The Best Episodes of Law & Order Season 18

Internal affairs takes a special interest in Detective Green after a gambler is found dead by his bullet, and the investigation turns up a part of his past he's taken pains to conceal.

Director: Mario Van Peebles

Writer: Dick Wolf, René Balcer, David Wilcox

A jeweler's murder may have ties to a prostitution ring, and once the case goes to trial, D.A. McCoy's job is on the line as favors are called in.

Director: Jim McKay

Writer: N/A

A legal aid strike ends in the death of a lawyer, and the investigation leads to a golf greenskeeper who proclaims his innocence, again. Then the case takes an even stranger twist when Rubirosa is pitted against Cutter because of the strike that started it all.

Director: N/A

Writer: David Slack

A hit-and-run investigation leads back to a title company, and Green and Lupo must go undercover to crack the case.

Director: Jim McKay

Writer: N/A

A riot at an immigration rally ends in murder, and the political climate causes McCoy to assign a special prosecutor increasing tensions at the office.

Director: Constantine Makris

Writer: David Slack

Lupo and Green investigate the shooting death of young white teenager and a 9 year old black girl. The investigation hits a brick wall when both white and black communities refuse to talk - an unfortunate result of formerly black neighbourhoods being bought out by rich whites. The detectives discover that the teenage victim and two of his friends had a basketball taken from them by a black teenager which eventually led to an altercation with deadly consequences and subsequently to surprising culprits.

Director: Alan Taylor

Writer: N/A

The murder of a psychiatrist focuses the suspect list to his clients and wife, and the defense of the murderer will challenge the D.A.'s office to somehow show the jury that a bad childhood is not a justification for crime.

Director: Marc Levin

Writer: N/A

When the police shut down a dog-fighting ring, the investigation becomes a murder case after a woman's finger is found inside one of the dogs; things get more complicated as the case deepens, and the interest of a pushy reporter is sparked.

Director: Constantine Makris

Writer: N/A

Lupo and Green's first offical case together is a kidnapping that happened during a citywide blackout; a housekeeper is slain and a mother and daughter are kidnapped. The evidence that links all the kidnappers is the father and husband of the kidnap victims. When they search the kidnappers' hideout, they find preparations which implies that the kidnappers knew that the blackout was coming. Cutter must convince the man to testify after he has lied about a search warrant to save the man's daughter, or else the kidnappers will all go free. Issues of a warrantless search arise. Courtroom scenes revolve around questions of Enron-like manipulation of energy.

Director: Michael Dinner

Writer: David Slack

An online romance may be at the heart of a mechanic's murder, but Detectives Lupo and Bernard must unravel some truly bizarre developments before the full story is known.

Director: John David Coles

Writer: Stephanie Sengupta

The investigation into a pair of missing pants leads to the murder of a young lawyer. Lupo and Green soon turn their suspicions to a businessman who works for a shady multinational corporation called SavingsMart.

Director: Alex Chapple

Writer: N/A

A triple homicide has ties to a politician, but he may be just the first step toward the truth and a killer who will take desperate measures to keep his freedom.

Director: Jean de Segonzac

Writer: David Slack

A case of mistaken identity leads Green and Lupo to suspect that a murdered doctor may have been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Director: Constantine Makris

Writer: N/A

A high school party turns tragic when a teenager is found dead, and the detectives end up playing games with the two leading suspects to find out the real story. Unfortunately, unwanted attention from a juror for A.D.A. Rubirosa may disrupt the trial.

Director: Dean White

Writer: Stephanie Sengupta

Cyrus Lupo returns to New York after four years abroad to deal with his own terror. Lupo and Green investigate two suicides committed the same way. The detectives are suspicious of a parolee known as "Dr. Death".

Director: Allen Coulter

Writer: N/A

A novelist's apparent suicide soon changes to a murder investigation with suspects that include a cult and her husband, but Cutter's case may not be closed when jury tampering puts lives at risk.

Director: Tim Hunter

Writer: N/A

A terrorist organization seems to be tied in with the violent death of an art dealer, until the victim's troubled son with ties to a fanatic religious group is investigated.

Director: Darnell Martin

Writer: David Wilcox, Stephanie Sengupta

The explosion of a package including scientific research injures a pregnant security guard, leading to the investigation of the scientist's experiments.

Director: Michael W. Watkins

Writer: David Wilcox, Stephanie Sengupta