FindLaw | Legal News & Information

Once the red herrings in this Law and Order are fished out, the plot boils down to a simple extortion scheme. Detectives Briscoe and Green investigate the death of a young man found dead outside a private school. Although there is no wallet or other identification, they learn that the victim is Scott Wilder, by tracing a unique-looking house key that was found on his body. A witness states that Scott was arguing with a woman outside the school shortly before he was killed.

Scott's father Peter Wilder is a wealthy real estate developer who hasn't heard from his son in two years. Briscoe and Green also learn that Scott had been living with his girlfriend Karen until recently. Karen later reveals that she discovered an obstetritian appointment card among Scott's belongings. The doctor refuses to give the detectives the name of the patient Scott had the appointment with, asserting that both Scott and his companion are his patients.

Abbie Carmichael seeks a subpoena for Scott's medical records in an attempt to get the patient's identity. However, the attorney for Scott's doctor argues that releasing Scott's medical records alone would violate his other patient's privilege, and the judge denies Abbie's request. Not to be daunted, Briscoe and Green manage to obtain a copy of the medical building's sign in sheet for that day, and they match the writing on the card to a woman named Jess Lucas.

Under questioning, Jess states that she believed Peter Wilder was her father and that she asked Scott to undergo a "kinship analysis" test that would reveal whether they had the same father. Jack McCoy then questions Peter Wilder, who claims not to know whether he is Jess's father, although he has been providing her mother with support for years, ostensibly to avoid a paternity test. Wilder's attorney also produces a letter from Jess and Scott threatening to sell their story to the tabloids unless he pays them $250,000.

When Jess is arrested on an extortion charge, she admits that she had learned that the kinship test had excluded Peter as her father and that she wanted to back out of the extortion demand. However, Scott didn't want to give up so easily; he apparently viewed this as his opportunity to "expose" his father.

This turn of events causes the suspicion to focus on Peter Wilder, and the detectives search his home. During the search, Briscoe and Green find a pair of shoes with red dust that seems to have come from the outside the school where his body was found. They also learn that Wilder's .38 pistol is missing without having been reported stolen. The missing weapon causes Nora concern over the legal sufficiency of the evidence, and she requests Jack to obtain a preliminary ruling from a judge that the evidence is sufficient for an indictment rather than having to go to the grand jury.

At the hearing, Jess testifies to the details of the extortion scheme. Peter Wilder's attorney is quite aggressive on cross-examination, accusing Jess of being the true killer and framing his client. The hearing goes well enough for Wilder and his attorney that they are brought into a closed meeting with Jack. The defendant then confesses that he met with his son Scott and told him that he was certain that he wasn't Jess' father, at which point Scott raised a pistol to his own head. As the defendant attempted to prevent Scott's suicide by reaching for the gun, the weapon accidentally fired twice. Peter says it was a suicide. At this point, Jack agrees to drop the murder charge if the ME verifies the suicide attempt.

Other Reviews  West Wing  The Practice  Ally McBeal  Ed

I was disappointed with this episode. There seems to be no evidence that supports any of the different conclusions - that Jess is the killer, that Peter is the killer, or that Scott committed suicide - the prosecution seems too eager to jump on every theory as the given truth. Also, while I'm no forensic expert, I would expect any ME to be able to distinguish between a murder and a suicide, and so this should have been one of the first conclusions examined rather than the last.

Past Law & Order Reviews | Message Boards