MADE IN JERSEY: PILOT {SERIES PREMIERE} (TV)
Summary
The pilot of this short-lived legal drama series about a street-smart lawyer from New Jersey working in a prestigious New York law firm.
Martina Garretti is in her fourth week working for the prestigious Rowan & Stark law firm in New York City, demonstrating an unconventional knowledge and skill set. Her insight into debunking a possible murder weapon in a case convinces the higher-ups to allow her to become third chair on a different murder case involving college student Ellie Fordham, charged with second-degree manslaughter for allegedly killing her professor, Michael Robinson. The prosecution believes the two of them were carrying on an inappropriate relationship; no murder weapon was found but her DNA was found on Robinson's fingernails and her fingerprints were found on the door, as well as what the police believe are flecks of blood. Martina is working with lawyer Natalie Minka on this case, who constantly disparages Martina because she is from New Jersey and comes from a lower-class background.
Ellie is out on bail and Martina meets her at school, where she claims that Robinson asked her to go to his house on the night of the murder so he could sign a form which would make him her advisor for the semester. However, there were no witnesses to this conversation. Martina discovers that Ellie lives with her mother and her sister; her mother suffers from incurable encephalopathy and thus taking care of the family is Ellie's responsibility. Ellie claims that Robinson was drunk and attempted to strangle her. Martina points out that it will be difficult to try to convince the prosecution that Ellie was not having an affair with Robinson, but Martina vows to try to do so. She starts by looking over photographs of the body, noticing a chalky residue on Robinson's sleeve and looking through the contents of his stomach at the time of death. She and her secretary Cyndi ask questions around the bar that Robinson visited on the night of his murder, only to discover that he was actually there the night before instead, thus presenting a conflict with the prosecution's timetable.
Martina visits her family in New Jersey. They are excited to hear that Martina has been put on a case. NYPD investigator River Brody is assigned to Martina's case and displays Robinson's voicemail message that he received on the night of his murder, including one from Professor Andrew Triester, who says he was at home alone grading papers on the night of the murder, and one from Karenna Druss, the dean's wife, late at night. Martina and River visit Karenna and question her about her involvement with Robinson; she seems evasive and merely wants to stay out of it, finally vowing to call her lawyer. River also reveals that Triester left two voicemail messages to a doctor convicted of writing false prescriptions. In the courthouse Natalie has Martina fix Ellie's hair to make her more presentable to the jury. The prosecution brings up an incident where Ellie harmed a student at her sister's school, although Ellie points out the charges were dropped and the student in question was bullying her sister. The prosecution also believes it has evidence of an affair between Ellie and Robinson: several days before the murder Ellie was witnessed crying in his arms.
Ellie refutes this claim, explaining that it was merely her relief that he was going to tutor him and that it is being taken out of context. Martina conducts a pre-trial interview with Karenna, where she admits to having an affair with Robinson but then breaking it off. However, she reveals that Robinson got into a conflict with Triester over an article he wrote which supposedly used Triester's research without citation. Ellie says that Triester often takes his favorite students to a French restaurant with him. Martina talks to Triester, who talks about the incident with Robinson, seemingly not revealing anything incriminating. Martina is now convinced that Karenna is uninvolved, but suspects Triester's involvement. Several more pieces of evidence come to light: the kid who bullied Ellie's sister was picked up for gang involvement several weeks ago, Martina believes that the blood sample taken at Robinson's place might be contaminated, and an offhand comment about the French restaurant by fellow lawyer Luke makes Martina believe that Robinson was there not long before his death.
She and River decide to investigate the restaurant and they find the outdoor smoking section, as Triester is a heavy smoker. She finds a residue on the walls of the place which appears to match the substance on Robinson's body's sleeve. She concludes that Robinson and Triester were there together on the night of his death, and River decides he will inspect the area for evidence. Natalie believes they should attempt a plea bargain in Ellie's case, as the chances of her successful defense look slim. Martina begins to wonder if she is able to handle such a case, necessitating encouragement from Cyndi. River calls, saying he has Triester's remaining voicemail messages and Robinson's fingerprints from a dumpster behind the restaurant. Martina visits her relatives again and while there plays Triester's voicemail messages. Her niece Kate hears a "mosquito tone" in the background, and explains it is a high-pitched sound only audible to people under a certain age, used to prevent teenagers from loitering. This gives Martina an idea and she takes Kate into the city with her. She discovers that the back of the restaurant possesses speakers emitting the tone, thus proving that Triester was there on the night of the murder and invalidating his alibi.
