Is a drama starring Emmy Award winner Julianna Margulies as a wife and mother who boldly assumes full responsibility for her family and re-enters the workforce after her husband's very public sex and political corruption scandal lands him in jail. Pushing aside the betrayal and crushing public humiliation caused by her husband Peter, Alicia Florrick starts over by pursuing her original career as a defense attorney. As a junior associate at a prestigious Chicago law firm, she joins her longtime friend, former law school classmate and firm partner Will Gardner, who is interested to see how Alicia will perform after 13 years out of the courtroom. Alicia is grateful the firm's top litigator, Diane Lockhart, offers to mentor her but discovers the offer has conditions and realizes she has to succeed on her own merit. Alicia's main competition among the firm's 20-something new recruits is Cary, a recent Harvard grad who is affable on the surface, but competitive to the core. Fortunately, Alicia finds an ally in Kalinda, the firm's tough in-house investigator. Gaining confidence every day, Alicia transforms herself from embarrassed politician's scorned wife to resilient career woman, especially for the sake of providing a stable home for her children, 14-year-old Zach and 13-year-old Grace. For the first time in years, Alicia trades in her identity as the "good wife" and takes charge of her own destiny.
[Press conference] (Alicia and Peter are walking in a hall and they are going into the press room. There are a lot of journalists.) Peter: Good morning. An hour ago, I resigned as State's Attorney of Cook Country. I did this with a heavy heart and a deep commitment to fight these scurrilous charges. I wanna be clear. I've never abused my office. I've never traded lighter senses for financial or sexual favors. At the same time, I need to atone for my personal failings with my wife, Alicia, and our two children. The money used in these transactions was mine and mine alone. No public funds were ever utilized. But I do admit to the failure of judgment in my private dealings with these women. Alicia and I ask the press, please respect our privacy. Give us time to hear. With the love of God, and the forgiveness of my family, I know I can rebuild their trust. I wanna thank the people of Chicago; it has been an honor to serve you. And I pray that one day, I may serve you again. Thank you. (Alicia and Peter leave) Journalists: Sir! Are you still involved with prostitutes, sir? How many were there, sir? Will you ever try to hold public office again? Sir! Answer the question! [In a hall] Press agent: We have interviews set up with the Tribune and Channel Four. Peter: Absolutely not! I'm not doing any more interviews. I want you to cancel all of them. That's it! Press agent: I'll tell Channel Two, we don't have a comment at the present time but we emphatically question the authenticity of this thing. (Press agents leave) Peter: Hey, you all right? (Alicia slaps Peter and then, leaves) Journalists: Mrs.Florrick, how long have you know your husband was having an affair? How are you going to protect your children? [6 months later; in an office] (Alicia is waiting and a girl passes in the hall) Alicia: Oh excuse me, isn't the staff meeting at 9.30? The girl: You're in the wrong conference room. It's up one floor. Alicia: Oh, God! (Alicia takes her stuff and runs to the other floor. She enters into a room) A voice (Will's voice): This is a major class action. A case that could propel us to the top rank of full service firms, and I don't think I need to remind you what that will do to your year-end bonuses. Anyway, Sheffrin-Marks fired their last firm because they took their eyes off the ball. So, until further notice, your personal lives have been cancelled. Another voice (Diane's): So, we'll need some of you to help with the lower profile client work to free up our top litigators. Will: Ed, you take the witness prep on highway redistribution. Don, you take the Brighton criminal and Alicia will take the pro bono. Everyone else, your task is to show Sheffrin-Marks our 'A' game, ok? Let's do this! (End of the meeting- Alicia and Will are in the hall and they're walking) Alicia: Will. Will: Alicia. Alicia: Hey. Will: I'm sorry I didn't introduce you in there. Everything is moving real fast with this class action. Alicia: Well, I just wanted to say thank you for the opportunity. It's a real life saver. Will: No, glad you could come aboard. Hope you're all right with this pro bono. How'd it sound? Alicia: Interesting. Will: Good. Don't be nervous. You worried about the gunshot residue? Alicia: No...oh, god! (phone rings) Will: Nice ring tone. Who gets that? Alicia: Oh, my mother-in-law. My daughter programmed it. Will: What's yours? Alicia: I don't wanna know! So, the gun residue. Will: Diane, you're briefing Alicia, right? Good. So you're in good hands. So, let's catch up, have dinner. (Diane arrives, Will leaves - Diane and Alicia walk in the halls) Diane: So, Will speaks highly of you. He says you graduated top of your class at Georgetown. When was this? Alicia: 15 years ago. Diane: