The legal and moral implications of mercy killing are examined as the Prestons defend a doctor charged with killing a Mongoloid baby.
A wartime hero who had been trained to act like a "destructive animal," kills a man with a judo blow. At his trial the vital question is "did he kill because he could not control the killer instinct?"
The tortured world of a dope addict is explored in this story of a young man convinced he's guilty of murder - although he has no recollection of the crime.
Preston (E.G. Marshall) undertakes a delicate and dangerous task: acting as intermediary for the investigators of a prison riot.
A destitute young couple take a desperate gamble to provide for themselves and their baby.
The Prestons become embroiled in a bitter custody battle when they are retained by Belle Remington (Norma Crane), who insists her son never be allowed to see his father.
Impersonator Harry Simms is accused of killing his fiancée, and he asks Ken to defend him. But Ken is baffled by Harry's plea: he says he couldn't have murdered the girl - because Humphrey Bogart did it.
A woman is charged with criminal negligence when she hits a child while driving home from a party.
Unhappily married Jenny Scott (Mary Fickett) is the prime suspect when her husband is murdered.
Picketing to save a park, Joan Miller (Joan Hackett) is charged with second-degree assault when a brick thrown by one of the demonstrators injures an adversary.
Released from a mental hospital, Victor Fergusson (Edward Binns) is forced to stand trial for a murder he committed 25 years before.
Charged with perjury, a witness says he lied because Preston asked him to.
The impact of public opinion on a trial is examined in this story of a policeman who kills the alleged molester of his young daughter.
Dwight Harkavy (Kent Smith) goes on trial for shooting a prowler - who was his wife's first husband.
Preston investigates the death of a millionaire playboy - murdered before he could divide his estate among his current spouse and five ex-wives.
The Prestons come to the aid of a racketeer charged with the gangland murder of a small-time hoodlum.
The Prestons defend a doctor accused of murdering a wealthy patient who promised to leave him a large sum in her will.
An old homicide case is reopened when James Mitchell (James Congdon) confesses to a murder for which another man was executed six years earlier.
The Prestons encounter fear and hostility at a reform school when they are retained by a supervisor charged with murdering one of the inmates.
Stacy Phillips, star college basketball player, is accused of taking money from gambler Vince Fargo to fix a game. The Presons, alumni of the college, are hired to defend Phillips before the State's Senate Rackets Committee.
The Prestons defend an heiress on trial for the death of a woman reputed to have been having an affair with her husband, who is the only witness to the incident. The focus is on the jurors, and how some of them visualize the events that led to the woman's death.
The Army suspects foul play when a paratrooper's chute fails to open and he falls to his death.
Ken launches a personal investigation when a model prisoner - jailed for crimes he insists he never committed - is refused parole.
The defendant: Louis Astor (George Voskovec), who's charged with stealing money from his son's firm.
The Prestons give a campus fascist leader a lesson in democracy when he's arrested after his henchmen beat up a heckler.
The Prestons become defense counselors in a kangaroo court set up by a group of teenagers bent on trying an alleged murderer.
Arthur Hill plays a man with six months to live--he kills his business partner in a fit of rage when the man refuses to help support his family after he has died.
Edna Holley (Glenda Farrell) invites trouble when she blackmails a professor who's interested in her daughter, a strip-tease artist.
A group of Air Force veterans set up a kangaroo court to try one of their number for treason.
A controversial episode dealing with the trial of an accused abortionist.
The Prestons defend an ex-vaudevillian accused of murdering his son-in-law. The only witness: the dead man's daughter.
Defending a youth charged with vehicular homicide, the Prestons are hampered by the boy's overbearing father (Harold J. Stone) - who isn't above bribing jurors.
Martha Harrow, a young wife and mother, is convicted of first-degree murder. The victim: her husband, an alcoholic and wife beater.
In a small town, the Prestons slam into a wall of hostility and silence as they defend two hunters charged with murder.
A shattering drama focusing on a young neo-Nazi (Dennis Hopper) charged with murder - and a witness who refuses to testify.
Ed Begley portrays an elderly derelict hospitalized after a suicide attempt. His only identification: Lawrence Preston's business card.
