "Red Ball" | Matthew Penn | David Wilcox | September 21, 2005 (2005-09-21) | 16001 | 13.04 |
| When Jennifer Clark a five-year-old girl is abducted from her mother in broad daylight during an apparent car jacking, Detectives Fontana and Green canvass the streets, only to uncover a more sinister motive when they discover the car intact but no trace of the girl. The investigators soon unearth an ex-convict with the child's bloodied dress who refuses to talk until his release is guaranteed. With time and leads running out and the prospect of the girl's safe return looking unlikely, EADA McCoy and ADA Borgia consider a deal with severe legal and political ramifications. ||||||||
| 351 | 2 | "Flaw" | Jean de Segonzac | Chris Levinson | September 28, 2005 (2005-09-28) | 16002 | 15.06 |
| When the body of Patrick Sullivan is found with Olivia Benson's number in his cell phone, Green and Fontana call the Special Victims Unit squad to help them with their case. Although not initially clear, the detectives soon realize that Sullivan is connected to Lorraine Dillon (Lynda Carter) and April Troost (Estella Warren), career criminals that Benson had previously been unable to catch. Lorraine confesses to the crime and claims she did it to protect her daughter, but when April ends up on the stand she tells a different story, and McCoy and Benson disagree on which of the two is telling the truth. This episode concludes a story that begins on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit in "Design". ||||||||
| 352 | 3 | "Ghosts" | Constantine Makris | Rick Eid | October 5, 2005 (2005-10-05) | 16003 | 12.60 |
| A criminal Dan Flood makes a surprising deathbed confession that compels Detective Fontana to re-open his own 10-year-old cold case file concerning the murder of Sarah Dolan a 12-year-old girl. Instead of the victim's father, whom Fontana is certain committed the crime, the new prime suspect is a former drug-addict whose jailhouse confession to the prosecution's most viable witness is disqualified on the grounds it was made in a spiritual context. Despite dwindling options, Executive Assistant D.A. McCoy continues to pursue a murder-two conviction despite a stern warning from his wary boss, District Attorney Branch, who cautions against the fallout of losing this high-profile case again. ||||||||
| 353 | 4 | "Age of Innocence" | David Platt | Davey Holmes | October 12, 2005 (2005-10-12) | 16005 | 10.92 |
| A car bomb kills the husband of an incapacitated woman shortly before the victim planned to disconnect her feeding tube, and when Detectives Fontana and Green wade into the politically charged case, they find the bombmaker who points them to suspects that include the woman's angry family and clergy. As national media arrive, EADA McCoy and ADA Borgia engage in a frustrating shell game where each suspect seems to have a mutually bulletproof alibi. ||||||||
| 354 | 5 | "Lifeline" | Rosemary Rodriguez | Greg Plageman | October 19, 2005 (2005-10-19) | 16006 | 12.33 |
| When the body of undercover reporter Teresa Richter is discovered, police soon realize her death is connected to the story she was working on about a Latin gang, L-12. Their investigation leads them to Kevin Drucker, a businessman who reported his car stolen but who was really paying off members of L-12 not to hurt his son Patterson, who was imprisoned on the same cell block with many of the gang members. McCoy and Borgia realize that the only way they can get to L-12, who ordered the hit on Richter, is to get Drucker to testify. Drucker is reluctant to do so, however, unless his son's safety can be guaranteed. ||||||||
| 355 | 6 | "Birthright" | Constantine Makris | David Slack | November 2, 2005 (2005-11-02) | 16007 | 12.57 |
| Teenage suspect Traci Sands dies in police custody after being arrested for the murder of Sam Register the man who reported her to child protective services. Rodgers reveals that she died because someone outfitted her with a benecrine I.U.D. that reacted fatally with her sickle-cell condition. Fontana and Green follow the trail to a charitable clinic and nurse Gloria Rhodes, who believes she is saving the world by sterilizing women that she does not believe are worthy of having children. McCoy faces former assistant district attorney Paul Robinette (Richard Brooks) in court as Robinette defends Rhodes. ||||||||
| 356 | 7 | "House of Cards" | Michael Pressman | Wendy Battles | November 9, 2005 (2005-11-09) | 16008 | 10.86 |
| Fontana and Green investigate when the body of Chelsea Haggerty, a young mother who had recently cleaned up her life is found in her apartment, with her five-day-old infant son Nicholas missing. Detectives soon track down Arlene Tarrington and ascertain that the infant she is claiming is hers is really baby Nicholas, but after her lawyers make a claim of post-partum psychosis and another man comes forward claiming to be the child's father, McCoy and Borgia are forced to decide which of the two they would rather lock up for the crime. ||||||||
