History CourtroomEpisode / LiveActionTV

* ''Series/MidsomerMurders'': Much of "Last Year's Model," takes place in a courtroom during the trial of woman who was arrested for murder the year before, as Barnaby starts to have serious doubts regarding her guilt.

** Season 5's "Presumed Urkel," where Urkel is accused of causing an explosion in a chemistry classroom at Vanderbilt High while working on his science project. Laura who was at this point in the series still annoyed by the nerd's plays for love [[ClearTheirName agrees to defend Urkel's honor]] when she senses that an academic rival named Dexter Thornhill seems very eager to have him expelled. The matter is held in Vanderbilt's student court. [[spoiler:In the end, Laura exposes Thornhill as the real culprit using a blacklight to determine that he tampered with Urkel's science project with explosive chemicals; when exposed, Thornhill admits that he did it because he believed that Urkel didn't deserve to win first prize at the science fair. Steve is cleared of all charges and Thornhill instead gets expelled and was likely arrested.]]

** Season 5's "Presumed Urkel," where Urkel is accused of causing an explosion in a chemistry classroom at Vanderbilt High while working on his science project. Laura who was at this point in the series still annoyed by the nerd's plays for love [[ClearTheirName agrees to defend Urkel's honor]] when she senses that an academic rival named Dexter Thornhill seems very eager to have him expelled. The matter is held in Vanderbilt's student court. [[spoiler:In the end, Laura exposes Thornhill as the real culprit using a blacklight to determine that he tampered with Urkel's science project with explosive chemicals; when exposed, Thornhill admits that he did it because he believed that Urkel didn't deserve to win first prize at the science fair. Steve is cleared of all charges and Thornhill instead gets expelled.]]

* ''Radio/OurMissBrooks'': "Trial by Jury" sees Miss Brooks defend herself in court for "speeding, going through a red light, reckless driving, driving on the sidewalk and hitting a fruit stand." The episode was a remake of "Reckless Driving" which played on the radio.
* ''Series/TheAddamsFamily'' had the episode "The Addams Family in Court", where Grandmama is taken to court for illegally telling people's fortunes.

* In the rebooted ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}'':
** Most of "Crossroads" (the season 3 finale) is taken up by Baltar's trial for treason. Apollo ends up playing lawyer; Adama is randomly selected to be one of the judges.
** The first season episode "Litmus" revolves heavily around a military tribunal created in the wake of a suicide bombing.
** The [[Series/BattlestarGalactica1978 Original Series]] had an episode where Starbuck is on trial for murdering another pilot.
* ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'': The episode "The Excelsior Acquisition" has Sheldon going to court to fight [[TheTroubleWithTickets a red light camera ticket]] from when he drove an injured Penny to the hospital [[ContinuityNod in a previous episode]] on the same day he is supposed to meet Creator/StanLee, only to commit contempt of court and is [[PrisonEpisode sent to jail for one hour]] until he apologizes to the judge.

** In "[[Recap/BlackadderS1E5WitchsmellerPursuivant Witchsmeller Pursuivant]]", Edmund, Percy, and Baldrick enduring a KangarooCourt of a WitchTrial with the hammiest prosecutor in history.

* The ''Series/{{Charmed|1998}}'' episode "Crimes and Witch-Demeanors" has the Charmed Ones arguing for Darryl's life before a tribunal that's charged to keep magic secret, and has manipulated reality to frame him for murder in order to do so.

* ''Series/CriminalMinds'': "Tabula Rasa," in which a killer previously tracked down by the BAU is put on trial after awakening from a coma...with total retrograde amnesia.

* ''Series/{{CSINY}}'' had "Comes Around," where Mac had to prove he didn't kill Clay Dobson when Dobson jumped off a roof in handcuffs.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'': Season 23 of the classic series, ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS23E1TheMysteriousPlanet The Trial]] [[Recap/DoctorWhoS23E2Mindwarp of a]] [[Recap/DoctorWhoS23E3TerrorOfTheVervoids Time]] [[Recap/DoctorWhoS23E4TheUltimateFoe Lord]]'', was all about the Doctor facing a KangarooCourt.
** Even earlier than that, Part 5 of ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS1E5TheKeysOfMarinus The Keys of Marinus]]'' ("Sentence of Death"), all the way back in Season One, featured Ian being charged with murder where the verdict is GuiltyUntilSomeoneElseIsGuilty, with the Doctor as his barrister.

