| Director | Joseph Ruben |
|---|---|
| Genre | crime film, drama film, prison film, trial film |
| Runtime | 104 min |
| Country | United States |
| Box office | $8.7 million |
Eddie Dodd is a burnt-out attorney who has left behind civil rights work to defend drug dealers. Roger Baron is an idealistic young legal clerk, fresh out of law school, who encourages Dodd to take on the case of Shu Kai Kim, a young Korean man who was imprisoned for a gang-related murder committed in New York's Chinatown eight years ago, and has now killed a fellow inmate in self-defense. Kim's mother believes her son was wrongfully accused in the gang-related murder.
Dodd and Baron's investigation leads to a conspiracy among District Attorney Reynard, police informant Art Esparza, and police officers Sklaroff, Dennehy and Montell. Dodd gets permission from the judge to put Reynard on the stand. Reynard had been an assistant district attorney leading a major Colombian crime syndicate case, and protected the true murdererEsparzaby having Sklaroff, Dennehy and Montell frame Kim in order to continue the Colombian case. During Dodd's forceful questioning, Dennehywho is dying of cancerenters the court and sits with Dodd's team; Reynard admits the truth of the conspiracy, knowing that Dennehy has clearly revealed the true facts to Dodd. Kim is released from prison.