Bros before litigation.
Mark and Luke made a valiant attempt not to let this murder trial come between them in All Rise Season 3 Episode 4. However, Carl Brewer had many skeletons in his closet and was troubled.
Lola tried to recruit Sherri back to her courtroom, and Emily continued to help Charlotte as well.
Since All Rise Season 2, when Mark and Luke teamed up to take down the corrupt cops, they formed an enjoyable friendship. They’ve stood by each other and made an unbeatable team.
It was a shame that they weren’t on the same side in the murder trial since they would work tirelessly to find the guilty party. Instead, they had to work against each other.
I mentioned this before, but it’s been a treat seeing the cast have more carefree scenes since the series moved to OWN. I enjoyed seeing Mark and Luke jogging and hanging out outside the courtroom.
They were concerned they would lose this camaraderie depending on who won the case since it was such a controversial case.
Mark: I had my share of sleepless nights. It’s not every day you go up against your buddy in a murder trial.
Luke: Let’s make a pact. Let’s keep up our weekly jogs as usual.
Mark: No matter who wins?
Luke: No matter who loses.
Mark: Deal!
Since All Rise Season 3 began, this was the first case Luke didn’t seem sure of his client’s innocence. Generally, Luke fights for the underdog and has lots of compassion for his clients.
This time, he had a difficult client; his goal was to make the prosecution’s case look weak and the defense’s case stronger.
Mr. Brewer: Do you believe I’m innocent, Mr. Watkins?
Luke: It doesn’t matter what I think.
Mr. Brewer: No, I need you to answer my question.
Luke: My job is to show how weak the prosecution’s case is against you. That’s the only thing that matters.
The battle began in court with Luke trying to get the court to suppress the video where the cops interrogated Carl for 21 hours, ignoring his plea for a lawyer.
Mark countered that Carl confessed without coercion, but Lola agreed with the defense.
Things got messier when Luke wanted to include Carl’s medical condition, but Mark thought that would make the jury sympathetic. Whether Luke liked his client or not, he pointed out that his client didn’t have the strength to murder someone and hide the body.
Mark: It doesn’t take much vim and vigor to pull a trigger, Your Honor.
Luke: The victim wasn’t just shot. Her hair was ripped out. A body dumped in the trash like that takes energy, energy that Mr. Brewer did not have!
As Luke and Mark went at it in her courtroom, Lola broke it up and sided with the prosecution.
Carl was not grateful no matter what Luke did to help his client. At one point, after Luke questioned a cop, Carl tried to fire Luke as his lawyer.
Luke looked devastated as it was one of his first murder trials, and Lola called Carl out.
You showed a lack of respect for this court, counsel, and the jury. Any more outbursts like that, and I will have you removed for the rest of the trial. Am I clear?
Lola
Since Lola denied his request, Luke tried to work with his client. When he learned some interesting family and medical history, he wondered if he had his trump card.
Carl became very sensitive about his mother since she was supposed to be his bone marrow donor, and she abandoned him right before the surgery.
However, Intel meant Carl was a chimera, meaning he had two sets of DNA because of his surgery.
It’s not something many people have heard of, although I had from another crime and legal show.
It’s an exciting concept if Luke can get it to clear Carl. Unfortunately, Marl also gathered new evidence against Carl, so that things will get messy as these two battle it out in court.
This case will continue next week, so tensions will rise for at least a few weeks. Hopefully, the guys will reconcile after that.
Emily got more than she bargained for when she tried holistic law. Charlotte Collins was a loose cannon because she wanted her kids back.
When Charlotte heard her daughter was in the hospital, she ran to the hospital even though that was breaking probation. Emily had to convince the cops not to arrest her and deport her.
When Emily bonded with Charlotte about being a screw-up in the past and evolving, she learned yet another secret from Charlotte.
Charlotte almost had her kids taken away before coming to the States.
Charlotte: Look at you now, a lawyer.
Emily: Look at you, a fearless mom who’s raised two kids on her own. That doesn’t look like a screw-up to me.
Poor Emily got Judge Taylor, who usually goes by the law. However, he tried to appeal to his softer side by explaining that Charlotte dealt with two “birth alerts” before saying she was an unfit mother while pregnant.
Charlotte had been on the run for years, fearing her children would be taken from her.
Emily pleaded with the judge not to do that to her again. Surprisingly it worked since he agreed to return custody of Charlotte’s kids to her, and they could all stay at the Re-entry center.
I wonder if this will be the last we see of Charlotte or if we’ll see more of Emily helping her recover.
While Luke and Emily insist they’re just friends, the two still ran to each other for support for their complicated cases.
It was heartwarming to see them embrace and comfort each other.
Hopefully, Luke and Emily will team up and join practices eventually. With Emily’s passion for holistic law and Luke’s for restorative justice, it’s the perfect match.
They’re the only two people who want to help their clients make amends and start a new life.
Now let’s discuss the progress of Lola and Sherri’s relationship. Lola meant well, but she railroaded Sherri back into her courtroom for the day.
Sherri tried to keep Lola calm through the murder trial, which only cemented Lola’s view that they made an unbeatable team.
Lola: See that’s why we work well together. You’re the yin to my yang. The ping to my pong.
Sherri: If you say so, Your Honor.
It was amusing that the court reporter Sherri interviewed was a psychic who revealed that someone in power wanted her forgiveness.
Sherri refused to be bought, though with fancy drinks or gift cards.
Even though Lola was disappointed, Sheri stood her ground about her transfer.
We almost wondered if she changed her mind when she returned to Courtroom 802 on Monday, but that was only to express her feelings.
It was a look, an incredulous look that you gave me at the public integrity hearing, the same look you give to guilty defendants before you sentence them. At that moment, it hit me that the woman I’ve come to respect and idolize would think that I would steal $500,000 from her campaign. Though I did nothing wrong, I carry tremendous guilt as though I had betrayed you and for that I’m angry.
Sherri
Hopefully, now that Lola has heard Sherri and has sincerely apologized, their friendship will begin to heal.
It’s challenging seeing so many of our favorite relationships fractured.
Over to you, All Risers Fanatics. Do you think Luke and Mark’s friendship will survive after this murder trial?
Is Luke and Emily’s relationship growing stronger? Were you proud of Sherri for speaking her truth? Chime in below in the comments.
Remember, if you missed an episode, you could watch All Rise online via TV Fanatic.
All Rise airs at 8/7c on Tuesdays on OWN.
Laura Nowak is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.