Justice

Early in the morning in a urban garden, an old man discovered a dead body on the ground, killed by a blunt object. He was a lawyer who used to work late, his briefcase was missing. One of his client is a criminal in a death row with, as you can suppose, a bad attitude, but he had no motive in set up the murder. But the family of the woman murdered by the inmate had a strong one, as well as the real murderer (a burglar). There were issues in the murder investigations four years before without a fair trail. Carmaichael had to come back to square one. Thanks to a bartender and to a former junkie, proofs led prosecutors to a judge (Richard Masur), who was a prosecutor back then.

Former D.A. assistant Jamie Ross took a part in this episode as defense lawyer. She played dirty and that really annoyed McCoy, she always claimed attorney-client privilege even after she resigned. But she changed her mind at trial, putting her career at stake.

Carey Lowell makes a return appearance as Jamie Ross on this Law And Order episode. Now she sees the process from the other side as she is now a part time defense attorney.

This all begins when Jerry Orbach and Jesse Martin catch a case involving another defense attorney shot to death. Their investigation leads to one horrible miscarriage of justice as the deceased had evidence that a client of his was serving time in prison for murdering a woman who discovered him burlgarizing her home.

The original trail made the career of Richard Masur then an ADA and now a judge. When evidence is brought to him that he erred he refuses to admit anything.

The criminal justice system and the people who serve in it,never like to admit error in life or on TV. Part of our litigious society I guess. Carey Lowell is in a real pickle because she is an ethical person. Still she violates those sacred canons of ethics the Bar Association has laid out in the interest of justice.

The real perpetrator Gordon Joseph Weiss is a walking cadaver without a shred of conscience or evidence of a soul. A very chilling portrayal

It was also interesting to see Lowell and her successor Angie Harmon working the opposite ends and the dynamic therein in their performances. Nicely done by both of them.

'Law and Order' was incredibly good at exploring challenging topics and themes that hit hard and are still relevant and important to address. It was also, as has been said more than once in previous reviews, incredibly good at exploring them in an honest and pull no punches way and in a way that still holds up. "Justice" had a fascinating topic always worth discussing and it was wonderful to see Jamie Ross, who was a great character on her two season stint on the show, again.

"Justice" is to me one of the better episodes of a solid Season 10 and a big improvement over the disappointing previous episode "Merger". The topic was fascinating, a lot more so than the conceptually iffy one of that episode, and the execution of it here in "Justice" is even more so. Have always hated wastes of potential, and it is far from wasted here. If anything it is exceeded and Ross' return is worthy of her, which was a relief.

Everything is brilliant individually and comes together expertly. As usual for 'Law and Order' and its spin offs, the production values are solid and the intimacy of the photography doesn't get static or too filmed play-like. The music when used is not too over-emphatic and has a melancholic edge that is quite haunting. The direction is sympathetic enough while also taut.

The writing is smart and thought provoking, as well as very intriguing. Ross' and Carmichael's exchanges are extremely well written and the moral dilemmas of the case and the difficulties the characters face when it comes to trial provide some nice tension. The story is a complicated one but not overly unlike "Merger", it intrigues and twists the mind from the get go and is even more so in the second half.

Absolutely loved the character writing for Ross and Carmichael and seeing their interaction and their ways of working have a large amount of intensity, tautness and intrigue. Not a case of one of them being more interesting than the other, both being strong well contrasted personalities without being too much of a clash.

Carey Lowell and Angie Harmon are excellent, as is creepy Gordon Joseph Weiss. Interesting to see Richard Masur as a judge.

In conclusion, wonderful. 10/10.