Plot Arthur Kirkland, a Baltimore defense attorney, is in jail on a contempt-of-court charge after punching Judge Henry T. Fleming while arguing the case of Jeff McCullaugh. McCullaugh was stopped for a minor traffic offense, then mistaken for a killer of the same name, and has already spent a year and a half in jail without being convicted of a crime. Fleming has repeatedly stymied Kirkland's efforts to have the case reviewed. Although there is strong new evidence that McCullaugh is innocent, Fleming refuses to consider his appeal due to its late submission, so he remains in prison. Kirkland starts a new case defending Ralph Agee, a young black cross-dresser arrested for a robbery who is terrified of being sent to prison.
Plot Arthur Kirkland, a Baltimore defense attorney, is in jail on a contempt-of-court charge after punching Judge Henry T. Fleming while arguing the case of Jeff McCullaugh. McCullaugh was stopped for a mi,nor traffic offense, then mistaken for a killer of the same name and has already spent a year and a half in jail without being convicted of a crime. Fleming has repeatedly stymied Kirkland's efforts to have the case reviewed. Although there is strong new evidence that McCullaugh is innocent, Fleming refuses to consider his appeal due to its late submission, so he remains in prison. Kirkland starts a new case defending Ralph Agee, a young black cross-dresser arrested for a robbery who is terrified of being sent to prison.