Production
January
- 8 January
- L&O: "Entrapment" airs.
- 15 January
- L&O: "Legacy" airs.
February
- 5 February
- L&O: "Menace" airs.
- 12 February
- L&O: "Barter" airs.
- 19 February
- L&O: "Matrimony" airs.
- 26 February
- L&O: "Working Mom" airs.
March
April
- 4 April
- L&O: "Mad Dog" airs.
- 16 April
- L&O: "Double Down" airs.
- 30 April
- L&O: "We Like Mike" airs.
May
September
- 24 September
- L&O: "Thrill" airs.
October
- 8 October
- L&O: "Denial" airs.
- 15 October
- L&O: "Navy Blues" airs.
- 29 October
- L&O: "Harvest" airs.
November
- 5 November
- L&O: "Nullification" airs.
- 12 November
- L&O: "Baby, It's You" airs.
- 19 November
- L&O: "Blood" airs.
- 26 November
- L&O: "Shadow" airs.
December
- 10 December
- L&O: "Burned" airs.
- 17 December
- L&O: "Ritual" airs.
Other events
February
- 1 February
- Cynthia Belgrave dies.
August
- 15 August
- Cassidy Hinkle is born.
Law & Order Universe
April
- 26 April
- Jury finds Hank Coburn guilty of 2nd-Degree Murder for his part in the deaths of Larry Rice and Lorna Kaminsky. (L&O: "Terminal")
- Manhattan District Attorney Adam Schiff terminates his wife's life support. ("Terminal")
- Undetermined Date
- Nicole Wallace gives birth to her daughter Hannah June Bartlett with her lover Rohan Bartlett, whom she later murdered three years later in the waters off of Stradbroke Island, in Australia. The body is not found until a year later; evidence suggests foul play. (CI: "Great Barrier")
| 1996 | Production timeline | 1998 |