History Recap / LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnitS6E1Birthright

* CommonNonsenseJury: Casey is convinced one of these will acquit michele, even though the law is clear; even though jury nullification here would mean further traumatizing an innocent child, and would be a precedent that would threaten the relationships of every parent with their children.

* HollywoodLaw: Michele proclaims that once she is acquitted she will use that verdict as precedent to take custody of Patty, which is nonsense - a criminal acquittal wouldn't even be an affirmation of any part of her argument (let alone precedent in a different court), since the standard for acquittal is reasonable doubt, not preponderance of the evidence - it doesn't mean the finder of fact agrees with any of her claims.
* HonorBeforeReason: Michele's henchmen keep stalking Patty even after it's clear they will be professionally ruined and imprisoned for it, because they apparently still hold to the belief that Michele is Patty's "real mother", regardless of what the law has to say about it.
* ItsAllAboutMe: Michele, until (thankfully) her HeelFaceTurn at the end, shows no interest at all in well-being of the child she claims as her own (or in the interests of anyone else). In prison she smugly proclaims that her genetic relationship means Patty belongs to her and she will never leave Patty alone; this is after a kidnapping incident in which she must have seen that Patty was traumatized by her behavior.

** Inverted, as in this case it is the woman who objects to the child's harsh judicial treatment, Michele, who is deemed the fake parent and forfeits her claim to custody.
* MistakenForPedophile: Michelle Osborne's hired investigators are great at tracking down their targets, but they have very poor indiscretion. To be specific, when they found Patty they just grabbed her ''in the middle of an open playground'' with their getaway vehicle being [[VanInBlack a suspicious black van]]. [[FaceOfAThug Their demeanor also don't help.]]

** Even the people Michele hires to kidnap Patty seem to have this trait, as they keep stalking her even after they've been locked up for it, forfeiting half a million dollars' bail apiece.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse? We never find out what happened to Michele's henchmen - Michele pleads guilty but her plea is not binding on them, so the trial should continue.

* HonorBeforeReason: michele's henchmen keep stalking patty even after it's clear they will be professionally ruined and imprisoned for it because they apparently still hold to the belief that michele is patty's "real mother" regardless of what the law has to say about it.

** even the people Michele hires to kidnap Patty seem to have this trait, as they keep stalking her even after they've been locked up for it, forfeiting half a million dollars' bail apiece.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse? We never find out what happened to michele's henchmen - michele pleads guilty but her plea is not binding on them, so the trial should continue.

* HollywoodLaw: Michele proclaims that once she is acquitted she will use that verdict as precedent to take custody of Patty, which is nonsense - a criminal acquittal wouldn't even be an affirmation of any part of her argument, since the standard for acquittal is reasonable doubt, not preponderance of the evidence - it doesn't mean the finder of fact agrees with any of her claims.

** Subverted, as in this case it is the woman who objects to the child's harsh treatment, Michele, who is deemed the fake parent and forfeits her claim to custody.

* OlderThanHeLooks: Everyone call the younger one of the private investigators a teenager, but he's actually 23.

* OlderThanHeLooks: Everyone call the younger one of the PIs a teenager, but he's actually 23.

* JerkJustifications: Casey {{invoke|dTrope}}s the JudgmentOfSolomon trope in the climactic scene by deliberately badgering Patty Branson in the middle of the trial to see which of her parents is willing to relinquish their custody for her.
* JudgmentOfSolomon: The story of the {{Trope Namer|s}} is {{discussed|Trope}} by Elliot and Casey regarding the case of Michelle Osborne and the Bransons. Casey then got an idea from it and deliberately badgers Patty in the middle of the trial to see which of the parents is willing to relinquish their custody for the sake of the child. Michelle did.

The attempted kidnapping of a six-year-old girl uncovers a fertility doctor's scheme to steal the unused embryos of his clients to implant in other women; a custody battle ensues between the child's biological and birth mothers in a case where there is no clear winner.

* AdultFear:
** Losing a child (either by kidnapping, custody, or death) is the episode's plot.
** The opening scene also has a child molester scare that causes an intense PaedoHunt.
** Michelle Osborne's husband and daughter were killed in a violent road accident.

* NeverFoundTheBody: The episode shows the mental toll this trope has on the deceased's loved ones.

[This description was copied in violation of our Administrivia/{{Plagiarism}} policy. Please replace it with original writing.]

The SVU detectives investigate the attempted kidnapping of a six-year-old girl (Creator/AbigailBreslin). The man behind the attempt (Creator/NedBellamy) is revealed to be a private investigator hired by a woman (Creator/LeaThompson) who is convinced that she is the girl's biological mother. This claim uncovers a fertility doctor (Creator/DavidForsyth) with a scheme to steal embryos and give them to different parents, prompting a custody battle between the egg donor mother and the birth parents (Creator/BeauGravitte and Creator/CamillaScott).

* NeverFoundTheBody: The episode shows the mental toll this trope have to the deceased's loved ones.

* SelectiveObliviousness: Michelle Osborne has always been in denial about her daughter's demise since her daughter's [[NeverFoundTheBody body was never found]].

* StalkerWithoutACrush: In this case, "it's because she's my biological daughter so i have to have her".

* VanInBlack: The main tool for transport of Michelle Osborne's hired investigators. Unfortunately for them, it's infamous reputation catches up on them.

* NeverFoundTheBody: [[RealityEnsues The episode shows the mental toll this trope have to the deceased's loved ones]].

* WhiteAndGrayMorality: The birth parents who raised and loves Patty against Patty's biological mother who also loves her but is willing to do everything, even causing her distress, just to have her.

* JerkassFacade: Casey {{invoke|dTrope}}s the JudgmentOfSolomon trope in the climactic scene by deliberately badgering Patty Branson in the middle of the trial to see which of her parents is willing to relinquish their custody for her.

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Michelle Osborne finally sees the psychological and emotional damage she did to Patty during Casey's JerkassFacade above.

* BittersweetEnding: As Casey notes, neither party will win due to the emotional toll of the case.

* KarmaHoudini: Dr. Stanley Norton is acquitted for forgery, with the very last scene revealing that he actually did far worse than what he was originally accused of.

The SVU detectives investigate the attempted kidnapping of a six-year-old girl (Creator/AbigailBreslin). The man behind the attempt (Creator/NedBellamy) is revealed to be a private investigator hired by a woman (LeaThompson) who is convinced that she is the girl's biological mother. This claim uncovers a fertility doctor (Creator/DavidForsyth) with a scheme to steal embryos and give them to different parents, prompting a custody battle between the egg donor mother and the birth parents (Creator/BeauGravitte and Creator/CamillaScott).