FINAL VERDICT

San Francisco attorney Mike Daley struggles in and out of the courtroom while trying to find evidence to clear a troublesome and terminally ill client.

In his fourth outing (Criminal Intent, 2002, etc.), ex-priest and ex-public defender Daley practices privately in partnership with ex-wife Rosie. This, and the maintenance of separate nearby residences, has rekindled their romantic relationship and helped them co-parent their preteen daughter Grace. Both partnership and romance are threatened, however, when derelict Leon Walker asks Daley to represent him . . . again. It was the first Leon Walker trial ten years earlier that caused the breakup of Mike and Rosie’s marriage. This time, Leon was found passed out in an alley near the stabbed corpse of business magnate Tower Grayson. Fingerprints, blood spatters, and the knife found in Leon’s pocket all suggest an open-and-shut case. Unfortunately for Daley, he (unlike Rosie) believes Leon’s claims of innocence and feels duty-bound to represent him, especially when he learns that Leon has only weeks to live. Daley implements a two-prong strategy, with seemingly contradictory prongs. He presses to get the case to trial as quickly as possible while investigating Grayson’s murder himself, aided by his p.i. brother and a handful of other irregulars. Excavated dirt about Grayson is plentiful, and both his callow son and his restless wife had motive and were spotted near the murder scene on the fateful night. Grayson frequented a sex club called Basic Needs (also near the site of his death) and regularly consorted with a prostitute named Alicia Morales, who happens to be missing. Will more digging result in evidence against one of these potential suspects? On the home front, Daley worries about Rosie (a recent breast cancer survivor), who’s getting sick regularly and trying to hide it from him.

Courtroom scenes, full of legal maneuvering, are highlights as Siegel’s sharp style turns them into mini-dramas (or comedies). By contrast, the whodunit plot rarely surprises or provides any fresh twists.