When an abusive young mother and murder suspect suddenly dies in her prison cell, an autopsy tells Detectives Fontana (Dennis Farina) and Green (Jesse L. Martin) that the woman has died from an I.U.D. containing benecrine - an illegal drug that sterilizes its users - given by a nurse practitioner (guest star Stephanie Roth Haberle) with a social agenda. As A.D.A.s McCoy (Sam Waterston) and Borgia (Annie Parisse) consider filing second-degree manslaughter charges, they meet a former A.D.A. - Paul Robinette (Richard Brooks) - who is now defending the nurse and thinks he has a good case. S. Epatha Merkerson and Fred Dalton Thompson also star.