Directed by Michael Switzer
Written by David Ehrman
In this episode of JAG, Lt. Bud Roberts, Jr. is assigned to a court-martial panel (military equivalent of a jury) for the trial of Hospital Corpsman Terrence Shaw (James Wlcek) for the murder of Corporal Duquette. Commander Harmon Rabb, Jr. defends, Lt. Colonel Sarah MacKenzie prosecutes.
During voir dire, both lawyers, as well as the judge, find Roberts to be an acceptable juror despite his personal relationships with both lawyers. With Roberts impaneled, the court-martial can proceed to opening statements.
What seems like an Open-and-Shut Case becomes less so, as Roberts identifies a lot of faults in the prosecution case. Being a lawyer himself, he knows about the disputes over allowing or excluding evidence. Another panel member reminds Roberts that they can't base their veridct on excluded evidence. Even so, Roberts convinces his fellow jurors to see the case his way, one by one.
As he waits for the verdict, Rabb advises his Russian half-brother Sergei Zhukov (Jade Carter), now discharged from the Russian army, on his immigration paperwork.
The jury returns a not guilty verdict. Roberts thinks that justice has been done. That is, until he sees that Shaw tries to shake Rabb's hand but Rabb just leaves abruptly. Rabb knows his client is guilty, but he was bound by professional ethics to represent him in the best way he could.
Even after the verdict and even though presumably double jeopardy has attached, Rabb is still bound by professional ethics. When Roberts and Mac ask Shaw some questions, Rabb strongly advises Shaw not to answer any questions. Shaw takes that advice.
Meanwhile, Commander Sturgis Turner (Scott Lawrence) attempts to talk a new Navy wife out of divorcing her deploying husband.
Also, Rabb is circumspect as to who he's taking to the Super Bowl. The whole office know he has two "seats." It turns out he is flying a Combat Air Patrol (CAP) with his old RIO, Lieutenant Elizabeth "Skates" Hawkes (Sibel Ergener).
Tropes
- Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder: A submariner’s wife initiates divorce proceedings because when she married him, he was a cook assigned to shore duty in the submarine base, but is now deploying with a submarine. She doesn’t feel she can handle the six months of loneliness.
- Continuity Nod to 'Capital Crime', in which Singer dropped by Rabb's apartment and met Zhukov.
- Inter-Service Rivalry: Given that the accused is a sailor and the victim a Marine, Chegwidden strongly advises Mac and Rabb to not exploit inter-service rivalries to win the case.
- Miscarriage of Justice: Harm thinks his client is guilty and that he shouldn’t have been acquitted.
- Product Placement: There are several references in the dialogue to CBS Radio's coverage of Super Bowl XXXVI. The previous Super Bowl was on TV on CBS and also on CBS Radio, but this one was on TV on Fox, so of course CBS studio executives wished people would listen to the game on the radio rather than watch it on TV. And certainly that made more sense for Rabb and Hawkes in their fighter jet.
- Whip Pan: Just before the first witness testifies, and also before some of the later witnesses.
