The Best Episodes of Law & Order Season 9

The investigation into a girl's death reveals secrets the adoptive family was desperately trying to hide.

Director: Edwin Sherin

Writer: Kathy McCormick

Detectives discover a shocking twist involving unlikely suspects when they investigate the brutal beating of a black man dumped near the highway.

Director: Constantine Makris

Writer: Kathy McCormick

The investigation into how a teen got wounded leads to a case involving a young woman's murder and a drug operation.

Director: David Shore

Writer: David Shore

After a child in a day-care center dies of a virus, Briscoe and Curtis try to find the source of the infection, leading to a case involving an extramarital affair, embezzlement and a drug manufacturer.

Director: David Platt

Writer: N/A

After the detectives find a murdered postman and a woman who was left for dead in her apartment, the investigation leads to a serial killer and a surprise.

Director: Constantine Makris

Writer: Kathy McCormick

The murder of an employee at a fertility clinic leads to a case involving a dead man's first and second wives.

Director: Martha Mitchell

Writer: N/A

The killing of a professional escort leads to a case involving the relationships between a young man and two older women.

Director: Jace Alexander

Writer: N/A

The murder of a corrections officer leads detectives to a women's prison where a guard was linked to an inmate Carmichael put away on drug charges and a confrontation with defense attorney Danielle Melnick.

Director: Matthew Penn

Writer: Matt Witten

The double murder of a wealthy man and his daughter leads the detectives to the wife and stepmother of the deceased. However, Canada's objection to the death penalty hampers McCoy and Carmichael in seeking crucial evidence for obtaining a conviction.

Director: Arthur W. Forney

Writer: N/A

Evidence points the detectives in the direction of a fascist youth gathering after the brutal beating and murder of a high school girl.

Director: Constantine Makris

Writer: N/A

Briscoe and Curtis reopen a case that was closed in the '60s when a vehicle is dredged from the Hudson River containing the remains of a murdered man.

Director: Matthew Penn

Writer: Kathy McCormick, Lynne E. Litt

Briscoe and Curtis probe the murder of a popular Harlem community leader while McCoy and Carmichael struggle to prevent a chaotic situation.

Director: David Platt

Writer: David Shore

Briscoe and Curtis race against time to find the killer of a parolee before two bounty hunters find the suspected murderer.

Director: N/A

Writer: Gerry Conway

When Briscoe and Curtis discover that a high-level federal official found murdered was recently transferred from Baltimore, they re-team with Baltimore homicide detectives. The joint investigation reveals that the victim was involved in an affair with a high-level government official whose career will be destroyed if it becomes public. The independent counsel summons McCoy and Ed Danvers to Washington to demand McCoy reveal his source or be jailed for contempt. This crossover continues on Homicide: Life on the Street S07E15 Sideshow (II).

Director: Edwin Sherin

Writer: N/A

After a teen is found dead in the emergency room, the investigation leads to a case involving a religious ritual and a defendant who claims that the action taken was dictated by a saint's voice.

Director: Martha Mitchell

Writer: Lynne E. Litt

Briscoe and Curtis investigate a possible homicide while probing the assault of a retired divorce attorney.

Director: N/A

Writer: N/A

Briscoe and Curtis investigate the murder of a police officer who was shot while on an undercover stakeout.

Director: David Shore

Writer: David Shore

The investigation into the shooting of a newspaper columnist leads to a murder case from two decades earlier and involves a suspect who at that time had been a juvenile.

Director: N/A

Writer: Lynne E. Litt

After a philosophy professor is pushed in front of a subway and killed, the investigation leads to a suspect who, following a divorce, changed his identity and disappeared with his daughters.

Director: N/A

Writer: Kathy McCormick

The death of a corporate mogul caused by an overdose of a sexual performance-enhancing drug leads to a case with a witness that puts Curtis in a compromising position.

Director: Matthew Penn

Writer: Robert Palm

The murder of an audio installation salesman leads the detectives to a case with connections to the mafia.

Director: Christopher Misiano

Writer: N/A

A coed's killing leads to a case involving the deceased's relationship with a professor and two male students who vouch for each other's whereabouts on the night of the murder.

Director: Jace Alexander

Writer: Kathy McCormick, Lynne E. Litt

A shootout between a motorist and the police leads to the discovery of a gruesome Russian mob killing --- and a traumatized boy who was an eyewitness to the murder.

Director: Constantine Makris

Writer: N/A

McCoy and Carmichael risk violating the civil liberties of witnesses when they are forced to jail them in order to safely continue their investigation.

Director: Constantine Makris

Writer: N/A