Claire Kincaid
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article does not cite any references or sources. (May 2008) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. |
| Law & Order character | |
| Claire Kincaid | |
|---|---|
| Time on show | 1993—1996 |
| Preceded by | Paul Robinette |
| Succeeded by | Jamie Ross |
| First appearance | "Sweeps" |
| Last appearance | "Aftershock" |
| Portrayed by | Jill Hennessy |
Claire Kincaid is a fictional character on the television series Law & Order, played by Jill Hennessy from 1993 to 1996.
[edit] Character overview
Kincaid is introduced in the episode "Sweeps" as an Assistant District Attorney in the Manhattan DA's office. She is portrayed as an idealistic, outspoken feminist and agnostic who becomes increasingly disillusioned with her job. She is vocally pro-choice, opposes the death penalty, and has ambivalent feelings towards drug prohibition; these political views often come into conflict with the realities of the legal system.
[edit] Notable episodes
During her first season on the show, she is paired with Executive Assistant ADA Ben Stone. During the prosecution of a rape case, he threatens to fire her after she fails to share key information she learned in interviewing a witness, which subsequently comes out in trial, jeopardizing the case. Stone eventually relents and refuses to accept her resignation, relating to her because of a key mistake he made early in his career (L&O: "Discord"). In another case, Claire temporarily resigns after it is revealed she and a Judge that the DA's office is prosecuting were lovers, possible jeopardizing the case against him. (L&O: "Censure").
After Stone resigns from the DA's office (L&O: "Old Friends"), she is paired with Jack McCoy, the new executive assistant DA (L&O: "Second Opinion"). In the two seasons they appear in together, she and the brash, competitive McCoy often butt heads over the social and political implications of their trial strategies, as well as McCoy's penchant for going to legal extremes to get a conviction. The two eventually form a close bond, however, eventually becoming lovers (This fact was generally depicted on screen via nuance rather than any direct references; it was not until (L&O: "Sideshow"), set some time after the character's death, that it is explicitly stated on screen that such a relationship existed).
Kincaid dies just as she is considering leaving the DA's office; her car is struck by a drunk driver as she takes an inebriated Lennie Briscoe home from a bar (L&O: "Aftershock"). McCoy is still haunted by her death, as evidenced by his intense, legally questionable efforts to prosecute a drunk driver (L&O: "Under the Influence") and his indignation at being questioned about the circumstances of her death (L&O: "Sideshow"). Following her death, Briscoe re-enters Alcoholics Anonymous and remains sober for the rest of his life; he implies that he feels his drinking was responsible for her death (L&O: "Causa Mortis").
Kincaid is replaced as McCoy's assistant DA by Jamie Ross (L&O: "Causa Mortis").
[edit] Behind the scenes
The Kincaid character was written out to allow Hennessy to leave the show to pursue a movie career. Kincaid was originally intended to be portrayed as paralyzed and leaving the DA's office for private practice after the events of "Aftershock". This was changed when Hennessy declined to make a single-episode return appearance the following season.[citation needed]
|
|||||||||||