* The ''Series/{{Farscape}}'' episode "Dream A Little Dream" has Zhaan framed for murder on a planet whose [[PlanetOfHats hat]] is that 90% of them are lawyers. Rygel and Chiana have to defend her.

** In "The Juror #5 Job," Parker is a juror in a wrongful-death suit, and Hardison has to pretend to be a high-powered lawyer in order to stall the case until the rest of the team can finish the con.
** In "The Lost Heir Job," the team takes on a client who's entangled in a probate case; Nate ends up playing a LargeHam shyster from Vegas.

* The ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'' episode featuring ''Film/AgentForHARM'' has Mike Nelson being put on trial [[MikeNelsonDestroyerOfWorlds destroying three planets]]. CourtroomAntics and HilarityEnsues.

-->'''Felix''': ...when we ''ASSUME'' --- we make an ''ASS'' out of ''U'' and ''ME''!

* ''Series/TheProfessionals''. In "The Rack", a court of enquiry is held when a suspect dies in [=CI5=] custody after being punched by Doyle. A firebrand civil rights lawyer uses the opportunity to hold a trial-by-media over the existence of what is a SecretPolice in all but name.

*** "Cor-Ai" has Teal'c being put on trial for a murder he committed before his HeelFaceTurn, and Jack (primarily, but the others do help) has to defend him. The twist is that, according to the rules of the Cor-Ai, the accuser is also the judge. Jack finds the idea ridiculous, although Daniel finds historical precedent and points out that, in a certain way, it makes sense. [[spoiler:While the son of the victim ends up finding Teal'c guilty and sentences him to die at midday, a Goa'uld attack and Teal'c heroism in defending the villagers convinces the guy that Teal'c is a different person now, and that [[ThatManIsDead the man who murdered his father is dead]]]].
*** "Pretense" consists of a trial (well, a "triad") to determine whether Skaara or the Goa'uld [[PuppeteerParasite inhabiting his body]] has a right to it. Daniel and Jack share lawyering duty. This is the first an only time we see a Goa'uld acting as a defense attorney... and doing a decent job of it, despite his Polynesian outfit.
*** Vala is put on trial by a planet of people she ruled over while host to the Goa'uld Qetesh in "The Powers That Be." Initially, the villagers wanted to execute her immediately when she confessed to not actually being a god, but her teammates convinced them to give her a trial. She was then sentenced to life imprisonment, but this was changed when she saved the lives of several of the villagers.
*** Another case ''almost'' happens in "Collateral Damage" when Mitchell is apparently responsible for killing someone, but avoids an actual court case since the charges were quickly glossed over under the pretense of Mitchell having diplomatic immunity. Instead the point of the episode is to prove Mitchell's innocence. [[spoiler:The murderer used a memory-transference machine to convince Mitchell that he is the killer, but a detailed analysis spotted "artifacts" in the false memory]].
** The ''Series/StargateAtlantis'' episode "Inquisition", which doubles as a ClipShow and features a JokerJury, has the main Atlantis team put on trial by the Coalition of Planets (which consists of the various weakling civilizations in Pegasus who were brutalized by the Wraith) for their numerous NiceJobBreakingItHero moments throughout the series. The episode ended with them bribing one of the judges to vote in their favor, his vote being the swing vote.
** The ''Series/StargateUniverse'' episode "Justice" is centered around an investigation and informal trial about [[spoiler: the death--eventually shown to be suicide--of Sergeant Spencer]].

*** "The Menagerie" prominently features Spock being court-martialed for stealing the ''Enterprise''. He did it, but apparently he has HeroInsurance.

*** Already in the pilot the crew of the ''Enterprise'' stands trial on behalf of all of humanity. And the final episode makes it clear that this trial is never over.

* ''Series/TheWayansBros'' had one where Marlon sued Shawn because he broke his leg and missed out on a dance competition due to slipping on some coffee that Shawn spilled. Much HilarityEnsues.

