This episode turned out to be the basis for several others involving Steven Hill and his re-election campaign. The Law And Order series would not have been real had they not dealt with the political side of the criminal justice business.
And this starts with one way out reporting of a crime that wasn't even classified as a crime when it started, just an accidental fire. I won't go through the details, they're far too complex, but eventually they lead to the home of a wealthy powerbroker in New York City played by Robert Vaughn. He and Steven Hill have a lot of history together long before Hill became the New York County District Attorney.
It's not Vaughn who set the fire that killed a little girl. It was his grandson Sam Huntington who killed his half sister. The investigation shows the young man is probably schizophrenic and an insanity plea is definitely warranted. Sam Waterston is ready to deal over that, but Vaughn is calling the shots and he's adamant against it. Vaughn's retained high price defense lawyer Bob Dishy who also has done a few Law And Order shows.
Of course Vaughn has his reasons and those reasons are for you to see the episode. But what comes out of this is a vendetta against his old friend Hill which takes the place in future shows of him financing a candidate against him.
Robert Vaughn gives a powerful portrayal of a rich man scorned in this one of the best Law And Order episodes.