Attorney Bernie Adler uses inflammatory racial epithets in court to shock and test the jury, which creates a high-tension courtroom scene.
Detectives Green and Cassady discover the intended target was actually Barlow, and the shooter is Malcolm Yates , a PhD student suffering from Parkinson's disease .
While this episode focuses on political violence, the SVU episode of the same number (S17E13, "Forty-One Witnesses") is often confused with it, as it deals with the "bystander effect" based on the Kitty Genovese murder.
Yates claims he targeted Barlow because her public stance against stem cell research was a direct threat to his hope for a cure. Notable Cast & Characters Jesse L. Martin Senior Detective Milena Govich Nina Cassady Junior Detective Sam Waterston Jack McCoy Executive ADA Charlotte Ross Judith Barlow Guest Star (The Pundit) Louis Cancelmi Malcolm Yates Guest Star (The Shooter) Ron Silver Bernie Adler Guest Star (Defense Attorney) Key Talking Points