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The Best Episodes of Law & Order Season 3

Every episode of Law & Order Season 3 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Law & Order Season 3!

Binge this in 17h 16m•Peaking at 8.4/10

In cases ripped from the headlines, police investigate serious and often deadly crimes, weighing the evidence and questioning the suspects until someone is taken into custody. The district attorney's office then builds a case to

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
    Law & Order Season 3 Episode 1 - Skin Deep
    7.5/10(438 votes)

    #1 - Skin Deep

    S3:E1

    When a sleazy photographer is murdered, his models appear to be the most likely suspects.

    Director:Daniel Sackheim
    Writer:Gordon Rayfield

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  2. Law & Order Season 3 Episode 2 - Conspiracy
    7.4/10(371 votes)

    #2 - Conspiracy

    S3:E2

    The assassination of an African-American leader leads to the arrest of a man whose ex-wife was suspected of having an affair with the victim.

    Director:Edwin Sherin
    Writer:René Balcer

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  3. Law & Order Season 3 Episode 3 - Forgiveness
    7.3/10(370 votes)

    #3 - Forgiveness

    S3:E3

    A priest-turned-lawyer uses race and class as the basis for his defense of a young Mexican man who murdered his wealthy girlfriend after she broke up with him.

    Director:Bill D'Elia
    Writer:Unknown

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  4. Law & Order Season 3 Episode 4 - The Corporate Veil
    7.7/10(376 votes)

    #4 - The Corporate Veil

    S3:E4

    A teenager's fatal heart attack is traced to fraud and greed on the part of the manufacturer of his pacemaker and their supplier.

    Director:Don Scardino
    Writer:Unknown

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  5. Law & Order Season 3 Episode 5 - Wedded Bliss
    7.7/10(373 votes)

    #5 - Wedded Bliss

    S3:E5

    The discovery of a young woman's body in the river leads to an investigation of illegal sweatshops and the enslavement of young immigrants.

    Director:Vern Gillum
    Writer:Unknown

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  6. Law & Order Season 3 Episode 6 - Helpless
    8.3/10(459 votes)

    #6 - Helpless

    S3:E6

    Dr. Olivet accuses her gynecologist of rape, but Stone finds his case in trouble when he discovers that Olivet tape-recorded the crime.

    Director:James Frawley
    Writer:Christine Roum

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  7. Law & Order Season 3 Episode 7 - Self Defense
    7.7/10(377 votes)

    #7 - Self Defense

    S3:E7

    Cerreta and Stone find themselves on opposite sides of the fence when a storeowner kills two robbers and then claims self-defense as a justification.

    Director:Edwin Sherin
    Writers:Hall Powell, René Balcer

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  8. Law & Order Season 3 Episode 8 - Prince of Darkness
    8.4/10(461 votes)

    #8 - Prince of Darkness

    S3:E8

    Cerreta poses as a weapons dealer to help Stone build a case against a Columbian hit man, but the deal takes an unexpected turn, resulting in bloodshed.

    Director:Gilbert M. Shilton
    Writer:Unknown

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  9. Law & Order Season 3 Episode 9 - Point of View
    7.9/10(451 votes)

    #9 - Point of View

    S3:E9

    Logan gets a new partner and Stone faces an old friend from law school as they investigate a woman's claim of self-defense in the shooting death of a small time hood.

    Director:Gilbert Moses
    Writers:Walon Green, René Balcer

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  10. Law & Order Season 3 Episode 10 - Consultation
    7.7/10(383 votes)

    #10 - Consultation

    S3:E10

    An engineer and a tribal chief become the chief suspects in the death of a Nigerian woman who died while smuggling heroin internally.

    Director:James Hayman
    Writer:Matt Kiene

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  11. Law & Order Season 3 Episode 11 - Extended Family
    7.6/10(382 votes)

    #11 - Extended Family

    S3:E11

    The apparent abduction of a little girl by her natural mother becomes complicated by charges of sexual molestation.