Hum, hum...and you spent 2 years at? Alicia: Crozier, Abrams & Abbott. Diane: Good firm. Will says you clocked the highest billable hours there. Why did you leave? Alicia: Well, the kids and Peter's career. Diane: Hum...Brian, can you get Mrs. Florrick the files? Brian: Sure! Diane: I want you to think of me as a mentor, Alicia. It's the closest thing we have to an old boys' network in this town. [Diane's office] Diane: Women helping women, ok? Alicia: Ok. Diane: When I was starting out, I got one great piece of advice. Men can be lazy, women can't. And I think that goes double for you. Not only, you're coming back to the workplace fairly late, but you've some very prominent baggage. But, hey, she can do it, so can you! (Brian enters in the office) Diane: Thanks Brian! Like many law firms, we donate 5% of billable hours to pro bono. Sadly, I'm long past my quota on this one: Jennifer Lewis, 26 years old, taught second grade. Accused of killing her ex-husband. Prosecution thought it was a slam dunk 45 years, but the jury came back last week, deadlocked. 6 jurors voted to convict, 6 not; I'm not even sure why the State Attorney is re-trying except he wants...Justice! He wants to prove himself! So, stick with my strategy from the first trial. The police focused on Jennifer so early in the investigation, they never even looked for the carjacker. Deadlock a jury a second time, they'll never re-try a third, ok? Ok, our investigator can get you up to speed for the bail hearing at 3. Cormac, I'm ready! Alicia: The hearing's today? Diane: Well, we could delay, but that would leave Jennifer incarcerated for another month. Don't worry, you'll be fine! The ASA's not going to argue against a recognizance release. Let's go, meeting at 10.30. (Diane leaves and Alicia follows) [In the hall, Alicia hears the TV from Brian's office. It's the speech of Peter] Sound from the TV: But I do admit to a failure of judgment in my private dealings with these women. Brian: Sorry. Sound from the TV: ...mine and mine alone. No public funds were ever utilized. The recent news... (Alicia leaves) [In the hall of the offices] Cary: Hey, let me help. Alicia: No, I'm fine. Cary: I'm heading that way. I'm Cary, the other new associate. Alicia: Oh right, Alicia. Cary: Yeah, look, I know we should be hate each other's throats, but I just wanna say I really respect what you're doing here. Raising a family and then, jumping back into this. My mum, she's thinking of doing the same thing. Alicia: Great. Cary: Yeah. So, you're on the pro bono, right? Alicia: Humhum. Cary: Yeah, that's great! I interned last summer at the Innocence Project. My dad's best friend is Barry Scheck and it was just amazing: helping people. Here, they got me on the Sheffrin-Marks. I'm sure it will be challenging, but at the end of the day, what have you really done? Saved a corporation of few billion dollars? Alicia: You wanna trade? Cary: I would, but I guess they have other plans, so... (An assistant arrives in the hall with some field) An assistant: I'm almost done, Cary. The last one is on your desk. Cary: Thank you. The assistant: Hi, Mrs. Florrick. Cary: Looks like we share an assistant, so tell me when I'm hogging her, ok? And let the best men win! Alicia: Excuse me? Cary: Let the...nothing! It's nothing. I...It's nothing! [In Alicia's office] Alicia: Oops... (There is someone in her office) Kalinda: Don't worry. It's yours! Alicia: Oh! Kalinda: Kalinda Sharma. I'm the in-house. Alicia: Oh, the investigator. Kalinda: You're Peter Florrick's wife. Alicia: That's right! Kalinda: I worked with him at the State's attorney's office three years. He fired me. Alicia: Ok. Kalinda: So what do you know? Alicia: The client is a second-grade school teacher, Jennifer. Kalinda: Lewis. Alicia: Arrested for killing her ex-husband. Kalinda: Making it look like a botched carjacking. Gunshot residue was found on Jennifer's face and hands. (They walked outside the office) That's why the cops started to think it was a murder disguised as a carjacking. According to them, Jennifer shot her ex-husband and wiped down the gun. Alicia: And the motive? Kalinda: He remarried and wanted custody of the 3 years-old. Witnesses saw them arguing a week before the murder. (In an elevator - Alicia's phone rings) Rings: hey, mom, pick up the phone. Hey, mom, pick up the phone. Alicia: Sorry, it's my daughter. (On the phone) Alicia: Hi, Grace. Grace: Hey, mom. I want to ask you a question, but I don't want you to freak out, ok? Alicia: Oh, oh. Grace: Forget it! I'll ask Zach. Alicia: No, no! What? (See Grace on the phone) Grace: All right, well, some girl said that slept with a hooker my age. And I just... (Alicia is in the hall at the Court) Alicia: What? A guardian: Madam, you'll have to turn that off. Grace: They were playing the tape in the computer lab, and some girls said her dad's a cop and he said one of the hookers was a teenager. Alicia: Ok, first of all, they were all over 20 and second, where is the teacher? Grace: It's no big deal, mom. Look I've got homework. I'll talk to you later. (Alicia arrives in front of the door) Kalinda: What? Alicia: