Detectives Lupo and Bernard detain a man who is tried and found guilty of killing a gay man as a hate crime. Shortly after, one of Cutter's former law professors, Emily Ryan (Amy Madigan) steps in with The Innocence Collective, determined to prove his innocence and reverse the verdict. Cutter soon discovers that Emily's overeager student assistant, Lisa Klein (Anna Chlumsky), may have crossed the line to get a testimony in her client's favor. Before long, personal relationships are threatened as the integrity of the entire trial is called into question. As a defense on for her client, Emily Ryan uses the status of EADA Cutter's law license to say that her client, among others, deserve new trials; Cutter races to figure out a way to keep a mistrial from occurring and letting the defendant walk away from a brutal hate crime.