Martina visits her mother at a beauty parlor and is struck with inspiration when she sees an empty can of hair bleach. She shows Luke recent photos of Ellie indicating that her hair has been bleached, and hypothesizes that she ran her fingers through her hair and got it on her fingers, and that the bleach was what registered on the test to determine blood samples on the door of Robinson's house, and not blood. Thus, there is no evidence directly linking Ellie to the wound on Robinson's head, and she discusses the possibility of bringing Triester onto the stand. Natalie believes that the prosecution will cite irrelevance, but Martina believes that if they can introduce the voicemail messages featuring the mosquito tone, it will become relevant. Furthermore, she believes that Robinson and Triester fought behind the restaurant and Robinson hit his head on the wall before stumbling off, and that Ellie deliberately gave herself "resort hair" to make it seem as though she had been somewhere for vacation during winter break.
However, a last-minute change means that Martina will be questioning Triester directly instead of Luke. She is extremely nervous at this prospect. In court, she calls Triester to the stand and questions him about Ellie's academics. She tries to introduce his voicemails but the prosecution objects to this. Martina claims they have enough evidence to re-examine the case and the judge calls the counselors to his chambers. She believes that the wound Robinson sustained in his fight with Triester caused stroke-like symptoms which could have been mistaken for inebriation, thus he might have accidentally scratched Ellie before passing out, explaining her DNA on his fingernails. Much to the prosecution's surprise, the judge agrees Martina and drops all charges against Ellie. Martina tells her, rendering her speechless. Martina's mother, witnessing the scene, congratulates her daughter. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: CBS
- DATE: September 28, 2012 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:41:50
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 108296
- GENRE: Drama, legal
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, legal
- SERIES RUN: CBS - TV series, 2012
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Kevin Falls … Executive Producer
- Jamie Tarses … Executive Producer
- Jessica Tuchinsky … Executive Producer
- Dana Calvo … Executive Producer, Created by, Writer
- Katie O'Hara … Co-Producer
- Deen Dioria … Associate Producer
- Mark Waters … Director
- Janet Montgomery … Cast, Martina Garretti
- Pablo Schreiber … Cast, Luke Aaronson
- Stephanie March … Cast, Natalie Minka
- Toni Trucks … Cast, Cyndi Vega
- Erin Cummings … Cast, Bonnie Garretti
- Kyle MacLachlan … Cast, Donovan Stark
- Felix Solis … Cast, River Brody
- Alexandra Socha … Cast, Ellie Fordham
- Ben Shenkman … Cast, Andrew Treaster
- Gretchen Egolf … Cast, Karenna Druss
- Ned Eisenberg … Cast, ADA Diego Haas
- Joseph Siravo … Cast, Gavin Garretti
- Peter Friedman … Cast, Judge Henry Sohn
- Jessica Blank … Cast, Deb Garretti Keenan
- Michael Drayer … Cast, Albert Garretti
- Paulina Gerzon … Cast, Kate Keenan
- Annaleigh Ashford … Cast, Jackie
- Donna Murphy … Cast, Darlene Garretti
- Steve Grodewald … Cast, Tattoo Parlor Owner
- Jessie Austrian … Cast, Waitress
- Tyler John Noble … Cast, Bike Messenger
- Antonio Ortiz … Cast, Boy
- Helen Coxe … Cast, Ellie's Mother
- Albert Jones … Cast, Creston Samms
- Karl Kenzler … Cast, Connor
- Bridget Megan Clark … Cast, Jessie
- Stephanie Casaubon … Cast, Alpha #1 - Janet Gould
- Grayson Powell … Cast, Alpha #2
- Ivan Hernandez … Cast, Alpha #3
- Victor Cuenca … Cast, Bartender #2