Judge Denise Grobman is shot and seriously wounded when a man steals her car. Yet when investigation leads to a hired hit ordered by her husband, she vehemently refuses to believe in his guilt.
The 15-year-old daughter of a wealthy family is killed. When the child of another wealthy family is implicated, the DAs find themselves being stonewalled by both families.
A lawyer's murder is related to a case involving a death row inmate's innocence. Former prosecutor Jamie Ross represents the lawyer's accused killer, and she faces an ethical dilemma involving an "anonymous" tip and her attorney-client privilege.
A man once accused of killing his girlfriend is now accused of assaulting the girlfriend's sister. However, he vehemently claims that he is the victim of a setup in both cases.
Is a man with Alzheimer's Disease competent enough to stand trial for murder? And if he is found guilty, should he be subjected to the near-inhumane conditions common for prisoners of his type?
A school bully is accused of killing a classmate. The killer's father is found to have helped foster his son's violent behavior, so the DA's office charges him with murder on account of depraved indifference.
Detectives suspect that a best-selling novelist was shot because she was having an affair with a married FBI agent who was helping her with research. It turns out that they have the right motive, but the wrong suspect.
With the help of SVU detectives, investigators discover that the matriarch of a powerful family may have resorted to extreme measures to cover-up a murder in which her daughter is a prime suspect.
A man is accused of raping and killing his girlfriend's sister and another victim. Prosecutors make a deal with the girlfriend for her testimony against the accused, but they also suspect that she was a willing participant in the murders.
The murder of a stockbroker leads Briscoe and Green to a coworker of the victim, a coworker who is involved with a stock fraud scheme with ties to organized crime.
A lapse in judgment by two police officers results in two African-Americans killing a white teen in Harlem. The case promises to set off a racial powder-keg, and it drives a split between between Jack McCoy and Adam Schiff.
The DA's office believes that a well-known psychologist/author may have driven his daughter-in-law to suicide because her increasing rebellion against his "submissive wife" philosophy would have ruined his reputation and lucrative career.
A prostitute's murder leads detectives on a complex investigation involving an Asian prostitution/slavery ring, police shakedowns, stolen credit cards, and a teenage Internet sex addict.
A college coed, who is a stripper by night, gets murdered. Two drug dealers are arrested by the detectives. The dealers link her death to a famous porn star, a top business exec, and an illegal insider trading scam.
A wealthy middle-aged woman is in a coma after an apparent prescription drug overdose. The incident is tied to a twisted sexual practice involving the husband, but her daughter also turns out to have a financial motive.
The DA's office prosecutes a Chilean colonel for the murder of a New Yorker working with the Communists during the Pinochet military coup. But has the office overstepped its jurisdiction?