Jill Carlan

**Jill Carlan** is a federal public defender who oversees new public defenders at the US District Court of the Southern District of New York.

## History

### New FPDs

The the new FPDs arrived at the office after being sworn in, Jill handed each of them an envelope with their first case in it. She then explained the purpose of their office. She said going up against the government is hard because it has all the power, so she didn't expect them to win. She just expected them to get a win, something like reducing a sentence, lowering bail, or lessening a charge. After she was done, Sandra approached her and asked about being on duty. Jill didn't think Sandra was ready, but Sandra insisted she was, so Jill put her on duty. When Sandra got a terrorism case, Jill advised her to talk to her client about the deal with prosecution was offering. Sandra talked to him, but ultimately declined the deal, so Jill went with her to a meeting with Roger and Leonard, the opposing counsel, where Jill planted a seed of misdirection about how Sandra would argue the case. She then sent Sandra back in on her own. When Sandra lost the case, Jill told her she was never going to win it, but her first case doesn't have to define the rest of her career.

### Dani Rios and Keenan Griggs

Jill assigned Sandra to the case of Dani Rios, a whistle-blower, believing Sandra would connect with Dani. She later told Sandra to convince Dani to take a deal, because going to trial wouldn't be good for her.

She also helped Allison figure out what to do when Allison told her Diane Barish was planning to use a program to help sentence Keenan.

### Chloe Daniels

When Chloe Daniels was arrested for attacking a mail person, Jill took the case and had the novice lawyers help her because it had the potential to become a murder case. Chloe claimed it was self-defense, but holes quickly started forming in her story. Jill found her in Penn Station, where she almost jumped in front of a train. She was lost and confused. Jill had her tested by a psychiatrist, but all the tests came back negative, making Jill more confused. Then she learned Chloe had been a cheerleader and believed she had CTE. She took her to a leading CTE researcher, who was developing a test for CTE so it could be diagnosed before death. He said Chloe had CTE, which explained all her symptoms. Jill worked to get her diagnosed considered at her hearing and the prosecution agreed to two years of deferred prosecution with monitoring.

### Rodrigo Puente

Jill assigned Jay to the case of Rodrigo Puente, who was charged with possession when he was found with 57 grams of meth in his backpack. When Judge Byrne heard the case, he said he didn't like it and wouldn't sentence Rodrigo to ten years, the mandatory minimum. He sent Seth back to reconsider the charges. When Seth came back with the same case, Byrne asked to meet with Roger and then Jill. He couldn't convince Roger or Jill to budge either, so he said he'd instruct the jury about the mandatory minimum. To prevent that, Seth filed a writ. The jury ultimately returned a guilty verdict and after giving a speech, Byrne reluctantly sentenced Rodrigo to the minimum ten years.

### Arturo Marquez

Jill assigned Allison the case of Arturo Marquez, who was accused of piracy for boarding a relief ship and taking the supplies. She warned Allison that it would be a tough case. When it made the front cover of the newspaper, she brought a copy to Allison to show her. She later watched as Allison put her own client on the stand, which Jill took to mean she was attempting jury nullification, an unlikely outcome. However, in Arturo's case, it worked and he was found not guilty.

### Yankees Tickets

Jill was delighted when Roger was finally able to secure Yankees season tickets for the two of them after waiting for eight years. However, when Tina reminded her of how poorly it cold go if they stopped being friends, Jill drew up legal documents to protect both of them. Roger initially rescinded his offer, but ultimately agreed to sign the documents for them to share the tickets.

### DEA Raid and Brian Torres

There was a DEA raid on Hughes street, during which the DEA made 12 arrests. Despite this, only 11 were logged into the system, so Jill sent Sandra to check out the 12th, Brian Torres. He was found in a holding cell, nearly dead, where he'd been for four days since his arrest. Roger immediately dropped the charges, but Jill wanted him to go after the DEA agent responsible for Brian being in the cell for four days. Roger didn't want to, but after Jill released the video of Brian's time in the cell, he eventually pressed charges against Kirk Keener. Because of Kirk's recent firing, he was appointed a public defender, Jill, assisted by Sandra. They initially tried to make a deal, but Kirk wouldn't take it because it involved admitting fault, so the case went to trial. Roger and Jill disagreed over whether or not the video of Brian Torres should be viewed by the jury. It was ultimately shown. The verdict then returned a not guilty verdict.

### Day Out

When Jill was forced to go to a second circuit conference on E-discovery, she met up with Roger there, who was leaving after signing in and getting his badge. He said that every year, he signs in and then leaves and has a fun day where he does whatever he wants. He invited her to come along, but she declined. However, he gave her five minutes to change her mind and when she did, they left together. He first took her to an Italian restaurant where, during one of his first cases, he watched a mobster have a heart attack and die right where Jill was sitting. They then went to see a movie. Their last stop was to a baseball field where his daughter used to play. Then they were both called back to Manhattan.

## Relationships

### Romantic

#### Cliff

She was married, but kept a go-bag, which she eventually used. She says her marriage was a mistake.

#### Roger Gunn

She and Roger often went to baseball games together. When Roger was finally able to get Yankees season tickets, they ended up sharing them. Jill insisted on drawing up legal documentation in case their friendship ended.

After a day out together, Roger said he liked her, but she said they wouldn't work out and she didn't want to end up lying in bed next to someone she hated. Despite that, they ended up sleeping together. Afterward, she said she didn't hate him.

### Familial

She has a sister who is mentally ill. She told the other lawyers she doesn't know where her sister is.

## Career

Jill is a federal public defender. She oversees new public defenders at the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.

## Notes and Trivia

* She's a big baseball fan and uses baseball references to make her point.
* She watches a lot of SportsCenter.
* She feels weird going to movies by herself.
* The character was originally named Jill Marcus in the early stages of development.

## Notable Episodes

These episodes are Jill-centric or are otherwise very informative about her life:

* The Library Fountain
* The Vast, Immovable Object

## References

1. ↑ Pilot, 1x01
2. ↑ 18 Miles Outside of Roanoke, 1x03
3. ↑ The Library Fountain, 1x04
4. ↑ World's Greatest Judge, 1x05
5. ↑ Everybody's a Superhero, 1x06
6. ↑ Have You Met Leonard Knox?, 1x07
7. ↑ Flippity-Flop, 1x08
8. ↑ Extraordinary Circumstances, 1x09
9. ↑ Everybody's a Superhero, 1x06
10. ↑ Extraordinary Circumstances, 1x09
11. ↑ Have You Met Leonard Knox?, 1x07
12. ↑ Extraordinary Circumstances, 1x09
13. ↑ This is What I Wanted to Say, 1x10
14. ↑ The Library Fountain, 1x04
15. ↑ Pilot, 1x01
16. ↑ The Library Fountain, 1x04
17. ↑ Extraordinary Circumstances, 1x09