Episodes 3 and 4 of The Lincoln Lawyer Season 4 turn Mickey’s murder case into something far more complicated than a simple frame job. What started as a fight to prove his innocence in Episodes 1 & 2 evolves into uncovering a federal investigation, corporate fraud, and a personal vendetta that might explain why Mickey became the fall guy for Sam’s murder.
The Missing Wallet Mystery
To prove the prosecution is hiding evidence, Mickey puts the lead detective on the stand for a motion to compel discovery. He presents photographic proof showing Sam had a wallet in his pocket when his body was found, a detail mysteriously absent from the defense’s evidence list. Mickey even invites the media to the hearing, successfully creating a public narrative that the prosecution is tampering with discovery and compromising his right to a fair trial.
The detective initially refuses to acknowledge the wallet exists, but eventually admits it while trying to deflect blame onto the coroner’s office by noting they had the body for 17 hours. He’s clearly protecting his own reputation before the trial begins. The judge is furious about the games being played and gives Death Row Dana a strict 48-hour deadline to produce the wallet or provide a detailed explanation for its disappearance.
Bamba Becomes Mickey’s New Driver
With Bamba released from prison, he holds Mickey to his promise about employment and becomes his new driver. The transition is rough. Mickey’s Lincoln is still impounded, forcing them to use Bamba’s unreliable car. Between the mechanical problems and Bamba’s ear-splitting music, Mickey’s stress reaches new heights as he attempts to work from the backseat of what feels like a mobile nightclub.
The Arizona Prison Trip
Cisco’s investigation uncovers that Sam had been wiring money to a prisoner in Arizona named Austin, who was Sam’s cellmate for three years. Austin refuses to speak with anyone except Mickey. Using the prosecution’s discovery violations as leverage, Mickey convinces the judge to grant him 24 hours to leave Los Angeles and visit the Arizona state prison.
The meeting starts badly when Austin nearly attacks Mickey, believing he killed his best friend. Once Austin calms down, he reveals that Sam was planning a major scam for after Austin’s release. Sam had been sending Austin mail under the alias Kirk Lennon, who was actually Austin’s deceased uncle. Austin provides Mickey with a mysterious address in San Pedro but has no idea what Sam planned to do with it.
The return trip becomes a race against time. Mickey’s ankle monitor starts blinking, indicating the battery will die within the hour, and he realizes he forgot the charger. After a frantic detour to a guard’s house to borrow a cousin’s charger, Mickey misses his flight. He and Cisco are forced to drive back, but the car is painfully slow, nearly out of gas, and they hit massive traffic at the L.A. county border.
In a desperate final move to avoid a parole violation, Mickey jumps out of the car as they struggle up a hill the vehicle can’t climb. He sprints toward the Los Angeles county sign as the timer hits zero, crossing the border literally by seconds. The entire team feels the stress. Lorna and Izzy frantically track his location, and even Maggie loses sleep over it despite having a new boyfriend, an orthopedic surgeon Mickey met earlier that day.
Lorna’s Prenup Victory
Lorna pulls off a classic Mickey Haller maneuver with Celeste’s divorce case. Since the husband’s infidelity doesn’t technically violate the prenup, Lorna discovers a loophole using the couple’s umbrella auto insurance policy. She argues that because the husband contracted an STI and transmitted it to Celeste during an encounter in their car, it qualifies as bodily harm within an insured vehicle.
She threatens to publicize this legal strategy, which would trigger a flood of similar claims. To prevent the exposure, the insurance company agrees to cut Celeste a substantial check. The brilliant part is that the company has a clause allowing them to recover that money from the negligent party, meaning Tom will eventually have to reimburse the insurance company himself.
Sam’s Secret Life in San Pedro
Mickey and Cisco track down Sam’s hidden residence using the mailing address and discover Sam had been researching truck retrofitting, presumably for whatever scam he was planning. Instead of involving the police, Mickey decides to play as dirty as the Sheriff’s Department has been playing with him. He tells the landlady to clear out the apartment and donate Sam’s belongings to charity. Cisco is hesitant, but Mickey makes it clear he’s done playing by rules the authorities themselves are breaking.