Last time, I was in court was 13 years ago. Kalinda: Wow, I was 12. Alicia: Thanks! [In the court] A voice: The judge reaches into his pocket, pulls out a check, handing it to the plaintiff. I'm returning 5 grand and we're going to decide this. It's Florrick's wife. Alicia? My god. Matan, from the department Christmas party. You're at Stern, Lockhart & Gardner? Alicia: Yeah, first day. Matan: Oh, this is Sandra Pai. She's new since Peter. How is he doing by the way? Alicia: Peter? Fine! Matan: Say hello for me, will you? Look at all this. You're gonna to bury us. I don't know how you do it, Alicia. I'd be huddled up in a ball somewhere. Well, back to work. (The judge arrives) Matan: Good luck. (Jennifer, the client, arrives) Jennifer: Where's Diane? Alicia: Diane asks me to step in for her. Jennifer, I'm Alicia Florrick. I'm one of the other layers with the firm. Jennifer: Step in? For how long? Alicia: For the retrial. Jennifer: Oh my god! A voice: All right, man. The Criminal Court of Cook County is now in session, the honorable judge Richard Cuesta presiding. The judge: Be seated! Ok, let's hear it! Alicia: Your honor, I just... Matan: Your Honor, just to refresh your memory, the accused was deemed a flight risk due to an earlier custody hearing in which she threatened to run off with her daughter. The judge: And yet just last week a jury deadlocked on these murder charges six to six, Mr.Brody. Now, I know our new state's attorney wants to look tough, but why are you fighting this? Alicia: Your Honor, I just wanted to... Matan: The people are prepared to retry this case right now, your Honor. If Mrs.Florrick is so intent on getting her client out, why doesn't she agree to a speedy trial? The judge: Mrs. Florrick? Alicia: Yes, your Honor. The judge: The wife of the esteem Peter Florrick? You husband and I never quite saw eye to eye, madam. Alicia: Your Honor. The judge: Mrs.Florrick, don't talk! But if the prosecution thinks that this will in some way prejudice me against your client, he is sorely mistaken. Nice try, Matan. So Mrs. Lewis is granted pretrial release with an electronic monitoring. She is restricted to temporary housing attorney's offices, and transit in between. And given that this is rerun, I'll set the trial date for the 25th. Now, are we all happy? Good! Jennifer: Thank you! Alicia: Sure. (Lockhart's office - meeting between Jennifer, Alicia and Kalinda) Jennifer: We had a nice time. Michael talked about missing his daughter; the life we had together. We were driving home and uh... We got a flat. He was getting out to fix it, and I saw...a red pickup truck. A man came up to Michael. I didn't see the gun until. (Flashbacks of the moment - we see Jennifer screaming) Jennifer: Michael! (In the office) Jennifer: And I saw Michael's face. It was, um... Alicia: Do you need to take a break? Jennifer: No, just...if there is some water. Alicia: Sure. (Alicia leaves - Kalinda and Jennifer stay in the office) (Alicia speaks to her assistant) Alicia: Sonia, we need some water in here. Sonia: It's going to be about 5 minutes, but then I've got to do in his depot upstairs. Alicia: Ok, uh, tell me when you're done. (In the office with Kalinda & Jennifer) Kalinda: You stay this man ran to a red pickup truck here, and took off in this direction across the parking lot. There is a surveillance camera here. And the prosecution played it to make you look like a liar. Jennifer: I'm not lying. (Alicia is coming) Kalinda: But there is no truck on the tape, and that's why you're facing retrial how and not an acquittal. Alicia: I think what Kalinda is trying to say, Jennifer is, is it possible that you were mistaken and that the car went this way...not that way? Is that your daughter? Jennifer: They won't let me see her. Michael's parents have custody. What am I gonna do? Alicia: You're gonna take one day at a time. We got your housing. You're going to go there, take a shower, take a nap. Don't turn on the TV. You like reading? I'm going to get you some books. Fiction is best. You won't feel like it, but put on nice clothes and makeup. Force yourself to. Not for court, for you. Is the superficial things that matter most right now. Jennifer: Does it ever get easier? Alicia: No! But you do get better at it. (In front of the elevator - discussion between Alicia and Kalinda) Alicia: What? Kalinda: You identify with too many clients, you burn out! Alicia: Why don't you tell me when I do something right, ok? Kalinda: Sure. You go and interview the jurors and I'll try to figure out how a surveillance camera can lie. [In a hospital] (Alicia is asking some questions to a woman, one member of the jury) A woman: That's right. I was the jury foreman. Alicia: And you don't mind answering a few questions for us, doctor? It helps us refine the case for the retrial. A woman: No problem. I don't think you'll need much refining. Your case was very strong, very logical. In fact, I'm not even sure the other side went to trial. I voted for conviction right from the start. Alicia: Good. You mean acquittal? A woman: No, conviction. Alicia: But I'm with the defense. A woman: