The Lincoln Lawyer

Mick is visiting Gloria Dayton, who is being held in the medical facility of the jail. It turns out she was injured and needed stitches and other care. Mick discusses how much he hates to represent women in jail because they are usually arrested as the result of something a man did to them, and their time in jail seems to suck the life out of them faster than out of his male clients. When Gloria enters the visiting room, Mick notices that she has a swollen black eye and stitches on her face. He remembers how beautiful she was when he first met her eight years ago, but notes that poor plastic surgery and a hardness in her eyes has changed her.

Gloria explains that an undercover cop arrested her with cocaine in her possession. She swears that she wasn’t using the drugs—her client before the undercover cop had paid her with coke instead of cash. Mick suspects that this client may be a drug lord. He wonders if he can use him to make a deal with the prosecutors on Gloria’s behalf. He explains this to Gloria and refuses to cover her bail costs when she begs him to. He tells her that she is better off staying put—she might get into a treatment center rather than serving jail time. He calls Levin and asks him to investigate, Hector Moya, Gloria’s client. Levin discovers that this man is in fact Hector Arrande Moya, a fugitive wanted by the Feds for drug trafficking.

Mick arrives at Gloria’s prosecutor Leslie Faire’s office. He offers Leslie the information he has on Hector Moya in exchange for a guarantee that Gloria will serve no jail time and will be placed in a lockdown county rehab center. Mick convinces Leslie Faire to take the deal by reminding her that if she says no he can take his information directly to the Feds, who will then take over the case. Leslie acquiesces. 

Mick arrives for his meeting at Cecil Dobbs’s office. Roulet looks much less scared in this setting. Cecil brings Roulet’s mother, Mary Alice Windsor. Mary Alice hands Mick a check for $60,000. It is the largest check he has ever received. He refuses it, however, explaining that all payments must come directly from Louis. He wants everyone to understand that he works directly for Louis. Mick goes on to explain that it is very important that Roulet have the support of his mother, but she must not be present in their meetings: Attorney-client privilege does not cover her, so she could be called to testify about anything she hears.

After she leaves the room, Mick advises Roulet to refuse to waive his right to a speedy trial, forcing the prosecution to bring the case to court quickly. He also proposes that Roulet take a plea bargain. Roulet vehemently denies any guilt and Mick is surprised to find himself believing Louis. He notes that Roulet maintains eye contact and doesn’t avert his eyes as liars typically do. Then Roulet goes over in detail the events of the night in question. Dobbs makes it a point to tell Mick that since Roulet did a year of law school, he knows a thing or two.

Roulet says that on the night of his arrest he went to the valley to pick up women. He went to two well-known pick up bars: Nat’s North and Morgan’s. He explains that he had seen Reggie Campo (the victim) around before, but never had a chance to talk to her because was always with a man. He saw her at Morgan’s, and, as always, she was already with someone. When this man got up to use the bathroom, Reggie slid over to Roulet and handed him a note written on a napkin. It had her address and she told him she would be available after 10 pm. After that, Roulet left the bar and went to another spot, the Lamplighter. He had two drinks, hoping to meet someone else who was available right away, but did not.

Roulet then headed to Reggie’s apartment, arriving at 9:50 pm. He saw the man that Reggie had been with at Morgan’s leave her apartment and drive off in a yellow Corvette. After that, Roulet went up to Reggie’s apartment. He knocked on the door, Reggie opened it just a crack, let him in, and as he walked past her, she hit him over the head with something. He blacked out and the next thing he remembers is waking up in her front hallway with two men sitting on top of him to restrain him. Shortly after, the police and paramedics arrived. Reggie was sitting on the couch, bleeding, and telling the police that Roulet punched her and told her he was going to rape and kill her. Roulet says she was lying and set him up. The police had wrapped plastic around Roulet’s right hand, which was covered in blood. When Roulet saw the blood he knew it was a set-up, because the blood was on his left hand, while he is right handed—if he had punched anyone, he would have used his right hand.

Mick and Levin conclude that because Reggie only opened the door a crack, and concealed half of her face when doing so, she must have already had the injuries before Roulet arrived. Dobbs says that she probably set it all up to get money from the family. Mick shows Roulet a photo of Reggie’s face, badly beaten. He cannot tell from watching Roulet’s face whether he did it, but he thinks it’s possible Roulet is telling the truth. 

