Matlock agrees to defend psychiatrist Lucas Forbes when he's arrested for killing Adam Whitley, the husband of one of his patients whom Lucas was reportedly having an affair with, according to the woman's diary. Matlock soon realises that Erin Whitley has a host of deep-rooted psychiatric problems. After a few chance meetings with a woman named Shannon, Matlock is shocked to realise the extent of the connection between Erin and Shannon.

Spencer Hamilton came to Manteo, North Carolina, as soon as he could to locate the man who killed his brother, Frank, in a supposed duck-hunting accident. When Ryan Bartell (the shooter) is found dead, Matlock heads to North Carolina to defend Hamilton, and finds an unlikely ally in local deputy Conrad McMasters.

Spencer Hamilton came to Manteo, North Carolina, as soon as he could to locate the man who killed his brother, Frank, in a supposed duck-hunting accident. When Ryan Bartell (the shooter) is found dead, Matlock heads to North Carolina to defend Hamilton, and finds an unlikely ally in local deputy Conrad McMasters.

When talk show host Dan Galloway is murdered after publicly humiliating three woman on the air and firing his executive producer, there is no shortage of suspects. Nearly everyone who ever met the man wanted him dead, but it's up to Matlock to prove whether Marla, Leanne or Katherine committed the crime as he tries to prove that his own client, Lisa, did not.

Matlock tries to prove that someone other than his client had a motive to murder his lover. His best bet? The victim's paraplegic husband.

Phyllis Todd confesses to the murder of her boss to protect her daughter. Matlock soon sees through his client's ruse.

When stockbroker Richard Wagner is murdered, his former partner Avery Campbell needs Julie's help to prove his innocence.

Matlock has known Sam Spelvin since he was six years old, so he agrees to consult on Sam's play, Lovers and Lawyers. Unfortunately, the play is truly awful. When noted critic John Bosley Hackett, who felt the play was truly one of the worst in history, is found murdered, Sam is arrested. Matlock agrees to defend Sam, even deferring his payment while they wait to see if the play is a success, and manages to find a few more people who would be more than happy to see Hackett dead...and to see Sam's play fail.

Marvin Sheam and Sid Franklin have been in business for 32 years. When their bank loan is denied and they can't pay their bills, Marv tries to talk Sid into hiring an arsonist to torch their business so they can collect the insurance money and rebuild from scratch. Just before Marv has a chance to talk to the arsonist again, he winds up dead outside his daughter's wedding reception, and Sid gets blamed.

After a bump on the head, Matlock has a nightmare where he is trapped in the Old West, and needs to save Conrad from an angry lynch mob when he is accused of murder. His is frequently distracted by Michelle, a beautiful saloon girl, and Julie, the vengeance-seeking sister of the dead man.

When the producer of the popular It's About Time gameshow is murdered, Matlock defends the aging host at the request of a friend of Conrad's, while Michelle goes undercover as a contestant.

Matlock has every intention of preserving lawyer/client confidentiality, but when a group of mobsters kidnap Michelle to extort information from Matlock, he has to weigh his professional ethics against her life.

Matlock continues his five-year struggle to save a con artist from the electric chair.

Ben vies with a formidable D.A. while defending a client accused of killing a city councilwoman, and discovers a secret hiding in the D.A.'s past that is affecting his judgment in this case.

When Cliff's friend Fred is accused of murdering Melissa, a woman he met through the dating service Perfect Harmony, he and Matlock take the case, and Jerri goes undercover to investigate. She sets herself up as one of the datees, much to the frustration of a loca police officer. Unfortunately, she has better luck than she hoped, as one of her dates is a killer in disguise.

Julie returns to Atlanta from L.A. for a legal conference, and when a former snitch calls her to the jailhouse and admits that she lied, Julie convinces Ben to defend the man, an admitted thief who had one cardinal rule...never break into a house when anyone is home. After Jerri talks with Susan Kellogg, a woman who lost her daughter to a hit-and-run driver around the same time that Brenda Chaney was murdered, Matlock realises there may be more to this case than meets the eye.

Jeri's sister Rachel comes to Atlanta looking for help when she is fired from her job as a nurse after a doctor (Gray) blames her for a mistake that cost a surgery patient her kidney. When the doctor is murdered, Rachel is blamed with the crime, and Matlock agrees to defend her.