Real Lawyer Reacts to Better Call Saul (The Battery Episode, Chicanery)

Jimmy hides a battery in Chuck's pocket during a disciplinary hearing. Is this legal?

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Sorry, occupational hazard: This is not legal advice, nor can I give you legal advice. I AM NOT YOUR LAWYER. Sorry! Everything here is for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. You should contact your attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular issue or problem. Nothing here should be construed to form an attorney-client relationship. Also, some of the links in this post may be affiliate links, meaning, at no cost to you, I will earn a small commission if you click through and make a purchase. But if you click, it really helps me make more of these videos! All non-licensed clips used for fair use commentary, criticism, and educational purposes. See Hosseinzadeh v. Klein, 276 F.Supp.3d 34 (S.D.N.Y. 2017); Equals Three, LLC v. Jukin Media, Inc., 139 F. Supp. 3d 1094 (C.D. Cal. 2015).

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[romilrh]

The fact that Jimmy's chicanery made a real-life lawyer so torn on whether or not what he did was right, is SO PERFECTLY in-line with Jimmy's character it's insane

[LukePalmer]

The fact that he committed battery with a battery is some arrested development level writing

[xisioff]

Nice ! Can't wait to see "Real drug dealer reacts to Breaking Bad" next !

[liverpudliandream]

I think Chuck and Jimmy are the perfect examples of "doing the right thing for the wrong reasons" and "doing the wrong thing for the right reasons" respectively

[Kapuchu]

There's a bit of a joke. The Witness guy was a victim of battery, because he was given a battery.

[BlakeMcCringleberry]

"This is one of the best instances of TV lawyering of all time. I'm giving it an A-."

Sounds like a law school professor to me.

[ElectroBOOM]

But a battery not powering anything won't radiate any energy. They could have argued that planted battery won't be felt by the guy! I guess the guy didn't know his electronics well...

[DavidGarcia-ncyi]

It always hurts my heart how Chuck still tells Jimmy that he defecated through a sunroof letting know that no matter what Jimmy does now, his brother is not gonna see him as worthy of what he does

[mcsweatshop]

This shows how you can make a compelling, realistic legal scene without flashy cuts or hack writing; you just need four seasons of well-crafted, slow-burning tension and conflict between the main characters. Easy.

[montecristo]

It was so satisfying to see the reaction of the three judges when they realized this was a personal matter rather than a professional one.

[benboudreau]

The best thing about this is that Bob Odenkirk and Michael Mckean are two comedic actors, yet again in this series delivering some of the best dramatic performances on television

[micahclawrence]

Now that it’s all done, I think my favorite twist of BCS is that Chuck was unhinged and hated his brother, while Howard was actually a very decent man.

What a tragedy

[vijaykumarpuri]

All this set-up by Kim and Jimmy, but ironically Chuck's breaking point came when the prosecutor used the words "Even if Chuck was schizophrenic..." Beautiful writing.

[christopherramsey]

22:41 A fully charged battery wouldn't actually have any current flowing through it unless it was hooked up a circuit (something that the electricity could flow through, perhaps something that uses electricity).

But clearly, Chuck doesn't know this (and neither does Jimmy). And since the condition is entirely psychological, Chuck believes he felt something here anyway.

[yashwatal]

It took me a while to realize that CURRENT DOESNT EVEN FLOW THROUGH A DISCONNECTED BATTERY! If anything, this really does play into the idea that Chuck's illness was psychological, he thinks that the battery should hurt, so it does, even though it doesn't even follow the rules that he lays out in this episode! (he says that he only feels pain if current is flowing, but current does not flow through disconnected phone batteries, it would only do so after completing the circuit inside the phone when connected.) Bravo Vince!

[TheMartyredextras]

I think it's particularly fantastic because of the fact that it does push the boundaries of legality because Jimmy himself is known for that. The whole point is that what he does might not be legal, but it's gray enough that he gets away with it. And the fact that he's doing this in a disciplinary hearing, not a trial, gives them an easy excuse for bending the rules.

The writers clearly knew what they were doing.

[davidci]

At the end of this episode, there was a dedication to Jane Marzelli Smith, Esq. She was the mother of one of the writers for BCS and she is a lawyer herself. She's been a source of looking into the accuracy and inner workings of the lawyer world in the show and it's poetic that one of the best episodes ever of a lawyer show is dedicated to her.

[FedorablePenguin]

Objection: you did not criticize Howard for wearing a contrast collar.

[alphabulblax]

I love how eager he was to start talking after every clip. You can really tell he's wanted to talk about this episode for a LONG time.

[lukaskubik]

The fact that Huel planting a battery on Chuck could be considered a battery is perfect.