A child becomes a pawn in a bitter courtroom battle when a woman tries to reclaim the daughter she gave up for adoption years before.
In an episode examining the legal definition of insanity, a man (Don Gordon) confesses to one murder - and hints he may be responsible for others.
Convinced that confessed killer Joey Tassili is psychotic, the Prestons prepare his defense, intending to test the legal definition of insanity.
Steve Janos (Jason Evers) faces a bigamy charge unless he returns to his first wife - an alcoholic whom he deserted years before.
A long search comes to an end for Dr. Mayer Loeb (Ludwig Donath) when he finds - and kills - the man responsible for murdering his wife and son in a Nazi concentration camp.
William Shatner stars as an assistant DA whose career is threatened when he's accused of accepting a bribe.
Indicted for first-degree murder, a former mental patient (Carroll O'Connor) faces conviction - and execution - on circumstantial evidence.
The Prestons' efforts to console a condemned murderer's son are mis-interpreted by the youth - who retaliates by wrecking the lawyers' apartment.
Albert Salmi stars as a street-corner preacher charged with attempted robbery.
Lillian Gish stars as "Grandma TNT," a sweet old lady who threatens to blow up a bank - unless she receives exactly $1342.76.
Howard March will stop at nothing to prevent his teenage daughter from driving her boyfriend to Vermont.
A condemned murderer kills a guard and escapes, unaware of the grim irony at work: he was cleared of the original murder charge.
Facing a possible 15-year sentence for manslaughter, Danny Ross (Ivan Dixon) insists on handling his own defense.
The admission of evidence gained by wire tapping is discussed in this episode. Cigar-stand owner Joseph Green (Stuart Erwin) retains the Prestons when he's arrested for dope peddling.
The Prestons turn detectives when a friend is mysteriously poisoned during a seance.
Beatrice Hillyer hires a gunman to kill her - after she carefully prepares evidence pointing to her estranged husband as the murderer.
Ralph Johnson, a newspaper reporter who is sued for libel by self-styled religious leader Jeremiah the Prophet.
Representing accused traitor Vincent Kayle, Preston must prepare a defense while struggling against his deep personal disgust for the man's actions.
No one is more surprised than Jerry Thomas when the police find his wife dead in the bedroom.
At Luke Jackson's final clemency hearing, Preston argues that the convicted murderer has become a model of rehabilitation during his seven years on death row.
Magician Monte Moran fails in his attempt to escape from a coffin-like box lowered into the river. When his body is finally retrieved, Moran's assistant Ballin claims someone tampered with the equipment.
Ignoring an old taboo, prep-school instructor Roger Wesley (Gerald Hiken) puts his job in jeopardy by allowing students to express atheistic ideas.
Artistic expression and pornography are the issues in this drama. The Prestons defend an author charged with selling an "obscene and immoral" book.
The Prestons defend a woman accused of killing her terminally ill husband.
On trial for killing his wife, a Nobel Prize winner gambles that a jury won't convict him because of his contributions to science.
Quartered in a hotel, members of a deadlocked jury discuss the case among themselves - despite orders to the contrary.
The Prestons try to clear the name of a murder suspect who was lynched before he could be brought to trial.
Preston develops a strong affection for the woman he is representing in a divorce case.
Ignoring his father's advice, Fred Solasky defies a powerful union leader - and finds himself facing a murder charge.
Three college students face conviction for manslaughter when a youth dies during a fraternity initiation.
Defendant Jason Thomas (Dennis Hopper), who confessed to killing his father and brother, insists he's insane.
Norma Burgess (Lee Grant), on trial for killing a man she claims assaulted her, faces a sceptical jury: she was twice convicted of prostitution.
The complex maze of international diplomacy is explored when Preston tries to work out a prisoner exchange involving an American jailed behind the Iron Curtain on a trumped-up espionage charge.
Judge Philip Benning (Chester Morris) faces a crisis of conscience when he's asked to return a political favor by signing an illegal eviction notice.
Representing the plaintiff in a malpractice case, the Prestons face a common roadblock: the defendant's fellow doctors refuse to testify against their colleague.
Assistant DA Cliff Sellers (William Shatner) is torn by conflicting emotions when he learns that his older brother committed a murder.
