America's justice system comes under indictment in director Norman Jewison's penetrating film starring Al Pacino as upstanding attorney Arthur Kirkland, who's tasked with defending a hard-line -- and tainted -- judge (John Forsythe) standing trial for rape. Kirkland has a history with the judge, who jailed one of the lawyer's clients on a technicality. So when the judge confesses his guilt, Kirkland faces an ethical and legal quandary.