Top 250 Tv Shows Like Jagged Edge

In cases ripped from the headlines, police investigate serious and often deadly crimes, weighing the evidence and questioning the suspects until someone is taken into custody. The district attorney's office then builds a case to convict the perpetrator by proving the person guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Working together, these expert teams navigate all sides of the complex criminal justice system to make New York a safer place.

Six years before Saul Goodman meets Walter White. We meet him when the man who will become Saul Goodman is known as Jimmy McGill, a small-time lawyer searching for his destiny, and, more immediately, hustling to make ends meet. Working alongside, and, often, against Jimmy, is “fixer” Mike Ehrmantraut. The series tracks Jimmy’s transformation into Saul Goodman, the man who puts “criminal” in “criminal lawyer".

While running from a drug deal gone bad, Mike Ross, a brilliant young college-dropout, slips into a job interview with one of New York City's best legal closers, Harvey Specter. Tired of cookie-cutter law school grads, Harvey takes a gamble by hiring Mike on the spot after he recognizes his raw talent and photographic memory.

In the criminal justice system, sexually-based offenses are considered especially heinous. In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit. These are their stories.

An American anthology police detective series utilizing multiple timelines in which investigations seem to unearth personal and professional secrets of those involved, both within or outside the law.

Ally McBeal is a young lawyer working at the Boston law firm Cage and Fish. Ally's lives and loves are eccentric, humorous, dramatic with an incredibly overactive imagination that's working overtime!

An anthology series centered around some of history's most famous criminal investigations.

Hosted by Bill Kurtis, American Justice looks at groundbreaking criminal cases, presenting viewers with an inside look at the case through the eyes of those directly involved, ranging from law enforcement officers to the victims.

The tale of three mothers of first graders whose apparently perfect lives unravel to the point of murder.

Alan Shore and Denny Crane lead a brigade of high-priced civil litigators in an upscale Boston law firm in a series focusing on the professional and personal lives of brilliant but often emotionally challenged attorneys. A spin-off of long-running series The Practice.

Dr. Jason Bull is the brilliant, brash, and charming founder of a hugely successful trial consulting firm.

Civil Wars is an American legal drama that aired on ABC from November 1991 to March 1993. The series was produced by Steven Bochco, known for his work on NYPD Blue, L.A. Law and Hill Street Blues. After a brief syndicated run on the FX Network in the mid 90s, the series has not aired since.

Damages is an American legal thriller television series created by the writing and production trio of Daniel Zelman and brothers Glenn and Todd A. Kessler. The plot revolves around the brilliant, ruthless lawyer Patty Hewes and her protégée, recent law school graduate Ellen Parsons. Each season features a major case that Hewes and her firm take on, while also examining a chapter of the complicated relationship between Ellen and Patty. The first two seasons center around the law firm Hewes & Associates. Later seasons center more on Patty and Ellen's relationship as Ellen begins to distance herself from Hewes & Associates and begins an independent career.

Dexter Morgan, a blood spatter pattern analyst for the Miami Metro Police also leads a secret life as a serial killer, hunting down criminals who have slipped through the cracks of justice.

As a young associate, Mitchell McDeere brought down the prestigious Memphis law firm of Bendini, Lambert & Locke, which operated as a front for the Chicago mob—and his life was never the same. After a difficult decade, which included a stay in the Federal Witness Protection program, Mitch and his family now emerge from isolation to reclaim their lives and their future—only to find that past dangers are still lurking and new threats are everywhere.

Once a powerful lawyer, Billy McBride is now burned out and washed up, spending more time in a bar than a courtroom. When he reluctantly agrees to pursue a wrongful death lawsuit against the biggest client of Cooperman & McBride, the massive law firm he helped create, Billy and his ragtag team uncover a vast and deadly conspiracy, pitting them all in a life or death trial against the ultimate Goliath.

Alicia Florrick boldly assumes full responsibility for her family and re-enters the workforce after her husband's very public sex and political corruption scandal lands him in jail.

Frustrated at a new moderate Conservative government and deprived of a promotion to a senior position, chief whip Francis Urquhart prepares a meticulous plot to bring down the Prime Minister then to take his place.

A sexy, suspense-driven legal thriller about a group of ambitious law students and their brilliant, mysterious criminal defense professor. They become entangled in a murder plot and will shake the entire university and change the course of their lives.

