Diksha Sundriyal
The second season of Netflix’s ‘The Lincoln Lawyer’ follows Mickey Haller as he tries to save his client Lisa Trammell from being convicted for the murder of Mitchell Bondurant. The odds don’t appear to be in Lisa’s favor, as the cops seem to have found overwhelming evidence against her to prove that she killed Bondurant. However, Haller is known for turning the tide in his favor, even if everything seems stacked against him and his clients. This time, however, even he is nervous because the prosecutor is Andrea Freemann, who not only dislikes him but has also defeated him ten times in a row. If you are wondering whether Haller breaks Freemann’s undefeated streak and wins the case for Lisa, here’s what you should know. SPOILERS AHEAD
Lisa’s Acquittal Shocks Court
At first glance, it looked like Lisa Trammell killed Mitchell Bondurant. She wanted him gone because he wanted to take away her home and restaurant and gentrify the neighborhood. She was known to have a temper and had assaulted Bondurant in public, which led him to file a restraining order against him. Her gardening gloves had Bondurant’s blood on them, and the murder weapon was the hammer from her tool kit. The cops could place her at the crime scene.
The only missing link was something irrefutable. Something that could bring together all these little pieces and create a complete picture that would prove, without a doubt, that Lisa had murdered Bondurant. Haller knew about this missing link and held on to it while creating Lisa’s defense. He made this lack of confirmation prominent through expert witnesses and creating a different narrative which brought another suspect into play.
Haller turned the limelight towards Alex Grant, who not only had strong ties to the Armenian crime mob but also had the motive and opportunity to kill Bondurant. With a favorable jury, Haller’s task got easier, and despite some bumps, he managed to get his client safely out of the murky waters. Considering that the prosecution failed to prove without a doubt that Lisa Trammell killed Mitchell Bondurant, the jury came to a swift decision. They didn’t take long to unanimously decide that Lisa Trammell was not guilty of Bondurant’s murder.
Did Lisa Kill Her Husband, Jeff?
When Haller took Lisa as his client and started looking into her personal life, he felt something off about her. Lorna, too, believed that he shouldn’t get too involved with her because even if she didn’t kill Bondurant, there is something wrong about her. She couldn’t place a finger on it until much later when Haller came to a startling realization.
During the trial, when it turned out that the hammer from Lisa’s toolkit was missing, Haller asked her if someone else had access to it. She mentioned that only her husband, Jeff, had it at some point, so Haller asked her to contact him. She revealed that she hadn’t talked to him in a while. They had a disagreement over the restaurant, following which Jeff took off and never returned. The last she heard, he was somewhere in Mexico.
Haller thought Jeff could help in Lisa’s defense and tried to reach out to him. He talked with Jeff over the phone, but nothing came of that conversation. All his efforts to seek out the man turned out to be fruitless. But then, one day, Jeff showed up out of nowhere. He agreed to testify on his wife’s behalf but demanded the money she would get from the podcast and the possible film deal. Haller refused to do that, following which Jeff disappeared again.
After the trial, when Lisa has been found not guilty, Haller forgets about the husband. But then, one day, he hears the same sounds he’d heard in the background while talking to Jeff on the phone. He asks Cisco to look into something, and his suspicions are proven right. It turns out that the man who posed as Jeff and asked for money was actually Lisa’s ex-employee who had worked at the restaurant a while back. He was an out-of-work actor whom Lisa hired to pose as Jeff. It was he who talked with Haller over the phone.
It also turns out that Jeff had filed for divorce, but Lisa never signed it. The divorce would mean giving Jeff half of the restaurant, which wouldn’t have been in her favor. Why, then, would he leave everything and disappear off the face of the Earth? More importantly, why would Lisa hire someone to pose as her husband to her lawyer? When he confronts Lisa about it, a disturbing truth comes to light.
Lisa all but confirms that she murdered her husband. When he filed for divorce, she risked losing the restaurant she’d worked so hard to build, so she killed him and then buried him in the backyard, where she planted cilantro, which he hated. The garden ensured that no one would dig there except her, which meant Jeff would never be found. This was another reason why she didn’t want to leave the restaurant even when offered millions of dollars to do it.
If she gave up the place, then sooner or later, the body would be dug out, and she would have to face the consequences of her actions. She couldn’t risk anyone knowing it. When Haller found out about it, he was shocked and appalled. He wasn’t her lawyer anymore, but he didn’t feel he could tell the cops about it. Lorna, on the other hand, didn’t have any such inhibitions. As soon as Haller comes out of the restaurant after talking to Lisa, the cops arrive at her place. Haller tells them where the body might be buried, and once that’s found, Lisa’s guilt will be proven, and she will have to spend the rest of her life in prison.
