The episode is notable for its guest stars and its place in the franchise's history:
Like many classic SVU episodes, "Misleader" was loosely inspired by a real-life controversy: the . MisleaderLaw & Order: Special Victims Unit : Se...
The victim was pregnant, a fact unknown to her husband, Ben Hadley Jr.. The episode is notable for its guest stars
George Roche III, the long-time president of the highly conservative Hillsdale College in Michigan, was embroiled in a scandal involving his daughter-in-law, Lissa Roche. Upon learning of the affair and the pregnancy, Ben Jr
Upon learning of the affair and the pregnancy, Ben Jr. confesses to strangling his wife in a fit of jealous rage—completely unaware that his own father was the man his wife had been seeing. Ripped From the Headlines: The Hillsdale College Scandal
While the TV episode centers on a murder, the real-life case concluded that Lissa Roche’s death was a suicide. Furthermore, while both involved an affair between a college president and his daughter-in-law, the pregnancy plot point was a fictional addition for the show. Behind the Scenes and Trivia
In a bit of meta-casting, the characters of Dr. Ben Hadley and his son were played by Robert Foxworth and his actual son, Bo Foxworth.