CSI: NY 8x08: Crossroads

Original Air Date: 18 November 2011

Storyline: The team tries to identify the shooter and motive in the assassination of a criminal court judge presiding over the trial of a Russian mobster, while Lindsay prepares for the hearing against serial rapist John Curtis.Trivia: Jeffrey Nordling, as Senator Kirk Matthews, also appears in the CSI episode "Secrets & Flies".

Ivo Nandi, who plays Pavel Danshow, also appears in the CSI episode "The Descent of Man". 
Alan Pietruszewski, who plays a male reporter, also appears in the CSI: Miami episode "No Man's Land".
Danny references Sammy the Bull. Salvatore 'Sammy the Bull' Gravano is a former underboss of the Gambino crime family. He helped bring down the family's boss by becoming an FBI informant.
Hawkes' line, "Nothing's ever easy", is a tag line used by Zeddicus "Zedd" Zu'l Zorander and other characters in the Sword of Truth fantasy novel series by Terry Goodkind.

Best Quote:

Flack: And you had nothing to do with those shots that were fired?
Pavel Danshov: A dead judge is bad for business. A crooked judge is much better.
Flack: So you were just out there following the judge, trying to dig up dirt on him so your boss could blackmail him?
Pavel Danshov: Blackmail him? Nyet. I prefer 'negotiate' with him.

Review: I honestly didn't think the John Curtis case would be continued so soon after he got caught for raping yet another woman, but for some reason, I'm glad it was. Despite Jo's involvement and my utter dislike for the character,  having an ongoing plot is good for continuity and has clear entertaining value, especially since there's the emotional and personal element as well. So is Curtis the bad guy of the season? It's too early to tell, but each of the characters was in a similar situation at some point so maybe it is Jo's turn to be the focus of a criminal investigation. 

The trial got difficult right from the start, with Lindsay finding herself in a similar situation Jo was when she had to turn in the evidence that allowed Curtis to walk away the first time: inconsistencies between Ali Rand's testimony and the science may just be enough to ensure his release once again. And does anyone else think there's something fishy about Senator Matthews? I have the feeling he's somehow involved in Ali Rand's rape, if for nothing else, than for wanting to put the guy who raped his daughter behind bars. It wouldn't be the first time a parent did something crazy after something bad happened to their child.
As for the main case of the week, it involved the murder of a judge who was just trialing a Russian mobster. Victor Markov was the easiest suspect, but, as it almost always happens in crime procedurals touching this subject, the mob was not the culprit. Despite the investigation actually being quite engaging, it reminded me about a similar topic making the object of a Mentalist episode - kids being sent to correctional facilities for minor offences that are usually sanctioned with community service, by a judge who has a financial gain from enabling this. I don't remember the episode now and I'm way too lazy to look for it, but it annoys me that CBS is recycling subjects in their procedural shows. 
Nevertheless, I appreciated this week's installment for what it was - an entertaining way of spending an hour, reminding me of all the reasons why I wanted to go into crime scene investigation while I was still in law school. CSI: NY 8x07: Crushed Back to Season 8