Law & Order (season 14)

Law & Order (season 14)
Season 14 U.S. DVD Cover
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	24
Release
Original network	NBC
Original release	September 24, 2003 – May 19, 2004

The 14th season of Law & Order premiered on September 24, 2003 and concluded on May 19, 2004 on NBC.

Cast

Main cast

• Jerry Orbach as Lennie Briscoe
• Jesse L. Martin as Ed Green
• S. Epatha Merkerson as Anita Van Buren
• Sam Waterston as E.A.D.A. Jack McCoy
• Elisabeth Röhm as A.D.A. Serena Southerlyn
• Fred Dalton Thompson as D.A. Arthur Branch

Recurring cast

• Carolyn McCormick as Elizabeth Olivet

Episodes

No. in series	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Production code
302	1	"Bodies"	Constantine Makris	Teleplay by: William N. Fordes Story by: Michael S. Chernuchin & William N. Fordes	September 24, 2003	E4302
While investigating the death of a teenaged girl, the detectives stumble on a pattern of crimes that indicate they are after a serial killer. The suspect, however, puts the prosecutors through an ethical wringer when he discloses his attorney's knowledge of the victims and their whereabouts.
303	2	"Bounty"	Matthew Penn	Michael S. Chernuchin	October 1, 2003	E4304
The investigation into the murder of a bounty hunter leads to a reporter with compromised ethics and a dubious defense strategy.
304	3	"Patient Zero"	David Platt	Wendy Battles	October 8, 2003	E4301
The investigation into the carjacking of a vehicle containing vials of a deadly virus leads the detectives on a search for the first person infected with the virus and a biochemist whose sinister motivations were driven by passion.
305	4	"Shrunk"	Jace Alexander	Richard Sweren	October 22, 2003	E4305
The police and prosecutors investigate the connection between an award-winning songwriter and the young woman found murdered in his home to discover who would profit by her death at his hands.
306	5	"Blaze"	Gloria Muzio	Marc Guggenheim & Aaron Zelman & Michael S. Chernuchin	October 29, 2003	E4309
A teenager's need for parental love, acceptance, and recognition sets in motion the events leading to the deaths of 23 concert-goers in a blaze started by a rock band's illegal pyrotechnics.
307	6	"Identity"	Jace Alexander	Janis Diamond	November 5, 2003	E4311
When a man is found murdered shortly after depositing almost $400,000 in his savings account, the investigation into the source of funds reveals that the victim ran an identity theft scam which left an elderly man homeless and impoverished.
308	7	"Floater"	Richard Dobbs	Eric Overmyer	November 12, 2003	E4307
The husband of a woman whose partially decomposed body is found floating in the Hudson River becomes the prime suspect in her murder until the prosecutors uncover a connection between her prospective attorney and a judge who has heard a suspiciously high number of his cases.
309	8	"Embedded"	Ed Sherin	Craig Turk	November 19, 2003	E4303
After a reporter accused of causing the deaths of soldiers with whom he was embedded in Iraq by reporting on their troop movements is shot and wounded on the eve of his return to the front, the ballistics report indicates that the gun belonged to one of the dead soldiers, leading the detectives to uncover who brought the gun back from the front and committed the crime.
310	9	"Compassion"	Constantine Makris	Roz Weinman	November 26, 2003	E4308
When a con man passing himself off as a grief counselor is poisoned by a respected doctor he victimized, McCoy must determine whether revenge or insanity prompted the crime.
311	10	"Ill-Conceived"	David Platt	Aaron Zelman & Noah Baylin & Michael S. Chernuchin	December 3, 2003	E4306
The owner of a clothing company with alien immigrant workers is found murdered which sends the detectives on a search for an unidentified evening caller whose girlfriend, also a worker in the factory, recently gave birth. Upon discovery that the victim was also the baby's father, the boyfriend is arrested with the motive being an office affair until the victim's widow discloses that it was a surrogate arrangement.
312	11	"Darwinian"	Jace Alexander	Marc Guggenheim	January 7, 2004	E4313
The apparent hit-and-run of a homeless man sends the detectives on a search for the driver, a high-profile female publicist, which fuels the fire for the prosecutors to obtain a murder conviction. However, an autopsy reveals that the victim died as a result of a beating, which had to have taken place hours before the car accident, which leads to a suspect within the homeless community.
313	12	"Payback"	Constantine Makris	Lorenzo Carcaterra	January 14, 2004	E4310