Harmon "Harm" Rabb Jr. is a former pilot turned lawyer working for the military's JAG (Judge Advocate General) division, the elite legal wing of officers that prosecutes and defends those accused of military-related crimes. He works closely with Lt. Col. Sarah Mackenzie, and together they do what needs to be done to find the truth.

Judge Judy is an American arbitration-based reality court show presided over by retired Manhattan Family Court Judge Judith Sheindlin. The show features Sheindlin adjudicating real-life small claims disputes within a simulated courtroom set. All parties involved must sign contracts, agreeing to arbitration under Sheindlin. The series is in first-run syndication and distributed by CBS Television Distribution. Judge Judy, which premiered on September 16, 1996, reportedly revitalized the court show genre. Only two other arbitration-based reality court shows preceded it, The People's Court and Jones and Jury. Sheindlin has been credited with introducing the "tough" adjudicating approach into the judicial genre, which has led to several imitators. The two court shows that outnumber Judge Judy's seasons, The People's Court and Divorce Court, have both lasted via multiple lives of production and shifting arbiters, making Sheindlin's span as a television arbiter the longest.

Justice is an American legal drama produced by Jerry Bruckheimer that aired on Fox in the USA and CTV in Canada. The series also aired on Warner Channel in Latin America, Nine Network in Australia, and on TV2 In New Zealand. It first was broadcast on Wednesdays at 9:00 but, due to low ratings, it was rescheduled to Mondays at 9:00, in the hope viewers of the hit series Prison Break would stay tuned. On November 13, 2006, the show was put on hiatus, but two days later the network announced it was shifting it to Fridays at 8:00 to replace the canceled Vanished. Fourteen episodes of the series were ordered, of which 13 episodes were produced. Twelve of the episodes of Justice have aired in the United States with the final episode airing in Mexico, the UK and Germany.

The Killing is an American crime drama television series based upon the Danish television series Forbrydelsen. Set in Seattle, Washington, the series follows the various murder investigations by homicide detectives Sarah Linden and Stephen Holder.

L.A. Law is an American television legal drama series that ran for eight seasons on NBC from September 15, 1986, to May 19, 1994. Created by Steven Bochco and Terry Louise Fisher, it contained many of Bochco's trademark features including a large number of parallel storylines, social drama and off-the-wall humor. It reflected the social and cultural ideologies of the 1980s and early 1990s, and many of the cases featured on the show dealt with hot-topic issues such as abortion, racism, gay rights, homophobia, sexual harassment, AIDS, and domestic violence. The series often also reflected social tensions between the wealthy senior lawyer protagonists and their less well-paid junior staff. The show was popular with audiences and critics, and won 15 Emmy Awards throughout its run, four of which were for Outstanding Drama Series.

The third installment of the “Law & Order” franchise takes viewers deep into the minds of its criminals while following the intense psychological approaches the Major Case Squad uses to solve its crimes.

The inner workings of the judicial system, beginning with the arraignment, and continuing through the prosecutors' complicated process of building a case, investigating leads and preparing witnesses for trial.

Adapted from the hit US series, Law & Order: UK follows a team of police detectives and prosecutors representing the public interest in the criminal justice system.

A dark psychological crime drama starring Idris Elba as Luther, a man struggling with his own terrible demons, who might be as dangerous as the depraved murderers he hunts.

Major Crimes explores how the American justice system approaches the art of the deals as law enforcement officers and prosecutors work together to score a conviction. Los Angeles Police Captain Sharon Raydor heads up a special squad within the LAPD that deals with high-profile or particularly sensitive crimes.

Filmed over 10 years, this real-life thriller follows a DNA exoneree who, while exposing police corruption, becomes a suspect in a grisly new crime.

Night Court is an American television situation comedy that aired on NBC from January 4, 1984 to May 31, 1992. The setting was the night shift of a Manhattan court, presided over by the young, unorthodox Judge Harold T. "Harry" Stone. It was created by comedy writer Reinhold Weege, who had previously worked on Barney Miller in the 1970s and early 1980s.

