| "Haystack" | ||
|---|---|---|
| ← | SVU, Episode 8.15 | → |
| Production number: 08013 First aired (US): 20 February 2007 First aired (CAN): 20 February 2007 First aired (AUS): 14 June 2007 | ||
 | ||
| Written By Amanda Green Directed By Peter Leto | ||
The search for a missing baby is complicated when the child's mother commits suicide.
Plot[]
Elliot investigates the case of a missing baby, Kendall Kozlowski, after he is discovered missing from his home by his mother, Laura. After being questioned by overzealous TV reporter Cindy Marino, who accuses Laura of killing her child, Laura is pushed too far and commits suicide. The case soon leads to two different fathers who have a connection to Kendall. The man who the detectives believed kidnapped Kendall sues Stabler and Novak civilly for their interference and Judge Donnelly defends them. During the trial, something that the man says causes Stabler to find evidence of the kidnapping and they make a deal with him where he drops the suit and serves one to three years in prison in exchange for giving up his parental rights to Kendall. Kendall is then given to the man that Laura had wanted to have him, Dan Kozlowski.
The case leads questions for Olivia to find out about her own family history and soon discovers that she has a brother.
Cast[]
Main cast[]
- Christopher Meloni as Detective Elliot Stabler
- Mariska Hargitay as Detective Olivia Benson
- Richard Belzer as Detective John Munch (credit only)
- Diane Neal as A.D.A. Casey Novak
- Ice-T as Detective Odafin Tutuola (credit only)
- B.D. Wong as Dr. George Huang (credit only)
- Tamara Tunie as M.E. Melinda Warner
- Dann Florek as Captain Donald Cragen
Recurring cast[]
- David Thornton as Defense Attorney Lionel Granger
- Mike Doyle as C.S.U. Detective Ryan O'Halloran
- Joel de la Fuente as T.A.R.U. Technician Ruben Morales
- Ali Reza as Dr. Rohit Mehta
- Judith Light as Judge Elizabeth Donnelly
- Linda Powell as Lauren White
Guest cast[]
- Ashley Williams as Laura Kozlowski
- Pablo Schreiber as Dan Kozlowski
- Dana Ashbrook as James "Paddy" Kendall
- Kali Rocha as Cindy Marino
- Kathleen Chalfant as Judge Cutress
- Jack O'Connell as George Kendall
- Marian Seldes as Peggy Kendall
- Stephen Guarino as Garrett
- Santo Fazio as Bernardo
- Tom Bruno as Firefighter Wilcox
- David Pinon as Firefighter Teague
- Amber Gray as Raye
- Jamila Webb as College Girl
- Lindsay Michelle Nader as Gina
- David Abeles as Guest #1
- Kandiss Edmundson as Guest #2
- Mike C. Waldron as Highway Uniform Officer
- Charles Caliendo as ESU Lieutenant
- Robert J. Giannetta as ESU Sergeant
- Keisha Alfred as Reporter
References[]
- Postcards from the Edge
- Geraldo Rivera
- Dickie Stabler
Quotes[]
- Cragen: Ms. Marino must be here for the obligatory grieving-mother footage.
- Stabler: Nothing like a parent's worst nightmare for must-see TV.
- [after seeing Cindy Marino's interview with Laura Kozlowski]
- Cragen: If we did that to Laura, we'd have every victim's rights group in the country picketing the station house.
- Cindy Marino: Stabler! Did Laura leave a note? A confession? Is the Kendall case closed now that the prime suspect is dead?
- Stabler: You are the devil, you know that?
- Cindy Marino: Just doing my job. Someone has to ask the tough questions when the cops don't have the balls.
[Stabler turns as if to hit her] - Cragen: [holding Stabler back]: Elliot. Come on. Let it go. Let it go. Come on.
- Cindy Marino: Detective Stabler! Is it true that Kendall Kozlowski has been found?
- Stabler: [to another reporter] You want an exclusive?
- Reporter: You bet!
- Stabler: Contrary to Channel Ten reporter Cindy Marino's libelous accusations, Laura Kozlowski did not kill her son Kendall. He's been found alive.
- Donnelly: Well, according to the suit, you conspired with Detective Stabler to deprive Paddy Kendall of his civil and constitutional rights. Did you?
- Novak: No.
- Donnelly: Pity. Guy sounds like a douchebag. But his suit has merit.
- Novak: So what are we supposed to do? Just sit back and let him take everything we've got?
- Donnelly: You get yourself a lawyer. Today.
- Novak: The city represents cops.
- Donnelly: You trust a civil servant to save your house and your pension?
- Novak: Well, what choice do we have?
- [Judge Donnelly smirks]
- Donnelly: [to Paddy Kendall at Civil Court trial] Congratulations on keeping your record clean. I'm sure you'll agree that just means you haven't been caught.
- Judge Cutress: Elizabeth, you know better.
Background information and notes[]
- This episode features Pablo Schreiber's first Law & Order: Special Victims Unit role as Dan Kozlowski. Schreiber would later go on to have a recurring role as serial rapist William Lewis in Seasons 14 and 15.
- "Needle in a haystack" is an expression used to denote a hunt for a crucial item or piece of information amidst an entanglement of complications or uncanny, ordinary things that make it hard for the focus object to stand out. The phrase makes the analogy that a sewing needle is so small and thin that it can't easily be found deep in a pile of hay.
- In New York State, if a woman is married, the husband is the legal father of the woman's child, regardless of biology. Kendall would not have been handed over to James Kendall and his mother simply because he was a DNA match by the Medical Examiner's Office. Dan Koslowski was the legal father by marriage and was listed as such on the birth certificate. James Kendall would have had to go to court and petitioned for custody of the child and challenged paternity.
Episode scene cards[]
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Apartment of |
Office of the |
Apartment of |
Sing Sing Prison |
| 5 | 6 | 7 |
|---|---|---|
|
Firehouse Number 51 |
Home of |
Civil Court |
| Previous episode: "Dependent" |
"Haystack" Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 8 |
Next episode: "Philadelphia" |