* The series finale of ''Series/TheXFiles'', "The Truth", was literally an instance of putting the truth on trial. Mulder was already found guilty on a murder charge before the trial began.
* The Series/{{Arrowverse}}:
** ''Series/{{The Flash|2014}}'' has "[[Recap/TheFlash2014S4E10TheTrialOfTheFlash The Trial of the Flash]]", where Barry is accused of murdering [[spoiler:the season's BigBad Clifford [=DeVoe=]]].
** The ''Series/{{Arrow}}'' episode "[[Recap/ArrowS6E21DocketNoElevenNineteenFortyOneSeventyThree Docket No. 11-19-41-73]]" has Oliver on trial for being the Green Arrow, with the caveat that the judge and, likely, the jury have been bought by the BigBad.
* The second series of ''Series/HoratioHornblower'', titled "Mutiny" and Retribution", is told as a series of flashbacks intercut with Horatio and the other lieutenants of HMS ''Renown'' being court-martialed for removing the mentally unstable Captain Sawyer from command. The flashbacks occur as various characters are called to testify and we are repeatedly reminded that the penalty for mutiny is hanging. (This is an expansion from the book, where they only faced a board of inquiry--a preliminary hearing to determine if the full trial was needed--which was largely an excuse to brush the whole matter of Sawyer's insanity under the rug.)
* ''Series/TheOuterLimits1995'':
** While the original 1964 version of "I, Robot" involves a robot named Adam being tried for the murder of his creator Dr. Link, the 1995 remake involves a capacity hearing to determine whether Adam deserves a trial or should be simply dismantled.
** The Season Three episode "Bodies of Evidence" takes place in 2037 and involves Captain William Clark being put on trial for the murder of three other members of the crew of the space station ''Meridian''. He is defended by his ex-wife Robin Dysart.
** The Season Six finale "Final Appeal" (which was originally intended as the SeriesFinale) takes place in 2076 in a world that has banned technology in the aftermath of a devastating nuclear war in June 2059 which killed 80% of the world's population (6.8 billion people). It features Dr. Theresa Givens (a returning character from Season Two's "A Stitch in Time") appealing her death sentence for using her time machine before the United States Supreme Court.
** The Season Seven episode "Rule of Law" involves Judge Joshua Finch, newly arrived on the colony planet Daedalus, presiding over the trial of a Medusan who is accused of the murder of three humans.
* ''Series/WelcomeFreshmen'': "The People Vs. Walter", Walter is accused by Principal Lippman of vandalizing the portrait of him. He holds a trial with the other students serving as the various roles with Walter's LoveInterest Erin as his defense attorney. Through her efforts, she not only proves Walter innocent, but also proves he was one of the few people not involved as Principal Lippman is so hated that almost the entire student body and faculty took part in vandalizing the portrait.
* ''Series/TheBrittasEmpire'' has "[[Recap/TheBrittasEmpireS3E1TheTrial The Trial]]". Said episode has Gordon Brittas put on trial for the procession of drugs, the murder of seven gangsters, and the grievous bodily harm of three old women, with flashbacks being used to show HowWeGotHere.
* ''Series/OddSquad'':
** The Season 1 episode "Disorder in the Court" revolves around Olive being falsely accused of committing the odd crime of shrinking the town museum by Odd Todd, with her fighting to prove her innocence and prevent her from being fired from Odd Squad.
** Downplayed in the first part of the Season 2 finale, "Who is Agent Otis?" At the climax of the episode, Otis is put on trial due to the fact that the X's believe that [[spoiler: he is still a villain.]]

** ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'': "[[Recap/StarTrekEnterpriseS02E19Judgment Judgment]]" is about a trial featuring a RashomonStyle retelling of a battle between ''Enterprise'' and a Klingon battlecruiser.

* ''Series/TheTenthKingdom'' has one when Wolf is accused of killing livestock and murdering shepherdess Sally Peep, with Virginia attempting to act as his defence [[spoiler:until Tony finds evidence that proves Sally was really killed by her grandfather]].

** Season 8's "The Jury," where Urkel and Carl ended up [[JuryDuty serving on the same jury]] for David Hayes, a janitor at a jewelry store accused of stealing the store's merchandise. It seems the video footage has Hayes dead to rights and everyone seems to think he is guilty, but [[RogueJuror Urkel believes he is innocent]] and helps reveal the real criminal[[spoiler:: the jewelry store's head of security, Joey Bozelli, [[FrameUp who doctored and edited the footage to make it look like Hayes committed the crime]], but didn't count on anyone taking a closer look at the footage, which shows his reflection in a mirror]].