Robert Shield played the protagonist judge, Robert Franklin, who was assigned to a courtroom in an unnamed city (presumably metro-sized) in an unnamed state. Most of the cases were family court-style, but others were arbitrations or criminal proceedings.
The show was produced and licensed by WBNS (Columbus, Ohio), and was distributed by Genesis Entertainment.
This show provides examples of the following tropes:
- Amoral Attorney: In one episode, a dishonest lawyer tries to sway Judge Franklin in a losing case by offering the latter a bribe in his chambers. While Franklin neither accepts nor declines, he later exposes the crooked offer while rendering his verdict and states he will submit a report to the Disciplinary Committee recommending that the lawyer be disbarred.
- And Now You Must Marry Me: In one episode, a divorced mother is seeking the return of her runaway teenage daughter, whom she believes is being held against her will by two young men from "mountain country" after giving birth to the younger brother's child, then marrying him. Suspecting the girl's testimony denying that she had been kidnapped was given under duress, a recess is called while the sheriff, her mother and the latter's attorney concoct a plan (with Judge Franklin's approval) to falsely divulge the baby's whereabouts. Once the sheriff does so, the brothers all but confess and are charged with kidnapping, while the girl admits the pair forced her to remain with them by threatening to kill the baby. Not wanting his daughter harmed, the younger brother promises she'll be safely returned to the victim, while mother and daughter are reunited (and the former's petition for annulment of her daughter's forced marriage is granted).
- Beware the Nice Ones: Generally, Judge Franklin was an even-tempered man who had the patience of a saint, but when someone stepped over the line, he didn't hold back. One infamous example was during an emancipation hearing for a teenage boy wanting to get away from his abusive, overbearing Army colonel father; while the father was being grilled by his son's attorneys and he clearly had lost the upper hand, he tried to get into a shouting match with Franklin, but the judge quickly put a stop to it: "Colonel, in this courtroom, I give the orders!" (Needless to say, the Colonel lost custody of his son.)
- Catchphrase: "Please, try to be good to each other. That's all it takes."
- Cycle of Revenge: In one episode, Franklin hears the sick, demented case of three former friends getting revenge on each other with sexual assaults of their own, after a boy rapes his teenage girlfriend. (The girl's best friend gets revenge... and to make thing even sicker, the original victim rapes her best friend.) Franklin is disgusted and outraged and asks the district attorney to file charges against each of them.
- Downer Ending: In one episode, a divorced mother petitions the court to get her crack-addicted teenage son into a rehab facility, which her ex-husband (a recovering addict himself) opposes. Following a recess, the young man takes the stand, but before he can testify, he begins convulsing and falls to the floor, then is pronounced dead en route to the hospital. Afterwards, the grief-stricken father meets with Judge Franklin in his chambers, the latter advising him to use his tragic experience as a means of potentially helping other teenage addicts, which Franklin also stresses would make the man's deceased son proud.
- Enfant Terrible: Comes into play during several episodes:
- In one, a young couple with limited resources are fighting the state to keep custody of their 10-year-old son, who has serious behavior issues (a social worker initiated the hearing after an incident where the boy was accused of poking a girl's eyes out with a pair of scissors). While his parents seem to be winning Judge Franklin over to their side, the hearing is interrupted when a small wastebasket fire starts in the judge's chambers, revealing that the boy does indeed have the problems his parents are in denial about.
- In another, a mental competency hearing is held for a teenager accused of brutally killing his parents to inherit their fortune. Though the boy claims to be suffering from mental illness, his elderly uncle (another heir to the fortune) says the only thing wrong with the boy is that he's evil. While a video of the young man being evaluated is shown, his claim begins to unravel when a mental health expert notes inconsistencies with the teen's behavior.
- Evil Principal: A teenage girl is fighting for reinstatement after she was expelled from her Catholic high school when she posed for a swimsuit calendar, which was in violation of the school's strict moral code. However, the principal's values come into question when the girl's attorney reveals that he may have had more involvement with the calendar (and similar projects involving underage teen girls) than he's willing to admit.
- Evil Teacher: Inverted in one episode where a teenage girl accuses one of her teachers of getting her pregnant. However, when Judge Franklin orders the girl to take a paternity test, she initially refuses to comply, but then admits that her ex-boyfriend (who had been subpoenaed in court as a hostile witness) is really the child's father. After chiding the girl for perjury, Franklin then orders her to pay all of the teacher's legal expenses.
- Hollywood Autism: A street puppeteer is looking to adopt a foster child with emotional issues. Though the proceedings initially seem to be working in his favor, the girl's social worker later reveals that the puppeteer was diagnosed with a form of Asperger's and cannot provide the mental or financial support that the girl needs.
- Mama Bear: A woman who has just been released from prison after serving a three-year sentence for manslaughter seeks to regain custody of her seven-year-old son. While the attempt is contested by her late husband's parents, who claim that she's dangerous, it's ultimately revealed that the man she killed was a child molester who had been stalking her son. Moved by the woman's plight, Judge Franklin grants her petition, reuniting mother and child.
- My God, What Have I Done?: A man who is about to have his parental rights terminated barges into the courtroom with a gun and holds everyone hostage. The man is a psychopath and cannot be reasoned with, despite everyone's best attempts. Things reach a boiling point where, when someone tries to disarm him, he fires the gun... and accidentally shoots his own son. Only then does the man realize he is sick and needs professional help. As the man bawls and holds his badly-injured son — it is implied the boy will recover — Franklin makes sure the man understands the seriousness of his actions.
