The MMA case within this episode is a true story. This case was also a TV movie called Without a Kiss Goodbye (1993). Christopher Meloni (Elliot Stabler) who appears in this episode, was also in the movie. He played the father of the children, Ray Samuels.
Sean Cullen has played three different characters over the course of the series:
- Episode 11.22 Ace (2010) - Brett Trask
- Episode 11.16 Witness (2010) - Brett Trask
- Episode 10.17 Hell (2009) - Brett Trask
- Episode 5.24 Poison (2004) - Pete Campbell
- Episode 1.15 Entitled (2000) - Arthur Pruitt
The successor spin-off series Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2001) also has an episode titled Poison (2001) in its first season.
Novak (Diane Neal) says "Children under nine are not automatically swearable". As of 2024, this is still correct. In New York, a witness less than nine years old, may not testify under oath, unless the court is satisfied that he or she understands the nature of an oath.
The orange/purple color test which Dr. Huang (BD Wong) conducts to determine if the child understands lying, is similar to Theory of mind (ToM), and the "Sally-Anne test". This is a psychological test used in developmental psychology, to measure a person's social cognitive ability to attribute false beliefs to others. The test was developed by Simon Baron-Cohen, Alan M. Leslie, and Uta Frith (1985).