Oh. (The woman leaves) [In a school] (Alicia is talking to a man, one member of the jury) The man: She was lying about the pickup truck. She had the gunshot residue on her hands. Alicia: Can I ask you how many voted for conviction from the start, sir? The man: Eleven. Alicia: What? The men: There was only one holdout: Juror number 9. We argued with her for 3 days. Alicia: But the judge polled the jury and they deadlocked 6 to 6. The men: Yes, well, the judge would only declare us deadlocked if we were evenly split. So some of us agreed to change our vote to not guilty just to get out of there! If it hadn't been for juror number 9, we would have convicted. She didn't convince us. She exhausted us. [In a house] (Alicia is speaking to Mrs. Duretsky, juror number 9) Alicia: No tea for me, Mrs. Duretsky. Mrs.Duretsky: Suit yourself. Alicia: So the other jurors said you were a holdout. Is that correct? Mrs.Duretsky: Mm-hmm. They all thought they were so much smarter than me. My vote counted just as much as theirs. Alicia: Uh-uh. What exactly in the defense's case convinced you? Mrs.Duretsky: Well, the whole thing, really. I tend to look at a person and size them up pretty quickly. That lady, I liked her. Alicia: The defendant, Jennifer? Mrs.Duretsky: No, that lawyer lady. She never puts on airs. I like that! Alicia: Just so I'm clear: the defense expert argued that the gunshot residue on Jennifer's hands came from the struggle. Is that why you held out? Mrs.Duretsky: Oh, I don't know about that! I just tend to get a feeling. Don't I, Cyrus! [In Alicia's car] (The phone rings - conversation between Alicia and Jackie) Alicia: Hi, Jackie. What's wrong? Jackie: Nothing's wrong. I was going through the laundry and I think some of Grace's school clothes you would find inappropriate. Alicia: We just moved away. Grace has left all her friends. I need you to go easier on her. Jackie: All I said was I could take her shopping and help her find pants that would make her look slimmer. Alicia: She's at the perfectly healthy weight. I don't want her to have body image issues. Jackie: She'll only have body image issues if she keeps gaining weight. (Will knocks on the car) Will: Alicia. (Alicia to Jackie) Alicia: We'll talk about this when I get home later, ok? Jackie: All right! Alicia: Bye. (Alicia and Will are walking in the parking lot) Alicia: You know the new associate, Cary? Will: The one in the Brioni? What? I'm an observant. Alicia: Yes, the one in the Brioni. He said to me "may the best man win". What exactly does he mean by that? Will: What he means is something I thought we weren't making public. Alicia: What? Will: Look, we only have one associate position open. So we agreed to hire 2 applicants, and in 6 months, decide which one to retain. Alicia: So this is a contest between me and Cary? Will: It was either that or a cage match. I'm just happy your pro bono is going well. [In prison] The guardian: Visiting hours are almost over. (Alicia calls on Peter) Peter: They said a visitor. I thought mum. Alicia: I've been busy. Peter: It's good to see you. Alicia: I need you to sign some things. Peter: Ok. Alicia: We didn't get everything we wanted on the house. It's a bad market to sell! Peter: I see that! Alicia: We used most of it for your court costs. The rent will come out of my salary and the kids are going to have to stay in public school. Peter: How are they? Mother says that she's helping out around the house. Alicia: They're good. Grace argues over clothes with your mother, and Zach is using you to make friends at school which I don't know is that's a healthy thing or something worse. Peter: Using me? Alicia: "Funny or die" has a skit about you. It's cool, I guess. Oh...here. Peter: Alicia, I know this has been hard on you, but you've to believe me. I'm innocent of the abuse of office charges. Alicia: You think I give a damn about that, Peter? They were playing a tape in Grace's computer lab of you sucking the toes of a hooker. You think I care about the small print in your employment contract? Peter: Come on, I was set up. The state attorneys... Alicia: Come on! I don't wanna talk! I'm not gonna fight. I didn't come here to fight! Peter: Mum says you're on a case. Congratulations! The fake carjacking, right? Who's the judge? Alicia: Richard Cuesta. Peter: You're kidding! He hates me. Alicia: I know. A voice: Visiting hours are now over. Peter: You know there was something weird about the case, don't you? The Lewis' case? There was a rumor going around that something got buried, pitted. Alicia: What? Peter: Evidence or testimony. Alicia: I should go. Peter: Hey, listen. Thanks for playing the breadwinner for a while. It's not gonna last forever. Lawyers think that the appellate court is going to hear my case. If they overturn it, everything goes back to normal. Alicia: Peter, it's never going back to normal. [In a car] (Alicia and Kalinda are talking) Alicia: As soon as the cops found gunshot residue on Jennifer's hands, they had their suspect. So what if they pitted everything else? Kalinda: And what if they didn't? Arguments are cheap. What's that? Alicia: Page 