# Law and Order: Pulled from the headlines **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 12, 2006, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/law-and-order-pulled-from-the-headlines/352430 "2006-04-12T20:29:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Nuveena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a587f6/32.png) [@Nuveena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nuveena)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/law-and-order-pulled-from-the-headlines/352430/21 "2006-04-13T00:18:43Z")
> [@JPen](#): > > The SVU episode was entitled “Waste”, but I can’t seem to find the title of the other episode. Seems to me that it might have been during the Abbie Carmichael years. I could be wrong though. > > And yes, I just spent the last half hour trying to find that episode name. Apparently, I have no life. “Grief” February 4, 1998. It was a Briscoe/Curtis/McCoy/Ross episode. ---
**Author:** ![DxZero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@DxZero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DxZero)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/law-and-order-pulled-from-the-headlines/352430/22 "2006-04-13T00:47:25Z")
> [@Nuveena](#): > > “Grief” February 4, 1998. It was a Briscoe/Curtis/McCoy/Ross episode. Ah ha…mucho thanks ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/law-and-order-pulled-from-the-headlines/352430/23 "2006-04-13T01:18:42Z")
Criminal Intent (I think) had a Terri Schiavo case. There was also the John Walker Lindh one (I think it’s when Arthur Branch first showed up) and one Chandra Levy storyline. ---
**Author:** ![Indygrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@Indygrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indygrrl)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/law-and-order-pulled-from-the-headlines/352430/24 "2006-04-13T01:48:35Z")
Anyone wanna make a guess at how long it will take them to make a Duke rape scandal episode? I’m guessing it will happen soon. They can’t seem to resist, even though it’s tacky as hell. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/law-and-order-pulled-from-the-headlines/352430/25 "2006-04-13T10:19:44Z")
I’ve been told that at times _Law and Order_ has based an episode on a current New York news story that hasn’t even gone to trial yet. This leaves a big problem for the judge and lawyers when the case does go to trial. They have eliminate any potential juror who has seen that episode. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/law-and-order-pulled-from-the-headlines/352430/26 "2006-04-13T10:22:26Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > There’s also the creepy toymaker who was based on Michael Jackson. …and played by Richard “Booker” Grieco, no less. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/law-and-order-pulled-from-the-headlines/352430/27 "2006-04-13T11:42:40Z")
Criminal Intent had one based loosely on the Scott Peterson case. The husband was a doctor who had killed his wife and dumped her body out of a plane into the ocean. ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/law-and-order-pulled-from-the-headlines/352430/28 "2006-04-13T14:55:45Z")
There was an episode based on the Great White club fire, starring John Doe. Another had Mandy Patinkin in an obvious riff on the Ira Einhorn extradition/murder case. And there was their “Columbine” story about a kid who dressed up in black and shot up his school’s lunchroom. Those are the ones that come immediately to mind; with time I could probably list 20 or more … ---
**Author:** ![stargazer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb8c5e/32.png) [@stargazer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stargazer)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/law-and-order-pulled-from-the-headlines/352430/29 "2006-04-13T17:05:05Z")
> [@Dr. Rieux](#): > > …and played by Richard “Booker” Grieco, no less. :eek: It _was_ him!! I remember the episode, and that he looked familiar, but I missed the credits. And **Cat Fight** , that one still creeps me out. It’s weird, too, because that actress is one of the “repeat offenders” and is on other episodes. I always think of that episode when she’s in something else. My favorite repeat offender is Shirley Knight. Every episode she’s in, she’s the bad guy. At least, so far. I can’t remember if that’s only in SVU or if she crosses into all three, but she’s been in at least 3 episodes. ---
**Author:** ![medstar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f07891/32.png) [@medstar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/medstar)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/law-and-order-pulled-from-the-headlines/352430/30 "2006-04-13T23:02:37Z")
Wasn’t there also an episode on L&O where husband and wife lawyers were convicted of manslaughter when their dog killed a young woman? There was a case in San Francisco where this exact scenario took place. As I recall, there was a scene in court where the dog was brought in and the couple refused to go near it, knowing it was a killer, despite their earlier denials. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/law-and-order-pulled-from-the-headlines/352430/31 "2006-04-13T23:11:52Z")
Yes, there was. The show has also done Jayson Blair and a riff on Princess Diana’s death (co-written by Alec Baldwin, no less). ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/law-and-order-pulled-from-the-headlines/352430/32 "2006-04-13T23:25:13Z")
