Blind Justice (5.7)

[KingKC]

In watching this rerun I think this is a quintessential MPI episode. There was a local story to investigate. There was a moral to the story and TM stood by his convictions. There was a conflict between Higgins and TM to the point of a small subplot. There was comedy with the used car. There was an attempt by TM to use TC. Although I personally liked the Carol Baldwin character this was not one of her good showings. This wasn't a particularly memorable one for me but it was classic MPI. (I now find myself comparing all original MPI episodes to the new MPI episodes and I could venture a guess that that new ones makes the original ones seem sooooooo much better). Everything is relative. I would give it at least an 8.5 in comparison to the 8.2 the forum gave it.

[thechickinthemiddle]

I appreciate Magnum for doing something different, but I didn't love the open ending. I'm glad Magnum called Mrs. Carrington out and that he ultimately kept his hands clean.

I've realized the reason I hadn't revisited this episode since I first saw it was due to the lack of elaboration on the story with Greg and his first wife, since no one acknowledged the possibility (and very probable likelihood) of her own family being denied justice by Mrs. Carrington's actions.

Magnum's Jaguar in this episode closely resembles the roadster Tom Selleck drives in the opening credits of his 1972 movie Daughters of Satan. According to the IMCDB, that's a 1959 MG MGA 1600 MkI Roadster.



George DiCenzo (M. Barry Aldridge) of course is best known for playing Vincent Bugliosi in the miniseries Helter Skelter.



Younger viewers will know him as Lorraine Baines' father in Back to the Future.

[ENSHealy]

BLIND JUSTICE
Famous guest stars:

Hawaiian shirts: 1

Tigers Cap: 1
Island Hopper shirts:
Shirtless Magnum:
OMG: 1
Higgins Organizations:
Higgins musings:
Negotiations:
Body Count:
Bullet wounds:
Little Voice:
I know what you’re thinking: 1
When I write HTBAWCPI:
Investigator corrections:
4th wall breaks:
Magnumometer: 4
Magnumometer Moments: https://vimeo.com/538944798

Potential magnumania usernames: Willie K (or Willie Kalanianaole if you’re motivated)

This is one of those episodes where it has a lot wrong with it, scenes that are annoying, etc. but there are just enough classic character moments thrown in to hold it together and keep you from bailing out of the episode. The key one here being the running gag with Higgins taking away the Ferrari and Thomas driving the Jag. However, I also like episodes where TM dresses up, and his court suit is awesome. The lack of socks always makes me laugh.

That being said, the legal holes are just too large to ignore. First, TM (as the judge said) should have (and would have!) known better than to literally pull evidence out of his pocket on the stand. He would have brought it to Carol’s attention so she could have it properly admitted. Second, if he is foolish enough to pull the tape out of his pocket without telling anyone else about it first, there’s no way the judge doesn’t stop him before he can play the tape, so it can be vetted. Third, they leave the verdict “open” but is there anyway there isn’t a mistrial? And now, because Thomas bungled the handling of the evidence, there is no tape for a re-trial. Oh yeah, one other thing, at one point TM says that Bowman can never be tried again for the first murder. With no additional evidence, that is true, but the tape (assuming it could be verified as valid) would constitute new evidence, and I think there could be a new trial.

Here’s a question for any (actual) criminal lawyers out there: TM at one point says “as a private citizen I had no legal obligation to tell anyone that Bowman was innocent.” Is that true? If you have relevant knowledge about a criminal case, is there no duty to report it?

Seems obvious, but it hasn’t been mentioned in the episode guide or the forum to this point, so I’ll point it out: Kalanianaole, the name of Willie and his eponymous dealership, is the name of the highway that passes by the IRL location of the estate.

Last but not least, anybody know what Kenji says?

[Blackmamba]

A couple of things brought up about the “legal loopholes “:
TM was correct that Bowman could never be retried for his first wife’s murder. It is called Double Jeopardy and is true in any murder trial, no matter what evidence comes to light after the fact. Also, TM was correct that as a private citizen, he had no obligation to report what he knew of any crime. Although, as being paid by the District Attorney as an investigator, he had an ethical responsibility to turn over all evidence he uncovered during the course of a paid investigation.
I agree that the damning part of the tape was too far in for the jury to have been able to hear it, and so unlikely that could have reached that point. Even so, even if a judge tells the jury to ignore it, they cannot unhear it. And being human, would have been easy enough based on the circumstantial evidence to convict.
What is never really confirmed is whether Bowman had a gun registered to him. If he did, then that increases the likelihood that he could be convicted on that circumstantial evidence if it was the same caliber- providing the police didn’t find the gun in the trash compactor!
I think that the moral dilemma presented for TM over the tape, his ultimate conclusion and the writers execution of the tape evidence, was brilliantly done!