After his brush with the cop who took away his Lincoln at the end of episode 2, things get more uncomfortable for Mickey as The Lincoln Lawyer season 4, episode 3 begins.
Mickey and Lorna arrive at the courthouse, and he catches many judging looks from passersby. On the way to the courtroom, Mickey bumps into Bamba, who is out on parole and needs a job. Mickey mentions he could use a driver, and Lorna calls Izzy to run a background check on him to make sure everything is clear just in case.
Mickey and Lorne enter the courtroom as Judge Stone enters to hear the motion to compel. Dana quickly speaks up, asking that the motion be heard in chambers rather than in front of the media present in the courtroom. Judge Stone denies Dana’s request, and Mickey calls his first witness. He summons the lead investigator to the stand, who mentions that no ID was found on Sam’s body, so they ran his fingerprints.
Mickey then brings up two photos from the crime scene provided in discovery and points out the rectangular pattern in Sam’s pocket, asking if it looks like a wallet. The detective says he can’t confirm what the object is and can’t confirm that anything was in the pocket. Mickey presses further, asking if, based on his years of experience, it looks like a wallet. Rather than answering, the detective only notes that no wallet was turned over to him, which turns the heads of the reporters in the courtroom.
As they leave the courtroom, Mickey admits to Lorna that he tipped off Kasey Montoya from the press, as he wants them present to catch every dirty trick Dana might try. When they get back to the office, they’re surprised to find Maggie and Jack waiting for them. The pair came in to ask for a referral for one of Jack’s athletes who was injured, and Lorna offers to help. While speaking, Lorna asks Maggie if it’s possible to charge someone for giving them an STD in gathering intell for her divorce case. Meanwhile, Mickey and Jack have an awkward conversation before everyone heads out.
After lunch, the detective returns to the stand and notes that he initially thought there was likely a wallet in the pocket. However, he can only assume it was misplaced during the 17 hours before he was called to pick up Sam’s belongings at the coroner’s office. Judge Stone makes it clear that the People have 48 hours to produce the wallet, and is not happy with the People once again mishandling key information pertaining to Mickey’s defense.
Later, Maggie and Mickey exchange texts, and she admits she’s worried about him. She admits that she showed up unexpectedly at his office to make sure he’s okay. She just wants to ensure he’s taking care of himself and asks him to call her if he needs anything.
The next day, Cisco calls from Yuma with a discovery: Sam has been wiring money to an inmate named Austin Niederland. The bad news is that Austin will only speak with Mickey and he’ll only do so in person, which isn’t possible given the ankle monitor Mickey is forced to wear and the terms of his bail. Upon getting this news, Mickey heads to the courthouse to seek permission to travel to Arizona to speak with Austin. Judge Stone grants him until midnight to go to Arizona, meet with the man, and return to LA – putting a very tight window for Mickey to travel to Arizona, speak with Austin, and make it back before midnight.
Does Mickey make it back to LA in time after speaking with Austin?
Mickey heads out to catch his flight, while Lorna meets up with Celeste at an insurance company with their general counsel. They discuss how many customers have sex in cars, which could lead to numerous claims. However, Lorna points out how they can make all of this go away leading to a sizable payout for her client. After leaving, Celeste is thrilled by the win, but wishes she could have stuck it to her husband. This is when Lorna points out that there is a subsection in the policy that allows the insurance company to pursue Celeste’s husband for negligence and recoup the money they’ll be paying out.
Once in Arizona, Cisco and Mickey head out to and arrive at the prison. After waiting, Mickey is finally called back to meet Austin, but the clock is ticking if he hopes to return to LA by midnight. Austin tells Mickey that if he weren’t chained up, he’d kill him on the spot. Austin accuses Mickey of killing his best friend, and Mickey reassures him that he came all this way to see Austin’s information could help him prove in innocence. Mickey emphasizes that the only way to find out what happened to Sam and to bring his true killer to justice is if Austin cooperates.
It looks like this was a wasted trip, but as Mickey prepares to leave, Austin asks if he liked Sam. Mickey admits that, despite Sam ripping off many people including him, he was funny and he liked him. Austin reveals that he and Sam had plans for a big score when Austin got out of prison. He’s unsure if Sam had already found it, and Mickey asks how they communicated. Austin explains that Sam sent him letters posing as his deceased uncle, Kirk Lennon, and sent letters to Sam to an address in San Pedro. Austin wasn’t sure what Sam was doing there, but he hopes the information might be of help.
As Mickey prepares to leave the prison, his ankle monitor begins to flash, signaling the battery will die within an hour. Making matters worse, he forgot to bring a charger. Luckily, one of the prison guards mentions that he has a cousin who can loan him their charger. Mickey and Cisco head to the home of a cousin of the prison deputy to borrow the charger, and he begins charging the ankle monitor so they can leave.
Maggie calls, and Mickey explains that he missed his flight due to the ankle monitor’s battery running on low. He now has less than five hours to return to LA before he’ll be thrown back in jail but assures Maggie he’ll be back in time.
Once the monitor is charged, they hit the road with the clock ticking. They make progress, but the rental car is nearly out of gas by the time they near the LA city limits, and traffic ahead threatens their ability to return in time. They take an exit to try another route, but the car runs out of gas. With the countdown ongoing, Mickey races up a hill and makes it back just in time with minutes to spare.
He sends a quick text to Maggie assuring her he made it back in time, before collapsing to the ground to catch his breath after just narrowly making it in time to avoid breaking the terms of the judges’ conditions. Now, we just have to wait to see if the information Austin shared is enough to help Mickey’s case.