Now Levin takes his turn with Roulet. Levin’s job is to poke any holes in Roulet’s story so that Mick knows what the prosecution will be looking for or using against him in trial. As Levin goes over the police report, which tells a very different version of Roulet’s story, Roulet gets upset. He reiterates that Reggie is lying.

According to the report she gave to police and the paramedics, Reggie did not know Roulet, and when he arrived at her apartment she opened the door just a crack. He then forced his way in, punched her repeatedly in the face, and threatened to rape and kill her. She said that her attacker had his fist wrapped in a white dinner napkin. The napkin was taken into evidence, and the blood on it will be evaluated for DNA. Mick checks Roulet’s hands, which show no bruising or signs of injury. Roulet says that the police never photographed his hands.

The police report goes on to describe the attacker holding Reggie at knifepoint while leading her to the bedroom. Reggie pushed her attacker, who fell backward over a vase. She then ducked into her kitchen, where she waited with a large bottle of vodka. When the attacker came near, she struck him on the back of the head with the bottle, knocking him out. She then ran to her neighbors, Turner and Atkins, and called the police. The two men went back to her apartment and held the attacker down until the police arrived.

The police report contains a photo of a folding knife covered in blood. Roulet tells the men that this is not his knife, and that he did not commit this crime. He insists that Reggie is lying. Mick talks about any potential cracks in this case, like the fact that the hospital Reggie was taken to did not administer a rape kit. Mick also notices that Reggie’s first client of the evening, the man Reggie was with at Morgan’s, is not in the police report.

Roulet asks Mick what he thinks of his chances. Mick notes that the prosecution has a strong case against him. He thinks they have a fighting chance at getting a good plea bargain. Roulet adamantly refuses to take any plea, as he claims he is completely innocent. Mick says if the case goes to trial, it will be ugly, but he believes he can win.

Dobbs offers another option: to investigate all the parties involved and apply political pressure to the prosecution and DA. Mick doesn’t like the idea, mainly because it would mean the case would be out of his hands and he would lose his franchise client. He also dislikes it because it is possible that they would give up their strategy and best information only to have it used against them. Dobbs expresses his concern about the media picking up this case as he has received multiple messages from reporters wanting a comment. In reality, those messages are from Mick’s assistant, Lorna. Mick wants Dobbs and Roulet to feel the pressure of the media and wants it to look like Mick can singlehandedly control everything. Mick instructs Dobbs and Roulet not to speak to any reporters about the case, and to direct all press to him.

Roulet and Dobbs leave together, and Mick and Levin go to meet Roulet at his home to pick up his new check and to take some photos. On the drive, Levin notes the similarity between this case and that of Jesus Menendez, one of Mick’s previous clients. The main difference is that in Roulet’s case, the prosecution doesn’t have his DNA linking him to the attack. Levin asks Mick if he thinks Roulet might really be innocent. Mick responds that his father wrote in one of his books that the scariest client is the innocent one, “because if you fuck it up and he goes to prison, it’ll scar you for life” (113). 

Mick is at the Compton courthouse representing long-time client Darius McGinley. McGinley was caught selling cocaine for the sixth time to an undercover cop, which means Mick can’t plead him out of a jail sentence this time. Mick describes McGinley’s affinity for Tupac’s music—he has chosen a thug lifestyle knowing he would eventually have to serve time. Rap music helps Mick understand his client’s life choices better.

McGinley is offended by the judge’s racist remarks about his name. He curses at the judge, and then apologizes, telling the judge that he is from the streets. Mick feels sorry for his client—the justice system as the machine, and McGinley is fodder. Mick doesn’t think this client ever had a chance, given where he was born and his lack of education or prospects.

After the case, Levin is waiting outside the courtroom for Mick. Levin wonders how this racist judge keeps his job. Mick explains that the judge received his position through corrupt political maneuvering, most likely involving a payoff or bribe to another prosecutor who was a shoe-in for the judgeship. The men scoff at the corruption of the justice system as they head to the Lincoln to look at the evidence Levin has.