S01E23 - The Trial

"The Trial" is the twenty-third episode of Season 1 of We Can Fix Pawbert. It follows directly from the two-part Suits crossover, in which the pack assembled evidence of prosecutorial corruption and drilled Pawbert through mock cross-examinations. With the sealed motion now in front of the bench, the Lynxley racketeering case resumes, and Pawbert is called to testify against the family that raised him.

Synopsis

Judge Abigail Stone recuses prosecutor Louis Grazella in a sealed hearing after evidence surfaces that he took payments routed through a shell nonprofit and coordinated with the defense. Rosetta Jardine of the Special Prosecution Unit replaces him and calls Pawbert Lynxley as her first witness. Pawbert testifies to his great-grandfather's theft of Agnes De'Snake's weather wall patent, the burial of Reptile Ravine, and his own crimes. Defense attorney Ryshard Vale attacks his motives and his closeness to the officers guarding him, and Pawbert redirects to the documentary evidence. Gary De'Snake, Judy Hopps, and Nick Wilde also testify, though Luther is never called. The defense presents no witnesses, and the jury convicts Milton, Cattrick, and Kitty Lynxley on every count, which carries mandatory life without parole. At Pawbert's sentencing hearing, Gary, Judy, Nick, and Nibbles Maplestick give impact statements, and defense counsel Nikki Bramble asks for the terms Stone then imposes: twelve years determinate, conditional release eligibility at roughly ten years and three months, five years of supervision after that, and protective custody. Stone also strikes his violent predator designation, which lifts the muzzle requirement for transport. The pack spends one last night with him at the safehouse.

Plot

Judge Abigail Stone convenes a sealed ex parte hearing in her chambers with Nikki Bramble and prosecutor Louis Grazella, no defense counsel present. She has read the Attorney General's motion, the referral from Nikki's office that produced it, and the exhibits, and she asks Grazella to account for the defense filings he opened before they were served on him. When she warns him that lying to a judge in chambers is a poor career decision, he concedes improper communications with defense counsel. On the consulting fees routed through a shell nonprofit to his brother-in-law's company, he asks to consult counsel, and Stone cuts him off. He admits he cannot continue on the case. Stone recuses him effective immediately, orders him to surrender all case materials to a special master before he leaves the building, and tells him to expect a call from the Attorney General's criminal division. Court is delayed until eleven for the transition. Alone with Nikki, she credits the work and asks whether Nikki is ready for what follows.

In a courthouse waiting area, Nikki finds the pack and reports that Grazella is out and a replacement is coming from the Special Prosecution Unit. Ryshard Vale stays on the case: Stone has warned him and referred him to the Bar, but removing him would hand the defense grounds for appeal. Pawbert calls him wounded, Nikki adds that he is also scared, and Pawbert points out what scared animals do. When the courtroom reconvenes, Rosetta Jardine, a jaguar from the Special Prosecution Unit, is at the prosecution table with forty-five minutes of preparation behind her. Vale objects to the substitution and Stone overrules him, telling him the court does not tolerate prosecutorial misconduct and will not punish the prosecution for addressing it. Jardine calls Pawbert as her first witness.

Jardine establishes what the cooperation agreement requires and what it does not promise, then moves to the weather wall system and the family's control of it. Pawbert testifies that Ebenezer Lynxley stole the patent from Agnes De'Snake and had her framed for murder, that the Lynxley Journal holds a hidden map to her original patent, and that Reptile Ravine was buried under Tundratown to conceal the theft. He describes the payoffs and threats used on anyone who got close, and then lists his own acts without softening any of them: the venom he injected into Officer Hopps, the stabbing of Nibbles Maplestick, Gary De'Snake left in the snow, the fight with Officer Wilde on the ice and the lie he told during it, the fire he set at Agnes's house. No one gave him direct orders. He knew what was expected and what happened to those who failed. Asked whether he is still afraid of his family, he holds Milton's eyes and answers that he is more afraid of staying silent.

Vale's cross-examination opens on the cooperation agreement, arguing that a witness facing multiple life sentences will say whatever the jury wants to hear, then recasts the testimony as revenge for the attempt on Pawbert's life. When that fails, he walks Pawbert through the absence of direct orders, one crime at a time, until Pawbert concedes he acted on his own initiative. Pawbert gives him the facts and refuses the frame, returning each time to the Journal, the bank records, and the witness statements, all of which exist without his testimony. Vale then turns to the security detail, calling the pack's closeness a pattern and comparing it to the way Pawbert charmed Officer Hopps before poisoning her. Pawbert flinches, and does not look toward Luther in the gallery. He answers that he did that once and is not doing it now: he is asking them to witness the truth rather than protect a lie. Nikki draws a sustained objection when Vale implies outside coaching, and he finishes without recovering the ground. On redirect, Jardine asks what actually motivates the testimony, and Pawbert repeats under oath the answer he once gave Luther in private.

The trial runs on into a second day and a third. Gary De'Snake testifies about the weather wall connection, the original patent, and Agnes's legacy, holding Pawbert's gaze from the platform; by the time he finishes, the defense table has stopped taking notes. Judy's account is steady and procedural. Nick is asked about the ice ledge and answers without any of his usual deflection. Luther is never called at all, because Jardine's case runs on documents and a witness with a heavily redacted service record would only give Vale room to insinuate. Vale's cross-examinations circle without landing. The prosecution rests and the defense calls no witnesses. In closing, Vale tells the jury the case depends on one convicted criminal buying a lighter sentence, and Jardine answers that Pawbert is not a perfect witness but the evidence is what makes the case.

