I thought this a better than average legal drama, and while a previous review called this something like "cliché city," I thought there were some fresh twists on familiar themes.<br /><br />1. Often people of color or the disabled are presented as saints or sinners in this type of film (e.g., blacks are either street thugs or have advanced degrees) and these characters exist here as well. But the brother-in-law and the disabled prosecutor struck me as good but seriously flawed individuals. Yes, this too can be a Hollywood cliché, but these characters struck me as bringing something new to the table.<br /><br />2. The prosecutor who lost her husband to senseless violence is another cliché, and there were times that the sad weepy children and mom were written in a way that could have been mailed in. And the presentation of the "perfect" marriage that ends tragically was nothing new. (once again, we could develop sympathy for a widow who had a more realistic marriage.) But even when the dialog was clichéd, the actors manages to sell it.