sheridan | (closed | show those kids that they were wrong)

There's a smile as she looks up from her desk, and then gets up to go with him, grabbing her cup of coffee as she goes. Moving to Central City after Tommy's death had been an interesting choice to say the least - in more ways than one - but now that she was settling in as part of Team Flash and her responsibilities as an ADA, she was finding quite the balance, one way or another.

"Good. We have a lot of work to do." And with that she will breeze right past him to head down the hall to his desk. "The unfortunate downside of being an ADA is that we don't get to pick and choose our cases the way private attorneys do. We have to take all of them, so that means we almost always have a full plate."

"I figured as much." At least work would never be boring. Tyler's already got a list of deliverable outcomes from Central City's law school, but he suspects they might be running around all day - talking to clients; asking the CSI and detectives details about additional evidence; piecing together the facts; etc.

He had zero idea what sort of cases he'd be involved in, let alone what sorts of witnesses they'd interview or what pre-trial motions he'd write for her, but anything to ease her load (and give him enough experience to decide whether he'd work in criminal law upon graduation).

Keeping a steady pace with her, he pulls out his laptop from his black leather backpack, "Just means we've gotta work twice as hard as the private ones, right?"

"Pretty much." She makes her way into the bullpen of desks, before coming up on an empty one and tapping the edge, meaning he was free to sit. There was already a stack of files on his desk, ready to go through for whenever he was ready to start. "It also means we might not always get victims we like. But that's where we're going to have to count on your discretion in the case."

There are a lot of ways to learn how to do law, but learning objectivity is the hardest part, which is why, today at least, they're going to start there.

"Here's a list of charges that are waiting to be filed by end of day. I want you to go through them, take note of the severity of the crime, the state of the perpetrator and the state of the victim. Make note on if there's any reasons that we should give leniency, whether the charges are worth pursuing and why. Basically, I want you to put together how you would present this case to the Grand Jury and if it needs to go at all. You convince me one way or the other, and I'll follow your discretion, so make sure you really know what you're talking about."

She's already reviewed each of the files herself and knows which way she's leaning, but she wants to see what he thinks too. "I'm going to need your assessment by two, which should give you plenty of time to make your presentation and then head down to file charges where needed. You don't get to them by today, they walk either way, but everything you need to decide is in these files - evidence, crime scene photos, et cetera. If you have any questions, just come knock on my door and I'll be happy to answer them."

Woof. Tyler takes a seat, pulling up his chair and staring down the files as if they're the latest supernatural terror to hit town. (Thankfully, Central doesn't see as many of those as Mystic Falls ever had. A blessing in disguise?)

"Okay." He doesn't have much else to add, given that time is of the essence and he sure doesn't want the guilty to walk free. He also doesn't want to take up Ms. Lance's precious time. "I'll do my best."

Once he's left to his own devices, he skims the case files, noting that a good fourth of them had been apprehended either by the Flash, Vibe, or Kid Flash (or worse, all three). Metahuman crime was on the rise, no doubt. Some cases were murders, some were grand larcenies, some were arson... and more baffingly, one witness included a talking parrot.

He condenses the cases as best possible, taking care to note which ones should go before a jury and which ones would be best settled out-of-court and which ones should probably be dismissed. But more pressingly, before he begins his presentation, he drops by her office.

"Hey, Ms. Lance?" He pauses, shifting uncomfortably. "Before I present, I've got a question. How long has metahuman crime been a thing here?"

"Ever since the particle accelerator exploded about four years ago."

That night holds a lot of significance for many of the people he'll be working with, Laurel included. If she hadn't been visiting her mother in Central City for Christmas, she probably wouldn't have wound up affected at all. But given that Barry went through a similar thing, they've managed to work on getting a handle on things together.

"It was the inciting incident for a lot of metas."

Not too long, then. Tyler makes a mental note to later look up the details and the major players involved. Unlike supernatural crime, which was usually compelled away or tucked under a rug, metas were out and in the open.

"I see." He takes a moment to find his next words, "Must've sucked for a lot of them, waking up to powers they couldn't control."

