An ambitious new Assistant D.A., Jeremiah ""J.J."" Jellinek, arrives at 100 Centre St. and immediately starts jockeying for a position on a new task force, run by acting D.A. Gil Byrnes, that is going after the construction industry for its ties to the mob. Cynthia and Bobby set up their non-profit legal aid business, People's Defence, in Washington Heights and land their first client, Rudolfo, a 17-year-old accused of brutally beating a teacher. Judge Attalah Sims' last case of the night is a catatonic young woman who goes by the name Rebecca Rifkind, who turns out to have some connection to Judge Rifkind's past.

Judge Rifkind becomes reacquainted with his daughter, Rebecca, who harbours animosity towards him and her stepmother, Sarah. J.J., the new assistant district attorney, continues to forge new ground in night court and sparks a smouldering relationship with Fatima Kelly. Bobby and Cynthia's case becomes increasingly difficult when the mother and sister of their 17-year-old client, Rudolfo, offer opposing views on his integrity. Bobby also gets different opinions on Rudolfo from a jaded high school principal and the teen's employer.

Charlie the bridge man asks Judge Rifkind to be tough on his son, who was arrested for drunk driving. Having cleaned up his act, Ramon and his wife plan another child. J.J. and Ramon are pitted against each other in a case involving kids who set fire to a homeless man, while Rifkind and Sarah try to cope with the presence of his daughter in their lives.

Judge Attallah Sims takes on the establishment when she pursues a conviction against the captain of the narcotics branch, who had refused to put an officer in rehab when he got hooked on drugs. Fatima is slipped a knockout drug at an office party and ends up spending the night with J.J. Attallah finds out she will not be returning as a judge when her term expires. J.J. wins a coveted slot on the joint task force investigating mob ties in the construction industry - only to appear to be on the take with the mob.

Cynthia is knocked unconscious in an attack outside her storefront office. Judge Rifkind takes aside a defendant who has spent a lifetime fighting social injustice, leading to a debate about the system. Ramon counsels a teenager accused of patronizing a prostitute. Bobby accosts the man who attacked Cynthia, and Ramon can't get a house in the suburbs because he is Latino.

A reluctant and still angry Rebecca is forced to live at home with Judge Rifkind and his wife, Sarah. Ramon suspects Fatima of using drugs, but his attempt at a drug intervention goes awry. J.J. goes undercover and visits a lawyer for a construction company suspected of having ties to the mob. Cynthia's father is concerned for her welfare, and Judge Rifkind convinces him to watch her in court to see for himself how much she loves what she does.

As a last resort, a desperate woman approaches Bobby and Cynthia about appealing her husband's 20-year sentence for murder. A weekend affair to remember happens for ADA Supervisor Michelle Grande and Harley Rand, a cowboy sheriff from New Mexico. The sheriff is in town to extradite a prisoner being held 100 Centre Street.

Judge Attallah Sims takes on a freedom of expression suit against a successful artist accused of exploiting an underage girl who posed for his painting without her father's permission. The father subsequently destroys the painting and lands back at 100 Centre St. J.J. catches Fatima in a series of compromising positions with various officers. After Fatima loses it in Rifkind's courtroom, Rifkind starts to suspect something is wrong with her. An arrogant J.J. starts to make his way up the ranks of the Joint Task Force.

A suspect behaves irrationally on the stand in Attallah's courtroom and his father convinces Cynthia and Bobby to try and help him. They discover he has a brain tumour that is causing a bizarre syndrome that causes patients to lose any sense of responsibility for their actions. This threatens Attallah's sense of justice and she refuses to let the man free. Before they can go to trial, however, the man walks off a curb and is killed.

It's the end of the month at 100 Centre Street and Rifkind is annoyed to find his courtroom full of petty convictions orchestrated by shady cops looking to reach their monthly quotas. He is unable to convince ADA Julia Brooks that perhaps the cops are up to no good. Rifkind learns the temporary Bridgeman is on the take, getting money from the cops in exchange for calling their cases sooner. A cop on the force for 25 years without a conviction loses his first collar, a woman he caught dealing drugs, and loses her drug stash. Fearing the cop may get him fired after years of service, Rifkind offers to help him out.

