A.D.A. Abbie Carmichael refers to the federal sentencing guidelines for securities and insider trading violations as "draconian." The term draconian refers to harsh and unforgiving laws and rules. The origin of the term is Draco, a lawgiver from 7th century BC Greece who is considered to be the father of the criminal justice system. Before then Greece had a system of oral law--in other words laws that were passed from person to person orally but were never written down or recorded--making it very easy for someone to just arbitrarily change a law. Draco is considered to be the first person in recorded history who created a written code of laws and punishment that were to be enforced by a court of law. Some of the legal terms he created are still used in modern times, one example being the distinction between murder and manslaughter. The people of Athens--tired of oral law being unduly changed and the blood feuds that resulted--hired Draco to create a written set of laws and asked him to enforce them. However, they didn't know that his laws would be strict and the punishments harsh. For example, if a debtor couldn't repay his creditor within a certain period of time, the debtor was sold into slavery. Draco also handed down the death penalty for minor offenses, such as stealing a piece of fruit.
This episode appears to be based on the 1999 Mark O. Barton case.
Danny Mastrogiorgio has played three different roles over the course of the series:
- Episode 6.1 Bitter Fruit (1995) - Perry Behrens (as Daniel Mastrogiorgio).
- Episode 10.16 Trade This (2000) - Bruce Valentine.
- Episode 18.7 Quit Claim (2008) - Nicky Fatone.
Vincent Curatola (Joey Dantoni, Sr.) previously played the role of a Court clerk in Episode 2.3, Aria (1991).