Though that observation might seem self-contradictory, there's truth in it. Like Arthur Conan-Doyle, John Mortimer is less interested in the crime itself than what is going on /around/ the crime. However much fun it is to see Rumpole untangle the evidence and expose the true criminal, Mortimer is much more interested in the legal profession and the people who inhabit it -- most of whom lack Rumpole's integrity, and seem to be in it simply because of the status it brings. "Rumpole of the Bailey" is a comedy of manners about the law.