Ryana's The Practice Page

201. "Reasonable Doubts"
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When Bobby serves as counsel for the high-profile murder trial of Victoria Keenan, a beautiful woman accused of killing her neighbour, he crosses the line by falling in love with her. While the rest of the firm questions his judgment (especially Lindsay who is more than a little concerned about the issue), Bobby struggles with suspicions that Victoria has been lying to him. He even makes her take a polygraph test, which she passes. Nevertheless, a videotape admitted into evidence showing her receiving the victim "lovingly" before he was shot, makes Bobby realize she is guilty. Ultimately unable to deliver the closing arguments, Bobby lets Eugene take over her defence, and Eugene gets her off. Their affair ends. This is the first time we get some hints about Lindsay's feelings for Bobby.

202. "Betrayal"
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Things aren't what they seem when Bobby, Ellenor and Eugene are undermined by Joey Heric, a fast-talking murder suspect (multi Emmy Award-winner John Larroquette; he also won an 1998 Emmy for this episode) who convinces them he is innocent of murdering his homosexual lover. After they get Joey immunity, he does an about-face and confesses to the murder on the stand. Meanwhile, Berluti's reputation is on the line when he is tried for solicitation after he loans money to a down-and-out prostitute. When Lindsay and Eugene discover that the prosecutor, Dick, was coercing the prostitute to testify against Berluti, they force Dick to drop the case with the help of Helen, an ADA, and Lindsay's best friend. Dick has a revolving vendetta against Bobby that Helen uncovers, and ends Jimmy's case.

203. "The Blessing"
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Boy meets girl, boy squares off with girl, boy loses to girl when Bobby and assistant D.A. Helen Gamble face each other and their own painful pasts in a doctor assisted suicide trial, which Helen ends up winning. It turns out Bobby helped his mother die, while Helen fought against her whole family when they decided to let her grandmother died. She is convinced she wanted to live. With Eugene's help defending an elderly bookie, Lindsay goes toe-to-toe with her D.A. ex-boyfriend Chris Kelton and wins. Chris still has feelings for her. He even jokes about letting her win in exchange of a kiss. Lindsay denies.

204. "Search and Seizure"
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After checking first with Lindsay (who lies and encourages her to "go for it") whether she is or not interested in Bobby, Helen Gamble makes a pass at an unsuspecting Bobby during a Halloween party; Bobby seems at first disturbed by the approach, but after talking with Lindsay, and seeing Helen again, he decides to go for the relationship. Lindsay puts yet another drug dealer back on the streets, while Helen questions her whether she really want to be a drug lawyer or an A.D.A. Lindsay refuses Helen offer, but keeps the conflict within, specially after she is offered a retainer of $40,000 on future drug cases. Eugene and Ellenor represent Rebecca's friend, Michael Randall, who seeks a court-ordered injunction to force his wife to have a C-section. Even though the court pleads on her behalf, her doctor takes his own decision and performs a C-section on her, without anyone's knowledge or consent. Rebecca is willing to denounce him but she does not.

205. "The Means"
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Out of desperation and against Eugene's advice, Bobby plays the race card in the case against Aaron Wilton, a black man accused of manslaughter during a riot, just to find out he is also a racist himself. Eugene saves the day by giving the closure argument and by turning the whole situation around, even going against Bobby himself. Ellenor represents her obnoxious cousin, who is suing her travel agent for ruining her honeymoon. At the end, Ellenor turns her down by k.o.

206. "Save the Mule"
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Lindsay draws the line at representing drug-runners when a client (a drug mule) almost dies during a bust because her pimp will not let Lindsay release her. Bobby agrees on her not doing any more drug cases; Jimmy comes to the rescue of a community stricken with cancer, against the rest of the firm. Ellenor is to help him out. And Bobby ends a secret romance with Lindsay when things with Helen Gamble begin to heat up. Lindsay agrees on it, disturbing Bobby with her "mature" way of handling things. The affair pops out as a shock, for we had no hints of it before, except for some jealousy from Lindsay in former chapters, and maybe her naive attitude towards him in "The Pilot".