Few jobs are guaranteed for a lifetime, and a Supreme Court appointment is one you just don't quit. Unless you're Cyrus Garza. A playboy and a gambler, Justice Garza always adhered to a strict interpretation of the law. Until he realized the system he always believed in was flawed. Now, he's quit the bench and returned to being an attorney. Determined to represent "the little guy," he's using his inside knowledge of the justice system to take on today's biggest legal cases. And making plenty of powerful people unhappy along the way.

The cases of master criminal defense attorney Perry Mason and his staff who handled the most difficult of cases in the aid of the innocent.

A provocative legal drama focused on young associates at a bare-bones Boston firm and their scrappy boss, Bobby Donnell. The show's forte is its storylines about “people who walk a moral tightrope.”

Highly skilled Detective Inspector Jane Tennison battles to prove herself in a male dominated world.

The lives and cases of young lawyers who work on opposite sides - the public defender's office and the district attorney's office - as well as those who sit in judgment on their cases.

Notorious Los Angeles defense attorney Sebastian Stark becomes disillusioned with his career after his successful defense of a wife-abuser results in the wife's death. After more than a month trying to come to grips with his situation, he is invited by the Los Angeles district attorney to become a public prosecutor so he can apply his unorthodox-but-effective talents to putting guilty people away instead of putting them back on the street.

In a small New York town, a haunted detective hunts for answers about perplexing crimes while wrestling with his own demons.

Five teens from Harlem become trapped in a nightmare when they're falsely accused of a brutal attack in Central Park.

Women's Murder Club was an American police procedural and legal drama, which ran on ABC from October 12, 2007, to May 13, 2008. The series is set in San Francisco, California and is based on the 'Women's Murder Club' series of novels written by James Patterson. Series creators Elizabeth Craft and Sarah Fain also served as executive producers alongside Patterson, Joe Simpson, Brett Ratner, and R. Scott Gemmill. The latter also served as showrunner, with Gretchen J. Berg and Aaron Harberts co-executive producing. The pilot was directed by Scott Winant.

Police drama set in New York City, exploring the internal and external struggles of the fictional 15th precinct of Manhattan. Each episode typically intertwined several plots involving an ensemble cast.

Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law features ex-superhero Harvey T. Birdman of Birdman and the Galaxy Trio as an attorney working for a law firm alongside other cartoon stars from 1960s and 1970s Hanna-Barbera cartoon series. Similarly, Harvey's clients are also primarily composed of characters taken from Hanna-Barbera cartoon series of the same era. Many of Birdman's nemeses featured in his former cartoon series also became attorneys, often representing the opposing side of a given case.

The People's Court is an American arbitration-based reality court show currently presided over by retired Florida State Circuit Court Judge Marilyn Milian. Milian, the show's longest-reigning arbiter, handles small claims disputes in a simulated courtroom set. The People's Court is the first court show to use binding arbitration, introducing the format into the genre in 1981. The system has been duplicated by most of the show's successors in the judicial genre. Moreover, The People's Court is the first popular, long-running reality in the judicial genre. It was preceded only by a few short-lived realities in the genre; these short-lived predecessors were only loosely related to judicial proceedings, except for one: Parole took footage from real-life courtrooms holding legal proceedings. Prior to The People's Court, the vast majority of TV courtroom shows used actors, and recreated or fictional cases. Among examples of these types of court shows include Famous Jury Trials and Your Witness. The People's Court has had two contrasting lives. The show's first life was presided over solely by former Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Joseph Wapner. His tenure lasted from the show's debut on September 14, 1981, until May 21, 1993, when the show was cancelled due to low ratings. This left the show with a total of 2,484 ½-hour episodes and 12 seasons. The show was taped in Los Angeles during its first life. After being cancelled, reruns aired until September 9, 1994.

Matlock is an American television legal drama, starring Andy Griffith in the title role of criminal defense attorney Ben Matlock. The show, produced by The Fred Silverman Company, Dean Hargrove Productions, Viacom Productions and Paramount Television originally aired from September 23, 1986 to May 8, 1992 on NBC; and from November 5, 1992 until May 7, 1995 on ABC. The show's format is similar to that of CBS's Perry Mason, with Matlock identifying the perpetrators and then confronting them in dramatic courtroom scenes. One difference, however, was that whereas Mason usually exculpated his clients at a pretrial hearing, Matlock usually secured an acquittal at trial, from the jury.

