Crownies

Expectant mother Janet's head battles with her heart as she is forced to prosecute a child for murder.

Janet and Lina put aside their differences when they face the first day of the Max Gardiner trial. In court, things quickly unravel, and the trial proves just as hard as Janet expected. After a series of difficult witnesses, Sean Gardiner gives his emotional evidence about the day Jake died. Janet feels that she has successfully rebutted the Doli Incapax principle – being that Max knew what he was doing was seriously wrong. The defence barrister however claims the Crown has no case to answer – and to Janet's shock, Justice Dyer agrees, directing the Jury to acquit. Max goes free. Having recently ‘come out' at work and to their friends, Lina is under pressure from Andy to introduce him to her family. However, the night doesn't go to plan when only Tariq and his girlfriend Salwa turn up. The next morning, Andy leaves for a major police operation. Lina thinks nothing of it – until Dylan receives word that a police officer has been shot, and she can't get hold of Andy. Erin attends Joanne Mervich's sentence appeal. To Erin's dismay, the sentence is increased by six years. She decides to break protocol and go to the women's prison to see Joanne herself – and is further shocked to discover that Joanne has attempted suicide. Richard is handballed what seems to be a straightforward, if strange, brief by Ben – the theft of ten thousand dollars from the wishing well goose pond at a child's petting zoo by teenage twins. Meanwhile Ben, feeling guilty about sleeping with Erin, tries to make up for it by being the perfect boyfriend to Julie.
It's the morning of eleven year old Max Gardiner's trial for the murder of his brother – for Janet, a morning she wished would never come, unsure whether she morally agrees with the decision to prosecute. However, she bolsters herself for the battle ahead, even knowing there is a high chance of failure. In her very late term of pregnancy, Janet is feeling unusually vulnerable. Lina, meanwhile, is determined to see Max locked away for life, believing he is a sociopath. The two women put aside their differences of opinion to face the trial as a team, with Detective Sergeant Dylan Thorne as their informant. However, the trial proves to be just as difficult as Janet expected when the sight of Max in the dock melts the jury's hearts. They have a small victory when, despite her fears, Ella Gardiner gives her vital evidence in the witness box – but swiftly the trial goes off the rails. Max's teacher sugar-coats her previously damning evidence about Max's behaviour, the forensic pathologist cannot comment on intention, and Michael Griggs, the boy who Max forced to eat dog excrement, asks to be released as a witness due to receiving email death threats.
However, when Sean Gardiner gives his emotional evidence about the day Jake died, Janet feels that she has successfully rebutted the Doli Incapax principle – being that Max knew what he was doing was seriously wrong. The defence barrister however claims the Crown has no case to answer – and to Janet's shock, Justice Dyer agrees, directing the Jury to acquit. Max goes free – and Janet's not sure how she feels, other than exhausted by the emotionally draining trial.
Having recently ‘come out' at work and to their friends, Lina is under pressure from Andy to introduce him to her family. She gives in, inviting her parents and brother to dinner at her place. However, the night doesn't go to plan when only Tariq and his girlfriend Salwa turn up, with her parents Fiona and Bashar Badir having broken down on the F3. Tariq wastes no time making it perfectly clear that he doesn't approve of Andy for many reasons – the two most important being that he's not a Muslim, but he is a police officer. The argument leads to Tariq storming out, leaving Lina and Andy alone with a mountain of food and no guests. The next morning, Lina admits that, somehow, it turned out to be a perfect night for the couple. Andy agrees and leaves with the warning that his mobile will be turned off all day during a big police operation. Lina thinks nothing of it – until Dylan receives word that a police officer has been shot, and she can't get hold of Andy. As more information comes in about the dying officer, Lina panics, running off in the middle of Janet examining their final witness. To Lina's relief, she discovers that Andy was not the officer shot – but he believes his gun was responsible for the death.
Erin has reached the final stage of the Mervich trial – Joanne's appeal against her sentence. To Erin's shock, the sentence is increased by six years. She decides to break protocol and go to the women's prison to see Joanne herself – and is further shocked to discover that Joanne has attempted suicide. Erin drowns her sorrows and winds up with a black eye and terrible hangover the next morning. Having previously helped heavily pregnant Janet out by sourcing a fat barrister's jacket, Erin is pleasantly surprised when Janet does something nice in return by inviting her to dinner. Teasing from a jealous Ben only makes Erin's nerves and lack of self-esteem worse – a problem she attempts to solve by turning up drunk to Janet's place. A disastrous dinner ensues as Erin continues drinking and ends up not only revealing that Jimmy told her she was responsible for leaking the AG file, but also with Erin passing out in Janet's spare room. The next morning, a hideously embarrassed and ashamed Erin is given some tough love by Janet – and the chance to start redeeming herself when Janet needs her to take over from Lina in the Gardiner trial.
Richard is handballed what seems to be a straightforward, if strange, brief by Ben – the theft of ten thousand dollars from the wishing well goose pond at a child's petting zoo by teenage twins. Tatum jumps on board but quickly begins making the job difficult, convinced that the victim, Clarry Ferguson, is not only creepy, but has a moustache like a paedophile. Richard points out that they can't nolle a brief because they don't like the victim. Tatum is determined to dig some dirt, and discovers that Clarry's charitable donations don't match the amount of money pulled from the pond annually. Using a Facebook friend living in Thailand, she also looks into Clarry Ferguson's claims that he supports an orphanage outside of Chiang Mai – and to her surprise, discovers it's all legitimate. However the orphanage is run by a woman who calls herself Mrs Ferguson and Tatum realises Clarry has a Thai wife and family whom he visits twice a year using the money from the wishing well – an act which allows the police to charge him with obtaining financial advantage by deception.
Ben is feeling incredibly guilty about sleeping with Erin while he and Julie were technically a couple, so tries to make up for it by being the perfect boyfriend – to Julie's surprise and Erin's disgust, who warns him that Julie will figure it out if he keeps overcompensating.
Already sensitive over the Quinn brief, David is furious when an opinion column in the paper calls for his resignation, blaming him for the all the mistakes of the DPP.