Roland Dalton, Peter Weller, is a burned-out, mild-mannered Manhattan public defender nearing the end of his stint with legal aid. His last case centers on Michael Jones, Richard Brooks, a crack dealer accused of shooting to death police officer Patrick O'Leary in Central Park, and Jones insists the act was in self-defense, portraying O'Leary as a Blue Jean Cop—an opportunistic officer who robs drug dealers.
To uncover the truth, Dalton teams up with Richie Marks, Sam Elliott, a renegade NYPD narcotics detective. The trial also drags in Dalton's personal life: he rekindles an old flame with the prosecutor Susan Cantrell, Patricia Charbonneau, even as his fiancé Gail Feinberger, Blanche Baker, watches from the sidelines, unaware at first of the renewed affair.
As the investigation deepens, Dalton and Marks uncover a sprawling web of corruption: O'Leary was working with a gang of dirty cops and a drug lord, Nicky Carr, Antonio Fargas, who flaunted his power with designer jeans and an expensive car. The case pivots on a cassette tape that recorded the entire incident; Jones had kept the tape in a boom box, and Dalton makes a bold move to retrieve it from the police station's evidence locker. But when he goes to claim the tape, he is taken hostage by Detective Rydel and other crooked cops.
Marks bursts in and shoots the corrupt officers, turning the showdown inside the station into a dramatic rescue. The legal pressure mounts as Judge Maynard, played by Augusta Dabney, refuses to admit the tape into evidence, forcing Dalton to mount a powerful closing argument without the smoking gun. The jury ultimately acquits Jones of the shooting, a verdict that hinges on the defense’s ability to present the truth despite the obstacles.
With the trial behind them, Richie surfaces again in the pursuit of Carr and the fugitive Rydel. They race toward LaGuardia Airport in a Porsche purchased by O'Leary, chasing a fleeing crime network. In a tense sequence, Richie clings to the plane's landing gear, shoots out an engine, and drops a hand grenade into the landing gear compartment before leaping into the East River as the plane explodes.
Back on solid ground, Roland remains with the public defender’s office. He has broken up with Gail and begins dating Susan Cantrell once more, a testament to the complicated personal and professional ties that fueled the case from start to finish. The film rests on that uneasy balance between justice and ambition, showing how a single case can redefine lives, loyalties, and the path forward for a weary public defender.