Theodore 'Teddy' Hoffman is a highly-regarded defense attorney in a prestigious Los Angeles law firm. Having successfully defended the wealthy but suspicious Richard Cross in a much-publicised murder trial, he is now involved in the defense of Neil Avedon, a famous young actor who has been suffering from severe drug and alcohol problems - and has been charged with the murder for which Cross was acquitted.

The Brogan family enters a witness protection program and are moved to a bucolic neighborhood to begin a new life, but they soon realize that it's not so easy to escape the past.

Justice Robert H. Jackson leads Allied prosecutors in trying 21 Germans for Nazi war crimes after World War II.

Kate Reed is a firm believer that justice can always be found – even if it's not always in the courtroom. Once a lawyer at her family's esteemed San Francisco firm, Kate's frustration with the legal system led her to a new career as a mediator. Thanks to her innate understanding of human nature, thorough legal knowledge, and wry sense of humor, Kate is a natural when it comes to dispute resolution. Except, it seems, when it comes to conflicts in her own life.

As District Attorney Kathryn Peale and defense attorney Jimmy Nolan rally their teams around their arguments and prepare to go head-to-head in the the courtroom, they make frantic moves and countermoves of complex legal wrangling to tilt justice in their favor.

How certain people end up being accused of a crime.

Silk is a British television drama series produced by the BBC and first shown in 2011. Written by Peter Moffat, the series follows a set of barristers, and what they do to attain the rank of Queen's Counsel, known as "taking silk."

When Emily Thorne moves to the Hamptons, everyone wonders about the new girl, but she knows everything about them, including what they did to her family. Years ago, they took everything from her. Now, one by one, she's going to make them pay.

On the surface William Travers is a picture of success. An accomplished criminal barrister happily living with his wife in rural Suffolk. However, Travers is still recovering from a traumatic series of events that have shaken his belief in the legal system. Reluctantly, he is drawn into a case that involves his old friend Martin Newall who faces conspiracy and murder charges while at the same time being investigated by a vicious and vengeful detective DS Mark Wenborn.

The Client is an American television series that aired on CBS from September 18, 1995 to August 16, 1996. The series was based on the 1994 film The Client, itself adapted from the 1993 John Grisham novel also of the same name.

A chilling and bloody legal thriller that explores the line between law and justice. Will Burton, a talented junior barrister of peerless intellect and winning charm, specialises in spiriting people out of tight legal corners. He is in high demand as he has never lost a case. But when his talents acquit the notorious prime suspect in an horrific murder trial, that brilliance comes back to bite him with unexpected and chilling results, not to mention a shocking twist.

Grace, a morally and emotionally-conflicted undercover detective, is tormented by the possibility that her own actions contributed to her son’s death. Grace’s search for the truth is further complicated by her forbidden relationship with Jimmy, the crime boss who may have played a hand in the crime.

A chance meeting between photographer Sara Hadley and Attorney Jack McAllister leads to an instant and undeniable attraction. Just as Sara and Jack's affair is starting, the lovers find themselves in an impossible situation—on opposite sides of a murder investigation.

A panel of three judges hear court cases, argue the merits of the case amongst themselves, and render a verdict.

Explore the relationships between exclusive escorts and their clients, for whom they provide far more than just sex. Known as GFEs, they are women who provide “The Girlfriend Experience”—emotional and sexual relationships at a very high price.

The Public Defender is a half-hour 69-episode television dramatic series starring Reed Hadley as Bart Matthews, an attorney for the indigent. The series aired on CBS from March 11, 1954 to June 23, 1955, a season and a half.

The hunt is on to find the murderer of a wealthy glamorous heiress who is found dead in her London townhouse. Based on the short story by Agatha Christie.

What starts out as a simple, reckless mid-life affair between a genetic scientist named Yvonne and a Westminster paper pusher takes an intriguing turn when she realizes he’s a spook – then suddenly gets very dark indeed. A provocative study of obsession, longing and just how far down a criminal path desire can take you.

In a pioneering series that reveals the inner workings of the legal system, a fictional murder case is tried in a real court, by eminent legal professionals and a jury of 12 members of the public.

Reexamining some of the most high-profile and controversial cases in history through the eyes of the people who served on the original jury. Each episode delves into a new case including Michael Jackson, OJ Simpson, George Zimmerman and Robert Durst, as jurors uncover what really happened inside the courtroom.