He didn't want to particularly prove that someone had powers in a hearing, let alone that they might've used those powers for nefarious purposes - but then again, he doesn't think he would've used his powers to rob a bank.

"Yeah, I'm sure it did." She speaks a little bit from experience on that one, but she tries to keep that part of her life under wraps when she can. "But not all of them turned into thieves and killers, so we don't give them a pass in that respect."

"I figured." He sighs, glancing briefly down to the stack of case files in his hand. "So I've got my assessment. Which charges are worth it, which ones aren't, what state the victims're in, what the perpetrators are like..."

And this is where he grows uneasy.

"I noticed the Flash apprehended a lot of them. But he didn't testify?" His law classes didn't prepare him for this. Most law classes were ill-equipped to deal with metas. "Is that because he - I'm assuming he's a he - doesn't have the authority to arrest them?"

"The Flash is complicated. In the beginning, we didn't have a lot of resources for dealing with metas because they were so completely new. The team that works with him at STAR Labs actually built the metahuman friendly facilities that we have at Iron Heights."

She closes the folder in front of her. "And to his credit, he mostly just holds them at the scene. The police actually make the arrests."

“Got it.” That makes sense, actually. Rather than acting without authority, he uses his powers to work alongside the CCPD. Note to future Tyler: see if Matt would be receptive to something similar in Mystic Falls, given how many vampires and witches are roaming around the Salvatore school.

With that doubt out of the way, Tyler gives his full, condensed assessment: a fourth of the charges aren’t worth pursuing. Nonprofits like LEAD (Law Enforcement Assistant Division) can assign the addicts case managers - and his inner social worker is probably shining, but he doesn’t think prison is built for these people. (He’s hoping Laurel agrees.)

As for more serious charges - like the meta with probability manipulation, and the technopath, and the other oddities he can’t ever remember hearing about before - he’s apt to take advice from the lead detective. Keep them in Iron Heights until the trial, dampen their powers through whatever means necessary during the sessions, and determine their charges through a fair trial.

“Even if I think they’re guilty,” he concludes, glancing down at a paper because he sure as hell hasn’t memorized this, “The jury ultimately decides that. But uh, yeah. That’s kind of my take on all these charges.”

Laurel listens quietly, weighing each assessment he gives, and yes, his social worker tendencies are showing, but Laurel started out as a bleeding heart herself. She knows all too well when jail isn't the right solution for someone, so she's definitely willing to go with option B. She just needs to get it approved.

"Give me the files for LEAD." She extends a hand out to him. "I'll have to run that recommendation by the DA - she'll have to approve them all." But she has a feeling that Cecile won't object too much, all things considered. "As for the metas, there's nothing wrong with thinking they're guilty - so long as you have the evidence to back it up."

Which when it comes to trying metas, can be more complicated than you think.

Thankfully, as far as evidence is concerned, metas operate in the open. Tyler doesn't doubt that he can uncover something to prove their guilt - if they're truly guilty. The truth finds its way sooner or later. For their sake, he just hopes it's sooner.

"Thanks," Tyler says, already pulling out a folder full of LEAD information and resources. He'd printed them out earlier, and sent the digital copies in their shared dropbox. Just in case either Laurel or the DA happened to prefer new-fashioned methods. "They've been around Central for a few months. If she wants to know more, the university's been working together with the police department."

In other words: his professors've been leading the fray. Tyler doesn't consider himself much of a leader, but as far as programs like these are concerned? He'll head up whatever teams are necessary to make it happen.

Laurel nods in agreement as she takes the paperwork again. "I'm sure Cecile will approve it, I just have to go through the motions and make sure it's approved on the proper channels."

She sets that stack to the side, before glancing back to him with a small smile. "But not bad. Your arguments were well thought out and solid."

“Really?” Tyler slouches a little, relaxing his stance more than he probably should. Ms. Lance had given him a solid compliment! On the first day!! If he weren’t convinced it would get him fired, he would’ve pumped his fist in the air then and there.

Instead, he settles for, “Thanks. Let me know what Cecile decides on.”

Professional. Polite. Except he turns towards the door and - ah. yep. He's pumping his fist in the air anyway.