> [@medstar](#): > > Wasn’t there also an episode on L&O where husband and wife lawyers were convicted of manslaughter when their dog killed a young woman? There was a case in San Francisco where this exact scenario took place. As I recall, there was a scene in court where the dog was brought in and the couple refused to go near it, knowing it was a killer, despite their earlier denials. Yep. Oh, there was one based on the Glenridge rape case, where a group of boys gang-raped a mentally retarded girl, including penatrating her with foreign objects and convinced her not to tell because then they wouldn’t be her friend. I think they also did a take off on the Spur Posse story, about, again, a group of boys, this one where you got so many “points” for how many girls you slept with. Only here it lead to rape. ---
**Author:** ![Governor\_Quinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@Governor\_Quinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Governor_Quinn)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2006, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/law-and-order-pulled-from-the-headlines/352430/33 "2006-04-14T03:08:55Z")
Early in the run of L&O, they had episodes on John Gotti and (loosely) the Menendez brothers. They’ve done two episodes (seasons apart) relating to Malcolm X/Louis Farrakhan. They’ve done an episode on how Vincent “The Chin” Gigante tried for years to escape prosecution. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2006, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/law-and-order-pulled-from-the-headlines/352430/34 "2006-04-17T15:02:42Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > ::: sigh ::: It’s like I’m not even here… :smack: It was am almost-simulpost…the server was crapping out here. The recent SVU one with the Michael Jackson type also featured the ripped-from-the-headlines faked leukemia daughter whose parent was collecting donation money for a healthy girl. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2006, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/law-and-order-pulled-from-the-headlines/352430/35 "2006-04-17T15:35:31Z")
Although I don’t think it was promoted as a “ripped from the headlines” episode, SVU did one this season that was clearly based on the Natalie Holloway case. In this case, instead of an Alamaba teen in Aruba it was a Canadian teen in NYC. ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2006, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/law-and-order-pulled-from-the-headlines/352430/36 "2006-04-17T18:15:24Z")
There was one about a group of teen girls that kidnaps, tortures and kills one of their friends. They drove around with her in the trunk for the night. I can’t remember the exact real life case, I just remember it was very sad and that the girls testified on the stand that they tought it was funny that the tortured teen called out for her mom. ---
**Author:** ![h.sapiens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e0b2c6/32.png) [@h.sapiens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/h.sapiens)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2006, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/law-and-order-pulled-from-the-headlines/352430/37 "2006-04-17T18:55:36Z")
An episode of _CI_ included details based on the Jim/Jeri Ryan divorce case, in which one partner insisted that the other accompany them to a sleazy sex club. The same episode had a character that was clearly based on Hugh Hefner, played by Peter Bogdanovich. ---
**Author:** ![lisacurl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/41988e/32.png) [@lisacurl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisacurl)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2006, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/law-and-order-pulled-from-the-headlines/352430/38 "2006-04-17T20:56:16Z")
> [@Poysyn](#): > > There was one about a group of teen girls that kidnaps, tortures and kills one of their friends. They drove around with her in the trunk for the night. > > I can’t remember the exact real life case, I just remember it was very sad and that the girls testified on the stand that they tought it was funny that the tortured teen called out for her mom. [The murdered girl was named Shanda Sharer](http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/young/shanda_sharer/1.html). It’s a truly sickening story. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2006, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/law-and-order-pulled-from-the-headlines/352430/39 "2006-04-17T21:17:13Z")
There were two eps where a Jewish defendant’s father sneaks him out of the country to Israel, based on a DC-area case from a few years ago. Unlike the real-life case, one episode wasn’t about a murder, and in the other, the son got extradited back to the US. Several episodes (well, at least two) center on the Mulroney clan, based on those ne’er-do-well shirttail Kennedy heirs. Is there a real-life inspiration for CI’s Elizabeth Hitchens character (the one played by the amazing Olivia d’Abo)? She seems kind of supervillain-y. And there was that stolen kidney, which actually happened to the nephew of my mom’s friend’s neighbor… ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2006, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/law-and-order-pulled-from-the-headlines/352430/40 "2006-04-18T01:43:37Z")
Oh, yes, there was also an episode of Criminal Intent based on that popular blog written by a “dying teenage girl” that solicited all sorts of sympathy and contributions from fellows, only to find that she never existed, and the writer was a grown, healthy woman pocketing the funds. Can’t remember any of the names involved, though. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/law-and-order-pulled-from-the-headlines/352430.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/law-and-order-pulled-from-the-headlines/352430.md?page=3)