This episode appears to be based on the Ira Einhorn (a.k.a. "The Unicorn Killer") case. In 1977 hippie ''guru'' Ira Einhorn murdered Holly Maddux in Philadelphia. The episode's fictional Levi March was dubbed "The Griffin Killer" while Einhorn's nickname was "The Unicorn Killer." Einhorn was convicted in absentia in 1996 before being extradited to the U.S. to stand trial again in 2001 when he unsuccessfully claimed the CIA killed Maddux.
When A.D.A. Serena Southerlyn tells E.A.D.A. Jack McCoy and D.A. Arthur Branch that she pulled Levi March's LUD's (local usage data) from Chicago, McCoy sarcastically replies "please don't tell me he got a call from Langley." Langley, Virginia is the location of the headquarters for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), McCoy was referring to March's earlier claim that he was contacted by a former CIA black-ops assassin that he claimed had murdered his ex-girlfriend.
Christina Rouner has played three different roles over the course of the series:
- Episode 9.16 Harm (1999) - Mrs. Atkins.
- Episode 13.13 Absentia (2003) - Anne-Marie Gautreaux.
- Episode 18.8 Illegal (2008) - Defence Attorney Sanders.
- Episode 20.8 Doped (2009) - Defence Attorney Sanders.