- Paul Robinette
LawandOrderCharacter
name = Paul Robinette
time on show = 1990—1993
succeeded =Claire Kincaid
start = "Everybody's Favorite Bagman "
finish = "Benevolence"
portrayed = Richard BrooksPaul Robinette, played by Richard Brooks, is a
fictional character who appeared in the TV drama series "Law & Order " from thepilot episode in 1990 until the final episode of the third season, "Benevolence," in 1993.Character overview
Robinette is introduced as having been raised in
Harlem and worked his way throughlaw school and into theManhattan District Attorney 's office at a young age. He works underBen Stone (Michael Moriarty ), whom he comes to think of as a mentor, despite occasionally disagreeing with hisprosecution methods.Robinette advocates
racial equality through equal treatment, including equal punishment; while he abhorsracism , he also feels little sympathy for black people who turn to crime. He insists on being given the same opportunities as the equal of his white colleagues, without what he feels are added advantages fromaffirmative action policies.In the first season episode "Out of the Half-Light", Stone asks Robinette if he thinks of himself as "a black lawyer, or a lawyer who's black". Originally considering himself the latter, Robinette would gradually come to think of race as a more integral part of his reasons for practicing
law . He later confirms this in the 1996 episode "Custody".Disappearance from show
He leaves the DA's office and eventually becomes a defense attorney who represents his clients as victims of institutionalized racism. He is replaced by
Claire Kincaid (Jill Hennessy ).Initially, his disappearance from the show was never explained and was not mentioned in either the third season end or fourth season opener.
NBC press release s at the time of the character's departure mentioned that Robinette had moved to a Park Avenue law firm. On the 4th season DVD, a deleted scene (Episode 3 "Discord") includes Lt. Anita Van Buren (S. Epatha Merkerson ) asking to see Robinette. Stone responds with "Uh, you'll have to take a cab uptown.Park Avenue . Woodward, Martin, and Schwartz."Guest appearances
Robinette has reappeared on the show three times: once in 1996, 2005 and 2006, often as opposing counsel to Stone's successor,
Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston ). In the 1996 episode "Custody", he defends a black woman who attempted to kidnap her son from his white foster parents. In the 2005 episode "Birthright", he defends a nurse accused of performing sterilizations on promiscuous black teenagers whom she deems emotionally unfit to become parents. In the 2006 episode "Fear America", he defends aMuslim accused of murder who killed to cover up histerrorist activities. Robinette accuses McCoy and the D.A.'s office of participating in a giantconspiracy to make every Muslim appear to be aterrorist .
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