A look at the hunt for California's Zodiac Killer, who murdered at least five people in the San Francisco Bay Area in the late 1960s and early '70s.

Two of the UK's top criminal barristers, Sasha Wass and Jeremy Dein, explore historical murders where the convicted went to the gallows pleading their innocence. Investigating cases which bear all the hallmarks of a miscarriage of justice, they join forces with a living member of the convicted criminal’s family and a variety of specialist experts to re-examine the crime, evidence and trial.

The black sheep of the Argyll family, Jack Argyll, was accused of murdering their matriarch a year ago, but now a man shows up on their doorstep claiming Jack’s innocence. The family must come to terms with this news and the fact that the real killer might still be among them.

We the People with Gloria Allred is an American nontraditional/dramatized court show that debuted in first-run syndication on September 12, 2011. The series is presented by famed celebrity lawyer/attorney Gloria Allred, who also serves as co-producer with series creator Byron Allen through his production company Entertainment Studios, LLC. John Cramer does the narration of the judge's final verdict.

Sex, lies and a tale too twisted to be real surround the murder of Gregg Smart. Who Killed Him? And why? On May 1, 1990, 22-year-old teacher Pamela Smart finds her husband Gregg dead on the floor of their southern New Hampshire condo, leaving the town of Derry stunned. Scouring the region for clues, police shift their attention to Gregg's grieving widow, Pamela Smart, who has been making curious television appearances publicizing her plight. When investigators discover Pamela has been having a sordid affair with high school student, Billy Flynn, a complicated web of lies and deceit unravel, revealing one of the most scandalous crimes of the century. Now, leading true crime network Investigation Discovery (ID) delves into the case in Pamela Smart: An American Murder Mystery. From the tawdry affair, to teenage assassins, to the explosive nationally televised trial, this case transfixed the entire nation as Pamela Smart emerged as the original Black Widow.

Will Packham is an idealistic pupil barrister - or idealistic for now. Can Will hold onto his principles and prove he has what it takes?

The son of a notorious serial killer becomes an acclaimed criminal psychologist who uses his unique insight into how killers think to help the NYPD.

A unique look inside the mind of an infamous serial killer with this cinematic self-portrait crafted from statements made by Ted Bundy, including present-day interviews, archival footage and audio recordings from death row.

In early 90s Boston, an African-American District Attorney comes in from Brooklyn advocating change and forms an unlikely alliance with a corrupt yet venerated FBI veteran invested in maintaining the status quo. Together they take on a family of armored car robbers from Charlestown in a case that grows to encompass and eventually upend Boston’s city-wide criminal justice system.

Set in 1932 Los Angeles, the series focuses on the origin story of famed defense lawyer Perry Mason. Living check-to-check as a low-rent private investigator, Mason is haunted by his wartime experiences in France and suffering the effects of a broken marriage. L.A. is booming while the rest of the country recovers from the Great Depression — but a kidnapping gone very wrong leads to Mason exposing a fractured city as he uncovers the truth of the crime.

Three women living in three different decades: a housewife in the '60s, a socialite in the '80s and a lawyer in 2018, deal with infidelity in their marriages.

Grace and Jonathan Fraser are living the only lives they ever wanted. Overnight a chasm opens in their lives: a violent death and a chain of terrible revelations. Left behind in the wake of a spreading and very public disaster, Grace must dismantle one life and create another for her child and her family.

A family's lives are irreparably disrupted when the 14-year-old son is accused of murdering a fellow classmate.

When an insidious supernatural force edges its way into a seemingly straightforward investigation into the gruesome murder of a young boy, it leads a seasoned cop and an unorthodox investigator to question everything they believe in.

Murder, mystery, and a search for justice. A compelling insight into the work of the police and prosecutors bringing suspects to trial at Glasgow’s High Court.

When family man Nick Brewer is abducted in a crime with a sinister online twist, those closest to him race to uncover who is behind it and why.

Detective Elliot Stabler returns to the NYPD to battle organized crime after a devastating personal loss. Stabler journeys to find absolution and rebuild his life, while leading a new elite task force that is taking apart the city’s most powerful criminal syndicates one by one.

A woman pieces together her mother's dark past after a violent attack in their small town brings hidden threats and deadly secrets to light.