| 357 | 8 | "New York Minute" | Don Scardino | Nicholas Wootton | November 16, 2005 (2005-11-16) | 16009 | 11.44 |
| When the owner Clayton Stack of a big-rig trucking company is shot to death, Detectives Fontana and Green learn that the victim was hauling illegal aliens and suspect a member (Daniel Roebuck) of a citizen's border patrol group; but their only witness is an undocumented Hispanic woman (Aixa Rosario Medina) who risks deportation if she testifies. Meanwhile, prosecutor McCoy is incensed when the witness is physically intimidated as he tries to turn one organization member against the other in court. ||||||||
| 358 | 9 | "Criminal Law" | Ed Sherin | David Wilcox | November 23, 2005 (2005-11-23) | 16010 | 11.93 |
| The deaths of three women with the same name lead Fontana and Green to the nine-year-old conviction of Leland Barnes, who had shot and killed his wife in an office full of people. With two of the three witnesses against him dead and Jack McCoy on the hit list, the detectives struggle to determine how Barnes, who has been in prison the entire time, got someone on the outside to kill the only people who could keep him in jail. The investigation leads them to Leland's two sons, with surprising results. ||||||||
| 359 | 10 | "Acid" | Michael Pressman | Richard Sweren | November 30, 2005 (2005-11-30) | 16011 | 12.87 |
| After the daughter of one of Van Buren's college friends is found dead in her room, a suicide, Van Buren joins Green and Fontana in hunting down the man who burned her face with acid months earlier, ultimately leading to her suicide. Van Buren is unsuccessful in getting a lot of help from her friend, who is terrified that the man who destroyed her elder daughter's life will destroy her younger daughter as well. McCoy and Borgia's case hits a snag when Van Buren takes the stand and comes close to committing perjury to keep Jason Corley behind bars. ||||||||
| 360 | 11 | "Bible Story" | Rick Wallace | Richard Sweren | December 7, 2005 (2005-12-07) | 16004 | 12.13 |
| Jeffrey Kilgore is found murdered after destroying the Speicher family Chumash, which had been brought to America from Poland years earlier. Green and Fontana follow the trail of evidence to Barry Speicher, who confesses to the murder, but it's his cousin Eric that McCoy has his eye on after Barry's wife tells them that Eric had everything to gain by Barry going to prison. McCoy and Borgia pursue the matter to trial, but their star witness turns on them. ||||||||
| 361 | 12 | "Family Friend" | Jean de Segonzac | Philippe Browning | January 11, 2006 (2006-01-11) | 16012 | 12.83 |
| After Philip and Valerie Messick are attacked in their home, Green and Fontana follow the trail to a small-time thug named Jay Fleckner. After Valerie's testimony unintentionally helps free Fleckner, he is found dead, and detectives soon realize that Bob Cerullo, a family friend of Valerie and her late husband, was the triggerman. Unfortunately, when McCoy attempts to prosecute Cerullo, a retired cop, he threatens to claim that he deliberately planted evidence in his past cases in an attempt to get McCoy to drop all the charges. ||||||||
| 362 | 13 | "Heart of Darkness" | Richard Dobbs | Carter Harris | January 18, 2006 (2006-01-18) | 16013 | 12.38 |
| A journalist's suicide becomes suspect after Green and Fontana find evidence at the scene suggesting that it was not a suicide after all. Their suspicions turn to the reporter's girlfriend after learning that he was still sleeping with his ex, but their investigation soon leads them in a different direction. ||||||||
| 363 | 14 | "Magnet" | Adam Bernstein | David Black | February 8, 2006 (2006-02-08) | 16014 | 14.53 |
| Detectives Fontana and Green investigate the strangling of Alex Garcia a promising Hispanic student at a private magnet school. The men soon learn the victim was selling test answers and writing term papers for more privileged students, including their prime suspect, Greg Loomis (Jaime McAdams), a trouble-prone senior who would kill just to graduate. After Loomis' arrest, Jack McCoy spurns any deal with his high-powered attorney Rebecca Shane (Kathleen Turner) but has to overcome her vigorous defense that her client himself was a victim of medication side effects. ||||||||
| 364 | 15 | "Choice of Evils" | Michael Pressman | David Wilcox | March 1, 2006 (2006-03-01) | 16016 | 12.39 |
| After the body of Danny Ashburn a teenage boy is found dead in a warehouse, detectives use DNA to connect the boy to a convicted rapist and serial killer, then to the boy's mother, Allison Ashburn, the convict's ex-wife. While trying to solve Danny's murder, Fontana and Green learn that he recently got his girlfriend Tina pregnant, and his mother had seen him recently when she had given him money despite having claimed she had not seen him for months. Allison finally admits that she murdered her son after the police arrest her new husband John, but claims she did it to save the world from her son, whom she was convinced would become a monster just like his biological father. Borgia and McCoy face an uphill battle trying to convict the perfect soccer mom. ||||||||
