Judd, for the Defense
Judd, for the Defense

Judd, for the Defense

1967-09-08 | en
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Seasons & Episodes

2
1
EP1  In a Puff of Smoke
Sep. 27,1968
In a Puff of Smoke

Ray Elliott, an attorney who is well known for his advocacy against the draft, is charged with murder after a young man he was counseling immolates himself in public to avoid conscription, and prosecutors contend Elliott encouraged the young man to do it.

EP2  Transplant
Oct. 04,1968
Transplant

Judd defends a doctor accused of murder after performing a heart transplant. The recipient is a young woman who the doctor has fallen in love with, and another doctor present claims that the donor was still alive when his heart was removed.

EP3  The Ends of Justice
Oct. 11,1968
The Ends of Justice

Jady Crews is arrested on a minor charge when he tries to stop his black militant son's group from using a gun. Judd easily gets that charge dropped, but the arrest brings to light the fact that Crews escaped from prison years earlier in South Carolina, where he had been convicted of murder after a traffic accident. Though Judd is sure he can get the conviction overturned, Crews' son hopes to use his father's plight to bolster his group's claim that a black man can't receive justice through laws made by whites.

EP4  The Name of This Game Is Acquittal
Oct. 18,1968
The Name of This Game Is Acquittal

A lady lawyer, accused of intentionally running down a woman in an alley, uses different ways to pressure Judd into taking her apparently shaky case.

EP5  The Sound of the Plastic Axe
Oct. 25,1968
The Sound of the Plastic Axe

Judd defends a rock entrepreneur who is charged with the murder of his wife, who died at a party he was hosting. Though she died of a heart condition, the man is accused of giving her the amphetamines which contributed to her death.

EP6  The Death Farm
Nov. 01,1968
The Death Farm

A young woman begs Judd to defend her friend, an escapee from a prison farm, who claims he will be killed if he is sent back there. The man claims to have killed a convict/trustee who tried to stop his escape. But when Judd asks about this at the farm, the officials deny the man was ever killed. Soon Judd is determined to close the prison farm---if he can get the escapee to tell where the many murdered prisoners are buried.

EP7  Weep the Hunter Home
Nov. 08,1968
Weep the Hunter Home

An old friend of Judd objects to his son's friendship with a young man whom he thinks is a homosexual. Later, when the father is shot in an altercation, the son's friend is accused of attempted murder.

EP8  The Gates of Cerberus
Nov. 15,1968
The Gates of Cerberus

Judd defends a man who filmed a movie inside a mental institution, a project he began when he was a patient there himself. The institution does not want the film shown to the public, but the filmmaker and his backers---led by his wife and brother-in-law---believe conditions inside such places must be exposed. However, the institution argues that the film violates the privacy of its main subject, who has just been released.

EP9  My Client The Fool
Nov. 22,1968
My Client The Fool

Ben successfully defends a young man in a paternity suit by bringing out the names of other men who the baby's mother may have been with. But soon afterward he is arrested and charged with bringing the young woman across state lines for immoral purposes.

EP10  Punishments Cruel and Unusual
Dec. 06,1968
Punishments Cruel and Unusual

Judd defends an alcoholic woman who has been charged with hit-and-run even though she has not had a drink in years. It is soon obvious the evidence against her is flimsy, but the judge in the case denies every motion Judd tries to prove this. Judd soon decides to show that the judge is biased due to his own unsuccessful battle against alcohol.

EP11  Thou Shalt Not Suffer a Witch to Live
Dec. 13,1968
Thou Shalt Not Suffer a Witch to Live

A man removes his pregnant wife from a group of witches, who have convinced her that they could protect the baby. After she goes back again, he returns and this time accidentally injures the group's high priest, who tried to stop him from taking his wife back. Judd defends the man against a charge of assault, feeling that he genuinely feared for his wife and baby.

EP12  A Swim With Sharks
Dec. 20,1968
A Swim With Sharks

A longshoreman dealing with loan sharks who have taken over his union is charged with the murder of the union's steward, who he believed was assisting them in charging him exorbitant interest on a loan.

EP13  The Crystal Maze
Jan. 03,1969
The Crystal Maze

A young woman whom Judd hasn't seen since she was a child names him as custodian for her baby after she kills her husband and then herself. Judd can't permanently take care of the child, but he finds that no one in the young woman's family is well suited for the baby either, and thus must consider adoption, if the family will agree to it.

EP14  Borderline Girl
Jan. 10,1969
Borderline Girl

Judd assists another attorney in defending a young woman who readily admits to killing the young man she considered her boyfriend, saying that she did it because he told her to.

