Courtroom Episode / Western Animation

Courtroom Episodes in Western Animation Television Series

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• 101 Dalmatians: The Series: "Twelve Angry Pups"
• The Animaniacs (1993) episode "La La Law", where Dr. Scratchandsniff wants to just pay a parking ticket and get it over with, but the Warners insist on fighting the injustice.
• American Dad! has "The People vs. Martin Sugar" in which Stan goes to jury duty to witness the prosecutor being one of Roger's personas being accused of running an illegal counterfeit handbag manufacturing service.
• Arthur:
  • The episode, "Sick As a Dog" features a trial in Arthur's tree house when Arthur accuses D.W. of making Pal sick. ^note  It was really him who made Pal sick by feeding him foods dogs shouldn't eat. The Brain is the judge, and Francine is D.W.'s lawyer. Since the jury consists of both Arthur and Buster, D.W. is found guilty despite her lack of evidence, though Arthur does apologize to her at the end of the episode.
  • In the episode, "Read and Flumberghast", D.W. pretends to be a lawyer after David makes an office for her out of the box the Read Family's new refrigerator was shipped in. Her first case occurs when Bud accuses the Tibble Twins of eating his cupcake. Ladonna shows them a Leagle Beagle comic, which inspires D.W. to convince Arthur to stage a trial in his backyard. In this trial, Buster is the judge, Binky is the Baliff, Arthur and his friends are the jury, Bud is the plaintiff, and the Tibble Twins are the defendants.
• Episode "Between Friends" of Babar has Celeste and Zephir suing each other after a car accident and both faking their injuries in order to win the case. With Babar as the judge, Cornelius as Celeste's lawyer and Pompadour as Zephir's.
• Bad Dog has two courtroom episodes.
  • "Burden Of The Woof" is about Lester Johnson having Berkeley prosecuted for harassing him and his cat.
  • "Dog House Arrest" is about Berkeley being placed under house arrest after injuring a woman at a supermarket. However, the woman was actually faking her injury to squeeze as much money as she could out of the Potanskis.
• Batman: The Animated Series has the fittingly named "Trial", where the inmates of Arkham Asylum capture both Batman and new district attorney Janet van Dorn and put the former on trial (with The Joker as judge), with the latter acting as defense. Ms. van Dorn was an outspoken critic of the Dark Knight, being prevented from putting inmates in prison for life due to their being apprehended by a vigilante, and had made claims that Batman was directly responsible for creating all the supervillain scum of Gotham — now, in the Kangaroo Court set up at Arkham, she is tasked with defending Batman from those very claims. She succeeds in proving that each and every villain would've become who they were even without Batman's existence, both changing her tune on the Caped Crusader's role in society and actually convincing the inmates to find him Not Guilty. Unfortunately, being that they are such crooks, they don't want to pass up the opportunity to off them anyway — but since Ms. van Dorn did her job, it becomes time for Batman to do his...
• Beavis and Butt-Head: "The Trial," "Sexual Harassment," "Snitchers"
• Betty Boop: The cartoon "Betty Boop's Trail" has Betty in a courtroom after receiving a speeding ticket.
• Bob's Burgers: "A Few 'Gurt Men" starts out with Tina, Gene and Louise doing a mock-trial based on the fairy tale "Snow White" before it turns into a real trial when Mr. Frond is accused of stealing Mr. Ambrose's yogurt from the teacher's lounge.
• The Boondocks episode "The Trial of R. Kelly", which satirized R. Kelly's acquittal from statutory rape charges.
• Capitol Critters had one episode where two characters were taken to the cockroaches' courtroom. One of the defendants complained about being treated like a human being.
• Captain Planet and the Planeteers:
  • "Jail House Flock" sees the heroes arrested under false pretenses after foiling one of Hoggish Greedly's plans. The Planeteers manage to escape from their jail time to get the evidence needed to expose Greedly's plans and clear theirs and Captain Planet's names.
  • The Humanity on Trial episode "Twelve Angry Animals."
• One of the classic shorts of Casper the Friendly Ghost has him standing trial from the ghosts for not scaring people. The judge condemn him to lose his ghostly powers until he scares someone which is a problem as, at that point, Casper is well loved by most humans but his lack of powers cause him to fail in helping others. At the end Casper manages to scare other ghost be impersonating a ghost exterminator, getting his powers back.