The jury deliberates three hours while the pack waits in the corridor. The foreperson, a badger, returns guilty verdicts on racketeering under the RICO statute, conspiracy to commit fraud, obstruction of justice, and conspiracy to commit murder. Vale has no further remarks. Because a conviction for conspiracy to commit murder inside a continuing criminal enterprise leaves the court no discretion under Zootopia law, Stone sentences Milton, Cattrick, and Kitty to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole and orders them taken into custody. On his way out, Milton stops in front of the gallery and looks at his youngest son the way he always has, without a word. Pawbert holds the look and does not turn away.

That afternoon the courtroom is reset for City of Zootopia v. Pawbert Lynxley. Stone reads back the charges he pled to under the cooperation agreement, then takes victim impact statements. Gary goes first, nervous and unpolished, recounting the rescue, the betrayal, and the cold. He says he forgave Pawbert already and means it still, not because the crime was acceptable but because he watched Pawbert tell the truth about the mammals who taught him that cruelty was love. He hopes prison helps Pawbert find the mammal he was pretending to be during the rescue, because he does not believe it was pretending. Judy describes the venom, nearly dying, and months of physical and psychological recovery; she cannot forgive what he did, and reports what she has watched him do since. Nick describes being told his partner was dead mid-fight as calculated cruelty, then says he has spent every day since watching Pawbert and knows what a con looks like. Nibbles delivers hers from her apartment over a tablet, scattered and blunt, and tells Pawbert to get therapy inside.

Nikki submits Dr. Fuzzby's psychological evaluation for the record and asks for twelve years determinate, conditional release eligibility at roughly ten years and three months under good time provisions, five years of post-release supervision, protective custody against the remaining Lynxley network, and the striking of the violent predator designation. Jardine calls the cooperation substantial and does not oppose the recommendation. Given his right of allocution, Pawbert itemizes each crime again, states that no one ordered any of it, and says that wanting his family to see him is the reason rather than an excuse. He tells the court he is not asking for forgiveness or sympathy but for the recognition that accountability includes staying alive to do better. Stone imposes the terms Nikki requested and then strikes the violent predator designation, lifting the muzzle requirement for transport.

The pack is allowed a short visit in the courthouse holding area, with transfer to Zootopia Correctional Facility set for the next day. Nick tells Pawbert the allocution worked because it was real, and repeats that he is glad Pawbert is still here. Judy promises the pack will be there whenever he gets out. Luther comes last, once Nick and Judy step out, and when Pawbert asks why he intends to wait, Luther answers that the mammal in front of him is worth waiting for. They stay in the beige processing room until a guard knocks. The final night at Site Two is quiet: Nick pretends to read, Judy makes tea nobody drinks, and Pawbert stands at the window memorizing the skyline. Judy hugs him and goes to bed; Nick manages an awkward hug and asks him not to tell anyone. Alone with Luther, Pawbert admits he is scared and also ready, then asks Luther to stay with him for the night. Luther answers, "Always."

Key Moments

• Judge Stone recuses Grazella in a sealed ex parte hearing and orders him to surrender all case materials to a special master
• Rosetta Jardine of the Special Prosecution Unit replaces him and calls Pawbert as her first witness
• Pawbert testifies to the stolen weather wall patent, the burial of Reptile Ravine, and every crime he committed himself
• Vale attacks his motives and his closeness to his security detail, and Pawbert redirects each attack to the documentary evidence
• Luther is never called to the stand, and the defense presents no witnesses at all
• The jury convicts Milton, Cattrick, and Kitty on every count, carrying mandatory life without parole
• Gary, Judy, Nick, and Nibbles Maplestick deliver victim impact statements at Pawbert's sentencing hearing
• Pawbert allocutes, taking responsibility without offering the reasons as an excuse
• Pawbert is sentenced to twelve years determinate, with conditional release eligibility at roughly ten years and three months, five years of post-release supervision, and protective custody
• The violent predator designation is struck from his record and the muzzle requirement for transport is lifted
• The pack visits him in the courthouse holding area after sentencing
• The pack spends one last night with him at Site Two before transport

Key Lines

Characters Introduced

Locations

• Zootopia Central Courthouse, judge's chambers - the sealed ex parte hearing that recuses Grazella
• Courthouse hallway - Nikki briefs the pack during the delay
• Courtroom 4A - testimony, closing arguments, the verdict, and Pawbert's sentencing hearing
• Courthouse holding area - the pack's visit after sentencing, with transfer set for the next morning
• Site Two - the safehouse; the last night before transport

Items

• Sealed disqualification motion - Filed by the Attorney General's office off Nikki Bramble's referral; Stone rules on it in chambers with the exhibits in front of her
• E-filing logs and shell-nonprofit payment records - The exhibits showing Grazella opened defense filings before service and took consulting fees routed to his brother-in-law's company
• Lynxley Journal - Cited in Pawbert's testimony as the hidden map to Agnes's original patent
• Dr. Fuzzby's psychological evaluation - Submitted by Nikki for the sentencing record, documenting reduced dissociation and improved emotional regulation
• Tablet - Carries Nibbles's victim impact statement from her apartment
• Muzzle - Off inside the courthouse; the violent predator designation is struck at sentencing and the transport requirement lifted