Laurel laughs a bit as she watches him go, before heading back to work herself. It involves a long day of arguing and occasionally some phone slamming because she knows what's happening in this case, she just can't quite prove it. Barry even stops by later to try and offer what he does have as evidence but it's not enough and all Tyler sees as Barry exits her office is a lot of sympathetic faces and a hasty exit.

(Not Flash hasty, but hasty enough.)

Laurel looks over and shakes her head before turning to go back into her office. "It's late. Go home, Tyler."

Had Tyler been a little younger, and a little less hot-headed, he might've heeded her advice.

"Maybe in a little bit," he says, already gripping his backpack a little tighter. "Is everything okay? Things sounded kind of... tense."

Or maybe that was his preternatural hearing at work, already deciphering that Laurel couldn't connect the evidence to the case at hand. If it was a meta, he or she had covered their tracks well. Who better than an actual werewolf to sniff 'em down?

She takes a deep breath before nodding and making his way over to his desk. "Sometimes I delude myself into thinking Central City is above the corruptions and abuses of the law that I used to see back in Star City, but then a case like this one comes along and I know what's happening. I just can't prove it."

Which was always the frustrating thing about Star City too. She never had enough evidence to really drive the point home.

"Ah." Worst part is, Tyler's had experience on the opposite end. He's spent far too much time hiding or erasing evidence - and he'd wager someone similar had gone to the effort in Central. "I'm going to take a wild guess based on -" and he pauses. "Based on how thin the walls are, but we're talking about a murder, right?"

Wild guess, he says, as if he hadn't overheard the mysterious circumstances, let alone the supposed missing murder weapon. Tyler's got a feeling that either the weapon is hidden in plain sight; the weapon was purposefully burned or dismantled elsewhere; or it's some tricky third option he can't uncover.

Either way, he's gonna need a few more details before he can confirm what he conveniently overheard.

Laurel nods, before she gives a small sigh. "On the less affluent side of Central City, there's this guy who's basically operating as a slum lord. And they're a bit of a sore spot for me because I used to deal with them all the time back in Star City. But I had one of his employees who was ready to come forward with actual evidence that I could take to court and get this guy out, but ... he went missing and then they found his body a few days later."

One of her hands curls into a fist as she rests it against his desk. "I know this guy is responsible, I just can't prove it."

“How come? Evidence conveniently missing?”

He would've suggested the obvious: what did the crime scene look like? What was the state of the guy's body? What did the CSI think the murder weapon was?

Except he thinks she's tried all that and then some. So he taps his fingers against his desk for a couple of seconds.

“Sorry, uh – I thought a fresh set of eyes could help.”

"No, it's fine." She moves and takes the seat next to his desk, because clearly she's going to be staying here a while. "The murder weapon. The body was dumped, so we don't actually know what killed him beyond a few pieces of particulate evidence. Bigger than a bullet but not slim and sleek like a knife."

"So the crime scene wasn't also where the murder happened." He's stating the obvious, but also he's trying to get a grasp on what they've uncovered. A body dumped, presumably in a river or some unsuspecting location. No murder weapon. Also, possibly no witnesses.

(How... pragmatic.)

"Can I look at the evidence?"

Laurel hesitates for a moment, because it's late, and she probably should be sending this intern home, but this case is important to her. She takes a deep breath, before nodding and getting to her feet.

"Sure. It's over at the crime lab though, so we'd have to head over there."

“Thanks.” He means it too as he follows suit, grabbing his things to go. Tyler knows he'll be late – and that's gonna be a problem for future Tyler. “Just lead the way.”

Or give him the GPS coordinates, as it may be.

Leading is more likely. After a quick stop in her office to grab her coat she'll lead the way out of the DA's office and ... right down the stairs and across the street to the police station. They were actually smart in building things in Central City - they wanted to keep everything close and compact.

After that it's up some more stairs to knock on Barry's door. "Knock knock."

Barry glances up at them and grins. "Hey, Laurel."

"Hey, Barry." She pauses and jerks a thumb over her shoulder. "This is my new intern, Tyler Lockwood."

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