The investigation into the murder of a former bookie turned mob informant reveals a disturbing new wrinkle in organized crime involving legitimate businessmen moonlighting as contract hitmen in a battle for mob leadership, and ends with a Federal ploy to nullify the plea bargain in the case, leaving McCoy seething and two more people dead.
314	13	"Married with Children"	Richard Dobbs	Wendy Battles & William N. Fordes	February 4, 2004	E4315
The death of a woman who fell from a hotel balcony leads to a case involving a lesbian couple and a state law banning gay adoption.
315	14	"City Hall"	Gloria Muzio	Richard Sweren & Marc Guggenheim	February 11, 2004	E4318
A city employee's clerical error sets in motion a chain of events which culminates in a fatal shooting at City Hall and a secret federal court proceeding with sinister implications. Cameo appearance by Lance Reddick.
316	15	"Veteran's Day"	David Platt	Noah Baylin	February 18, 2004	E4314
A decorated Gulf War veteran, grief-stricken over the Afghanistan combat death of his son, murders an anti-war protester, claiming at trial that he acted under extreme emotional distress.
317	16	"Can I Get a Witness?"	Don Scardino	Aaron Zelman	February 25, 2004	E4320
McCoy faces an uphill battle in proving that witnesses to the murder of a drug mule were bribed, intimidated, and eventually murdered on the orders of the drug dealer accused of the crime.
318	17	"Hands Free"	Gloria Muzio	Janis Diamond	March 3, 2004	E4316
When McCoy fails to win a murder conviction against an eccentric cross-dressing millionaire for the death of his neighbor, he redoubles the effort to convict the man for murdering his second wife years earlier by demonstrating that he murdered a witness to the crime.
319	18	"Evil Breeds"	Constantine Makris	Teleplay by: Noah Baylin Story by: Barry Schindel & Noah Baylin	March 24, 2004	E4326
A Holocaust survivor is murdered on the eve of her testimony in the deportation trial of a former concentration camp guard. McCoy must not only put the murderer on trial, but also the former guard who stood to gain the most from the survivor's death, even though evidence is limited.
320	19	"Nowhere Man"	Martha Mitchell	William N. Fordes	March 31, 2004	E4324
The District Attorney's Office is set on its ear when the investigation into the death of an A.D.A. uncovers a scandal that could imperil hundreds of cases. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg makes in-character cameos at the beginning and end of the episode.
321	20	"Everybody Loves Raimondo's"	Richard Dobbs	Teleplay by: Lorenzo Carcaterra Story by: Richard Sweren & Lorenzo Carcaterra	April 14, 2004	E4327
Greed, treachery and disrespect shape the motives for murder when two men are gunned down at an exclusive restaurant.
322	21	"Vendetta"	David Platt	Teleplay by: David Nahmod Story by: Michael S. Chernuchin & David Nahmod	April 21, 2004	E4317
The investigation into a barroom brawl fatality reveals a detective's decades-old vendetta against a petty criminal turned murderer who was falsely accused of one murder after evading conviction on another.
323	22	"Gaijin"	Jace Alexander	Wendy Battles	April 28, 2004	E4325
Van Buren has reservations about Branch's tactics in luring a Ginza nightclub owner back to New York after the Japanese government is unwilling to extradite him to face charges of conspiracy and murder in the death of his wife on a New York City vacation.
324	23	"Caviar Emptor"	Richard Dobbs	Roz Weinman	May 12, 2004	E4321
When a caviar importer is murdered the day after his wedding to a much-younger woman, the large pool of suspects includes his new wife, his children, and his chief competitor, each of whom has a compelling motive for committing the crime.
325	24	"C.O.D."	Matthew Penn	Richard Sweren & Marc Guggenheim	May 19, 2004	E4319
Briscoe bids farewell to the 27 as the prosecution of two women for killing each other's husbands comes to a successful conclusion. Final appearance of Jerry Orbach as Det. Lennie Briscoe.

Notes and references

• This is the final season to feature Jerry Orbach as Det. Lennie Briscoe. The character was transferred to the spin-off Law & Order: Trial by Jury. Orbach appeared in only two episodes of the show, dying of prostate cancer on December 28, 2004.
• Season 14 was released on DVD, September 14, 2004 & the slimline reissue set was released on February 25, 2014.
• This was the second time that the series had no cast changes for two successive seasons. The first time this happened was with the 8th season.

External links

• Episode guide from NBC.com