- No Periods, Period: Played with in one episode concerning a teenage girl suing for emancipation from her overbearing parents. During cross-examination, the parents' lawyer ambushes the girl by revealing they know she's on the Pill (much to the disgust and outrage of the parents). She hastily explains that she's not having sex, it's just that "I get really bad cramps when I...when I..." It's clear what she means, but she's too embarrassed to say it.
- Obfuscating Disability: During one hearing, a young man, accused of killing his parents to inherit a large estate, attempts to use an insanity defense. A mental health expert, however, reviews a video tape and notes serious inconsistencies between his insanity claim and the psychopath he is revealed to be.
- Odd Couple: Judge Franklin is known to have a "love/hate" professional relationship with recurring character Sgt. Terrance Fox; while an honest police officer, it's clear that Fox's abrasive personality often rubs the judge the wrong way. Despite this, Judge Franklin respects Sgt. Fox, even telling him in one episode that "Sometimes I think you move to a different drummer; but you do get results".
- Opening Narration: The show always began with a series of clips of the judge getting ready for work, kissing his wife goodbye, patting his dog, and waving to the neighbors. Once he reached chambers and sat down at his desk, the montage concluded with him signing his name while giving one of these.I'm Judge Robert J. Franklin. I chose the law as my way of serving my fellow citizens. As an elected judge in the Family Court, I pray each day that God will give me the wisdom to always temper justice with mercy.
- When the episode proper starts, additional narration is given by an announcer while Judge Franklin makes his entrance in the courtroom and the participants are sworn in.What you are about to see is a dramatization of an actual case in family court. Because of the emotional and sensitive nature of the issues presented here, Judge Franklin's courtroom is closed to the public. The proceedings are about to begin.
- When the episode proper starts, additional narration is given by an announcer while Judge Franklin makes his entrance in the courtroom and the participants are sworn in.
- Parental Incest: Seen in some of the more
squicky episodes.- In one, a man whose wife had a very demanding job takes to molesting his teenage stepdaughter. He gets her pregnant, then forces her to sue a minor celebrity (on whom she has a crush) and claim that he was the one responsible. The truth comes out during the hearing when she can't bring herself to lie anymore.
- In another episode, a teenager explicitly accuses her father of this. Her mother takes her father's side, but eventually admits that she's on prescription medication which causes her to sleep very deeply. Sure enough, the father is guilty and Judge Franklin is disgusted.
- Playing Both Sides: In one episode, a couple on the brink of divorce are battling it out in Judge Franklin's courtroom. As the proceeding unfolds, however, it becomes revealed that neither one really wants to divorce the other, but their daughter has been talking them both into it so that she can 'divide and conquer.' The parents are less than pleased when they figure out what she's been doing.
- Stalker with a Crush: In one episode, a man is accused of stalking a soap opera actress, even to the point of showing up on the set wearing a tuxedo the day her character's wedding was shot. While the man's attorney tries to portray the whole thing as a series of misunderstandings, the defendant eventually reveals himself to be completely unstable, culminating in him proclaiming his love for the character she plays.
- Stock Legal Phrases: Lewis, the bailiff, uses many of these, such as "All rise!" In most episodes, they're his only lines.
- Stuff Blowing Up: One episode has a man (completely unconnected with the trial taking place) come in and threaten the whole courtroom with a homemade bomb hidden in a briefcase. He turns out to be someone the judge had put in jail some years earlier; after confiscating bailiff Lewis' gun, the bomber commandeers the bench and later shoots Lewis when he attempts to help the father of the teenager on trial, who had just deactivated the bomb. After learning Lewis' gun only has one bullet, the bomber tries to flee the courtroom, but is stopped by attorneys and the defendant's father.
- Surprise Witness: Not as frequently as the series’ brethren Divorce Court and Superior Court, but enough to satisfy fans of 1980s-era courtroom TV shows. When it was used, it was (more often than not) much like the other shows: The chips are down for the sympathetic litigant and it seems the antagonist has victory all but sewn up, only for the surprise witness to refute the testimony and eventually help justice prevail.
- They Call Me MISTER Tibbs!: Happens at least twice:
- In the same episode where the Army Colonel is contesting his son's emancipation suit, the Colonel and his son have a heated exchange while the Colonel is on the stand. While Franklin is trying to restore order, the Colonel makes the mistake of telling "Bob" to tell his son to sit down and shut up... which, needless to say, earns the Colonel an angry rebuke, a reminder that he is to be addressed as "Your Honor" or "sir," and a contempt of court citation.
- In another episode, centered around a group of siblings attempting to stay together after losing their parents, one of the boys asks if he can call Judge Franklin "Bob"; given the young man's age and limited knowledge of courtroom procedures, Franklin doesn't take offense here, and one of his sisters also promptly corrects him on how the judge should be addressed.
- Twin Switch: In one of the more bizarre episodes, a man breaks things off with his fiancée when she informs him that she's pregnant, insisting that it must be someone else's child because they haven't slept together. She's deeply confused and takes him to court to prove that he's the father. As it turns out, he isn't - it's his identical twin brother, who is secretly in love with her and slept with her while pretending to be the twin to whom she was engaged. The episode ends with her agreeing to marry the twin who impregnated her, and the judge doing the honors.