When a high school reunion’s afterparty ends in a stunning death, everyone is a suspect. A detective grills the former classmates one by one, uncovering potential motives as each tells their version of the story—culminating in the shocking truth.

CHAOS IN COURT examines clips of dramatic, unexpected, and cathartic courtroom moments. Each episode brings the backstories of the crimes and legal proceedings to the forefront with insightful analysis from a diverse panel of experts including judges, defense attorneys, prosecutors, and criminal psychologists. Featured within each episode are interviews with defendants, family members, and others who witnessed the action to help bring dramatic courtroom moments to life, and the emotional realities of what happens when the ultimate stakes are on trial.

For Anna, every day is the same. She sits with her wine, staring out the window, watching life go by without her. But when a handsome neighbor moves in across the street, Anna starts to see a light at the end of the tunnel. That is until she witnesses a gruesome murder… Or did she?

In July 1994, Pablo Ibar is arrested, accused of a triple murder in Miami. A crime that shook the foundations of the whole community given that the whole thing was recorded on a home security camera. Although he defends his innocence throughout, Pablo is condemned to death and will spend more than 20 years in prison... until Florida Supreme Court confirms the lack of proof against him and orders a retrial. Back in the starting box, the District Attorney’s office once again asks for the death sentence while the Ibar family sets about finding the money to pay for a trial that will cost more than a million dollars. This is his last chance.

Sidelined after an accident, hotshot Los Angeles lawyer Mickey Haller restarts his career - and his trademark Lincoln - when he takes on a murder case.

An exploration of the life of Michael Peterson, his sprawling North Carolina family, and the suspicious death of his wife, Kathleen Peterson.

"Court Cam Presents Under Oath” tells the story of a crime from the unique lens of the accused as they take the witness stand. Hosted by Dan Abrams, each episode will cover everything from first-hand defendant testimony, juxtaposed with the contentious cross examination to the final verdict. There is a reason that taking the witness stand in your own defense is a gamble that very few criminal defendants ever take. In addition to interviews with key members of the investigation, the series features original video from law enforcement, surveillance camera footage, 911 audio recordings, digital forensic evidence and some exclusive interviews and responses from the defendants themselves, to provide an in-depth look at dozens of raw and real cases.

Everything brilliant and compassionate defense attorney Paul Madriani stands for is put to the test when he's hired to defend an indefensible adversary. Baltimore's Judge Armando Acosti's harsh and inflexible rulings are notorious. His unjust sentence of attorney Paul Madriani's latest client, an abused wife charged with the murder of her husband, is proof. But Madriani soon finds himself in a curious position of power over the judge. Acosti is arrested for soliciting a prostitute-undercover vice cop, Brittany Hill, who's called in as key witness for the prosecution. Acosti denies the charges, but when Hill is murdered-and all evidence points to the judge - Acosti finds himself in desperate need of a savvy defense. The irony isn't lost on Madriani.

Candy and Pat Montgomery and Betty and Allan Gore — two churchgoing couples — enjoy their small town Texas life… until an extramarital affair leads somebody to pick up an axe.

At an elite NYC law firm, Ingrid Yun fights to make partner — and hold onto her principles — while balancing romance, friends and family expectations.

A psychotherapist finds himself held prisoner by a serial killer with an unusual request: curb his homicidal urges.

When Carlton Flynn vanishes 17 years to the night after Stewart Green did, it sets off a chain reaction in the lives of people connected to both men.

Sex and murder are often tied together in criminal investigations; and detectives uncover dirty secrets, scandalous sex affairs, online sex addictions, jealousy and stunning twisted fantasies when looking for motives for murder.

Series re-examining the evidence from British au pair Louise Woodward's murder trial 25 years ago. Includes unprecedented access to witnesses, the defence team, the prosecution and members of the jury who decided her fate.

Mary Ann Singleton, a naïve young secretary from the mid-west, tumbles head first into the colorful world of San Francisco, where carefree chaos revolves around the funky old apartment house at 28 Barbary Lane.

After a night of partying with a female stranger, a man wakes up to find her stabbed to death and is charged with her murder.

The inner workings of an American jury trial through the eyes of one particular juror, Ronald Gladden. Gladden is unaware the entire case is fake, everyone except him is an actor and everything that happens — inside the courtroom and out — is carefully planned.