EP15  Epitaph on a Computer Card
Jan. 17,1969
Epitaph on a Computer Card

A man finds his job and reputation being destroyed by a minor mistake on a computer card, and in his attempts to do something about it he may be digging himself in even deeper.

EP16  The Poisoned Tree
Jan. 24,1969
The Poisoned Tree

The kleptomaniac daughter of a wealthy woman is charged with grand theft. She insists she is innocent, but proving it would involve telling a secret which could jeopardize her family situation.

EP17  The Law and Order Blues (Part 2)
Jan. 31,1969
The Law and Order Blues (Part 2)

Crossover with "The Felony Squad".

EP18  Between the Dark and the Daylight
Feb. 07,1969
Between the Dark and the Daylight

A student who has been acting as an undercover agent for the police narcotics squad is accused by several students of raping a girl. Judd defends him but believes more is motivating him than just a desire to keep his fellow students off of drugs.

EP19  The Holy Ground (1) - the Killing
Feb. 14,1969
The Holy Ground (1) - the Killing

Dan Miles comes to Reverend Barnaby Cutler's spiritual retreat to take his wife home, but she refuses to go. Soon Miles is found dead, and Cutler is charged with his murder. His claim that he does not even remember the events of the day make it look even worse for him.

EP20  The Holy Ground (2) - the Killers
Feb. 21,1969
The Holy Ground (2) - the Killers

After a recording of a conversation at one of his sessions is played, the prosecution charges that Barnaby Cutler planned the murder of victim Dan Miles with the help of his lover, Miles' wife.

EP21  An Elephant in a Cigar Box
Feb. 28,1969
An Elephant in a Cigar Box

We don't have an overview of this episode, please check back later.

EP22  The View From the Ivory Tower
Mar. 07,1969
The View From the Ivory Tower

Judd defends a college professor who's job is on the line after he invited a black militant lecturer to one of his events.

EP23  Runaway
Mar. 14,1969
Runaway

A friend of Judd's is shot and killed while with his rebellious daughter and her horse. The girl claims it was an accident, but though he agrees to defend her Judd has trouble believing her version of the event, as does her mother.

EP24  Visitation
Mar. 21,1969
Visitation

A divorced man, fearful that his ex-wife plans to leave the country with his son, also learns that he has no legal right to stop her according to the divorce agreement. While trying to find them, he gets into an argument with his brother-in-law and accidentally kills him.

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Judd, for the Defense Trailers

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High-priced Houston lawyer Clinton Judd and his assistant Ben Caldwell take difficult cases throughout the U.S.

