Equal Justice (1990) (TV)

Directors:

Thomas Carter
Bill Corcoran

Writers:

Christopher Knopf (writer)
David A. Simons (writer)

Release Date:

27 March 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot Keywords:

TV Series Pilot | Courtroom | Racial

Cast

George DiCenzo	...	Arnold Bach
Cotter Smith	...	Eugene Rogan
Kathleen Lloyd	...	Jesse Rogan
Jane Kaczmarek	...	Linda Bauer
Joe Morton	...	Mike James
Sarah Jessica Parker	...	Jo Ann Harris
Barry Miller	...	Pete Brigman
Debrah Farentino	...	Julie Janovich
James Wilder	...	Christopher Searls
Holly Fields	...	Finny
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Gerry Bamman
Gregory J. Barnett	...	Makela
Eugene Clark
Lise Cutter	...	Andrea Kanin
Curt DeBor	...	Attorney Fryman
Charles S. Dutton		(as Charles Dutton)
Greg Germann
James Handy
Heather Lee
Nicholas Levitin	...	Leonard Stark
S. Epatha Merkerson
Gregory Millar
Sal Ortiz	...	Assistant D.A.
Kellie Overbey
Chris Weatherhead
Joahn Webb	...	Secretary
Olivia Virgil White		(as Olivia Virgil Harper)
Susan Wilder

Runtime:

Germany:96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Company:

Justice Productions Inc.

Movie Connections:

Followed by "Equal Justice" (1990)

Does this exist in any form?

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

This pilot may have suffered from being one lawyer/courtroom drama too many at the time. Joe Morton has always been a particular favorite of mine. I remember that this pilot had a very good courtroom monologue by Morton as the prosecutor and he theorized why a cop had brutalized a suspect. He was on the attack, in "devil's advocate" mode, but ironically I think it lent sympathy to the difficulty of being a cop when you're also as flawed a human being as the rest of us.

It even reminded me of the dramatic way that Al Pacino ended his film, " And Justice For All" ending with an explosive diatribe a year or two before. Maybe that was also one of the things that led to it's demise: it may have seemed like an attempt to clone Pacino's character into Morton's role.

I believe the series got off a few episodes before disappearing, and Morton again showed his brilliance in how his character faced a suspect in court that had shot and killed Morton's romantic lead in a street mugging of the couple. Instead of rage, he showed such a vulnerability, pleading with the guy to give him some reason that he can use to justify why he had to take her life, and did he even remember her. The man was so nonchalant, not denying he did it, just complacent because he commits so many of these crimes that there's no way he can pick her out as anyone special. The cold response by the man left Morton so deflated - it was a perfect illustration of the frustration of victims of senseless violence and their loved ones left behind to seek justice.

I bet there has been replays of these episodes on some of these many filler channels on the cable menu, there just isn't any big hoopla made about it. I wonder if the IMDb's alerts of what is currently airing extends of such obscure material. I'll keep my eye on this page just in case.