Public Defender Socrates (1954– ) Online

The very familiar character actor Percy Helton stars as a man known as 'Socrates'. He's a social worker working in the worst part of town at a mission. Socrates is upset because one of his few real success stories seems to be coming to a bad ending, as the man is being accused of a crime he insists he didn't commit. However, instead of Bart Matthews looking into the case by interviewing folks, Socrates convinces him to stay back and let him do this work. This is because Socrates knows the streets and knows folks will clam up when asked about the case by the Public Defender. So, instead of Matthews (Reed Hadley) doing most of the show, it's in the hands of Socrates.

I certainly wouldn't consider this among the best episodes of the series. It's a tad schmaltzy, that's for sure. But it's also different...different enough to keep everything interesting and worth seeing. And, if you'd like to see this episode, "Public Defender" can be downloaded for free at archive.org.