Law & Order: Trial by Jury

Law & Order: Trial by Jury
Also known as	'Law & Order: TBJ Trial by Jury'
Genre	Legal drama
Created by	Dick Wolf
Starring	Bebe Neuwirth Amy Carlson Kirk Acevedo Fred Dalton Thompson Jerry Orbach Scott Cohen
Narrated by	Steven Zirnkilton (opening only)
Opening theme	Theme of Law & Order: Trial by Jury
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	13 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Walon Green Peter Jankowski Dick Wolf
Running time	42 minutes
Production company(s)	Wolf Films NBC Universal Television Studio
Release
Original network	NBC (2005) Court TV (2006)
Picture format	480i (SDTV) 1080i (HDTV)
Original release	March 3, 2005 (2005-03-03) – January 21, 2006 (2006-01-21)
Chronology
Related shows	Law & Order franchise

Law & Order: Trial by Jury is an American television drama about criminal trials set in New York City. It was the third spin-off from the long-running Law & Order. The show's almost exclusive focus was on the criminal trial of the accused, showing both the prosecution's and defense's preparation for trial, as well as the trial itself. The series premiered on Thursday, March 3, 2005, and ended on January 21, 2006. Its regular time slot was Fridays 10/9 p.m. ET on NBC. The last episode aired on Court TV months after the series' cancellation.

Description

"In the criminal justice system, all defendants are innocent until proven guilty, either by confession, plea bargain, or trial by jury. This is one of those trials."

          –Opening narration spoken by Steven Zirnkilton

Trial by Jury focuses on criminal legal procedures and preparation that are rarely depicted on other Law & Order series, such as jury selection, deliberations in the jury room, as well as jury research and mock trials prepared by the defense to use psychological studies and socioeconomic status profiling to their advantage.

The episodes usually start with a witness or victim's personal account of a crime. This is a departure from the other Law & Order series, which usually begin by depicting either the actual crime or its discovery/reporting by civilians. The show progresses on from that point, showing how both sides develop their strategies for winning the case.

The prosecution's preparation usually includes scenes in which their investigators follow up on leads and interview witnesses. The defense's preparation varies from episode to episode, running the gamut from testing arguments in front of jury focus groups to deal-making between co-defendants. Each episode has several trial scenes, with both sides examining witnesses and giving arguments. Also, several pretrial meetings are held where some procedural issue is argued and ruled on. In addition, a few episodes show jury deliberations. The show develops the judges as characters, showing scenes of them conferring with each other and reusing the same judges in multiple episodes.

Characters

File:TBJ Cast.jpg

The original cast of Law & Order: Trial by Jury (2005); from left, Amy Carlson, Bebe Neuwirth, Fred Thompson, Jerry Orbach, and Kirk Acevedo.

Name	Portrayed by	Occupation	Season 1 Episodes
			1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13
Tracey Kibre	Bebe Neuwirth	Bureau Chief Executive A.D.A.	Main
Kelly Gaffney	Amy Carlson	A.D.A.	Main
Hector Salazar	Kirk Acevedo	Investigator	Main
Chris Ravell	Scott Cohen	Detective			Special Guest		Main
Arthur Branch	Fred Dalton Thompson	District Attorney	Main
Lennie Briscoe	Jerry Orbach	Investigator	Main

• Tracey Kibre is a tough, focused prosecutor; she is a contrast to the lead ADAs in the other three series with a black-and-white view of the law.
• Kelly Gaffney is the younger assistant to Kibre; she is often more by-the-book. She often challenges Kibre, given that she sees the law in more shades of gray than her partner.
• Hector Salazar is a former police detective who was apparently injured on duty; an injury would have likely put him in a desk job, which he did not find too thrilling.
• Lennie Briscoe was the first partner of Hector Salazar and was previously the longest-serving police detective of the original Law & Order series. He appears in only the first two episodes due to the death of Orbach. His final onscreen appearance is in the episode "41 Shots". Orbach was so ill at the time, he could barely speak above a whisper. Consequently, his final line of dialogue had to be rewritten.
• Arthur Branch is the New York district attorney; he also appeared in a starring role on the original Law & Order.
• Chris Ravell is the second partner of Salazar; in episodes 3 and 5 to 13, unlike Salazar and Briscoe, he is a member of the NYPD. Cohen was credited as a guest appearance for episode 3 before being added to the main credits in episode 5. He did not appear in episode 4.

