Follows the cases and lives of young lawyers on opposite sides of the bench. These include the public defenders and the district attorneys, as well as those who sit in judgement on their cases. With a new police initiative increasing the caseload, an idealistic public defender is so overworked that his boss has to return to the front lines. As they struggle to defend clients, or at least work out a decent plea deal, their toughest adversary may be an ambitious judge who had dreams of becoming the next district attorney.