• Episode 4 of Clerks: The Animated Series revolved around Jay pursuing a Frivolous Lawsuit against Dante for slipping on a puddle of spilled soda.
• Cyberchase has the episode "Sensible Flats". After Hacker is arrested for renting out a bigger parcel of land than Judge Trudy, the land's resident ruler, he is put on trial and the kids show that his land is actually the same size as that of the Judge. His land was just in an odd shape instead of a perfect quadrilateral.
• The Dan Vs. episode "Dan vs Jury Duty". Antics include Chris being mistaken for an expert witness, Dan being disappointed that courtroom cases aren't as exciting as they are on TV, and Dan trying to prove the defendant's innocence after siding with him. It turns out that Dan is the one who committed the crime the defendant was accused of, although Dan didn't remember that because his memory was erased by aliens.
• In the Dennis the Menace episode, "Trial and Error", Margaret accuses Ruff of chewing her diary, but Dennis doesn't believe he did it, so he holds a trial in his backyard. Jay is the judge, Margaret is the plaintiff, and Dennis is the defendant. In the end, it is revealed that a bulldog named Spike was the one who chewed up Margaret's diary and framed Ruff.
• The Dick Tracy Show: In "Court Jester," Stooge Viller and Mumbles are on trial for forgery, but Stooge has taken it on the lam. Without Stooge to translate Mumbles' mumbling, the prosecution can't get a conviction because nobody else can tell if he's pleading guilty or not. Tracy sends Go-Go Gomez to recapture Stooge and bring him to court.
• Dinosaucers: In "The Scales of Justice", the Tyrannos try to convince a judge to deport the Dinosaucers back to their home planet.
• Duck Dodgers episode "The Trial of Duck Dodgers"
• The Fairly OddParents! special "Timmy's Secret Wish!" has Timmy put on trial for being the worst godkid ever. This eventually leads to the revelation that Timmy made a secret wish fifty years ago that everyone would stop aging so his fairies would never have to leave him.
• Several Futurama episodes, as well as a significant part of the last movie.
  Bender: Court's kind of fun when it's not my ass on the line.
• Garfield and Friends episodes: "Binky Goes Bad", "Trial & Error"
• The non-canon Gargoyles episode "And Justice For All" sees Goliath being framed for a jewelry heist and then willingly undergoing the judicial process in order to set a precedent for gargoyles being accepted as equals under human law. What follows is him engaging in unlawful antics that would see his case being damaged even further in real life. Notably, series creator Greg Wesiman originally intended for the episode to be centered on the Manhattan Clan being tried on the basis of their very sentience, but when Disney took control for season 3, it was slashed and chopped into the mockery that eventually aired. Weisman would later revisit his intended idea in the Dynamite comics, although the trial still centers on just Goliath.
• The second part of the Grand Finale of Gravity Falls, "Weirdmageddon Part 2 - Escape from Reality", has it's climax happening on a courtroom.
• The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy: "Keeper of the Reaper." Fred Fredburger, yes!
• Harriet the Spy has an episode in the second season, where Harriet is put on trial by her classmates at a party, for every mean thing she wrote about them in her notebook. Her defense? Everything she wrote is true. She is found innocent, but everyone is even angrier at her.
• Hey Arnold! had "False Alarm" where Eugene was on trial for pulling the fire alarm. The episode contained several references to 12 Angry Men, including Arnold stabbing a pencil into the table. Curly confesses he is the real culprit, having framed Eugene. His motive? Revenge after Eugene borrowed his Wanky Land pencil, chewed on it and sharpened it down to the eraser.
• Johnny Bravo had several:
  • In "The Day the Earth Didn't Move Around Very Much", Johnny is put on trial for numerous petty crimes during a period of Contrived Coincidences where he believed time stood still, and no time would mean no rules, from stealing candy to eating at a restaurant without paying to scoring a free hotel room. Following this Whole Episode Flashback, the judge lets Johnny off the hook after he explains he thought he was in a time freeze himself, as well.
