In joining the cast for the Fall of 2002, Fred Thompson (District Attorney Arthur Branch) became the first serving U.S. Senator to take a regular TV acting job. His Senate term wasn't officially over until January 2003.
For the shows filmed after 9/11/01 for season 13 (aired from Oct. 2002 until May 2003) all badges shown had the addition of a black mourning band.
The defendant calls A.D.A. Serena Southerlyn a "lying Qabeha" which roughly translates to "bitch" or "whore" depending on context.
Donna Hanover plays a judge overseeing a trial of a Muslim. She is married to Rudy Giuliani who was Mayor of New York during the September 11th attacks which were attributed to Muslim extremists.
This episode appears to be based on 3 separate cases:
- The John Walker Lindh case.
- The trial of Zacarias Moussaoui.
- The 2001 Dartmouth College murders committed by James J. Parker and Robert W. Tulloch.