After a shocking outcome in one of his cases and a personal epiphany, Sebastian Stark decides to leave his job as a defense attorney. Now looking for a new job, he has been offered the position of director of the Los Angeles DA's high-profile crime unit, but with a twist - he will have to train a new team of inexperienced lawyers.

Stark has a new case, the murder of an undercover narcotics detective by a drug dealer. He will have to deal with the murdered cop's partners, who are hesitant to trust or help him because he often used questionable means to win acquittals for his often-guilty clients when he was a defense attorney.

Four Latino women are killed in a garment-factory fire and the police rule it an accident, but Martin leaks false information to the press to force the DA's office to investigate. Sebastian isn't happy about it and says the case can't be won, but he gets pumped up when he learns a rival is defending the fashion company his office is going after. The probe reveals the company supports sweatshops and may be liable for the fire. Also, Julie gets readmitted to school.

An assistant district attorney is gunned down along with a high-priced hooker in the prostitute's car. The investigation reports the victim had wanted to prosecute narcotics cases and not domestic disputes, and she may have been working the call girl on targeting a drug dealer with whom she had a relationship. Meanwhile, Julie considers going to the next step with Eddie.

Sebastian's new case seems to be the easiest one he could get. He's prosecuting a suspected serial killer accused of murdering five women and seriously injuring a sixth who was lucky enough to escape from his house. But the victim is reluctant to testify when she learns that the killer will be interrogating her.

After two cops are implicated in a controversial shooting that kills an upstanding black teen and also hurts his drug-dealing cousin, Sebastian is put in charge of the case. To find the answers to his questions, he must use an accusatory approach toward the two officers, but it doesn't take long for Isaac to disapprove of Stark's way of doing things.

While Stark and Raina are prosecuting a cold-blooded killer, a convicted armed robber from another case enters the courtroom and takes everyone hostage and hopes to reverse his conviction.

With the discovery of an 11-year-old boy who went missing four years ago comes one of the most confusing case for Stark. During those four years, the young boy was living with his kidnapper and was identifying himself as his son. Sebastian must disprove the kidnapper's claim that he was in fact protecting the boy from abusive parents.

An old friend of Stark is back. But this time, Stark gets a second chance at justice when he puts Wayne Callison on trial for another murder. Because of the exact same wounds as the previous victim, Callison is accused of murdering another young woman.

The search for the bomber of a school campus and the killer of a co-ed leads to a young chemical engineering student who has been sending incriminating letters about exacting revenge on his condescending peers. But when the case is ready to go to trial, Danny is seduced by the student claim of innocence and convinces Sebastian to let him search for another suspect.

The mayor places undue pressure on Sebastian and his team to identify, locate, and convict a serial freeway sniper who is causing city-wide panic in Los Angeles.

While trying to find an arsonist responsible for claiming the life of a firefighter, Sebastian's team finds that the man the firefighter died trying rescue was murdered before the fire began.