| 365 | 16 | "Cost of Capital" | Michael Watkins | S : Rick Eid; T : Tom Smuts | March 8, 2006 (2006-03-08) | 16015 | 11.79 |
| After Derek Miller a young African-American banking associate is found murdered, Detectives Fontana and Green discover that he had hundreds of thousands of dollars in his checking account. The detectives suspect the victim was having an affair with his high-powered boss Sophia (Lisa Zane) who killed him out of fear and rage. As the police and EADA Jack McCoy build their case, everything hinges on using either the executive's estranged husband or their shaky teenaged daughter Katie (Sarah Steele) as their star witness. ||||||||
| 366 | 17 | "America, Inc." | Jean de Segonzac | Richard Sweren | March 22, 2006 (2006-03-22) | 16017 | 9.00 |
| After Jeffrey Pope, a private military contractor, is found dead, suspicion eventually leads Green and Fontana to Robbie Howell, the younger brother of a man who died because of Pope's incompetence, and Kevin Boatman, Nick Howell's former co-worker who had witnessed the tragic events in Iraq. Danielle Melnick returns to defend Robbie and Kevin, and in the courtroom Kevin drops the bombshell that he knows where Pope and his men were keeping an Iraqi prisoner of war, a wanted terrorist. McCoy and Branch butt heads over whether or not to let Kevin Boatman get away with murder in order to get their hands on the prisoner. ||||||||
| 367 | 18 | "Thinking Makes It So" | Tony Goldwyn | Michael S. Chernuchin | March 29, 2006 (2006-03-29) | 16019 | 9.35 |
| Fontana and Green investigate when a bank manager is involved in the robbing of his own bank and learn that his daughter is being held hostage and that he had to go along with the robbery or risk losing his daughter. One man is killed in the robbery, but the two detectives track down his accomplice and, while alone with Mitchell Lowell, Fontana uses extreme force to get the answers he needs, prompting Lowell's lawyer to claim that all the information Fontana obtained is fruit of the poison tree. McCoy works to fight the claim of police brutality while also trying to find a way to get around Fontana's actions. ||||||||
| 368 | 19 | "Positive" | Richard Dobbs | Sonny Postiglione | April 5, 2006 (2006-04-05) | 16020 | 10.84 |
| When a teenage boy Jeremy Miller commits suicide after firing on a doctor and hitting an innocent party, Fontana and Green investigate why he was after the doctor to begin with and learn that Jeremy Miller's younger sister had recently died of AIDS. Throughout the course of the investigation, detectives are led to Dr. Andrew Copelan, the doctor in charge of Emily Miller's care, who had been giving her an experimental AIDS drug not yet approved for usage on humans, ostensibly to find a cure for his own AIDS. ||||||||
| 369 | 20 | "Kingmaker" | Don Scardino | David Slack | May 3, 2006 (2006-05-03) | 16018 | 10.66 |
| After undercover cop Dana Baker is murdered, Fontana and Green learn that the man who killed her had discovered her identity after seeing a photograph of her in the paper revealing her as an undercover police officer, not the heroin dealer she was posing as. Investigating the story leads detectives to Eric Lund, one of the workers in Congressman Prescott's office, but Lund seems to have an ironclad alibi after an e-mail he sent comes to light. ||||||||
| 370 | 21 | "Hindsight" | Jean de Segonzac | Chris Levinson | May 10, 2006 (2006-05-10) | 16021 | 12.68 |
| Detectives Fontana and Green are skeptical when Detective Falco (Michael Imperioli) finds a young woman he took home the night before slashed to death in his bathroom. Anxious to exonerate himself of this crime, Falco takes steps that could be indicative of a cover-up instead of an unauthorized pursuit of the true culprit. Fortunately, Detectives Fontana and Green believe their colleague was drugged by the victim in a plan to rob him but was instead dispatched by a violent female rival. Proving it in court is difficult for Jack McCoy, who must sort through a family of cons and ex-cons, some with ties to Falco, all resulting in a final twist of fate. ||||||||
| 371 | 22 | "Invaders" | Matthew Penn | Richard Sweren & David Wilcox | May 17, 2006 (2006-05-17) | 16022 | 13.59 |
| The latest murder victims of two home invaders are the family members of a man who once sold fake D.E.A. badges to the killers and then began secretly cooperating with police. The case takes a harrowing turn when one of the law enforcement teams is put in the line of fire. In a legal gambit, Executive ADA Jack McCoy must then risk his career, and those of others, as well; bending the rules and using corrupt DEA Agent Almonte (Ritchie Coster) to lure out the sadistic psychopaths. Meanwhile, the police and the DAs have to deal with the loss of one of their own in the midst of this high-profile case. This episode marks the final appearance of both Dennis Farina as Senior Detective Joe Fontana and Annie Parisse as ADA Alexandra Borgia. ||||||||