A suspicious apartment fire leaves a severely disabled boy dead of smoke inhalation. Though an antique store owner in the same building had been "victim" to several other fires in the past, Detectives Briscoe and Green are drawn to suspects closer to home as they discover the tremendous burden the young boy posed to his parents and their failed marriage during his twelve years. As more is learned about the devoted mother (Megan Follows), even E.A.D.A. Jack McCoy begins to question whether his prosecution is truly in the service of justice. Meanwhile, Mayor Giuliani introduces Interim District Attorney Nora Lewin (Dianne Wiest) to McCoy and Carmichael.

• First appearance of Dianne Wiest as IDA Nora Lewin.
• Rudolph Giuliani, who was the Mayor of New York City at the time this episode was first shown, made a special guest appearance.

A former Black Panther, accused of murdering Jack Kearsey, a Caucasian police officer, questions Green's integrity amidst a politically charged trial.

• Based on the 1981 murder of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner by Mumia Abu-Jamal.

The killing of Russ Crider, a school hockey coach, leads to a case in which the defendant claims that he committed the crime while suffering from "sports rage."

• The original airing of this episode was delayed a week due to Vice President Al Gore's concession speech in the extended 2000 Presidential election.

Following "wilding incidents" in Central Park, a woman's body is found in the lake and the suspects include the deceased's wealthy husband.

• This episode was based on incidents of violence at the 2000 Puerto Rican Day Parade, and caused a controversy by offending some members of the Puerto Rican community. NBC promised not to re-run it. Despite NBC's embargo, the episode is still rerun in syndication.

When Angel Jarrell a woman is found strangled to death with a large quantity of the drug Ecstasy in her handbag, Detectives Briscoe and Green have difficulty gathering sufficient evidence for an indictment of their prime suspect, drug dealer Francis "Taz" Partell. But when they question one of his former associates, they discover new evidence indicating that Taz is responsible for the earlier murder of a bouncer in Bronx County.

• The episode carries a disclaimer stating that the Bronx County District Attorney portrayed by Keith David was in no way intended as a reference to real-life Bronx DA Robert Johnson.

Briscoe and Green investigate Daniel and Rosa Alvarez a couple murdered in their apartment, which leads them to the wife of an officer in the U.S. Army who is involved in anti-drug activities in Colombia, leaving McCoy with the awkward job of getting her to testify.

• The episode carries a disclaimer stating that the portrayed persons, places, and events have been fictionalized and that any similarity to real life is unintentional.

A woman's murder leads Briscoe and Green to discover the actual target was a reporter who did a story about voting improprieties in a recent senatorial election. Carmichael can't get the reporter to reveal her sources for a story containing allegations that the vote was fixed and ballots tampered with, even though the reporter's life is at risk. Without the source, McCoy and Carmichael have a difficult time making a case against the Senator, who they believe has ties to the mob and ordered the hit on the reporter. The case hinges on 2,000 missing ballots from the vote that were stolen by the mob. Once the ballots are found, there is a court battle over whether or not they should be counted. McCoy believes that the ballots will show the Senator's motive for ordering the hit, but an appellate court won't allow it, so their case is virtually dead. In the end, McCoy is able to convince the reporter to reveal her source and have him testify against the senator, which surprisingly turns out to be the Senator's own campaign manager. Meanwhile Carmichael tells McCoy that she is leaving the D.A.'s Office to accept a job with the U.S. Attorney's Office as soon as the case is over.

• Last appearance of Angie Harmon as ADA Abbie Carmichael.