207. "Spirit of America"
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Bobby and the firm are called in by the Capital Defenders Project to keep convicted murderer Randy Jefferson from facing death by lethal injection. A documentary crew catches the frantic process of trying to prevent his execution on tape. Jimmy is the one in charge of staying with the defendant while the rest work on how to help him out. They fail.

208. "Line of Duty"
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During a night of passion with Helen Gamble, Bobby overhears plans of a police raid on his drug-dealing client, John Isikoff. Obligated to warn Isikoff, Bobby faces charges of reckless homicide when the bust goes terribly wrong and three officers are killed. Not only is he about to go to jail, but he starts loosing Helen in the process. Eugene is the one in charge of his defence. Meanwhile, Ellenor supports Berluti as he begins a seemingly unwinnable case against Boston's biggest electric company for causing cancer to a group of neighbours.

209. "Truth and Consequences"
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When Rebecca witnesses a murder and picks out the killer in a line-up, his gangbanging brother threatens her life. Bobby asks Helen to protect Rebecca. Helen agrees to do so. Two policemen are to take care of Rebecca, getting the gangbanging brother killed during their survey. Meanwhile, Jimmy and Ellenor -- with the help of Lindsay -- take the next precarious step in the case against Boston's biggest electric company. Their expert witness is an alcoholic and Jimmy has to convince him of taking the stand against his former bosses. Bobby and Helen decide to continue their relationship.

210. "Burden of Proof"
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With a clearly mapped-out strategy and some risky negotiating tactics, Berluti sets out on the trial of his life, hoping to prove that Boston power lines gave his clients cancer. Even though he seems to have won, he looses on the end because his clients refuse to negotiate and because the judge revokes the verdict in their favour. Nevertheless, the whole bunch party with him as if they had win. While making love, Helen begins to get suspicious about Bobby's and Lindsay's past romance. She asks Lindsay who evades the answer, just to start feeling guilty for not having told her about her past affair with Bobby. She pops the question to Bobby, who decides he is the one to call the shoots on this matter. He decides to tell nothing to Helen.

211. "Ties That Bind"
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Ellenor and Lindsay defend a hardcore porn star accused of killing her husband/co-star. They are about to loose the case until Lindsay realizes the main trouble is they both believe her guilty, the same way the juror feels about her. This gives Ellenor the idea of how to free her client. They win. Helen finds out about Bobby's past lover, Lindsay, when Bobby slips her name while discussing with Helen. Helen and Lindsay's relationship turmoils just to end up clearing things. Lindsay insists Helen is the perfect match for Bobby, and that her affair with him is history (a lie for she still loves him).

212. "The Trial"
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Bobby and Helen butt heads and send their relationship into a tailspin when neither of them will back down from a high-profile murder case. For Bobby, it means the entrance to that attorney's world that has despised him in the past. For Helen it is the big case and the opportunity to clear up her situation at the D.A.'s office. All eyes are on her because of her relationship with Bobby. No one has forgotten what happened when Bobby warned one of his clients on privileged information obtained from Helen. And Eugene defends Rebecca's irascible uncle who is being sued by the government for tax evasion.

213. "Cloudy with a Chance of Membranes"
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Bobby and the whole firm use every trick in the book to keep Helen Gamble and the D.A.'s office from putting suspected murderer Dr. Jeffrey Winslow in prison for life. Nevertheless, they loose. Bobby also looses Helen, when she acknowledges that for Bobby his career is more than important than their relationship. This is the conclusion of a two-part episode beginning in "The Trial"

214. "In Deep"
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Rebecca is the only witness to the murder of a gas station attendant, but a tough defence lawyer raises doubts about who and what she saw. The A.D.A. is very concerned about whether Rebecca will stick to her previous declaration or not. Meanwhile, Ellenor defends a petty purse-snatcher who has become a political pawn. Her major problem is her own client.

215. "Another Day"
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One of Bobby's most flamboyant clients, Joey Heric (John Laroquette), has murdered a second lover, only this time, Joey chooses to defend himself and Helen has been assigned to prosecute him. Nevertheless, Judge Zoey Hillar (Linda Hunt) instructs Bobby to stay as second chair.