Judd, for the Defense Audience Reviews

AniInterview Sorry, this movie sucks
SeeQuant Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction
Roxie The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;
Cassandra Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.
bd64kcmo I have not seen the series but from the above accolades and early demise, I am left wondering how would "Judd for the Defense" have done, if the series were part of a "wheel" series scheme, such as "The Name Of The Game" or "NBC Mystery Movie"?The controversial subject covered and the story line seem to have reached many who have reviewed the series. I am rather surprised it has not yet gotten into the retro-broadcast schedule of operators such as Me-TV and Retro Television Network.So it begs the question..."What If?" It seems to me a "wheel" series scheme would have spelled success for this series, adding to the variety of such programming. Who knows, perhaps the broadcasters would revive a modern version. Percy Foreman died in the 1980s, and I doubt F. L. Bailey sued the original producers.
Kenneth Brower Judd For The Defense starring the late Carl Betz is an overlooked series, both today and in the two seasons it was televised (1967-69). It was reminiscent of The Defenders in that it focused on controversial issues in a courtroom setting. The episodes ranged from good to excellent and sometimes preceded their time. In one episode, "Transplant," Judd defended a pioneering surgeon in a murder trial that was the result of a heart transplant operation. At the time it was shown in 1968, the trial was landmark since there was only one surviving heart transplant patient worldwide as the medical procedure was so new.Another episode, "Epitaph on a Computer Card," dealt with a man's job and sanity, which were destroyed by a computer programming error. This prompted Judd to file a lawsuit for invasion of privacy in the man's behalf and by chance, the episode was viewed by the late Senator William Proxmire of Wisconsin. From what I read at the time, Senator Proxmire was so moved by the episode's realistic contents that he introduced it into the congressional record as a timely expose on the invasive methods used by credit card and investigative companies. This was years before the computer age.I remember that when the series premiered, the title character, Clinton Judd was described as a composite of several named famous trial lawyers who handled difficult cases. Out of interest as a lawyer myself, I have followed the careers of the names mentioned, and I personally think the closest correlation to Judd was the late Percy Foreman of Houston, Texas. Judd was also based in Houston and both had fathers who were county sheriffs. In two episodes, "Tempest In A Texas Town" and "Firebrand," reference was made to Judd's sheriff father in fictitious Amos County, Texas and Foreman's father actually was sheriff of Polk County, Texas, according to his biography by Michael Dorman in 1969.It is unfortunate Judd For The Defense never received the following it deserved by much of the viewing public.
raysond Based on the real-life legal superstar defense attorneys F. Lee Bailey and Percy Foreman,the lawyer/courtroom drama series "Judd For The Defense" stands out as one of the most interesting shows of its day and it was quite above the norm for a drama that was part "Perry Mason",and part of just about every other lawyer show that emerged from the 1960's. "Judd For The Defense" was grand entertainment at its finest and it was one of those shows that took a different aspect with the issues that confronted and then some. Produced by Paul Monash(who was also behind television's first-ever prime time soap opera "Peyton Place")was also executive producer of this series as well as story consultant for several of the episodes. The series produced 50 episodes all in color and ran for two seasons on ABC-TV from September 8,1967 until the final episode of the series on September 19,1969. The series was based in Houston,TX where Clinton Judd(Carl Betz)was a high-priced,high-powered lawyer criminal attorney who traveled all over the United States with his assistant Ben Caldwell(Stephen Young)defending wealthy tycoons as well as draft evasion,the issues of civil rights,labor activism with a bigger flair for the dramatic-which was definitely shown in several episodes. This was a series that came out during the escalation of the Vietnam War and the civil unrest that was engulfing the nation at a time of crisis.Judd and his assistant handled cases with some immediate import while even in the late-60's were not only controversial but conservative by today's standards. However,this was actor Carl Betz' second most successful show after his stint of eight seasons as family medical expert and father figure Dr. Alex Stone on "The Donna Reed Show". He started on this series a year after "The Donna Reed Show" ceased production. During his run on "Judd For The Defense",Carl Betz' acting skills were impressive and brilliant not the mention astounding and it shows in the number of Emmys and Golden Globes that it received including winning the Emmy for Outstanding Continue Performance by an actor for a Leading Role in a Dramatic Series in 1969. And it also won Carl Betz the Golden Globe in 1969 for Best Actor in a Dramatic Series. What made this short-lived series so great? For one some of best acting you'll ever see especially coming from Carl Betz who will go to any length to protect his client in a court of law. Some of the guest stars that appear on this series was some of the best in the business which included Brock Peters,Arthur Hill,Edward Asner, James Daly,Kim Darby,Kevin McCarthy,Dennis Cole,Howard Duff,John Dehner, Cicely Tyson,Katherine Houghton(the daughter of actress Katherine Hepburn)Bradford Dillman,James Earl Jones,and Ossie Davis. Some of the writers who wrote for "Perry Mason",and "The Defenders" delivered quality scripts for this show which included the talents of James M.Miller,Jerry DeBono,Joel Kane,Paul Monash,Harold Gast,and Ellis Kadison.Some of the episodes that were brilliant during its impressive two year run were astounding:"Fall Of A Skylark","Tempest In A Texas Town", "The Deep End","A Civil Case of Murder","Shadow of a Killer",along with "The Name of the Game is Aquittal","In A Puff of Smoke","The Holy Ground","My Client The Fool","Commitment",and "The Flower Child".The show would be the blueprint for other successful law shows to follow and "Judd For The Defense" was one of the great shows during the turbulant late 1960's.
heckles One often hears from attorneys that the show "Perry Mason" inspired them to become a lawyer. You see, it was Clinton Judd, not Perry Mason, who inspired me to become a lawyer (damn him).I found Clinton Judd more interesting because he had a bigger flair for the dramatic; and because he handled cases with some immediate political import. Clinton also traveled around the country where Perry was content to stay in one place, and when at home in Houston C.J. led a more posh lifestyle.Clinton's efforts didn't always meet with unqualified success, a point with me as I knew even the best criminal defense attorney cannot run up the a-big-number-and-aught W-L record against some poor Mr. Burger.I can recall one script wherein Judd's young associate, Ben Caldwell, drove to another state in the company of an attractive woman- and was charged under the Mann Act. Ben wound up having to testify in court that nothing sexual took place. That show is a reminder that in some ways, even the late '60s were highly conservative by today's standards.