After Philip and Valerie Messick are attacked in their home, Green and Fontana follow the trail to a small-time thug named Jay Fleckner. After Valerie's testimony unintentionally helps free Fleckner, he is found dead, and detectives soon realise that Bob Cerullo, a family friend of Valerie and her late husband, was the triggerman. Unfortunately, when McCoy attempts to prosecute Cerullo, a retired cop, he threatens to claim that he deliberately planted evidence in his past cases in an attempt to get McCoy to drop all the charges.

Episode Viewers and Ratings

Season 16 Episode 12 of Law & Order resulted in a 0.00 rating in the 18-49 demographic.

Law & Order Season 16 Episodes...

• s16e01 - Red Ball
• s16e02 - Flaw
• s16e03 - Ghosts
• s16e04 - Age of Innocence
• s16e05 - Life Line
• s16e06 - Birthright
• s16e07 - House of Cards
• s16e08 - New York Minute
• s16e09 - Criminal Law
• s16e10 - Acid
• s16e11 - Bible Story
• s16e12 - Family Friend
• s16e13 - Heart of Darkness
• s16e14 - Magnet
• s16e15 - Choice of Evils
• s16e16 - Cost of Capital
• s16e17 - America, Inc.
• s16e18 - Thinking Makes It So
• s16e19 - Positive
• s16e20 - Kingmaker
• s16e21 - Hindsight
• s16e22 - Invaders

Law & Order Show Summary

This realistic yet fictional drama looks at crime and justice from a dual perspective. In the first half-hour, Detectives Joe Fontana and Edward Green investigate crimes and apprehend suspects under the supervision of their precinct lieutenant, Anita Van Buren. The focus shifts in the second half-hour to the criminal courts as Executive Assistant District Attorney Jack McCoy and Assistant District Attorney Borgia work within a complicated justice system to prosecute the accused under the guidance of District Attorney Arthur Branch.

Some cases may be simple, but most are multi-faceted. The investigations are challenging, prosecutions are complicated, and decisions about legal procedures and plea-bargaining are vexing. In the arduous and complex process of determining guilt and innocence, lives often hang in the balance.