During controversial right-wing pundit Judith Barlow's speech at a university, a student is shot and killed; it's believed that Barlow herself was the intended target. The detectives follow a trail to the victim's friend Malcolm Yates. He lost his job in stem cell research because repeated attacks in the media by Barlow forced a sponsor to cut funding. Bullet evidence links him to the shooting, and he's arrested. The defense gets all evidence from the sponsor suppressed; McCoy and Rubirosa struggle to prove motive until they learn that Yates has Parkinson's Disease. Barlow's efforts to shut down stem cell research threatened his only hope for a cure, so he tried to kill her.
Yates stops taking his medication and shows severe signs of Parkinson's Disease during the trial. On the stand, Barlow is forced to admit that she used slurs against the disabled in her speech on the night of the shooting. Yates claims he carries a gun for protection and fired accidentally due to the shaking caused by his condition. McCoy points out this can't be true, since at that time Yates' symptoms were kept under control by his medication. Yates yells that his life is worth more than those of the embryos harvested for stem cells; McCoy says that the same is true of both Barlow, and the student who was accidentally killed. The jury convicts and Connie later asks McCoy for his own views on stem cell research. He replies:
- McCoy: If God created man in His image, then we've all degenerated from whatever's on that Petri dish.
This episode contains examples of:
- Abhorrent Admirer: Green is horrified by the notion that Barlow is attracted to him.
- Asshole Victim:
- The victim was antisemitic and violently beat another student at a rally for Palestine Averted since he tried to make up for it and is clearly implied to have obviously changed and stopped being antisemitic.
- Judith Barlow is also this. Even Branch, a fellow conservative, can't stand her.
Branch: Ten minutes of her bloviating, the jury will forget why they're there and convict the S.O.B. of bad aim. - Blonde Republican Sex Kitten: This is Barlow's public image.
- Casting Gag: One of Barlow's many ultra-conservative stances is that female cops are inferior by nature. Barlow is played by Charlotte Ross, who played Det. Connie McDowell from seasons 8-11 of NYPD Blue.
- Female Misogynist: Barlow doesn't think women should be cops.
- Femme Fatale: Barlow tries this on Branch to get him to allow her to testify. It doesn't work, although the defense later calls her anyway.
- Murder by Mistake: The case against Yates is that he intended to kill Barlow. He, in turn, claims it's Accidental Murder. There is no doubt that he never intended to kill the actual victim.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: Barlow is an obvious stand-in for Ann Coulter.
- Pet the Dog: Barlow disapproves of female police officers, but she'll concede she likes Van Buren.
- Political Correctness Is Evil: Barlow has built her career around proclaiming this.
- Pompous Political Pundit: Barlow is one, and Rubirosa gets in a little speech about the harm she thinks such people do.
- Ripped from the Headlines: The conflict between Barlow and Yates is based on an incident between Michael J. Fox and Rush Limbaugh. Fox appeared in a PSA advocating for stem cell research without his medication, causing him to shake from his Parkinson's Disease. Limbaugh mocked the ad and spoke out against stem cell research.
- Smug Snake: Barlow is incredibly smug and arrogant.
- Straw Character: The victim's professor is one of intolerant liberals, to the point of browbeating his students into protesting Barlow's speech if they want to pass his class.
- Windmill Crusader: McCoy describes Yates' lawyer as one.
