Public Defender

- Season 1

(1954)

Matthews tries to aid an ex-convict suspected of robbing his boss.

Matthews defends a bar waitress accused of doping a patron.

A happily married man suddenly becomes unhappy when he looses his job. His pregnant wife agrees to work until he finds another, but when tragedy arrives, he goes begging an enemy for work. He's soon accused of murder after his new boss is found murdered.

A man, happy in his career and marriage, is suddenly arrested and accused of check forgery. The public defender must find him innocent when thirteen witnesses and his own wife think he's guilt.

Davey Davis is an up-and-coming young boxer, managed by Soapy Moore. Moore gets involved with gangland figure B.G. Worden, who threatens Soapy if he doesn't get Davey to take a dive in a big fight. Davey gets wind of the plan and double-crosses Worden. Worden sends his girlfriend Eve to plant illegal drugs on Davey, and Davey is arrested. Public defender Bart Matthews steps in to help Davey with his case.

A troubled kid is accused of a crime he says he didn't commit. Unfortunately, his relationship with his father, a clown, is also severed.

The public defender takes on a case to investigate the truth behind a young recovering alcoholic who is in jail for murdering her land lord. This episode is based on a real case won by an attorney named James Cosgrove.

There are two brothers. One is accused of armed robbery, the other isn't. The priest believes the brother is innocent even though he claims to have done it. The public defender doesn't believe the brother's story either. But if he didn't do it, who did?

Bart Matthews remembers a young, anxious police officer who made a mistake while still a rookie as they lay him to rest.

An assistant public defender must defend the man who is accused of killing his best friend, a police officer, and leave behind a grieving widow and son.

After serving a 3-year sentence, a man is immediately picked up again on a gun charge. However, he is immediately bailed out by a local crime boss.

After her stepdaughter accuses her of cutting her and locking her in a closet, the arrested woman the public defender the story behind the accusations.

Man is being held for running over and killing an old woman. The man claims it was an accident, but his PD has trouble aligning his client's story with witness accounts.

A woman confesses to shooting her ex-husband and is to stand trial for murder. Her boyfriend tells the public defender what really happened.

A hobo is accused of kidnapping and beating a little girl he had befriended.

A group of teenagers rob a store. The driver is later caught in arrested. While being questioned by the public defender, it's learned his reason behind his life of crime and the consequences of trying to stop.

A man is arrested for kidnapping his own child. The public defender is given the story behind the reason by the man's artist rep.

After many years, an escaped convict's past catches up with him.

Teenagers from several "good families" are arrested and charged with assault with a deadly weapon. The parents are dumbfounded, wondering how good kids could get into so much trouble. One girl, represented by the public defender, gives her story.

A boxer serving time in a minimum security prison escapes when he receives a Dear John letter. The boxer is Matthews's client so Matthews is determined to track him down before something bad happens.

Man is overcome by the gambling sickness and finds himself in debt to a crooked casino operator, who then tries to compel the man to embezzle from his employer.

A woman is jailed for stealing $250, even though she returned ever sent. When a newspaper man learns her name, he wakes the public defender up in the middle of the night to tell a story about Lisa, a woman he used to know.

A man arrested for assault tells the public defender about his wife's unfortunate loss and the trials they encountered while trying to start a family.

A young man is arrested for robbery but claims he's innocent. The public defender's office goes to Las Vegas, where the man claims he was, to check up on his story. They find some disturbing news.

Bart Matthews takes a personal initiative to assist a carnival entertainer accused of stealing an heirloom ring worth $15,000.

A young man is about to be executed and his priest makes one final attempt to prove his innocence by going to the Public Defender with the story.