In his first case, he has to settle a dispute involving a woman threatening her husband with gunfire while at the same time trying to earn the trust of his staff, who are skeptical about his unorthodox judicial methods.
The season is merry as Harry deals with a man in a red suit charged with trespassing (Jeff Corey) and tries to restore the faith of a pair of cynical teenage runaways (Michael J.
Harry has to settle the legal status of a woman (Marcia Rodd) who remarried after her first husband Mitch Bowers (Charles Napier) was mistakenly declared dead, and who wants her back even though she is now seeing another man (Basil Hoffman).
An impressionable young nun (Dinah Manoff) decides to leave her order after meeting Harry; Dan tries to hit on a temporary public defender.
A new public defender has a rough first day in court, thanks to Harry and her over-protective father (Eugene Roche); Selma returns to work delirious after surgery.
Harry sends the new public defender, Billie Young (Ellen Foley), to jail for refusing to reveal the whereabouts of a cat her client is accused of kidnapping.
Mac marries Quon Le Duc (Denice Kumagai), a girl he knew in Vietnam, for her to stay in the country; Harry conducts court despite temporary blindness.
Quon Le plans to become a US citizen before her baby is born, but she and Mac are both rushed to the hospital with pains just as Harry begins the swearing-in ceremony.
Buddy proposes to a wealthy, fun-loving widow who doesn't know he's a mental patient while Dan tries to hide the fact that he's been reduced to living in his office following his botched real estate plan.
Christine returns from having her baby and has to deal with the shadow of her replacement, good 'ole Ted, who turns out to be a con artist who gets busted for impersonating a surgeon and a lawyer.
Meanwhile, Dan tries to reconnect with his long-lost sister (Susan Diol), and Harry discovers that he never graduated high school and needs to pass a ninth grade history test in order to keep his job.
The court staff worries that Dan's insomnia over spending all his time preparing for the Phil Foundation banquet may be affecting his sanity.