From: atropos@mac.com   
      
   On Jan 30, 2026 at 1:53:25 AM PST, ""Adam H. Kerman""  wrote:   
      
   > Riley and Walker investigate the homicide of a just retired FAA safety   
   > investigator. After dispensing with various red herrings, the murderer   
   > is the widow of a dead helicopter pilot whom the victim had found to be   
   > responsible for the accidental crash.   
   >   
   > Interest choice on the 1 year anniversary of the mid-air collision of   
   > the U.S. Army Sikorsky UH-60L Black Hawk helicopter and American Airlines   
   > flight 5342.   
   >   
   > The widow subscribed to an AI service that recreated her dead husband,   
   > which told her that the FAA finding was flawed and she should hold the   
   > investigator responsible.   
   >   
   > In the legal rulings, the judge sustained the defense's motion that her   
   > freely offered confession was a Miranda violation. She asked Walker to   
   > pray with her. Defense argued that "some courts" have ruled prayers to   
   > be coercive.   
      
   This has to be the most blatant example of "Law & Order Judge Syndrome" we've   
   ever seen. He literally makes up a new Miranda violation just because the   
   defense asks him to, then rules that spousal privilege extends to videos of a   
   dead spouse, all with absolutely no basis in law. And finally, he was about to   
   rule that the woman being given access to talk to the avatar of her dead   
   husband while in Rikers was a "coerced confession" when he was finally,   
   mercifully rendered moot when the defendant stood up in court and   
   unambiguously declared her guilt.   
      
   The judge's only guiding basis for his rulings was, "What will make it harder   
   on the prosecution and therefore create more drama in this episode?"   
      
   He must have graduated magna cum laude from L&O Judge School.   
      
   > Next, the judge sustains the defense motion that recordings of her AI   
   > sessions could not be used as evidence in court as the defendant   
   > asserted spousal privilege. She's not married to the recreation, and her   
   > husband is still dead.   
   >   
   > Skipping Anthony, Price asks Riley and Walker to do somethings as the   
   > prosecution can no longer establish motive. You have until the next   
   > commercial break!   
      
   Price's attitude there was puzzling. He never came out and said it, but he   
   kinda implied that it was their police work that had the case on the ropes.   
   No, buddy, they delivered you a slam dunk and it was your unhinged judge who   
   never met a defense argument he didn't love that's done that. What more can   
   you expect of your cops?   
      
   And then when one of them actually comes through with an out-of-the-box idea   
   that puts justice back on track, Price freaks out.   
      
   > Walker comes up with feeding the AI portions of the FAA report not made   
   > public so that the widow will finally realize that her husband was at   
   > fault and she killed in vain. It advises her to confess.   
      
   And Price kept framing it as "Walker manipulated the algorithm". Well, no. Not   
   unless you define "manipulation" as giving the algorithm *all* the facts on   
   which to base its decision, instead of just half the picture.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)