1 of the crime lab summary. Look at the top of the corner. Kalinda: Looks like a staple. Alicia: It is a staple. Kalinda: And that's odd because... Alicia: There's no page 2. Why do they need to staple if there is no page 2? Kalinda: You think the cops kept something out the discovery that pointed to another suspect? Alicia: Well, I think either they did or it would be helpful in court to imply that they did. Kalinda: 2 days away from trial and you're thinking of dropping the old strategy? Alicia: Diane barely convinced a cat lady to acquit. Kalinda: So, a pickup truck is seen racing through a well-lit, empty parking lot. How's a truck missed by that surveillance camera? Alicia: Mismarked surveillance tape. Kalinda: Yeah. Alicia: What are you doing? Kalinda: Working. These are better than subpoenas. [In a firm] (Kalinda and Alicia ask some questions to a guy working in the firm near the place where the murder happened) Kalinda: We just need to see how the surveillance system works, and we'll be out of your hair in 5 minutes. A guy: 5 minutes? Kalinda: Uh-uh. A guy: Ok, it's down here. Alicia: Why did my husband fire you? Kalinda: He accused me of working 2 jobs. Alicia: Were you? Kalinda: Oh, yeah! A guy: The computer automatically records the surveillance, marks it with date and time. Kalinda: Is that the night of the murder? A guy: Yeah. I mean even if the computer did mismark it, I make an hourly tour of the lot, and I didn't see a pickup truck. Look that's me! 11:03 just before the murder. Kalinda: Can we have copies of these? (The guy calls his assistant) A guy: Sure. Lanie, Lanie! Lanie : what ? A guy : give me some disks. Lanie: All right! (Alicia to Lanie) Alicia: Your machine spit out an extra one. Would you like it? Oh, beautiful children. Lanie: 2 kids, 2 grandkids. A guy: Lanie, how about those disks? Alicia: Is he always so charming? Lanie: He's just a lazy mall cops, he spends all the day surfing p0rn, and with night shift, he can't get his skinny ass out of his chair. I'm always waking him up in the morning. Alicia: Oh, men! [Alicia's house] Jackie: I talked to Peter. He said you dropped by. Alicia: I did. Jackie: I'm glad. He's hurting in there. He's very brave but he's hurting. He needs you to forgive him, Alicia. Alicia: Jackie, I spent 15 years doing his laundry, cleaning his house, never asking a single question because I didn't think I had to. And he took everything I thought we had and he just put it out there for everyone. Jackie: He didn't want that! The press... Alicia: Oh, Jackie! Stop it, please! Peter wasn't thinking of us. Jackie: It takes time Alicia. Give it time. Alicia: Any time I have right now is for them. [SCENE_BREAK] [Grace's room] Grace: I want her dead. Alicia: Me too, just not quite yet. Grace: So why can't Zach and I just watch ourselves? Alicia: Honey, she's only here a couple of hours a day. Grace: A couple very damaging hours. Alicia: You'll heal, and change her ringtone. [In the court] (Matan questions a witness, Cindy Lewis) Matan: Please state your name. Cindy: Cindy Lewis. Matan: And you were married to the victim for how long, Mrs. Lewis? Cindy: 2 years until...Thank you. Matan: And how would you describe your husband's relationship with his first wife? Cindy: Well, most of the time it was fine, friendly even, but after the last custody hearing; Michael was pretty worried about Jennifer... Alicia: Objection, your Honor! Judge: On what grounds? Alicia: Hearsay. Judge: Nice try, Mrs. Florrick. I'll allow. Go ahead, Mrs. Lewis. Cindy: He was worried Jennifer was intent on getting sole custody. Matan: Thank you, Mrs. Lewis. Your witness. Alicia: Now, Mrs. Lewis, you stated that Michael was worried about Jennifer, yet in the week following... Matan: Objection, your Honor. Judge: Sustained. Alicia: In your testimony, Mrs. Lewis, you claimed that Jennifer wanted sole custody, but isn't it true... Matan: Objection. Judge: sustained. Keep trying Mrs. Florrick. You'll hit on it! Alicia: Mrs. Lewis, whose idea was it to have dinner, Jennifer or Michael's? Cindy: Michael's. Alicia: So wouldn't that suggest that his attitude had changed. Matan: Objection! Judge: Sustained. Alicia: Thank you. (Sandra Pai & Alicia question a new witness, Detective Briggs) Sandra Pai: Now, Detective Briggs, the defense has referred to 3 unsolved carjacking in the neighborhood at that time. Are you aware of this? Briggs: I am. Sandra Pai: So why didn't you consider this incident to be another in that series of carjacking? Briggs: First of all, they were all luxury cars: 1 Lexus and 2 BMWs. The victim in this crime was driving a 2001 Honda, and there was no clip on the fuel line. Sandra Pai: This is what the carjackers did to force the luxury cars over. Briggs: That's right. Sandra Pai: but in the case of the Honda, the victim pulled over because he had a flat. Briggs: Yes, man. There was a nail driven into the front driver tire. Sandra Pai: I see. Now, why is this something a carjacker would never do, Detective? Briggs: It would defeat the purpose. I mean, how do you steal a car with a flat? Sandra Pai: Your witness. (Jennifer to