I found myself doing something during the courtroom scenes in this episode that I haven't done to date - laugh out loud at Mr. Burger's absolute apoplexia realizing he's been played by his nemesis (Mason). In a rare episode in which the case had gone to jury, and in which the DA's office had a solid but circumstantial case against Mason's defendant, Mason realized Burger was holding his ace-in-the-hole for the jury summation. He therefore decided to rest his case with no defense presentation, knowing that would shut down the prosecution's ability to introduce new evidence.
Burger starts to lose it, at this gambit. He sputters, "WHAT??" and decides to play Mason's chess game by deferring the prosecution's privilege to present closing arguments first. Mason presents a perfectly plausible rationale for the series of events which led to the death of the decedent and rests his case.
Burger now walks into Mason's trap, by presenting the closing argument he had planned to give but including information not hitherto introduced as evidence by either side - therefore polluting the entire testimony the jury has to consider in order to render their verdict. Mason catches Burger doing so, objects claiming prosecutorial misconduct and demanding a mistrial! The judge is inclined to agree with Mason, and for good reason - Burger played loose with proper jurisprudence to make this circumstantial evidence stick in the first place, and he sees his case unraveling thanks to Mason's masterful court procedure.
Burger is so angry he can't even see straight by now. He protests to the judge that he can have a witness on the stand within the hour who will prove Mason's been bluffing; the judge (Willis Bouchey, who over the previous four seasons has come to realize Mason is no ambulance-chaser and usually gives him slack to flesh out his arguments) seems to stifle a laugh as Mason smoothly agrees to the admission of the new witness and offers to withdraw his motion for mistrial. Of course, by the introduction of a new witness by the prosecution Mason will get to introduce exculpatory evidence through Burger's OWN witness (asking Burger's witness a question Burger never thought to ask as he'd never considered an alternative series of events) thanks to Burger's blind stumbling through Mason's mine field.
Thoroughly enjoyable. I loved it!
Burger starts to lose it, at this gambit. He sputters, "WHAT??" and decides to play Mason's chess game by deferring the prosecution's privilege to present closing arguments first. Mason presents a perfectly plausible rationale for the series of events which led to the death of the decedent and rests his case.
Burger now walks into Mason's trap, by presenting the closing argument he had planned to give but including information not hitherto introduced as evidence by either side - therefore polluting the entire testimony the jury has to consider in order to render their verdict. Mason catches Burger doing so, objects claiming prosecutorial misconduct and demanding a mistrial! The judge is inclined to agree with Mason, and for good reason - Burger played loose with proper jurisprudence to make this circumstantial evidence stick in the first place, and he sees his case unraveling thanks to Mason's masterful court procedure.
Burger is so angry he can't even see straight by now. He protests to the judge that he can have a witness on the stand within the hour who will prove Mason's been bluffing; the judge (Willis Bouchey, who over the previous four seasons has come to realize Mason is no ambulance-chaser and usually gives him slack to flesh out his arguments) seems to stifle a laugh as Mason smoothly agrees to the admission of the new witness and offers to withdraw his motion for mistrial. Of course, by the introduction of a new witness by the prosecution Mason will get to introduce exculpatory evidence through Burger's OWN witness (asking Burger's witness a question Burger never thought to ask as he'd never considered an alternative series of events) thanks to Burger's blind stumbling through Mason's mine field.
Thoroughly enjoyable. I loved it!
