Law & Order (TV Series) DWB (1998) User Reviews

The Blue Wall Of License

[bkoganbing · 8/10 · 21 February 2015]

The case of James Byrd the black man dragged to his death in Harlingen, Texas was the model for this Law And Order episode. But here the ones who drag the victim who was a police officer in Westchester County are NYPD police officers.

The NYPD always circles the wagons around its own no matter what. Because of that and the fact that offers know that it also becomes the blue wall of license in that it allows them to get away with anything. It takes a lot of bluff for Sam Waterston and Angie Harmon to get a conviction here. If I had been them I would have welcomed handing this one off to the US Attorney as they were offered.

I did love the performance of Russell G. Jones who is a homeless man with a squeegee sponge who is a limited witness at best. They do get a lot of mileage out of him.

Best is when S. Eptha Merkerssen tells him in this house,"I'm the man".

The blue wall will shield you from civilian authority

[Mrpalli77 · 7/10 · 29 April 2018]

Two guys, after a morning spent fishing in the river, found out a dead man on the ground. He was dragged for a quarter mile by a car that ran over him. He was black and he was repeatedly beaten before being killed. An african american witness (Russell G. Jones) confessed to Van Buren what happened (only because she's black as well); the victim was actually a part time cop. Some officers were in charge to prevent people from rob stores in their neighborhood, the victim went by chance in the wrong place at the wrong time. It's all become a matter inside NYPD, several white cops went under investigation, two of them were arrested. Immunity was granted for a highly ranked officer for his testimony, big mistake for prosecutors.

Legal tricks this time go against criminal justice system. Even the mayor put his reputation at stake for a statement made live on TV before knowing the real truth. McCoy jeopardized his place of work to take everything on the right track.

Welcome to the big leagues

[hanchilles · 10/10 · 16 March 2020]

Awesome episode, just shows time and time again how relentless McCoy can get while pursuing justice , doesn't matter who was trying to stop him, he will not back down until justice is serve. Another episode where Adam might not agree with McCoy but McCoy took things to his own hands again! Iconic part was when McCoy tells Carmichael "Welcome to the big leagues" as she manage to convict the perps to death row punishment. And also love the scene when McCoy bought salad for Carmichael but she took his ribs instead saying she burn calories not store them

Driving while black

[TheLittleSongbird · 10/10 · 11 August 2021]

One of the biggest appeals of 'Law and Order' has been the topics it addresses and issues that come with the topics addressed. Also with how they are explored, the execution more often than not was hardly sugar coated or trivialised and was often pull no punches in quality. "DWB", with shades of the Rodney King and James Byrd Jr cases, explores two difficult issues, racism and plea deals (the latter being the primary crux of the episode's conflict).

"DWB" is a wonderful second episode to Season 9 and explores these two issues incredibly well (especially the whole argument with the plea deals), not holding back while not being heavy-handed. Absolutely loved the previous episode and loved this just as much, with both being among the season's best. As to be expected from any 'Law and Order' episode that tackles particularly difficult issues, this is brave, well balanced and brilliantly executed in every way.

The production values as ever have slickness and grit, with an intimacy without being claustrophobic. The music has presence when it's used but does so without being intrusive, some of it is quite haunting too. The direction is also understated but the tension never slips, the second half being full of it.

As expected, the script is lean, even with a lot of talk, and incredibly thought provoking and gritty. The tensions when talking about the plea deals and how to prosecute crackle, and it was insightful to see it explored from more than just one side without it being too obvious which side the writers were on (which did become a problem from time to time in Season 7 onwards of 'Special Victims Unit'). The story is always compelling, with a suspenseful quality in the legal portions, with the many turns being unpredictable and not confusing. It also doesn't get preachy or overwrought.

Expectedly too, the acting is excellent, Sam Waterston is typically ruthless and authoritative (do love how McCoy takes the matter into his own hands and the tensions that come with it) and Angie Harmon already has settled very, very well and is already a strong and interesting presence. Russell G. Jones, John Ventimiglia and David Valchin are strong support, and one does root for conviction and for the punishment to not be a trivial one.

Concluding, wonderful. 10/10.

Blah blah blah, racial profiling, wa wa waaaa...

[m-47826 · 1/10 · 14 January 2024]

I don't see the point in episodes like these. We know they are all guilty, so apart from giving far left freaks a wet dream, there is no appeal to this kind of by the numbers storyline, we've seen a thousand times on the show before. McCoy is just as smug and obsessed as he always is when his favorite « bad white peoples » scenario plays out. Carmichael is no Jamie Ross, she's ok, but a little too hasty with her conclusions. And is often wrong so far. Apart from McCoy's closing arguments, the funniest thing about the closing scene, was that he himself circumvented the law, because it served his own ego and biases. Awful episode.