Alicia) Jennifer: It's not going well, is it? Alicia: It's early. Judge: Mrs. Florrick? (Alicia to the witness) Alicia: Detective Briggs, what is "the pit"? Briggs: Excuse me? Alicia: In police circles, what is "the pit"? Matan: Objection, Your Honor. Judge: On what grounds? Matan: On the grounds that...relevance. Judge: Well, let us see how relevant this becomes, shall we? Detective? Briggs: The pit...the pit is police slang for evidence thought irrelevant at a crime scene. Alicia: So when an officer's referring to dropping something in "the pit" or "pitting" it, he refers to what? Briggs: Excluding it from the crime scene narrative. But that only applies to irrelevant details. We wouldn't exclude pertinent evidence. Alicia: Was anything pitted from the Lewis' crime... Matan: Your Honor, objection! [In the judge's office] Matan: Evidence is logged in all the time that proves irrelevant to the discovery. It's not intent to deceive. It's intent... Sandra Pai: We don't even know if it is anything. Matan: And to blame the prosecution for not coming up with every ...single possible detail. Sandra Pai: She's trying to build... Judge: Ok, ok, Mrs. Florrick. None of this was in the first trial. Is it your intention to pursue a new defense? Alicia: Yes, Your Honor. Matan: Counsel's trying to mislead the jury. She's implying there was police corruption. Judge: Oh, shut up, Matan! Is she right? That's the question! Did you bury something? Matan: We all know what's going on here. Peter Florrick was a corrupt and convicted state's attorney. If evidence was buried, he buried it! And now, she's benefiting from his knowledge. Judge: ...which still leaves you with some pages missing here. I'll give you until Monday to produce them, along with any evidence they reference. Then, I'll rule on admissibility. And you, Mrs. Florrick, I'm not sure if you're being fed this stuff or you're doing it on your own, but if it's the former, you're walking a very narrow ethical line here. You understand that? Alicia: Yes, Your Honor. [Diane's office] Diane: The directive was simple: follow the strategy of the first trial. Instead, you're pushing for evidence that might not even help your case. Alicia: I interviewed the first jury, and they voted 11 to one to convict. Diane: Excuse me. That's not even true! It was evenly split. Alicia: No! Half the jurors switched their votes when they couldn't get a troubled juror to deliberate. So, I used my judgment to change strategies. Diane: And was it your judgment not to update us? (Alicia leaves - Conversation between Will and Diane in her office) Diane: She's a junior associate who doesn't think she's a junior associate! Her husband was a state's attorney. She lived in Highland Park. It's not just teaching an old dog new trick. It's teaching entitled dog new tricks. Will: Oh, come on Diane. The problem is she's catching evidence that you overlooked. I've seen you mentor these women until they start competing with you and then... Diane: What? Excuse me? I say we're reprimand Alicia and put Cary in as first chair. [Alicia's office] Jennifer: Thank you. (phone rings) That's her, isn't it? Alicia: Sonia, can you...(Alicia picks up the phone) Alicia Florrick's office. One moment, please. Jennifer pick up. Jennifer: Hello? Hi, baby. I miss you so much. (Kalinda and Alicia walk in the street) Kalinda: Alicia. It's dog hair: the pitted evidence. I talked to a friend at the crime lab, gave me a preview of the evidence. Alicia: A preview? Kalinda: It's dog hair found on the victim's clothes. Cops pitted it because they found dog hair at Michael's residence and thought it was the same. Alicia: It's not? Kalinda: It's from an Italian greyhound. Neither Michael nor Jennifer had greyhounds. There's also a chemical on the hair: Alco Ectolin, a lotion for muscle and joint paint. Alicia: That's the chemical number? Kalinda: No, his cell number. I agreed to drink. Alicia: So we're looking for an arthritic greyhound owner. Kalinda: We? I hear you're being bumped to second chair. Alicia: When? Kalinda: End of tomorrow. Cary's being transitioned in and he'll go back to the first trial strategy. Alicia: Wow. [Alicia's living room] TV: It's not a good year for him. The all-star point guard is currently suing his ex-girlfriend for damages, hoping the judge can finally determine whether this case was fact or fantasy. You know her simply as "Amber", the young woman who brought down bad boy Chicago State's attorney Peter Florrick. Though she says he wants to leave the scandal far behind, celebrity call girl Amber Madison has decided to write a memoir about her time with Florrick. In this exclusive interview with Inside Edition... (Alicia turns off the TV - Jackie arrives) Jackie: Do you really have to work? Alicia: Yes, 10 more minutes. Zach, I need your computer. Zach: Mum, I just raised my wanted level. Alicia: Yeah, I'm happy for you honey. Jackie: When Peter's father was on the Illinois' court, he never brought a single case home, not once! Alicia: He was judge, Jackie. I'm a junior associate. Zach?! (Zach arrives) I need you to play these 2 computer disks side by side. Can