  • "Jailbird Johnny" also serves as a Prison Episode, where Johnny is sentenced to 86 years for littering and mistakenly sent to a women's prison, and as expected, he doesn't want to leave. At the end of the episode, Little Suzy and Bunny manage to prove he is innocent, thanks to an ATM camera.
  • "Shnook of the North" sees Johnny being brought to family court and placed with a foster family in Anarctica after getting separated from his mother at the mall.
  • In "One Angry Bravo", Johnny is picked for Jury Duty over a parking ticket, only to find the defendant was a hot babe, making him stall the trial for eight months and refuse to convict until the judge finally stripped the sequestered jurors of some privilege, after which he promptly convicted her of the offense. The defendant got an $80 fine, but Johnny's behavior in court finally got him sent to jail.
• Justice League has one episode where Green Lantern stands trial for blowing up a planet. Flash is his lawyer. Hilarity Ensues.
  Flash: If the ring wasn't lit, you must acquit!
• Kaeloo:
  • The episode "Let's Play Courtroom Drama", where Mr. Cat is taken to court for attacking Quack Quack with a chainsaw. Kaeloo acts as Quack Quack's lawyer, and Stumpy is the judge. Kaeloo pulls off a Wounded Gazelle Gambit to get Mr. Cat to confess that it was him.
  • Episode 113 has Kaeloo take Stumpy to court for "mistreating" objects, with Quack Quack as the judge and Mr. Cat as Stumpy's lawyer. Mr. Cat hoists Kaeloo by her own petard and Stumpy wins.
  • In Episode 179, a pair of manipulative Amoral Attorneys convince Quack Quack and Stumpy to sue Kaeloo for "mistreating" them, which is really just her doing innocuous things like telling Quack Quack to put trash in the trashcan instead of leaving it on the floor, and threaten to have her sent to prison if she doesn't give them 2 billion bucks. This time, Mr. Cat acts as Kaeloo's lawyer and convinces Stumpy and Quack Quack to drop their lawsuit against Kaeloo.
• The Magic School Bus had the episode "Gets Swamped". In this episode Ms. Frizzle's class are among the members on a city council deciding whether or not to build a mall on the site of a wetland on the outskirts of the city. Sure enough, Arnold's cousin Janet is the one arguing in favor of the mall, and the class must find several reasons why the yucky swamp should remain in place.
• Martha Speaks had the episode "Martha the Witness", where Martha the dog is taken to court because Mrs. Demson needs a witness after her lawn furniture is wrecked in a car crash.
• The OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes episode "Soda Genie" revolves around KO, Rad, and Enid being put on trial in Magic Court after a genie trapped in a soda bottle tricks them into breaking their friendship apart.
• There's an episode of Peter Pan & the Pirates wherein Peter sneaks on board the Jolly Roger to play with Captain Hook's harpsichord. When the pirates capture him, Wendy convinces Captain Hook to give Peter a trial. Hijinks ensue.
• "Assault and Flattery," a 1950s Popeye cartoon has Bluto taking Popeye to court for assault and battery charges. (Of course, Bluto is faking his injuries).
• The Pound Puppies (2010) episode "The Pupple's Court", where Lucky is put on trial by Miss Stiffwhiskers for not following procedure while matching dogs with their owners. It's up to Niblet, Strudel, Cookie, and Squirt to defend their friend and keep him from getting kicked out of the Pound Puppies.
• Quick Draw McGraw once had to protect a key witness (Baba Looey) for a trial.
• Recess: "The Trial" is the best example, but other episodes include "The Story of Whomps" and "The Biggest Trouble Ever".
• Rocko's Modern Life had two:
  • The first of which was "Fly Burgers". Rocko tries to cook some burgers, which attract a hungry fly named Flecko. When Rocko tries to shoo Flecko away, Flecko feigns an injury and sues Rocko, resulting in Judge Sockner sentencing Rocko to 30 days as a fly as punishment. While Flecko is dining at a restaurant after the lawsuit, Sockner happens to be dining at the same restaurant with a friend and discovers that Flecko faked his injuries, at which point he finds Rocko and reverses the spell, minus the removal of his fly wings.
  • The second one occurs in "Dumbells", when a ding-dong-ditch pranking spree lands Rocko in hot water along with Gladys the Hippo Lady. The original perpetrators, Heffer and Filburt, learn their friend is about to take the blame for their wrongdoing and confess, clearing Rocko and Gladys of all charges, later to take up another prank: prank phone calling, even roping the judge into it.
