Last appearance of the "Jimmie Joe Meeker" character.
The court case at the center of this story was based upon the sensational real life case between Lee Marvin and his live in girlfriend Michelle Triola. This episode was produced soon after her heavily publicized lawsuit against Marvin concluded in April 1979 with a judgement in her favor (which an appeals court would subsequently throw out).
Bernie Seldin says, "so I look like some chaim yonkel who just walked off the boat?" "Chaim yonkel" is Yiddish for "Tom, Dick or Harry", i.e., a run-of-the-mill anybody.
Rockford has a small model of a vintage '60s F1 Ferrari race car as a decoration in his trailer. Very visible in this episode. James Garner was the star of the 1966 epic film "Grand Prix" and was an avid auto racer, car enthusiast and past owner of the "American International Racing Team" from 1967 through 1969.