The Prestons defend a young couple who hoped to buy a ticket out of a ghetto with the proceeds from an armed robbery.
An aging policeman (Harold J. Stone) blames his partner when he accidentally shoots an innocent bystander.
Father George Phelps (Robert Webber) faces a painful dilemma: after he hears publisher Alfred Burns's murder confession, another man is charged with the crime.
A drama focusing on the nature of penal institutions. A convicted embezzler (Dean Stockwell) is accused of stabbing a sadistic prison guard.
Years of boxing have taken their toll on Danny Norton (Lou Antonio), who is charged with killing his estranged wife's boyfriend.
A high school senior is denied the chance to finish two more months of high school for a diploma, just because she has been found to be pregnant. A little old lady who has befriended the girl, and who had been an active Suffragette, determines to help her: she chains herself to the school entrance. The attending publicity and subsequent sanity hearing for the old lady, force the board to change its ruling.
Neglected by his parents, 16-year-old Alan Slater buries himself in books - until he's caught stealing one from the public library.
Bad notices have set the leading lady, the director, and the playwright of a new play called "Claire Cheval" at each others' throats. It's all getting the best of producer Myron Bullimore, who's more at home in real estate anyway. To make peace among the temperamental troupe, Bellmore calls on the Prestons, in this comedy episode of this normally dramatic series.
A tense drama focusing on the parties involved in a legal execution. The Prestons have 12 hours to persuade an acting governor (Richard Kiley) to grant a clemency hearing to a convicted murderer (Ralph Meeker).
Actor Joe Larch (Jack Klugman) has spent 10 years on the "Blacklist" for alleged Communist affiliation, and when he finally gets a part, a local group begins a protest.
Gregor Martin (Barry Morse), derelict, drug addict and poet, confesses to a murder he didn't commit - to protect a cafe owner who befriended him.
Dr. Katherine Tasso opens a clinic and dispenses birth-control information although she's aware that her actions violate state laws.
After developing the formula for a superwoman, nuclear scientist Daniel Orren (Martin Landau) destroys his notes - in violation of security regulations.
Pharmacist Ed Clark has been arrested for selling narcotics to addicts without a prescription. But Clark's motive is certainly not profit - he charges the regular price for the drugs.
In Miami, alcoholic Sheila Phelps wakes up to a nightmare: her pocketbook contains the wallet of a man who lies dead in New York.
Tragedy results when a Marine drill sergeant - with a fanatic devotion to military discipline - uses live ammunition in a training session.
Preston faces one of the toughest legal battles of his career when Ken is charged with bribing a juror.
The Prestons defend Anna Leverton (Susan Oliver), an emotionally disturbed woman charged with murdering her psychiatrist's fiancee.
Committed to a mental institution following a suicide attempt, comedian Denny Martin retains the Prestons to fight for his release.
An admiral who disagrees with U.S. foreign policy in his area of command takes steps toward independent action and is arrested by the Justice Department.
Arrested for shoplifting, three-time loser Catherine Collins (Glynis Johns) faces a possible life sentence. Her only hope: a plea of insanity.
Newsman Harvey Slaughter moves to challenge the Government's travel restrictions when his passport is confiscated after he visits Red China.
Earl Chafee (James Coburn), an unpretentious man who becomes an overnight celebrity when he kills a Cuban Communist leader in self-defense.
Arrested for murder, Gerald Lowen (Emlyn Williams) offers a strange motive: his ESP powers indicated that he was the intended victim of the man he killed.
Once arrested for arson, Cy Wright is jailed again when his employer's warehouse goes up in flames. The real culprit: the boss's son.
On trial for felonious assault, prominent attorney Bernard Maxwell (Martin Balsam) is also questioned about the dubious tactics he used in his past legal triumphs.
Arrested during a civil-rights demonstration, young Alton Pell spurns his influential father's efforts to bail him out.
Caught trying to enter the U.S. illegally, a 19-year-old Italian boy insists he belongs here - his father was an American GI.
A rare TV script by novelist Howard Fast. Stockbroker Edward Banter's shady past - and present - comes to light when he goes on trial for the murder of his shiftless cousin.
