Putting a client on the stand can have some net positives, but it is almost usually a bad idea. A bad idea seems good when you’re out of options.
After the developments on The Lincoln Lawyer Season 2 Episode 8, Mickey was at a loss for what to do and decided to put Lisa on the stand.
Lisa told an emotional story on The Lincoln Lawyer Season 2 Episode 9, and it was effective because it might have been the truth.
She covered all her bases, beginning with why she never wanted to sell to Bondurant.
Lisa: My father bought the building for next to nothing. He made cabinets. So he ran a shop on one side and raised a family on the other. I wanted to do the same thing.
Mickey: You live there as well?
Lisa: Yes, it’s my home. That’s why I didn’t want to sell it to Mitchell Bondurant or to anyone.
Places where we grew up carry a lot of sentiments because, for all people, it was all we knew. Our world was limited to those walls, that fence, the road outside, and the neighbors on all sides. Anything beyond that was alien.
It is where most people remember being the happiest. Life was simple because it was all about us and our parents. No one can put a price tag on such a feeling.
Lisa talked about Jeff from as early as The Lincoln Lawyer Season 2 Episode 5; one could tell that it was a sore spot that she didn’t want to be touched.
If someone believed she was telling the truth, she covered everything that made people doubt her.
But still, putting a client on the stand is usually a bad move because it makes them fair game for the prosecution.
I stressed that in The Lincoln Lawyer Season 2 Episode 8 review, and as sure as the sky is blue, it happened.
Andrea knew where to squeeze, and she squeezed hard. Lisa had been painted as being prone to anger, and all Andrea had to do was show her anger to the people. And show she did.
Rene, who was supposed to vouch for her goodness, proved that she was still the angry woman everyone before her had painted her to be. Things weren’t looking good for Lisa by that point.
The next step was to poke holes into the prosecution’s story, but it was doubtful it would work. The evidence was overwhelming.
Dr. Aslanian did her best, from her charming nature to her confidence, but Andrea was a better actor than she.
How she appeared to glide inside the courtroom was just phenomenal. Dr. Aslanian presented a specific set of conditions to prove Lisa could not have killed Bondurant but too much needed to align. And the what-ifs were uncountable.
Mickey and his team had been so adamant about getting Alex Grant on the witness stand during the trial. They went to great depths to get him, but it didn’t seem like it had anything to do with the case.
All they might have proven was that Alex Grant was guilty of some other crime irrelevant to the trial. If Grant was really in organized crime, that was the FBI’s job, and it was the reason they helped Mickey out in the first place.
They wanted Grant on the stand so he could admit to something they were investigating him for. He was halfway there until he pled the fifth.
Pleading the fifth was bad for everyone except Mickey Haller.
It was understandable how it would appear as Mickey planned it. After poisoning the jury, no one else could ask Grant any questions.
Many parties were disadvantaged by this, which was why Vasquez approached Mickey. The FBI got nothing from Grant, and they won’t get anything from him.
For Judge Medina, it was the fact that her courtroom was turning into a spectacle, and there was nothing she hated more.
Mickey stood to gain a lot by having the jury go to bed with Grant’s behavior on their minds, which they would interpret as guilt.
Cisco’s testimony further solidified Grant as the number one suspect. Albeit weak, the defense had built a case against Grant.
Andrea Freeman was not going to let them have the last word.
Andrea: What about a spider?
Dr Arslanian: A spider?
Andrea: You know, lowering itself from its web. You see something out of the corner of your eye or feel something on your head, and instinctively…It’s possible, isn’t it?
She shoots from the hip, but her closing statement was totally unexpected.
Well, that was quite a performance, wasn’t it? Mr. Haller pulled out all the stops. I mean, a dog and pony show. He could give the magicians in Las Vegas a run for their money. But, just like a magician, all the defense is trying to do is distract you. That’s all they’ve got. Now, Mr. Haller wants you to believe that just because a man named Alex Grant has a questionable family history, that makes him a killer. Or that he had a vague business dispute with Mr. Bondurant, and that was motive for murder. Or maybe he doesn’t actually care if you believe those things or not. Maybe he’s just happy if it diverts your attention from the facts because the facts of this case are immutable. The murder weapon was not Alex Grant’s bloody hammer. That belonged to the defendant, Lisa Trammell. The gloves we found with Mitchell Bondurant’s blood on them, again Lisa Trammell’s.
Andrea
It was emotional, passionate, and soft, almost like a plea. Those usually work.
Unlike Alex Grant, Lisa Trammell had the motive, the means, and the opportunity to commit murder. Unlike Alex Grant, Lisa Trammell repeatedly made damning, even threatening, statements to and about the victim. In fact, her conduct was so threatening that it forced Mitchell Bondurant to take out a restraining order against her. But, of course a restraining order only works if the person being restrained chooses to obey it. Just like a magic trick only works if the audience allows themselves to be fooled. Don’t let yourselves be fooled. See through Mr. Haller’s parlor tricks. See through them…to the truth.
Andrea
It was one more day until the jury returned their verdict, and it would appear the defense was no better that day than they were a month earlier.
The evidence was still overwhelming.
Lisa realized she might be going to jail, and if Rene had not shared the surprising information, Lisa Trammel would have ended up in prison.
During his testimony, it was clear that Walter Kim had come prepared. He looked like he’d been coached on what to say, but that didn’t make him less nervous.
Lisa’s frame job was so big it needed a powerful person to actualize it. It would have been far too much for the health officer to realize such logistics.
As their hunch told them, Alex Grant must have been behind everything.
But without Walter, there was no way to prove anything.
“The Fifth Witness” was an incredibly fun episode of The Lincoln Lawyer Season 2. Andrea was especially great.
I’m unsure if it’s a common tactic for lawyers to get an idea out there and withdraw after everyone had heard it, something Mickey had perfected, but Andrea seemed to have picked up on it and given him a taste of his own medicine.
Meanwhile, I’ve finally accepted that Mickey operates in some legal gray areas, which might jeopardize his practice. Legal was always willing to offer his input from experience, but he didn’t hesitate to critique Mickey.
One of these days, Mickey might not be able to wiggle out of the net that ensnares him.
Let us know what you think in the comments section.
Denis Kimathi is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. He has watched more dramas and comedies than he cares to remember. Catch him on social media obsessing over [excellent] past, current, and upcoming shows or going off about the politics of representation on TV. Follow him on Twitter.
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