Briscoe and Curtis investigate the murder of Maureen Rankin, believed to be a victim of a carjacker. Maureen had secretly recorded her conversation with her killer, including personal information about him. This leads the detectives to Fernando Salva, who stole the car as a gift for his fiancée. But the defence gets the tape excluded on the grounds that it's not proven to be Salva's voice. Meanwhile, new ADA Jamie Ross arrives. McCoy is unimpressed and thinks that, as a single mom of a young child, she will not be committed enough to the job.
Ross calls in a favor from Assistant U.S. Attorney Chuck Rodman, who offers to have the FBI prosecute Salva. McCoy doesn't agree and says that the DA's office has a duty to deal with the case. Ross fears that they'll miss their chance to convict Salva; and argues with McCoy. Salva's fiancée Anna Galvez agrees to a deal to drop conspiracy charges if she reveals where the murder weapon is. The defence gets that excluded too, and McCoy and Ross discover the judge planned this. He'd previously had an affair with Anna's lawyer, so he helped her get Anna off the hook.
McCoy arranges a meeting with Rodman and threatens to have Anna tried by the US Government - who would give her the death penalty under anti-carjacking statutes. She agrees to testify against Salva. Rodman is angry about being bluffed and says that he won't work with Jamie again; but she's amused that McCoy's plan worked. Salva is convicted at trial, and McCoy is allowed to introduce the tape as an aggravating factor at the sentencing hearing. After the judge and jury hear Maureen begging Salva to think of her children, he receives a minimum 25 years. McCoy and Briscoe reflect that they both still feel responsible for the death of Claire Kincaid.
Note: First appearance of Jamie Ross.
Tropes in this episode.
- Call-Back: McCoy regrets having told Kincaid to stay when she wanted to quit ("Pro Se"). Briscoe regrets falling off the wagon in "Aftershock".
- Crazy Homeless People: The detectives interview a mentally ill homeless woman as a witness.
- Jurisdiction Friction: Ross and McCoy refuse to hand over the case to the feds. Rodman is not happy about it and tells Ross she is persona non grata at that office. She is pretty calm about it, knowing he will get over it.
- Pistol-Whipping: How Salva killed Maureen Rankin.
- Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: The detectives use this trope to get Anna's mother to talk - bluffing her into thinking Fernando raped Maureen. It works and she tells them where to find him.
- Ripped from the Headlines: From the carjacking and murder of Kathleen Weinstein, who was able to record 46 minutes of conversation with her kidnapper.
- Survivor's Guilt: McCoy and Briscoe both have it because of Kincaid's death.
