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Sandra Petrocelli, the prosecuting attorney, is good at her job. She dresses professionally and projects confidence. Petrocelli represents the State, which makes her credible to the jury. She takes advantage of that credibility to make unproven claims, ask rhetorical questions to construct explanations in the jurors’ minds, and appeal to prejudice and fear, as when she insinuates that the defendants are monsters. Petrocelli calls criminals as witnesses and is unfazed by their untruthful testimony if it incriminates the defendants. In her closing statement, Petrocelli’s evasions and generalizations make her appear prejudiced and even vindictive toward Steve. Petrocelli’s confident manner and tactics in court reveal that she is not necessarily interested in justice—in determining true guilt or innocence. Rather, she simply wants to win a case and thereby advance her career. As such, Petrocelli is short on integrity and long on ambition.

Petrocelli’s true intentions are revealed in how she behaves in court. For example, Petrocelli confronts Steve directly when Steve testifies in his own defense. Petrocelli tries to discredit Steve by repeating his statements in sneering tones. She attempts to unsettle Steve by asking him if he wants to take a break because he is nervous. When she fails to discredit Steve’s testimony, Petrocelli asks questions that imply Steve’s guilt. Although the judge reprimands Petrocelli, her questions raise doubts in the jury’s minds. In her closing statement, Petrocelli’s evasions and generalizations make her appear prejudiced and even vindictive toward Steve. Petrocelli insists that a rather thin chain of evidence, the path of the stolen cigarettes, is strong proof of guilt. She does not address the lack of evidence against Steve but firmly restates that he was involved. She decrees that all the defendants are equally guilty, even though the evidence against the men is by no means equal. Petrocelli succeeds in her prosecution of James King but fails to secure the conviction of Steve Harmon.

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