[5][6][7][8] Ice-T (Detective Fin Tutuola) announced on Twitter that filming on the fifteenth season commenced on July 24, 2013. In "Reasonable Doubt", Bradley Whitford, Celia Kennan-Bolger, Aida Turturro, Emma Bell, and Samantha Mathis guest star. They learn the ones who died were not given the correct dosage of their meds. Parisse said, "I'm so excited to be a part of such a great show. They finally determine that Bryce is the most likely suspect but ADA Stone is going to have a difficult time making his case. Vassilieva first appeared as Walsh in the thirteenth season's "True Believers". The trial of serial rapist William Lewis (. They find that both patrol cars arrived at the scene at virtually the same time though one was 20 blocks further away when they set out. She was shot with a .45 caliber gun and their first suspect is her supplier and sometime live-in boyfriend who goes by the street name of Skate. Don Cragen, and Richard Brooks as Paul Robinette. ADA Cox was in charge of the Baby Boy Doe case. The shooting death of a Panamanian horse jockey puts Detectives Fontana and Falco on the track of a pack of colorful suspects who inhabit the competitive racing world, forcing them to nudge jockeys, trainers, and even a rich owner to discover who would murder the rider over his desire to ride one particular horse. ADAs Stone and Robinette find a number of holes in the Navy prosecution's case and continue their own investigation. Martin's last episode of the season was "Tombstone" (a crossover episode with Law & Order: Trial by Jury, episode "Skeleton") in which Green is shot. Rollins' friend from her Gamblers Anonymous meeting claims she was raped by her lover, but the case is challenging to prove. When a promiscuous young lawyer is found bludgeoned to death in her office, Detectives Fontana and Green investigate her former lovers at the high-powered law firm until DNA evidence points to one attorney, Ron Drexler (Paul Fitzgerald), who was in the office at the time of the murder. Summer Bishil and Questlove guest star. It was announced that Pablo Schreiber will return in the tenth episode of the season, "Psycho/Therapist", as William Lewis, when facing trial for kidnapping and assault to Detective Olivia Benson. With help from Dr. Lindstrom, she recovers repressed childhood memories of violence, rape, and neglect. A pregnant woman Kelani Amonda from Nigeria arrives and goes into labor in the cab she's on. As the trial proceeds, the gang attempts to affect the outcome of the case by sending a death threat to the presiding judge, who refuses to be intimidated. Stefanie Scott returns as Clare Wilson. EADA McCoy cannot wait to get his hands on the case but his grip gets more slippery when the accused's attorney hints at an insanity defense, and the suspect later shocks everyone in court. Josh Pais guest stars in the same episode playing Hank Abraham, who also appears in "October Surprise". This made her the first woman to be part of the cast in the series. "[4], Days prior to the news of Annie Parisse joining the cast, it was announced that Jesse L. Martin (Detective Ed Green) would be departing the cast to film Rent. When a passer-by says he saw a patrol car sitting around the corner while the shooting was going on, they know Newhouse was left on his own. In "Gridiron Soldier", Glenn Morshower and Greg Finley guest star. The Brooklyn detective, Lt. Brian Torelli (, Dr. Faye Walsh, a genetic researcher is found shot to death in the back in her university laboratory. Logan is upset to learn that Cerreta has accepted another position within the department and will not be returning. As the case becomes a public spectacle, special prosecutor Derek Strauss (Greg Germann) pushes for a grand jury indictment and Amaro begins to question if fighting for his badge is best for his family. [1] Having moved over to the third Law & Order spin-off, Law & Order: Trial by Jury, Orbach only filmed two episodes of the series before his death in December 2004.[2]. Using video one of the sailors took at the party, they question two officers one of whom, Ensign Evan Walters, admits being the last person with her before she died but has no memory of what might have happened. In "Jersey Breakdown", Alana de la Garza returned as her Law & Order character, Connie Rubirosa, now as a Federal Prosecutor heading up a joint task force on underage sex trafficking. [27] Nia Vardalos and Laura Benanti return as counselor Minnona Efron and Marie Grazie respectively. With this evidence, ADA Stone feels he has a strong case but Olivet's close working relationship with the police dooms them. [19], After appearing in the fourteenth-season finale, Dean Winters (Brian Cassidy), Pablo Schreiber (William Lewis), and Lauren Ambrose (Vanessa Mayer) continued their respective portrayals in the season premiere episode, "Surrender Benson". Law & Order: Special Victims Unit was renewed for a fifteenth season on April 26, 2013, which consists of 24 episodes. This is his first appearance on the series since his departure in the fifth episode of season 15. The search for her attacker leads the detectives to a world of underground parties and a cyber mogul who preys on vulnerable girls. She shot him. As police tie in another previous murder, DAs McCoy and Southerlyn seek the email addresses from a thuggish record label's website that could unlock the case, even as the two prosecutors clash over admissible facts. Jeffrey Tambor returns as counselor Lester Cohen. When NYPD officer Rick Newhouse comes under fire, he requests backup and two patrol cars are dispatched. Cast-member Mariska Hargitay (Detective Olivia Benson) revealed on May 25, 2013, that her contract had been renewed for the upcoming season. But while EADA Jack McCoy is getting over the departure of ADA Southerlyn, he is joined by confident new Assistant DA Alexandra Borgia, who boldly promises justice to the victims' relatives that will be difficult for the prosecutor to fulfill after vital search warrant evidence is tossed out. In the same episode, Elizabeth Marvel reprises her role as defense attorney Rita Calhoun and Greg Germann returns as ADA Derek Strauss. Originally, Acevedo played District Attorney investigator Hector Salazar in the short-lived Law & Order spin-off, Law & Order: Trial by Jury. The third season of Law & Order aired on NBC between September 23, 1992, and May 19, 1993. The one woman Diane Perkins (Felicity Huffman) made a similar claim against Merritt has serious psychological problem and would unlikely make a good witness. With Jerry Orbach, Chris Noth, S. Epatha Merkerson, Sam Waterston. So with a Nigerian official Sir Idris Balewa (Roscoe Lee Browne) they try to find enough evidence that can have his immunity be waived. They had had a similar case of young man but the police weren't able to make any headway with that case. The SVU squad investigates renowned television producer, Frank Maddox (, Murphy leads the squad in an undercover operation targeting sex offenders and they soon discover a well-regarded photographer, Simon Wilkes (. A gay city councilman is murdered. When Barba’s childhood friend is arrested for attempted rape, his connection to Alex Munoz (Vincent Laresca), a mayoral frontrunner, puts his campaign in jeopardy. Jason Cerbone guest stars. However, during the third and sixth episode, Carolyn McCormick was credited in the opening theme and starting with the ninth episode, she is credited for the rest of the season. It has all of the hallmarks of a mob-style killing but everyone who knew Manuel insists that he was clean. David Conrad, who had originally auditioned to play detective Nick Amaro, appeared in "Internal Affairs" as Officer West, together with Nadia Dajani as Officer Ryan Quinn, who were suspected of raping young women during their shifts.