The media harasses Judge Joe Rifkind and a higher judge for the shooting of a rookie police officer who was killed by a young criminal the judge set free. To make amends, Judge Rifkind pays a visit to the father of the rookie police officer who also happens to be one of his former police partners. Assistant DA Bobby Esposito's brother, Frank, is given another chance to stop using drugs, but when he doesn't show up for his flight to the rehabilitation centre, Bobby assumes he's been deceived by Frank again. Meanwhile, Bobby and Cynthia Bennington's relationship heats up despite the one secret Bobby can't bring himself to tell her.

Judge Joe Rifkind, a liberal judge whose nickname is ""Let-Em-Go-Joe,"" releases a petty offender who jumped a subway turnstile. The decision starts a chain of events that end a rookie cop's life, and possibly the judge's career. Standing by Rifkind are his wife, Sarah, and his friend and colleague, Judge Attallah Sims. Sims has a firmer view of justice than Rifkind; her nickname is ""Attallah-the-Hun."" Meanwhile, Assistant District Attorneys Bobby Esposito and Cynthia Bennington are getting to know each other. Cynthia is uptown money. Bobby's Brooklyn, working class roots could demolish his success when his father asks him to erase one of his brother's drug convictions to save him from life in prison.

A teenager is cajoled by a friend to rob a convenience store for kicks, but when the friend pulls a gun on the store's owner, everything takes a turn for the worst. Once arrested, the friend claims he wasn't the one with the gun, and the innocent teen is charged with robbery in the first degree. Legal Aid Attorney Ramon Rodriguez mishandles the case because he was having a tryst with an assistant district attorney and didn't have time to prepare. He puts both the teenager's life and his marriage to Cassandra in jeopardy. Meanwhile, Bobby and Cynthia reconcile.

Bobby and Cynthia's relationship intensifies, but Bobby's career still hangs in the balance as a detective tries to identify and then get information from his hospitalized brother, Frank. Frank has come out of a coma after a drug-related mugging and beating. The detective wants to know who erased a conviction on Frank's drug arrest record. Frank faces either an extra-long prison sentence or turning his brother in for helping him. Also, a veteran cop and his wife attempt to get professional help for their broken marriage after an incident in Judge Sims' night court.

Cynthia sees how the other half lives when a former maid's daughter and childhood playmate, Amanda, appears in night court. Amanda suffers from a bipolar disorder and currently doesn't have her medication and is living on the streets. When Cynthia tries to help Amanda get shelter and a Medicaid card, she's sent on a journey that has her navigating a social services system fraught with red tape. Cynthia, who was raised a millionaire, finds herself in check-cashing lines trying to pay a phone bill and in a hardware store bartering for an air conditioner for Amanda's mother.