Paul Austin

Sam and Josh work on thwarting Congressman Lillienfield's accusation about drug abuse in the White House. Leo warns Bartlet that Leo may have to resign because of his former substance abuse. Toby arranges a full military funeral for a homeless Korean War veteran he never met. The murder of a homosexual high school student forces C.J. and members of the White House staff to reconsider hate crime legislation. C.J. finally agrees to go out on a date with Danny, a journalist. Bartlet tries to sneak out to do some Christmas shopping.

Irv Diamond is found in the park, half-dead from a coronary and a blow to the head. In the hotel room which was occupied by Diamond, Greevey and Logan find a listing for an escort service. Apparently, Diamond spent time that evening with Jolene, a beautiful, farm girl type, who worked for Messilina Enterprises and Poppy Catering. After meeting Jolene, Greevey and Logan discover she is just the tip of the iceberg, and that they have stumbled onto something far more sinister than a simple escort service.

There's a shooting at City Hall; Councilman Clarence Clark is killed and a water inspector, Ron Tabachnik, is injured. It's assumed Clark was the target, so Briscoe and Green start their investigation by talking to the security guards. They suspect the shooter was a "regular" because "regulars" were allowed to bypass security, and the shooter did just that. The Detectives believe Clark's most recent opponent, Sonny Rodino, could be the shooter, but he had an alibi which checks out. Then they realize there was a meeting taking place that very day, consisting of people upset about their water bills, and they now think Tabachnik was the target.

When an explosion at a construction site kills a boy, McCoy and Kincaid (Sam Waterston, Jill Hennessy) try to exonerate a demolitions expert wrongly convicted of the crime.

After witnessing the lethal injection of Mickey Scott, Briscoe, Curtis, McCoy and Kincaid react in four very different ways. This form-breaking episode follows the four main characters individually through their day to capture the unique and personal effect the execution has on each of them. Jennifer Garner (Alias) guest stars.