| "Severance" | ||
|---|---|---|
| ← | L&O, Episode 2.13 | → |
| Production number: 67418 First aired: 14 January 1992 | ||
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| Teleplay By Michael S. Chernuchin & William N. Fordes Story By Michael Duggan & William N. Fordes Directed By James Frawley | ||
Three men are killed before they had the chance to testify against a defense contractor.
Plot
Plot
Cast
Main cast
- Paul Sorvino as Sergeant Phil Cerreta
- Chris Noth as Detective Mike Logan
- Dann Florek as Captain Donald Cragen
- Michael Moriarty as Executive A.D.A. Benjamin Stone
- Richard Brooks as A.D.A. Paul Robinette
- Steven Hill as D.A. Adam Schiff
Recurring cast
- George Grizzard as Defense Attorney Arthur Gold
- David Rosenbaum as Judge Alan Berman
- John Fiore as Detective Tony Profaci
Guest cast
- Maureen Anderman as Defense Attorney Sharon Styger
- Sam Groom as Defense Attorney Larry Teasdale
- Steve Rankin as Frank Kemp
- Joe Urla as Defense Attorney David Werner
- Elisabeth Ryall as Tina McManus
- Ralph Bell as Judge Jenklaw
- J. Smith-Cameron as Ms. Moskowitz
- Jay Devlin as Charles Martine
- Jack Davidson as Mr. Torrens
- Rita Gardner as Mrs. Torrens
- Edmund Genest as John Blanchard
- Frank John Hughes as Rozakis
- Samaria Graham as Doreen
- J. Michael Patterson as Peter Coyle
- Lil Henderson as Woman
- Gareth Williams as Crime Scene Unit Technician
- Joseph Mosso as Policeman
- James Pyduck as Bailiff
References
- Florida v. Bostick
- Janet Torrens
- Craig Hovis
- Peter Coyle
Quotes
"At the arraignment, Martine was represented by Arthur Gold. His M.O.'s legendary. He’ll bury us in paper."
"Arthur Gold. He's all fizz and no gin."
"Sometimes fizz works."
- - Paul Robinette and Benjamin Stone
"I’m happy for you. Okay if I smoke?"
"Mr. Kemp, what do you say we call your lawyer?"
"No reason to call a lawyer. I didn’t do anything."
"You had a semi-automatic with a fully loaded clip."
"So I had a piece. So I was a naughty boy. I’ll pay the $2."
"You know, I’m thinking it wasn’t just a piece, Frank. I’m thinking it was a murder weapon."
- - Frank Kemp, Phil Cerreta, and Mike Logan
"These guys sound like Boy Scouts."
"Or shadow lives. Somebody paid good money to have them killed- you peer long enough, something emerges from the shadows. "
- - Phil Cerreta and Mike Logan
"Law Degree. A license to lie."
- - Mike Logan
"Mr. Gold, I suggest you read the opinions of the Supreme Court on consensual searches, beginning with the latest sermon from the mount, ‘Florida v. Bostwick.’ If the police can randomly search passengers on a bus, then no possible stretch of logic can mandate the inadmissibility of a consensual search of a train."
"Your Honor, the case law in this circuit..."
"Highlights the frivolity of your motion. And, uh, Mr. Stone unless the Hammad case and its progeny have been overruled while I was napping, the tape is as dirty as last week’s laundry."
- - Judge Jenklaw and Arthur Gold
"Mike, labs you ordered."
"And?"
"Negative. The gun in his bag didn’t kill our guys."
"Oh, the bastard knew it all along."
" A different story on the knife, though. Minute traces of human blood of recent origin."
"Wait a minute, I thought these guys were shot."
"They were."
"Oh great, that's great. So we got two stiffs with no murder weapon and a bloody knife with no victim. That's great."
- - Tony Profaci reports the labs findings to Mike Logan and Donald Cragen
"What are you putting in your coffee, Stone? 'Cuz you're high if you think..."
"I think this offer is good for another thirty seconds."
- - Frank Kemp and Benjamin Stone
"My client would have surrendered, Mr. Stone. The humiliation of a public arrest was hardly called for."
"I’m sorry I missed the Emily Post chapter on the etiquette of arrest."
- - Sharon Styger and Benjamin Stone
"No excuses, you screwed up!"
"I thought..."
"Brains didn't enter into it!"
- - Adam Schiff and Benjamin Stone
"I hope she brought a change of underwear."
- - Donald Cragen
"Call me for lunch sometime."
"You'd actually eat lunch with him?"
"Only if he orders crow."
- - Arthur Gold, Paul Robinette and Benjamin Stone
Background information and notes
- This episode is based on the CBS Murders case, in which Donald Nash killed Margaret Barbera, who was cooperating with a Federal investigation into a $6 million fraud, and Leo Kuranuki, Robert Schulze and Edward Benford, three CBS technicians who the police believe were coming to her aid.[1]
- Unlike most episodes, this episode doesn't end with the trial, but shows a dialogue between Arthur Gold, Benjamin Stone, and Paul Robinette on the courthouse's steps.
- Stone's old rival Arthur Gold (played by George Grizzard) appears for the first time in an episode from Law & Order. He would return for five more episodes in other seasons.
- This episode is also actor David Rosenbaum's first appearance as Judge Alan Berman.
Episode scene cards
| 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|
|
Peter Coyle's Apartment |
Wollman Ice Rink |
Riker's Island |
| Previous episode: "Star Struck" |
"Severance" Law & Order Season 2 |
Next episode: "Blood Is Thicker..." |