Jagged Sledge

"Jagged Sledge" is the 21st episode of the television series Sledge Hammer!. It originally aired on ABC in the United States on April 21, 1987. The title is a parody of the 1985 film Jagged Edge.^[1]

Plot summary

Hammer is brought to court, where he stands accused of murdering racketeer Hugo Victor (Tige Andrews). Even Hammer's own attorney believes he is guilty. Hammer complains that someone had fun killing Hugo at his expense.

In the courtroom, Hammer assures to Doreau and Trunk that he is not afraid of anything, until he discovers that the liberal Judge Grim (Conchata Ferrell) is handling the trial. She asks Hammer how he pleads; his attorney tells him to plead guilty so he can have him off on an appeal. Seeing how crooked the plan is, Hammer throws his attorney out of the courtroom and decides to represent himself as his own defense attorney, to which he pleads innocent before a laughing jury.

District Attorney Burnem (Gerrit Graham) calls in Hugo's son R.C. Victor (David Sederholm) as his first witness. R.C. testifies that he bailed his father out after Hammer arrested him, and that the inspector continued to threaten him in the precinct. Burnem then calls in Rebecca Manderlay (Ellen Blake), Hugo's housekeeper. Rebecca testifies that Hammer went into Hugo's mansion to meet with the racketeer. She then heard a gunshot and found Hugo dead while hearing Hammer's car leaving the scene. R.C. was working at the rose garden when he rushed to the room to see his slain father. Hammer then questions Rebecca and accuses her of murdering Hugo for dumping her for a younger lover. Rebecca admits to having an affair with Hugo, but told the jury that she was the one who dumped him, yet decided to stay because of the wage he was paying.

Burnem then calls in Hammer to testify. Hammer tells the jury that he went to Hugo's home and interrupted his game of indoor golf. Hugo told Hammer his threats are futile, as his son will eventually inherit the family business no matter what. Hammer warned Hugo he would be keeping an eye on him before leaving the room. After Hammer's testimony, Burnem brings in a television, revealing that a security camera hidden near the door of Hugo's study recorded the incident. The video shows Hammer walking out of the room, but a few seconds later, Hammer's right arm pointing a revolver is seen on the screen shooting at Hugo.

Following a brief recess, Hammer calls himself as a witness, using a cassette recorder to play his prerecorded questions to cross-examine himself. In the middle of the testimony, the tape jams, causing Hammer to pull out his gun to shoot it. Judge Grim orders Hammer to surrender his gun before continuing the trial. Hammer then calls in Doreau. She testifies that Hammer threatened to get rid of Hugo for good during their conversation on the day of the murder, and that he suggested to Trunk that they fake some evidence to put Hugo away.

Hammer calls in Trunk for his testimony. Trunk says that Hammer arrived in his office and told him Hugo was no longer a problem; to which he received a phone call informing him of Hugo's death. This caused Trunk to strangle Hammer, which he does in court. Hammer calls in other members of the precinct as witnesses, but all answers continue to point out that Hammer is the only suspect. He then calls in R.C. as a witness, but argues that both father and son were arguing about the family business and accuses him of murdering Hugo. R.C. swears his innocence on his father's grave.

The judge receives the jury's verdict and finds Hammer guilty of first-degree murder. Hammer panics, but then points out that the security video only showed an arm pointing a gun at Hugo. He tells everyone in the courtroom that anyone could have simply impersonated him and killed Hugo, but found a serious flaw in the assailant's brilliant plan: The hand in the video had a scar. He then grabs R.C. and shows Judge Grim the scar on his right hand, pointing out that R.C. could not have run from the rose garden to Victor's study in the time he indicated on his testimony. R.C. suddenly grabs a bailiff and takes him hostage. Remembering that his gun was confiscated, Hammer grabs Judge Grim's gavel and throws it, knocking out the bailiff. He then grabs a news camera and immobilizes R.C. with it. Thus, Hammer has his name cleared from the case.

Back at the precinct, Hammer talks about the possibility of going to prison, had R.C. not been caught. Doreau points out that Hammer would have his gun taken away from him for good, which leaves him terrified.

References