- The Prestons defend a man charged with murdering a storekeeper during a robbery, but they strongly disagree over his guilt. The drug-addicted client was found unconscious at the scene with the murder weapon in his hand. Lawrence believes he definitely committed the act and only hopes to plead for a lesser sentence, but Kenneth believes the man may be completely innocent of the murder.—rbecker28
- Tom Clinton goes into a neighborhood store to rob it late one night. One of the owners hits Clinton on the head with a can of tomatoes and Clinton is unconscious until after the police arrive. The Prestons are appointed to represent him. Clinton is addicted to morphine due to war injuries and admits he killed the shopkeeper. The elder Preston believes the case is open and shut but his son is not so sure. The leads to several confrontations between them. At the trial, the evidence against Clinton mounts up and the dead man's partner takes the stand. He testifies that when he hit Clinton over the head, Clinton's gun went off and killed his partner. The elder Preston has no intention of cross examining the partner the next day and this leads to an argument between father and son. The younger Preston visits the scene of the crime which is being repainted. He discovers that the store is usually repainted every three years but it was last repainted only eleven months ago. He also learns that the partners had insurance on each other's lives and that the surviving partner collected $10,000 when his partner died. When the surviving partner enters the store, he orders the younger Preston to leave. The elder Preston decides to cross examine the surviving partner who can't explain why he supposedly left the murder weapon in Clinton's hand while he called the police. The surviving partner finally admits that Clinton's shot went wild and did not kill his partner - he killed his partner to get the insurance money.
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