The Lincoln Lawyer

Haller!

- Hey, baby. - Hey! What are you doing here?

- - This is a nice surprise.

Yeah, I didn't have to be in until later.

- I thought I'd come see you in action. - Aw.

I guess I'm a little late.

- How was your morning therapy? - It was great.

Cheaper than your yoga classes.

As long as you don't end up in a hospital.

Maggie, that's never gonna happen.

- I'd make a terrible nurse. -

- You? - Yeah.

No.

- Oh no! - What?

Esperanza can't make it today. She's got the flu.

Can you pick Hayley up from daycare?

- Today? - Yeah.

- Oh, Maggie, today's my prelim. - Who?

Barnett Woodsen? Save yourself the trouble. Plead guilty.

- Oh, you'd like that, wouldn't you? -

I can do it. I should be done in time.

But you're buying drinks if I get Woodsen off.

That's a bet I will take, Haller.

Oh, good news. Eddie can babysit on Friday.

We can have date night.

That is good news.

There's a lot of restaurants we need to try.

But Eddie's so little. I think Hayley could take him, huh?

I should get ready. Thanks for picking her up.

Yeah.

- I love you. - I love you.

- Bye! - Bye!

You were present for the ballistics testing, Detective.

Could you summarize the results for us?

Sure.

The striations from the test bullets were a match

to the slugs recovered from the victims,

which confirmed for us

that the gun we found in Mr. Woodsen's trunk

was, in fact, the murder weapon.

Thank you, Detective.

Mr. Haller?

Uh, yes, Your Honor.

Good morning, Detective Bishop.

My name is, uh, Michael Haller. I work for the Public Defender's Office.

I know who you are.

Then you know my client may be facing the death penalty in this case,

so I just wanna be certain that everything was done by the book.

- Of course. - Let me make sure I've got this straight.

So you were tipped off about Mr. Woodsen by an unidentified witness?

That's right.

You then obtained a warrant to search Mr. Woodsen's home

on the word of this anonymous source?

The term is "confidential informant."

It's all standard procedure.

Right. Sure. And in the course of that search,

you discovered the gun in the trunk of Mr. Woodsen's car?

Correct.

Just remind us, Detective, where was the car parked?

In Mr. Woodsen's garage.

- Not in the driveway? - There was no driveway.

- The garage opens onto the street. - I see.

And because the car was in the garage and not on the street,

it was included in your search warrant.

Because the warrant was only for Mr. Woodsen's home and premises, correct?

Correct.

Can you tell us what the weather was like that night?

- The weather? - Yes, the weather.

Was it cloudy? Raining?

Uh, it was cloudy. And yes, it started to rain at some point.

In fact, according to the National Weather Service,

it began to rain around 11:00 p.m.

And according to your report,

you served the warrant on my client's home at 10:30. Is that right?

If that's what it says, yes.

So it wasn't raining yet when you arrived?

No, it was not.

I'm sorry. Your Honor, is there a point here?

Yeah, there is, actually.

Detective, is this the gun you found in my client's trunk?

Yes, it is.

In his car, which, according to you, was parked in his garage?

Uh, Your Honor, I'd like to request a brief recess.

I don't think that's gonna help you, Mr. Vincent.

You've testified under oath that it didn't rain

until after you arrived at my client's house

and that his car was parked in the garage when you got there.

So tell us, Detective,

if the car was parked in the garage before the rain started,

why is there rain on the bumper?

Unless, of course, the car wasn't in the garage

and it was parked on the street,

which would put it outside the scope of your warrant.

Anything to say, Detective?

I stand by my testimony.

Your Honor, the defense moves to dismiss.

The People's case rests entirely upon evidence

that is a product of an illegal search, and therefore, inadmissible.

Your Honor, if I may, I'd like till the end of the week to respond.

You have until the end of the day, Mr. Vincent. Not that it'll matter.

Next time, cross your T's and dot your I's.

Proud of yourself, Counselor?

Just happy to get out of here in time to pick up my kid. Excuse me.

Your client's a killer, and you know it.

You should have thought about that before breaking the rules.

That's on you, Detective, not me.

And you follow the rules?

All you lawyers do is bend 'em to get what you want.

Yeah, well, that makes two of us.

Now, please get the fuck out of my way.

These tricks you play, Haller,

somebody's gonna end up dead because of you.

Maybe you should think about that.

- -

Why didn't you tell me it was Glory Days?

- Who? - The murder you're accused of.

Giselle Dallinger. I knew her as Glory Days.

I-I've never heard that name before.

When we met, she said her name was Giselle.

And when was that?

About a year ago.

Another client of mine introduced us, Stacy.

"Client"? What do you mean "client"?

Well, I'm like a manager for people in Giselle's line of work.

You... you're a pimp?

No, no, it's not like that.

I'm a facilitator. My background is in coding.

I run a very secure website, end-to-end encryption.

My clients attract customers. I verify them before they go on the date.

Takes the danger out of it.

Does it?

It's not the most respectable way to make a living,

but I have never forced anybody into anything.

I only work with people who are doing this already.

I just help them do it more safely.

At least I thought I did.

And how much do you take off the top for this service?

20%.

A lot better than the average pimp, I imagine.

This Stacy who introduced you to Glory Days... I need to talk to her.

Okay. My partner, David, can get you her information.

"Partner"?

Life, not business.

No. David never wanted any part of it.

He... he begged me to stop.

This was supposed to be my last year,

and then I would have enough to get out, and...

So, um, the night Glory Days died, tell me what happened.

Okay, look. I, um...

I was at her place that night.

I don't think anybody saw me, but I was there.

Why?

She owed me money.

Well, no, it's not what you think. Do I look like a guy who beats up women?

Looks can be deceiving, Julian.

Well, I didn't do that, okay? I don't do that.

Did you two argue?

Yes! I mean, Giselle was high, which was an ongoing problem with her.

I mean, she was acting crazy. She came at me, not the other way around.

All I did was push her away.

She was supposed to have two dates that day

but didn't have all the money because the second guy never showed up.

Did you believe her?

Honestly, no, but there was nothing I could do about it, so I left.

That was maybe eleven o'clock, and she was fine when I left. I swear.

Look, I really liked Giselle. When she was clean, anyway.

That's why I called you. Because she told me to.

She said you were the best.

I don't know, Julian. This is beyond messy.

This is someone I cared about.

I'm telling you, I didn't do this.

And I hear you.

Normally, it wouldn't matter. This time, it does.

Look, I'll get you through the arraignment.

After that, I need time to think about it, all right?

In the meantime, there's also the matter of my fee?

Money's not a problem. It'll be at your office in the morning.

- - I just...

I just... I cannot stay in jail.

Do you understand me? I can't. I'm not gonna make it in here.

There's nothing I can do about that except tell you what I tell all clients.

Keep your eyes open and your mouth shut. I'll be in touch.

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