Adam Schiff (fictional character)

District Attorney Adam Schiff was a fictional character on the TV drama series Law & Order. He was portrayed by Steven Hill, from 1990 to 2000.

Related Topics:
Law & Order - Steven Hill - 1990 - 2000

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Schiff was a political enigma in his prolonged term as District Attorney of Lower Manhattan. He was a centrist of faintly liberal stripe, but regardless of political inclinations, he was never perturbed by his critics nor by uncooperative judges. In the later years of his tenure, however, Schiff was confronted with re-election, and political persuasions often clouded his decisions with regard to certain cases.

Related Topics:
District Attorney - Lower Manhattan - Centrist - Liberal - Judges

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While he was often stern and unforgiving in his professional conduct, he had amicable relationships with his assistants. He was closest to Executive Assistant DA Benjamin Stone (portrayed by Michael Moriarty), seeing him as a kind of surrogate son, and so was disturbed to see him resign in 1994 when a witness he was trying to protect was murdered. His relationship with Stone's successor, Jack McCoy (portrayed by Sam Waterston), was more problematic, as McCoy was far more ruthless and unconventional; his habitual bending of trial rules occasionally garnered Schiff some bad publicity. The two eventually grew to like and respect each other, however.

Related Topics:
Benjamin Stone - Michael Moriarty - 1994 - Murdered - Jack McCoy - Sam Waterston - Publicity

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Schiff was more critical of the junior assistant DAs, especially Claire Kincaid (portrayed by Jill Hennessy), whom he saw as too idealistic to do her job effectively.

Related Topics:
Claire Kincaid - Jill Hennessy

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He had many friends among New York's elite, including powerful politicians, judges, and businessmen. Over the years, however, many of these friends proved themselves to be either corrupt or hiding dark secrets; for example, one of his closest friends, Judge Edgar Hines, committed suicide in 1995 after being caught taking bribes, while another, Carl Anderton (played by Robert Vaughn), a high-powered CEO, was discovered to be suffering from bipolar disorder in 1998.

Related Topics:
Politician - Suicide - 1995 - Bribes - Robert Vaughn - CEO - Bipolar disorder - 1998

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Schiff's wife died of a stroke in 1997.

Related Topics:
Stroke - 1997

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Schiff left the DA's office in 2000 to accept a role in coordinating commemorations of the Holocaust project. Other sources state that he resigned from the position because the public thought he was too old to continue as DA, and because he wanted to retire from the rigours of public life. It has also been suggested that he was determined to run for election as a Justice of the New York Supreme Court. In any event, his magnanimous term was to have effects in jurisprudential practice in the office for many years after his departure, displaying the permanancy of his legacy in the fictional world of Law & Order. Schiff was replaced by liberal interim-District Attorney Nora Lewin (portrayed by Dianne Wiest).

Related Topics:
2000 - Holocaust - Retire - Justice - New York Supreme Court - Nora Lewin - Dianne Wiest

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It is said that Schiff is loosely based on Manhattan district attorney Robert M. Morgenthau.

Related Topics:
Manhattan - Robert M. Morgenthau

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