Raising the Bar Episode Recap: "Trout Fishing"
This week Jerry tries to get a continuance in a trial to help give a woman the chance to help her son complete his college applications before she has to go into prison. Farnsworth won't grant the continuance, and that creates a battle of wills between him and Kessler. Meanwhile, Balco uses Michelle to seek a continuance on a trial in which Richard's client is accused of strangling his own wife to death in her sleep. After Ventimiglia grants Michelle 48 hours, Balco hands the case over to her...or so she thinks.
The episode begins with Balco asking for Michelle to take on the murder case against Mr. Viamaria — a man he tried for armed robbery once before and gave a deal which allowed him to serve a three-year term.
Meanwhile, Jerry defends two clients: Mr. Vernon and Regina Daniels.
Unable to be in court for both clients at the same time, he attempts to get both court dates pushed back. This begins a battle between Kessler and Farnsworth over which trial is more important, and both of Jerry's clients get caught in the crossfire.
After Jerry is held in contempt of court, Kessler is served a court order which has the potential to give her a bad name among her colleagues. Charlie yells at Jerry for trying to make Kessler look bad, and then talks to Farnsworth to try to get him to back down because Kessler is making him miserable (He is too good to Kessler!).
Farnsworth shows up while Jerry and Markus are picking a jury for the case. He apologizes, cuts Jerry and his client a deal, and gives Kessler a jar of olives to "make peace." This leaves everyone happy, and surprises us all! Kessler then helps Jerry convince Markus to give his other client a deal to save them the hassle of taking the case to trial.
Meanwhile, a sexy woman who seduced Balco into making a deal for Viamaria in his first trial years ago, is revealed. Michelle then visits the man who did the autopsy on Viamaria's wife to see if it was possible that the cause of death wasn't strangulation, but instead a result of what showed up in the toxicology report.
In court, Balco drops the case against Viamaria because he concludes the toxicology report rules in the defendant's favor. It becomes clear that Balco only gave the case to Michelle in order to teach her a lesson, and his intention was not to jail the man for manslaughter, but to punish him further to make up for the deal he shouldn't have made after his robbery trial (Clever!).
Farnsworth then tells Charlie privately that he apologized to Kessler to prove that Charlie should be his law secretary. Charlie admits the offer is tempting, but says he can't because he cares to keep his promises believing it will benefit him in the long run.
The episode concludes with Balco pouring himself a drink in his office. The seductive lawyer enters and closes the door behind her. Things get passionate between the two, and she insists she will make it worth his while if he cuts her client a deal. (Talk about the use of a woman's appeal to further a career...)
Do you like this new side of Balco that is introduced this week? Do you think it was wrong of Balco to manipulate Michelle into thinking she was going to win a murder case? What do you think of Charlie's decision to continue to work under Kessler?
