S16.E21: Judge, Jury...

[thewhiteowl]

Kasie uses DNA evidence to solve a 30 year old cold case. McGee is wooed by a tech company.

[david gideon]

The trial was one of the worst I've seen on tv; one mistake after another ending up with the 'mistrial' and the cockeyed notion that they could restart the investigation from the beginning and charge him again. (They couldn't. Once the jury is sworn in jeopardy attaches and you can't try him a second time.) JAG took liberties in procedures etc now and then but nothing as bad as this. But I liked the McGee B-story so there's that.

[preeya]

1 hour ago, david gideon said:

The trial was one of the worst I've seen on tv; one mistake after another ending up with the 'mistrial' and the cockeyed notion that they could restart the investigation from the beginning and charge him again. (They couldn't. Once the jury is sworn in jeopardy attaches and you can't try him a second time.) JAG took liberties in procedures etc now and then but nothing as bad as this. But I liked the McGee B-story so there's that.

 

Mistrials are generally not covered by the double jeopardy clause. If a judge dismisses the case or concludes the trial without deciding the facts in the defendant's favor (for example, by dismissing the case on procedural grounds), the case is a mistrial and may normally be retried.

[twoods]

I’m glad that fucker is dead. Feel bad that the person who killed him is going to jail because he deserved it. Interesting that they tied the case to the SecDef’s account, and then another CIA agent bites the dust. I’m intrigued with the storyline and will keep watching to see how it all fits. I wonder if the judge is involved since he looked panicked after he said that’s Gibbs doesn’t drop anything. 

[rhys]

I'm very confused about Tim 's visit to that wacky place. He was on a mission, right & not a job search?

[preeya]

56 minutes ago, rhys said:

I'm very confused about Tim 's visit to that wacky place. He was on a mission, right & not a job search?

The episode description stated: "Also, McGee visits an elite technology company in Silicon Valley that is offering him a highly paid position." 

If it was a mission, I can't understand why he had to do it from a tech company in California. I couldn't fathom that whole scenario.

I also thought the dead agent was somehow involved with the large balance account.

And finally, I hate TBC episodes.

Edited May 1, 2019 by preeya

[Aliconehead]

I think that McGee was on assignment, it seemed that the Splendiforous had DOD information stored on site which he had to be there to access

[Trey]

16 minutes ago, preeya said:

If it was a mission, I can't understand why he had to do it from a tech company in California. I couldn't fathom that whole scenario. 

2 minutes ago, Aliconehead said:

I think that McGee was on assignment, it seemed that the Splendiforous had DOD information stored on site which he had to be there to access

I was just starting to type out basically the same thing as Aliconehead said.  Plot device to give McGee something important to do.

Did not catch who was killed at the end of the episode.

I could not believe they were connecting two such disparate plot lines.

[Aliconehead]

2 minutes ago, Trey said:

Did not catch who was killed at the end of the episode.

The CIA agent that ran the mission against Vance and who was working with Vance and Gibbs to find out about the bank account

[Trey]

Thank you.  I thought that's who it was but wasn't sure. 

[HurricaneVal]

I am intrigued with this new plot line.  Combining those two cases together was not at all something I was expecting.  Maybe all that missing money squirreled away in the offshore account is a vigilante slush fund meted out by SecDef?

I commented a few episodes ago that they seem to be keeping Gibbs motionless during his scenes, perhaps masking a mobility problem, but he was walking all the hell all over the place last night, so I take that all back.

I loved how nervous Casey was about testifying, and how Gibbs naturally stepped in and reassured her while staying Gibbs.  The set decorators had a blast with that retro basement rec room, and then again aging it pathetically to the modern day.  That was well done.  I also thought Tim's visit to his personal wonderland was well done, he did a great job being giddily enthralled while also keeping focus on his missions.  Sadly, I had the vigilante bailiff pegged from the get-go.

But man, oh man, did central casting come through with with the selection of their creepy gross bad guy.  Holy cow, I could barely look at him!

[Brookside]

3 hours ago, preeya said:

And finally, I hate TBC episodes.

I also hate To Be Continued episodes.  But particularly when it's a rerun, and the station follows it with another episode that's completely out of order.

[eel21788]

1 minute ago, Brookside said:

I also hate To Be Continued episodes.  But particularly when it's a rerun, and the station follows it with another episode that's completely out of order.

I'm getting the feeling they're going to carry this plot-line over to next season, so prepare yourselves.

[scorpio1031]

2 hours ago, HurricaneVal said:

I am intrigued with this new plot line.  Combining those two cases together was not at all something I was expecting.  Maybe all that missing money squirreled away in the offshore account is a vigilante slush fund meted out by SecDef?

Like that ep of CSI where the dying retired cop was working with a detective to kill those that got away with murder.  However, the preview for next week makes me wonder.  

[Katy M]

I don't usually do this, but U Can't Touch This came out in 1990 not 1989.  It's close enough, I guess, I just remembered when it came out.

I thought it was ridiculous for the lawyer to object to Ellie testifying about facts in the case on the grounds that she wasn't alive yet.  What did that have to do with anything.  Yet, apparently because her father wouldn't let her get ice cream, that's what made her testimony relevant? 