Sarah and Rebecca come to blows at home and Sarah reveals that Judge Rifkind may have prostate cancer. Mary Ryder continues to push for overturning her husband's murder conviction. Cynthia and Bobby suspect foul play in the Ryder case. Judge Rifkind discovers a former cabaret singer, Lee Ann Halsey, drinking at a jazz club where Rebecca's boyfriend, Rush, tends bar and plays guitar. Rifkind convinces Halsey to try singing again. Bobby approaches Willard Block, the man who got him kicked out of Centre Street, for advice on the Ryder case.

Ramon gets his big break when a notorious environmental activist, on trial for blowing up a water tower as part of a protest, asks him to take his case. Unfortunately, a renowned environmental lawyer swoops in and steals the case from Ramon. Rifkind agrees to visit Lou, a Buddhist monk that Rebecca has been seeing. At the last minute, the environmental lawyer convinces the activist to plead guilty, just as Ramon predicted. Rebecca's boyfriend, Rush, steals a valuable Buddha from Lou to buy drugs and Rebecca turns to her father for help. LeeAnn's comeback fizzles as she refuses to take the stage.

ADA Supervisor Michelle Grande convinces Cynthia and Bobby to take the case of a homeless man accused of setting a fire that cost a fireman his life. Acting DA, Gil Byrnes takes Julia Brooks off the case after she plea-bargained with Cynthia and replaces her with J.J., who is told to seek the highest possible sentence. J.J. sees this as another chance to climb the ladder and is ruthless in the courtroom. Despite a compelling closing argument that Bobby gives to Cynthia, they lose and the man is found guilty.

Cynthia finds a cop willing to testify that Jim Ryan was set up by the cops for murder to protect a mob informant who had committed the crime. She brokers a deal with Gil Byrnes to get Ryan out of prison after 28 years in jail and becomes a media star. Meanwhile, the construction owner with mob ties dies suspiciously, leading the FBI to suspect someone killed him after finding out about the Joint Task Force. J.J. falls under suspicion.

Hurricane Paul, the ""storm of the century"", is about to hit New York City and all hell breaks loose down at 100 Centre Street. J.J. and his fellow asst. D.A.s are forced to stay at the office in the event the weather causes rioting and mayhem. In turn, Michelle Grande forces her Legal Aid officers to stay in, including Ramon who is worried about his pregnant wife at home. Meanwhile, Fatima runs out into the storm to score some drugs only to end up trapped outside and hysterical. Cynthia gets called in to assist the Legal Aid office, while Bobby runs off to join his fellow Brooklyn surfers to catch the big waves. And Judge Rifkin does his best to calm a skittish Attallah who has a childhood fear of storms.

J.J. goes after a deadbeat dad whose son was killed, even though he was not even living at the home at the time. When Attallah throws the book at the father, the press represents this as a political ploy to support Attallah's run for mayor and her ratings shoot up. A nervous mayor's office offers to keep her positions as judge if she'll drop out of the race. Bobby is becoming less interested in his work at the People's Defence and Cynthia asks her dad to help Bobby get back his law credentials.

Ramon defends a teenager accused of horrible gay bashing. The teen insists he's innocent. Ramon tries to cop a deal with the Assistant D.A. for a lesser charge only to discover that he may have been manipulated. Rebecca moves out of the Rifkind home to take a job at a health spa in Baja. Bobby decides to quit his job as an investigator, which may end his relationship with Cynthia. Acting D.A. Byrnes takes J.J. under his wing and offers to be his mentor. Desperate to score more drugs, Fatima breaks down in Michelle Grande's office. Ramon's wife goes into labour and while in the waiting room meets a gay man whose lover is dying.