The Ledger

10.5 Justice: The First Return of Jamie Ross

This is a great episode (10.5) in which Carey Lowell ("Jamie Ross", aka Cheekbones) returns to defend a suspect in a murder someone else has already been convicted of. (In Carey's first episode, Causa Mortis, we learned that she was a defense attorney at a private practice owned by her husband. This is her first appearance since the finale of Season 8.) Early on, she's introduced to Angie Harmon and the atmosphere is cordial until she and McCoy start butting heads over a possible ethics violation. Jack even goes after a judge for attempted murder, since the judge (while still an ADA) purposely convicted an innocent man and sent him to death row. (Coincidentally, the judge (Richard Masur) has also appeared as a judge or DA on both Family Law and The Practice.) We learn in this episode that Cheekbones is "teaching," but has done occasional work for the Southern Poverty Law Center and the War Crimes Tribunal investigating crimes in Kosovo. (There's a photo of her in Kosovo with her arm around a little girl.) As the episode ends, Cheekbones and Jack talk, and she makes an oblique reference to "the last time" she appeared before the ethics committee, testifying about a violation having to do with Jack that happened in the episode Under the Influence. This other meeting with the committee occured in the episode Monster.

Anyway, this episode sets the stage for a later episode in which Carey returns again to defend a school-shooting suspect. The mood is far less friendly in that episode, as Angie and Cheekbones battle for Jack's affection.

Here are some screenshots from the episode, including one of Carmichael meeting Ross, and one of Ross' daughter, Katie.

Keep reading for additional notes.

Episode begins Couple in garden. Discover body.
Green and Briscoe investigate. Male victim Martin Felder, a lawyer.
His wife notes that his briefcase is missing. What could be in it?
Review his financial records -- rented a car weekly.
Leads to a prison upstate. Victim rep'd Stephen Dupree, a killer whose victim was Dana Hagen.
Dupree has a bad history with lawyers. Maybe he killed this one.
Visit the prison: Carmichael talks to Dupree. New evidence. He says he's innocent.
Victim had the new evidence, possibly in briefcase.
Back at the precinct: where's the briefcase?
Private detective says a man named Gordon is possible suspect.
Felder received threatening phone calss on cell phone.
Cell phone company says calls came from a list of numbers they sold to Hagen Software. Software Co. is owned by Dupree's victim's brother.
They talk to the original prosecutor, who is now a judge. Maybe Dupree is innocent.
Prosecutor is Mr Wolinsky, now a joudge.
They have to reinvestigate Dupree to make sure he's actually guilty.
A woman heard from her now-dead husband that a guy named Gordon actually killed Ms Haegen.
McCoy to Carmichael: pursue if you must. "Go with God."
Carmichael at bar, researching case. Bartender recognizes Gordon.
Gordon questioned. Looks like he killed both Hagen and the new victim, the lawyer.
Jamie Ross, McCoy's former assistant, enters the precinct. She's there to represent Gordon.
Hagen is placed in a lineup, but denies knowing any of these people.
Ross scolds Carmichael for leading the witness. AC says he's lying though.
McCoy says of Ross, "I thought she was teaching." It turns out Ross had previously defended Gordon on other charges a long time ago, before she worked for the DAs office.
McCoy and Ross discuss a plea deal. McCoy says she knows he'll do everything to convict her client. She replies sharply, "I know what everything means."
They discuss her work in Kosovo for the war crimes tribunal. He looks at a picture of her in Kosovo with a little girl.
They can't come to an agreement on a deal.
AC reviews the file. Learns of a bracelet that was missing from the victim.
Somehow, via a guy named Detective Simpson, they trace this bracelet to a hooker who got it from "Max," a low-level fence and criminal -- and the dead husband of the lady who said Dupree is innocent.
McCoy and AC gently approach Wolinsky and suggest that Dupree might be innocent. But they begin to suspect he suppressed evidence to win the conviction.
They wonder how the tip about Gordon being guilty and Dupree being innocent was generated. This seems crucial to understanding everything.
MCoy figures out that it must have been Ross who created this information and called it in anonymously, back during the case when she knew the wrong man was being prosecuted but couldn't put her own client, Gordon, in jeopardy.
McCoy confronts Ross and begs her to admit she called Wollinsky with the tip, but she won't admit it.
McCoy then angrily confronts Wollinsky, who gets angry in response, and threatening.
They have a conference and McCoy and Ross talk. He tells Ross that Wollinsky is dirty.
McCoy says I'll tell the disciplinary committee re your tip if you don't get Gordon to plead guilty.
He thinks he's got her now, but Ross resigns as Gordon's counsel, taking that tactic away from McCoy. She says she'll tell the disc. committee herself.
Sciff says of Ross: "I knew there was a reason I hired that young lady."
Judge Lusky, a woman, listens as Ross tells her all about the tip situation, and she can't believe her ears. However, none of this will be admissible at Gordon's trial.
McCoy says he's going to prosecute Wollinsky, and Ross will have to testify as to what she told Wollinsky.
Wollinsky is arrested (44') on charges of attempted murder. Schiff is upset.
Wollinsky's pretrial hearing: Ross testifies about what she told him, that Dupree was innocent.
During testimony, it's revealed that Ross worked for the Southern Poverty Law Center. Wollinsky's attorney suggests that she's doing this b/c she opposes the death penalty.
Judge Veitch is the trial judge.
Judge Wollinsky takes the stand, and blames the original detective who worked the case for losing the tip from Ross. He's very calm.
Veitch tosses the case against Wollinsky, saying there is no evidence of intent.
Outside the courtroom, though, the detective that Wollinsky accused of not passing on the info about the tip says he told Wollinsky about this missing bracelet, which could not have happened if Dupree was really guilty.
Gordon goes on trial for the murder.
McCoy and Ross are found outside the disciplinary committee hearing room. McCoy says, "Life's a funny old dog."

Posted by adm at December 23, 2003 02:25 PM

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