As to whether jeopardy would have attached in the trial, I think the judge would have the discretion to decide that.  Jeopardy never attaches when the mistrial is due to a hung jury, or jury tampering, or half the jury getting food poisoning, etc.  And, it's not attached if the jury heard something inflammatory that they weren't supposed to hear and the judge decides that they won't be able to disregard it.

However, I would think if the reason is that the prosecution's whole case has been tossed, jeopardy would attach.  They literally had nothing else, and no "non-poisoned" way to go after it.  The evidence should have been tossed and the case dismissed (with prejudice), or proceed to verdict, which would have been "not guilty" based on the fact that they now effectively had 0 evidence.

[LuvMyShows]

There was something said during the trial, that I thought was going to be significant and it wasn't, but I wonder if it may be later.  When Jack was on the stand, the defense lawyer got her to say something to the effect of, "I don't think he's a serial killer; this was a one-time thing," and then the lawyer looked very pleased that she said that.  I thought it was because there was going to be evidence of other similar murders that the defense team was worried about, and having Jack already say that he is not a serial killer, would help shift the blame away from him and onto some not-yet-discovered mystery person who is the real killer and has done it multiple times.

9 hours ago, Aliconehead said:

I think that McGee was on assignment, it seemed that the Splendiforous had DOD information stored on site which he had to be there to access

The whole 'Mary Beth' thing meant that every room and system he accessed would be tracked.  So how on earth did NCIS think he would get away undetected?

7 hours ago, HurricaneVal said:

But man, oh man, did central casting come through with with the selection of their creepy gross bad guy.  Holy cow, I could barely look at him!

Actually, that had me suspicious. Since Gibbs/Vance are suggesting that the murder of the bad guy is part of a bigger crime, then I'm wondering if as part of that, someone hired this guy to confess and play the part of the bad guy who poisoned the ice cream....and since he looks so convincing, and is a d-bag, then it makes it easier to convince people that he's the ice cream murderer.  We are supposed to think he was killed by the dead son's father, but what if he was killed by someone involved in the bigger crime?  Maybe it involves covering the true identity of the ice cream killer.  I get a feeling that the sister is involved somehow, even though she was just a little kid at the time.

[preeya]

Someone please:  why was the DNA evidence thrown out? I don't want to do a rewatch.

[Katy M]

4 minutes ago, preeya said:

Someone please:  why was the DNA evidence thrown out? I don't want to do a rewatch.

I don't think we know.  They discussed it at a sidebar (out of our hearing also), the DNA evidence was thrown out, mistrial declared.  Best guess would be that his DNA was entered into the system when it shouldn't have been, so they should have never gotten a hit.

1 hour ago, LuvMyShows said:

There was something said during the trial, that I thought was going to be significant and it wasn't

I thought it was going to be significant that he wanted a private entrance into court, or whatever. But he never even had to go back in.  I can't even figure out why the dad was upset about that.  Who cares how he enters the court room?  The testimony, verdict and sentencing are the important parts.

[scorpio1031]

11 minutes ago, preeya said:

Someone please:  why was the DNA evidence thrown out? I don't want to do a rewatch.

He was charged for a robbery and they had his DNA for that.  When he was cleared of the charges, then his DNA should have been removed from the database.  If they had done what they were supposed to, then his DNA would not have come up when Kasie ran the sample cause it wouldn't have been there.

[david gideon]

22 hours ago, preeya said:

Mistrials are generally not covered by the double jeopardy clause. If a judge dismisses the case or concludes the trial without deciding the facts in the defendant's favor (for example, by dismissing the case on procedural grounds), the case is a mistrial and may normally be retried.

That is correct. But I put 'mistrial' in quotes because this wasn't a mistrial at all. The prosecution evidence was inadmissible. That's not grounds for a mistrial. This was a simple ruling on evidence (which happens all the time, though in real life would have been addressed before the trial began). If this situation happened in real life the defense would get the evidence excluded, then the prosecutor would free to continue and try to prove the case. If they couldn't meet the burden: not guilty. Double jeopardy rule prevents trying him again.

If judges declared a mistrial because evidence was excluded, you could have cases being tried any number of times, giving the pros multiple bites at the apple and making the double jeopardy clause meaningless. Calling a 'mistrial' because the judge excluded evidence is another reason why this trial goes in the top ten of ridiculous teevee criminal trials.

[LuvMyShows]

1 hour ago, Katy M said:

I thought it was going to be significant that he wanted a private entrance into court, or whatever. But he never even had to go back in.  I can't even figure out why the dad was upset about that.  Who cares how he enters the court room?  The testimony, verdict and sentencing are the important parts.

This confused me as well, and was also weird because the courtroom also reacted strongly when he requested the private entrance.

[stonehaven]

 I also thought it was weird that the bad guy ate the ice cream and then died...yet, weird plot holes be damned. I liked this episode...and I am actually interested in watching a two parter...for once in a long time.

[enoughcats]

On 5/1/2019 at 10:50 PM, Katy M said:

his DNA was entered into the system when it shouldn't have been

On 5/2/2019 at 10:51 PM, stonehaven said:

I also thought it was weird that the bad guy ate the ice cream and then died

So. was there significance that he littered the same kind of Ice cream wrapper that had gotten him noticed the first time?  

[Linderhill]

I was distracted by the fact that “Clowny Cakes” were Twinkie substitutes way back in the early years of the show. The epi were there were super models in boot camp comes to mind.