01E05 - Judgement

The next case for Reese and Finch is that of Judge Samuel Gates, a recent widower with a son, Sam Gates Jr. whose nanny, Christina, has been a valued member of the family since Judge Gates' wife took ill just before her death. As Reese starts to trail the judge, he believes that the machine could be wrong in that the intended target is not the judge but rather Sam Jr. Although Finch states that the machine is never wrong, Sam Jr. is indeed kidnapped, which is all part of the larger picture of what will happen to the judge. Reese takes the unusual step of making himself and his goal of finding Sam Jr. known to the judge, who isn't sure what to believe about this mysterious man. Reese and Finch are able to ID one of the kidnappers, who is a member of an Eastern European gang. The kidnappers do contact Judge Gates, they who are not after money, but rather the acquittal of a defendant in one of the judge's case, that of Angela Markham, who is obviously guilty of the relatively minor DWI charge. Reese and Finch have to uncover Markham's connection to the kidnappers and the kidnappers' end goal to find a hopefully alive Sam Jr., also hopefully without the judge having to acquit Markham and/or walk into a situation with the kidnappers where his own life is in danger. Meanwhile, Fusco and Carter begin their uneasy working relationship, Carter who is getting closer to Reese, and Fusco, whose job it is under Reese's directive in part to steer her away from him.