    Director:Charles Correll
    Writer:Unknown

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  12. Law & Order Season 3 Episode 12 - Right To Counsel
    7.6/10(362 votes)

    #12 - Right To Counsel

    S3:E12

    After Stone accepts a plea bargain from the much younger and poorer lover of a wealthy older woman found murdered in her apartment, he begins to have doubts that he has sent the right man to prison, especially as he learns more about the attorney who handled the woman's estate.

    Director:James Frawley
    Writer:Unknown

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  13. Law & Order Season 3 Episode 13 - Night And Fog
    7.7/10(381 votes)

    #13 - Night And Fog

    S3:E13

    The confession of an elderly man that he assisted his wife in committing suicide doesn't fully satisfy Stone when rumors surface that the man was once a Nazi collaborator.

    Director:Edwin Sherin
    Writer:René Balcer

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  14. Law & Order Season 3 Episode 14 - Promises To Keep
    7.5/10(383 votes)

    #14 - Promises To Keep

    S3:E14

    The investigation into the murder of a young physician leads to the discovery of an unorthodox and illegal relationship between her fiance and his psychiatrist.

    Director:Edwin Sherin
    Writer:Unknown

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  15. Law & Order Season 3 Episode 15 - Mother Love
    7.7/10(386 votes)

    #15 - Mother Love

    S3:E15

    The absence of a murder weapon complicates the investigation into the murder of a drug addict who stole from her family to support her habit.

    Director:Daniel Sackheim
    Writer:Unknown

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  16. Law & Order Season 3 Episode 16 - Jurisdiction
    7.8/10(356 votes)

    #16 - Jurisdiction

    S3:E16

    Stone battles the Brooklyn DA's office over prosecutorial jurisdiction in the case of a mentally handicapped man who confesses to the stabbing deaths of two women.

    Director:Bruce Seth Green
    Writers:Walon Green, René Balcer

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  17. Law & Order Season 3 Episode 17 - Conduct Unbecoming
    7.8/10(392 votes)

    #17 - Conduct Unbecoming

    S3:E17

    Stone and the police battle the closed ranks of the Navy to investigate the death of a female Naval officer during a party in a Manhattan hotel.

    Director:Arthur W. Forney
    Writers:Walon Green, René Balcer

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  18. Law & Order Season 3 Episode 18 - Animal Instinct
    7.8/10(381 votes)

    #18 - Animal Instinct

    S3:E18

    The initial investigation into the death of a research scientist leads to an animal-rights group until evidence surfaces that her husband's affair with a coworker may point to a possible motive for the murder.

    Director:Edwin Sherin
    Writer:Unknown

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  19. Law & Order Season 3 Episode 19 - Virus
    7.4/10(365 votes)

    #19 - Virus

    S3:E19

    While investigating several deaths at a diabetes clinic, Briscoe and Logan discover that teenage computer hackers may have tampered with the clinic's medical database.

    Director:Steven Robman
    Writer:René Balcer

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  20. Law & Order Season 3 Episode 20 - Securitate
    7.1/10(339 votes)

    #20 - Securitate

    S3:E20

    When a Romanian immigrant kills, his lawyer announces he will plead his client "not guilty due to cultural insanity" claiming the man had been conditioned to violence in his homeland.

    Director:James Hayman
    Writers:Matt Kiene, Joe Reinkemeyer

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  21. Law & Order Season 3 Episode 21 - Manhood
    8.0/10(416 votes)

    #21 - Manhood

    S3:E21

    The statement of a drug dealer who survived a shoot-out that killed a cop leads Logan and Briscoe to suspect that the cop died because he was gay and his fellow officers were reluctant to back him up.

    Director:Edwin Sherin
    Writer:Unknown

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  22. Law & Order Season 3 Episode 22 - Benevolence
    7.3/10(357 votes)

    #22 - Benevolence

    S3:E22

    Logan and Briscoe begin their investigation into the death of a hearing-impaired young woman by questioning her two most recent boyfriends.

    Director:Edwin Sherin
    Writer:René Balcer

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Season 3 Ratings Summary

"Skin Deep" is the best rated episode of "Law & Order" season 3. It scored 7.5/10 based on 438 votes. Directed by Daniel Sackheim and written by Gordon Rayfield, it aired on 9/23/1992. This episode is rated 0.1 points higher than the second-best, "Conspiracy".