Episode
JAG: Rules of Engagement (2)
Overview
Unexpectedly, the wily Buxton demands that Harm and Brumby be his lawyers, thereby preventing Harm from testifying against him and forcing the two adversarial lawyers to work together. The contentious trial continues with Mac and Roberts prosecuting, and the pressure is enormous as the U.S. Navy and the Russian government vigilantly follow the trial to ensure that its own agendas are met. Meanwhile, the Navy has its own special plans for the troublesome Buxton.
Details
- Series
- JAG
- Season
- Season 5
- Episode
- Episode 2
- Air date
- 1999-09-28
- Runtime
- 45 min
Episode context
Rules of Engagement (2) is Episode 2 in Season 5 of JAG. It aired on 1999-09-28. The runtime is 45 min.
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Episode 1: King of the Greenie Board (1)
While patrolling the Mediterranean near Yugoslavia and against the orders of Harm, his division commander, Lt. Buxton fires on what he believes is a Serbian armored car about to attack Kosovar refugees. As Buxton and his pals are celebrating his victory back aboard the aircraft carrier, however, the grave news arrives: those ""Serbs"" Buxton attacked and killed were, in fact, Russian peacekeepers, and Buxton made the mistake while under Harm's command.
Mac prosecutes what appears to be an open-and-shut case of a Marine weapons expert accused of reckless endangerment.
Episode 3: True Callings
Harms fitness report is coming up and the realization that maybe it really is too late to be a fighter pilot.
During a dangerous mission over hostile Serbian territory, Harm's wingman's plane is shot up and Harm performs top-gun maneuvers to keep the disabled plane aloft until it's over friendly territory.
Meanwhile, with a new Gunny in the office, Bud & Tiner fall over themselves as they compete against each other in an online auction to purchase tickets to a concert, in order to impress the Admiral. They end up looking foolish when it is discovered that the Gunny got the same tickets for free.
More episodes from this season
Episode 4: The Return
Admiral Chegwidden welcomes Harm back to JAG by assigning him a tricky case - defending the son of the Secretary of Navy. Harm takes the case when Lt. Nelson, the son of the Secretary of the Navy, is accused by Cmdr. Burke of disobeying an order at sea, an act worthy of a court martial.
Episode 5: Front and Center
The key eyewitness in an attempted rape trial, a decorated Marine corporal, suddenly goes AWOL after he is asked to testify. Harm and Bud follow his trail, and they begin to uncover disturbing facts about the corporal's past that explain why he needs to stay out of the limelight.
Episode 6: Psychic Warrior
When a Navy research project involving psychic phenomena goes awry and results in the death of one of its research subjects, Harm defends the admiral in charge of the project. As Mac prosecutes, she steadfastly proves that the admiral's ESP theories are wrong. But when her friend Chloe disappears and Mac experiences a vision that could save her life, she begins to have second thoughts about the paranormal.
Episode 7: Rogue
As lowest ranking lawyer at JAG, Bud is assigned to accompany Raglan, a former special Forces operative who is hired by the Pentagon to test security at military bases. Raglan's current mission is to test the security around a U.S. nuclear attack submarine. But when Raglan goes too far and hijacks the sub with Bud on board, Harm is called in to chase the sub down by second guessing his old friend. The cat and mouse game becomes deadly, though, when it appears that Raglan has switched sides, demanding millions of dollars in ransom or he'll take aim on a U.S. target.
Episode 8: The Colonel's Wife
Harm and Mac are sent to Panama to investigate the wife of a Marine officer, Olivia Dunston, suspected of smuggling drugs into the U.S. When faced with the evidence, Olivia feebly denies the allegations, leaving Mac thinking that she's guilty of the charges.
Episode 9: Contemptuous Words
Harm faces a court-martial when a letter critical of the President appears on the Op-Ed page of a newspaper and is traced to his computer.
As an investigation threatens Harm's promotion as well as his entire career, a well-known conservative organization offers to represent him and Harm accepts. The key to Harm's defense is to find the actual letter-writer, so Bud digs through Harm's old case files searching for those with an axe to grind.
Episode 10: Mishap
Lt. Elizabeth ""Skates"" Hawkes, Harm's former RIO (radio intercept officer), comes under fire after the crash landing of a Tomcat aboard the USS Patrick Henry. The ship's captain and Skates' commanding officer both place the entire blame of the crash on her shoulders and press for her court-martial.
Barred from the initial investigation because of his relationship with Skates, Harm is finally able to help when he's called upon to defend his friend at her court-martial and employs all of his legal skills to save her military career.
Episode 11: Ghosts of Christmas Past
On Christmas Eve, Harm pays his annual visit to the Vietnam Memorial to honor his father who was shot down on Christmas Eve, 1969. At the memorial, Harm meets a beautiful, but mysterious woman, who claims to have known Harm, Sr. She used to be a singer in a traveling USO tour and she met Harm's father shortly before his fateful flight.
In an unusual casting twist, Harm stars as his father in this episode, and many familiar faces show up playing different roles.
Episode 12: Into the Breech
Harm and Mac stumble upon a miscarriage of justice in a 10-year-old case when they tutor a group of law students in a mock trial.
In the original case, an investigation team headed by Admiral Chegwidden concluded that a disgruntled gun captain caused an explosion that killed 29 sailors, including himself. But when the ""defense attorney,"" helped by Mac, and the ""prosecutor,"" helped by Harm, retry the case, a new witness and new evidence are uncovered, prompting Mac and Harm to request that the original hearing be re-evaluated.
Episode 13: Life or Death
Mac is assigned the personally distasteful task of representing a fellow Marine who is appealing his death sentence for the murder of three other Marines. She believes that the defendant, Kenneth Farmer, should receive the death penalty, but she must argue otherwise in court. Brumby, who doesn't believe in capital punishment, must argue in favor of it.
However, in attempting to overturn the original guilty verdict, Mac must argue inadequate counsel by the corporal's previous lawyer: then-Commander A.J. Chegwiggen. The appeals court lets stand the original guilty verdict, but orders a new sentencing hearing.
Mic is recalled by the Royal Australian Navy and must leave within 72 hours. As a result, Harm is assigned to replace Brumby at the new sentencing hearing. Despite Mac's arguments to the defense of Corporal Farmer that was not raised by then-Commander Chegwiggen, Corporal Farmer is again sentenced to death.
Admiral Chegwiggen throws a goodbye party for Mic at the local bar.