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Production code	U.S. Viewers (millions)
1	"The Abominable Showman"	Jean de Segonzac	Dick Wolf	March 3, 2005 (2005-03-03)	E5701	17.29
Tough New York Assistant DA Tracey Kibre tackles the murder of an aspiring Broadway actress, but has little evidence to prosecute the suspect; an acclaimed but arrogant theater producer (Tony Bill) smugly knows that the police have found no blood or even a body. Kibre is joined by her unflappable deputy ADA, Kelly Gaffney, as they work with Detectives Briscoe and Salazar to pursue physical evidence while the producer's attorney (Annabella Sciorra) maneuvers to publicly portray the missing woman as promiscuous.
2	"41 Shots"	Caleb Deschanel	Walon Green	March 4, 2005 (2005-03-04)	E5707	14.52
When a police officer is executed by a career criminal (Aliya Campbell), Kibre and Gaffney must overcome the fact that the accused was shot 41 times by police, not to mention the charges of police corruption leveled by the charismatic and cunning defense attorney (Peter Coyote). Kibre's plea for justice veers suddenly when evidence indicates the killer might be a federal agent's snitch, while she also fears the jury will sympathize when they see the bandaged man wheeled into court for his trial. This is the final episode in the Law & Order franchise for Jerry Orbach (Lennie Briscoe), who died after filming this episode. Carey Lowell guest-stars as Judge Jamie Ross.
3	"Vigilante"	Dwight H. Little	David Wilcox	March 11, 2005 (2005-03-11)	E5712	10.69
Kibre and Gaffney face the unpopular job of prosecuting a father (Aidan Gillen) accused of murdering a paroled child molester who had approached his daughter. The case takes on an added twist when they investigate why his self-appointed lawyer (Lorraine Bracco) is so passionate about representing him. Later, new evidence about the pedophile's intentions is uncovered and District Attorney Branch knows the unwelcome publicity fallout for his department could hurt his chance at reelection. Scott Cohen joins the cast as Detective Chris Ravell.
4	"Truth or Consequences"	Constantine Makris	Teleplay by: David Wilcox Story by: David Wilcox & Walon Green	March 18, 2005 (2005-03-18)	E5703	11.54
After a young woman is raped and murdered, ADAs Kibre and Gaffney are stymied by a triangle of suspects, three friends who include a rich boy (Warren Blosjo), a bad boy (Adam LaVorgna), and the victim's ex-boyfriend Danny (Ebon Moss-Bachrach). As the prosecutors try to turn one against the other, they wonder who is playing whom. When Danny seems the least likely to lie, though, Kibre wants to make a deal with him, but she worries he might be manipulating the facts to gain the jury's sympathy.
5	"Baby Boom"	Michael Pressman	Teleplay by: Joan Rater & Tony Phelan Story by: Pamela J. Wechsler	March 25, 2005 (2005-03-25)	E5704	11.07
Kibre and Gaffney prosecute a young nanny (Elisabeth Moss) accused of murder for shaking an infant and bashing in her head, but they run into a stone wall when the presiding judge (Aasif Mandvi) intentionally blocks every move they make. After Kibre rejects Gaffney's desperate offer to resign to blunt the judge's irrational ire, they discover the tough defense attorney has coached his client well and intends to point the finger of murder elsewhere.
6	"Pattern of Conduct"	Constantine Makris	Teleplay by: Pamela J. Wechsler & Walon Green Story by: Pamela J. Wechsler	April 1, 2005 (2005-04-01)	E5710	10.58
Kibre faces an obstacle course when she prosecutes a famous pro basketball player (Damaine Radcliff) for killing his girlfriend, but first she must get past the starstruck grand jury, a legion of fans, a savvy defense lawyer, and the player's beautiful trophy wife (Sherri Saum), who is determined to hang on to what she has. Although other women have been assaulted by the defendant, Kibre and Gaffney have a difficult time getting them to testify, and new evidence that the victim had previously attempted suicide adds to the complexities of this case.
7	"Bang & Blame"	Caleb Deschanel	Chris Levinson	April 8, 2005 (2005-04-08)	E5711	11.38
When a bank worker (Jeff Perry) casually shoots a customer to death and wounds others, the seemingly mentally unstable man runs rings around an exasperated Kibre in court when he asks to defend himself and exploits his claim of extreme emotional distress due to the tragic death of his son. Kibre and Gaffney must regain their footing before the jury through old-fashioned detective work, which reveals critical holes in the murderer's persistent claim that he has been victimized by everyone. Carey Lowell guest stars as Judge Jamie Ross.
8	"Skeleton"	David Platt	David Wilcox	April 15, 2005 (2005-04-15)	E5716	13.19
Continuing a crossover episode from Law & Order, Kibre prosecutes an elusive career criminal Lucas (Ritchie Coster) for the murder of a sleazy ex-cop and the shooting of Detective Ed Green. As Kibre's office works with Detective Joe Fontana (Dennis Farina), they discover their prime suspect might also be a producer of "snuff" pornography. When a sting goes bad and a shocking courtroom development cuts the legs from under her case, Kibre's career teeters on finding why the shootings were committed in the first place. This is a crossover sequel to the episode "Tombstone" from season 15 of the series Law & Order. Dennis Farina (Detective Fontana), Jesse L. Martin (Detective Ed Green), S. Epatha Merkerson (Lt. Anita Van Buren), Sam Waterston (EADA Jack McCoy) and Richard Belzer (Detective John Munch) guest star.
9	"The Line"	Richard Pearce	Tony Phelan & Joan Rater	April 22, 2005 (2005-04-22)	E5714	10.08
Against good advice, Kibre goes full out to retry a convicted multiple murderer (Gabriel Casseus), who is released due to falsified evidence, but she is hardly helped by frightened and hinky witnesses while the manipulative suspect seems to counter her every move with his pricey lawyers. As her fragile case continues to dissolve, Kibre hopes for a break from a witness or forensic evidence, and alienates Gaffney when she ponders contorting ethical rules, if necessary.
10	"Blue Wall"	Joe Ann Fogle	Rick Eid	April 29, 2005 (2005-04-29)	E5713	9.59
Kibre is handed a political bombshell when she is asked to prosecute two police officers (Domenick Lombardozzi and Mike Colter) for their murky roles in the murder of a gay prisoner who was fatally sodomized with a police nightstick; she clashes with Detective Chris Ravell (Scott Cohen), who confronts the "blue wall" in his search for truth. Under federal pressure for a conviction, the conscience-stricken detective causes more problems when he tries to protect one of the cops and his young family by withholding vital evidence.
11	"Day"	Caleb Deschanel	Teleplay by: Chris Levinson Story by: Chris Levinson and Amanda Green	May 3, 2005 (2005-05-03)	E5715	18.70
In the conclusion of a two-part crossover with Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, ADA Kibre works with Detectives Benson and Stabler (Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni) to prosecute a serial rapist (Alfred Molina), whose trail of victims through the years has been whitewashed by his wealthy and protective mother (Angela Lansbury). Kibre must also overcome witness intimidation, and even sees her crucial DNA evidence tossed out, but the slippery suspect's lawyer has yet another surprise up his sleeve. This is a crossover sequel to the episode "Night" from season 6 of the spinoff series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
12	"Boys Will Be Boys"	Aaron Lipstadt	Rick Eid	May 6, 2005 (2005-05-06)	E5706	9.82
Kibre and Gaffney are stymied when a young man (Victor Rasuk) confesses to killing a transvestite upon discovering that the "she" was a "he", just before the suspect's controlling father (Giancarlo Esposito) also admits that he pummeled the victim to death in self defense. Besides being whipsawed between two divergent confessions, the suspicious assistant DAs cannot seem to turn one against the other, prompting a determined Kibre to reach into her legal bag of tricks to force the issue in court.
13	"Eros in the Upper Eighties"	Joe Ann Fogle	Chris Levinson	January 21, 2006 (2006-01-21) (Court TV)	E5705	7.58
A doorman at a high-end Upper Eastside building saves a tenant's life when he pulls a homeless man off her, but kills him in the process, and what appears to be an act of a good Samaritan is actually much more complicated.

