Danielle Melnick
Encyclopedia
Danielle Melnick is a fictional character
on the NBC
crime drama Law & Order
, portrayed by Tovah Feldshuh
. She has been periodically featured on the show since 1991.
Melnick is a New York City
-based defense attorney with a practice spanning more than 20 years. A well-established, high profile litigator, she regularly goes up against the toughest, most powerful prosecutors in the New York City District Attorney
's office. Her role in the Law & Order universe
has been as a foil
for Ben Stone
(Michael Moriarty
) and Jack McCoy
(Sam Waterston
). She has had an affectionately competitive friendship with the latter since the early days of their careers.
An idealistic, utterly professional workaholic
, Melnick is so dedicated to her job that she often makes the lives of her opponents in the DA's office miserable. Much like McCoy, she is so zealous in her job that she will bend (but never break) trial laws to win a case, and sometimes risks being put in contempt of court
for antagonizing a judge.
The series has revealed nothing about her personal life.
In the 2002 episode "Open Season," she is very nearly disbarred
in a case in which she is representing a white supremacist
accused of murdering a defense attorney. Angered by the gag order
the trial judge had put on her client, she passes along an address to one of the man's associates, assured that it would produce evidence
that could clear him; unbeknown to her, however, it is actually the address of one of the terrorist's intended targets, who is soon murdered. She is arrested and charged as an accessory. She is horrified by what her client had done, but refuses to break attorney-client privilege
, even if it means she will go to prison
.
McCoy, reluctant to prosecute his old friend, ends up saving her by lying to the terrorist, telling him that Melnick had confessed to unwittingly helping him, and that he would go to prison for life
unless he admitted that she hadn't known what he was going to do with the information. Melnick is cleared of all charges, but is shot soon after by one of her former client's followers. She recovers a few episodes later, however, and returns to her practice.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
on the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
crime drama Law & Order
Law & Order
Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...
, portrayed by Tovah Feldshuh
Tovah Feldshuh
Tovah Feldshuh is an American actress, singer and playwright.-Early life:Terri Sue Feldshuh was born to a Jewish family in New York City, the daughter of Lillian and Sidney Feldshuh, who was a lawyer. She was raised in Scarsdale, New York, an affluent community in Westchester County and graduated...
. She has been periodically featured on the show since 1991.
Melnick is a New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
-based defense attorney with a practice spanning more than 20 years. A well-established, high profile litigator, she regularly goes up against the toughest, most powerful prosecutors in the New York City District Attorney
District attorney
In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
's office. Her role in the Law & Order universe
Fictional universe
A fictional universe is a self-consistent fictional setting with elements that differ from the real world. It may also be called an imagined, constructed or fictional realm ....
has been as a foil
Foil (literature)
In fiction, a foil is a character who contrasts with another character in order to highlight particular qualities of another character....
for Ben Stone
Benjamin Stone
Benjamin "Ben" Stone is a fictional character portrayed by Michael Moriarty in the TV drama Law & Order.-Character overview:Stone works in the Manhattan District Attorney's office under Alfred Wentworth and Adam Schiff. It was Schiff with whom he is closest, treating him as a kind of surrogate...
(Michael Moriarty
Michael Moriarty
Michael Moriarty is an American-Canadian actor of stage and screen, and a jazz musician. He played Benjamin Stone for four seasons on the TV series Law & Order.-Early life:...
) and Jack McCoy
Jack McCoy
John James "Jack" McCoy is a fictional character in the television drama Law & Order, created by Michael S. Chernuchin and played by Sam Waterston since 1994. He is the second-longest tenured character on the show, after Lt. Anita Van Buren . On January 28, 2009, McCoy's character ended the longest...
(Sam Waterston
Sam Waterston
Samuel Atkinson "Sam" Waterston is an American actor and occasional producer and director. Among other roles, he is noted for his Academy Award-nominated portrayal of Sydney Schanberg in 1984's The Killing Fields, and his Golden Globe- and Screen Actors Guild Award-winning portrayal of Jack McCoy...
). She has had an affectionately competitive friendship with the latter since the early days of their careers.
An idealistic, utterly professional workaholic
Workaholic
A workaholic is a person who is addicted to work.The term generally implies that the person enjoys their work; it can also imply that they simply feel compelled to do it...
, Melnick is so dedicated to her job that she often makes the lives of her opponents in the DA's office miserable. Much like McCoy, she is so zealous in her job that she will bend (but never break) trial laws to win a case, and sometimes risks being put in contempt of court
Contempt of court
Contempt of court is a court order which, in the context of a court trial or hearing, declares a person or organization to have disobeyed or been disrespectful of the court's authority...
for antagonizing a judge.
The series has revealed nothing about her personal life.
In the 2002 episode "Open Season," she is very nearly disbarred
Disbarment
Disbarment is the removal of a lawyer from a bar association or the practice of law, thus revoking his or her law license or admission to practice law...
in a case in which she is representing a white supremacist
White supremacy
White supremacy is the belief, and promotion of the belief, that white people are superior to people of other racial backgrounds. The term is sometimes used specifically to describe a political ideology that advocates the social and political dominance by whites.White supremacy, as with racial...
accused of murdering a defense attorney. Angered by the gag order
Gag order
A gag order is an order, sometimes a legal order by a court or government, other times a private order by an employer or other institution, restricting information or comment from being made public.Gag orders are often used against participants involved in a lawsuit or criminal trial...
the trial judge had put on her client, she passes along an address to one of the man's associates, assured that it would produce evidence
Evidence
Evidence in its broadest sense includes everything that is used to determine or demonstrate the truth of an assertion. Giving or procuring evidence is the process of using those things that are either presumed to be true, or were themselves proven via evidence, to demonstrate an assertion's truth...
that could clear him; unbeknown to her, however, it is actually the address of one of the terrorist's intended targets, who is soon murdered. She is arrested and charged as an accessory. She is horrified by what her client had done, but refuses to break attorney-client privilege
Attorney-client privilege
Attorney–client privilege is a legal concept that protects certain communications between a client and his or her attorney and keeps those communications confidential....
, even if it means she will go to prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
.
McCoy, reluctant to prosecute his old friend, ends up saving her by lying to the terrorist, telling him that Melnick had confessed to unwittingly helping him, and that he would go to prison for life
Life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
unless he admitted that she hadn't known what he was going to do with the information. Melnick is cleared of all charges, but is shot soon after by one of her former client's followers. She recovers a few episodes later, however, and returns to her practice.