History Series / JustCause

'''''Just Cause''''' is a Canadian legal drama that aired for one season on Creator/{{PAX}} in 2002-2003. (In Canada, it aired on WNetwork.)

* CourtroomAntics: When a possibly senile court-appointed client won't speak to anyone except through a dummy, Whit calls the ''dummy'' to the witness stand.

Definitely not to be confused with the [[VideoGame/JustCause video game series]].

* SuspiciouslySimilarSong: When Patrick runs in slow-motion down the street to deliver a document on time in "The Closing," a version of the theme from ''ChariotsOfFire'' plays.
* TitleDrop: The title comes from the name of Whit's uncle's memoir — ''Just Cause: My Life as a Criminal Lawyer'' — mentioned by Alex in the pilot.
** Again at the end of the pilot when Whit, in his letter to the governor, mentions Alex's passion for a "just cause."

Rounding out the cast are Patrick Heller (Shaun Benson), an associate at the law firm and former cop; Peggy Tran (Khaira Ledeyo), a paralegal with three graduate degrees; C.J. Leon (Roger R. Cross), former public defender and Alex's parole officer; and Ted Kasselbaum (MarkHildreth), a private investigator whom Alex hires to find her daughter. David Kaplan (Jason Schombing), the politically focused D.A., is a recurring antagonist and occasional source of help.

* CutHimselfShaving: Played with in "Above the Law": When Alex is talking to the crooked police officer responsible for the death of her fiend, she points out the suspicious scratches on his face and asks if he cut himself shaving.

* ImNotHereToMakeFriends: "...I'm here to work" -- said by Alex in the pilot after she gets a job at the law firm and Patrick tries to flirt with her.

* ReversePsychology: In "Human Trials," the law firm gets around a court order not to release evidence against a drug company by roundaboutly getting the file into the hands of the D.A. and then telling him not to read it.

** Ted and Peggy. The writers stick them together for three episodes that make it look like they're starting a relationship, beginning with him teaching her how to rollerblade and ending with her inviting him to a Christmas party at her parents' house. It's later implied that they talk regularly, although not necessarily that they're dating, but they [[ShipsThatPassInTheNight never interact on screen again for the rest of the series]], before or after.

* TitleDrop: The title comes from the name of Whit's uncle's memoir -- ''Just Cause: My Life as a Criminal Lawyer'' -- mentioned by Alex in the pilot.

''Just Cause'' is a Canadian legal drama that aired for one season on {{PAX}} in 2002-2003. (In Canada, it aired on WNetwork.)

!!Provides examples of:

** Lisa Lackey as Alex occasionally slips into her native Australian accent or various regional U.S. accents (particularly NewYorkCity). This is {{lampshaded}} and {{justified|Trope}} in the pilot when Alex tells Whit she was an army brat and traveled all over growing up, specifically mentioning UsefulNotes/{{Australia}}, New York, and East [[UsefulNotes/LosAngeles LA]] as places she picked up accents from.

* AlasPoorVillain: Reading through the intel for the Colonels reveals ''some'' of them to be guilty of little besides working for Baby Panay, including some that either performed humanitarian tasks under Papa Panay (saving a great deal of the population from polio), are upset with what Baby Panay's regime change did to them or are even honorable citizens. Being informed that your assassination target has multiple medals for bravery and self-sacrifice and seven children that love him dearly, or that they were responsible for rural distribution of the polio vaccine under Papa, or that they're just pissed that Baby yanked their private business out from underneath them to add to his own assets, etc. may make you more hesitant to pull the trigger.

* CharacterNameAlias: Alex's husband hides out under the aliases of famous literary figures, including WaltWhitman and EdgarAllanPoe.

* AlasPoorVillain: Most of the major antagonists in the sequel are without a doubt {{complete monster}}s. Reading through the intel for the Colonels, however, reveals ''some'' of them to be guilty of little besides working for Baby Panay, including some that either performed humanitarian tasks under Papa Panay (saving a great deal of the population from polio), are upset with what Baby Panay's regime change did to them or are even honorable citizens. Being informed that your assassination target has multiple medals for bravery and self-sacrifice and seven children that love him dearly, or that they were responsible for rural distribution of the polio vaccine under Papa, or that they're just pissed that Baby yanked their private business out from underneath them to add to his own assets, etc. may make you more hesitant to pull the trigger.

** Lisa Lackey as Alex occasionally slips into her native Australian accent or various regional U.S. accents (particularly NewYorkCity). This is {{lampshaded}} and {{justified}} in the pilot when Alex tells Whit she was an army brat and traveled all over growing up, specifically mentioning UsefulNotes/{{Australia}}, New York, and East [[UsefulNotes/LosAngeles LA]] as places she picked up accents from.

* CurseCutShort:

** Lisa Lackey as Alex occasionally slips into her native Australian accent or various regional U.S. accents (particularly NewYorkCity). This is {{lampshaded}} and {{justified}} in the pilot when Alex tells Whit she was an army brat and traveled all over growing up, specifically mentioning UsefulNotes/{{Australia}}, New York, and East [[LosAngeles LA]] as places she picked up accents from.

** Lisa Lackey as Alex occasionally slips into her native Australian accent or various regional U.S. accents (particularly NewYorkCity). This is {{lampshaded}} and {{justified}} in the pilot when Alex tells Whit she was an army brat and traveled all over growing up, specifically mentioning {{Australia}}, New York, and East [[LosAngeles LA]] as places she picked up accents from.

* JimmyHartVersion: When Patrick runs in slow-motion down the street to deliver a document on time in "The Closing," the Jimmy Hart version of the theme from ''ChariotsOfFire'' plays.