• Rugrats (1991)
  • Happens in the episode "The Trial" when the babies do this to find out who broke Tommy's favorite clown lamp with Tommy being the judge and Angelica being the persecutor (prosecutor). They soon realize it was Angelica who broke the lamp and she even admits it, because she hated it and gloats loud enough that the adults hear her.
  • In another episode "Pickles vs. Pickles", Angelica sues her parents for divorce after they force her to eat broccoli. The whole court is on Angelica's side and the judge even allows her to bring up her toys as witnesses. Luckily for Drew, it turns out it was All Just a Dream.
  • "Tricycle Thief" presents a trial of sorts, as Angelica is suspected of stealing Susie's tricycle. Angelica's doll Cynthia is tied to Susie's mylar balloon while testimony is presented. While Angelica claims she was innocent, evidence seem to be against her (literally caught redhanded^note Susie's bike was inside the shed that was just painted red and Chuckie overhearing Angelica quietly telling Susie she'll be sorry).
• The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin: One of the plots of "Uncle Grubby" was Tweeg being taken to M.A.V.O. court to answer for his failures.
• The Smurfs (1981) episode "The Smurfy Verdict" has Clumsy put on trail for his supposed negligence of watching over Baby Smurf.
• Snagglepuss becomes the fill-in judge in a court case on an outlaw. When he accidentally tells the outlaw to leave his court for disrupting it, Snagglepuss has to act as both judge and defendant and gives himself 99 years in jail.
• In the Sonic Boom episode, "Don't Judge Me", Dr. Eggman attempts to sue Sonic over an (obviously fake) injury. To make sure everything goes in his favor, Burnbot is the judge, T.W. Barker is Dr. Eggman's lawyer, and Dr. Eggman shows a sepiatone film of him playing with Orbot and Cubot in unconvincing disguises in an attempt to show his softer side.
• SpongeBob SquarePants: "Krabs vs. Plankton."
• Subverted in the Star Trek: Lower Decks episode "Grounded" as the trial happens in the background as Mariner tries to find evidence to save her mother.
• Steven Universe: "The Trial" is about Steven being put on trial by Homeworld for shattering Pink Diamond. Technically it's his mother Rose that's on trial, but as he has her gemstone and is her reincarnation, most gems perceive them as the same person. Complicating matters is that Steven thinks he's guilty (so to speak), but can't give an actual account of things because he wasn't there. He's also given a lawyer who's motivated to help him because she'll be killed if he's found guilty.
• In the Teen Titans Go! episode, "A Farce", Brother Blood and The Brain take the Titans to court for their careless and reckless destruction of Jump City, with the sentence being execution if the Titans are found guilty. The Titans are indeed found guilty at the end of the episode.
• "Sidewalk Soiler" episode of Tripping the Rift has Chode going under trial in a planet where the smallest form of polluting is punished by death. The episode also serves as a parody of Judge Judy, Police Procedural dramas and Game Shows.
• The Unikitty! episode "Kitty Court" features Master Frown, injured from being hit by Unikitty's car, taking the princess to court. However, since the accident was in the Unikingdom, it involves the wacky justice system of the kingdom, which treats it like a party, with literal recess on a playground, fruit smoothies, and a roulette wheel to choose the judge (which ends up Puppycorn for that trial). Brock was supposed to be Master Frown's lawyer, but he gave up to play video games, so Unikitty stepped in to defend Master Frown and persecute...herself. It's only when Master Frown outs himself as having planned to get hit just to make Unikitty miserable that he is declared guilty.
• The Venture Bros. episode "Trial of the Monarch" has the Monarch as the defendant, acting as his own lawyer. He doesn't care for having the jury described as his "peers."
• A good deal of Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa episode "Bulls of a Feather" was about Sheriff Terribull being taken to courtroom to be tried for the crimes of his criminal alter ego The Masked Bull.
• In the Zeroman episode, "Disorder In The Court", Mayor Todd McWadd is put on trial for the murder of his opponent in the mayoral election. It turns out that he was actually set up by the judge in a bid for the judge to become the next mayor.

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