The detective assigned to guard Judge Karlin asks her what case she is trying that day: she replies that she's presiding over a drug case where the defendant was caught with 13 pounds (208 ounces) of heroin. The detective asks the judge what kind of sentence you'd get for that: the judge sarcastically replies, "A needle in the arm." Though she was joking, the judge wasn't too far off: 208 ounces of heroin would be criminal possession of a controlled substance in the first degree, a class A-I felony with a minimum sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole after 15 years. Considering the amount of heroin in this case, the defendant would likely get the maximum sentence of 25 to life since 208 ounces is obviously way more than the minimum 8 ounces needed to be charged with first-degree possession.
This episode appears to be based on the 1979 murder of Judge John H. Wood Jr.
Frank Morris, who stole a gun from his bartender uncle, takes a shot at Judge Linda Karlin...
Escape from Alcatraz (1979) Clint Eastwood ... Frank Morris
Jeff Van Gundy was the head coach of the New York Knicks from March 1996 until December 2001.
Draconian is an adjective meaning "of great severity", that derives from Draco, an Athenian law scribe under whom small offenses had heavy punishments.