216. "Checkmate"
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Helen Gamble knows she must not just rely on the evidence, but she must outsmart Joey Heric if she is to send him to jail. However, Joey outsmarts her again. How dumb can these guys be? John Larroquette guest stars as Joey Heric.

217. "Trees in the Forest"
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Lindsay throws the entire firm into turmoil when she demands to be made partner, but it's her personal confession that really catches Bobby off guard. She still loves him, and wants him to know it and to know she is right there for him to reach. Bobby is speechless.

218. "Food Chains"
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Ellenor takes the case of a scientist who wants to stop a primate centre from selling a prized ape who is able to speak using sign language. Ellenor fights to save the highly intelligent chimpanzee from deadly medical testing. Helen, Jimmy and Rebecca set up a sting to expose an insurance fraud ring. They both go undercover in an attempt to break the insurance fraud ring after Rebecca is involved in a car accident she believes was a set-up. Bobby tries to convince Eugene they should fire Lindsay and start fresh, but Eugene will not bite it. He agrees some equity will be no idea. Besides, everyone loves Lindsay, especially Bobby - more that he can tell. For Eugene Lindsay is like the most near conscience in that firm, right after Rebecca. Bobby finally agrees to make certain staff members partners in the firm, all of them except Jimmy for he has less than a year with them and still needs experience. Eugene is the strongest, them Ellenor, then Lindsay, and finally, Rebecca even though she is no lawyer. Ellenor demonstrates her fluency in American Sign Language; Linda Hunt returns as Judge Zoey Hillar.

Previous to "Axe Murderer", "Ally Mc Beal" aired the first part of the case in Fox, having the whole "The Practice" cast as guest stars. Bobby and Eugene are the ones in charge of working with Ally and Billy. Yet Richard & John pay a visit to Bobby's office. Richard is fascinated with Ellenor's neck wrinkle and John with Lindsay. The case has one of Richard's best clients accused of murdering her husband with and axe so as Lindsay B did several years ago with her father. All evidence is against her, but she can recall anything. Her mind is black out. Billy insists he can carry alone the case but Richard disagrees and goes for Bobby's firm. Billy and Ally are to join Bobby and Eugene. Ally is infatuated on Bobby since second one. Bobby and Eugene are a little concerned about the fancy dummy ways of their "associates". Bobby is to call the shots. The client's psychologist seems to be their only witness but he will not testify for the whole case is based on "past lives". The shrink insists the client is Lizzy Borden.

219. "Axe Murderer"
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When one of their business clients is accused of a gruesome and bizarre murder, Ally McBeal (Calista Flockhart) and Billy Thomas (Gil Bellows) enlist the help of Bobby, his team, and their expertise in criminal defence. Calista Flockhart and Gil Bellows guest star. Second part. Helen & Lindsay are a little bit jealous of Ally. Helen makes some acid remarks on Ally's skirts. Both teams fight when Bobby pulls a nasty plan B over the psychologist accusing him of framing his client and committing the murder himself, for their is a love relationship between them and a lot of money involved. Ally questions Bobby's morals and ethics after this. The ending is shocking for Bobby's game turns out to be true and the shrink commits suicide in front of the court. Bobby blames himself for it. Ally confronts him, yet we know Lindsay is on her way to see him as well. We never see if she gets there.

220. "Duty Bound"
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A dead teenager has been found in the office of Jimmy's family priest. All evidence points to Father Ryan; but as Jimmy gets close to unveiling the real killer, he is shot at close range in the church parking lot, leaving his colleagues to pray for his recovery and find the gunman. Helen envies the relationship they share, even more now that Lindsay keeps talking about having her with the team as another partner. Dann Florek ("L.A. Law," "Law & Order") guest stars.

221. "Rhyme and Reason"
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In a story reflective of current headlines, when a seemingly good thirteen-year-old shoots and murders his mother after a typical argument, Bobby is called in to defend him as Helen asks the judge to try the boy as an adult. Meanwhile, turmoil reigns in the lives of all our lawyers, both in and out of the courtroom.

"Ally Mc Beal" closed its season with a chapter guesting Bobby, as he comes down for a date with Ally, only to realize his love life is a mess, and maybe he should hold back until he is sure of who he really cares for: Ally, Helen or Lindsay.