Double Trouble
All Rise returns this week with another slice of legal drama, with two interesting cases dealt with by our main protagonists. Dealing with some very important issues, All Rise brings meaningful story lines and emotional depth into the show. Most characters have some good chemistry on screen too but it’s ultimately Carmichael’s fair and caring nature that stands out. We begin the episode with Lopez discussing her insomnia with Mendez while Carmichael struggles to be accepted by her fellow judges. Today’s case is a grocery store assault. Leo Guerra, accused of violently resisting arrest, denies the charges but as he begins explaining what happened, a man in a black coat enters the courtroom. He explains that he’s Agent Sal Soto from US immigration. Panicking, Guerra jumps over the stand and tries to escape. Carmichael puts her foot down and stops Soto from going any further and as the bailiff catches Leo, the judge calls for a recess. Meanwhile, Callan has a case of his own, this one involving Maya Lambert who’s accused of stealing a car. With the witness suddenly changing her story and the case dismissed, Callan confronts the defence lawyer, Amy Quinn, and accuses her of bribing the witness. Lopez meets with Leo soon after who explains the harsh conditions he escaped from while living in Nicaragua. He tried to seek asylum in the US but wasn’t able to due to the new rules. Callan then talks with the head DA, Thomas Choi, about the case and how he believes Maya’s father has bribed the witness. Seeing how adamant Callan is, Choi decides to have one of his investigators take a look into it. Callan decides to meet with Maya to get to the bottom of things and, using his personal issue with his own father, Mark asks Maya to tell the truth. He promises her full immunity in exchange for testifying against her dad. Under the watchful eyes of her father, she leaves the room, but not before Mark tells her to think about it. Meanwhile, Carmichael meets with agent Sal Soto and after discussing immigration, she warns him if he steps foot in her court again, she will charge him with contempt. Katie, the prosecutor attorney, relays to Emily that they’re dropping the charge and that her client is free to go. She protests though, especially given Leo will be sent back to his country and face grave danger. Both lawyers decide to talk to Carmichael about the issue they face. Knowing she was influenced by Soto, Carmichael speaks to Katie about doing the right thing and convinces her to carry on with the trial. Lopez speaks to Guerra about his options; one of them being to plead guilty. He’ll get 4 years and while in prison he can try to apply for asylum in a different country. Not given much choice, he reluctantly agrees to it. Maya meets with Mark again where she admits to the crime and asks for community service. After telling her that he once lied in court for his father, Mark manages to convince Maya to testify. Back in Guerra’s trial, Lopez announces that her client is now pleading guilty. Unable to make a decision, she calls for another recess. As Lopez gets a call about Leo’s girlfriend, Kimani, being detained in the same store, finds out from the store owner that he was the one who called immigration on Leo. As the trial starts again, Lopez asks to file for a mis-trial and shows the judge food from the store, severely out of date. She suggests to only charge him with non-violent misdemeanor, which will give him a shorter sentence and a chance for him to find asylum. Both lawyers then agree to the new agreement; he will remain in custody for 3 months. Maya arrives in court ready to testify against her dad. Mr Lambert’s lawyer tells the judge that he will plead guilty and promises the court that he’ll change and do some community work. However, Judge Bennet sees right through him and sentences him to two years in prison. The episode then ends with Callan and Carmichael talking about their day and sharing some touching and funny moments together. All Rise conitnues with the same tone and pace as the premiere. We’re shown another interesting case involving immigration which is a big talking point right now, especially in the US. Thankfully it’s handled pretty well here and the episode had some emotional moments too, especially when Leo chose the 4 years in state prison, instead of returning to his home country. It really shows how some asylum seekers have no choice but to look for another country to live in and this serves as a real eye-opener. The chemistry between the different characters here is definitely worth mentioning too. The blossoming friendship between Carmichael and Kansky has been fun to watch so far and we can see the beginning of potential love for these two as well. All Rise has been an entertaining show to watch so far. Each episode depicts a couple of different court cases which are, so far at least, fully resolved by the end of the episode. With just two episodes gone, All Rise looks to be an interesting and intriguing legal drama going foreard, even if it’s unlikely to offer anything wholly different than what we’ve seen from this sort of show before.