you set my computer next to yours? How's your sister? She still fighting with Grandma? [In Zach's room] Zach: What is it? Alicia: It's video the night of the murder. Zach: Like Faces of Death? Mum, I've seen worse. Alicia: You're adorable! Zach: I'm not! Alicia: Yes, you're! Zach, freeze it! Zach: What? What is it? Alicia: It's proof! [In the court - new witness, Mr. North, the guy from the company] Matan: This is at 11:03, the night of the murder, Mr. North, and...that's you, making your hourly circuit of the lot, correct? North: Yes, that's correct! Matan: And you saw, no pickup truck, no carjacker racing past, nothing the defendant claims she saw. North: That's correct. Matan: Thank you. Nothing further, Your Honor. Judge: Mrs. Florrick. Alicia: Can we have the monitor in, please? Thank you. (In the public - Will and Kalinda) Will: State's attorney is here. Alicia: Now, Mr. North... Kalinda (to Will): they're worried she's getting the stuff from her husband. Alicia: Here all 3 images. The middle is the image of the surveillance from the 15th, the night of the murder, and the one over there on the left is the image from the 14th, the night before the murder, and the one on the right is from the 16th, the night after the murder. Can you see the dates on those? North: Yes, I can. Alicia: So, as you said before, there you are the night of the murder at 11:03, making your circuit of the lot. And there you're the night before the murder and the night after, doing the same thing. It must get old! North: No, man. My job doesn't pay as much as yours, but I still love it. Alicia: Ok, good. Now, Mr. North, let's fast forward, shall we? 45 minutes, the night of the murder and there... What do you see? North: Nothing. Alicia: No? It's right there...maybe you need to move in a little closer. North: Oh, it's a shopping bag; it looks like a shopping bag. Alicia: Actually, it is. It's a plastic shopping bag. It was a very windy night that night, and it blew across the lot at 11:48 Matan: Your Honor, objection! What does this have to do with anything? Judge: Beats me. But I'm interested, aren't you, Mr. Brody? Overruled. Alicia: Ok, so let's fast-forward the other 2 monitors, the night before the murder and the night after the murder to the same time code. There is the 14th and the 16th. What do you see? North: Um...I don't know. Alicia: I think you do know, sir. Either you have a plastic bag that blows across your lot every night at 11:48, or these are duplicates of the same tape. North: No, it...it's not...what it looks like. Alicia: I understand, sir. You didn't willfully mislead the police. North: Yeah, that's correct! Alicia: No, it's just that it gets cold out there, and sometimes you don't make the circuit of the lot. North: Yes. Alicia: On the nights, you don't go out, you don't record the actual surveillance image, you set your computer up to duplicate the night before, just in case your manager checks in, is that correct? North: Yes. Alicia: So just I'm clear, there is no recording the night of the murder, and you were never there to see or not see the pickup truck or the carjacker. North: I'm sorry. Uh, yes. Alicia: No further questions. [Alicia's office - Discussion between Alicia & Will] Will: So, you're wondering whether demolishing the key prosecution witness didn't just save your ass as first chair...nice work, by the way... Alicia: Thanks. Will:...but was enough for reasonable doubt. You know what hurts you? Alicia: Nail in the tire. Will: Yep...and the old Honda. It just doesn't feel like a carjacking. It feels like a murder made to look like a carjacking. Alicia: What if I don't fight it? Will: What, agree that it was just a murder? Then, the jury needs a suspect. Alicia: It's late. Will: It's like old times. Evidentiary procedure; the mock trial. Alicia: You remember that? Will: How could I forget? Did we lose that one? Alicia: Yeah! (Alicia's assistant arrives) Assistant: Hi, hi, Mrs. Florrick, I just want to say congratulations. I heard you did well in court. Alicia: Thanks, Sonia. (Sonia leaves) Alicia: Heading out? Will: Yeah, I got a breakfast meeting with clients. What? Alicia: Something just doesn't seem right. Michael has dinner with his first wife. Will: Right. Alicia: He tells Jennifer he misses her, he missed their old life together. Will: Right. Alicia: What does Cindy think about it? Will: The second wife? Cindy thinks some unhappy thoughts. Alicia: Jury like her. Will: Get them not to. [In the hall's court] Alicia: What did you get on Cindy's brother? Kalinda: These are his employment records. Alicia: Good. What about the lab report? Kalinda: Here. But they're gonna object the whole way. You'll need to just string together some implications... (State's attorney arrives in the direction of Alicia & Kalinda) Childs: Mrs. Florrick, you've a moment? (Kalinda leaves) Childs: I don't think we've ever met before, Glenn Childs. Alicia: We've met! Childs: You know he's using you, don't you? Peter blames me for his downfall. He's using you to get to me. Alicia: How do you figure? Childs: Mrs. Florrick, please. He told you about the pitted