Bluff City Law Episode 7: “American Epidemic”
After a friend (and DA) of a nearby town loses his wife to an overdose, Sydney and Elijah find themselves appointed as Assistant District Attorneys in an effort to find justice for their friend, but also to make a dent in the opioid epidemic and stem the tide of pills in this town, just a little east of Memphis.
How Did We Get Here?
The still grieving duo of Straits listen as their anguished friend tries to figure out how to tell his young daughter that her mother will never come home again. As he searches his heart, he thinks that he no longer wants to serve as the DA for the town of McRae, lamenting that 10% of the town has an arrest record for drug possession. Elijah gently reminds him that now is not the time to make big decisions. He suggests taking a beat before walking away from his work.
Back in Memphis Sydney fills Anthony in on just how easily a reasonable prescription can turn into an addiction. Anthony thinks the same thing happening to Maya would be his worst nightmare. Sydney wonders if, under the same circumstances, the same thing could happen to her. Especially given how similar she and Kate were. Anthony reminds her that is the crux of the opioid epidemic, it can happen to anyone and seemingly no one is immune. The pair investigate strategies in suing pharmaceutical companies, case precedent and strategies. When Anthony inquires about reading Elijah in, Sydney request to hold off for now.
At the other end of the firm, Elijah asks Emerson to help him do a deep dive into cases regarding the opioid crisis. What has worked, what hasn’t. Who have the cases involved, etc. Emerson asks if they should tell Sydney and Elijah declines for now. Something, something, great minds thinking alike.
As both find a potential winning strategy, they head off to tell the other Strait. They meet over-talking one another in the middle. I guess the Strait duo is going to take on the opioid crisis, at least in one town.
Time to Strategize
In what serves as the weekly Red Team style meeting, the lawyers at Strait and Associates go over the case strategy and look for weaknesses. Despite Sydney’s weak drawing skills, the team understands the strategy and the case moves forward. After being sworn in as ADA’s, they set out to make their case. As we do a little investigating with Briana in the clinics, we find out that her brother is an addict and Sydney is worried about asking Bri to work this case. Bri is tough as nails and straightens her jacket and heads into the clinic. Not every clinic in town prescribed pain medication, but 3 clinics, all owned by Dr. Pyle prescribed 90 opioid pills to a new patient without a physical exam.
They start with a settlement conference but Dr. Pyles fancies himself the hero of the working class for the town and refuses to back down. In court, Sydney offers a persuasive opening argument and the first several witnesses go a long way to making their case. That’s when it all starts to fall apart. An EMT who was present and treated Kate for her overdose reveals that it wasn’t just pills. They found the burned foil and lighter at the scene as well, remnants of heroin. While Sydney argues this just strengthens the case, Bri argues that it changes the face of the case to the jury. A heroin addict is perceived differently that someone who has succumbed to a prescription pill addiction.
What to do?
The rules for DA’s are different that the rules for lawyers in private practice. Exculpatory evidence must be shared with the defense, though Sydney briefly argues they should bury it. Bri talks about how this will change the case and she will be seen only as a drug addict now and the jury will not link it to the pill from Dr. Pyles clinic. They put Jason on the stand anyway and Elijah’s question added to Jason’s testimony make a real, a true and a compelling story. The lawyer for Dr. Pyle, however, makes an equally compelling case regarding the DA’s history of prosecutions, the nature of his wife’s death and the “special circumstances” of this case.
Needing a new strategy, Bri does more investigating into pain clinics a little further outside of town. She finds two doctors in clinics associated with Dr. Pyles willing to take a cut from drug deals while funneling pills to the streets. If they can flip one of the doctors, the case will be solidified. A little bit of theatre convinces Mr. Deitchman to flip on Dr. Pyle. Facing the mountain of evidence, Dr. Pyle agrees to hand over all his profits for rehab clinics, 15 years in Federal prison by giving over his suppliers (the drug companies). That is a huge victory for this small town.
George and Jake
He is still living at Jake’s place and Jake is working as hard on George’s case as ever. George is planning the trip of a lifetime. Meanwhile, Jake wants George to allow his ex-wife Sara to testify as a big part of what he lost while he was in prison. In no uncertain terms, George asks Jake to leave it be and refuses to allow Sara to testify.
Out in the alternative office, Jake and Robbie discuss George’s case. Robbie is unable to uncover the mystery of who killed Tess and can offer only one witness to corroborate the framing of George for the murder. When Robbie asks about George, Jake tells him that it is a very two-sided life. Part of the time is the “life and soul of the party” and other times he suffers from Don Quixote syndrome wherein he lives in an altered version of reality to avoid facing all he has lost.
Speaking of loss, Robbie checks on Sydney through Jake. She never loses a case well and he still worries. Jake assures him that Sydney is fine. As he departs, Robbie drains his beverage while threatening to arrest Jake next time for violating the open container law.
When Sara shows up at the law firm anyway, Jake goes out of his way to respect George’s wishes and privacy. While they may be divorced, Sara isn’t buying it and sees through Jake’s words. She shows up at Jake’s place later to talk to George in person. She tries to compel him to let her help. He rebukes her for coming. In a heartbreaking moment, we see all the George has lost when he talks about his whole life being destroyed and everyone else getting to go on. He asks her to leave and let him live what is left of his life. (This is a powerful moment, do yourself a favor and watch it a couple of times).
Grieving to move on
Elijah has several repeated encounters with a divorced empty nester searching for herself on a cross-country journey. They feel the spark, the intrigue and mystery of getting to know someone new, but in the end they part ways. While Elijah strayed from his wife during their marriage, he has no desire to stray from her memory. Over a drink “presumably Tennessee whiskey” the two friends discuss moving on, living in the past and moving forward. Della assures Elijah that Carolyn would not want him to live without happiness and love and he concedes that one day, but not today. That’s when Emerson comes in to tell Elijah that his mom arrives next week.
My Thoughts
Once again, Bluff City Law rips a case right out of the headlines, but finds a way to make it more human, to challenge our own preconceived notions and perceptions and help us to evaluate what we really think. That is quite the weekly accomplishment in the noisy landscape of the real world and to entertain us as the same time? The most powerful scene of the week was delivered by Scott Shepherd (George Bell) and Stephanie Block (Sara Carpenter). The heart-wrenching discussion of a life lost and shattered was powerful television. We have seen Scott Shepherd bring George Bell to life each week and he is doing it masterfully.
We hear stories of people having lost time due to a wrongful conviction, but Hollywood often brushes over the impact of lost time and reentry into society. I applaud the writers and showrunner for really digging into this storyline.
One more thing…
Just a quick note here on the opioid epidemic. This episode highlighted one of the darkest parts of the epidemic, the jump to heroin. Heroin and prescription opioid drugs largely work the same in the brain. In 2011, it was estimated that 4 to 6 percent of prescription opioid abusers switch to heroin and 80 percent of people who used heroin first used prescription opioids (NIDA website). I think it is important to know these things as we hear so much about the opioid epidemic but generally the public still lacks understanding on how these drugs work.
The episode also highlights the perception of heroin users versus people hooked on prescription pain medication (opioids). This crisis doesn’t have a single source of blame, it has evolved through myriad policy changes, pharmaceutical sales, numbers of prescriptions and demand that users of healthcare have placed upon the system. We will all have to work together to solve this one.
Nevertheless, Bluff City Law did a good job in highlighting the crisis, how it can evolve into heroin use and a possible starting point in the clean up efforts. Let’s meet back on Beale Street next week and share a trial or two and some ribs.
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