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canyonwalkerIn Better Call Saul episode 4.08 Jimmy and Kim run a con to defend Jimmy's associate, Huell Babineaux, from charges for assaulting a police officer. It's odd that Kim agrees to this as her legitimate law career is finally really blossoming, and helping Jimmy commit multiple acts of fraud risks destroying the career she's worked so hard to build. Alas they really are each other's ride-or-die.
Kim investigates how the DA's office has prosecuted other cases of assaulting a police officer. She finds that in all other recent cases the prosecutor has started with lesser charges, or bargained down to lesser charges, than Huell is charged with. She challenges the assistant DA with these comparisons, but the ADA is resolute. Huell is a "repeat offender"— though she identifies only one, minor previous conviction— and won't entertain a plea bargain.
Next Kim tries overwhelming the ADA with her firepower. Recall she's not just any attorney now, she's a partner at a regional firm and manages a team. She rolls in to the DA's office with 3 assistants to file a flurry of motions and warn that they're also looking at filing a civil liberties case. Indeed, the ADA's zealous prosecution of Huell, who is black, plausibly has an element of racial bias. The ADA remains resolute, though. She explains she's unfazed by Kim's "shock and awe" attempt.
At this point I've got to note that as a longtime fan of the TV show Law & Order and many of its spinoffs, I was silently cheering for the ADA being unmoved by the big-dollar lawyer's show of force. But given the context of this show— Kim is a protagonist— I still wanted her to win. Plus, while Huell definitely did the crime, Kim's not trying to get him acquitted. She's only trying to get his charges reduced, amid the specter of apparent racial bias in the DA's office, to a level matching how other defendants have been convicted.
Jimmy writes dozens of letters purporting to be from friends of Huell back in his home town of Coushatta, Louisiana. On a bus to Coushatta he even hires fellow bus riders to help him write these letters.
Arriving in the tiny town, where the post office doubles as the bus station, he carries a sack of letters inside to post, then waits for a bus home.
Back in Albuquerque days later, the judge calls Kim and the ADA in for a meeting. He's overwhelmed with all these letters of support for Huell.
"Why are you prosecuting Santa Claus?" the judge demands of the ADA in exasperation, referring to how the letters are full of glowing praise for all the noble things Huell has done for his community. Noting that many of the letter writers insist they will come to Albuquerque to testify for Huell as character witnesses, the judge orders the ADA, "Make a deal, keep this circus out of my court!"
The ADA takes the sack of letters back to her office. She smells a rat, so she enlists her coworkers to help her investigate. They look up Coushatta on a map online, search for the church Huell volunteered at, and start phoning people who included their phone numbers in their letters.
With a team of lawyers asking questions, it sure seems like they're going to poke holes in this con. They don't know who they're up against, though. "Slippin' Jimmy" is three steps ahead of them. 🤣
More to come!
Keep reading: See how it turns out in Part 2— plus, a fun Easter egg!
First They Try it Kim's Way
Jimmy suggests an approach of discrediting the arresting police officer by bringing up past allegations of drinking and excessive force, hoping to provoke an angry outburst on the stand. Kim refuses to "burn a cop". Instead she takes on the case as a good defense attorney would, starting with doing her research.Kim investigates how the DA's office has prosecuted other cases of assaulting a police officer. She finds that in all other recent cases the prosecutor has started with lesser charges, or bargained down to lesser charges, than Huell is charged with. She challenges the assistant DA with these comparisons, but the ADA is resolute. Huell is a "repeat offender"— though she identifies only one, minor previous conviction— and won't entertain a plea bargain.
Next Kim tries overwhelming the ADA with her firepower. Recall she's not just any attorney now, she's a partner at a regional firm and manages a team. She rolls in to the DA's office with 3 assistants to file a flurry of motions and warn that they're also looking at filing a civil liberties case. Indeed, the ADA's zealous prosecution of Huell, who is black, plausibly has an element of racial bias. The ADA remains resolute, though. She explains she's unfazed by Kim's "shock and awe" attempt.
At this point I've got to note that as a longtime fan of the TV show Law & Order and many of its spinoffs, I was silently cheering for the ADA being unmoved by the big-dollar lawyer's show of force. But given the context of this show— Kim is a protagonist— I still wanted her to win. Plus, while Huell definitely did the crime, Kim's not trying to get him acquitted. She's only trying to get his charges reduced, amid the specter of apparent racial bias in the DA's office, to a level matching how other defendants have been convicted.
Next They Try it Jimmy's Way
With Kim's straightfoward lawerly approach not working, they agree to try Jimmy's approach— a con— next. Except this con is not Jimmy's idea; it's actually Kim's!Jimmy writes dozens of letters purporting to be from friends of Huell back in his home town of Coushatta, Louisiana. On a bus to Coushatta he even hires fellow bus riders to help him write these letters.
Arriving in the tiny town, where the post office doubles as the bus station, he carries a sack of letters inside to post, then waits for a bus home.
Back in Albuquerque days later, the judge calls Kim and the ADA in for a meeting. He's overwhelmed with all these letters of support for Huell.
"Why are you prosecuting Santa Claus?" the judge demands of the ADA in exasperation, referring to how the letters are full of glowing praise for all the noble things Huell has done for his community. Noting that many of the letter writers insist they will come to Albuquerque to testify for Huell as character witnesses, the judge orders the ADA, "Make a deal, keep this circus out of my court!"
The ADA takes the sack of letters back to her office. She smells a rat, so she enlists her coworkers to help her investigate. They look up Coushatta on a map online, search for the church Huell volunteered at, and start phoning people who included their phone numbers in their letters.
With a team of lawyers asking questions, it sure seems like they're going to poke holes in this con. They don't know who they're up against, though. "Slippin' Jimmy" is three steps ahead of them. 🤣
More to come!
Keep reading: See how it turns out in Part 2— plus, a fun Easter egg!
