Judd for the Defense Season 1, Episode 17: Fall of a Skylark (1) - the Trial

1

Tempest in a Texas Town

Judd defends a wild, rebellious young man who is accused of killing two teenage girls although no bodies have been found and they may have run away.

60 min

2

The Deep End

Judd defends a skipper (Leslie Nielsen) charged with the murder of four people aboard his boat. The only witness is a little girl who was also wounded during the slaughter.

60 min

3

The Other Face of the Law

Judd defends an ex-cop who claims that he was framed for murder after he tried to expose corruption within the department.

60 min

4

A Civil Case of Murder

A football player asks Judd to represent him in fighting his late wife's parents for custody of his son. But soon the case takes on a more serious turn, as the grandparents accuse him of killing their daughter.

60 min

5

Shadow of a Killer

Judd takes the case of a pregnant young woman who was found outside the scene of a burglary and charged with it.

60 min

6

Conspiracy

Judd represents architect Paul Christopher in his suit against a former police chief turned special investigator, who is ruthlessly harassing Christopher in his attempt to prove him guilty of conspiracy in the assassination of a mayor.

60 min

7

Confessional

The son of an oil tycoon confesses to the murder of a young woman a year and a half earlier. But Judd doesn't believe his confession, and decides to defend him. But why is the young man making the false confession?

60 min

8

Death From a Flower Girl

Judd's client is a young girl who shot her married lover, but claims she mistook him for a burglar. He finds he must defend her "New Morality" life style as well as the murder charge.

60 min

9

Commitment

An escaped convict confronts Judd in a parking lot and demands that he take his case to prove him innocent of the murder he was convicted of six years earlier. Judd motions for a new trial, on the grounds that the man's previous attorney did not provide an adequate defense.

60 min

10

Citizen Ritter

Ben's client is charged with killing the abortionist who illegally operated on his daughter and almost killed her. Judd believes the man has a violent streak. Ben uncovers many dark secrets when the case goes to trial.

60 min

11

The Money Farm

An oil company executive is charged with the murder of a man who had been blackmailing him. The defendant says the victim stumbled during a fight and fell off a platform accidentally, but two witnesses insist that he was pushed.

60 min

12

To Kill a Madman

An old classmate of Ben's is accused of the brutal and senseless murder of three young women in a park. Though it is obvious to both Judd and Ben that the man needs psychiatric help, he still insists he is completely innocent of the murders---and so does a psychic friend of his.

60 min

13

To Love and Stand Mute

Judd and Ben take the case of a deaf-mute couple who want to adopt the foster child they've been taking care of. A complication develops when the child's natural mother shows up and decides to rescind her original decision to give up her baby.

60 min

14

The Living Victim

Judd is representing mobster Walter Whittaker, who is targeted by prosecutor Joseph Flexner. A bomb killed Flexner's wife and despite a lack of evidence he indicts Whittaker for the murder. Judd must battle the stacked odds.

60 min

15

Firebrand

Judd visits his client, labor leader Gabriel Aguila, in jail for staging an illegal strike. But in a failed escape attempt a police officer is killed and Judd is taken hostage as leverage.

60 min

16

Everyone Loved Harland but His Wife

Judd defends a woman who admits to killing her invalid husband. She claims she was in fear for her life because of his increasingly violent and erratic behavior, but no one else in her town claims to have seen that side of him.

60 min

17

Fall of a Skylark (1) - the Trial

Judd defends the playboy son of a millionaire hotel owner who has been charged with the murder of the hotel's bookmaker, whom he was in debt to.

60 min

18

Fall of a Skylark (2) - the Appeal

After his client Bruzzy Burke is convicted, Judd continues to work to try to appeal the conviction, even though he is fired by Bruzzy's millionaire father. His first step is to discredit the witness whose surprise testimony led to the conviction, and to use new witnesses---but one of them winds up dead.

60 min

19

No Law Against Murder

As a member of a national committee of attorneys assigned to civil rights cases, Judd must defend a client he'd prefer not to: a Southern sheriff charged with violating the civil rights of a harassed Northern writer who was found dead shortly after the sheriff was seen taking him away in his car.

60 min

20

The Grand Old Man

Ben defends the son of a grocer who was murdered by the mob. The young man is accused of kidnapping the retired gangster father of the man who is believed to have ordered the killing.

60 min

21

What You Can Do With Money

Judd is called to the home of an assistant to a high-powered millionaire industrialist, where he is shown the body of a man in a boat. He finds that he has a hard time getting to the truth about how the man died, as the industrialist is telling everyone what to say and not say. Eventually the assistant confesses to killing the man, claiming the victim attacked his wife. But Judd feels people are still not telling him the full truth.

60 min

22

Kingdom of the Blind

A onetime film star, hoping for a comeback, asks Judd to represent a scriptwriter to help him get out of a restrictive contract with a Hollywood producer. But the contract is more ironclad than was first realized, and soon that becomes a moot point, as the producer is murdered and the writer is charged with the crime.

60 min

23

The Devil's Surrogate

A headstrong, controversial priest answers a desperate call from one of his students, a young woman who has been obviously smitten with him. She tells him she is going to kill herself unless he comes to her apartment. The priest comes, only to find himself in a situation in which the girl's boyfriend is accidentally shot and killed. Judd defends the priest, but the case is complicated by the emotionally unstable girl's refusal to cooperate and tell the truth.

60 min

24

Square House

A parolee may be sent back to prison for associating with a rehabilitation center for former convicts, as this violates the terms of his parole. Judd defends him, but he soon has worse problems, as he is charged with killing an old associate during a robbery attempt.

60 min

25

The Worst of Both Worlds

In Juvenile Court, without benefit of counsel, 17-year-old Kenny Carter, Jr. is consigned to the county Juvenile Home for three years based on the charge of stealing and wrecking a car, for which he vaguely denies guilt. Judd steps in to uphold Carter's full rights under due process, but Carter is reluctant to cooperate, as he is concealing a terrible secret.

60 min

26

You Remember Joe Maddox

Joe Maddox is desperate to find a decent job after being eased out of the editor's position he held for years. But he makes the mistake of confronting the former employer whom he blames for the loss of his job, resulting in the man's death and Maddox being charged with his murder.

60 min