Divorce laws come under fire as a couple seek to end their unhappy marriage in New York - where the only grounds are adultery.
The police uncover a bootlegging operation run by elderly David Marcus (Jack Gilford).
The DA, fearing his political future will be ruined if he prosecutes an elderly winemaker, begs Preston for a postponement of the trial.
Lonely Harry Obermayer glories in his sudden fame when he falsely confesses to the murder of a narcotics peddler.
When his son is kidnapped, Presidential candidate Matthew J. Ritter (Arthur Hill) turns to Preston - instead of the police - for help.
Representing a British drama critic in a libel suit, the Prestons' ingenuity is taxed by a clever - and very attractive - opposing attorney (Cloris Leachman).
Lawrence Preston runs for political office. In the end, of course, he loses. He realizes he lost because he offered no alternative to the other candidate. E. G. Marshall's final speech to the winning candidate said it was a choice between Tweedlee and Tweedledum.
Hostile silence greets Ken as he investigates a murder for which a young man has already been executed.
Preston defends two men charged with committing murder to save their own lives.
A once-famous actress, Madeline Flanders (Viveca Lindfors) making her comeback is accused of drunken driving and hit and run. Preston, one of her old fans, defends her.
Preston is threatened by gun-wielding Gary Degan (Robert Redford), an escaped convict who insists he's innocent - and that Preston is responsible for his conviction.
Charged with extortion, city councilman Juan Espejo (Ricardo Montalban) insists the indictment is a maneuver to discredit Puerto Ricans in public office.
On trial for murder, religious visionary Bethany Windell (Shirley Knight) offers an unusual motive: she killed when ordered to by strange voices.
Real-estate kingpin Mark Vronis's shady past may prove to be his undoing when he's charged with smuggling narcotics.
Ken is retained by accused child beater Christine Knox (Madlyn Rhue), a young divorcee who claims her son fell down a flight of stairs.
Examination of the public's responsibility in law enforcement. Preston defends two teenagers charged with beating an elderly man to death - while 27 witnesses looked on.
The Prestons' defense of an accused murderer focuses on one question: is circumstantial evidence enough to justify capital punishment?
An emotionally disturbed man (Leslie Nielsen) seeks the Prestons' aid after he kills a pedestrian in an auto accident. The courtroom plea: temporary insanity.
Indicted for murdering his wife's lover, Leo Rolf (David Opatoshu) guarantees Preston that an "unwritten law" assures him acquittal.
The rules governing conscientious objection are examined in this episode. Roger Bailey (Brandon de Wilde) tries to obtain a draft deferment on religious grounds - although he practices no formal religion.
After taking LSD, mentally disturbed Robert Kraft commits suicide while experiencing a hallucinatory reaction—and Dr. Byron Saul (Pleasence), who's been treating Kraft with the drug, is charged with manslaughter.
Armed with a no-knock warrant, a plainclothes man enters Willie Drucker's apartment - and is killed by the suspected numbers racketeer.
Governess Winnie Benedette (Ruth White), overzealous efforts to shield her young charge from his parents' divorce proceedings leads to tragedy.
While the police close in on a molester, columnist Marla Edwards (Lee Grant) flees to her car - where a man hides in the back seat.
Gov. William Defoe's declaration of independence from a corrupt political machine may prove costly: the party bosses are after his resignation - or impeachment.
Preston tries to secure a new trial for his client when he receives an anonymous letter charging impropriety in the jury room.
Charged with manslaughter for shooting a teenager, Peter Dowling (Pat Hingle) claims self-defense - but the boy was unarmed.
In her bumbling efforts to attract the attention of a famous director, stage-struck Bertha Schlock (Joan Darling) assaults a policeman.
Charles Parker (Larry Blyden) has second thoughts about prosecuting a suspected murderer when the Prestons - defense attorneys in the case - offer him a position with their law firm.
The Prestons are assigned to defend murder suspect Charlie Barry (Tom Bosley), a vagrant who is apathetically resigned to his fate.
Suing for damages after his son's accidental death, Bill Andrews (Robert Duval) finds that the amount he can collect won't even cover the cost of his wife's psychiatric care.
