Conduct Unbecoming

"Conduct Unbecoming"
←	L&O, Episode 3.17	→
Production number: 68023 First aired: 10 March 1993
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←	{{{nNthReleasedInSeries}}}th of 456 released in L&O	→
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Teleplay By René Balcer & Michael S. Chernuchin Story By Walon Green & Peter S. Greenberg Directed By Arthur W. Forney

Plot

A female Naval officer is found dead during a party, but the ensign who was last seen with her was drunk and can't remember what took place.

Cast

Main cast

• Jerry Orbach as Detective Lennie Briscoe
• Chris Noth as Detective Mike Logan
• Dann Florek as Captain Donald Cragen
• Michael Moriarty as E.A.D.A. Benjamin Stone
• Richard Brooks as A.D.A. Paul Robinette
• Steven Hill as D.A. Adam Schiff
• Carolyn McCormick as Dr. Elizabeth Olivet (credit only)

Recurring cast

• Barbara Spiegel as Arraignment Judge Harriet Doremus
• Victor Truro as Judge Douglas Spivack
• Michael Noth as Court Clerk

Guest cast

• Len Cariou as Captain Allard Bunker
• Boyd Gaines as Lieutenant St. Claire
• George Coe as Defense Attorney Lee Hastings
• Michael Dolan as Ensign Evan Walters
• Julianna Margulies as Lieutenant Ruth Mendoza
• Dick Latessa as Vice Admiral Miles Coty
• Richard Hamilton as Chief Petty Officer James Hagen
• Joe Chrest as Lieutenant Charles Bates
• Barbara Blackburn as Tammy White
• Mark Zimmerman as Mooren
• Mark Hildreth as Keller
• Mick Weber as Hotel Barman
• Rich Duva as EMS Medic
• Jack O'Connell as Sergeant Gilmore
• Larry Fleischman as Policeman #1
• Ray DeBenedictis as Marine Guard

References

• Annapolis, Maryland
• Article 32 hearing
• Allen Funt
• Beirut, Lebanon
• Grenada
• Lt. Janet Hagen (victim)
• Bobby Kennedy
• Fort Leavenworth
• NIS
• New Jersey
• Somalia
• Uniform Code of Military Justice
• United States Marine Corps
• United States Navy
• United States Supreme Court
• USS McKinley
• Vietnam War

Quotes

Police Officer: Possible blunt force concussion.

Mike Logan: She didn't get that playing Spin the Bottle.

“	Great. So the Marines land in Somalia, they got cameras covering every square inch of sand. A sailor gets whacked in Manhattan, it might as well have happened on the moon.	”
–Donald Cragen

“	Only losers bluff after the table's already seen their hand.	”
–Lennie Briscoe

“	Praise the Lord and pass the martinis.	”
–Lennie Briscoe

“	He probably didn't get past the Declaration of Independence...'All men are created equal'.	”
–Adam Schiff

Lennie Briscoe: The whole floor was charged to the Officers' Mess Fund.

Mike Logan: Nice to know my tax dollars aren't being wasted on school books.

Benjamin Stone: Isn't it because of Lieutenant Hagen? Isn't it because of her you will never rise higher than the level of a C.O. of a sub-hunter and there is absolutely nothing that you can do about it? And how do you deal with that sense of impotence? With rage? With the same rage you directed at Tammy White? The prostitute at that hotel?

Captain Allard Bunker: That bitch deserved it!

Benjamin Stone: Which bitch is it, sir, Lieutenant Hagen or Tammy White?No further questions.

Background information and notes

• Actor Michael Noth appears for the first time as a recurring court clerk. Michael is the older brother of Chris Noth.
• This episode seems to be based on the Tailhook Association scandal. (Tailhook Association at Wikipedia)
• The episode title "Conducting Unbecoming" is a phrase used to refer to behavior considered dishonorable.
• Julianna Margulies and Chris Noth worked together later in the successful CBS series, The Good Wife.

Episode scene cards

1	2	3
U.S.S. McKinley Captain Allard Bunker Saturday, January 16	Home of James Hagen 700 Warren Street Monday, January 18	U.S.S. McKinley Conference Room Friday, January 22

4	5	6
Office of Vice Admiral Coty New York Naval Headquarters Thursday, February 25	Supreme Court Trial Part 60 Monday, April 5	Supreme Court Trial Part 60 Wednesday, April 7

Previous episode: "Jurisdiction"

"Conduct Unbecoming" Law & Order Season 3

Next episode: "Animal Instinct"