Law & Order (TV Series) Nullification (1997) User Reviews

Nullification, that's the name of the game

[bkoganbing · 8/10 · 14 February 2015]

On an ordinary day at Off Track Betting now defunct there's a robbery that goes horribly wrong as three masked thugs try to rob an armored car taking in the proceeds. One guard is dead, one robber is dead and one wounded.

Here's the shock, these guys were solid suburban citizens from the Hudson Valley, the dead guy a teacher, the wounded one a cop from the Hastings- on-Hudson police force. And they've all got tattoos. How incredibly stupid for these mutts. Turns out they all went to the same tattoo parlor for these eagle tattoos with a Latin motto.

A little search by computer conscious Benjamin Bratt finds a web site for a militia group. Naturally these guys ain't talking, especially the wounded cop who they certainly have dead bang cold, so Sam Waterston charges the whole lot of them. If it wasn't for the tattoos probably the rest would never have been charged.

Denis O'Hare is the brother-in-law of the deceased and he's going to represent all of them pro bono. He gets a grand chance to spout his right wing conspiratorial theories. O'Hare is one scary dude and Steven Hill is quite right when he observes how this guy has really gotten under Waterston's skin.

The saddest case in this story is the deceased's son Jesse Tendler who is part of the militia having bought into all the conspiratorial garbage. One hopes he eventually sees the error of his ways.

It all rests with O'Hare trying for jury nullification or at best a hung jury. Just how determined is Waterston to get him and what will he do?

Invalidation

[TheLittleSongbird · 9/10 · 10 June 2021]

The subject matter for "Nullification" is another one that is quite bold, almost as much as the hard hitting one for "Harvest". Have said more than once about my long term admiration for 'Law and Order's' handling of heavy and controversial topics, some of them being ones that many shows would go nowhere near, and how it does not hold back when it approaches any of them. Regardless of the overall execution of the episodes, this aspect always is deserving of credit.

"Nullification" is a truly fine episode that does a great job with how it handles its topic. Not perfectly, but very, very admirably and compellingly. Unlike the previous Season 8 episodes, it doesn't start off in too ordinary a way and continues to surprise all the way through to the end. Sure, the idea of having to deal with extreme opposition from a group supporting the defendant is not unfamiliar territory, but this aspect is done very well indeed here.

Do agree that the portrayal of the militia could have done with more subtlety, it's rather one sided and on the nose cartoonish here.

Otherwise, there is so much to love here in "Nullification". Production values are still slick and suitably gritty (without being too heavy in it). The music is not too melodramatic and is not used too much, even not being too manipulative in revelations. The direction is accomodating yet with momentum.

Furthermore, the script is lean and intelligent, even with a lot of information to take in it doesn't come over as too much. Whether in the exchanges between Briscoe and Curtis and Briscoe's wry one liners or the thought provoking and well argued debates when it comes to trial. The way the militia fight against what happens in court adds a lot to the tension and provides a lot of suspenseful conflict. The story starts excitingly, intrigues in the policing scenes and intrigues and surprises even more in the legal scenes.

All the characters are well written, McCoy's ways of getting to the truth and his manner in the courtroom or in chambers always fascinates psychologically and the perpetrator is one that gets under the skin of the viewer every bit as much as he does McCoy. All the cast are excellent, Dennis O'Hare does creepiness so well and Jesse Tendler is poignant in the story strand that tugs at the heart-strings.

Summing up, great. 9/10.

Hurray for the people

[garrett-828-74087 · 9/10 · 26 August 2022]

The mistrial outcome was correct. There was apparent reasonable doubt amongst some of the jurors concerning who the 3rd shooter actually was. For all of Mccoy's bluster, he did not make a compelling case concerning that. The fact that the DA's office charged 20 people with conspiracy to commit robbery and murder, despite any concrete evidence of that, and primarily because of their association, their beliefs, I found to be disturbing. Hopefully law and order in New York city does not operate in this fashion. Interestingly, the Constitution only decrees that juries should be impartial. It does not decree on what basis they must make their decision. Ultimately, the people, as represented by the jury, have the power. Not the state or government. That is a good thing.

2020 Politics --- Are we there yet!

[labenji-12163 · 10/10 · 27 December 2020]

With all of the political unrest in the country today (2020), this 23 year old episode was a warning where the American people were headed with their views on the government and its politics.

Militias, oh my!

[knucklebreather · 10 November 2011]

"Nullification" begins with a broad daylight armored car heist that is badly botched, resulting in the death of a guard and a robber. The detective story is pretty compelling as Lenny and Ray unexpectedly end up in the suburbs and quickly suspect a militia. We get to see techno-geek Ray in action using something called a "search engine" for the big break in the case.

The legal side is plenty dramatic, with militia members passionately defending their beliefs, sometimes through chaotic outbursts in court. The leader acts as his own attorney, and Jack McCoy's own beliefs on the will of the people and even apparently on jury nullification are unexpectedly used against him.

As compelling as some parts of this episode are, I thought the portrayal of the militia was a bit cartoonish and off-base at times. They gave them a bit too much credit, making them all respectable suburbanites who attended Militias 101 then committed the mandatory murder in Manhattan to get them on the show.

It's just a bit too uneven for me to consider one of L&O's better efforts.

Still relevant in 2022

[vanessaschunke · 10/10 · 12 November 2022]

Binge watching on streaming after 20+ years, and wow! Just yesterday, I was reading a Twitter debate on "citizen journalism" vs "government supported truth", and every single day, there are people out there saying they don't trust the authorities, and that there's no more freedom, and that globalists now own the world... This episode could've been filmed last week, so relevant it is to this day. I watched it when first aired on TV in my teens, and I just realized my position on "life vs individual liberty" during the Covid-19 pandemic stemmed from McCoy's closing speach in this trial: "LIFE COMES FIRST!", he says.

Utter nonsense about militia

[evony-jwm · 1/10 · 25 February 2021]

"Militia" that are store owners, all have jobs except for one teenager.. which defies Every single militia arrest / conviction.. hint you can count on a couple of fingers the total number of militia incidents, and Not one like this fraud. LOL it's a Democratic INGSOC socialist's wet dream.

This disinformation propaganda is why the American public is so misinformed.