Join or Sign In
Sign in to customize your TV listings
By joining TV Guide, you agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy.
26 Episodes 1954 - 1954
Episode 1
Thu, Mar 11, 195430 mins
Matthews tries to aid an ex-convict suspected of robbing his boss.
Episode 2
Thu, Mar 18, 195430 mins
Matthews defends a bar waitress accused of doping a patron.
Episode 3
Thu, Mar 25, 195430 mins
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.
Episode 4
Thu, Apr 1, 195430 mins
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.
Episode 5
Thu, Apr 8, 195430 mins
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.
Episode 6
Thu, Apr 15, 195430 mins
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.
Episode 7
Thu, Apr 22, 195430 mins
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.
Episode 8
Thu, Apr 29, 195430 mins
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?
Episode 9
Thu, May 6, 195430 mins
Bart Matthews remembers a young, anxious police officer who made a mistake while still a rookie as they lay him to rest.
Episode 10
Thu, May 13, 195430 mins
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.
Episode 11
Thu, May 20, 195430 mins
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.
Episode 12
Thu, May 27, 195430 mins
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.
Episode 13
Thu, Jun 3, 195430 mins
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.
Episode 14
Thu, Jun 10, 195430 mins
A woman confesses to shooting her ex-husband and is to stand trial for murder. Her boyfriend tells the public defender what really happened.
Episode 15
Thu, Jun 17, 195430 mins
A hobo is accused of kidnapping and beating a little girl he had befriended.
Episode 16
Thu, Jun 24, 195430 mins
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.
Episode 17
Thu, Jul 1, 195430 mins
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.
Episode 18
Mon, Jul 5, 195430 mins
After many years, an escaped convict's past catches up with him.
Episode 19
Mon, Jul 12, 1954
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.
Episode 20
Mon, Jul 19, 195430 mins
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.
Episode 21
Mon, Jul 26, 195430 mins
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.
Episode 22
Mon, Aug 2, 195430 mins
A woman accused of stealing $250 is sentenced to jail. A newspaper man in the Courtroom recognizes the lady. He wakes the Public Defender in the middle of the night. He is anxious to tell the story of "Lisa", hoping Bart can get her freed.
Episode 23
Mon, Aug 9, 195430 mins
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.
Episode 24
Mon, Aug 16, 1954
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.
Episode 25
Mon, Aug 23, 195430 mins
Against the wishes of her daughter Kiki and her father Duke, carnival sideshow dancer Melody Scanlon becomes engaged to marry socially prominent Preston Carstairs. The ring he gives her is a family heirloom worth $15,000, but Kiki takes it from her mother's bureau drawer to prove the engagement to their fellow "carnies" and ask them if there is anything to be done to stop the marriage. Kiki's problem becomes moot when domineering matriarch Alice Carstairs objects vehemently to the marriage and demands that Melody return the ring. Preston is unable to stand up to his mother and Melody is unable to immediately produce the ring, so Alice has her arrested on a charge of grand theft. Bart Matthews happens to be nearby when the distraught Melody is brought into the police station. He takes a personal initiative to determine the nature of the "theft" and attempt to locate the ring in an effort to persuade the District Attorney to dismiss the unjust charge.
Episode 26
Mon, Aug 30, 195430 mins
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.