Law & Order: Trial by Jury

Law & Order: Trial by Jury was 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 is 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 previewed on Thursday, March 3, 2005, and aired its series finale on Friday, May 6, 2005. Its regular time slot was Fridays 10/9 p.m. ET on NBC. An additional episode aired on Court TV after the series' cancellation.

The show was aired in the UK on ITV3.

Description

Unlike the other Law & Order series, Trial By Jury shows what it is like to prepare for and try a criminal case. The episodes usually started with a witness or victim telling a story about a crime that has already occurred. This story is used to bring the audience in on what happened prior to the beginning of the episode. This is a departure from the other three Law & Order shows, which usually start off showing the audience the actual crime. 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 where their investigators go out and 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 unethical dealmaking between co-defendants. Each episode has several trial scenes, with both sides examining witnesses and giving arguments. There are also several pre-trial meetings where some procedural issue is argued and ruled on. There are also a few episodes showing jury deliberation. In addition, the show appeared to develop the judges as characters, showing scenes of them conferring with each other, and reusing the same ones in multiple episodes.

Cast of characters

The series stars Bebe Neuwirth (most famous from roles on Broadway and as Lilith Sternin on the sitcom Cheers) and Amy Carlson as Assistant District Attorneys Tracey Kibre (Neuwirth) and Kelly Gaffney (Carlson) in the Manhattan District Attorney's office. Kirk Acevedo plays an investigator who works with them. Fred Dalton Thompson also continues his role as District Attorney Arthur Branch from the original Law & Order.

Jerry Orbach was also supposed to bring his character Lennie Briscoe into the new series in a reduced role (at his request). Orbach died at the end of December 2004. He only appeared in the first two episodes. The show's second episode demonstrates Orbach's seriously-declining health, as most of what the actor says comes out as a coarse whisper. Following Orbach's death, Scott Cohen joined the cast as Det. Chris Ravell.

Some of the show's guest stars included Candice Bergen, Lorraine Bracco, and Carey Lowell (as Judge Jamie Ross, updating a character she played in the original Law & Order).

Character description

Not much is known about the characters because of both the early cancellation of the series and the fact that the bios on NBC's website have been deleted, although some information is given in the few episodes aired.

A.D.A. Tracey Kibre A tough, focused prosecutor, she is definitely a contrast to the lead ADAs in the other three series. She has a black-and-white view of the law when it comes to those she prosecutes, and does take a few controversial turns in her cases. In one episode she indicated that she isn't religious, unlike her partner Kelly Gaffney.

A.D.A. Kelly Gaffney The younger assistant to Kibre, she comes from an Irish-Catholic family whose history runs deep in the city of New York. She is a graduate of Boston College, and is often more by-the-book than Kibre. She often challenges Kibre, and sees the law in more shades of gray than her partner.

DA Investigator Hector Salazar A former police detective who was apparently injured on duty; an injury would have likely put him in a desk job, which he didn't find too thrilling.

List of Episodes

1. 1- 1 E5701 3 Mar 05 The Abominable Showman
2. 1- 2 E5707 4 Mar 05 Forty-One Shots
3. 1- 3 E5712 11 Mar 05 Vigilante
4. 1- 4 E5703 18 Mar 05 Truth or Consequences
5. 1- 5 E5704 25 Mar 05 Baby Boom
6. 1- 6 E5710 1 Apr 05 Pattern of Conduct
7. 1- 7 E5711 8 Apr 05 Bang & Blame
8. 1- 8 E5716 15 Apr 05 Skeleton (2)
9. 1- 9 E5714 22 Apr 05 The Line
10. 1-10 E5713 29 Apr 05 Blue Wall
11. 1-11 E5715 3 May 05 Day (2)
12. 1-12 E5706 6 May 05 Boys Will Be Boys
13. 1-13 E5705 UNAIRED Eros in the Upper Eighties

Cancellation

NBC announced on May 16, 2005 that Law & Order: TBJ would not be returning for the 2005-2006 fall television season. The rival CBS procedural NUMB3RS 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 and freeing up the time slot for Law & Order: TBJ. Despite TBJ 's pedigree NUMB3RS's ratings remained strong, often beating TBJ in both overall and key demographic ratings. Most insiders agree that Orbach's death may have been a contributing cause to the series' inability to attract viewers, similar to that of Phil Hartman's death and the subsequent end to News Radio.

Law & Order: TBJ is the first series of the Law & Order franchise to be cancelled, although TV Guide reported at one point that NBC reconsidered its decision and pick up the series once again (or hand it off to Turner Network Television, 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 3rd, 2006, lasting only one season before cancellation. In an October 2005 interview with the Associated Press, Wolf stated that NBC had assured him TBJ would return for the fall of 2005 but had "blindsided him" by cancelling it instead. Because of how quickly the show was cancelled, some fans of the Law & Order franchise do not consider Trial by Jury to be a part of the franchise itself.

Court TV recently reaired the entire series, including the episode "Eros In The Upper Eighties", which never aired on NBC before the show's cancellation. Although the show is still listed on the Court TV website, there are no indications the series will be airing in the near future.

DVD releases

DVD Name	Release dates
DVD Name	Region 1	Region 2	Region 4
The Complete Series	April 25 2006	N/A	N/A

Trivia

This is one of seven series in which the character Detective John Munch, played by Richard Belzer, has appeared. The other six are Life on the Street, Law & Order, The X-Files, Special Victims Unit, The Beat, and Arrested Development.
Jerry Orbach (Detective Lennie Briscoe), Jesse L. Martin (Detective Ed Green), Fred Dalton Thompson (District Attorney Arthur Branch), and Leslie Hendrix (Dr. Elizabeth Rodgers) and S. Epatha Merkerson (Lt. Anita Van Buren) are the only actors to play the same character on all four "Law & Order" series (Law & Order, Special Victims Unit, Criminal Intent and Law & Order: Trial by Jury).
The fifth episode of the series, "Baby Boom," was dedicated to the memory of Jerry Orbach. At the end, the message "For Jerry" appeared. The one remaining unaired episode after cancellation, "Eros in the Upper Eighties," was aired on Australian television and aired in the US on Court TV on January 21, 2006. (It was also a part of the DVD release of the entire series on April 25, 2006). A then-current rumor stated that the episode would mention Lennie Briscoe's death, as it was the last one filmed before Jerry's passing. This rumor turned out to be false.
The opening narration:

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.

This is the only show in the "Law & Order" franchise that does not end the opening narration with "These are their stories."

Bebe Neuwirth had a role as a drug-dealing modeling agent on Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, prior to her role on TBJ. Other stars with this pedigree include Jerry Orbach, S. Epatha Merkerson, Diane Neal, Amy Carlson, Courtney B. Vance, Ice-T, Michelle Hurd, Annabella Sciorra, and Tamara Tunie.