When the 48-hour deadline passes, Death Row Dana still hasn’t produced the wallet or an explanation. Mickey performs brilliantly in court, acting deeply wounded by this discovery violation because it supposedly prevents him from identifying Sam’s current alias. In reality, he already knows it’s Kirk Lennon, but he’s setting up a strategic advantage. Rather than demanding harsh sanctions against the prosecution, he simply asks that the record reflect the lead detective’s negligence.
Lorna is confused by his restraint, but Mickey explains his long game: by being generous now, he ensures the judge will be more inclined to grant him a major request later when it really matters.
The BioGreen Investigation
The trucking investigation leads them to Pat’s Retrofitting, where Mickey learns how Sam, despite his disability, could have operated heavy-duty trucks. After bribing the owner’s nephew for a client list, Cisco identifies a company called BioGreen in San Pedro. BioGreen converts bio-waste into fuel, an industry heavily subsidized by federal programs.
Izzy discovers through a reporter contact that these companies are notorious for fraud schemes, but the reporter’s exposé was shut down by an FBI cease and desist order.
Mickey suspects either BioGreen was defrauding the government or Sam was using BioGreen to run a scam, with the FBI monitoring the situation and they blocked the media coverage to preserve their investigation. Whatever their arrangement with Sam was, Mickey needs to know the details. To force answers, he uses the favor he earned from the judge to obtain a special subpoena for the FBI.
In an Hilarious scene, Mickey and Cisco visit the FBI office. When the secretary refuses to accept the paperwork, they tape it to her glass partition. As security guards arrive to remove them, an agent reflexively picks up the envelope. Cisco captures a photograph of the agent holding the document, officially completing service.
Agent Vasquez’s Vendetta
The victory doesn’t last. While Mickey is at home with Hayley, who’s being bullied by friends over her father’s case, Agent Vasquez shows up to literally shove the court order back in Mickey’s face. Vasquez and Mickey have a bitter history from the Lisa Trammell case. Vasquez previously attempted to use Mickey to get Alex Grant to incriminate himself, but Mickey’s defense strategy actually destroyed Vasquez’s investigation.
Vasquez threatens Mickey to stay out of his current investigation. While Mickey’s home security cameras are still disabled, Hayley captures the entire confrontation on her phone.
Mickey has been haunted all day by the question of why he was chosen as the fall guy for Sam’s murder. The uncertainty weighs on him so heavily that he confided in Maggie, asking what would happen if he doesn’t win. Maggie’s response was simple: “You’re Mickey Haller.” She also confronted Dana, questioning why she’s pursuing so aggressively a man she must know isn’t a killer. Dana hid behind the evidence, but Mickey is beginning to see the bigger picture.
He now suspects that Agent Vasquez, motivated by revenge for the ruined Lisa Trammell case, might be the real reason he was framed for Sam’s death. If Vasquez couldn’t take down Mickey in court, perhaps he decided to put him in prison another way.
The Lincoln Lawyer Season 4 Episodes 3 & 4: What’s Next?
These episodes fundamentally change the nature of Mickey’s case. What appeared to be a targeted frame job is now revealing connections to federal investigations, corporate fraud schemes, and personal vendettas. The missing wallet, Sam’s alias as Kirk Lennon, and the BioGreen connection all point to Sam being involved in something much larger than his typical cons.
Agent Vasquez’s aggressive response to the subpoena and his personal confrontation with Mickey suggest he’s protecting more than just an ongoing investigation. His history with Mickey provides a clear motive for revenge, and his access to federal resources would explain the sophisticated nature of the frame job.
Mickey’s strategic restraint with the judge is paying dividends, positioning him to make bigger moves as the case develops. Lorna’s successful solo case proves she can operate independently and think creatively like Mickey taught her. Meanwhile, the personal toll continues mounting, with Hayley facing social consequences and Maggie watching anxiously from the sidelines despite trying to move forward with her new relationship.
The question now isn’t just who killed Sam Scales. It’s whether Mickey can expose a federal conspiracy, prove Agent Vasquez’s involvement in framing him, and survive long enough to bring down everyone who put him in this position. With the FBI officially served and Vasquez’s threat caught on video, Mickey has ammunition, but he’s also made a powerful enemy even more determined to see him convicted.
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