trace evidence. Don't make yourself collateral damage here, for your own sake. Alicia: Mr. Childs, the day you leaked that s*x tape to the press and forced me to shield my children from every cable news station that played it in a 24-hour rotation, that was the day I became collateral damage. If you're worried about my husband, Mr. Childs, you obviously never made a woman angry before. Good luck in court. [In court - witness, Cindy Lewis] Alicia: Mrs. Lewis did you and the deceased sign a prenuptial agreement? Cindy: Yes, for tax purposes. Alicia: So if the deceased were to divorce you, let's say, in order to reunite with his first wife. Matan: Objection. Judge: Sustained. Alicia: If the deceased were to divorce you, you would be cut off from his premarital savings, is that correct? Matan: Objection, relevance! Judge: Sustained. Move it along, Mrs. Florrick. Alicia: Mrs. Lewis, you stated in your testimony that you were in Miami at the time of the shooting visiting family, so the police never suspected or questioned you. Cindy: Of the murder? No, of course not! Alicia: What about your brother? Matan: Objection, Your Honor, come on, this whole line of questioning is a smokescreen. Judge: Mr. Brody, why don't we wait for a whiff of smoke before we call it a screen, please? I'll allow. Alicia: The police never questioned your brother, isn't that correct, Mrs. Lewis? Cindy: They had no reason to. Alicia: Because he lived in Miami? Cindy: Because Danny has nothing to do with this. Alicia: Mrs. Lewis, the judge has admitted into evidence the buried...Strike that...the previously unreleased trace evidence. He has also admitted into evidence the crime lab's finding that these greyhound hairs were covered in a chemical compound called Alco Ectolin. Have you heard of this? Cindy: Sorry, the chemical? No. Alicia: No, neither had I. It is a lotion. It is a lotion that is used at dog racing tracks to ease... Matan: Objection, not in evidence. Judge: Sustained, and you might want to stay standing, Mr. Brody. I've a feeling we're nearing your smokescreen. Alicia: Mrs. Lewis, isn't it a fact that a year ago at the time of the murder, your brother worked at a dog track? Matan: Objection! Judge: Sustained. Alicia: No further questions. [In a bar - Alicia & Kalinda are talking] Alicia: You're not just making this up? Kalinda: Come on, it's a Stern, Lockhart tradition: your first jury trial...shot of tequila. Let's go! Alicia: Ok. Kalinda: Yeah, I just made that up! Sounded good, though, didn't it? Alicia: How long do you think they'll stay out? Kalinda: Oh, I stopped guessing about juries a while ago. How long were they out with your husband? Alicia: 6 hours. Kalinda: Yeah? You know what I don't get? Why you stood by him. I would have stuck a knife in his heart. Alicia: I always thought I would too. When I heard about those other scandals, the other wives...I thought...how can you allow yourself to be used like that? And then it happened, and I was...unprepared. (Phone rings) Hello? Yes, thanks. Kalinda: Jury's in? [Judge's office] Judge: Well, Mrs. Florrick, Chicago homicide has decided to reopen its investigation into the murder of Michael Lewis. Detective Briggs, doing an admirable amount of due diligence, has confirmed that Cindy Lewis' brother Danny had access to his employer's pickup truck the week of the murder. And the dog hairs admitted into evidence match those found at his workplace. So our state's attorney, in his radiant wisdom, has decided to withdraw the charges against your client and pursue a case against Mrs. Lewis' brother. Isn't that right, Mr. Brody? All I need is a yes or no. Matan: Yes. Judge: Good! Then, we're done here. [In the hall of the court] Jennifer: Thank you, thank you so much. [In Lockhart's office - Alicia's phone rings] Alicia: Hi, Jackie. No, it just went a little late, that's all. Jackie: I made a pot roast, and I was wondering if you were coming home for dinner. What? What did I say? Alicia: Nothing, it's just that's what I always used to say to Peter. Jackie: Are you there? Alicia: Yeah, yeah, I just need to pick up a few things, and I'll be home soon. Jackie: All right. Alicia: Jackie, I don't know if I've said this, but thank you for stepping up. Jackie: Of course, I would...why wouldn't I? Alicia: I'll see you soon. Jackie: All right, then, bye. [In Alicia's office - Will arrives] Will: Oh, hey, sorry, I didn't know you were here. Alicia: Hi. Will: It's just a little office token. You did great! Alicia: Thanks. I did, didn't I? Will: Oh, one more thing. Alicia: Yes, sir? Will: You've been made my second chair in the civil case. I'll see you tomorrow at 9:30, staff meeting. Alicia: I'll be there. (Alicia listens to a message on her voicemail) Peter: Hey, it's me. I'm sorry, you must be in bed, but I just wanted to tell you, the appellate court agreed to hear my case. I still can't believe it! The lawyers think we have a really good shot at overturning this and they're gonna make an official statement tomorrow. But, uh, I just wanted to tell you first. I'll see you soon. I love you
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