Ratings

Season	Episodes	Timeslot (EST)	Season premiere	Season finale	TV season	Ranking	Viewers (in millions)
1	13	Fridays 10:00 p.m.	March 3, 2005	May 6, 2006	2004–2005	#37	10.73

Cancellation

NBC announced on May 16, 2005, that Trial by Jury would not be returning for the 2005–2006 fall television season. The rival CBS procedural Numbers debuted in the midseason in late January 2005 and consistently beat NBC's Medical Investigation in the ratings, sending the latter show into hiatus and eventual cancellation, freeing up the time slot for Law & Order: Trial by Jury. Despite Trial by Jury's pedigree, Numb3rs ratings remained strong, often beating Trial by Jury in both overall and key demographic ratings.

Trial by Jury was the first series of the Law & Order franchise to be cancelled, although TV Guide reported at one point that NBC had reconsidered its decision and would pick up the series once again, or hand it off to Turner Network Television (TNT), which also airs reruns of the original series. The sets were reused by a series Wolf produced for NBC entitled Conviction which premiered Friday, March 3, 2006, lasting only one season before cancellation. In an October 2005 interview with the Associated Press, Wolf stated that NBC had assured him Trial by Jury would return for the fall of 2005, but had "blindsided" him by cancelling it, instead.

Court TV (now TruTV) reaired the entire series, including the episode "Eros In The Upper Eighties", which never aired on NBC before the show's cancellation. TNT has aired the episode "Skeleton" on occasion, as the conclusion to the original series episode "Tombstone".

Home release

On April 25, 2006, Universal Studios Home Entertainment released Law & Order: Trial by Jury – The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1.

DVD name	Ep #	Release date	Additional information
Law & Order: Trial by Jury – The Complete Series	14	April 25, 2006	Cross-over episode "Night" from Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Deleted Scenes "A Different Look at Law & Order"

External links

• Law & Order: Trial by Jury at IMDb
• Law & Order: Trial by Jury at TV.com
• Law & Order: Trial by Jury at epguides.com