As The Lincoln Lawyer season 4 opens, Mickey narrates to us through the process of building a case as we cut to a murder at a bakery where police are investigating. It seems like Mickey is meeting with a client as we pan to a man in a prison uniform… which is when it’s confirmed Mickey is still behind bars. The man he’s speaking with, Edgar, asked Mickey for some help reviewing his current case, but Mickey points out that the evidence is stacked against him. If Edgar wants to prove he wasn’t the man who pulled the trigger, he’s going to need to give the police some names. The suggestion doesn’t sit well with Edgar, who attacks Mickey before the guards break things up.
We cut to Maggie and Hayley in the car driving while Maggie brings her up to speed, revealing that weeks have passed since Mickey was first arrested in the season 3 finale.
It’s been a month since a grand jury returned charges and the DA’s decision to seek a secret indictment instead of filing a complaint has tied the defense’s hands. Judge Lionel Stone is assigned to Mickey’s case, a judge who is known for his tough sentencing. As Mickey passes time behind bars helping other inmates with their legal needs, Izzy has been working to find security footage of the night Mickey was pulled over, while Cisco has been chasing down leads to see if any disgruntled former client might have set Mickey up, as Lorna is trying to keep the lights on as the firm keeps losing clients.
Back in prison, Mickey goes to meet with a man named Bamba. It seems Bamba is supposed to be Mickey’s protection in prison, with Mickey paying him to keep an eye out for him while he’s behind bars. It’s a smart move given the target on Mickey’s back and it's unknown who has framed him.
After arriving at the courthouse, Mickey is taken by the guards to a room to meet with Lorna and Cisco. They bring him up to speed on Judge Stone, who is described as a former prosecutor with a history of being prickly. Mickey isn’t too concerned about the judge as he discusses strategy for the trial. What he doesn’t want to do is push for bail, knowing that it could mean pulling from Hayley’s college funds and the firm’s funds, which they don’t have. Lorna offers to call Andy, but he doesn’t want to drag her into this as he heads off to get changed into his suit for the trial.
Judge Stone enters the courtroom and Mickey notices Officer Collins, the officer who pulled him over and arrested him, is not present. The DA gets a call and requests a few minutes as he steps out. Enter Dana Berg, who notifies the judge she’s been reassigned to take over the case. It seems she’s a bit of a shark and with a reputation that has earned her the nickname Death Row Dana.
As the hearing begins, Lorna presents a motion to suppress the evidence found during the search of Mickey’s car. Mickey notes that once they go to trial, the identity of the person who framed him will be revealed, but for now they’re merely challenging the validity of the traffic stop. Mickey notes that Cisco has been trying to reach Officer Collins for six weeks, and the prosecution seems to be trying to prevent a fair trial. Lorna notes that the dash cam footage and the body cam footage have yet to be turned over and Dana interjects as she explains to the judge that there were technical difficulties with the footage. She says she can have Officer Collins appear for court and that they’ll deliver the footage and requested discovery promptly. Judge Stone requests that Officer Collins appear in front of the court tomorrow and makes it crystal clear to both sides they shall not withhold discovery from one another.
After the judge gives his ruling, Lorna heads out to meet a client, only to meet with Maggie instead. Maggie wants to know how Mickey is doing before she and Hayley go to visit him. Lorna admits she’s burning the candle at both ends, and the case doesn’t seem to be going well. When Lorna mentions that Dana Berg has been assigned to the case, the name immediately raises a flag for Maggie, who questions whether they’ve had issues with discovery. Maggie encourages her to tell Dana she doesn’t want another “Rodriguez situation” if she gives them any more trouble. Before leaving, Maggie assures Lorna that Mickey has beaten Dana before and can do it again, but her face paints a picture of concern.
As Mickey and Cisco review the body cam footage from prison, Mickey notices that the video only starts when he gets out of the car to talk to Mickey. Mickey wants to see what he was doing before Officer Collins started following him; he wants the full hour of footage from before he pulled him over to paint a better picture. Mickey watches the footage and talks through his thoughts that whoever dumped Sam’s body in the car also stole the license plate. What’s even more confusing for him is trying to figure out why someone would kill Sam and then pin it on him.
Medical reports show that Sam was killed the night before his body was found in the car. They’re waiting for the toxicology report, but there is a statement from his neighbor, Margaret Shogren, who claimed to hear two men arguing at Mickey’s place the night of the murder. The ballistics report also shows that the bullet that went through Sam’s stomach was found in Mickey’s garage floor.
Before stepping away to meet with Hayley and Maggie, Mickey asks Cisco to focus on trying to get the rest of the body cam and dash cam footage from Officer Collins. Hayley excuses herself, and Mickey asks Maggie not to bring her to prison anymore, as he doesn’t want her to see him like this.
After using Maggie’s tip, Dana sends over additional discovery including the extended footage from the dash cam and body cam. As they review the footage, they notice that Officer Collins got a text message and put his car into drive before Mickey exited the building and he ever saw that the license plate was missing. This seems to hint that Officer Collins knew to target Mickey and didn’t just pull him over after seeing the missing license plate.
The episode ends with Mickey in bed, covering his ears as he reminds himself again and again he’s the man with the axe—a reference to his earlier metaphor about how every murder case is like a tree and it’s the prosecutor’s job to feed, water, and protect that tree, and if you’re accused of murder you need an axe. The moment is our first real glimpse of Mickey being panicked about his current predicament, but it’s clear he’s ready for a fight, and the newly discovered evidence Cisco and Lorna unearth could be the key to chopping away at that tree.